"You"ll do that?" interrupted Rischenheim in breathless agitation.
"She is deciding," said Colonel Sapt, and again he pointed to the moon.
"But she"s a plaguey long time about it," remarked Lieutenant von Bernenstein.
Rischenheim sat silent for a moment. His face was pale, and when he spoke his voice trembled. But his words were resolute enough.
"I gave my honor to the queen, and even in that I will serve her if she commands me."
Bernenstein sprang forward and caught him by the hand. "That"s what I like," said he, "and d.a.m.n the moon, colonel!" His sentence was hardly out of his mouth when the door opened, and to our astonishment the queen entered. Helga was just behind her; her clasped hands and frightened eyes seemed to protest that their coming was against her will. The queen was clad in a long white robe, and her hair hung on her shoulders, being but loosely bound with a ribbon. Her air showed great agitation, and without any greeting or notice of the rest she walked quickly across the room to me.
"The dream, Fritz," she said. "It has come again. Helga persuaded me to lie down, and I was very tired, so at last I fell asleep. Then it came.
I saw him, Fritz--I saw him as plainly as I see you. They all called him king, as they did to-day; but they did not cheer. They were quiet, and looked at him with sad faces. I could not hear what they said; they spoke in hushed voices. I heard nothing more than "the king, the king,"
and he seemed to hear not even that. He lay still; he was lying on something, something covered with hanging stuff, I couldn"t see what it was; yes, quite still. His face was so pale, and he didn"t hear them say "the king." Fritz, Fritz, he looked as if he were dead! Where is he?
Where have you let him go?"
She turned from me and her eyes flashed over the rest. "Where is he? Why aren"t you with him?" she demanded, with a sudden change of tone; "why aren"t you round him? You should be between him and danger, ready to give your lives for his. Indeed, gentlemen, you take your duty lightly."
It might be that there was little reason in her words. There appeared to be no danger threatening him, and after all he was not our king, much as we desired to make him such. Yet we did not think of any such matter. We were abashed before her reproof and took her indignation as deserved.
We hung our heads, and Sapt"s shame betrayed itself in the dogged sullenness of his answer.
"He has chosen to go walking, madam, and to go alone. He ordered us--I say, he ordered us not to come. Surely we are right to obey him?" The sarcastic inflection of his voice conveyed his opinion of the queen"s extravagance.
"Obey him? Yes. You couldn"t go with him if he forbade you. But you should follow him; you should keep him in sight."
This much she spoke in proud tones and with a disdainful manner, but then came a sudden return to her former bearing. She held out her hands towards me, wailing:
"Fritz, where is he? Is he safe? Find him for me, Fritz; find him."
"I"ll find him for you if he"s above ground, madam," I cried, for her appeal touched me to the heart.
"He"s no farther off than the gardens," grumbled old Sapt, still resentful of the queen"s reproof and scornful of the woman"s agitation.
He was also out of temper with Rudolf himself, because the moon took so long in deciding whether she would make or unmake a king.
"The gardens!" she cried. "Then let us look for him. Oh, you"ve let him walk in the gardens alone?"
"What should harm the fellow?" muttered Sapt.
She did not hear him, for she had swept out of the room. Helga went with her, and we all followed, Sapt behind the rest of us, still very surly.
I heard him grumbling away as we ran downstairs, and, having pa.s.sed along the great corridor, came to the small saloon that opened on the gardens. There were no servants about, but we encountered a night-watchman, and Bernenstein s.n.a.t.c.hed the lantern from the astonished man"s hand.
Save for the dim light thus furnished, the room was dark. But outside the windows the moon streamed brightly down on the broad gravel walk, on the formal flower-beds, and the great trees in the gardens. The queen made straight for the window. I followed her, and, having flung the window open, stood by her. The air was sweet, and the breeze struck with grateful coolness on my face. I saw that Sapt had come near and stood on the other side of the queen. My wife and the others were behind, looking out where our shoulders left s.p.a.ce.
There, in the bright moonlight, on the far side of the broad terrace, close by the line of tall trees that fringed its edge, we saw Rudolf Ra.s.sendyll pacing slowly up and down, with his hands behind his back and his eyes fixed on the arbiter of his fate, on her who was to make him a king or send him a fugitive from Strelsau.
"There he is, madam," said Sapt. "Safe enough!"
The queen did not answer. Sapt said no more, and of the rest of us none spoke. We stood watching him as he struggled with his great issue; a greater surely has seldom fallen to the lot of any man born in a private station. Yet I could read little of it on the face that the rays of white light displayed so clearly, although they turned his healthy tints to a dull gray, and gave unnatural sharpness to his features against the deep background of black foliage.
I heard the queen"s quick breathing, but there was scarcely another sound. I saw her clutch her gown and pull it away a little from her throat; save for that none in the group moved. The lantern"s light was too dim to force notice from Mr. Ra.s.sendyll. Unconscious of our presence, he wrestled with fate that night in the gardens.
Suddenly the faintest exclamation came from Sapt. He put his hand back and beckoned to Bernenstein. The young man handed his lantern to the constable, who set it close to the side of the window-frame. The queen, absolutely engrossed in her lover, saw nothing, but I perceived what had caught Sapt"s attention. There were scores on the paint and indentations in the wood, just at the edge of the panel and near the lock. 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. At last we could bear the suspense no longer. With one look at the queen and another at me, Sapt stepped on to the gravel. He would go and learn the answer; thus the unendurable strain that had stretched us like tortured men on a rack would be relieved. The queen did not answer his glance, nor even seem to see that he had moved. Her eyes were still all for Mr. Ra.s.sendyll, her thoughts buried in his; for her happiness was in his hands and lay poised on the issue of that decision whose momentousness held him for a moment motionless on the path. Often I seem to see him as he stood there, tall, straight, and stately, the king a man"s fancy paints when he reads of great monarchs who flourished long ago in the springtime of the world.
Sapt"s step crunched on the gravel. Rudolf heard it and turned his head.
He saw Sapt, and he saw me also behind Sapt. He smiled composedly and brightly, but he did not move from where he was. He held out both hands towards the constable and caught him in their double grasp, still smiling down in his face. I was no nearer to reading his decision, though I saw that he had reached a resolution that was immovable and gave peace to his soul. If he meant to go on he would go on now, on to the end, without a backward look or a falter of his foot; if he had chosen the other way, he would depart without a murmur or a hesitation.
The queen"s quick breathing had ceased, she seemed like a statue; but Rischenheim moved impatiently, as though he could no longer endure the waiting.
Sapt"s voice came harsh and grating.
"Well?" he cried. "Which is it to be--backward or forward?" Rudolf pressed his hands and looked into his eyes. The answer asked but a word from him. The queen caught my arm; her rigid limbs seemed to give way, and she would have fallen if I had not supported her. At the same instant a man sprang out of the dark line of tall trees, directly behind Mr. Ra.s.sendyll. Bernenstein uttered a loud startled cry and rushed forward, pushing the queen herself violently out of his path. His hand flew to his side, and he ripped the heavy cavalry sword that belonged to his uniform of the Cuira.s.siers of the Guard from its sheath. I saw it flash in the moonlight, but its flash was quenched in a brighter short blaze. A shot rang out through the quiet gardens. Mr. Ra.s.sendyll did not loose his hold of Sapt"s hands, but he sank slowly on to his knees. Sapt seemed paralyzed.
Again Bernenstein cried out. It was a name this time. "Bauer! By G.o.d, Bauer!" he cried.
In an instant he was across the path and by the trees. The a.s.sa.s.sin fired again, but now he missed. We saw the great sword flash high above Bernenstein"s head and heard it whistle through the air. It crashed on the crown of Bauer"s head, and he fell like a log to the ground with his skull split. The queen"s hold on me relaxed; she sank into Rischenheim"s arms. I ran forward and knelt by Mr. Ra.s.sendyll. He still held Sapt"s hands, and by their help buoyed himself up. But when he saw me he let go of them and sank back against me, his head resting on my chest. He moved his lips, but seemed unable to speak. He was shot through the back.
Bauer had avenged the master whom he loved, and was gone to meet him.
There was a sudden stir from inside the palace. Shutters were flung back and windows thrown open. The group we made stood clean-cut, plainly visible in the moonlight. A moment later there was a rush of eager feet, and we were surrounded by officers and servants. Bernenstein stood by me now, leaning on his sword; Sapt had not uttered a word; his face was distorted with horror and bitterness. Rudolf"s eyes were closed and his head lay back against me.
"A man has shot the king," said I, in bald, stupid explanation.
All at once I found James, Mr. Ra.s.sendyll"s servant, by me.
"I have sent for doctors, my lord," he said. "Come, let us carry him in."
He, Sapt and I lifted Rudolf and bore him across the gravel terrace and into the little saloon. We pa.s.sed the queen. She was leaning on Rischenheim"s arm, and held my wife"s hand. We laid Rudolf down on a couch. Outside I heard Bernenstein say, "Pick up that fellow and carry him somewhere out of sight." Then he also came in, followed by a crowd.
He sent them all to the door, and we were left alone, waiting for the surgeon. The queen came up, Rischenheim still supporting her. "Rudolf!
Rudolf!" she whispered, very softly.
He opened his eyes, and his lips bent in a smile. She flung herself on her knees and kissed his hand pa.s.sionately. "The surgeon will be here directly," said I.
Rudolf"s eyes had been on the queen. As I spoke he looked up at me, smiled again, and shook his head. I turned away.
When the surgeon came Sapt and I a.s.sisted him in his examination. The queen had been led away, and we were alone. The examination was very short. Then we carried Rudolf to a bed; the nearest chanced to be in Bernenstein"s room; there we laid him, and there all that could be done for him was done. All this time we had asked no questions of the surgeon, and he had given no information. We knew too well to ask: we had all seen men die before now, and the look on the face was familiar to us. Two or three more doctors, the most eminent in Strelsau, came now, having been hastily summoned. It was their right to be called; but, for all the good they were, they might have been left to sleep the night out in their beds. They drew together in a little group at the end of the room and talked for a few minutes in low tones. James lifted his master"s head and gave him a drink of water. Rudolf swallowed it with difficulty. Then I saw him feebly press James"s hand, for the little man"s face was full of sorrow. As his master smiled the servant mustered a smile in answer. I crossed over to the doctors. "Well, gentlemen?" I asked.
They looked at one another, then the greatest of them said gravely:
"The king may live an hour, Count Fritz. Should you not send for a priest?"
I went straight back to Rudolf Ra.s.sendyll. His eyes greeted me and questioned me. He was a man, and I played no silly tricks with him. I bent down and said: "An hour, they think, Rudolf."
He made one restless movement, whether of pain or protest I do not know.
Then he spoke, very low, slowly, and with difficulty.
"Then they can go," he said; and when I spoke of a priest he shook his head.