midday
Count Stanislas himself was a student and a recluse . He seldom visited the house , and had , on Fritz 's request , very readily and courteously offered me its hospitality for myself and my party . This , then , was our destination ; chosen ostensibly for the sake of the boar-hunting -LRB- for the wood was carefully preserved , and boars , once common all over Ruritania , were still to be found there in considerable numbers -RRB- , really because it brought us within striking distance of the Duke of Strelsau 's more magnificent dwelling on the other side of the town . A large party of servants , with horses and luggage , started early in the morning ; we followed at midday , travelling by train for thirty miles , and then mounting our horses to ride the remaining distance to the chateau . We were a gallant party . Besides Sapt and Fritz , I was accompanied by ten gentlemen : every one of them had been carefully chosen , and no less carefully sounded , by my two friends , and all were devotedly attached to the person of the King . They were told a part of the truth ; the attempt on my life in the summer-house was revealed to them , as a spur to their loyalty and an incitement against Michael .