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Show "Sir," I asked shyly, "the dead rat at Master Hermann's feet - you put it there, didn't you?" "Yes," he answered simply. "Sir," I began again, "why does Master Hermann think that you can get rid of the rats in Hamelin?" "Master Hermann is a sheep," he replied, "and sheep are always ready to follow anyone who pretends to have authority." It amused me to think of Master Hermann as a sheep. He had certainly bleated enough for the stranger. "And can you?" I asked. "Can I what?" "Get rid of the rats." "You and I will do it together, Geist. We will do many things together." "What things?" I asked, my heart beginning to beat faster. He was silent, fingering his upper lip. After a while he said, "Gast and Geist. The stranger and the ghost. We will fit together like a knight and his squire, like a fist in a gauntlet." His words, spoken so slowly and with such sureness, sent a thrill through me. No one had ever wanted me before. Then my own feeling of worthlessness made me falter. "What can I do? I'm only an orphan baker's boy who knows nothing more than flour and loaves and ovens." "I'm sure you know more than you think," he said, his fingers resting lightly on my wet head. "To begin with, I want to learn all you can tell me about Hamelin." |
