"'The lieutenant?'
"'When he left me he was only a lieutenant.'
"I quickly caught her by the hand and led her out of the kitchen into the saloon. My servant, fortunately, did not understand German.
"I led them right into my bedroom. I invited them both to be seated.
"'Ah, that will do us good,' said the woman, 'for we have come a long way. We have come here from Cracow.'
"'Surely not on foot?'
"'On foot all the way. We couldn't afford to come by rail.'
"Just fancy! The very thought is terrible! To come on foot all those hundred miles hither from Cracow with a growing girl! Can one's imagination realize such a thing?
"'Are you the wife of Lieutenant Wenceslaus Kvatopil?' I inquired of the woman.
"'I am, and this is his daughter, Marianna.'