"Gif dem vat?"
"A lift—that is, I helped them."
"Dot ish all right, but don't let me hears dot nopody vos efer helping you; if I does—"
And taking his pipe from his mouth, Mr. Ribsam shook his head in a way which threatened dreadful things.
Then the old gentleman would continue smoking a while longer, and more than likely, just as Nick was in the midst of some intricate problem, he would suddenly pronounce his name. The boy would look up instantly, all attention.
"Hef you been into any fights mit nopodies to-day?"
"I have not, sir; I have not had any trouble like that for a long while."
"Dot is right—dot is right; but, Nick, if you does get into such bad tings as fightin', don't ax nopodies to help you; takes care mit yorself!"
The lad modestly answered that he did not remember when he had failed to take care of himself under such circumstances, and the father resumed his pipe and brown study.
The honest German may not have been right in every point of his creed, but in the main he was correct, his purpose being to implant in his children a sturdy self-reliance. They could not hope to get along at all times without leaning upon others, but that boy who never forgets that God has given him a mind, a body, certain faculties and infinite powers, with the intention that he should cultivate and use them to the highest point, is the one who is sure to win in the great battle of life.