Ah, if I had the keys! I would have risked everything and attacked Detchard and Bersonin before their friends could join them.

But I was powerless.

I must wait till the coming of my friends enticed someone to cross the bridge--someone with the keys.

And I waited, as it seemed, for half an hour, really for about five minutes, before the next act in the rapid drama began.
All was still on the other side.

The duke's room remained inscrutable behind its shutters.