I had talked to this man in the course of our journey, and discovered that he had been in the service of Lord Topham, formerly British Ambassador to the Court of Ruritania.

How far he was acquainted with the secrets of his present master, I did not know, but his familiarity with the city and the country made him of great use to me.

We discovered, to our annoyance, that no train left till four o'clock, and then only a slow one; the result was that we could not arrive at the castle till past six o'clock.

This hour was not absolutely too late, but I was of course eager to be on the scene of action as early as possible.
"You'd better see if you can get a special, my lord," James suggested; "I'll run on to the station and arrange about it." I agreed.

Since I was known to be often employed in the king's service, I could take a special train without exciting remark.