arty, had travelled with us, and seemed on our
side in the recent scuffle, here he was putting himself at the beck
and call of his own employer. My lord had paid him five hundred
francs. Was the money thrown away, and his intention now to go back on
his bargain?

Meanwhile Tiler and I thought it our pressing duty to utilize these
few moments in seeking news of our lady and her party. Had she been
seen? Oh, yes, many people, officials, and hangers-on about the
station had seen her. Too much seen indeed, for the stories told were
confusing and conflicting. One _facteur_ assured us he had helped her
into the train going Amberieu way, but I thought his description very
vague, although Tiler swallowed the statement quite greedily. Another
man told me quite a different story; he had seen her, and had not the
slightest doubt of it, in the down train, that for Aix-les-Bains, the
express via Chambery, Modane, and the Mont Cenis tunnel for Italy.
This was the true version, I felt sure. Italy had been her original
destination, and naturally she would continue her journey that way.

Why, then, Tiler asked, had she gone to Amberieu, running back as she
had done with him at her heels? To deceive him, of course, I retorted.
Was it not clear that her real point was Italy? Why else had she
returned to Culoz by the early train directly she thought she had
eluded Tiler? The reasoning was correct, but Ludovic was always a
desperately obstinate creature, jealous and conceited, tenacious of
his opinions, and holding them far superior to those who were cleverer
and more intelligent than himself.

Then we heard the whistle of the approaching train, and we all
collected on the platform. L'Echelle, as he came from the direction of
the _buvette_, was a little in the rear of the Colonel and the
gendarmes. I caught a look on his face not easy to interpret. He was
grinning all over it and pointing toward the Colonel with his finger,
derisively. I was not inclined to trust him very greatly, but he
evidently wished us to believe that he thought very little of the
Colonel, and that we might count upon his support against him.

CHAPTER XX.

There were seven of us passengers, more than enough to fill one
compartment, so we did not travel together. My lord very liberally
provided first-class tickets for the whole of the party, but the
Colonel took his own and paid for the gendarmes. He refused to travel
in the same carriage with the noble Ea