CHAPTER XVIII

le,terriblewrench,leavinghimwhoforfiveyears—Iamawidowfiveyears—hasbeenmyall." "Itmusthavebeendreadful,"murmuredAnnasympathetically. Thebaronesssatstraightandmotionless,staringfixedlyatFrauvonTreumann. "'WhenshallIseeyouagain,mydearestmamma?'werehislastwords.AndIcouldgivehimnohope—noanswer."Thehandkerchiefwentuptohereyes. "Whatisshegassingabout?"wonderedLetty. "Icanseehimnow,fadingawayontheplatformasmytrainboremeofftoanunknownlife.Anonlyson—theonlysonofawidow—iseverything,everythingtohismother." "Hemustbe,"saidAnna. Therewasanothersilence.ThenFrauvonTreumannwipedhereyesandtookuptheletteragain."NowhewritesthatthoughIhaveonlybeenawaytwodaysfromRislar,thetownheisstationedat,itseemsalreadylikeyears.Poorboy!Heisquitedesperate—listentothis—poorboy——"Andshesmiledalittle,andreadaloud,"'Imustseeyou,liebste,besteMama,fromtimetotime.Ihadnoideatheseparationwouldbelikethis,orIcouldneverhaveletyougo.PraybegMissEstcourt——'" "Aha,"thoughtthebaroness. "'—toallowmetovisitmymotheroccasionally.Theremustbeaninninthevillage.Ifnot,IcouldstayatStralsund,andwouldinnowayintrudeonher.ButImustseemydearestmother,thebeingIhavewatchedoverandcaredforeversincemyfather'sdeath.'Poor,dear,foolishboy—heisdesperate——"Andshefoldeduptheletter,shookherhead,smiled,andsuddenlyburiedherfaceinherhandkerchief. "ExcellentTreumann,"thoughttheunblinkingbaroness. Annasatinsomeperplexity.Sonshadnotenteredintohercalculations.Inthecorrespondence,sheremembered,thesonhadbeenlightlypassedoverasanofficerlivingonhispayandwithoutasuperfluouspennyforthesupportofhisparent.Notawordhadbeensaidofanyunusualaffectionexistingbetweenthem.Nowitappearedthatthemotherandsonwereallinalltoeachother.Ifso,ofcoursetheseparationwasdreadful.Amother'slovewasasentimentthatinspiredAnnawithprofoundrespect.Beforeitsunknowndepthsandheightsshestoodinaweandsilence.Howcouldshe,aspinster,evenfaintlycomprehendthatsacredfeeling?Itwasamysteriousandbeautifulemotionthatshecouldonlyreverencefromafar.Clearlyshemustnotcomebetweenparentandchildbutyet—yetshewishedshehadhadmoretimetothinkitover. ShelookedratherhelplesslyatFrauvonTreumann,andgaveherhandalittlesqueeze.Thehanddidnotreturnthesqueeze,andthefaceremainedburiedinthehandkerchief.Well,itwouldbeabsurdtowanttocutoffthesonentirelyfromhismother.Ifhecameoccasionallytoseeheritcouldnotmattermuch.Shegavethehandafirmersqueeze,andsaidwithaneffortthatshedidherbesttoconceal,"Buthemustcomethen,whenhecan.Itisratheralongway—didn'tyousayyouhadtostayanightinBerlin?" "Oh,mydearMissEstcourt—mydearAnna!"criedFrauvonTreumann,snatchingthehandkerchieffromherfaceandseizingAnna'shandinbothhers,"whataweightfrommyheart—whataheavy,heavyweight!AllnightIwasthinkinghowshallIbearthis?Imaywritetohim,then,andtellhimwhatyousay?Alongjourney?Youareafraiditwilltirehim?Oh,itwillbenothing,nothingatalltoKarlchenifonlyhecanseehismother.HowcanIthankyou!Youwillsaymygratitudeisexcessiveforsuchalittlething,andtrulyonlyamothercouldunderstandit——" Inshort,Karlchen'sappearanceatKleinwaldewasnowonlyamatterofdays. "Unversch?mt,"wasthebaroness'smentalcomment.