"You shall--when you can," said Courvoisier, smiling as he had smiled
when I first knew him, before all these miserable misunderstandings had
come between us.

My apprehensions were stilled. It did me good, warmed me, sent the tears
trembling to my eyes, when I found that his voice had not resumed the
old accent of ice, nor his eyes that cool, unrecognizing stare which had
frozen me so many a time in the last few weeks.

"_Trinken sie 'mal, Fraeulein_," said the woman, holding a glass to my
lips; it held hot spirits and water, which smoked.

"Bah!" replied I, gratefully, and turning away. "_Nie, nie!_" she
repeated. "You must drink just a _Schnaeppschen_, Fraeulein."

I pushed it away with some disgust. Courvoisier took it from her hand
and held it to me.

"Don't be so foolish and childish. Think of your voice after this," said
he, smiling kindly; and I, with an odd sensation, choked down my tears
and drank it. It was bad--despite my desire to please, I found it very
bad.

"Yes, I know," said he, with a sympathetic look, as I made a horrible
face after drinking it, and he took the glass. "And now this woman will
lend you some dry things. Shall I go straight to Elberthal and send a
drosky here for you, or will you try to walk home?"

"Oh, I will walk. I am sure it would be the best--if--do you think it
would?"

"Do you feel equal to it? is the question," he answered, and I was
surprised to see that though I was looking hard at him he did not look
at me, but only into the glass he held.

"Yes," said I. "And they say that people who have been nearly drowned
should always walk; it does them good."

"In that case then," said he, repressing a smile, "I should say it would
be better for you to try. But pray make haste and get your wet things
off, or you will come to serious harm."

"I will be as quick as ever I can."

"Now hurry," he replied, sitting down, and pulling one of the woman's
children toward him. "Come, _mein Junge_, tell me how old you are?"

I followed the woman to an inner room, where she divested me of my
dripping things, and attired me in a costume consisting of a short full
brown petticoat, a blue woolen jacket, thick blue knitted stockings, and
a pair of wide low shoes, which habiliments constituted the uniform of
the orphan asylum of which she was matron, and belonged to her niece.

She expatiated upon the warmth of the dress, and did not produce any
outer wrap or shawl, and I, only anxiou