s had commenced long ago--and Kate was still sitting in her
son's rooms. He had not been to the villa to see her for a week--why
not? A great anxiety had suddenly taken possession of her that day, she
had felt obliged to go to him. Her husband imagined she had gone to see
one of Hauptmann's pieces played for the first time--and she could
also go there later on, for surely Wolfgang must soon come home now. In
answer to her letter of inquiry he had written that he had a cold, and
stopped at home in the evenings. Well, she certainly did not want him
to come out to her and catch fresh cold, but it was surely natural that
she should go to see him. She made excuses to herself.

And so she waited and waited. The time passed very slowly. She had
come towards seven o'clock, now it was already nine. She had carefully
inspected both rooms a good many times, had stood at the window looking
down absently at the throng in the streets, had sat down, got up and
sat down again. Now she walked up and down restlessly, anxiously. The
landlady had already come in several times and found something
to do; her inquisitive scrutinising glances would have annoyed Kate at
any other time, but now she took no notice of them. She could not make
up her mind to go yet--if he were ill why did he not come home? Her
anxiety increased. Something weighed on her mind like a premonition of
coming evil. She would really have to ask the landlady now--it was
already ten o'clock--if he always came home so late in spite of his
cold. She rang for the woman.

She came, inwardly much annoyed. Why had Frau Schlieben not confided
in her long ago? Hm, she would have to wait now, the stuck-up
person.

"I suppose my son always comes home late?" Kate inquired. Her voice
sounded quite calm, she must not let such a woman notice how anxious
she really was.

"Hm," said the landlady, "sometimes he does, sometimes he
doesn't."

"I'm only surprised that he conies so late as he has a cold."

"Oh, has the young gentleman a cold?"

What, the woman with whom Wolfgang had lived almost three months
knew so little about him? And she had promised to take such exceedingly
good care of him. "You must give him a hot bottle at night. This room
is cold." Kate shivered and rubbed her hands. "And bring him a glass of
hot milk with some Ems salts in it before he gets up."

The landlady heard the reproach in her voice at once, although
nothing further was said, and became still more an