The whole incident had also been observed by Frau Doerr, who was cutting
asparagus, but she paid very; little attention, because such things
happened nearly every other day. So she kept on with her work, and only
gave up the search, when even the sharpest scrutiny of the beds failed
to reveal any more white heads. Only then did she hang the basket on
her arm, putting the knife in it, and driving a couple of strayed
chickens before her, while she walked slowly along the middle path of
the garden and then into the yard and up to the flower stand, where
Doerr had resumed his work for the market.
"Well, Susy," he greeted his better half, "here you are. Did you see?
Bollmann's dog was here again. Listen, he had better say his prayers
and then I will try him out over the fire; there must be a little fat
on him and Sultan can have the scraps.... And listen, Susy, dog's
fat...." And he appeared to become absorbed in a favorite method of
treating gout which he had been considering for some time. But at this
moment he caught sight of the asparagus basket on his wife's arm, and
interrupted himself. "Come, show it to me," he said. "Did you have good
luck?"
"So so," said Frau Doerr, holding out the scarcely half-filled basket,
whose contents he passed through his fingers, shaking his head. For
most of the stalks were thin and there were many broken ones among
them.
"Now, Susy, listen. You certainly have no eye for asparagus."
"Yes I have, too. But I can't work magic."
"Oh well, we will not quarrel, Susy; that will not make it any more
than it is. But it looks like starvation."
"Why, not at all. They are all under ground, and whether they come up
to-day or to-morrow, it is all the same. One good shower, such as we
had before Whitsunday, and then you will see. And there is going to be
rain. The water barrel is already smelling again and the big spider has
crept into the corner. But you want to have everything every day; and
you can't expect that."
Doerr laughed. "Well, tie it all up nicely. And the poor little stalks
too. And then you can sell it a little cheaper."
"Now, don't talk like that," interrupted his wife, who always got angry
over his avarice, but still she pulled his ear, which he always
regarded as a sign of affection, and then she went over to the
"castle," where she meant to make herself comfortable in the stone
paved passageway and tie up her asparagus in bunches. But she had
scarcely drawn up to the threshold the stool which always stood ready,
than she heard, over in the little house with three windows where Frau
Nimptsch lived, a back window pushed up vigorously and a moment later
hooked in place. And then she saw Lena with a lilac and white jacket
over her woolen skirt and a cap on her ash-blond hair, waving a
friendly greeting to her.
Frau Doerr returned the greeting with equal warmth and said: "The window
always open; that's right, Lena. It is already beginning to grow hot.
Some change must be coming."
"Yes. And mother already has her headache from the heat, and so I would
rather iron in the back room. It is pleasanter here too; at the front
we don't see anybody."
"That is so," answered Frau Doerr. "I believe I will come over to the
window for a bit. I can always work better when I have some one to talk
to."
"How kind and good you are, Frau Doerr. But right here by the window the
sun is so strong."
"That will do no harm, Lena. I will bring my market umbrella along, the
old thing is covered with patches. But it serves its purpose still."
And within five minutes, good Frau Doerr had moved her stool over by the
window and sat there as comfortable and self-satisfied as if she were
at the regular market. Inside the room Lena had put the ironing board
across two chairs close to the window and stood so near it that it
would have been easy to reach her with one's hand. Meanwhile the
flatiron moved busily back and forth. And Frau Doerr also was diligently
choosing and binding up her asparagus and if she paused from her work
now and then and glanced into the room, she could see the glow of the
little ironing stove from which the fresh coals were taken for the
flatiron.
"You might just bring me a plate, Lena, a plate or a dish." And when
Lena brought what Frau Doerr had asked, the good woman dropped into the
dish the broken pieces of asparagus which she had kept in her apron
while she was sorting out the stalks. "There, Lena, that will make a
little taste of asparagus. And it is just as good as the rest. For it
is all nonsense that you must always have the heads. And it is just the
same with cauliflower; always the flower ... pure imagination. The
stump is really the best, for the strength of the plant is there. And
the strength is always the most important thing."
"Heavens, you are always so good, Frau Doerr. But what will your husband
say?"
"He? What he says doesn't matter. He will be talking. He always wants
me to put in the spindling ones with the rest as if they were real
stalks; but I don't like such cheating tricks, even if the broken
pieces do taste just as good as the whole stalks. What anyone pays for,
he ought to get, only it makes me angry that a man who gets on so well
should be such an old skinflint. But all gardeners are like that, skimp
and grasp and then they can never get enough."
"Yes," laughed Lena, "he is greedy and a bit peculiar. But for all that
he is a good man."
"Yes, Lena, he is well enough so far, and even his stinginess would not
be so bad, for at least it is better than wastefulness, if only he were
not too fond. You would not believe it, but he is always right there.
And just look at him. I have nothing but bother with him for all that
he is fifty-six years old, and maybe a year more. For he tells lies if
it suits him to. I keep telling him about strokes of apoplexy and point
out people who limp or have their mouths drawn to one side, but he
always laughs and will not believe me. But it will happen. Yes, Lena, I
have no doubt that it will happen. And perhaps soon. Well, he has
willed me everything he has and so I will not say anything more. When
one has made one's bed, one must lie in it. But why are we talking
about Doerr and strokes, and his bow legs. Good Lord, Lena, there are
plenty of other folks who are as straight as a fir tree. Aren't there,
Lena?"
At this Lena grew still more rosy than before, and said: "The charcoal
is cold." And stepping back from the board, she went to the stove and
shook the coal back among the embers, so as to take out a new one. All
this was the work of a moment. And now with a quick turn of the hand
she slipped the new hot coal from the tongs into the iron, shut the
little door, and only then noticed that Frau Doerr was still waiting for
an answer. But to make sure, the good woman asked the question over
again and added: "Is he coming to-day?"
"Yes. At least he promised to."
"Now tell me, Lena," went on Frau Doerr, "how did it really begin?
Mother Nimptsch never says much, and if she does say anything, it
doesn't amount to much, and I never get the ins and outs of it. For she
only tells part and that all confused. Now do tell me. Is it true that
you met in Stralau?"
"Yes, Frau Doerr, it was in Stralau, on Easter Monday, but it was
already as warm as if it were Whitsunday, and because Lina Gansauge
likes boating, we took a skiff; and Lina's brother Rudolph, whom I
think you know, took the rudder."
"Heavens, Rudolph. Rudolph is a mere boy."
"That is so. But he thought he knew all about it, and he kept saying:
'You must sit still, girls; you rock the boat so,' for he speaks with
such a frightful Berlin accent. But we didn't think of doing such a
thing, because we soon saw that his steering wasn't good for much. But
by and by we forgot all about it, and let ourselves go, and joked with
those we met, and splashed each other with water. And in the only boat
that was going in the same direction that we were, sat a pair of very
fine gentlemen, who saluted us, and we were so reckless that we
returned their greetings and Lina even waved her handkerchief, and
behaved as if she knew the gentlemen, which however was not the case,
and she only wanted to show off, because she is so young. And while we
were laughing and joking like that, and only playing with the oars, we
saw all at once that the steamer from Treptow was coming towards us,
and as you can imagine, dear Frau Doerr, we were frightened to death and
called out to Rudolph that he must steer us out of the way. But the boy
had lost his head and just steered us round and round in a circle. And
then we began to scream and we should surely have been run down if the
two gentlemen in the other boat had not at that very moment taken pity
on us in our trouble. With a couple of strokes they reached us and
while one of them took firm hold of us with a boat hook and made us
fast to their boat, the other rowed their boat and ours out of the wake
of the steamboat, and only once more did it seem as if the big waves
would capsize us. The captain shook his fist at us (I saw that for all
my fright), but that was soon over and in another minute we had reached
Stralau and the two gentlemen, to whom we owed our rescue, jumped out
and gave us their hands and helped us out like regular escorts. And so
there we stood on the slip at Tuebbecke's, feeling very bashful and Lina
was crying softly and only Rudolph, who is always obstinate and
boastful, and doesn't like soldiers, looked sullenly before him, as if
to say: 'Nonsense, I could have steered you out all right myself.'
"Yes, that is what he is, a boastful young rascal; I know him. But now
tell me about the two gentlemen. That is the chief thing...."
"Well, they did what they could for us and then took their places at
another table and kept looking over at us. And when we were ready to go
home, towards seven o'clock, and it was growing a little dark, one of
them came to us and asked 'whether he and his friend might offer to
escort us?' And I laughed rather recklessly and said, 'they had rescued
us and one must not refuse anything to one's rescuer. But they had
really better think about it a little, for we lived almost at the other
end of the earth. And it would be really quite a journey.' Thereupon he
answered politely, 'All the better.' And meanwhile the other man had
come up.... Ah, dear Frau Doerr, perhaps it was not right, to talk so
freely at first sight, but one of them took my fancy, and I never knew
how to put on any prim airs. And so we walked all the long way home
together, first by the Spree and then by the canal."
"And how about Rudolph!"
"He followed after, as if he had nothing to do with us, but he used his
eyes and noticed everything. And that was quite right; for Lina is only
eighteen and is still a good, innocent child!"
"Do you think so?"
"Certainly, Frau Doerr. You only need to look at her. You can see that
at once."
"Yes, usually. But once in a while you can't. And so they saw you
home?"
"Yes, Frau Doerr."
"And afterwards?"
"Yes, afterwards. But you know already how it was afterwards. He came
the following day to inquire. And ever since he has come often, and I
am always glad when he comes. Heavens, it does make one happy to see a
little of life. It is often so lonely, away out here. And you know,
Frau Doerr, mother has nothing against it and always says: 'Child, that
does no harm. Before you know it, you will be old.'"
"Yes indeed," said Frau Doerr, "I have often heard Frau Nimptsch speak
like that. And she is quite right too. That is to say, just as one
takes it, and to live according to the catechism is really better and,
so to speak, actually the best way. You may take my word for it. But I
know very well, things do not always go that way, and a great many are
not willing to follow those rules. And if one will not, one will not,
and things must take their own course as they usually do, so long as
one is honest and decent and keeps his word. And naturally, whatever
happens, one must put up with it and must not be surprised. And if one
knows all this and keeps it in mind, well, then it is not so bad. And
really, fanciful notions are the only thing that does any harm."
"Oh, dear Frau Doerr," laughed Lena, "what can you be thinking of?
Fanciful notions! I have no fancy notions. If I love anyone, I love
him. And that is enough for me. And I want nothing more from him,
nothing at all. And it makes me happy that my heart beats so and that I
count the hours till he comes, and that I cannot wait until I see him
again, that is my joy, and it is enough for me."
"Yes," said Frau Doerr smiling to herself, "that is right, that is as it
should be. But Lena, is his name really Botho? No one could have such a
name; it is no sort of a Christian, name."
"But it is, Frau Doerr," and Lena seemed as if she wanted to prove the
fact that there were such names. But before she could succeed, Sultan
barked and one could plainly hear the sound of some one entering from
the corridor. The letter carrier came in and brought two orders for
Doerr and a letter for Lena.
"My Lord, Hahnke," exclaimed Frau Doerr to the man on whose brow the
great drops stood, "you are dripping with sweat. Is it so frightfully
hot? And only half-past nine. I see very well that there isn't much fun
in being a letter carrier."
And the good soul started to go and get a glass of fresh milk. But
Hahnke refused with thanks. "I have no time, Frau Doerr. Some other
day." And with these words he left at once.
Meanwhile Lena had opened her letter.
"Well, what does he say?"
"He isn't coming to-day, but to-morrow. Oh, what a long time it is till
to-morrow. It is a good thing that I have work; the more work the
better. And this afternoon I'll come over to your garden and help you
dig. But I don't want Doerr to be there."
"The Lord forbid."
And then they separated and Lena went into the front room to give her
old mother the dish of asparagus from Frau Doerr.