"I'll tell you what. Aunt," exclaimed Elly suddenly to Bertha; "let's go intothe garden for a while. The fresh air will drive your headache away."

They went down the steps into the courtyard, in the centre of which asmall lawn had been laid out. At the back, it was shut off by a wall,against which stood a few shrubs and a couple of youthful trees, which stillhad to be propped up by stakes. Away over the wall only the yellow sky wasto be seen; in boisterous weather the rush of the river which flowedclose by could be heard. Two wicker garden chairs stood with their backsagainst the wall, and in front of them was a small table. Bertha and Ellysat down, Elly still keeping her arm linked inside her aunt's.

"Tell you what, Elly?"

"See, I am quite a big child now; do tell me about him."

Bertha was somewhat alarmed, for it struck her at once that her niece'squestion did not refer to her dead husband, but to some one else. Andsuddenly she saw before her mind's eye the picture of Emil Lindbach,just as she had seen it in the illustrated paper; but immediately boththe vision and her slight alarm vanished, and she felt a kind of emotionat the shy question of the young tiny child who believed that she still grievedfor her dead husband, and that it would comfort her to have anopportunity for talking about him.

"May I come down and join you, or are you telling each other secrets?"