onderful
quickness when she saw the shining silver really lying on her little
palm, and she skipped merrily away to the town without either basket or
wood.

While Hillner and Rudorf went quietly back to their work, Juechziger
kept a watchful eye on the former. As the tiger glares at his victim,
but awaits impatiently the moment when he may safely spring upon it, so
did the town servant promise himself to take a terrible revenge on the
journeyman. As soon as the day's work was over, and the workers had
reached the Peter Gate on their return home, he would have Hillner
arrested by the guard and marched straight off to prison.

An unexpected incident hindered, for the time at all events, the
execution of this promising scheme. The activity of the citizens in
preparing to give the enemy a warm reception had by no means been
confined to their day's work in the forest. Such buildings without the
walls as had escaped in General Bannier's attack were now doomed to
destruction. Thus it came about that the returning wood-cutters found
a large number of people outside the Peter Gate, fetching the furniture
out of their houses, and moving all their goods and chattels into the
town as quickly as possible.

Two houses adjoining one another--one a handsome building and the other
of humbler appearance--had already been stripped of windows, doors,
roofing, and rafters, and busy hands were now at work tearing down the
walls.

When Juechziger so unmercifully destroyed Dollie's basket, he did not
suspect that at that very moment the same fate was overtaking his
wife's inheritance. For a moment the sight he now saw almost paralyzed
him; then recovering his presence of mind, he hastened towards the
scene of destruction, forgetful of all his plans for revenge.

But his angry protestations were of no avail; even his prayers were all
in vain, which seemed to him very hard. The labourers went quietly and
steadily on with their work, as though it were a thing that had to be
done; and when Juechziger laid his hand on one and another of them, with
the idea of hindering them by force, he soon found himself repulsed in
no very gentle fashion. While he stood in front of his little house
wringing his hands, the very picture of misery and irresolution, a
well-dressed man, of respectable appearance though he was covered with
dust and bits, came out of the door of the larger mansion.

'Oh, my dear neighbour Loewe!' cried Juechziger, 'advise