Then he turned, and passed through the shattered windows into the little room behind him-- They had laid the Duke on the floor of the room. The tall, grey-haired physician stood at the dying statesman's head. All that medical skill could do to ease his passing had been done. Already he was far beyond the reach of any human aid. The brilliant summer sunshine shone full on the familiar, formidable, massive features, deathly white, now. The eyes were closed. The King knelt down at the old statesman's side. Some obscure instinct prompted him to take the old man's hand--the hand which had done so much for him, the hand which had never failed him,--the hand which had saved him, from himself-- The Duke responded to his touch. Feebly he returned his pressure. Then, slowly, he opened his eyes, luminous and clear even in death. He recognized the King. Faintly he smiled. Then his lips moved as if in speech. The King bent down over him. "God--save--the King," the Duke muttered. No doubt, the singing of the crowd outside the palace had reached the dying man's ears-- The King did not speak. It seemed to him that there was no need for words. He felt that the Duke knew all his thoughts. He knew that the Duke was glad to have him, now, at the last, at his side. It was a strange moment of deep, and intimate communion between them-- Strangest of all, there was no sadness in it, now, for the King. This man had done his work. This man had rounded off his life's work, with a completeness, which it is given to few men to achieve. The lightning conductor had taken the full shock of the lightning flash, and then fallen. For the future, he--the King--would be alone. But that was a small matter, now-- In the presence of this great man's triumphant self-sacrifice, any thought of self seemed irreverence-- Some minutes passed. Then the Duke's lips moved again-- "We shall not all sleep--but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye--for the trumpet shall sound--and we shall be changed--" The King bowed his head-- For this man, surely, all the trumpets would sound on the other side. For this man--they would crowd the battlements of Heaven to see him enter-- A little later, the physician touched the King on the shoulder. The King stood up. The physician bent down, and straightened the Duke's arms. Then he turned, and faced the King. "It is finished, sir," he said.