Mäzli gave her hand now to say good-bye, and when she noticed that the pillow had slipped down again, she said, "Apollonie would just love to set things in order for you, but Mr. Trius won't let her in. She would be willing to give a finger from her right hand if she were allowed to do everything Mr. Trius doesn't do." "Come now, Mäzli," said Leonore, for she had the feeling that this peculiar revelation might be followed by others as unintelligible. But the Castle-Steward smiled, as if he had comprehended Mäzli's words. Mrs. Maxa was standing in front of her house, surrounded by her children, anxiously looking for the two missing ones. Nobody could understand where Leonore and Mäzli might have stayed so long. Suddenly they caught a glimpse of two blue ribbons fluttering from Leonore's hat. Quickly the children rushed to meet them. "Where do you come from? Where did you stay so long? Where have you been all this time," sounded from all sides. "In the castle," was the answer. The excitement only grew at this. "How could you get there? Who opened the door? What did you do at the castle?" The questions were poured out at such a rate that no answer could possibly have been heard. "I went to see the Castle-Steward before. I have been to see him quite often," said Mäzli loudly, for she was desirous of being heard. Leonore had gone ahead with the mother's arm linked in hers, for she was very anxious to deliver her message. Kurt was too much interested in Mäzli's expedition to the castle to be frightened off by the first unintelligible account. He had to find out how it had come about and what had happened, but the two did not get very far in their dialogue. As soon as Mäzli began to talk first about Mr. Trius and then about the Steward, Kurt always said quickly, "But this is all one and the same person. Don't make two out of them, Mäzli! All the world knows that Mr. Trius is the Steward of Castle Wildenstein; he is one person and not two." Then Mäzli answered, "Mr. Trius is one and the Castle-Steward is another. They are two people and not one." After they had repeated this about three times Bruno said, "Oh, Kurt, leave her alone. Mäzli thinks that there are two, when she calls him first Mr. Trius and then Mr. Castle-Steward." That was too much for Mäzli, and shouting vigorously, "They are two people, they are two people," she ran away. Leonore had related in the meantime how Mäzli had proposed to visit the sick Castle-Steward and how she had at first been reluctant to go, till Mäzli had made her feel that she was wrong. She related everything that had happened and all the questions he had asked her.