"Who's that coming down the hill?" suddenly asked Walpurga of the uncle.
"The one's a forester, and the other must be a nobleman's servant."
Walpurga was alarmed. When the horsemen drew near, she recognized Baum. Swift as thought she slipped into the wagon and left Gundel sitting alone in front.
The horsemen drew nearer, and at last halted by the wagon. The child awoke and cried, and thus awakened Irma. A thin curtain was all that separated her from him. The horse that Baum rode distended its nostrils, threw its head back, and reared so that it was difficult to hold it in check. Irma recognized it. It was Pluto, her own horse; and so it had been captured and brought back again. If the horse could have spoken, it would have said: "Here is my mistress; here is the one whom you seek."
Irma could hear Baum asking the uncle:
"Did you meet a young lady in a blue riding-habit?"
"No."
"Did you hear any one mention such a person?"
"Not a word."
"Whom have you in the wagon there?"