mission.

The direct road between Lustadt and Tafelberg is but little more

than half the distance of that which Coblich and his companions had

to traverse because of the wide detour they had made by riding

almost to Blentz first, and so it was that when they cantered into

the little mountain town near midnight Barney Custer and Lieutenant

Butzow were but a mile or two behind them.

Had the latter had even the faintest of suspicions that the identity

of the hiding place of the king might come to the knowledge of Peter

of Blentz they could have reached Tafelberg ahead of Coblich and his

party, but all unsuspecting they rode slowly to conserve the energy

of their mounts for the return trip.

In silence the two men approached the grounds surrounding the

sanatorium. In the soft dirt of the road the hoofs of their mounts

made no sound, and the shadows of the trees that border the front of

the enclosure hid them from the view of the trooper who held four

riderless horses in a little patch of moonlight that broke through

the opening in the trees at the main gate of the institution.

Barney was the first to see the animals and the man.

"S-s-st," he hissed, reining in his horse.

Butzow drew alongside the American.

"What can it mean?" asked Barney. "That fellow is a trooper, but I

cannot make out his uniform."

"Wait here," said Butzow, and slipping from his horse he crept

closer to the man, hugging the dense shadows close to the trees.

Barney reined in nearer the low wall. From his saddle he could see

the grounds beyond through the branches of a tree. As he looked his

<<BackPagesTo menuNext>>