of the matter. His second feeling
was that his noble kinsman, who had been saying wonderful, stirring
things about the Terror's manifesto and the stolen princess, would be
furiously angry with him.

He began to rave himself, fortunately in his own tongue of which Miss
Lambart was ignorant. Then when he grew cooler and paler his
oft-repeated phrase was: "Eet must be 'ushed!"

Miss Lambart did not tell him that Sir Maurice had taken every care
that the affair should not be hushed up. She did not wish every blow
to strike him at once. Then the dinner-bell rang; and in heavy haste
he rolled off to the dining-room.

Miss Lambart was betaking herself to her bedroom to dress, when the
archduke's equerry, the young mustached Count Zerbst came running up
the stairs, bidding her in the name of his master come to dinner at
once, as she was. She took no heed of the command, dressed at her
ease, and came down just as the archduke, perspiring freely after his
struggle with the hors-d'oeuvres, soup and fish, was plunging upon his
first entree.

He ate it with great emphasis; and as he ate it he questioned her about
the place where his daughter was encamped and the friends she was
encamped with. Miss Lambart described the knoll and its position as
clearly as she could, and of the Twins she said as little as possible.
Then he asked her with considerable acerbity why she had not exercised
her authority and brought the princess back with her.

Miss Lambart said that she had no authority over the princess; and that
if she had had it, the princess would have disregarded it wholly, and
that it was impossible to haul a recalcitrant Hohenzollern through
miles of wood by force, since the persons of Hohenzollerns were
sacrosanct.

The archduke said that the only thing to do was to go himself and
summon home his truant child. Miss Lambart objected that it would mean
hewing expensively a path through the wood wide enough to permit his
passage, and it was improbable that the owner of the wood would allow
it. Thereupon the baroness volunteered to go. Miss Lambart with
infinite pleasure explained that for her too an expensive path must be
hewn, and went on to declare that if they reached the knoll, there was
not the slightest chance of their finding the princess in its caves.

The archduke frowned and grunted fiercely in his perplexity. Then he
struck the table and cried:

"Count Zerbst shall do eet! To-morrow morning! You shal