Say that Prince Eugen has been suddenly taken ill, but that it isn't serious.

The truth must never be known.' 'He must be roused, sire,' Hans said again, as he hurried from the room.
Aribert lifted his nephew from the bed, shook him, pinched him, flicked him cruelly, shouted at him, dragged him about, but to no avail.

At length he desisted, from mere physical fatigue, and laid the Prince back again on the bed.

Every minute that elapsed seemed an hour.

Alone with the unconscious organism in the silence of the great stately chamber, under the cold yellow glare of the electric lights, Aribert became a prey to the most despairing thoughts.