"What's the matter again now?" asks Martin, startled from his dreaming.
"He has withstood the test," she laughs, putting her arm around her husband's neck.
"What test?"
"If I tell you, you will grumble, so I had better be silent."
Martin looks at Johannes questioningly.
"Oh, it's nothing," says he smiling; "it was only nonsense. We were--bombarding each other."
"That's right, children--you bombard one another," Martin says, and goes on smoking in silence. Johannes is ashamed of himself, while Trude challenges her playfellow with mischievous glances. "Full of play," yes, that was it; that was what Martin Rockhammer had called his wife.
Henceforth there are to be no more of those peaceful silent hours in the gloaming which Martin loves so well.
The quiet paths of the garden resound with song and laughter, across the lawn figures dart, as quick as the wind, in pursuit of each other;--they let loose the dogs and race with them;--they hunt the wild cats that frequent the mill-yard--they play hide-and-seek behind the haystacks and hedges.
Martin looks on at all these doings with kindly, fatherly indulgence.