Sentenced to Death

"Shall you be there?" I asked.

"Yes; I am detailed to the palace guard. Have you enjoyed the evening
here?"

"Hugely."

"Of course you have met the princess frequently."

Durnief had a way of half closing his eyes when he talked. He evidently
intended it to give him the appearance of indifference, but it had a
directly opposite effect upon me, for it was palpably a mask to conceal
the intensity of his gaze--to hide the interest he felt in whatever he
uttered at the time.

"No," I said, "this is my first acquaintance with her."

"Then you should consider yourself greatly honored."

"I do." Possibly my monosyllabic reply was even shorter than it needed
to have been for he gestured an almost imperceptible shrug, and
hesitated while he again bestowed upon me that half quizzical glance
which seemed to conceal a sneer, or which might have been intended to
suggest that I should have understood some obscure meaning behind his
words; but I chose not to see it. Then, as we shook hands at parting he
honored me by a pressure or his thumb which Morét had taught me to
understand as the very faintest kind of an interrogation. I have
already mentioned it as often given by a nihilist to one whom he
believes may be one with him. It was so faint and so uncertain that it
might easily have been mistaken for an accident, and like the glance I
permitted it to pass unnoticed.

It was about half past two in the morning when I emerged from the
house. The air was exhilaratingly cold, and the storm was nearly past.
The clouds which had hovered over the city all the preceding day and
night were still in evidence, however, so that the streets between the
widely separated lamps were dark and lonely. The distance I had to go
was something more than a mile, and I had traversed more than half of
it and was in the act of turning a corner when directly beside me, and
quite near, I saw a flash, was conscious of a loud report, and felt
that I had received a sharp and telling blow on my head.