He had ceased to pray long years ago, and yet in
this moment a hot, speechless prayer went up to Heaven for strength to
accomplish this miracle. "If I can only save my father then I am
content!"
In the next second he turned, and Egon, who had put new life into him
and given him back his courage, said gently:
"And now let us say good-bye! God bless you, Hartmut!"
The two friends clung to one another in a last embrace. All that had
come between them was lost sight of forever, and the old, warm love was
mightier than ever in this last hour, for they both felt that it was a
farewell for all time.
Scarcely fifteen minutes later a rider dashed out of the camp. The
slender Arab's hoofs hardly touched the ground over which it sped; in a
wild gallop it went on over the snow-covered ground, through the
ice-clad forest, over frozen streams, on, on, into the mountain pass!
CHAPTER XVI.
The following day brought clear, frosty weather. The intense cold had
abated and the sun shone out warm and bright. Eugen Stahlberg and
Lieutenant Walldorf, free from duty for the time being, were in Prince
Adelsberg's quarters. Walldorf had been thrown from his horse the
previous evening, and his hand had been injured, and this prevented him
from going out with his company, as Egon had done.
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