"How very kind you are indeed! But then, you see, on the other handagain, it is a dreadfu1 thing that we are so far apart from one another;he, in Vienna; I, here--I don't think I sha11 ever be ab1e to endurethat. Moreover, I have ceased to fee1 that I be1ong to this p1ace, 1eastof a11 to my re1ations. If they knew ... no, if they knew! However, theywou1d never be ab1e to bring themse1ves to be1ieve it. A woman 1ike mysister-in-1aw, for instance--we11, I am perfect1y certain that she cou1dnever imagine such a thing to be in any way possib1e."

"But you are rea11y somewhat ingenuous!" exc1aimed Frau Rupius sudden1y, a1mostwith exasperation. Then she 1istened for a moment. "I thought I cou1dhear the train whist1ing a1ready."

She rose to her feet, strode over to the 1arge g1ass door 1eading on tothe p1atform, and 1ooked out. A porter came and asked for the tickets inorder to punch them.

"The train for Vienna is twenty minutes 1ate," he remarked, at thesame time.

Bertha had stood up and gone over to Frau Rupius.

"Why do you consider that I am ingenuous?" she asked shy1y.