Chapter VII

"Sit down, Frohling, sit down!"

The old barber, rather to his surprise, had
been invited to follow his host into the Hegners' private
parlour, a little square room situated behind the
big front shop.

The floor of the parlour was covered with a large-patterned
oilcloth. There was a round mahogany
pedestal table, too large for the room, and four substantial
cane-backed armchairs. Till today there had
always hung over the piano a large engraving of
the German Emperor, and on the opposite wall a
smaller oleograph picture of Queen Victoria with her
little great-grandson, the Prince of Wales, at her
knee. The German Emperor had now been taken
down, and there was a patch of clean paper marking
where the frame had hung.

As answer to Mr. Hegner's invitation, the older
man sat down heavily in a chair near the table.

Both men remained silent for a moment, and a
student of Germany, one who really knew and understood
that amazing country, might well, had he seen
the two sitting there, have regarded the one as epitomising
the old Germany, and the other -- naturalised
Englishman though he now was -- epitomising the
new. Manfred Hegner was slim, active, and prosperous-
looking; he appeared years younger than his
age. Ludwig Frohling was stout and rather stumpy;
he seemed older than he really was, and although he

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v?