CHAPTER X.

THE INTERVIEW.

PAUL wondered why Robert did not come, and he was on the point of going in search of his friend when he saw Hans standing in the doorway of his father's shop. His was the last face in the world he wished to see, and to have him there boded no good. Paul would have liked to make his escape, but he could not do this very well, for Hans came up close to him and said, "I want to speak to you."

"What do you want? What have you to say to me?" he stammered out.

"A great deal. Let us go into some room where we can talk quietly."

"There's no place in this house. Father has only gone on an errand into the village. He will be back in a few minutes, and then he'll want the parlour for his work. People may come in here at any moment to give orders, so I can't say that we shall be quite alone. But I'm sure mother doesn't want us upstairs, so if you have anything to say, you must say it at once, and take the chance of being interrupted."

"Let us go into the fields, or by the river-side beyond the town. I don't mind where we go, so that I can talk to you quietly."

"I suppose you want to fight me again. No, I'm not going into the fields or anywhere with you."

"I mean to speak to you, Paul," said Hans, firmly. "And if you will not give me an opportunity of saying what I have to say to you alone, why, you must listen to it in your father's shop, and it's not my fault if any one overhears our conversation."

Paul began to quake. He felt sure that Richter had something important to communicate, for he showed it in his determined manner. But as he would not appear to be afraid, he exclaimed, in a loud, coarse voice, "I can't think what you want with me; I hate you, and you hate me, so the less we have to say to one another the better."

Hans touched his arm, and replied, "This hurt of mine was no accident; the squib was pushed into my hand deliberately. You know the name of the boy who did it, and so do I. Let me have a quiet talk with you. If you refuse me, my master will be very angry, and I fear he will tell your father. I am sure it is better for us to be friends than enemies. But if you won't hear me, and persist in treating me so rudely, I shall have to go back home, and I don't know what turn matters will take."

"Let your master come to my father and talk to him, if he likes; I don't care. If Robert has been telling lies of me, he shall be well paid off for it, that he shall! I suppose you mean me to understand that I hurt your hand?"

"Yes, you did. But oh, Paul, I really am not here to blame you, but to forgive you. Don't go on being so wicked, but do remember you must stand before God one day, and answer to Him if you persist in living in sin. Stop before it is too late, and give up your bad habits, and try and live a nobler life."

"What stuff you are talking! Just leave off preaching, and give up the name of the fellow who told you I hurt your hand. Do you know I will make you answer for accusing me falsely, for neither you nor any one else can prove that I did it! Name the fellow, I say."

"I shall not," answered Hans.

"Because you dare not. But, just to show you how wrong you are in suspecting me, I will tell you who did the deed. Robert hurt you because he was afraid you would win the prize away from him."

"Robert did not hurt me, and did not know that you intended to carry out your wicked thought; when you proposed to injure me, he refused to be a party to such a cowardly act."

"Robert has told of me," said Paul, forgetting in his passion that he betrayed the truth and confessed his guilt. "He shall smart for this, he shall rue the day that he turned tell-tale. And as for you, I detest you. I can't think of any name to call you which is bad enough to show how much I hate you. Go and tell everybody in Kösen that I hurt you for the purpose; I don't care. I only wish your hand had been blown off, or so bad that you could not use it again."

What more Paul would have added, it is hard to say. He stopped suddenly, for he saw his father. Herr Ebhardt had listened to nearly all the conversation between his son and Hans. He had entered the parlour by the back of the house, and hearing voices in the shop had opened the door softly, and thus overheard what passed. He now came forward, and asked Hans, "What is all this ado about? Tell me of what you accuse my son."

"I had much rather have spoken to Paul alone," answered Hans, respectfully. "I came to him in the spirit of love, and hoped he would have received me more kindly."

"The spirit of love!" echoed the master tailor, scornfully. "None of that cant here, please. What has my son done to you? It sounded to me very much as if he had hurt your hand on purpose. Is that what you accuse him of? Answer me at once, yes or no."

"Yes," said Hans.

"And you are guilty, Paul. I know it by the last words I heard you speak; your passion got the better of you, young gentleman. You shall be well punished for this. And you, young fellow, had better go home, and if you meet any acquaintances by the way, and ask for their pity by telling them how badly you have been treated, say to them that Ebhardt, the master tailor of Kösen, condemns his son for committing such a cowardly act as to stab you in the dark. I go in for fair play, and not foul play. Will it satisfy you to know that that boy of mine has had his reward in the shape of a punishment he will remember as long as he lives?"

"No, it will not, Herr Ebhardt," answered Hans, boldly. "I did not come here to provoke you to be hard upon your son. I came to forgive him, and I ask you to unsay what you have said. I do not wish him to be punished and, what is more, if I can help it, he shall go free."

"How can you help it?"

"Not by force, because you are stronger than either Paul or I; and you can thrash us both if you like. But will you hear me out without sneering at me?"

"Yes; speak up, lad. I don't think you are quite such a sneak as I took you for at first."

"I came here to forgive Paul, because I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as He forgave His enemies, so I wish to forgive mine. If I forgive him of my own free will, I don't think you need punish him. But there is one thing I will ask you to obtain for me, that is, his promise not to abuse Robert Klein, nor fight him, nor serve him out in any way."

Paul had stood by in sullen silence, and now his father turned to him, and said, "Do you hear what Hans asks? Give me your word that you will not touch Robert, and I will let you go free."

There was only one person in the world whom Paul feared, that was his father, and he had good reason to be afraid of him. He was a powerful man with a violent temper, who was very often partially intoxicated, and then he cared for no one, but dealt out his blows freely on whoever ventured to contradict or offend him.

"I will promise not to touch Robert, father," answered Paul, in a very different way to what he had spoken when addressing Hans. He was so glad to escape punishment that he would have pledged his word to anything that was required of him.

"And mind," added his father, "you will keep your promise this time, or my name is not Ebhardt. Do you hear me, sir?"

"Yes, I do," whimpered Paul.

"And now I hope you are satisfied. I wish you good morning," said the master tailor, waving his hand as if to dismiss his visitor.

So Hans was obliged to leave the shop, for he was afraid to make another effort to soften Paul's heart, lest his father should grow impatient and visit his anger on his son in a summary manner.

He was glad to reach home without meeting any of his acquaintances, for he was in no mood to indulge in every-day chat. He was chafed in spirit and disappointed at the rebuff he had received at the hands of Paul, and also annoyed at the rough manner in which he had been addressed by the master tailor.

Old Franz had not left the toll-keeper's cottage. He had just come downstairs after seeing Frau Schmidt.

"Well, what success have you had?" asked Karl.

"Poor enough," answered Hans, sighing. "Oh, master, I had such a beautiful plan in my head. Paul was to be so sorry, he was to turn over a new leaf and promise to reform, but it has all gone to the winds. I have gained nothing by my visit to him, except a promise that he will not fight Robert." And Hans gave an account of his interview with Herr Ebhardt and Paul.

"Well, well, you've done all you could; you've tried to carry out the Master's new commandment," said old Franz. "You can't make him sorry, you can't change his heart, my boy, but there is One who can. While there is life there is hope; so hope on, and pray that something will happen that will induce the lad to arise and go to his Father and say, 'I have sinned against heaven, and before Thee.'"

"And in the meantime let Robert be your care," added Karl; "for if he will no longer idle his time away, I do not mind his coming here. There seems better material to work upon in him, and you may be sure that he and Paul will never be friends again. The master tailor will take care of that. Depend upon it, this affair will be known in Kösen; indeed, it ought to be, and I think I should do well if I went to the Burgomaster, for he is certain to hear a garbled account from some one."

"No, no, sir; please don't do that. Let it rest now," said Richter. "My hand will be quite well in another week, and then the affair will die out. I shall be so sorry to keep up ill-will between Paul and Robert."

"Then you do not wish me to go and see Herr Ebhardt?"

"No, no, sir; it will only make Paul hate me the more; and I do want to win him over to be my friend at last."

"I don't think you will do that, but at any rate, the less said the soonest mended. I think you have right on your side," replied Karl. "But you must be prepared to hear more about it, for the miller is not a man to keep a secret, and he is sure to be told all the facts of the case by Robert. Must you go?" he added, addressing Franz Nieper, who made a movement towards the door.

"Yes, I have to say good-bye. I leave Kösen first thing to-morrow. There is a great fair in Halle soon, and as the weather is warm, I mean to take my time and move along slowly, for I did a good trade yesterday. I intended to stay longer, but somehow I feel unhinged, and more inclined to push on than to linger here."

"Good-bye," said Hans; "I hope we shall meet again one of these days."

"If we don't meet here, we shall meet yonder," replied the old man, pointing up to the blue sky, "for we all three have our faces turned in one direction. May it be our greatest joy so long as God spares our lives to do as yon man is doing who is just coming in sight—you see I have not forgotten our first conversation—'stick to the Raft.' Farewell."

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