p.

"Here is our devil of a boy!" cried the Major. "Here is the deserter
himself!"

The awkwardness of the first interview was thus removed. Roland sat
immovable upon his chair; Eric went to meet Sonnenkamp: he turned then
to the boy, and ordered him to ask his father's forgiveness for what he
had done. Roland complied.

The mother prayed Herr Sonnenkamp not to punish the boy for his
wilfulness. His father replied, good-humoredly, that, on the contrary,
this bold stroke of the boy gave him particular delight; he showed
courage, resolution, and self-guidance: he would rather reward him for
it. Roland looked at his father in amazement, then grasped his hand and
held it fast.

Eric requested his mother and aunt to retire with Roland to the study,
and he remained with the Major and Sonnenkamp. Sonnenkamp expressed his
satisfaction and gratitude to Eric, who must certainly be familiar with
magic, to have so bewitched his son that he could not live apart from
him.

"Do you think so?" Eric asked. "I must express to you my astonishment."

"Your astonishment?"

"Yes; I have, I am sorry to say, no talent at all of that sort, but I
may be permitted to say that I almost envy those who can accomplish
such things."

Sonnenkamp looked inquiringly at Eric, who continued:--

"It is a master-stroke of pedagogical science that you have effected. I
see now that you have declined my service in Roland's hearing, in order
to induce him to act from his own free-will; this will bring him under
my influence as nothing else would be likely to do."

Sonnenkamp looked amazed. Is this man making fun of him? Does he wish
to ridicule him, or, by means of this refined policy, to get the better
of him still farther? This would be a touch of diplomacy of the highest
order. Pranken is probably right, and Eric is a wily trickster under
the mask of honest plainness. Well, let it be so. Sonnenkamp whistled
to himself in his inaudible way; he would appear not to see through
Eric. He let it be understood that he had played a nice game with
Roland, and he smiled when the Major cried:--

"Fraeulein Milch said so--yes, she understand everybody, and she has
said,--Herr Eric, he is the man who sees clear through Herr
Sonnenkamp's policy. Yes, yes, that is a whole extra train of
smartness."

Sonnenkamp continued smiling deprecatingly and gratefully, but his
astonishment was renewed, when Eric now made the declaration,--

"Unfortunately, life itself