t the clock and said: 'The post
comes early to-night.'

There was a rumbling of wheels on the paving-stones without, the
stable-door was flung open, and the wind again rattled all the doors and
drove smoke out of the stove.

Karen slipped out into the kitchen the moment the door of the parlour
was opened. The mail-guard entered, and said 'good-evening' to the
company.

He was a tall, handsome man, with dark eyes, black curly hair and beard,
and a small, well-shaped head. The long rich cloak of King of Denmark's
magnificent red cloth was adorned with a broad collar of curled dogskin
that drooped over his shoulders.

All the dim, sickly light from the two paraffin lamps that hung over
the table seemed to fall affectionately upon the red colour, which
contrasted so strikingly with the sober black and gray tints of all else
in the room. And the tall figure with the small curly head, the broad
collar, and the long purple folds, became, as he walked through the
low-roofed, smoky room, a marvel of beauty and magnificence.

Karen came hurriedly in from the kitchen with her tray. She bent her
head, so that one could not see her face, as she hastened from guest to
guest.

She placed the roast hare right in front of the two fish-buyers,
whereupon she took a bottle of soda-water to the two commercial
travellers, who sat in the inner room. Then she gave the anxious
countryman a tallow candle, and, as she slipped out again, she put
sixty-three oere into the hand of the stranger by the stove.

The innkeeper's wife was in utter despair. She had, indeed, quite
unexpectedly found her keys, but lost the lawyer's letter immediately
after, and now the whole inn was in the most frightful commotion. None
had got what they wanted--all were shouting together. The commercial
men kept continuously ringing the table bell; the fish-buyers went into
fits of laughter over the roast hare, which lay straddling on the dish
before them. But the anxious countryman tapped Madame on the shoulder
with his tallow candle; he trembled for his sixty-three oere. And, amid
all this hopeless confusion, Karen had disappeared without leaving a
trace.

Anders the post-boy sat on the box; the innkeeper's boy stood ready to
open the gates; the two passengers inside the coach became impatient, as
did also the horses--although they had nothing to look forward to--and
the wind rustled and whistled through the stable.

At length came the guard, whom they awaited