Next dayⒶ was pretty dreary. The men wouldn't go to work, but loafed around moody and sour and uncomfortable. There was not much talk; what there was was mumbled, in the main, by pairs. There was no general conversation. At meals silence was the rule. At night there was no jollityⒶ, and before ten all had disappeared to their rooms and the castle was a dim and grim solitude.

The day after, the same. Wherever 44 came he got ugly looks, threatening looks, and I was afraid for him and wanted to show sympathy but was too timid. I tried to think I avoided him for his own good, but did not succeed to my satisfaction. As usual, he did not seem to know he was being so scowled at and hated. He certainly could be inconceivably stupid at times, for all he was so capable at others.Ⓐ Marget pitied him and said kind things to him, and Doangivadam was cordial and handsome to him, and whenever DoangivadamⒶ saw one of those scowls he insulted the man that exhibited it and invited him to exhibit it again, which he didn't. Of course Katrina was 44'sⒶ friend right along. But the friendliness was confined to those three, at least as far as any open show of it went.

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So things drifted along, till the contract-gentlemen came for the goods. They brought a freight wagonⒶ along, and it waited in the great court.Ⓐ There was an embarrassment, now. Who would box-upⒶ the goods? Our men? Indeed, no. They refused, and said they wouldn't allow any outsider to do it, either.Ⓐ And Katzenyammer said to DoangivadamⒶ, while he was pleading—

“Save your breath—the contract has failed, after all!”

It made Doangivadam mad, and he said—

“It hasn't failed, either. I'll box the things myself, and Katrina and I will load them into the wagon. Rather than see you people win, I'll chance death by ghost and fright. I reckon Katrina's Virgin can protect the twoⒶ of us.Ⓐ Perhaps you boys will interfere. I have my doubts.”

The men chuckled, furtively. They knew he had spoken rashly. They knew he had not taken into account the size and weight of those boxes.Ⓐ

He hurried away and had a private word with the master, saying—

“It's all arranged, sir. Now if you—”

“Excellent! and most unexpected. Are the men—”

“No, but no matter, it's arranged. If you can feed and wineⒶ and otherwise sumptuously and satisfactorily entertain your guests three hours, I'll have the goods in the wagon then.”

“Oh, many, many thanks—I'll make them stay all night.”

Doangivadam came to the kitchen, then, and told Katrina and 44 all this, and I was there just at that timeⒶ and heard it; and Katrina said all right, she would protect him to the shop, now, and leave him in the care of the Virgin while he did the packing,Ⓐ and in two hours and a half dinner would be down to the wine and nuts and thenⒶ she would come and help carry the boxes.Ⓐ Then he left withⒶ her,Ⓐ but I stayed, for no strikerⒶ would be likely to venture into the kitchen, therefore I could be in 44's company without danger. When Katrina got back, she said—Ⓐ

“That Doangivadam's a gem of the ocean—he's a man, that's what he is, not a waxworkⒶ, like that Katzenyammer. I wasn't going to discourage him, but we can't carry the boxes. There's five,Ⓐ and

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each of them a barrow-load;Ⓐ and besides, there has to be four carriers to the barrow. And then—”

Forty-FourⒶ interrupted:

“There's two of you, and I'll be the other two. You two will carry one end, and I'll carry the other.Ⓐ I am plenty strong enough.”

“Child, you'll just stay out of sight, that's what you'll do. Do you want to provoke the men every way you can think of, you foolish little numskullⒶ? Ain't they down on you a plenty, just the way it is?”

“But you see, you two can't carry the boxes, and if you'll only let me help—”

“You'll not budge a step—do you hearⒶ me?” She stood stern and resoluteⒶ, with her knuckles in her hips. The boy looked disappointed and grieved, and that touched her.Ⓐ She dropped on her knees where he sat, and took his face between her hands, and said, “Kiss your old mother, and forgive”—which he did, and the tears came into her eyes, which a moment before were so stormy.Ⓐ “Ain't you all I've got in the world? and don't I love the ground you walk on, and can I bear to see you getting into more and more danger all the time, and no need of it? Here, bless your heart,” and she jumped up and brought a pie, “You and August sample that, and be good. It ain't the kindⒶ you get outside of this kitchen, that you can't tell from plate-mail when you bite it in the dark.”

We began on the pie with relish, and of course conversation failed for a time. By and by 44 said, softly—Ⓐ

“Mother, he gave his word, you know.”

KatrinaⒶ was hit. She had to suspend work and think that over. She seated herself against the kitchen table, with her legs aslant and braced, and her arms folded and her chin down, and muttered several times, “Yes, that's so, he did.” Finally she unlimbered and reached for the butcher-knife, which she fell to sharpening with energy on a brick. Then she lightly tested its edge with the ball of her thumbⒶ, and said—

“I know it—we've gotⒶ to have two more. Doangivadam will force one, and I bet I'll persuade the other.”

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“Now I'm content,” said 44, fervently, which made Katrina beam with pleasureⒶ.

We stayed there in the comfortable kitchen and chatted and played checkers, intending to be asked by Katrina to take our dinner with her, for she was the friendliest and best table-company we had. As time drew on, it became jolly in the master's private dining-room where it was his custom to feed guests of honor and distinction, and whenever a waiter came in or went out we could hear the distantⒶ bursts of merriment, and by and by bursts of song, also, showing that the heavy part of the feeding had been accomplished. Then we had our dinner with Katrina, and about the time we had finished, Doangivadam arrived hungry and pretty well tired out and said he had packed every box;Ⓐ but he wouldn't take a bite, he said, until his job was finished up and the wagon loaded. So Katrina told him her plan for securing extra help by compulsion and persuasion, and he liked it and they started. Doangivadam said he hadn't seen any of the men in sight, therefore he judged they must be lying in wait somewhere about the great court so as to interrupt any scheme of bribing the two porters of the freight wagon to help carry the boxes; so it was his idea to go there and see.

Katrina ordered us to stay behind, which we didn't do, after they were out of sight. We went down by secret passages and reached the court ahead of them, and hid. We were near the wagon. The driver and porters had been given their supper,Ⓐ and had been to the stalls to feed and water the horses, and now they were walking up and down chatting and waiting to receiveⒶ the freight. Our two friends arrived now, and in low voices began to ask these men if they had seen any men of the castle around about there, but before they could answer, something happened: we saw some dim big bulks emerge from our side of the court about fifty yards away and come in procession in our direction. Swiftly they grew more and more distinct under the stars and by the dim lamps, and they turnedⒶ out to be men, and each of them was drooping under one of our big freight boxes. The idea—carrying it all alone! And another surprising thing was, that when the first man passed us it turned

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out to be Katzenyammer! Doangivadam was delighted out of his senses, almost, and said some splendid words of praise about his change of heart, but Katzenyammer could only grunt and growl,Ⓐ he was strained so by his burden.

And the next man was Binks! and there was more praise and more grunts. And next came Moses Haas—think of it! And then Gustav Fischer! And after him, the end of the procession—Ernest Wasserman! Why, Doangivadam could hardly believe it, and said he didn't believe it, and couldn't; and said “Is it you, Ernest?” and Ernest told him to go to hell, and then Doangivadam was satisfied and said “that settles it.”

For that was Ernest's common word, and you could know him by it in the dark.Ⓐ

Katrina couldn't say a word, she just stood there dazed. She saw the boxes stowed in the wagon, she saw the gang file back and disappear, and still she couldn't get her voice till then; and even then all she could say, was—

“Well, it beats the band!”

Doangivadam followed them a little way, and wanted to have a supper and a night of it, but they answered him roughly and he had to give it up.