The Northern Light | Page 3

client," continued the
counsellor. "She has authorized me--have I your permission to speak
freely?"
He glanced at the diplomat, but Falkenried answered shortly: "Herr von
Wallmoden is my friend, and knows all about this affair. So you may
speak freely."
"Very well. The lady has, after an absence of many years, returned to
Germany, and naturally enough wishes to see her son. She has already
written you about the matter but has received no answer."
"I should think that was answer enough. I do not wish any such meeting,
and I will not permit it."
"That sounds very blunt, Herr Major. Frau von Falkenried, in that case,
has--"
"Say Frau Zalika Rojanow, if you please," interrupted the Major. "I
believe she assumed her maiden name again when she returned to her
own country."
"The name does not signify on this occasion," responded the lawyer
composedly. "The question concerns only and alone a mother's natural
desire, which the father neither can nor dare refuse, even though, as in
this case, the son has been unconditionally adjudged to him."
"Dare not? But suppose he does dare?"

"In so doing he will overstep the limit of his rights. I beg you, Herr
Major, to consider the matter quietly before giving so decided a no. A
mother has rights of which no judicial decree can ever divest her, and
one of those rights is the privilege of seeing her only child again. In this
case my client has the law on her side, and she will appeal to it, too, if
my demand meets with the same refusal as did her written request."
"Very well, she can make the attempt. I'll run the risk. My son does not
know that his mother is living, and shall not learn it now. I will not
have him see her or speak with her, and I will know how to prevent it,
too. My no is absolute under all circumstances."
This declaration left nothing to be wished for as regarded energy; but
Falkenried's face was deathly pale, and his voice had a hollow,
menacing sound. One could see how fearfully the interview had excited
him. He was scarcely able to preserve the semblance of outward
composure.
The attorney seemed to see the uselessness of further endeavor, and
only shrugged his shoulders.
"If this is your last word, then my errand is at an end, and we will
determine hereafter what our next step will be. I regret having troubled
you about the matter, Herr Major." He bowed himself out with the
same cool, indifferent manner with which he had entered. As the door
closed upon him, Falkenried sprang up and began pacing excitedly up
and down the room; there were a few minutes of oppressive silence,
then Wallmoden said, half aloud: "You should not have done that.
Zalika will not resign herself readily to your no; she made a desperate
struggle for her child in the beginning."
"But I obtained the victory. It is to be hoped she has not forgotten that."
"At that time the question concerned the possession of the child,"
objected the secretary. "Now the mother only asks permission to see
him again, and you will not be able to refuse her that, if she demands it
peremptorily."

The Major stopped suddenly, and his voice was full of undisguised
contempt as he answered:
"She will not venture to do that after all that has happened. Zalika
learned to know me in the hour of our separation; she'll be cautious
about driving me to extremes a second time."
"But perhaps she will seek to accomplish secretly what you have
openly refused."
"That is impossible; the discipline of our institution is so severe there
could be no intercourse here of which I should not learn at once."
Wallmoden did not seem to share his friend's confidence. He shook his
head doubtfully.
"To speak openly, I regard it as a great mistake that you are obstinately
silent toward your son concerning his mother and the fact that she is
living. When he learns it from some other source, what then? And
sometime you must tell him."
"Perhaps, in a couple of years, when he'll have to enter the world. Now
he's only a student, a half-grown boy, and I cannot disclose to him the
drama which was once played in his father's house--I cannot."
"So be it. You know the woman who was once your wife, and know
what to expect from her. I fear there is nothing impossible for this
woman to accomplish."
"Ah, I know her," said Falkenried with intense bitterness, "and because
I know her I will protect my son from her at any price. He shall not
breath the poisonous breath of her presence; no, not even for an hour. I
do not under estimate