in plain view of the guard on the lookout upon the barbican.

Suddenly he caught the sound of voices from the chamber beneath.
For an instant he listened, and then, catching a few words of the
dialogue, he turned hurriedly toward his companion.

"The rope, Joseph! And for God's sake be quick about it."




V

THE ESCAPE

For half an hour the Princess von der Tann succeeded admirably in
immersing herself in the periodical, to the exclusion of her unhappy
thoughts and the depressing influence of the austere countenance of
the Blentz Princess hanging upon the wall behind her.

But presently she became unaccountably nervous. At the slightest
sound from the palace-life on the floor below she would start up
with a tremor of excitement. Once she heard footsteps in the
corridor before her door, but they passed on, and she thought she
discerned the click of a latch a short distance further on along the
passageway.

Again she attempted to gather up the thread of the article she had
been reading, but she was unsuccessful. A stealthy scratching
brought her round quickly, staring in the direction of the great