And clutching Eckhardt's mantle, in his wrath, his eye met the eye of the fearless general.
With a jerk the latter freed himself from Otto's grasp.
"A fool in love: A thing that men spurn and women deride."
Otto's face turned deadly pale.
"You dare? This to your King?"
"I dare everything to save you—everything! Otto—the Romans mistrust you! They love you no longer! They are ripe for a change! The longer you tarry, the fiercer will be the strife. Crescentius would rather destroy the whole city than let it be permanently wrested from his power. You have been his dupe,—hark—do you hear those voices?"
"Of all my enemies he is the one sincere."
"Then he were the more dangerous! A fanatic is always more powerful than a knave. Do you hear these voices, King Otto?"
Otto was pacing the terrace with feverish impatience.
"I hear nothing! I hear nothing! Go—and leave me!"