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Page 69
Rosa, in fact, had promised to come and see him every
evening, and from the first evening she had kept her word.
On the following evening she went up as before, with the
same mysteriousness and the same precaution. Only she had
this time resolved within herself not to approach too near
the grating. In order, however, to engage Van Baerle in a
conversation from the very first which would seriously
occupy his attention, she tendered to him through the
grating the three bulbs, which were still wrapped up in the
same paper.
But to the great astonishment of Rosa, Van Baerle pushed
back her white hand with the tips of his fingers.
The young man had been considering about the matter.
"Listen to me," he said. "I think we should risk too much by
embarking our whole fortune in one ship. Only think, my dear
Rosa, that the question is to carry out an enterprise which
until now has been considered impossible, namely, that of
making the great black tulip flower. Let us, therefore, take
every possible precaution, so that in case of a failure we
may not have anything to reproach ourselves with. I will now
tell you the way I have traced out for us."
Rosa was all attention to what he would say, much more on
account of the importance which the unfortunate
tulip-fancier attached to it, than that she felt interested
in the matter herself.
"I will explain to you, Rosa," he said. "I dare say you have
in this fortress a small garden, or some courtyard, or, if
not that, at least some terrace."
"We have a very fine garden," said Rosa, "it runs along the
edge of the Waal, and is full of fine old trees."
"Could you bring me some soil from the garden, that I may
judge?"
"I will do so to-morrow."
"Take some from a sunny spot, and some from a shady, so that
I may judge of its properties in a dry and in a moist
state."
"Be assured I shall."
"After having chosen the soil, and, if it be necessary,
modified it, we will divide our three bulbs; you will take
one and plant it, on the day that I will tell you, in the
soil chosen by me. It is sure to flower, if you tend it
according to my directions."
"I will not lose sight of it for a minute."
"You will give me another, which I will try to grow here in
my cell, and which will help me to beguile those long weary
hours when I cannot see you. I confess to you I have very
little hope for the latter one, and I look beforehand on
this unfortunate bulb as sacrificed to my selfishness.
However, the sun sometimes visits me. I will, besides, try
to convert everything into an artificial help, even the heat
and the ashes of my pipe, and lastly, we, or rather you,
will keep in reserve the third sucker as our last resource,
in case our first two experiments should prove a failure. In
this manner, my dear Rosa, it is impossible that we should
not succeed in gaining the hundred thousand guilders for
your marriage portion; and how dearly shall we enjoy that
supreme happiness of seeing our work brought to a successful
issue!"
"I know it all now," said Rosa. "I will bring you the soil
to-morrow, and you will choose it for your bulb and for
mine. As to that in which yours is to grow, I shall have
several journeys to convey it to you, as I cannot bring much
at a time."
"There is no hurry for it, dear Rosa; our tulips need not be
put into the ground for a month at least. So you see we have
plenty of time before us. Only I hope that, in planting your
bulb, you will strictly follow all my instructions."
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