"Here I am, doctor."
"That's right, Van der Welcke, you're in good time. Would you mind going for a walk with your uncle presently?"
"Not at all."
"For I can't manage to come to-day."
"There's no reason why you should, doctor."
"It's the first time you'll have been out alone with him. When will your mother be back?"
"This afternoon."
"Of course, I could send the keeper with you. But it's better that your uncle should not see more of him than's necessary."
"Don't worry, doctor; it'll be all right."
"Don't go too far, you know."
"No, close by, on the dunes."
"I can rely on you?"
"Yes, doctor, absolutely."
"Here he comes."
Ernst came shuffling into the garden from the verandah; he knew Addie and smiled:
"Where's Mamma?" he asked.
"She'll be back this afternoon, Uncle. Are you coming for a walk with me?"
"No, I'm going to wait for Mamma," said Ernst, in a suspicious voice, with a glance at the doctor.
Nevertheless, Addie succeeded in coaxing him outside, down the road. And then Ernst took Addie by the arm and said:
