I lay twenty feet from the entrance to this habitation underground,
thrust into the black shadow behind the door which stood partially
ajar. My position precluded any possibility of learning what was
beyond that wooden barrier, but I could plainly view the entire north
portion of the interior, although the only light radiated from a
flickering candle. One edge of the table came within my vision, a man
sitting beside it, his back turned toward me. I made out little of
this fellow's characteristics, as I saw only a pair of broad shoulders,
encased in a rough shooting coat, and a fringe of black whiskers. He
was smoking a short-stemmed pipe, and contented himself with a
growling, indistinct utterance when addressed. Opposite, however, was
a man of a different type, slender and active, his hair very dark and
inclined to curl, a rather long face, slightly olive-hued, with a small
mustache waxed at the ends. His black, sparkling eyes attracted me
first, and then his long, shapely hands. These grasped a sheet of
paper, and I noticed others, including several unopened envelopes,
lying before him on the table. He laughed a bit unpleasantly, a row of
white teeth visible beneath the dark mustache.

"It's just as I thought, Herman," he said genially. "The fellow is a
mere adventurer. There will be no one to take his disappearance
seriously. Look at this document."

He held out a half-printed, half-written sheet which I instantly
recognized as my discharge, but the big man only nodded, his hands in
his pockets.

"I not read English--you know dot," he said placidly.

"True, I had forgotten. This is the fellow's army discharge; only