A Sister's Love Part 25

"She quivered, noticeably. 'No,' she replied, 'but that must be.'

"'She has run, the Lord knows where, with her treasure,' I continued, smiling; 'she will probably answer it to-day, too.'

"Anna Maria nodded. 'We will go up,' she said; 'I would like to read, too.' We went through the busy kitchen and up the stairs. Anna Maria went at once to her room, and I to the upper story, to seek my own room.

In the hall I stopped; the sound of Susanna's sobbing came to my ear, and the indignant voice of the old woman:

"'For shame, Susanna!'

"'No, I cannot, I will not!' sobbed the girl.

"They had forgotten to latch the door; I slipped nearer, but did not understand Isabella's hissing whisper, nevertheless.

"'No, no!' cried Susanna again, but with little resistance. Fresh whispering, then a kiss. 'My little hare, my Susy, it may all be yet; now the thing is, to put a good face on the bad game!' in genuine Berlin speech. 'Now at it; you are brave!'

"An icy chill crept over me, even to my heart; I could not account for it to myself. But I was in no mood then to open the door, and went to my room with the consciousness that something wrong, something mysterious, was going on over there.

"An hour later Isabella came to me with a letter. 'Here it is,' said she proudly. 'Susanna is ready with her pen, she gets it from her father, and all that she says in this is beautiful. It is a shame that you haven't read it, Fraulein; how pleased Klaus will be.'

"'Herr von Hegewitz!' I corrected, bluntly.

"'Pardon!' returned Isabella, 'the name came so easily to my lips; I have heard it so often from Susanna that----'

"'Very well!' I interrupted. 'Now, to return to the letter; it almost sounds as if you knew the contents. I hope Susanna does not conduct her correspondence under your direction!'

"Isabella Pfannenschmidt grew crimson. 'Heaven forbid!' she said, casting an angry glance at me. 'Susanna only spoke in a general way of what she was going to write, to tell him how grateful she is and how honored and how she loves him.'

"'I do not wish to know anything about it,' I replied, coldly. 'I only expect of Susanna that she will not allow all that she has to say to-day to her lover--something which, it seems to me, should be as sacred as a prayer--to be desecrated by meddling eyes.'

"Isabella smiled in embarra.s.sment; she evidently did not understand me.

'To whom can I give this letter,' she asked, 'to send it to the post-office?'

"'Leave it here; I will see that it is put into the mail-bag,' I replied. When I went down later, I found Susanna sitting motionless on a bench in the garden. She seemed to be buried in a book; but her first letter was already with a messenger, on the way to the city.

"Anna Maria had grown calmer than I expected; it seemed as if some great force had carried her half over her sorrow about Klaus. She brought me his letter at supper time; it contained warm expressions of thanks, infinite love for his sister, permeated with rapture at the possession of Susanna. The world seemed to him more beautiful than ever; he pictured to himself such a wonderful future, with Susanna, with Anna Maria. Again and again came a fervent, 'But how shall I thank you, Anna Maria, for this, that you will love my little bride as a sister? I have always known that we think an infinite deal of each other, and it seems to me as if my love for you had become even greater! Anna Maria, how I wish for you such a happiness as mine!' He added that he should be as pleased as a child at the first lines from Susanna, that he had an endless longing to come home, but, unfortunately, business made it impossible; the fatigues of the journey he would think nothing of.

"Anna Maria silently folded the letter which I returned to her, and put it in her pocket, 'Have you seen Susanna since she received her letter?'

she asked.

"'No, Anna Maria.'

"'How happy she must be, aunt!'

"'I find Susanna very quiet for an engaged girl,' I replied.

"'Yes,' she agreed. 'But I cannot describe to you how infinitely better she pleases me; it is quieting to me that she does not take the matter lightly.'"

CHAPTER XIV.

"The harvest festival was celebrated more quietly than usual this year, at least at the manor-house. Otherwise everything was as usual. Under the four great oaks in the yard, near the garden wall, the dancing-floor was laid; gay garlands, tied with bows of ribbon, hung on the old trees, the whole court-yard seemed to be made as clean as a room, and everywhere there was an odor of pine-boughs and fresh cake.

"The weather was splendid on this October day, a little h.o.a.r-frost, to be sure, on the roofs, but the sun soon melted that away. Early in the day everything was under way; the village children, in new red flannel dresses and dazzling white shirts, appeared first to receive their cakes from Brockelmann. In the servants' kitchen three maids were cutting a regular wash-kettle full of potato salad, and the odor of roast beef and veal rose seductively to the noses of the farm people and day-laborers just a.s.sembling in the court for the festal church-going.

"Anna Maria was standing in the hall waiting for me as I came down-stairs. 'Are you bringing Susanna with you?' she asked. At the same time steps were heard behind me; Isa came down, begging excuse for Susanna, who felt fatigued, and could not make up her mind to go to church.

"Anna Maria frowned. It was the custom in our family that not a single member should be absent to-day. 'Is it absolutely impossible?' she asked.

"'Yes!' declared Isabella, and Anna Maria and I went alone. The bells were ringing gayly, and the sun shone brightly in at the windows of the little church, upon the garlands of corn with their red and blue ribbons, on the altar, and upon the happy faces of the people. With festal gladness was sung the 'Now thank we all our G.o.d.' It had, indeed, been a blessed harvest year. And in earnest words the clergyman charged the people with heartfelt grat.i.tude to G.o.d, who gave this year of blessing, gradually pa.s.sing on to speak of the seed in the heart of man.

'Take care that there may be a blessed harvest here, too, when, by and by, it will be autumn with you; think of the heavenly Harvest Home; well for him who brings precious fruits, ripened in humility, planted in love!' He then counselled the men to labor, the women to gentleness in the home, and finally remembered in his prayer the absent master of the manor. Anna Maria's head was bent low; I saw how she joined with her whole heart in the prayer for her brother, how a great tear fell from her eye upon the leaves of her hymn-book.

"When the last verse had been sung we had to hurry home; for immediately after service the people always brought the harvest wreath, and to-day Anna Maria had to thank them in her brother's place. She cast a glance across to Sturmer's seat; it was empty. Perhaps he was already waiting at the manor. We walked through the greeting throng as rapidly as my lame foot would allow, and Anna Maria quickly laid aside hat and shawl in the garden-parlor, for we already heard the music in the village street.

"'I don't know about it, aunt,' she said. 'It is dreadful to me without Klaus; if only Sturmer, at least, were here!'

"'The baron has been in the garden for an hour,' remarked Marieken, who had just run in, in dazzlingly clean attire, to inform us that the people were coming.

"'Then go and look for him, Marieken,' I bade. 'I will call Susanna and Isa.'

"'There comes the baron, now,' cried Marieken, with a glance at the window, and opened the door leading to the terrace.

"I could not believe my eyes; yes, there he was coming along the garden-path, and beside him--Susanna. She did not walk, she floated, as if carried along by the sound of the march, borne hither on the warm autumn air. A pink dress fluttered and blew about her delicate figure, and her lips and cheeks were tinged with the same color. With outstretched arms she flew up the steps.

"Oh, Anna Maria, oh, Fraulein Rosamond, listen, just listen!' she cried, in ecstasy.

"Sturmer followed her, smiling, and offered Anna Maria his arm.

Hesitatingly, with a long look at Susanna, she took it. The latter looked after them in wonder, and walked silently beside me.

"Before the house a crowd of people had a.s.sembled, in eager expectation; then came the children, dancing and skipping, in at the gate; behind them came the musicians, and over the long procession which followed hovered the wreath of golden corn, adorned with colored ribbons, waving gayly in the warm autumn wind.

"Anna Maria stood beside Sturmer, on the front steps, her hand still resting lightly on his arm; she wore her blue dress and white lace kerchief. A sad smile lay on her lips as the speaker, followed by two girls bearing the wreath, now advanced to the steps, and, making a sign for the music to stop, began the old speech:

"'G.o.d be praised, who gives sun and rain; G.o.d be praised, who gives his blessing again; G.o.d be praised, who, in this year, Has blessed our fields so richly here.

May he give further fortune good, To man and beast, to field and wood, And may his gracious blessing fall On man and beast, on people all.

And on the house we hang to-day The wreath, that blessings here may stay.

A pious wife, and children fair, May they ere long be dwelling there!

That is our wish upon this day; G.o.d will provide for come what may.

Take not this speech of ours amiss.

Full of good-will, indeed, it is!'

"A peal of music accompanied the three hearty cheers of the people; the two pretty girls laid the wreath at Anna Maria's feet as she kindly shook hands with the speaker. 'I thank you heartily, people,' she said in her deep, mature voice. 'I thank you in the name of my brother far away, who is much grieved not to be able to stand here to-day. I thank you for the honest diligence and labor of this year, and wish that the good old harmony may continue between gentry and people as has ever been the manner at Butze. And now, in my brother's name, enjoy the present day, and be happy as befits this feast.'

"'Long may she live, our gracious Fraulein!' cried the people; the lads tossed their caps in the air, and with music the procession went into the great barn, where long tables were set for the harvest banquet.

"Anna Maria had dropped Sturmer's arm as she stepped forward to speak.

He appeared strangely moved, and a slight, indefinable smile lay on his lips. I remembered his once saying that nothing was more dreadful to him in a woman than to see her, even for a moment, a.s.sume the position of a man, and in that light he evidently regarded the speech.