Boom! went a gun, or a cannon-cracker; and Walter awoke just as his affectionate hostess and religious adviser was going to give him a kiss.
Juffrouw Laps had burned her sinful lips. “Lord have mercy on us, what is that!” she cried.
Both ran to the open window. Ordinarily a respectable Hollandish girl never leaves her window open at night; but the extreme heat of the evening must be urged in Juffrouw Laps’s favor.
It was clear to them at once that they had not been fired upon by those “murderers,” for nobody paid any attention to them or showed any interest in them. Other windows were open, as well; and on all sides people were looking out. Right and left a cannonade of firecrackers was going on.
In the interest of privacy Juffrouw Laps took the precaution to blow out the light as quickly as possible. Another might have neglected this.
Walter looked down on it all with the delight of a child. He forgot the insistent kindness of his hostess; he thought of nothing but the crowd below and their antics. The noise and tumult sobered him; and it even had a quieting effect on Juffrouw Laps.
“How foolish the people are. They push one another hither and thither and don’t know themselves why they do it.”
“Click, click!” answered an enthusiast with a gun. He was in the midst of a bevy of girls, who scattered in an uproar.
“They’re all drunk,” said Juffrouw Laps. “I wish they would go home. I’m tired—and it’s two o’clock.”
“Just a little more!” begged Walter. “I’m not tired—not a bit!”