Suddenly a swishing of skirts startled Bennett and his foiled assailants, and the Princess Hilda, white and anxious, stood between them. The American returned his revolver to his pocket and folded his arms silently.
“What does this mean?” asked the Princess sternly, turning from one to another of the trio. “Is it not enough that we are driven like rats into a hole? Why should you quarrel? Herr Bennett, why have you threatened the lives of these men? Are they not unarmed? And you stand there, like a highwayman, pointing a pistol at their heads. Speak, sir! Have you nothing to say?”
Bennett’s face, flushed at first, had grown white and drawn.
“I have nothing to say, your royal highness,” he answered in a low voice.
Count von Reibach and Baron Wollenstein gazed at the American in amazement. His generosity was inexplicable.
The Princess Hilda stood silent for a time, plunged in deep thought. Then she said firmly:
“Give me your revolver, Herr Bennett.”
He removed the weapon from his pocket and placed it carefully in her outstretched hand.
“A wasp is harmless without his sting,” muttered the baron under his breath. Count von Reibach, more generous than his colleague, placed his hand upon the latter’s mouth and whispered to him to remain silent.
The Princess Hilda had retreated toward her apartment. Before she dropped the curtain she turned and looked at the little group behind her. In one hand she held the pistol, while with the other she drew the curtains aside. The picture that she made at that moment in the flickering light, with the fitful gleams playing on her golden hair, while heavy shadows behind her threw the outlines of her tall figure into strong relief, Bennett never forgot. Suddenly she dropped the curtain and disappeared. The deep gloom of the apartment seemed to return on the instant, and the American turned sadly toward his foes. Deprived of weapon, he had determined to sell his life, if the struggle were forced upon him, as dearly as he might. To his astonishment, however, he saw Count von Reibach approaching him with an outstretched hand.