noon
Three times he wandered from the way and was forced to stop at farmhouses to inquire the proper direction ; but darkness hid his features from the sleepy eyes of those who answered his summons , and daylight found him still forging ahead in the direction of the capital of Lutha . The American was sunk in unhappy meditation as his weary little mount plodded slowly along the dusty road . For hours the man had not been able to urge the beast out of a walk . The loss of time consequent upon his having followed wrong roads during the night and the exhaustion of the pony which retarded his speed to what seemed little better than a snail 's pace seemed to assure the failure of his mission , for at best he could not reach Lustadt before noon . There was no possibility of bringing Leopold to his capital in time for the coronation , and but a bare possibility that Prince Ludwig would accept the word of an entire stranger that Leopold lived , for the acknowledgment of such a condition by the old prince could result in nothing less than an immediate resort to arms by the two factions . It was certain that Peter would be infinitely more anxious to proceed with his coronation should it be rumored that Leopold lived , and equally certain that Prince Ludwig would interpose every obstacle , even to armed resistance , to prevent the consummation of the ceremony . Yet there seemed to Barney no other alternative than to place before the king 's one powerful friend the information that he had .