ad.

"I know nothing of it," he said.

"But doubtless your friend Lannes does. What a wonderful thing it is to
carry through the heavens the dispatches which may move forward a
million armed men."

"I don't know anything about Lannes' dispatches."

"Nor do I, but I can make a close guess, just as you can. He's surely
hovering over the battle field today, and as I said last night he
certainly has some idea where you are, and sooner or later will come for
you."

John looked up, but again the heavens were bare and clear. Then he
looked down and saw walking near them a heavy, middle-aged, bearded man
to whom all the German officers paid great deference. The man's manner
was haughty and overbearing, and John understood at once that in the
monarchical sense he was a personage.

"Do you know the big fellow there?" he said to Weber. "Have you heard
anyone speak of him?"

"I saw him this morning, and one of the guards told us who he is. That
is Prince Karl of Auersperg. The house of Auersperg is one of the
oldest in Germany, much older than the Emperor's family, the
Hohenzollerns. I don't suppose the world contains any royal blood more
ancient than that of Prince Karl."

"Evidently he feels that it's so. I'm getting used to princes, but our
heavy friend there must be something of a specialist in the princely
line. I should judge from his manner that he is not only the oldest man
on earth, speaking in terms of blood, but the owner of the earth as
well."

"The Auerspergs have an immense pride."

"I can see it, but a lot of pride fell before Paris yesterday, and a lot
more is falling among these hills and forests today. There seems to be a
lot of difference between princes, the Arnheims and the Auerspergs, for
instance."

Then a sudden thought struck John. It had the vaguest sort of basis, but
it came home to him with all the power of conviction.

"I wonder if Prince Karl of Auersperg once owned a magnificent armored
automobile," he said.

Weber looked puzzled, and then his eyes lightened.

"Ah, I know what you mean!" he exclaimed. "The one in which we took that
flight with Carstairs the Englishman and Wharton the American. It
belonged to a prince, without doubt, yes. But no, it couldn't have been
Prince Karl of Auersperg who owned the machine."

"I'm not so sure. I've an intuition that it is he. Besides, he looks
like just the kind of prince from whom I'd like to take his best
automobile, also everything else