"Is it for me?" I asked.
"Yes, sire; a boy brought it."
I tore it open:
Johann carries this for me. I warned you once. In the name of God, and
if you are a man, rescue me from this den of murderers!--A. de M.
I handed it to Sapt; but all that the tough old soul said in reply to
this piteous appeal was:
"Whose fault brought her there?"
Nevertheless, not being faultless myself, I took leave to pity
Antoinette de Mauban.
CHAPTER 16
A Desperate Plan
As I had ridden publicly in Zenda, and had talked there with Rupert
Hentzau, of course all pretence of illness was at an end. I marked the
effect on the garrison of Zenda: they ceased to be seen abroad; and any
of my men who went near the Castle reported that the utmost vigilance
prevailed there. Touched as I was by Madame de Mauban's appeal, I seemed
as powerless to befriend her as I had proved to help the King. Michael
bade me defiance; and although he too had been seen outside the walls,
with more disregard for appearances than he had hitherto shown, he did
not take the trouble to send any excuse for his failure to wait on the
King. Time ran on in inactivity, when every moment was pressing; for
not only was I faced with the new danger which the stir about my
disappearance brought on me, but great murmurs had arisen in Strelsau at
my continued absence from the city.
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