"I?"
"The Princess Tatyana--the fairy princess of my childhood who has come to me again." He raised her chin and held her close. "Kiss me again," he whispered, "and make me Immortal."
She obeyed and in the brief moment that they snatched from the whirl of danger lost the world in each other.
The moment passed, and it was Rowland who first straightened, aware of the hazard of their position and of the man upon the floor who groaned and stirred. Rowland bent over him and felt his heart while Tanya, the fleeting color gone from her cheeks again, stood watching.
"Is he----?"
"Thank God--no," said Rowland, coolly, putting Herr Förster's automatic into his own pocket. "But I'll take no chances. He may come around all right and begin shooting, and I mightn't be so lucky next time."
He rose and caught Tanya by the hand as the urgency of his mission took precedence.
"Listen, Tanya, dear. We can't think of him. It was my death or his and I couldn't take a chance. It's war. And it's not pretty. But we can't afford any sentiment now. We haven't a moment to spare. We must move quickly. The meeting of the Central Committee of Bavaria is set for tonight--and I have promised to return. It is gravely important. Hochwald is to be there. He has gone already. I saw him leave in a machine. He is going to play a desperate game and I've just found out what it is. He has recovered the black bag in which you sent the money to the Haupt Bahnhof. It is here somewhere in this house."
"Here? How do you know?"
"I've found out. He brought it here. I suspect that he and the gentleman yonder upon the floor had planned to make away with it to Holland at the first opportunity."