“Maybe someone put a little apple-jack into my glass when I wasn’t looking,” replied the German, quickly, as he went into the boys’ kitchen to get a little coffee.
So it came about that Fritz became a Colony member, and his good nature made him a general favorite almost immediately. His strength returned to him rapidly.
The final cure was effected when, among the books that came in, one of the men found a German volume. He took it to Fritz with some misgiving, as it was a work on astronomy, and Fritz did not resemble a Heidelberg professor; but when our friend glanced at the book and saw the German text, and then, on closer scrutiny, observed that it was a work on astronomy, he became excitedly enthusiastic.
“Good! Very good! I am happy to get it.”
It was a week later, an hour or two after midnight, I saw Fritz in the moonlight, walking around outside the house.
I went out to question him, as his actions seemed strange to me.
“What is the trouble, Fritz?” I asked him.
“It is nothing.”
“But I would rather not have the men out so late,” I said.