not a stone image. And you have tempted me beyond all control. Pardon
what I have done; it was not the want of respect--."

"Spare me your protestations. I believe your minute is nearly gone,"
she interrupted.

And then--there was a crunch on the gravel behind us. The Princess and
I turned in dismay. We had forgotten all about the anonymous note.
Two officers were approaching us, and rapidly. The elder of the two
came straight to me. I knew him to be as inexorable as his former
master, the victor of Sedan. The Princess looked on mechanically.

"Come," said the Count, in broken English; "I believe your carriage is
at the gate."

I glanced at the Princess. She might have been of stone, for all the
life she exhibited.

"Come; the comedy is a poor one," said the Count.

I followed him out of the garden. My indifference to personal safety
was due to a numbness which had taken hold of me.

"Get in," he said, when we reached the carriage. I did so, and he got
in after me. The driver appeared confused. It was not his fare,
according to the agreement. "To the city," he was briefly told. "Your
hotel?" turning to me. I named it. "Do you understand German?"

"But indifferently," I answered listlessly.