He glanced round to see where he should lay the paper. In the end he folded it up, and put it under a meteoric stone, shaped like a fungus, which during their honeymoon he had found on the sand-dunes of the Heligoland coast.
The servant knocked, and brought in the coffee. He had found the senior-lieutenant's bed untouched, and his face showed his surprise.
The coffee was too hot, but the water in the carafe was deliciously cold. Güntz damped his handkerchief and wiped the ravages of the night from his brow and eyes.
Then he went again to the window and the refreshing morning breeze. He was in good spirits. He felt as if nothing untoward could happen to him that day.
There was a sound of hoofs in the street outside. The groom had brought the brown mare. He held the animal before the garden gate and carefully took a piece of straw out of her mane.
Güntz told him to walk her quietly up and down. He must wait for Reimers, who would be sure to come directly.
Soon in between the measured paces of the led horse came the sound of a quicker step. Güntz recognised the fidgety trot for that of Reimers horse "Jay." He went out of the house and through the iron gate into the street.
"Morning, my boy!" he said, and offered his hand to Reimers. Then he mounted, and both trotted down the street in silence.
Once outside the town Güntz let his mare slow down. "We are in plenty of time," he said.
Suddenly he stopped and listened. A horse's trot and the rumbling of a carriage could be heard coming from the town.