Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-04-16

chen greeted him with one of her
sweetest smiles, which she kept IN
readiness for all her equals. Hannah
had not stopped in the hall to witness
the greetings that took place there,
but had slipped upstairs, where l fol-
lowed her, hearing as | went, in Will
helms shocked voice:
Good heavens, uncle, what have
you been doing to Hannah?'
Upstairs in ourroom the poor child
laid her head on my shoulder and Sob
bed as if her heart would break.
"'Ah, it startled me so when 1 saw
the uniform she said. 4 never thought
of Wilhelm
L stayed upstairs with her the rest
of the afternoon, as l did every day;
it was hard, but in the first place l
would not leave her alone, and then
it would have been thought strange if
| had gone down.
Hannah had at last stopped crying,
she bathed her eyes with cold water,
and at last, I heard Johann's voice
saying: The dinner is served
"Tney were already in the dining
room when we went down. My eyes
sought him; there he stood in eager
conversation with his host, the lamp
light shone on his brown curly hair
and played in the buttons of his uni
form A sudden lighting up of the be-
loved dark eyes told me that the time
had seemed long to him too, when
suddenly a well-known voice sounded
in my ear. turned in surprise, and
there was the tall figure of the young
Herr Pastor leaning against the fire
place, in which a small fire was crack
ling; Frau Won Bendeleben was sitting
in chair opposite him, and seemed to
be listening intently to what he was
saying.
Good heavens, how came he here,
and today of all days? I was just re-
turning his greeting when the baron
said, Now we will take our seats at
the table, and interrupted my won
dering over the unexpected visit
Frau ysn BendeIeben went to her
seat. Dear Wilhelm, here, please she
said, pointing to a chair between her
self and Hannah. Gretchen, will you
sit down there; Herr Pastor, will you
take the place by F'raulein Siegis-
mund? You, dear Bernard she added
| jestingly, to her husband, will not
! give up your place next to Gretchen,
! l know
II confess I was utterly discon'
! certed when I comprehended this ar
rangement and discovered that could
not even see him-for he sat on the
same side with me. I have no doubt
my vexation was plainly in my face,
and l did not make the slightest effort
to conceal it from my neighbor.
"'What, Gretchen, you let your fav.
orite dish go by unnoticed?' asked
the baron, as WAVED aside the servant
who offered me a dish of roasted
Iarks.
THANK you, do not feel hungry,
I replied.
lis the gardner's child i'll again
Fraulein?' said the pastor suddenly
I saw you go into the house the day
y
had no time to inquire
Il started violently and felt the
blood mounting to my face, but, in
capable of telling an untruth, STAN
mered something about Just going tc
; see how the child was getting on OF
something of the sort.
oh, Wilhelm, Wilhelm, if the year
were only oyer!' l thought. With q
! great effort forced myself to answer
pleasantly and sensibly several ques
| lions which the pastor addressed tC
me. Then the conversation turned on
nah suddenly got up; she looked pale
as death, and, before she had taken
two or three steps toward the door
she fell unconscious to the floor
With a cry of terror I was beside her
and we carried her to the sofa. 1t was
a long fainting fit, and when, al
| length after we had tried every pos
sible remedy, she opened her eyes
she was evidently wandering, and
talked all sorts of incoherent non
sense.
"'DO you see, Gretchen she said
there he comes through the great ave
nue.; now he is swallowed up by the
mist. can see the red stripes On his
cap Then she would sob a heart
breaking manner, Mamma, papa
don't take him away from me! Don't
go away Henry, out into the dark
ness!'
! Frau Won Bendeleben looked pale
very pale, and the baron's face witch
! ed as he begged Wilhelm to send &
messenger on horseback after the
doctor.
1.-The sick girl was carried TO bed
and a few hours passed. Frau vor
Bendeleben sat by Hannah's side, and
held the hands of the girl, who, in hel
ceaseless outpourings, unconsciouslJ
cast upon her the bitterest reproaches
"At last the doctor came, and de
clared the illness to be a violent ty
phoid fever. l took my place by the
bed, and l had only fieeting opportun
tiles for speaking to Eberhardt, wher
l was occasionally sent down to gel
something. l promiseu him to write
often. Soon after I heard his horses
steps in the courtyard; he was gong
What could he do here under the cir
cumstances?
For nearly two weeks Hannah hoN
cred between life and death. 1t was {
terrible time. Frau Won Bendelebe1
did not stir moment from her child:
bed and often as begged ner e