“It isn't Hungary's affairs that he's directing; it's the campaign against Democracy. The present crisis has made Budapest the jumping-off point for the offensive which the Monarchists have been waiting to launch. The Monarchists are men of every country, who have sunk their nationalities and made a common cause.”
“And you—are you a Monarchist?”
His reply came muffled. “I was. To-night I'm a traitor.”
The horses, thrown sharply back on their haunches, swerved toward the pavement; the carriage jerked to a halt. Almost brushing the wheels in the narrow street, a column of soldiers shuffled past. Their rifles were slung at all angles. Their shoulders were bowed beneath their heavy packs. They crawled weakly, more like stragglers retreating than storm-troops advancing. Even in the darkness their bones showed pointed and their faces lean with famine.
“Reservists,” the Captain explained shortly. “Mobilization has begun.”
Hindwood strained through the gloom, touching his arm excitedly. “Starving men being sent to kill men who are more starving. You've spoken of a woman you adored—a woman who was shot for hideous treacheries. Her treacheries were committed to prevent just such crimes as that. Don't interrupt me—not yet. You've expected me to believe an impossible story: that a man can return from the dead. If I were to tell you an equally improbable story, what difference would it make to your love? If I were to tell you that the resemblance was not mistaken and that the woman at the Palace is the same as she who was reported executed in the woods of Vincennes?”
The last of the column had slouched into the blackness. The horses leapt forward impatiently.
The question was repeated. “What difference?”
The Captain's voice burst from him. “God forgive me—none.”
Neither of them dared to trust the other. Their respite was growing shorter. They had crossed the bridge above the Danube. In a moment the ascent to the Palace would commence. It was Hindwood who decided on boldness. If he were walking into an ambush, he could not make matters worse.