"I'd bet he knew all about it, and so did von Gratzen. I expect the truth is that after you'd saved his wife and Nita that day, he guessed everything and determined to give you a chance to get out of the country. Why, he almost told you to take them when you were with him in the morning. And then that authority he gave you! It's as plain as a pikestaff he meant that to get out of any bother on the way; and, as if that wasn't enough, there was von Welten at the station to see that we got away without any trouble."
"Let's hope you're right."
"Of course I am. Naturally in view of all that happened he couldn't give you the things openly or he might have got into a mess over it which couldn't be explained away. But everything else could. His plan about von Erstein, the brute, gave him an excellent excuse for allowing you to leave Berlin; in fact you can see he was clever enough to cover his tracks at every step. Surely that's clear enough."
"It may be to you, but I gave up long ago trying to understand him, and if you'd seen as much of him as——"
"I don't want to see him, not till after the war anyhow, although he's just the dearest old thing in Germany. If I ever do see him again, I shall want to hug him."
"Hug him as much as you like, by all means; all I wish is that he won't hug me in the way he probably would if he got the chance. And now hadn't you better try forty winks?" I suggested.
"What time is it?"
"Nearly one o'clock."
"What time shall we cross the frontier?"
"About an hour after we leave Osnabrück, and we get there at half-past three."