he princess from her own house to-night."

I knew that the crucial moment had come. I knew that if I weakened now,
I was lost. The only possible escape for me, was to see the czar alone,
and that I determined to do. The manner of the prince, upon my arrival
at the palace, his conduct in the cabinet, the greeting accorded to me
by the czar and his bearing towards me since then, led me to a shrewd
guess which I determined to hazard. I decided to play my last card by
making one bold statement.

"Your majesty," I said, deliberately, "has never until now, had less
than perfect confidence in me. The prince, being jealous, and too
impatient to await an explanation at my hands, has prevailed upon you
to order me under arrest, for a time, in order that I may not return to
his house where I have left the princess. If I do not mistake, he now
has such an order, signed by you in person, in one of his pockets.
Permit me to inform your majesty, and him, that there is another reason
why he procured that order; he has guessed that my men, at this moment,
have instructions to place him under arrest. He only sought to
anticipate me, that is all. Order Prince Michael to his apartments, and
direct him to remain in them, your majesty; for unless I am free to act
as I see fit, this night, I would not give that"--and I snapped my
fingers--"for the life of a single member of the royal family."

Then I folded my arms, and waited.

CHAPTER XXI

ONE EVENTFUL NIGHT

A nihilistic bomb exploded in the cabinet of the czar would scarcely
have created more consternation than did my statement. The emperor
himself started back in amazement, and then turned his face which was
white with rage and terror, upon Prince Michael.

The prince, instead of shrugging his shoulders and laughing at the
charge I had made, committed the mistake of turning deathly pale, and
at once protesting his innocence. It was that protest which decided the
battle of wits in my favor. Always ready to doubt those who were
nearest to him, the czar remembered instantly that I could gain nothing
by playing the traitor. He recalled also many instances, small in
themselves but sufficiently prominent now, when the prince had deceived
him. That, he knew I had never done. I had always possessed the courage
to tell him the truth even when it was unpleasant. The habit of
truthfulness told, then. He believed me, and he doubted the prince.
More than that, I seemed to him to know