e carriage, and he will follow us."

Theudelinde was certain the hound would bite him; but the dog's
instinct assured him that it was a friend who now approached. He
allowed Ivan to put on his chain, and licked his hand to show his
gratitude. All was now done, Ivan locked the gates, gave the key to
the abbe, who with the countess was already seated in the carriage,
jumped on the coach-box, and drove away from Bondavara Castle. They
went slowly, for the two miserable nags, which were dignified with the
name of carriage horses, could hardly drag them along. They were spent
with age and starvation, and were only fit for the knacker's yard.

As the vehicle turned in the direction of the coal-mine Ivan remarked
a cloud of smoke in the distance, and soon after they met a group of
laborers carrying requisites for putting out a fire, hurrying in the
direction of the smoke. On being questioned they said the granary of
the noble countess was burning, but that they hoped to extinguish the
fire.

"I think it will be easily done," Ivan said. "The steward set it on
fire to conceal the defalcation in the crop."

The countess was indignant, but Ivan remarked dryly that property had
its duties, and that those who never looked after their own interests
were fair game for the thief.

A rough, ill-mannered man!

It was full daylight before the noble coach, drawn by the pair of
noble nags, made its way through the heavy snow into the Bergwerk
Colony. The wretched beasts were steaming as they drew up at Ivan's
door. Ivan's first care was to call the postmaster to take them to his
stable, and to order a good pair of fresh horses to replace them. Then
he led his tired guests into his workroom. All the other rooms were
cold and cheerless, so he took them where there was warmth and light.

In the room everything was in the utmost disorder; it was hard to find
a place where the countess could sit down. She looked about her with
astonishment at the strange objects which encumbered the tables and
chairs; every available spot was taken up by some extraordinary,
diabolical-looking invention. She cast a look of terror at the
chemical laboratory, upon whose furnace the coals still glimmered,
testifying to the experiment upon which Ivan had been at work when
interrupted by the steward's tap at the window.

"Cagliostro's workshop," she whispered to the abbe. "There are
mysterious things done here."

What annoyed the countess far more than the