Part 34 (1/2)

Sapt ain in silence

There they sat, so, while the tedious afternoon wore away, and the shadows frothened They did not think of eating or drinking; they did not move, save when Jarate

It grew dusk and again Jaht the lamp It was hard on six o'clock, and still no news came from Strelsau

Then there was the sound of a horse's hoofs The two rushed to the door, beyond it, and far along the grassy road that gave approach to the hunting-lodge They forgot to guard the secret and the door gaped open behind them Sapt ran as he had not run for e fro, snatched the envelope froer and tore it open He read it hastily,under his breath ”Good God!” Then he turned suddenly round and began to walk quickly back to Ja himself beaten in the race, had dropped to a walk But the er had his cares as well as the constable If the constable's thoughts were on a crown, so were his

He called out in indignant protest:

”I have never drawn rein since Hofbau, sir Am I not to have my crown?”

Sapt stopped, turned, and retraced his steps He took a crown fro it, there was a queer smile on his broad, weather-beaten face

”Ay,” he said, ”every ive it hiain to James, who had now co, -maker,” said he

James looked in his face for a moment The constable's eyes met his; and the constable nodded

So they turned to the lodge where the dead king and his huntsman lay

Verily the fate drove

CHAPTER XVI A CROWD IN THE KONIGSTRassE

The project that had taken shape in the thoughts of Mr Rassendyll's servant, and had infla of a spark kindles dry shavings, had suggested itself vaguely to more than one of us in Strelsau We did not indeed coolly face and plan it, as the little servant had, nor seize on it at once with an eagerness to be convinced of its necessity, like the Constable of Zenda; but it was there inas a dread, soain the only resource against a more disastrous issue I knew that it was in Bernenstein's thoughts no less than in my own; for neither of us had been able to for, whom half Strelsau no to be in the city, could be spirited away, and the dead king set in his place

The change could take place, as it seemed, only in one way and at one cost: the truth, or the better part of it, uesses concerning Rudolf Rassendyll and his relations with the queen Who that knohat men and women are would not have shrunk from that alternative? To adopt it was to expose the queen to all or nearly all the peril she had run by the loss of the letter We indeed assu self-confidence, that the letter would be won back, and the h would reer talk and for conjectures unrestrained by respect or charity

Therefore, alive as ere to its difficulties and its unending risks, we yet conceived of the thing as possible, had it in our hearts, and hinted it to one another--lances and half uttered sentences that declared its presence while shunning the open confession of it For the queen herself I cannot speak Her thoughts, as I judged theain, and dwelt on the visit that he promised as the horizon of hope To Rudolf we had dared to disclose nothing of the part our iinations set him to play: if he were to accept it, the acceptance would be of his own act, because the fate that old Sapt talked of drove him, and on no persuasion of ours As he had said, he left the rest, and had centered all his efforts on the immediate task which fell to his hand to perfory old house in the Konigstrasse We were indeed awake to the fact that even Rupert's death would not h for the moment a prisoner and helpless, was alive and could not be mewed up for ever; Bauer e knew not where, free to act and free to talk Yet in our hearts we feared none but Rupert, and the doubt was not whether we could do the thing so much as whether we should For in ht of obstacles which look large enough as he turns reflective eyes on the's name had persuaded the best part of the idle crowd to disperse reluctantly Rudolf hies and driven off He started not towards the Konigstrasse, but in the opposite direction: I supposed that heto gain it without attracting notice The queen's carriage was still before ed that she was to proceed to the palace and there await tidings

My wife and I were to accompany her; and I went to her nohere she sat alone, and asked if it were her pleasure to start at once I found her thoughtful but calo” But then she asked suddenly, ”Where is the Count of Luzau-Rischenheiuard over the count in the room at the back of the house She seemed to consider for ahim to me You must be here while I talk to him, but nobody else”

I did not knohat she intended, but I saw no reason to oppose her wishes, and I was glad to find for her anythis tiht Rischenheim to her He followed ain jumped from rashness to despondency: he was pale and uneasy, and, when he found hi, ave place to a sharave eyes that she fixed on him

I withdrew to the farther end of the room; but it was small, and I heard all that passed I had my revolver ready to cover Rischenheim in case he should be moved to make a dash for liberty But he was past that: Rupert's presence was a tonic that nerved him to effort and to confidence, but the force of the last dose was gone and the ain to his natural irresolution

”My lord,” she began gently,him to sit, ”I have desired to speak with you, because I do not wish a gentleman of your rank to think too much evil of his queen Heaven has willed that my secret should be to you no secret, and therefore I may speak plainly You may say my own shame should silence me; I speak to lessen my shame in your eyes, if I can”