“You seem to be in a devil of a hurry to get rid of me all of a sudden. Who have you got your eyes on now?”
“You’ve got a lot of reason to pretend to be jealous! Yes, to pretend, for you’re not in the least bit jealous!”
After a while he asked: “How much money have you got?”
“Oh, it can’t be much, because of the inflation. But I can always give you some more. I shall now see to it that the mistress pays me in goods—in Birnbaum they’re already supposed to be getting their wages in rye.”
“You and wages in rye.… The old woman would never dream of it. You’re always giving yourself nonsensical ideas.” He laughed scornfully. It was very necessary for him to feel superior. “Do you know what, Mandy? Go straight away and fetch your money now. After all, I can’t stay in the inn without money. And you can send Vi away at the same time. I’ve got to pack and I can’t do it in the dark. Oh, God!” he groaned suddenly. “Fancy dragging two heavy suitcases as far as Grünow! Only you could think of such a ridiculous thing!”
“Hans,” she comforted him, “it’s not so bad, so long as you get away safely. Just keep thinking of that. And I’ll carry them for a bit, there’s no need for me to go to bed now. You’ve no idea how fresh I’ll be if I wash myself from head to foot in cold water in the morning.”
“Yes, yes,” he said peevishly. “So long as you’re fresh, that’s the chief thing. Well, are you going or not?”
“Yes, of course, at once. But I may take a little time, I’ve got to get the girl away first. And you will hurry a little, won’t you, Hans? I don’t know when the Lieutenant’s coming back.”
“Oh, him!” said Black Meier contemptuously. “He shouldn’t brag so much. How long do you think a meeting like that will last? At least two or three hours! Peasants don’t let themselves be persuaded so quickly!”
“Well, hurry up, Hans,” she warned him again. “I’ll be back very quickly. A kiss, Hans.”
“Run along,” he said crossly. “All you think of is your cuddling and with me it’s a matter of life and death! But that’s just how you women are. Your heads always full of your so-called love. Not for me, thank you!”
“Oh, you blockhead,” she said and pulled his hair, but this time tenderly. “I’m just glad that you are getting away from here. At last I’ll be able to do some proper work again. It’s mad, but if you’ve got love in your blood and have to keep on stopping and staring … After all, what are you? You’re nothing—do you think I don’t know? But even knowing it doesn’t change things. Life’s just a monkey show, and you are certainly the biggest monkey of them all.”
And with that she planted a kiss on him, whether he liked it or not, and went out of the room, almost gay, almost contented.
II
Bailiff Meier didn’t wait long to make sure whether Amanda had really got Fräulein Violet away from her post. He cast a fleeting glance out of the window and, seeing no one, switched the light on. Like all unimaginative persons, he could form no idea of the danger threatening him. Everything had hitherto turned out quite well for him; one could go a long way by being thick-skinned, and things would be all right now, too.
As a matter of fact the prospects were not at all bad: it would be nice to play the rentier for a while—and of a sudden he even had his plans for the future! The Lieutenant had put ideas into his head. He still had a few things to settle before he departed, but he really ought to make haste. That was not so easy, however. His head was still hazy, and he found that putting on his town clothes, with shirt, collar and tie, presented some difficulty. His hands were trembling. “Must be the ether,” he decided. “I’ve never yet had it from drinking.”
With a sigh he set about packing. What a job, finding his few odds and ends in an untidy room and squeezing them, dirty and creased as they were, into two suitcases! He had got them in once (he had bought nothing in Neulohe), so in they must go again. By dint of much struggling he managed it at last, locked the cases and fastened the straps—his next girl would have nothing to laugh about, washing and ironing his things!
How much money would Mandy bring him? Efficient girl, Mandy, talked a bit too big, but otherwise quite nice! Well, she wouldn’t bring a lot of money; a lot of money would require a cart—but it would be useful as a supplement.
Cursing savagely he discovered that he was standing around in his socks—and his shoes were in the suitcase! Blast it. He was so used to putting on his high farm boots right at the end, that he hadn’t thought of his shoes. Naturally with his town clothes he wore his pointed shoes, the brownish patent ones. But which suitcase were they in? His farm boots looked out at him from the first case he half opened; after all, the patent shoes were rather narrow. But the thought of the figure he would cut for the girls in Grünow, in town clothes and farm boots, decided him. It must be the shoes.
Naturally they were in the second case! He got them on with some difficulty. “They’ll stretch in walking,” he consoled himself.
Then he strode into the office. He sorted his papers out of drawers and portfolios; he stamped his unemployment insurance card for six months ahead. There were stamps enough in this pigsty, and if the things became worth nothing afterwards it didn’t matter. And he carefully wrote himself a police notification to the effect that Herr Hans Meier was going on a journey. The stamp of the farm superintendent was pressed below it—there, that was all right.
Yet a moment’s reflection convinced him of the truth of the sentiment that two is always better than one, and so he wrote out a second notification. In this Meier became Schmidt … von Schmidt, Hans von Schmidt, occupation—farm manager, likewise on a journey. “There, you dolts, now try and find me!”
He grinned. Satisfaction at his great cunning banished the throb and ache in his head—it is a wonderful thing to be smarter than others and do them down! And now he began to type a testimonial for himself on a sheet of official Neulohe paper. Naturally, he was the pearl of all employees, knew everything, could do everything, did everything—and, moreover, was honest, reliable and industrious. It was rapture to give oneself all these things in writing. From the lines of the testimonial arose a new Meier with a fine, promising future, one fitted for the post of farm manager, the Meier he would like to be—in short the Meier of all Meiers!
This testimony was actually too good—it was not really comprehensible why one should ever let such an employee go; one ought to keep him to the end of his life. But clever, witty Meier was also able to deal with this. Owing to sale of lease, he wrote down. You see, the new boss would then not be able to ask the old one for further references. He had given up his lease, did not know where he had moved to. Now the stamp of the farm administration—the signature: Joachim von Prackwitz, captain (ret.) and tenant farmer—again the superintendent’s stamp—stamps are always good. The thing looked fine—the smartest fellow would be taken in by it.
Into his wallet with the papers. We’ll also put the supply of postage stamps in, we can always use stamps—why let them lie around here? The safe doesn’t hold overmuch, but it’ll do for a while. And if Mandy turns up trumps, then I’ll be able to live well for a few weeks. God, my breast pockets do bulge; papers on the right, cash on the left—a bosom, my child, a bosom is essential! A bosom is the latest fashion—no, as a matter of fact it isn’t. But as far as I’m concerned, a bosom is always nice. Now we’ll just close the safe, it’ll look better in the morning.…
“Leave it open, my lad! Always leave it open, young man—it looks better. Then tomorrow morning the Rittmeister will guess things at once!” cried the Lieutenant from the door.