The obscurity of the night hindered him from having a view of their faces. He could only make out two figures, indistinctly traceable through the filmy envelope of the fog.
But it mattered not. He had never seen these spies, and was, therefore, unacquainted with their personal appearance. Enough to hear what they were saying.
And he heard sufficient for his purpose—sufficient to keep him silent till they were gone; and then bring him back with an excited air into the circle from which he had late parted.
He burst into the room with a speech that caused astonishment—almost consternation!
“You must not go, Governor?” were the words that proceeded from his lips.
“Why?” asked Kossuth, in surprise, the question echoed by all.
“Mein Gott!” responded the Austrian. “I’ve learnt a strange tale since I left you.”
“What tale?”
“A tale about this rising in Milan. Is there on the earth a man so infamous as to believe it?”
“Explain yourself, Count!”