"'Very pretty indeed!' he said, slapping me jovially on the back. ''Pon my word, Rissler, I had no idea you were such a born courtier--and actor! It tripped off your tongue as readily as if you had been rehearsing it for weeks, and the way you dropped on your knee, and bowed, couldn't be beaten in the best Court circles--or on the stage. Don't tell me that you didn't all along suspect the surprise I had in store for you. You have been rehearsing that bow and knee-drop before a cheval-glass, I'll wager, and many a time. It does you credit, anyhow; and whether it was a rehearsed or an unprepared effect, it proves you to be a man of parts, and one who is an acquisition to any cause. "'But what you have said puts a different complexion upon my plans for your future,' he went on. 'I should like a word with you in the other room before we go any farther. Your Majesty must excuse my friend here and myself if we retire for a few moments.' "Taking up the cloak and hat from the chair, he put both on and walked towards the door. "'Have I your permission, Sir, to hear what this man has to say?' I inquired, turning to the King. 'I go or stay, as you may command, and am ready, if need be, as I have said, to prove my loyalty with my life.' "There is no keener judge of character in all England than the King, and the look which, for a moment, he bent upon me was so searching, so penetrating, so compelling, that I admit I found it hard to face. "'You keep queer company!' he said with stern bluffness; and something there was, in the way he looked and spoke, which, even in that most eventful moment of my life, recalled past scenes of English history to my memory, and reminded me strangely of more than one of his great ancestors. "'My company,' I replied gravely, 'is not of my choosing. What has happened to me might have happened to your Majesty's most loyal subject--might conceivably have happened, I venture humbly to suggest, to one who is subject to none in this kingdom. I am here, not by my own consent, but by compulsion. An hour ago I was suddenly taken by surprise, and from behind, by superior numbers, and before I could resist or summon assistance, was forcibly drugged, abducted, and carried senseless to this place. Believe me, Sir, that I am as little deserving of reproach, on the score of the company I keep, as I am unworthy to stand in the august presence in which I now find myself.' "So saying, I dropped again upon one knee, and bent my head. When I looked up, I saw that the knitting of the brows over the eyes, which had been so sternly bent upon me, was relaxed. By a gesture he bade me to rise, and then, without speaking, nodded to the door, to indicate that I had his permission to withdraw. Walking backwards, I passed out, to find the Dumpling, who had preceded me, on the other side. "After closing the door, locking it, and pocketing the key, he took my arm in a friendly way, and led me into another room, lit by a smoky lamp.