Now, at any rate, so long as he hung lifeless in his arms, he belonged to him and no one else, he alone was there to warm and cherish him, and to rub his brow as of old.
He carried him to the temple of friendship, spread his cloak for him to lie upon, and wrapped the corners over his breast; and when he saw that the cloak was not sufficient to cover the long limbs altogether, be wrenched off his coat and wrapped it round his feet.
Then he seated himself upon the temple steps, and pillowing the head gently in his lap he began massaging with his finger-tips forehead and skull in the manner which he had practised from childhood, which only he in the world understood.
But the swoon continued; now and then a slight convulsion ran through Ulrich's frame like a shiver from cold.
"If I could get him warm, he would recover consciousness," thought Leo, and drew the folds of the cloak closer round his limbs.
The flakes descended with monotonous speed, without a hiatus or a pause. Not the tiniest spot did they spare, and the narrow roof of the temple was no shelter from them. They no longer cooled and refreshed, but stung and burned as they fell on his skin. They settled in scores on his thin shirt-sleeves and made little dark rivulets there as their star-like shapes melted. He began to freeze, but he did not mind.
His whole soul was centred on the re-awakening of which Ulrich's face now held out one signal after another. And, at length, his eyes opened. First his gaze was fixed on the distance, then it wandered along the white sleeves which bellied above him, and finally remained riveted on the face bending over him with such keen solicitude. An expression of intense horror slowly dawned on his features. A shudder ran through his limbs, and he made a spasmodic attempt to stand on his legs, but sank back again exhausted. His breast heaved and his hands fumbled for a support.
Leo felt his own breath come faster. Now was his great opportunity.
"Spare yourself," he stammered, "I implore you. I will do nothing to you. Lie still and let me explain everything; only lie still. Afterwards, when you have regained strength, you shall shoot me down. But so long as you are feeling poorly spare yourself, and lie still for pity's sake."
Ulrich's gestures became more composed, and there was a silence.