"I shall not be at Blentz long," she replied, not even looking in
Maenck's direction, "though while I am it shall be as a prisoner and
not as a guest. It is incredible that one could believe me willing
to pose as the guest of a traitor, even were he less impossible than
the notorious and infamous Captain Maenck."

Maenck smiled. He was one of those who rather pride themselves upon
the possession of racy reputations. He walked across the room to a
bell cord which he pulled. Then he turned toward the girl again.

"I have given you an opportunity," he said, "to lighten the burdens
of your captivity. I hoped that you would be sensible and accept my
advances of friendship voluntarily," and he emphasized the word
"voluntarily," "but--"

He shrugged his shoulders.

A servant had entered the apartment in response to Maenck's summons.

"Show the Princess von der Tann to her apartments," he commanded
with a sinister tone.

The man, who was in the livery of Peter of Blentz, bowed, and with a
deferential sign to the girl led the way from the room. Emma von der
Tann followed her guide up a winding stairway which spiraled within
a tower at the end of a long passage. On the second floor of the
castle the servant led her to a large and beautifully furnished
suite of three rooms--a bedroom, dressing-room and boudoir. After
showing her the rooms that were to be hers the servant left her
alone.

As soon as he had gone the Princess von der Tann took another turn
through the suite, looking to the doors and windows to ascertain how
securely she might barricade herself against unwelcome visitors.

She found that the three rooms lay in an angle of the old,
moss-covered castle wall.

The bedroom and dressing-room were connected by a doorway, and each
in turn had another door opening into the boudoir. The only
connection with the corridor without was through a single doorway
from the boudoir. This door was equipped with a massive bolt, which,
when she had shot it, gave her a feeling of immense relief and
security. The windows were all too high above the court on one side
and the moat upon the other to cause her the slightest apprehension
of danger from the outside.

The girl found the boudoir not only beautiful, but extremely
comfortable and cozy. A huge log-fire blazed upon the hearth, and,
though it was summer, its warmth was most welcome, for the night was
chill. Across the room from the fireplace a full length oil of a
former