"I have heard so," replied the count, "and I wished to offer you my hearty congratulations."
Herr von Stielow bowed slightly, and said:
"She is unwell; an extraordinary accident has happened to her, which makes me excessively uneasy; and I was just about to hasten to hear how she was going on, and what Oppolzer, who was to meet her regular attendant this morning, had said."
"Oppolzer consulted?" cried the count with a look of alarm; "my God! is the countess then seriously ill?"
"We can scarcely think so," said von Stielow, "and yet the symptoms are very distressing; a slight wound on her wrist has become rapidly bad, and has caused her to feel so extremely ill."
"A wound!" cried the count: his face grew very grave and expressed the greatest attention.
"She was visiting the wounded soldiers at the northern railway station," said the young officer, "and another lady slightly hurt her wrist with a small pair of scissors in cutting off a piece of linen; it could scarcely be called a wound; but in the course of the evening the arm swelled and grew stiff, and became violently painful. Fever came on, and the doctor fears that there must have been some drug upon the scissors, what, he cannot ascertain. Under these circumstances," he said, pressing the count's hand, "you will forgive me, if I beg you to excuse me."
The count had listened very gravely, his face had turned pale, and his large dark eyes looked thoughtfully at the young man's excited face.
"My dear baron," he said slowly, "honestly from my heart I feel the liveliest interest in you; perhaps I can be useful to you. In former years I studied medicine deeply, especially the knowledge of poisons and their antidotes; they once," he added with a slight sigh, "played so important and frightful a part in my country, that the subject interested me deeply. If by an unhappy accident there was anything pernicious or dangerous on the scissors, I may be of some assistance. Will you allow me to see the young countess?"
And in a deep voice that seemed to command conviction, he added,