"'In that case I will drive you there myself.'
"'I thank you.'
"'Come round to the stables, then.'
"He led the way, and in ten minutes or so the carriage was duly harnessed.
"'Here's something to keep you warm,' he said, offering me a flask. 'Better try to sleep a little.'
"Then he mounted the box, and drove off along the rough roads in the dark.
"The liquor in the flask was Kirsch-wasser—a cordial for which I had no great liking. I sipped at it and no more. Nevertheless, drowsiness overcame me, my fatigue and the previous draughts of Rhenish wine assisting, and I fell into a doze. How long I dozed I cannot tell you! All that I know is that, when I woke with a start, owing to the jolting and lurching of the carriage, the night was nearly over and the horizon tinged with the pale lemon hues that precede dawn.
"'Where in the world am I now?' I murmured to myself, with a sudden access of uneasiness.
"For the scenery that I looked out upon had a strange familiarity. One after the other I recognised a hillock, a clump of trees, a group of farm-buildings—all landmarks that I had noted in my wanderings of the night before.
"'Heavens!' I ejaculated, as the whole truth flashed upon me.