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"There was ahis coether with a contingent of a hundred uess would be…" And for afootsteps "Would be that whoever fell here, ran off there," and he pointed one way, "and that whoever was the victor ran off along the mountain path in almost precisely the opposite direction It is alsothe path taken by the Princess"

"Shall we follow them both?" the Count asked

"I think not," Prince Huone is of minimal importance, since whoever has the Princess is the whoever we’re after And because we don’t know the nature of the trap weled into, we need all the arms we have in one band Clearly, this had been planned by country must ever be put past them"

"You think this is a trap, then?" the Count asked

"I always think everything is a trap until proven otherwise," the Prince answered "Which is why I’m still alive"

And with that, he was back aboard a white and galloping

When he reached the ht happened, the Prince did not even bother dis that could be seen was quite visible froiant," he said, when the Count was close enough "The giant has run away, do you see?"

The Count, of course, saw nothing but rock and mountain path "I would not think to doubt you"

"And look there!" cried the Prince, because now he saw, for the first time, in the rubble of the mountain path, the footsteps of a woain the whites were thundering across the ain, the Prince was kneeling over the still body of a hunchback The Count disoblet

"Nothing," the Count said "No odor at all"

"Iocane," the Prince replied "I would betelse that kills so silently" He stood up then "The Princess was still alive; her footprints follow the path" He shouted at the hundredin Guilder if she dies!" On foot now, he ran along thethe footsteps that he alone could see And when those footsteps left the path for wilder terrain, he followed still Strung out behind him, the Count and all the soldiers did their best to keep up Men stumbled, horses fell, even the Count tripped from time to time Prince Humperdinck never even broke stride He ran steadily,like a metronome

It o hours after dahen he reached the steep ravine

"Odd," he said to the Count, as tiring badly

The Count continued only to breathe deeply

"Two bodies fell to the bottom, and they did not coed

"No, that isn’t what’s odd," the Prince corrected "Clearly, the kidnapper did not come back up because the climb was too steep, and our cannons must have let him know that they were closely pursued His decision, which I applaud, was tothe ravine floor"

The Count waited for the Prince to continue

"It’s just odd that a iants, an expert in the use of iocane powder, would not knohat this ravine opens into"

"And what is that?" asked the Count