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He gives us the best operas in the world, and the best singing." "M. Struboff's fame has reached me," said I, sitting down. Evidently Struboff did not know me; he received the introduction without any show of deference. I was delighted. I should have seen little of the true man had he been aware from the first who I was.
I was piqued to much curiosity by these wandering ideas; I determined to probe Struboff through the layers. Soon after I took my leave. Coralie pressed me to return the next day, and before I could speak Wetter accepted the invitation for me. There was no very strong repugnance in Struboff's face; I should not have heeded it had it appeared. Wetter prepared to come with me.
I laid my hand on Wetter's shoulder, saying: "My dear friend, have you forgotten me Baron de Neberhausen?" He looked up with a start, but when he saw me his eyes softened. He clasped my hand. "Neberhausen?" he said. "Yes; we met in Forstadt." "To be sure," he laughed. "May I present my friend to you? M. le Baron de Neberhausen, M. Struboff. You will know Struboff's name.
Wetter engaged in some vehement discussion with Varvilliers, who met him with good-humoured pertinacity. I had dropped out of the talk, and sat listening dreamily to Struboff's music. Suddenly Coralie laid down her knife and turned to me. "Wouldn't it be nice if I were going to be married to you?" she asked. "Charming," said I. "But what of our dear M. Struboff? And what of my Cousin Elsa?"
Baron, Baron, pray take Struboff's arm; the steps to heaven are so steep." Struboff seemed resigned to his fate; he allowed himself to be pushed upstairs without expostulation. He opened the door for us, and ushered us into the passage. As he preceded us, I had time for one whisper to Wetter. "You're still mad about her, are you?" I said, pinching his arm. "Still? Good Heavens, no!
"For the matter of that, Baron, why else should you be here now? Why else should anybody be here now? It is even an excuse for Struboff's presence." "I need no excuse for being in my own home," said Struboff, and he gulped down his liquor. Wetter sprang up and seized him by the arm. "You are becoming fatter and fatter and fatter.
Struboff glared at him; Coralie smiled slightly. An inkling of Wetter's chosen part came into my mind. He had elected to make Struboff uncomfortable; he did not choose that the fat man should enjoy his victory in peace. My emotions chimed in with his resolve, but reason suggested that the ethical merits were more on Struboff's side.
Struboff's inevitable discovery of my real name was a disaster; it delayed my operations for three days, since it filled his whole being with a sense of abasement and a hope of gain, thereby suspending for the time those emotions in him which had excited my curiosity.
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