" This I took off and put
on her, and signed to her to let me go. And she, understanding, stood
away and watched me with dimmed eyes.
"Wear that ring, even though you wear another when you are queen," I
said.
"Whatever else I wear, this I will wear till I die and after," said she,
as she kissed the ring.
CHAPTER 17
Young Rupert's Midnight Diversions
The night came fine and clear. I had prayed for dirty weather, such as
had favoured my previous voyage in the moat, but Fortune was this time
against me. Still I reckoned that by keeping close under the wall and in
the shadow I could escape detection from the windows of the chateau
that looked out on the scene of my efforts. If they searched the moat,
indeed, my scheme must fail; but I did not think they would. They had
made "Jacob's Ladder" secure against attack. Johann had himself helped
to fix it closely to the masonry on the under side, so that it could
not now be moved from below any more than from above. An assault with
explosives or a long battering with picks alone could displace it, and
the noise involved in either of these operations put them out of the
question. What harm, then, could a man do in the moat? I trusted that
Black Michael, putting this query to himself, would answer confidently,
"None;" while, even if Johann meant treachery, he did not know my
scheme, and would doubtless expect to see me, at the head of my friends,
before the front entrance to the chateau.
Pages:
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170