“Colonel,” she now said, placing herself before him, “do not act in such haste.  Let me prevail on you to stay a few days, yes, even this one day!  The dear child must, and will be found, please God!  See him first.  Learn to know the treasure which you are about to give up so lightly.  If you could know what sunshine you want to withhold from your house, you could never be happy again.  Do not think, sir, that I would give the child away; how shall I, how shall we all be able to bear it, when the dear, sunny face shall have disappeared forever from among our children.”  The tears came into the mother’s eyes also, and she could say no more.

“Well, I have to declare that the little wanderer has fallen into good hands,” said the colonel, giving his hand to the pastor’s wife in an approving way.  “You will allow me now to depart.”

This time the gentleman was determined to go.  He went out and walked along the long corridor with head lifted proudly, followed by the pastor, who tried in vain to overtake him so that he could open the door for his guest.  But before the door could be opened from within, it was pushed open with great force from outside, and like an arrow the slender Edi shot straight into the tall colonel, who had been standing directly behind the closed door; and at once after Edi, Ritz rushed into Edi, and the tall gentleman received the second push, and in his ears rang confused screamings of mixed words:  “They are coming—­they come—­Marianne—­Erick—­Marianne—­they come—­they come.”  And really!  In the house door appeared Marianne, quite broad in her Sunday best, holding Erick, of whom she kept a firm grasp, as if he might fall from there down again into the Woodbach.  Behind both the partaking scholars of the parishes pressed in with shouts of rejoicing.

There was no possibility for the military gentleman to get out; the crowd pressed into the house with great force.  He gave in and did what he had never done before in his life—­he retreated, step by step, until he had arrived, backwards, over the threshold of the study, together with the whole of the pastor’s family, old and young; and at last the fighting Sally pressed in.  She had taken Erick by the hand and did not want to let go of him, and on the other side Marianne held his hand as in a clamp, and she herself was held back from all sides, for the schoolfellows wanted to know first the story of how Erick was lost and found again.

It was an indescribable uproar.  Only after the efforts of Sally had succeeded in pulling Erick and Marianne out of the human ball and into the study, was there sufficient calm so that one could understand the other, for the school friends had stayed respectfully before the door; they did not dare to press into the study-room of their pastor.