The carriage had just driven into the court and Matthew was there the moment the horses stopped. The Director was there, too; not to lose any time and yet not be tardy, he had put a watcher at the door to let him know when the carriage was approaching. The Director was very polite and lifted his cousin out of the carriage, greeting her heartily. Then he helped Miss Grideelen to dismount, thanking her warmly for coming. He told her how glad he was that she had been willing to follow his cousin into this solitude, for otherwise it would have worried him to leave her alone so long. He appreciated their great sacrifice in coming and he hoped that his trip, which was very urgent, would not keep him away too long. “Where is your daughter, Frederick?” asked Miss Dorner now. The Director glanced about. “I saw her just a moment ago. Where are you, Cornelli?” he called towards the house. “Here I am!” It sounded from very near, for Cornelli had hidden behind her father, so as to inspect the new arrivals without being seen herself. “Come forward and speak to your cousin and to Miss Grideelen!” ordered Mr. Hellmut. Cornelli gave her hand first to her relative and then to the other lady, saying to each: “How do you do?” “You can call me cousin, and this lady is called Miss Grideelen,” said the cousin, hoping that the child would repeat her greeting and would call her and her friend by the names she was just told to use in speaking to them. But the child did not say another word. The Director now turned towards the carriage, giving Matthew instructions for the horses. Then everybody stepped into the house and soon the whole company sat down at the richly laden dinner table. Miss Mina earned many praises for the deliciously planned meal. When the afternoon came the host took the ladies around his place, for his cousin was anxious to become acquainted with everything she had to take care of. “Oh, what an abundance of fruit!” Miss Grideelen exclaimed over and over again. “How many cherry trees and what enormous apple trees! Oh, what a row of pear trees! You must be able to fill your bins with fruit in the autumn, Mr. Hellmut! Where do you have room for it all?” “I do not know about it; my servants take care of that, for I have no time.” “It is a great shame, Frederick, that you do not have half a dozen children. They would help to look after these matters,” the cousin remarked. “By the way, I wonder where your child is. She does not seem to be very sociable.”