the ruins of the Emperor William Monument, of Gausenfeld and all his dreams, in his heart, he rushed about in the rain from one polling-station to another, bringing up the loyal voters, with the certainty that their loyalty was wasted and would help the worst enemies of the Emperor. At Klappsch's in the evening, splashed with mud to the neck, his nerves on edge after the noise of the long day, the vast amount of beer and the nearness of the final result, he heard the figures. Against Heuteufel's eight thousand votes, Napoleon Fischer had six thousand odd, but Kunze had three thousand six hundred and seventy-two. The second ballot was between Heuteufel and Fischer. "Hurrah!" shouted Diederich, for nothing was lost and they had gained time.
He returned to his office from which old Sötbier had vanished and where Diederich was now his own accountant, answerable only to his God, and where his weightiest decisions were made. He went to the telephone and asked for Gausenfeld. Just then the door opened and the postman handed in his packages. On the top Diederich noticed Gausenfeld. He hung up the receiver again and, nodding like Destiny, he gazed at the letter. The deed was done! The old chap had not waited to be told; lie understood that he no longer dared to give money to Buck and his allies, and that if necessary, he could personally be called to account. Diederich calmly tore open the envelope—but after two lines he was reading feverishly. What a surprise! Klüsing was ready to sell! He was growing old and regarded Diederich as his natural successor!
What did it all mean? Diederich sat down in a corner to think. First of all, it meant that Wulckow had intervened. The old fellow was in mortal fear because of the government contracts; and the strike, which Napoleon threatened, had done the rest. Where was the time when he thought he could get out of the dilemma by offering Diederich a share of the paper for the "Netzig Journal"? Now he offered him the
