ney
out of him would have to be in the possession of extraordinary
shrewdness.

"But he has already paid it," said Gruendlich, the watchmaker. He knew he
had; he knew that the wife of the bookseller had gone over to Nothafft's
on Tuesday afternoon; that she had a heap of silver in a bag; and that
when she came back home she took to bed, and had been ill ever since.

Kitzler, the assistant postmaster, felt there was something wrong here;
and if there was not, you would simply have to assume that Nothafft, the
musician, was a dangerous citizen, who had somehow managed to place the
breast of his uncle _vis-a-vis_ a revolver.

"And you know, Nothafft is to be made Kapellmeister at the City
Theatre," remarked the editor Weibezahl, the latest member of the round
table. "His appointment is to be made public in a few days."

"What! Kapellmeister! You don't say so! That will make Andreas Doederlein
the saddest man in ten states."

Herr Carovius, whose mouth was just then hanging on his beer glass,
laughed so heartily that the beer went down his Sunday throat; he was
seized with a coughing spell. Herr Korn slapped him on the back.

It was a shame that such a bad actor as Nothafft had to be endured in
the midst of people who lived peaceful and law-abiding lives. This
lament came from Herr Kleinlein, who had been circuit judge now for
some time. He was anxious to know whether all the tales that were
circulating concerning Nothafft were true.

Well, he was told, a great many things are said about Nothafft, but it
is difficult to get at the truth. They appealed to the apothecary
Pflaum, on the ground that his assistant knew the musician and might be
able to give them some definite information.

Herr Pflaum took on an air as if he knew a great deal but was under
obligations not to tell. Yes, yes, he said rather perfunctorily, he had
heard that some one had said that Nothafft was running a pretty
questionable domestic establishment; that he had a rather unsavoury
past; and that there was some talk about his neglecting his wife.

The deuce you say! Why, they were married only a short while ago. Yes,
but there was a rumour to the effect that there was a woman in the case.
Who could it be? Ahem! Well-ah, it would be a good idea to be cautious
about mentioning names. Good Lord, why cautious? Why not straight out
with the information any one chanced to be fortunate enough to have? Is
it not a question of protecting one's own wife