Черный тюльпан
The First Bulb
”
“AndI,inmyturn,whenshallIplantmybulb?”
“Oh,thefirstfavourabledayIwilltellyou;but,whateveryoudo,letnobodyhelpyou,anddon’tconfideyoursecrettoanyoneintheworld;doyousee,aconnoisseurbymerelylookingatthebulbwouldbeabletodistinguishitsvalue;andso,mydearestRosa,becarefulinlockingupthethirdsuckerwhichremainstoyou.”
“Itisstillwrappedupinthesamepaperinwhichyouputit,andjustasyougaveitme.Ihavelaiditatthebottomofmychestundermypointlace,whichkeepsitdry,withoutpressinguponit.Butgoodnight,mypoorcaptivegentleman.”
“How?already?”
“Itmustbe,itmustbe.”
“Comingsolateandgoingsosoon.”
“Myfathermightgrowimpatientnotseeingmereturn,andthatpreciouslovermightsuspectarival.”
Hereshelisteneduneasily.
“Whatisit?”askedVanBaerle.“IthoughtIheardsomething.”
“What,then?”
“Somethinglikeastep,creakingonthestaircase.”
“Surely,”saidtheprisoner,“thatcannotbeMasterGryphus,heisalwaysheardatadistance.”
“No,itisnotmyfather,Iamquitesure,but——”
“But?”
“ButitmightbeMynheerJacob.”
Rosarushedtowardthestaircase,andadoorwasreallyheardrapidlytoclosebeforetheyoungdamselhadgotdownthefirsttensteps.
Corneliuswasveryuneasyaboutit,butitwasafterallonlyapreludetogreateranxieties.
Theflowingdaypassedwithoutanyremarkableincident.Gryphusmadehisthreevisits,anddiscoverednothing.
