But with the struggle the distress too ceased. How delicious to fall asleep thus, so mortally weary that dream and reality mingled and melted into each other! Again he was standing on the summit in the sunlight, beholding the palace of ice in all its enchanted splendour, and gazing into the unveiled countenance of the Alpine Fay, whose pallid beauty no mortal might look upon and live. Yet her face was not that of a stranger. He knew those features, and the fathomless blue of the eyes that beamed and smiled upon him as never before. The image of the woman whom he had loved so wildly, so inexpressibly, did not leave him even upon the threshold of death, but stole softly upon the last gleams of his consciousness.

Then the sea of mist slowly rose higher and higher until all else was overwhelmed; the beloved face alone still showed faint and dreamlike through the gray veil, till finally it too faded, and the dreamer was borne onward by this sea of mist stretching endless and sh.o.r.eless out into the immeasurable distance,--on into eternity.

CHAPTER XXVII.

MIDSUMMER EVE AGAIN.

Almost three years had pa.s.sed since the terrible avalanche wrought such ruin, and glorious sunshine made glad the hearts of the mountaineers on the day preceding Midsummer-eve,--the day of the festival celebrating throughout the Wolkenstein district the opening of the new mountain-railway. All the villages on the line of travel, now promoted to the dignity of railway-stations, were gaily decked with green wreaths and fluttering flags, and crowds of mountaineers in their Sunday costumes had come from far and near among the mountains to behold with curiosity and wonder the arrival of the first train. The iron road, at last completed, was to bring prosperity to their secluded valleys.

At first, when the terrible catastrophe still struck terror to the minds of all who heard of it, there had been a doubt as to whether the upper stretch of the railway, that pa.s.sing through the Wolkenstein district, could ever be completed. Consultations with the company had gone on for months, until finally the energy and persistence of the engineer-in-chief had been victorious: the work had been taken up once more, and it was now happily concluded.

Station Oberstein, situated near the village itself, at the end of the Wolkenstein bridge, was especially conspicuous in its decorations. The train, bringing the engineer-in-chief and his wife, with the directors of the road, and a number of invited guests, was to make a stop here, and a particularly grand reception had been devised. The crowds from the country around were greater here than elsewhere, and cannon were to be fired from a neighbouring height.

In the midst of the gay mult.i.tude Veit Gronau's tall figure was conspicuous. He looked more tanned and weather-beaten than ever, but otherwise was unchanged. Ernst Waltenberg had provided generously in his will for his former secretary; he was free to live as he chose, but the old love of a wandering life had driven him forth into the world again, and after nearly three years' of absence he had returned for another glimpse of his European home.

"And so Dr. Reinsfeld is to give a grand dinner in his villa to the directors," he said to himself, as he stood on the railway-platform looking out for the train. "I am really curious to see how my good Benno conducts himself as a millionaire. Probably he is quite uncomfortable; but he will have to get used to it, for Gersdorf wrote to me that a million had been rescued out of the wreck of Nordheim's colossal fortune."

"There it comes!" The shout interrupted his reflections; the crowd pressed forward eagerly and stretched their necks to see the first train, which came gliding from the depths upon the narrow iron road. It vanished for a few moments in the tunnel below Oberstein, and then, appearing once more, rolled smoothly onward, the smoke from the gaily-decorated locomotive floating backward like a pennon. Anon it thundered over the bridge, and was greeted at the Oberstein station by a burst of music, by loud shouts of welcome, and by the cannon-shots from the height, wakening the echoes from all the mountains around.

The train was emptied at the station, but almost half an hour elapsed before the party could drive to the villa, for first of all the glory of the road, the Wolkenstein bridge, had to be inspected. The bold, gigantic structure had arisen from ruin; as proudly as before it spanned the chasm from rock to rock. Below it in the giddy depths rushed the stream with all its old impetuosity, and above it the Wolkenstein reared its mighty crest aloft, wearing to-day a light crown of clouds. But upon the declivity, where before had stood the enclosed forest, there was now a broad, solid wall of masonry, a sure protection against any repet.i.tion of the former disaster.

The engineer-in-chief, with his young wife on his arm, acted as guide to the inspecting party. Of course he was the hero of the day, and was overwhelmed on all sides by congratulations and expressions of admiration. He received them gravely, seeming but little elated by them.

Erna, on the other hand, was beaming with happiness and gratified pride; her eyes sparkled as she listened to all that was said to her husband, and she had a kindly word and a friendly greeting for all who pressed forward to welcome her.

The pair were obliged to do the honours of the new road without the aid of Dr. Reinsfeld, who, as husband of the late president's heiress, was a very important personage on this occasion, but quite averse to performing his duties as such. He no longer wore the antique coat and saffron-coloured gloves in which he had made acquaintance with the invalid Alice; his attire was faultless, but nevertheless it was easy to see that his task for the day was held by him to be very difficult of performance. He confined himself to bowing and shaking hands, keeping as much as possible in the background, when suddenly a familiar voice accosted him: "Does Dr. Reinsfeld do me the honour to remember me?"

"Veit Gronau!" exclaimed the doctor, delightedly, offering his hand.

"Then you received our invitation in time. But why did you not let us know you had arrived, so that you might have come in the train with us?"

"I came by the way of Heilborn, and was just in time to receive you. I congratulate you, Benno, upon your share in this occasion."

"Yes,--a dinner for eighty people," sighed Benno. "Wolfgang thought it would be suitable for me to give a dinner to the party, and when Wolf takes a thing into his head one had best submit."

"He certainly was right this time," Gronau said, laughing. "As princ.i.p.al stockholder and director of the company you were bound to do something for the opening of the railway."

"If I only did not have to talk to everybody!" the poor doctor lamented. "And worse than all, I ought, he says, to make an after-dinner speech. I cannot. Wolfgang built the railway, let him make the speeches. He did, to be sure, speak to-day before we set out, and it was charming; every one was delighted,--his wife most of all. Does she not look exquisitely lovely?"

Veit nodded, but his face grew grave as he looked across at Erna. That beauty had driven another man to his death; Ernst Waltenberg would have given his hope of heaven for such a look as she was bestowing upon her husband at that moment. Gronau turned from such thoughts to ask after the health of Frau Reinsfeld.

"Oh, Alice is as blooming as a rose, and you must see our daughter."

Benno's face glowed as he spoke of his wife and child. "You knew of----"

"Of your little one? Yes, you wrote me. I suppose you confine your practice entirely to your family now?"

"On the contrary, I have more patients than ever," the doctor declared.

"When we are here in summer of course I attend all my old friends; and since I can now supply the poorer ones with all that they need----"

"Why, of course the honest Wolkensteiners continue to work you to death," Gronau finished the sentence. "But I must no longer detain you from your guests."

"Oh, stay; pray stay!" Benno exclaimed, with a comical look of alarm.

"I am so comfortable here in the corner with you, and if you go I shall be obliged to talk to some of these celebrities, to whom I positively have nothing whatever to say."

Gronau laughed and stayed, but it was of no avail. Gersdorf, with Frau Molly upon his arm, made his appearance, and Elmhorst came hurrying towards them to carry off the luckless host, since the distinguished party were getting into the carriages to drive to the villa, where Alice was waiting to receive them. She was still a delicate creature in appearance, although in perfect health, and she had never lost a certain maidenly shyness of manner which was her great charm. The dignity of the household was admirably maintained by Frau von Lasberg, who had never left her former pupil.

The entertainment to-day left nothing to be desired. Poor Benno finally made his speech; of course he all but broke down in it, but it was fortunately just at the end, and Wolfgang at the critical moment signed to the musicians to strike up.

An hour afterwards the guests departed, conducted to the station by Elmhorst and his wife, who were, however, to return to pa.s.s several days with Reinsfeld and Alice at the villa.

Benno betook himself to the nursery, where the young mother was seated beside the cradle of their little daughter. He carried in his hand a bunch of Alpine roses: "It is Midsummer-eve, Alice; I had to bring you the wonted bouquet."

"Did you really remember it in all the confusion of the day?" the young mother asked, with a smile.

One never forgets a prophecy of happiness, least of all when it has been fulfilled. He handed her the flowers with,--

"Do not refuse it,-- Our offering of flowers, And midsummer's blessings Fall on you in showers."

Evening had fallen when the engineer-in-chief and his wife stood on the platform of the Oberstein station, watching the departing train as it vanished in the tunnel beyond the bridge. "I have sent away the carriage, Erna," said Wolfgang. "I thought we would walk back, the evening is so fine, and we have not been alone once before to-day."

"And what a delightful day it has been!" said Erna, as she put her arm through her husband's. "Only you were so grave, Wolf, in the midst of your triumph, and you are so still."

He smiled, but his voice was grave as he replied, "I could not but remember how dearly the triumph has been bought, as only you and I can know. You have been my sole confidante, my only refuge, inspiring me with courage and ability when all sorts of petty intrigue nearly drove me insane. If you had not been beside me I could not have persevered."

"Yes, nothing could have been more trying for a nature like yours than to be so thwarted and hara.s.sed on all sides as you have been; but you have come off conqueror at last."

"And Benno has been such a help in placing everything in my hands as soon as he was Alice's husband. I never can forget it of him."

"But he owes you more than he can repay," Erna interposed. "Think of how you worked for Alice after my uncle's death. They owe it to you that they are still wealthy."

As she spoke, the departed train, having pa.s.sed through the tunnel, was visible like a black thread winding among the distant mountains, which softly echoed back the whistle of the locomotive through the quiet evening air. Wolfgang paused and drew a deep breath:

"Now she is quelled, the evil Force above there. She has given me trouble enough. Look, Erna, the last clouds are floating off from the throne of your Alpine Fay. She seems to unveil completely only on Midsummer-eve."

A shadow pa.s.sed across Erna's happy face, and there were tears in her eyes as she said, looking up at the Wolkenstein, "One other conquered her, but he had to pay with his life the price of his victory."

"Rather of a foolhardy attempt that could benefit no one." Elmhorst's voice sounded harsh. "He risked his life, and found what he sought. Can you never forget him, Erna?"

She shook her head: "Do not be unjust. Wolf, nor jealous of the dead.

You know well whom I have always loved. But it is impossible for you with your practical energy of character to comprehend a nature like Ernst's."

"Possibly; we were too diametrically antagonistic to be just to each other. But no more of him to-day, Erna; your memory and your thoughts to-day belong to me. The first height is surmounted; with the completion of the Wolkenstein railway a sure foundation is laid for my future. But the path was a difficult one."