g; but when she saw how he must have
wept, she shrank from enquiring and held his hand quietly. Edi and Ritz
also noticed at once the traces of tears and greeted him quite calmly.

The pastor left his family to go to his room and the mother took his
place and conducted Erick, whom Sally on the other side held firmly by
the hand, up the stairs; Ritz and Edi followed. When 'Lizebeth, who was
standing in the kitchen door, saw the procession come and noticed that
the mother held the little stranger so tenderly by his hand, as though
he were her own small Ritz, then 'Lizebeth at once shut the kitchen
door, and grumbled: "There is something wrong about this!"

Soon after, the whole family sat around the noonday table, and if Sally
could not eat yesterday from sorrow, today she could not swallow
anything from pure joy, not even the apple cake, which surprised Ritz
very much. But he was glad that the sad Erick also got some, for he
thought that that must comfort him.

In the evening of this Sunday, Erick sat in the midst of the pastor's
family around the four-cornered sitting-room table, as snugly and
familiarly as if he long since belonged there. He had been treated, the
whole afternoon, with such kindness by all, that his whole heart, which
had been accustomed to a mother's great love, opened, and he felt more
happy than he had in all the sad days since he had had to miss this
love. Sally did not know how she could do enough to give him pleasure.
Now she had brought the most beautiful picture book that she owned, and
Erick looked with her at the pictures, which she eagerly explained to
him; all the time beaming with joy that everything, she had believed
lost, had come to her; that Erick was in the midst of them at home like
a near friend, and was to stay over the night, for the father had
arranged that at once.

Edi sat over his history book and Ritz had a book of his own before him,
but looked over it at Sally and listened to her explanation. Now Edi
lifted his head--he must have come upon something very particular.

"Papa," he said, "now I know for certain what I want to be: a
sea-captain. Then I can sail around the world, for _sometime_ I must see
all the lands where all these things have happened."

"So, I thought you wanted to be a professor of history," remarked the
father, not much disturbed by this piece of news.

"I want to be that, too," said Ritz, "I, too, want to sail in ships."

"No, you see, Ritz, two br