“What do you mean?” he exclaimed fiercely.  There was something more than fierceness in the words,—­an accent of fear, it almost seemed to Gaydon.  There was a look almost of fear in his eyes, as though he had let some appalling secret slip.  Gaydon stared at him in wonder, and Wogan recovered himself with a laugh.  “Faith,” said he, “it is a question to perplex a man.  I misdoubt but we both had the thought about the same time.  ‘Wogan,’ said he, ’there’s the Princess with a chain on her leg, so to speak,’ and I answered him, ’A chain’s a galling sort of thing to a lady’s ankle.’  There was little more said if I remember right.”

Gaydon nodded as though his curiosity was now satisfied.  Wogan’s alarm was strange, no doubt, strange and unexpected like the Chevalier’s visit to the Caprara Palace.  Gaydon had a glimpse of dark and troubled waters, but he turned his face away.  They were none of his business.

CHAPTER X

In an hour, however, he returned out of breath and with a face white from despair.  Wogan was still writing at his table, but at his first glance towards Gaydon he started quickly to his feet, and altogether forgot to cover over his sheet of paper.  He carefully shut the door.

“You have bad news,” said he.

“There was never worse,” answered Gaydon.  He had run so fast, he was so discomposed, that he could with difficulty speak.  But he gasped his bad news out in the end.

“I went to my brother major to report my return.  He was entertaining his friends.  He had a letter this morning from Strasbourg and he read it aloud.  The letter said a rumour was running through the town that the Chevalier Wogan had already rescued the Princess and was being hotly pursued on the road to Trent.”

If Wogan felt any disquietude he was careful to hide it.  He sat comfortably down upon the sofa.

“I expected rumour would be busy with us,” said he, “but never that it would take so favourable a shape.”

“Favourable!” exclaimed Gaydon.

“To be sure, for its falsity will be established to-morrow, and ridicule cast upon those who spread and believed it.  False alarms are the proper strategy to conceal the real assault.  The rumour does us a service.  Our secret is very well kept, for here am I in Schlestadt, and people living in Schlestadt believe me on the road to Trent.  I will go back with you to the major’s and have a laugh at his correspondent.  Courage, my friend.  We will give our enemies a month.  Let them cry wolf as often as they will during that month, we’ll get into the fold all the more easily in the end.”

Wogan took his hat to accompany Gaydon, but at that moment he heard another man stumbling in a great haste up the stairs.  Misset broke into the room with a face as discomposed as Gaydon’s had been.

“Here’s another who has heard the same rumour,” said Wogan.