The young lieutenant was preparing himself to be a general, or a conquering hero, by his talents and his great deeds; to subdue the world and its prejudices; to bridge over with laurels and trophies the gulf which separated him from the princess.  Was he not already on the way?  Did not the future beckon to him with glorious promise?  Must not he, who at eighteen years of age had attained that for which many not less endowed had given their whole lives in vain—­he, the flattered cavalier, the scholar, and the officer of the king’s guard—­be set apart, elected to some exalted fate?

These were the thoughts which occupied the young man, and which made him forgetful of all other things, even the danger with which the slow movements of his horse and the ever-rising sun threatened him.

It was the custom of the king to attend the early morning parade, and the commander, Captain Jaschinsky, did not belong to Trenck’s friends; he envied him for his rapid promotion; it angered him that Trenck had, at a bound, reached that position to which he had wearily crept forward through long years of service.  It would have made him happy to see this young man, who advanced so proudly and triumphantly upon the path of honor and distinction, cast down from the giddy height of royal favor, and trampled in the lust of forgetfulness.  He watched his young lieutenant with the smiling cunning of a base soul, resolved to punish harshly the smallest neglect of duty.

And now he had found his opportunity.  A sergeant, who was a spy for the captain, informed him that Trenck’s corporal had told him his master had ridden forth late in the night and had not yet returned.  The sergeant had watched the door of the house in which Trenck resided, and was convinced that he was still absent.  This intelligence filled the heart of Captain Jaschinsky with joy; he concealed it, however, under the mask of indifference; he declared that he did not believe this story of Trenck’s absence.  The young man knew full well that no officer was allowed to leave Potsdam, even for an hour, without permission, particularly during the night.

In order, as he said, to convince the sergeant of the untruth of this statement, he sent him with some trifling commission to Lieutenant von Trenck.  The sergeant returned triumphantly; the baron was not at home, and his servant was most anxious about him, The captain shrugged his shoulders silently.  The clock struck eight; he seized his hat, and hastened to the parade.

The whole line was formed; every officer stood by his regiment, except the lieutenant of the second company.  The captain saw this at a glance, and a wicked smile for one moment played upon his face.  He rode with zealous haste to the front of his regiment and saluted the king, who descended the steps of the castle, accompanied by his generals and adjutants.

At this moment, to the right wing of the regiment, there was a slight disturbance, which did not escape the listening ear of the captain.  He turned his head, and saw that Trenck had joined his company, and that his horse was panting and bathed in sweat.  The captain’s brow was clouded; the young officer seemed to have escaped the threatened danger.  The king had seen nothing.  Trenck was in his place, and it would be useless to bring a charge against him.