l he could do not to cry out, while Stadinger stared at the man with
wide open eyes.

"There was some writing found on him, but it was of no consequence, nor
what he told by word of mouth either. Now the Herr Captain wants to know
whether he shall send the prisoner here, or to headquarters, for he
thinks there is more in the papers than meets the eye."

There was nothing uncommon in this message. Suspicious characters were
arrested daily, particularly from the relief corps, but Prince Adelsberg
hesitated, as if he feared the sound of his own voice, then he gave the
answer:

"Tell the Herr Captain to send the prisoner here. We relieve the guard
in two hours, and he can be taken on to headquarters at once."

"I hope we can make the churl say something," said Walldorf. "Many a
coward loses his hold when he knows there's a court martial ahead of
him. Well, we'll see."

The soldier stood waiting for his dismissal; not a muscle of his face
moved, but he never lifted his eyes. Egon had recovered himself now, and
he asked, in his coldest, most distant tones:

"You belong to the seventh regiment?"

"At your service, Herr lieutenant."

"Your name?"

"Joseph Tanner."

"Forced into service?"

"No, a volunteer."

"Since when?"

"Since the thirtieth of July."

"You have been through the whole campaign?"

"At your service, Herr lieutenant."

"Very well. You can take my message to the Captain."

The soldier saluted and left the room. Walldorf had been a little
surprised at this examination, but gave no second thought to it. He
looked after the retreating figure and said as he shrugged his
shoulders: "The men on Chapel hill have the devil's own time. They have
no rest day or night, and have to exert themselves to the utmost. The
poor fellows have to work in the hard frozen trenches until the sweat
runs from their faces and their hands are covered with blood. Fighting
is the only relief they get."

He stepped into another room to order the watch for the expected
prisoner, and to make some additional arrangements. Egon threw open the
window and leaned out--he felt he was suffocating. Then he heard
Stadinger's voice behind him in a half-whisper as though he were too
frightened to speak out loud.

"Your highness!"

"What is it?" the prince answered without turning around.

"But didn't your highness see--?"

"See what?"

"The orderly, who was just here--that was Herr Rojanow, as sure as he
lives and breathes.