"'God forbid!' she exclaimed, looking up to him with great alarm. "'It must be so, Marcella; I am about to ask a gift of him, and his answer will either make me the happiest of men, or leave me miserable for life. I will ask his daughter of him as one who has a just claim, and I cannot believe he will refuse me.' "'Wilhelm, you do not know my----' "At this moment there came a measured rapping at the door, and Marcella arose to open it, trembling with undefined dread. Hermann the Demented pressed a kiss upon her brow as he passed the threshold, and entered his cabin. "He was an old man, for his hair was grey, and deep wrinkles furroughed his brow; but his form was fully developed and upright as that of meridian manhood, and there was a changing fire in his eye that indicated all the energy of youth. His dress was a mixture of military and peasant garb, and he wore a tall, black felt hat, encircled with a red ribbon. Game of every kind hung in such profusion from his broad shoulders, that it almost entirely concealed his person, and he bore in his hand a rifle which few men could handle. On arriving beneath the lamp, he deposited his spoils upon the floor, and then, for the first time, observed the presence of the young hunter. "'Ha! is that you Wilhelm!' he exclaimed, casting aside his rifle, and extending his hand in a friendly manner, 'I am especially glad to welcome a brother craftsman to my cover, on a night when I have had such uncommon luck. Look at that heap, and tell me if you ever saw another such.' "'You are famed as a fortunate hunter,' answered the other, gazing upon the immense pile at his feet with astonishment. "'Yes, yes, Wilhelm, there are few men can bag hares with Hermann, the Demented,' and the old man laughed a hollow laugh. "'Your skill must indeed be extraordinary, when it enables you to secure many of these animals _after nightfall, and without hounds_,' returned Wilhelm, looking fixedly at the hunter with a penetrating glance. "Immediately upon the entrance of her father Marcella had drawn the table from the wall, and commenced to prepare an humble meal; she was standing in a distant corner of the cabin, when her lover spoke thus: "Hermann started back with a look of fierce anger. "'What mean you, young man!' he asked in stern tones. "'I had no intention of giving offence, Mynheer Hermann.' "'Your looks, at least, were impertinent,' muttered the old hunter, turning abruptly from him, and commencing to sort his game. "The simple meal was soon ready, and the three persons partook of it without so much as a whisper. When it was finished, and while the young girl was replacing her few utensils, Hermann produced a large Meerschaum pipe, and having filled it with tobacco, lit it with a chip from the fire-place; looking inquiringly at his guest as he smoked. "'You were, doubtless, surprised to find me here?' said the latter, with some hesitancy in his manner.