Clear the Track! Part 13

"As for the rest," said the stranger, "I should like to ask why you so seldom come to town now? You have not been there for weeks, and if one wants to have a talk with you, he has to inst.i.tute a veritable search after you."

"I have a great deal to do," answered Egbert, who stood at the window, with a rather clouded brow. "You see for yourself how immersed I am in work."

"Work?" mocked the other. "I should think that _our_ work was more important than digging and rooting here in the woods. You contrived the plan, so I learn. Will you, perhaps, earn another million for your chief to add to the other millions that he already has?"

"That is not the question, but whether I shall perform a duty that I have undertaken to perform," was the brief reply. "The execution of this plan was properly the upper-engineer's work, and I have to justify the confidence that called me to do it, in his stead."

"To chain you fast here at Radefeld, so that you will not be dangerous at Odensburg! The old man is not stupid, n.o.body can accuse him of that, he always knows very well what he is about, and you may depend he knows a thing or two about your proclivities already."

"Be done with your insinuations, Landsfeld," interposed Egbert impatiently, "of course Dernburg knows, from my own lips. He called me up for a talk, and I gave him my views without any reserve. I naturally expected my dismissal after that--but instead the superintendence of the Radefeld water-works was entrusted to me."

Landsfeld started and directed a searching glance at the young engineer.

"That is remarkable, to be sure, it does not look like the old man! He must either be perfectly infatuated with you, or he has some object to subserve. He is capable of anything. As for the rest, your candor was very out of place in this case, for now, of course, your movements at Odensburg will no longer be free. You have managed very awkwardly, young man!"

"Was I to deny the truth?" asked Egbert with knitted brow.

"Why not, if it could serve a good purpose?"

"Then look out for some one else who is more practiced in lying! I regard it as cowardice, to deny one's convictions and one's party, and acted accordingly."

"That is to say, you have again followed your own head, and acted in utter defiance of orders. Odensburg is your field of labor, you are to get the fellows there to affiliate with you, instead of which, here you are quietly constructing water-works at Radefeld, at the same time that you are being coddled in the so-called Manor-house, and yet you know perfectly why we sent you here!"

"And you know that I resisted from the very beginning, that finally only a direct order from headquarters forced me into line."

"Alas! I suppose you confided that to your chief, too?" The question came in the sharpest of tones.

"No," answered Runeck coldly; "he attributed my return to an entirely false motive, and I left him in his error. Never again would I have gone voluntarily to Odensburg, and I cannot stay here either, my position is an untenable one, as I foresaw."

"And nevertheless you will be obliged to remain," said Landsfeld dryly.

"This Odensburg is like an impregnable fortress, that defies all attacks. The old man has made his people tame, with his schools and infirmaries and funds for the poor, they dread to lose the good berths they have, and, above all, they have an incurable fear of their tyrant--the cowards! However often we applied the lever, nothing was to be done, he has made them thoroughly suspicious of our agitators. You are a child of a workman, have grown up in their midst, and even now have intimate relations with their chief. They will listen to you, and follow you too, if it comes to that."

"And to what end?" asked Runeck moodily. "I have often enough explained to you that a strike at Odensburg would be perfectly futile. Dernburg is not a man to be coerced: I know him--he would rather close his works. He is a man after this sort, that he would rather take any loss upon himself than to yield, and he is rich enough to resist to the uttermost."

"Just for that very reason he must be brought down from his throne of infallibility! He shall see, that there are men who dare to make head against him, puffed up as he is, sitting there on his millions in luxury and idleness, while----"

"That is not true!" burst forth Egbert pa.s.sionately, "and you know that what you say is a lie! Dernburg works more than you and I. Often enough have I been compelled to admire his immense strength and wonderful powers of endurance, that actually put to the blush the youngest among us. And he seeks recreation only in his family-circle. Once for all, I'll not stand having that man slandered in my presence."

"Oho, you speak in that tone, do you?" cried Landsfeld, now irritated in his turn. "You take sides with him against us? It only shows how tame living the life of a lord makes one, if he once gets a taste of it."

"Take heed, else you might learn that I am anything but tame," said Egbert, more quietly, but in a threatening tone. "I repeat it, I'll submit to nothing of the sort, for it has nothing to do with our cause.

Either you will omit these personal attacks upon Dernburg or----"

"Or?"

"I'll never more cross your threshold and shall know how to protect mine from things that I _will_ not hear."

Landsfeld shrugged his shoulders, as much as to say that he did not care.

"That means, in other words, that you will put me out of doors? Right friendly and brotherly, to be sure, but we will not dispute about that.

It is not our way anyhow to pa.s.s many compliments. You are coming to our next meeting, are you not?"

"Yes." This word sounded harsh and sullen.

"Well, I am going to depend upon that. An important matter is to be brought up. We expect a few comrades from Berlin, and it is likely you will be taken pretty sharply to task, on account of your inactivity up to this time."

"Until next week then!"

He nodded shortly and went out in front of the house, however, he stood still and sent back a look of hatred, while he murmured in an undertone:

"If we did not need you, absolutely need you! But it is impossible to get along without you at Odensburg. Just wait though, my young man, and we'll see if we cannot curb that haughty spirit of yours!"

Egbert, being left alone, stood in the middle of the room, with fist doubled up and deeply-furrowed brow. It was manifest that a fierce battle was being waged in his soul, but suddenly he straightened himself up and stamped with his foot, as though he would quell by main force the storms that were raging within.

"No, and again no! I have made my choice and will abide by it!"

The Radefeld estate, ordinarily a quiet, lonely valley in the midst of a forest, now again resounded with the noise of laborers who were hard at work. Everywhere there was shoveling, ditching, and blasting; trees and shrubs fell beneath the stroke of the ax; the indefatigable host having already progressed as far as the foot of the Buchberg, the tunneling of which was the enterprise afoot.

Runeck, who had come later than usual, stood upon an eminence and thence directed a tremendous blast. In obedience to his order, all the workmen had retired from the neighborhood of the mine, which now exploded with dull, m.u.f.fled sounds. The cliff against which the work of destruction was aimed, was split in two, one part still standing erect, while the other fell with a crash; the earth round about trembled when the mighty boulders rolled heavily down.

The group of laborers at the foot of the eminence dispersed: Runeck, too, left his place, to examine closely what had been effected, when an old inspector stepped forward and announced:

"Herr Runeck--the master's family from Odensburg."

Egbert looked up, in expectation of seeing the wagon of Dernburg, who frequently came out to inspect the condition of the works, but suddenly gave such a violent start that the old man looked up in surprise.

Over at the entrance to the ravine Eric Dernburg and Cecilia Wildenrod had halted, on horseback, while the groom had dismounted, and had firmly by the bridle their animals, who seemed to have been made unruly by the noise of the blasting. The young engineer, meanwhile, had quickly recovered from his surprise, and went across to pay his respects to his waiting visitors. Eric cordially stretched out his hand.

"We have kept our word, Egbert, and come upon you without any warning.

Will you allow us an insight into your province?"

"I shall be delighted to be of the least service," replied Runeck, while he bowed to the young lady, who now gracefully and lightly swung herself out of the saddle, and in doing so hardly touched the proffered hand of her betrothed.

"We stopped at Radefeld and through the open windows cast a glance in at your lodgings, Herr Runeck," said she. "Dear me, what surroundings!

Do you really intend to spend the whole summer there?"

"Why not?" asked Egbert composedly. "We engineers are sometimes here, sometimes there, and have to accept work wherever it is offered."

"But you have your comfortable home at Odensburg, and a carriage is always at your disposal. Why do you not stay there?"

"Because then I would daily lose three hours in going and coming. I have my books and works at Radefeld, and as for the rest I am entirely independent of my surroundings."

"Yes, you are a Spartan by const.i.tution, physically as well as intellectually," said Eric with a sigh. "I wish that I could do like you, but, alas! there is no chance of that. I have gotten too much spoiled at the South and must now do penance."

He drew himself up and shivered; evidently he suffered more from his native climate than he himself was willing to confess. He looked pale and worn, the ride through the woods seeming to have been an exertion to him rather than a pleasure.

So much the more blooming appeared the young lady by his side. For her the brisk, rather long, ride had been only an exhilaration, and she had reined her horse in impatiently enough out of respect to Eric. She had been accustomed to race at full-speed, having been tutored into this by her brother, and she did not understand how any one could be cautious and circ.u.mspect in riding like Eric. As for the rest, she was beaming with cheerfulness and high spirits, even Egbert was treated with perfect amiability, not a look, not a word, reminded of that disagreement when they first met.