'You will receive in this room, Eugen?' Aribert questioned him.
'Yes,' was the answer, given pettishly. 'Why not? Even if I have no
proper retinue here, surely that is no reason why I should not hold
audience in a proper manner? . . . Hans, you can go.' The old valet
promptly disappeared.
'Aribert,' the Hereditary Prince continued, when they were alone in
the chamber, 'you think I am mad.'
'My dear Eugen,' said Prince Aribert, startled in spite of himself.
'Don't be absurd.'
'I say you think I am mad. You think that that attack of brain fever
has left its permanent mark on me. Well, perhaps I am mad. Who
can tell? God knows that I have been through enough lately to
drive me mad.'
Aribert made no reply. As a matter of strict fact, the thought had
crossed his mind that Eugen's brain had not yet recovered its
normal tone and activity. This speech of his nephew's, however,
had the effect of immediately restoring his belief in the latter's
entire sanity. He felt convinced that if only he could regain his
nephew's confidence, the old brotherly confidence which had
existed between them since the years when they played together as
boys, all might yet be well. But at present there appeared to be no
sign that Eugen meant to give his confidence to anyone.
The young Prince had come up out of the valley of the shadow of
death, but some of the valley's shadow had clung to him, and it
seemed he was unable to dissipate it.
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