"You may laugh," said Mrs. Ritter, who returned just then, "but I know that Joiner Andreas is a comfort."
"So do I," said the husband, playfully.
"So do I," echoed Miezi, as she seated herself at the table.
"So do I," added Otto, who was rubbing the knuckles he had bruised in his hasty exit.
"Then we are all agreed," said the mother. "Now I want you children to go to bed."
"To which we are not all agreed," said Otto, teasingly.
However, Trina came and they were obliged to go. The mother followed after a time, as was her custom, to hear the children's evening prayer and receive their last embrace for the night. This often required some time, for they were eager to tell her many things, and detained her for their own pleasure. To-night she remained until they were quiet and then returned to the gentlemen in the sitting room.
"At last," said Colonel Ritter, apparently as relieved as if he had just conquered an enemy. "You see, Max, my wife's time belongs first of all to Joiner Andreas, and then to the children; if there is any left, it belongs to me."
"Oh, it's not quite so bad as that!" corrected Mrs. Ritter. "You like Andreas just as well as the rest of us do, even though you won't admit it. That reminds me, he told me that he had received the money from his yearly profit and wanted your advice about investing it."
"Yes, it is a fact," said the colonel, "that I never saw a more trustworthy or energetic man than he. I would trust him with all I have. He is by far the most reliable and wide-awake man in our parish."