Almost at the same moment they saw the sleigh--a dark mass, which slipped through the darkness like a flash of lightning. As they passed each other the driver checked the horses a moment, and a voice asked:
"This is the track, isn't it?"
"Straight ahead?" was Claus's reply.
Then again the same voice:
"The ice is strong enough for two horses?"
"Oh, for four!" replied Claus.
"Thanks!"
"Welcome!"
And the sleigh moved on swiftly again.
"Strange!" murmured Oswald; "I thought I heard Oldenburg's voice. What strange tricks our fancy can play us!"