"I think so. Indeed, I'm almost sure of it. He hadn't the constitution to endure any mental anxiety."
"I suppose he shot himself in a fit of alienation."
"He shot himself because his wife refused to give up her affair with von Hillern. Whether it was mania, or a passing craze of jealousy, I don't pretend to say."
"How do you know it wasn't on account of financial troubles?"
"I was there in the next room at the time."
Von Rittenheim leaned forward and fixed his eyes on von Sternburg's face with keen anxiety.
"You heard him?"
"I had gone to ask Max to ride with me. The servant who opened the door said he dared not announce me to the Baron; that he was storming about in his dressing-room. I ran up-stairs and into Max's room, which was empty, but I heard his voice in the Baroness's room, which adjoined it."
"You understood what he said?"
"Perfectly. It seemed to be the end of a long argument. He cried, 'Hilda, will you or will you not give up von Hillern?'"