"My father?" Benno asked, with a puzzled air. "You are mistaken; it is the Nordheim system upon which the locomotives of to-day are constructed."
"I beg pardon: 'tis the Reinsfeld method," Gronau maintained.
"You are mistaken, I assure you. Wolf told me himself that his future father-in-law laid the foundation of his fortunes by the sale of his method of constructing mountain-locomotives. It was purchased and used by the first mountain-railways. Afterwards, of course, all kinds of improvements were added, but the inventor made a goodly profit; they paid him a very large price for the patent."
"And the engineer-in-chief told you this?"
"He did; we were talking of it a little while ago. Moreover, the thing is well known; any engineer can tell you so."
Gronau suddenly sprang up and approached the young physician. "Doctor," he said, slowly and emphatically, "this is either a wretched mistake or a scoundrelly trick!"
"Scoundrelly trick?" Benno repeated, startled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, or rather I know, that this invention was your father's, and Nordheim knows it as well as I do. If he has given it out for his own----"
"In heaven's name, you would not call----"
"The highly-respected president a scoundrel? Well, that remains to be seen. It was, of course, possible for a stranger to have hit upon the same invention,--every engineer was occupied with the problem at the time,--but Nordheim had his friend's completed plan in his possession, studied it thoroughly, praised and admired it; there is no possibility of his having happened upon the idea for himself. We must sift the matter. Consider, Benno, do you really know nothing of the cause of the estrangement of which you have told me?"
"Nothing at all. I have just told Wolfgang so; he asked me the same question."
"The engineer-in-chief? What made him do that?"
"He thought he saw the president's hand in the offer that has just been made me, and he surmised--but no, no! Not a word more of such a shameful suspicion. It is impossible----"
"Much seems impossible to you, doctor; you have preserved the heart of a child," Veit said, gravely. "But when a man has seen as much of men as I have, he comes to disbelieve in such impossibilities. You are sure that Nordheim took out a patent for the mountain-locomotive?"