half past four
Had the king not gone to the hunting-lodge , our design would have found the fulfilment we looked for ; had Rischenheim succeeded in warning Rupert of Hentzau , we should have stood where we were . Fate or fortune would have it otherwise . The king , being weary , went to the lodge , and Rischenheim failed in warning his cousin . It was a narrow failure , for Rupert , as his laugh told me , was in the house in the Konigstrasse when I set out from Strelsau , and Rischenheim arrived there at half past four . He had taken the train at a roadside station , and thus easily outstripped Mr. Rassendyll , who , not daring to show his face , was forced to ride all the way and enter the city under cover of night . But Rischenheim had not dared to send a warning , for he knew that we were in possession of the address and did not know what steps we might have taken to intercept messages . Therefore he was obliged to carry the news himself ; when he came his man was gone .