And
all she cried was, that I had been at the end of the bridge and leapt
off. "What of the prisoner?" asked Sapt; but she shook her head. Then
Sapt and Fritz, with the gentlemen behind them, crossed the bridge,
slowly, warily, and without noise; and Fritz stumbled over the body of
De Gautet in the way of the door. They felt him and found him dead.
Then they consulted, listening eagerly for any sound from the cells
below; but there came none, and they were greatly afraid that the King's
guards had killed him, and having pushed his body through the great
pipe, had escaped the same way themselves. Yet, because I had been seen
here, they had still some hope (thus indeed Fritz, in his friendship,
told me); and going back to Michael's body, pushing aside Antoinette,
who prayed by it, they found a key to the door which I had locked, and
opened the door. The staircase was dark, and they would not use a torch
at first, lest they should be more exposed to fire. But soon Fritz
cried: "The door down there is open! See, there is light!" So they went
on boldly, and found none to oppose them. And when they came to the
outer room and saw the Belgian, Bersonin, lying dead, they thanked God,
Sapt saying: "Ay, he has been here." Then rushing into the King's cell,
they found Detchard lying dead across the dead physician, and the King
on his back with his chair by him.
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