■ 5 His Majesty returns to Strelsau

It was one o'clock in the morning． For a few minutes we said nothing． Then Sapt cried， 'The Duke's men have taken the King prisoner！ '

Then we must get back and wake everyone in Strelsau！ 'I cried． 'We must catch Black Michael before he kills the King． '

'Who knows where the King is now？ 'Sapt answered． Then suddenly he began to laugh． 'But we've given Black Michael a problem， 'he said． 'Yes， my boy． We'll go back to Strelsau． The King will be in his palace in Strelsau again tomorrow． '

'No！ 'I cried．

'Yes！ 'Sapt answered． 'It's the only way to help him． Go back and take his place for him． '

'But the Duke knows…'

'Yes， but he can't speak， can he？ What can he say？ “This man isn't the King because I've taken the real King prisoner and murdered his servant． ”Can he say that？ '

But people will soon realize l'm not the real King， 'I said．

'Perhaps， perhaps not， 'said Sapt． 'But we must have a King in Strelsau， or Michael will ride in tomorrow as the new King！ Listen， boy， if you don't go back to Strelsau， they'll kill the King． And if you do go back， they can't kill the King． Because if they kill him， how can they ever say that you're not the real King？ Don't you see？ 'he cried． 'It's a dangerous game， but it gives us a chance of winning． '

It was a wild， hopeless plan， but I was young． I would never have the chance of an adventure like this again． 'Sapt， I'll try it， 'I said．

'Good for you！ 'Sapt cried． 'But we must hurry！ Look！ '

He pulled me over to the door The moon was low now， and there was not much light， but I could just see a small group of men on horses． They were Black Michael's men， probably coming to take the dead body of Josef away．

'We can't let them go without doing something， 'I said， thinking of poor Josef．

'Right， 'Sapt agreed． We ran out of the back of the house， and quickly got onto our horses． Silently， we waited in the darkness， and then we galloped round the house and straight into the group of men． Between us， we killed three of them， but a bullet hit my finger and it began to bleed．

We rode hard all night and it was about eight or nine o'clock in the morning when we reached Strelsau． Luckily， the streets were still empty． We arrived at the palace， went in， and got to the dressing-room． When we opened the door， Fritz was asleep， but he woke immediately． When he saw me， he fell to the ground and cried， 'Thank God， Your Majesty！ You're safe！ '

'Well done， boy！ 'Sapt shouted． 'We'll do it！ '

Fritz stood up． He looked at me， up and down， down and up． Then he took a step backwards． 'Where's the King？ 'he cried．

'Be quiet， 'Sapt warned him． 'Someone will hear！ '

Fritz's face was white now． 'Is the King dead？ 'he asked quietly．

'Please God， no， 'I answered． 'But Black Michael has him． '

* * *

The next day was a long one for me． Sapt talked to me for three hours about what I must do and what I must say， what I liked and what I didn't like． Then I had to do some of the King's business， but， because of my damaged finger， I did not have to write my name on any papers．

When， at last， I was alone with Sapt and Fritz， we began to talk about Black Michael． Fritz told me that Black Michael had six very dangerous men among his servants-three Ruritanians， a Belgian， a Frenchman， and an Englishman． They did anything that the Duke ordered， and did not stop at murder． Three of them-the foreigners， Fritz had heard were in Strelsau now with Duke Michael．

Sapt banged the table with his hand in excitement． 'Then the King must be alive！ Michael's brought the foreigners with him， and left the three Ruritanians to hold the King prisoner． Usually， the Six， as they're called， go everywhere with him． '

Fritz wanted to do something immediately about Black Michael and his men， but Sapt and I realized that we could not do anything openly．

'We'll play a waiting game， and let Michael make the first move， 'I said．

And so I continued as King of Ruritania． In order to help the real King， I tried to make myself popular with the people． I went riding through the streets， smiling and talking to everybody． I also went to visit the Princess Flavia． The King's officials had told me that the Princess was very popular， and the people hoped that she would become my wife．

It was easy for me to pretend to be in love with the Princess． Too easy． Those beautiful eyes and that lovely smile were stealing my heart． Here was my greatest danger！ I was pretending to be another man， but losing my own heart． On my first visit， we sat together for a long time， talking of this and that． When I got up to leave， Princess Flavia said， 'Rudolf， you will be careful， won't you？ You have enemies， as I'm sure you know， and your life is very important to…Ruritania． '

'Only to Ruritania？ 'I asked softly．

'And to your loving cousin， 'she answered quietly．

I could not speak． I took her hand in mine． Then， with a heavy heart， I left．

Of course， I made many mistakes in my new life as King． But I managed to talk my way out of them， with luck and with help from Fritz and Sapt． It was like living on a knife edge． Once I met my brother Michael in the Princess's house． We smiled and talked politely， but I could see the anger in his black eyes．

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