As we ate, we talked;
and it was plain to us that I also must go to Strelsau. There, in
the city, the drama must be played out. There was Rudolf, there
Rischenheim, there in all likelihood Rupert of Hentzau, there now
the queen. And of these Rupert alone, or perhaps Rischenheim
also, knew that the king was dead, and how the issue of last
night had shaped itself under the compelling hand of wayward
fortune. The king lay in peace on his bed, his grave was dug;
Sapt and James held the secret with solemn faith and ready lives.
To Strelsau I must go to tell the queen that she was widowed, and
to aim the stroke at young Rupert's heart.
At nine in the morning I started from the lodge. I was bound to
ride to Hofbau and there wait for a train which would carry me to
the capital. From Hofbau I could send a message, but the message
must announce only my own coming, not the news I carried. To
Sapt, thanks to the cipher, I could send word at any time, and he
bade me ask Mr. Rassendyll whether he should come to our aid, or
stay where he was.
"A day must decide the whole thing," he said. "We can't conceal
the king's death long. For God's sake, Fritz, make an end of that
young villain, and get the letter.
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