more. The hours slipped rapidly by, and it was with horror that I heard the village clock strike eleven, and so learned that for four hours I had forgotten the Emperor's business.
"Pardon me, my dear lady," I cried, springing to my feet, "but I must go on instantly to Hof."
She rose also, and looked at me with a pale, reproachful face. "And me?" she said. "What is to become of me?"
"It is the Emperor's affair. I have already stayed far too long. My duty calls me, and I must go."
"You must go? And I must be abandoned alone to these savages? Oh, why did I ever meet you? Why did you ever teach me to rely upon your strength?" Her eyes glazed over, and in an instant she was sobbing upon my bosom.
Here was a trying moment for a guardian! Here was a time when he had to keep a watch upon a forward young officer. But I was equal to it. I smoothed her rich brown hair and whispered such consolations as I could think of in her ear, with one arm round her, it is true, but that was to hold her lest she should faint. She turned her tear-stained face to mine. "Water," she whispered. "For God's sake, water!"
I saw that in another moment she would be senseless. I laid the drooping head upon the sofa,
