“I have not the least doubt of it;” said his wife, “Dora has aroused in Lili an enthusiasm for music, and all the child’s lively energy is turned into that channel.  Wili follows his sister’s lead, and they are both therefore so busy that they have not even a thought for mischief.”

“Dora is certainly an uncommon child and I am very sorry she is to leave us so soon;” said Mr. Birkenfeld regretfully.

“That is what is weighing upon my mind,” said his wife, “I am constantly trying to devise some plan for prolonging her stay still farther.”

“No, no;” said her husband, decidedly, “we can’t do anything about that.  We don’t know these people well enough to try to influence their movements.  They must go away now, but perhaps next year we may see them here again.”

Mrs. Birkenfeld sighed; there was a long winter to come, and there seemed to her to be but little chance of the visit being repeated.

The day fixed for the departure was Monday, and on the day before there was to be a grand feast, a farewell festival; though to tell the truth, none of them felt much like making a jubilee.  Rolf alone was in the mood, and he took charge of the preparations, as an important part of which, a number of choice riddles were to be hung about the summer-house as transparencies:  in honor of his patron.

On Saturday Dora took her seat, as usual, with the family at dinner, but no one had any appetite; the coming separation was too much in their thoughts.  As the mother was helping to soup, one after another exclaimed, “Very little for me,” “Please only a little,” “I really don’t care for any to-day,” “Scarcely any for me, thank you,” “And less for me, to-day.”

“I should like to ask—­” said their father, amid this shower of “No, thank yous;” “I can’t help wondering whether this ‘thank you, to-morrow,’ style of thing is caused by grief at parting, or by a general dislike for onion-soup.”

“Onion-soup! onion-soup! that is the answer to Hunne’s riddle!” cried Rolf with a cry of victory, for he had really taken it seriously to heart, that Hunne’s charade had been so long unguessed.  The answer was right.  Poor Hunne was quite depressed at this unexpected blow, and in a moment he said somewhat pitifully,

“Oh dear! papa, if you had not said that about ‘thank you, to-morrow,’ for the soup, then no one would ever have found it out.  Now I shall have no more fun with it.”

But Dora had a comforting word for him, even now, and whispered softly, “Yes, Hunne dear, you shall have some more fun with it, for I will bring over my album this afternoon, and I will guide your hand while you write the charade in it, and then I will take it to Karlsruhe, and show it to all the people I know there, and they will all try to guess it.”

So Hunne was comforted, and was able to finish his dinner happily.  But under the apple-tree where they were assembled for the last time, the family were in very low spirits.  For the next day Dora must stay with her aunt to help her, and could not join them until the evening, in time for the good-bye feast.  Paula sat with her eyes full of tears, and did not speak one word.  Lili had already given signs of her state of mind, by all sorts of restless movements, and at last she exclaimed,