“An Englishman?” repeated the general. “There may be many here, Sire.”
“So there may,” the Czar agreed, “but only one like the one I am seeking. He has been living with the Count Blowinski for some days. I had thought that he would be with the count. In fact, I saw him just before the trouble occurred. He stood near the count on the palace steps.”
“Oh,” said the general, “was he big and young?”
“Yes,” said the Czar, “he was big and young.”
“And you say, Sire, that he was in league with Count Blowinski?”
“Well, I didn’t say so,” returned the Czar, “but if you know anything of the Englishman, tell me at once.”
“I am sure he was in league with Count Blowinski,” said the general. “If the Englishman is the one to whom I refer, he is now on his way to Siberia.”
The Czar came to his feet with a jump.
“What’s that?” he demanded, thinking he had not heard aright.
“I say he is on the way to Siberia, Sire,” replied the general.