to laugh. "What sort of a romance is this
you are trying to palm off on me! I--I am--ha, ha, ha! A delightful
farce!"

"I congratulate you and your good child upon the cheerful mood in which
this unhoped-for discovery finds you," remarked Schnetz, dryly. "To be
sure, the affair is by no means so tragic as it would have been, were
the mother still living. This poor deserted"--here he stepped close up
to the baron, who stood as if petrified, and pronounced her name--"this
sacrifice to our double code of morals has been dead for a year; nor
has the child any suspicion that her dear papa is leading a jolly
bachelor's life in the same city with her."

The baron sank upon the sofa; his arms hung at his sides; the only sign
of life that he gave was in his little, restless eyes, that wandered
about anxiously and unsteadily, without seeming to rest on anything. In
the mean while Schnetz strode up and down with noiseless tread,
apparently waiting to see whether his friend, who had received so
severe a shock, stood in any need of his help or his advice. Ten
minutes passed, and neither of them had uttered a word more.

"You will permit me to light a cigarette," growled Schnetz at length,
between his teeth; "the lady of the house seems to have no intention of
showing herself again--"

At this moment the door of the neighboring room opened, and Irene
entered, paler than before, and with such an agitated, sad expression
upon her young face, that Schnetz gazed upon her with a feeling of
remorse.

No sooner had the door begun to creak than her uncle sprang up, hastily
pressed his friend's hand, and whispered to him that he must speak with
him about this matter at all hazards; then he rushed out without a
glance at his ward.

The extraordinary haste with which he retreated did not seem to strike
Irene as at all strange. She advanced quickly to the window at which
Schnetz was standing, and said:

"Were you really in earnest about your invitation to the masquerade?"

He assured her that it would afford him the greatest pleasure to
accompany her; all the more because, after what had been said on the
subject, he should consider it not only as a proof of her confidence in
him, but even as a token of true friendship and esteem, if she would
not refuse to accept his invitation.

She went on to ask whether she would be allowed to come in a plain
domino and mask--talking all the time with a half-absent expression.

He replied that on