When Mrs. Lesa had brought the food to the table and had attended to everything, she said she would like to open the letter; she knew the children were eager to know what their father had written, and they had recognized his handwriting. He consented, and she read the letter to herself, then said she would tell them all about it next day. There was all sorts of information in it but the main news was that Mr. Thornau would arrive in a few days to take his children home.
Absolute silence followed this announcement. Then, one after the other, the children left the table and gathered under the great walnut tree in front of the house. With the old tree as their witness, they solemnly promised to do all within their power to spend the next summer together.
When they were all fast asleep in their beds and Vinzenz Lesa had lit his evening pipe, his wife sat down beside him, saying she wanted to read the letter aloud. Mr. Thornau wrote from Dresden, where he had gone to visit Mr. Delrick who had asked him to accompany him on a trip to Switzerland. He thought information by word of mouth concerning Vinzi would be more than welcome to the parents, and he would bring it. However, his time in Leuk would be very short. He could not arrive before Sunday evening and must be on his way early Monday morning. Now it would be ever so much pleasanter if they could spend Sunday together in Freiburg. That was Mr. Lesa's old home and surely he would be glad to visit it. Wouldn't they bring his children to meet him there, and of course Stefeli would come too. They could reach Freiburg early Sunday afternoon and he and Mr. Delrick would meet them at the train, for they expected to arrive earlier.
Vinzenz Lesa pondered awhile in silence, then asked, "What does he say about our boy?"
Mrs. Lesa assured him he had written nothing but what she had read; but Mr. Delrick would give them a report in person.
"Do you know why he doesn't care to bring him along?" asked her husband further.
"We can't know that," she replied.
"But we can guess. I can tell you why. Mr. Delrick now sees he cannot make him a traveling musician. He is in no hurry to bring him home and tell me frankly he does not know what to do with him, because he had turned his thoughts further away from being a farmer. Mr. Delrick is a good man, but he miscalculated. Everybody likes to put off as long as possible owning to have made a mistake."
Vinzenz Lesa now blew such dense clouds of smoke that his wife knew it was wise to wait a bit.
Then she said cautiously: "Let us wait until we hear what Mr. Delrick has to say. It will be a blessing to talk with him. What do you think of going to Freiburg?"