"True, he _may_ be; but I do not believe he is; he is not a sufficiently sociable man to render it at all likely that he is visiting, either in Saint Petersburg or elsewhere," answered the professor. "Of course," he continued, "the man may have been detained, as you suggest; indeed, that is probably the explanation of his non-appearance. Or he may be unwell--too unwell to leave his chateau. Those are the only two alternative explanations I can suggest to account for his non-appearance." "Well, what is to be done under the circumstances?" demanded Mildmay. "Is it any use to wait here any longer, think you?" "No," answered the professor, "I do not think it is; he is not likely to pass here now, as he has not done so already. I will go up to the castle and ascertain his whereabouts." "All right," returned Mildmay, "I will go with you. It is scarcely safe for you to go alone. The fellow may--" "Have no fear on my account, I beg," interrupted von Schalckenberg. "I assure you it will be quite safe for me to go alone; more safe, indeed, than were two of us to go together, because in the latter case he might--assuming that he is in the castle--suspect something, while if I go alone he will suspect nothing." "Very well," assented Mildmay, "let it be as you will. But I will, at all events, accompany you to the castle, and stand by, outside, to lend you a hand if needful." "You sailors are very masterful men," observed the professor; "you must have your own way, I suppose. But be careful that you are not seen by anybody, as the suspicions of these Russians are easily aroused, and it would then, perhaps, be very awkward for us both. Shall we go at once?" "Yes, certainly," answered Mildmay. "But I think we had better return to the ship for a moment, and acquaint Sir Reginald with our non-success thus far, and what it is that we propose to do. It is always well to provide against contingencies as far as possible." "Right!" assented the professor. "Let us go at once. I am chilled to the bone with so long a waiting." A quarter of an hour sufficed the pair to return to the ship, explain the state of affairs to the rest of the party, and make their way back to the spot at which they had been so patiently maintaining their watch; and another half-hour of steady walking took them within sight of the chateau, where Mildmay snugly ensconced himself behind a big clump of laurels, through the boughs of which he was able to maintain a close watch upon the main entrance of the building.