among it. The station-master was inclined, I think,
to be a little skeptical as to the existence both of bag and of
servant. His only suggestion was that the man must have been left behind
accidentally. I pointed out that in this case he would not have had
the bag with him, but that it would have come on in the train. The
station-master admitted the force of my argument; he shrugged his
shoulders and spread his hands out; he was evidently at the end of his
resources.

Now, for the first time and with sudden force, a doubt of Bauer's
fidelity thrust itself into my mind. I remembered how little I knew of
the fellow and how great my charge was. Three rapid movements of my
hand assured me that letter, box, and revolver were in their respective
places. If Bauer had gone hunting in the bag, he had drawn a blank. The
station-master noticed nothing; he was stating at the dim gas lamp that
hung from the roof. I turned to him.

"Well, tell him when he comes--" I began.

"He won't come to-night, now," interrupted the stationmaster, none too
politely. "No other train arrives to-night."

"Tell him when he does come to follow me at once to the Wintenbergerhof.
I'm going there immediately." For time was short, and I did not wish to
keep Mr. Rassendyll waiting. Besides, in my new-born nervousness, I was
anxious to accomplish my errand as soon as might be. What had become
of Bauer? The thought returned, and now with it another, that seemed
to connect itself in some subtle way with my present position: why and
whither had the Count of Luzau-Rischenheim set out from Strelsau a day
before I started on my journey to Wintenberg?

"If he comes I'll tell him," said the station-master, and as he spoke he
looked round the yard.

There was not a cab to be seen! I knew that the station lay on the
extreme outskirts of the town, for I had passed through Wintenberg on
my wedding journey, nearly three years before. The trouble involved in
walking, and the further waste of time, put the cap on my irritation.

"Why don't you have enough cabs?" I asked angrily.

"There are plenty generally, sir," he answered more civilly, with an
apologetic air. "There would be to-night but for an accident."

Another accident! This expedition of mine seemed doomed to be the sport
of chance.

"Just before your train arrived," he continued, "a local came in. As
a rule, hardly anybody comes by it, but to-night a number of men--oh,
twenty or five-and-twenty, I s