"Hush now, Miezchen," coaxed Otto. "I shall never leave you like that again, so the man shall never get you. If you will be a happy little girl now, just as soon as we get home I will give you the red candy rooster I had on the Christmas tree." This promise restored Miezi to her normal self in a moment. She wiped the tears away, but did not let go of Otto's hand for the rest of the evening. The other children had joined them and as they climbed the hill they discussed what had happened. Several of the children had noticed a large man turn out of the road to let them pass, and it was Otto's opinion that it must have made the man angry to have to step into the snow, and he had threatened Miezi because she was the only one within reach. This seemed a likely explanation to the children, and the subject was dropped. The party broke up after the next ride, as most of them had promised to be at home by eight o'clock. "Now, Miezchen," said Otto on the way home, "if you tell mamma about your being so frightened, you may be sure that she will never let you go with me again. No harm was done, and I think we had better not say anything about it." Miezi promised to say nothing. All traces of tears had been removed by the expectation of receiving the candy rooster, which Otto did not fail to give to her as soon as they reached home, and the children went happily to bed. They had been in bed and asleep for some time when a loud rapping at the door startled the parents, who were sitting at the table in the living room, talking about their children. Trina had gone upstairs, but she leaned out of her window and called, "What is it you want?" "Something dreadful has happened," came the answer from the man below. "Joiner Andreas has been killed, and we want the colonel to come over at once." The messenger departed without waiting. Through the open window Colonel and Mrs. Ritter had heard what he said. The colonel threw his cloak over his shoulder and hurried to Andreas's home. A number of people had assembled there when he arrived. The police and the pastor had been summoned, and others, hearing of the misfortune, had come to see what could be done. Colonel Ritter worked his way into the crowd to where the joiner lay. "Where is the doctor?" was his first question. "What is the use of getting a doctor when the man is dead?" some one answered. "He may not be dead," said the colonel, impatiently. "Some one must go for a doctor immediately; tell him I said that he must hurry. This call should be answered before all others." Some one reluctantly started, then, with the help of others, the colonel lifted the apparently lifeless body and carried it to the bed.