"Oh, Mr. Falcon, so you still remember," Apollonie exclaimed. "Yes, I
must admit that the three young gentlemen have trampled down many a young
plant of mine. Still I should not mind such a thing if I only had the
care of the garden back again, but it doesn't even exist any more. Mr.
Trius's only harvest is hay and apples, and that is all he wants
apparently, because he has thrown everything else out. Please do not
think that I am swimming in pure peace here because no boys are stamping
down my garden. Oh, no! It is very difficult to read my Sunday psalm in
peace when I am given such a bitter soup of grief to swallow as I got
yesterday. It keeps on burning me, and still I have to swallow it."

"You probably mean the Knippel-soup from yesterday?" Kurt interrupted,
full of lively interest. Loneli had only just told him that things had
gone very badly the day before when she had returned home all soiled from
her fall and with the empty milk-bottle. So he felt more indignant than
before and had immediately interpreted Apollonie's hint. "I want to tell
you, Apollonie, that it was not Loneli's fault in the least. Those
rascals enjoy sticking out their feet and seeing people tumble over
them."

"The child can't possibly have behaved properly, Kurt, or the district
attorney's sons would not have teased her."

"I'll fetch Bruno right away and he'll prove to you that Loneli did
nothing whatever. He saw it," Kurt cried eagerly with the intention of
fetching his brother, who had already started up the hill. But his
mother detained him. It was not her wish to fan Bruno's rage afresh by
the discovery that Loneli had been considered guilty. She therefore
narrated the incident to Apollonie just as Bruno had reported it.

Loneli's blue eyes glistened with joy when the story was told according
to the truth. She knew that the words spoken by the rector's widow had
great weight with her grandmother.

"Can you see now that it was not Loneli's fault?" Kurt cried out as soon
as his mother had finished.

"Yes, I see it and I am happy that it is so," said Apollonie. "How could
one have suspected that boys who had a good education should want to hurt
others without cause? The young Falcon would never have done such a
thing, I know that. He only ran into the vegetable garden because his
two friends were chasing him from both sides."

Uncle Philip laughed: "I am glad you are so just to me, Mrs. Apollonie.
Even when you scolded the Falco