ef with the
whole team!" till the foam flew on all sides, the iron-clad heels of the
steeds rang like hammer upon anvil on the frozen ground, and sparks
scintillated in the air!

Meanwhile, however, the effect of this rapid motion on the Burgomaster's
family was anything but exhilarating. Now that the bustle of setting out
was at an end, they one and all began to feel afraid of their strange
guide, and to think there was something more than common in their
adventure.

"He's a very odd-looking man, after all," whispered the Burgomaster's
wife; "how do we know what sort of a fellow he is, and if he is taking
us to Ole's at all? I, for my part, believe he's in league with some
robber band, and we shall all be murdered."

"Potstausend! it looks very much like it!" exclaimed the Burgomaster,
who, although so big a man, was mighty chicken-hearted. "I wish Max had
not been so confoundedly hasty in accepting his advice."

"I beg thy pardon there, father-in-law," returned Walther; "it was thou
who bade him come in."

The Burgomaster was about to make some peppery reply, when Max suddenly
broke upon the whispered conversation by exclaiming:

"Since you are so good, sir, as to drive us, perhaps you will inform us
to whom we are obliged."

But the stranger, who, before this, had been the noisiest of the party,
appeared to have become suddenly dumb, for he answered not a word.

"Come, sir," repeated Walther, "tell us who you are."

No answer.

Max now half jumped from his seat, exclaiming, "But we insist on
knowing, sir, and, furthermore, I should like to know if you are taking
us to Ole's or not."

The stranger turned at this, and with a smile that displayed his
glittering teeth, replied:

"My good people, I am taking you just where you are destined to go. As
to my name, that is my affair. Remember, your safety depends on me;
certainly, you had better not provoke me, or----" here his speech
suddenly came to an end, and a fresh series of yells followed to the
excited horses, which all this time were tearing along as though a troop
of fiends were in pursuit.

"It must be the Evil One himself!" cried the Burgomaster, trembling in
every limb, while the ladies screamed and clung together.

"Not quite so bad as that, I hope," said Walther, half laughing, yet
excited, and, to tell the truth, somewhat alarmed also.

"We are all fools if we allow this thing to go on!" shouted Max, who had
suddenly recovered his spirits.