"Well!" said Oldenburg, and grinned. "Who is to have the Berkow?" "Oh, pray, leave me alone! You, for all I care." "_Bon!_" said Oldenburg, and drank a glass of champagne. After a short pause. "Who is to have the honor of sitting by your wife?" "Great heavens!--to be sure, that is important. You know, Oldenburg, give her the most significant; no one can say anything to that!" "All right," said Oldenburg, and looked among the cards till he had found the right one. "I will pay you for your unauthenticated fisherman's stories," he growled between his teeth. "Have you done, Oldenburg?" "Directly--now!" "Well, baron, now let us do this: you go into the ballroom and tell every gentleman what lady he is to take in, and I will do the same in the card-room." "_Ainsi soit-il!_" laughed Oldenburg, following his host As he entered the ball-room, they were just arranging a cotillon. Immediately after that they were to go to table. "This is a good opportunity," he said, and, like a black-feathered, long-legged bird who picks out frogs on a wet meadow, he walked up and down with great gravity behind the line of the dancers and whispered to each gentleman, as the opportunity offered, the name of his lady. Oswald was dancing with the Baroness Barnewitz, who had taken the place of Miss Klaus until the latter should have carried an important order to the kitchen; their _vis-à-vis_ were Cloten and Melitta. Oldenburg had informed all the gentlemen of their fate, which seemed to be favorable to all, for they nodded with a well-contented air. At the very last he slipped up to Cloten and whispered to him: "Cloten, I have given you the Barnewitz." Then to Oswald: "Doctor, you will take Frau von Berkow." Then he went away hurriedly. "Hortense," whispered Cloten, overjoyed, to his lady, "do you know who is to take you in?" "Not you, Arthur?" she asked, frightened. "Yes, my angel." "Impossible, Arthur. Go straight back to Oldenburg and tell him he must give you another lady." "But----" "Hush, not so loud! You are mad. I tell you Barnewitz is very suspicious. That would make him more so than ever." "_Changez les dames!_" "Melitta; I am to take you to table." "Impossible, Oswald. You must try to have it changed." "Why," whispered Oswald, and his brows met. "Do not look so angry, darling. I will explain it to you." Miss Klaus appeared in the adjoining room. As soon as Oldenburg saw her he walked up to her, and reverently bowing to her, he said, in a tone of unusual gentleness: "Miss Klaus, I am to have the pleasure of taking you to supper." The poor little thing was thunderstruck. Baron Oldenburg, the strange, mysterious baron, to take her in! She looked up to him with an air of serious doubt. "I have arranged the seats myself, Miss Klaus; if you have any special preference tell me so, and I shall be very happy to do what you like best." "Oh no, baron----"