And as she came running down the stairs she identified the black bag at once as the one the porter of the Bayrischer Hof had procured for her.
"Clever," muttered Rowland. "The perfect security of the obvious. Edgar Allan Poe stuff. Hasn't even bothered to hide it. See. It's heavy--not even touched. We've got to be off. Get your hat and coat. Our yacht awaits us at the foot of the steps."
He was in high good humor.
"Yacht!"
"I came by the Lake--in a rowboat. Sorry I haven't a machine. But we must get back to Munich at once."
She hurried up the stair for her bag, coat and hat and in a moment had joined him by the window through which he had entered. He helped her over the sill, exacting a tribute as she passed and then led her down the steps from the terrace and safely installed her in the stern of his stolen craft, in which they were soon pulling away from shore. The hands of the clock in the hall of the house had pointed to ten. Altogether he had been in the Villa Monteori less than an hour. If they hurried there would still be time to make the evening train to Munich.
A few drops of rain fell as they descended from the terrace and in the distance from the heights of the Wetterstein there was a deep bass rumble of thunder. Rowland bent to his oars and rowed along the shore, smiling at the girl who sat opposite him, a little bewildered at the rapidity of events, the swift tumultuous wooing, so soon ended for she knew not what new hazards.
But she could not misconstrue the marks of his preoccupation and in reply to his breathless eager questions she told him of her fear that Hochwald would discover the papers containing his dossier and other incriminating data which she had kept concealed in her shirt-waist, but she brought them out to his delight and showed them to him. He was eager too to learn how she had managed to hoodwink him in getting possession of the bank-notes and while he listened she told him how she had accomplished the exchange, loading the suit-case which had contained the treasure with rocks taken from the road. As she finished he suddenly stopped rowing and bent quickly forward over the bag which lay between them.
"What is it,--Philippe?" she asked anxiously.
"A key to the bag!" he cried. "It must be opened."