r and distrust. He felt almost certain
that this man regarded the whole occurrence as a tragic drama, which
would have to be mounted for the stage. It was evident to him that the
intendant was using this as a study, of which he would avail himself in
future scenic representations, and that he was observing his every
gesture and feature, so that he might be able to instruct the actors
under him; so that he might say: "Thus does one pose himself, and thus
does one groan when he finds his sister's corpse-- Am I to be this
puppet's puppet? No, never!"

Bruno would have liked, best of all, to have journeyed back to his
mother-in-law, even if he had to succumb to her. He could convert his
humility into gallantry, and, at all events, would be spared these
terrible sights. But here was his friend encouraging him to neglect
nothing which fraternal duty demanded of him. Oh! these people of
feeling are the most abominable of mortals, for they take everything so
seriously. Do they really mean all they say? Who knows? Every one in
the world is merely playing a part, after all.

He must go on, and he saw what was in store for him. This terrible
friend with the strong sense of duty--and, after all, he was not his
friend--this man, whom he had inflicted on himself, would force him to
spend days, searching for horrors which he had no desire to find. They
drove on, in an ill-humor.

The intendant, finding that Bruno would formally thank him for every
little service, declared:

"I beg of you, don't thank me. I am only doing my duty to my friend and
to myself. You know that I once loved your sister, and that she
rejected my suit."

He was discreet enough to refrain from adding that he had afterward
rejected her offer, and Bruno groaned inwardly at his cruel discretion.

The intendant found Bruno quiet and reserved. Concluding that this was
the natural reaction from the excitement of the previous day, he, too,
remained silent. Bruno often looked at the intendant, as if he were a
jailer leading him to the place of punishment. They drove on rapidly.
At the different post-houses, where they stopped to change horses, the
intendant would fluently converse with the postillions and the
innkeepers in their native dialect. Several of them knew him.

To his great alarm, it suddenly occurred to Bruno that he had the
saloon warbler with him. He was perfectly at home here, and would now
have a chance to display the treasures of his dialect wardr