“Yes,” I answered; “there is a steamer at 8.15, I believe.”
“That is good. We shall be companions.”
“Are you going to England, too, sir?” I asked, with hot misgivings.
“No, no! I am going to Bremen; but we shall travel together as far as—you go by Amsterdam, I suppose?—as far as Leer, then. That will be very pleasant.” I fancied there was a ghoulish gusto in his tone.
“Very,” I assented. “You are making a short stay here, then?”
“As long as usual. I visit the work at Memmert once a month or so, spend a night with my friend Dollmann and his charming family” (he leered round him), “and return.”
Whether I was right or wrong in my next step I shall never know, but obeying a strong instinct, “Memmert,” I said; “do tell me more about Memmert. We heard a good deal about it from Commander von Brüning; but——”
“He was discreet, I expect,” said Böhme.
“He left off at the most interesting part.”
“What’s that about me?” joined in von Brüning.