to
the Jugendheit embassy.

An hour later Gretchen appeared before Fraeu Bauer. Gretchen had gone
home immediately after the termination of the fight in the garden. It
had been the will of her lord and master for her to remain at home
throughout the day; but this she could not do. She was worried.

"He was not hurt, Fraeu?" she asked timidly.

"Oh, no! The two of them gave themselves up readily. They are snug in
the Stein-schloss by this time."

"The Stein-schloss!" Gretchen blanched. "Holy Mother, what has
happened?"

"Why, your vintner and Herr Ludwig were arrested an hour ago, accused of
being spies from Jugendheit."

"It is a lie!" cried Gretchen hollowly. She groped blindly for the door.

"Where are you going, Gretchen?" Fraeu Bauer inquired anxiously.

"To her highness! She will save him!"

Her highness was dreaming. She had fallen into this habit of late. A
flame in the fireplace, a cloud in the sky, a dash of rain on the
window, all these drew her fancy. What the heart wishes the mind will
dream. Sunshine was without, clear, brilliant; shadow was within,
mellow, nebulous. But to-day her dream was short. A maid of honor
announced that the young woman Gretchen sought her presence.

"Admit her. She will be a tonic," said Hildegarde.

Gretchen appeared, red-eyed and disheveled. Instantly she flung herself
at the feet of the princess.

"Why, Gretchen!"

"They will not let me see him, Highness!" Gretchen choked.

"What has happened, child?"

"They have arrested him as a spy from Jugendheit, and he is innocent.
Save him, Highness!"

"How can I save him?"

"He is not a spy."

"That must be proved, Gretchen. I can not go to the Stein-schloss and
order them to liberate him." She lifted Gretchen to her feet.

"I have been there, and they will not let me see him. I love him so!"

"I can arrange that for you. I will go with you myself to the prison."

"Thanks, Highness, thanks!" Gretchen was hysterical.

The Stein-schloss had been the feudal keep; now it served as the city
prison. Its grim gray stones were battle-scarred and time-worn; a place
of deep dungeons, huge bolts and bars, and narrow slits in the stone for
windows. The prison was both civil and military, but was patrolled and
sentineled by soldiers. The king and his uncle had been given adjoining
cells on the ground floor. These cells were dry, and light entered from
the modern windows in the wall of the corridor. The princess and her
p