There can be no
harm in asking why we are arrested."
"You are accused of being military spies from Jugendheit. That is
sufficient for the present."
"Frederick, they do not believe us. So much the better!" Ludwig pursed
his lips into a whistle.
"May I retain this bundle?" inquired the king.
"Yes. I know what is in it. Forward, march!"
The soldiers formed into a square, and in the center the prisoners were
placed. Carmichael made as though to protest, but Prince Ludwig signed
for him to be silent.
"Remember!" he said.
The king looked in vain for Gretchen. Then he beckoned to Carmichael,
and whispered brokenly: "If you see her, do not tell her what has
happened. Better to let her think that I have gone. And she will see
nothing in the arrest of the king of Jugendheit."
"I promise."
The troop marched along the street, followed by many curious ones, and
many heads popped in and out of the gabled windows. Carmichael watched
them till they veered round a corner, and then he returned to the
consulate. There he left a note for the clerk, telling him that he would
not be in the office again that day. Directly after, he hurried off to
the Jugendheit embassy.
An hour later Gretchen appeared before Fraeu Bauer. Gretchen had gone
home immediately after the termination of the fight in the garden.
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