umber. To her he was a riddle and a
mystery; she wanted to solve the one and clear up the other. He had
possessed so many women, indubitably more than he had confessed to her;
and she wished now to possess him. He was so quiet, so clever, so
resolute: she wanted his quietness, his cleverness, his resoluteness.
She wanted everything he had, his charm, his magic, his power over men,
all that he displayed and all that he concealed.

She thought of him constantly; she thought in truth of no one else, and
nothing else. Her thoughts fluttered about his picture, shyly, greedily,
and as playfully as a kitten. He had managed to bring will power and
unity into her senses. She wanted to have him.

The rain beat against the window. Terrified at Dorothea's
thoughtfulness, Herr Carovius pressed his hands to his cheeks. "I see, I
see, you want to leave me all alone," he said in a tone that sounded
like the howling of a dog in the middle of the night. "You want to
deceive me, to surrender me to the enemy, to leave me nothing, nothing
but the privilege of sitting here and staring at my four walls. I see, I
see."

"Be still, Uncle, nothing is going to happen. It is all a huge joke,"
said Dorothea with feigned good humour and kind intentions. She walked
to the door slowly, looking back every now and then with a smile on her
face.

XVII

It was early in the morning when Dorothea rang Daniel's bell. Philippina
opened the door, but she did not wish to let Dorothea in. She forced an
entrance, however, and, standing in the door, she inspected Philippina
with the eye of arrogance, always a clear-sighted organ.

"Look out, Philippin', there's something rotten here," murmured
Philippina to herself.

Daniel was at work. He got up and looked at Dorothea, who carefully
closed the door.

"Here I am, Daniel," she said, and breathed a sigh of relief, like a
swimmer who has just reached the land.

"What is it all about?" asked Daniel, seemingly ill inclined to become
excited.

"I have done what you wanted me to do, Daniel: I have broken away from
them. I cannot tolerate Father a minute longer. Where should I go if not
to you?"

Daniel went up to her, and laid his hands on her shoulders. "Girl,
girl!" he said as if to warn her. He felt uneasy.

They looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity.
Daniel was apparently trying to peer into the innermost recesses of her
soul. Dorothea's eye