strictness of his guardianship; but he alleged gravely that the house
was a busy one, and she might perchance be disturbed if her door were
not secured.

They listened till she was in bed, and then Mazzuolo said that they
could not do better than go to bed too; 'for,' said he, 'the earlier
we are off in the morning the better. There will be the fewer people
up, and the less chance of her being missed.'

When Karl reached his room, he sat down on the side of his bed and
reflected. He had observed that the last thing Mazzuolo had done
before leaving Adelaide's chamber, was to see that the window was well
closed. 'If I could open it,' thought he, 'to-morrow we shall be at
Augsburg, and then I should not be told any more to kill her. I wish I
could. They'll go away in the morning before she is awake, and so I
should never be found out.' With this idea in his head, he went down
stairs, and letting himself out, he crept round to the end of the
house where her window was.

She slept on the first floor, and the difficulty was how to reach it;
but this was soon overcome. In the stable-yard stood some high steps,
used for the convenience of passengers when they mounted the wagons
and diligences. These he carried to the spot, and having reached the
window, he was about to break some of the panes, since, as it fastened
on the inside, he could not open it, when it occurred to him that the
noise might wake her, and cause an alarm that would betray him. The
window, however, was in the lattice fashion, and he saw that by a
little contrivance, he could lift it off the hinges. He did so, and
drew aside the curtain; there lay the intended victim in a sound
sleep; so sound, that Karl thought he might safely step in without
disturbing her. There she lay in her beauty.

He could not tell why, but, as he stood and looked at her, he felt
that he _must_ save her at all risks. The air he had let in might not
be enough; he would take the charcoal from the stove and throw it out
of the window; but what if she awoke with the noise and screamed? He
hesitated a moment; but he remembered that this would be a safer plan
than leaving the window open, as that might be observed in the morning
from below, and he would thus be betrayed. So, as quietly as possible,
he emptied the stove, and then, having sufficiently aired the room, he
hung on the window again, and retired.

During the whole of these operations Adelaide had remained quite
still, and app