.

AN EPISODE TEN YEARS AFTER.
One fine September morning in a year the date of which is of no particular importance, a man stepped out of a second-class carriage on to the canopied platform of the railway terminus in the ancient and picturesque city of Bleiberg.

He yawned, shook himself, and stretched his arms and legs, relieved to find that the tedious journey from Vienna had not cramped those appendages beyond recovery.
He stood some inches above the average height, and was built up in a manner that suggested the handiwork of a British drill-master, his figure being both muscular and symmetrical.

Besides, there was on his skin that rich brown shadow which is the result only of the forces of the sun and wind, a life in the open air.

This color gave peculiar emphasis to the yellow hair and mustache.