Part 14 (2/2)
”I take the rin; and I was as sure that she was in the plot as ofto be done; Jaed me towards the station
I turned away But at this instant a loud, h sounded from inside the house I started, and this time violently The old woman's brow contracted in a frown, and her lips twitched for a ained its couessed that I knew it Instantly I tried to appear as though I had noticed nothing I nodded to her carelessly, and bidding James follow me, set out for the station But as we reached the platfor:
”The Count of Hentzau is in that house, James”
He looked at me without surprise; he was as hard to stir to wonder as old Sapt himself
”Indeed, sir Shall I stay and watch?”
”No, coht that to leave him alone in Strelsau to watch that house was in all likelihood to sign his death warrant, and I shrank froht send hiot into our train, and I suppose that h for ot to ask hiht it a fine joke to see his h the streets in broad daylight Had he known the truth, he would have been as interested, though, maybe, less amused
I arrived at the town of Zenda at half-past three, and was in the castle before four I racious words hich the queen received ht of her face and every sound of her voice bound a man closer to her service, and now she made me feel that I was a poor fellow to have lost her letter and yet to be alive But she would hear nothing of such talk, choosing rather to praise the little I had done than to bla in which I had failed Dismissed from her presence, I flew open-mouthed to Sapt I found him in his roo that my news of Rupert's whereabouts was confirmed by his information I was also made acquainted with all that had been done, even as I have already related it, from the first successful trick played on Rischenheirew long and apprehensive when I heard that Rudolf Rassendyll had gone alone to Strelsau to put his head in that lion's strasse
”There will be three of them there--Rupert, Rischenheim, and my rascal Bauer,” said I
”As to Rupert, we don't know,” Sapt reminded me ”He'll be there if Rischenheim arrives in time to tell him the truth But we have also to be ready for hie Well, we're ready for him wherever he is: Rudolf will be in Strelsau, you and I will ride to the lodge, and Bernenstein will be here with the queen”
”Only one here?” I asked
”Ay, but a good one,” said the constable, clapping Bernenstein on the shoulder ”We sha'n't be gone above four hours, and those while the king is safe in his bed Bernenstein has only to refuse access to him, and stand to that with his life till we come back You're equal to that, eh, Lieutenant?”
I am, by nature, a cautious man, and prone to look at the dark side of every prospect and the risks of every enterprise; but I could not see what better dispositions were possible against the attack that threatened us Yet I was sorely uneasy concerning Mr Rassendyll
Now, after all our stir and runnings to and fro, caood meal, and it was past five when, our repast finished, we sat back in our chairs enjoying cigars
Ja the office of the constable's own servant, and thus we had been able to talk freely The man's calm confidence in his master and hisshould be back soon,” said Sapt at last, with a glance at his big, old-fashi+oned silver watch ”Thank God, he'll be too tired to sit up long We shall be free by nine o'clock, Fritz I wish young Rupert would coe!” And the colonel's face expressed a lively pleasure at the idea
Six o'clock struck, and the king did not appear A fewour presence on the terrace in front of the chateau The place co would ride back, and we found the queen walking restlessly up and down, considerably disquieted by the lateness of his return In such a position as ours, every unusual or unforeseen incident , and invests itself with a sinister importance which would at ordinary tis, and forgetting the many chances of the chase, any one of which would a on reht have h they had ridden in opposite directions; Rupert ht Rupert to the forest so early
Our fears defeated common sense, and our conjectures outran possibility
Sapt was the first to recover fro even the queen herself With a laugh we regained some of our equanimity, and felt rather ashae that he doesn't co her eyes with her hand, and looking along the road to where the dark masses of the forest trees bounded our view It was already dusk, but not so dark but that we could have seen the king's party as soon as it cae at six, it was stranger at seven, and by eight htly; by noe had lapsed into silence Sapt's scoldings had died away The queen, wrapped in her furs (for it was very cold), sat sometimes on a seat, but oftener paced restlessly to and fro Evening had fallen We did not knohat to do, nor even whether we ought to do anything Sapt would not own to sharing our worst apprehensions, but his gloomy silence in face of our surmises witnessed that he was in his heart as disturbed as ere
For my part I had come to the end of my endurance, and I cried, ”For God's sake, let's act! Shall I go and seek him?”
”A needle in a bundle of hay,” said Sapt with a shrug
But at this instanton the road from the forest; at the same moment Bernenstein cried, ”Here they coathered round her The horse-hoofs caures of threeht relief to us; so far at least there was no disaster
But as not the king with the ested Bernenstein
This explanation seemed very probable, and the lieutenant and I, as ready to be hopeful on slight grounds as fearful on small provocation, joyfully accepted it Sapt, less easily turned to eitherhis voice, called to the hunts's chief huntsold, ca, and bowed low to the queen
”Well, Si to smile