done, and why."

"Do you intend, then, that I should see Prince Roland and talk with
him?"

"Yes."

"My dear Guardian!" cried the girl, her face flushing red, "what on
earth can I say to him? How am I to excuse my intrusion?"

"A prisoner, I fancy, does not resent intrusion, especially if the
intruder is--" The old man smiled as he looked at the girl, whose blush
grew deeper and deeper; then, seeing her confusion, he added: "There are
many things to say. Introduce yourself as the ward of his Lordship of
Cologne; reveal that your guardian has confided to you that Prince
Roland is to be the future Emperor; ask for some assurance from him that
the property descending to you from your ancestors shall not be
molested; or perhaps, better still, with the same introduction, tell him
the story of Father Ambrose. Add that this has disquieted you: demand
the truth, hearken to what the youth says for himself, thank him, and
withdraw. It needs no long conversation, though I am prepared to hear
that he wished to lengthen your stay. I am certain that five minutes
face to face with him will completely overturn all Father Ambrose has
said to his disparagement, and a few simple words from him will probably
dispel the whole mystery. If someone is personating him in Frankfort it
is more than likely he knows who it is."

They traveled a generous furlong together in silence, the girl's head
bowed and her brow troubled. At last, as if with an effort, she cleared
doubt away, and raised her head.

"I will do it," she said decisively.

The Archbishop heaved a deep sigh of relief. He knew now he was out of
the wood.

"Is this Assmannshausen we are coming to?" she asked, as if to hint that
the subject on which they had talked so earnestly was finally done with.

"No; this is Lorch, and that is the Castle of Nollich standing above
it."

"I hope," said the girl, with a sigh of weariness, "that no English
Princess about to marry an Emperor lodged there, or no Englishman who
was to become an Emperor--"

The Archbishop interrupted the plaint with a hearty laugh, the first he
had enjoyed for several days.

"The English seem an interfering race," she went on. "I wish they would
attend to their own affairs."

"Nollich is uncontaminated," said the Archbishop, "though in olden days
a reckless knight on horseback rode up to secure his lady-love, and I
believe rode down again with her, and his route is still called the
Devil's Ladder."

"