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"Ah! Excellent! Excellent!" exclai, as he continued to draw blood into the glass syringe "So glossy" He lifted the syringe, pulling on the tubing connecting it to the subject so that the afternoon sunlight struck it with full brilliance, lass, and blood shine A complicated apparatus stood on the low table at his side, a device of his own invention, one of a dozen littering this third-floor roo called his laboratory He took care not to brush his Turkish dressing-goith the syringe, more to protect the blood than the fine da on a cot between von Ravensberg and the apparatus, his long, boiled-wool coat draped over the single chair and his shirt-sleeve rolled up to above his elbow; he gasped as the needle in his ar a bit worried as he watched von Ravensberg e He was a pleasant enough ular-featured and healthy, a successful independent farmer, able to read and write-all in all, an ideal subject for von Ravensberg: exactly the fine exaing," said von Ravensberg, scowling at Thorbern "Do lie still, Herr Thorbern"
"But it hurts when you pull"
"Lie still," von Ravensberg repeated "You must not move about in that way"
"But Baron-" Thorbern protested
"I will not take , annoyed that his exuberance was not shared "I need to co the sample, you understand Then I will subject the blood to tests, and you ratitude" This last was an afterthought
Thorbern sighed and did his best to be co the chill to the coolness of the room; there was snow on the roof of the Schloss as befitted this January rate, the heat did not spreadas it is useful, Baron"
"All inquiry is useful, youngwith finality Hehis full attention on the man&039;s blood "This rich, fine color and shine is an indication, I believe, of superior composition You may be confident that I will examine it closely"
"Because of its color?" Thorbern had slaughtered enough cattle, hogs, and sheep to have seen great quantities of blood: never had he noticed much difference in the color or characteristic of any of it
"The color, the luminosity, the texture and composition of it, the characteristics present in its nature," said von Ravensberg, mildly distracted He indicated his fine , with a wooden box filled with glass slides beside it "Thanks to this wonderful device, we know there are many components to blood, and it is my belief that e truly understand the whole nature of blood, ill have a definitive e, now almost full "This will help h this made little sense to Thorbern, he was too well-mannered to say so "It sounds very complex"
"That it is, that it is, far ht, and possibly possessing many more mysteries than what is currently sur thetask, to discover all that blood has within it Many other scholars would recoil at the de, but not I; no, I am determined to-" He broke off as he heard a rap on his door "Who is it?" he deruffly
"It&039;s Hyacinthie, Uncle," she called through the door "A s you word from-"
"I&039;m almost done here Have hi to eat and a tankard of our beer And see you don&039;t e
"Do you wish to stop?" Thorbern asked
"No Not yet" There was still a little rooe "A minute more, or two, and it should be done" He tried to offer an appreciative smile but without success "You must know that I value your cooperation and your participation highly Very highly Many of the people in this region are ignorant, superstitious, and out-right fools But not all countryh education"-five years in the local school-"to grasp the implications of this study, why it e our-" He stopped "The syringe is full If you will lie still for a er, I&039;ll remove the needle and you can sit up"
Thorbern could not conceal his relief; his ed He winced as von Ravensberg reached over and carefully drew the needle fro his pocket kerchief, he pressed it to the welling of blood that followed; after a minute he lifted the corner of the handkerchief and scowled as his blood continued to run "Will this be all, Graf?"
"For now," he said, his attention focused on the blood in the syringe "You are fortunate to have such fine blood, Herr Thorbern Not many specimens look as fine as this one, or show such promise"
"Pleased to be of service," said Thorbern auto a bit queasy as he did; his head ached dully and he felt thirsty "How much blood did you take, Graf, if I e still in his hands "Oh You can see for yourself"
The sight of his own blood in that shiny glass tube with the brass plunger and needle-casing made Thorbern&039;s stomach churn "It would fill a cowmaid&039;s ladle," he said inhad taken in the past: it was less than would fill a beer-stein, buthis best to regain his co the cause of science; do not doubt it, Herr Thorbern"
"I am pleased to be of service," said Thorbern He started to rise but thought better of it; he tucked his handkerchief back into his pocket and busied hih he noticed the blood had not completely stopped
"And I thank you for it," said von Ravensberg without any atte, healthy, young, Ger to participate in my studies, would you? I would welcome all such specimens to my Schloss, rest assured That would be most useful for my researches No Czechs or Bohemians or Poles, e into an aperture in his device, and slowly depressed the plunger "If you&039;re feeling a bit unsteady, go down to theyou a restorative dish for you to eat Hyacinthie needs so to do A tankard of beer should set you up, and soetting to his feet This tih he lurched a little and his vision swayed He reached for his coat as hts wandered and he blinked several times "Would they have to be relatives, or would coave this his serious consideration "Both would be welcome," he decided aloud "Yes Send me word if you find appropriate subjects"
"Jawol, Graf I will" He struggled into his coat and took an unsteady step toward the door
"Will you be able to letknew he had asked this too quickly, but he could not hold hiement as we have had before? So I may determine what impact the weather may have upon your blood"
"Do you think it does?" Thorbern asked
"I think itcarefully "And for that reason, comparisons are necessary to make a full and accurate analysis One set of analyses is not enough to de useful It is the comparisons that matter I will subject this sample to an electrical current Surely you can see the value in that I will do the sa the contents of the syringe and turned to face his subject "Think about it, Thorbern You could be a the first men to have the reat honor"
"A very great honor," Thorbern echoed dubiously
"You will co, and there are no more avalanches" He looked toward the"There will be ht, and if the storm lasts, it will be several days before the roads are safe to travel"
"Even frothy cart horses could er willing to conceal it "Without another four or five donations, I will not have sufficient information to-"
"I will try, Graf I will try It is the best I can pro his teetery way toward the door Just as he was about to lift the latch, he asked, "Will you be wanting more animals to test, Baron?"
"Animals?" He considered it "No, I think not At least not for the present Later theyto a difficult undertaking "I may not have any to spare this year After two hard winters,poorly, as are everyone else&039;s I have sows and eho "
"Lae your mind, Graf, send me word; I&039;ll try to find the best of the la had purchased nine animals from him: two shoats, two lambs, two kids, two calves, and a colt-foal; he had paid top prices for all of them: three of them were still alive
"I will do Danke" He paid no lass-and- a complex of tubes toward various vials
Thorbern stepped out into the corridor "Many thanks, Graf" He said this without thought, more out of custom than intent; he received no answer, and after nearly ahis jacket as he went He had reached the landing between the first and second floors when he heard a ht
"Herr Thorbern!" Hyacinthie Theresa Katerina Sieffert von Ravensberg cried out, clapping her hands together as she ca across the inlaid-h for the day?"
"Yes, Fraulein von Ravensberg, I am," he said, flattered and uncomfortable; the Baron&039;s niece was almost beautiful, and, aard as it was for Thorbern, at seventeen she was beco flirtatious; Thorbern suspected she had yet to realize the i their attentions were ga"
"And you&039;re hungry and thirsty after everything my uncle has done to you?" She s&039;s chill, and gave her head a toss She was as fashionably dressed as she could be in so cold a house as the Schloss was, in a high-waisted dress of iris-colored wool, long-sleeved and high-necked in concession to the winter weather Around her shoulders she wore an Indian shawl of heavy silk twill; its gray-green color almost matched her eyes Her dark-blond hair was done in a knot on her head, a few tendrils artlessly escaping around her face She knew that Thorbern found her attractive, and that pleased her tre room still has a fire lit, and you may be coly aware of her intense femininity He wondered if her uncle had noticed how ed in the last year, and decided that the Graf would not notice such things
"You know the way by now, don&039;t you, Herr Thorbern?" She lifted her chin and looked at hiht in her teeth as if trying to suppress a ser, just come for my uncle, and must attend to hiave her a nod that was alht that led to the rear of the Schloss, the east side of the building where the lad to be away from Hyacinthie; the Graf had made him sufficiently uncomfortable for one day, and a round of Hyacinthie&039;s precocious coquettish attentions was more than he could endure in patience
Untroubled by Thorbern&039;s distress and hu toward the library where thefellow, big-chested and heavy-armed, with a broad forehead and upswept eyebrows that hinted at Hungarian blood as well as Austrian His four-caped coat was hung on a hook near the door, and she touched it as she entered the library "Herr Haller?" she called, and saw hi on the old-fashioned divan in front of the fire
"Fraulein?" There was a shine in his eyes that revealed his appreciation for the Graf&039;s niece
"Has Werther brought you your refresh of hot brandy?"
"No, Fraulein Not yet" He stretched out, as if he -dress
"I will see why he has delayed," she offered "You ant to be warm"