At eleven she had
gone over to her father's house and rung the bell. Eleanore, frightened,
had raised the window, and called down to her that Daniel had left her
at nine.

He took the half-inanimate woman into the living room: "You must never
wait for me, never," he said.

He opened the window, pointed to the glowing sky beyond the church, and
as she leaned her head, with eyes closed, on his shoulder, he said with
a scurrilous distortion of his face: "Behold! The fire! Hail to the
flames! Hail to those whose coming we announce!"

V

The following morning Eleanore had no time to think of why Daniel had
not gone home.

Jordan had just finished his breakfast when some one rang the door bell
with unusual rapidity. Eleanore went to the door, and came back with
Herr Zittel, who was in a rare state of excitement.

"I have come to inquire about your son, Jordan," he began, clearing his
throat as though he were embarrassed.

"About my son?" replied Jordan astonished, "I thought you had given him
three days' leave."

"I know nothing about that," replied Herr Zittel.

"Last Saturday evening he went on a visit to his friend Gerber in
Bamberg to celebrate the founding of a club, or something of that sort;
we are not expecting him until to-morrow. If you know nothing about this
arrangement, Herr Diruf must have given him his leave."

The chief of the clerical department bit his lips. "Can you give me the
address of this Herr Gerber?" he asked, "I should like to send him a
telegram."

"For heaven's sake, what has happened, Herr Zittel?" cried Jordan,
turning pale.

Herr Zittel stared into space with his gloomy, greenish eyes: "On
Saturday afternoon Herr Diruf gave your son a cheque for three thousand
seven hundred marks, and told him to cash it at the branch of the
Bavarian Bank and bring the money to me. I was busy and did not go to
the office in the afternoon. To-day, about a half-hour ago, Herr Diruf
asked me whether I had received the money. It turned out that your son
had not put in his appearance on Saturday, and since he has not shown up
this morning either, you will readily see why we are so uneasy."

Jordan straightened up as stiff as a flag pole: "Do you mean to
insinuate that my son is guilty of some criminal transaction?" he
thundered forth, and struck the top of the table with the bones of his
clenched fist.

Herr Zittel shrugged his shoulders: "It is, of course, po