"It was indeed, for the old man and for myself, for I should have been sorry to do him an injury, and yet I might have been forced into it. How, sir, can you allow so dangerous a maniac to go at large in the castle?" "He is not dangerous; he is a harmless idiot. There is no need to mind him, except when he is irritated and falls into a rage. Take no notice of him, and be careful to avoid this part of the castle, and he will not molest you. Look here, Melcher; this gentleman is my nephew; he will not come here again; you must let him alone." With a vacant smile Melcher nodded to his master, and picked up and laid aside the knife, uttering, as he did so, some unmeaning sounds which were entirely unintelligible to Leo, but which Herr von Heydeck, acquainted with the Tyrolean patois, and used to the old man's indistinct utterance, seemed to understand, for he replied to them, "That's right, Melcher; only lock the door, and I will see you again by and by." Then turning to Leo his uncle continued: "The old fellow is afraid you will intrude upon him again. Be careful not to do it, for it would throw him into a rage in which he would be quite capable of murder." "I am not afraid of him," Leo quietly replied; "but I shall certainly not provoke him intentionally." "Promise me that you will never try to open that door into the tower again," Herr von Heydeck said to his nephew as they passed out into the court-yard. "Certainly; your wish is quite sufficient." "Thank you. Then you will have nothing to fear from old Melcher. You have had but a sorry reception in Castle Reifenstein, Leo, but I trust you will forget it and yet feel yourself at home here. Now let us go directly to Hilda, in the garden." Leo followed his uncle through the court-yard to the shady summer-house, where Hilda was awaiting them at the head of a delicately-spread table. She reproached her cousin laughingly for spending so long a time over his toilette,--her father had grown so impatient that he had gone in search of him. Leo's excuses gave his uncle a pretext for inquiring more closely into the manner in which he had gone astray, and while Hilda poured out his coffee, Leo described minutely the way he had taken upon leaving his room. It appeared that instead of taking the door opening upon the staircase from the large centre apartment he had left it by one leading to the wing in which Herr von Heydeck had his study. This simple explanation entirely banished the mistrust which had been evident in his uncle's manner. The old man saw clearly that it had been with no desire to pry, but from accident, that Leo had penetrated into the hidden recesses of the castle. The frown on his brow disappeared, and he became genial and cordial.