Carl. The banker was overjoyed
at the wager, about the winning of which he now felt absolute
certainty. He expressed himself confident that before long he would
have the pleasure of going over the road on the back of the best racer
in the country. "The noble animals," said he, "shall not be brought by
the railway; it might injure them. I shall send my groom for them to
Chateau Hallberg. He can ride the distance in two days."

Seraphin could not help smiling at his friend's solicitude for the
horses.

"Do not sell the bear's skin before killing the bear," answered he. "I
may not lose the horses, but may, on the contrary, acquire a pleasant
claim to twenty thousand florins."

"That is beyond all possibility," returned the banker. "Hans Shund is
now chief-magistrate, has been nominated to the legislature, and in a
few days will be elected. Mr. Hans will appear as a shining light
to-morrow, when he is to state his political creed in a speech to his
constituents. Of course, you and I shall go to hear him. Next will
follow his election, then my groom will hasten to Chateau Hallberg to
fetch the horses. Are you sorry you made the bet?"

"Not at all! I should regret very much to lose my span of bays. Still,
the bet will be of incalculable benefit to me. I will have learned
concerning men and manners what otherwise I could never have dreamed
of. In any event, the experience gained will be of vast service to me
during life.

"I am exceedingly glad to know it, my dear fellow," assured Greifmann.
"Your acquaintance with the present has been very superficial. You have
learned a great deal in a few days, and it is gratifying to hear you
acknowledge the fact."

The banker had not, however, caught Gerlach's meaning.

But for the wager, Seraphin would not have become acquainted with
Louise's intellectual standpoint. He would probably have married her
for the sake of her beauty, would have discovered his mistake when it
could not be corrected, and would have found himself condemned to spend
his life with a woman whose principles and character could only annoy
and give him pain. As it was, he was tormented by the fear that his
father might not coincide in his opinion of the young lady. What if the
old gentleman considered her hostility to religion as a mere
fashionable mania unsupported by inner conviction, a girlish whim
changeable like the wind, which with little effort might be made to
veer round to the point or the most unim