Suddenly Sapt, turning his head for the first time, pointed in
front of him. The lodge was before us; we saw it looming dimly a
quarter of a mile off. Sapt reined in his horse, and we followed
his example. All dismounted, we tied our horses to trees and went
forward at a quick, silent walk. Our idea was that Sapt should
enter on pretext of having been sent by the queen to attend to
her husband's comfort and arrange for his return without further
fatigue next day. If Rupert had come and gone, the king's
demeanor would probably betray the fact; if he had not yet come,
I and James, patrolling outside, would bar his passage. There was
a third possibility; he might be even now with the king. Our
course in such a case we left unsettled; so far as I had any
plan, it was to kill Rupert and to convince the king that the
letter was a forgery--a desperate hope, so desperate that we
turned our eyes away from the possibility which would make it our
only resource.
We were now very near the hunting-lodge, being about forty yards
from the front of it. All at once Sapt threw himself on his
stomach on the ground.
"Give me a match," he whispered.
James struck a light, and, the night being still, the flame burnt
brightly: it showed us the mark of a horse's hoof, apparently
quite fresh, and leading away from the lodge.
Pages:
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148