Rupert allowed a grin to twist his lips, so I said no more about the horse, but I knew there was a story attached to the possession of it. I turned to Avilinoff.
"What do you say now, General?"
"Can Monsieur Carruthers give any reason for supposing that the intentions of these troops were other than pacific?"
"They were carrying ball cartridges, General."
"Then, your Majesty, I say that I was wrong about the north."
"You mean that Colonel von Quarovitch may be right?"
"More than that, I say that he is right. They evidently propose a raid; how big, of course it is impossible to say until we know more. Could Monsieur Carruthers give us more details?"
"I had not much time, General, but I saw an aeroplane with the troops, and there were signs of great activity in Nerane. I only got through by pretending to be the nephew of Sir George Curtiss."
We adjourned after this for an hour, Rupert breakfasted with me, and told me the truth about his horse. It appeared that as he was leaving the farm, he met an officer leading his horse; this officer stopped him, and asked his business. Carruthers had calmly knocked him down, placed a thousand franc note in his pocket, and confiscated his horse. The money he had left was what he described as payment for the hire of the animal. He also described the payment as: "A d--d sight more than the beast was worth."
That same day we worked out the full scheme of our south-eastern defence, and I appointed Avilinoff as Commander-in-Chief. The north I reserved. I had made up my mind to conduct that campaign myself. It was perhaps conceited, idiotic, even criminal, that I, a ridiculously young King, should take into my own hands the leadership of an army, but I had faith in myself, and in my soldiers. I did not presume to pose as a tactician, but the strategy should be mine, for I felt it. Perhaps it was some spark inherited from a soldier ancestor, I do not know.