Specht hob-nobbed with all his heart, and became exceedingly cheerful. The weight that had long oppressed him had fallen off. He sang, he shook all his colleagues by the hand, and dealt more largely than ever in bold assertions.
As Anton went down stairs with the others, he remarked that Pluto was carrying something yellow in his mouth, and gnawing it eagerly.
"It is Specht's pumpkin," said Pix; "the dog has taken it for a piece of beef, and bitten it to pieces."
CHAPTER XXIV.
Anton stood by the sick-bed of his friend Bernhard, and looked with sincere sympathy at his wasted form. The young student's face was more furrowed than ever, his complexion was transparent as wax, his long hair hung in disorder around his damp brow, and his eyes shone with feverish excitement.
"All the time you have been away," said he, sadly, "I have been longing for you; now that you are returned, I shall be better."
"I will often come if our conversation does not excite you too much," replied Anton.
"No," said Bernhard, "I will merely listen, and you shall tell me about your travels."
Anton began his recital: "I have seen of late what we have both of us often wished to see—foreign scenes and a life of adventures. I have found pleasant companionship in other countries, but the result of my experience is that there is no greater happiness than that of living quietly among one's own people. I have met with much that would have delighted you, because it was poetical and soul-stirring, but disappointment was largely mingled with it all."