months she had never seen
him. When last she had beheld him he had been to her simply a foolish
idle youth with whom his elder cousin had been forced to quarrel.
Since that, he had become to her a source of infinite terror. He had
been described to her as one guilty of crimes which, much as she
hated them, produced, even in her breast, a kind of respect for the
criminal. He was a rebel of whom the magistrates were afraid. When in
prison he had had means of escaping. When arrested at Nuremberg he
would be the next day at Augsburg; when arrested at Augsburg he would
be the next day at Nuremberg. He could get in and out of the roofs of
houses, and could carry away with him a young maiden. These are deeds
which always excite a certain degree of admiration in the female
heart, and Madame Staubach, though she was a Baptist, was still
a female. When, therefore, she found herself in the presence of
Ludovic, she could not treat him with the indignant scorn with
which she would have received him had he intruded upon her premises
before her fears of him had been excited. "Why are you here, Ludovic
Valcarm?" she said advancing hardly a step beyond the doorway.
Ludovic looked up at her with his hand resting on the table. He was
not drunk, but he had been drinking; his clothes were soiled; he
was unwashed and dirty, and the appearance of the man was that of a
vagabond. "Speak to me, and tell me why you are here," said Madame
Staubach.

"I have come to look for my wife," said Ludovic.

"You have no wife;--at any rate you have none here."

"Linda Tressel is my true and lawful wife, and I have come to take
her away with me. She went with me once, and now she will go again.
Where is she? You're not going to keep her locked up. It's against
the law to make a young woman a prisoner."

"My niece does not wish to see you;--does not intend to see you. Go
away."

But he refused to go, and threatened her, alleging that Linda Tressel
was of an age which allowed her to dispose as she pleased of her
person and her property. Of course this was of no avail with Madame
Staubach, who was determined that, whatever might happen, the young
man should not force himself into Linda's presence. When Ludovic
attempted to leave the kitchen, Madame Staubach stood in the doorway
and called for Tetchen. The servant, who had perched herself on the
landing, since Linda had entered the parlour, was down in a moment,
and with various winks and little signs end