At last it occurred to one of the party that Wenzel was
missing also, and then the idea of the counting-house across the yard
presented itself to them, and there they found him.
"He rose up, very pale, and followed them; and he and old Wenzel forced
their way through the crowd of guests gathered outside, and entered the
room, and locked the door behind them.
"From within there came the muffled sound of low voices and quick steps,
followed by a confused scuffling noise, then silence, then the low voices
again.
"After a time the door opened, and those near it pressed forward to
enter, but old Wenzel's broad shoulders barred the way.
"'I want you--and you, Bekler,' he said, addressing a couple of the elder
men. His voice was calm, but his face was deadly white. 'The rest of
you, please go--get the women away as quickly as you can.'
"From that day old Nicholaus Geibel confined himself to the making of
mechanical rabbits and cats that mewed and washed their faces."
We agreed that the moral of MacShaughnassy's story was a good one.
CHAPTER XII
How much more of our--fortunately not very valuable--time we devoted to
this wonderful novel of ours, I cannot exactly say. Turning the dogs'-
eared leaves of the dilapidated diary that lies before me, I find the
record of our later gatherings confused and incomplete.
Pages:
251
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