eplaced it in an inner pocket. Being in a mood that anticipated
much at the end of the journey, he was not loath to break into his
chauffeur's taciturnity.

"Well, cheer up. Even at this rate we ought to make Schallberg by
sunset. It's eight o'clock now."

"Seems more than an hour since I 'ad my breakfast."

"I know, but no man's stomach is a safe timepiece, Carrick. On the road
I could name at least six meal times by that organ of mine."

For a few miles the jolting of the machine over rough places punctuated
their progress with a conversational hiatus.

The rarely occasional peasants working in the fields or plodding along
the way, paused in their occupations to regard the novel vehicle with
stolid wonderment.

"Seems odd, sir," hazarded Carrick when a comparatively smooth piece of
road permitted more than monosyllabic profanity, "seems odd that we've
seen ten women to one man so far. These are all 'has beens.' No young
chaps workin' in the fields. What do you make of it, sir?"

"The ones not already drafted for Manchuria are dodging Russian
conscription most likely."

"Think so, sir?" Carrick's tone raised a question.

"Why? Don't you?"

"Oh, I don't know, sir. They've all taken it on the run for some reason
or other. Maybe the Krovitch army is already mobilized."

"Egad, Carrick, that _is_ a possibility. I never thought of that.
Suppose I expected them to wait for us. We don't want to miss the
opening gun. Hump her up for all she's worth. Full speed and never mind
the jolts."

The chauffeur bent readily to the task and their further advance into
the country of their hopes was such that boded ill to any bewildered
fowl that might recklessly seek to cross in front of them. The dial
indicated seventy miles an hour.

"Suppose this were Fifth Avenue." Carter bent over to assure himself of
the speed as he spoke.

"Umph. We won't go into that, sir. Too 'arrowing to think of. You'd have
to mortgage everything to pye the fines. Any'ow you'd go into bankruptcy
after you'd bailed me out." Carrick paused to view the route before
them. "That's a pretty steep 'ill a'ead, sir. Mybe we'd better stop at
the top and reconnoitre a bit. We ought to get a good view from there.
It looks too bloomin' rocky for this rate any'ow."

"Where are the glasses?" inquired his companion with unconcealed
eagerness, fumbling about in the locker beneath the seat. "Never mind, I
have them," he said, producing the binoculars.

At th