their eyes. "You'll see us again in six weeks," the lady called
out and her husband added: "If all goes well." Then he motioned to the
waiting driver and the carriage moved off swiftly, turning the corner in
a few moments.

The little group of servants returned to the courtyard behind the high
gates. Muller, whom they had not noticed, was about to resume his walk,
when he halted again. The courtyard of the house led back through a
flagged walk to the park-like garden that surrounded it on the sides and
rear. Down this walk came a young woman. She came so quickly that one
might almost call it running. She was evidently excited about something.
Muller imagined what this something might be, and he remained to
hear what she had to say. He was not mistaken. The woman, it was Mrs.
Schmiedler, the gardener's wife, began her story at once. "Haven't you
heard yet?" she said breathlessly. "No, you can't have heard it yet or
you wouldn't stand there so quietly, Mrs. Bernauer."

"What's the matter?" asked the woman whom Muller took to be the
housekeeper.

"They killed a man last night out here! They found his body just now
in the lane back of our garden. The janitor from No.1 told me as I was
going to the store, so I went right back to look at the place, and I
came to tell you, as I didn't think you'd heard it yet."

Mrs. Bernauer was evidently a woman of strong constitution and of an
equable mind. The other three servants broke out into an excited hubbub
of talk while she remained quite indifferent and calm. "One more poor
fellow who had to leave the world before he was ready," she remarked
calmly, with just the natural touch of pity in her voice that would come
to any warm-hearted human being upon hearing of such an occurrence. She
did not seem at all excited or alarmed to think that the scene of the
crime had been so near.

The other servants were very much more excited and had already rushed
off, under the guidance of the gardener's wife, to look at the dreadful
spot. Franz, the butler, had quite forgotten to close the front gate in
his excitement, and the housekeeper turned to do it now.

"The fools, see them run," she exclaimed half aloud. "As if there was
anything for them to do there."

The gate closed, Mrs. Bernauer turned and walked slowly to the house.
Muller walked on also, going first to the police station to report what
he had discovered. Then he went to his own rooms and slept until nearly
noon. On his return