"Urge them," were his last words, "to get well out of sight of Pfalz and
Furstenberg before the day breaks, and as for the small boats, turn them
loose; present them as a peace-offering to the Rhine."
In the darkness Prince Roland allowed his frail barque to float down the
stream, using his paddle merely to keep it toward the east, so to avoid
the chain. He found himself accompanied by a silent, spectral fleet; the
empty boats that his men had sent adrift. To all appearance the little
squadron lay motionless, while the dim Castle of Pfalz, with its score
of pointed turrets piercing a less dark sky, seemed like a great ship
moving slowly up the Rhine. When it had disappeared to the south, Roland
ventured to speak, in a low voice.
"Madam," he said, "tell your women so to arrange what extra apparel you
have brought to form a couch, where you may recline, and sleep for the
rest of the night."
"Captain Roland," she replied, her gentle little laugh floating with so
musical a cadence athwart the waters that he found himself regretting
such a sweet voice should be kept from the world by the unappreciative
walls of a convent,--"Captain Roland, I was never more awake than I am
at this moment.
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