With an apprehensive glance over his shoulder toward the front door Willem proceeded more hurriedly with his work of joining the strewn pieces.
"I must get it put together before he comes back," he muttered.
"Ah!" mutely rejoiced the Dean Man, "I'm making you think about him at last! I'll succeed in getting your mind to connect him with Anne Marie by the time the others——"
"'Uncle Rat has gone to town! Ha.-H'm!'"
chanted Willem under his breath as his fingers moved from part to part of the nearly completed picture. "'To buy his niece a wedding gown.'—There's her hand!" he interrupted himself as an elusive scrap of the photograph was at last discovered and put into place.
Peter Grimm's eyes were fixed on the door of Kathrien's room in a compelling stare.
"Her other hand!" mused Willem. "'What shall the wedding breakfast be? Ha-H'm! What shall the——?' Where's—here's the last two parts. There! It's done! Oh, Anne Marie! Mamma! I——"
The door of Kathrien's room opened. The girl, under a spell of the Dead Man's will, came out to the banisters.