Wollnow's glance had also followed the slight figure, whose seat in the saddle was so firm and graceful. "If he is really the scoundrel I think him, it will be difficult to outwit him at all events. And I must not let Gotthold notice anything; it would excite him terribly, and, for the present, without due cause; at least I must have firmer ground. It would certainly be no child's play: the snare which could catch the knave would need very small meshes." As his friend entered, Gotthold extended his hand, which, though very white, was entirely free from fever. "There," said he, "feel it yourself; and now with this clasp let me thank you for your kindness, your affection. I have not been so entirely out of my mind as not to see your face distinctly from time to time, amid all the delirious fancies that oppressed me, and always with the grave pitying expression, which I shall gratefully remember as long as I live." Gotthold's voice trembled, and tears glittered in his eyes--"It is not the weakness of sickness," said he: "I will frankly confess the truth: it is the power of an emotion which is entirely new to me. I have had so little opportunity to be grateful for the services of love. The person who to others, during their whole lives, stands forth as the image of unselfish, self-sacrificing devotion--my mother--died so early, I scarcely knew her; I was separated from my father by an--as I must believe--impassable gulf, and for ten years have wandered about the world amid a thousand events, a thousand relations, ever in the bustle of society, constantly among, and often even the centre of a large circle of friends, and yet in the inmost depths of my soul alone--alone, and longing for a love which so late in life has been given me by a man whom I saw a few days ago for the first time, and between whom and myself no relations had previously existed save those of the most ordinary business transactions." The merchant's grave dark face expressed keen emotion, and his deep voice sounded strangely low and gentle as he said after a short pause: "And suppose that we did not meet a few days ago for the first time; suppose I had held you in my arms when you were a boy four or five years old; suppose the interest I took in you sprang from a much deeper source than our business relations, was connected with all the poetry and beauty of my life: what then, my dear young friend, what then?" "Did you know my mother?" asked Gotthold, with a sudden presentiment; "you must have known her." "I knew and--loved her. To know and love her was in those days the same thing to me, nay, even at this moment they still seem to belong together, like light and warmth." "And my mother--loved you. Speak frankly, and explain the mystery that has always rested upon the relations between my parents."