"Nein, I know not. I know I must go——"
She stopped him impatiently.
"You will not go!" she said. He turned his eyes and looked at her. After a moment her own fell. "Why will you go?" she asked.
The face with its dumb look was turned toward her.
"That little song—it calls me," he said softly. "When it is done I will come back again—to you."
She smiled under the lids.
"That little song—is it for me?" she asked sweetly.
"Ja, for you." He looked pleadingly at the downcast face. "The song—it is very sweet; it teases me."
The lids quivered.
"It comes to me so close, so close!" He was silent, a rapt look of listening in his face. It broke with a swift sigh. "Ach! it is gone!"