"No; he would believe me as little as Egon does. He who has once broken his word, has lost forever their faith, even if he would regain it with his life. Perhaps my death upon the battlefield would have enlightened them, but when I fall now by my own hand they will see in it only the deed of a despairing man--a guilty one--and will despise me even in my grave."
"Not everybody will do that," said Adelaide lowly. "I believe in you, Hartmut, in spite of everything."
He looked at her, and through the gloomy hopelessness of his soul there flamed something of the old fire.
"You, Ada? And you tell me that upon this spot where you cast me off? You did not know anything about me then----"
"And for that reason I shuddered before the man to whom nothing was sacred--who recognized no law but his will and his passions; but that winter night, when I saw you at your father's feet, showed me that you fell more through doom than guilt. Since then I have known that you can and must cast that unfortunate inheritance from your mother far from you. Rouse yourself, Hartmut. The road which I then showed you is still open; whether it leads to life or death--it leads upward."
He shook his head gloomily.
"No, that is past. You have no conception of what my father has done to me with his terrible words. What my life has been since then I--but let me be silent about it; nobody can grasp it; but I thank you for your faith in me, Ada. Death is made easier to me through that faith."
The young widow made a quick motion toward the weapon which lay at his feet.
"For God's sake, no! You dare not do that!"
"What am I to do with life?" Hartmut burst forth with terrible vehemence. "My mother has branded me as with a red-hot iron, and this closes to me every way to atonement--to salvation. I am cast out from the ranks of my people, where even the poorest peasant can fight; a privilege which is denied only to the dishonorable criminal, is denied also to me, for I am nothing else in Egon's eyes. He fears that I might become a traitor--a spy to my own brothers!"