Ughtred rose at once and left the coupé. Brand bowed gravely to the priest.
“I trust monsieur will excuse me,” he said, “for interrupting what I am sure must have been a very agreeable conversation.”
The slight foreign accent was beautifully done. Brand was as tall as Ughtred, and although not so broad his carriage was good and his natural air one of distinction. The priest smiled benignly upon him.
“I fear,” he said, “that I have already wearied your friend. My life must seem so humdrum to him, and to you, who have travelled so far and seen so much. For I, monsieur, as I have told your friend, have lived all my days in one quiet country place, and this journey is a great event for me.”
Brand slipped into the vacant seat. In the vestibule Ughtred met Reist. He drew him into the smoking-compartment. He was very pale, and his voice shook with emotion.
“The priest,” he said, “is a creature of Domiloff’s. You were on your guard?”
Ughtred nodded.
“What a famous fellow Brand is. Up to now, at any rate, his scheme has worked. He is personating me bravely, and really we are very much alike.”
“He will be too clever for him,” Reist said. “It is a matter of time. Do you know that in half-an-hour we shall be at the frontier?”
“So soon?” Ughtred exclaimed.