, and
very near," he added, but he did not seem much distressed at either
circumstance.

Then the gas was suddenly turned up quite high. The bustle increased
cheerfully. The old, young, and middle-aged ladies who filled the
_Logen_ in the _Erster Rang_--hardened theater-goers, who came as
regularly every night in the week during the eight months of the season
as they ate their breakfasts and went to their beds, were gossiping with
the utmost violence, exchanging nods and odd little old-fashioned bows
with other ladies in all parts of the house, leaning over to look
whether the parquet was well filled, and remarking that there were
more people in the _Balcon_ than usual. The musicians were dropping
into the orchestra. I was startled to see a fair face I knew--that
pleasant-looking young violinist with the brown eyes, whose name I had
heard called out at the eye hospital. They all seemed very fond of him,
particularly a man who struggled about with a violoncello, and who
seemed to have a series of jokes to relate to Herr Helfen, exploding
with laughter, and every now and then shaking the loose thick hair from
his handsome, genial face. Helfen listened to him with a half smile,
screwing up his violin and giving him a quiet look now and then. The
inspiring noise of tuning up had begun, and I was on the very tiptoe of
expectation.

As I turned once more and looked round, Vincent said, laughing, "Miss
Wedderburn, your hat has hit me three times in the face." It was, by the
by, the brown hat which had graced my head that day at Koeln.

"Oh, has it? I beg your pardon!" said I, laughing too, as I brought my
eyes again to bear on the stage. "The seats are too near toge--"

Further words were upon my lips, but they were never uttered. In roving
across the orchestra to the foot-lights my eyes were arrested. In the
well of the orchestra immediately before my eyes was one empty chair,
that by right belonging to the leader of the first violins. Friedhelm
Helfen sat in the one next below it. All the rest of the musicians were
assembled. The conductor was in his place, and looked a little
impatiently toward that empty chair. Through a door to the left of the
orchestra there came a man, carrying a violin, and made his way, with
a nod here, a half smile there, a tap on the shoulder in another
direction. Arrived at the empty chair, he laid his hand upon Helfen's
shoulder, and bending over him, spoke to him as he seated himself. He
kep