Suddenly the tall man opened a little door that led into a dark passage, and Beppo followed him. They went along the passage, and then the man opened another door.
Then Beppo found himself in a great vaulted room. There at one end of the room were three souls. A man sat on the throne, and he was the king, for he had a crown on his head and a long robe over his shoulders. Beside him stood a priest, and in front of him stood a beautiful young woman as white as wax and as still as death.
Beppo wondered whether he were awake.
"Come hither," said the king, in a harsh voice, and Beppo came forward and kneeled before him. "Take this young woman by the hand," said the king.
Beppo did as he was bidden.
Her hand was as cold as ice.
Then, before Beppo knew what was happening, he found that he was being married.
It was the princess.
"Now," said the king to her when the priest had ended, and he frowned until his brows were as black as thunder--"now you are married; tell me, is your husband greater than I?"
But the princess said never a word, only the tears ran one after another down her white face. The king sat staring at her and frowning.
Suddenly some one tapped Beppo upon the shoulder. It was the tall man in black.
Beppo knew that he was to follow him again. This time the princess was to go along. The tall man in black led the way, and Beppo and the princess followed along the secret passage and up and down the stairs until at last they came out into the garden again.
And now the evening was beginning to fall.
The man led the way down the garden to the river, and still Beppo and the princess followed him.
By-and-by they came to the river-side and to a flight of steps, and there was a little frail boat without sail or oars.
The tall man in black beckoned towards the boat, and Beppo knew that he and princess were to enter it.
As soon as Beppo had helped the princess into the boat the tall man thrust it out into the stream with his foot, and the boat drifted away from the shore and out into the river, and then around and around. Then it floated off down the stream.
It floated on and on, and the sun set and the moon rose.
Beppo looked at the princess, and he thought he had never seen any one so beautiful in all his life. It was all like a dream, and he hoped he might never waken. But the princess sat there weeping and weeping, and said nothing.
The night fell darker and darker, but still Beppo sat looking at the princess. Her face was as white as silver in the moonlight.
The smell of the flower-gardens came across the river. The boat floated on and on until by-and-by it drifted to the shore again and among the river reeds, and there it stopped, and Beppo carried the princess ashore.
"Listen," said the princess. "Do you know who I am?"
"No," said Beppo, "I do not."
"I am the princess," said she, "the king's niece; and by rights I should be queen of this land."
Beppo could not believe his ears.
"It is true that I am married to you," said she, "but never shall you be my husband until you are king."
"King!" said Beppo; "how can I be king?"
"You shall be king," said the princess.
"But the king is everything," said Beppo, "and I am nothing at all."
"Great things come from small beginnings," said the princess; "a big tree from a little seed."
Some little distance away from the river was the twinkle of a light, and thither Beppo led the princess. When the two came to it, they found it was a little hut, for there were fish-nets hanging outside in the moonlight.
Beppo knocked.
An old woman opened the door. She stared and stared, as well she might, to see the fine lady in silks and satins with a gold ring upon her finger, and nobody with her but one who looked like a poor beggar-man.
"Who are you and what do you want?" said the old woman.
"Who we are," said the princess, "does not matter, except that we are honest folk in trouble. What we want is shelter for the night and food to eat, and that we will pay for."
"Shelter I can give you," said the old woman, "but little else but a crust of bread and a cup of water. One time there was enough and plenty in the house; but now, since my husband has gone and I am left all alone, it is little I have to eat and drink. But such as I have to give you are welcome to."
Then Beppo and the princess went into the house.
The next morning the princess called Beppo to her. "Here," said she, "is a ring and a letter. Go you into the town and inquire for Sebastian the Goldsmith. He will know what to do."
Beppo took the ring and the letter and started off to town, and it was not hard for him to find the man he sought, for every one knew of Sebastian the Goldsmith. He was an old man, with a great white beard and a forehead like the dome of a temple. He looked at Beppo from head to foot with eyes as bright as those of a snake; then he took the ring and the letter. As soon as he saw the ring he raised it to his lips and kissed it; then he kissed the letter also; then he opened it and read it.
He turned to Beppo and bowed very low. "My lord," said he, "I will do as I am commanded. Will you be pleased to follow me?"
He led the way into an inner room. There were soft rugs upon the floor, and around the walls were tapestries. There were couches and silken cushions. Beppo wondered what it all meant.
Sebastian the Goldsmith clapped his hands together. A door opened, and there came three black slaves into the room. The Goldsmith spoke to them in a strange language, and the chief of the three black slaves bowed in reply. Then he and the others led Beppo into another room where there was a marble bath of tepid water. They bathed him and rubbed him with soft linen towels; then they shaved the beard from his cheeks and chin and trimmed his hair; then they clothed him in fine linen and a plain suit of gray and Beppo looked like a new man.
Then when all this was done the chief of the blacks conducted Beppo back to Sebastian the Goldsmith. There was a fine feast spread, with fruit and wine. Beppo sat down to it, and Sebastian the Goldsmith stood and served him with a napkin over his arm.
Then Beppo was to return to the princess again.
