"Forgive me, Dan! You know—"
"Yes, yes; I know," crossly. "Hang it! can't I punch it into your head that I am taking all this trouble on your account? If it were not for you, do you suppose I'd wait? The Prince shall never marry the Princess. Will that satisfy you? Now, look pleasant, as the photographer says, for here they are."
The Count entered first, then the Prince, who was followed by two cavalrymen. Hillars and I stood silently by our chairs, and waited. The Prince, a man with a hooked nose, black eyes with half-shut lids, regarded me curiously. He had the air of one amused.
When his eyes grew accustomed to the semi-darkness of the room, the
Count sounded a note of satisfaction.
"Ah! so you are here? You have given me a devil of a chase."
"I return the compliment, Herr General," said Hillars, with a good-humored smile. "But, may I ask, what the devil have you been chasing me for?"
For reply the Count turned to the cavalryman.
"Arrest that man and bind him," he said.
"You might make the order wholesale," said I stepping over to the side of Hillars.
"I told you there would be some sport," whispered Dan. He put his arm across my shoulders.