Thus Johann chattered till I sent him away and lay there alone,
thinking, not of the future, but--as a man is wont to do when stirring
things have happened to him--rehearsing the events of the past weeks,
and wondering how strangely they had fallen out. And above me, in the
stillness of the night, I heard the standards flapping against their
poles, for Black Michael's banner hung there half-mast high, and above
it the royal flag of Ruritania, floating for one night more over my
head. Habit grows so quick, that only by an effort did I recollect that
it floated no longer for me.
Presently Fritz von Tarlenheim came into the room. I was standing then
by the window; the glass was opened, and I was idly fingering the cement
which clung to the masonry where "Jacob's Ladder" had been. He told me
briefly that the King wanted me, and together we crossed the drawbridge
and entered the room that had been Black Michael's.
The King was lying there in bed; our doctor from Tarlenheim was in
attendance on him, and whispered to me that my visit must be brief. The
King held out his hand and shook mine. Fritz and the doctor withdrew to
the window.
I took the King's ring from my finger and placed it on his.
"I have tried not to dishonour it, sire," said I.
"I can't talk much to you," he said, in a weak voice.
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