Amrei, trembling, touched her father's coat and his blue-striped vest. But the uncle lifted up the clothes, pointed to the worn-out elbows, and said to Farmer Rodel: "These are worth very little--I won't have them valued at much. I don't even know if I can wear them over in America, without being laughed at." Amrei seized the coat passionately. That her father's coat, which she had looked upon as a costly and invaluable treasure, should be pronounced of little value, seemed to grieve her, and that these clothes were to be worn in America, and ridiculed there, almost bewildered her. And, anyway, what was the meaning of this talk about America? This mystery was soon cleared up, when Farmer Rodel's wife came, and with her, Black Marianne; for Dame Rodel said: "Harkye, husband--to my mind this thing should not be done so fast, this sending the children off to America with that man." "But he is their only living relative, Josenhans' brother." "Yes, to be sure. But until now he has not done much to show that he is a relative; and I fancy that this cannot be done without the approval of the Council, and even the Council cannot do it alone. The children have a legal right to live here, which cannot be taken away from them in their sleep, so to speak--for the children are not yet in a position to say what they want themselves. It's like carrying people off in their sleep." "My Amrei is intelligent enough. She's thirteen now, but more clever than many a person of thirty, and she knows what she wants," said Black Marianne. "You two ought to have been town-councilors," said Farmer Rodel. "But it's my opinion, too, that the children ought not to be tied to a rope, like calves, and dragged away. Well, let the man talk with them himself, and then we shall see what further is to be done. He is after all their natural protector, and has the right to stand in their father's place, if he likes. Harkye; do you take a little walk with your brother's children outside the village, and you women stay here, and let nobody try to persuade or dissuade them." The woodcutter took the two children by the hand, and went out of the room and out of the house with them. In the street he asked the children: "Whither shall we go?" "If you want to be our father, go home with us," suggested Damie. "Our house is down yonder." "Is it open?" asked the uncle. "No, but Coaly Mathew has the key. But he has never let us go in. I'll run on and get the key."