I was glad; and then Mr. Thundercloud
looked blacker than ever.

"I had several stations to pass before we reached Creil, where I was
to change cars and take the express. I settled myself comfortably,
so that I could look out of the window, and I whiled away the time
by reviewing the whole of my acquaintance with Mr. Kenderdine. I was
forced to admit that I had acted imprudently in not letting him know
from the beginning what my life was to be, but I never thought it
would matter to him. Then my conscience reproached me for the lie I
had implied: I might have told him the truth, and spared him the
mortification of believing that I preferred some one else. I knew,
in thinking of it calmly, that it was not to avoid an argument that
I had done it, but to make him feel as badly as possible, because I
was angry at him for stopping my horse. It was mean in me,
especially as that De Vezin was the person he would pitch on. You
see, I had made a good deal of De Vezin while in Paris, but it was
only to improve my French accent--a fact which poor Fred
could not know.

"The train whizzed on. The night grew dark: I could scarcely
distinguish objects outside the blurred window, but I still remained
attentive to the voice of the conductor as he called out the names
of the successive stations until--until I heard no more: I had
fallen asleep.

"I suppose I slept profoundly for about half an hour, when I was
suddenly awakened by a jerk: the cars had stopped. I was not aware I
had been sleeping, but I had an undefined sense that something was
wrong. I hastily opened the window and heard the name Liancourt
shouted. There was no such stopping-place between Paris and Creil,
for I had studied up my route before starting. The truth flashed
upon me, and impulsively I left my car, rushed to the conductor, and
asked, 'What place is this?'

"'Liancourt.'

"'And where is Creil?'

"'We have passed it. Did you want to go there?'

"'Of course I did. Why did you not call it?'

"'We did call it,' said he indignantly: 'you must have been asleep.'

"'No such thing,' I replied, for at the moment I did not think it
could be possible.

"There was but little time for reflection. Should I go on to the
next large town, or should I stay? If I went on, I should get to my
destination in the mi