Then the door opened and Frau von Wallmoden entered.
"I beg your pardon for keeping your highness waiting so long," she said
after the first greeting. "The servants told you, perhaps, that a member
of the household was dying."
"I heard that one of the men about the place was very ill," Egon
answered as he hastened toward her.
"Yes, poor Tanner. He was formerly a tutor somewhere in this
neighborhood, but his health failed, and Herr von Schoenau recommended
him to my late husband. He has been here ever since we bought the place.
He told me the other day how thankful his mother was that he had so easy
a position. Since Herr von Wallmoden's death, nothing further has been
done towards a library here, and Tanner was to have had special charge
of that, so that except to act as my secretary occasionally, there has
been literally nothing for him to do. Only yesterday I obtained the
necessary papers for him to enter the army, and he was all enthusiasm
over the prospect. This morning he had a severe hemorrhage, and now the
physician says he cannot live an hour. It seems terrible to see a young
life cut off so suddenly without any warning." The young mistress sighed
deeply as she finished her sad little story.
After a minute's pause, Egon said quietly:
"I have come to say good-bye.
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