I glanced at Sapt, who
nodded his head. It looked very much as though somebody had tried
to force the door that night, employing a knife which had dented
the woodwork and scratched the paint. The least thing was enough
to alarm us, standing where we stood, and the constable's face
was full of suspicion. Who had sought an entrance? It could be no
trained and practised housebreaker; he would have had better
tools.
But now our attention was again diverted. Rudolf stopped short.
He still looked for a moment at the sky, then his glance dropped
to the ground at his feet. A second later he jerked his head--it
was bare, and I saw the dark red hair stir with the
movement--like a man who has settled something which caused him a
puzzle. In an instant we knew, by the quick intuition of
contagious emotion, that the question had found its answer. He
was by now king or a fugitive. The Lady of the Skies had given
her decision. The thrill ran through us; I felt the queen draw
herself together at my side; I felt the muscles of Rischenheim's
arm which rested against my shoulder grow rigid and taut. Sapt's
face was full of eagerness, and he gnawed his moustache silently.
We gathered closer to one another.
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