he also took to his heels, following the fellow who had darted
up the Konigstrasse. But before he had gone very far, coming to a narrow
turning, he shot down it; then he paused for a moment to listen.

The patrol had seen the sudden dispersal of the group, and, struck with
natural suspicion, quickened pace. A few minutes brought them where
Bauer was. They jumped from their horses and ran to him. He was
unconscious, and could, of course, give them no account of how he came
to be in his present state. The fronts of all the houses were dark, the
doors shut; there was nothing to connect the man stretched on the ground
with either No. 19 or any other dwelling. Moreover, the constables were
not sure that the sufferer was himself a meritorious object, for his
hand still held a long, ugly knife. They were perplexed: they were but
two; there was a wounded man to look after; there were three men to
pursue, and the three had fled in three separate directions. They looked
up at No. 19; No. 19 remained dark, quiet, absolutely indifferent. The
fugitives were out of sight. Rudolf Rassendyll, hearing nothing, had
started again on his way. But a minute later he heard a shrill whistle.
The patrol were summoning assistance; the man must be carried to the
station, and a report made; but other constables might be warned of what
had happened, and despatched in pursuit of the culprits. Rudolf heard
more than one answering whistle; he broke into a run, looking for a
turning on the left that would take him back into the direction of my
house, but he found none. The narrow street twisted and curved in the
bewildering way that characterizes the old parts of the town. Rudolf
had spent some time once in Strelsau; but a king learns little of back
streets, and he was soon fairly puzzled as to his whereabouts. Day was
dawning, and he began to meet people here and there. He dared run no
more, even had his breath lasted him; winding the scarf about his face,
and cramming his hat over his forehead again, he fell into an easy walk,
wondering whether he could venture to ask his way, relieved to find no
signs that he was being pursued, trying to persuade himself that Bauer,
though not dead, was at least incapable of embarrassing disclosures;
above all, conscious of the danger of his tell-tale face, and of the
necessity of finding some shelter before the city was all stirring and
awake.

At this moment he heard horses' hoofs behind him. He was now at the
en