Catching his elder brother's eye, he made him a signal to come out, and
told him what he had heard.

There are black sheep in nearly every large family; and these two were
Gerard's black brothers. Idleness is vitiating: waiting for the death of
those we ought to love is vitiating; and these two one-idea'd curs were
ready to tear any one to death that should interfere with that miserable
inheritance which was their thought by day and their dream by night.
Their parents' parsimony was a virtue; it was accompanied by industry,
and its motive was love of their offspring; but in these perverse and
selfish hearts that homely virtue was perverted into avarice, than which
no more fruitful source of crimes is to be found in nature.

They put their heads together, and agreed not to tell their mother,
whose sentiments were so uncertain, but to go first to the burgomaster.
They were cunning enough to see that he was averse to the match, though
they could not divine why.

Ghysbrecht Van Swieten saw through them at once; but he took care not
to let them see through him. He heard their story, and putting on
magisterial dignity and coldness, he said;

"Since the father of the family is not here, his duty falleth on me, who
am the father of the town. I know your father's mind; leave all to me;
and, above all, tell not a woman a word of this, least of all the women
that are in your own house: for chattering tongues mar wisest counsels."

So he dismissed them, a little superciliously: he was ashamed of his
confederates.