purely nominal, and forego the
opening of either of the inside compartments. The German, on the other
hand, had a small portmanteau and a large dispatch box, both of which he
opened with a certain ostentation, and I observed that the official's
eyes glittered under his raised eyebrows as he looked into the contents
of the dispatch-box. On returning to the train we all three resumed our
old places, and the German drew the shade of a sleeping-cap over his
eyes and settled himself down for the night. It was now quite dark, but
the moon was shining.

"Have you a large supply of the 'gems' in your valise?" I asked,
smiling, curious to know his reason for a subterfuge which accorded ill
with his ordinary straight-forwardness, and remembering that tobacco is
absolutely prohibited at the Italian frontier.

"Unfortunately, no," he said; "my 'gems' are all gone, and I have only
my common cigarettes remaining. Will you try them, such as they are?"
and he held out his case, both sides of which were now filled with the
flat cigarettes. We each took one and lighted it, but he began giving me
an account of a meeting he had had with Lord Beaconsfield, which he
detailed so fully and with so much enthusiasm, that, after a whiff or
two he allowed his cigarette to go out. I could not understand his taste
in tobacco. These cigarettes which he despised seemed to me at once more
delicate and more peculiar than the others. They had a flavour which was
quite unknown to me. I was much interested in his vivid account of the
personality of that great man, whom I admired then, while he was yet
with us, and whom, as a knight of the Primrose League, I now revere; but
our climb of the morning, and the scrambling departure of the afternoon,
were beginning to tell on me, and I became irresistibly drowsy.
Gradually, and in spite of myself, my eyes closed. I could still hear my
companion's voice mingling with the heavy breathing of the German, who
had been asleep for some time; but soon even these sounds ceased to
penetrate the mist of languor, the end of my cigarette dropped from
between my fingers and I knew no more.

* * * * *

My awakening was slow and spasmodic. There was a clearly perceptible
interval--probably several minutes--between the first stirrings of
consciousness and the full clarification of my faculties. I began to be
aware of the rumble and oscillation of the train without realizing what
was meant. Then