our departure, if he could, from Flavia. And if we came not again
by the morning, he was to march, openly and in force to the Castle,

and demand the person of the King; if Black Michael were not there,
as I did not think he would be, the Marshal would take Flavia with him,

as swiftly as he could, to Strelsau, and there proclaim Black Michael's
treachery and the probable death of the King, and rally all that there was

honest and true round the banner of the princess. And, to say truth,
this was what I thought most likely to happen. For I had great doubts

whether either the King or Black Michael or I had more than a day to live.
Well, if Black Michael died, and if I, the play-actor, slew Rupert Hentzau

with my own hand, and then died myself, it might be that Fate would deal
as lightly with Ruritania as could be hoped, notwithstanding that she

demanded the life of the King--and to her dealing thus with me,
I was in no temper to make objection.

It was late when we rose from conference, and I betook me to
the princess's apartments. She was pensive that evening;

yet, when I left her, she flung her arms about me and grew,
for an instant, bashfully radiant as she slipped a ring on my finger.

I was wearing the King's ring; but I had also on my little finger
a plain band of gold engraved with the motto of our family:

"Nil Quae Feci." This I took off and put on her, and signed
to her to let me go. And she, understanding, stood away

and watched me with dimmed eyes.
"Wear that ring, even though you wear another when you are queen," I said.

"Whatever else I wear, this I will wear till I die and after,"
said she, as she kissed the ring.

CHAPTER 17
Young Rupert's Midnight Diversions

The night came fine and clear. I had prayed for dirty weather,
such as had favoured my previousvoyage in the moat, but Fortune

was this time against me. Still I reckoned that by keeping close
under the wall and in the shadow I could escape detection from

the windows of the chateau that looked out on the scene of my efforts.
If they searched the moat, indeed, my scheme must fail;

but I did not think they would. They had made "Jacob's Ladder"
secure against attack. Johann had himself helped to fix it closely

to the masonry on the under side, so that it could not now be moved
from below any more than from above. An assault with explosives

or a long battering with picks alone could displace it,
and the noise involved in either of these operations

put them out of the question. What harm, then, could a man
do in the moat? I trusted that Black Michael,

putting this query to himself, would answer confidently,
"None;" while, even if Johann meant treachery, he did not know my scheme,

and would doubtless expect to see me, at the head of my friends,
before the front entrance to the chateau. There, I said to Sapt,

was the real danger.
"And there," I added, "you shall be. Doesn't that content you?"

But it did not. Dearly would he have liked to come with me,
had I not utterly refused to take him. One man might escape

notice, to double the party more than doubled the risk;
and when he ventured to hint once again that my life

was too valuable, I, knowing the secret thought he clung to,
sternly bade him be silent, assuring him that unless the King

lived through the night, I would not live through it either.
At twelve o'clock, Sapt's command left the chateau of Tarlenheim

and struck off to the right, riding by unfrequented roads,
and avoiding the town of Zenda. If all went well, they would

be in front of the Castle by about a quarter to two.
Leaving their horses half a mile off, they were to steal up

to the entrance and hold themselves in readiness for the opening
of the door. If the door were not opened by two, they were to send

Fritz von Tarlenheim round to the other side of the Castle.
I would meet him there if I were alive, and we would consult

whether to storm the Castle or not. If I were not there,
they were to return with all speed to Tarlenheim, rouse the Marshal,

and march in force to Zenda. For if not there, I should be dead;
and I knew that the King would not be alive five minutes after

I ceased to breathe.
I must now leave Sapt and his friends, and relate how I myself

proceeded on this eventful night. I went out on the good horse
which had carried me, on the night of the coronation,

back from the hunting-lodge to Strelsau. I carried a revolver
in the saddle and my sword. I was covered with a large cloak,

and under this I wore a warm, tight-fitting woollen jersey, a pair
of knickerbockers, thick stockings, and light canvas shoes.

I had rubbed myself thoroughly with oil, and I carried a large flask
of whisky. The night was warm, but I might probably be immersed

a long while, and it was necessary to take every precaution against cold:
for cold not only saps a man's courage if he has to die, but impairs

his energy if others have to die, and, finally, gives him rheumatics,
if it be God's will that he lives. Also I tied round my body a length

of thin but stout cord, and I did not forget my ladder. I, starting
after Sapt, took a shorter route, skirting the town to the left,

and found myself in the outskirts of the forest at about half-past twelve.
I tied my horse up in a thick clump of trees, leaving the revolver

in its pocket in the saddle--it would be no use to me--and, ladder in hand,
made my way to the edge of the moat. Here I unwound my rope from about

my waist, bound it securely round the trunk of a tree on the bank,
and let myself down. The Castle clock struck a quarter to one

as I felt the water under me and began to swim round the keep,
pushing the ladder before me, and hugging the Castle wall.

Thus voyaging, I came to my old friend, "Jacob's Ladder,"
and felt the ledge of the masonry under me. I crouched down

in the shadow of the great pipe--I tried to stir it, but it was
quite immovable--and waited. I remember that my predominant

feeling was neither anxiety for the King nor longing for Flavia,
but an intense desire to smoke; and this craving, of course,

I could not gratify.
The drawbridge was still in its place. I saw its airy,

slight framework above me, some ten yards to my right,
as I crouched with my back against the wall of the King's cell.

I made out a window two yards my side of it and nearly on the same level.
That, if Johann spoke true, must belong to the duke's apartments;

and on the other side, in about the same relative position,
must be Madame de Mauban's window. Women are careless,

forgetful creatures. I prayed that she might not forget
that she was to be the victim of a brutal attempt at two o'clock precisely.

I was rather amused at the part I had assigned to my young friend Rupert Hentzau;
but I owed him a stroke--for, even as I sat, my shoulder ached where he had,

with an audacity that seemed half to hide his treachery, struck at me,
in the sight of all my friends, on the terrace at Tarlenheim.

Suddenly the duke's window grew bright. The shutters were
not closed, and the interior became partiallyvisible to me

as I cautiously raised myself till I stood on tiptoe. Thus placed,
my range of sight embraced a yard or more inside the window,

while the radius of light did not reach me. The window was
flung open and someone looked out. I marked Antoinette de

Mauban's graceful figure, and, though her face was in shadow,
the fine outline of her head was revealed against the light behind.

I longed to cry softly, "Remember!" but I dared not--and happily,
for a moment later a man came up and stood by her. He tried to

put his arm round her waist, but with a swift motion she sprang away
and leant against the shutter, her profile towards me.

I made out who the newcomer was: it was young Rupert.
A low laugh from him made me sure, as he leant forward,

stretching out his hand towards her.
"Gently, gently!" I murmured. "You're too soon, my boy!"

His head was close to hers. I suppose he whispered to her,
for I saw her point to the moat, and I heard her say, in slow