here was Rudolf, there Rischenheim, there in all likelihood Rupert
of Hentzau, there now the queen. And of these Rupert alone, or perhaps
Rischenheim also, knew that the king was dead, and how the issue of last
night had shaped itself under the compelling hand of wayward fortune.
The king lay in peace on his bed, his grave was dug; Sapt and James held
the secret with solemn faith and ready lives. To Strelsau I must go
to tell the queen that she was widowed, and to aim the stroke at young
Rupert's heart.

At nine in the morning I started from the lodge. I was bound to ride to
Hofbau and there wait for a train which would carry me to the capital.
From Hofbau I could send a message, but the message must announce only
my own coming, not the news I carried. To Sapt, thanks to the cipher, I
could send word at any time, and he bade me ask Mr. Rassendyll whether
he should come to our aid, or stay where he was.

"A day must decide the whole thing," he said. "We can't conceal the
king's death long. For God's sake, Fritz, make an end of that young
villain, and get the letter."

So, wasting no time in farewells, I set out. By ten o'clock I was at
Hofbau, for I rode furiously. From there I sent to Bernenstein at the
palace word of my coming. But there I was delayed. There was no train
for an hour.

"I'll ride," I cried to myself, only to remember the next moment that,
if I rode, I should come to my journey's end much later. There was
nothing for it but to wait, and it may be imagined in what mood I
waited. Every minute seemed an hour, and I know not to this day how
the hour wore itself away. I ate, I drank, I smoked, I walked, sat, and
stood. The stationmaster knew me, and thought I had gone mad, till I
told him that I carried most important despatches from the king, and
that the delay imperiled great interests. Then he became sympathetic;
but what could he do? No special train was to be had at a roadside
station: I must wait; and wait, somehow, and without blowing my brains
out, I did.

At last I was in the train; now indeed we moved, and I came nearer.
An hour's run brought me in sight of the city. Then, to my unutterable
wrath, we were stopped, and waited motionless twenty minutes or half an
hour. At last we started again; had we not, I should have jumped out
and run, for to sit longer would have driven me mad. Now we entered the
station. With a great effort I calmed myself. I lolled back in my seat;
when we stopped I sat t