She was so delighted at this prospect, that she did not, at first,
notice how the sly Trine had wisked off her wet boots, and that now
there was no chance to fetch Wiseli.
When she fairly understood how she had been tricked, she set up such an
outcry that Otto put his fingers in his ears, and her mother came in, a
good deal alarmed at the uproar. She promised Pussy to talk over the
matter with her father as soon as he came home; for he had gone away
that very morning, with their Uncle Max, to pay a long-promised visit to
an old friend. After a while peace and quiet were restored in the
household. The gentlemen did not return for two weeks, however; but Mrs.
Ritter kept her promise. The first thing that she mentioned to her
husband, on the very evening of his return, was the fact of Wiseli being
an orphan, and her new shelter; and the colonel promised to go to the
pastor the very next day, to see what better arrangement could be made
for the child; and, having visited the pastor, the colonel brought back
the sad news, that, on the Sunday just past, the parish had taken the
matter into consideration, and that it was now settled. Wiseli must be
housed somewhere; and, as her mother had not left any property whatever,
she must also be maintained at the expense of the parish until she could
support herself. Moreover, her cousin Gotti had offered, in the first
instance, to take the child for a very slight compensation.
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