She responded to the fire in them, and appeared to grow comforted and at peace. But all the way back through the wood to the Kalibad Hotel she glanced furtively into the shadows, while she talked gaily as she held Paul's arm. And he never asked her a question as to where she expected the danger to come from. No anxiety for his own safety troubled him one jot--indeed, an unwonted extra excitement flooded his veins, making him enjoy himself with an added zest. Dmitry as usual awaited them at the hotel; his face was serene, but when Paul's back was turned for a moment while he lit a cigarette, the lady questioned her servant with whispered fierceness in the Russian tongue. Apparently his answer was satisfactory, for she looked relieved, and presently, seated on the terrace, they had a merry tea--the last they would have on mountain tops, for she broke it gently to Paul that on the morrow she must return to Lucerne. Paul felt as if his heart had stopped beating. Return to Lucerne! O God! not to part--surely not to part--so soon! "No, no," she said, the thought making her whiten too. "Oh no! my Paul, not that--yet!" Ah--he could bear anything if it did not mean parting, and he used no arguments to dissuade her. She was his Queen and must surely know best. Only he listened eagerly for details of how matters could be arranged there. Alas! they could never be the same as this glorious time they had had. "You must wait two days, sweetheart," she said, "before you follow me. Stay still in our nest if you will, but do not come on to Lucerne." "I could not stand it," said Paul. "Oh! darling, don't kill me with aching for your presence two whole days! It is a lifetime! not to be endured--" "Impatient one!" she laughed softly. "No--neither could I bear not to see you, sweetheart, but we must not be foolish. You must stay on in our rooms and each morning I will meet you somewhere in the launch. Dmitry knows every inch of the lake, and we can pass most of days thus, happy at last--" "But the nights!" said Paul, deep distress in his voice. "What on earth do you think I can do with the nights?" "Spend them in sleep, my beloved one," the lady said, while she smiled a soft fine smile. But to Paul this idea presented the poorest compensation--and in spite of his will to the contrary his thoughts flew ahead for an instant to the inevitable days and nights when--Ah! no, he could not face the picture. Life would be finished for him when that time came.