ear child's
letter.--_"Dummer Kerl"_ indeed! Mr. Jervis Blake was nothing of the
sort--he was a very kind, sensible young fellow! She was glad when at
last she heard Mr. Head's quick, active steps coming down the short
passage.

"Here!" he exclaimed, coming towards her. "Here is the letter, Frau
Bauer! And though it is true that there is nothing in it of any value to
me, yet I recognise your good intention. The next time there may be
something excellent. I therefore give you a florin, with best thanks for
having brought it. Instead of all that gossip concerning our poor
prisoners, it would have been better if he had said what it was that he
liked to eat as a relish to the bully beef on which, it seems, the
British are universally fed."

Anna's point of view changed with lightning quickness. What a good thing
she had brought the letter! Two shillings was two shillings, after all.

"Thanks many," she said gratefully, as he hurried her along the passage
and unlocked the back door. But, as so often happens, it was a case of
more haste less speed--the door slammed-to before the visitor could slip
out, and at the same moment that of the parlour opened, and Anna, to her
great surprise, heard the words, uttered in German, "Look here, Hegner!
I really can't stay any longer. You forget that I've a long way to go."
She could not see the speaker, though she did her best to do so, as her
host thrust her, with small ceremony, out of the now reopened door.

Anna felt consumed with curiosity. She crossed over the little street,
and hid herself in the shadow of a passage leading to a mews. There she
waited, determined to see Alfred Head's mysterious visitor.

She had not time to feel cold before the door through which she had
lately been pushed so quickly opened again, letting out a short, thin
man, dressed in a comfortable motoring coat. She heard very plainly the
good-nights exchanged in a low voice.

As soon as the door shut behind him, the prosperous-looking stranger
began walking quickly along. Anna, at a safe distance, followed him. He
turned down a side street, where, drawn up before a house inscribed "to
let," stood a small, low motor-car. In it sat a Boy Scout. She knew he
was a Boy Scout by his hat, for the lad's uniform was covered by a big
cape.

She walked quietly on, and so passed the car. As she went by, she heard
Hegner's friend say in a kindly voice, and in excellent English, albeit
there was a twang in it, "I h