d was playing with a small doll, a fact of which every
passerby turned about to assure himself.

When Frederick saw this girl, who for weeks had been hovering in his
soul, in his dreams, in his waking hours, who, as it were, had covered
the rest of the world from his sight, or, at least, had cast a veil over
it, his excitement was so intense and his heart beat so violently against
his ribs that he had to turn away to keep his countenance. Even after the
lapse of several seconds, it was difficult for him to believe that the
enthralled, enslaved condition of his being was not noticeable to the
people about him. But his excitement was by no means due solely to the
fear of self-betrayal. It sprang from his passion, which, he suddenly
realised, dominated him with undiminished strength.

"Papa told me you were here," the little miss said to him, adjusting the
blue silk cap on her doll's head. "Won't you sit down with us? Mr.
Achleitner, please go and get a chair for Doctor von Kammacher." She
turned to Doctor Wilhelm. "Your treatment was summary, but I am grateful
to you. I feel very well sitting here, watching the sun set. You're fond
of nature, aren't you, Doctor von Kammacher?"

"_Nur fuer Natur hegte sie Sympathie_," trolled Doctor Wilhelm, swaying on
tip-toe.

"Oh, you are impudent," Ingigerd reproved him. "Doctor Wilhelm _is_
impudent, you know," she added to Frederick. "I saw he was the very
instant he looked at me and the way he took hold of me."

"But, my dear young lady, so far as I know, I never took hold of you."

"If you please, you did--going up the stairs. I have blue marks as the
result."

The chatter ran on for a while in a similar strain. Frederick, without
betraying it, was on the alert for every word she uttered, noted every
play of feature, watched for her glances, for the rise and fall of her
lashes. He jealously studied the others, too, and caught every
expression, every movement, every glance that was meant for her. He even
noticed how Max Pander, the handsome cabin-boy, still standing at his
post, held his eyes fixed upon her, a broad smile on his lips.

Ingigerd's pleasure in receiving the homage of three men and being the
centre of general interest was evident. She plucked at her little doll
and her odd, checked jacket, and gave herself up to coquettish whimsies.
Her affected voice filled Frederick with the delight of a long, cool
drink to a thirsty man. At the same time, his whole being was