Selected Prose of Heinrich Von Kleist by Heinrich von Kleist Page A

hands of the blacks, have given him shelter.” In conclusion, she said to assure them that, as soon as the highway was free of the armed Negro bands they expected soon, efforts would be made to bring the family here too and offer them safe haven in this house. “Do you understand?” she asked. Hoisting the basket onto his head, the boy replied that he was very familiar with the seagull pond, where he liked to go fishing with his friends, and that he would do everything he’d been told to help the stranger’s family camping out there for the night. And upon the old woman’s question if he had anything to add, the stranger proceeded to pull a ring from his finger and gave it to the boy, instructing him to pass it to the head of the family, Monsieur Strömli, as a sign that the conveyed message was true. Hereupon the old woman took numerous precautionary measures to assure the stranger’s safety, as she maintained; she ordered Toni to close the shutters, and in order to shed a little light in the darkness, she ignited, not without difficulty, as the flint at first refused to function, a kerosene lamp on the mantelpiece. The stranger took advantage of this moment of chaos to gently sling an arm around Toni and whisper in her ear: “How did you sleep?” And: “Should I not inform your mother of what happened?” But Toni ignored the first question, and pulling herself free of his embrace, whispered back a hasty “No!” in response to the second. “If you love me, don’t say a word!” She did her best to hide the terror that all these deceitful maneuvers stirred up in her; and with the pretext of having to prepare the stranger’s breakfast, she scrambled down to the dining room.
    Taking from her mother’s cupboard the note the stranger hadwritten to his family, in which he had, in all innocence, invited them to the house, she decided to follow the boy to their camp; and having resolved, if worst came to worst, and her mother noticed it was missing, to share her lover’s death, she rushed after the boy who had already set off along the highway. For she now no longer saw the young officer, before God, in her heart of hearts, as merely a wanderer to whom she had given shelter, but as her betrothed husband-to-be, and she was determined, once his kinfolk had entered the house in full force, to openly declare this to her mother without worrying about her stupefied reaction. “Nanky,” she gasped, out of breath, having run after and finally caught up with the boy on the highway, “mother changed her plan concerning the family of Monsieur Strömli. Take this letter! It is addressed to Monsieur Strömli himself, the old head of the family, and contains an invitation for them all to come spend a few days at our place. Use your head and do everything in your power to bring it off without a hitch; Congo Hoango will reward you upon his return!” “Good, good, Miss Toni!” the boy replied. And carefully folding and stashing the letter in his pocket, he asked: “And am I to serve them as a guide on the walk back?” “Definitely,” said Toni, “since they don’t know the way. But to avoid running into any troops that might be patrolling the highway you’ll have to hold off your return until after midnight, but then make sure to walk quickly so as to get them here before the break of day. Can I count on you, Nanky?” she asked. “You can count on Nanky!” the boy replied. “I know why you’re luring these white fugitives to the plantation, and Hoango will be well pleased!”
    Hereupon Toni rushed back to the house and brought the stranger his breakfast; and after bringing back the dirty dishes, thedaughter rejoined her mother in the front dining room to attend to household chores. A little while later, without fail, the mother went to the cupboard and, of course, found the message missing.