wo; and, while we lay hidden,
the little farm-girl came by us and ran to the princess, curtseying and
crying:

"Madame, the King is here--in the bushes! May I guide you to him,
madame?"

"Nonsense, child!" said old Strakencz; "the King lies wounded in the
Castle."

"Yes, sir, he's wounded, I know; but he's there--with Count Fritz--and
not at the Castle," she persisted.

"Is he in two places, or are there two Kings?" asked Flavia, bewildered.
"And how should he be there?"

"He pursued a gentleman, madame, and they fought till Count Fritz came;
and the other gentleman took my father's horse from me and rode away;
but the King is here with Count Fritz. Why, madame, is there another man
in Ruritania like the King?"

"No, my child," said Flavia softly (I was told it afterwards), and she
smiled and gave the girl money. "I will go and see this gentleman," and
she rose to alight from the carriage.

But at this moment Sapt came riding from the Castle, and, seeing the
princess, made the best of a bad job, and cried to her that the King was
well tended and in no danger.

"In the Castle?" she asked.

"Where else, madame?" said he, bowing.

"But this girl says he is yonder--with Count Fritz."

Sapt turned his eyes on the child with an incredulous smile.

"Every fine gentleman is a King to such," said he.

"Why, he's as like the King as one pea to another, madame!" cried the
girl, a little shaken but still obstinate.

Sapt started round. The old Marshal's face asked unspoken questions.
Flavia's glance was no less eloquent. Suspicion spread quick.

"I'll ride myself and see this man," said Sapt hastily.

"Nay, I'll come myself," said the princess.

"Then come alone," he whispered.

And she, obedient to the strange hinting in his face, prayed the Marshal
and the rest to wait; and she and Sapt came on foot towards where we
lay, Sapt waving to the farm-girl to keep at a distance. And when I saw
them coming, I sat in a sad heap on the ground, and buried my face in my
hands. I could not look at her. Fritz knelt by me, laying his hand on my
shoulder.

"Speak low, whatever you say," I heard Sapt whisper as they came up; and
the next thing I heard was a low cry--half of joy, half of fear--from
the princess:

"It is he! Are you hurt?"

And she fell on the ground by me, and gently pulled my hands away; but I
kept my eyes to the ground.

"It is the King!" she said. "Pray, Colonel Sapt, tell me where lay the
wit of