Fritz had been silent for several moments; it was evident that he was turning some thought over in his mind.
“Wasn’t Martin Luther’s wisdom very great, Herr Rudolf?” he asked at last.
“That it was, Fritz; but why dost thou ask the question?”
“I was just thinking that it must be a great thing to be very wise, in fact the greatest thing in the world. I’m going to study and learn all that I possible can; then some day people will point to me and say: ‘What a wise man Fritz Albrecht is!’”
As the three stood looking out of one of the quaint windows with its round, leaded panes, at the beautiful landscape below, it seemed to Fritz that he heard the Ivy’s rich voice saying to him: “Search, search, for the greatest of all treasures!” But suddenly it was as though the whole room were filled with the breath of roses; and Katrina’s heart responded to a soft voice down by the castle gates which said almost in a whisper:
“Luther possessed something that was even greater than his wisdom; Saint Elizabeth possessed it, too.”
And there also seemed to rise before Katrina’s vision an image of the lady with the little silver cross.
XIV.
