"Treat the gentleman with every consideration," he added,
addressing the policemen in a tone of authority, "and let me have no
complaints of unnecessary rudeness either."
"I thank you, Herr Hauptmann," said the Count, simply.
Thus was the Count deprived of his liberty on the very eve of his return
to all the brilliant advantages of wealth and social station. It was
certainly a most unfortunate train of circumstances which had led him by
such quick stages from his parting with Vjera to the wooden bench and the
board pillow of the police-station. It looked as though the Gigerl were
possessed of an evil spirit determined to work out the Count's
destruction, as though the wretched adventurer who had first stolen it and
palmed it off upon Fischelowitz had laid a curse upon it, whereby it was
destined to breed dissension and strife wherever it remained and to the
direct injury of whomsoever chanced to possess it for the time being. It
had been the cause of serious disaster to the porter in the first
instance, it had next represented to Fischelowitz a dead loss in money of
fifty marks, it had become a thorn in the side to Akulina, it had led to
one of the most violent quarrels she had ever engaged in with her husband,
its limp and broken form had cost much broken crockery and some broken
furniture to the host of the "Green Wreath Inn," had been the cause of
several ponderous blows dealt and received by Dumnoff, had produced the
violent fall, upon a hard board floor, of a porter and two policemen and
had ultimately brought the Count to prison for the night.
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