"I don't want to talk of anything ugly to-day," he said. "Not to-day of all days in my life." And he added, leaning forward again and looking into her eyes, "Ingeborg, do you know what to-day is?" "Thursday," said Ingeborg. The conductor--it was a corridor train, and though they had the compartment to themselves the passage outside was busy with people squeezing past each other and begging each other's pardons--came in to look at their tickets. "There is a restaurant car on the train," he said in German, giving information with Prussian care, a disciplinary care for the comfort of his passengers, who were to be made comfortable, to be forced to use the means of grace provided, or the authorities would know the reason why. "Yes," said Ingram. "You do not change," said the conductor, with Prussian determination that his passengers should not, even if they wanted to and liked it, go astray. "No," said Ingram. "Not until Basel," said the conductor menacingly, almost as if he wanted to pick a quarrel. "No," said Ingram. "At Basel you change," said the conductor eyeing him, ready to leap on opposition. "Yes," said Ingram. "You will arrive at Basel at 11.40 to-night," said the conductor, in tones behind which hung "Do you hear? You've just got to." "Yes," said Ingram. "At Basel--" "Oh, go to _hell_!" said Ingram, suddenly, violently, and in his own tongue. The conductor immediately put his heels together and saluted. From the extreme want of control of the gentleman's manner he knew him at once for an officer of high rank disguised for travelling purposes in civilian garments, and silently and deferentially withdrew. "If there's a restaurant car can I have some breakfast?" asked Ingeborg. "Haven't you had any? You poor little thing. Come along." She followed him out into the corridor, he going first to clear people out of the way and turning to give her his hand at the crossings from one coach to the next. The restaurant was in the front of the train, and it required perseverance and the opening of many difficult doors to get to it. Each time he turned to help her and gripped hold of her hand as they swayed against the sides and were bumped they looked at each other and laughed. What fun it all was, she thought, and how entirely new and delicious being taken care of as though she were a thing that mattered, a precious thing!