~B. 1. Half an hour (~Stunde~) after we had left (~verlassen~) the city of Haarlem we came to (~an~) a large country‿house with a beautiful veranda, and sure enough (~richtig~), there sat the old sea‿captain. 2. As‿soon‿as he saw (~erblicken~) us, he invited (~einladen~) us to drink a cup [of] Mocha‿coffee with him, which (~was~) we did only too gladly, for he always drinks (of) the best and dearest.~ ~3. “(Mr.) Captain,” said my friend after a while (~Weile~), “is it true that you had (_perf._) [an] unannounced visitor (~Besuch~) last (yesterday) night (~nacht~)?” 4. “That is true,” he answered smiling (~lächeln~), “but where did you hear (_perf._) of‿it?” 5. “At (~auf~) the Haarlem Police‿Station,” I said, “only we cannot believe that you defended (_perf._) yourself with a bottle [of] Seltzer‿water when (~da~) you have so many Turkish sabers and other weapons (~Waffe~) in your house.” 6. “Unfortunately (~leider~),” said the captain, “my collection of arms is (~sich befinden~) not in the‿same end of the house in which I sleep; but, as (~wie~) you will now believe, (the) Seltzer‿water, thoroughly shaken, is just‿as (~ebenso~) good (in order) to catch burglars with‿(it) as (in order) to quench (~löschen~, the) thirst. 7. You ought to have (~sollen~; _past perf. subj._) heard how it popped, just like (~gerade wie~) a pistol.” 8. “And didn’t your servant, the old sailor, help (~helfen~; _perf._) you [to] catch the thief and hand‿[him]‿over‿to‿the‿authorities?” we asked again. 9. “No,” was the answer. “I had sent him to (~in~) the city and he had not yet returned when I went to bed; so (~also~) I had‿to do it all (~ganz~) alone and with‿my‿own‿hands. 10. But the burglar was so stunned from (~von~) his fall (~Fall~) that I did not find it very difficult (~schwer~) to tie his throat with a long Chinese silk (~seiden~) handkerchief which I always take to bed with [me].” 11. “Do you think, (Mr.) Captain,” I asked, “that the Chinese make these silk handkerchiefs so long and strong for that very purpose (~gerade zu dem Zweck~)?” 12. “Hardly (~schwerlich~),” he laughed, “but I do not believe either (also not) that our burglar had brought‿along a rope in‿order‿that (~damit~) I might tie (_past subj._) his hands on his back, and yet (~doch~) both‿things (~beides~) have happened (~geschehen~) here. 13. The only (~einzig~; _neut._) [thing] that (~was~) I regret (~bedauern~) is that I caught (_perf._) a terrible (~fürchterlich~) cold‿in‿the‿head while (~während~) I was taking (~bringen~) the malefactor to the Haarlem Police‿Station, for you know that we sailors (~Seeleute~) cannot bear (~ertragen~) the fog as well as you landlubbers (~Landratte~).”~ Die Grenzfichte.