“A good woman, honest, too good by far for any man.”

“Oh!”

“Suppose she was vastly his inferior in station, that marriage to him was merely a political contract?  What would you do?”

“I believe I begin to understand.”

“I am grateful for that.”

“But the risks you run!”

“I believed them all over last night.”

“But you would dare handle him in this way?”

“When the devil drives, my friend!” The other smiled.  “I was born in the heart of a war.  I have taken so many risks that the sense of danger no longer has a keen edge.  But now that you understand, I am sure a soldier like yourself will pardon the blunder of last night.”

“Your nephew is an ungrateful wretch.”

“What?” coldly.

“He knew all along who I was.  I dragged him out of the Rhine upon a certain day, and he plays this trick!”

“You?  Carmichael, Carmichael; of course; I should have remembered the name, as he wrote me at the time.  Thank you!  And you knew him all the while?”

“No; I recalled his face, but the time and place were in the dark till this early morning.  Here we are at the gates.  What’s this?  Guards?  I never saw them at these gates before.”

“You will make yourself known to them?”

“Yes.  But if they question me?”

“Wink.  Every soldier knows what that means.”

“When a fellow turns in early in the morning?” Carmichael laughed hilariously.

“I ask you frankly not to let them question me.  When I left the city last night I never expected to return.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

Carmichael bared his head and leaned out of the window.  He recognized one of the guards.  A policeman in military uniform!

“Good morning!” said Carmichael.

“Herr Carmichael?” surprised.  “Your excellency?”

“Yes.  I’ve been having a little junket, I and my friend here.”  And Carmichael winked.

“Ah!”

“But what—­”

“Sh!  Very important affair,” said the disguised officer.  “Go on.”

But after the carriage had passed it occurred to him that Carmichael wore a dress like a vintner’s and that his friend was a mountaineer! Du lieber Himmel! What kind of a mix-up was this?  The chancellor never could have meant Carmichael!

“Thanks!” whispered the old man.

“Did you see the soldier?”

“Yes.”

“He is one of the police in disguise.  Be on your guard.  If you don’t mind I’ll use this carriage to the hotel.”

“You are a thousand times welcome.  I will leave you here.  And take the advice of an old man who has seen the four sides of humanity:  leave falling in love to poets and to fools!”

The mountaineer got out quickly, closed the door, spoke a word to the driver, and slipped into an alleyway.

Carmichael arrived at the Grand Hotel in time to see her serene highness, accompanied by two of her ladies and an escort of four soldiers, start out for her morning ride.  The zest of his own strange adventure died.  He waited till they had passed, then slunk into the hotel.  The concierge gazed at him in amazement.  Carmichael winked.  The concierge smiled.  He understood. Americaner or Ehrensteiner, the young fellows were all the same.