Page:Anthony Hope - Rupert of Hentzau.djvu/310

292 women that makes me feel soft. We can work and fight; they sit and wait. Yet they do not flinch. Now I know that if I had to sit and think about the thing I should turn cur.

Well, I went, leaving them there together. I put on plain clothes instead of my uniform, and dropped my revolver into the pocket of my coat. Thus prepared, I slipped out and made my way on foot to the Königstrasse.

It was now long past midday. Many folk were still at their dinner and the streets were not full. Two or three people recognised me, but I passed by most unnoticed. There was no sign of stir or excitement, and the flags still floated high in the wind. Sapt had kept the secret: the men of Strelsau thought still that their King lived and was among them. I feared that Rudolf's coming would have been seen, and expected to find a crowd of people near the house. But when I reached it there were no more than ten or a dozen idle fellows lounging about. I began to stroll up and down with as careless an air as I could assume.

Soon, however, there was a change. The workmen and business-folk, their meal finished, began to come out of their houses and from the restaurants. The loafers before No. 19 spoke to many of them. Some said "Indeed!", shook their heads, smiled, and passed on: they had no time to waste in staring at the King. But many waited; lighting their cigars or cigarettes