What would I not give for a sound horse under me and a sound passport in my pocket! At last the diligence was nearly ready.

The luggage was stowed in the boot, and two great mail baskets were swung and padlocked on the bar underneath.

The four horses were brought out and put to, and driver, guard, and officer retired to the hostel for a parting glass.
An impulse seized me then to slip out of the crowd and creep forward on the road under the deep shadow of the wall.

Far I could not go, I knew, for at the barrier I should be detected and stopped.

But the coach, having been so carefully inspected at its starting-point, would, I judged, be allowed through the barrier without further challenge.