ber anything at all that would
throw light on this mystery.

"Well, then, sir, we might just as well sit down and wait for the
detective's arrival," said the judge.

"You are waiting for some one besides the doctor?" asked the local
magistrate timidly.

"Yes, His Grace telegraphed to Budapest," answered the district judge,
looking at his watch. "And if the train is on time, the man we are
waiting for ought to be here in an hour. You sent the carriage to the
station, didn't you? Is the driver reliable?"

"Yes, sir, he is a dependable man," said the old housekeeper.

Dr. Orszay entered the room just then and the Count introduced him to
the district judge, who was still a stranger to him.

"I fear, Count, that our eyes will serve but little in discovering the
truth of this mystery," said the doctor.

The nobleman nodded. "I agree with you," he replied. "And I have sent
for sharper eyes than either yours or mine."

The doctor looked his question, and the Count continued: "When the news
came to me I telegraphed to Pest for a police detective, telling them
that the case was peculiar and urgent. I received an answer as I stopped
at the station on my way here. This is it: 'Detective Joseph Muller from
Vienna in Budapest by chance. Have sent him to take your case.'"

"Muller?" exclaimed Dr. Orszay. "Can it be the celebrated Muller, the
most famous detective of the Austrian police? That would indeed be a
blessing."

"I hope and believe that it is," said the Count gravely. "I have heard
of this man and we need such a one here that we may find the source of
these many misfortunes which have overwhelmed our peaceful village for
two years past. It is indeed a stroke of good luck that has led a man
of such gifts into our neighbourhood at a time when he is so greatly
needed. I believe personally that it is the same person or persons who
have been the perpetrators of all these outrages and I intend once for
all to put a stop to it, let it cost what it may."

"If any one can discover the truth it will be Muller," said the district
judge. "It was I who told the Count how fortunate we were that this man,
who is known to the police throughout Austria and far beyond the borders
of our kingdom, should have chanced to be in Budapest and free to come
to us when we called. You and I"--he turned with a smile to the local
magistrate--"you and I can get away with the usual cases of local
brutality hereabouts. But the cunning that is at