The hall was lit up, and then the hotel keeper, not wishing to have the door injured, pretended to stumble over the key.
“Here it is!” he cried.
“Ha! the fellow must have thrown it there!” cried Frau Schaumberg, in triumph. “Now look into the room at once!”
The door was thrown open and all crowded into the apartment. The trunk was in a corner, locked and strapped.
“The bag is gone!” shrieked the lady of the house. “He has been here, beyond any question! He it was who knocked Bena down! Oh, the rascal! the robber! And to think we thought he was such a fine gentleman!”
“He appeared to be all right,” said the hotel keeper slowly.
“I distrusted him from the start,” sniffed the wife. She turned to the soldiers. “What shall you do now?”
“We’ll go after him,” declared the corporal who was in command. “Take good care that he does not come back and get that trunk,” he added grimly.
“You will take charge of it later?”
“Yes.”