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Show 77 had blown over it, so I had to climb the roof to remove the branch for the smoke to escape. When I came back down Hilde had her sleeves rolled back and was busy cleaning the utensils. "Isn't it wonderful that he is staying?" she whispered to me as she scoured the dried, hardened dough off the wooden trenchers. "He will play his music for every guild festival and holy, day." I didn't answer. Hilde was so elated that I didn't want to spoil her mood. Yet it was ridiculous to believe that someone as clever as Gast would stay long in Hamelin as town musician. He was planning something quite different, I felt, although I had no idea what it could be. And the strange questions he'd asked me - I could not puzzle over them with Hilde humming and bustling so close to me, I'd have to wait until I was settled for the night, all alone. "When do you think Gast might play again?" Hilde asked. "Do you think he might play Tuesday? It is the tinworkers' guild festival. Marte Hartmanni is the daughter of a tinworker.. .perhaps I could suggest to Marte...." I grunted a few times but I didn't really answer Hilde because I was not paying much attention to what she said. She didn't seem to mind. She worked beside me until we had the bakery reasonably clean, then she went inside to prepare food for her father when he would return home. I had not seen Master Hermann since I'd come back to the shop, but a bit later I heard him go into the Meinersing house through the back entrance. When everything was quiet behind the door leading to the Meinersing |