"… my wife Marta Seidelin, and our son Peter.

"Marta, a man of virtue stands before us."

She cocked her head, with an expectant half-smile.

"Old Winkler drove him to fury."

"Heh-heh-heh. I can't imagine how that could have happened. So then what?"

"Anyone else might have come out with a curse. Herr Bosboom here pronounced a blessing."

This time it was the guest who showed a half-smile-a puzzled one.

"You did! You prayed for the safety of the miners!"

His hand went over his mouth, and his eyes crinkled. "What? Oh. Yes, I suppose I did."

"And I assume you sincerely wished them well, when you called on the Lord to save them from Winkler's foolishness?"

"Well, of course. I wouldn't want anybody to be electrocuted."

"So, there you are. You pronounced a blessing."

" Pffff! A civil engineer is supposed to do a lot more than just pray."

Marta laughed as she ladled out the soup, and gestured for everyone to sit down. "Well, husband, what's the news?"

"Marta…" He sighed. "We have a problem. It will be weeks before Winkler will be in any position to make use of that generator of his, and even that might be too optimistic. Herr Bosboom says everything has to be rebuilt, and before that can even start, there are other experts Winkler needs to consult. So he won't be paying us to drive it, for as long as that takes."

"Oh, Gerd, we were counting on that money. What do we do now?"

"For now, let's enjoy the food in front of us and our company. We can talk later about how to finish paying the carpenters."

Bosboom asked, "The carpenters?"

"It's no secret. A storm last winter brought down a big tree, right on top of the mill. We were keeping ahead of expenses, until that happened. It's repaired now, and the mill is working again, but it cost a lot. The carpenters have been patient, but they naturally want their money."