"Why, that's the Farmer himself," said the woman; and she welcomed the old man home by taking his hat from his head and hanging it up on a peg over the stove.
"Do you see now?" said the old man to Amrei, triumphantly. "Now say what you like."
"Won't you sit down," said the mother, pointing to a chair.
Amrei drew a deep breath and began:
"You may believe me when I say that no child could have thought more about you than I have done, long ago, long before these last days. Do you remember Josenhans, by the pond, where the road turns off to Endringen?"
"Surely, surely!" said the two old people.
"Well, I am Josenhans's daughter!"
"Why, I thought I knew you!" exclaimed the old woman. "God greet you!" She held out her hand to Amrei, and said: "You have grown to be a strong, comely girl. Now tell me what has brought you here."
"She rode part of the way with our John," the Farmer interposed. "He'll be here directly."
The mother gave a start. She had an inkling of something to come, and reminded her husband that, when John went away, she had thought of the Josenhans children.