"The name is of no consequence," replied the lawyer calmly. "The sole consideration here is the perfectly justifiable wish of a mother, which the father cannot and must not deny, even when, as in this case, the son is given to him unconditionally."
"Must not! And if he should do it, notwithstanding?"
"Then he oversteps the borders of his rights. I would like to ask you, Herr Major, to consider the matter calmly before speaking such a decided 'No.' The rights of a mother cannot be so completely cancelled by a decision of the court that one may even deny her a meeting with her only child. The law is upon the side of my client in this case, and she will enforce it, if my personal appeal is ignored as was her written request."
"She may try it then. I will let it come to the test. My son does not know that his mother is alive, and shall not learn it just yet. I do not wish that he should see and speak to her, and I shall know how to prevent it. My 'No' remains unchanged."
These remarks were given quietly, but upon Falkenried's features there lay an ashy paleness, and his voice sounded hollow and threatening. The awful excitement under which he labored was apparent; only with supreme effort could he force himself to outward calm. The lawyer seemed to understand the fruitlessness of further effort. He only shrugged his shoulders.
"If this be your final decision, then my errand is, of course, finished, and we must decide later upon further moves. I am sorry to have disturbed you, Herr Major."
He took his leave with the same cool politeness with which he had entered.
Falkenried sprang up and paced the room stormily after the door had closed upon the lawyer. A depressing silence reigned for a few moments, after which Wallmoden spoke half audibly.
"You ought not to have done that. Zalika will hardly submit to your 'No.' If you remember, she carried on a life-and-death struggle for her child at that time."
"But I remained victor. I hope she has not forgotten that."