e front. It would ruin the cleverest courtier of
them all!'

CHAPTER XXIV. A ROYAL PERIL.

The elation with which I had heard the king announce his resolution
quickly diminished on cooler reflection. It stood in particular at a
very low ebb as I waited, an hour later, at the little north postern of
the Castle, and, cowering within the shelter of the arch to escape the
wind, debated whether his Majesty's energy would sustain him to the
point of action, or whether he might not, in one of those fits of
treacherous vacillation which had again and again marred his plans, send
those to keep the appointment who would give a final account of me.
The longer I considered his character the more dubious I grew. The
loneliness of the situation, the darkness, the black front, unbroken by
any glimmer of light, which the Castle presented on this side, and the
unusual and gloomy stillness which lay upon the town, all contributed to
increase my uneasiness. It was with apprehension as well as relief that
I caught at last the sound of footsteps on the stone staircase, and,
standing a little to one side, saw a streak of light appear at the foot
of the door.

On the latter being partially opened a voice cried my name. I advanced
with caution and showed myself. A brief conversation ensued between
two or three persons who stood within; but in the end, a masked figure,
which I had no difficulty in identifying as the king, stepped briskly
out.

'You are armed?' he said, pausing a second opposite me.

I put back my cloak and showed him, by the light which streamed from the
doorway, that I carried pistols as well as a sword.

'Good!' he answered briefly; 'then let us go. Do you walk on my left
hand, my friend. It is a dark night, is it not?'

'Very dark, sire,' I said.

He made no answer to this, and we started, proceeding with caution until
we had crossed the narrow bridge, and then with greater freedom and at
a better pace. The slenderness of the attendance at Court that evening,
and the cold wind, which swept even the narrowest streets and drove
roisterers indoors, rendered it unlikely that we should be stopped or
molested by any except professed thieves; and for these I was prepared.
The king showed no inclination to talk; and keeping silence myself out
of respect, I had time to calculate the chances and to consider whether
his Majesty would succeed where I had failed.

This calculation, which was not inconsistent with the keene