"Because I have a surprise in store for you, and also I wish to bring about the meeting in a natural manner--to spare the lady's feelings. Now I shall go to meet her and take her to the Singing Fountains. When I whistle you are to join us. Does that meet with your approval?" "Your Majesty is most kind." Fandor moved away and after glancing back to make sure Wulf was obeying orders, he quickly drew his revolver and approached the works. "I must remember Juve's precept," he muttered, "never fire first, and then only when you're sure to hit." The journalist now examined the palisade which surrounded a ditch of some depth dug in the angle made by the Orangery walls. "Can't see anything from the outside," he thought, "so I'll go in." With a running jump he succeeded in catching hold of the palisade top and in a moment was sitting astride of it. Nobody was in sight. Fandor was a little surprised. He expected to be confronted by some sinister individual. "All right," he growled, "if you don't mind I'll come in." Letting go of the top he slid down to the ground. There he found a large hole in which was placed a ladder. This led to the bottom of the ditch where a series of pipes protruded from the soil. Fandor lit his pocket lamp and carefully examined the surroundings. "Ah," he exclaimed, "it looks as though some perfectly natural repair work was going on." He then went down listening at each pipe mouth. One of them gave out a peculiar sound, steady and cadenced, in fact, a snore, a real snore. "Can he be asleep," he muttered. Climbing quickly out of the ditch, Fandor reached the street again and ran toward the Singing Fountains. "Either the 'Curiosities of Paris' which I read yesterday in the library is a collection of bad jokes, or the body of the third statue ..." He did not complete his thought. After once more making sure that nobody was about, and that the excellent Wulf was still absorbed in contemplation of the Seine, he climbed into the basin at the foot of one of the bronze naiads and waded through mud and water to the base of the statue. "Now, then, let's see, what must I do next? Seize the statue by the neck, place the left hand in the middle of the body and sway it." Suiting the action to the word, the journalist applied all his force and in a moment the statue parted in two and swung toward him. The hollow interior appeared like a black hole. Bending forward, Fandor cried: "Sire, Sire, can you hear me?" His voice came echoing back to him, but there was no reply from the depths. "Ah, I can't be mistaken!" he cried, desperately. "Wulf heard this fountain singing the national anthem of Hesse-Weimar, the statue is hollow, therefore the King should be hidden in it." Again he stood, listening. After a pause an exclamation of surprise escaped him. "Why, it's the same noise I heard in the pipe ... it's a snore ... the unfortunate man is somewhere asleep!"