I strolled along the line a
little way and stopped to light a pipe. Suddenly I heard a whistle, and
when I turned round the rear light of the train was moving away. I
shouted and ran as hard as I could, but it was no use. In less than two
minutes the train was out of my sight, and I was left alone."
The Duke pushed a small atlas across the table.
"I wonder," he said, "if you could put your finger on about the spot
where you were? Here, you see, is the railway line."
Guy studied it for a few moments carefully, and looked at the scale.
Then he pointed to a certain spot.
"As near as I could say," he declared, "about there."
The Duke and Monsieur Grisson exchanged quick glances. Guy was beginning
to feel a little mystified.
"Proceed, if you please," the Duke said courteously. "I am sure that
Monsieur Grisson finds your story most interesting. Permit me."
Guy sipped the _fin champagne_ from the glass which the Duke had
carefully filled, and took a cigarette from the box at his elbow.
"I found myself," he continued, "in the middle of a dense pine forest,
with just sufficient clearing for two lines of rails and no more.
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