"You don't know him," was the reply. "He holds me in the hollow of his hand."
"Ah! Then you have been horribly indiscreet—eh?"
"I have. I admit I have, Karl; and I do not see any way out of it."
"But, my dear Cæsar, think of the danger existing day by day—hour by hour!" cried Von Pappenheim. "Think what there is at stake! That letter you showed me this morning reveals only too plainly what is intended."
"It is a letter of defiance, I admit."
"And a catastrophe must inevitably occur if you do not act."
"But how can I act?" cried the Crown-Prince, in despair. "Suggest something—I cannot. If I utter a syllable Minckwitz will most certainly carry out his threat against me."
"Contrive to have him arrested upon some charge or other," Karl suggested.
"If I did he would produce the evidence against me," declared the Crown-Prince.
A silence then fell between the pair. Suddenly Karl asked: