"I thank you," said Else again with a deep breath. She had held out her hand; he took the little tender hand in his, and again their glances met. "One can trust that hand," thought Else; "and those eyes, too!" And she said aloud, "But you must not think that I should have been afraid to remain here! It's really for the sake of the poor President." She had withdrawn her hand and was hastening away to meet her father, who, wondering why she had remained away so long, had come to look for her. When he was about to follow her, Reinhold saw lying at his feet a little blue-gray glove. She must have just slipped it off as she was adjusting the telescope. He stooped down quickly, picked it up, and put it in his pocket. "She will not get that again," he said to himself. Reinhold was right; there had been no time to lose. While the little boat which he steered cut through the foaming waves, the sky became more and more overcast with dark clouds which threatened soon to extinguish even the last trace of the evening glow in the west. In addition, the strong wind had suddenly shifted from the south to the north, and because of this (to insure a more speedy return of the boat to the ship) they were unable to land at the place where the long-boat, which was already coming back, had discharged its passengers--viz., near the little fishing village, Ahlbeck, at the head of the bay, immediately below Wissow Hook. They had to steer more directly to the north, against the wind, where there was scarcely room upon the narrow beach of bare dunes for a single hut, much less for a fishing village; and Reinhold could consider himself fortunate when, with a bold manoeuvre, he brought the little boat so near the shore that the disembarkment of the company and the few pieces of baggage which they had taken from the ship could be accomplished without great difficulty. "I fear we have jumped out of the frying-pan into the fire," said the President gloomily. "It is a consolation to me that we were not the cause of it," replied the General, not without a certain sharpness in the tone of his strong voice. "No, no, certainly not!" acknowledged the President, "_Mea maxima culpa!_ My fault alone, my dear young lady. But, admit it--the situation is hopeless, absolutely hopeless!" "I don't know," replied Else; "it is all delightful to me." "Well, I congratulate you heartily," said the President; "for my part I should rather have an open fire, a chicken wing, and half a bottle of St. Julien; but if it is a consolation to have companions in misery, then, it ought to be doubly so to know that what appears as very real misery to the pensive wisdom of one is a romantic adventure to the youthful imagination of another."