“You asked him to send you these things? Why?”
“Because all the other officers’ wives were having things sent to them.”
“So! Your husband would not have taken them if you had not asked for them?”
“No. He only took them to give me pleasure. He never thought of anybody but me. That is why I love him so—why I shall always love him.”
The doctor bit his lip, and hesitated for a moment.
“You do not think your husband would have offered violence to a woman in the house where he got this clock?”
“No. He loved me too much. He never thought of any woman but me. I am sure of it. He was an ideal man, my Heinrich—always gentle, always loving, always faithful.” She paused a moment before continuing. “It is cruel of you to make me realize how much I love him!”
The doctor stood over her, contemplating her, his brows wrinkled in a puzzled frown. His comrades looked at him enquiringly. He ignored them. The young woman, having ceased to speak, remained motionless and upright on her chair. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock.
Suddenly the doctor’s brows cleared in an evident decision. He lifted the young woman’s hand again as he spoke in his level, positive voice. His face was very grave.
“You are asleep. But you are going into a very much deeper sleep—a sleep so profound that it takes you far out of this time and place. Nevertheless you will remain in touch with me and you will hear my voice. But everything else is going from you. You are now released from the limitations of this body. You are on a plane from which you can enter into any time and place that I shall command.”