He and I went off straightway to the telegraph office, where we dispatched a message to Mr. Dickson. Bob remained in the hotel with Barbara, in order to receive a possible caller, who, it is needless to say, did not make his appearance. The answer to our telegram was that Mr. Dickson had received no information from his agent Rivers, that he had every confidence in his man, and that the moment he heard from him he would send us another wire. Meanwhile, we were to remain where we were, at the Hôtel de Bade. Nothing further reached us until nine o'clock at night, and then a welcome telegram, to the effect that the party were on their way to Lucerne, whither we had better follow them by the earliest train. "Put up at Hôtel National," were the concluding words of the message. Upon studying the railway trains we found that nothing was to be gained by starting in the night, and early the following morning we were on the road to Lucerne. At the Hôtel National a telegram from Mr. Dickson awaited us, instructing us to remain at the hotel until we heard from Mr. Rivers, whom we might now consider in direct communication with us, and before many hours had passed we received a note from that gentleman. "Take the boat" (wrote Mr. Rivers) "to Tell's Platte. I am stopping at the Hôtel-Pension zur Tellsplatte, and shall be happy to see you there. From, indications we have reached the terminus." This was agreeable news, and seemed to hold out the promise that we had at length tracked Mr. Nisbet down. We wasted no time, but took the first boat, and were presently steaming down the enchanting lake, the beauties of which perhaps only one of us thoroughly enjoyed, the little girl Barbara. "Oh," she sighed, "if Molly's 'ere, I don't wonder she never came back to London." It was three in the afternoon when we landed at Tell's Platte. We were in no mood for sightseeing, and did not therefore visit the chapel, but ascended the hill that led to the hotel, where we found Mr. Rivers waiting for us. He came forward to greet us, a short, wiry man, with clean-shaved face, browned with exposure to the sun, and a bright eye. He addressed me by name. "Mr. Emery?" "Yes." "May I ask the name of the gentleman who is doing business for you in London?" "Mr. Dickson." "Have you anything you can show me from him?" I produced telegrams and letters, and he looked over them and returned them to me. "Quite right, sir. My employer told me there were four in your party. It is always necessary to make sure in such an affair as ours. We have a sharp gentleman to deal with, and there's no saying what tricks he might be up to, and what he knows or doesn't know. I am Mr. Rivers." As I shook hands with him, I started, and he looked at me suspiciously. "Anything the matter?" he inquired suspiciously. "No," I replied, "nothing, nothing." I introduced Ronald and Bob to him, and then Barbara.