Nobody had had any sleep at Castle Warnow excepting Frau von Wallbach. And even she had been repeatedly awakened or nearly so by strange noises of rolling and rattling, just as if she were at home in the Behrenstrasse and a dozen big parties were breaking up at the same moment, and an alarm of fire sounding between whiles. What could it have been? The maid who brought her chocolate to her bedside told her that it was the storm, which had been raging fearfully since her lady went to bed last night.
"How odd!" said Frau von Wallbach. "But why have you come in so early? I do not want to start before eleven."
"It is ten o'clock now, ma'am; it will be no lighter to-day."
"Of course not, if you do not open the shutters."
"They have not been shut, ma'am; we did not dare to do it even last night. One shutter has already been torn off by the wind, as I saw from the ground-floor window."
"How odd!" said Frau von Wallbach. "You have packed my things, I suppose?"
"Oh, certainly, ma'am; but we shall not be able to travel to-day. Herr Damberg has sent over to say that he is very sorry, but it can't be done; there is no knowing what may happen, and he must keep all his horses at the farm."
"Why, what could happen?"
"I don't know, ma'am, but they do say that it may be something very bad. If you would only get up, ma'am, and see for yourself. One would think the world was coming to an end. Every one is running about with pale faces, and I am dreadfully frightened, ma'am."
"It is very foolish of you. Is Fräulein von Wallbach up yet?"