Ernst Waltenberg had not returned to Heilborn on the previous evening, although he had promised to meet his secretary there. Early this morning a messenger from him had brought Gronau the intelligence that he had taken up his abode for a few days in the little inn at Oberstein, and that the two servants were to be sent to him with all that was necessary for his comfort. This had been done, and Veit had accompanied them. Driving up the steep mountain-road had been very difficult, wherefore all three had preferred to walk the last part of the way, leaving the vehicle to bring the luggage.
The foot-path which thay pursued led directly past the doctor's garden. Gronau walked up the little enclosure and opened the familiar back-door. His last interview with Benno had been a stormy one,--he had bitterly reproached the young physician with his indifference,--and his kindly nature would not long allow him to cherish any unkind feeling. He came now partly to apologize, and partly in hope of finding the doctor more in sympathy with his wishes. As the Nordheim carriage was standing before the front entrance of the house, he had no suspicion of the visit which Benno was receiving, else he would have fled in dismay.
Meanwhile, Frau Gersdorf maintained her guard with unwearied, devotion,--a devotion all the more disinterested since the stout oaken door effectually deadened the voices of the pair she had left. Their conversation, moreover, was far from what she had hoped would ensue.
Benno, after waiting in vain for Alice to break the silence, said, gently,--
"And you really wished to come hither, Fräulein Nordheim,--really?"
"Yes, Herr Doctor," was the low, trembling reply.
Reinsfeld knew not what to think. Lately Alice's intercourse with him had been perfectly easy and familiar. True, since their last interview in the forest, her ease of manner had vanished, but that could not explain this alteration in her. She stood pale and trembling before him, seeming actually afraid of him, for she retreated timidly when he would have approached her.
"You are afraid--of me?" he asked, reproachfully.
She shook her head: "No, not of you, but of what I have to tell you. It is so terrible."
Reinsfeld was still puzzled for a moment, and then suddenly the truth flashed upon him.