seclusion.

What was there really for her to make life enjoyable? Aside from walks
in the woods nearby there was nothing to do for her the live-long day,
so that she felt it a positive blessing to have, as often as
circumstances would permit, a cosy tete-a-tete with Kolberg. Her
husband, too, was not the kind of man a woman could be happy with.
Hard drinking and interminable hours spent at the Casino were all he
cared for. The estrangement between him and his wife had been almost
complete even before Pommer, and now, since his going, Kolberg had
crossed her path.

In this way passed several months.

The secret of the intimate relations existing between Kolberg and Frau
Kahle had slowly filtered down into all the strata of society
represented in the little town, and they formed even one of the
regular themes of conversation in the low-class dramshops on the
outskirts of the town where the laboring population lived.

Even Kolberg's comrades knew about it, but none of them felt rash
enough to undertake mediation or interference in such a delicate
matter where the tangible proofs seemed not within reach. It was to be
expected, that if confronted with the facts of the case as far as
these were palpable, both parties concerned would simply deny the
damaging allegation, and in such a case the role of the advising
friend might easily have become one of great difficulty. The accuser
might then have been charged with assailing the honor of a lady of the
regiment and that of a fellow-officer. Such a charge, in the absence
of absolute proof, could have had but one issue. For who could tell
whether the sole witness to some of the escapades of the two--that is,
Kolberg's man--would stick to his statements as soon as he should see
that circumstances became serious? Perhaps--and that seemed
probable--he would entirely recant from fear of punishment for having
secretly played the spy on his master. And suppose he then represented
the facts in a more harmless light, who could gainsay him?

On the other hand, it was justly feared that the _denouement_ of this
matter would raise much dust, and lead to the resigning of one
comrade, to a serious duel, and to the disruption of another comrade's
household. And as Captain Kahle was rather popular with his comrades,
because of his open-handedness and his easy good nature, nobody felt
like opening his eyes to the miserable intrigue.

Therefore everything remained as it was, and only malig