"Then you are acquainted with her?"
"I saw her at the Richards' home."
"What sort of folks are these Richards people?"
Wagner made no immediate answer, but after a moment he said:
"I am only slightly acquainted with you. Remember, we first met last night; I do not feel at liberty to give you my confidence. I wish I could, for at this moment I need a friend. I have been sadly villified, I know, and there is a false impression concerning me in some quarters. I do not deserve to be misunderstood in this way, for I never did a dishonorable act in my life."
"Although we only met last night, August, you can trust me—yes, trust me as freely as though I were your own brother. Tell me about yourself."
The young German meditated a few moments and then said:
"I am really the brother of a baron. The baron is unmarried and has been, so I have been informed, stricken with a fatal disease. My brother has lived a very reckless life; he has mortgaged our family estates beyond their market value. To-day should he die I would become the baron, but alas! only an empty title would come to me. I came to America intending to win and woo some wealthy heiress. In Paris I met the Richards family. To me they have always appeared honorable enough, but I will admit that I have heard stories to the contrary. Mr. Richards has a daughter living in Paris—" and here the young man suddenly stopped.
"Go on," said our hero.
"Do not think me egotistical if I tell the truth."