To the amazement of the conspirators, he suddenly retraced his tracks and came back to Edelweiss inside of twenty-four hours, a telegram stopping him at Gushna, a hundred miles down the line.

The message was from Dangloss and it was in cipher.

A trainman in the service of Marlanx could only say, in explanation, that the American had smiled as he deciphered the dispatch and at once left the carriage with his men to await the up-train at six o'clock.
Peter Brutus repeated a message he had just received from Marlanx at Balak.

It was to the effect that he had reason to believe that his wife had managed, through an unknown traitor, to send word to the Tower that she was not at Schloss Marlanx, nor in any immediate danger.

He felt himself supported in this belief by the obvious fact that no further efforts had been made by Tullis or the police since that day.