d.

Kate went up to her husband quite quietly, so calmly that he did not
notice anything. But when she took the road to the Laemkes next day, her
heart trembled and beat as spasmodically as it had done before. She had
fought against her fear and faint-heartedness the whole morning; now it
was almost noon on that account, Paul had told her at breakfast that
Wolfgang had not been to the office the day before and only for quite a
short time the preceding day. "I don't know what's the matter with the
boy," he had said. "I'm really too angry with him. But I
suppose we ought to find out what's happened to him." "I'll do so," she
had answered.

Her feet hardly carried her as she slowly crept along, but at last
she almost ran: he had been her child for many, many years, and she
shared the responsibility. She no longer asked herself how she was to
begin the conversation with Frau Laemke, she hoped the right word would
be given her when the time came.

So she groped her way down the dark steps to the cellar where the
Laemkes lived, knocked at the door and walked in without waiting for an
answer.

Frau Laemke was just washing the floor, the brush fell from her hand
and she quickly let down the dress that she had turned up: Frau
Schlieben? What did she want at her house? The pale woman with the
innocent-looking face that had grown so thin gazed at the lady with the
utmost astonishment.

"How do you do, Frau Laemke," said Kate, in quite a friendly voice.
"Is your daughter Frida at home? I want to speak to her."

"No, Frida isn't at home." The woman looked still more perturbed:
what did the lady want with Frida? She had never troubled about her
before. "Frida is at business."

"Is she? Do you know that for certain?"

There was something offensive in her way of questioning, but Frau
Laemke did not notice anything in her innocence. "Frida is never back
from business at this time of day, but she is due in less than half an
hour. She has two hours off at dinner-time; in the evening she does not
come in until about ten, as they only close at nine. But if you would
like her to come to you after her dinner"--Frau Laemke was very curious,
what could she want with Frida?--"she'll be pleased to do so."

"She'll be here in half an hour, you say?"

"Yes, certainly. She's always in a hurry to come home to her
mother--and she's always hungry too."

"I will wait for her if I may," said Kate.

"Please sit down." Frau Laemke hastily w