Schmerz."

"It must be very hard, Frank," murmured his friend after a few moments
of deep silence. "Very hard--I mean, to go the right way to work with a
woman. How will you act? With sternness, or with gentleness? Will you
write her a harsh letter, or will you send her some verses? In such an
evening as this, I think I could almost write poetry myself. I say,
Frank, light the lamp and let us read the paper."

"Richard," said the young man as he rose, "if you will give me your
advice in regard to this affair of Wolff's, I shall be grateful to you,
but leave my wife out of the question altogether; that is my affair
alone."

CHAPTER XVII.

Mrs. Baumhagen had conquered her aversion to "Waldruhe" and had come to
see her youngest daughter. Something must be done--at any rate she
could not any longer endure the sympathetic inquiries for the health of
the young Mrs. Linden. Something _must_ be done.

Gertrude was sitting at the window reading in her cool dusky room, at
least she held a book in her hand; at her feet lay Linden's dog. She
started in dismay as she heard footsteps in the corridor and for one
moment a deep flush spread over her face.

"Ah, mamma," she said, wearily, as Mrs. Baumhagen rustled in in a light
gray toilet, her hat lavishly adorned with violets as being appropriate
to half-mourning, the round face more deeply flushed than usual with
the heat of the spring sun and her excitement.

"This can't go on any longer, child," she began, kissing her daughter
tenderly on the forehead. "How you look, and how cold it is here! Jenny
sent her love; she went to Paris this morning to meet Arthur. Why
didn't you go too, as I proposed?"

"I did not feel well enough," replied Gertrude.

"You look pale, and it is no wonder. I never could bear such want of
consideration, either."

Gertrude sat down again in her old place.

"Has Uncle Henry been here?" inquired Mrs. Baumhagen.

"He was here yesterday."

"Well, then, you know that Linden has forbidden him any interference
with Wolff?"

"Yes, mamma."

"And that this Mr. Wolff has been at the point of death for three days?
His death would be the best thing that could happen, for of course
everything would come to an end then. I don't know whether the people
in the city have any idea of the true state of the case, but they
suspect something and they overwhelm me with inquiries about you."

Gertrude nodded slightly, she knew