gated as we entered, but from his total ignorance of
German the examination was not proceeding very glibly.

"You 're an Englishman, ain't you?" cried he, as I came in. "You can
speak High Dutch, perhaps?"

"I can speak German well enough to be intelligible, sir."

"All right," said he, in the same free-and-easy tone. "Will you explain
to those old beggars there that they 're making fools of themselves.
Here's how it is. My passport was made out for two; for Thomas Harpar,
that's me, and Sam Bigges. Now, because Sam Rigges ain't here, they tell
me I can't be suffered to proceed. Ain't that stupid? Did you ever hear
the like of that for downright absurdity before?"

"But where is he?"

"Well, I don't mind telling you, because you 're a countryman; but
I don't like blackening an Englishman to one of those confounded
foreigners. Rigges has run."

"What do you mean by 'run'?"

"I mean, cut his stick; gone clean away; and what's worse, too, carried
off a stout bag of dollars with him that we had for our journey."

"Whither were you going?"

"That's neither here nor there, and don't concern you in any respect
What you 've to do is, explain to the old cove yonder,--the fellow in
the middle is the worst of them,--tell him it's all right, that I 'm
Harpar, and that the other ain't here; or, look here, I 'll tell you
what's better, do you be Rigges, and it's all right."

I demurred flatly to this suggestion, but undertook to plead his cause
on its true merits.

"And who are you, sir, that presume to play the advocate here?" said
the judge, haughtily. "I fancied that you stood there to answer a charge
against yourself."

"That matter may be very easily disposed of, sir," said I, as proudly;
"and you will be very fortunate if you succeed as readily in explaining
your own illegal arrest of me to the higher court of your country."

With the eloquence which we are told essentially belongs to truth,
I narrated how I had witnessed, as a mere passing traveller, the
outrageous insult offered to these poor wanderers as they entered the
inn. With the warm enthusiasm of one inspired by a good cause, I painted
the whole incident with really scarcely a touch of embellishment,
reserving the only decorative portion to a description of myself, whom I
mentioned as an agent of the British government, especially employed on
a peculiar service, the confirmation of which I proudly established
by my passport setting forth that I was a c