eagerly. "I know what is needed and
what the master ought to have. Things are not attended to at all, I
fear, and indeed I know it. After all I am an old acquaintance, and I'll
only come an hour a day to do the most urgent task."

"Nobody is allowed to come," Mr. Trius said again in his unchangeable,
dry tone. It was all the same to him whether Apollonie begged or
scolded. In her anxiety about the sick master she had forgotten
everything else.

"Where is the child?" she suddenly cried out in great anxiety. "Good
gracious, where is she? She must have run into the garden."

Mr. Trius had suddenly grown more lively. Throwing the gate to with
great violence, he turned the huge key before pulling it rapidly out. He
realized that Apollonie was capable of doing anything in her excitement
about the lost child.

"Witch's baggage!" he murmured angrily. Swinging his stick in a
threatening way, he ran towards the castle.

"Mr. Trius," Apollonie screamed after him with all her might, "if you
touch the child you will have to reckon with me, do you hear? Hold the
stick down. She can't help being frightened if she sees you."

But he had quickly been lost from view. While Apollonie and Mr. Trius
had been absorbed in their violent altercation and had stared at each
other, she in wild excitement and he in stiff immovability, Maezli had
slipped from between the two as swiftly as a little mouse. Then she had
merrily wandered up towards the castle hoping that she would soon see the
garden with the lovely flowers. But all she could see were wild bushes
and stretches of grass with only the yellow sparkling flowers which grow
in every common meadow. This was not what Maezli had expected, so she
went up to the terrace of the castle and looked about from there for the
flower garden. At the end of the terrace where the little pine wood
began she saw something that looked like fiery yellow flowers and quickly
ran there. But instead of flowers she saw a lion skin shining in the
sun. To see what was under the skin Maezli came closer. A head was
raised up and two sharp eyes were directed towards her. It was a man who
had half raised himself on the long chair which was covered by the skin.
As soon as she saw that it was a human being and not a lion, she came
nearer and asked quite confidentially, "Do you happen to know where the
beautiful old mignonette is, that mama saw in the garden here?"

"No," the man answered curtly.

"Maybe Mr. Trius kn