f seeing my daughter's son whom I am bringing home will almost kill
him," said the colonel, smiling contentedly at the prospect.

When Sally and Erick told of their first meeting and Sally's call in
Marianne's cottage, and now it came out that it was the same Marianne
who had pulled Erick out of the water, and who had stuck so faithfully
to his mother, the colonel suddenly jumped up and demanded that Erick
should go with him at once to Marianne for, from pure joy, they both had
not thanked her as they ought to. But the lady had foreseen such a
request, and had not let Marianne go home. And so she was called into
the room and the colonel quickly took a chair and placed it in front of
him. Marianne had to sit down there and tell everything that she knew of
his daughter, and what she herself had heard and seen. Marianne was very
glad to do that, and she spoke with such love and reverence of the dear
one, that at the end of her story, the colonel took her hand and shook
it heartily, but he could not speak. He rose and walked a few times up
and down the room, then he beckoned to Erick, took out of his wallet two
papers and said: "Give this to the good old woman, my boy; she shall
have a few good days, she deserves it."

Erick had never before enjoyed the happiness of giving; never had he
been able to give anything to anyone, for he himself had never owned
anything. An enormous joy rose up in his heart and with bright eyes he
stepped to Marianne and said: "Marianne, here is something for you, for
which you can buy whatever you like."

But when Marianne saw that on the paper was a number and several zeros
after it, she struck her hands together from astonishment and fright,
and cried: "Dear God, I have not earned that, this is riches!" And when
she still kept her hands away from the money, Erick stuck the papers
deep into her pocket and said:

"Do you remember, Marianne, how you have said that you were growing old
and could no longer work as you used to, and therefore you had to give
up the little house and go to your old cousin? Now you can have your
cottage again, with that money, and live in it happily."

"That I can, that I can," cried Marianne, forgetting in her joy that she
did not want to take the large present. Tears of joy ran down her
cheeks, and from happiness and emotion she could not utter a word of
thanks, but kept on pressing the colonel's hand and then Erick's, and
all were glad with Marianne that she could