“Through,” answered Francis.
The tickets were handed him.
Francis clutched them and said:
“Come! we must hurry all the same in order to secure ourselves.”
As they pressed outward through the crowd, they saw a servant in the livery of Prince Ernest pressing inward towards the ticket office. And before they had quite worked their way through they heard the man call for a whole first-class carriage.
“You see he is after the same thing. Let us hurry to the train. First come first served, you know. And there may be but one,” remarked Alick.
They pressed forward to the railway platform; found a guard and showed him their tickets and—a crown piece to hurry his movements.
Guard touched his hat, opened a door and popped our party into a roomy carriage with eight comfortable seats.
“The only wholly vacant one on the train, sir, I can assure you,” said the guard, pocketing his crown piece, touching his hat and closing the door.
“Ah!” whispered Alexander, rubbing his hands, “I told you so.” It was such a satisfaction for him to think he had been beforehand with the unlucky Austrian, who would therefore be compelled to distribute himself and his suite promiscuously through the carriages.