azardous to inquire, for,
while he was dressed, by the hotel-keeper's provision, like a citizen of
Munich, he had not the speech of the residents.

In his quandary he was greatly relieved when the horse pricked up his
ears and gave a whinny in a kind of recognition. Claudius glanced to the
roadside gladly and hopefully, as a young, feminine figure stepped out
from the cover of a post painted in stripes to indicate parish, township
and other boundary marks. But although the short frock, coarse woolen
stockings, cap and velvet bodice were Hedwig's Sunday clothes, sure
enough, in which the student had once seen the pretty maid, this girl
was no rustic slightly polished by the hotel experience.

He felt his heart melt like wax in a cast when the bronze rushes within
the clay--it was Kaiserina von Vieradlers!

A strange feeling nearly mastered him! Instinct bade him run and,
whipping the horse, flee at the top of speed anywhere beyond the charm
of this unexpected apparition. And yet she came forward so brightly, and
so frankly, and her first words were so reassuring that he was ashamed
of the impulse which--he was yet to know--had all the worth of heavenly
inspired suggestions.

"Herr Student!" she said sweetly, "it is fated that I shall be of
service to you. Do not go farther in this course. They lie in wait for
you. Luckily, I know of a cross-country lane--if you will only let me
accompany you to set you right, and help me to roll some stones and logs
from the mouth. It saves time, and you will baffle your foes. Oh, I know
all. The faithful Hedwig, whose clothes I have borrowed, is a daughter
of a tenant on my father's estate. She means well, but she has no brains
for these steps out of her even tenor, and she was glad to have me
replace her in her mission. Help me up!"

There was no denying her anything. The horse had appeared to greet her
with pleasure, though it was probably the clothes of Hedwig that he
recognized with the whinny after a sonorous sniff.

As she held out her hand, he offered his and, like a fawn clearing a
hedge, she bounded up, just touched with a winged foot the iron step,
and cleared the seat with a second leap. Crouching down within the
hood, she began merrily but spoke with gravity before she had finished:

"Drive on after turning."

He turned the horse and vehicle. At the same moment a shrill whistle
sounded in the opposite direction.

"That's the gendarmes," she said. "The watchman's ho