"Yes"; said Mrs. Ritter, "I thought that you might want to keep her, so I have been looking the matter up, and Mr. Ritter is at home now, so that, in case you want to settle the legal part of it, he can take you to the city immediately, for you are not yet able to go by yourself. Then you will have nothing to worry about, and you can tell Wiseli after you come back."
It was the first time that she had ever seen the joiner excited. He began to get into his overcoat as she rose to go.
"Are you sure," he asked, "that we can get the matter settled to-day?"
"Yes, I am sure," she replied, "and I will send the carriage over at once."
A few moments later Wiseli noticed the Ritter carriage drive up to the gate and the coachman come to assist the joiner down the walk. She was surprised to see him get into the carriage, for he had not told her that he was going for a drive. "Perhaps," she thought, "he did not feel like telling me, because this is the last day that I can be with him."
Wiseli had the dinner ready at the usual hour, but the joiner was not there. She did not wish to eat without him, so she waited and waited, but still he did not come. Finally, she fell asleep. She dreamed that she was again at her uncle's home and that she was very unhappy. She was not aware of the beautiful evening glow in the sunset which promised a pleasant to-morrow.
Wiseli started from her slumber when the door opened. It was the joiner, who had just returned, and his face was as radiant as the sunset. He had been in such a different mood in the morning that Wiseli stared in astonishment.
"I have good news, Wiseli," he said, as he hung up his hat and stepped about as lightly as a boy. "It is all settled. You are legally my child, and I am your father. Call me father this very minute, my little girl."
All the color had left Wiseli's cheeks, and she stood uncomprehending and speechless.
"Of course you don't know what I am talking about," he said. "I begin at the wrong end because I am so glad. This is what has happened, Wiseli: the proper authorities have to-day given me the legal right to take care of you. I have been to the city and the matter is arranged, so that we really belong to each other. You shall never go back to your uncle's again, for now you have a home of your own."