Night Games: And Other Stories and Novellas by Arthur Schnitzler Page A

occurred to him that he had once heard of an older man who had suffered a stroke in the bed of his mistress, and he glanced
obliquely at the consul. The latter, however, seemed very fresh and
cheerful, not in the least ready for death, and-evidently to annoy El-
rief-he was just saying goodbye to Fraulein Rihoscheck with a delicate
caress that didn't seem in keeping with his usual manner. Then he invited
the lieutenant into the carriage, offered him the seat on the right, and at
the same time spread a light yellow blanket lined with brown fur over his
own and Willi's knees. Thus they drove off. Elrief lifted his hat once
more in a wide, sweeping gesture that was not without humor, in the
Spanish manner that he intended to use in the role of grandee that he
hoped to play in the course of the next season in some small, subsidized,
provincial theatre. As the carriage wheeled around to cross over the
bridge, the consul turned and waved a farewell to the three who were just
now strolling away arm in arm with Fraulein Rihoscheck in the middle.
Engrossed in lively conversation, they did not notice.

    VIII
    As they drove through the sleeping town, no sound could be heard except
the clattering of the horses' hoofs.
    "It's a bit cool," remarked the consul.
    Willi had little desire for conversation, but he recognized the need
to make some sort of reply, if only to keep the consul in a friendly mood.
So he said, "Yes, it's always refreshing in the early hours of the morning.
We soldiers learn that from maneuvers."
    "About the twenty-four hours," began the consul after a short
pause, "we don't need to take that literally."
    Willi breathed more easily and took the opportunity to say, "I was
just about to ask your indulgence, Consul, as I don't have the whole sum
at hand at this moment, as you can well understand."
    "Of course," interrupted the consul. The hoofbeats clattered on,
echoing now as they drove under a viaduct out into open country. "If I
were to insist on the usual twenty-four hours," he continued, "you would
have to pay your debt tomorrow evening at half past two in the morning,
and that would be inconvenient for both of us. So let's set the hour"-he appeared to be considering the matter-"on Tuesday at 12 o'clock noon,
if that suits you."

    He took a visiting card from his wallet and gave it to Willi, who
scrutinized it. Dawn had progressed enough that he could read the ad-
dress-Helfersdorferstrasse 5. Not more than five minutes from the military barracks, he mused.
    "Tomorrow, then, Consul, at twelve noon?" he said, and he could
feel his heart beat faster.
    "Yes, Lieutenant, that's what I had in mind. Tuesday at twelve
o'clock sharp. I'll be in my office from nine o'clock in the morning on."
    "And if I were not able to pay at that hour, Consul-if, for example,
I could not satisfy you before that afternoon or on Wednesday ..."
    The consul interrupted him. "You'll be in a position to pay, Lieutenant, I have no doubt. Since you sat down to play, you must naturally
also have been prepared to lose, just as I had to be, and if you don't have
a private fortune, you can, at any rate, expect that your parents will not
let you down."
    "I have no parents anymore," answered Willi quickly, and as Schnabel allowed a sympathetic noise to escape him, he added, "my mother
has been dead for eight years, and my father died five years ago, as a
lieutenant colonel in Hungary."
    "So, your father was also an officer?" The consul's tone sounded
sympathetic, almost warmhearted.
    "Yes, Consul. Who knows if I would have chosen a military career
under other circumstances!"
    "It's remarkable," the consul agreed, "when you think about it, how
some people's entire life is, so to speak, all planned out in advance, while
others change theirs from one year, sometimes even from one day, to the
next...." He paused, shaking his head. Somehow this altogether general, not quite finished sentence struck Willi as reassuring.