The Count entered first, then the Prince, who was followed by two
cavalrymen. Hillars and I stood silently by our chairs, and waited.
The Prince, a man with a hooked nose, black eyes with half-shut lids,
regarded me curiously. He had the air of one amused.
When his eyes grew accustomed to the semi-darkness of the room, the
Count sounded a note of satisfaction.
"Ah! so you are here? You have given me a devil of a chase."
"I return the compliment, Herr General," said Hillars, with a
good-humored smile. "But, may I ask, what the devil have you been
chasing me for?"
For reply the Count turned to the cavalryman.
"Arrest that man and bind him," he said.
"You might make the order wholesale," said I stepping over to the side
of Hillars.
"I told you there would be some sport," whispered Dan. He put his arm
across my shoulders.
"And who, in the name of Weimer, are you?" bawled the Count. He
scrutinized me intently; then a light of recognition broke over his
face. "The other one! A nest of them!"
"Count," interposed the Prince, seating himself at the table, "let me
have a short talk with them before you act. There may be extenuating
circumstances. Anything of this sort amuses and interests me. Let us
use a little diplomacy in the matter."
"Yes," said Hillars; "let us lie a little."
"And who can do it better than a journalist?" the Prince laughed.
"Diplomatists," Hillars sent back.
"What is her Serene Highness to you?" resumed the Prince.
"Nothing--positively nothing."
"Then you are afraid to acknowledge your regard for her?"
"I?" Hillars dropped his arm from my shoulders. "I am not afraid of
anything--not even the Count here." Then he laughed. "If her Serene
Highness was anything to me, your Highness, I should not be afraid to
say so before the King himself."
"You impudent--" But a wave of the Prince's hand silenced the Count.
"Have patience, my friend. This is not impudence; it is courage and
prudence. I believe," re-addressing Hillars, "that once you were on
the point of eloping with the Princess Hildegarde."
Hillars thrust his hands into his pockets.
"So they say."
"And yet you deny your regard for her!"
"Oh, as to that affair," said Hillars, easily, "it was the adventure
more than anything else. It is not every man in my position who has
such a chance. And then, perhaps, I saw a good newspaper story." The
muscles in his jaws hardened, despite the airy tone he used.