Page:Karl Gjellerup - Minna, A novel - 1913.djvu/105

 By and by it grew dreadfully hot and no air came through the open window. I threw off one garment after another until I lay on the bed in my shirt, which was hardly considerate to the figures depicted in the novel, who were the essence of propriety. I did not think there was any risk of other visitors, the old Hertzes could not possibly venture so far up. Suddenly an idea dawned upon me: Suppose she herself came to see me! It seemed impossible, but in such cases one must be prepared for any emergency.

At once I began to dress with the greatest care. Yes, I would even have shaved had not the sun been so blinding. As my eye caught sight of the little birch avenue, I was possessed by a new idea the grotto "Sophien-Ruhe"! She had said that at this time the people of the house never came there; what if, trusting to my memory and shrewdness, she expected to see me there! Surely she would do so. It was like a revelation! And off I darted.

A few yards from the place I paused in order to gain control over my feelings, and at the same moment a tall gentleman, with moustache and beard à la Kaiser Wilhelm, came out of the grotto with an aggrieved air.

"I beg your pardon," I stuttered; "I am afraid … perhaps this is private ground"

"Strictly private, sir," answered the Kaiser-bearded gentleman in a most majestic tone, and I disappeared from his lordly and offended gaze.

Not in the best of humours, I returned to the house and plunged into the second volume of the novel. Just at the most critical point, another idea occurred to me. Might she be with the Hertzes, why had I not thought of that before? No—she had said yesterday that she would be