Then I
remembered that by getting off the St. Gothard railway at Goeschenen I
should strike the old Furka diligence route by the Devil's Bridge,
Hospenthal, and the Rhone Glacier, a drive of fifty miles, more or
less, but at least it would get me to Brieg that same night by 10 or
11 o'clock.
Before adopting this line I had to consider that there was a risk of
missing Tiler and his quarry; that is to say, of being too late for
them; for the lady might decide to push on directly she reached Brieg,
taking a special carriage extra post as far as the Simplon at least,
even into Domo Dossola. She was presumably in such a hurry that the
night journey would hardly deter her from driving over the pass. Tiler
would certainly follow. By the time I reached Brieg they would be
halfway across the Alps, and I must take the same road, making a stern
chase, proverbially the longest.
I turned my attention, therefore, to the Italian end of the carriage
road, and to seeing how and when I could reach Domo Dossola, the
alternative suggestion made by Tiler. There would be no difficulty as
to that, and I found I could be there in good time the same evening.
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