at he had to say; and yet the
man, who was lifting the leg of a black-cock to his mouth, would reply
no more than a rough, "All in good time, my lord."

Thus we had to wait; nor was it till the Brunswicker had cracked his
last nut with his strong teeth, and the evening cup had been brought
round, that he broke silence and told us in short, halting sentences how
he had sailed from Venice to Alexandria in the land of Egypt, and all
that had befallen his falcons. Then he stopped, as one who has ended his
tale, and Uhlwurm said in a deep voice, and with a sweep of his hand as
though to clear the crumbs from the table "Gone!"--And that "Gone" was
well-nigh the only word that ever I heard from the lips of that strange
old man. As he went on with his tale Kubbeling made free with the wine,
and albeit it had no more effect on him than clear water, still meseemed
he talked on for his own easement; only when he told how and where he
had vainly sought the banished Gotz he looked grievously at my aunt's
face. And Kunz, who had crossed the sea in the same ship with him, had
helped him in that search.

When I then asked him whether Kunz had not likewise come home with him
to Venice, and Kubbeling had answered me no, Uhlwurm said once more, or
ever his master had done speaking, "Gone!" in his deep, mournful voice,
and again swept away crumbs, as it might be, in the air. Hereupon so
great a fear fell upon me that meseemed a sharp steel bodkin was being
thrust into my heart; but Kubbeling had seen me turn pale, and he turned
upon Uhlwurm in high wrath, and to the end that I might take courage he
cried: "No, no, I say no. What does the old fool know about it! It is
only by reason that the galley tarried for Junker Schopper and weighed
anchor half a day later, that he forbodes ill. The delay was not needed.
And who can tell what young masters will be at? They get a fancy in
their green young heads, and it must be carried out whether or no. He
swore to me with a high and solemn oath that he would not rest till he
had found some trace of his brother, and if he kept the galleon waiting
for that reason, what wonder? Is it aught to marvel at? And you,
Mistress Margery, have of a surety known here in the Forest whither a
false scent may lead.--Junker Kunz! Whither he may have gone to seek
his brother, who can tell? Not I, and much less Uhlwurm. And young folks
flutter hither and thither like an untrained falcon; and if Master Kunz,
who is so m