"Good evening," said the boy, "is the table cleared already?" You could plainly hear the surprise in his voice.
"So there you are!" His father nodded to him but did not look up; he seemed to be quite taken up with his reading. And his mother said: "Are you going to sit with us a little?"
All at once the lad shivered. It had been so nice and warm outside, here it was cool.
And then everything was quiet for a while, until Friedrich came in with a tray on which there was only a little cold meat, bread, butter and cheese beside the knife and fork. It struck Wolfgang how loudly he rattled the things; the housemaid generally waited. "Where's Marie?"
"In bed," said his mother curtly.
"Already?" Wolfgang wondered why to himself. Hark, the clock in his mother's room was just striking--eleven? Was it actually already eleven o'clock? They would really have to be quick and get him something to eat, he was dying for want of food. He fixed his eyes on the door through which Friedrich had disappeared. Was something soon coming?
He waited.
"Eat something." His mother pushed the dish with cold meat nearer to him.
"Why don't you eat?" asked his father suddenly.
"Oh, I am still waiting."