Leonard did not respond to the sharp look which Dr. Peterssen gave him. He was revolving things in his mind, groping for a crooked path by which he could reach his goal.
"Well, friend of my heart?" said Dr. Peterssen.
"There is nothing more to be said at present," said Leonard. "It is time for me to join my friends."
"We agreed that you were not to intrude upon us."
"I do not intend to. I merely wish to see where you put up. Don't try to give me the slip, Leonard."
They walked together to the little inn in which they had rooms, and there Dr. Peterssen wished Leonard good night.
He was not as good as his word. The next day he contrived that the parties should meet, but he was clever enough to make it appear as if it were an accidental meeting, and Leonard, being to some extent in his power, did not quarrel with him. His patient, George Street, was a quiet young gentleman, whom no person, without foreknowledge, would have supposed to be mad. Upon certain subjects he spoke rationally, but as a rule he was silent and reserved, with the air of one who had some deeply-rooted cause for melancholy. He seemed to fear Dr. Peterssen, and a dog could not have been more obedient to the least motion of its master. He was of about the same age as Gerald, and their statures differed very slightly. In accordance with the advice of Dr. Peterssen, Leonard informed Gerald and Emilia that the young man was not exactly in his right mind, and that they were to be under no apprehension concerning him, as he was as tractable and docile as a child. Emilia conceived a great pity for him, and occasionally walked with him, accompanied by Gerald; for Dr. Peterssen evinced no immediate intention of leaving their society.
"The presence of a lady so gentle as yourself," he said to Emilia, "is good for the poor fellow; he is benefiting by your kindness already."
"He will get well, I hope," said Emilia, solicitously. "There is no doubt of it," said Dr. Peterssen. "In less than twelve months his cure will be perfect."
Some three weeks passed, and they were now in the Engadine, located in a comfortable inn in the valley of Roseg. For some reason of his own which he disclosed to not one of the party, not even to Leonard, Dr. Peterssen gave out that he expected from day to day to be called home by his patient's father, and that he might be compelled to leave them suddenly. His mind was busy with a diabolical scheme, which, however, he might not have succeeded in carrying out had not circumstances favored him. During the time they had been together he had extracted cleverly from one or the other information relating to the positions the step-brothers held toward each other, by which he learnt that the fortune enjoyed by Gerald would revert to Leonard if Gerald were out of the way. Leonard was annoyed by his pertinacious desire for details and particulars, but Dr. Peterssen, with his hand on the plough, never turned back. The fatality which assisted him to the cruel end he had in view was the indisposition of Emilia, who, in the Roseg Valley, exhibited signs of fatigue and depression. The local doctor prescribed rest, and Gerald gave up the mountain excursions which afforded him so much pleasure.