"I have no doubt of its truth," said Hardy. "I would only suggest that we at once went to fish for the pike at Rosendal lake; my servant can bring the carriage, and I can ride my English horse, so that Froken Helga can enjoy another visit to Rosendal." "But," said the Pastor, "the permission to fish does not extend to you, Herr Hardy." "That may be," said Hardy, "but that is no reason why my advice should not be rendered as to how to catch the pike." Robert Garth brought the carriage and drove, and Hardy rode his horse Buffalo. The weather was pleasant, and the drive was enjoyable. When they came to Rosendal, the respectful demeanour of the bailiff towards Hardy struck the Pastor. Hardy placed his forefinger across his lips. The bailiff told Hardy that if they wished to have lunch in the mansion they could do so, after a walk in the beechwoods and by the lake and rosary. "The boys are so intent on the pike fishing," said Hardy, "that I will go with them. We shall try and catch a pike, and send it up to the bailiff's wife to be baked, and will then leave our lines and join you." "But, Herr Hardy, you have no permission to fish; it only extends to Karl and Axel," said the Pastor, with some firmness. "Then I think I must leave the boys to their own devices," said Hardy; "but I fear no pike will appear for our lunch." "It is better so than we should trespass on a stranger's kindness," said the Pastor. So Hardy walked with the Pastor and his daughter through the beechwoods and by the lake. "I think now in the summer-time, with the beech trees in full leaf, and the reeds by the lake, and the grass in the meadows in full growth, that Rosendal is nearly at its best," said Froken Helga. "It has its beauty always," said her father. "I have seen it in spring, and in summer, and in autumn, and in winter; it has a charm of its own. It appeals to us with its idyllic nature." "You are right, little father," said Helga; "it has always its peculiar beauty. There is no place I love so much." Hardy, who had bought Rosendal, felt as if he was deceiving the open and kindly natures of the Pastor and his daughter, and he determined to keep the secret no longer. He would but wait an opportunity to clear the matter up. When they returned to the mansion of Rosendal, Garth and the bailiff's wife had prepared the refreshments they had taken with them. Garth waited at table. The bailiff's wife, however, appeared disquieted, and the Pastor asked what was the matter. "Only that the owner of Rosendal should sit at the head of the table, instead of between two boys," replied she. "The owner of Rosendal!" exclaimed the Pastor. "Yes. There he sits!" said the bailiff's wife, pointing at Hardy. "How do you know I am the owner of Rosendal?" asked Hardy. "Because the Prokurator Steindal has written my man to say so," said the bailiff's wife, "and we have expected it all along."