"You look gayer than that!" smiled the King. Evidently his anger had pa.s.sed; perhaps he wished to show as much to an old servant whom he liked and valued.
Conscience-stricken--or so appearing--Lepage tore the flower from his coat. "I beg Your Majesty"s pardon. I ought to have removed it before entering your Majesty"s presence. But I was told you wished to retire at once, sir, so I hurried here immediately."
The King gave a weary yawn. "Yes, I"ll go to bed at once, Lepage; and let me sleep as long as I can. This f.a.g-end of life isn"t very amusing."
He pa.s.sed his hand wearily across his brow. "My head aches. Isn"t the room very close, Lepage? Open the window."
"It has begun to rain, sir."
"Never mind, let"s have the rain, too. At least, it"s fresh."
Lepage opened a window which looked over the Krath. The King rose: Lepage hastened to offer his arm, which his Majesty accepted. They went together to the window. A sudden storm had gathered; rain was pelting down in big drops.
"It looks like being a rough night," remarked the King.
"I"m afraid it does, sir," Lepage agreed.
"We"re lucky to be going to our beds."
"Very, sir," answered Lepage, wondering whose opposite fate his Majesty was pitying.
"I shouldn"t care, even if I were a young man and a sound one, to ride to Praslok to-night."
"To Praslok, sir?" There was surprise in Lepage"s voice. He could not help it. Luckily it sounded quite natural to the King. It was certainly not a night to ride five and twenty miles, and into the hills, unless your business was very urgent.
"Yes, to Praslok. I"ve had my breath of air--you can shut the window, Lepage."
The King returned to the fireplace and stood warming himself. Lepage closed the window, drew the curtains, and came to the middle of the room, where he stood in respectful readiness--and, underneath that, a very lively curiosity.
"Yes," said the King slowly, "Captain Markart goes to Praslok to-night--with a despatch for his Royal Highness, you know. Business, Lepage, urgent business! Everything must yield to that." The King enunciated this virtuous maxim as though it had been the rule of his life. "No time to lose, Lepage, so the Captain goes to-night. But I"m afraid he"ll have a rough ride--very rough."
"I"m afraid so, sir," said Lepage, and added, strictly in his thoughts: "And so will Monsieur Zerkovitch!"
Captain Markart was entirely of his Majesty"s opinion as he set out on his journey to Praslok. His ride would be rough, dark, and solitary--the last by Stenovics"s order. Markart was not afraid, he was well armed; but he expected to be very bored, and knew that he would be very wet, by the time he reached the Castle. He breathed a fervent curse on the necessities of State, of which the Minister had informed him, as he b.u.t.toned up his heavy cavalry overcoat, and rode across the bridge on to the main road on the right bank, an hour before midnight.
Going was very heavy, so was the rain, so was the darkness; he and his horse made a blurred, laboring shape on the murky face of night. But his orders were to hasten, and he pushed on at a sharp trot and soon covered his first stage, the five miles to the old wooden bridge, where the road leaves the course of the Krath, is carried over the river, and strikes northeast, towards the hills.
At this point he received the first intimation that his journey was not to be so solitary as he had supposed. When he was half-way across the bridge, he heard what sounded like an echo of the beat of his horse"s hoofs on the timbers behind him. The thing seemed odd. He halted a moment to listen. The sound of his horse"s hoofs stopped--but the echo went on. It was no echo, then; he was not the only traveller that way!
He p.r.i.c.ked his horse with the spur; regaining the road, he heard the timbers of the bridge still sounding. He touched his horse again and went forward briskly. He had no reason to a.s.sociate his fellow-traveller"s errand with his own, but he was sure that when General Stenovics ordered despatch, he would not be pleased to learn that his messenger had been pa.s.sed by another wayfarer on the road.
But the stranger, too, was in a hurry, it seemed; Markart could not shake him off. On the contrary, he drew nearer. The road was still broad and good. Markart tried a canter. The stranger broke into a canter. "At any rate, it makes for good time," thought Markart, smiling uneasily. In fact, the two found themselves drawn into a sort of race. On they went, covering the miles at a quick, sustained trot, exhilarating to the men, but rather a strain on their horses. Both were well mounted. Markart wondered who the stranger with such a good horse was. He turned his head, but could see only the same sort of blur as he himself made; part of the blur, however, seemed of a lighter color than his dark overcoat and bay horse produced.
Markart"s horse pecked; his rider awoke to the fact that he was pounding his mount without doing much good to himself. He would see whether the unknown meant to pa.s.s him or was content to keep on equal terms. His pace fell to a gentle trot--so did the stranger"s. Markart walked his horse for half a mile--so did the stranger. Thenceforward they went easily, each keeping his position, till Markart came to where the road forked--on the right to Dobrava, on the left to Praslok and Volseni.
Markart drew rein and waited; he might just as well see where the stranger was going.
The stranger came up--and Markart started violently. The lighter tinge of the blur was explained. The stranger rode a white horse. It flashed on Markart that the Prince rode a white charger, and that the animal had been in Slavna the day before--he had seen it being exercised. He peered into the darkness, trying to see the man"s face; the effort was of no avail. The stranger came to a stand beside him, and for a few moments neither moved. Then the stranger turned his horse"s head to the left: he was for Praslok or Volseni, then! Markart followed his example. He knew why he did not speak to the stranger, but he was wondering why on earth the stranger did not speak to him. He went on wondering till it occurred to him that, perhaps, the stranger was in exactly the same state of mind.
There was no question of cantering, or even of trotting, now. The road rose steeply; it was loose and founderous from heavy rain; great stones lay about, dangerous traps for a careless rider. The horses labored. At the same moment, with the same instinct, Markart and the stranger dismounted. The next three miles were done on foot, and there before them, in deeper black, rose the gate-tower of the Castle of Praslok. The stranger had fallen a little behind again; now he drew level. They were almost opposite the Castle.
A dog barked from the stables. Another answered from the Castle. Two more took up the tune from the stables; the Castle guardian redoubled his responsive efforts. A man came running out from the stables with a lantern; a light flashed in the doorway of the Castle. Both Markart and the stranger came to a stand-still. The man with the lantern raised it high in the air, to see the faces of the travellers.
They saw each other"s faces, too. The first result was to send them into a fit of laughter--a relief from tension, a recognition of the absurdity into which their diplomatic caution had led them.
"By the powers, Captain Markart!"
"Monsieur Zerkovitch, by Heaven!"
They laughed again.
"Ah, and we might have had a pleasant ride together!"
"I should have rejoiced in the solace of your conversation!"
But neither asked the other why he had behaved in such a ridiculous manner.
"And our destination is the same?" asked Zerkovitch. "You stop here at the Castle?"
"Yes, yes, Monsieur Zerkovitch. And you?"
"Yes, Captain, yes; my journey ends at the Castle."
The men led away their horses, which sorely needed tending, and they mounted the wooden causeway side by side, both feeling foolish, yet sure they had done right. In the doorway stood Peter Va.s.sip with his lantern.
"Your business, gentlemen?" he said. It was between two and three in the morning.
They looked at each other; Zerkovitch was quicker, and with a courteous gesture invited his companion to take precedence.
"Private and urgent--with his Royal Highness."
"So is mine, Peter," said Zerkovitch.
Markart"s humor was touched again; he began to laugh. Zerkovitch laughed, too, but there was a touch of excitement and nervousness in his mirth.
"His Royal Highness went to bed an hour ago," said Peter Va.s.sip.
"I"m afraid you must rouse him. My business is immediate," said Markart.
"And I suppose yours is too, Monsieur Zerkovitch?" he added jokingly.
"That it is," said Zerkovitch.
"I"ll rouse the Prince. Will you follow me, gentlemen?"
Peter closed and barred the gate, and they followed him through the court-yard. A couple of sentries were pacing it; for the rest, all was still. Peter led them into a small room, where a fire was burning, and left them together. Side by side they stood close to the fire; each flung away his coat and tried to dry his boots and breeches at the comforting blaze.
"We must keep this story a secret, or we shall be laughed at by all Slavna, Monsieur Zerkovitch."
Zerkovitch gave him a sharp glance. "I should think you would report your discreet conduct to your superiors, Captain. Orders are orders, secrecy is secrecy, even though it turns out that there was no need for it."
Markart was about to reply with a joke when the Prince entered. He greeted both cordially, showing, of course, in Markart"s presence, no surprise at Zerkovitch"s arrival.