"Madame," I said firmly, "I'll do anything your Highness wishes. I understand your resolution. Indeed, I can only approve it. May I just make two remarks? First, that it would be much better for me to come and fetch you rather than that you should run the risk of meeting some one in the corridors of the castle. In the second place, you should know that the watch make their rounds at midnight. They may be a little early tonight, and it is most advisable to avoid any chance of being disturbed in so delicate an enterprise as ours." "Very well," she said. "What then?" "With your permission I'll be here at half-past ten. An hour will give us plenty of time. Fräulein von Graffenfried can stay in your apartments and receive any callers." She smiled: "If by that you mean Hagen, jealous young man, you may as well know that he's due at his mess tonight, for one of those drinking-bouts for which any good German would gladly sacrifice the Loreley." "Hagen or another," I said, with a shade of irritation in my voice. "We must provide for all emergencies." "You're right, dear friend," she said gravely. "Then I'll expect you at half-past ten." * * * * * * When I went back to my room after dinner I really thought the time to go and fetch the Grand Duchess would never come. At length ten o'clock struck, then quarter past. I went out quietly and peeped through the library door. Good. There was no light. If Cyrus Beck had unfortunately taken it into his head to work there that night we should have had to begin all over again. Half-past struck, but it took me barely two minutes to cut across the garden. I wasn't late. Very quietly I opened the door leading into the park. A puff of fresh air braced me up. As I was closing it again I started. A hand had just been placed on my shoulder. At that moment I heard a voice: "Professor Vignerte, I'm delighted to meet you!" It was Lieutenant von Hagen. The night was pitch-black, and we could not see each other. But I thought I detected that the hand he had put on my shoulder was a little unsteady. In an instant I recovered all my self-control. "I thought you were at your mess," I said. "I'm supposed to be," he replied. "But we all change our minds sometimes. What about yourself? No doubt you intended to spend the evening working in your room. Yet here you are." "It's so stifling tonight," I said, "that I came into the garden for a breath of air." "In that case I don't suppose you'll mind having my company for your walk." This time I detected so much impertinent irony in his tone, that I saw it was a case of putting all my cards on the table. "I'm very much flattered by your attentions, Herr Lieutenant, but I won't pretend that I wouldn't rather be alone." He giggled. "_Quite_ alone?" he demanded. A quarter to eleven had just struck. The sound made me furious. Was this imbecile to wreck all our plans? "What do you mean?" I asked angrily.