“Does old John still live, who made the barge and scraped the pebble-walks so nicely?” Erick asked another time.

“What, you know of that too?  Yes, indeed, he is still living, but the joy of seeing my daughter’s son whom I am bringing home will almost kill him,” said the colonel, smiling contentedly at the prospect.

When Sally and Erick told of their first meeting and Sally’s call in Marianne’s cottage, and now it came out that it was the same Marianne who had pulled Erick out of the water, and who had stuck so faithfully to his mother, the colonel suddenly jumped up and demanded that Erick should go with him at once to Marianne for, from pure joy, they both had not thanked her as they ought to.  But the lady had foreseen such a request, and had not let Marianne go home.  And so she was called into the room and the colonel quickly took a chair and placed it in front of him.  Marianne had to sit down there and tell everything that she knew of his daughter, and what she herself had heard and seen.  Marianne was very glad to do that, and she spoke with such love and reverence of the dear one, that at the end of her story, the colonel took her hand and shook it heartily, but he could not speak.  He rose and walked a few times up and down the room, then he beckoned to Erick, took out of his wallet two papers and said:  “Give this to the good old woman, my boy; she shall have a few good days, she deserves it.”

Erick had never before enjoyed the happiness of giving; never had he been able to give anything to anyone, for he himself had never owned anything.  An enormous joy rose up in his heart and with bright eyes he stepped to Marianne and said:  “Marianne, here is something for you, for which you can buy whatever you like.”

But when Marianne saw that on the paper was a number and several zeros after it, she struck her hands together from astonishment and fright, and cried:  “Dear God, I have not earned that, this is riches!” And when she still kept her hands away from the money, Erick stuck the papers deep into her pocket and said: 

“Do you remember, Marianne, how you have said that you were growing old and could no longer work as you used to, and therefore you had to give up the little house and go to your old cousin?  Now you can have your cottage again, with that money, and live in it happily.”

“That I can, that I can,” cried Marianne, forgetting in her joy that she did not want to take the large present.  Tears of joy ran down her cheeks, and from happiness and emotion she could not utter a word of thanks, but kept on pressing the colonel’s hand and then Erick’s, and all were glad with Marianne that she could move again into the cottage and keep it for always.  When at last they must separate for the night, the colonel pressed the house-mother’s hand once more and said:  “My dear friend, you will understand with what gratitude my heart is full, when I tell you that this is the first happy evening which I have had for the last twelve years.”