at ten, on the understanding that we were to make a night of it. You observe that the arrangements sound slightly inconsistent?” “I was just thinking so,” said Usk. “Precisely; but then my friends knew nothing about the train, you see. I had hinted to one of them when I invited him that after supper ‘das Stanzerl’ would recite, and they had all got to know of it. The meeting-place was my laboratory, suitably decorated, of course, for the occasion, and my friends enjoyed themselves thoroughly. I was one of themselves now, they all assured me. Even my old enemy the chaplain, who I had insisted should be present, smiled benignantly upon me. Konstantia, her maid, and myself were alone ill at ease, all knowing what was at hand. When the servants had left, Konstantia gave the promised recitation. It was a scene from some classical drama, but I can’t tell you what it was, for I never heard a word of it. The girl’s nerve was magnificent. She did not falter once, and at the close I advanced towards her with the usual compliments, as if to lead her to a seat. She placed her hand in mine, we turned and faced the company--the priest was exactly opposite us. ‘Father,’ I said, ‘in your presence and that of these witnesses I take this woman to be my wife.’ All sprang up. I silenced them with a gesture, and Konstantia repeated clearly and without hurry, ‘Before God and these witnesses, I take this man to be my husband.’ We exchanged rings before they could stop us, then, ‘Gentlemen,’ I said, ‘the Princess wishes to retire.’ As I made no attempt to reach the door, they did not prevent Konstantia and the maid from leaving the room. Furious at having been tricked into acting as witnesses of a marriage ceremony, my cousins and the rest stormed at me. They vowed they would keep me prisoner until I swore that the whole thing was a joke; they even threatened to kill me there and then. As for the priest, he menaced me with the direst wrath of the Church, both here and hereafter. I listened to all that they had to say, then silently revealed to them that my hand was upon an electric button. ‘You may not be aware, gentlemen,’ I said, ‘that the vaults under this building are packed with explosives. Here is an electric wire,’ I traced its course along the wall towards the door, ‘communicating with them.’ There was an instantaneous, almost mechanical movement from the neighbourhood of the door as I approached it. ‘I am a desperate man,’ I said, with my hand on the door, ‘and if I am interfered with, I set the current in motion. The result you can probably imagine. Any attempt to force the door from within will explode the mine. I wish you a very good night,’ and I was outside, and making the door fast, before any of them had recovered from their surprise.” “But was it true about the dynamite and the wire?” asked Usk.