"Then come alone," he whispered.
And she, obedient to the strange hinting in his face, prayed the Marshal
and the rest to wait; and she and Sapt came on foot towards where we
lay, Sapt waving to the farm-girl to keep at a distance. And when I saw
them coming, I sat in a sad heap on the ground, and buried my face in my
hands. I could not look at her. Fritz knelt by me, laying his hand on my
shoulder.
"Speak low, whatever you say," I heard Sapt whisper as they came up; and
the next thing I heard was a low cry--half of joy, half of fear--from
the princess:
"It is he! Are you hurt?"
And she fell on the ground by me, and gently pulled my hands away; but I
kept my eyes to the ground.
"It is the King!" she said. "Pray, Colonel Sapt, tell me where lay the
wit of the joke you played on me?"
We answered none of us; we three were silent before her. Regardless of
them, she threw her arms round my neck and kissed me. Then Sapt spoke in
a low hoarse whisper:
"It is not the King. Don't kiss him; he's not the King."
She drew back for a moment; then, with an arm still round my neck, she
asked, in superb indignation:
"Do I not know my love? Rudolf my love!"
"It is not the King," said old Sapt again; and a sudden sob broke from
tender-hearted Fritz.
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