"
"I hope so. A mystery is charming while it lasts. Really, Gretchen, I
did not mean to play the listener, and I promise that from now on----"
"From now on!" cried Gretchen. "Does not Herr leave to-day?"
"No; I am going to spend a whole week here."
There was a mixture of dismay and anger in her gaze.
"But, as I was going to say, I shall make no effort to pry into your
affairs. Honestly, I am a gentleman."
"I shall try to believe you," said she, the corners of her mouth
broadening into a smile.
She condescended to show me through the rose gardens and tell me what
she knew about them. It was an interesting lecture. And in the
evening she permitted me to row her about the river. We were getting
on very well under the circumstances.
The week was soon gone, and Gretchen and I became very good friends.
Often when she had nothing to do we would wander along the river
through the forests, always, I noticed, by a route which took us away
from the village. Each day I discovered some new accomplishment.
Sometimes I would read Heine or Goethe to her, and she would grow rapt
and silent.
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