“It did indeed, your Highness.”
“Has the coin been counted?”
“Yes; and it totals an enormous, almost unbelievable, sum, which I have set down here to the last stiver.”
“That is brave news. Have any demands been made on you for its partition?”
“No, your Highness.”
“Now, Herr Goebel, I have determined that all that money, which is in effect stolen property, shall go to the feeding of Frankfort’s poor. Buying provender shrewdly, how long would this treasure keep hunger away from the gates of Frankfort?”
“That requires some calculation, your Highness.”
“A month?”
“Surely so.”
“Two months, perhaps?”