CHAPTER XVIII.
The little company at Dollan had already been wandering for half an hour up and down the rain-soaked paths in the garden, between the dripping hedges, waiting for the arrival of Assessor Sellien and dinner.
"You're a pretty fellow," cried Hans Redebas, who was walking with Otto von Plüggen, as Brandow with Gustav von Plüggen and Pastor Semmel met him on the same spot for the third time: "first you invite us to meet some one who vanishes in the dew and mist; then it occurs to your lovely wife, on whose account we all come here, to have a headache and not appear; and finally, we're kept waiting for the Assessor, and wandering around your old wet garden like horses in a tread-mill! I'll give you ten minutes, and if we don't sit down to the table by that time I'll have my horses harnessed, and we'll dine in Dahlitz, and not badly either. What do you say to that, Pastor?"
And Herr Redebas laughed and clapped the Pastor, who had come with him in his carriage, rudely on the shoulder. Brandow laughed too, and said they must have patience; it was not his fault that the Assessor had not arrived, and things had gone contrary that day; the dinner had been ready a long time.
"Then in the name of three devils, let's go to the table, or I shall faint away," cried Herr Redebas.
It was by no means probable that this man, with the frame and strength of a giant, would be overcome by such a sudden attack of weakness; but Brandow had every reason not to increase the ill-humor of his guests. Already, to shorten the time before dinner, they had played a game of cards, in which the Pastor took no share except by his intense interest, and lost a few hundred thalers. To be sure, the amount was very little in comparison to the sum he owed his visitors; but they had been irritated by the loss, and took the less care to conceal their annoyance as Brandow still uttered no word in allusion to the business for whose settlement they had really assembled. Undoubtedly he was unable to pay. To be sure, they had expected it, nay, in point of fact, the whole transaction which Hans Redebas and the two Plüggens had jointly undertaken was based upon this supposition; but now each was not sorry to consider himself in the light of a man of honor, whose confidence had been most shamefully betrayed.
Herr Redebas, especially, was in a very irritable mood. The conditions to which, at the conclusion of the mutual bargain, he had agreed, pleased him less and less every moment. Why had he not required the whole sum to be paid, or else claimed for his share the second stake Brandow had offered in addition to Brownlock, his wheat-harvest? The wheat, as he had just convinced himself, was an exceptionably, unexpectedly fine crop; it would have brought in a very large profit; while the horse, after all, was a doubtful bargain. Since the committee had included a large tract of marsh land in the course laid out for the race between the gentlemen riders, the chances in favor of Brownlock, which was universally considered too heavy a horse, were very considerably lessened. And, moreover, what had such a sedate, man as Hans Redebas to do with such things, which, after all, were only fit for the nobility? It would be better for the two Plüggens to see what they could make of the horse! It was their trade; they understood it, and so in God's name let them take the beast for their ten thousand, and leave him the wheat crop! But this time, in spite of the proverbial want of harmony that prevailed between them, the two brothers made common cause. The bargain had been settled, and every one must rest satisfied with it; if Hans Redebas fancied he was the only one who could see into a thing, he'd find himself greatly mistaken. Therefore, as Herr Redebas could not vent his anger upon his two companions, he thought himself entitled to treat Brandow with all the more rudeness and want of consideration. Even before dinner he had shown this disposition to an extravagant degree, and the wine, of which he drank immense quantities at the table, in spite of its many other excellent qualities, did not possess that of improving the giant's temper.
At any other time it would have been an easy matter for Brandow to parry his antagonist's coarse jests and turn the laugh against him; nay, he was usually considered among his associates to be a man whom one could not offend, with impunity; but to-day his dreaded powers of sarcasm, as well as his often tested courage, seemed to have deserted him. He did not hear what could not have been inaudible, did not understand what no one could fail to comprehend, laughed when he would usually have started up in fury, and with pale trembling lips tried as well as he could to give the conversation a jesting turn, for which purpose he grasped at more and more questionable expedients, and at last related anecdotes, which even to the long-suffering Pastor, seemed altogether too scandalous.
In spite of the noise and laughter, in spite of the row of empty bottles which grew longer and longer under the side-board, it was a dreary, uncomfortable meal, and to no one more so than to the master of the house. Brandow knew from long experience that he could require his nerves to bear a great deal, but it now seemed as if he should not be able to accomplish what he had undertaken to-day. While laughing heartily over a story he had just related, his fingers fairly trembled with the longing he felt to snatch the champagne bottle from the cooler and shatter it upon Redebas' huge black head. He was aware that his strength was almost exhausted; he should break down if Hinrich Scheel did not return soon and release him from this horrible torture of uncertainty. And then it seemed as if this torment was nothing to the other, the torment of the certainty that his wife loved that man, and despised him too much even to hate him, and that he fully deserved her scorn. Again and again--with the speed of lightning--in the few seconds it required to raise a glass of wine to his lips and swallow the contents--he lived over the scene of the night before in her sleeping-room, when he stood before her with clenched fists, and not a muscle in her pale face quivered until he struck her to the heart with the fatal blow which he had cruelly withheld so long. To her heart! Her heart! It had been a master-stroke! A thrust which crushed the proud haughty woman like a stag overtaken by a bullet, rendered her his weak, obedient tool, and made him master of the situation. An enviable situation, to sit here and endure Redebas' coarse taunts, laugh at his own silly wit, look at the stupid faces of the two Plüggens, be cordial to the canting Parson, be forced to see that no one's glass was empty, and amid all the noisy tumult listen continually for the rolling of the carriage which would bring Hinrich, and with Hinrich the money for which he had done what he had done, suffered what he had suffered, and without which he was a ruined man. At last, at last! There was the clatter of horses' hoofs, and the rattle of a carriage, which stopped before the house. No one had heard it except himself! So much the better, he could speak to Hinrich undisturbed!
He left his guests under the pretext that he wanted to get another brand of champagne, and hurried across the hall to the open door, before which the carriage was still standing, and he perceived the Assessor engaged in conversation with Hinrich Scheel, when he suddenly heard his own name called from his room, the door of which also stood open, and turning at the sound, saw the man he hated standing before him. A thrill of mingled rage and alarm shot through his frame like a two-edged sword. What brought this man back? How could he dare to return? To say that he had no money, would not pay.
"We have a few moments to ourselves," said Gotthold, bolting the door behind Brandow; "the Assessor is still outside; he knows nothing; no one knows anything except, of course, Wollnow, without whom I could not procure the money you wanted. Even now I have been unable to get it as you wished, and therefore was obliged to come here again. You wanted fifteen thousand thalers in cash. Wollnow, who is obliged to make very large payments for the purchase of grain this morning, could give me only ten thousand; the remainder I bring you in these drafts of five thousand thalers each, accepted by Wollnow, and payable at sight to-morrow, in Sundin, by Philip Nathanson, the wealthiest banker there. These drafts, in consequence of Wollnow's credit with your friends in the neighborhood, are as good as ready money. I think you will be able to settle your affairs with them yourself; but in any case I am here to come to your assistance with my personal credit, though I confidently believe that it will not be needed."
Gotthold laid a large sealed packet on the table, and drew from his pocket-book the three drafts, which he handed Brandow, and the latter glanced over with a practised eye to convince himself that these papers were really as good as ready money.
A sensation of wonderful relief overpowered the half-intoxicated man. Freedom from the agony of expectation, the certainty of deliverance from his desperate situation, and, moreover, the prospect of soon coming out as winner of the Sundin races, and gainer of an immense sum of money by the aid of his now restored Brownlock--all this overwhelmed him like a delirium of joy, and he felt a sort of longing to clasp in his arms the man who had aided in procuring all this, as his preserver and only true friend; and at the same moment he said to himself that it was impossible that this man, dreamer and enthusiast though he was, would entrust to him a sum, which in itself was a little fortune, unless the worst that his jealous fancy had imagined had already happened--and the expression of the staring eyes he now fixed upon Gotthold seemed to say: "I could crush you like a serpent which has crossed my path!"
"I do not think you will ever be in a situation to return this money," said Gotthold; "perhaps it will not be disagreeable to you to hear that from this time I renounce all expectation of repayment, and therefore a receipt, which would really remain only a bit of paper."
He left the room; Brandow burst into a hoarse laugh.
"That, too," he muttered, "as if another proof were needed! But you shall pay for it, both of you, so dearly, that this in comparison will be only a drop of water on a hot stone."
The Assessor looked in through the door, which Gotthold had left half open. He had heard from the latter that Brandow was here, and hastened to take advantage of the favorable opportunity to greet his friend alone, and express his regret that Gotthold's business had detained them so long in Prora, that he was unable to bring his wife, who was suffering from a severe headache, to Dollan. Brandow declared it to be a proof of the sympathy between two beautiful natures that his wife was also attacked by the same sickness to-day; and the sarcastic, even sneering tone in which he said it, caused the Assessor to secretly congratulate himself upon his caution in coming to this falling house alone. His astonishment was all the greater when Brandow continued with the most perfect composure:--
"And as we are now alone, my dear Sellien, we will take advantage of the opportunity to settle our little business matter. Here are the ten thousand thalers due. I have them from Wollnow. The package is just as I received it, stamped with his seal. If you wish to take the, I presume superfluous, but perhaps necessary trouble, of counting them, don't have the least hesitation about it. When you have finished, follow me. I'll make out a receipt, which you will please sign and put in this drawer."
The Assessor was so astonished that he really hardly knew what to answer; at any rate he was determined to subject the contents of the package to a rigid scrutiny, in spite of Wollnow's seals. Brandow hastily dashed off a receipt, and then left the room with a sarcastic: "Don't make any mistakes, my dear Assessor!"
He had discharged this business hastily in order to be able to speak to his confidant. Hinrich Scheel was still waiting before the door with the carriage; but he had very little to tell, and didn't know why the departure from Prora had been so long delayed. He thought there had been some trouble about the money, and they were obliged to wait for Loitz, who had gone out to drive. The Assessor's wife was not sick; on the contrary, she was standing on the balcony beside Frau Wollnow, kissing her hand to the gentlemen as they drove away. Neither did he know what the gentlemen were talking about on the road; they had jabbered in some foreign language most of the time. So he drove into every hole on the way--and there were plenty to-day after the rain--and made the ride so uncomfortable for the Herr Assessor that he finally swore aloud in good German, and declared he would not go over that road again to-day if he was paid a ton of gold. Then the other answered: "In that case he must go back alone, for he wouldn't stay all night at Dollan under any circumstances."
"It's a bad road at night," said Brandow.
"Especially when it's as dark as it will be this evening," answered Hinrich Scheel.
The eyes of the master and servant met and were instantly averted again.
"There are many things which might make an accident befall a person who was positively determined to go over it at night," said Brandow slowly.
"Unless the driver was very careful," added Hinrich Scheel.
Again their eyes met. No doubt Hinrich had understood him--this time as usual, no doubt this time as usual, Hinrich knew what he wanted. Brandow drew a long breath. He would fain have seen whether Hinrich would not have said another, a final word; but the latter had turned towards his horses. A loud tumult of voices, shouting at each other in tones of the most violent rage, echoed from the dining-room, and at the same moment Rieke came running out. The pretty maid-servant's round cheeks were deeply flushed, her gray eyes sparkled, and her luxuriant fair hair was not so smooth as it had been at the commencement of the dinner.
"What is the matter?" asked Brandow.
"They've been quarreling for the last fifteen minutes. I think they will soon come to blows," said Rieke, showing her white teeth in a merry laugh.
"We will speak of it again," Brandow called to Hinrich, who was just driving the carriage away, and then drew Rieke into the dark hall.
"He has come back again," said he; "see where he goes, and as soon as you notice anything, tell me."
"I don't want to be everlastingly running after those two," said Rieke sulkily.
"Oh, of course you like it much better to have the gentlemen yonder pinch your cheeks and hug you."
"Why not?" said the girl.
"You know what I promised last night," whispered Brandow, now throwing his own arm around her slender waist, and putting his lips to her ear.
"Promising is one thing, and keeping your word is another," said Rieke, but without making any very strenuous effort to release herself.
The noise in the dining-room grew louder.
"There, you will be a good child," said Brandow; "and now off with you; I must see what those fellows are doing."
Hans Redebas had thought he would take advantage of their host's momentary absence to again urge upon the two brothers his proposal that they should give up Brandow's wheat-crop to him for his share, and in exchange take entire possession of Brownlock; and as a witness of the honesty of his intentions, quoted the Pastor, with whom he had repeatedly talked the matter over on the way to Dollan. The Pastor, who wished to make himself agreeable to his patron in every way, had endeavored to depict the advantages the arrangement would have for all concerned, but in his drunkenness laid on the colors so vividly that the two brothers were startled, and recalled a partial concession which they had already made. Upon this Hans Redebas called the Pastor a stupid dunce, who was always meddling with everything, though he knew nothing at all, except a little theological trash, and therefore ought to keep his mouth shut everywhere except in his pulpit. Then the reverend gentleman had started up exclaiming that "dunce" was a word which, as an old graduate of Halle, he would not endure from any one, even his patron, upon which Herr Redebas burst into a roar of laughter, which roused the drunken man to actual fury.
Meantime the two Plüggens had also commenced a violent dispute. Gustav had whispered to his brother that he should like to accept the offer, if Redebas would add two thousand thalers to it; Otto, as the elder, warned the younger brother against entering into any bargain with Redebas, who had more sense in his little finger than he in his whole body. Gustav considered himself insulted by this doubt of his shrewdness, and muttered something about the "straw" which might be found in the other's head, an allusion to the well-known nickname of the elder brother, which of course produced a response in which "hay" was given a prominent place. So all four shouted at each other, to the great amazement of the groom, Fritz, who listened with open mouth till he suddenly felt some one touch him on the shoulder, and looking up saw his master's face.
"Be off, and don't come in here again till I call you."
The lad left the room; Brandow again surveyed the brawlers at the table with hasty glances. "This is just the right moment," he muttered through his clenched teeth.
He approached the table, but instead of sitting down, remained standing with his arms resting on the back of his chair, and said, rejoicing in the sight of the confused faces of the four men, who had suddenly become silent: "Pardon me for interrupting your interesting conversation, gentlemen, especially with a mere business matter, but it must be settled. Hinrich Scheel has just returned from Prora--with the Assessor and another gentleman whose name shall be kept secret for the present. I had requested Wollnow to send me fifteen thousand thalers in cash from my balance in his hands. He begged me to allow him to send drafts to the same amount instead. Drafts, gentlemen, given by the house of Louis Loitz & Co., in Prora, accepted by Wollnow himself, and payable by Philip Nathanson in Sundin. Perhaps the gentlemen will be kind enough to hand me in exchange for these drafts--of five thousand thalers each--the three notes you lately received from me, in case you happen to have them with you."
Bowing ironically, Brandow held out the three drafts which he had arranged in his hand in the shape of a fan.
The confederates looked at each other suspiciously. The matter was not perfectly regular; the notes were payable in cash; they were not obliged to take drafts; but they had just been quarrelling too much among themselves to be capable of forming a united resolution at once, and at heart each was glad that the other was cheated out of the prey he had deemed secure.
"Well, gentlemen," exclaimed Brandow, "I hope none of you will take exception to the manner of my payment. It would be an insult to the worthy Wollnow, to whose complaisance we have all at times been indebted. Or would you like to have the Assessor, who may come in at any moment, be a witness of the way in which the Herren von Plüggen and Herr Hans Redebas are in the habit of treating an old friend who has become involved in a little embarrassment?"
In fact the Assessor's voice was now heard in the hall.
"Hand it over," said Hans Redebas.
"I'll raise no objections," said Otto von Plüggen.
"I'm no spoil-sport," said Gustav.
The drafts were put into the pocket-books of the three gentlemen, in exchange for the notes, which Brandow, with a sarcastic smile, crushed like pieces of waste paper, and thrust into his pocket just as the Assessor entered.
His appearance afforded Brandow a welcome pretext for breaking up the dinner-party, which had already in his opinion lasted too long. It had stopped raining; would they not prefer to drink their coffee in the cool garden, instead of that close room? He expected to find Gotthold in the garden, and was not mistaken. They met him walking up and down in one of the most out-of-the-way paths. He said nothing when Brandow spoke of his return as a surprise he had prepared for his guests, and apologized for his non-appearance on plea of a violent headache, which often attacked him suddenly, and he had hoped to shake off before presenting himself to the company. The two Plüggens were delighted to see their old school-fellow, whom they had always cordially hated, and Herr Redebas esteemed it an honor to make the acquaintance of such a famous man, although it was very evident that he had not the least idea in what particular branch of human activity Gotthold had won his renown. The Pastor, upon whom he was accustomed to depend at such times, unfortunately could give him no information, because he had just thrust his arm into the Assessor's, whom he met that day for the first time, and was assuring him of his eternal friendship. The Assessor laughed and was good-natured enough to laugh again, when Hans Redebas, to display his much-admired strength, raised the pair in his arms and carried them around the open space, thereby inciting Otto von Plüggen to take out his silk pocket-handkerchief, and holding it by the two corners, jump over it forward and backward, while Gustav, in laudable emulation of his ingenious brother, balanced a garden chair on his lower teeth.
"Now I should like to show you my trick," cried Brandow, "and therefore will beg you to follow me a few steps."
He went forward and opened a little door in the hedge, which led directly into the open space where he trained his racers. It was a tolerably large piece of ground, selected with great discrimination, and prepared with much skill for the purpose for which it was intended. There were wide and narrow ditches, low and high fences, broad stretches of smooth, closely-shaven turf to permit the horse to display his full speed, and heavy fallow ground for a hunting gallop. Brandow had inclosed three sides of this space, the fourth of which was occupied by the stables, with a board fence the height of a man, and kept it jealously secluded from every one. Now he rejoiced in the glances of envious admiration the three landed proprietors cast around them. But he had a still greater annoyance in store. As the little party moved towards the stables, Hinrich Scheel came forward to meet them, leading Brownlock. The beautiful animal champed his bit impatiently, rubbed his delicate head against the shoulder of his groom, and then once more gazed at the by-standers with his large black eyes, as if to ask each who would have courage to cope with him.
"Well, gentlemen," cried Brandow, "you had a great desire to ride Brownlock; there he is. I'll bet ten louis-d'or to one, that none of you can even mount him."
"I shouldn't like to break the beast's back," muttered Hans Redebas.
Otto Plüggen had sprained his foot in leaping, but Gustav thought he could easily win the ten louis-d'or.
Gustav von Plüggen was universally acknowledged to be a good rider, and had gained the prize more than once in the Sundin races. He did not doubt for an instant that he should win the bet, but nevertheless thought it advisable to go to work with all possible caution. So he walked around the horse to render it familiar with the sight of him, patted the slender neck, scratched its smooth forehead, and then, still talking to the animal, gently took the reins and told Hinrich Sheel to stand aside. But the moment he touched the stirrup with his foot, Brownlock sprang aside so violently, that Gustav was glad even to retain his hold upon the bridle. Again and again he made the attempt, always with the same want of success.
"I could have told you so before," cried Herr Redebas.
"You're making a fool of yourself again unnecessarily," snarled his brother.
Gotthold had noticed that Hinrich Scheel always stood directly before the horse with his squinting eyes fixed steadily upon it, and whenever Gustav tried to mount, made an almost imperceptible motion with his head, upon which the animal, whose black eyes were fixed intently upon its trainer, either sprang aside or reared.
"I think you would do better if you told Hinrich Scheel to go away from the horse, Herr von Plüggen," said he.
"Oh! Gustav will give it up," cried Brandow hastily; "I only made the bet in jest; the fact is, that Hinrich Scheel has trained Brownlock not to allow any one to mount except himself or me; and I could not get into the saddle against Hinrich's will. This was the very trick I wanted to show you."
Every one, with the exception of Gotthold, took the whole thing as a joke, until Brandow proved the contrary before their own eyes. Brownlock would not allow him to mount, until Hinrich Scheel gave the sign. Now came the second part of the exhibition Brandow had in store for his guests. He rode Brownlock over the whole course, taking the most difficult obstacles with an ease which displayed in the clearest light his perfect horsemanship, as well as the almost wonderful strength and endurance of the noble animal, and filled the hearts of his three rivals with the bitterest envy.
"It's a shame for a fellow like that to have such a horse," said Gustav Plüggen, who had joined Gotthold, while the rest of the party went to visit the stables; "a downright shame. That is: he certainly rides splendidly--for a plebeian, I mean; but a plebeian never ought to be allowed to keep race-horses. I talked about it enough in the committee, when we were arranging the races at Sundin eight years ago; but I couldn't get my way. Now we have the consequences. For the last four years Brandow has taken all the best prizes; it's enough to drive one mad. The fellow would have been ruined long ago if it hadn't been for the races, the races--and his wife."
"His wife?" asked Gotthold.
"Why, of course. We wouldn't have lent him another penny long ago; but for the sake of his wife, who is really a lovely woman; we can't let him go to ruin entirely. Of course he knows that better than any one else, and so she is always obliged to be of the party when any new credit is to be obtained. A week ago to-day, when we were in Plüggenhof, Otto paid his attentions to her at the table in the wildest way--in the presence of his own wife, née Baroness von Grieben-Keffen--and half an hour after dinner Brandow had his five thousand thalers in his pocket. It was a piece of madness on Otto's part; we had agreed that we would not give more than five thousand together. It would have proved a capital thing for us, but that damned Jew has spoiled it again. The devil knows why he helped him. And the Assessor told me he had been paid too. Twenty-five thousand thalers at one slap! I don't understand it at all--and that's saying something, for I generally know all his tricks and turns. The Pastor thinks you, and nobody else, have given him the money; and in return Brandow will overlook it if you and his wife--there, you needn't fly into a rage. Parson's gossip, that's all. You would take care of yourself--twenty-five thousand--ridiculous! But he has it--that's a fact, as they say in England--ever been in England? I was there--eight years ago when we were arranging about the Sundin races--famous country! horses, women, sheep--famous!-what was I going to say? He has the twenty-five thousand, and Dollan's safe for five years, the Assessor says; and now Brownlock too! Damn! that is a horse! On my honor, I haven't seen his equal even in England. What action! What a hock! And how he went over everything! Magnificent! But too heavy! too heavy, 'pon honor--he won't cross the piece of marsh-land we have now taken into the race-course. They say Prince Prora declared it wasn't fair! It's all very well for him to talk, he has no interest in the racing! Won't you come in with us? I hear there is to be a little card-party made up."
"I have never gambled, and--my headache is coming on again."
"Strange, I've no more idea what a headache is than if I had no head--you artists probably get it from the oil paints; they smell abominably."