He peered in.
"Here they are, sure enough, your Excellency!" addressing some one in the dark beyond.
An officer from the military household of the Prince of Doppelkinn was instantly framed in the doorway. The girl tried to lower her veil; too late.
"I am sorry to annoy your Highness," he began, "but the grand duke's orders are that you shall follow me to the castle. Lieutenant, bring two men to tie this fellow's hands,"—nodding toward Scharfenstein.
Max stared dumbly at the girl. All the world seemed to have slipped from under his feet.
"Forgive me!" she said, low but impulsively.
"What does it mean?" His heart was very heavy.
"I am the Princess Hildegarde of Barscheit, and your entering this carriage has proved the greatest possible misfortune to you."
He stared helplessly—And everything had been going along so nicely—the dinner he had planned in Dresden, and all that!
"And they believe," the girl went on, "that I have eloped with you to avoid marrying the prince." She turned to the officer in the doorway. "Colonel, on the word of a princess, this gentleman is in no wise concerned. I ran away alone."