not worth his salt. He has watched this man Hamilton
for two days, been his guide in the hills, and yet learns nothing. And
the rigor of the customs is a farce."

"This day," replied the minister, "the police lost its jurisdiction over
the customs. Complaints have been entered at the British legation, which
forwarded them to the chancellor."

"O ho!" The Colonel pulled his mustache.

"I warned you against this. The chancellor is a man to be respected,
whatever his beliefs. I warned you and Mollendorf of the police what the
result would be. The chancellor has a hard hand when it falls. He was
always bold; now he is more so since he practically stands alone. In
games of chance one always should play close. You are in a hurry."

"I have waited six years."

"And I have waited fourteen."

"Well, then, I shall pass into the active. I shall watch this Englishman
myself. He is likely to prove the agent. Count, the time for waiting
is gone. If the debt is liquidated or renewed--and there is Prince
Frederick to keep in mind--we shall have played and lost. Disgrace for
you; for me--well, perhaps there is a power behind me too strong.
The chancellor? Pouf! I have no fear of him. But you who laugh at the
archbishop--"

"He is too old."

"So you say. But he has dreams unknown to us. He has ceased to act;
why? He is waiting for the curtain to rise. Nothing escapes him; he is
letting us go to what end we will, only, if we do not act at once,
to draw us to a sudden halt. Now to this meddling Englishman: we have
offered him a million--five millions for four. He laughs. He is a
millionaire. With characteristic bombast he declares that money has no
charms. For six months, since his father's death, we have hounded him,
in vain. It is something I can not understand. What is Leopold to these
Englishmen that they risk a princely fortune to secure him his throne?
Friendship? Bah, there is none."

"Not in France nor in Austria. But this man was an Englishman; they
leave legacies of friendship."

The Colonel walked to the window and looked down into the gardens. He
remained there for a time. Von Wallenstein eyed him curiously. Presently
the soldier returned to his seat.

"We are crossing a chasm; a man stands in our way; as we can not go
around him, we, being the stronger, push him aside. Eh?"

"You would not kill--" began the minister.

"Let us use the French meaning of the word `suppress.' And why not?
Ambition, wherever it goe