on the other side of the town. A large party of servants, with horses and luggage, started early in the morning; we followed at midday, traveling by train for thirty miles, and then mounting our horses to ride the remaining distance to the château.
We were a gallant party. Besides Sapt and Fritz, I was accompanied by ten gentlemen. Every one of them had been carefully chosen, and no less carefully sounded by my two friends, and all were devotedly attached to the person of the king. They were told a part of the truth. The attempt on my life in the summerhouse was revealed to them as a spur to their loyalty and an indictment against Michael. They were also informed that a friend of the king's was suspected to be forcibly confined within the castle of Zenda. His rescue was one of the objects of the expedition; but, it was added, the king's main desire was to carry into effect certain steps against his treacherous brother, as to the precise nature of which they could not at present be further enlightened. Enough that the king commanded their services and would rely on their devotion when occasion
