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

And in order,
if possible, to cement this new relationship with the consul still further,
he too searched for a general, somewhat philosophical observation; without thinking it through enough, as he immediately realized, he remarked
that there were sometimes officers, too, who were obliged to change their
careers.

    "Yes," replied the consul, "that's true, but it's mostly not by their
own free choice. They are, or rather, they feel themselves to be, embarrassingly compromised, and it's usually not possible for them to go back
to their former profession. On the other hand, people such as myself-I
mean, people who through no privilege of birth or rank or-something
else-are prevented-I myself, for example, have been down and up half
a dozen times at least. And how low-ah, if you and your comrades
knew how low I've been, you would probably not have sat down with me
at a gaming table! That's probably why you and your comrades preferred
not to inquire too carefully about me before sitting down with me!"
    Willi remained silent. He was most painfully touched and uncertain
as to how he should react. Of course, if Wimmer or Greising had been in
his place, they would have found the right thing to say. But he, Willi, had
to keep quiet. He didn't dare ask, "What do you mean, Consul, by `far
down,' and what do you mean by 'inquire'?" Oh, he could imagine what
was meant. He himself was just now as low, as low as it was possible to
be, lower than he could ever have imagined a couple of hours ago.
    He now depended on the mood, on the good graces, on the mercy of
this man, however low he might once have been. Would he be merciful?
That was the question. Would he agree to be paid in installments over a
year's time-or over a period of five years-or to a revenge match next
Sunday? It didn't look likely-no, at the moment it didn't look very
likely at all. And-if he were not to be merciful-hmm, then there would
be nothing left for him to do but to go begging to Uncle Robert. StillUncle Robert! It would be a most painful, a truly frightening endeavor,
but nonetheless he would have to do it. Absolutely ... and it was really
unthinkable that his uncle would refuse to help him when his career, his
existence, his very life-yes, truly, the very life of his nephew, the only
son of his deceased sister, stood in the balance. A man who lived on his
income, lived quite modestly, to be sure, but was nevertheless a capitalist
who had merely to take the money out of the bank! Eleven thousand
gulden-that certainly wasn't even a tenth, not even a twentieth, of his
fortune! Actually, he might just as well ask him for twelve as for eleven
thousand gulden-what did it matter? If he did, Bogner would also be
saved. This thought immediately made Willi feel more hopeful, as though Providence had the obligation to reward him for his noble intentions. In any case, he wouldn't have to resort to any of that unless the
consul remained obstinate. And that wasn't certain yet. Willi threw a
quick sideways glance at his companion. He seemed to be lost in memories. His hat was lying on the blanket, his lips were half open, as though
about to break into a smile, and he looked older and less severe than before. Wasn't this the right moment? But how to begin? Should he confess
that he just wasn't in a position-that he had thoughtlessly let himself get
into a situation-that he had lost his head; that indeed, for a quarter of an
hour he had not been capable of thinking at all? And also-would he
have gone as far, would he have forgot himself so completely, if the consul-yes, he could mention this-if the consul had not, unasked, indeed
without the slightest hint from him, placed the money at his disposalpushed it over to him, in a certain sense forced it on him, though in the
most amiable way possible?

    "A ride like this in the early morning is quite wonderful, don't you
think?" observed the consul.
    "Splendid," replied the lieutenant