He put on his cap and went grudgingly to the bucket of water that stood in a corner of the room, and tipped a drop over his fingers.

It is to be feared that neither the quantity of water nor the area of hand covered reached even the minimum enjoined by Rabbinical law.

He murmured something intended for Hebrew during the operation, and was beginning to mutter the devout little sentence which precedes the eating of bread when Rachel, who as a female was less driven to the lavatory ceremony, and had thus got ahead of him, paused in her ravenous mastication and made a wry face.

Solomon took a huge bite at his crust, then he uttered an inarticulate "pooh," and spat out his mouthful.
There was no salt in the bread..