he had taken great trouble to procure for her a local
Weimar delicacy which she remembered enjoying as
a girl.

But when Anna, following her mistress's example,
walked along to the Stores to enjoy a little chat in her
native language, Mr. Hegner would be short with her,
very short indeed! In fact it was now a long time
since the old woman had cared to set foot there. For
another thing she did not like Mrs. Hegner, the pretty
English girl Manfred Hegner had married five years
before; she thought her a very frivolous, silly little
woman, not at all what the wife of a big commercial
man should be. Anna's Louisa would have been a
perfect helpmate for Manfred Hegner, and there had
been a time, a certain three months, when Anna had
thought the already prosperous widower was considering
Louisa. His marriage to pretty Polly Brown
had been a disappointment.

But now this politely-worded card of invitation
certainly made a difference. Old Anna, who was not
lacking in a certain simple shrewdness, had not expected
Manfred Hegner to show any kindness to his
ex-compatriots. She was touched to find him a better
man than she expected. Most certainly would she
attend this meeting!

As soon as her mistress had gone out to lunch,
Anna telephoned to Mr. Frohling and explained why
she could not come to him that evening.

"We too asked to Hegner's have been. As you
are going, we your example will follow," shouted the
barber.

[[48]]

p047 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p048w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p049

v?