held out her hand to
him, he saw the extremity of her exhaustion and put his arm around her.

She did not faint; she kept her consciousness of the blue sky and the
cirri--golden now--and even of Franz's tie and eyeglasses, glistening
golden in the rising sunlight; but he had lowered her gently to the
ground, kneeling beside her, and was supporting her shoulders and
putting brandy to her lips. After a little while he made her drink some
milk and then she could speak to him.

She must speak and she must tell him that she had left her guardian. She
must speak of Tante. But what to say of her? The shame and pity that had
gone with her for days laid their fingers on her lips as she thought of
Tante and of why she had left her. Her mind groped for some availing
substitute.

"Franz," she said, "you must help me. I have left Tante. You will not
question me. There is a breach between us; she has been unkind to me. I
can never see her again." And now with clearer thought she found a
sufficient truth. "She has not understood about me and my husband. She
has tried to make me go back to him; and I have fled from her because I
was afraid that she would send for him. She is not as fond of me as I
thought she was, Franz, and I was a burden to her when I came. Franz,
will you take me to London, to your mother? I am going with you all to
Germany. I am going to earn my living there."

"_Du lieber Gott!_" Herr Lippheim ejaculated. He stared at Karen in
consternation. "Our great lady--our great Tante--has been unkind to you?
Is it then possible, Karen?"

"Yes, Franz; you must believe me. You must not question me."

"Trust me, my Karen," said Herr Lippheim now; "do not fear. It shall be
as you say. But I cannot take you to the Muetterchen in London, for she
is not there. They have gone back to Germany, Karen, and it is to
Germany that we must go."

"Can you take me there, Franz, at once? I have no money; but I am going
to pawn this watch that Onkel Ernst gave me."

"That is all simple, my Karen. I have money. I took with me the money
for my tour; I was on a walking-tour, do you see, and reached Falmouth
last night and had but started now to pay my respects at Les Solitudes.
I wished to see you, Karen, and to see if you were well. But it is very
far to your village. How have you come so far, at night?"

"I walked. I have walked all night. I am so tired, Franz. So tired. I do
not know how I shall go any further." She closed her eyes;