Gretchen came in, a little better dressed than in the daytime, the
change consisting of coarse stockings and shoes of leather, of which she
was correspondingly proud.
"Will you want me, Fraeu-Wirtin, for a little while to-night?" she asked.
"Till nine. Half a crown as usual."
Gretchen sought the kitchen and found an apron and cap. These
half-crowns were fine things to pick up occasionally, for it was only
upon occasions that she worked at the Black Eagle.
In an obscure corner sat the young vintner. He had finished his supper
and was watching and scrutinizing all who came in. His face brightened
as he saw the goose-girl; he would have known that head anywhere,
whether he saw the face or not. He wanted to go to her at once, but knew
this action would not be wise.
In the very corner itself, his back to the vintner's, and nothing but
the wall to look at, was the old man in tatters and patches, the
mountaineer who possessed a Swiss watch and gave golden coins to
goose-girls. He was busily engaged in gnawing the leg of a chicken.
Between times he sipped his beer, listening.
Carmichael had forgotten some papers that day. He had dined early at the
hotel and returned at once to the consulate. He was often a visitor at
the Black Eagle.
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