Schmidt resigned himself, and thanked her civilly.
"Of course," she said, presently, as she busied herself with the arrangements of the samovar, "of course it is nothing so very serious, is it?
I daresay the Count has told you that he would not work any more for us, and you are anxious to arrange the matter?
In that case, you need have no fear.

I am always ready to forgive and forget, as they say, though I am only a weak woman." "That is very kind of you," observed Schmidt, with a glitter in his eyes which Akulina did not observe.
"I guessed the truth, did I not ?" "Not exactly.

The trouble is rather more serious than that.

The fact is, as we were at supper, a man at another table saw the Gigerl in our hands and swore that it had been stolen from him some months ago." "And what happened then ?" asked Akulina with sudden interest.
"I suppose you may as well know," said Schmidt, regretfully.

"There was a row, and the man made a great deal of trouble and at last the police were called in, and I came to get Herr Fischelowitz himself to come and prove that the Gigerl was his.