Mr.Warner
,
that
I
know
no
one
to
whom
I
would
sooner
entrust
my
daughter
than
yourself
,
were
I
persuaded
to
this
project
.
But
it
is
doomed
to
fail
.
It
would
make
us
the
laughing-stock
of
Europe
,
and
I
ask
you
to
forget
it
.
Do
you
fancy
the
Emperor
guards
my
daughter
so
ill
that
you
,
single-handed
,
can
take
her
from
beneath
his
hand
?
"
"
Your
Highness
,
I
shall
choose
some
tried
friends
to
help
me
.
"
"
There
is
no
single
chance
of
success
.
I
ask
you
to
forget
it
and
to
pass
your
Christmas
here
as
my
very
good
friend
.
The
sight
is
longer
in
age
,
Mr.
Warner
,
than
in
youth
,
and
I
see
far
enough
now
to
know
that
the
days
of
Don
Quixote
are
dead
.
Here
is
a
matter
where
all
Europe
is
ranged
and
alert
on
one
side
or
the
other
.
You
cannot
practise
secrecy
.
At
Ohlau
your
face
is
known
,
your
incognito
too
.
Mr.
Warner
came
to
Ohlau
once
before
,
and
the
business
on
which
he
came
is
common
knowledge
.
The
motive
of
your
visit
now
,
which
I
tell
you
openly
is
very
grateful
to
me
,
will
surely
be
suspected
.
"
Wogan
had
reason
that
night
to
acknowledge
the
justice
of
the
Prince
's
argument
.
He
accepted
his
hospitality
,
thinking
that
with
time
he
would
persuade
him
to
allow
the
attempt
;
and
after
supper
,
while
making
riddles
in
verse
to
amuse
some
of
the
ladies
of
the
court
,
one
of
them
,
the
Countess
of
Berg
,
came
forward
from
a
corner
where
she
had
been
busy
with
pencil
and
paper
and
said
,
"
It
is
our
turn
now
.
Here
,
Mr.
Warner
,
is
an
acrostic
which
I
ask
you
to
solve
for
me
.
"
And
with
a
smile
which
held
a
spice
of
malice
she
handed
him
the
paper
.
Upon
it
there
were
ten
rhymed
couplets
.
Wogan
solved
the
first
four
,
and
found
that
the
initial
letters
of
the
words
were
C
,
L
,
E
,
M
.
The
answer
to
the
acrostic
was
"
Clementina
.
"
Wogan
gave
the
paper
back
.
"
I
can
make
neither
head
nor
tail
of
it
,
"
said
he
.
"
The
attempt
is
beyond
my
powers
.
"
"
Ah
,
"
said
she
,
drily
,
"
you
own
as
much
?
I
would
never
have
believed
you
would
have
owned
it
.
"
"
But
what
is
the
answer
?
"
asked
a
voice
at
which
Wogan
started
.
"
The
answer
,
"
replied
the
Countess
,
"
is
Mary
,
Queen
of
Scots
,
who
was
most
unjustly
imprisoned
in
Fotheringay
,
"
and
she
tore
the
paper
into
tiny
pieces
.
Wogan
turned
towards
the
voice
which
had
so
startled
him
and
saw
the
gossamer
lady
whom
he
had
befriended
on
the
road
from
Florence
.
At
once
he
rose
and
bowed
to
her
.
"
I
should
have
presented
you
before
to
my
friend
,
Lady
Featherstone
,
"
said
the
Countess
,
"
but
it
seems
you
are
already
acquainted
.
"
"
Indeed
,
Mr.
Warner
did
me
a
great
service
at
a
pinch
,
"
said
Lady
Featherstone
.
"
He
was
my
postillion
,
though
I
never
paid
him
,
as
I
do
now
in
thanks
.
"
"
Your
postillion
!
"
cried
one
or
two
of
the
ladies
,
and
they
gathered
about
the
great
stove
as
Lady
Featherstone
told
the
story
of
Wogan
's
charioting
.
"
I
bade
him
hurry
,
"
said
she
,
"
and
he
outsped
my
bidding
.
Never
was
there
a
postillion
so
considerately
inconsiderate
.
I
was
tossed
like
a
tennis
ball
,
I
was
one
black
bruise
,
I
bounced
from
cushion
to
cushion
;
and
then
he
drew
up
with
a
jerk
,
sprang
off
his
horse
,
vanished
into
a
house
and
left
me
,
panting
and
dishevelled
,
a
twist
of
torn
ribbons
and
lace
,
alone
in
my
carriage
in
the
streets
of
Bologna
.
"
"
Bologna
.
Ah
!
"
said
the
Countess
,
with
a
smile
of
significance
at
Wogan
.
Wogan
was
looking
at
Lady
Featherstone
.
His
curiosity
,
thrust
into
the
back
of
his
mind
by
the
more
important
matter
of
his
mission
now
revived
.
What
had
been
this
lady
's
business
who
travelled
alone
to
Bologna
and
in
such
desperate
haste
?
"
Your
Ladyship
,
I
remember
,
"
he
said
,
"
gave
me
to
understand
that
you
were
sorely
put
to
it
to
reach
Bologna
.
"
Her
Ladyship
turned
her
blue
eyes
frankly
upon
Wogan
.
Then
she
lowered
them
.
"
My
brother
,
"
she
explained
,
"
lay
at
death
's
door
in
Venice
.
I
had
just
landed
at
Leghorn
,
where
I
left
my
maid
to
recover
from
the
sea
,
and
hurrying
across
Italy
as
I
did
,
I
still
feared
that
I
should
not
see
him
alive
.
"
The
explanation
was
made
readily
in
a
low
voice
natural
to
one
remembering
a
great
distress
,
but
without
any
affectation
of
gesture
or
so
much
as
a
glance
sideways
to
note
whether
Wogan
received
it
trustfully
or
not
.
Wogan
,
indeed
,
was
reassured
in
a
great
measure
.
True
,
the
Countess
of
Berg
was
now
his
declared
enemy
,
but
he
need
not
join
all
her
friends
in
that
hostility
.
"
I
was
able
,
most
happily
,
"
continued
Lady
Featherstone
,
"
to
send
my
brother
homewards
in
a
ship
a
fortnight
back
,
and
so
to
stay
with
my
friend
here
on
my
way
to
Vienna
,
for
we
English
are
all
bitten
with
the
madness
of
travel
.
Mr.
Warner
will
bear
me
out
?
"
"
To
be
sure
I
will
,
"
said
Wogan
,
stoutly
.
"
For
here
am
I
in
the
depths
of
winter
journeying
to
the
carnival
in
Italy
.
"
The
Countess
smiled
,
all
disbelief
and
amusement
,
and
Lady
Featherstone
turned
quickly
towards
him
.
"
For
my
frankness
I
claim
a
like
frankness
in
return
,
"
said
she
,
with
a
pretty
imperiousness
.
Wogan
was
a
little
startled
.
He
suddenly
remembered
that
he
had
pretended
to
know
no
English
on
the
road
to
Bologna
,
nor
had
he
given
any
reason
for
his
haste
.
But
it
was
upon
neither
of
these
matters
that
she
desired
to
question
him
.
"
You
spoke
in
parables
,
"
said
she
,
"
which
are
detestable
things
.
You
said
you
would
not
lose
your
black
horse
for
the
world
because
the
lady
you
were
to
marry
would
ride
upon
it
into
your
city
of
dreams
.
There
's
a
saying
that
has
a
provoking
prettiness
.
I
claim
a
frank
answer
.
"
Wogan
was
silent
,
and
his
face
took
on
the
look
of
a
dreamer
.
"
Come
,
"
said
one
.
It
was
the
Princess
Charlotte
,
the
second
daughter
of
the
Prince
Sobieski
,
who
spoke
.
"
We
shall
not
let
you
off
,
"
said
she
.
Wogan
knew
that
she
would
not
.
She
was
a
girl
who
was
never
checked
by
any
inconvenience
her
speech
might
cause
.
Her
tongue
was
a
watchman
's
rattle
,
and
she
never
spoke
but
she
laughed
to
point
the
speech
.
"
Be
frank
,
"
said
the
Countess
;
"
it
is
a
matter
of
the
heart
,
and
so
proper
food
for
women
.
"
"
True
,
"
answered
Wogan
,
lightly
,
"
it
is
a
matter
of
the
heart
,
and
in
such
matters
can
one
be
frank
—
even
to
oneself
?
"
Wogan
was
immediately
puzzled
by
the
curious
look
Lady
Featherstone
gave
him
.
The
words
were
a
mere
excuse
,
yet
she
seemed
to
take
them
very
seriously
.
Her
eyes
sounded
him
.
"
Yes
,
"
she
said
slowly
;
"
are
you
frank
,
even
to
yourself
?
"
and
she
spoke
as
though
a
knowledge
of
the
answer
would
make
a
task
easier
to
her
.
Wogan
's
speculations
,
however
,
were
interrupted
by
the
entrance
of
Princess
Casimira
,
Sobieski
's
eldest
daughter
.
Wogan
welcomed
her
coming
for
the
first
time
in
all
his
life
,
for
she
was
a
kill-joy
,
a
person
of
an
extraordinary
decorum
.
According
to
Wogan
,
she
was
"
that
black
care
upon
the
horseman
's
back
which
the
poets
write
about
.
"
Her
first
question
if
she
was
spoken
to
was
whether
the
speaker
was
from
top
to
toe
fitly
attired
;
her
second
,
whether
the
words
spoken
were
well-bred
.
At
this
moment
,
however
,
her
mere
presence
put
an
end
to
the
demands
for
an
explanation
of
Wogan
's
saying
about
his
horse
,
and
in
a
grateful
mood
to
her
he
slipped
from
the
room
.
This
evening
was
but
one
of
many
during
that
Christmastide
.
Wogan
must
wear
an
easy
countenance
,
though
his
heart
grew
heavy
as
lead
.
The
Countess
of
Berg
was
the
Prince
Constantine
's
favourite
;
and
Wogan
was
not
slow
to
discover
that
her
smiling
face
and
quiet
eyes
hid
the
most
masterful
woman
at
that
court
.
He
made
himself
her
assiduous
servant
,
whether
in
hunting
amid
the
snow
or
in
the
entertainments
at
the
palace
,
but
a
quizzical
deliberate
word
would
now
and
again
show
him
that
she
was
still
his
enemy
.
With
the
Princess
Casimira
he
was
a
profound
critic
of
observances
:
he
invented
a
new
cravat
and
was
most
careful
that
there
should
never
be
a
wrinkle
in
his
stockings
;
with
the
Princess
Charlotte
he
laughed
till
his
head
sang
.
He
played
all
manner
of
parts
;
the
palace
might
have
been
the
stage
of
a
pantomime
and
himself
the
harlequin
.
But
for
all
his
efforts
it
did
not
seem
that
he
advanced
his
cause
;
and
if
he
made
headway
one
evening
with
the
Prince
,
the
next
morning
he
had
lost
it
,
and
so
Christmas
came
and
passed
.
But
two
days
after
Christmas
a
courier
brought
a
letter
to
the
castle
.
He
came
in
the
evening
,
and
the
letter
was
carried
to
Wogan
while
he
was
at
table
.
He
noticed
at
once
that
it
was
in
his
King
's
hand
,
and
he
slipped
it
quickly
into
his
pocket
.
It
may
have
been
something
precipitate
in
his
manner
,
or
it
may
have
been
merely
that
all
were
on
the
alert
to
mark
his
actions
,
but
at
once
curiosity
was
aroused
.
No
plain
words
were
said
;
but
here
and
there
heads
nodded
together
and
whispered
,
and
while
some
eyed
Wogan
suspiciously
,
a
few
women
whose
hearts
were
tuned
to
a
sympathy
with
the
Princess
in
her
imprisonment
,
or
touched
with
the
notion
of
a
romantic
attachment
,
smiled
upon
him
their
encouragement
.
The
Countess
of
Berg
for
once
was
unobservant
,
however
.
Wogan
made
his
escape
from
the
company
as
soon
as
he
could
,
and
going
up
to
his
apartments
read
the
letter
.
The
moon
was
at
its
full
,
and
what
with
the
clear
,
frosty
air
,
and
the
snow
stretched
over
the
world
like
a
white
counterpane
,
he
was
able
to
read
the
letter
by
the
window
without
the
light
of
a
candle
.
It
was
written
in
the
Chevalier
's
own
cipher
and
hand
;
it
asked
anxiously
for
news
and
gave
some
.
Wogan
had
had
occasion
before
to
learn
that
cipher
by
heart
.
He
stood
by
the
window
and
spelled
the
meaning
.
Then
he
turned
to
go
down
;
but
at
the
door
his
foot
slipped
upon
the
polished
boards
,
and
he
stumbled
onto
his
knee
.
He
picked
himself
up
,
and
thinking
no
more
of
the
matter
rejoined
the
company
in
a
room
where
the
Countess
of
Berg
was
playing
upon
a
harp
.
"
The
King
,
"
said
Wogan
,
drawing
the
Prince
apart
,
"
leaves
Bologna
for
Rome
.
"
"
So
the
letter
came
from
him
?
"
asked
the
Prince
,
with
an
eagerness
which
could
not
but
seem
hopeful
to
his
companion
.
"
And
in
his
own
hand
,
"
replied
Wogan
.
The
Prince
shuffled
and
hesitated
as
though
he
was
curious
to
hear
particulars
.
Wogan
thought
it
wise
to
provoke
his
curiosity
by
disregarding
it
.
It
seemed
that
there
was
wisdom
in
his
reticence
,
for
a
little
later
the
Prince
took
him
aside
while
the
Countess
of
Berg
was
still
playing
upon
her
harp
,
and
said
,
—
"
Single-handed
you
could
do
nothing
.
You
would
need
friends
.
"
Wogan
took
a
slip
of
paper
from
his
pocket
and
gave
it
to
the
Prince
.
"
On
that
slip
,
"
said
he
,
"
I
wrote
down
the
names
of
all
the
friends
whom
I
could
trust
,
and
by
the
side
of
the
names
the
places
where
I
could
lay
my
hands
upon
them
.
One
after
the
other
I
erased
the
names
until
only
three
remained
.
"
The
Prince
nodded
and
read
out
the
names
.
"
Gaydon
,
Misset
,
O'Toole
.
They
are
good
men
?
"
"
The
flower
of
Ireland
.
Those
three
names
have
been
my
comfort
these
last
three
weeks
.
"
"
And
all
the
three
at
Schlestadt
.
How
comes
that
about
?
"
"
Your
Highness
,
they
are
all
three
officers
in
Dillon
's
Irish
regiment
,
and
so
have
that
further
advantage
.
"
"
Advantage
?
"
"
Your
Highness
,
"
said
Wogan
,
"
Schlestadt
is
near
to
Strasbourg
,
which
again
is
not
far
from
Innspruck
,
and
being
in
French
territory
would
be
the
most
convenient
place
to
set
off
from
.
"
There
was
a
sound
of
a
door
shutting
;
the
Prince
started
,
looked
at
Wogan
,
and
laughed
.
He
had
been
upon
the
verge
of
yielding
;
but
for
that
door
Wogan
felt
sure
he
would
have
yielded
.
Now
,
however
,
he
merely
walked
away
to
the
Countess
of
Berg
,
and
sitting
beside
her
asked
her
to
play
a
particular
tune
.
But
he
still
held
the
slip
of
paper
in
his
hand
and
paid
but
a
scanty
heed
to
the
music
,
now
and
then
looking
doubtfully
towards
Wogan
,
now
and
then
scanning
that
long
list
of
names
.
His
lips
,
too
,
moved
as
though
he
was
framing
the
three
selected
names
,
Gaydon
,
Misset
,
O'Toole
,
and
"
Schlestadt
"
as
a
bracket
uniting
them
.
Then
he
suddenly
rose
up
and
crossed
the
room
to
Wogan
.
"
My
daughter
wrote
that
a
woman
must
attend
her
.
It
is
a
necessary
provision
.
"
"
Your
Highness
,
Misset
has
a
wife
,
and
the
wife
matches
him
.
"
"
They
are
warned
to
be
ready
?
"
"
At
your
Highness
's
first
word
that
slip
of
paper
travels
to
Schlestadt
.
It
is
unsigned
,
it
imperils
no
one
,
it
betrays
nothing
.
But
it
will
tell
its
story
none
the
less
surely
to
those
three
men
,
for
Gaydon
knows
my
hand
.
"
The
Prince
smiled
in
approval
.
"
You
have
prudence
,
Mr.
Warner
,
as
well
as
audacity
,
"
said
he
.
He
gave
the
paper
back
,
listened
for
a
little
to
the
Countess
,
who
was
bending
over
her
harp-strings
,
and
then
remarked
,
"
The
Prince
's
letter
was
in
his
own
hand
too
?
"
"
But
in
cipher
.
"
"
Ah
!
"
The
Prince
was
silent
for
a
while
.
He
balanced
himself
first
on
one
foot
,
then
on
the
other
.
"
Ciphers
,
"
said
he
,
"
are
curious
things
,
compelling
to
the
imagination
and
a
provocation
to
the
intellect
.
"
Mr.
Wogan
kept
a
grave
face
and
he
replied
with
unconcern
,
though
his
heart
beat
quick
;
for
if
the
Prince
had
so
much
desire
to
see
the
Chevalier
's
letter
,
he
must
be
well
upon
his
way
to
consenting
to
Wogan
's
plan
.
"
If
your
Highness
will
do
me
the
honour
to
look
at
this
cipher
.
It
has
baffled
the
most
expert
.
"
His
Highness
condescended
to
be
pleased
with
Wogan
's
suggestion
.
Wogan
crossed
the
room
towards
the
door
;
but
before
he
reached
it
,
the
Countess
of
Berg
suddenly
took
her
fingers
from
her
harp-strings
with
a
gesture
of
annoyance
.
"
Mr.
Warner
,
"
she
said
,
"
will
you
do
me
the
favour
to
screw
this
wire
tighter
?
"
And
once
or
twice
she
struck
it
with
her
fingers
.
"
May
I
claim
that
privilege
?
"
said
the
Prince
.
"
Your
Highness
does
me
too
much
honour
,
"
said
the
Countess
,
but
the
Prince
was
already
at
her
side
.
At
once
she
pointed
out
to
him
the
particular
string
.
Wogan
went
from
the
room
and
up
the
great
staircase
.
He
was
lodged
in
a
wing
of
the
palace
.
From
the
head
of
the
staircase
he
proceeded
down
a
long
passage
.
Towards
the
end
of
this
passage
another
short
passage
branched
off
at
a
right
angle
on
the
left-hand
side
.
At
the
corner
of
the
two
passages
stood
a
table
with
a
lamp
and
some
candlesticks
.
This
time
Wogan
took
a
candle
,
and
lighting
it
at
the
lamp
turned
into
the
short
passage
.
It
was
dark
but
for
the
light
of
Wogan
's
candle
,
and
at
the
end
of
it
facing
him
were
two
doors
side
by
side
.
Both
doors
were
closed
,
and
of
these
the
one
on
the
left
gave
onto
his
room
.
Wogan
had
walked
perhaps
halfway
from
the
corner
to
his
door
before
he
stopped
.
He
stopped
suddenly
and
held
his
breath
.
Then
he
shaded
his
candle
with
the
palm
of
his
hand
and
looked
forward
.
Immediately
he
turned
,
and
walking
on
tiptoe
came
silently
back
into
the
big
passage
.
Even
this
was
not
well
lighted
;
it
stretched
away
upon
his
right
and
left
,
full
of
shadows
.
But
it
was
silent
.
The
only
sounds
which
reached
Wogan
as
he
stood
there
and
listened
were
the
sounds
of
people
moving
and
speaking
at
a
great
distance
.
He
blew
out
his
candle
,
cautiously
replaced
it
on
the
table
,
and
crept
down
again
towards
his
room
.
There
was
no
window
in
this
small
passage
,
there
was
no
light
there
at
all
except
a
gleam
of
silver
in
front
of
him
and
close
to
the
ground
.
That
gleam
of
silver
was
the
moonlight
shining
between
the
bottom
of
one
of
the
doors
and
the
boards
of
the
passage
.
And
that
door
was
not
the
door
of
Wogan
's
room
,
but
the
room
beside
it
.
Where
his
door
stood
,
there
might
have
been
no
door
at
all
.
Yet
the
moon
which
shone
through
the
windows
of
one
room
must
needs
also
shine
into
the
other
,
unless
,
indeed
,
the
curtains
were
drawn
.
But
earlier
in
the
evening
Wogan
had
read
a
letter
by
the
moonlight
at
his
window
;
the
curtains
were
not
drawn
.
There
was
,
therefore
,
a
rug
,
an
obstruction
of
some
sort
against
the
bottom
of
the
door
.
But
earlier
in
the
evening
Wogan
's
foot
had
slipped
upon
the
polished
boards
;
there
had
been
no
mat
or
skin
at
all
.
It
had
been
pushed
there
since
.
Wogan
could
not
doubt
for
what
reason
.
It
was
to
conceal
the
light
of
a
lamp
or
candle
within
the
room
.
Someone
,
in
a
word
,
was
prying
in
Wogan
's
room
,
and
Wogan
began
to
consider
who
.
It
was
not
the
Countess
,
who
was
engaged
upon
her
harp
,
but
the
Countess
had
tried
to
detain
him
.
Wogan
was
startled
as
he
understood
the
reason
of
her
harp
becoming
so
suddenly
untuned
.
She
had
spoken
to
him
with
so
natural
a
spontaneity
,
she
had
accepted
the
Prince
's
aid
with
so
complete
an
absence
of
embarrassment
;
but
none
the
less
Wogan
was
sure
that
she
knew
.
Moreover
,
a
door
had
shut
—
yes
,
while
he
was
speaking
to
the
Prince
a
door
had
shut
.
So
far
Wogan
's
speculations
had
travelled
when
the
moonlight
streamed
out
beneath
his
door
too
.
It
made
now
a
silver
line
across
the
passage
broken
at
the
middle
by
the
wall
between
the
rooms
.
The
mat
had
been
removed
,
the
candle
put
out
,
the
prying
was
at
an
end
;
in
another
moment
the
door
would
surely
open
.
Now
Wogan
,
however
anxious
to
discover
who
it
was
that
spied
,
was
yet
more
anxious
that
the
spy
should
not
discover
that
the
spying
was
detected
.
He
himself
knew
,
and
so
was
armed
;
he
did
not
wish
to
arm
his
enemies
with
a
like
knowledge
.
There
was
no
corner
in
the
passage
to
conceal
him
;
there
was
no
other
door
behind
which
he
could
slip
.
When
the
spy
came
out
,
Wogan
would
inevitably
be
discovered
.
He
made
up
his
mind
on
the
instant
.
He
crept
back
quickly
and
silently
out
of
the
mouth
of
the
passage
,
then
he
made
a
noise
with
his
feet
,
turned
again
into
the
passage
,
and
walked
loudly
towards
his
door
.
Even
so
he
was
only
just
in
time
.
Had
he
waited
a
moment
longer
,
he
would
have
been
detected
.
For
even
as
he
turned
the
corner
there
was
already
a
vertical
line
of
silver
on
the
passage
wall
;
the
door
had
been
already
opened
.
But
as
his
footsteps
sounded
on
the
boards
,
that
line
disappeared
.
He
walked
slowly
,
giving
his
spy
time
to
replace
the
letter
,
time
to
hide
.
He
purposely
carried
no
candle
,
he
reached
his
door
and
opened
it
.
The
room
to
all
seeming
was
empty
.
Wogan
crossed
to
a
table
,
looking
neither
to
the
right
nor
the
left
,
above
all
not
looking
towards
the
bed
hangings
.
He
found
the
letter
upon
the
table
just
as
he
had
left
it
.
It
could
convey
no
knowledge
of
his
mission
,
he
was
sure
.
It
had
not
even
the
appearance
of
a
letter
in
cipher
;
it
might
have
been
a
mere
expression
of
Christmas
good
wishes
from
one
friend
to
another
.
But
to
make
his
certainty
more
sure
,
and
at
the
same
time
to
show
that
he
had
no
suspicion
anyone
was
hiding
in
the
room
,
he
carried
the
letter
over
to
the
window
,
and
at
once
he
was
aware
of
the
spy
's
hiding-place
.
It
was
not
the
bed
hangings
,
but
close
at
his
side
the
heavy
window
curtain
bulged
.
The
spy
was
at
his
very
elbow
;
he
had
but
to
lift
his
arm
—
and
of
a
sudden
the
letter
slipped
from
his
hand
to
the
floor
.
He
did
not
drop
it
on
purpose
,
he
was
fairly
surprised
;
for
looking
down
to
read
the
letter
he
had
seen
protruding
from
the
curtain
a
jewelled
shoe
buckle
,
and
the
foot
which
the
buckle
adorned
seemed
too
small
and
slender
for
a
man
's
.
Wogan
had
an
opportunity
to
make
certain
.
He
knelt
down
and
picked
up
the
letter
;
the
foot
was
a
woman
's
.
As
he
rose
up
again
,
the
curtain
ever
so
slightly
stirred
.
Wogan
pretended
to
have
remarked
nothing
;
he
stood
easily
by
the
window
with
his
eyes
upon
his
letter
and
his
mind
busy
with
guessing
what
woman
his
spy
might
be
.
And
he
remained
on
purpose
for
some
while
in
this
attitude
,
designing
it
as
a
punishment
.
So
long
as
he
stood
by
the
window
that
unknown
woman
cheek
by
jowl
with
him
must
hold
her
breath
,
must
never
stir
,
must
silently
endure
an
agony
of
fear
at
each
movement
that
he
made
.
At
last
he
moved
,
and
as
he
turned
away
he
saw
something
so
unexpected
that
it
startled
him
.
Indeed
,
for
the
moment
it
did
more
than
startle
him
,
it
chilled
him
.
He
understood
that
slight
stirring
of
the
curtain
.
The
woman
now
held
a
dagger
in
her
hand
,
and
the
point
of
the
blade
stuck
out
and
shone
in
the
moonlight
like
a
flame
.
Wogan
became
angry
.
It
was
all
very
well
for
the
woman
to
come
spying
into
his
room
;
but
to
take
a
dagger
to
him
,
to
think
a
dagger
in
a
woman
's
hand
could
cope
with
him
,
—
that
was
too
preposterous
.
Wogan
felt
very
much
inclined
to
sweep
that
curtain
aside
and
tell
his
visitor
how
he
had
escaped
from
Newgate
and
played
hide-and-seek
amongst
the
chimney-pots
.
And
although
he
restrained
himself
from
that
,
he
allowed
his
anger
to
get
the
better
of
his
prudence
.
Under
the
impulse
of
his
anger
he
acted
.
It
was
a
whimsical
thing
that
he
did
,
and
though
he
suffered
for
it
he
could
never
afterwards
bring
himself
to
regret
it
.
He
deliberately
knelt
down
and
kissed
the
instep
of
the
foot
which
protruded
from
the
curtain
.
He
felt
the
muscles
of
the
foot
tighten
,
but
the
foot
was
not
withdrawn
.
The
curtain
shivered
and
shook
,
but
no
cry
came
from
behind
it
,
and
again
the
curtain
hung
motionless
.
Wogan
went
out
of
the
room
and
carried
the
letter
to
the
Prince
.
The
Countess
of
Berg
was
still
playing
upon
her
harp
,
and
she
gave
no
sign
that
she
remarked
his
entrance
.
She
did
not
so
much
as
shoot
one
glance
of
curiosity
towards
him
.
The
Prince
carried
the
letter
off
to
his
cabinet
,
while
Wogan
sat
down
beside
the
Countess
and
looked
about
the
room
.
"
I
have
not
seen
Lady
Featherstone
this
evening
,
"
said
he
.
"
Have
you
not
?
"
asked
the
Countess
,
easily
.
"
Not
so
much
as
her
foot
,
"
replied
Wogan
.
The
conviction
came
upon
him
suddenly
.
Her
hurried
journey
to
Bologna
and
her
presence
at
Ohlau
were
explained
to
him
now
by
her
absence
from
the
room
.
His
own
arrival
at
Bologna
had
not
remained
so
secret
as
he
had
imagined
.
The
fragile
and
gossamer
lady
,
too
flowerlike
for
the
world
's
rough
usage
,
was
the
woman
who
had
spied
in
his
room
and
who
had
possessed
the
courage
to
stand
silent
and
motionless
behind
the
curtain
after
her
presence
there
had
been
discovered
.
Wogan
had
a
picture
before
his
eyes
of
the
dagger
she
had
held
.
It
was
plain
that
she
would
stop
at
nothing
to
hinder
this
marriage
,
to
prevent
the
success
of
his
design
;
and
somehow
the
contrast
between
her
appearance
and
her
actions
had
something
uncanny
about
it
.
Wogan
was
inclined
to
shiver
as
he
sat
chatting
with
the
Countess
.
He
was
not
reassured
when
Lady
Featherstone
boldly
entered
the
room
;
she
meant
to
face
him
out
.
He
remarked
,
however
,
with
a
trifle
of
satisfaction
that
for
the
first
time
she
wore
rouge
upon
her
cheeks
.
CHAPTER
V
Wogan
,
however
,
was
not
immediately
benefited
by
his
discovery
.
He
knew
that
if
a
single
whisper
of
it
reached
the
Prince
's
ear
there
would
be
at
once
an
end
to
his
small
chances
.
The
old
man
would
take
alarm
;
he
might
punish
the
offender
,
but
he
would
none
the
less
surely
refuse
his
consent
to
Wogan
's
project
.
Wogan
must
keep
his
lips
quite
closed
and
let
his
antagonists
do
boldly
what
they
would
.
And
that
they
were
active
he
found
a
way
to
discover
.
The
Countess
from
this
time
plied
him
with
kindness
.
He
must
play
cards
with
her
and
Prince
Constantine
in
the
evening
;
he
must
take
his
coffee
in
her
private
apartments
in
the
morning
.
So
upon
one
of
these
occasions
he
spoke
of
his
departure
from
Ohlau
.
"
I
shall
go
by
way
of
Prague
;
"
and
he
stopped
in
confusion
and
corrected
himself
quickly
.
"
At
least
,
I
am
not
sure
.
There
are
other
ways
into
Italy
.
"
The
Countess
showed
no
more
concern
than
she
had
shown
over
her
harp-string
.
She
talked
indifferently
of
other
matters
as
though
she
had
barely
heard
his
remark
;
but
she
fell
into
the
trap
.
Wogan
was
aware
that
the
Governor
of
Prague
was
her
kinsman
;
and
that
afternoon
he
left
the
castle
alone
,
and
taking
the
road
to
Vienna
,
turned
as
soon
as
he
was
out
of
sight
and
hurried
round
the
town
until
he
came
out
upon
the
road
to
Prague
.
He
hid
himself
behind
a
hedge
a
mile
from
Ohlau
,
and
had
not
waited
half
an
hour
before
a
man
came
riding
by
in
hot
haste
.
The
man
wore
the
Countess
's
livery
of
green
and
scarlet
;
Wogan
decided
not
to
travel
by
way
of
Prague
,
and
returned
to
the
castle
content
with
his
afternoon
's
work
.
He
had
indeed
more
reason
to
be
content
with
it
than
he
knew
,
for
he
happened
to
have
remarked
the
servant
's
face
as
well
as
his
livery
,
and
so
at
a
later
time
was
able
to
recognise
it
again
.
He
had
no
longer
any
doubt
that
a
servant
in
the
same
livery
was
well
upon
his
way
to
Vienna
.
The
roads
were
bad
,
it
was
true
,
and
the
journey
long
;
but
Wogan
had
not
the
Prince
's
consent
,
and
could
not
tell
when
he
would
obtain
it
.
The
servant
might
return
with
the
Emperor
's
order
for
his
arrest
before
he
had
obtained
it
.
Wogan
was
powerless
.
He
sent
his
list
of
names
to
Gaydon
in
Schlestadt
,
but
that
was
the
only
precaution
he
could
take
.
The
days
passed
;
Wogan
spent
them
in
unavailing
persuasions
,
and
New
Year
's
Day
came
and
found
him
still
at
Ohlau
and
in
a
great
agitation
and
distress
.
Upon
that
morning
,
however
,
while
he
was
dressing
,
there
came
a
rap
upon
his
door
,
and
when
he
opened
it
he
saw
the
Prince
's
treasurer
,
a
foppish
gentleman
,
very
dainty
in
his
words
.
"
Mr.
Warner
,
"
said
the
treasurer
,
"
his
Highness
has
hinted
to
me
his
desires
;
he
has
moulded
them
into
the
shape
of
a
prayer
or
a
request
.
"
"
In
a
word
,
he
has
bidden
you
,
"
said
Wogan
.
"
Fie
,
sir
!
There
's
a
barbarous
and
improper
word
,
an
ill-sounding
word
;
upon
my
honour
,
a
word
without
dignity
or
merit
and
banishable
from
polite
speech
.
His
Highness
did
most
prettily
entreat
me
with
a
fine
gentleness
of
condescension
befitting
a
Sunday
or
a
New
Year
's
Day
to
bring
and
present
and
communicate
from
hand
to
hand
a
gift
,
—
a
most
incomparable
proper
gift
,
the
mirror
and
image
of
his
most
incomparable
proper
friendship
.
"
Wogan
bowed
,
and
requested
the
treasurer
to
enter
and
be
seated
the
while
he
recovered
his
breath
.
"
Nay
,
Mr.
Warner
,
I
must
be
concise
,
puritanical
,
and
unadorned
in
my
language
as
any
raw-head
or
bloody-bones
.
The
cruel
,
irrevocable
moments
pass
.
I
could
consume
an
hour
,
sir
,
before
I
touched
as
I
may
say
the
hem
of
the
reason
of
my
coming
.
"
"
Sir
,
I
do
not
doubt
it
,
"
said
Wogan
.
"
But
I
will
not
hinder
you
from
forthwith
immediately
and
at
once
incorporating
with
your
most
particular
and
inestimable
treasures
this
jewel
,
this
turquoise
of
heaven
's
own
charming
blue
,
encased
and
decorated
with
gold
.
"
The
treasurer
drew
the
turquoise
from
his
pocket
.
It
was
of
the
size
of
an
egg
.
He
placed
it
in
Wogan
's
hand
,
who
gently
returned
it
.
"
I
cannot
take
it
,
"
said
he
.
"
Gemini
!
"
cried
the
treasurer
.
"
But
it
is
more
than
a
turquoise
,
Mr.
Warner
.
Jewellers
have
delved
in
it
.
It
has
become
subservient
to
man
's
necessities
.
It
is
a
snuff-box
.
"
"
I
cannot
take
it
.
"
"
King
John
of
Poland
,
he
whom
the
vulgar
call
Glorious
John
,
did
rescue
and
enlarge
it
from
its
slavery
to
the
Grand
Vizier
of
Turkey
at
the
great
battle
of
Vienna
.
There
is
no
other
in
the
world
—
"
Wogan
cut
the
treasurer
short
.
"
You
will
take
it
again
to
his
Highness
.
You
will
express
to
him
my
gratitude
for
his
kindness
,
and
you
will
say
furthermore
these
words
:
'
Mr
.
Warner
cannot
carry
back
into
Italy
a
present
for
himself
and
a
refusal
for
his
Prince
.
'
"
Wogan
spoke
with
so
much
dignity
that
the
treasurer
had
no
words
to
answer
him
.
He
stood
utterly
bewildered
;
he
stared
at
the
jewel
.
"
Here
is
a
quandary
!
"
he
exclaimed
.
"
I
do
declare
every
circumstance
of
me
trembles
,
"
and
shaking
his
head
he
went
away
.
But
in
a
little
he
came
again
.
"
His
Highness
distinguishes
you
,
Mr.
Warner
,
with
imperishable
honours
.
His
Highness
solicits
your
company
to
a
solitary
dinner
.
You
shall
dine
with
him
alone
.
His
presence
and
unfettered
conversation
shall
season
your
soup
and
be
the
condiments
of
your
meat
.
"
Wogan
's
heart
jumped
.
There
could
be
only
one
reason
for
so
unusual
an
invitation
on
such
a
day
,
and
he
was
not
mistaken
;
for
as
soon
as
the
Prince
was
served
in
a
little
room
,
he
dismissed
the
lackeys
and
presented
again
the
turquoise
snuff-box
with
his
own
hands
.
"
See
,
Mr.
Wogan
,
your
persuasions
and
your
conduct
have
gained
me
over
,
"
said
he
.
"
Your
refusal
of
this
bagatelle
assures
me
of
your
honour
.
I
trust
myself
entirely
to
your
discretion
;
I
confide
my
beloved
daughter
to
your
care
.
Take
from
my
hands
the
gift
you
refused
this
morning
,
and
be
assured
that
no
prince
ever
gave
to
any
man
such
full
powers
as
I
will
give
to
you
to-night
.
"
Wogan
's
gratitude
wellnigh
overcame
him
.
The
thing
that
he
had
worked
for
and
almost
despaired
of
had
come
to
pass
.
For
a
while
he
could
not
speak
;
he
flung
himself
upon
his
knees
and
kissed
the
Prince
's
hand
.
That
very
night
he
received
the
letter
giving
him
full
powers
,
and
the
next
morning
he
drove
off
in
a
carriage
of
his
Highness
drawn
by
six
Polish
horses
towards
the
town
of
Strahlen
on
the
road
to
Prague
.
At
Strahlen
he
stayed
a
day
,
feigning
a
malady
,
and
sent
the
carriage
back
.
The
following
day
,
however
,
he
took
horse
,
and
riding
along
by-roads
and
lanes
avoided
Prague
and
hurried
towards
Schlestadt
.
He
rode
watchfully
,
avoiding
towns
,
and
with
an
eye
alert
for
every
passer-by
.
That
he
was
ahead
of
any
courier
from
the
Emperor
at
Vienna
he
did
not
doubt
,
but
,
on
the
other
hand
,
the
Countess
of
Berg
and
Lady
Featherstone
had
the
advantage
of
him
by
some
four
days
.
There
would
be
no
lack
of
money
to
hinder
him
;
there
would
be
no
scruple
as
to
the
means
.
Wogan
remembered
the
moment
in
his
bedroom
when
he
had
seen
the
dagger
bright
in
the
moon
's
rays
.
If
he
could
not
be
arrested
,
there
were
other
ways
to
stop
him
.
Accidents
may
happen
to
any
man
.
However
,
he
rode
unhindered
with
the
Prince
's
commission
safe
against
his
breast
.
He
felt
the
paper
a
hundred
times
a
day
to
make
sure
that
it
was
not
stolen
nor
lost
,
nor
reduced
to
powder
by
a
miracle
.
Day
by
day
his
fears
diminished
,
since
day
by
day
he
drew
a
day
's
journey
nearer
to
Schlestadt
.
The
paper
became
a
talisman
in
his
thoughts
,
—
a
thing
endowed
with
magic
properties
to
make
him
invisible
like
the
cloak
or
cap
of
the
fairy
tales
.
Those
few
lines
in
writing
not
a
week
back
had
seemed
an
unattainable
prize
,
yet
he
had
them
;
and
so
now
they
promised
him
that
other
unattainable
thing
,
the
enlargement
of
the
Princess
.
It
was
in
his
nature
,
too
,
to
grow
buoyant
in
proportion
to
the
difficulties
of
his
task
.
He
rode
forward
,
therefore
,
with
a
good
heart
,
and
one
sombre
evening
of
rain
came
to
a
village
some
miles
beyond
Augsburg
.
The
village
was
a
straggling
half-mile
of
low
cottages
,
lost
as
it
were
on
the
level
of
a
wide
plain
.
Across
this
plain
,
bare
but
for
a
few
lines
of
poplars
and
stunted
willow-trees
,
Wogan
had
ridden
all
the
afternoon
;
and
so
little
did
the
thatched
cottages
break
the
monotony
of
the
plain
's
appearance
,
that
though
he
had
had
the
village
within
his
vision
all
that
while
,
he
came
upon
it
unawares
.
The
dusk
was
gathering
,
and
already
through
the
tiny
windows
the
meagre
lights
gleamed
upon
the
road
and
gave
to
the
falling
raindrops
the
look
of
steel
beads
.
Four
days
would
now
bring
Wogan
to
Schlestadt
.
The
road
was
bad
and
full
of
holes
.
He
determined
to
go
no
farther
that
night
if
he
could
find
a
lodging
in
the
village
,
and
coming
upon
a
man
who
stood
in
his
path
he
stopped
his
horse
.
"
Is
there
an
inn
where
a
traveller
may
sleep
?
"
he
asked
.
"
Assuredly
,
"
replied
the
man
,
"
and
find
forage
for
his
horse
.
The
last
house
—
but
I
will
myself
show
your
Honour
the
way
.
"
"
There
is
no
need
,
my
friend
,
that
you
should
take
a
colic
,
"
said
Wogan
.
"
I
shall
earn
enough
drink
to
correct
the
colic
,
"
said
the
man
.
He
had
a
sack
over
his
head
and
shoulders
to
protect
him
from
the
rain
,
and
stepped
out
in
front
of
Wogan
's
horse
.
They
came
to
the
end
of
the
street
and
passed
on
into
the
open
darkness
.
About
twenty
yards
farther
a
house
stood
by
itself
at
the
roadside
,
but
there
were
only
lights
in
one
or
two
of
the
upper
windows
,
and
it
held
out
no
promise
of
hospitality
.
In
front
of
it
,
however
,
the
man
stopped
;
he
opened
the
door
and
halloaed
into
the
passage
.
Wogan
stopped
too
,
and
above
his
head
something
creaked
and
groaned
like
a
gibbet
in
the
wind
.
He
looked
up
and
saw
a
sign-board
glimmering
in
the
dusk
with
a
new
coat
of
white
paint
.
He
had
undoubtedly
come
to
the
inn
,
and
he
dismounted
.
The
landlord
advanced
at
that
moment
to
the
door
.
"
My
man
,
"
said
he
,
"
will
take
your
horse
to
the
stable
;
"
and
the
fellow
who
had
guided
Wogan
led
the
horse
off
.
"
Oh
,
is
he
your
man
?
"
said
Wogan
.
"
Ah
!
"
And
he
followed
the
landlord
into
the
house
.
It
was
not
only
the
sign-board
which
had
been
newly
painted
,
for
in
the
narrow
passage
the
landlord
stopped
Wogan
.
"
Have
a
care
,
sir
,
"
said
he
;
"
the
walls
are
wet
.
It
will
be
best
if
you
stand
still
while
I
go
forward
and
bring
a
light
.
"
He
went
forward
in
the
dark
and
opened
a
door
at
the
end
of
the
passage
.
A
glow
of
ruddy
light
came
through
the
doorway
,
and
Wogan
caught
a
glimpse
of
a
brick-floored
kitchen
and
a
great
open
chimney
and
one
or
two
men
on
a
bench
before
the
fire
.
Then
the
door
was
again
closed
.
The
closing
of
the
door
seemed
to
Wogan
a
churlish
act
.
"
The
hospitality
,
"
said
he
to
himself
,
"
which
plants
a
man
in
the
road
so
that
a
traveller
on
a
rainy
night
may
not
miss
his
bed
should
at
least
leave
the
kitchen
door
open
.
Why
should
I
stay
here
in
the
dark
?
"
Wogan
went
forward
,
and
from
the
careful
way
in
which
he
walked
,
—
a
way
so
careful
and
stealthy
indeed
that
his
footsteps
made
no
sound
,
—
it
might
have
been
inferred
that
he
believed
the
floor
to
be
newly
painted
too
.
He
had
,
at
all
events
,
no
such
scruples
about
the
kitchen
door
,
for
he
seized
the
handle
and
flung
it
open
quickly
.
He
was
met
at
once
by
a
cold
draught
of
wind
.
A
door
opposite
and
giving
onto
a
yard
at
the
back
had
been
opened
at
precisely
the
same
moment
;
and
as
Wogan
stepped
quickly
in
at
his
door
a
man
stepped
quickly
out
by
the
door
opposite
and
was
lost
in
the
darkness
.
"
What
!
Are
you
going
?
"
the
landlord
cried
after
him
as
he
turned
from
the
fire
at
which
he
was
lighting
a
candle
.
"
Wilhelm
has
a
wife
and
needs
must
,
"
at
once
said
a
woman
who
was
reaching
down
some
plates
from
a
dresser
.
The
landlord
turned
towards
the
passage
and
saw
Wogan
in
the
doorway
.
"
You
found
your
way
,
sir
,
"
said
he
,
looking
at
Wogan
anxiously
.
"
Nor
are
your
walls
any
poorer
of
paint
on
that
account
,
"
said
Wogan
as
he
took
his
wet
cloak
and
flung
it
over
a
chair
.
The
landlord
blew
out
his
candle
and
busied
himself
about
laying
the
table
.
A
great
iron
pot
swung
over
the
fire
by
a
chain
,
and
the
lid
danced
on
the
top
and
allowed
a
savoury
odour
to
escape
.
Wogan
sat
himself
down
before
the
fire
and
his
clothes
began
to
steam
.
"
You
laugh
at
my
paint
,
sir
,
"
said
the
landlord
.
He
was
a
fat
,
good-humoured-looking
man
,
communicative
in
his
manner
as
a
Boniface
should
be
,
and
his
wife
was
his
very
complement
.
"
You
laugh
at
my
paint
,
but
it
is
,
after
all
,
a
very
important
thing
.
What
is
a
great
lady
without
her
rouge-pot
,
when
you
come
to
think
of
it
?
It
is
the
same
with
an
inn
.
It
must
wear
paint
if
it
is
to
attract
attention
and
make
a
profit
.
"
"
There
is
philosophy
in
the
comparison
,
"
said
Wogan
.
"
Sir
,
an
innkeeper
cannot
fail
of
philosophy
if
he
has
his
eyes
and
a
spark
of
intelligence
.
The
man
who
took
refuge
in
a
tub
because
the
follies
of
his
fellows
so
angered
him
was
the
greatest
fool
of
them
all
.
He
should
have
kept
an
inn
on
the
road
to
Athens
,
for
then
the
follies
would
have
put
money
into
his
pocket
and
made
him
laugh
instead
of
growl
.
"
His
wife
came
over
to
the
fireplace
and
lifted
the
lid
of
the
pot
.
"
The
supper
is
ready
,
"
said
she
.
"
And
perhaps
,
sir
,
while
you
are
eating
it
you
can
think
of
a
name
for
my
inn
.
"
"
Why
,
it
has
a
sign-board
already
,
"
said
Wogan
,
"
and
a
name
,
too
,
I
suppose
.
"
"
It
has
a
sign-board
,
but
without
a
device
,
"
said
the
landlord
,
and
while
Wogan
drew
a
chair
to
the
table
he
explained
his
predicament
.
"
There
is
another
inn
five
miles
along
the
road
,
and
travellers
prefer
to
make
their
halt
there
.
They
will
not
stop
here
.
My
father
,
sir
,
set
it
all
down
to
paint
.
It
was
his
dream
,
sir
,
to
paint
the
house
from
floor
to
ceiling
;
his
last
words
bade
me
pinch
and
save
until
I
could
paint
.
Well
,
here
is
the
house
painted
,
and
I
am
anxious
for
a
new
device
and
name
which
shall
obliterate
the
memory
of
the
other
.
'
The
Black
Eagle
'
is
its
old
name
.
Ask
any
traveller
familiar
with
the
road
between
Augsburg
and
Schlestadt
,
and
he
will
counsel
you
to
avoid
'
The
Black
Eagle
.
'
You
are
travelling
to
Schlestadt
,
perhaps
.
"
Wogan
had
started
ever
so
slightly
.
"
To
Strasbourg
,
"
he
said
,
and
thereafter
ate
his
supper
in
silence
,
taking
count
with
himself
.
"
My
friend
,
"
so
his
thoughts
ran
,
"
the
sooner
you
reach
Schlestadt
the
better
.
Here
are
you
bleating
like
a
sheep
at
a
mere
chance
mention
of
your
destination
.
You
have
lived
too
close
with
this
fine
scheme
of
yours
.
You
need
your
friends
.
"
Wogan
began
to
be
conscious
of
an
unfamiliar
sense
of
loneliness
.
It
grew
upon
him
that
evening
while
he
sat
at
the
table
;
it
accompanied
him
up
the
stairs
to
bed
.
Other
men
of
his
age
were
now
seated
comfortably
by
their
own
hearths
,
while
he
was
hurrying
about
Europe
,
a
vagabond
adventurer
,
risking
his
life
for
—
and
at
once
the
reason
why
he
was
risking
his
life
rose
up
to
convict
him
a
grumbler
.
The
landlord
led
him
into
a
room
in
the
front
of
the
house
which
held
a
great
canopied
bed
and
little
other
furniture
.
There
was
not
even
a
curtain
to
the
window
.
Wogan
raised
his
candle
and
surveyed
the
dingy
walls
.
"
You
have
not
spent
much
of
your
new
paint
on
your
guest-room
,
my
friend
.
"
"
Sir
,
you
have
not
marked
the
door
,
"
said
his
host
,
reproachfully
.
"
True
,
"
said
Wogan
,
with
a
yawn
;
"
the
door
is
admirably
white
.
"
"
The
frame
of
the
door
does
not
suffer
in
a
comparison
.
"
The
landlord
raised
and
lowered
his
candle
that
Wogan
might
see
.
"
I
do
not
wish
to
be
unjust
to
the
frame
of
the
door
,
"
said
Wogan
,
and
he
drew
off
his
boots
.
The
landlord
bade
his
guest
good-night
and
descended
the
stairs
.
Wogan
,
being
a
campaigner
,
was
methodical
even
though
lost
in
reflection
.
He
was
reflecting
now
why
in
the
world
he
should
lately
have
become
sensible
of
loneliness
;
but
at
the
same
time
he
put
the
Prince
's
letter
beneath
his
pillow
and
a
sheathed
hunting-knife
beside
the
letter
.
He
had
always
been
lonely
,
and
the
fact
had
never
troubled
him
;
he
placed
a
chair
on
the
left
of
the
bed
and
his
candle
on
the
chair
.
Besides
,
he
was
not
really
lonely
,
having
a
host
of
friends
whom
he
had
merely
to
seek
out
;
he
took
the
charges
from
his
pistol
lest
they
should
be
damp
,
and
renewed
them
and
placed
the
pistols
by
the
candle
.
He
had
even
begun
to
pity
himself
for
his
loneliness
,
and
pity
of
that
sort
,
he
recognised
,
was
a
discreditable
quality
;
the
matter
was
altogether
very
disquieting
.
He
propped
his
sword
against
the
chair
and
undressed
.
Wogan
cast
back
in
his
memories
for
the
first
sensations
of
loneliness
.
They
were
recent
,
since
he
had
left
Ohlau
,
indeed
.
He
opened
the
window
;
the
rain
splashed
in
on
the
sill
,
pattered
in
the
street
puddles
below
,
and
fell
across
the
country
with
a
continuous
roar
as
though
the
level
plain
was
a
stretched
drum
.
No
;
he
had
only
felt
lonely
since
he
had
come
near
to
Schlestadt
,
since
,
in
a
word
,
he
had
deemed
himself
to
have
outstripped
pursuit
.
He
got
into
his
bed
and
blew
out
the
candle
.
For
a
moment
the
room
was
black
as
pitch
,
then
on
his
left
side
the
darkness
thinned
at
one
point
and
a
barred
square
of
grey
became
visible
;
the
square
of
grey
was
the
window
.
Wogan
understood
that
his
loneliness
came
upon
him
with
the
respite
from
his
difficulties
,
and
concluded
that
,
after
all
,
it
was
as
well
that
he
had
not
a
comfortable
fireside
whereby
to
sun
himself
.
He
turned
over
on
his
right
side
and
saw
the
white
door
and
its
white
frame
.
The
rain
made
a
dreary
sound
outside
the
window
,
but
in
three
days
he
would
be
at
Schlestadt
.
Besides
he
fell
asleep
.
And
in
a
little
he
dreamed
.
He
dreamed
that
he
was
swinging
on
a
gibbet
before
the
whole
populace
of
Innspruck
,
that
he
died
to
his
bewilderment
without
any
pain
whatever
,
but
that
pain
came
to
him
after
he
was
quite
dead
,
—
not
bodily
pain
at
all
,
but
an
anguish
of
mind
because
the
chains
by
which
he
was
hanged
would
groan
and
creak
,
and
the
populace
,
mistaking
that
groaning
for
his
cries
,
scoffed
at
him
and
ridiculed
his
King
for
sending
to
rescue
the
Princess
Clementina
a
marrowless
thing
that
could
not
die
like
a
man
.
Wogan
stirred
in
his
sleep
and
waked
up
.
The
rain
had
ceased
,
and
a
light
wind
blew
across
the
country
.
Outside
the
sign-board
creaked
and
groaned
upon
its
stanchion
.
Once
he
became
aware
of
that
sound
he
could
no
longer
sleep
for
listening
to
it
;
and
at
last
he
sprang
out
of
bed
,
and
leaning
out
of
the
window
lifted
the
sign-board
off
the
stanchion
and
into
his
bedroom
.
It
was
a
plain
white
board
without
any
device
on
it
.
"
True
,
"
thought
Wogan
,
"
the
man
wants
a
new
name
for
his
inn
.
"
He
propped
the
board
against
the
left
side
of
his
bed
,
since
that
was
nearest
to
the
window
,
got
between
the
sheets
,
and
began
to
think
over
names
.
He
turned
on
his
right
side
and
fell
asleep
again
.
He
was
not
to
sleep
restfully
that
night
.
He
waked
again
,
but
very
slowly
,
and
without
any
movement
of
his
body
.
He
lay
with
his
face
towards
the
door
,
dreamily
considering
that
the
landlord
,
for
all
his
pride
in
his
new
paint
,
had
employed
a
bad
workman
who
had
left
a
black
strip
of
the
door
unpainted
,
—
a
fairly
wide
strip
,
too
,
which
his
host
should
never
have
overlooked
.
Wogan
was
lazily
determining
to
speak
to
the
landlord
about
it
when
his
half-awakened
mind
was
diverted
by
a
curious
phenomenon
,
a
delusion
of
the
eyes
such
as
he
had
known
to
have
befallen
him
before
when
he
had
stared
for
a
long
while
on
any
particular
object
:
the
strip
of
black
widened
and
widened
.
Wogan
waited
for
it
to
contract
,
as
it
would
be
sure
to
do
.
But
it
did
not
contract
,
and
—
so
Wogan
waked
up
completely
.
He
waked
up
with
a
shock
of
the
heart
,
with
all
his
senses
startled
and
strained
.
But
he
had
been
gradually
waking
before
,
and
so
by
neither
movement
nor
cry
did
he
betray
that
he
was
awake
.
He
had
not
locked
the
door
of
his
room
;
that
widening
strip
of
black
ran
vertically
down
from
the
lintel
to
the
ground
and
between
the
white
door
and
the
white
door
frame
.
The
door
was
being
cautiously
pushed
open
;
the
strip
of
black
was
the
darkness
of
the
passage
coming
through
.
Wogan
slid
his
hand
beneath
his
pillow
,
and
drew
the
knife
from
its
sheath
as
silently
as
the
door
opened
.
The
strip
of
black
ceased
to
widen
,
there
was
a
slight
scuffling
sound
upon
the
floor
which
Wogan
was
at
no
loss
to
understand
.
It
was
the
sound
of
a
man
crawling
into
the
room
upon
his
hands
and
knees
.
Wogan
lay
on
his
side
and
felt
grateful
to
his
host
,
—
an
admirable
man
,
—
for
he
had
painted
his
door
white
,
and
now
he
crawled
through
it
on
his
hands
and
knees
.
No
doubt
he
would
crawl
to
the
side
of
the
bed
;
he
did
.
To
feel
,
no
doubt
,
for
Mr.
Wogan
's
coat
and
breeches
and
any
little
letter
which
might
be
hiding
in
the
pockets
.
But
here
Wogan
was
wrong
.
For
he
saw
a
dark
thing
suddenly
on
the
counterpane
at
the
edge
of
the
bed
.
The
dark
thing
travelled
upwards
very
softly
;
it
had
four
fingers
and
a
thumb
.
It
was
,
no
doubt
,
travelling
towards
the
pillow
,
and
as
soon
as
it
got
there
—
but
Wogan
watching
that
hand
beneath
his
dosed
eyelids
had
again
to
admit
that
he
was
wrong
.
It
did
not
travel
towards
the
pillow
;
to
his
astonishment
it
stole
across
towards
him
,
it
touched
his
chest
very
gently
,
and
then
he
understood
.
The
hand
was
creeping
upwards
towards
his
throat
.
Meanwhile
Wogan
had
seen
no
face
,
though
the
face
must
be
just
below
the
level
of
the
bed
.
He
only
saw
the
hand
and
the
arm
behind
it
.
He
moved
as
if
in
his
sleep
,
and
the
hand
disappeared
.
As
if
in
his
sleep
,
he
flung
out
his
left
arm
and
felt
for
the
sign-board
standing
beside
his
bed
.
The
bed
was
soft
.
Wogan
wanted
something
hard
,
and
it
had
occurred
to
him
that
the
sign-board
would
very
well
serve
his
turn
.
An
idea
,
too
,
which
seemed
to
him
diverting
,
had
presented
itself
to
his
mind
.
With
a
loud
sigh
and
a
noisy
movement
such
as
a
man
halfway
between
wakefulness
and
sleep
may
make
he
flung
himself
over
onto
his
left
side
.
At
the
same
moment
he
lifted
the
white
sign-board
onto
the
bed
.
It
seemed
that
he
could
not
rest
on
his
left
side
,
for
he
flung
over
again
to
his
right
and
pulled
the
bedclothes
over
as
he
turned
.
The
sign-board
now
lay
flat
upon
the
bed
,
but
on
the
right
side
between
himself
and
the
man
upon
the
floor
.
His
mouth
uttered
a
little
murmur
of
contentment
,
he
drew
down
the
hand
beneath
the
pillow
,
and
in
a
second
was
breathing
regularly
and
peacefully
.
The
hand
crept
onto
the
bed
again
and
upwards
,
and
suddenly
lay
spread
out
upon
the
board
and
quite
still
.
Just
for
a
second
the
owner
of
that
hand
had
been
surprised
and
paralysed
by
the
unexpected
.
It
was
only
that
second
which
Wogan
needed
.
He
sat
up
,
and
with
his
right
arm
he
drove
his
hunting
knife
down
into
the
back
of
the
hand
and
pinned
it
fast
to
the
board
;
with
his
left
he
felt
for
,
found
,
and
gripped
a
mouth
already
open
to
cry
out
.
He
dropped
his
hunting
knife
,
caught
the
intruder
round
the
waist
,
lifted
him
onto
the
bed
,
and
setting
a
knee
upon
his
chest
gagged
him
with
an
end
of
the
sheet
.
The
man
fought
wildly
with
his
free
hand
,
beating
the
air
.
Wogan
knelt
upon
that
arm
with
his
other
knee
.
Wogan
needed
a
rope
,
but
since
he
had
none
he
used
the
sheets
and
bound
his
prisoner
to
the
bed
.
Then
he
got
up
and
went
to
the
door
.
The
house
was
quite
silent
,
quite
dark
.
Wogan
shut
the
door
gently
—
there
was
no
key
in
the
lock
—
and
bending
over
the
bed
looked
into
the
face
of
his
assailant
.
The
face
was
twisted
with
pain
,
the
whites
of
the
eyes
glared
horribly
,
but
Wogan
could
see
that
the
man
was
his
landlord
.
He
stood
up
and
thought
.
There
was
another
man
who
had
met
him
in
the
village
and
had
guided
him
to
the
inn
;
there
was
still
a
third
who
had
gone
out
of
the
kitchen
as
Wogan
had
entered
it
;
there
was
the
wife
,
too
,
who
might
be
awake
.
Wogan
crossed
to
the
window
and
looked
out
.
The
window
was
perhaps
twenty
feet
from
the
ground
,
but
the
stanchion
was
three
feet
below
the
window
.
He
quickly
put
on
his
clothes
,
slipped
the
letter
from
under
his
pillow
into
a
pocket
,
strapped
his
saddle-bag
and
lowered
it
from
the
window
by
a
blanket
.
He
had
already
one
leg
on
the
sill
when
a
convulsive
movement
of
the
man
on
the
bed
made
him
stop
.
He
climbed
back
into
the
room
,
drew
the
knife
out
of
the
board
and
out
of
the
hand
pinned
to
the
board
,
and
making
a
bandage
wrapped
the
wound
up
.
"
You
must
lie
there
till
morning
,
my
friend
,
"
Wogan
whispered
in
his
ear
,
"
but
here
's
a
thing
to
console
you
.
I
have
found
a
name
for
your
inn
;
I
have
painted
the
device
upon
your
sign-board
.
The
'
Inn
of
the
Five
Red
Fingers
.
'
There
's
never
a
passer-by
but
will
stop
to
inquire
the
reason
of
so
conspicuous
a
