"It was couched in the widest terms. It was to notify to all concerned that I was to be allowed to go where I pleased and that every assistance was to be afforded me. You can still see a part of the official stamp."
"It is most extraordinary. Incomprehensible."
"Not if I were free to explain why it was given to me."
"Who gave it you?"
"Baron von Gratzen wrote it himself in my presence. If you know his handwriting, there is enough of it left unburnt for you to identify it."
"I do not."
"Again in my presence he handed it to his secretary, Herr von Welten, to be stamped, and von Welten gave it to me as I left the office. You have heard that he was at the station and himself reserved this compartment for Miss Caldicott and me."
"That's the most remarkable thing of all."
"On the contrary, it was a perfectly natural step. There was a matter I had to arrange before leaving, and his chief was anxious to know that it had been done exactly in accordance with my instructions."
"What was that?"