A whole length of it had been removed. They were cut off from
civilization by one hundred and forty miles of untrodden snow.
Steinmetz clambered back into the sleigh and drew up the fur apron. He
gave a strange little laugh that had a ring of boyish excitement in it.
This man had not always been stout and placid. He too had had his day,
and those who knew him said that it had been a stirring one.
"That settles one question," he said.
"Which question?" asked Paul.
He was driving as hard as the horses could lay hoof to ground, taken
with a sudden misgiving and a great desire to reach Osterno before dark.
"The question of the ladies," replied Steinmetz. "It is too late for
them to go now."
The village, nestling beneath the grim protection of Osterno, was
deserted and forlorn. All the doors were closed, the meagre curtains
drawn. It was very cold. There was a sense of relief in this great
frost; for when Nature puts forth her strength men are usually cowed
thereby.
At the castle all seemed to be in order. The groom, in his great
sheepskin coat, was waiting in the doorway. The servants threw open the
vast doors, and stood respectfully in the warm, brilliantly lighted hall
while their master passed in.
"Where is the princess?" Steinmetz asked his valet, while he was
removing the evidences of a long day in the open air.
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