The night was not dark, for the stars were shining very brightly, as they always seem to in the clear sky of that sunny clime. To the fugitives their luster appeared to be remarkably brilliant, causing them to shun the roadways for fear of discovery and arrest; as a consequence, halts and frequent change of course made their progress slow, and the hour of their arrival at the villa late.
The reader has, no doubt, guessed who it was that entered Zelmonco park at midnight, and, passing up to the villa, paused in the shadow of a tree near its entrance.
The prince's breathing, when they stopped—for it was he and his attendant—was somewhat labored. The long and arduous walk from the city, and the effort required to gain the summit of the hill on which the villa stood, had severely tested the strength of his wind; which, from long confinement and inactivity, had become, in some degree, ennervated. He quickly regained his composure, and, while they yet stood within the tree's shadow, his thoughts turned upon himself and his peculiarly discouraging situation. He mentally soliloquized: "Like a rudderless boat on yonder lake, left to the caprice of the elements, tossed hither and thither by wind and wave, I am out in the world, a fugitive, condemned, driven, I know not whither! Oh, would that I could forecast my destiny and know it, though the worst should be revealed!" After a moment's pause he continued: "Yet, perhaps, it is better as it is: The Great Unseen will keep me if there is a purpose in my life!" Turning to Oza he said, in a subdued voice:
"There is safety in this house, the home of Euetzin, for a short time, if we might enter. Stand you here, while I endeavor to secure the attention of someone." He cautiously advanced to the door, which he found ajar, and gave two or three raps. No answer being obtained, the raps were repeated a little louder.
"Who raps?" suddenly inquired a voice from within.
"A friend of tzin Euet, who would communicate with Teochma, his mother," answered the prince, with caution.
"Stand inside, I will call her," returned the voice, and its owner, as the prince entered, went to summon his mistress.
The person who answered the prince's knock was a slave, whose sleeping-place, for convenience, was near the door.
In a few minutes the tzin's mother appeared, bearing a lighted taper. When she saw the muffled figure near the entrance, she paused and inquired:
"Who seeks to communicate with Teochma?"