"Are we quite safe here?"
"Quite so. But let us go into the house; it seems to me the night dew is beginning to fall."
They rose and went arm in arm towards the steps which led from the terrace into the garden. As they came down the last step, a man suddenly stood before them. The meeting was so unexpected to Oswald and Melitta that they involuntarily started back. But it was impossible to escape it, and besides, Mr. Bemperlein--for it was he, and no one else--had already recognized them, as the stars had come out in full splendor, and the light from the window of the garden-room fell directly upon their faces.
"Great heavens, madam! what brings you here?" cried Mr. Bemperlein.
"And I ask that of you," said Melitta; and then to Oswald, whose arm she was still holding, in a low voice: "Be calm, darling, he will not betray us."
"Julius has not had an accident? Speak, Mr. Bemperlein, I have no secrets for--Oswald."
Mr. Bemperlein seized Oswald's hand and pressed it, as if he wished to say: Now I know all, you may rely on me.
"No," he said, "Julius is well and hearty. But I have received a letter from Doctor Birkenhain, who says that Baron Berkow's condition is such that they expect his end every day. It is not thought that he will recover his consciousness before he dies; but Doctor Birkenhain thought it his duty to let you know how matters stand. I presume at least that this is what the enclosure means. I brought it myself, so that you may dispose of me at once, if you should decide to go on. The carriage in which I came is still at the door; I cut across the garden."
The three had reached the garden-room by this time. Melitta had drawn her arm from Oswald's and gone up to the lamp to read the letter which Bemperlein had brought. Oswald saw her turn very pale, and her hand which held the letter tremble nervously. Bemperlein stood there, turning his eyes from Oswald to Melitta, and back again from Melitta to Oswald, like one who has been suddenly roused and cannot convince himself whether what he sees is reality or a dream.
Melitta had read the letter. "There, Oswald," she said, "read and tell me what I must do."