vanished at the sight of his gold. In five minutes we were in the
saddle, with a postilion, also mounted, to accompany us. We did the
next stage in little more than two thirds of the time which we should
have occupied in our former mode of travel,--indeed I found it hard to
keep pace with Roland. We remounted; we were only twenty-five minutes
behind the carriage,--we felt confident that we should overtake it
before it could reach the next town. The moon was up: we could see far
before us; we rode at full speed. Milestone after milestone glided by;
the carriage was not visible. We arrived at the post-town or rather
village; it contained but one posting-house. We were long in knocking
up the hostlers: no carriage had arrived just before us; no carriage had
passed the place since noon.

What mystery was this?

"Back, back, boy!" said Roland, with a soldier's quick wit, and spurring
his jaded horse from the yard. "They will have taken a cross-road or
by-lane. We shall track them by the hoofs of the horses or the print of
the wheels."

Our postilion grumbled, and pointed to the panting sides of our horses.
For answer, Roland opened his hand--full of gold. Away we went back
through the dull, sleeping village, back into the broad moonlit
thoroughfare. We came to a cross-road to the right, but the track we
pursued still led us straight on. We had measured back nearly half the
way to the post-town at which we had last changed, when lo! there
emerged from a by-lane two postilions and their horses!

At that sight our companion, shouting loud, pushed on before us and
hailed his fellows. A few words gave us the information we sought. A