I doubt not that, mingling with
them, as ye must have done, ye have acquired wisdom, beside which the
wisdom of the wisest of us in Ulua will seem foolishness.

"You did right, my Lord Dick, in ordering Sachar's arrest for his
arrogant and insulting speech, but I doubt whether I should have had the
courage to take so bold a step. For I know that it will mean war
between him and me--a war of plotting and scheming, if not of actual
bloodshed--and I now wish to know whether, in the contest which I feel
to be inevitable, I may depend upon your advice and, if necessary, your
active co-operation?"

"You may, your Majesty," answered Dick and Earle in the same breath.

"I thank you with all my heart," returned the queen, glancing up at them
with a bright smile. "I feel," she continued, "that in the struggle
which I foresee, I shall have to rely upon you almost entirely, for I
believe that the members of my council will, with very few exceptions,
be against me. Go, therefore, and consult together as to the steps
which ye would recommend me to take; and then come to me again."

She presented her hand, which Dick and Earle bent over and kissed
respectfully before retiring from the presence.

Upon reaching their own suite of apartments, the two friends were
surprised to find Lyga, the Keeper of Statutes, awaiting them. There
was a look of concern, not altogether unmingled with amusement, in his
expression as he rose and advanced to meet them.

"My lords," he said, "it has just come to my ears--and I thought that
ye, and you in especial, my Lord Dick, in your capacity of
Captain-General of the Queen's Bodyguard, ought to know--that Sachar,
together with the officer and the file of soldiers into whose custody ye
delivered him, has disappeared."

"Disappeared!" echoed Dick. "How mean ye, my Lord Lyga?"

"Exactly as I have said," replied Lyga. "Sachar has not been lodged in
prison, as ye ordered, and the officer and file of soldiers are not in
their quarters, as they should be. I rather anticipated some such
occurrence, and because my sympathies are wholly with the Queen, and I
am on her side, I made it my business to leave the Council Chamber
immediately upon her Majesty's departure, and follow the route that
Sachar should have taken. I ascertained that he left the palace,
accompanied by the officer and soldiers; but he had not reached the
prison when I arrived there, and it is certain that now he will not do
so. My