him, with a pious conviction that I was
speaking the truth.

"We shall arrive at Elberthal about half past eight."

I scarcely heard. I had plunged my hand into my pocket, and found--a
hideous conviction crossed my mind--I had no money! I had until this
moment totally forgotten having given my purse to Merrick to keep; and
she, as pioneer of the party, naturally had all our tickets under her
charge. My heart almost stopped beating. It was unheard of, horrible,
this possibility of falling into the power of a total, utter stranger--a
foreigner--a--Heaven only knew what! Engrossed with this painful and
distressing problem, I sat silent, and with eyes gloomily cast down.

"One thing is certain," he remarked. "We do not want to spend three
hours and a half in the station. I want some dinner. A four hours' probe
is apt to make one a little hungry. Come, we will go and have something
to eat."

The idea had evidently come to him as a species of inspiration, and he
openly rejoiced in it.

"I am not hungry," said I; but I was, very. I knew it now that the idea
"dinner" had made itself conspicuous in my consciousness.

"Perhaps you think not; but you are, all the same," he said. "Come with
me, Fraeulein. You have put yourself into my hands; you must do what I
tell you."

I followed him mechanically out of the station and down the street, and
I tried to realize that instead of being with Miss Hallam and Merrick,
my natural and respectable protectors, safely and conventionally
plodding the slow way in the slow continental train to the slow
continental town, I was parading about the streets of Koeln with a man of
whose very existence I had half an hour ago been ignorant; I was
dependent, too, upon him, and him alone, for my safe arrival at
Elberthal. And I followed him unquestioningly, now and then telling
myself, by way of feeble consolation, that he was a gentleman--he
certainly was a gentleman--and wishing now and then, or trying to wish,
with my usual proper feeling, that it had been some nice old lady with
whom I had fallen in: it would have made the whole adventure blameless,
and, comparatively speaking, agreeable.

We went along a street and came to a hotel, a large building, into which
my conductor walked, spoke to a waiter, and we were shown into the
restaurant, full of round tables, and containing some half dozen parties
of people. I followed with stony resignation. It was the severest trial
of all, this coming t