"Is this true, Councillor, that I hear from Berndt? Young Dr. Brunnow is declared to be out of danger? Coming after the previous unfavourable reports, I must say the news surprised me very much."
"I am as much astonished as your Excellency," the Councillor assured him. "I could not believe it at first, but the statement has been confirmed to me in another quarter--by this gentleman here, Dr. Franz, a friend of the patient's, who has just left him."
Raven turned to the stranger, who was standing a little aside, and whom he had not yet observed. The full light from the great chandelier fell on the tall, bent form. For a few seconds the Baron stood motionless, rooted to the ground, while his eyes rested with a piercing gaze on the face before him. Then a sudden pallor overspread his features, and he pressed his lips tightly together, as though to keep back the exclamation which sought to escape them.
But Raven's discomposure was of short duration. Next minute his self-command had returned to him; indeed, a movement on the Superintendent's part quickly recalled to his mind the fact that he was watched. He quietly waited until the Councillor had finished what he had to say, and then addressed himself to that gentleman's companion.
"It would be a pleasure to me to hear you confirm so favourable an opinion," he said. "I had sent round my own physician to the patient, but, unfortunately, the doctor himself fell ill on the first day of the treatment, and had to abandon the case to his deputy. The bulletin I received from Dr. Berndt this morning was so vague that I think I must ask you to supplement it by a few details. Not here in the vestibule, of course. Will you come in with me for two or three minutes?"
Brunnow was less accustomed than the Baron to dissimulate his feelings; and though he succeeded in controlling his voice and features generally, his eyes glowed with a look half of pain, half of enmity, as they rested on the speaker.
"Does your Excellency take so strong an interest in this young doctor?" he returned.
"Unquestionably. Both I and the Superintendent of Police here"--Raven laid a slight but perceptible emphasis on the word, as he indicated the person named--"are under an obligation to him. You have probably heard how this accident came about. Having hastened to the assistance of this gentleman, some of whose officers had been injured, he was wounded while rendering to them medical aid. You will understand, therefore, that some detailed account of his condition will be very acceptable to me."
Brunnow understood the hint. He saw the vigilant look in the eyes of the Superintendent, who was listening with quiet and, apparently, merely casual attention to the short dialogue, keeping a sharp watch on the Baron and himself the while. He understood all the danger of his position; still he hesitated a moment, struggling, as it were, with himself.
"I am at your service," he said at length, laconically.