It was two o'clock before they got under way, and the car ran without mishap until eight. Then they halted for dinner, and Webster asked if Sonia thought it advisable to go any farther, or whether they should stay where they were till the following morning.
"We'll start again the moment we've finished dinner," she ordained, with great firmness.
"Right!" said Webster, "but we shan't get in till about eleven. D'you mind that?"
"Doesn't look as if it could be helped," she answered. "But I don't see myself staying alone with you in a village without a name in the middle of Bavaria."
Webster said nothing, but excused himself as soon as dinner was over and retired to discuss the condition of the car with his chauffeur.
"It's held up all right so far," he reported on his return, "but I don't know if we shall get through without a break-down. Wouldn't it be better——?"
"We'll start at once, please," said Sonia, and the car was ordered without further delay.
They ran uneventfully from nine till half-past eleven: then, as they left the single street of a slumbering village, the engines became suddenly silent, there, was a muttered oath from the chauffeur, and the car slowed down and came to a standstill at the side of the road.
"What's up?" Webster inquired, without any great show of interest.