thing further was
heard of the matter. But no one about here will go within a mile of the
place after nightfall."

"And the servants--what became of them?"

The man shrugged. "They did not come from around here. They were
Germans, who came with the Baron. If the police are satisfied, I am."

The man shrugged and drained his glass.

"The other castles are ruined, you say? Then it cannot be long before
Szolnok will share their fate--since it is not occupied," suggested
Renwick.

"Perhaps," said the man indifferently, rising with a view to closing the
conversation.

Renwick ordered another glass of beer, and sat looking out of the small
casement window at the passers-by, thinking deeply.

The inspiration of Herr Koulas had at least set him upon a scent which
still held him true upon this trail. The information he had received
might mean much or little. German servants? Had Goritz used the servants
of Baron Neudeck in unraveling the secret of the stolen plans? Had they
been implicated in the affair? Did he hold them his creatures by a
knowledge of their share in the guilty transaction? Three years had
passed since the killing of Neudeck. What had happened in the meanwhile?
Had the title of the property passed to others? Had the Schloss been
occupied since the Baron's death, or was it deserted? He evolved a
theory rapidly, determining to test it at once. It would perhaps be
imprudent to question further this innkeeper, a public character, and it
seemed quite probable that he knew little more than had already been
told. A visit to the farmhouses in the valley would reveal something. He
would go----

Renwick had been gazing out of the window, but his attention was
suddenly arrested by the figure of a man at the corner of the street,
who stood, smoking a cigarette. There was nothing unusual in his
clothing or demeanor, but the thing which had startled Renwick into
sudden alertness was the rather vague impression that somewhere he had
seen this man's face before. A vague impression, but definite in the
sense that to Renwick the face had been associated with something
unpleasant or disagreeable. But even as Renwick looked, the man tossed
his cigarette into the cobbles and turning on his heel walked up the
street, passing out of Renwick's range of vision. The Englishman started
up from his unfinished glass with the notion of following, but a second
thought urged caution. It was still light outside, and if the stranger's