CHAPTER I.
THE MASTER AT HOME AGAIN.
Herr Sonnenkamp returned to his villa like a ruler to his castle wherea mutiny has lately broken out. Every step in his house, every glanceat a servant, said, I am here again, and with me authority and order.
Eric did not lay upon Pranken the blame of what had happened, butconfessed that he himself had been guilty of neglect of duty.Sonnenkamp seemed to take pleasure in seeing Eric humbled. He was oneof those who love to rule others. With enough humanity in him to makehim prefer a willing obedience, he yet had no rest, when that provedimpossible, till his man was subdued and brought to his feet; then, andnot till then, was he willing to raise him up, for not till then was hesure of the mastery. This self-reliant Captain-doctor had assumed ademeanor that was unbecoming in him; now he was humbled, and would haveto be grateful for every act of kindness and friendliness done him.Sonnenkamp had no suspicion of the satisfaction Eric took in hishumiliation, or of his motives for it; he regarded this humblesubmission as a triumph of his authority, while to Eric himself it wasa confession of weakness in having been tempted by the magic of Bella'scharms to forget the strict watchfulness which was his duty.
Sonnenkamp soon perceived that the amount of the robbery wasinsignificant. He said, with a certain malicious pleasure:--
"The knaves stole my jewelled dagger; it has a poisoned point, which isdeath to whomsoever it scratches."
Eric had hardly power left to tell that the dagger was already inpossession of the officers of justice, so great a horror thrilled him.Why should this man keep a poisoned dagger?
Pranken and the Major soon appeared, and Pranken was honest enough totake the whole responsibility upon himself. He could not refrain fromsaying, however, that Eric had previously left the villa to go to amusical festival, and had won a surprising reputation there. Sonnenkampsaid, with a smile:--
"You kept Roland at home instead of letting him go to the Baths, inorder to keep him free from excitement; have you preserved him fromit?"
Eric was prevented from answering by the arrival of the priest, to whomSonnenkamp, who had never made any gift to the church, announced hisintention of presenting to it the gold and silver vessels which hadbeen taken from the sideboard. As if involuntarily, he added:--
"I don't want them any more in my house. You, reverend sir, will givethem a fresh consecration."
Eric expressed in a whisper to the Major, who stood by him, hispleasure at this arrangement, and his belief that it would exert asalutary influence on Roland, whose peace of mind had been in a greatmeasure destroyed by the robbery. Sonnenkamp heard his words, thoughspoken in so low a tone, and said:--
"My highly honored Herr Captain, let me tell you honestly that I havenothing to do with sentimentalities, and that I desire Roland shouldearly acquire a knowledge of these so-called well-disposed lowerclasses, and learn that they are nothing but a mass of conspiracyagainst the holders of property, awaiting the first favorableopportunity to break out, or rather to break in."
Sonnenkamp was in the highest degree animated and cheerful. His onlycause of regret was, that there should have been so much talk madeabout the affair in the neighborhood, and that so much valuable timehad to be lost in the processes of law. Frau Ceres said not a wordabout the robbery; it almost seemed as if she had not heard of it. Sheonly rejoiced that Roland had grown so much during her absence. Shetold Eric that she had met at the Baths a most aristocratic and amiablelady, a relation of his mother, who had spoken of her with greatenthusiasm.
The very first evening after the return of Sonnenkamp and his family, acarriage drove up in which were Bella and Clodwig. Eric was delightedto greet his friends, but was somewhat shy of Bella.
"We have come to protect you from this savage," she whispered to himbehind her fan; "we will show him that you belong to us. And now youwill leave everything and come to us, will you not?"
The words thrilled Eric; he could only bow his thanks.
Bella observed her husband's embarrassment as he stood with Sonnenkamp.His fine and sensitive nature could never overcome a feeling oftimidity, of terror, whenever he found himself confronted with thisherculean shape. Bella helped him out of the difficulty by sayingjestingly, "Herr Sonnenkamp, you must have seen many strange things inyour life; did you ever happen to fall in with thieves who openlyconfessed they had stolen, or were proposing to steal?"
Sonnenkamp looked at her in amazement.
"We are such thieves, in broad daylight," she cried, laughing, andturning to her husband she continued:--
"Now do you speak, dear Clodwig."
Clodwig hesitatingly expressed his wish to have Eric live with him.Sonnenkamp's sharp glance fell upon Bella. The forefinger of his lefthand was already raised in playful menace against her, and he was onthe point of saying, "I understand you," when he checked himself, and,laying his finger on his lips, said:--
"I am glad to see that our Herr Eric"--with a peculiar emphasis on theword "our"--"that our Herr Eric stands so high in your good graces."
Eric was struck by the peculiar stress laid upon the word "our." Heseemed to have become a piece of property. Still more surprised was heat Sonnenkamp's offering him his hand the next moment and saying:--
"You remain ours, do you not?"
Eric bowed.
Bella dwelt, with intentional emphasis, upon the particulars of hervisit to Eric's mother in the University-town. She evidently desired tolet Herr Sonnenkamp know that a man of Eric's rank and position was notto be crushed on account of a trifling act of neglect. Sonnenkampwhistled to himself inaudibly, as if some plan were ripening in him.
Bella contrived again to be alone with Eric, and expressed to him hersatisfaction at the success of her little plot. She knew, she said,that Sonnenkamp would not let him go, but she also knew that he wouldhumble him on account of the neglect he had been guilty of, andtherefore persuaded Clodwig to drive over at once. Eric was full ofgratitude.
"Did you notice," she asked in a low voice, "what a look HerrSonnenkamp gave me, and how he raised his finger at me? This manimagines that our friendship is something more than friendship; to theimpure nothing is pure. I think you will not misunderstand me, if Isometimes intentionally slight you in the presence of this spyingknave."
She gave Eric her hand, and held his long and tightly pressed. Neithersuspected that from behind a bush two eyes were fixed upon them, and asharp ear heard their every word. When they had passed on, Sonnenkampdrew a deep breath as a relief from the long constraint he had put uponhimself.
Das landhaus am Rhein. English Page 77