The old man looked down at her in astonishment, but instead of drawing her closer to him he released himself with courteous coldness, saying bitterly:  “There is no longer any bond between us and the Ortliebs, Jungfrau Els.  From this day forth I am no more your father than you are the bride of my son.  Your will may be good, but how little it can accomplish has unfortunately been proved.”

Shrugging his shoulders wearily as he spoke, he nodded a farewell and left the house.

Four bearers were waiting outside with the sedan-chair, three servants with torches, and two stout attendants carrying clubs over their shoulders.  All wore costly liveries of the Eysvogel colours, and when their master had taken his seat in the gilded conveyance and the men lifted it, Els heard a weaver’s wife, who lived near by, say to her little boy:  “That’s the rich Herr Eysvogel, Fritzel.  He has as much money to spend every hour as we have in a whole year, and he is a very happy man.”

CHAPTER II.

Els went back into the house.

The repulse which she had just received caused her bitter sorrow.  Her father was right.  Herr Casper had treated her kindly from a purely selfish motive.  She herself was nothing to him.

But there was so much for her to do that she found little time to grieve over this new trouble.

Eva was praying in the death-chamber for the soul of the beloved dead with some of the nuns from the convent, who had lost in her mother a generous benefactress.

Els was glad to know that she was occupied; it was better that her sister should be spared many of the duties which she was obliged to perform.  Whilst arranging with the coffin-maker and the “Hegelein,” the sexton and upholsterer, ordering a large number of candles and everything else requisite at the funeral of the mistress of an aristocratic household, she also found time to look after her father and Countess Cordula, who was better.  Yet she did not forget her own affairs.

Biberli had returned.  He had much to relate; but when forced to admit that nothing was urgent, she requested him to defer it until later, and only commissioned him to go to the castle, greet Wolff in her name, and announce her mother’s death; Katterle would accompany him, in order to obtain admittance through her countryman, the Swiss warder.

Els might have sent one of the Ortlieb servants; but, in the first place, the fugitive’s refuge must be concealed, and then she told herself that Biberli, who had witnessed the occurrence of the previous evening, could best inform Wolff of the real course of events.  But when she gave him permission to tell her betrothed husband all that he had seen and heard the day before at the Ortlieb mansion, Biberli replied that a better person than he had undertaken to do so.  As he left his master, Sir Heinz was just going to seek