That did not exhaust the resources of civilization, however, as the politicians are fond of saying; and at the worst we could try and make a bolt of it together, without any papers if necessary, but preferably with some in false names. So far as I was concerned I was ready to tramp it to the frontier on foot; but that wouldn't do for Nessa.
At any rate we must get her out of Berlin and away from this von Erstein's persecution. Nessa could gabble German quite as freely as I could; and once away from the capital, supplied with plenty of money as I was fortunately, we could try our luck and trust to fate.
"You've made me feel awfully strange about that fellow," I said to Rosa as we started from the house. "I suppose it means I'm angry. I feel I should like to kick the brute."
"I'm glad to hear it; but kicking won't be enough. What you've got to do is to find means to get Nessa away."
I shook my head doubtfully. "How are these things managed?"
"She must have a permit to travel; that will be difficult enough: and to cross the frontier there must be a passport, of course. That's where the Count stops everything. He has dinned it into the powers that be that she's a spy and wants to get away to carry her information to England. We nearly got one; but at the last moment the whole plan failed."
"Did Aunt Olga help, then?" I asked, hesitating how to speak of the Countess.
"No, mother wouldn't. It was—was a friend of mine, Herr Feldmann, if you wish to know," she said, with a slight tinge of colour, hesitating over the name and laughing self-consciously as I looked down at her and our eyes met.
"It appears to me that your English girl is lucky to have found such staunch friends, Rosa," I said as earnestly as I felt. "And between us we ought to be able to outwit this von Erstein."
"I wonder if you mean that," she replied, with a searching look.