Then too the operations progressed slowly because that day at noon his
finger had been badly cut by the bursting of a glass retort. So
presently he ceased work for a while and insisted that Frau Vorkel should
take the phial in her own hand and inhale its contents once more, because
it pleased him to try the power of the elixir.
With an amused smile he asked her if she used the great quantities of
wool, which she so constantly demanded, for no other purpose than to knit
socks for him.
The phial trembled in the hand of the housekeeper, and before she could
help it her response had passed her lips:
"You have all the socks that you need and it is surely no great crime for
me to knit a few pairs to warm the feet of your assistant, that poor,
silent worm who stands downstairs the livelong day in the cold shop."
Despite this reply Herr Ueberhell only laughed and continued the
inquisition gaily. He next wished to know who was dearer to the heart of
the housekeeper, the assistant or her late husband, to which she rejoined
"Why should I lament Vorkel? He was a bully, who never could learn how
to cut out a coat, and always stole his customers' cloth." At that
moment there was an ominous crash on the floor, and a powerful odour
filled the laboratory; the phial had slipped from the hands of the
frightened woman.
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