"So, if I don't _notice_, you amuse yourself by running about all night?"
She had retreated still farther from him.
"But--but--I was obliged to go," she said, stammering painfully. "There was scarcely anything at all left--and--and the _Herr_ has eaten nothing but salt meat for so long."
"Of course, _Herr_. I have brought veal and fresh eggs and butter--and sausage and lots of things. It's all in the cellar."
"Oh, I told you, _Herr_--in Bockeldorf. I know a grocer there, who gets ready a supply of what we want beforehand, and when I knock at nights he lets me in at the back door. Not a living soul besides his wife knows. And he's not very dear. Herr Merckel, down in the village, charges a thaler a pound for meat, and swears at me into the bargain."
"And you have walked six miles there and back to-night, and carried all those heavy parcels?"
Still frightened, she regarded him with surprise.
"I think you know, _Herr_, that I can do it, for I told you so before."
"But it's a physical impossibility. Don't lie to me, girl. From my experience during the campaign, I know how much fatigue a _man_ can stand."
Now that she saw he was no longer angry she dared to draw herself to her full height. She exhibited her powerful arms proudly, and exclaimed with a pleased smile--
"I can stand more than any man, _Herr_, else I should be no good at all."
"For how long have you been going on these journeys, Regina?"
"For five years, _Herr_. Every week. Sometimes oftener. In summer it's child's play. But in autumn and winter, when the snow lies two feet thick in the wood, or when the meadows are flooded, it's no joke. But there's one thing to be thankful for, the nights are long then, and at least no one can see you. And I'd a hundred times rather walk the six miles than go to that beast--I beg pardon, I mean Herr Merckel--who takes a thaler for a pound of meat. Isn't that abominable? And in the village----"
She paused suddenly, as if she feared being scolded for talking too much.
"What were you going to say, Regina?" he asked in a kindlier tone.
"Oh, nothing, but I should like to beg the _Herr's_ pardon for having gone without leave. But I thought he might perhaps like a change for breakfast--a fresh egg----"