I must now leave Sapt and
his friends, and relate how I myself proceeded on this eventful night.
I went out on the good horse which had carried me, on the night of
the coronation, back from the hunting-lodge to Strelsau. I carried a
revolver in the saddle and my sword. I was covered with a large cloak,
and under this I wore a warm, tight-fitting woollen jersey, a pair of
knickerbockers, thick stockings, and light canvas shoes. I had rubbed
myself thoroughly with oil, and I carried a large flask of whisky. The
night was warm, but I might probably be immersed a long while, and it
was necessary to take every precaution against cold: for cold not only
saps a man's courage if he has to die, but impairs his energy if others
have to die, and, finally, gives him rheumatics, if it be God's will
that he lives. Also I tied round my body a length of thin but stout
cord, and I did not forget my ladder. I, starting after Sapt, took a
shorter route, skirting the town to the left, and found myself in the
outskirts of the forest at about half-past twelve. I tied my horse up
in a thick clump of trees, leaving the revolver in its pocket in the
saddle--it would be no use to me--and, ladder in hand, made my way to
the edge of the moat. Here I unwound my rope from about my waist, bound
it securely round the trunk of a tree on the bank, and let myself down.
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