"I must ask you to recall that, Miss Caldicott, if you please. I shall, of course, be placed under some sort of restraint until this gentleman——"
"I am Captain Brulen," he interposed.
"Until Captain Brulen has satisfied himself. His Excellency's instructions are that you proceed at once; and for you to remain there would be extremely invidious and possibly unpleasant."
"I shall not go on if you're stopped," she insisted. It was like her to wish to stick by me in the coming trouble, but impossible, so I adopted an official tone.
"If you persist in your refusal, Miss Caldicott, it will compel me to take a line I should deeply regret. My instructions must be carried out; they were very peremptory."
"I don't care what you do. I won't go on without you," she declared.
"Any delay at Osnabrück will render it impossible for me to see you across the frontier personally, and I shall have to ask Captain Brulen to detail some one for the purpose, Miss Caldicott. I can, of course, rely upon your doing that?" I asked him.
The poor man didn't know what to make of this little interlude and replied with a perplexed gesture.
"I won't go," cried Nessa obstinately. "And if you send me as a prisoner, I'll come straight back. I've made up my mind absolutely."
This dogged attitude was growing dangerous and it became necessary to explain it, so I asked the Captain to come into the corridor, and he complied after a slight hesitation.