“Look!” cried the prince. He pointed toward the west.
Maurice came out of his dream and looked. Some distance west of the pass, perhaps half a mile from where they stood, Maurice saw the twinkle of a hundred campfires. It was Madame's army in bivouac.
“It means that the duchess is on the eve of striking a blow for her crown,” answered Maurice. “And how are we to make the pass, which is probably filled with soldiers? If only we could find a boat! Ah! what would your Highness call this?” He pointed to a thread-like line of bare earth which wended riverward.
“A sheep or cattle path,” said the prince, after a close inspection.
“Then the river is perhaps fordable here!” exclaimed Maurice jubilantly. “At any rate, we'll try it; if it gets too deep, we'll come back.”
He walked to the water's edge, studied the black whirling mass, shrugged and stepped in. The prince came after him, unhesitatingly. Both shivered. The water was intensely cold. But the bed was shallow, and the river never mounted above the waist. However, in midstream it rushed strongly and wildly along, and all but carried them off their feet. They arrived in safety at the opposite shore, weak and cold in body, but warm in spirit. They lay on the grass for several moments, breathing heavily. They might now gain the pass by clambering up the mountain and picking their way down from the other side. It was not possible that Madame's troopers had entered into the kingdom.
“I am giving out,” the prince confessed reluctantly. “Let us make as much headway as we can while I last.”
They stood up. Now the moon fell upon them both; and they viewed each other with no little curiosity. What the prince saw pleased him, for he possessed a good eye. What Maurice saw was a frank, manly countenance, youthful, almost boyish. The prince did not look to be more than three and twenty, if that; but there was a man's determination in his jaw. This jaw pleased Maurice, for it confided to him that Madame had now something that would cause her worry.
“I put myself in your care,” said the prince, offering his hand. “I am not equal to much. A man can not see his wedding day come and go without him, helpless to prevent it, and not have the desire to sit down and weep and curse. You will see nothing but the unfavorable side of me for the next dozen hours.”