ed as carriage opener, with a
young boy for porter, met "Captain von Brenner's sister." In the hall
the corpulent host bowed before her.

"Captain von Brenner?" queried Ruth. "I am his sister."

Mine host paled. His eyes grew round with wonder.

"What it the matter with you?" asked the girl impatiently. "Are you
dumb?"

"He is not here, mein Fraulein," chattered the man.

"Send for him, then. And show me to the suite he engaged for me."

"Fraulein! Pardon!" gasped the innkeeper. "We did not understand.
That is--it was---- We thought he would not return."

"What?"

"And that--that the _gnaediges Fraulein_ would not come."

"Idiot!" exclaimed Ruth, revealing an excellent semblance of rage.
"You have relet my rooms?"

"But you may occupy the Herr Hauptman's," burst out the browbeaten
Innkeeper.

"And where is Captain von Brenner?"

It all came out at one gush of chattering information. The captain had
been sent for by the Herr General Stultz. He had already been away
three days. It was whispered he was arrested.

After her first show of annoyance Ruth seemed to recover her
self-possession. She listened more quietly to the explanation of the
excited hotel man. Then she demanded to be shown to her "brother's"
rooms.

There she sat down and wrote quite a long letter to Tom Cameron in the
character of his sister, "Mina von Brenner." She was sure Tom would
recognize her handwriting and understand at once that she was at Merz
in an attempt to aid him.

"Fear not for me, Brother," she wrote in conclusion. "But hasten to
assure your Mina that you are perfectly safe. Is it not possible for
you to return to the hotel by dinner time? I am distraught for your
safety."

She sent this letter, with gold, by the hotel keeper, who said he could
find a messenger to go to the Marchand estate. Ruth knew, of course,
that her letter would be read there before it was given to Tom.

Even if they questioned him about his sister before giving him the
letter Tom would make no mistake. "Mina von Brenner" was already a
character and name chosen by Count Allaire and Tom when the latter took
up his difficult and dangerous work in the guise of an Uhlan captain.

That was one of the longest days Ruth Fielding had ever spent. As the
hours dragged by she sat and pondered in the rooms Tom had occupied,
one moment in despair of his coming, the next fearing that every step
in the corridor outside her door was tha