"You think, then, Miss Angela, that there is something else about me they dislike?"
"I do not know, Herr Assessor."
"Oh! if I only knew the cause of their displeasure," said Hamm enthusiastically. "You have an affection for the swallows, and I would not displease any thing that you love."
She answered by an inclination, and was about to leave the room.
"Angela," said her father, "here is Herr Frank, to whom you are under obligations."
She moved a step or two toward Richard.
"Sir," said she gently, "you returned some things that were valuable to me; were it not for your kindness, they would probably have been lost. I thank you."
A formal bow was Frank's answer. Hamm stood smiling, his searching glance alternating between the stately young man and Angela. But in the manner of both he observed nothing more than reserve and cold formality.
Angela left the room. The assessor sat down on the sofa and poured out a glass of wine.