I was alone, at some considerable distance from the others, and had been there waiting for nearly an hour with my gun in readiness when suddenly I heard the cracking of dried wood not far away. Something was moving. I raised my gun in breathless eagerness. Next moment, however, I heard the voices of two men.--"Willie" and his friend, Von Pappenheim. They were approaching me, speaking in low, confidential tones. "You quite understand," "Willie" was saying. "My position is a terrible one. I don't know how to extricate myself. If I dare reveal the truth then I know full well what their vengeance will be." "But, my dear Cæsar," was Karl von Pappenheim's reply, for he was on such intimate terms that he called His Highness by the name Von Hochberg had bestowed upon him, "is it not your duty to risk all and tell the truth?" he suggested seriously. The pair had halted only a few yards from me and taken cover behind a dead bush which had been cut down and placed conveniently at the spot, in case the shooting party were a large one and the screen behind which I had concealed myself was insufficient. So near were they that I could hear all that was said. "The Emperor would neither believe me nor forgive me," "Willie" said. "Minckwitz is a clever devil. He would bring manufactured evidence which must implicate me." Minckwitz! That was the name which the Emperor had uttered, asking me if I knew him! That incident at the Neues Palais flashed across my memory. I recollected, too, how, when I had referred to the circumstance, His Highness had become pale and agitated. Mention of the name had affected him curiously. "But can he bring evidence?" asked his companion. "Yes, curse him!--he can!" "You can refute it, surely?" "No, I can't. If I could I should make a clean breast of the whole matter," "Willie" declared. From the tone of his voice I realized how utterly bewildered he was. "But cannot I help you? Cannot I see Minckwitz and bluff him?" his friend suggested. "You don't know him," was the reply. "He holds me in the hollow of his hand." "Ah! Then you have been horribly indiscreet--eh?" "I have. I admit I have, Karl; and I do not see any way out of it." "But, my dear Cæsar, think of the danger existing day by day--hour by hour!" cried Von Pappenheim. "Think what there is at stake! That letter you showed me this morning reveals only too plainly what is intended." "It is a letter of defiance, I admit." "And a catastrophe must inevitably occur if you do not act." "But how can I act?" cried the Crown-Prince, in despair. "Suggest something--I cannot. If I utter a syllable Minckwitz will most certainly carry out his threat against me." "Contrive to have him arrested upon some charge or other," Karl suggested. "If I did he would produce the evidence against me," declared the Crown-Prince. A silence then fell between the pair. Suddenly Karl asked: "Does Von Heltzendorff know?"