"Hush!" said a voice from behind the curtains.
They were parted. First the ravishingly lovely countenance (it really was an adorably pretty little face, intensely solemn and earnest) appeared, then more of the princess, till she stood revealed in short embroidered muslin frock and a blue sash.
Flump! Prince and varlet went down on their knees.
"What light from yonder window breaks?" exclaimed the prince, who had been doing "Romeo and Juliet" at school, and thought the quotation appropriate.
"An' wha'll yon lassie be, prince?" asked the varlet.
"I," said the princess slowly and solemnly, "I am the Princess Hildegarde——"
"Losh me!" interjected the varlet.
"Silence, dog!" said the prince severely. "How came you here, fair lady?"
"I am imprisoned in this dreadful castle," the princess continued plaintively, "by a wicked baron, an enemy of my kingly father."
"Where is the baron, lady? That we may slay him!" valiantly exclaimed the prince.