"How long will he be away?" asked another.
"Not long. How long was I away in '70, Granny?"
"Six months," said the old woman. "Du lieber Himmel! but it seemed like six years. Wilhelm was in long clothes when you went, and when you came back he was running about. Ah! may God bring him back safe and sound!"
"Listen! What is that?" cried the children's mother.
A humming sound, like the buzzing of a monster bee, floated in through the open window. The children ran to the door.
"An aeroplane! An aeroplane!" they shouted. "See! it is coming down in the meadow."
The household flocked to the door and window.
"A Taube!" said the old man. "Run and see what the airmen want, Karl."
A boy of twelve ran across the farmyard into the meadow. The monoplane had alighted, and a tall man in the uniform of a German captain was hastening towards the house.
"Have you any petrol, boy?" asked the airman.