iggardly,
even at the full. But, care not, since this meagre chip will prove to
you a barter for millions. Follow me! The great estates to Klaus; the
treasures of the sea Koerg shall know, to-night!" And, with a hand-wave,
the elf led the way over the rough cliffs, Koerg mutely following.

[Illustration: THE GEIST.]

He paused at the base of a hillock, shaped like a horseshoe--a spot
which Koerg knew well--a place of rocks, reefs, and general ill-report.

"The time is favorable," muttered the little man, "my children are
hungry, to-night." And, turning to Koerg, he continued: "Take the gift of
Klaus and go down into the sea. A crowd will swarm upon you, as
persistent and voracious as any in this upper world. Ask for the
_wonder-mill_, and sacrifice your treasures only in its exchange. I will
await you here."

A spell immediately enwrapped the senses of Koerg. Calm and fearless, he
descended into the deep, floating dreamily downward to the glittering
caves from whence, exactly as the elf had depicted, swarmed forth troops
of mermen and mermaids, with eyes and arms voraciously extended towards
the bread and the pudding he held tightly clutched to his breast. But
Koerg, spurred on by the elf, resisted them all, nor parted with a single
crumb till the wonder-mill lay safe in his embrace. The little man stood
waiting on the brink.

"I dedicate this to the honest poor," he said, softly. "Yes, Koerg, it is
yours. Ask of it what you will, and it shall never fail you--gold,
silver, hundreds of loaves and puddings. But--" and here the little man
paused, a shudder quivered through his frame, and he continued,
solemnly--"remember, that by no hand but yours can it be controlled.
Guard it carefully, for the day you part with it your portion shall be
ashes, and _mine_ annihilation."

When Koerg dared lift his eyes the elf had disappeared.

Rahel sat at home with the children, weeping. She knew well the heart of
her brother Klaus, and how vain would be Koerg's last effort to save them
from starvation. A step sounded on the path without. Rahel and the babes
stopped to listen. It was not dull and heavy as they had expected, but
blithe as the jingle of sleigh-bells, and, in a second, Koerg burst in
upon them, dimpling all over with merry laughter. Rahel regarded him,
amazed.

"You bring no bread to our starving babes, and yet you laugh," she said.
"Oh, Koerg! Koerg! trouble has made you mad!"

Still chuckling he slipped the