-day. Borrow Casimir's horse--he's off for the morning. I think
Natalie will be out on the road this way. She'd appreciate your escort,
I'll wager. We creep a step nearer the city this morning, and as
Division Adjutant I'll have my hands full.

"Here, Casimir," he called to the equerry who was lazily swinging his
feet over the edge of the porch on which he had seated himself, "lend
Major Carter your mount for this morning, can't you?"

"Gladly. Saral is the right sort and I guess bears him no ill will for
yesterday's stampede."

Carter was about to mount when Carrick put in a solemn appearance from
the stables.

"Some one has tackled the automobile with an axe, sir," he announced
ruefully. "The wheels are left, and that's about all of the 'go' part."
Carter turned wrathfully from the horse to follow Carrick back to the
shed where the big car had been housed. With ready sympathy the two
young Krovitzers followed.

"It is dastardly," Paul remarked as he bent over and discovered that not
a particle of the motive mechanism had been left intact.

"Count on me, sir," Casimir volunteered, "to help you ferret out the
rascals. Have you any idea who could have played such a shabby trick?"

While Carter had pretty definite suspicions he was not prepared just
then to announce them.

"The car is done for, certainly," he said gloomily. "No," he said as he
turned indifferently away, "I don't know who did it, and thank you,
Casimir, I don't care to. I don't think I would be justified in killing
a man for breaking up even six thousand dollars' worth of property, but
if I was certain just now who did it I feel I would be strongly tempted
to wring his neck. Au revoir, gentlemen, I am not going to permit this
to spoil my ride." With this and a nod, he returned and, mounting the
horse, cantered out of view along the road to the castle.

The handsome bay pounded steadily ahead. The air was soothing soft with
a thousand scents of forest and hill, of field and farm; kind zephyrs
of morning touched his brow and eased his sorrows, while the sun, from a
bed of pearl-pink clouds, rose slowly before his eyes. Beyond and
alongside of the already striking camp, on the right of the road, the
woods began again, leaving the open fields like an alternate square on
some mammoth checker board. More than one soldier gazed admiringly at
his strong figure as he cantered past, while the sentries, doubtless
under instructions, permitted him to pass un