Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-06-10
CHAPTER XII.

/ was so taken aback I could for the
moment neither stir nor speak, while
a new feeling, feeling of shame, arose
in me for appearing in that woman:
presence as Steinhardt's representative
After her outburst of surprise she
looked at the letter again, and at me
l rose, uncertain.
"Fraulein," | said, 81 do not know
what to say. l did not seek to come
this journey myself; Herr Steinhardt
asked me to undertake it. He thought,
and thought, too, that your adver-
tisement, in which, of course, you could
not use many words, signifed that you
were very ill and alone perhaps, and
that you needed a-''(I did not quite
know how to put it; added hurriedly)
ia friendly hand"
He did not think that / could wish
to see him for his own sake,-I mean
for the sake OF his own peace?"
Her German was becoming too rapid
for me to follow without an effort;
was not sure l understood her.
''He has business" said, (Which
prevented him from coming himself
81 suppose" said she, with some
touch of bitterness, thought, che is
still always very busy making more and
more money in your rich England" !"
SIT is now," | answered, "a lawsuit
that keeps him in England"
ga lawsuit? trial?" she ex-
claimed, with a strange anxiety. ''Is
he in danger?"
'Indeed, Fraulein, do not know.
The other party to the trial thinks him.
accuses Herr Steinhardt of using, and
making much money by using, his
patent for chemical dyes"
81 think" said she, simply, "you
are not Emmanuel's friend"
To this l had nothing to say for a
moment. took refuge in an evasion.
"Herr Steinhardt," said. "has
sent me to act as his representative.
But it appears there is nothing for me
to do.' U was standing uncertain,
but ready to go.) "What shall I say
to him when l return.'?'
81 WONDER" said she, more than
half to herself, eff you are the person l
have seen lately?"
was startled; stared in blank be-
wilderment. Was the woman mani
&C? The pupils of her keen eyes
seemed to rapidly dilate and contract,
while she gazed into vacancy, and at
the same time kept referring glance
on me.
"a man." she continued, "who goes
about and about, and evidently causes
Emmanuel great anxiety about some
thing"
Conceive the sudden turmoil of
thought and feeling, OF imagination
and hope into which 1 was thus
thrown! The Lacriox mystery was
until then almost absent from my
mind; I seemed to have left it in Eng
land, and though l certainly thought of
1t sometimes, it was as of something
waiting in the distance for my return.
Now here was ! presented with an allu-
sion of it-a vague and uncertain allu-
sion, perhaps, but still unmistakably
for me an allusion-here in an attic of
an old house in Basel! What strange
coincidence was this? Who was this
woman that brought it before me again?
was afraid to speak or to stir, lest l
should break or dispel that filmy some
thing her fancy or her vision had got
touch of.
"You are a pastor" she continued,
looking at me with more natural eyes;
Emmanuel calls you Reverend Mr..
Unwin.' 1t is surely, sir, a pastors
duty to bring repentance and forgive
ness and peace to the hearts of men,
and not pride, and lear. and condemna-
tion"
"You say very strange things, Frau
lein," answered; 81 think-I hope
what you mean. Perhaps
deserve your rebuke. But are you sure
you altogether know the terrible
"Ach!' she cried. "There is then
a mystery-and part of the burden OF it
is with me! Ach! mein Gott! mel
Gott!''
"If you know"-I impulsively be-
gan, in ill-suppressed excitement.
az do not know anything!' she cried
interrupting me, and spring
ing to her feet. She paced nervously
up and down the room, her fingers
wildly playing with each other, or
about her arms and her head. She
stopped and looked at me, trembling
in every limb and nerve. "You must
90 away, sir"
lingerd uncertainty.
"Please go away, sir" she urged. ]
cannot bear more now. Come again
tomorrow. 1t may be that my God has
sent you to mel"
| withdrew without word, some-
what awed by the emotion of the
strange woman. AS closed the door
caught a glimpse of her with hands |
,lasped and face raised, as if in en-
treaty or thankfulness.
After leaving the house | walked for
4 long time, without knowing whittier |
went, about the streets of Basel and |
along the Rhine bank.
In spite of my excitement l slept
we'll that night. | spent the next day
lntii evening wandering about the !
town, examining the windows of its /
sleepy shops, wondering at the content !
I'd, bi-lingual shopkeepers, and gazing
1t the glorious Swiss mountains which /