noon
These observations showed the Court apothecary that Frau Vorkel had , despite her want of intelligence , grasped to a certain extent the importance of his discovery ; while this pleased him in a way , it also made him uneasy , therefore he made her swear on the crucifix that so long as she lived she would never impart to any living soul , his son excepted , what she had that evening experienced . Then Herr Ueberhell went back to his search for the unknown element which had given to his son 's elixir the power that had been exhibited in such wonderful fashion . But he did not succeed in finding the right ingredient , for as often as he called Frau Vorkel to come and inhale the new mixture , she gave such plausible and politic answers to his dangerous questions that he could be by no means sure of her absolute truthfulness . 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 . ''