Mr. Rassendyll asked no better than to meet his
enemy thus in the open. They could fight a fair fight, and if he
fell the lamp would be caught up and carried on by Sapt's hand or
mine; if he got the better of Rupert, the letter would be his; a
moment would destroy it and give safety to the queen. I do not
suppose that he spent time in thinking how he should escape
arrest at the hands of the police whom the fracas would probably
rouse; if he did, he may well have reckoned on declaring plainly
who he was, of laughing at their surprise over a chance likeness
to the king, and of trusting to us to smuggle him beyond the arm
of the law. What mattered all that, so that there was a moment in
which to destroy the letter? At any rate he turned full round and
began to walk straight towards Bauer, his hand resting on the
revolver in the pocket of his coat.
Bauer saw him coming, and must have known that he was suspected
or detected. At once the cunning fellow slouched his head between
his shoulders, and set out along the street at a quick shuffle,
whistling as he went. Rudolf stood still now in the middle of the
road, wondering who the man was: whether Rupert, purposely
disguising his gait, or a confederate, or, after all, some person
innocent of our secret and indifferent to our schemes.
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