‘Out with it is soon said,’ returned the other. ‘It is a serious matter. Do you think I can chatter like a magpie without thinking of what I am to say?’
‘Then think, and be quick about it, or I shall go in.’
‘Oh, if you are in a hurry, you may take the bundle without any explanation,’ replied Wastei, holding it out towards her. Berbel took it, and felt it, as though trying to guess what it contained.
‘What is it?’ she asked at length, as her imagination failed to suggest the nature of the contents.
‘It is my coat,’ said Wastei. ‘The old wolf’s coat, if you like it better.’
‘And what am I to do with your coat?’ inquired Berbel. In spite of the question she had thrust the bundle under one arm and held it firmly, with the evident intention of keeping it.
‘When you have given the letter to the baron, you might be so kind as to mend the pocket for me,’ said Wastei calmly.
‘But I told you I should perhaps wait some time before giving the letter.’
‘Yes—but you have thought about that in the night,’ answered Wastei keenly. ‘You will not wait much longer than to-day.’
‘What makes you think that?’