"The sly young rascal!" thought Mr. Hahn; "you have been sniffing in
your father's cupboard, have you?"

"Fritz, my dear," he said aloud, stretching himself with a long,
hypocritical yawn, "it is ridiculous for two fellows like you and me
to wear masks in each other's presence. We don't care a straw for the
whole _Sieges_ business, do we, Fritz, except for the dollars and
cents of it? I am deucedly sleepy, and I am going to bed."

"And so am I, father dear," responded Fritz, with a sudden outburst of
affection. "Yes, yes, father," he continued heartily, "you and I
understand each other. I am a chip of the old block, I am--he, he!"

And with the most effusive cordiality this affectionate parent and son
separated, with the avowed purpose of seeking oblivion in slumber, in
their respective apartments.

"Perhaps I have been doing the old fellow injustice, after all,"
thought Fritz, as he clasped his father's hand once more at the bottom
of the staircase.

"The young gosling hasn't ventured into such deep water as I thought,"
murmured the happy father, as he stood listening to Fritz's footsteps
re-echoing through the empty corridors.


IV.


Mr. Hahn, Sr., having satisfied himself as to his son's sincerity,