"At any rate, we'll try it; if it gets too deep,
we'll come back."
He walked to the water's edge, studied the black whirling mass,
shrugged and stepped in. The prince came after him,
unhesitatingly. Both shivered. The water was intensely cold. But
the bed was shallow, and the river never mounted above the waist.
However, in midstream it rushed strongly and wildly along, and
all but carried them off their feet. They arrived in safety at
the opposite shore, weak and cold in body, but warm in spirit.
They lay on the grass for several moments, breathing heavily.
They might now gain the pass by clambering up the mountain and
picking their way down from the other side. It was not possible
that Madame's troopers had entered into the kingdom.
"I am giving out," the prince confessed reluctantly. "Let us
make as much headway as we can while I last."
They stood up. Now the moon fell upon them both; and they viewed
each other with no little curiosity. What the prince saw pleased
him, for he possessed a good eye. What Maurice saw was a frank,
manly countenance, youthful, almost boyish. The prince did not
look to be more than three and twenty, if that; but there was a
man's determination in his jaw.
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