"May I not take the order to him?" Egon quickly interrupted.
The General stopped and looked at him searchingly.
"You wish to do it yourself--why?"
"To save time; the road which Tanner has to take leads by the Capellenberg; an hour would pass before he could get to headquarters and back."
Nothing could be said against that, but the General seemed to feel that something important was hidden beneath this. An ordinary private would hardly undertake such peril, which drove him almost into death's embrace, but the old warrior did not inquire further. He only asked:
"Do you stand for the man?"
"Yes," returned the Prince, firmly and calmly.
"Very well; then you can inform him yourself. But one thing more--he must have statements for the outposts on the other side, if indeed he reaches it, for every detention may prove fatal where moments count."
He stepped to his desk and wrote a few lines upon a paper, which he handed to the Prince.
"Here is the necessary passport, and here the dispatch to Falkenried. Will you bring me immediate news whether or not Tanner consents to go?"