ing his hand. "I am
not equal to much. A man can not see his wedding day come and go without
him, helpless to prevent it, and not have the desire to sit down and
weep and curse. You will see nothing but the unfavorable side of me for
the next dozen hours."

"I'm not altogether amiable myself," replied Maurice with a short
laugh. "Let us get out of the moonlight," he added; "we are somewhat
conspicuous, and besides, we should keep moving; this cold is
paralyzing. Is your Highness equal to the climbing?"

"Equal or not, lead the way. If I fall I'll call you."

And the weary march began again; over boulders, through tangles of tough
shrubbery, up steep inclines, around precipices, sometimes enveloped in
mists, yet still they kept on. Often the prince fell over ragged stones,
but he picked himself up without assistance; though he swore some,
Maurice thought none the less of him for that bit of human weakness. The
cold was numbing, and neither felt the cuts and bruises.

After two hours of this fatiguing labor they arrived upon a small
plateau, about two thousand feet above the valley. The scene was solemn
and imposing. The world seemed lying at their feet. The chateau, half
hidden in the mist, sparkled like an opal. Maurice scowled at it. To the
prince the vision was as reviving as a glass of wine. He threatened
it with his fist, and plunged on with renewed vigor. There are few
sensations so stimulating as the thought of a complete revenge. The
angle of vision presently changed, and the historic pile vanished.
Maurice never saw the Red Chateau again.

Little more in the way of mishap befell them; and when the moon had
wheeled half way down from the zenith, the kingdom lay below them.
A descent of an hour's duration brought them into the pass. Maurice
calculated that nearly five hours had passed since he left the chateau;
for the blue was fading in the east. The phantom vitality of the prince
now forsook him; his legs refused their offices, and he sank upon a
boulder, his head in his hands. Maurice was not much better; but the
prince had given him the burden of responsibility, and he was determined
to hold up under it.

"If your Highness will remain here," he said, "I will fetch assistance,
for the barrack can not be far off."

The prince nodded and Maurice tramped away. But the miniature barrack
and the quaint stone customs house both were wrapt in gloom and
darkness. Maurice investigated. Both buildings were desert