membering the incident in the railway carriage, he smiled in spite of
the gravity of the situation.

"It was the best I had," he said; "and then, it was done in
self-defence. I'll give you credit for being a fearless individual.
But you haven't answered my question."

"What question?"

"Why you returned to this country when you were expressly forbidden to
do so."

"I answered that," said I. "And now let me tell you that you may go on
asking questions till the crack of doom, but no answer will I give you
till you have told me why I am here, I, who do not know you or what
your business is, or what I am supposed to have done."

He began to look doubtful. He thumped the table with the butt of the
pistol.

"Do you persist in affirming that your name is Winthrop?"

"These gardens are very fine. I could see them better," said I, "if
the window was larger."

"Perhaps," he cried impatiently, "you do not know where she is?"

"She?" I looked him over carefully. There was a perfectly sane light
in his eyes. "Am I crazy, or is it you? She? I know nothing about
any she!"

"Do you dare deny that you know of the whereabouts of her Serene
Highness the Princess Hildegarde, and that you did not come here with
the purpose to aid her to escape the will of his Majesty? And do you
mean--Oh, here, read this!" flinging me a cablegram.

The veil of mystery fell away from my eyes. I had been mistaken for
Hillars. Truly, things were growing interesting. I bent and picked up
the cablegram and read:

"COUNT VON WALDEN: He has left London and is on his way to the capital.
Your idea to allow him to cross the frontier is a good one.
Undoubtedly he knows where the Princess is in hiding. In trapping him
you will ultimately trap her. Keep me informed."

The name signed was that of a well-known military attache at the
Embassy in London. I tossed back the cablegram.

"Well?" triumphantly.

"No, it is not well; it is all very bad, and particularly for you.
Your London informant is decidedly off the track. The man you are
looking for is in Vienna."

"I do not believe you! It is a trick."

"Yes, it is a trick, and I am taking it, and you have lost a point, to
say nothing of the time and labor and a black eye. If you had asked
all these questions yesterday I should have told you that Mr.
Hillars----"

"Yes, that's the name!" he interrupted.

"I should have told you that he is no longer the London representative