"The woman wondered what in the world her husband could be thinking
of. But she lost no time in guessing. She ordered her servants to
make a big fire, while she herself stirred and cooked the great
kettleful of oatmeal.
"In the meanwhile, her husband hurried down to the pier, and got his
swiftest boat ready for a trip down the river. Then he gathered the
best rowers in the town.
"'Come with me,' he said to two of them, when everything had been
made ready for a trip. They hastened home with him, as he commanded.
"'Is the oatmeal ready?' he cried, rushing breathless into the
kitchen,
"His wife had just finished her work. The men lifted the kettle from
the fire and ran with it to the waiting boat. It was placed in the
stern and the oarsmen sprang to their places.
"'Pull, men! Pull with all the strength you have, and we will go to
Strasburg in time to show those stupid people that, if it should be
necessary, we live near enough to them to give them a hot supper.'
"How the men worked! They rowed as they had never rowed before.
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