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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sword Maker, by Robert Barr
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Sword Maker
+
+Author: Robert Barr
+
+Release Date: January 10, 2005 [EBook #14656]
+[Date last updated: December 14, 2005]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SWORD MAKER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Richard Lammers and the PG Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+              THE
+
+          SWORD MAKER
+
+              BY
+
+          ROBERT BARR
+
+
+           AUTHOR OF
+
+ "TEKLA" "CARDILLAC" "THE VICTORS"
+      "IN THE MIDST OF ALARMS"
+              ETC.
+
+            NEW YORK
+
+    FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+
+           PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+   FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+
+           June, 1910
+
+
+
+
+         TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+      I. AN OFFER TO OPEN THE RIVER
+     II. THE BARGAIN IS STRUCK
+    III. DISSENSION IN THE IRONWORKERS' GUILD
+     IV. THE DISTURBING JOURNEY OF FATHER AMBROSE
+      V. THE COUNTESS VON SAYN AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE
+     VI. TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM THE COUNTESS
+    VII. MUTINY IN THE WILDERNESS
+   VIII. THE MISSING LEADER AND THE MISSING GOLD
+     IX. A SOLEMN PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE
+      X. A CALAMITOUS CONFERENCE
+     XI. GOLD GALORE THAT TAKES TO ITSELF WINGS
+    XII. THE LAUGHING RED MARGRAVE OF FURSTENBERG
+   XIII. "A SENTENCE; COME, PREPARE!"
+    XIV. THE PRISONER OF EHRENFELS
+     XV. JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS' MEETING
+    XVI. MY LADY SCATTERS THE FREEBOOTERS AND CAPTURES THEIR CHIEF
+   XVII. "FOR THE EMPRESS, AND NOT FOR THE EMPIRE"
+  XVIII. THE SWORD MAKER AT BAY
+    XIX. THE BETROTHAL IN THE GARDEN
+     XX. THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST
+    XXI. A SECRET MARRIAGE
+   XXII. LONG LIVE THEIR MAJESTIES
+
+
+
+
+THE SWORD MAKER
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+AN OFFER TO OPEN THE RIVER
+
+
+Considering the state of the imperial city of Frankfort, one would not
+expect to find such a gathering as was assembled in the Kaiser cellar of
+the Rheingold drinking tavern. Outside in the streets all was turbulence
+and disorder; a frenzy on the part of the populace taxing to the utmost
+the efforts of the city authorities to keep it within bounds, and
+prevent the development of a riot that might result in the partial
+destruction at least of this once prosperous city. And indeed, the
+inhabitants of Frankfort could plead some excuse for their
+boisterousness. Temporarily, at any rate, all business was at a
+standstill. The skillful mechanics of the town had long been out of
+work, and now to the ranks of the unemployed were added, from time to
+time, clerks and such-like clerical people, expert accountants,
+persuasive salesmen, and small shopkeepers, for no one now possessed the
+money to buy more than the bare necessities of life. Yet the warehouses
+of Frankfort were full to overflowing, with every kind of store that
+might have supplied the needs of the people, and to the unlearned man it
+seemed unjust that he and his family should starve while granaries were
+packed with the agricultural produce of the South, and huge warehouses
+were glutted with enough cloth from Frankfort and the surrounding
+districts to clothe ten times the number of tatterdemalions who clamored
+through the streets.
+
+The wrath of the people was concentrated against one man, and he the
+highest in the land; to blame, of course, in a secondary degree, but not
+the one primarily at fault for this deplorable state of things. The
+Emperor, always indolent from the time he came to the throne, had grown
+old and crabbed and fat, caring for nothing but his flagon of wine that
+stood continually at his elbow. Laxity of rule in the beginning allowed
+his nobles to get the upper hand, and now it would require a civil war
+to bring them into subjection again. They, sitting snug in their
+strongholds, with plenty of wine in their cellars and corn in their
+bins, cared nothing for the troubles of the city. Indeed, those who
+inhabited either bank of the Rhine, watching from their elevated castles
+the main avenue of traffic between Frankfort and Cologne, her chief
+market, had throughout that long reign severely taxed the merchants
+conveying goods downstream. During the last five years, their exactions
+became so piratical that finally they killed the goose that laid the
+golden eggs, so now the Rhine was without a boat, and Frankfort without
+a buyer.
+
+For too long Frankfort had looked to the Emperor, whose business it was
+to keep order in his domain, and when at last the merchants, combining
+to help themselves, made an effort towards freedom, it was too late. The
+result of their combination was a flotilla of nearly a hundred boats,
+which, gathering at Frankfort and Mayence, proceeded together down the
+river, convoyed by a fleet containing armed men, and thus they thought
+to win through to Cologne, and so dispose of their goods. But the robber
+Barons combined also, hung chains across the river at the Lorely rocks,
+its narrowest part, and realizing that this fleet could defeat any
+single one of them, they for once acted in concert, falling upon the
+boats when their running against the chains threw them into confusion.
+
+The nobles and their brigands were seasoned fighters all, while the
+armed men secured by the merchants were mere hirelings, who fled in
+panic; and those not cut to pieces by their savage adversaries became
+themselves marauders on a small scale, scattered throughout the land,
+for there was little use of tramping back to the capital, where already
+a large portion of the population suffered the direst straits.
+
+Not a single bale of goods reached Cologne, for the robbers divided
+everything amongst themselves, with some pretty quarrels, and then they
+sank the boats in the deepest part of the river as a warning, lest the
+merchants of Frankfort and Mayence should imagine the Rhine belonged to
+them. Meantime, all petitions to the Emperor being in vain, the
+merchants gave up the fight. They were a commercial, not a warlike
+people. They discharged their servants and underlings, and starvation
+slowly settled down upon the distressed city.
+
+After the maritime disaster on the Rhine, some of the merchants made a
+futile attempt to amend matters, for which their leaders paid dearly.
+They appealed to the seven Electors, finding their petitions to the
+Emperor were in vain, asking these seven noblemen, including the three
+warlike Archbishops of Cologne, Treves, and Mayence, to depose the
+Emperor, which they had power to do, and elect his son in his stead. But
+they overlooked the fact that a majority of the Electors themselves, and
+probably the Archbishops also, benefited directly or indirectly by the
+piracies on the Rhine. The answer to this request was the prompt hanging
+of three leading merchants, the imprisonment of a score of others, and a
+warning to the rest that the shoemaker should stick to his last, leaving
+high politics to those born to rule. This misguided effort caused the
+three Archbishops to arrest Prince Roland, the Emperor's only son, and
+incarcerate him in Ehrenfels, a strong castle on the Rhine belonging to
+the Archbishop of Mayence, who was thus made custodian of the young man,
+and responsible to his brother prelates of Cologne and Treves for the
+safe-keeping of the Prince. The Archbishops, as has been said, were too
+well satisfied with the weak administration then established at
+Frankfort to wish a change, so the lad was removed from the capital,
+that the citizens of Frankfort might be under no temptation to place him
+at their head, and endeavor to overturn the existing order of things.
+
+This being the state of affairs in Frankfort, with every one gloomy, and
+a majority starving, it was little wonder that the main cellar of the
+Rheingold tavern should be empty, although when times were good it was
+difficult to find a seat there after the sun went down. But in the
+smaller Kaiser cellar, along each side of the single long table, sat
+young men numbering a score, who ate black bread and drank Rhine wine,
+to the roaring of song and the telling of story. They formed a close
+coterie, admitting no stranger to their circle if one dissenting voice
+was raised against his acceptance, yet in spite of this exclusiveness
+there was not a drop of noble blood in the company. They belonged,
+however, to the aristocracy of craftsmen; metal-workers for the most
+part, ingenious artificers in iron, beaters of copper, fashioners of
+gold and silver. Glorious blacksmiths, they called themselves; but now,
+like every one else, with nothing to do. In spite of their city
+up-bringing all were stalwart, well-set-up young men; and, indeed, the
+swinging of hammers is good exercise for the muscles of the arm, and in
+those turbulent days a youth who could not take care of himself with his
+stick or his fists was like to fare ill if he ventured forth after
+nightfall.
+
+This, indeed, had been the chief reason for the forming of their guild,
+and if one of their number was set upon, the secret call of the
+organization shouted aloud brought instant help were any of the members
+within hearing. Belonging neither to the military nor the aristocracy,
+they were not allowed to wear swords, and to obtain this privilege was
+one of the objects of their organization. Indeed, each member of the
+guild secretly possessed a weapon of the best, although he risked his
+neck if ever he carried it abroad with him. Among their number were
+three of the most expert sword makers in all Germany.
+
+These three sword makers had been instrumental in introducing to their
+order the man who was now its leader. This youth came to one of them
+with ideas concerning the proper construction of a sword, and the
+balancing of it, so that it hung easily in the hand as though part of
+the fore-arm. Usually, the expert has small patience with the theories
+of an amateur; but this young fellow, whose ambition it was to invent a
+sword, possessed such intimate knowledge of the weapon as it was used,
+not only in Germany, but also in France and Italy, that the sword maker
+introduced him to fellow-craftsmen at other shops, and they taught him
+how to construct a sword. These instructors, learning that although, as
+Roland laughingly said, he was not allowed to wear a sword, he could
+wield it with a precision little short of marvelous, the guild gave
+permission for this stranger to be a guest at one of their weekly
+meetings at the Kaiser cellar, where he exhibited his wonderful skill.
+
+Not one of them, nor, indeed, all of them together, stood any chance
+when confronting him. They clamored to be taught, offering good money
+for the lessons, believing that if they acquired but a tithe of his
+excellence with the blade they might venture to wear it at night, and
+let their skill save them from capture. But the young fellow refused
+their money, and somewhat haughtily declined the rôle of fencing-master,
+whereupon they unanimously elected him a member of the coterie, waiving
+for this one occasion the rule which forbade the choice of any but a
+metal-worker. When the stranger accepted the election, he was informed
+that it was the duty of each member to come to the aid of his brethren
+when required, and they therefore requested him to teach them
+swordsmanship. Roland, laughing, seeing how he had been trapped, as it
+were, with his own consent, acceded to the universal wish, and before a
+year had passed his twenty comrades were probably the leading swordsmen
+in the city of Frankfort.
+
+Shortly after the disaster to the merchants' fleet at the Lorely, Roland
+disappeared without a word of farewell to those who had come to think so
+much of him. He had been extremely reticent regarding his profession, if
+he had one, and no one knew where he lodged. It was feared that the
+authorities had arrested him with the sword in his possession, for he
+grew more reckless than any of the others in carrying the weapon. One
+night, however, he reappeared, and took his seat at the head of the
+table as if nothing had happened. Evidently he had traveled far and on
+foot, for his clothes were dusty and the worse for wear. He refused to
+give any account of himself, but admitted that he was hungry, thirsty,
+and in need of money.
+
+His hunger and thirst were speedily satisfied, but the money scarcity
+was not so easily remedied. All the score were out of employment, with
+the exception of the three sword makers, whose trade the uncertainty of
+the times augmented rather than diminished. To cheer up Roland, who was
+a young fellow of unquenchable geniality, they elected him to the empty
+honor of being their leader, Kurzbold's term of office having ended.
+
+The guild met every night now, instead of once a week, and it may be
+shrewdly suspected that the collation of black bread and sausage formed
+the sole meal of the day for many of them. Nevertheless, their hilarity
+was undiminished, and the rafters rang with song and laugh, and echoed
+also maledictions upon a supine Government, and on the rapacious Rhine
+lords. But the bestowal of even black bread and the least expensive of
+wine could not continue indefinitely. They owed a bill to the landlord
+upon which that worthy, patient as he had proved himself, always hoping
+for better times, wished for at least something on account. All his
+other customers had deserted him, and if they drank at all, chose some
+place where the wine was thin and cheap. The landlord held out bravely
+for three months after Roland was elected president, then, bemoaning his
+fate, informed the guild that he would be compelled to close the
+Rheingold tavern.
+
+"Give me a week!" cried Roland, rising in his place at the head of the
+table, "and I will make an effort to get enough gold to settle the bill
+at least, with perhaps something over for each of our pockets."
+
+This promise brought forth applause and a rattle of flagons on the
+table, so palpably empty that the ever-hopeful landlord proceeded
+forthwith to fill them.
+
+"There is one proviso," said Roland, as they drank his health in the
+wine his offer produced. "To get this money I must do something in
+return. I have a plan in mind which it would be premature to disclose.
+If it succeeds, none of us will ever need to bend back over a workman's
+bench again, or hammer metal except for our own pleasure. But acting
+alone I am powerless, so I must receive your promise that you will stand
+by any pledge I make on your behalf, and follow me into whatever danger
+I choose to lead you."
+
+There was a great uproar at this, and a boisterous consent.
+
+"This day week, then," said Roland, as he strapped sword to side, threw
+cloak over shoulders, so that it completely concealed the forbidden
+weapon, waved a hand to his cheering comrades, and went out into the
+night.
+
+Once ascended the cellar steps, the young man stood in the narrow street
+as though hesitating what to do. Faintly there came to him the sound of
+singing from the cellar he had quitted, and he smiled slightly as he
+listened to the rousing chorus he knew so well. From the direction of
+the Palace a more sinister echo floated on the night air; the
+unmistakable howl of anger, pain, and terror; the noise that a pursued
+and stricken mob makes when driven by soldiers. The populace had
+evidently been engaged in its futile and dangerous task of
+demonstrating, and proclaiming its hunger, and the authorities were
+scattering it; keeping it ever on the move.
+
+It was still early; not yet ten o'clock, and a full moon shone over the
+city, unlighted otherwise. Drawing his cloak closer about him, Roland
+walked rapidly in an opposite direction to that from which the tumult of
+the rabble came, until he arrived at the wide Fahrgasse, a street
+running north and south, its southern end terminating at the old bridge.
+Along this thoroughfare lived the wealthiest merchants of Frankfort.
+
+Roland turned, and proceeded slowly towards the river, critically
+examining the tall, picturesque buildings on either hand, cogitating the
+question which of them would best answer his purpose. They all seemed
+uninviting enough, for their windows were dark, most of them tightly
+shuttered; and, indeed, the thoroughfare looked like a street of the
+dead, the deserted appearance enhanced, rather than relieved, by the
+white moonlight lying on its cobble-stones.
+
+Nearing the bridge, he discovered one stout door ajar, and behind it
+shone the yellow glow of a lamp. He paused, and examined critically the
+façade of the house, which, with its quiet, dignified architectural
+beauty, seemed the abode of wealth. Although the shutters were closed,
+his intent inspection showed him thin shafts of light from the chinks,
+and he surmised that an assemblage of some sort was in progress,
+probably a secret convention, the members of which entered unannounced,
+and left the door ajar ready for the next comer.
+
+For a moment he thought of venturing in, but remembering his mission
+required the convincing of one man rather than the persuasion of a
+group, he forbore, but noted in his mind the position and designation of
+the house, resolving to select this building as the theater of his first
+effort, and return to it next morning. It would serve his purpose as
+well as another.
+
+Roland's attention was then suddenly directed to his own position,
+standing in the bright moonlight, for there swung round from the river
+road, into the Fahrgasse, a small and silent company, who marched as one
+man. The moon was shining almost directly up the street, but the houses
+to the west stood in its radiance, while those in the east were still in
+shadow. Roland pressed himself back against the darkened wall to his
+left, near the partially opened door; between it and the river. The
+silent procession advanced to the door ajar, and there paused, forming
+their ranks into two lines, thus making a passage for a tall,
+fine-looking, bearded man, who walked to the threshold, then turned and
+raised his bonnet in salute.
+
+"My friends," he said, "this is kind of you, and although I have been
+silent, I ask you to believe that deeply I appreciate your welcome
+escort. And now, enter with me, and we will drink a stoup of wine
+together, to the somber toast, 'God save our stricken city!'"
+
+"No, no, Herr Goebel. To-night is sacred. We have seen you safely to
+your waiting family, and at that reunion there should be no intruders.
+But to-morrow night, if you will have us, we will drink to the city, and
+to your own good health, Herr Goebel."
+
+This sentiment was applauded by all, and the merchant, seeing that they
+would not accept his present invitation, bowed in acquiescence, and bade
+them good-by. When the door closed the delegation separated into units,
+and each went his own way. Roland, stepping out of the shadow, accosted
+the rearmost man.
+
+"Pardon me, mein Herr," he said, "but may I ask what ceremony is this in
+which you have been taking part?"
+
+The person accosted looked with some alarm at his questioner, but the
+moonlight revealed a face singularly gentle and winning; a face that in
+spite of its youth inspired instinctive confidence. The tone, too, was
+very persuasive, and seemed devoid even of the offense of curiosity.
+
+"'Tis no ceremony," said the delegate, "but merely the return home of
+our friend, Herr Goebel."
+
+"Has he, then, been on a journey?"
+
+"Sir, you are very young, and probably unacquainted with Frankfort."
+
+"I have lived here all my life," said Roland. "I am a native of
+Frankfort."
+
+"In that case," replied the other, "you show yourself amazingly ignorant
+of its concerns; otherwise you would know that Herr Goebel is one of the
+leading merchants of the city, a man honorable, enlightened, and
+energetic--an example to us all, and one esteemed alike by noble or
+peasant. We honor ourselves in honoring him."
+
+"Herr Goebel should be proud of such commendation, mein Herr, coming I
+judge, from one to whom the words you use might also be applied."
+
+The merchant bowed gravely at this compliment, but made no remark upon
+it.
+
+"Pardon my further curiosity," continued the young man, "but from whence
+does Herr Goebel return?"
+
+"He comes from prison," said the other. "He made the mistake of thinking
+that our young Prince would prove a better ruler than his father, our
+Emperor, and but that the Archbishops feared a riot if they went to
+extremes, Herr Goebel ran great danger of losing his life rather than
+his liberty."
+
+"What you say, mein Herr, interests me very much, and I thank you for
+your courtesy. My excuse for questioning you is this. I am moved by a
+desire to enter the employ of such a man as Herr Goebel, and I purpose
+calling upon him to-morrow, if you think he would be good enough to
+receive me."
+
+"He will doubtless receive you," replied the other, "but I am quite
+certain your mission will fail. At the present moment none of us are
+engaging clerks, however competent. Ignorant though you are of civic
+affairs, you must be aware that all business is at a standstill in
+Frankfort. Although Herr Goebel has said nothing about it, I learn from
+an unquestionable source that he himself is keeping from starvation all
+his former employees, so I am sure he would not take on, for a stranger,
+any further obligation."
+
+"Sir, I am well acquainted with the position of affairs, and it is to
+suggest a remedy that I desire speech with Herr Goebel. I do not possess
+the privilege of acquaintance with any merchant in this city, so one
+object of my accosting you was to learn, if possible, how I might secure
+some note of introduction to the merchant that would ensure his
+receiving me, and obtain for me a hearing when once I had been admitted
+to his house."
+
+If Roland expected the stranger to volunteer such a note, he quite
+underestimated the caution of a Frankfort merchant.
+
+"As I said before, you will meet with no difficulty so far as entrance
+to the house is concerned. May I take it that you yourself understand
+the art of writing?"
+
+"Oh yes," replied Roland.
+
+"Then indite your own letter of introduction. Say that you have evolved
+a plan for the redemption of Frankfort, and Herr Goebel will receive you
+without demur. He will listen patiently, and give a definite decision
+regarding the feasibility of your project. And now, good sir, my way
+lies to the left. I wish you success, and bid you good-night."
+
+The stranger left Roland standing at the intersection of two streets,
+one of which led to the Saalhof. They had been approaching the
+Romerberg, or market-place, the center of Frankfort, when the merchant
+so suddenly ended the conversation and turned aside. Roland remembered
+that no Jew was allowed to set foot in the Romerberg, and now surmised
+the nationality of his late companion. The youth proceeded alone through
+the Romerberg, and down directly to the river, reaching the spot where
+the huge Saalhof faced its flood. Roland saw that triple guards
+surrounded the Emperor's Palace. The mob had been cleared away, but no
+one was allowed to linger in its precincts, and the youth was gruffly
+ordered to take himself elsewhere, which he promptly did, walking up the
+Saalgasse, and past the Cathedral, until he came once more into the
+Fahrgasse, down which he proceeded, pausing for another glance at
+Goebel's house, until he came to the bridge, where he stood with arms
+resting on the parapet, thoughtfully shaping in his mind what he would
+say to Herr Goebel in the morning.
+
+Along the opposite side of the river lay a compact mass of barges; ugly,
+somber, black in the moonlight, silent witnesses to the ruin of
+Frankfort. The young man gazed at this melancholy accumulation of
+useless floating stock, and breathed the deeper when he reflected that
+whoever could set these boats in motion again would prove himself,
+temporarily at least, the savior of the city.
+
+When the bells began to toll eleven, Roland roused himself, walked
+across the bridge to Sachsenhausen, and so to his squalid lodging,
+consoling himself with the remembrance that the great King Charlemagne
+had made this his own place of residence. Here, before retiring to bed,
+he wrote the letter which he was to send in next day to Herr Goebel,
+composing it with some care, so that it aroused curiosity without
+satisfying it.
+
+It was half-past ten next morning when Roland presented himself at the
+door of the leading merchant in the Fahrgasse, and sent in to that
+worthy his judiciously worded epistle. He was kept waiting in the hall
+longer than he expected, but at last the venerable porter appeared, and
+said Herr Goebel would be pleased to receive him. He was conducted up
+the stair to the first floor, and into a front room which seemed to be
+partly library and partly business office. Here seated at a stout table,
+he recognized the grave burgher whose home-coming he had witnessed the
+night before.
+
+The keen eyes of the merchant seemed to penetrate to his inmost thought,
+and it struck Roland that there came into them an expression of
+disappointment, for he probably did not expect so youthful a visitor.
+
+"Will you be seated, mein Herr," said his host; and Roland, with an
+inclination of the head, accepted the invitation. "My time is very
+completely occupied to-day," continued the elder man, "for although
+there is little business afoot in Frankfort, my own affairs have been
+rather neglected of late, and I am endeavoring to overtake the arrears."
+
+"I know that," said Roland. "I stood by your doorcheek last night when
+you returned home."
+
+"Did you so? May I ask why?"
+
+"There was no particular reason. It happened that I walked down the
+Fahrgasse, endeavoring to make up my mind upon whom I should call
+to-day."
+
+"And why have I received the preference?"
+
+"Perhaps, sir, it would be more accurate to say your house received the
+preference, if it is such. I was struck by its appearance of solidity
+and wealth, and, differing from all others in the door being ajar, I
+lingered before it last night with some inclination to enter. Then the
+procession which accompanied you came along. I heard your address to
+your friends, and wondered what the formality was about. After the door
+was closed I accosted one of those who escorted you, and learned your
+name, business, and reputation."
+
+"You must be a stranger in Frankfort when you needed to make such
+inquiry."
+
+"Those are almost the same words that my acquaintance of last night
+used, and he seemed astonished when I replied that I was born in
+Frankfort, and had lived here all my life."
+
+"Ah, I suppose no man is so well known as he thinks he is, but I venture
+to assert that you are not engaged in business here."
+
+"Sir, you are in the right. I fear I have hitherto led a somewhat
+useless existence."
+
+"On money earned by some one else, perhaps."
+
+"Again you hit the nail on the head, Herr Goebel. I lodge on the other
+side of the river, and coming to and fro each day, the sight of all
+those useless barges depresses me, and I have formulated a plan for
+putting them in motion again."
+
+"I fear, sir, that wiser heads than yours have been meditating upon that
+project without avail."
+
+"I should have been more gratified, Herr Goebel, if you had said 'older
+heads.'"
+
+The suspicion of a smile hovered for a brief instant round the shrewd,
+firm lips of the merchant.
+
+"Young sir, your gentle reproof is deserved. I know nothing of your
+wisdom, and so should have referred to the age, and not to the equipment
+of your head. It occurs to me, as I study you more closely, that I have
+met you before. Your face seems familiar."
+
+"'Tis but a chance resemblance, I suspect. Until very recently I have
+been absorbed in my studies, and rarely left my father's house."
+
+"I am doubtless mistaken. But to return to our theme. As you are
+ignorant of my name and standing in this city, you are probably unaware
+of the efforts already made to remove the deadlock on the Rhine."
+
+"In that, Herr Goebel, you are at fault. I know an expedition of folly
+was promoted at enormous expense, and that the empty barges, numbering
+something like fivescore, now rest in the deepest part of the Rhine."
+
+"Why do you call it an expedition of folly?"
+
+"Surely the result shows it to be such."
+
+"A plan may meet with disaster, even where every precaution has been
+taken. We did the best we could, and if the men we had paid for the
+protection of the flotilla had not, with base cowardice, deserted their
+posts, these barges would have reached Cologne."
+
+"Never! The defenders you chose were riff-raff, picked up in the gutters
+of Frankfort, and you actually supposed such cattle, undisciplined and
+untrained, would stand up against the fearless fighters of the Barons,
+swashbucklers, hardened to the use of sword and pike. What else was to
+be expected? The goods were not theirs, but yours. They had received
+their pay, and so speedily took themselves out of danger."
+
+"You forget, sir, or you do not know, that several hundred of them were
+cut to pieces."
+
+"I know that, also, but the knowledge does not in the least nullify my
+contention. I am merely endeavoring to show you that the heads you spoke
+of a moment ago were only older, but not necessarily wiser than mine. It
+would be impossible for me to devise an expedition so preposterous."
+
+"What should we have done?"
+
+"For one thing, you should have gone yourselves, and defended your own
+bales."
+
+The merchant showed visible signs of a slowly rising anger, and had the
+young man's head contained the wisdom he appeared to claim for it, he
+would have known that his remarks were entirely lacking in tact, and
+that he was making no progress, but rather the reverse. "You speak like
+a heedless, untutored youth. How could we defend our bales, when no
+merchant is allowed to wear a sword?"
+
+Roland rose and put his hands to the throat of his cloak.
+
+"I am not allowed to wear a sword;" and saying this, he dramatically
+flung wide his cloak, displaying the prohibited weapon hanging from his
+belt. The merchant sat back in his chair, visibly impressed.
+
+"You seem to repose great confidence in me," he said. "What if I were to
+inform the authorities?"
+
+The youth smiled.
+
+"You forget, Herr Goebel, that I learned much about you from your friend
+last night. I feel quite safe in your house."
+
+He flung his cloak once more over the weapon, and sat down again.
+
+"What is your occupation, sir?" asked the merchant.
+
+"I am a teacher of swordsmanship. I practice the art of a
+fencing-master."
+
+"Your clients are aristocrats, then?"
+
+"Not so. The class with which I am now engaged contains twenty skilled
+artisans of about my own age."
+
+"If they do not belong to the aristocracy, your instruction must be
+surreptitious, because it is against the law."
+
+"It is both surreptitious and against the law, but in spite of these
+disadvantages, my twenty pupils are the best swordsmen in Frankfort, and
+I would willingly pit them against any twenty nobles with whom I am
+acquainted."
+
+"So!" cried the merchant. "You are acquainted with twenty nobles, are
+you?"
+
+"Well, you see," explained the young man, flushing slightly, "these
+metal-workers whom I drill, being out of employment, cannot afford to
+pay for their lessons, and naturally, as you indicated, a fencing-master
+must look to the nobles for his bread. I used the word acquaintance
+hastily. I am acquainted with the nobles in the same way that a clerk in
+the woolen trade might say he was acquainted with a score of merchants,
+to none of whom he had ever spoken."
+
+"I see. Am I to take it that your project for opening the Rhine depends
+for its success on those twenty metal-workers, who quite lawlessly know
+how to handle their swords?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Tell me what your plan is."
+
+"I do not care to disclose my plan, even to you."
+
+"I thought you came here hoping I should further your project, and
+perhaps finance it. Am I wrong in such a surmise?"
+
+"Sir, you are not. The very first proviso is that you pay to me across
+this table a thousand thalers in gold."
+
+The smile came again to the lips of the merchant.
+
+"Anything else?" he asked.
+
+"Yes. You will select one of your largest barges, and fill it with
+whatever class of goods you deal in."
+
+"Don't you know what class of goods I deal in?"
+
+"No! I do not."
+
+Goebel's smile broadened. That a youth so ignorant of everything
+pertaining to the commerce of Frankfort, should come in thus boldly and
+demand a thousand thalers in gold from a man whose occupation he did not
+know, seemed to the merchant one of the greatest pieces of impudence he
+had encountered in his long experience of men.
+
+"After all, my merchandise," he said, "matters little one way or another
+when I am engaged with such a customer as you. What next?"
+
+"You will next place a price upon the shipload; a price such as you
+would accept if the boat reached Cologne intact. I agree to pay you that
+money, together with the thousand thalers, when I return to Frankfort."
+
+"And when will that be, young sir?"
+
+"You are better able to estimate the length of time than I. I do not
+know, for instance, how long it takes a barge to voyage from Frankfort
+to Cologne."
+
+"Given fair weather, which we may expect in July, and premising that
+there are no interruptions, let us say a week."
+
+"Would a man journeying on horseback from Cologne to Frankfort reach
+here sooner than the boat?"
+
+"The barge having to make headway against a strong current, I should say
+the horseman would accomplish the trip in a third of the time."
+
+"Very well. To allow for all contingencies, I promise to pay the money
+one month from the day we leave the wharf at Frankfort."
+
+"That would be eminently satisfactory."
+
+"I forgot to mention that I expect you, knowing more about navigation
+than I, to supply a trustworthy captain and an efficient crew for the
+manning of the barge. I should like men who understand the currents of
+the river, and who, if questioned by the Barons, would not be likely to
+tell more than they were asked."
+
+"I can easily provide such a set of sailors."
+
+"Very well, Herr Goebel. Those are my requirements. Will you agree to
+supply them?"
+
+"With great pleasure, my young and enthusiastic friend, provided that
+you comply with one of the most common of our commercial rules."
+
+"And what is that, mein Herr?"
+
+"Before you depart you will leave with me ample security that if I never
+see you again, the value of the goods, plus the thousand thalers, will
+be repaid to me when the month is past."
+
+"Ah," said the young man, "you impose an impossible condition."
+
+"Give me a bond, then, signed by three responsible merchants."
+
+"Sir, as I am acquainted with no merchant in this city except yourself,
+how could I hope to obtain the signature of even one responsible man?"
+
+"How, then, do you expect to obtain my consent to a project which I know
+cannot succeed, while I bear all the risk?"
+
+"Pardon me, Herr Goebel. I and my comrades risk our lives. You risk
+merely your money and your goods."
+
+"You intend, then, to fight your way down the Rhine?"
+
+"Surely. How else?"
+
+"Supported by only twenty followers?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And you hope to succeed where a thousand of our men failed?"
+
+"Yes; they were hirelings, as I told you. With my twenty I could put
+them all to flight. Aside from this, I should like to point out to you
+that the merchants of Frankfort formed their combination at public
+meetings, called together by the burgomaster. There was no secrecy about
+their deliberations. Every robber Baron along the Rhine knew what you
+were going to attempt, and was prepared for your coming. I intend that
+your barge shall leave Frankfort at midnight. My company will proceed
+across country, and join her at some agreed spot, probably below
+Bingen."
+
+"I see. Well, my young friend, you have placed before me a very
+interesting proposal, but I am a business man, and not an adventurer.
+Unless you can furnish me with security, I decline to advance a single
+thaler, not to mention a thousand."
+
+The young man rose to his feet, and the merchant, with a sigh, seemed
+glad that the conference was ended.
+
+"Herr Goebel, you deeply disappoint me."
+
+"I am sorry for that, and regret the forfeiting of your good opinion,
+but despite that disadvantage I must persist in my obstinacy."
+
+"I do not wonder that this fair city lies desolate if her prosperity
+depends upon her merchants, and if you are chief among them; yet I
+cannot forget that you risked life and liberty on my behalf, though now
+you will not venture a miserable thousand thalers on my word of honor."
+
+"On _your_ behalf? What do you mean?"
+
+"I mean, Herr Goebel, that I am Prince Roland, only son of the Emperor,
+and that you placed your neck in jeopardy to elevate me to the throne."
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE BARGAIN IS STRUCK
+
+
+Every epoch seems to have possessed a two-word phrase that contained, as
+it were, the condensed wisdom of the age, and was universally believed
+by the people. For instance, the aphorism "Know thyself" rose to
+popularity when cultured minds turned towards science. In the period to
+which this recital belongs the adage "Blood tells" enjoyed universal
+acceptance. It was, in fact, that erroneous statement "The King can do
+no wrong" done up into tabloid form. From it, too, sprang that
+double-worded maxim of the days of chivalry, "_Noblesse oblige_."
+
+In our own time, the two-worded phrase is "Money talks," and if diligent
+inquirers probe deeply into the matter, they will find that the
+aspirations of the people always correspond with reasonable accuracy to
+the meaning of the phrase then in use. Nothing could be more excellent,
+for instance, than the proverb "Money talks" as representing two
+commercial countries like America and England. In that short sentence is
+packed the essence of many other wise and drastic sayings, as, for
+instance, "The devil take the hindmost;" for, of course, if money talks,
+then the man without it must remain silent, and his place is at the tail
+of the procession, where the devil prowls about like a Cossack at the
+rear of Napoleon's army.
+
+Confronting each other in that ancient house on the Fahrgasse, we
+witness, then, the personification of the two phrases, ancient and
+modern: blood represented by the standing lad, and money by the seated
+merchant.
+
+"I am Prince Roland, only son of the Emperor," the young man had said,
+and he saw at once by the expression on the face of his host that, could
+he be convinced of the truth of the assertion, the thousand thalers that
+the Prince had demanded would be his on the instant.
+
+For a full minute Roland thought he had succeeded, but as the surprise
+died out of the merchant's countenance, there replaced it that mask of
+caution which had had so much to do with the building of his fortune.
+During their conference Herr Goebel cudgeled his brain, trying to
+remember where he had seen this young man before, but memory had roamed
+among clerks, salesmen, and industrious people of that sort where,
+somehow, this young fellow did not fit in. When Roland suddenly sprung
+on him the incredible statement that he was a member of the Imperial
+family, the merchant's recollection then turned towards pageants he had
+seen, in one of which this young stranger might very well have borne a
+part. Blood was beginning to tell.
+
+But now experience came to the merchant's aid. Only in romances did
+princes of the blood royal wander about like troubadours. Even a member
+of the lesser nobility did not call unheralded at the house of a
+merchant. The aristocracy always wanted money, it is true, "but what
+they thought they might require, they went and took," as witness the
+piratical Barons of the Rhine, whose exactions brought misery on the
+great city of Frankfort.
+
+Then all at once came the clinching remembrance that when the Electors
+were appealed to on behalf of the young Prince, the three Archbishops
+had promptly seized his Royal Highness, and, in spite of the pleadings
+of the Empress (the Emperor was drunk and indifferent) placed him in the
+custody of the Archbishop nearest to Frankfort, the warrior prelate of
+Mayence, who imprisoned him in the strong fortress of Ehrenfels, from
+which, well guarded and isolated as it was upon a crag over-hanging the
+Rhine, no man could escape.
+
+"Will you kindly be seated again, sir," requested the merchant, and if
+he had spoken a short time before, he would have put the phrase "your
+Royal Highness" in the place of the word "sir."
+
+Roland, after a moment's hesitation, sat down. He saw that his coup had
+failed, because he was unable to back it up by proofs. His dramatic
+action had been like a brilliant cavalry charge, for a moment
+successful, but coming to naught because there was no solid infantry to
+turn the temporary confusion of the enemy into complete rout. Realizing
+that the battle must be fought over again, the Prince sat back with a
+sigh of disappointment, a shade of discontent on his handsome face.
+
+"I find myself in rather a quandary," proceeded the merchant. "If indeed
+you are the Emperor's son, it is not for such as I to cross-examine
+you."
+
+"Ask me any questions you like, sir. I shall answer them promptly
+enough."
+
+"If I beg you to supply proof of the statement you make, you would be
+likely to reply that as you dared not enter your father's Palace, you
+are unable to furnish me with corroboration."
+
+"Sir, you put the case in better language than I could employ. In more
+halting terms that is what I should have said."
+
+"When were you last in the Palace?"
+
+"About the same time, sir, that you took up your residence in prison."
+
+"Ah, yes; that naturally would be your answer. Now, my young friend, you
+have shown me that you know nothing of mercantile practice; therefore it
+may perhaps interest you if I explain some of our methods."
+
+"Herr Goebel, you may save your breath. Such a recital must not only
+fail to interest me, but will bore me extremely. I care nothing for your
+mercantile procedure, and, to be quite plain with you, I despise your
+trade, and find some difficulty in repressing my contempt for those who
+practice it."
+
+"If an emissary of mine," returned Goebel, unperturbed, "approached a
+client or customer for the purpose of obtaining a favor, and used as
+little tact as you do, I should dismiss him."
+
+"I'm not asking any favors from you."
+
+"You wish me to hand over to you a thousand thalers, otherwise why came
+you here?"
+
+"I desire to bestow upon you the greatest of boons, namely to open up
+the Rhine, and bring back prosperity to Frankfort, which you brainless,
+cowardly merchants have allowed to slip through your fingers, blaming
+now the Barons, now the Emperor, now the Electors; censuring everybody,
+in fact, except the real culprits ... yourselves. You speak of the money
+as a favor, but it is merely an advance for a few weeks, and will be
+returned to you; yet because I desire to confer this inestimable gift
+upon you and your city, you expect me to cringe to you, and flatter you,
+as if I were a member of your own sycophantic league. I refuse to do
+anything of the kind, and yet, by God, I'll have the money!"
+
+The merchant, for the first time during their conference, laughed
+heartily. The young man's face was aflame with anger, yet the truculent
+words he used did more to convince Herr Goebel that he belonged to the
+aristocracy than if he had spoken with the most exemplary humility.
+Goebel felt convinced he was not the Prince, but some young noble, who,
+intimate with the Royal Family, and knowing the Emperor's son to be out
+of the way, thought it safe to assume his name, the better to carry
+forward his purpose, whatever that purpose might actually be. That it
+was to open the Rhine he did not for a moment credit, and that he would
+ever see his cash again, if once he parted with it, he could not
+believe.
+
+"At the risk of tiring you, I shall nevertheless proceed with what I was
+about to say. We merchants, for our own protection, contribute to a fund
+which might be entitled one for secret service. This fund enables us to
+procure private information that may be of value in our business. Among
+other things we need to know are accurate details pertaining to the
+intentions and doings of our rulers, for whatever our own short-comings
+may be, the actions of those above us affect business one way or the
+other. May I read you a short report that came in while I was serving my
+term of imprisonment?"
+
+"Oh, read what you like," said Roland indifferently, throwing back his
+head, and partially closing his eyes, with an air of _ennui_.
+
+The merchant drew towards him a file of papers, and going through them
+carefully, selected a document, and drew it forth, then, clearing his
+throat, he read aloud--
+
+"'At an hour after midnight, on St. Stanislas' Day, three nobles, one
+representing the Archbishop of Mayence, the second the Archbishop of
+Treves, and the third the Archbishop of Cologne, armed with authority
+from these three Electors and Princes of the Church, entered the Saalhof
+from the side facing the river, and arrested in his bed the young Prince
+Roland. They assured the Empress, who protested, that the Prince would
+be well cared for, and that, as an insurrection was feared in Frankfort,
+it was considered safer that the person whom they intended to elevate to
+the throne on the event of the Emperor's death, should be out of harm's
+way, being placed under the direct care of the Archbishop of Mayence.
+They informed the Empress that the Archbishops would not remove the
+Prince from the Palace in opposition to the wishes of either the Emperor
+or herself, but if this permission was not given, a meeting of the
+Electors would at once be called, and some one else selected to succeed
+the present ruler.
+
+"'This consideration exerted a great influence upon the Empress, who
+counseled her son to acquiesce. The young man was led to a boat then in
+waiting by the river steps of the Palace, and so conveyed down the Main
+to the Rhine, which was reached just after daybreak. Without landing,
+and keeping as much as possible to the middle of the river, the party
+proceeded down the Rhine, past Bingen, to the foot of the crag on which
+stands the castle of Ehrenfels. The Prince was taken up to the Castle,
+where he now remains.
+
+"'The Archbishops from their revenues allot to him seven hundred thalers
+a month, in addition to his maintenance. It is impossible for him to
+escape from this stronghold unaided, and as the Emperor takes no
+interest in the matter, and the Empress has given her consent, he is
+like to be an inmate of Ehrenfels during the pleasure of the
+Archbishops, who doubtless will not elect him to the throne in
+succession unless he proves compliant to their wishes. The Prince being
+a young man of no particular force of character'" (the merchant paused
+in his reading, and looked across at his _vis-à-vis_ with a smile, but
+the latter appeared to be asleep), "'he will probably succumb to the
+Archbishops, therefore merchants are advised to base no hopes upon an
+improvement in affairs, even though the son should succeed the father.
+Despite the precautions taken, the arrest and imprisonment of the
+Prince, and even the place of his detention, became rather generally
+known in Frankfort, but the news is in the form of rumor only, and
+excites little interest throughout the city.'
+
+"There, Sir Roland, what do you say to that?"
+
+"Oh, nothing much," replied Roland. "The account might have stated that
+in the boat were five rowers, who worked lustily until we reached the
+Rhine, when, the wind being favorable, a sail was hoisted, and with the
+current assisting the wind, we made excellent time to Ehrenfels. I
+observe, further, that your secret service keeps you very well informed,
+and therefore withdraw a tithe of the harsh things I said regarding the
+stupidity of the merchants."
+
+"Many thanks for the concession," said Goebel, replacing the document
+with its fellows. "Now, as a plain and practical man, what strikes me is
+this: you need only return to Ehrenfels for two months, and as there is
+little use for money in that fortress, your maintenance being
+guaranteed, and seven hundred thalers allowed, you can come away with
+four hundred thalers more than the sum you demand from me, and thus put
+your project into force without being under obligations to any despised
+merchant."
+
+"True, Herr Goebel, but can you predict what will happen in Frankfort
+before two months are past? You learn from that document that the shrewd
+Archbishops anticipate an insurrection, and doubtless they command the
+force at hand ready to crush it, but during this conflict, which you
+seem to regard so lightly, does it ever occur to you that the merchants'
+palaces along the Fahrgasse may be sacked and burnt?"
+
+"That, of course, is possible," commented the merchant.
+
+"Nay, it is absolutely certain. Civil war means ruin, to innocent and
+guilty alike."
+
+"You are in the right. Now, will you tell me how you escaped from
+Ehrenfels?"
+
+"Yes; if you agree to my terms without further haggling."
+
+"I shall agree to your terms if I believe your story."
+
+"It seems impossible, sir, to pin you down to any definite bargain. Is
+this the way you conduct your business?"
+
+"Yes; unless I am well assured of the good faith of my customer. I
+offered you ordinary business terms when I asked for security, or for
+the signature of three responsible merchants to your bond. It is because
+I am a merchant, and not a speculator, that I haggle, as you term it."
+
+"Very well, then, I will tell you how I got away, but I begin my recital
+rather hopelessly, for you always leave yourself a loophole of escape.
+If you believe my story, you say! Yes: could I weave a romance about
+tearing my sheets into ropes; of lowering myself in the dark from the
+battlements to the ground; of an alarm given; of torches flashing; of
+diving into the Rhine, and swimming under the water until I nearly
+strangled; of floating down over the rapids, with arrows whizzing round
+me in the night; of climbing dripping to the farther shore, far from
+sight of Ehrenfels, then, doubtless, you would believe. But my escape
+was prosaically commonplace, depending on the cupidity of one man. The
+material for it was placed in my hands by the Archbishops themselves.
+Your account states that the Castle is well guarded. So it is, but when
+the Archbishop needs an augmentation of his force, he withdraws his men
+from Ehrenfels to Mayence, as my prison is the nearest of his
+possessions to his capital city, and thus at times it happens that the
+Castle is bereft of all save the custodian and his family. His eldest
+son happens to be of my own age, and not unlike me in appearance. None
+of the guards saw me, except the custodian, and you must remember he was
+a very complacent jailer, for the reason that he knew well every rising
+sun might bring with it tidings that I was his Emperor, so he cultivated
+my acquaintance, to learn in his own thrifty, peasant way what manner of
+ruler I might become, and I, having no one else to talk to, made much of
+his company.
+
+"Frequently he impressed upon me that his task of jailer was most
+irksome to him, but poverty compelling, what could he do? He swore he
+would accomplish whatever was in his power to mitigate my captivity, and
+this indeed did; so at last when the Castle was empty I made him a
+proposal. Now remember, Sir Merchant, that what I tell you is in
+confidence, and should you break faith with me, I will have you hanged
+if I become Emperor, or slit your throat with my own sword if I don't."
+
+"Go on. I shall tell no one."
+
+"I said to my jailer: 'There are not half a dozen people in this world
+who know me by sight, and among that half-dozen no Elector is included.
+Outside the Palace at Frankfort I am acquainted with a sword maker or
+two, and about a score of good fellows who are friends of theirs, but to
+them I am merely a fencing-master. Now, seven hundred thalers a month
+pass through your honest hands to mine, and will continue to do so. Your
+son seems to be even more silent than yourself, and he is a young fellow
+whom I suspect knows the difference between a thaler and a button on his
+own coat. If you do what I wish, there will be some slight risk, but
+think of the reward immediate and in future! At once you come into an
+income of seven hundred thalers a month. If I am elected Emperor, I
+shall ennoble you, and present you with the best post in the land. If
+you don't do what I wish, I shall cause your head cut off as the first
+act of my first day of power.'"
+
+"You did not threaten to slit his throat with your own sword, failing
+your elevation?" asked the merchant, with a smile.
+
+"No. He was quite safe from my vengeance unless I came to the throne."
+
+"In that case I should say the custodian need not fear the future. But
+please go on with your account."
+
+"I proposed that his son and I should exchange costumes; in short, the
+young man was to take my place, occupying the suite of rooms assigned to
+me in the Castle. I told his father there was not the slightest fear of
+discovery, for if the Archbishop of Mayence sent some one to see that
+the Prince was safe, or even came himself, all the young man need do was
+to follow my example and keep silent, for I had said nothing from the
+time I was roused in my room in the Saalhof until I was lodged in
+Ehrenfels. I promised, if set at liberty, to keep within touch of
+Frankfort, where, at the first rumor of any crisis, I could return
+instantly to Ehrenfels.
+
+"The custodian is a slow-minded man, although not so laggard in coming
+to an agreement as yourself. He took a week to turn the matter over in
+his mind, and then made the plunge. He is now jailer to his own son, and
+that young peasant lives in a style he never dreamed of before. The
+Archbishops are satisfied, because they believe I cannot escape from the
+stronghold--like yourself, holding but a poor opinion of my abilities;
+and their devout Lordships know that outside the fortress no person, not
+even my mother, wishes me forth. I took in my wallet five hundred
+thalers, and fared like the peasant I seemed to be, down the Rhine, now
+on one side, now on the other, until I came to the ancient town of
+Castra Bonnensia of the Romans, which name the inhabitants now shorten
+to Bonn. There I found the Archbishop in residence, and not at Cologne,
+as I had supposed. The town being thronged with soldiers and inquisitive
+people of Cologne's court, I returned up the Rhine again, remembering I
+had gone rather far afield, and although you may not believe it, I
+called upon my old friend the custodian of Ehrenfels, and enjoyed an
+excellent meal with him, consuming some of the seductive wine that is
+grown on the same side of the river about a league above Ehrenfels."
+
+"I dare say," said the merchant, "that I can give the reason for this
+apparently reckless visit of yours to Ehrenfels. You were in want of
+money, the five hundred thalers being spent."
+
+"Sir, you are exactly in the right, and I got it, too, without nearly so
+much talk as I have been compelled to waste on the present occasion."
+
+"What was your object in going down the river instead of turning to
+Frankfort?"
+
+"I had become interested in my prison, and had studied methods by which
+it could be successfully attacked. I knew that my father allowed the
+Barons of the Rhine to override him, and I wondered if his wisdom was
+greater than I thought. Probably, said I to myself, he knew their
+castles to be impregnable, but, with the curiosity of youth, I desired
+to form an opinion of my own. I therefore lodged as a wayfarer at every
+castle to I could gain admittance, making friends with some underling,
+and getting a bed on occasion in the stables, although often I lodged
+within the castle itself. Thus I came to the belief, which I bring to
+you, that assisted by twenty fearless men I can capture any castle on
+the Rhine with the exception of three. And now, Herr Goebel, I have said
+all I intend to say. Do you discredit my story?"
+
+The merchant gazed across at him quizzically for some time without
+making any reply, then he said:
+
+"Do you think I believe you?"
+
+"Frankly, I do not."
+
+"If I am unable to give you the gold, I can at least furnish some good
+advice. Set up as a poet, good Master Roland, and weave for our
+delectation stories of the Rhine. I think your imagination, if
+cultivated, would give you a very high place among the romancers of our
+time."
+
+With a patience that Herr Goebel had not expected, Roland replied:
+
+"It grieves me to return empty-handed to my twenty friends, who last
+night bade me a very confident adieu."
+
+"Yes, they will be disappointed, and I shrewdly suspect that my thousand
+thalers would not go towards the prosecuting of the expedition you have
+outlined, but rather in feasting and in wine."
+
+"Again, sir, you are right. It is unfortunate that I am so often
+compelled to corroborate your statements, when all the acumen with which
+you credit my mind is turned towards the task of proving you a
+purse-proud fool, puffed up in your own conceit, and as short-sighted as
+an owl in the summer sunlight. However, let us stick to our text. If
+what I said had been true, although of course you know it isn't, you
+have nevertheless enough common sense to be aware that I would certainly
+show a pardonable reluctance about visiting my father's Palace. It is
+thronged with spies of the Archbishop, and although, as I have said, I
+am not very well known, there is a chance that one or another might
+recognize me, and then, almost instantly, a man on a swift horse would
+be on his way to Mayence. If I knew that I had been discovered, I should
+make at once for Ehrenfels, arriving there before an investigation was
+held. But my twenty comrades would wait for me in vain. Nevertheless, I
+shall venture into the Saalhof this very afternoon, and bring to you a
+letter written by my mother certifying that I am her son. Would that
+convince you?"
+
+"Yes; were I sure the signature was genuine."
+
+"Ah, there you go again! Always a loophole!"
+
+The young man spoke in accents of such genuine despair that his host was
+touched despite his incredulity.
+
+"Look you here," he said, bending across the table. "There is, of
+course, one chance in ten thousand that you are what you say. I have
+never seen the signature of the Empress, and such a missive could easily
+be forged by a scholar, which I take you to be. If, then, you wish to
+convince me, I'll put before you a test which will be greatly to your
+advantage, and which I will accept without the loophole."
+
+"In Heaven's name, let's hear what it is."
+
+"There is something that you cannot forge: the Great Seal of the Realm,
+attached to all documents signed by the Emperor."
+
+"I have had no dealings with my father for years," cried the young man.
+"I have not even seen him these many months past. I can obtain the
+signature of my mother to anything I like to write, but not that of my
+father."
+
+"Patience, patience," said the merchant, holding up his hand. "'Tis well
+known that the Empress can bend the Emperor to her will when she chooses
+to exert it. You see, in spite of all, I am quite taking it for granted
+that you are the Prince, otherwise 'twere useless to waste time in this
+talk. You display all the confidence of youth in speaking of the
+exploits you propose, and, indeed, it is cheering for a middle-aged
+person like myself to meet one so confident of anything in these
+pessimistic days. But have you considered what will happen if something
+goes wrong during one of your raids?"
+
+"Nothing can go wrong. I feel no fear on that score."
+
+"I thought as much. Very well, I will tell you what could go wrong. Some
+Baron may entrap you and your score, and forthwith hang you all from his
+battlements. Now, it is but common sense to prevent such a termination,
+if it be possible. Therefore seek out the Empress. Tell her that you and
+your twenty companions are about to embark on an enterprise greatly
+beneficial to the land. Say that you go incognito, and that, even should
+you fail, 'twill bring no discredit to your Royal House. But point out
+the danger of which I forewarn you. Ask her to get the signature of the
+Emperor attached to a safe-conduct, together with the device of the
+Great Seal; then if the Baron who captures you cannot read, he will
+still know the potency of the picture, and as there is no loophole to my
+acceptance of this proof, I will, for your convenience, and for my own
+protection, write the safe-conduct on as sound a bit of parchment as
+ever was signed in a palace."
+
+Saying this, Herr Goebel rose, and went to his desk in a corner of the
+room, where he indited the memorial he had outlined, and, after
+sprinkling it with sand, presented it to Roland, who read:
+
+"These presents warn him to whom they are presented that Roland the
+bearer is my son, and that what he has done has been done with my
+sanction, therefore he and his twenty comrades are to be held scathless,
+pending an appeal to me in my capital city of Frankfort.
+
+"Whomsoever disobeys this instrument forfeits his own life, and that of
+his family and followers, while his possessions will be confiscated by
+the State."
+
+Roland frowned.
+
+"Doesn't it please you?" asked Goebel, his suspicions returning.
+
+"Well, it seems to me rather a plebeian action, to attack a man's
+castle, and then, if captured, crawl behind a drastic threat like this."
+
+The merchant shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"That's a sentimental objection, but of course you need not use the
+document unless you wish, though I think if you see twenty-one looped
+ropes dangling in the air your hesitation will vanish. Oh, not on your
+own account," cried Goebel, as a sign of dissent from his visitor, "but
+because of those twenty fine young fellows who doubtless wait to drink
+wine with you."
+
+"That is true," said Roland, with a sigh, folding up the stiff
+parchment, opening his cloak, and thrusting it under his belt, standing
+up as he did this.
+
+"Bring me that parchment, bearing the Emperor's signature and the Great
+Seal, and you will find the golden coins awaiting you."
+
+"Very well. At what time this evening would it please you to admit me?"
+
+"Friends of mine are coming to-night, but they are not likely to stop
+long; merely a few handshakes, and a few cups of wine. I shall be ready
+for you when the Cathedral clock strikes ten."
+
+With this the long conference ended, and the aged servitor in the hall
+showed Roland into the Fahrgasse.
+
+As the young man proceeded down the Weckmarkt into the Saalgasse, he
+muttered to himself:
+
+"The penurious old scoundrel! God keep me in future from dealing with
+such! To the very last he suspects me of being a forger, and has written
+this with his own hand, doubtless filling it with secret marks. Still,
+perhaps it is as well to possess such a safeguard. This is my loophole
+out of the coming enterprise, I fear we are all cowards, noble and
+merchant alike."
+
+He walked slowly past the city front of the Palace, cogitating some
+means of entering without revealing his identity, but soon found that
+even this casual scrutiny made him an object of suspicion. He could not
+risk being accosted, for, if taken to the guard-room and
+questioned--searched, perhaps, and the sword found on him--a
+complication would arise adding materially to the difficulties already
+in his way. Quickening his pace, he passed through the Fahrthor, and so
+to the river-bank, where he saw that the side of the Saalhof fronting
+the Main was guarded merely by one or two sentries, for the mob could
+not gather on the surface of the waters, as it gathered on the
+cobble-stones of the Saalgasse and the Fahrthor.
+
+Retracing his steps, the Prince walked rapidly until he came to the
+bridge, advancing to the iron Cross which commemorates the fowl
+sacrifice to the devil, as the first living creature venturing upon that
+ancient structure. Here he leaned against the parapet, gazed at the
+river façade of the Palace, and studied his problem. There were three
+sets of steps from the terrace to the water, a broad flight in the
+center for use upon state occasions, and a narrow flight at either end;
+the western staircase being that in ordinary use, and the eastern steps
+trodden by the servants carrying buckets of water from the river to the
+kitchen.
+
+"The nearer steps," he said to himself, "offer the most feasible
+opportunity. I'll try them."
+
+He counted his money, for here was probably a case for bribery. He found
+twenty-four gold pieces, and some loose silver. Returning the coins to
+his pouch, he walked to the land, and proceeded up the river until he
+reached a wharf where small skiffs were to let. One of these he engaged,
+and refusing the services of a waterman, stepped in, and drifted down
+the stream. He detached sword and scabbard from his belt, removed the
+cloak and wrapped the weapon in it, placing the folded garment out of
+sight under the covering at the prow. With his paddle he kept the boat
+close to the right bank, discovering an excellent place of concealment
+under the arch supporting the steps, through which the water flowed. He
+waited by the steps for a few moments until a scullion in long gabardine
+came down and dipped his bucket in the swift current.
+
+"Here, my fine fellow," accosted Roland, "do you wish to earn a pair of
+gold pieces?" and he showed the yellow coins in the palm of his hand.
+
+The menial's eyes glistened, and he cast a rapid glance over his
+shoulder.
+
+"Yes," he replied breathlessly.
+
+"Then leave your bucket where it is, and step into this wherry."
+
+The underling, again with a cautious look around, did as he was ordered.
+
+"Now throw off that outer garment, and give it to me."
+
+Roland put it on over his own clothes, and flung his bonnet beside the
+cloak and sword, for the servant was bareheaded.
+
+"Get under that archway, and keep out of sight until you hear me
+whistle."
+
+Taking the bucket, Roland mounted the steps, and strode out of the
+brilliant sunlight into the comparative gloom of the corridor that led
+to the kitchen. He had been two hours with the merchant, and it was now
+the time of midday eating. Every one was hurrying to and fro, with no
+time to heed anything that did not pertain to the business in hand, so
+placing the bucket in a darkened embrasure, the intruder flung off the
+gabardine beside it, and searching, found a back stair which he
+ascended.
+
+Once in the upper regions, he knew his way about, and proceeded directly
+to his mother's room, being sure at this hour to find her within. On his
+unannounced entrance the Empress gave utterance to an exclamation that
+indicated dismay rather than pleasure, but she hurried forward to meet
+and embrace him.
+
+"Oh, Roland!" she cried, "what do you here? How came you to the Palace?"
+
+"By way of the river. My boat is under the arch of the servants'
+stairway, and I have not a moment to lose."
+
+"How did you escape from Ehrenfels, and why have you come here? Surely
+you know the Palace will be the first place searched for you?"
+
+"There will be no search, mother. Take my word for it that no one is
+aware of my absence from Ehrenfels but the custodian, and for the best
+of reasons he dare not say a word. Do not be alarmed, I beg of you. I am
+free by his permission, and shall return to the Castle before he needs
+me. Indeed, mother, so far from jeopardizing my own safety, I am here to
+preserve it."
+
+He drew from under his belt Herr Goebel's parchment, and handed it to
+her.
+
+"In case it should occur to the good Archbishop, or any other noble, to
+hang me, I thought it best to get such a declaration signed by the
+Emperor, and decorated with the Great Seal of the Empire. Then, if any
+attempt is made on my life, as well as on my liberty, I may produce this
+Imperial decree, and bring my case to Frankfort."
+
+"Surely, surely," exclaimed the agitated lady, her hands trembling as
+she held the document and tried to read it; "I can obtain your father's
+signature, but the Great Seal must be attached by the Chamberlain."
+
+"Very good, mother. The Chamberlain will do as his Majesty orders. The
+seal is even more important than the signature, if it comes to that, and
+I am sure the Chamberlain will make no objection when the instrument is
+for the protection of your son's life. It is not necessary to say that I
+am here, or have anything to do with the matter. But lose not a moment,
+and give orders that no one shall enter this room."
+
+The empress hastened away with the parchment, while the young man walked
+impatiently up and down the room. It seemed hours before she returned,
+but at last she came back with the document duly executed. Roland thrust
+it under his belt again, and reassuring his mother, who was now weeping
+on his shoulder, he tried to tear himself away. The Empress detained him
+until, with fumbling hands, she unlocked a drawer in a cabinet, and took
+from it a bag that gave forth a chink of metal as she pressed it on her
+son.
+
+"I must not take it," he said. "I am quite well provided. The generous
+Archbishops allow me seven hundred thalers a month, which is paid with
+exemplary regularity."
+
+"There are only five hundred thalers here," replied the Empress. "I wish
+there were more, but you must accept it, for I should feel easier in my
+mind to know that you possess even that much. Do they misuse you at
+Ehrenfels, my son?"
+
+"Oh, no, no, no! I live like a burgomaster. You need feel no fear on my
+account, mother. Ehrenfels is a delightful spot, with old Bingen just
+across the water. I like it much better than I did Frankfort, with its
+howling mobs, and shall be very glad to get quit again of the city."
+
+Then, with a hurried farewell, he left the weeping woman, and descending
+the back stair, secured the abandoned gabardine, put it on, and so came
+to the water's edge, entering into possession of his boat again.
+Returning the craft to its owner, he resumed sword and cloak once more,
+and found his way to a tavern, where he ordered a satisfactory meal.
+
+In the evening he arrived at the Rheingold, and meeting the landlord in
+the large, empty, public cellar, asked that worthy if his friends had
+assembled yet, and was told they were all within the Kaiser cellar.
+
+"Good!" he cried. "I said I would be gone a week, but here I am within a
+day. If that's not justifying a man's word, I should like to know what
+is. And now, landlord, set forth the best meal you can provide, with a
+double quantity of wine."
+
+"For yourself, sir?"
+
+"For all, landlord. What else? The lads have had no supper, I'll
+warrant."
+
+"A little black bread has gone the rounds."
+
+"All the more reason that we should have a huge pasty, steaming hot, or
+two or three of them if necessary. And your best wine, landlord. That
+from the Rheingau."
+
+But the landlord demurred.
+
+"A meal for yourself, sir, as leader, I could venture upon, but feeding
+a score of hungry men is a different matter. Remember, sir, I have not
+seen the color of their silver for many a long day, and, since these
+evil times have set in, I am a poor man."
+
+"Sordid silver? Out upon silver! unless it is some silvery fish from the
+river, fresh and firm; and that's a good idea. We will begin with fish
+while you prepare the meat. 'Tis gold I deal with to-night, and most of
+it is for your pouch. Run your hand in here and enjoy the thrill," and
+Roland held open the mouth of the bag which contained his treasure.
+
+"Ah!" cried the inn-keeper, his face aglow. "No such meal is spread
+to-night in Frankfort as will be set before you."
+
+There was a great shout as Roland entered the Kaiser cellar, and a
+hurrah of welcome.
+
+"Ha, renegade!" cried one. "Have you shirked your task so soon?"
+
+"Coward, coward, poltroon!" was the cry. "I see by his face he has
+failed. Never mind them, Roland. Your chair at the head of the table
+always awaits you. There is a piece of black bread left, and though the
+wine is thin, it quenches thirst."
+
+Roland flung off his cloak, hung it and the sword on a peg, and took his
+seat at the head of the table. Pushing away the flagons that stood near
+him, he drew the leathern bag from his belt, and poured the shining
+yellow coins on the table, at the sight of which there arose such a yell
+that the stout beams above them seemed to quake.
+
+"Apologize!" demanded Roland, when the clamor quieted down. "The man who
+refuses to apologize, and that abjectly, must take down his sword from
+the peg and settle with me!"
+
+A shout of apology was the response.
+
+"We grovel at your feet, High Mightiness!" cried the man who had called
+him poltroon.
+
+"I have taken the liberty of ordering a fish and meat supper, with a
+double quantity of Rudesheimer wine. Again I offer to fight any man who
+resents this encroachment on my part."
+
+"I could spit you with a hand tied behind my back," cried one, "but I am
+of a forgiving nature, and will wait instead for the spitted fowl."
+
+"Most of this money," continued Roland quietly, "goes, I suspect, to the
+landlord, as a slight recognition of past kindness, but I am promised a
+further supply this evening, which will be divided equally among
+ourselves. I ask you, therefore, to be sparing of the wine." Here he was
+compelled to pause for some moments, and listen to groans, hoots, howls,
+and the rapping of empty flagons on the stout table.
+
+The commotion was interrupted by the entrance of the landlord, who
+brought with him the promised Rhine wine; for, hearing the noise, he
+supposed it represented impatience of the company at the delay, a
+mistake which no one thought it worth while to rectify. He promised that
+the fish would follow in a very few minutes, and went out to see that
+his word was kept.
+
+"Why should we be sparing of the wine?" asked a capable drinker, who had
+drained his flagon before asking the question. "With all that money on
+the table it seems to me a scandalous proviso."
+
+"'Tis not a command at all," replied Roland, "but merely a suggestion. I
+spoke in the interests of fair-play. An appointment was made by me for
+ten o'clock this evening, and I wish to keep it and remain uninfluenced
+by wine."
+
+"What's her name, Roland?" inquired the wine-bibber.
+
+"I was about to divulge that secret when you interrupted me. The name is
+Herr Goebel."
+
+"What! the cloth merchant on the Fahrgasse?"
+
+"Is it cloth he deals in? I didn't know the particulars of his
+occupation beyond the facts that he is a merchant, and lives in the
+Fahrgasse. This morning I enjoyed the privilege of presenting to Herr
+Goebel a mutually beneficial plan which would give us all something to
+do."
+
+"Oh, is Goebel to be our employer? I'm a sword forger, and work for no
+puny cloth merchant," said Kurzbold.
+
+"This appointment," continued Roland, unheeding, "is set for ten
+o'clock, and I expect to return here before half-past, therefore--"
+
+"Therefore we're not to drink all the wine."
+
+"Exactly."
+
+Their leader sat down as the landlord, followed by an assistant,
+entered, carrying the paraphernalia for the substantial repast, and
+proceeded to set the table.
+
+When the hilarious meal was finished, the company sat for another
+half-hour over its wine, then Roland rose, buckled on his sword, and
+flung his cloak over his shoulders.
+
+"Roland, I hope you have not sold your soul for this gold?"
+
+"No; but I have pledged your bodies, and my own as well. Greusel, will
+you act as secretary and treasurer? Scrutinize the landlord's bill with
+a generous eye, and pay him the amount we owe. If anything is left, we
+will divide it equally," and with that he waved his hand to them,
+departing amidst a round of cheers, for the active youths were tired of
+idleness.
+
+Punctuality is the politeness of kings, and as the bells of Frankfort
+were ringing ten o'clock, Roland knocked at the door of the merchant's
+house in the Fahrgasse. It was promptly opened by the ancient porter,
+who, after securing it again, conducted the young man up the solid
+stairway to the office-room on the first floor.
+
+Ushered in, the Prince found the merchant seated in his usual chair, as
+if he had never moved from the spot where Roland had left him at noon
+that day. Half a dozen candles shed their soft radiance over the table,
+and on one corner of it, close by Herr Goebel's right elbow, the visitor
+saw a well-filled doeskin bag which he fancied might contain the
+thousand thalers.
+
+"Good even to you, Herr Goebel," said the young man, doffing his bonnet.
+"I hope I have not trodden too closely on the heels of my appointment,
+thus withdrawing you prematurely from the festivities, which I trust you
+enjoyed all the more that you breathed the air of liberty again."
+
+"The occasion, sir, was solemn rather than festive, for although I was
+glad to see my old friends again, and I believe they were glad to see
+me, the condition of the city is such, and growing rapidly worse, that
+merchants cannot rejoice when they are gathered together."
+
+"Ah, well, Herr Goebel, we will soon mend all that. How long will it
+require to load your boat and choose your crew?"
+
+"Everything can be ready by the evening of the day after to-morrow."
+
+"You will select one of your largest barges. Remember, it must house
+twenty-one men besides the crew and the goods."
+
+"Yes; I shall see that complete arrangements are made for your comfort."
+
+"Thank you. But do not provide too much luxury. It might arouse
+suspicion from the Barons who search the boat."
+
+"But the Barons will see you and your men in the boat."
+
+"I think not. At least, we don't intend to be seen. I will call upon you
+again to-morrow at ten o'clock. Will you kindly order your captain to be
+here to meet me? I wish you to give him instructions in my presence that
+he is to do whatever I ask of him. We will join the boat on the Rhine
+between Ehrenfels and Assmannshausen. Instruct him to wait for us midway
+between the two places, on the right bank. And now the money, if you
+please."
+
+"The money is here," said the merchant, sitting up a little more stiffly
+in his chair as he patted the well-stuffed bag. "The money is here if
+you have brought the instrument that authorizes you to take it."
+
+"I have brought it with me, mein herr."
+
+"Then show it to me," demanded the merchant, adjusting his horn glasses
+with the air of one who will not allow himself to be hoodwinked.
+
+"With the greatest pleasure," returned the young man, standing before
+him. He unfastened his cloak, and allowed it to fall at his feet, then
+whisked out his sword, and presented the point of it to the merchant's
+throat.
+
+Goebel, who had been fumbling with his glasses, suddenly became aware of
+his danger, and shrank back so far as his chair allowed, but the point
+of the sword followed him.
+
+"What do you mean by that?" he gasped.
+
+"I mean to show you that in this game iron is superior to gold. Your
+card is on the table, represented by that bag. Mine is still in my hand,
+and unplayed, but it takes the trick, I think. I hope you see the
+uselessness of resistance. You cannot even cry out, for at the first
+attempt a thrust of this blade cuts the very roots of utterance. It will
+be quite easy for me to escape, because I shall go quietly out with the
+bag under my cloak, telling the porter that you do not wish to be
+disturbed."
+
+"It is the Prince of Thieves you are, then," said Herr Goebel.
+
+"So it would appear. With your right hand pass that bag of gold across
+the table, and beg of me to accept it."
+
+The merchant promptly did what he was told to do.
+
+The young man put his sword back in its place, laughing joyously, but
+there was no answering smile on the face of Herr Goebel. As he had said,
+the condition of things in Frankfort, especially in that room, failed to
+make for merriment. Roland, without being invited, drew up a chair, and
+sat down at the opposite side of the table.
+
+"Please do not attempt to dash for the door," he warned, "because I can
+quite easily intercept you, as I am nearer to it than you are, and more
+active. Call philosophy to your aid, and take whatever happens calmly. I
+assure you, 'tis the best way, and the only way."
+
+He untied the cord, and poured the bulk of the gold out upon the table.
+The merchant watched him with amazement. For all the robber knew, the
+door might be opened at any moment, but he went on with numbering the
+coins as nonchalantly as if seated in the treasury of the Corn Exchange.
+When he had counted half the sum the bag contained, he poured the loose
+money by handfuls into the wallet that had held his mother's
+contribution, and pushed towards the merchant the bag, in which remained
+five hundred thalers.
+
+"You are to know," he said with a smile, abandoning his bent-forward
+posture, "that when I visited my mother this afternoon, she quite
+unexpectedly gave me five hundred thalers, so I shall accept from you
+only half the sum I demanded this morning."
+
+"Your mother!" cried the merchant. "Who is your mother?"
+
+"The Empress, as I told you. Oh, at last I understand your uneasiness.
+You wished to see that document! Why didn't you ask for it? I asked for
+the money plainly enough. Well, here it is. Examine Seal and
+sign-manual."
+
+The merchant minutely scrutinized the Great Seal and the signature above
+it.
+
+"I don't know what to think," stammered Herr Goebel at last, gazing
+across the table with bewildered face.
+
+"Think of your good fortune. A moment ago you imagined a thousand
+thalers were lost. Now it is but five hundred thalers invested, and you
+are a partner with the Royal House of the Empire."
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+DISSENSION IN THE IRONWORKERS' GUILD
+
+
+Up to the time of his midnight awakening, Prince Roland had led a
+care-free, uneventful life. Although he received the general education
+supposed to be suitable for a youth of his station, he interested
+himself keenly in only two studies, but as one of these challenged the
+other, as it were, the result was entirely to the good. He was a very
+quiet boy, much under the influence of his mother, seeing little or
+nothing of his easy-going, inebriated father. It was his mother who
+turned her son's attention towards the literature of his country, and he
+became an omnivorous reader of the old monkish manuscripts with which
+the Palace was well supplied. Especially had his mind been attracted by
+the stories and legends of the Rhine. The mixture of history, fiction,
+and superstition which he found in these vellum pages, so daintily
+limned, and so artistically embellished with initial letters in gold and
+crimson and blue, fascinated him, and filled him with that desire to see
+those grim strongholds on the mountain-sides by the river, which later
+on resulted in his journey from Ehrenfels to Bonn, when his ingenuity,
+and the cupidity of his custodian, freed him from the very slight
+thraldom in which he was held by the Archbishop of Mayence.
+
+If his attention had been entirely absorbed by the reading of these
+tomes, he might have become a mere dreamy bookworm, his intellect
+saturated with the sentimental and romantic mysticism permeating Germany
+even unto this day, and, as he cared nothing for the sports of boyhood,
+body might have suffered as brain developed.
+
+But, luckily, he had been placed under the instruction of Rinaldo, the
+greatest master of the sword that the world had up to that period
+produced. Rinaldo was an Italian from Milan, whom gold tempted across
+the Alps for the purpose of instructing the Emperor's son in Frankfort.
+He was a man of grace and politeness, and young Roland took to him from
+the first, exhibiting such aptitude in the art of fencing that the
+Italian was not only proud of one who did such credit to his tuition,
+but came to love the youth as if he were his own son.
+
+For the sword-making of Germany the Italian expressed the utmost
+contempt. The coarse weapons produced by the ironworkers of Frankfort
+needed strength rather than skill in their manipulation. Between the
+Italian method and the German was all the contrast that exists between
+the catching of salmon with a delicate line and a gossamer fly, or
+clubbing the fish to death as did the boatmen at that fishery called the
+Waag down the Rhine by St. Goar.
+
+Roland listened intently and without defense to the diatribe against his
+country's weapons and the clumsy method of using them, but although he
+said nothing, he formed opinions of his own, believing there was some
+merit in strength which the Italian ignored; so, studying the subject,
+he himself invented a sword which, while lacking the stoutness of the
+German weapon, retained some of its stability, and was almost as easily
+handled as the Italian rapier, without the disadvantage of its extreme
+frailty.
+
+Thus it came about that young Roland stole away from the Palace and made
+the acquaintance of the sword makers. The practice of fencing exercises
+every muscle in the body, and Roland's constant bouts with Rinaldo did
+more than make him a master of the weapon, with equal facility in his
+right arm or his left; it produced an athlete of the first quality;
+agile and strong, developing his physical powers universally, and not in
+any one direction.
+
+Meanwhile Roland remained deplorably ignorant regarding affairs of
+State, this being a subject of which his mother knew nothing. The
+Emperor, who should have been his son's natural teacher, gave his whole
+attention to the wine-flagon, letting affairs drift towards disaster,
+allowing the power that deserted his trembling fingers to be grasped by
+stronger but unauthorized hands. Roland's surreptitious excursions into
+the city to confer with the sword makers taught him little of politics,
+for his conversations with these mechanics were devoted entirely to
+metal-working. He was hustled now and again by the turbulent mob, in
+going to and fro, but he did not know why it clamored, and, indeed, took
+little interest in the matter, conscious only that he came more and more
+to hate the city and loathe its inhabitants. When he could have his own
+way, he said to himself, he would retire to some country castle which
+his father owned, and there devote himself to such employment as fell in
+with his wishes.
+
+But he was to receive a sharp lesson that no man, however highly placed,
+is independent of his fellows. He was unaware of the commotion that
+arose round his own name, and of the grim hanging of the leaders who
+chose him as their supreme head. When, bewildered and sleepy, he was
+aroused at midnight, and saw three armed men standing by his bedside, he
+received a shock that did more to awaken him than the grip of alien
+hands on his shoulders. During that night ride in the boat he said
+nothing but thought much. He had heard his mother plead for him without
+for a moment delaying his departure. She, evidently, was powerless.
+There was then in the land a force superior to that of the Throne.
+Something that had been said quieted his mother's fears, for at last she
+allowed him to go without further protest, but weeping a little, and
+embracing him much. There was no roughness or rudeness on the part of
+those who conveyed him down the river Main, and finally along the Rhine
+to Ehrenfels, but rather the utmost courtesy and deference, yet Roland
+remained silent throughout the long journey, agitated by this new,
+invisible, irresistible sovereignty animated with the will and power to
+do what it liked with him.
+
+At the Castle of Ehrenfels he found awaiting him no rigorous
+imprisonment. He was treated as a welcome guest of an invisible host. It
+was his conversations with the garrulous custodian, who was a shrewd
+observer of the passing show, that gradually awakened the young Prince
+to some familiarity with the affairs of the country. He learned now in
+what a deplorable state the capital stood, through the ever-increasing
+exactions of the robber Barons along the Rhine. He asked his instructor
+why the merchants did not send their goods by some other route, which
+was a very natural query, but was told there existed no other route. A
+great forest extended for the most part between Frankfort and Cologne,
+and through the wilderness were no roads, for even those constructed by
+the Romans had been allowed to fall into decay; overgrown with trees,
+Nature thus destroying the neglected handiwork of man; the forest
+reclaiming its own.
+
+"Indeed," continued the custodian, "for the last ten years things have
+been going to the devil, for the lack of a strong hand in the capital. A
+strong hand is needed by nobles and outlaws alike. We want a new
+Frederick Barbarossa; the hangman's rope and the torch judiciously
+applied might be the saving of the country."
+
+Ehrenfels, belonging to the Archbishop, was not a nest of piracy, and so
+its guardian could talk in this manner if he chose, but had he uttered
+these sentiments farther down the Rhine, he would himself have
+experienced the utility of the hangman's rope. Roland, knowing by this
+time who had taken him into custody, said:
+
+"Why do not the three Archbishops put a stop to it? They possess the
+power."
+
+The old jailer shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"My chief, the great prelate of Mayence, would do it speedily enough if
+he stood alone, but the Archbishops of Treves have ever been robbers
+themselves, and Cologne is little better, therefore they neutralize one
+another. No two of them will allow the other to act, fearing he may gain
+in power, and thus upset the balance of responsibility, which I assure
+your Highness is very nicely adjusted. Each of the three claim
+allegiance from this Baron or the other, and although the Archbishops
+themselves may not lay toll directly on the Rhine, their ardent
+partisans do, which produces a deadlock."
+
+Thus Roland received an education not to be had in palaces, and, saying
+little beyond asking an occasional question, he thought much, and came
+to certain conclusions. He arrived at an ambition to open the lordly
+Rhine and spent his time gathering knowledge and forming plans.
+
+Twelve hours after receiving the five hundred thalers from the merchant,
+he again presented himself at the now familiar door in the Fahrgasse. In
+the room on the first floor he found with Herr Goebel a thick-set,
+heavily-bearded, weather-beaten man, who stood bonnet in hand while the
+merchant gave him final instructions.
+
+"Good-morning, Sir Roland," cried Herr Goebel cheerfully. He exhibited
+no resentment for his treatment of the night before, and apparently
+daylight brought with it renewed confidence that the young man might
+succeed in his mission. There was now no hesitation in the merchant's
+manner; alert and decided, all mistrust seemed to have vanished. "This
+is Captain Blumenfels, whom I put in charge of the barge, and who has
+gathered together a crew on which he can depend although, of course, you
+must not expect them to fight."
+
+"No," said Roland, "I shall attend to that portion of the enterprise."
+
+"Now, Captain Blumenfels," continued Herr Goebel, "this young man is
+commander. You are to obey him in every particular, just as you would
+obey me."
+
+The captain bowed without speaking.
+
+"I shall not detain you any longer, captain, as you will be anxious to
+see the bales disposed of to your liking on the barge."
+
+The captain thereupon took himself off, and Roland came to the
+conclusion that he liked this rough-and-ready mariner with so little to
+say for himself; a silent man of action, evidently.
+
+Herr Goebel turned his attention to Roland.
+
+"I have ordered bales of cloth to the value of a trifle more than four
+thousand thalers to be placed in the barge," he said. "The bales are
+numbered, and I have given the captain an inventory showing the price of
+each. I suppose you despise our vulgar traffic, and, indeed, I had no
+thought of asking so highly placed a person as yourself to sell my
+goods, therefore Blumenfels will superintend the marketing when you
+reach Cologne--that is, if you ever get so far."
+
+"Your pardon, Herr Goebel, but I have my own plans regarding the
+disposal of your goods. I intend to be quit of them long before I see
+Cologne. Indeed, should I prosper, I hope your boat will set its nose
+southward for the return journey some distance this side of Coblentz."
+
+The merchant gazed up at him in astonishment.
+
+"Your design is impossible. There is no sale for cloth nearer than
+Coblentz. Your remarks prove you unacquainted with the river."
+
+"I have walked every foot of both sides of the river between Ehrenfels
+and Bonn. There are many wealthy castles on this side of Coblentz."
+
+"True, my good sir, true; but how became they wealthy? Simply by robbing
+the merchants. Are you not aware that each of these castles is inhabited
+by a titled brigand? You surely do not expect to sell my cloth to the
+Barons?"
+
+"Why not? Remember how long it is since a cloth-barge went down the
+Rhine. Think for a moment of the arduous life which these Barons lead,
+hunting the boar, the bear, and the deer, tearing recklessly through
+thicket and over forest-covered ground. Why, our noble friends must be
+in rags by this time, or clad in the skins of the beasts they kill! They
+will be delighted to see and handle a piece of well-woven cloth once
+more."
+
+For a full minute the merchant gaped aghast at this senseless talk so
+seriously put forward; then a smile came to his lips.
+
+"Prince Roland, I begin to understand you. Your words are on a par with
+the practical joke you played upon me so successfully last night. Of
+course, you know as well as I that the Barons will buy nothing. They
+will take such goods as they want if you but give them opportunity. What
+you say is merely your way of intimating it is none of my affair how the
+goods are disposed of, so long as you hand over to me four thousand
+thalers." 
+
+"Four thousand five hundred, if you please."
+
+"I shall be quite content with the four thousand, regarding the extra
+five hundred as paid for services rendered. Now, can I do anything
+further to aid you?"
+
+"Yes. I wish you to send a man on horseback to Lorch, there to await the
+barge. Choose a man as silent as your captain; one whom you trust
+implicitly, for I hope to send back with him four thousand five hundred
+thalers, and also some additional gold, which I beg of you to keep
+safely for me until I return."
+
+"Prince Roland, there can be no gold for me at Lorch."
+
+"Dispatch a trustworthy man in case I receive the money. You will be
+anxious to know how we prosper, and I can at least forward a budget of
+news."
+
+"But should there be gold, he cannot return safely with it to
+Frankfort."
+
+"Oh, yes, if he keeps to the eastern bank of the Rhine. There is no
+castle between Lorch and Frankfort except Ehrenfels, and that, being the
+property of the Archbishop, may be passed safely."
+
+"Very well. The man shall await you at Lorch. Inquire for Herr Kruger at
+Mergler's Inn."
+
+That night, in the Kaiser cellar, another excellent supper was spread
+before the members of the metal-workers' league. It was quite as
+hilarious as the banquet of the night before; perhaps more so, because
+now, for the first time in months, the athletic young men were well fed,
+with money in their pouches. Each was clad in a new suit of clothes.
+Nothing like uniformity in costume had been attempted, there being but
+one day in which to replenish the wardrobes, which involved the
+acquiring of garments already made. However no trouble was experienced
+about this, for each branch of the metal-workers had its own recognized
+outfit, which was kept on hand in all sizes by various dealers catering
+to the wants of artisans, from apprentices to masters of their trade.
+The costumes were admirably adapted to the use for which they were
+intended. There was nothing superfluous in their make-up, and, being
+loosely cut, they allowed ample play to stalwart limbs. For dealing with
+metal the wearers required a cloth tightly woven, of a texture as nearly
+as possible resembling leather, and better accouterment for a
+rough-and-tumble, freebooter's excursion could not have been found,
+short of coats of mail, or, failing that, of leather itself.
+
+Roland appeared in the trousers and doublet of a sword maker, and his
+comrades cheered loudly when he threw off his cloak and displayed for
+the first time that he was actually one of themselves. Hitherto
+something in the fashioning of his wearing apparel had in a manner
+differentiated him from the rest of the company, but now nothing in his
+dress indicated that he was leader of the coterie, and this pleased the
+independent metal-workers.
+
+The previous night, after the landlord's bill was generously liquidated,
+each man had received upwards of thirty thalers. Roland then related to
+them his adventure with the merchant, and the result of his sword-play
+in the vicinity of Herr Goebel's throat. Two accomplishments he
+possessed endeared Roland to his comrades: first, the ability to sing a
+good song; and second, his talent for telling an interesting story,
+whether it was a personal adventure, a legend of the Rhine, or some tale
+of the gnomes which, as every one knows, haunt the gloomy forests in the
+mountain regions. His account of the evening spent with Herr Goebel
+aroused much laughter and applause, which greatly augmented when the
+material advantages of the interview were distributed among the guild.
+
+This evening he purposed making a still more important disclosure; thus
+when the meal was finished, and the landlord, after replenishing the
+flagons, had retired, the new sword maker rose in his place at the head
+of the table.
+
+"I crave your strict attention for a few minutes. Although I refused to
+confide my plans to Herr Goebel, I consider it my duty to inform you
+minutely of what is before us, and if I speak with some solemnity, it is
+because I realize we may never again meet around this table. We depart
+from Frankfort to-morrow upon a hazardous expedition, and some of us may
+not return."
+
+"Oh, I say, Roland," protested Conrad Kurzbold, "don't mar a jovial
+evening with a note of tragedy. It's bad art, you know."
+
+Kurzbold was one of the three actual sword makers, and had been
+president of the guild until he gave place to Roland. He was the oldest
+of the company; an ambitious man, a glib talker, with great influence
+among his fellows, and a natural leader of them. What he said generally
+represented the opinion of the gathering.
+
+"For once, Kurzbold, I must ask you to excuse me," persisted Roland. "It
+is necessary that on this, the last, opportunity I should place before
+you exactly what I intend to do. I am very anxious not to minimize the
+danger. I wish no man to follow me blindfold, thus I speak early in the
+evening, that you may not be influenced by the enthusiasm of wine in
+coming to a decision. I desire each man here to estimate the risk, and
+choose, before we separate to-night, whether or not he will accompany
+the expedition.
+
+"Here is the compact made with Herr Goebel: I promised that, with the
+help of my comrades, I would endeavor to open the Rhine to mercantile
+traffic. On the strength of such promise he gave me the money."
+
+At this announcement rose a wild round of applause, and with the thunder
+of flagons on the table, and the shouting of each member, no single
+voice could make itself heard above the tumult. These lads had no
+conception of the perils they were to face, and Roland alone remained
+imperturbable, becoming more and more serious as the uproar went on.
+When at last quiet was restored, he continued, with a gravity in
+striking contrast to the hilarity of his audience:
+
+"Herr Goebel is filling his largest barge with bales of cloth, and he
+has engaged an efficient crew, and a capable captain who will assume
+charge of the navigation. The barge will proceed to-morrow night down
+the Main, leaving Frankfort as unostentatiously as possible, while we
+march across the country to Assmannshausen, and there join this craft.
+It is essential that no hint of our intention shall spread abroad in
+gossipy Frankfort, therefore, depending on Captain Blumenfels to get his
+boat clear of the city without observation, and before the moon rises, I
+ask you to leave to-morrow separately by different gates, meeting me at
+Hochst, something more than two leagues down the river. I dare say you
+all know the Elector's palace, whose beautiful tower is a landmark for
+the country round."
+
+"I protest against such a rendezvous," objected Kurzbold. "Make it the
+tavern of the Nassauer Hof, Roland. We shall all be thirsty after a walk
+of two leagues."
+
+"Not at that time in the morning, I hope," said Roland, "for I shall
+await you in the shadow of the tower at nine o'clock. Let every man
+drink his fill to-night, for I intend to lead a sober company from
+Hochst to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, you're optimistic, Roland," cried John Gensbein. "Give us till
+twelve o'clock to cool our heads."
+
+"Drink all you wish this evening," repeated Roland, "but to-morrow we
+begin our work, with a long day's march ahead of us, so nine is none too
+early for a start from Hochst."
+
+"Sufficient to the day is the wine thereof," said Conrad Kurzbold,
+rising to his feet. "Wine, blessed liquor as it is, possesses
+nevertheless one defect, which blot on its escutcheon is that it cannot
+carry over till next day, except in so far as a headache is concerned,
+and a certain dryness of the mouth. It is futile to bid us lay in a
+supply to-night that will be of any use to-morrow morning. For my part,
+I give you warning, Roland, that I shall make directly for the Nassauer
+Hof, or for the Schone Aussicht, where they keep most excellent
+vintages."
+
+To this declaration Roland made no reply, but continued his explanatory
+remarks.
+
+"We shall join the barge, as I have said, above Assmannshausen, probably
+at night, and then cross directly over the river. The first castle with
+which I intend to deal is that celebrated robber's roost, Rheinstein,
+standing two hundred and sixty feet above the water. Disembarking about
+a league up the river from Rheinstein, before daybreak we will all lie
+concealed in the forest within sight of the Castle gates. When the sun
+is well risen, Captain Blumenfels will navigate his boat down the river,
+and as it approaches Rheinstein we shall probably enjoy the privilege of
+seeing the gates open wide, as the company from the Castle descend
+precipitously to the water. While they rifle the barge we shall rifle
+the Castle, overpowering whoever we may find there, and taking in return
+for the cloth they steal such gold or silver as the treasury affords. We
+will then imprison all within the Castle, so that a premature alarm may
+not be given. If we are hurried, we may lock them in cellars, or place
+them in dungeons, then leave the Castle with our booty, but I do not
+purpose descending to the river until we have traversed a league or more
+of the mountain forest, where we may remain concealed until the barge
+appears, and so take ship again.
+
+"The next castle is Falkenberg, the third Sonneck, both on the same side
+of the river as Rheinstein, and within a short distance from the
+stronghold, but the plan with each being the same as that already
+outlined, it is not necessary for me to repeat it."
+
+"An excellent arrangement!" cried several; but John Gensbein spoke up in
+criticism.
+
+"Is there to be no fighting?" he asked. "I expected you to say that
+after we had secured the gold we would fall on the robbers to the rear,
+and smite them hip and thigh."
+
+"There is likely to be all the fighting you can wish for," replied
+Roland, "for at some point our scheme may go awry. It is not my
+intention to attack, but I expect you to fight like heroes in our own
+defense."
+
+"I agree with Herr Roland," put in Conrad Kurzbold, rising to his feet.
+"If we purpose to win our way down to Cologne, it is unnecessary to
+search for trouble, because we shall find enough of it awaiting us at
+one point or another. But Roland stopped his account at what seems to me
+the most interesting juncture. What is the destination of the gold we
+loot from the castles?"
+
+"The first call upon our accumulation will be the payment of four
+thousand five hundred thalers to Herr Goebel."
+
+"Oh, damn the merchant!" cried Conrad. "We are risking our lives, and I
+don't see why he should reach out his claws. He will profit enough
+through our exertions if we open the Rhine."
+
+"True; but that was the bargain I made with him. We risk our lives, as
+you say, but he risks his goods, besides providing barge, captain, and
+crew. He also furnished us with the five hundred thalers now in our
+pockets. We must deal honestly with the man who has supported us in the
+beginning."
+
+"Oh, very well," growled Kurzbold, "have it your own way; but in my
+opinion the merchants should combine and raise a fund with which to
+reward us for our exertions if we succeed. Still, I shall not press my
+contention in the face of an overwhelming sentiment against me. However,
+I should like to speak to our leader on one matter which it seemed
+ungracious to mention last night. The merchant offered him a thousand
+thalers in gold, and he, with a generosity which I must point out to him
+was exercised at our expense, returned half that money to Herr Goebel. I
+confess that all I received has been spent; my hand is lonesome when it
+enters my pouch. I should be glad of that portion which might have been
+mine (and when I speak for myself, I speak for all) were it not for the
+misplaced prodigality of our leader who, possessing the money, was so
+thoughtless of our fellowship that he actually handed over five hundred
+thalers to a man who had not the slightest claim upon it."
+
+"Herr Kurzbold," said Roland, with some severity, "many penniless nights
+passed over our heads in this room. If you know so much better than I
+how to procure money, why did you not do so? I should not venture to
+criticise a man who, without any effort on my part, placed thirty
+thalers at my disposal."
+
+There was a great clamor at this, every one except Kurzbold, who stood
+stubbornly in his place, and Gensbein, who sat next to him, becoming
+vociferous in defense of their leader.
+
+"It is uncomrade-like," cried Ebearhard above the din, "to spend the
+money and then growl."
+
+"I speak in the interests of us all," shouted Kurzbold. "In the
+interests of our leader, no less than ourselves," but the others howled
+him down.
+
+Roland, holding up his right hand, seemed to request silence and
+obtained it.
+
+"I am rather glad," he said, "that this discussion has arisen, because
+there is still time to amend our programme. Herr Goebel's barge will not
+be loaded until to-morrow night, so the order may even yet be
+countermanded. The five hundred thalers which belonged to me I say
+nothing about, but the five hundred advanced by Herr Goebel must be
+returned to him unless we are in perfect unanimity."
+
+At this suggestion Kurzbold sat down with some suddenness.
+
+"I told you, when I left this room, promising to find the money within a
+week, that one condition was the backing of my fellows. You empowered me
+to pledge the efforts of our club as though it contained but one man. If
+that promise is not to be kept in spirit as well as in letter, I shall
+retire from the position I now hold, and you may elect in my stead
+Conrad Kurzbold, John Gensbein, or any one else that pleases you. But
+first I must be in a position to give back intact Herr Goebel's money;
+then, as I have divulged to you my plans, Conrad Kurzbold may approach
+him, and make better terms than I was able to arrange."
+
+There were cries of "Nonsense! Nonsense!" "Don't take a little
+opposition in that spirit, Roland." "We are all free-speaking comrades,
+you know." "You are our leader, and must remain so."
+
+Kurzbold rose to his feet for the third time.
+
+"Literally and figuratively, my friend Roland has me on the hip, for my
+hip-pocket contains no money, and it is impossible for me to refund. I
+imagine, if the truth were told, we are all more or less in the same
+condition, for we have had equipment to buy, and what-not."
+
+"Also Hochheimer," said one, at which there was a laugh, as Kurzbold was
+noted for his love of good wine. Up to this point Roland had carried the
+assemblage with him, but now he made an injudicious remark that
+instantly changed the spirit of the room.
+
+"I am astonished," he said, "that any objection should be made to the
+fair treatment of Herr Goebel, for you are all of the merchant class,
+and should therefore hold by one of your own order."
+
+He could proceed no farther. Standing there, pale and determined, he was
+simply stormed down. His ignorance of affairs, of which on several
+occasions the merchant himself had complained, led him quite
+unconsciously to touch the pride of his hearers. It was John Gensbein
+who angrily gave expression to the sentiment of the meeting.
+
+"To what class do _you_ belong, I should like to know? Do you claim
+affinity with the merchant class? If you do, you are no leader of ours.
+I inform you, sir, that we are skilled artisans, with the craft to turn
+out creditable work, while the merchants are merely the vendors of our
+products. Which, therefore, takes the higher place in a community, and
+which deserves it better: he who with artistic instinct unites the
+efforts of brain and hand to produce wares that are at once beautiful
+and useful, or he who merely chaffers over his counter to get as much
+lucre as he can for the creations that come from our benches?"
+
+To Roland's aristocratic mind, every man who lacked noble blood in his
+veins stood on the same level, and it astonished him that any mere
+plebeian should claim precedence over another. He himself felt
+immeasurably superior to those present, sensible of a fathomless gulf
+between him and them, which he, in his condescension, might cross as
+suited his whim, but over which none might follow him back again; and
+this, he was well aware, they would be the first to admit did they but
+know his actual rank.
+
+For a moment he was tempted to acknowledge his identity, and crush them
+by throwing the crown at their heads, but some hitherto undiscovered
+stubbornness in his nature asserted itself, arousing a determination to
+stand or fall by whatever strength of character he might possess.
+
+"I withdraw that remark," he said, as soon as he could obtain a hearing.
+"I not only withdraw it, but I apologize to you for my folly in making
+it. It was merely thoughtlessness on my part, and, resting on your
+generosity, I should like you to consider the words unsaid."
+
+Once more eighteen of the twenty swung round to his side. Roland now
+turned his attention to Conrad Kurzbold, ignoring John Gensbein, who had
+sat down flushed after his declamation, bewildered by the mutability of
+the many as Coriolanus had been before him.
+
+"Herr Kurzbold," began Roland sternly, "have you any further criticism
+to offer?"
+
+"No; but I stand by what I have already said."
+
+"Well, I thank you for your honest expression of that determination, and
+I announce that you cannot accompany this expedition."
+
+Again Roland instantaneously lost the confidence of his auditors, and
+they were not slow in making him of the fact.
+
+"This is simply tyranny," said Ebearhard. "If a man may not open his
+mouth without running danger of expulsion, then all comradeship is at an
+end, and I take it that good comradeship is the pivot on which this
+organization turns. I do not remember that we ever placed it in the
+power of our president merely by his own word to cast out one of us from
+the fellowship. I may add, Roland, that you seem to harbor strange ideas
+concerning rank and power. I have been a member of this guild much
+longer than you, and perhaps understand better its purpose. Our leader
+is not elected to govern a band of serfs. Indeed, and I say it subject
+to correction from my friends, the very opposite is the case. Our leader
+is our servant, and must conduct himself as we order. It is not for him
+to lay down the law to us, but whatever laws exist for our governance,
+and I thank Heaven there are few of them, must be settled in conclave by
+a majority of the league."
+
+"Right! Right!" was the unanimous cry, and when Ebearhard sat down all
+were seated except Roland, who stood at the end of the table with pale
+face and compressed lips.
+
+"We are," he said, "about to set out against the Barons of the Rhine,
+entrenched in their strong castles. Hitherto these men have been
+completely successful, defying alike the Government and the people. It
+was my hope that we might reverse this condition of things. Now, Brother
+Ebearhard, name me a single Baron along the whole length of the Rhine
+who would permit one of his men-at-arms to bandy words with him on any
+subject whatever."
+
+"I should hope," replied Ebearhard, "that we do not model our conduct
+after that of a robber."
+
+"The robbers, I beg to point out to you, Ebearhard, are successful. It
+is success we are after, also a portion of that gold of which Herr
+Kurzbold has pathetically proclaimed his need."
+
+"Do you consider us your men-at-arms, then, in the same sense that a
+Rhine Baron would employ the term?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"You claim the liberty of expelling any one you choose?"
+
+"Yes; I claim the liberty to hang any of you if I find it necessary."
+
+"Oh, the devil!" cried Ebearhard, sitting down as if this went beyond
+him. He gazed up and down the table as much as to say, "I leave this in
+your hands, gentlemen."
+
+The meeting gave immediate expression of its agreement with Ebearhard.
+
+"Gentlemen," said Roland, "I insist that Conrad Kurzbold apologizes to
+me for the expressions he has used, and promises not again to offend in
+like manner."
+
+"I'll do nothing of the sort," asserted Kurzbold, with equal firmness.
+
+"In that case," exclaimed Roland, "I shall retire, and I ask you to put
+me in a position to repay Herr Goebel the money I extracted from him. I
+resign the very thankless office of so-called leadership."
+
+At this several wallets came out upon the table, but their contents
+clinked rather weakly. The majority of the guild sat silent and sobered
+by the crisis that had so unexpectedly come upon them. Joseph Greusel,
+seeing that no one else made a move, uprose, and spoke slowly. He was a
+man who never had much to say for himself; a listener rather than a
+talker, in whom Roland reposed great confidence, believing him to be one
+who would not flinch if trial came, and he had determined to make
+Greusel his lieutenant if the expedition was not wrecked before it set
+out.
+
+"My friends," said Greusel gloomily, "we have arrived at a deadlock, and
+I should not venture to speak but that I see no one else ready to make a
+suggestion. I cannot claim to be non-partisan in the matter. This crisis
+has been unnecessarily brought about by what I state firmly is a most
+ungenerous attack on the part of Conrad Kurzbold."
+
+There were murmurs of dissent, but Greusel proceeded stolidly, taking no
+notice.
+
+"It is not disputed that Kurzbold accepted the money from Roland last
+night, spent it to-day, and now comes penniless amongst us, quite unable
+to refund the amount when his unjust remarks produce their natural
+effect. He is like a man who makes a wager knowing he hasn't the money
+to pay should he lose. If Roland retires from this guild, I retire also,
+ashamed to keep company with men who uphold a trick worthy of a ruined
+gambler."
+
+"My dear Joseph," cried Ebearhard, springing up with a laugh, "you were
+misnamed in your infancy. You should have been called Herod, practically
+justifying a slaughter of us innocents."
+
+"I stand by Benjamin," growled Gruesel, "the youngest and most capable
+of our circle; the one who produced the money while all the rest of us
+talked."
+
+"You never talked till now, Joseph," said Ebearhard, still trying to
+ease the situation with a laugh, "and what you say is not only
+deplorably severe, but uttered, as I will show you, upon entirely
+mistaken grounds. We did not, and do not, support Conrad Kurzbold in
+what he said at first. Now you rate us as if we were no better than
+thieves. Dishonest gamblers, you call us, and Lord knows what else, and
+then you threaten withdrawal. I submit that your diatribe is quite
+undeserved. We all condemn Kurzbold for censuring Roland's generosity to
+the merchant, unanimously upholding Roland in that action, and have said
+so plainly enough. What we object to is this: Roland arrogates to
+himself power which he does not possess, of peremptorily expelling any
+member whose remarks displease him. Surely you cannot support him in
+that any more than we."
+
+"Let us take one thing at a time," resumed Greusel, "not forgetting from
+whom came the original provocation. I must know where we stand. I
+therefore move a vote of censure on Conrad Kurzbold for his unmerited
+attack upon our president anent his dealings with Herr Goebel."
+
+"I second that with great pleasure," said Ebearhard.
+
+"Now, as we cannot ask our leader to put that motion, I shall take the
+liberty of submitting it myself," continued Greusel. "All in favor of
+the vote of censure which you have heard, make it manifest by standing
+up."
+
+Every one arose except Roland, Gensbein, and Kurzbold.
+
+"There, we have removed that obstacle to a clear understanding of the
+case, and before I formally deliver this vote of censure to Herr
+Kurzbold, I request him to reconsider his position, and of his own
+motion to make such delivery unnecessary.
+
+"If it is the case that Roland assumes authority to expel whom he
+pleases from this guild, I shall not support him."
+
+"It _is_ the case! It _is_ the case!" shouted several.
+
+"Pardon me, comrades; I have the floor," continued Greusel. "I am not
+attempting oratory, but trying to disentangle a skein in which we have
+involved ourselves. I wish to receive neither applause nor hissing until
+I have finished the business. You say it is the case. I say it is not.
+Roland gave Herr Kurzbold the alternative either of apologizing or of
+paying over the money, so that it might be returned to the merchant. As
+I understand the matter, our president does not insist on Kurzbold
+leaving the guild, but merely announces his own withdrawal from it. You
+have allowed Kurzbold to put you in the position of being compelled to
+choose between himself and Roland. If you are logical men you cannot
+pass a vote of censure on Kurzbold, and then choose him instead of
+Roland. I therefore move a vote of confidence in our chief, the man who
+has produced the money, a thousand thalers in all, half of which was his
+own, and has divided it equally amongst us, when the landlord's bill was
+paid, withholding not a single thaler, nor arrogating--I think that was
+your word, friend Ebearhard--to himself a stiver more of the money than
+each of the others received. While Kurzbold has prated of comradeship,
+Roland has given us an excellent example of it, and I think he deserves
+our warmest thanks and our cordial support. I therefore submit to you
+the following motion: This meeting tenders to the president its warmest
+thanks for his recent efforts on behalf of the guild, and begs to assure
+him of its most strenuous assistance in carrying out the project he has
+put before it to-night."
+
+"Joseph," said Ebearhard, rising, with his usual laugh, "you are a very
+clever man, although you usually persist in hiding your light under a
+bushel. I desire to associate myself with the expressions you have used,
+and therefore second your motion."
+
+"I now put the resolution which you have all heard," said Greusel, "and
+I ask those in favor of it to stand."
+
+Every one stood up promptly enough except the two recalcitrants, and of
+those two John Gensbein showed signs of hesitation and uneasiness. He
+half rose, sat down again; then, apparently at the urging of the man
+next him, stood up, a picture of irresolution. Kurzbold, finding himself
+now alone, laughed, and got upon his feet, thus making the vote
+unanimous. As the company seated itself, Greusel turned to the
+president.
+
+"Sir, it is said that all's well that ends well. It gives me pleasure to
+tender you the unanimous vote of thanks and confidence of the
+iron-workers' guild, and before calling upon you to make any reply, if
+such should be your intention, I will ask Conrad Kurzbold to say a few
+words, which I am sure we shall all be delighted to hear."
+
+Kurzbold rose bravely enough, in spite of the fact that Joseph Greusel's
+diplomacy had made a complete separation between him and all the others.
+
+"I should like to say," he began, with an air of casual indifference,
+"that my first mention of the money was wholly in jest. Our friend
+Roland took my remarks seriously, which, of course, I should not have
+resented, and there is little use in recapitulating what followed. As,
+however, my utterances gave offense which was not intended by me, I have
+no hesitation in apologizing for them, and withdrawing the ill-advised
+sentences. No one here feels a greater appreciation of what our
+president has done than I, and I hope he will accept my apology in the
+same spirit in which it is tendered."
+
+"Now, Master of the Guild," said Greusel, and Roland took the floor once
+more.
+
+"I have nothing to say but 'Thank you.' The antagonists whom we hope to
+meet are men brave, determined, and ruthless. If any one in this company
+holds rancor against me, I ask him to turn it towards the Barons, and
+punish me after the expedition is accomplished. Let us tolerate no
+disagreements in face of the foe."
+
+The young man took his cloak and sword from the peg on which they hung,
+passed down along the table, and thrust across his hand to Kurzbold, who
+shook it warmly. Arriving at the door, Roland turned round.
+
+"I wish to see Captain Blumenfels, and give him final instructions
+regarding our rendezvous on the Rhine, so good-night. I hope to meet you
+all under the shadow of the Elector's tower in Hochst to-morrow morning
+at nine," and with that the president departed, being too inexperienced
+to know that soft words do not always turn away wrath, and that mutiny
+is seldom quelled with a handshake.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+THE DISTURBING JOURNEY OF FATHER AMBROSE
+
+
+The setting summer sun shone full on the western side of Sayn Castle,
+sending the shadow of that tenth-century edifice far along the
+greensward of the upper valley. Upon a balcony, perched like a swallow's
+nest against the eastern end of Sayn Castle, a lovely girl of eighteen
+leaned, meditating, with arms resting on the balustrade, the harshness
+of whose stone surface was nullified by the soft texture of a
+gaudily-covered robe flung over it. This ample cloth, brought from the
+East by a Crusading ancestor of the girl, made a gay patch of scarlet
+and gold against the somber side of the Castle.
+
+The youthful Countess Hildegunde von Sayn watched the slow oncoming of a
+monk, evidently tired, who toiled along the hillside deep in the shadow
+of the Castle, as if its cool shade was grateful to him. Belonging, as
+he did, to the very practical Order of the Benedictines, whose belief
+was in work sanctioned by prayer, the Reverend Father did not deny
+himself this temporary refuge from the hot rays of the sun, which had
+poured down upon him all day.
+
+Looking up as he approached the stronghold, and seeing the girl, little
+dreaming of the frivolous mission she would propose, he waved his hand
+to her, and she responded gracefully with a similar gesture.
+
+Indeed, however strongly the monk might disapprove, there was much to be
+said in favor of the resolution to which the young lady had come. She
+was well educated, probably the richest heiress in Germany, and
+carefully as the pious Sisters of Nonnenwerth Convent may have concealed
+the fact from her, she was extremely beautiful, and knew it, and
+although the valley of the Saynbach was a very haven of peace and
+prosperity, the girl became just a trifle lonely, and yearned to know
+something of life and the Court in Frankfort, to which her high rank
+certainly entitled her.
+
+It is true that very disquieting rumors had reached her concerning the
+condition of things in the capital city; nevertheless she determined to
+learn from an authoritative source whether or not it was safe to take up
+a temporary residence in Frankfort, and for this purpose the reluctant
+Father Ambrose would journey southward.
+
+Father Ambrose was more than sixty years old, and if he had belonged to
+the world, instead of to religion, would have been entitled to the name
+Henry von Sayn. His presence in the Benedictine Order was proof of the
+fact that money will not accomplish everything. His famous, or perhaps
+we should say infamous, ancestor, Count Henry III. of Sayn, who died in
+1246, was a robber and a murderer, justly esteemed the terror of the
+Rhine. Concealed as it was in the Sayn valley, half a league from the
+great river, the situation of his stronghold favored his depredations.
+He filled his warehousing rooms with merchandise from barges going down
+the river, and with gold seized from unhappy merchants on their way up.
+He thought no more of cutting a throat than of cutting a purse, and it
+was only when he became amazingly wealthy that the increase of years
+brought trouble to a conscience which all men thought had ceased to
+exist. Thereupon, for the welfare of his soul, he built the Abbey of
+Sayn, and provided for the monks therein. Yet, when he came to die, he
+entertained fearsome, but admittedly well-founded doubts regarding his
+future state, so he proceeded to sanctify a treasure no longer of any
+use to him, by bequeathing it to the Church, driving, however, a bargain
+by which he received assurance that his body should rest quietly in the
+tomb he had prepared for himself within the Abbey walls.
+
+He was buried with impressive ceremony, and the monks he had endowed did
+everything to carry out their share of the pact. The tomb was staunchly
+built with stones so heavy that no ordinary ghost could have emerged
+therefrom, but to be doubly sure a gigantic log was placed on top of it,
+strongly clamped down with concealed bands of iron, and, so that this
+log might not reveal its purpose, the monks cunningly carved it into
+some semblance of Henry himself, until it seemed a recumbent statue of
+the late villainous Count.
+
+But despite such thoughtfulness their plan failed, for when next they
+visited the tomb the statue lay prone, face downwards, as if some
+irresistible, unseen power had flung it to the stone flags of the floor.
+Replacing the statue, and watching by the tomb, was found to be of
+little use. The watchers invariably fell asleep, and the great wooden
+figure, which during their last waking moments lay gazing towards the
+roof, was now on its face on the monastery floor, peering down in the
+opposite direction, and this somehow was regarded by the brethren as a
+fact of ominous significance.
+
+The new Count von Sayn, heir to the title and estate of the late Henry
+III. was a gloomy, pious man, very different indeed from his turbulent
+predecessor. Naturally he was much perturbed by the conduct of the
+wooden statue. At first he affected disbelief in the phenomena despite
+the assurances of the monks, and later on the simple brethren deeply
+regretted they had made any mention of the manifestations. The new Count
+himself took up the task of watching, and paced all night before the
+tomb of the third Henry. He was not a man to fall asleep while engaged
+on such a somber mission, and the outcome of his vigil was so amazing
+that in the morning he gathered the brethren together in the great hall
+of the Abbey, that he might relate to them his experience.
+
+The wooden statue had turned over, and fallen to the floor, as was its
+habit, but on this occasion it groaned as it fell. This mournful sound
+struck terror into the heart of the lonely watcher, who now, he
+confessed, regretted he had not accepted the offer of the monks to share
+his midnight surveillance. The courage of the House of Sayn is, however,
+a well-known quality, and, notwithstanding his piety, the new holder of
+the title was possessed of it, for although admitting a momentary
+impulse towards flight, and the calling for assistance which the monks
+would readily have given, he stood his ground, and in trembling voice
+asked what he could do to forward the contentment of his deceased
+relative.
+
+The statue replied, still face downward on the stone floor, that never
+could the late wicked Count rest in peace unless the heir to his titles
+and lands should take upon himself the sins Henry had committed during
+his life, while a younger member of the family should become a monk of
+the Benedictine Order, and daily intercede for the welfare of his soul.
+
+"With extreme reluctance," continued the devout nobleman, "I gave my
+assent to this unwelcome proposal, providing only that it should receive
+the sanction of the Abbot and brethren of the Monastery of Sayn, hoping
+by a life of continuous rectitude to annul, in some measure at least,
+the evil works of Henry III.; and that holy sanction I now request,
+trusting if given it may remove any doubts regarding the righteousness
+of my promise."
+
+Here the Count bowed low to the enthroned Abbot and, with less
+reverence, to the assembled brethren. The Abbot rose to his feet, and in
+a few well-chosen words complimented the nobleman on the sacrifice he
+made, predicting that it would redound greatly to his spiritual welfare.
+Speaking for himself, he had no hesitation in giving the required
+sanction, but as the Count made it a proviso that the brethren should
+concur, he now requested their acquiescence.
+
+This was accorded in silent unanimity, whereupon Count von Sayn, deeply
+sighing as one accepting a burden almost too heavy to bear, spoke with a
+tremor of grief in his voice.
+
+"It is not for me," he said, "to question your wisdom, nor shrink from
+my allotted task. After all, I am but human, and up to this decisive
+moment had hoped, alas! in vain, that some one more worthy than I might
+be chosen in my place. The most grievous part of the undertaking, so far
+as I am concerned, was outlined in the last words spoken by the wooden
+statue. The evil deeds my ancestor has committed will in time be
+obliterated by the prayers of the younger member of my family who
+becomes a monk, but the accumulated gold carries with it a continual
+curse, which can be wiped off each coin only by that coin benefiting the
+merchants who have been robbed. The contamination of this metal,
+therefore, I must bear, for it adds to the agony of my ancestor that,
+little realizing what he was doing, he bequeathed this poisonous dross
+to the Abbey he founded. I am required to lend it in Frankfort, upon
+undoubted security and suitable usury, that it may stimulate and
+fertilize the commerce of the land, much as the contents of a compost
+heap, disagreeable in the senses, and defiling to him who handles it,
+when spread upon the fields results in the production of flower, fruit,
+and food, giving fragrance, delight, and sustenance to the human frame."
+
+The count, bowing for the third time to the conclave, passed from its
+presence with mournful step and sorrowful countenance; whereupon the
+brethren, seeing themselves thus denuded of wealth they had hoped to
+enjoy, gave utterance to a groan doubtless much greater in volume than
+that emitted by the carven statue, which wooden figure may be seen
+to-day in the museum of the modern Castle of Sayn by any one who cares
+to spend the fifty pfennigs charged for admission.
+
+All that has been related happened generations before the time when the
+Countess Hildegunde reigned as head of the House of Sayn, but Father
+Ambrose formed a link with the past in that he was the present scion of
+Sayn who, as a Benedictine, daily offered prayer for the repose of the
+wicked Henry III. The gold which Henry's immediate successor so craftily
+deflected from the monks seemed to be blessed rather than cursed, for
+under the care of that subtle manager it multiplied greatly in
+Frankfort, and scandal-mongers asserted that besides receiving the usury
+exacted, the pietistic Count tapped the treasure-casks of upward-sailing
+Rhine merchants quite as successfully, if more quietly, than the profane
+Henry had done. Thus the House of Sayn was one of the richest in
+Germany.
+
+The aged monk and the youthful Countess were distant relatives, but he
+regarded her as a daughter, and her affection was given to him as to a
+father, in other than the spiritual sense.
+
+In his youth Ambrose the Benedictine, because of his eloquence in
+discourse, and also on account of his aristocratic rank, officiated at
+the court in Frankfort. Later, he became spiritual and temporal adviser
+to that great prelate, the Archbishop of Cologne, and the Archbishop,
+being guardian of the Countess von Sayn, sent Father Ambrose to the
+castle of his ancestor to look after the affairs of Sayn, both religious
+and material. Under his gentle rule the great wealth of his House
+increased, although he, the cause of prosperity, had no share in the
+riches he produced, for, as has been written of the Benedictines:
+
+"It was as teachers of ... scientific agriculture, as drainers of fens
+and morasses, as clearers of forests, as makers of roads, as tillers of
+the reclaimed soil, as architects of durable and even stately buildings,
+as exhibiting a visible type of orderly government, as establishing the
+superiority of peace over war as the normal condition of life, as
+students in the library which the rule set up in every monastery, as the
+masters in schools open not merely to their own postulants but to the
+children of secular families also, that they won their high place in
+history as benefactors of mankind."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Oh, Father Ambrose," cried the girl, when at last he entered her
+presence, "I watched your approach from afar off. You walked with
+halting step, and shoulders increasingly bowed. You are wearing yourself
+out in my service, and that I cannot permit. You return this evening a
+tired man."
+
+"Not physically tired," replied the monk, with a smile. "My head is
+bowed with meditation and prayer, rather than with fatigue. Indeed, it
+is others who do the harassing manual labor, while I simply direct and
+instruct. Sometimes I think I am an encumberer in the vineyard, lazily
+using brain instead of hand."
+
+"Nonsense!" cried the girl, "the vineyard would be but a barren
+plantation without you; and speaking of it reminds me that I have poured
+out, with my own hand, a tankard of the choicest, oldest wine in our
+cellars, which I allow no one but yourself to taste. Sit down, I beg of
+you, and drink."
+
+The wise old man smiled, wondering what innocent trap was being set for
+him. He raised the tankard to his lips, but merely indulged in one sip
+of the delectable beverage. Then he seated himself, and looked at the
+girl, still smiling. She went on speaking rapidly, a delicate flush
+warming her fair cheeks.
+
+"Father, you are the most patient and indefatigable of agriculturists,
+sparing neither yourself nor others, but there is danger that you grow
+bucolic through overlong absence from the great affairs of this world."
+
+"What can be greater, my child, than increasing the productiveness of
+the land; than training men to supply all their needs from the fruitful
+earth?"
+
+"True, true," admitted the girl, her eyes sparkling with eagerness, "but
+to persist overlong even in well-doing becomes ultimately tedious. If
+the laborer is worthy of his hire, so, too, is the master. You should
+take a change, and as I know your fondness for travel, I have planned a
+journey for you."
+
+The old man permitted himself another sip of the wine.
+
+"Where?" he asked.
+
+"Oh, an easy journey; no farther than the royal city of Frankfort, there
+to wander among the scenes of your youth, and become interested for a
+time in the activities of your fellow-men. You have so long consorted
+with those inferior to you in intellect and learning that a meeting with
+your equals--though I doubt if there are any such even in
+Frankfort--must prove as refreshing to your mind as that old wine would
+to your body, did you but obey me and drink it."
+
+Father Ambrose slowly shook his head.
+
+"From what I hear of Frankfort," he said, "it is anything but an
+inspiring town. In my day it was indeed a place of cheer, learning, and
+prosperity, but now it is a city of desolation."
+
+"The rumors we hear, Father, may be exaggerated; and even if the city
+itself be doleful, which I doubt, there is sure to be light and gayety
+in the precincts of the Court and in the homes of the nobility."
+
+"What have I to do with Court or palaces? My duty lies here."
+
+"It may be," cried the girl archly, "that some part of your duty lies
+there. If Frankfort is indeed in bad case, your sage advice might be of
+the greatest benefit. Prosperity seems to follow your footsteps, and,
+besides, you were once a chaplain in the Court, and surely you have not
+lost all interest in your former charge?"
+
+Again that quiet, engaging smile lit up the monk's emaciated features,
+and then he asked a question with that honest directness which sometimes
+embarrassed those he addressed:
+
+"Daughter Hildegunde, what is it you want?"
+
+"Well," said the girl, sitting very upright in her chair, "I confess to
+loneliness. The sameness of life in this castle oppresses me, and in its
+continuous dullness I grow old before my time. I wish to enjoy a month
+or two in Frankfort, and, as doubtless you have guessed, I send you
+forth as my ambassador to spy out the land."
+
+"In such case, daughter, you should present your petition to that Prince
+of the Church, the Archbishop of Cologne, who is your guardian."
+
+"No, no, no, no!" cried the girl emphatically; "you are putting the
+grapes into the barrel instead of into the vat. Before I trouble the
+worthy Archbishop with my request, I must learn whether it is
+practicable or not. If the city is indeed in a state of turbulence, of
+course I shall not think of going thither. It is this I wish to
+discover, but if you are afraid." She shrugged her shoulders and spread
+out her hands.
+
+And now the old monk came as near to laughing as he ever did.
+
+"Clever, Hildegunde, but unnecessary. You cannot spur me to action by
+slighting the well-known valor of our race. I will go where and when you
+command me, and report to you faithfully what I see and hear. Should the
+time seem favorable for you to visit Frankfort, and if your guardian
+consents, I shall raise not even one objection."
+
+"Oh, dear Father, I do not lay this as a command upon you."
+
+"No; a request is quite sufficient. To-morrow morning I shall set out."
+
+"Along the Rhine?" queried the girl, so eagerly that the old man's eyes
+twinkled at the celerity with which she accepted his proposition.
+
+"I think it safer," he said, "to journey inland over the hills. The
+robbers on the Rhine have been so long bereft of the natural prey that
+one or other of them may forget I am Father Ambrose, a poor monk,
+remembering me only as Henry of the rich House of Sayn, and therefore
+hold me for ransom. I would not willingly be a cause of strife, so I
+shall go by way of Limburg on the Lahn, and there visit my old friend
+the Bishop, and enjoy once more a sight of the ancient Cathedral on the
+cliff by the river."
+
+When the young Countess awoke next morning, and reviewed in her mind the
+chief event of the preceding day, remembering the reluctance of Father
+Ambrose to undertake the quest she had outlined without the consent of
+his overlord the Archbishop, a feeling of compunction swept over her.
+She berated her own selfishness, resolving to send her petition to her
+guardian, the Archbishop, and abide by his decision.
+
+When breakfast was finished, she asked her lady-in-waiting to request
+the presence of Father Ambrose, but instead of the monk came disturbing
+news.
+
+"The seneschal says that Father Ambrose left the Castle at daybreak this
+morning, taking with him frugal rations for a three days' journey."
+
+"In which direction did he go?" asked the lady of Sayn.
+
+"He went on horseback up the valley, after making inquiries about the
+route to Limburg on the Lahn."
+
+"Ah!" said the Countess. "He spoke yesterday of taking such a journey,
+but I did not think he would leave so early."
+
+This was the beginning of great anxiety for the young lady of the
+Castle. She knew at once that pursuit was useless, for daybreak comes
+early in summer, and already the good Father had been five hours on his
+way--a way that he was certain to lose many times before he reached the
+capital city. An ordinary messenger might have been overtaken, but the
+meditative Father would go whither his horse carried him, and when he
+awoke from his thoughts and his prayers, would make inquiries, and so
+proceed. A day or two later came a message that he had achieved the
+hospitality of Limburg's bishop, but after that arrived no further word.
+
+Nearly two weeks had elapsed when, from the opposite direction,
+Hildegunde received a communication which added to her already painful
+apprehension. It was a letter from her guardian in Cologne, giving
+warning that within a week he would call at her Castle of Sayn.
+
+"Matters of great import to you and me," concluded the Archbishop, "are
+toward. You will be called upon to meet formally my two colleagues of
+Mayence and Treves, at the latter's strong Castle of Stolzenfels, above
+Coblentz. From the moment we enter that palace-fortress, I shall,
+temporarily, at least, cease to be your guardian, and become merely one
+of your three overlords. But however frowningly I may sit in the throne
+of an Elector, believe me I shall always be your friend. Tell Father
+Ambrose I wish to consult with him the moment I arrive at your castle,
+and that he must not absent himself therefrom on any pretext until he
+has seen me."
+
+Here was trouble indeed, with Father Ambrose as completely disappeared
+as if the dragons of the Taunus had swallowed him. Never before on his
+journeys had he failed to communicate with her, even when his travels
+were taken on account of the Archbishop, and not, as in this case, on
+her own. She experienced the darkest forebodings from this incredible
+silence. Imagine, then, her relief, when exactly two weeks from the day
+he had left Schloss Sayn, she saw him coming down the valley. As when
+she last beheld him, he traveled on foot, leading his horse, that had
+gone lame.
+
+Throwing etiquette to the wind, she flew down the stairway, and ran to
+meet her thrice-welcome friend.
+
+She realized with grief that he was haggard, and the smile he called up
+to greet her was wan and pitiful.
+
+"Oh, Father, Father!" she cried, "what has happened to you? I have been
+nearly distraught with doubt and fear, hearing nothing of you since your
+message from Limburg."
+
+"I was made a prisoner," said the old man quietly, "and allowed to
+communicate with no one outside my cell. 'Tis a long and sad story, and,
+worse than all one that bodes ill for the Empire. I should have arrived
+earlier in the day, but my poor, patient beast has fallen lame."
+
+"Yes!" said the girl indignantly, "and you spare him instead of
+yourself!"
+
+The monk laid his left hand affectionately on her shoulder.
+
+"You would have done the same, my dear," he said, and she looked up at
+him with a sweet smile. They were kin, and if she censured any quality
+in him, the comment carried something of self-reproach.
+
+A servitor took away the lame horse; another waited on Father Ambrose in
+his small room, which was simple as that of a monastery cell, and as
+meagerly furnished. After a slight refection, Father Ambrose received
+peremptory command to rest for three full hours, the lady of the Castle
+saying it was impossible for her to receive him until that time had
+elapsed. The order was welcome to the tired monk, although he knew how
+impatient Hildegunde must be to unpack his budget of news, and he fell
+asleep even as he gave instructions that he should be awakened at nine.
+
+Descending at that time, the supper hour of the Castle, he found a
+dainty meal awaiting him, flanked by a flagon of that rare wine which he
+sipped so sparingly.
+
+"I lodged with my brethren in their small and quiet monastery on the
+opposite side of the Main from Frankfort, in that suburb of the
+workingmen which is called Sachsenhausen. Even if my eyes had not seen
+the desolation of the city, with the summer grass growing in many of its
+streets, the description given of its condition by my brethren would
+have been saddening enough to hear. All authority seems at an end. The
+nobles have fled to their country estates, for defense in the city is
+impossible should once a universal riot break out, and thinking men look
+for an insurrection when continued hunger has worn down the patience of
+the people. Up to the present sporadic outbreaks have been cruelly
+suppressed, starving men falling mutilated before the sword-cuts of the
+soldiers; but now disaffection has penetrated the ranks of the Army
+itself, through short rations and deferred pay, and when the people
+learn that the military are more like to join them than oppose,
+destruction will fall upon Frankfort. The Emperor sits alone in drunken
+stupor, and it is said cannot last much longer, he who has lasted too
+long already; while the Empress is as much a recluse as a nun in a
+convent."
+
+"But the young Prince?" interrupted the Countess. "What of him? Is there
+no hope if he comes to the throne?"
+
+"Ah!" cried the monk, with a long-drawn sigh, dolefully shaking his
+head.
+
+"But, Father Ambrose, you knew him as a lad, almost as a young man. I
+have heard you speak highly of his promise."
+
+"He denied me; denied his own identity; threatened my life with his
+sword, and finally flung me into the most loathsome dungeon in all
+Frankfort!"
+
+The girl uttered an ejaculation of dismay. If so harsh an estimate of
+the heir-presumptive came from so mild and gentle a critic as Father
+Ambrose, then surely was this young man lower in the grade of humanity
+than even his bestial father.
+
+"And yet," said the girl to herself, "what else was to be expected? Go
+on," she murmured; "tell me from the beginning."
+
+"One evening, crossing the old bridge from Frankfort to Sachsenhausen, I
+saw approach me a swaggering figure that seemed familiar, and as he drew
+nearer I recognized Prince Roland, son of the Emperor, despite the fact
+that he held his cloak over the lower part of his face, as if, in the
+gathering dusk, to avoid recognition.
+
+"'Your Highness!' I cried in surprise. On the instant his sword was out,
+and as the cloak fell from his face, displaying lips which took on a
+sinister firmness, I saw that I was not mistaken in so accosting him. He
+threw a quick glance from side to side, but the bridge, like the silent
+streets, was deserted. We stood alone, beside the iron Cross, and there
+under the Figure of Christ he denied me, with the sharp point of his
+sword against my breast.
+
+"'Why do you dare address me by such a title?'
+
+"'You are Prince Roland, son of the Emperor.'
+
+"The sword-point pressed more sharply.
+
+"'You lie!' he cried, 'and if you reiterate that falsehood, you will pay
+the penalty instantly with your life, despite your monkish cowl. I am
+nobody. I have no father.'
+
+"'May I ask, then, sir, who you are?'
+
+"'You may ask, but there is no reason for me to answer. Nevertheless, to
+satisfy your impertinent curiosity, I inform you that I am an
+ironworker, a maker of swords, and if you desire a taste of my
+handiwork, you have but to persist in your questioning. I lodge in the
+laboring quarter of Sachsenhausen, and am now on my way into Frankfort,
+which surely I have the right to enter free from any inquiry
+unauthorized by the law.'
+
+"'In that case I beg your pardon,' said I. 'The likeness is very
+striking. I had once the honor to be chaplain at Court, where frequently
+I saw the young Prince in company with that noble lady, noble in every
+sense of the word, his mother, the Empress.'
+
+"I watched the young man narrowly as I said this, and despite his
+self-control, he winced perceptibly, and I thought I saw a gleam of
+recognition in his eyes. He thrust the sword back into its scabbard, and
+said with a light laugh:
+
+"''Tis I that should beg your pardon for my haste and roughness. I
+assure you I honor the cloth you wear, and would not willingly offer it
+violence. We are all liable to make mistakes at times. I freely forgive
+yours and trust you will extend a like leniency to mine.'
+
+"With that he doffed his hat, and left me standing there."
+
+"Surely," said the Countess, deeply interested in the recital, "so far
+as speech was concerned he made amends?"
+
+"Yes, my daughter; such speech never came from the lips of an
+ironworker."
+
+"You are convinced he was the Prince?"
+
+"Never for one instant did I doubt it."
+
+"Be that as it may, Father Ambrose, why should not the young man walk
+the streets of his own capital city, and even explore the laborers'
+quarter of Sachsenhausen, if he finds it interesting to do so? Is it not
+his right to wear a sword, and go where he lists; and is it such a very
+heinous thing that, being accosted by a stranger, he should refuse to
+make the admission demanded? You took him, as one might say, unaware."
+
+The monk bowed his head, but did not waste time in offering any defense
+of his action.
+
+"I followed him," he went on, "through the narrow and tortuous streets
+of Frankfort, an easy adventure, because darkness had set in, but even
+in daylight my course would have been safe enough, for never once did he
+look over his shoulder, or betray any of that suspicion characteristic
+of our laboring classes."
+
+"I think that tells in his favor," persisted the girl.
+
+"He came to the steps of the Rheingold, a disreputable drinking cellar,
+and disappeared from my sight down its steps. A great shout greeted him,
+and the rattle of tankards on a table, as he joined what was evidently
+his coterie. Standing outside, I heard song and ribaldry within. The
+heir-presumptive to the throne of the Empire was too obviously a drunken
+brawler; a friend and comrade of the lowest scum in Frankfort.
+
+"After a short time he emerged alone, and once more I followed him. He
+went with the directness of a purposeful man to the Fahrgasse, the
+street of the rich merchants, knocked at a door, and was admitted. Along
+the first-floor front were three lighted windows, and I saw his form
+pass the first two of these, but from my station in the street could not
+witness what was going on within. Looking about me, I found to my right
+a narrow alley, occupied by an outside stairway. This I mounted, and
+from its topmost step I beheld the interior of the large room on the
+opposite side of the way.
+
+"It appeared to me that Prince Roland had been expected, for the elderly
+man seated at the table, his calm face toward me, showed no surprise at
+the Prince's entrance. His Highness sat with his back towards me, and
+for a time it seemed that nothing was going forward but an amiable
+conversation. Suddenly the Prince rose, threw off his cloak, whisked out
+his sword, and presented its point at the throat of the merchant.
+
+"It was clear, from the expression of dismay on the merchant's face,
+that this move on the part of his guest was entirely unexpected, but its
+object was speedily manifested. The old man, with trembling hand, pushed
+across the table to his assailant a well-filled bag, which the Prince at
+once untied. Pouring out a heap of yellow gold, he began with great
+deliberation to count the money, which, when you consider his precarious
+situation, showed the young man to be old in crime. Some portion of the
+gold he returned to the merchant; the rest he dropped into an empty bag,
+which he tied to his belt.
+
+"I did not wait to see anything more, but came down to the foot of the
+stairs, that I might learn if Roland took his money to his dissolute
+comrades. He came out, and once more I followed him, and once more he
+led me to the Rheingold cellar. On this occasion, however, I took step
+by step with him until we entered the large wineroom at the foot of the
+stairs, he less than an arm's length in front of me, still under the
+illusion that he was alone. Prince though he was, I determined to
+expostulate with him, and if possible persuade a restitution of the
+gold.
+
+"'Your Highness!' I began, touching him lightly on the shoulder.
+
+"Instantly he turned upon me with a savage oath, grasped me by the
+throat, and forced me backward against the cellar wall.
+
+"'You spying sneak!' he cried. 'In spite of my warning you have been
+hounding my footsteps!'
+
+"The moment I attempted to reply, he throttled me so as to choke every
+effort at utterance. There now approached us, with alarm in his
+wine-colored face, a gross, corpulent man, whom the Prince addressed as
+proprietor of the place, which doubtless he was.
+
+"'Landlord,' said Roland very quietly, 'this unfortunate monk is weak in
+the head, and although he means no harm with his meddling, he may well
+cause disaster to my comrades and myself. Earlier in the evening he
+accosted on the bridge, but I spared him, hoping never to see his
+monkish costume again. You may judge the state of his mind when I tell
+you he accuses me of being the Emperor's son, and Heaven only knows what
+he would estimate to be the quality of my comrades were he to see them.'
+
+"Two or three times I attempted to speak, but the closing of his fingers
+upon my throat prevented me, and even when they were slightly relaxed I
+was scarcely able to breathe."
+
+The Countess listened with the closest attention, fixing upon the
+narrator her splendid eyes, and in them, despite their feminine beauty
+and softness, seemed to smoulder a deep fire of resentment at the
+treatment accorded her kinsman, a luminant of danger transmitted to her
+down the ages from ancestors equally ready to fight for the Sepulcher in
+Palestine or for the gold on the borders of the Rhine. In the pause,
+during which the monk wiped from his wrinkled brow the moisture brought
+there by remembrance of the indignity he had undergone, kindliness in
+the eyes of the Countess overcame their menace, and she said gently:
+
+"I am quite confident, Father, that such a ruffian could not be Prince
+Roland. He was indeed the rude mechanic he proclaimed himself. No man of
+noble blood would have acted thus."
+
+"Listen, my child, listen," resumed Father Ambrose. "Turning to the
+landlord, the Prince asked:
+
+"'Is there a safe and vacant room in your establishment where I could
+bestow this meddlesome priest for a few days?'
+
+"'There is a wine vault underneath this drinking cellar,' responded the
+landlord.
+
+"'Does anyone enter that vault except yourself?'
+
+"'No one,'
+
+"'Will you undertake charge of the priest, seeing that he communicates
+with none outside?'
+
+"'Of a surety, Captain,'
+
+"'Good. I will pay you well, and that in advance.'"
+
+"This ruffian was never the Prince," interrupted the Countess firmly.
+
+"I beg you to listen, Hildegunde, and my next sentence will convince
+you. The Prince continued:
+
+"'Not only prevent his communication with others, but do not listen to
+him yourself. He will endeavor to persuade you that his name is Father
+Ambrose, and that he is a monk in good standing with the Benedictine
+Order. If he finds you care little for that, he may indeed pretend he is
+of noble origin himself; that he is Henry von Sayn, and thus endeavor to
+work on whatever sympathy you may feel for the aristocrats. But I assure
+you he is no more a Sayn than I am Prince Roland.'
+
+"'Indeed, Captain,' replied the host, 'I have as little liking for an
+aristocrat as for a monk, so you may depend that I will keep him safe
+enough until you order his release.'
+
+"Now, my dear Hildegunde, you see there was no mistake on my part. This
+young man asserted he knew nothing of me, and indeed, I believed he had
+forgotten the time of my chaplaincy at the Court, often as he listened
+to my discourses, yet all the time he knew me, and now, with an
+effrontery that seems incredible, he showed no hesitation in proving me
+right when I accosted him as son of the Emperor. I must in justice,
+however, admit that he instructed the landlord when he paid him, to
+treat me with gentleness, and to see that I had plenty to eat and drink.
+When three days had expired, I was to be allowed my liberty.
+
+"'He can do no harm then,' concluded the Prince, in his talk with the
+landlord, 'for by that time I shall have succeeded or failed.'
+
+"I was led down a narrow, broken stairway by the proprietor, and thrust
+into a dark and damp cellar, partially filled with casks of wine, and
+there I remained until set at liberty a few days ago.
+
+"I returned at once to the Benedictine Monastery where I had lodged,
+expecting to find my brethren filled with anxiety concerning me, but
+such was not the case. Any one man is little missed in this world, and
+my comrades supposed that I was invited to the Court, and had forgotten
+them as I saw they had forgotten me, so I said nothing of my adventure,
+but mounted my waiting horse and journeyed back to the Castle of Sayn."
+
+For a long time there was silence between the two, then the younger
+spoke.
+
+"Do you intend to take any action regarding your unauthorized
+imprisonment?"
+
+"Oh, no," replied the forgiving monk.
+
+"Is it certain that this dissolute young man will be chosen Emperor?"
+
+"There is a likelihood, but not a certainty."
+
+"Would not the election of such a person to the highest position in the
+State prove even a greater misfortune to the land than the continuance
+of the present regime, for this young man adds to his father's vice of
+drunkenness the evil qualities, of dishonesty, cruelty, ribaldry, and a
+lack of respect for the privileges both of Church and nobility?"
+
+"Such indeed is my opinion, daughter."
+
+"Then is it not your duty at once to acquaint the three Archbishops with
+what you have already told me, so that the disaster of his election may
+be avoided?"
+
+"It is a matter to which I gave deep thought during my journey thither,
+and I also invoked the aid of Heaven in guiding me to a just
+conclusion."
+
+"And that conclusion, Father?"
+
+"Is to say nothing whatever about my experiences in Frankfort."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because it is not given to a humble man like myself, occupying a
+position of no authority, to fathom what may be in the minds of those
+great Princes of the Church, the Archbishops. In effect they rule the
+country, and it is possible that they prefer to place on the throne a
+drunken nonentity who will offer no impediment to their ambitions,
+rather than to elect a moral young man who might in time prove too
+strong for them."
+
+"I am sure no such motive would actuate the Archbishop of Cologne."
+
+"His Lordship of Cologne, my child, dare not break with their Lordships
+of Treves and Mayence, so you may be sure that if these two wish to
+elect Prince Roland Emperor, nothing I could say to the Archbishop of
+Cologne would prevent that choice."
+
+"Oh, I had forgotten, in the excitement of listening to your adventures,
+but talking of the Archbishop reminds me his Highness of Cologne will
+visit us to-morrow, and he especially wishes to see you. You may imagine
+my anxiety when I received his message a few days ago, knowing nothing
+of your whereabouts."
+
+"Wishes to see me?" ejaculated Father Ambrose, wrinkling a perplexed
+brow. "I wonder what for. Can he have any knowledge of my visit to
+Frankfort?"
+
+"How could he?"
+
+"The Archbishops possess sources of enlightenment that we wot not of. If
+he charges me with being absent from my post, I must admit the fact."
+
+"Of course. Let me confess to him as soon as he arrives; your journey
+was entirely due to my persistence. I alone am to blame."
+
+The old man slowly shook his head.
+
+"I am at least equally culpable," he said. "I shall answer truthfully
+any question asked me, but I hope I am not in the wrong if I volunteer
+no information."
+
+The girl rose.
+
+"You could do no wrong, Father, even if you tried; and now good-night.
+Sleep soundly and fear nothing. On the rare occasions when the good
+Archbishop was angry with me, I have always managed to placate him, and
+I shall not fail in this instance."
+
+Father Ambrose bade her good-night, and left the room with the languid
+air of one thoroughly tired. As the young Countess stood there watching
+his retreat and disappearance, her dainty little fist clenched, and her
+eyebrows came together, bringing to her handsome face the determined
+expression which marked the countenances of some of her Crusader
+ancestors whose portraits decorated the walls.
+
+"If ever I get that ruffian Prince Roland into my power," she said to
+herself, "I will make him regret his treatment of so tolerant and
+forbearing a man as Father Ambrose."
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+THE COUNTESS VON SAYN AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE
+
+
+It was high noon when that great Prince of the Church, the Archbishop of
+Cologne, arrived at Castle Sayn, with a very inconsiderable following,
+which seemed to indicate that he traveled on no affair of State, for on
+such occasions he led a small army. The lovely young Countess awaited
+him at the top of the Castle steps, and he greeted her with the courtesy
+of a polished man of the world, rather than with the more austere
+consideration of a great Churchman. Indeed, it seemed to the quick
+apprehension of the girl that as he raised her fair hand to his lips his
+obeisance was lower, more deferential, than their differing stations in
+life justified.
+
+He shook hands with Father Ambrose in the manner of old friend accosting
+old friend, and nothing in his salutation indicated displeasure of any
+sort in the background.
+
+Perhaps, then, that sense of uneasiness felt by both the aged Father
+Ambrose and the youthful Countess Hildegunde in the Archbishop's
+presence came from their consciousness of conspiracy, resulting in the
+ill-fated journey to Frankfort. Nevertheless, all that afternoon the two
+were oppressed by the shadow of some impending danger, and the good
+spirits of the Archbishop seemed to them assumed for the occasion, and
+indeed in this they were not far wrong. His Lordship of Cologne was
+keenly apprehensive regarding an important conference set down for the
+next day, and the exuberance of an essentially serious man in such a
+crisis is prone to be overdone.
+
+Father Ambrose, who, in the midst of luxury and plenty, lived with the
+abstemiousness of an anchorite, and always partook of his scant
+refreshment alone in his cell, was invited by the Archbishop to a seat
+at the table in the dining-hall.
+
+"So long as you cast no look of reproach upon me for my enjoyment of
+Sayn's most excellent cuisine, and my appreciation of its unequaled
+cellar, I shall not comment on your dinner of parched peas and your
+unexhilarating tankard of water. Besides, I wish to consult with Ambrose
+the librarian of Sayn, touching the archives of this house, rather than
+with Ambrose the superintendent of farms, or Father Ambrose the monk."
+
+During the midday meal the Archbishop led, and at times monopolized, the
+conversation.
+
+"While you were under the tutelage of the good Sisters at Nonnenwerth
+Convent, Hildegunde, the Abbess frequently spoke of your proficiency in
+historical studies. Did you ever turn your attention to the annals of
+your own House?"
+
+"No, Guardian. From what I heard casually of my ancestors a record of
+their doings would be scarcely the sort of reading recommended to a
+young girl."
+
+"Ah, very true, very true," agreed the Archbishop. "Some of the Counts
+of Sayn led turbulent lives, and except with a battle-ax it was
+difficult to persuade them not to meddle with the goods and chattels of
+their neighbors. A strenuous line they proved in those olden days; but
+many noble women have adorned the Castle of Sayn whose lives shine out
+like an inspiration against the dark background of medieval tumult. Did
+you ever hear of your forebear, the gracious Countess Matilda von Sayn,
+who lived some hundreds of years ago? Indeed, the letters I have been
+reading, written in her quaint handwriting, are dated about the middle
+of the thirteenth century. I cannot learn whether she was older or
+younger than the Archbishop of Cologne of that period, and thus I wish
+to enlist the interest of Father Ambrose in searching the archives of
+Sayn for anything pertaining to her. The Countess sent many epistles to
+the Archbishop which he carefully preserved, while documents of much
+more importance to the Archbishopric were allowed to go astray.
+
+"Her letters breathe a deep devotion to the Church, and a warm
+kindliness to its chief ornament of that day, the then Archbishop of
+Cologne. She was evidently his most cherished adviser, and in points of
+difficulty her counsel exhibits all the clarity of a man's brain, to
+which is added a tenderness and a sense of justice entirely womanly. I
+could not help fancying that this great prelate's success in his
+Archbishopric was largely due to the disinterested advice of this noble
+woman. It is clearly to be seen that the Countess was the benignant
+power behind the throne, and she watched his continued advancement with
+a love resembling that lavished on a favorite son. Her writings now and
+then betray an affection of a quality so motherly that I came to believe
+she was much older than the great Churchman, but then there is the fact
+that she long outlived him, so it is possible she may have been the
+younger."
+
+"Why, my Lord, are you about to weave us a romance?"
+
+The Archbishop smiled, and for a moment placed his hand upon hers, which
+rested on the table beside him.
+
+"A romance, perhaps, between myself and the Countess of long ago, for as
+I read these letters I used much of their contents for my own guidance,
+and found her precepts as wise to-day as they were in 1250, and to me
+... to me," the Archbishop sighed, "she seems to live again. Yes, I
+confess my ardent regard for her, and if you call that romance, it is
+surely of a very innocent nature."
+
+"But the other Archbishop? Your predecessor, the friend of Matilda; what
+of him?"
+
+"There, Hildegunde, I have much less evidence to go upon, for his
+letters, if they exist, are concealed somewhere in the archives of Sayn
+Castle."
+
+"To-morrow," cried the girl, "I shall robe myself in the oldest garments
+I possess, and will rummage those dusty archives until I find the
+letters of him who was Archbishop in 1250."
+
+"I have bestowed that task upon one less impulsive. Father Ambrose is
+the searcher, and he and I will put our wise old heads together in
+consultation over them before entrusting them to the perusal of that
+impetuous young noblewoman, the present Countess von Sayn."
+
+The impetuous person referred to brought down her hand with a peremptory
+impact upon the table, and exclaimed emphatically:
+
+"My Lord Archbishop, I shall read those letters to-morrow."
+
+Once more the Archbishop placed his hand on hers, this time, however,
+clasping it firmly in his own. There was no smile on his face as he said
+gravely:
+
+"My lady, to-morrow you will face three living Archbishops, more
+difficult, perhaps, to deal with than one who is dust."
+
+"Three!" she cried, startled, a gleam of apprehension troubling her fine
+eyes. "My Lords of Mayence, Treves, and yourself? Are they coming here?"
+
+"The conclave of the Archbishops will be held at Castle Stolzenfels, the
+Rhine residence of my brother of Treves."
+
+"Why is this Court convened?"
+
+"That will be explained to you, Hildegunde, by his Highness of Mayence.
+I did not intend to speak to you about this until later, so I will
+merely say that there is nothing to fear. I, being your guardian, am
+sent to escort you to Stolzenfels, and as we ride there together I wish
+to place before you some suggestions which you may find useful when the
+meeting takes place."
+
+"I shall faithfully follow any advice you give me, my Lord."
+
+"I am sure of it, Hildegunde, and you will remember that I speak as
+guardian, not as Councilor of State. My observations will be requests
+and not commands. You see, we have reversed the positions of my
+predecessor and the Countess Matilda. It was always she who tendered
+advice, which he invariably accepted. Now I must take the rôle of
+advice-giver; thus you and I transpose the parts of the former
+Archbishop of Cologne, and the former Countess of Sayn, who, I am sorry
+to note, have been completely banished from your thoughts by my
+premature announcement regarding the three living Archbishops."
+
+"Oh, not at all, not at all! I am still thinking of those two. Have you
+told me all you know about them?"
+
+"Far from it. Although I was handicapped in my reconstitution of their
+friendship by lack of the Archbishop's letters, he had nevertheless made
+a note here and there upon the communications he received from the
+Countess. Throughout the letters certain paragraphs are marked with a
+cross, as if for reperusal, these paragraphs being invariably most
+delicately and charmingly written. But now I come to the last very
+important document, the only one of which a copy has been kept, written
+in the Archbishop's own hand.
+
+"In the year 1250, the Countess von Sayn had ceded to him the Rhine town
+of Linz. Linz seems to have been a rebellious and troublesome fief,
+which the Sayns held by force of arms. When it came into the possession
+of the Archbishop, the foolish inhabitants, remembering that Cologne was
+a long distance down the river compared with the up-river journey to
+Sayn, broke out into open revolt. The Archbishop sent up his army, and
+most effectually crushed this outbreak, severely punishing the rebels.
+He returned from this subdued town to his own city of Cologne, and
+whether from the exposure of the brief campaign, or some other cause, he
+was taken ill and shortly after died.
+
+"The new Archbishop was installed, and nearly two years passed, so far
+as I can learn, before the Countess Matilda made claim that the town of
+Linz should come again within her jurisdiction, saying that this
+restitution had been promised by the late Archbishop. His successor,
+however, disputed this claim. He possessed, he said, the deed of gift
+making over the town of Linz to his predecessor, and this document was
+definite enough. If then, it was the intention of the late Archbishop to
+return Linz to the House of Sayn, the Countess doubtless held some
+document to that effect, and in this case he would like to know its
+purport.
+
+"The Countess replied that an understanding had existed between the late
+Archbishop and herself regarding the subjugation of the town of Linz and
+its return to her after the rebellion was quelled. But for the untimely
+death of the late Archbishop she did not doubt that his part of the
+contract would have been kept long since. Nevertheless, she did possess
+a document, in the late Archbishop's own hand, setting out the terms of
+their agreement, and of this manuscript she sent a copy.
+
+"The crafty Archbishop, without casting doubt on the authenticity of the
+copy, said that of course it would be illegal for him to act upon it. He
+must have the original document. Matilda replied, very shrewdly, that on
+her part she could not allow the original document to quit her custody,
+as upon it rested her rights to the town of Linz. She would, however,
+exhibit this document to any ecclesiastical committee her correspondent
+might appoint, and the members of the committee so chosen should be men
+well acquainted with the late Archbishop's writing and signature. In
+reply the Archbishop regretted that he could not accept her suggestion.
+The people of Cologne, believing that their overlord had rightfully
+acquired Linz, cheerfully consented to make good their title by battle,
+thus having, as it were, bought the town with their blood, and indeed, a
+deplorable sacrifice of life, it would become a dangerous venture to
+give up the town unless indisputable documentary evidence might be
+exhibited to them showing that such a bargain was made by the deceased
+prelate.
+
+"But before proceeding farther in this matter, he asked the Countess if
+she were prepared to swear that the copy forwarded to him was a full and
+faithful rendition of the original. Did it contain every word the late
+Archbishop had written in that letter?
+
+"To this the Countess made no reply, and allowed to lapse any title she
+might have to the town of Linz."
+
+"I think," cried the girl indignantly, "that my ancestress was in the
+right, refusing further communication with this ignoble Churchman who
+dared to impugn her good faith."
+
+The Archbishop smiled at her vehemence.
+
+"I shall make no attempt to defend my astute predecessor. A
+money-lender's soul tenanted his austere body, but what would you say if
+his implication of the Countess Matilda's good faith was justified?"
+
+"You mean that the copy which she sent of the Archbishop's letter was
+fraudulent? I cannot believe it."
+
+"Not fraudulent. So far as it went her copy was word perfect. She
+neglected to add, however, a final sentence, and rather than make it
+public forfeited her rightful claim to great possessions. Of the
+Archbishop's communications to her there remains in our archives a copy
+of this last epistle written in his own hand. I cannot imagine why he
+added the final clauses to what was in essence an important business
+communication. The premonition he admits may have set his thoughts upon
+things not of this world, but undoubtedly he believed that he would live
+long enough to conquer the rebels of Linz, and restore to the Countess
+her property. This is what he wrote, and she refused to publish:
+
+"'Matilda, I feel that my days are numbered, and that their number is
+scant. To all the world my life seems to have been successful beyond the
+wishes of mortal man, but to me it is a dismal failure, in that I die
+bachelor Archbishop of Cologne, and you are the spinster Countess von
+Sayn.'"
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM THE COUNTESS
+
+
+There are few favored spots occupied by blue water and greensward over
+which a greater splendor is cast by the rising sun on a midsummer
+morning than that portion of the Rhine near Coblentz, and as our little
+procession emerged from the valley of the Saynbach every member of it
+was struck with the beauty of the flat country across the Rhine,
+ripening toward a yellow harvest, flooded by the golden glory of the
+rising sun.
+
+Their route led to the left by the foot of the eastern hills, and not
+yet along the margin of the great river. Gradually, however, as they
+journeyed in a southerly direction, the highlands deflected them
+westward until at last there was but scant room for the road between
+rock and water. Always they were in the shade, a comforting feature of a
+midsummer journey, an advantage, however, soon to be lost when they
+crossed the Rhine by the ferry to Coblentz. The distance from Sayn
+Castle to Schloss Stolzenfels was a little less than four leagues, so
+their early start permitted a leisurely journey.
+
+The Archbishop and the Countess rode side by side. Following them at
+some distance came Father Ambrose, deep in his meditations, and paying
+little attention to the horse he rode, which indeed, faithful animal,
+knew more about the way than did his rider. Still farther to the rear
+rode half a dozen mounted lancemen, two and two, the scant escort of one
+who commanded many thousands of armed men.
+
+"How lovely and how peaceful is the scene," said the Countess. "How
+beautiful are the fields of waving grain; their color of dawn softened
+by the deep green of interspersed vineyards, and the water without a
+ripple, like a slumbering lake rather than a strong river. It seems as
+though anger, contention, and struggle could not exist in a realm so
+heavenly."
+
+"'Seems' is the word to use," commented the Archbishop gravely, "but the
+unbroken placidity of the river you so much admire is a peace of defeat.
+I had much rather see its flood disturbed by moving barges and the
+turmoil of commerce. It is a peace that means starvation and death to
+our capital city, and, indeed, in a lesser degree, to my own town of
+Cologne, and to Coblentz, whose gates we are approaching."
+
+"But surely," persisted the girl, "the outlook is improving, when you
+and I travel unmolested with a mere handful of men to guard us. Time was
+when a great and wealthy Archbishop might not stir abroad with less than
+a thousand men in his train."
+
+The Archbishop smiled.
+
+"I suppose matters mend," he said, "as we progress in civilized usage.
+The number of my escort, however, is not limited by my own modesty, but
+stipulated by the Court of Archbishops. Mayence travels down the Rhine
+and Treves down the Moselle, each with a similar following at his
+heels."
+
+"You are pessimistic this lovely morning, my Lord, and will not even
+admit that the world is beautiful."
+
+"It all depends on the point of view, Hildegunde. I regard it from a
+position toward the end of life, and you from the charming station of
+youth: the far-apart outlook of an old man and a young girl."
+
+"Nonsense, Guardian, you are anything but old. Nevertheless I am much
+disappointed with your attitude this morning. I fully expected to be
+complimented by you."
+
+"Doesn't my whole attitude breathe of compliment?"
+
+"Ah, but I expected a particular compliment to-day!"
+
+"What have I overlooked?"
+
+"You overlooked the fact that yesterday you aroused my most intense
+curiosity regarding the journey we are now taking together, and the
+conference which is to follow. Despite deep anxiety to learn what is
+before me I have not asked you a single question, nor even hinted at the
+subject until this moment. Now, I think I should be rewarded for my
+reticence."
+
+"Ah, Countess, you are an exception among women, and I merely withheld
+the well-earned praise until such time as I could broach the subject
+occupying my mind ever since we left the Castle. With the awkwardness of
+a man I did not know how to begin until you so kindly indicated the
+way."
+
+"Perhaps, after all, I make a false claim, because I have guessed your
+secret, and therefore my deep solicitude is assumed."
+
+"Guessed it?" queried the Archbishop, a shade of anxiety crossing his
+face.
+
+"Yes. Your story of the former Archbishop and the Countess Matilda gave
+me a clue. You have discovered a document proving my right to the town
+of Linz on the Rhine."
+
+The Archbishop bowed his head, but said nothing.
+
+"Your sense of justice urges you to make amends, but such a long time
+has elapsed that my claim is doubtless outlawed, and you do not quite
+know how restoration may be effected. You have, I take it, consulted
+with one or other of your colleagues, Mayence or Treves, or perhaps with
+both. They have made objection to your proposed generosity, and put
+forward the argument that you are but temporary trustee of the Cologne
+Archbishopric; that you must guard the rights of your successor; and
+this truism could not help but appeal to that quality of equity which
+distinguishes you, so a conference of the prelates has been called, and
+a majority of that Court will decide whether or not the town of Linz
+shall be tendered to me. Perhaps a suggestion will be made that I allow
+things to remain as they are, in which case I shall at once refuse to
+accept the town of Linz. Now, Guardian, how near have I come to solving
+the mystery?"
+
+They rode along in silence together, the Archbishop pondering on the
+problem of her further enlightenment. At last he said:
+
+"Cologne is ruled by its Archbishop, wisely or the reverse as the case
+may be. The Archbishop, much as he reveres the opinion of his
+distinguished colleagues, would never put them to the inconvenience of
+giving a decision on any matter not concerning them. Linz's fate was
+settled when the handwriting of my predecessor, prelate of 1250 A.D.,
+convinced me that this Rhine town belonged to the House of Sayn.
+Restitution has already been accomplished in due legal form, and when
+next the Countess Hildegunde rides through Linz, she rides through her
+own town."
+
+"I shall never, never accept it, Guardian."
+
+"It is yours now, Countess. If you do not wish to hold the town, use it
+as a gift to the fortunate man you marry. And now, Hildegunde, this
+long-postponed advice I wish to press upon your attention, must be
+given, for we are nearing the ferry to Coblentz, and between that town
+and Stolzenfels we may have company. Of the three Archbishops you will
+meet to-day, there is only one of whom you need take account."
+
+"Oh, I know that," cried the girl, "his Lordship of Cologne!"
+
+The Archbishop smiled, but went on seriously:
+
+"Where two or three men are gathered together, one is sure to be leader.
+In our case the chief of the trio supposed to be equal is his Highness
+of Mayence. Treves and I pretend not to be under his thumb, but we are:
+that is to say, Treves holds I am under his thumb, and I hold Treves is
+under his thumb, and so when one or the other of us join the Archbishop
+of Mayence, there is a majority of the Court, and the third member is
+helpless."
+
+"But why don't you and Treves join together?"
+
+"Because each thinks the other a coward, and doubtless both are right.
+The point of the matter is that Mayence is the iron man of the
+combination; therefore I beg you beware of him, and I also entreat you
+to agree with the proposal he will make. It will be of tremendous
+advantage to you."
+
+"In that case, my Lord, how could I refuse?"
+
+"I hope, my child, you will not, but if you should make objection, do so
+with all the tact at your disposal. In fact, refrain wholly from
+objection if you can, and plead for time to consider, so that you and I
+may consult together, thus affording me opportunity of bringing
+arguments to bear that may influence your decision."
+
+"My dear Guardian, you alarm me by the awesome way in which you speak.
+What fateful choice hangs over my head?"
+
+"I have no wish to frighten you, my daughter, and, indeed, I anticipate
+little chance of disagreement at the conference. I merely desire that
+you shall understand something of Mayence. He is a man whom opposition
+may drive to extremity, and being accustomed to crush those who disagree
+with him, rather than conquer by more diplomatic methods, I am anxious
+you should not be led into any semblance of dissent from his wishes. By
+agreement between Mayence, Treves, and myself, I am not allowed to
+enlighten you regarding the question at issue. I perhaps strain that
+agreement a little when I endeavor to put you on your guard. If, at any
+point in the discussion, you wish a few moments to reflect, glance
+across the table at me, and I shall immediately intervene with some
+interruption which must be debated by the three members of the Court. Of
+course, I shall do everything in my power to protect you should our grim
+friend Mayence lose his temper, as may happen if you thwart him."
+
+"Why am I likely to thwart him?"
+
+"Why indeed? I see no reason. I am merely an old person perhaps
+over-cautious. Hence this warding off of a crisis which I hope will
+never arise."
+
+"Guardian, I have one question to ask, and that will settle the matter
+here on the border of the Rhine, before we reach Stolzenfels. Do you
+thoroughly approve, with your heart, mind, and conscience, of the
+proposition to be made to me?"
+
+"I do," replied the Archbishop, in a tone of conviction that none could
+gainsay. "Heart and soul, agree."
+
+"Then, Guardian, your crisis that never came vanishes. I shall tell his
+Lordship of Mayence, in my sweetest voice and most ingratiating manner,
+that I will do whatever he requests."
+
+Here the conversation ceased, for the solitude now gave way to a scene
+of activity, as they came to the landing alongside which lay the
+floating bridge, a huge barge, capable of carrying their whole company
+at one voyage. Several hundred persons, on horseback or on foot,
+gathered along the river-bank, raised a cheer as the Archbishop
+appeared. The Countess thought they waited to greet him, but they were
+merely travelers or market people who found their journey interrupted at
+this point. An emissary of the Archbishop had commanded the ferry-boat
+to remain at its eastern landing until his Lordship came aboard. When
+the distinguished party embarked, the crew instantly cast off their
+moorings, and the tethered barge, impelled by the swift current, gently
+swung across to the opposite shore.
+
+A great concourse of people greeted their arrival at Coblentz, and if
+vociferous shouts and hurrahs are signs of popularity, the Archbishop
+had reason to congratulate himself upon his reception. The prelate bowed
+and smiled, but did not pause at Coblentz, and, to the evident
+disappointment of the multitude, continued his way up the Rhine. When
+the little cavalcade drew away from the mob, the Countess spoke:
+
+"I had no thought," she said, "that Coblentz contained so many
+inhabitants."
+
+"Neither does it," replied the Archbishop.
+
+"Then is this simply an influx of people from the country, and is the
+conclave of the Archbishops of such importance that it draws so many
+sightseers?"
+
+"The Court held by the Archbishops on this occasion is very important. I
+suspect, however, that those are no sightseers, for the general public
+is quite unaware that we meet to-day. They who cheered so lustily just
+now are, I think, men of Treves."
+
+"Do you mean soldiers?"
+
+"Aye. Soldiers in the dress of ordinary townsmen, but I dare say they
+all know where to find their weapons should a war-cry arise."
+
+"Do you imply that the Archbishop of Treves has broken his compact? I
+understood that your escort was limited to the few men following you."
+
+His Lordship laughed.
+
+"The Archbishop of Treves," he said, "is not a great strategist, yet I
+surmise he is ready in case of trouble to seize the city of Coblentz."
+
+"What trouble could arise?"
+
+"The present moment is somewhat critical, for the Emperor lies dying in
+Frankfort. We three Electors hope to avoid all commotion by having our
+plans prepared and acting upon them promptly. But the hours between the
+death of an Emperor and the appointment of his successor are fateful
+with uncertainty. I suppose the good Sisters at Nonnenwerth taught you
+about the Election of an Emperor?"
+
+"Indeed, Guardian, I am sorry to confess that if they did I have
+forgotten all about it."
+
+"There are seven Electors; four high nobles of the Empire and three
+Archbishops, Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. The present Count
+Palatine of the Rhine is, like my friend Treves, completely under the
+dominion of the Archbishop of Mayence, so the three Lords Spiritual,
+with the aid of the Count Palatine, form a majority of the Electoral
+Court."
+
+"I understand. And now I surmise that you assemble at Stolzenfels to
+choose our future Emperor."
+
+"No; he has already been chosen, but his name will not be announced to
+any person save one before the Emperor dies."
+
+"Doubtless that one is the Count Palatine."
+
+"No, Countess, he remains ignorant; and I give you warning, Madam, I am
+not to be cross-questioned by indirection. You should be merciful: I am
+but clay in your hands, yet there is certain information I am forbidden
+to impart, so I will merely say that if the Archbishop happens to be in
+good-humor this afternoon, he is very likely to tell you who will be the
+future Emperor."
+
+The girl gave an exclamation of surprise.
+
+"To tell me? Why should he do so?"
+
+"I said I was not to be cross-examined any further. I tremble now with
+apprehension lest I have let slip something I should not, therefore we
+will change the subject to one of paramount importance; namely, our
+midday meal. I intended to stop at Coblentz for that repast, but the
+Archbishop of Treves, whose guests we are, was good enough to accept a
+menu I suggested, therefore we will sit at table with him."
+
+"You suggested a menu?"
+
+"Yes; I hope you will approve of it. There is some excellent Rhine
+salmon, with a sauce most popular in Treves, a sauce that has been
+celebrated for centuries. Next some tender venison from the forest
+behind Stolzenfels, which is noted for its deer. There are, beside,
+cakes and various breads, also vegetables, and all are to be washed down
+by delicate Oberweseler wine. How does my speis-card please you,
+Countess?"
+
+"I am committing it to memory, Guardian, so that I shall know what to
+prepare for you when next you visit my Castle of Sayn."
+
+"Oh, this repast is not in my honor, but in yours. I feared you might
+object to the simplicity of it. It is upon record that this meal was
+much enjoyed by a young lady some centuries ago, at this very Castle of
+Stolzenfels, shortly after it was completed. Indeed, I think it likely
+she was the noble castle's first guest. Stolzenfels was built by Arnold
+von Isenberg, the greatest Archbishop that ever ruled over Treves, if I
+may except Archbishop Baldwin, the fighter. Isenberg determined to have
+a stronghold on the Rhine midway between Mayence and Cologne, and he
+made it a palace as well as a fortress, taking his time about it--in all
+seventeen years. He began its erection in 1242, and so was building at
+the time your ancestress Matilda ceded Linz to the Archbishop of
+Cologne, therefore I imagine Cologne probably wished to have a
+stronghold within striking distance of Treves' new castle.
+
+"One of the first to visit Stolzenfels was a charming young English girl
+named Isabella, who was no other than the youngest daughter of John,
+King of England. Doubtless she came here with an imposing suite of
+attendants, and I surmise that the great prelate's castle saw impressive
+pageants and festivities, for the chronicler, after setting down the
+menu whose excellence I hope to test to-day, adds:
+
+"'They ate well, and drank better, and the Royal maiden danced a great
+deal.'
+
+"Her brother then occupied the English throne. He was Henry III., and of
+course much attention was paid over here to his dancing sister."
+
+"Why, Guardian, what you say gives a new interest to old Stolzenfels. I
+have never been within the Castle, but now I shall view it with delight,
+wondering through which of the rooms the English Princess danced. Why
+did Isabella come from England all the way to the Rhine?"
+
+"She came to meet the three Archbishops."
+
+"Really? For what purpose?"
+
+"That they might in ecclesiastical form, and upon the highest
+ecclesiastical authority, announce her betrothal."
+
+"Announce in Stolzenfels the betrothal of an English Princess, the
+daughter of one king and sister of another! Did she, then, marry a
+German?"
+
+"Yes; she married the Emperor, Frederick II.; Frederick of
+Hohenstaufen."
+
+Slowly the girl turned her head, and looked steadfastly at the
+Archbishop, who was gazing earnestly up the road as if to catch a
+glimpse of the Castle which had been the scene of the events he related.
+Her face became pale, and a questioning wonder rose in her eyes. What
+did the Archbishop really mean by this latest historical recital? True,
+he was a man who had given much study to ancient lore; rather fond of
+exhibiting his proficiency therein when he secured patient listeners.
+Could there be any secret meaning in his story of the English Princess
+who danced? Was there any hidden analogy between the journey of the
+English Isabella, and the short trip taken that day by Hildegunde of
+Sayn? She was about to speak when the Archbishop made a slight signal
+with his right hand, and a horseman who had followed them all the way
+from Coblentz now spurred up alongside of his Lordship, who said sharply
+to the newcomer:
+
+"How many of Treves' men are in Coblentz?"
+
+"Eight hundred and fifty, my Lord."
+
+"Enough to capture the town?"
+
+"Coblentz is already in their possession, my Lord."
+
+"They seem to be unarmed."
+
+"Their weapons are stored under guard in the Church of St. Castor, and
+can be in the hands of the soldiers within a few minutes after a signal
+is rung by the St. Castor's bells."
+
+"Are there any troops in Coblentz from Mayence?"
+
+"No, my Lord."
+
+"How many of my men have been placed behind the Castle of Stolzenfels?"
+
+"Three thousand are concealed in the forest near the hilltop."
+
+"How many men has my Lord of Mayence within call?"
+
+"Apparently only the scant half-dozen that reached Stolzenfels with him
+yesterday."
+
+"Are you sure of that?"
+
+"Scouts have been sent all through the forest to the south, and have
+brought us no word of an advancing company. Other scouts have gone up
+the river as far as Bingen, but everything is quiet, and it would have
+been impossible for his Lordship to march a considerable number of men
+from any quarter towards Stolzenfels without one or other of our hundred
+spies learning of the movement."
+
+"Then doubtless Mayence depends on his henchman Treves."
+
+"It would seem so, my Lord."
+
+"Thank you; that will do."
+
+The rider saluted, turned his horse towards the north, and galloped
+away, and a few moments later the little procession came within sight of
+Stolzenfels, standing grandly on its conical hill beside the Rhine,
+against a background of green formed by the mountainous forests to the
+rear.
+
+This conversation, which she could not help but hear, had driven
+entirely from the mind of Hildegunde the pretty story of the English
+Princess.
+
+"Why, Guardian!" she said, "we seem to be in the midst of impending
+civil war."
+
+The Archbishop smiled.
+
+"We are in the midst of an assured peace," he replied.
+
+"What! with Coblentz practically seized, and three thousand of your men
+lurking in the woods above us?"
+
+"Yes. I told you that Treves was no strategist. I suppose he and Mayence
+imagine that by seizing the town of Coblentz they cut off my retreat to
+Cologne. They know it would be useless in a crisis for me to journey up
+the river, as I should then be getting farther and farther from my base
+of supplies both in men and provisions, therefore the Archbishop of
+Mayence has neglected to garrison that quarter."
+
+"But, Guardian, you are surely entrapped, with Coblentz thus held?"
+
+"Not so, my child, while I command three thousand men to their eight
+hundred."
+
+"But that means a battle!"
+
+"A battle that will never take place, Hildegunde, because I shall seize
+something much more valuable than any town, namely, the persons of the
+two Archbishops. With their Lordships of Treves and Mayence in my
+custody, cut off from communication with their own troops, I have slight
+fear of a leaderless army. The very magnitude of the force at my command
+is an assurance of peace."
+
+They now arrived at the branching hill-road leading up to the gates of
+Stolzenfels just above them, and conversation ceased, but the Countess
+was fated to remember before the afternoon grew old the final words
+Cologne spoke so confidently.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+MUTINY IN THE WILDERNESS
+
+
+It was a lovely morning in July when Prince Roland walked into the
+shadow of the handsome tower which to-day is all that survives of the
+Elector's palace at Hochst, on the river Main. He found Greusel there
+awaiting him, but none of the others. When the two had greeted one
+another, the Prince said:
+
+"Joseph, I determined several days ago to appoint you my lieutenant on
+this expedition."
+
+"If you take my advice, Roland, you will do nothing of the kind."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because it may be looked upon as favoritism, and so promote jealously
+in the ranks, which is a thing to avoid."
+
+"Whom would you suggest for the place?"
+
+"Conrad Kurzbold."
+
+"What! and run the risk of divided authority? I am determined to be
+commander, you know."
+
+"Kurzbold, even if made lieutenant, would be as much under your orders
+as the rest of us. He is an energetic man, and you may thus direct his
+energy along the right path. From being a critic, he will become one of
+the criticised, giving him something to think about. Then your
+appointment of him would show that you bear no ill-feeling for what he
+said last night."
+
+"You appear to think, Greusel, that it is the duty of a commander to
+curry favor with his following."
+
+"No; but I regard tact as a useful quality. You see, you are not in the
+position of a general with an army. The members of the guild can depose
+you whenever they like and elect a successor, or they may desert you in
+a body, and you have no redress. Your methods should not be drastic, but
+rather those of a man who seeks election to some high office."
+
+"I fear I am not constituted for such a rôle, Greusel."
+
+"If you are to succeed in the task you have undertaken, Roland, you must
+adapt yourself to your situation as it actually is, and not as you would
+wish to have it. I stood by you yesterday evening, and succeeded in
+influencing the others to do the same, yet there is no denying that you
+spoke to those men in a most overbearing manner. Why, you could not have
+been more downright had you been an officer of the Emperor himself. What
+passed through my mind as I listened was, 'Where did this youth get his
+swagger?' You ordered Kurzbold out of the ranks, you know."
+
+"Then why favor my action?"
+
+"Because I was reluctant to see a promising marauding adventure wrecked
+at the very outset for lack of a few soothing words."
+
+Roland laughed heartily. The morning was inspiring, and he was in good
+fettle.
+
+"Your words to Kurzbold were anything but soothing."
+
+"Oh, I was compelled to crush him. He was the cause of the disturbance,
+and therefore I had no mercy so far as the affair impinged upon him. But
+the others, with the exception of Gensbein perhaps, are good, honest,
+sweet-tempered fellows, whom I did not wish to see misled. I think you
+must put out of your mind all thought of punishment, no matter what the
+offense against your authority may be."
+
+"Then how would you deal with insubordination when it arises?"
+
+"I should trust to the good sense of the remaining members of your
+company to make it uncomfortable for the offender."
+
+"But suppose they don't?"
+
+Greusel shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"In that case you are helpless, I fear. At any rate, talking of hanging,
+or the infliction of any other punishment, is quite futile so long as
+you do not possess the power to carry out your sentence. To return to my
+simile of the general: a general can order any private in his army to be
+hanged, and the man is taken out and hanged accordingly, but if one of
+the guild is to be executed, he must be condemned by an overwhelming
+vote of his fellows, because even if a bare majority sentenced one
+belonging to the minority it would mean civil war among us. Suppose, for
+example, it was proposed to hang you, and eleven voted for the execution
+and nine against it. Do you think we nine would submit to the verdict of
+the eleven? Not so. I am myself the most peaceful of men, but the moment
+it came to that point, I should run my sword through the proposer of the
+execution before he had time to draw his weapon. In other words, I'd
+murder him to lessen the odds, and then we'd fight it out like men."
+
+"Why didn't you say all this last night, Greusel?"
+
+"Last night my whole attention was concentrated on inducing Kurzbold to
+forget that you had threatened the company with a hangman's rope. Had he
+remembered that, I could never have carried the vote of confidence. But
+you surely saw that the other men were most anxious to support you if
+your case was placed fairly before them, a matter which, for some
+reason, you thought it beneath your dignity to attempt."
+
+"My dear Joseph, your wholesale censure this morning does much to
+nullify the vote I received last night."
+
+"My dear Roland, I am not censuring you at all; I am merely endeavoring
+to place facts before you so that you will recognize them."
+
+"Quite so, but what I complain of is that these facts were not exhibited
+in time for me to shoulder or shirk the responsibility. I do not believe
+that military operations can be successfully carried on by a little
+family party, the head of which must coddle the others in the group, and
+beg pardon before he says 'Devil take you!' I would not have accepted
+the leadership last night had I known the conditions."
+
+"Well, it is not yet too late to recede. The barge does not leave
+Frankfort until this evening, and it is but two leagues back to that
+city. Within half an hour at the farthest, every man of us will be
+assembled here. Now is the time to have it out with them, because
+to-morrow morning the opportunity to withdraw will be gone."
+
+"It is too late even now, Greusel. If last night the guild could not
+make up the money we owe to Goebel, what hope is there that a single
+coin remains in their pockets this morning? Do I understand, then, that
+you refuse to act as my lieutenant?"
+
+"No; but I warn you it will be a step in the wrong direction. You are
+quite sure of me; and as merely a man-at-arms, as you called us last
+night, I shall be in a better position to speak in your favor than if I
+were indebted to you for promotion from the ranks."
+
+"I see. Therefore you counsel me to nominate Kurzbold?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"Why not Gensbein, who was nearly as mutinous as Kurzbold?"
+
+"Well, Gensbein, if you prefer him."
+
+"He showed a well-balanced mind last night, being part of the time on
+one side and part on the other."
+
+"My dear commander, we were all against you last night, when you spoke
+of hanging, and even when you only went as far as expulsion."
+
+"Yes, I suppose you were, and the circumstances being such as you state,
+doubtless you were justified. I am to command, then, a regiment that may
+obey or not, according to the whim of the moment; a cheering prospect,
+and one I had not anticipated. When I received the promise of twenty men
+that they would carry out faithfully whatever I undertook on their
+behalf, I expected them to stand by it."
+
+"I think you are unjust, Roland. No one has refused, and probably no one
+will. If any one disobeys a command, then you can act as seems best to
+you, but I wish you fully to realize the weakness of your status should
+it come to drastic punishment."
+
+"Quite so, quite so," said Roland curtly. He clasped his hands behind
+his back, and without further words paced up and down along the bank of
+the river, head bowed in thought.
+
+Ebearhard was the next arrival, and he greeted Greusel cordially, then
+one after another various members of the company came upon the scene. To
+the new-comers Roland made no salutation, but continued his meditating
+walk.
+
+At last the bell in the tower pealed forth nine slow, sonorous strokes,
+and Roland raised his head, ceasing his perambulations. Greusel looked
+anxiously at him as he came forward to the group, but his countenance
+gave no indication whether or not he had determined to abandon the
+expedition.
+
+"Are we all here?" asked Roland.
+
+"No," was the reply; "Kurzbold, Eiselbert, Rasselstein, and Gensbein
+have not arrived yet."
+
+"Then we will wait for them a few moments longer," said the commander,
+with no trace of resentment at their unpunctuality, and from this
+Greusel assumed that he not only intended to go on, but had taken to
+heart the warning given him. Ebearhard and a comrade walked up the road
+rapidly toward Frankfort, hoping for some sign of the laggards, and
+Roland resumed his stroll beside the river. At last Ebearhard and his
+companion returned, and the former approached Roland.
+
+"I see nothing of those four," he said. "What do you propose to do?"
+
+Roland smiled.
+
+"I think sixteen good men, all of a mind, will accomplish quite as much
+as twenty who are divided in purpose. I propose, therefore, to go on,
+unless you consider the missing four necessary, in which case we can do
+nothing but wait."
+
+"I am in favor of going forward," said Ebearhard; then turning to the
+rest, who had gathered themselves around their captain, he appealed to
+them. All approved of immediate action.
+
+"Do you intend to follow the river road, Captain?" asked Ebearhard.
+
+"Yes, for two or three leagues, but after that we strike across the
+country."
+
+"Very well. We can proceed leisurely along the road, and our friends may
+overtake us if they have any desire to do so."
+
+"Right!" said Roland. "Then let us set out."
+
+The seventeen walked without any company formation through the village,
+then, approaching a wayside tavern, they were hailed by a loud shout
+from the drinkers in front of it. Kurzbold was the spokesman for the
+party of four, which he, with his comrades, made up.
+
+"Come here and drink success to glory," he shouted. "Where have you lads
+been all the morning?"
+
+"The rendezvous," said Roland sternly, "was at the Elector's tower."
+
+"My rendezvous wasn't. I have been here for more than an hour," said
+Kurzbold. "I told you last night that when I arrived at Hochst I should
+be thirsty, and would try to mitigate the disadvantage at a tavern."
+
+"Yes," said Ebearhard, with a laugh, "we can all see you have succeeded
+in removing the disadvantage."
+
+"Oh, you mean I'm drunk, do you? I'll fight any man who says I'm drunk.
+It was a tremendous thirst caused by the dryness of my throat from last
+night, and the dust on the Frankfort road this morning. It takes a great
+deal of wine to overcome two thirsts. Come along, lads, and drink to the
+success of the journey. No hard feeling. Landlord, set out the wine here
+for seventeen people, and don't forget us four in addition."
+
+The whole company strolled in under the trees that fronted the tavern,
+except Roland, who stood aloof.
+
+"Here's a salute to you, Captain," cried Kurzbold. "I drink wine with
+you."
+
+"Not till we return from a successful expedition," said Roland.
+
+"Oh, nonsense!" hiccoughed Kurzbold. "Don't think that your office
+places you so high above us that it is _infra dig_. to drink with your
+comrades."
+
+To this diatribe Roland made no reply, and the sixteen, seeing the
+attitude of their leader, hesitated to raise flagon to lip. The
+diplomatic Ebearhard seized a measure of wine and approached Roland.
+
+"Drink with us, Commander," he said aloud; and then in a whisper,
+"Greusel and I think you should."
+
+"Thank you, comrade," said Roland, taking the flagon from him. "And now,
+brethren, I give you a toast."
+
+"Good, good, good!" cried Kurzbold, with drunken hilarity. "Here's to
+the success of the expedition. That's the toast, I make no doubt, eh,
+Captain?"
+
+"The sentiment is included in the toast I shall offer you. Drink to the
+health of Joseph Greusel, whom I have this morning appointed my
+lieutenant. If we all conduct ourselves as honorably and capably as he,
+our project is bound to prosper."
+
+Greusel, who was seated at a table, allowed his head to sink into his
+hands. Here was his advice scouted, and a direct challenge flung in the
+face of the company. He believed now that, after all, Roland had
+resolved to return to Frankfort, money or no money. If he intended to
+proceed to the Rhine, then even worse might happen, for it was plain he
+was bent on rule or ruin. Instantly the challenge was accepted. Kurzbold
+stood up, swaying uncertainly, compelled to maintain his upright
+position by grasping the top of the table at which he had been seated.
+
+"Stop there, stop there!" he cried. "No man drinks to that toast just
+yet. Patience, patience! all things in their order. If we claim the
+power to elect our captain, by the cock-crowned Cross of the old bridge
+we have a right to name the lieutenant! This is a question for the
+companionship to decide, and a usurpation on the part of Roland."
+
+"Sit down, you fool!" shouted Ebearhard savagely. "You're drunk. The
+Captain couldn't have made a better selection. What say you, comrades?"
+
+A universal shout of "Aye!" greeted the question, and even Kurzbold's
+three comrades joined in it.
+
+"And now, gentlemen, no more talk. Here's to the health of the new
+lieutenant, Joseph Greusel."
+
+The toast was drunk enthusiastically, all standing, with the exception
+of Kurzbold, who came down in his seat with a thud.
+
+"All right!" he cried, waving his hand. "All right; all right! That's
+what I said. Greusel's good man, and now he's elected by the
+companionship, he's all right. I drink to him. Drink to anybody, I
+will!"
+
+In groping round for the flagon, he upset it, and then roared loudly for
+the landlord to supply him again.
+
+"Now, comrades," said Roland sharply, "fall in! We've a long march ahead
+of us. Come, Greusel, we must lead the van, for I wish to instruct you
+in your duties."
+
+It was rather a straggling procession that set out from Hochst.
+
+"Perhaps," began Roland, as he strode along beside Greusel, "I should
+make some excuse for not following the advice you so strenuously urged
+upon me this morning regarding the appointment of a lieutenant. The
+truth is I wished to teach you a lesson, and could not resist the
+temptation of proving that a crisis firmly and promptly met disappears,
+whereas if you compromise with it there is a danger of being
+overwhelmed."
+
+"I admit. Commander, that you were successful just now, and the reason
+is that most of our brigade are sane and sober this morning. But wait
+until to-night, when the wine passes round several times, and if you try
+conclusions with them then you are likely to fail."
+
+"But the wine won't pass round to-night."
+
+"How can you prevent it?"
+
+"Wait, and you will see," said Roland, with a laugh.
+
+By this time they arrived at a fork in the road, one section going
+southwest and the other straight west. The left branch was infinitely
+the better thoroughfare, for the most part following the Main until it
+reached the Rhine. Roland, however, chose the right-hand road.
+
+"I thought you were going along by the river," said his lieutenant.
+
+"I have changed my mind," replied Roland, without further explanation.
+
+At first Kurzbold determined to set the pace. He would show the company
+he was not drunk, and tax them to follow him, but, his stout legs
+proving unable to carry out this excellent resolution, he gradually fell
+to the rear. As the sun rose higher, and grew hotter, the pace began to
+tell on him, and he accepted without protest the support of two comrades
+who had been drinking with him at Hochst. He retrograded into a
+condition of pessimistic dejection as the enthusiasm of the wine
+evaporated. A little later he wished to lie down by the roadside and
+allow a cruel and unappreciative world to pass on its own way, but his
+comrades encouraged him to further efforts, and in some manner they
+succeeded in dragging him along at the tail of the procession.
+
+As they approached the village of Zeilsheim, Roland requested his
+lieutenant to inform the marchers that there would be no halt until
+_mittagessen_.
+
+Zeilsheim is rather more than a league from Hochst, and Kurzbold allowed
+himself to wake up sufficiently to maintain that the distance earned
+another drink, but his supporters dragged him on with difficulty past
+those houses which displayed a bush over the door. At the larger town of
+Hofheim, five leagues from Frankfort, the same command was passed down
+the ranks, and at this there was some grumbling, for the day had become
+very hot, and the way was exceedingly trying, up hill and down dale.
+
+Well set up as these city lads were, walking had never been their
+accustomed exercise. The interesting Taunus mountains, which to-day
+constitute an exercise ground full of delights to the pedestrian,
+forming, as they do, practically a suburb of Frankfort, were at that
+time an unexplored wilderness, whose forests were infested by roving
+brigands, where no man ventured except at the risk of an untimely grave.
+The mediæval townsman rarely trusted himself very far outside the city
+gates, and our enterprising marauders, whom to outward view seemed
+stalwart enough to stand great fatigue, proved so soft under the hot sun
+along the shadeless road that by the time they reached Breckenheim,
+barely six leagues from Frankfort, there was a mopping of brows and a
+general feeling that the limit of endurance had been reached.
+
+At Breckenheim Roland called a halt for midday refreshment, and he was
+compelled to wait nearly half an hour until the last straggler of his
+woebegone crew limped from the road on to the greensward in front of the
+_Weinstaube_ which had been selected for a feeding-place. Black bread
+and a coarse kind of country cheese were the only provisions obtainable,
+but of these eatables there was an ample supply, and, better than all to
+the jaded wayfarers, wine in abundance, of good quality, too, for
+Breckenheim stands little more than a league to the north of the
+celebrated Hochheim.
+
+The wanderers came in by ones and twos, and sank down upon the benches
+before the tavern, or sprawled at full length on the short grass, where
+Kurzbold and his three friends dropped promptly off into sleep. A more
+dejected and amenable gang even Roland could not have wished to command.
+Every ounce of fight, or even discussion, was gone from them. They cared
+not where they were, or what any one said to them. Their sole desire was
+to be let alone, and they took not the slightest interest even in the
+preparing of their frugal meal. A mug of wine served to each mitigated
+the general depression, although Kurzbold showed how far gone he was by
+swearing dismally when roused even to drink the wine. He said he was
+resolved to lead a temperate life in future, but nevertheless managed to
+dispose of his allowance in one long, parched draught.
+
+Greusel approached his chief.
+
+"There will be some difficulty," he said, "when this meal has to be paid
+for. I find that the men are all practically penniless."
+
+"Tell them they need anticipate no trouble about that," replied Roland.
+"I have settled the bill, and will see that they do not starve or die of
+thirst before we reach the Rhine."
+
+"It is proposed," continued Greusel, "that each man should give all the
+money he possesses into a general fund to be dealt with by a committee
+the men will appoint. What do you say to this?"
+
+"There is nothing to say. I notice that the proposal was not made until
+the proposers' pouches were empty."
+
+"They know that some of us have money," Greusel went on, "myself, for
+instance, and they wish us to share as good comrades should--at least,
+that is their phrase."
+
+"An admirable phrase, yet I don't agree with it. How much money have
+you, Greusel?"
+
+"The thirty thalers are practically intact, and Ebearhard has about the
+same."
+
+"Well, fifty thalers lie safe in my pouch, but not a coin goes into the
+treasury of any committee the men may appoint. If they choose a
+committee, let them finance it themselves."
+
+"There will be some dissatisfaction at that decision, Commander."
+
+"I dare say. Still, as you know, I am always ready to do anything
+conducive to good feeling, so you may inform them that you and Ebearhard
+and myself, that is, three of us, will contribute to the committee's
+funds an amount equal to that subscribed by the other eighteen. Such
+lavishness on our part ought to satisfy them."
+
+"It won't, Commander, because there's not a single kreuzer among the
+eighteen."
+
+"So be it. That's as far as I am willing to go. Appeal to their
+reasoning powers, Greusel. If each of the eighteen contributes one
+thaler, we three will contribute six thalers apiece. Ask them whether
+they do not think we are generous when we do six times more than any one
+of them towards providing capital for a committee."
+
+"'Tis not willingness they lack, Commander, but ability."
+
+"They are not logical, Joseph. They prate of comradeship, and when it
+comes to an exercise of power they demand equality. How, then, can they,
+with any sense of fairness, prove ungrateful to us when we offer to bear
+six times the burden they are asked to shoulder?"
+
+The lieutenant said no more, but departed to announce the decision to
+the men, and either the commander's reasoning overcame all opposition,
+or else the company was too tired to engage in a controversy.
+
+When the black bread and cheese were served, with a further supply of
+wine, all sat up and ate heartily. The banquet ended, Greusel made an
+announcement to the men. There would now be an hour's rest, he said,
+before taking to the road again. The meal and the wine had been paid for
+by the commander, so no one need worry on that account, but if any man
+wished more wine he must pay the shot himself. However, before the
+afternoon's march was begun flagons of wine would be served at the
+commander's expense. This information was received in silence, and the
+men stretched themselves out on the grass to make the most of their hour
+of rest. Roland strolled off alone to view the village. The lieutenant
+and Ebearhard sat together at a table, conversing in low tones.
+
+"Well," said Ebearhard, "what do you think of it all?"
+
+"I don't know what to think," replied Greusel. "If the Barons of the
+Rhine could see us, and knew that we intended to attack them, I imagine
+there would be a great roar of laughter."
+
+Ebearhard emulated the Barons, and laughed. He was a cheerful person.
+
+"I don't doubt it," he said; "and talking of prospects, what's your
+opinion of the Commander?"
+
+"I am quite adrift on that score also. This morning I endeavored to give
+him some good advice. I asked him not to appoint me lieutenant, but to
+choose Kurzbold or Gensbein from among the malcontents, for I thought if
+responsibility were placed on their shoulders we should be favored with
+less criticism."
+
+"A very good idea it seems to me," remarked Ebearhard.
+
+"Well, you saw how promptly he ignored it, yet after all there may be
+more wisdom in that head of his than I suspected. Look you how he has
+made a buffer of me. He gives no commands to the men himself, but merely
+orders me to pass along the word for this or that. He appears determined
+to have his own way, and yet not to bring about a personal conflict
+between himself and his following."
+
+"Do you suppose that to be cowardice on his part?"
+
+"No; he is not a coward. He doubtless intends that I shall stand the
+brunt of any ill-temper on the part of the men. Should disobedience
+arise, it will be my orders that are disobeyed, not his. If the matter
+is of no importance one way or the other, I take it he will say nothing,
+but I surmise that when it comes to the vital point, he will brush me
+aside as though I were a feather, and himself confront the men
+regardless of consequences. This morning I thought they would win in
+such a case, but, by the iron Cross, I am not so confident now. Remember
+how he sprung my appointment on the crowd, counting, I am sure, on your
+help. He said to me, when we were alone by the tower, that you were the
+most fair-minded man among the lot, and he evidently played on that,
+giving them not a moment to think, and you backed him up. He carried his
+point, and since then has not said a word to them, all orders going
+through me, but I know he intended, as he told you, to take the river
+road, instead of which he has led us over this hilly district until
+every man is ready to drop. He is himself very sparing of wine, and is
+in fit condition. I understand he has tramped both banks of the Rhine,
+from Ehrenfels to Bonn, so this walk is nothing to him. At the end of it
+he was off for a stroll, and here are these men lying above the sod like
+the dead underneath it."
+
+"I cannot make him out," mused Ebearhard. "What has been his training?
+He appears to be well educated, and yet in some common matters is
+ignorant as a child, as, for instance, not knowing the difference in
+status between a skilled artisan and a chaffering merchant! What can
+have been his up-bringing? He is obviously not of the merchant class, yet
+he persuades the chief of our merchants, and the most conservative, to
+engage in this wild goose chase, and actually venture money and goods in
+supporting him. This expedition will cost Herr Goebel at least five
+thousand thalers, all because of the blandishments of a youth who walked
+in from the street, unintroduced. Then he is not an artisan of any sort,
+for when he joined us his hands were quite useless, except upon the
+sword-hilt."
+
+"He said he was a fencing-master," explained Greusel.
+
+"I know he did, and yet when he was offered a fee to instruct us he
+wouldn't look at it. The first duty of a fencing-master, like the rest
+of us, is to make money. Roland quite evidently scorns it, and at the
+last instructs us for nothing. Fencing-masters don't promote freebooting
+expeditions, and, besides, a fencing-master is always urbane and polite,
+cringing to every one. I have watched Roland closely at times, trying to
+study him, and in doing so have caught momentary glimpses of such
+contempt for us, that, by the good Lord above us, it made me shrivel up.
+You know, Greusel, that youth has more of the qualities usually
+attributed to a noble than those which go to the make-up of any
+tradesman."
+
+"He is a puzzle to me," admitted Greusel, "and if this excursion does
+not break up at the outset, I am not sure that it will be a success."
+
+Noticing a look of alarm in Ebearhard's eyes, Greusel cast a glance over
+his shoulder, and saw Roland standing behind him. The young man said
+quietly:
+
+"It hasn't broken up at the outset, for we are already more than five
+leagues from Frankfort. Our foray must be a success while I have two
+such wise advisers as I find sitting here."
+
+Neither of the men replied. Both were wondering how much their leader
+had overheard. He took his place on the bench beside Ebearhard, and said
+to him:
+
+"I wish you to act as my second lieutenant. If anything happens to me,
+Greusel takes my place and you take his. This, by the way, is an
+appointment, rather than an election. It is not to be put before the
+guild. You simply act as second lieutenant, and that is all there is
+about it."
+
+"Very good, Commander," said Ebearhard.
+
+"Greusel, how much money have you?"
+
+"Thirty thalers."
+
+"Economical man! Will you lend me the sum until we reach
+Assmannshausen?"
+
+"Certainly." Greusel pulled forth his wallet, poured out the gold, and
+Roland took charge of it.
+
+"And you, Ebearhard? How are you off for funds?"
+
+"I possess twenty-five thalers."
+
+"May I borrow from you as well?"
+
+"Oh, yes."
+
+"I was thinking," continued the young man, as he put away the gold,
+"that this committee idea of the men has merits of its own; therefore I
+have formed myself into a committee, appointed, not elected, and will
+make the disbursements. How much money does our company possess?"
+
+"Not a stiver, so far as I can learn."
+
+"Ah, in that case there is little use in my attempting a collection.
+Now, as I was saying, Greusel, if anything happens to me, you carry on
+the enterprise along the lines I have laid down. The first thing, of
+course, is to reach Assmannshausen."
+
+"Nothing can happen to you before we arrive there," hazarded Greusel.
+
+"I'm not so sure. The sun is very powerful to-day, and should it beat me
+down, let me lie where I fall, and allow nothing to interrupt the march.
+Once at Assmannshausen, you two must keep a sharp lookout up the river.
+When you see the barge, gather your men and lead them up to it. It is to
+await us about half a league above Assmannshausen."
+
+The three conversed until the hour was consumed, then Roland, throwing
+his cloak over his arm, rose, and said to his lieutenant:
+
+"Just rouse the men, if you please; and you, Ebearhard, tell the
+landlord to give each a flagon of wine. We take the road to Wiesbaden. I
+shall walk slowly on ahead, so that you and the company may overtake
+me."
+
+With this the young leader sauntered indifferently away, leaving to his
+subordinates the ungracious task of setting tired men to their work
+again. Greusel looked glum, but Ebearhard laughed.
+
+Some distance to the east of Wiesbaden the leader deflected his company
+from the road, and thus they passed Wiesbaden to the left, arriving at
+the village of Sonnenberg. The straggling company made a halt for a
+short time, while provisions were purchased, every man carrying his own
+share, which was scantly sufficient for supper and breakfast, and a
+quantity of wine was acquired to gratify each throat with about a liter
+and a half; plenty for a reasonable thirst, but not enough for a
+carouse.
+
+The company grumbled at being compelled to quit Sonnenberg. They had
+hoped to spend the night at Wiesbaden, and vociferously proclaimed
+themselves satisfied with the amount of country already traversed. Their
+leader said nothing, but left Greusel and Ebearhard to deal with them.
+He paid for the provisions and the wine, and then, with his cloak
+loosely over his arm, struck out for the west, as if the declining sun
+were his goal. The rest followed him slowly, in deep depression of
+spirits. They were in a wild country, unknown to any of them. The hills
+had become higher and steeper, and there was not even a beaten path to
+follow; but Roland, who apparently knew his way, trudged steadily on in
+advance even of his lieutenants. A bank of dark clouds had risen in the
+east, the heat of the day being followed by a thunderstorm that growled
+menacingly above the Taunus mountains, evidently accompanying a torrent
+of rain, although none fell in the line of march.
+
+The sun had set when the leader brought his company down into the valley
+of the Walluf, about two and a half leagues from Sonnenberg. Here the
+men found themselves in a wilderness through which ran a brawling
+stream. Roland announced to them that this would be their camping place
+for the night. At once there was an uproar of dissent. How were they to
+camp out without tents? A heavy rain was impending. Listen to the
+thunder, and taking warning from the swollen torrent.
+
+"Wrap your cloaks around you," said Roland, "and sleep under the trees.
+I have often done it myself, and will repeat the experience to-night. If
+you are not yet tired enough to ensure sound slumber, I shall be
+delighted to lead you on for another few leagues."
+
+The men held a low-voiced, sullen consultation, gathered in a circle.
+They speedily decided upon returning to Sonnenberg, which it was the
+unanimous opinion of the company they should never have left. Townsmen
+all, who had not in their lives spent a night without a roof over their
+heads, such accommodation as their leader proposed they should endure
+seemed like being cast away on a desert island. The mystery of the
+forest affrighted them. For all they could tell the woods were full of
+wild animals, and they knew that somewhere near lurked outlaws no less
+savage. The eighteen, ignoring Greusel and Ebearhard, who stood on one
+side, watching their deliberations with anxious faces, moved in a body
+upon their leader, who sat on the bank of the torrent, his feet dangling
+down towards the foaming water.
+
+"We have resolved to return to Sonnenberg," said the leader of the
+conclave.
+
+"An excellent resolution," agreed Roland cheerfully. "It is a pleasant
+village, and I have passed through it several times. By the way,
+Wiesbaden, which is much larger, possesses the advantage to tired men of
+being half a league nearer."
+
+The spokesman seemed taken aback by Roland's nonchalant attitude.
+
+"We do not know the road to Wiesbaden, and, indeed, are in some doubt
+whether or no we can find our way to Sonnenberg with darkness coming
+on."
+
+"Then if I were you, I shouldn't attempt it. Why not eat your supper,
+and drink your wine in this sheltering grove?"
+
+"By that time it will be as dark as Erebus," protested the spokesman.
+
+"Then remain here, as I suggested, for the night."
+
+"No; we are determined to reach Sonnenberg. A storm impends."
+
+"In that case, gentlemen, don't let me detain you. The gloom thickens as
+you spend your time in talk."
+
+"Oh, that's all very well, but when we reach Sonnenberg we shall need
+money."
+
+"So you will."
+
+"And we intend to secure it."
+
+"Quite right."
+
+"We demand from you three thalers for each man."
+
+"Oh, you want the money from me?"
+
+"Yes, we do."
+
+"That would absorb all the funds I possess."
+
+"No matter. We mean to have it."
+
+"You propose to take it from me by force?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Ah, well, such being the case, perhaps it would be better for me to
+yield willingly?"
+
+"I think so."
+
+"I quite agree with you. There are eighteen of you, all armed with
+swords, while I control but one blade."
+
+Saying this he unfastened his cloak, which he had put on in the
+gathering chill of the evening, and untying from his belt a well-filled
+wallet, held it up to their gaze.
+
+"As this bag undisputedly belongs to me, I have a right to dispose of it
+as I choose. I therefore give it to the brook, whose outcry is as
+insistent as yours, and much more musical."
+
+"Stop, Roland, stop!" shouted Ebearhard, but the warning came too late.
+The young man flung the bag into the torrent, where it disappeared in a
+smother of foam. He rose to his feet and drew his sword.
+
+"If you wish a fight now, it will be for the love of it, no filthy lucre
+being at stake."
+
+"By Plutus, you are an accursed fool!" cried the spokesman, making no
+further show of aggression now that nothing but steel was to be gained
+by a contest.
+
+"A fool; yes!" said Roland. "And therefore the better qualified to lead
+all such. Now go to Sonnenberg, or go to Hades!"
+
+The men did neither. They sat down under the trees, ate their supper,
+and drank their wine.
+
+"Will you dine with me?" said Roland, approaching his two gloomy
+lieutenants, who stood silent at some distance from the circle formed by
+the others.
+
+"Yes," said Greusel sullenly, "but I would have dined with greater
+pleasure had you not proven the spokesman's words true."
+
+"You mean about my being a fool? Oh, you yourself practically called me
+that this morning. Come, let us sit down farther along the stream, where
+they cannot overhear what we say."
+
+This being done, Roland continued cheerfully:
+
+"I may explain to you that a week ago I had only a wallet of my own, but
+before leaving on this journey I called upon my mother, and she
+presented me with another bag. I foresaw during _mittagessen_ that a
+demand would be made upon us for money, therefore I borrowed all that
+you two possessed. Walking on ahead, I prepared for what I knew must
+come, filling the empty wallet with very small stones picked up along
+the road. That wallet went into the stream. It is surprising how prone
+human nature is to jump at conclusions. Why should any of you think that
+I am simpleton enough to throw away good money? Dear, dear, what a world
+this is, to be sure!"
+
+Half an hour later all were lying down enveloped in their cloaks,
+sleeping soundly because of their fatigue, despite being out of doors.
+Next morning there was consternation in the camp, real or pretended.
+Roland was nowhere to be found, nor did further search reveal his
+whereabouts.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+THE MISSING LEADER AND THE MISSING GOLD
+
+
+Probably because of the new responsibility resting upon him, Joseph
+Greusel was the first to awaken next morning. He let his long cloak fall
+from his shoulders as he sat up, and gazed about him with astonishment.
+It seemed as if some powerful wizard of the hills had spirited him away
+during the night. He had gone to sleep in a place of terror. The thunder
+rolled threateningly among the peaks of Taunus, and the reflection of
+the lightning flash, almost incessant in its recurrence, had lit up the
+grove with an unholy yellow glare. The never-ceasing roar of the foaming
+torrent, which in the darkness gleamed with ghostly pallor, had somehow
+got on his nerves. Under the momentary illumination of the lightning,
+the waves appeared to leap up at him like a pack of hungry wolves,
+flecked with froth, and the noise strove to emulate the distant thunder.
+The grove itself was ominous in its gloom, and sinister shapes seemed to
+be moving about among the trees.
+
+How different was the aspect now! The sun was still beneath the eastern
+horizon. The cloudless sky gave promise of another warm day, and the
+air, of crystalline clearness, was inspiring to breathe. To Greusel's
+mind, tinged with religious feeling, the situation in which he found
+himself seemed like a section of the Garden of Eden. The stream, which
+the night before had been to his superstitious mind a thing of terror,
+was this morning a placid, smiling, rippling brook that a man might
+without effort leap across.
+
+He rubbed his eyes in amazement, thinking the mists of sleep must be
+responsible for this magic transformation, until he remembered the
+distant thunderstorm of the night before among the eastern mountains,
+and surmised that a heavy rainfall had deluged these speedily drained
+peaks and valleys.
+
+"What a blessed thing," he said to himself fervently, "is the
+ever-recurring morning. How it clears away the errors and the passions
+of darkness! It is as if God desired to give man repeated opportunities
+of reform, and of encouragement. How sane everything seems now, as
+compared with the turbulence of the sulphurous night."
+
+As he rose he became aware of an unaccustomed weight by his side, and
+putting down his hand was astonished to encounter a bag evidently filled
+with coin. It had been tied by its deerskin thong to his belt, just as
+was his own empty wallet. He sat down again, drew it round to the front
+of him, and unfastened it. Pouring out the gold, he found that the
+wallet contained a hundred and fifteen thalers, mostly in gold, with the
+addition of a few silver coins. At once it occurred to him that these
+were Roland's sixty thalers, his own thirty, and Ebearhard's
+twenty-five. For some reason, probably fearing the men would suspect the
+ruse practiced on them the night before, Roland had made him treasurer
+of the company. But why should he have done it surreptitiously?
+
+Readjusting the leathern sack, he again rose to his feet, but now cast
+his cloak about him, thus concealing the purse. Ebearhard lay sound
+asleep near him. Farther away the eighteen remaining members of the
+company were huddled closely together, as if they had gone to rest in a
+room too small for them, although the whole country was theirs from
+which to choose sleeping quarters.
+
+Remembering how the brook had decreased in size, and was now running
+clear and pellucid, he feared that the bag of stones Roland had so
+dramatically flung into it might be plainly visible. He determined to
+rouse his commander, and seek the bag for some distance downstream; for
+he knew that when the men awakened, all night-fear would have departed
+from them, and seeing the shrinkage of the brook they might themselves
+institute a search.
+
+On looking round for Roland he saw no sign of him, but this caused
+little disquietude, for he supposed that the leader had risen still
+earlier than himself, wishing to stroll through the forest, or up and
+down the rivulet.
+
+Greusel, with the purpose of finding the bag, and in the hope, also, of
+encountering his chief, walked down the valley by the margin of the
+waterway. Peering constantly into the limpid waters, he discovered no
+trace of what he sought. Down and down the valley, which was wooded all
+the way, he walked, and sometimes he was compelled to forsake his liquid
+guide, and clamber through thickets to reach its border again.
+
+At last he arrived at a little waterfall, and here occurred a break in
+the woods, causing him to stand entranced by the view which presented
+itself. Down the declivity the forest lasted for some distance, then it
+gave place to ever-descending vineyards, with here and there a house
+showing among the vines. At the foot of this hill ran a broad blue
+ribbon, which he knew to be the Rhine, although he had never seen it
+before. Over it floated a silvery gauze of rapidly disappearing mist.
+The western shore appeared to be flat, and farther along the horizon was
+formed by hills, not so lofty as that on which he stood, but beautiful
+against the blue sky, made to seem nearer than they were by the first
+rays of the rising sun, which tipped the summits with crimson.
+
+Greusel drew a long breath of deep satisfaction. He had never before
+realized that the world was so enchanting and so peaceful. It seemed
+impossible that men privileged to live in such a land could find no
+better occupation than cutting one another's throats.
+
+The gentle plash of the waterfall at his right hand accentuated the
+stillness. From his height he glanced down into the broad, pellucid
+pool, into whose depths the water fell, and there, perfectly visible,
+lay the bag of bogus treasure. Cautiously he worked his way down to the
+gravelly border of the little lake, flung off his clothes, and plunged
+head-first into this Diana's pool. It was a delicious experience, and he
+swam round and round the circular basin, clambered up on the gravel and
+allowed the stream to fall over his glistening shoulders, reveling in
+Nature's shower-bath. Satisfied at length, he indulged in another
+rainbow plunge, grasped the bag, and rose again to the surface. Coming
+ashore, he unloosened the swollen thongs, poured out the stones along
+the strand, then, after a moment's thought, he wrung the water out of
+the bag itself, and tied it to his belt, for there was no predicting
+where the men would wander when once they awoke, and if he threw it away
+among the bushes, it might be found, breeding first wonder how it came
+there, and then suspicion of the trick.
+
+Greusel walked back to camp by the other bank of the stream. Although
+the early rays of the sun percolated through the upper branches of the
+trees above them, the eighteen prone men slept as if they were but
+seven. He sprang over the brook, touched the recumbent Ebearhard with
+his foot, and so awoke him. This excellent man yawned, and stretched out
+his arms above his head.
+
+"You're an early bird, Greusel," he said. "Have you got the worm?"
+
+"Yes, I have," replied the latter. "I found it in the basin of a
+waterfall nearly a league from here," and with that he drew aside his
+cloak, showing the still wet but empty bag.
+
+For a few moments Ebearhard did not understand. He rose and shook
+himself, glancing about him.
+
+"Great Jove!" he cried, "this surely isn't the stream by which we lay
+down last night? Do you mean to tell me that thread of water struck
+terror into my heart only a few hours ago? I never slept out of doors
+before in all my life, and could not have imagined it would produce such
+an effect. I see what you mean now. You have found the bag which Roland
+threw into the foaming torrent."
+
+"Yes; I was as much astonished at the transformation as you when I
+awoke, and then it occurred to me that when our friends saw the
+reduction of the rivulet, they would forthwith begin a treasure-hunt, so
+I determined to obliterate the evidence."
+
+"Was the bag really full of stones?"
+
+"Oh, yes."
+
+"Well, that is a lesson to me. I believe after all that Roland is
+helplessly truthful, but last night I thought he befooled us. I was
+certain it was the bag of coin he had thrown away, and becoming ashamed
+of himself, had lied to us."
+
+"How could you imagine that? He showed us both the bag of money."
+
+"He produced a bag full of something, but I, being the doubting Thomas
+of the group, was not convinced it contained money."
+
+"Ah, that reminds me, Ebearhard; here is the bag we saw last night. I
+discovered it attached to my belt this morning."
+
+"He attached it to the wrong belt, then, for you believed him. He should
+have tied it to mine. What reason does he give for presenting it to
+you?"
+
+"Ah, now you touch a point of anxiety in my own mind. I have seen
+nothing of Roland this morning. I surmised that he had arisen before me,
+and expected to meet him somewhere down the stream, but have not done
+so."
+
+"He may have gone farther afield. As you found the bag, he of course,
+missed it, and probably continued his search."
+
+"I doubt that, because I came upon a point of view reaching to the Rhine
+and the hills beyond. I could trace the stream for a considerable
+distance, and watched it for a long time, but there appeared to be
+nothing alive in the forest."
+
+"You don't suppose he has gone back to Frankfort, do you?"
+
+"I am at loss what to think."
+
+"If he has abandoned this gang of malcontents, I should be the last to
+blame him. The way these pigs acted yesterday was disgraceful, ending up
+their day with rank mutiny and threats of violence. By the iron Cross,
+Greusel, he has forsaken this misbegotten lot, and it serves them
+perfectly right, prating about comradeship and carrying themselves like
+cut-throats. This is Roland's method of returning our money, for I
+suppose that bag contains your thirty thalers and my twenty-five."
+
+"Yes, and his own sixty as well. Poor disappointed devil, generous to
+the last. It was he who obtained all the money at the beginning, then
+these drunken swine spend it on wine, and prove so generous and brave
+that eighteen of them muster courage enough to face one man, and he the
+man who had bestowed the gold upon them."
+
+"Greusel, the whole situation fills me with disgust. I propose we leave
+the lot sleeping there, go to Wiesbaden for breakfast, and then trudge
+back to Frankfort. It would serve the brutes right."
+
+"No," said Greusel quietly; "I shall carry out Roland's instructions."
+
+"I thought you hadn't seen him this morning?"
+
+"Not a trace of him. You heard his orders at Breckenheim."
+
+"I don't remember. What were they?"
+
+"That if anything happened to him, I was to drive the herd to
+Assmannshausen. I quite agree with you, Ebearhard, that he is justified
+in deserting this menagerie, but, on the other hand, you and I have
+stood faithfully by him, and it doesn't seem to me right that he should
+leave us without a word. I don't believe he has done so, and I expect
+any moment to see him return."
+
+"You're wrong, Greusel. He's gone. That purse is sufficient explanation,
+and as you recall to my mind his instructions, I believe something of
+this must have suggested itself to him even that early in the day. He
+has divested himself of every particle of money in his possession,
+turning it over to you, but instead of returning to Frankfort he has
+made his way over the hills to Assmannshausen, and will await us there."
+
+"What would be the object of that?"
+
+"One reason may be that he will learn whether or not you have enough
+control over these people to bring them to the Rhine. He will satisfy
+himself that your discipline is such as to improve their manners. It may
+be in his mind to resign, and make you leader, if you prove yourself
+able to control them."
+
+"Suppose I fail in that?"
+
+"Well, then--this is all fancy, remember--I imagine he may look round
+Assmannshausen to find another company who will at least obey him."
+
+"What you say sounds very reasonable. Still, I do not see why he should
+have left two friends like us without a word."
+
+"A word, my dear Greusel, would have led to another, and another, and
+another. One of the first questions asked him would be 'But what are
+Ebearhard and I to do?' That's exactly what he doesn't wish to answer.
+He desires to know what you will do of your own accord. He is likely
+rather hopeless about this mob, but is giving you an opportunity, and
+then another chance. Why, his design is clear as that rivulet there, and
+as easily seen through. You will either bring those men across the
+hills, or you won't. If you and I are compelled to clamber over to
+Assmannshausen alone, Roland will probably be more pleased to see us
+than if we brought this rogues' contingent straggling at our heels. He
+will appoint you chief officer of his new company, and me the second. If
+you doubt my conclusions, I'll wager twenty-five thalers against your
+thirty that I am in the right."
+
+"I never gamble, Ebearhard, especially when certain to lose. You are a
+shrewder man than I, by a long bowshot."
+
+In a work of fiction it would of course be concealed till the proper
+time came that all of these men were completely wrong in their
+prognostications regarding the fate of Roland, but this being history it
+may be stated that the young man had not the least desire to test
+Greusel's ability, nor would his lieutenants find him awaiting them when
+they reached Assmannshausen.
+
+"Hello! Rouse up there! What have we for breakfast? Has all the wine
+been drunk? I hope not. My mouth's like a brick furnace!"
+
+It was the brave Kurzbold who spoke, as he playfully kicked, not too
+gently, those of his comrades who lay nearest him. He was answered by
+groans and imprecations, as one by one the sleeping beauties aroused
+themselves, and wondered where the deuce they were.
+
+"Who has stolen the river?" cried Gensbein.
+
+"Oh, stealing the river doesn't matter," said a third. "It's only
+running water. Who drank all the wine? That's a more serious question."
+
+"Well, whoever's taken away the river, I can swear without searching my
+pouch has made no theft from me, for I spent my last stiver yesterday."
+
+"Don't boast," growled Kurzbold. "You're not alone in your poverty.
+We're all in the same case. Curse that fool of a Roland for throwing
+away good money just when it's most needed."
+
+"Good money is always most needed," exclaimed the philosophic Gensbein.
+
+He rose and shook himself, then looked down at the beautiful but
+unimportant rivulet.
+
+"I say, lads, were we as drunk as all that last night? Was there an
+impassable torrent here or not?"
+
+"How could we be drunk, you fool, on little more than a liter of wine
+each," cried Kurzbold.
+
+"Please be more civil in your talk," returned his friend. "You were
+drunk all day. The liter and a half was a mere nightcap. If you are
+certain there was a torrent, then I must have been in the same condition
+as yourself."
+
+The spokesman of the previous night, who had been chided for not
+springing on Roland before he succeeded in doing away with the treasure,
+here uttered a shout.
+
+"This water," he said, "is clear as air. You can see every pebble at the
+bottom. Get to work, you sleepyheads, and search down the stream. We'll
+recover that bag yet, and then it's back to Sonnenberg for breakfast.
+Whoever finds it, finds it for the guild; a fair and equal division
+amongst us. That is, amongst the eighteen of us. I propose that Roland,
+Greusel, and Ebearhard do not share. They were all in the plot to rob
+us."
+
+"Agreed!" cried the others, and the treasure-hunt impetuously began.
+
+Greusel and Ebearhard watched them disappear through the forest down the
+stream.
+
+"Greusel," said Ebearhard, "what a deplorable passion is the frantic
+quest for money in these days, especially money that we have not earned.
+Our excited treasure-hunters do not realize that at such a moment in the
+early morning the only subject worth consideration is breakfast. Being
+unsparing and prodigal last night, it would take a small miracle of the
+fishes to suffice them to-day. There is barely enough for two hungry
+men, and as we are rid of these chaps for half an hour at least, I
+propose we sit down to our first meal."
+
+Greusel made no comment upon this remark, but the advice commended
+itself to him, for he followed it.
+
+Some time after they had finished breakfast, the unsuccessful company
+returned by twos and threes. Apparently they had not wandered so far as
+the waterfall, for no one said anything of the amazing view of the
+Rhine. Indeed, it was plain that they considered themselves involved in
+a boundless wilderness, and were too perplexed to suggest a way out.
+After a storm of malediction over the breakfastless state of things, and
+a good deal of quarreling among themselves anent who had been most
+greedy the night before, they now turned their attention to the silent
+men who were watching them.
+
+"Where's Roland?" they demanded.
+
+"I don't know," replied Greusel.
+
+"Didn't he tell you where he was going?"
+
+"We have not seen him this morning," explained Ebearhard gently. "He
+seems to have disappeared in the night. Perhaps he fell into the stream.
+Perhaps, on the other hand, he has deliberately deserted us. He gave us
+no hint of his intentions last night, and we are as ignorant as
+yourselves regarding his whereabouts."
+
+"This is outrageous!" cried Kurzbold. "It is the duty of a leader to
+provide for his following."
+
+"Yes; if the following follows."
+
+"We have followed," said Kurzbold indignantly, "and have been led into
+this desert, not in the least knowing where in Heaven's name we are. And
+now to be left like this, breakfastless, thirsty--" Here Kurzbold's
+language failed him, and he drew the back of his hand across parched
+lips.
+
+"When you remember, gentlemen," continued Ebearhard, in accents of
+honey, "that your last dealings with your leader took place with
+eighteen swords drawn; when you recollect that you expressed your
+determination to rob him, and when you call to mind that you brave
+eighteen threatened him with personal violence if he resisted this
+brigandage on your part, I cannot understand why you should be surprised
+at his withdrawal from your fellowship."
+
+"Oh, you always were a glib talker, but the question now is what are we
+to do?"
+
+"Yes, and that is a question for you to decide," said Ebearhard. "When
+you mutinied last night, you practically deposed Roland from the
+leadership. To my mind, he had no further obligations towards you, so,
+having roughly taken the power into your own hands, it is for you to
+deal with it as you think best. I should never so far forget myself as
+to venture even a suggestion."
+
+"As I hinted to you," said Kurzbold, "you are talking too much. You are
+merely one of ourselves, although you have kept yourself separate from
+us. Greusel has been appointed lieutenant by our unanimous vote, and if
+his chief proves a poltroon, he is the man to act. Therefore, Joseph
+Greusel, I ask on behalf of the company what you intend to do?"
+
+"Before I can answer that question," replied Greusel, "I must know
+whether or not you will act as you did yesterday?"
+
+"What do you mean by that?" Several, speaking together, put the
+question.
+
+"I wish to know whether you will follow cheerfully and without demur
+where I lead? I refuse to act as guide if I run the risk of finding
+eighteen sword-points at my throat when I have done my best."
+
+"Oh, you talk like a fool," commented Kurzbold. "We followed Roland
+faithfully enough until he brought us into this impasse. You make
+entirely too much of last night's episode. None of us intended to hurt
+him, as you are very well aware, and besides, we don't want a leader who
+is frightened, and runs away at the first sign of danger."
+
+"Make up your minds what you propose to do," said Greusel stubbornly,
+"and give me your decision; then you will receive mine."
+
+Greusel saw that although Kurzbold talked like the bully he was, the
+others were rather subdued, and no voice but his was raised in defense
+of their previous conduct.
+
+"There is one thing you must tell us before we can come to a decision,"
+went on Kurzbold. "How much money have you and Ebearhard?"
+
+"At midday yesterday I had thirty thalers, and Ebearhard had
+twenty-five. While you were all sleeping on the grass, after our meal at
+Breckenheim, Roland asked us for the money."
+
+"You surely were not such idiots as to give it to him?"
+
+"He was our commander, and we both considered it right to do what he
+asked of us."
+
+"He said," put in Ebearhard, "that your suggestion about a finance
+committee was a good one, and that he had determined to be that
+committee. He asked us if any of you had money, but I told him I thought
+it was all spent, which probably accounts for his restricting the
+application to us two."
+
+"Then we are here in an unknown wilderness, twenty men, hungry, and
+without a florin amongst us," wailed Kurzbold, and the comments of those
+behind him were painful to hear.
+
+"I am glad that at last you thoroughly appreciate our situation, and I
+hope that in addition you realize it has been brought about not through
+any fault of Roland's, who gave in to your whims and childishness until
+you came to the point of murder and robbery. Therefore blame yourselves
+and not him. You now know as much of our position as I do, so make up
+your minds about the next step, and inform me what conclusion you come
+to."
+
+"You're a mighty courageous leader," cried Kurzbold scornfully, and with
+this the hungry ones retired some distance into the grove, from whence
+echoes of an angry debate came to the two men who sat by the margin of
+the stream. After a time they strode forward again. Once more Kurzbold
+was the spokesman.
+
+"We have determined to return to Frankfort."
+
+"Very good."
+
+"I suppose you remember enough of the way to lead us at least as far as
+Wiesbaden. Beyond that point we can look to ourselves."
+
+"I should be delighted," said Greusel, "to be your guide, but
+unfortunately I am traveling in the other direction with Ebearhard."
+
+"Why, in the name of starvation?" roared Kurzbold. "You know no more of
+the country ahead of us than we do. By going back we can get something
+to eat, and a drink, at one of the farmhouses we passed this side of
+Sonnenberg."
+
+"How?" inquired Greusel.
+
+"Why, if they ask for payment we will give them iron instead of silver.
+No man need starve with a sword by his side."
+
+"Granted that this is feasible, and that the farmers yield instead of
+raising the country-side against you, when you reach Frankfort what are
+you going to do? Eat and drink with the landlord of the Rheingold until
+he becomes bankrupt? You must remember that it was Roland who liquidated
+our last debt there, without asking or receiving a word of thanks, and
+he did that not a moment too soon, for the landlord was at the end of
+his resources and would have closed his tavern within another week."
+
+Kurzbold stormed at this harping on the subject of Roland and his
+generosity, but those with him were hungry, and they now remembered, too
+late, that what Greusel said was strictly true. If Roland had put in an
+appearance then, he would have found a most docile company to lead. They
+were actually murmuring against Kurzbold, and blaming him and his clan
+for the disaster that had overtaken them.
+
+"Why will you not come back with us?" pleaded the penitents, with
+surprising mildness.
+
+"Because the future in Frankfort strikes me as hopeless. Not one amongst
+us has the brains of Roland, whom we have thrown out. Besides, it is
+nine and a half long leagues to Frankfort, and only three and a half
+leagues to Assmannshausen. I expect to find Roland there, and although I
+know nothing of his intentions, I imagine he has gone to enlist a
+company of a score or thereabouts that will obey his commands. There is
+some hope by going forward to Assmannshausen; there is absolutely none
+in retreating to Frankfort. Then, as I said, Assmannshausen is little
+more than three leagues away; a fact worth consideration by hungry men.
+On the Rhine we are in the rich wine country, where there is plenty to
+eat and drink, probably for the asking, whereas if we turn our faces
+towards the east we are marching upon starvation."
+
+The buzz of comment aroused by this speech proved to the two men that
+Kurzbold stood once more alone. Greusel, without seeming to care which
+way the cat jumped, had induced that unreasoning animal to leap as he
+liked. His air of supreme indifference aroused Ebearhard's admiration,
+especially when he remembered that under his cloak there rested a
+hundred and fifteen thalers in gold and silver.
+
+"But you know nothing of the way," protested Kurzbold. "None of us are
+acquainted with the country to the west."
+
+"We don't need to be acquainted with it," said Greusel. "We steer
+westward by glancing at the sun now and then, and cannot go astray,
+because we must come to the Rhine; then it's either up or down the
+river, as the case may be, to reach Assmannshausen."
+
+"To the Rhine! To the Rhine!" was now the universal cry.
+
+"Before we begin our journey," said Greusel, as if he accepted the
+leadership with reluctance, "I must have your promise that you will obey
+me without question. I am not so patient a man as Roland, but on my part
+I guarantee you an excellent meal and good wine as soon as we reach
+Assmannshausen."
+
+"How can you promise that," growled Kurzbold, "when you have given away
+your money?"
+
+"Because, as I told you, I expect to meet Roland there."
+
+"But he threw away his bag."
+
+"Yes; I told him it was a foolish thing to do, and perhaps that is why
+he left without saying a word, even to me. He is an ingenious man.
+Assmannshausen is familiar to him, and I dare say he would not have
+discarded his money without knowing where to get more."
+
+"To the Rhine! To the Rhine! To the Rhine!" cried the impatient host,
+gathering up their cloaks, and tightening their belts, as the savage
+does when he is hungry.
+
+"To the Rhine, then," said Greusel, springing across the little stream
+in company with Ebearhard.
+
+"You did that very well, Greusel," complimented the latter.
+
+"I would rather have gone alone with you," replied the new leader, "for
+I have condemned myself to wear this heavy cloak, which is all very well
+to sleep in, but burdensome under a hot sun."
+
+"The sun won't be so oppressive," predicted his friend, "while we keep
+to the forest."
+
+"That is very true, but remember we are somewhere in the Rheingau, and
+that we must come out into the vineyards by and by."
+
+"Don't grumble, Greusel, but hold up your head as a great diplomatist.
+Roland himself could not have managed these chaps so well, you flaunting
+hypocrite, the only capitalist amongst us, yet talking as if you were a
+monk sworn to eternal poverty."
+
+Greusel changed the subject.
+
+"Do you notice," he said, "that we are following some sort of path,
+which we must have trodden last evening, without seeing it in the dusk."
+
+"I imagine," said Ebearhard, "that Roland knew very well where he was
+going. He strode along ahead of us as if sure of his ground. I don't
+doubt but this will lead us to Assmannshausen."
+
+Which, it may be remarked, it did not. The path was little more than a
+trail, which a sharp-eyed man might follow, and it led up-hill and down
+dale direct to the Archbishop's Castle of Ehrenfels.
+
+The forest lasted for a distance that the men in front estimated to be
+about two leagues, then they emerged into open country, and saw the
+welcome vines growing. Climbing out of the valley, they observed to the
+right, near the top of a hill, a small hamlet, which had the effect of
+instantaneously raising the spirits of the woebegone company.
+
+"Hooray for breakfast!" they shouted, and had it not been for their own
+fatigue, and the steepness of the hill, they would have broken into a
+run.
+
+"Halt!" cried Greusel sternly, standing before and above them. At once
+they obeyed the word of command, which caused Ebearhard to smile.
+
+"You will climb to the top of this hill," said Greusel, "and there rest
+under command of my lieutenant, Ebearhard. As we now emerge into
+civilization, I warn you that if we are to obtain breakfast it must be
+by persuasion, and not by force. Therefore, while you wait on the
+hilltop, I shall go alone into the houses on the right, and see what can
+be done towards providing a meal for eighteen men. Ebearhard and I will
+fast until we reach Assmannshausen. On the other hand, you should be
+prepared for disappointment; loaves of bread are not to be picked up on
+the point of a sword. If I return and order you to march on unfed, you
+must do so as cheerfully as you can."
+
+This ultimatum called forth not a word of opposition, and Ebearhard led
+the van while Greusel deflected up the hill to his right, the sooner to
+reach the village.
+
+He learned that the name of the place was Anton-Kap; that the route he
+had been following would take him to Ehrenfels, and that he must adopt a
+reasonably rough mountain-road to the right in order to reach
+Assmannshausen.
+
+By somewhat straining the resources of the place, which proved to
+possess no inn, he collected bread enough for the eighteen, and there
+was no dearth of wine, although it proved a coarse drink that reflected
+little credit on the reputation of the Rheingau. He paid for this meal
+in advance, saying that they were all in a hurry to reach
+Assmannshausen, and wished to leave as soon as the frugal breakfast was
+consumed.
+
+Mounting a small elevation to the west of the village, he signaled to
+the patient men to come on, which they lost no time in doing. The bread
+was eaten and the wine drunk without a word being said by any one. And
+now they took their way down the hill again, crossed the little
+Geisenheim stream, and up once more, traversing a high table-land giving
+them a view of the Rhine, finally descending through another valley,
+which led them into Assmannshausen, celebrated for its red wine, a color
+they had not yet met with.
+
+Assmannshausen proved to be a city as compared with the hamlets they had
+passed, yet was small enough to make a thorough search of the place a
+matter that consumed neither much effort nor time. Greusel led his men
+to a _Weinstaube_ a short distance out of the village, and, to their
+delight, succeeded in establishing a credit for them to the extent of
+one liter of wine each, with a substantial meal of meat, eggs, and
+what-not. Greusel and Ebearhard left them there in the height of great
+enjoyment, all the more delightful after the hunger and fatigue they had
+encountered, for the three and a half leagues had proved almost without
+a single stretch of level land. The two officers inquired for Roland,
+without success, at the various houses of entertainment which
+Assmannshausen boasted, then canvassed every home in the village, but no
+one had seen anything of the man they described.
+
+Coming out to the river front, deeply discouraged, the two gazed across
+the empty water, from which all enlivening traffic had departed. It was
+now evident to both that Roland had not entered Assmannshausen, for in
+so small and gossipy a hamlet no stranger could even have passed through
+without being observed.
+
+"Well, Joseph," asked Ebearhard, "what do you intend to do?"
+
+"There is nothing to do but to wait until our money is gone. It is
+absolutely certain that Roland is not here. Can it be possible that
+after all he returned?"
+
+"How could he have done so? We know him to have been without money;
+therefore why to Frankfort, even if such a trip were possible for a
+penniless man?"
+
+"I am sorry now," said Greusel despondently, "that I did not follow a
+suggestion that occurred to me, which was to take the men direct down
+the valley where we encamped, to the banks of the Rhine, and there make
+inquiries."
+
+"You think he went that way?"
+
+"I did, until you persuaded me out of it."
+
+"Again I ask what could be his object?"
+
+"It seems to me that this mutiny made a greater impression on his mind
+than I had supposed. After all, he is not one of us, and never has been.
+You yourself pointed that out when we were talking of him at
+Breckenheim. If you caught glances of contempt for us while we were all
+one jolly family in the Kaiser cellar, what must be his loathing for the
+guild after such a day as yesterday?"
+
+"That's true. You must travel with a man before you learn his real
+character."
+
+"Meaning Roland?"
+
+"Meaning this crew, guzzling up at the tavern. Meaning you, meaning me;
+yes, and meaning Roland also. I never knew until yesterday and to-day
+what a capable fellow you were, and when I remember that I nominated
+Kurzbold for our leader before Roland appeared on the scene, I am amazed
+at my lack of judgment of men. As for Roland himself, my opinion of him
+has fallen. Nothing could have persuaded me that he would desert us all
+without a word of explanation, no matter what happened. My predictions
+regarding his conduct are evidently wrong. What do you think has
+actually occurred?"
+
+"It's my opinion that the more he thought over the mutiny, the angrier
+he became; a cold, stubborn anger, not vocal at all, as Kurzbold's would
+be. I think that after fastening the money to my belt he went down the
+valley to the Rhine. He knows the country, you must remember. He would
+then either wait there until the barge appeared, or more likely would
+proceed up along the margin of the river, and hail the boat when it came
+in sight. The captain would recognize him, and turn in, and we know the
+captain is under his command. At this moment they are doubtless poling
+slowly up the Rhine to the Main again, and will thus reach Frankfort.
+Herr Goebel has confidence in Roland, otherwise he would never have
+risked so much on his bare word. He will confess to his financier that
+he has been mistaken in us, and doubtless tell him all that happened,
+and the merchant will appreciate that, even though he has lost his five
+hundred thalers, Roland would not permit him to lose his goods as well."
+
+"Do you suppose Roland will enlist another company?"
+
+"It is very likely, for Herr Goebel trusts him, and, goodness knows,
+there are enough unemployed men in Frankfort for Roland to select a
+better score than we have proved to be."
+
+It was quite certain that Roland was not in Assmannshausen, yet Greusel
+was a prophet as false as Ebearhard.
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+A SOLEMN PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE
+
+
+When Roland wrapped his cloak about him, and lay down on the sward at
+some distance from the spot where his officers already slept, he found
+that he could not follow their example. Although, he had remained
+outwardly calm when the attack was made upon him, his mind was greatly
+perturbed over the outlook. He reviewed his own conduct, wondering
+whether it would be possible for him so to amend it that he could
+acquire the respect and maintain the obedience of his men. If he could
+not accomplish this, then was his plan foredoomed to failure. His
+cogitations drove away sleep, and he called to mind the last occasion on
+which he made this same spot his bedroom. Then he had slumbered
+dreamlessly the night through. He was on the direct trail between
+Ehrenfels Castle and the town of Wiesbaden, the route over which
+supplies had been carried to the Castle time and again when the
+periodical barges from Mayence failed to arrive. It had been pointed out
+to him by the custodian of the Castle when the young man first became
+irked by the confined limits of the Schloss, and frequently since that
+time he had made his way through the forest to Wiesbaden and back.
+
+Never before had he seen the little Walluf so boisterous, pretending
+that it was important, and he quite rightly surmised that the cause was
+a sudden downpour in the mountains farther east. The distant mutterings
+of thunder having long since ceased, he recognized that the volume of
+the stream was constantly lessening. As the brook gradually subsided to
+its customary level, the forest became more and more silent. The greater
+his endeavor to sleep, the less dormant Roland felt, and all his senses
+seemed unduly quickened by this ineffectual beckoning to somnolence. He
+judged by the position of the stars, as he lay on his back, that it was
+past midnight, when suddenly he became aware of a noise to the west of
+him, on the other side of the brook. Sitting up, and listening intently,
+he suspected, from the rustle of the underbrush, that some one was
+following the trail, and would presently come upon his sleeping men.
+
+He rose stealthily, unsheathed his sword, leaped across the rivulet, and
+proceeded with caution up the acclivity, keeping on the trail as best he
+could in the darkness. He was determined to learn the business of the
+wayfarer, without disturbing his men, so crept rapidly up the hill.
+Presently he saw the glimmer of a light, and conjectured that some one
+was coming impetuously down, guided by a lanthorn swinging in his hand.
+Roland stood on guard with sword extended straight in front of him, and
+the oncomer's breast was almost at the point of it when he hauled
+himself up with a sudden cry of dismay, as the lanthorn revealed an
+armed man holding the path.
+
+"I have no money," were the first words of the stranger.
+
+"Little matter for that," replied Roland. "'Tis information I wish, not
+gear. Why are you speeding through the forest at night, for no sane man
+traverses this path in the darkness?"
+
+"I could not wait for daylight," said the stranger, breathing heavily.
+"I carry a message of the greatest importance. Do not delay me, I beg of
+you. I travel on affairs of State; Imperial matters, and it is necessary
+I should reach Frankfort in time, or heads may fall."
+
+"So serious as that?" asked Roland, lowering the point of his sword, for
+he saw the messenger was unarmed. "Whom do you seek?"
+
+"That I dare not tell you. The message concerns those of the highest,
+and I am pledged to secrecy. Be assured, sir, that I speak the truth."
+
+"Your voice sounds honest. Hold up the lanthorn at arm's length, that I
+may learn if your face corresponds with it. Ha, that is most
+satisfactory! And now, my hurrying youth, will you reveal your mission,
+or shall I be compelled to run my sword through your body?"
+
+"You would not learn it even then," gasped the young man, shrinking
+still farther up the hill.
+
+Roland laughed.
+
+"That is true enough," he said, "therefore shall I not impale you, but
+will instead relate to you the secret you carry. You are making not for
+Frankfort--"
+
+"I assure you, sir, by the sacred Word, that I am, and grieve my oath
+does not allow me to do your bidding, even though you would kill me,
+which is easily done, since I am unarmed."
+
+"You pass through Frankfort, I doubt not, but your goal is a certain
+small room in the neighboring suburb of Sachsenhausen, and he whom you
+seek is a youth of about your own age, named Roland. You travel on the
+behest of your father, who was much agonized in mind when you left him,
+and he, I take it, is custodian of Ehrenfels Castle."
+
+"In God's name!" cried the youth, aghast, "how did you guess all that?"
+
+Again Roland laughed quietly.
+
+"Why, Heinrich," he said, "your agitation causes you to forget old
+friends. Hold up your lanthorn again, and learn whether or not you
+recognize me, as I recognized you."
+
+"Heaven be praised! Prince Roland!"
+
+"Yes; your journey is at an end, my good Heinrich, thank the fortune
+that kept me awake this night. Do you know why you are sent on this long
+and breathless journey?"
+
+"Yes, Highness. There has come to the Castle from the Archbishop of
+Mayence a lengthy document for you to sign, and you are informed that
+the day after to-morrow their Lordships of Mayence, Treves, and Cologne,
+meet together at the Castle to hold some conversation with you."
+
+"By my sword, then, Heinrich, had you found me in Sachsenhausen we had
+never attained Ehrenfels in time."
+
+"I think I could have accomplished it," replied the young man. "I should
+have reached Wiesbaden before daybreak, and there bought the fastest
+horse that could be found. My father told me to time myself, and if by
+securing another horse at Frankfort for you I could not make the return
+journey speedily enough, I was to engage a boat with twenty rowers, if
+necessary, and convey you to Ehrenfels before the Archbishops arrived."
+
+"Then, Heinrich, you must have deluded me when you said you had no
+money."
+
+"No, Highness, I have none, but I carry an order for plenty upon a
+merchant in Wiesbaden, who would also supply me with a horse."
+
+"Heinrich, there are many stars burning above us to-night, and I have
+been watching them, but your star must be blazing the brightest of all.
+Sit you down and rest until I return. Make no noise, for there are
+twenty others asleep by the stream. My cloak is at the bottom of the
+hill, and I must fetch it. I shall be with you shortly, so keep your
+candle alight, that I may not miss you."
+
+With that Roland returned rapidly down the slope, untying his bag of
+money as he descended. Cautiously he fastened it to the belt of Greusel,
+then, snatching his cloak from the ground, he sprang once more across
+the stream, and climbed to the waiting Heinrich.
+
+It was broad daylight before they saw the towers of Ehrenfels, and they
+found little difficulty in rousing Heinrich's father, for he had slept
+as badly that night as Roland himself.
+
+The caretaker flung his arms around the young prisoner.
+
+"Oh, thank God, thank God!" was all he could cry, and "Thank God!" again
+he repeated. "Never before have I felt my head so insecure upon my
+shoulders. Had you not been here when they came, Highness, their
+Lordships would have listened to no explanation."
+
+"Really you were in little danger with such a clever son. The
+Archbishops would never have suspected that he was not I, for none of
+the three has ever seen me. I am quite sure Heinrich would have effected
+my signature excellently, and answered to their satisfaction all
+questions they might ask. So long as he complied with their wishes,
+there would be no inquiries set afoot, for none would suspect the
+change. Indeed, custodian, you have missed the opportunity of your life
+in not suppressing me, thus allowing your son to be elected Emperor."
+
+"Your Highness forgets that my poor boy cannot write his own name, much
+less yours. Besides, it would be a matter of high treason to forge your
+signature, so again I thank God you are here. Indeed, your Highness, I
+am in great trouble about my son."
+
+"Oh, the danger is not so serious as you think."
+
+"'Tis not the danger, Highness. That it is his duty to face, but he
+takes advantage of his position as prisoner. He knows I dare refuse him
+nothing, and he calls for wine, wine, wine, spending his days in revelry
+and his nights in stupor."
+
+"You astonish me. Why not cudgel the nonsense out of him? Your arm is
+strong enough."
+
+"I dare not lay stick on him, and I beg you to breathe nothing of what I
+have told you, for he holds us both in his grasp, and he knows it. If I
+called for help to put him in a real dungeon, he would blurt out the
+whole secret."
+
+"In that case you must even make terms with him. 'Twill be for but a
+very short time, and after that we will reform him. He was frightened
+enough of my sword in the forest, and I shall make him dance to its
+point once this crisis is over."
+
+"I shall do the best I can, Highness. But you must have been on your way
+to Ehrenfels. Had you heard aught of what is afoot?"
+
+"Nothing. 'Twas mere chance that Heinrich and I met in the forest, and
+he was within a jot of impinging himself upon my sword in his hurry. I
+stood in the darkness, while he himself held a light for the better
+convenience of any chance marauder who wished to undo him."
+
+"Unarmed, and without money," said the custodian, "I thought he was
+safer than otherwise. But you are surely hungry, Highness. Advance then
+within, and I will see to your needs."
+
+So presently the errant Prince consumed an excellent, if early
+breakfast, and, without troubling to undress, flung himself upon a
+couch, sleeping dreamlessly through the time that Greusel and Ebearhard
+were conjuring up motives for him, of which he was entirely innocent.
+
+When Roland woke in the afternoon, he had quite forgotten that a score
+of men who, nominally, at least, acknowledged him master, were wondering
+what had become of him. He called the custodian, and asked for a sight
+of the parchments that his Lordship of Mayence had sent across the river
+for his perusal. He found the documents to be a very carefully written
+series of demands disguised under the form of requests.
+
+The pledges which were asked of the young Prince were beautifully
+engrossed on three parchments, each one a duplicate of the other two. If
+Roland accepted them, they were to be signed next day, in presence of
+the three Archbishops. Two certainties were impressed upon him when he
+had read the scroll: first, the Archbishops were determined to rule; and
+second, if he did not promise to obey they would elect some other than
+himself Emperor on the death or deposition of his father. The young man
+resolved to be acquiescent and allow the future to settle the question
+whether he or the Archbishops should be the head of the Empire. A
+strange exultation filled him at the prospect, and all thought of other
+things vanished from his mind.
+
+Leaving the parchments on the table in the knights' hall, where he had
+examined them, he mounted to the battlements to enjoy the fresh breeze
+that, no matter how warm the day, blows round the towers of Ehrenfels.
+Here a stone promenade, hung high above the Rhine, gave a wonderful view
+up and down the river and along the opposite shore. From this elevated,
+paved plateau he could see down the river the strongholds of Rheinstein
+and Falkenberg, and up the river almost as far as Mayence. He judged by
+the altitude of the sun that it was about four o'clock in the afternoon.
+The sight of Rheinstein should have suggested to him his deserted
+company, for that was the first castle he intended to attack, but the
+prospect opened up to him by the communication of the Archbishops had
+driven everything else from his mind.
+
+Presently the cautious custodian joined him in his eyrie, and Roland
+knew instinctively why he had come. The old man was wondering whether or
+not he would make difficulties about signing the parchments. He feared
+the heedless impetuosity and conceit of youth; the natural dislike on
+the part of a proud young prince to be restricted and bound down by his
+elders, and the jailer could not conceal his gratification when the
+prisoner informed him that of course he would comply with the desires of
+the three prelates.
+
+"You see," he continued, with a smile, "I must attach my signature to
+those instruments in order to make good my promises to you."
+
+He was interrupted by a cry of astonishment from his aged comrade.
+
+"Will wonders never cease!" cried the old man. "Those merchants in
+Frankfort must be irredeemable fools. Look you there, Highness! Do you
+see that barge coming down the river, heavily laden, as I am a sinner,
+for she lies low in the water. It is one of the largest of the Frankfort
+boats, and those hopeful simpletons doubtless imagine they can make
+their way through to Cologne with enough goods left to pay for the
+journey. 'Tis madness! Why, the knights of Rheinstein and Falkenberg
+alone will loot them before they are out of our sight. If they think to
+avoid those rovers by hugging our shore, their mistake will be apparent
+before they have gone far."
+
+Roland gazed at the approaching craft, and instantly remembered that he
+was responsible for its appearance on the Rhine. He recognized Herr
+Goebel's great barge, with its thick mast in the prow, on which no sail
+was hoisted because the wind blew upstream. On recollecting his deserted
+men, he wondered whether or not Greusel had brought them across the
+hills to Assmannshausen. Had they yet discovered that Joseph carried the
+bag of gold? He laughed aloud as he thought of the scrimmage that would
+ensue when this knowledge came to them. But little as he cared for the
+eighteen, he experienced a pang of regret as he estimated the
+predicament in which both Greusel and Ebearhard had stood on learning he
+had left them without a word. Still, even now he could not see how any
+explanation on his part was possible without revealing his identity, and
+that he was determined not to do.
+
+Turning round, he said abruptly to the custodian:
+
+"Were the seven hundred thalers paid to you each month?"
+
+"Of a surety," was the reply.
+
+"That will be two thousand one hundred thalers altogether. Did you spend
+the money?"
+
+"I have not touched a single coin. That amount is yours, and yours
+alone, Prince Roland. If I have been of service I am quite content to
+wait for my reward, or should I not be here, I know you will remember my
+family."
+
+"May the Lord forget me if I don't. Still, the twenty-one hundred
+thalers are all yours, remember, but I beg of you to lend me a thousand,
+for I possess not a single gold piece in my bag. Indeed, if it comes to
+that, I do not possess even a bag. I had two yesterday, but one I gave
+away and the other I threw away."
+
+The old man hurried down, and presently returned with the bag of money
+that Roland had asked of him. Before this happened, however, Roland,
+watching the barge, saw it round to, and tie up at the shore some
+distance above Assmannshausen. He took the gold, and passed down the
+stone stair to the courtyard.
+
+"I shall return," he said, "before the sun sets," and without more ado,
+this extraordinary captive left his prison, and descended the hill in
+the direction of the barge.
+
+After greeting Captain Blumenfels, he learned that the boat had been
+delayed by running on a sandbank in the Main during the night, but they
+had got it off at daybreak, and here they were. As, standing on the
+shore, Roland talked with the captain on the barge, he saw approaching
+from Assmannshausen two men whom he recognized. Telling the captain he
+might not be ready for several days, he walked along the shore to meet
+his astonished friends, who, as was usual with them, jumped at an
+erroneous conclusion, and supposed that he arrived on the barge which
+they had seen rounding to for the purpose of taking up her berth by the
+river-bank.
+
+Greusel and Ebearhard stood still until he came up to them.
+
+"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Are you here alone, or have you brought the
+mob with you?"
+
+"Your capable lieutenant, sir," said Ebearhard, before his slower
+companion could begin to frame a sentence, "allowed the men to think
+they were having their own way, but in reality diverted them into his,
+so they are now enjoying a credit of one liter each at the tavern of the
+Golden Anker."
+
+"That," said Roland, "is but as a drop of water in a parched desert.
+Have they discovered you hold the money, Greusel?"
+
+"No, not yet; but I fear they will begin to suspect by and by. I suppose
+you went down the valley of the brook to the Rhine, and overhauled the
+barge there?"
+
+"I suppose so," said Roland. "What else did you think I could do?"
+
+"I was sure you had done that, but I feared you would turn the barge
+back to Frankfort."
+
+"I never thought of such a thing. Indeed, the captain told me he met
+difficulty enough navigating the shallow Main, and I think he prefers
+the deeper Rhine. Of course, you know why I left you."
+
+The men looked at each other without reply, and Roland laughed.
+
+"I see you have been harboring dark suspicions, but the case is very
+simple. The pious monks tell us that the Scriptures say if a man asks us
+to go one league with him, we should go two. My good friends of the
+guild last night made a most reasonable request, namely, that I should
+bestow upon them three thalers each, and surely, to quote the monks
+again, the laborer is worthy of his hire."
+
+"Oh, that is the way you look upon it, then," said Greusel.
+
+"From a scriptural point of view, yes; and I am going to better the
+teachings of my young days by giving each of the men ten times the
+amount he desired. Thirty thalers each are waiting in this bag for
+them."
+
+"By my sword!" cried Ebearhard, "if that isn't setting a premium on
+mutiny it comes perilously close."
+
+"Not so, Ebearhard; not so. You and Greusel did not mutiny, therefore to
+each of you I give a hundred and thirty thalers, which is the thirty
+thalers the mutineers receive, and a hundred thalers extra, as a reward
+of virtue because you did not join them. After all, there is much to be
+said for the men's point of view. I had led them ruthlessly under a
+burning July sun, along a rough and shadeless road, then dragged them
+away from the ample wine-vaults of Sonnenberg; next guided them on
+through brambles, over streams, into bogs and out again; and lastly,
+when they were dog-tired, hungry and ill-tempered, I carelessly pointed
+to a section of the landscape, and said, 'There, my dear chaps, is your
+bedroom'; lads who had never before slept without blankets and a roof.
+No wonder they mutinied; but even then, by the love of God for His
+creatures, they did not actually attack me when I stood up with drawn
+sword in my hand."
+
+"Of course you have that at least to be thankful for," said Ebearhard.
+"Eighteen to one was foul odds."
+
+"I be thankful! Surely you are dreaming, Ebearhard. Why should I be
+thankful, except that I escaped the remorse for at least killing a dozen
+of them!"
+
+Ebearhard laughed heartily.
+
+"Oh, if so sure of yourself as all that, you need no sympathy from me."
+
+"You thought I would be outmatched? By the Three Kings! do you imagine
+me such a fool as to teach you artisans the higher qualities of the
+sword? There would have been a woeful surprise for the eighteen had they
+ventured another step farther. However, that's all past and done with,
+and we'll say no more about it. Let us sit down here on the sward, and
+indulge in the more agreeable recreation of counting money."
+
+He spread his cloak on the grass, and poured out the gold upon it.
+
+"I am keeping two hundred thalers for myself, as leader of the
+expedition, and covetous. Here are your hundred and thirty thalers,
+Greusel, and yours, Ebearhard. You will find remaining five hundred and
+forty, which, if divided with reasonable accuracy, should afford thirty
+thalers to each of our precious eighteen."
+
+"Aren't you coming with us to Assmannshausen, that you may give this
+money to the men yourself?" asked Greusel.
+
+"No; that pleasure falls to my lieutenants, first and second. One may
+divide the money while the other delivers the moral lecture against
+mutiny, illustrated by the amount that good behavior gains. Say nothing
+to the men about the barge being here, merely telling them to prepare
+for action. Now that you are in funds, engage a large room, exclusively
+for yourselves, at the Golden Anker. Thus you will be the better able to
+keep the men from talking with strangers, and so prevent any news of our
+intentions drifting across the river to Rheinstein or Falkenberg. You
+might put it to them, should they object to the special room, that you
+are reconstituting, as it were, the Kaiser cellar of Frankfort in the
+village of Assmannshausen. Go forward, therefore, with your usual
+meetings of the guild, as it was before I lowered its tone by becoming a
+member. Knowing the lads as I do, I suggest that you make your bargain
+with them before you deliver the money. No promise; no thirty thalers.
+And now, good-by. I shall be exceedingly busy for some days arranging
+for a further supply of money, so do not seek me out no matter what
+happens."
+
+With this Roland shook hands, and returned to Ehrenfels Castle.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The three sumptuous barges of the Archbishops hove in sight at midday,
+two coming up the river and one floating down. They maneuvered to the
+landing so that all reached it at the same time, and thus the three
+Archbishops were enabled to set foot simultaneously on the firm ground,
+as was right and proper, no one of them obtaining precedence over the
+other two. On entering the Castle of Ehrenfels in state, they proceeded
+to the large hall of the knights, and seated themselves in three equal
+chairs that were set along the solid table. Here a repast was spread
+before them, accompanied by the finest wine the Rheingau produced, and
+although the grand prelates ate lustily, they were most sparing in their
+drink, for when they acted in concert none dared risk putting himself at
+a disadvantage with the others. They would make up for their abstinence
+when each rested in the security of his own castle.
+
+The board being cleared, Roland was summoned, and bowing deeply to each
+of the three he took his place, modestly standing on the opposite side
+of the table. The Archbishop of Mayence, as the oldest of the trio,
+occupied the middle chair; Treves, the next in age, at his right hand,
+and Cologne at his left. A keen observer might have noticed that the
+deferential, yet dignified, bearing of the young Prince made a favorable
+impression upon these rulers who, when they acted together, formed a
+power that only nominally was second in the realm.
+
+It was Mayence who broke the silence.
+
+"Prince Roland, some months ago turbulence in the State rendered it
+advisable that you, as a probable nominee to the throne, should be
+withdrawn from the capital to the greater safety which this house
+affords. I hope it has never been suggested to you that this unavoidable
+detention merited the harsh name of imprisonment?"
+
+"Never, your Lordships," said Roland, with perfect truth.
+
+The three slightly inclined their heads, and Mayence continued:
+
+"I trust that in the carrying out of our behests you have been put to no
+inconvenience during your residence in my Castle of Ehrenfels, but if
+you find cause for complaint I shall see to it that the transgressor is
+sharply punished."
+
+"My Lord, had such been the case I should at once have communicated with
+your Lordship at Mayence. The fact that you have received no such
+protest from me answers your question, but I should like to add emphasis
+to this reply by saying I have met with the greatest courtesy and
+kindness within these walls."
+
+"I speak for my brothers and myself when I assert we are all gratified
+to hear the expression that has fallen from your lips. There was sent
+for your perusal a document in triplicate. Have you found time to read
+it?"
+
+"Yes, my Lord, and I beg to state at once that I will sign it with the
+greater pleasure since in any case, if called to the high position you
+propose, I should have consulted your Lordships on every matter that I
+deemed important enough to be worthy of your attention, and in no
+instance could I think of setting up my own opinion against the united
+wisdom of your Lordships."
+
+For a few minutes there ensued a whispered conversation among the three,
+then Mayence spoke again:
+
+"Once more I voice the sentiments of my colleagues, Prince Roland, when
+I assure you that the words you have just spoken give us the utmost
+satisfaction. In the whole world to-day there is no prouder honor than
+that which it is in the Electors' power to bestow upon you, and it is a
+blessed augury for the welfare of our country when the energy and
+aspiration of youth in this high place associates itself with the
+experience of age."
+
+Here he made a signal, and the aged custodian, who had been standing
+with his back against the door, well out of earshot, for the
+conversation was carried on in the most subdued and gentle tones,
+hurried forward, and Mayence requested him to produce the documents
+entrusted to his care. These were spread out before the young man, who
+signed each of them amidst a deep silence, broken only by the scratching
+of the quill.
+
+Up to this point Roland had been merely a Prince of the Empire; now, to
+all practical purposes, he was heir-apparent to the throne. This
+distinction was delicately indicated by Mayence, who asked the attendant
+to bring forward a chair, and then requested the young man to seat
+himself. Roland had supposed the ceremonies at an end, but it was soon
+evident that something further remained, for the three venerable heads
+were again in juxtaposition, and apparently there was some whispered
+difference as to the manner of procedure. Then Cologne, as the youngest
+of the three, was prevailed upon to act as spokesman, and with a smile
+he regarded the young man before he began.
+
+"I reside farther than my two colleagues from your fair, if turbulent,
+city of Frankfort, and perhaps that is one reason why I know little of
+the town and its ways from personal observation. You are a young man
+who, I may say, has greatly commended himself to us all, and so in
+whatever questions I may put, you will not, I hope, imagine that there
+is anything underneath them which does not appear on the surface."
+
+Roland drew a long breath, and some of the color left his face.
+
+"What in the name of Heaven is coming now," he said to himself, "that
+calls for so ominous a prelude? It must be something more than usually
+serious. May the good Lord give me courage to face it!"
+
+But outwardly he merely inclined his head.
+
+"We have all been young ourselves, and I trust none of us forget the
+temptations, and perhaps the dangers, that surround youth, especially
+when highly placed. I am told that Frankfort is a gay city, and
+doubtless you have mixed, to some extent at least, in its society." Here
+the Archbishop paused, and, as he evidently expected a reply, Roland
+spoke:
+
+"I regret to say, my Lord, that my opportunities for social intercourse
+have hitherto been somewhat limited. Greatly absorbed in study, there
+has been little time for me to acquire companions, much less friends."
+
+"What your Highness says, so far from being a drawback, as you seem to
+imagine, is all to the good. It leaves the future clear of complications
+that might otherwise cause you embarrassment." Here the Archbishop
+smiled again, and Roland found himself liking the august prelate. "It
+was not, however, of men that I desired to speak, but of women."
+
+"Oh, is that all?" cried the impetuous youth. "I feared, my Lord, that
+you were about to treat of some serious subject. So far as women are
+concerned, I am unacquainted with any, excepting only my mother."
+
+At this the three prelates smiled in differing degrees; even the stern
+lips of Mayence relaxing at the young man's confident assumption that
+consideration of women was not a matter of importance.
+
+"Your Highness clears the ground admirably for me," continued Cologne,
+"and takes a great weight from my mind, because I am entrusted by my
+brethren with a proposal which I have found some difficulty in setting
+forth. It is this. The choice of an Empress is one of the most momentous
+questions that an Emperor is called upon to decide. In all except the
+highest rank personal preference has much to do with the selection of a
+wife, but in the case of a king do you agree with me that State
+considerations must be kept in view?"
+
+"Undoubtedly, my Lord."
+
+"This is a matter to which we three Electors have given the weightiest
+consideration, finally agreeing on one whom we believe to possess the
+necessary qualifications; a lady highly born, deeply religious,
+enormously wealthy, and exceedingly beautiful. She is related to the
+most noble in the land. I refer to Hildegunde Lauretta Priscilla Agnes,
+Countess of Sayn. If there is any reason why your preference should not
+coincide with ours, I beg you quite frankly to state it."
+
+"There is no reason at all, your Lordships," cried Roland, with a deep
+sigh of relief on learning that his fears were so unfounded. "I shall be
+most happy and honored to wed the lady at any time your Lordships and
+she may select."
+
+"Then," said the Archbishop of Mayence, rising to his feet and speaking
+with great solemnity, "you are chosen as the future Emperor of our
+land."
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+A CALAMITOUS CONFERENCE
+
+
+The prelate and his ward were met at the doors of Stolzenfels by the
+Archbishop of Treves in person, and the welcome they received left
+nothing to be desired in point of cordiality. There were many servants,
+male and female, about the Castle, but no show of armed men.
+
+The Countess was conducted to a room whose outlook fascinated her. It
+occupied one entire floor of a square tower, with windows facing the
+four points of the compass, and from this height she could view the
+Rhine up to the stern old Castle of Marksburg, and down past Coblentz to
+her own realm of Sayn, where it bordered the river, although the
+stronghold from which she ruled this domain was hidden by the hills
+ending in Ehrenbreitstein.
+
+When she descended on being called to _mittagessen_, she was introduced
+to a sister of the Archbishop of Treves, a grave, elderly woman, and to
+the Archbishop's niece, a lady about ten years older than Hildegunde.
+Neither of these grand dames had much to say, and the conversation at
+the meal rested chiefly with the two Archbishops. Indeed, had the
+Countess but known it, her presence there was a great disappointment to
+the two noblewomen, for the close relationship of the younger to the
+Archbishop of Treves rendered it impossible that she should be offered
+the honor about to be bestowed upon the younger and more beautiful
+Countess von Sayn.
+
+The Archbishop of Mayence, although a resident of the Castle, partook of
+refreshment in the smallest room of the suite reserved for him, where he
+was waited upon by his own servants and catered for by his own cook.
+
+When the great Rhine salmon, smoking hot, was placed upon the table,
+Cologne was generous in his praise of it, and related again, for the
+information of his host and household, the story of the English Princess
+who had partaken of a similar fish, doubtless in this same room. Despite
+the historical bill of fare, and the mildly exhilarating qualities of
+the excellent Oberweseler wine, whose delicate reddish color the
+sentimental Archbishop compared to the blush on a bride's cheeks, the
+social aspect of the midday refection was overshadowed by an almost
+indefinable sense of impending danger. In the pseudogenial conversation
+of the two Archbishops there was something forced: the attitude of the
+elderly hostess was one of unrelieved gloom. After a few conventional
+greetings to her young guest, she spoke no more during the meal. Her
+daughter, who sat beside the Countess on the opposite side of the table
+from his Lordship of Cologne, merely answered "Yes" or "No" to the
+comments of the lady of Sayn praising the romantic situation of the
+Castle, its unique qualities of architecture, and the splendid outlook
+from its battlements, eulogies which began enthusiastically enough, but
+finally faded away into silence, chilled by a reception so unfriendly.
+
+Thus cast back upon her own thoughts, the girl grew more and more uneasy
+as the peculiar features of the occasion became clearer in her own mind.
+Here was her revered, beloved friend forcing hilarity which she knew he
+could not feel, breaking bread and drinking wine with a colleague while
+three thousand of his armed men peered down on the roof that sheltered
+him, ready at a signal to pounce upon Stolzenfels like birds of prey,
+capturing, and if necessary, slaying. She remembered the hearty cheers
+that welcomed them on their arrival at Coblentz, yet every man who thus
+boisterously greeted them, waving his bonnet in the air, was doubtless
+an enemy. The very secrecy, the unknown nature of the danger, depressed
+her more and more as she thought of it; the fierce soldiers hidden in
+the forest, ready to leap up, burn and kill at an unknown sign from a
+Prince of religion; the deadly weapons concealed in a Church of Christ:
+all this grim reality of a Faith she held dear had never been hinted at
+by the gentle nuns among whom she lived so happily for the greater part
+of her life.
+
+At last her somber hostess rose, and Hildegunde, with a sigh of relief,
+followed her example. The Archbishop of Cologne gallantly held back the
+curtain at the doorway, and bowed low when the three ladies passed
+through. The silent hostess conducted her guest to a parlor on the same
+floor as the dining-room; a parlor from which opened another door
+connecting it with a small knights' hall; the _kleine Rittersaal_ in
+which the Court of the Archbishops was to be held.
+
+The Archbishop's sister did not enter the parlor, but here took formal
+farewell of Countess von Sayn, who turned to the sole occupant of the
+room, her kinsman and counselor, Father Ambrose.
+
+"Were you not asked to dine with us?" she inquired.
+
+"Yes; but I thought it better to refuse. First, in case the three
+Archbishops might have something confidential to say to you; and second,
+because at best I am poor company at a banquet."
+
+"Indeed, you need not have been so thoughtful: first, as you say, there
+were not three Archbishops present, but only two, and neither said
+anything to me that all the world might not hear; second, the rest of
+the company, the sister and the niece of Treves, were so doleful that
+you would have proved a hilarious companion compared with them. Did my
+guardian make any statement to you yesterday afternoon that revealed the
+object of this coming Court?"
+
+"None whatever. Our conversation related entirely to your estate and my
+management of it. We spoke of crops, of cultivation, and of vineyards."
+
+"You have no knowledge, then, of the reason why we are summoned hither?"
+
+"On that subject, Hildegunde, I am as ignorant as you."
+
+"I don't think I am wholly in the dark," murmured the Countess,
+"although I know nothing definite."
+
+"You surmise, in spite of your guardian's disclaimer, that the
+discussion will pertain to your recovery of the town of Linz?"
+
+"Perhaps; but not likely. Did you say anything of your journey to
+Frankfort?"
+
+"Not a word. I understood from you that no mention should be made of my
+visit unless his Lordship asked questions proving he was aware of it, in
+which case I was to tell the truth."
+
+"You were quite right, Father. Did my guardian ask you to accompany us
+to Stolzenfels?"
+
+"Assuredly, or I should not have ventured."
+
+"What reason did he give, and what instructions did he lay upon you?"
+
+"He thought you should have by your side some one akin to you. His
+instructions were that in no circumstances was I to offer any remark
+upon the proceedings. Indeed, I am not allowed to speak unless in answer
+to a question directly put to me, and then in the fewest possible
+words."
+
+Hildegunde ceased her cross-examination, and seated herself by a window
+which gave a view of the steep mountain-side behind the Castle, where,
+sheltered by the thick, dark forest, she knew that her guardian's men
+lay in ambush. She shuddered slightly, wondering what was the meaning of
+these preparations, and in the deep silence became aware of the
+accelerated beating of her heart. She felt but little reassured by the
+presence of her kinsman, whose lips moved without a murmur, and whose
+grave eyes seemed fixed on futurity, meditating the mystery of the next
+world, and completely oblivious to the realities of the earth he
+inhabited.
+
+She turned her troubled gaze once more to the green forest, and after a
+long lapse of time the dual reveries were broken by the entrance of an
+official gorgeously appareled. This functionary bowed low, and said with
+great solemnity:
+
+"Madam, the Court of my Lords the Archbishops awaits your presence."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The _kleine Rittersaal_ occupied a fine position on the river-side front
+of Stolzenfels, its windows giving a view of the Rhine, with the strong
+Castle of Lahneck over-hanging the mouth of the Lahn, and the more
+ornamental Schloss Martinsburg at the upper end of Oberlahnstein. The
+latter edifice, built by a former Elector of Mayence, was rarely
+occupied by the present Archbishop, but, as he sat in the central chair
+of the Court, he had the advantage of being able to look across the
+river at his own house should it please him to do so.
+
+The three Archbishops were standing behind the long table when the
+Countess entered, thus acknowledging that she who came into their
+presence, young and beautiful, was a very great lady by right of descent
+and rank. She acknowledged their courtesy by a graceful inclination of
+the head, and the three Princes of the Church responded each with a bow,
+that of Mayence scarcely perceptible, that of Treves deferential and
+courtly, that of Cologne with a friendly smile of encouragement.
+
+In the center of the hall opposite the long table had been placed an
+immense chair, taken from the grand _Rittersaal_, ornamented with gilded
+carving, and covered in richly-colored Genoa velvet. It looked like a
+throne, which indeed it was, used only on occasions when Royalty visited
+the Castle. To this sumptuous seat the scarcely less gorgeous
+functionary conducted the girl, and when she had taken her place, the
+three Archbishops seated themselves. The glorified menial then bent
+himself until his forehead nearly touched the floor, and silently
+departed. Father Ambrose, his coarse, ill-cut clothes of somber color in
+striking contrast to the richness of costume worn by the others, stood
+humbly beside the chair that supported his kinswoman.
+
+The Countess gave a quick glance at the Archbishop of Mayence, then
+lowered her eyes. Cologne she had known all her life; Treves she had met
+that day, and rather liked, although feeling she could not esteem him as
+she did her guardian, but a thrill of fear followed her swift look at
+the man in the center.
+
+"A face of great strength," she said to herself, "but his thin, straight
+lips, tightly compressed, seemed cruel, as well as determined." With a
+flash of comprehension she understood now her guardian's warning not to
+thwart him. It was easy to credit the acknowledged fact that this man
+dominated the other two. Nevertheless, when he spoke his voice was
+surprisingly mild.
+
+"Madam," he said, "we are met here in an hour of grave anxiety. The
+Emperor, who has been ill for some time, is now upon his death-bed, and
+the physicians who attend him inform me that at any moment we may be
+called upon to elect his successor. That successor has already been
+chosen; chosen, I may add, in an informal manner, but his selection is
+not likely to be canceled, unless by some act of his own which would
+cause us to reconsider our decision. Our adoption was made very recently
+in my castle of Ehrenfels, and we are come together again in the Castle
+of my brother Treves, not in our sacred office as Archbishops, but in
+our secular capacity as Electors of the Empire, to determine a matter
+which we consider of almost equal importance. It is our privilege to
+bestow upon you the highest honor that may be conferred on any woman in
+the realm; the position of Empress.
+
+"When you have signified your acceptance of this great elevation, I must
+put to you several questions concerning your future duties to the State,
+and these are embodied in a document which you will be asked to sign."
+
+The Countess did not raise her eyes. While the Archbishop was speaking
+the color flamed up in her cheeks, but faded away again, and her
+guardian, who watched her very intently across the table, saw her face
+become so pale that he feared she was about to faint. However, she
+rallied, and at last looked up, not at her dark-browed questioner, but
+at the Archbishop of Cologne.
+
+"May I not know," she said, in a voice scarcely audible, "who is my
+future husband?"
+
+"Surely, surely," replied her guardian soothingly, "but the Elector of
+Mayence is our spokesman here, and you must address your question to his
+Lordship."
+
+She now turned her frightened eyes upon Mayence, whose brow had become
+slightly ruffled at this interruption, and whose lips were more firmly
+closed. He sat there imperturbable, refusing the beseechment of her
+eyes, and thus forced her to repeat her question, though to him it took
+another form.
+
+"My Lord, who is to be the next Emperor?"
+
+"Countess von Sayn, I fear that in modifying my opening address to
+accord with the comprehension of a girl but recently emerged from
+convent life, I have led you into an error. The Court of Electors is not
+convened for the purpose of securing your consent, but with the duty of
+imposing upon you a command. It is not for you to ask questions, but to
+answer them."
+
+"You mean that I am to marry this unknown man, whether I will or no?"
+
+"That is my meaning."
+
+The girl sat back in her chair, and the moisture that had gathered in
+her eyes disappeared as if licked up by the little flame that burned in
+their depths.
+
+"Very well," she said. "Ask your questions, and I will answer them."
+
+"Before I put any question, I must have your consent to my first
+proposition."
+
+"That is quite unnecessary, my Lord. When you hear my answer to your
+questions, you will very speedily withdraw your first proposition."
+
+The Elector of Treves, who had been shifting uneasily in his chair, now
+leaned forward, and spoke in an ingratiating manner.
+
+"Countess, you are a neighbor of mine, although you live on the opposite
+side of the river, and I am honored in receiving you as my guest. As
+guest and neighbor, I appeal to you on our behalf: be assured that we
+wish nothing but your very greatest good and happiness." The spark in
+her eyes died down, and they beamed kindly on the courtier Elector. "You
+see before you three old bachelors, quite unversed in the ways of women.
+If anything that has been said offends you, pray overlook our default,
+for I assure you, on behalf of my colleagues and myself, that any one of
+us would bitterly regret uttering a single word to cause you
+disquietude."
+
+"My disquietude, my Lord, is caused by the refusal to utter the single
+name I have asked for. Am I a peasant girl to be handed over to the hind
+that makes the highest offer?"
+
+"Not so. No such thought entered our minds. The name is, of course, a
+secret at the present moment, and I quite appreciate the reluctance of
+my Lord of Mayence to mention it, but I think in this instance an
+exception may safely be made, and I now appeal to his Lordship to
+enlighten the Countess."
+
+Mayence answered indifferently:
+
+"I do not agree with you, but we are here three Electors of equal power,
+and two can always outvote one."
+
+The Elector of Cologne smiled slightly; he had seen this comedy enacted
+before, and never objected to it. The carrying of some unimportant point
+in opposition to their chief always gave Treves a certain sense of
+independence.
+
+"My Lord of Cologne," said the latter, bending forward and addressing
+the man at the other end of the table "do you not agree with me?"
+
+"Certainly," replied Cologne, with some curtness.
+
+"In that case," continued Treves, "I take it upon myself to announce to
+you, Madam, that the young man chosen for our future ruler is Prince
+Roland, only son of the dying Emperor."
+
+The hands of the Countess nervously clutched the soft velvet on the arms
+of her chair.
+
+"I thank you," she said, addressing Treves, and speaking as calmly as
+though she were Mayence himself. "May I ask you if this marriage was
+proposed to the young man?"
+
+Treves looked up nervously at the stern face of Mayence, who nodded to
+him, as much as to say:
+
+"You are doing well; go on."
+
+"Yes," replied Treves.
+
+"Was my name concealed from him?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Had he ever heard of me before?"
+
+"Surely," replied the diplomatic Treves, "for the fame of the Countess
+von Sayn has traveled farther than her modesty will admit."
+
+"Did he agree?"
+
+"Instantly; joyfully, it seemed to me."
+
+"In any case, he has never seen me," continued the Countess. "Did he
+make any inquiry, whether I was tall or short, old or young, rich or
+poor, beautiful or ugly?"
+
+"He seemed very well satisfied with our choice."
+
+Treves had his elbows on the table, leaning forward with open palms
+supporting his chin. He had spoken throughout in the most ingratiating
+manner, his tones soft and honeyed. He was so evidently pleased with his
+own diplomacy that even the eye of the stern Mayence twinkled
+maliciously when the girl turned impulsively toward the other end of the
+table, and cried:
+
+"Guardian, tell me the truth! I know this young man accepted me as if I
+were a sack of grain, his whole mind intent on one thing only: to secure
+for himself the position of Emperor. Is it not so?"
+
+"It is not so, Countess," said Cologne solemnly.
+
+"Prince Roland, it is true, made no stipulation regarding you."
+
+"I was sure of it. Any Gretchen in Germany would have done just as well.
+I was merely part of the bargain he was compelled to make with you, and
+now I announce to the Court that no power on earth will induce me to
+marry Prince Roland. I claim the right of my womanhood to wed only the
+man whom I love, and who loves me!"
+
+Mayence gave utterance to an exclamation that might be coarsely
+described as a snort of contempt. The Elector of Treves was leaning back
+in his chair discomfited by her abrupt desertion of him. The Elector of
+Cologne now leaned forward, dismayed at the turn affairs had taken, deep
+anxiety visible on his brow.
+
+"Countess von Sayn," he began, and thus his ward realized how deeply she
+had offended, "in all my life I never met any young man who impressed me
+so favorably as Prince Roland of Germany. If I possessed a daughter whom
+I dearly loved, I could wish her no better fortune than to marry so
+honest a youth as he. The very point you make against him should have
+told most strongly in his favor with a young girl. My reading of his
+character is that so far as concerns the love you spoke of, he knows as
+little of it as yourself, and thus he agreed to our proposal with a
+seeming indifference which you entirely misjudge. If you, then, have any
+belief in my goodwill towards you, in my deep anxiety for your welfare
+and happiness, I implore you to agree to the suggestion my Lord of
+Mayence has made. You speak of love knowing nothing concerning it. I
+call to your remembrance the fact that one noble lady of your race may
+have foregone the happiness that love perhaps brings, in her desire for
+the advancement of one whom she loved so truly that she chose for her
+guide the more subdued but steadier star of duty. The case is presented
+to you, my dear, in different form, and I feel assured that duty and
+love will shine together."
+
+As the venerable Archbishop spoke with such deep earnestness, in a voice
+she loved so well, the girl buried her face in her hands, and he could
+see the tears trickle between her fingers. A silence followed her
+guardian's appeal, disturbed only by the agitated breathing of
+Hildegunde.
+
+The cold voice of the Elector of Mayence broke the stillness, like a
+breath from a glazier:
+
+"Do you consent, Madam?"
+
+"Yes," gasped the girl, her shoulders quivering with emotion, but she
+did not look up.
+
+"I fear that the object of this convocation was like to be forgotten in
+the gush of sentiment issuing from both sides of me. This is a business
+meeting, and not a love-feast. Will you do me the courtesy, Madam, of
+raising your head and answering my question?"
+
+The girl dashed the tears from her eyes, and sat up straight, grasping
+with nervous hands the arms of the throne, as if to steady herself
+against the coming ordeal.
+
+"I scarcely heard what you said. Do you consent to marry Prince Roland
+of Germany?"
+
+"I have consented," she replied firmly.
+
+"Will you use your influence with him that he may carry out the behests
+of the three Archbishops?"
+
+"Yes, if the behests are for the good of the country."
+
+"I cannot accept any qualifications, therefore I repeat my question.
+Will you use your influence with him that he may carry out the behests
+of the three Archbishops?"
+
+"I can have no influence with such a man."
+
+"Answer my question, Madam."
+
+"Say yes, Hildegunde," pleaded Cologne.
+
+She turned to him swimming eyes.
+
+"Oh, Guardian, Guardian!" she cried, "I have done everything I can, and
+all for you; all for you. I cannot stand any more. This is torture to
+me. Let me go home, and another day when I am calmer I will answer your
+questions!"
+
+The perturbed Archbishop sat back again with a deep sigh. The ignorance
+of women with which his colleague of Treves had credited all three was
+being amazingly dispelled. He could not understand why this girl should
+show such emotion at the thought of marrying the heir to the throne,
+when assured the young man was all that any reasonable woman could
+desire.
+
+"Madam, I pray you give your attention to me," said the unimpassioned
+voice of Mayence. "I have listened to your conversation with my
+colleagues, and the patience I exhibited will, I hope, be credited to
+me. This matter of business"--he emphasized the word--"must be settled
+to-day, and to clear away all misapprehension, I desire to say that your
+guardian has really no influence on this matter. It was settled before
+you came into the room. You are merely allowed a choice of two outcomes:
+first, marriage with Prince Roland; second, imprisonment in Pfalz
+Castle, situated in the middle of the Rhine."
+
+"What is that?" demanded the Countess.
+
+"I am tired of repeating my statements."
+
+"You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
+
+Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire
+bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by
+Rhine robbers as well.
+
+"Yes, Madam. A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."
+
+"It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath. "'Twas the Emperor
+Rudolph who hanged him; the same Emperor that chastised an Archbishop of
+Mayence, and brought him, cringing, to his knees, begging for pardon,
+which the Emperor contemptuously flung to him. You dare not imprison
+me!"
+
+"Refuse to marry Prince Roland, and learn," said the Archbishop very
+quietly.
+
+The girl sprang to her feet, a-quiver with anger.
+
+"I do refuse! Prince Roland has hoodwinked the three of you! He is a
+libertine and a brawler, consorting with the lowest in the cellars of
+Frankfort; a liar and a thief, and not a brave thief at that, but a
+cutthroat who holds his sword to the breast of an unarmed merchant while
+he filches from him his gold. Added to that, a drunkard as his father
+is; and, above all, a hypocrite, as his father is not, yet clever
+enough, with all his vices, to cozen three men whose vile rule has
+ruined Frankfort, and left the broad Rhine empty of its life-giving
+commerce;" she waved her hand toward the vacant river.
+
+The Archbishop of Cologne was the first to rise, horror-stricken.
+
+"The girl is mad!" he murmured.
+
+Treves rose also, but Mayence sat still, a sour smile on his lips, yet a
+twinkle of admiration in his eyes.
+
+"No, my poor Guardian, I am not mad," she cried, regarding him with a
+smile, her wrath subsiding as quickly as it had risen. "What I say is
+true, and it may be that our meeting, turbulent as it has been, will
+prevent you from making a great mistake. He whom you would put on the
+throne is not the man you think."
+
+"My dear ward!" cried Cologne, "how can you make such accusations
+against him? What should a girl living in seclusion as you live, know of
+what is passing in Frankfort."
+
+"It seems strange, Guardian, but it is true, nevertheless. Sit down
+again, I beg of you, and you, my Lord of Treves. Even my Lord of Mayence
+will, I think, comprehend my abhorrence when such a proposal was made to
+me, and I hope, my Lord, you will forgive my outburst of anger just
+now."
+
+She heard the trembling Treves mutter:
+
+"Mayence never forgives."
+
+"Now, Father Ambrose, come forward."
+
+"Why?" asked Ambrose, waking from his reverie.
+
+"Tell them your experiences in Frankfort."
+
+"I am not allowed to speak," objected the monk.
+
+"Speak, speak!" cried Cologne. "What, sir, have you had to do with this
+girl's misleading?"
+
+"I thought," he said wistfully to his kinswoman, "that I was not to
+mention my visit to Frankfort unless my Lord the Archbishop brought up
+the subject."
+
+"Have you not been listening to these proceedings?" cried the girl
+impatiently. "The subject is brought up before three Archbishops,
+instead of before one. Tell their Lordships what you know of Prince
+Roland."
+
+Father Ambrose, with a deep sigh, began his recital, to which Treves and
+Cologne listened with ever-increasing amazement, while the sullen
+Mayence sat back in his chair, face imperturbable, but the thin lips
+closing firmer and firmer as the narrative went on.
+
+When the monologue ended, his Reverence of Cologne was the first to
+speak:
+
+"In the name of Heaven, why did you not tell me all this yesterday?"
+
+Father Ambrose looked helplessly at his kinswoman, but made no reply.
+
+"I forbade him, my Lord," said the girl proudly, and for the first time
+addressing him by a formal title, as if from now on he was to be
+reckoned with her enemies. "I alone am responsible for the journey to
+Frankfort and its consequences, whatever they may be. You invoked the
+name of Heaven just now, my Lord, and I would have you know that I am
+convinced Heaven itself intervened on my behalf to expose the real
+character of Prince Roland, who has successfully deluded three men like
+yourselves, supposed to be astute!"
+
+The Archbishop turned upon her sorrowful eyes, troubled yet kindly.
+
+"My dear Countess," he said, "I have not ventured to censure you;
+nevertheless I am, or have been, your guardian, and should, I think,
+have been consulted before you committed yourself to an action that
+threatens disaster to our plans."
+
+The girl replied, still with the hauteur so lately assumed:
+
+"I do not dispute my wardship, and have more than once thanked you for
+your care of me, but at this crisis of my life--a crisis transforming me
+instantly from a girl to a woman--you fail me, seeing me here at bay. I
+wished to spend a month or two at the capital city, but before troubling
+you with such a request I determined to learn whether or not the state
+of Frankfort was as disturbed as rumor alleged. Finding matters there to
+be hopeless, the project of a visit was at once abandoned, and knowing
+nothing of the honor about to be conferred on Prince Roland, I thought
+it best to keep what had been discovered regarding his character a
+secret between the Reverend Father and myself. I dare say an attempt
+will be made to cast doubt on the Reverend Father's story, and perhaps
+my three judges may convince themselves of its falseness, but they
+cannot convince me, and I tell you finally and formally that no power on
+earth will induce me to marry a marauder and a thief!"
+
+This announcement effectually silenced the one friend she possessed
+among the three. Mayence slowly turned his head, and looked upon the
+colleague at his right, as much as to say, "Do you wish to add your
+quota to this inconsequential talk?"
+
+Treves, at this silent appeal, leaned forward, and spoke to the
+perturbed monk, who knew that, in some way he did not quite understand,
+affairs were drifting towards a catastrophe.
+
+"Father Ambrose," began the Elector of Treves, "would you kindly tell us
+the exact date when this encounter on the bridge took place?"
+
+"Saint Cyrille's Day," replied Father Ambrose.
+
+"And during the night of that day you were incarcerated in the cellar
+among the wine-casks?"
+
+"Yes, my Lord."
+
+"Would it surprise you to know, Father Ambrose, that during Saint
+Cyrille's Day, and for many days previous to that date, Prince Roland
+was a close prisoner in his Lordship of Mayence's strong Castle of
+Ehrenfels, and that it was quite impossible for you to have met him in
+Frankfort, or anywhere else?"
+
+"Nevertheless, I did meet him," persisted Father Ambrose, with the quiet
+obstinacy of a mild man.
+
+Treves smiled.
+
+"Where did you lodge in Frankfort, Father?"
+
+"At the Benedictine Monastery in Sachsenhausen."
+
+"Do the good brethren supply their guests with a potent wine? Frankfort
+is, and always has been, the chief market of that exhilarating but
+illusion-creating beverage."
+
+The cheeks of the Countess flushed crimson at this insinuation on her
+kinsman's sobriety. The old monk's hand rested on the arm of her throne,
+and she placed her own hand upon his as if to encourage him to resent
+the implied slander. After all, they were two Sayns hard pressed by
+these ruthless potentates. But Ambrose answered mildly:
+
+"It may be that the monastery contains wine, my Lord, and doubtless the
+wine is good, but during my visit I did not taste it."
+
+Cross-examination at an end, the Lord of Mayence spoke scarcely above a
+whisper, a trace of weariness in his manner.
+
+"My Lords," he said, "we have wandered from the subject. The romance by
+Father Ambrose is but indifferently interesting, and nothing at all to
+the point. Even a child may understand what has happened, for it is
+merely a case of mistaken identity, and my sympathy goes out entirely
+towards the unknown; a man who knew his own mind, and being naturally
+indignant at an interference both persistent and uncalled for, quite
+rightly immured the meddler among the casks, probably shrewd enough to
+see that this practicer of temperance would not interfere with their
+integrity.
+
+"Madam, stand up!"
+
+The Countess seemed inclined to disobey this curt order, but a
+beseeching look from her now thoroughly frightened guardian changed her
+intention, and she rose to her feet.
+
+"Madam, the greatest honor which it is in the power of this Empire to
+bestow upon a woman has been proffered to you, and rejected with
+unnecessary heat. I beg therefore, to inform you, that in the judgment
+of this Court you are considered unworthy of the exalted position which,
+before knowing your true character, it was intended you should fill. The
+various calumnies you have poured upon the innocent head of Prince
+Roland amount in effect to high treason."
+
+"Pardon, my Lord!" cried the Archbishop of Cologne, "your contention
+will hold neither in law nor in fact. High treason is an offense that
+can be committed only against the realm as a whole, or against its ruler
+in person. Prince Roland is not yet Emperor of Germany, and however much
+we may regret the language used in his disparagement, it has arisen
+through a misunderstanding quite patent to us all. A good but dreamy man
+made a mistake, which, however deplorable, has been put forward with a
+sincerity that none of us can question; indeed, it was the intention of
+Father Ambrose to keep his supposed knowledge a secret, and you both saw
+with what evident reluctance he spoke when commanded to do so by my
+colleague of Treves. Whatever justice there may be in disciplining
+Father Ambrose, there is none at all for exaggerated censure upon my
+lady, the Countess of Sayn, and before pronouncing a further censure I
+beg your Lordship to take into consideration the circumstances of the
+case, by which a young girl, without any previous warning or
+preparation, is called upon suddenly to make the most momentous decision
+of her life. I say it is to her ladyship's credit that she refused the
+highest station in the land in the interests of what she supposes to be,
+however erroneously, the cause of honesty, sobriety, and, I may add, of
+Christianity; qualities for which we three men should stand."
+
+"My Lord," objected Treves, "we meet here as temporal Princes, and not
+as Archbishops of the Church."
+
+"I know that, my brother of Treves, and my appeal is to the temporal
+law. Prince Roland, despite his high lineage, is merely a citizen of the
+Empire, and a subject of his Majesty, the Emperor. It is therefore
+impossible that the crime of treason can be committed against him."
+
+During this protest and discussion the Elector of Mayence had leaned
+back again in his usual attitude of tired indifference; his keen eyes
+almost closed. When he spoke he made no reference to what either of his
+two confrères had said.
+
+"Madam," he began, without raising his voice, "it is the sentence of
+this Court that you shall be imprisoned during its pleasure in the
+Castle of Pfalzgrafenstein, which stands on a rock in the middle of the
+Rhine. Under the guardianship of the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck, who will be
+responsible for your safe keeping, I hope you will listen to the devout
+counsel of his excellent wife to such effect that when next you are
+privileged to meet a Court so highly constituted as this you may be
+better instructed regarding the language with which it should be
+addressed. You are permitted to take with you two waiting-women, chosen
+by yourself from your own household, but all communication with the
+outside world is forbidden. You said something to the effect that this
+Court dared not pronounce such sentence against you, but if you
+possessed that wisdom you so conspicuously lack, you might have surmised
+that a power which ventured to imprison the future Emperor of this land
+would not hesitate to place in durance a mere Countess von Sayn."
+
+The Countess bowed her head slightly, and without protest sat down
+again. The Elector of Cologne arose.
+
+"My Lord, I raised a point of law which has been ignored."
+
+"This is the proper time to raise it," replied Mayence, "and you shall
+be instantly satisfied. This Court is competent to give its decision
+upon any point of law. If my Lord of Treves agrees with me, your
+objection is disallowed."
+
+"I agree," said the Elector of Treves.
+
+"My Lord of Cologne," said Mayence, turning towards the person
+addressed, "the decision of the Court is against you."
+
+Hildegunde was already learning a lesson. Although dazed by the verdict,
+she could not but admire the quiet, conversational tone adopted by the
+three men before her, as compared with her own late vehemence.
+
+"The decision of the Court is not unexpected," said Cologne, "and I
+regret that I am compelled to appeal."
+
+"To whom will you appeal?" inquired Mayence mildly, "The Emperor, as you
+know, is quite unfit for the transaction of public business, and even if
+such were not the case, would hesitate to overturn a decision given by a
+majority of this Court."
+
+"I appeal," replied Cologne, "to a power that even Emperors must obey;
+the power of physical force."
+
+"You mean," said Mayence sadly, "to the three thousand men concealed in
+the forest behind this house in which you are an honored guest?"
+
+The Elector of Cologne was so taken aback by this almost whispered
+remark that he was momentarily struck speechless. A sudden pallor swept
+the usual ruddiness from his face. The Lord of Mayence gently inclined
+his head as if awaiting an answer, and when it did not come, went on
+impassively:
+
+"I may inform you, my Lord, that my army occupies the capital city of
+Frankfort, able and ready to quell any disturbance that may be caused by
+the announcement of the Emperor's death, but there are still plenty of
+seasoned troops ready to uphold the decisions of this Court. When your
+spies scoured the country in the forests, and along the river almost to
+the gates of my city of Mayence, they appeared to labor under the
+illusion that I could move my soldiers only overland. Naturally, they
+met no sign of such an incursion, because I had requisitioned a hundred
+barges which I found empty in the river Main by Frankfort. These were
+floated down the Main to Mayence, and there received their quota of a
+hundred men each. The night being dark they came down the Rhine, it
+seems, quite unobserved, and are now concealed in the mouth of the river
+Lahn directly opposite this Castle.
+
+"When my flag is hoisted on the staff of the main tower this flotilla
+will be at the landing below us within half an hour. You doubtless have
+made similar arrangements for bringing your three thousand down upon
+Stolzenfels, but the gates of this Castle are now closed. Indeed,
+Stolzenfels was put in condition to withstand a siege very shortly after
+you and your ward entered it, and it is garrisoned by two hundred
+fighting men, kindly provided at my suggestion by my brother of Treves.
+I doubt if its capture is possible, even though you gave the signal,
+which we will not allow. Of course, your plan of capturing Treves and
+myself was a good one could it be carried out, for a man in jeopardy
+will always compromise, and as I estimate you are in that position I
+should be glad to know what arrangement you propose."
+
+The Archbishop of Cologne did not reply, but stood with bent head and
+frowning brow. It was the Countess von Sayn who, rising, spoke:
+
+"My Lord Archbishop of Mayence," she said, "I could never forgive myself
+if through action of mine a fatal struggle took place between my
+countrymen. I have no desire to enact the part of Helen of Troy. I am
+therefore ready and willing to be imprisoned, or to marry Prince Roland
+of Frankfort, whichever alternative you command, so long as no
+disadvantage comes to my friend, his Lordship of Cologne."
+
+"Madam," said Mayence suavely, "there are not _now_ two alternatives, as
+you suppose."
+
+"In such case, your Highness, I betake myself instantly to Pfalz Castle,
+and I ask that my guardian be allowed to escort me on the journey."
+
+"Madam, your determination is approved, and your request granted, but,
+as the business for which the three Electors were convened is not yet
+accomplished, I request you to withdraw until such time as an agreement
+has been arrived at. Father Ambrose is permitted to accompany you."
+
+The gallant Elector of Treves sprang at once to his feet, pleading for
+the privilege of conducting the Countess to the apartments of his sister
+and her daughter. As the door to the ante-room opened the Elector of
+Cologne, whose eyes followed his departing ward, did not fail to observe
+that the lobby was thronged with armed men, and he realized now, if he
+had not done so from Mayence's observation, how completely he was
+trapped. Even had a hundred thousand of his soldiers stood in readiness
+on the hills, it was impossible for him to give the signal bringing them
+to his rescue.
+
+A few minutes later the Elector of Treves returned, and took his place
+at Mayence's right hand. The latter spoke as though the conference had
+been unanimous and amiable.
+
+"Now that we three are alone together, I think we shall discuss our
+problems under a feeling of less apprehension if the small army in the
+forest is bade God-speed on its way to Cologne. Such being the case," he
+went on, turning to Cologne, "would you kindly write an order to that
+effect to your commander. Inform him that we three Electors wish to
+review your troops from the northern balcony, and bid them file past
+from the hills to the river road. They are to cross the Moselle by the
+old bridge, and so return to your city. You will perhaps pledge faith
+that no signal will be made to your officers as they pass us. I make
+this appeal with the greater confidence since you are well aware three
+thousand men would but destroy themselves in any attempt to capture this
+Castle, with an army of ten thousand on their flank to annihilate them.
+Do you agree?"
+
+"I agree," replied Cologne.
+
+He wrote out the order required, and handed it to Mayence, who
+scrutinized the document with some care before passing it on to Treves.
+Mayence addressed Cologne in his blandest tones:
+
+"Would you kindly instruct our colleague how to get that message safely
+into the hands of your commander."
+
+"If he will have it sent to the head of my small escort, ordering him to
+take it directly up the hill behind this Castle until he comes to my
+sentinels, whom he knows personally, they will allow him to pass
+through, and deliver my written command to the officer in charge."
+
+This being done, and Treves once more returned, Mayence said:
+
+"I am sure we all realize that the Countess von Sayn, however admirable
+in other respects, possesses an independent mind and a determined will
+rendering her quite unsuited for the station we intended her to occupy.
+I think her guardian must be convinced now, even though he had little
+suspicion of it before, that this lady would not easily be influenced by
+any considerations we might place before her. The regrettable incidents
+of this conference have probably instilled into her mind a certain
+prejudice against us."
+
+Here, for the first time, the Elector of Cologne laughed.
+
+"It is highly probable, my Lord," he said, "and, indeed, your moderate
+way of putting the case is unanswerable. Her ladyship as an Empress
+under our influence is out of the question. I therefore make a proposal
+with some confidence, quite certain it will please you both. I venture
+to nominate for the position of Empress that very demure and silent lady
+who is niece of my brother the Elector of Treves."
+
+Treves strangled a gasp in its birth, but could not suppress the light
+of ambition that suddenly leaped into his eyes. The elevation of his
+widowed sister's child to the Imperial throne was an advantage so
+tremendous, and came about so unexpectedly, that for the moment his slow
+brain was numbed by the glorious prospect. It seemed incredible that
+Cologne had actually put forward such a proposition.
+
+The eyes of Mayence veiled themselves almost to shutting point, but in
+no other manner did emotion show. Like a flash his alert mind saw the
+full purport of the bombshell Cologne had so carelessly tossed between
+himself and his henchman. Cologne, having lost everything, had now
+proved clever enough to set by the ears those who overruled him by their
+united vote. If this girl were made Empress she would be entirely under
+the influence of her uncle, of whose household she had been a pliant
+member ever since childhood. Yet what was Mayence to do? Should he
+object to the nomination, he would at once obliterate the unswerving
+loyalty of Treves, and if this happened, Treves and Cologne, joining,
+would outvote him, and his objection would prove futile. He would enrage
+Treves without carrying his own point, and he knew that he held his
+position only because of the dog-like fidelity of the weaker man. Slow
+anger rose in his heart as he pictured the conditions of the future.
+Whatever influence he sought to exert upon the Emperor by the indirect
+assistance of the Empress, must be got at through the complacency of
+Treves, who would gradually come to appreciate his own increased
+importance.
+
+All this passed through the mind of Mayence, and his decision had been
+arrived at before Treves recovered his composure.
+
+"It gives me great pleasure," said the Elector of Mayence, firmly
+suppressing the malignancy of his glance towards the man seated on his
+left,--"it gives me very great pleasure indeed to second so admirable a
+nomination, the more so that I am thus permitted to offer my
+congratulations to an esteemed colleague and a valued friend. My Lord of
+Treves, I trust that you will make this nomination unanimous, for, to my
+delight, his Lordship of Cologne anticipated, by a few moments the
+proposal I was about to submit to you."
+
+"My Lord," stammered Treves, finding his voice with difficulty,
+"I--I--of course will agree to whatever the Court decides. I--I thank
+you, my Lord, and you too, my brother of Cologne."
+
+"Then," cried Mayence, almost joyfully, "the task for which we are
+convened is accomplished, and I declare this Court adjourned."
+
+He rose from his chair. The overjoyed Prince at his right took no
+thought of the fact that their chairman had not called upon the lady
+that she might receive the decision of the conclave and answer the
+questions to be put to her, but Cologne perceived the omission, and knew
+that from that moment Mayence would set his subtility at work to nullify
+the nomination. Even though his bombshell had not exploded, and the two
+other Electors were apparently greater friends than ever, Cologne had
+achieved his immediate object, and was satisfied.
+
+Through the open windows came the sound of the steady tramping of
+disciplined men, and the metallic clash of armor and arms in transit.
+
+"Ah, now," cried Mayence, "we will enjoy the advantage of reviewing the
+brave troops of Cologne. Lead the way, my Lord of Treves. You know the
+Castle better than we do."
+
+The proud Treves, treading on air, guided his guests to the northern
+balcony.
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+GOLD GALORE THAT TAKES TO ITSELF WINGS
+
+
+In the thick darkness Roland paced up and down the east bank of the
+Rhine at a spot nearly midway between Assmannshausen and Ehrenfels. The
+night was intensely silent, its stillness merely accentuated by the
+gentle ripple of the water current against the barge's blunt nose, which
+pointed upstream. Standing motionless as a statue, the massive figure of
+Captain Blumenfels appeared in deeper blackness against the inky hills
+on the other side of the Rhine. Long sweeps lay parallel to the bulwarks
+of the barge, and stalwart men were at their posts, waiting the word of
+command to handle these exaggerated oars, in defiance of wind and tide.
+On this occasion, however, the tide only would be against them, for the
+strong southern breeze was wholly favorable. Their voyage that night
+would be short, but strenuous; merely crossing the river, and tying up
+against the opposite bank; but the Rhine swirled powerfully round the
+rock of Ehrenfels above them, and the men at the sweeps must pull
+vigorously if they were not to be carried down into premature danger.
+
+Roland, who when they left Frankfort was in point of time the youngest
+member of the guild, now seemed, if one could distinguish him through
+the gloom of the night, to have become years older, and there was an
+added dignity in his bearing, for, although now but a potential
+freebooter, he had received assurance that he would be eventually
+elected Emperor.
+
+He had sent word that morning to Greusel at the Golden Anker, bidding
+him get together his men, and lead them up to the barge not later than
+an hour before the moon rose, for Roland was anxious to reach the other
+side of the Rhine unseen from either shore. He cautioned Greusel to make
+his march a silent one, and this order Joseph at first found some
+difficulty in carrying out, but in any case he need have entertained no
+fear. The strong red wine of Assmannshausen is a potent liquid, and the
+inhabitants of the town were accustomed to song and laughter on the one
+street of the place at all hours of the night.
+
+When they arrived, the men were quiet enough, and speedily stowed
+themselves away in their quarters at the stern of the barge, whereupon
+Roland, the last to spring aboard, waved his hand at the captain to cast
+off. The nose of the boat was shoved away from land, and then the
+powerful sweeps dipped into the water. Slowly but surely she made her
+way across the river; silent and invisible from either bank. The
+current, however, swept them down opposite the twinkling lights of
+Assmannshausen, after which, in the more tranquil waters of the western
+shore, they rowed steadily upstream for about half a league, and then,
+with ropes tied round trees growing at the water's edge, laid up for the
+remainder of the night.
+
+Roland now counseled his company to enjoy what sleep was possible, as
+they would be roused at the first glint of daybreak; so, with great
+good-nature, each man wrapped himself up in his cloak and lay down on
+the cabin floor.
+
+When the eastern sky became gray, the slumberers were awakened, and a
+ration of bread and wine served to each. The captain already had
+received his instructions, and the men discarding their cloaks, followed
+their leader into the still gloomy forest. Here, with as little noise as
+might be, they climbed the steep wooded hill, and arriving at something
+almost like a path, a hundred yards up from the river, they turned to
+the right, and so marched, no man speaking above a whisper.
+
+The forest became lighter and lighter, and at last Roland, holding up
+his hand to sign caution, turned to the left from the path, and farther
+up into the unbroken forest. They had traversed perhaps a league when
+another silent order brought them to a standstill, and peering through
+the trees to the east, the men caught glimpses of the grand, gray
+battlements of that famous stronghold, Rheinstein, seeing at the corner
+nearest them a square tower, next a machicolated curtain of wall, and a
+larger square tower almost as high as the first hanging over the
+precipice that descended to the Rhine. Inside this impregnable enclosure
+rose the great bulk of the Castle itself, and near at hand the massive
+square keep, with an octagonal turret on the southeast corner, the top
+of which was the highest point of the stronghold, although a round tower
+rising directly over the Rhine was not much lower.
+
+Roland, advancing through the trees, but motioning his men to remain
+where they were, peered across to the battlements and down at the
+entrance gate.
+
+Baron von Hohenfels sat so secure in his elevated robber's nest, which
+he deemed invincible--and, indeed, the cliff on which it stood, nearly a
+hundred yards high, made it so if approached from the Rhine--that he
+kept only one man on watch, and this sentinel was stationed on the
+elevated platform of the round tower. Roland saw him yawn wearily as he
+leaned against his tall lance, and was glad to learn that even one man
+kept guard, for at first he feared that all within the Castle were
+asleep, the round tower, until Roland had shifted his position to the
+north, being blotted out by the nearer square donjon keep. Now
+satisfied, he signaled his men to sit down, which they did. He himself
+took up a position behind a tree, where, unseen, he could watch the man
+with the lance.
+
+So indolent was the sentry that Roland began to fear the barge would
+pass by unnoticed. Not for months had any sailing craft appeared on the
+river, and doubtless the warden regarded his office as both useless and
+wearisome. Brighter and brighter became the eastern sky, and at last a
+tinge of red appeared above the hills across the silent Rhine. Suddenly
+the guardian straightened up, then, shading his eyes with his right
+hand, he leaned over the battlements, peering to the south. A moment
+later the stillness was rent by a lusty shout, and the man disappeared
+as if he had fallen through a trap-door. Presently the notes of a bugle
+echoed within the walls, followed by clashes of armor and the buzzing
+sound of men, as though a wasp's nest had been disturbed. Half a dozen
+came into sight on top of the various towers and battlements, glanced at
+the river, and vanished as hastily as the sentinel had done.
+
+At last the gates came ponderously open, and the first three men to
+emerge were on horseback, one of them hastily getting into an outer
+garment, but the well-trained horses, who knew their business quite as
+thoroughly as their riders, for they were accustomed to plunge into the
+river if any barge disobeyed the order commanding it to halt, turned
+from the gate, and dashed down the steep road that descended through the
+forest. The men-at-arms poured forth with sword or pike, and in turn
+went out of sight. They appeared to be leaderless, dashing forward in no
+particular formation, yet, like the horses, they knew their business.
+All this turmoil was not without its effect on Roland's following, who
+edged forward on hands and knees to discover what was going on, everyone
+breathless with excitement; but they saw their leader cool and
+motionless, counting on his fingers the number of men who passed out,
+for he knew exactly how many fighters the Castle contained.
+
+"Not yet, not yet!" he whispered.
+
+Finally three lordly individuals strode out; officers their more
+resplendent clothing indicated them to be, and the trio followed the
+others.
+
+"Ha!" cried Roland, "old Baron Hugo drank too deeply last night to be so
+early astir."
+
+He was speaking aloud now.
+
+"Take warning from that, my lads, and never allow wine to interfere with
+business. Follow me, but cautiously, one after the other in single file,
+and look to your footing. 'Tis perilous steep between here and the
+gate;" and, indeed, so they found it, but all reached the level
+forecourt in safety, and so through the open portal.
+
+"Close and bar those gates," was the next command, instantly obeyed.
+
+Down the stone steps of the Castle, puffing and grunting, came a
+gigantic, obese individual, his face bloated with excess, his eyes
+bleary with the lees of too much wine. He was struggling into his
+doublet, assisted by a terrified old valet, and was swearing most
+deplorably. Seeing the crowd at the gate, and half-blindly mistaking
+them for his own men, he roared:
+
+"What do you there, you hounds? To the river, every man of you, and
+curse your leprous, indolent souls! Why in the fiend's name--" But here
+he came to an abrupt stop on the lowest step, the sting of a sword's
+point at his throat, and now, out of breath, his purple face became
+mottled.
+
+"Good morning to you, Baron Hugo von Hohenfels. These men whom you
+address so coarsely obey no orders but mine."
+
+"And who, imp of Satan, are you?" sputtered the old man.
+
+"By profession a hangman. From our fastnesses in the hills, seeing a
+barge float down the river, we thought it likely you would leave the
+Castle undefended, and so came in to execute the Prince of Robbers."
+
+The Baron was quaking like a huge jelly. It was evident that, although
+noted for his cruelty, he was at heart a coward.
+
+"You--you--you--" he stammered, "are outlaws! You are outlaws from the
+Hunsruck."
+
+"How clever of you, Baron, to recognize us at once. Now you know what to
+expect. Greusel, unwind the rope I gave you last night. I will show you
+its purpose."
+
+Greusel did as he was requested without comment, but Ebearhard
+approached closely to his chief, and whispered:
+
+"Why resort to violence? We have no quarrel with this elephant. 'Tis his
+gold we want, and to hang him is a waste of time."
+
+"Hush, Ebearhard," commanded Roland sternly. "The greater includes the
+less. I know this man, and am taking the quickest way to his
+treasure-house."
+
+Ebearhard fell back, but by this time the useful Greusel had made a loop
+of the rope, and threw it like a cravat around the Baron's neck.
+
+"No, no, no!" cried the frightened nobleman. "'Tis not my life you seek.
+That is of no use to such as you; and, besides, I have never harmed the
+outlaws."
+
+"That is a lie," said Roland. "You sent an expedition against us just a
+year ago."
+
+"'Twas not I," protested Hohenfels, "but the pirate of Falkenberg.
+Still, no matter. I'll buy my life from you. I am a wealthy man."
+
+"How much?" asked Roland, hesitating.
+
+"More than all of you can carry away."
+
+"In gold?"
+
+"Of a surety in gold."
+
+"Where are the keys of your treasury?"
+
+"In my chamber. I will bring them to you," and the Baron turned to mount
+the steps again.
+
+"Not so," cried Roland. "Stand where you are, and send your man for
+them. If they are not here before I count twoscore, you hang, and
+nothing will save you."
+
+The Baron told the trembling valet where to find the keys.
+
+"Greusel, you and Ebearhard accompany him, and at the first sign of
+treachery, or any attempt to give an alarm, run him through with your
+swords. Does your man know where the treasury is?" he continued to the
+Baron.
+
+"Oh, yes, yes!"
+
+"How is your gold bestowed?"
+
+"In leathern bags."
+
+"Good. Greusel, take sixteen of the men, and bring down into the
+courtyard all the gold you can carry. Then we will estimate whether or
+not it is sufficient to buy the Baron's life, for I hold him in high
+esteem. He is a valuable man. See to it that there is no delay, Greusel,
+and never lose sight of this valet. Bring him back, laden with gold."
+
+They all disappeared within the Castle, led by the old servitor.
+
+"Sit you down, Baron," said Roland genially. "You seem agitated, for
+which there is no cause should there prove to be gold enough to outweigh
+you."
+
+The ponderous noble seated himself with a weary sigh.
+
+"And pray to the good Lord above us," went on Roland, "that your men may
+not return before this transaction is completed, for if they do, my
+first duty will be to strangle you. Even gold will not save you in that
+case. But still, you have another chance for your life, should such an
+untoward event take place. Shout to them through the closed gates that
+they must return to the edge of the river until you join them; then, if
+they obey, you are spared. Remember, I beg of you, the uselessness of an
+outcry, for we are in possession of Rheinstein, and you know that the
+Castle is unassailable from without."
+
+The Baron groaned.
+
+"Do not be hasty with your cord," he said dejectedly. "I will follow
+your command."
+
+The robbers, however, did not return, but the treasure-searchers did,
+piling the bags in the courtyard, and again Hohenfels groaned dismally
+at the sight. Roland indicated certain sacks with the point of his
+sword, ordering them to be opened. Each was full of gold.
+
+"Now, my lads," he cried, "oblige the Baron by burdening yourselves with
+this weight of metal, then we shall make for the Hunsruck. Open the
+gates. Lead the men to the point where we halted, Greusel, and there
+await me."
+
+The rich company departed, and Roland beguiled the time and the
+weariness of the Baron by a light and interesting conversation to which
+there was neither reply nor interruption. At last, having allowed time
+for his band to reach their former halting-place, he took the rope from
+the Baron's neck, tied the old robber's hands behind him, then bound his
+feet, cutting the rope in lengths with his sword. He served the
+trembling valet in the same way, shutting him up within the Castle, and
+locking the door with the largest key in the bunch, which bunch he threw
+down beside his lordship.
+
+"Baron von Hohenfels," he said, "I have kept my word with you, and now
+bid farewell. I leave you out-of-doors, because you seem rather scant of
+breath, for which complaint fresh air is beneficial. Adieu, my lord
+Baron."
+
+The Baron said nothing as Roland, with a sweep of his bonnet, took leave
+of him, climbed the steep path and joined his waiting men. He led them
+along the hillside, through the forest for some distance, then descended
+to the water's edge. The river was blank, so they all sat down under the
+trees out of sight, leaving one man on watch. Here Roland spent a very
+anxious half-hour, mitigated by the knowledge that the men of Rheinstein
+were little versed in woodcraft, and so might not be able to trace the
+fugitives. It was likely they would make a dash in quite the opposite
+direction, towards the Hunsruck, because Hohenfels believed they were
+outlaws from that district, and did not in any way associate them with
+the plundered barge.
+
+But if the robbers of Rheinstein took a fancy to sink the barge, an act
+only too frequently committed, then were Roland and his company in a
+quandary, without food, or means of crossing the river. However, he was
+sure that Captain Blumenfels would follow his instructions, which were
+to offer no resistance, but rather to assist the looters in their
+exactions.
+
+"Within a league," said Roland to his men, "stand three pirate castles:
+Rheinstein, which we have just left; Falkenberg, but a short distance
+below, and then Sonneck. If nothing happens to the barge, I expect to
+finish with all three before nightfall; for, the strongholds being so
+close together, we must work rapidly, and not allow news of our doings
+to leap in advance of us."
+
+"But suppose," said Kurzbold, "that Hohenfels' men hold the barge at the
+landing for their own use?"
+
+"We will wait here for another half-hour," replied Roland, "and then, if
+we see nothing of the boat, proceed along the water's edge until we
+learn what has become of her. I do not think the thieves will interfere
+with the barge, as they have not been angered either by disobedience of
+their orders to land, or resistance after the barge is by the shore.
+Besides, I count on the fact that the officers, at least, will be
+anxious to let the barge proceed, hoping other laden boats may follow,
+and, indeed, I think for this reason they will be much more moderate in
+their looting than we have been."
+
+Before he had finished speaking, the man on watch by the water announced
+the barge in sight, floating down with the current. At this they all
+emerged from the forest. Captain Blumenfels, carefully scanning the
+shore, saw them at once, and turned the boat's head towards the spot
+where they stood.
+
+The bags of gold were bolted away in the stout lockers extending on each
+side of the cabin. While this was being done, Roland gave minute
+instructions to the captain regarding the next item in the programme,
+and once more entered the forest with his men.
+
+The task before them was more difficult than the spoiling of Rheinstein,
+because the huge bulk of Falkenberg stood on a summit of treeless rock;
+the Castle itself, a gigantic, oblong gray mass, with a slender square
+campanile some distance from it, rising high above its battlements on
+the slope that went down towards the Rhine, forming thus an excellent
+watch-tower. But although the conical hill of rock was bare of the large
+trees that surrounded Rheinstein, there were plenty of bowlders and
+shrubbery behind which cover could be sought. On this occasion the
+marauding guild could not secure a position on a level with the
+battlements of the Castle, as had been the case behind Rheinstein, and,
+furthermore, they were compelled to make their dash for the gate up-hill.
+
+But these disadvantages were counterbalanced by the fact that Falkenberg
+was situated much higher than Rheinstein, and was farther away from the
+river, so that when the garrison descended to the water's edge it could
+not return as speedily as was the case with Hohenfels' men. Rheinstein
+stood directly over the water, and only two hundred and sixty feet above
+it, while, comparatively speaking, Falkenberg was back in the country.
+Still all these castles had been so long unmolested, and considered
+themselves so secure, that adequate watching had fallen into abeyance,
+and at Falkenberg guard was kept by one lone man on the tall campanile.
+The attacking party saw no one on the battlements of the Castle, so
+worked their way round the hill until the man on the tower was hidden
+from them by the bulk of the Castle itself, and thus they crawled like
+lizards from bush to bush, from stone to stone, and from rock-ledge to
+rock-ledge, taking their time, and not deserting one position of
+obscurity until another was decided upon. The fact that the watchman was
+upon the Rhine side of the Castle greatly favored a stealthy approach
+from any landward point.
+
+At last the alarm was given; the gate opened, and, as it proved, every
+man in the Castle went headlong down the hill. The amateur cracksmen
+therefore had everything their own way, and while this at first seemed
+an advantage, they speedily found it the reverse, for although they
+wandered from room to room, the treasure could not be discovered. The
+interior of Falkenberg was unknown to Roland, this being one of the
+strongholds where he had been compelled to sleep in an outhouse. At last
+they found the door to the treasure-chamber, for Roland suggested it was
+probably in a similar position to that at Rheinstein, and those who had
+accompanied Hohenfels' valet made search according to this hint, and
+were rewarded by coming upon a door so stoutly locked that all their
+efforts to force it open were fruitless.
+
+Deeply disappointed, with a number of the men grumbling savagely, they
+were compelled to withdraw empty handed, warned by approaching shouts
+that the garrison was returning, so the men crawled away as they had
+come, and made for the river, where on this occasion the boat already
+awaited them.
+
+The lord of Falkenberg proved as moderate in his exactions as the men
+of Rheinstein. Many bales had been cut open, and the thieves, with the
+knowledge of cloth-weavers, selected in every case only the best goods,
+but of these had taken merely enough for one costume each.
+
+Although the company had made so early a beginning, it was past noon by
+the time they reached the barge on the second occasion. A substantial 
+meal was served, for every man was ravenously hungry, besides being
+disgusted to learn that there were ups and downs even in the trade
+of thievery.
+
+Early in the afternoon they made for the delicate Castle of Sonneck,
+whose slender turrets stood out beautifully against the blue sky. Here
+excellent cover was found within sight of the doorway, for Sonneck stood
+alone on its rock without the protection of a wall.
+
+In this case the experience of Rheinstein was repeated, with the
+exception that it was not the master of the Castle they encountered, but
+a frightened warder, who, with a sharp sword to influence him, produced
+keys and opened the treasury. Not nearly so large a haul of gold was
+made as in the first instance, yet enough was obtained to constitute a
+most lucrative day's work, and with this they sought the barge in high
+spirits.
+
+They waited in the shadow of the hills until dusk, then quietly made
+their way across the river behind the shelter of the two islands, and so
+came to rest alongside the bank, just above the busy town of Lorch,
+scarcely two leagues down the river from the berth they had occupied the
+night before. After the barge was tied up, Roland walked on deck with
+the captain, listening to his account of events from the level of the
+river surface. It proved that, all in all, Roland could suggest no
+amendment of the day's proceedings. So far as Blumenfels was concerned,
+everything had gone without a hitch.
+
+As they promenaded thus, one of the men came forward, and said, rather
+cavalierly:
+
+"Commander, your comrades wish to see you in the cabin."
+
+Roland made no reply, but continued his conversation with the captain
+until he learned from that somewhat reticent individual all he wished to
+know. Then he walked leisurely aft, and descended into the cabin, where
+he found the eighteen seated on the lockers, as if the conclave were a
+deliberate body like the Electors, who had come to some momentous
+decision.
+
+"We have unanimously passed a resolution," said Kurzbold, "that the
+money shall be divided equally amongst us each evening. You do not
+object, I suppose?"
+
+"No; I don't object to your passing a resolution."
+
+"Very good. We do not wish to waste time just now in the division,
+because we are going to Lorch, intending to celebrate our success with a
+banquet. Would Greusel, Ebearhard, and yourself care to join us?"
+
+"I cannot speak for the other two," returned Roland quietly; "but
+personally I shall be unable to attend, as there are some plans for the
+future which need thinking over."
+
+"In that case we shall not expect you," went on Kurzbold, who seemed in
+no way grieved at the loss of his commander's company.
+
+"Perhaps," suggested John Gensbein, "our chief will drop in upon us
+later in the evening. We learned at Assmannshausen that the Krone is a
+very excellent tavern, so we shall sup there."
+
+"How did you know we were to stop at Lorch?" asked Roland, wondering if
+in any way they had heard he was to meet Goebel's emissary in this
+village.
+
+"We were not sure," replied Gensbein, "but we made inquiries concerning
+all the villages and castles down the Rhine, and have taken notes."
+
+"Ah, in that case you are well qualified as a guide. I may find occasion
+to use the knowledge thus acquired."
+
+"We are all equally involved in this expedition," said Kurzbold
+impatiently, "and you must not imagine yourself the only person to be
+considered. But we lose time. What we wish at the present moment is that
+you will unlock one of these chests, and divide amongst us a bag of
+gold. The rest is to be partitioned when we return this evening; and
+after that, Herr Roland, we shall not need to trouble you by asking for
+more money."
+
+"Are the thirty thalers I gave you the other day all spent, Herr
+Kurzbold?"
+
+"No matter for that," replied this insubordinate ex-president. "The
+money in the lockers is ours, and we demand a portion of it now, with
+the remainder after the banquet."
+
+Without another word, Roland took the bunch of keys from his belt,
+opened one of the lockers, lifted out a bag of gold, untied the thongs,
+and poured out the coins on the lid of the chest, which he locked again.
+
+"There is the money," he said to Kurzbold. "I shall send Greusel and
+Ebearhard to share in its distribution, and thus you can invite them to
+your banquet. My own portion you may leave on the lid of the locker."
+
+With that he departed up on deck again, and said to his officers:
+
+"Kurzbold, on behalf of the men, has demanded a bag of gold. You will go
+to the cabin and receive your share. They will also invite you to a
+banquet at the Krone. Accept that invitation, and if possible engage a
+private room, as you did at Assmannshausen, to prevent the men talking
+with any of the inhabitants. Keep them roystering there until all the
+village has gone to bed; then convoy them back to the barge as quietly
+as you can. A resolution has been passed that the money is to be divided
+amongst our warriors on their return, but I imagine that they will be in
+no condition to act as accountants when I have the pleasure of beholding
+them again, so if anything is said about the apportionment, suggest a
+postponement of the ceremony until morning. I need not add that I expect
+you both to drink sparingly, for this is advice I intend to follow
+myself."
+
+Roland paced the deck deep in thought until his difficult contingent
+departed towards the twinkling lights of the village, then he went to
+the cabin, poured his share of the gold into his pouch, and followed the
+company at a distance into Lorch. He avoided the Krone, and after
+inquiring his way, stopped at the much smaller hostelry, Mergler's Inn.
+Here he gave his name, and asking if any one waited for him, was
+conducted upstairs to a room where he found Herr Kruger just about to
+sit down to his supper. A stout lad nearing twenty years of age stood in
+the middle of the room, and from his appearance Roland did not need the
+elder man's word for it that this was his son.
+
+"I took the precaution of bringing him with me," said Kruger, "as I
+thought two horsemen were better than one in the business I had
+undertaken."
+
+"You were quite right," returned Roland, "and I congratulate you upon so
+stalwart a traveling companion. With your permission I shall order a
+meal, and sup with you, thus we may save time by talking while we eat,
+because you will need to depart as speedily as possible."
+
+"You mean in the darkness? To-night?"
+
+"Yes; as soon as you can get away. There are urgent reasons why you
+should be on the road without delay. How came you here?"
+
+"On horseback; first down the Main, then along the Rhine."
+
+"Very well. In the darkness you will return by the way you came, but
+only as far as the Castle of Ehrenfels, three leagues from here. There
+you are to rouse up the custodian, and in safety spend the remainder of
+the night. To-morrow morning he will furnish you a guide to conduct you
+through the forest to Wiesbaden, and from thence you know your way to
+Frankfort, which you should reach not later than evening."
+
+At this point the landlord, who had been summoned, came in.
+
+"I will dine with my friends here," said Roland. "I suppose I need not
+ask if you possess some of the good red wine of Lorch, which they tell
+me equals that of Assmannshausen?"
+
+"Of the very best, mein Herr, the product of my own vineyard, and I can
+therefore guarantee it sound. As for equaling that of Assmannshausen, we
+have always considered it superior, and, indeed, many other good judges
+agree with us."
+
+"Then bring me a stoup of it, and you will be enabled to add my opinion
+to that of the others."
+
+When the landlord produced the wine, Roland raised it to his lips, and
+absorbed a hearty draught.
+
+"This is indeed most excellent, landlord, and does credit alike to your
+vines and your inn. I wish to send two large casks of so fine a wine to
+a merchant of my acquaintance in Frankfort, and my friend, Herr Kruger,
+has promised to convey it thither. If you can spare me two casks of such
+excellent vintage, they will make an evenly balanced burden for the
+horse."
+
+"Surely, mein Herr."
+
+"Choose two of those long casks, landlord, with bung-holes of the
+largest at the sides. Do you possess such a thing as a pack-saddle?"
+
+"Oh, yes."
+
+"And you, my young friend," he said, turning to Kruger's son, "rode here
+on a saddle?"
+
+"No," interjected his father; "I ride a saddle, but my son was forced to
+content himself with a length of Herr Goebel's coarse cloth, folded four
+times, and strapped to the horse's back."
+
+"Then the cloth may still be used as a cushion for the pack-saddle, and
+you, my lad, will be compelled to walk, to which I dare venture you are
+well accustomed."
+
+The lad grinned, but made no objection.
+
+"Now, landlord, while we eat, fill your casks with wine, then place the
+pack-saddle on the back of this young man's horse, and the casks
+thereon, for I dare say you have men expert in such a matter."
+
+"There are no better the length of the Rhine," said the landlord
+proudly.
+
+"Lay the casks so that the bung-holes are upward, and do not drive the
+bungs more tightly in place than is necessary, for they are to be
+extracted before Frankfort is reached, that another friend of mine may
+profit by the wine. When this is done, bring me word, and let me know
+how much I owe you."
+
+The landlord gone, the three men fell to their meal.
+
+"There is more gold," said Roland, "than I expected, and it is
+impossible even for two of you to carry it in bags attached to your
+belts. Besides, if you are molested, such bestowal of it would prove
+most unsafe. A burden of wine, however, is too common either to attract
+notice or arouse cupidity. I propose, then, when we leave here, to bring
+you to the barge belonging to Herr Goebel, and taking out the bungs, we
+will pour the gold into the barrels, letting the wine that is displaced
+overflow to the ground. Then we will stoutly drive in the bungs, and
+should the guards question you at the gates of Frankfort, you may let
+them taste the wine if they insist, and I dare say it will contain no
+flavor of the metal."
+
+"A most excellent suggestion," said Herr Kruger with enthusiasm. "An
+admirable plan; for I confess I looked forward with some anxiety to this
+journey, laden down with bags of gold under my cloak."
+
+"Yes. You are simply an honest drinker, tired of the white wine of
+Frankfort, and providing yourself with the stronger fluid that Lorch
+produces. I am sure you will deliver the money safely to Herr Goebel,
+somewhat in drink, it is true, but, like the rest of us, none the worse
+for that when the fumes are gone."
+
+The repast finished, and all accounts liquidated, the trio left the inn,
+and, leading the two horses, reached the barge without observation. Here
+the bungs were removed from the casks, and the three men, assisted by
+the captain, quietly and speedily opened bag after bag, pouring the
+coins down into the wine; surely a unique adulteration, astonishing even
+to so heady a fluid as the vintage of Lorch. From the whole amount
+Roland deducted two thousand thalers, which he divided equally between
+two empty bags.
+
+"This thousand thalers," said he to Kruger, "is to be shared by your son
+and yourself, in addition to whatever you may receive from Herr Goebel.
+The other you will hand to the custodian of Ehrenfels Castle, saying it
+came from his friend Roland, and is recompense for the money he lent the
+other day. That will be an effective letter of introduction to him. Say
+that I ask him to send his son with you as guide through the forest to
+Wiesbaden; and so good-night and good luck to you."
+
+It was long after midnight when the guild came roystering up the bank of
+the Rhine to the barge. The moon had risen, and gave them sufficient
+light to steer a reasonably straight course without danger of falling
+into the water. Ebearhard was with them, but Greusel walked rapidly
+ahead, so that he might say a few words to his chief before the others
+arrived.
+
+"I succeeded in preventing their talking with any stranger, but they
+have taken aboard enough wine to make them very difficult and rather
+quarrelsome if thwarted. When I proposed that they should leave the
+counting until to-morrow morning they first became suspicious, and then
+resented the imputation that they were not in fit condition for such a
+task. I recommend, therefore, that you allow them to divide the money
+to-night. It will allay their fear that some trick is to be played upon
+them, and if you hint at intoxication, they are likely to get out of
+hand. As it does not matter when the money is distributed, I counsel you
+to humor them to-night, and postpone reasoning until to-morrow."
+
+"I'll think about it," said Roland.
+
+"They have bought several casks of wine, and are taking turns in
+carrying them. Will you allow this wine to come aboard, even if you
+determine to throw it into the water to-morrow?"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Roland, with a shrug of the shoulders. "Coax them into
+the cabin as quietly as possible, and keep them there if you can, for
+should they get on deck, we shall lose some of them in the river."
+
+Greusel turned back to meet the bellowing mob, while Roland roused the
+captain and his men.
+
+"Get ready," he said to Blumenfels, "and the moment I raise my hand,
+shove off. Make for this side of the larger island, and come to rest
+there for the remainder of the night. Command your rowers to put their
+whole force into the sweeps."
+
+This was done accordingly, and well done, as was the captain's custom.
+The late moon threw a ghostly light over the scene, and the barren
+island proved deserted and forbidding, as the crew tied up the barge
+alongside. Most of the lights in Lorch had gone out, and the town lay in
+the silence of pallid moonbeams like a city of the dead. Roland stood on
+deck with Greusel and Ebearhard by his side, the latter relating the
+difficulties of the evening. There had been singing in the cabin during
+the passage across, then came a lull in the roar from below, followed by
+a shout that betokened danger. An instant later the crowd came boiling
+up the short stair to the deck, Kurzbold in command, all swords drawn,
+and glistening in the moonlight.
+
+"You scoundrel!" he cried to Roland, "those lockers are full of empty
+bags."
+
+"I know that," replied Roland, quietly. "The money is in safe keeping,
+and will be honestly divided at the conclusion of this expedition."
+
+"You thief! You robber!" shouted Kurzbold, flourishing his weapon.
+
+"Quite accurate," replied Roland, unperturbed. "I was once called a
+Prince of Thieves when I did not deserve the title. Now I have earned
+it."
+
+"You have earned the penalty of thieving, and we propose to throw you
+into the Rhine."
+
+"Not, I trust, before you learn where the money is deposited."
+
+Drunk as they were, this consideration staggered them, but Kurzbold was
+mad with rage and wine.
+
+"Come on, you poltroons!" he shouted. "There are only three of them."
+
+"Draw your swords, gentlemen," whispered Roland, flashing his own blade
+in the moonlight.
+
+Greusel and Ebearhard obeyed his command.
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE LAUGHING RED MARGRAVE OF FURSTENBERG
+
+
+Ebearhard laughed, and took two steps forward. Whenever affairs became
+serious, one could always depend on a laugh from Ebearhard.
+
+"Excuse me, Commander," he said, "but you placed Greusel and me in
+charge of this pious and sober party; therefore I, being the least of
+your officers, must stand the first brunt of our failure to keep these
+lambs peaceable for the night. Greusel, stand behind me, and in front of
+the Commander. I, being reasonably sober, believe I can cut down six of
+the innocents before they finish with me. You will attend to the next
+six, leaving exactly half a dozen for Roland to eliminate in his own
+fashion. Now, Herr Conrad Kurzbold, come on."
+
+"We have no quarrel with you," said Kurzbold. "Stand aside."
+
+"But I force a quarrel upon you, undisciplined pig. Defend yourself,
+for, by the Three Kings, I am going to tap your walking wine-barrel!"
+
+Kurzbold, however, retreating with more haste than caution, one or two
+behind him were sent sprawling, and the half-dozen which were Roland's
+portion tumbled over one another down the steep ladder into the cabin.
+
+Ebearhard laughed again when the last man disappeared.
+
+"I think," he said to Roland, "that you will meet no further trouble
+from our friends. They evidently broke open the lockers, alarmed because
+Greusel and I asked for a postponement of the counting, probably
+intending to make the division without our assistance."
+
+"Have you hidden the money?" asked Greusel.
+
+"Not exactly," replied Roland; "but, in case anything should happen to
+me, I will tell you what I have done with it."
+
+When he finished his recital, he added:
+
+"I will give each of you a letter to Herr Goebel, identifying you. He is
+entitled to four thousand five hundred thalers of the money. The balance
+you will divide among those of us who survive."
+
+Roland slept on deck, wrapped in his cloak. His two lieutenants took
+turn in keeping watch, but nothing except snores came up from the cabin.
+The mutineers were not examples of early rising next morning. The sun
+gave promise of another warm day, and Roland walked up and down the
+deck, anxiety printed on his brow. He had made up his mind to knock at
+the door of the Laughing Baron, a giant in stature, reported to be the
+most ingenious, most cruel, and bravest of all the robber noblemen of
+the Rhine, whose Castle was notoriously the hardest nut to crack along
+the banks of that famous river. For several reasons it would not be wise
+to linger much longer in the neighborhood of Lorch. The three castles
+they had entered the day before were still visible on the western bank.
+News of the raid would undoubtedly travel to Furstenberg, also within
+sight down the river, and thus the hilarious Margrave would be put on
+his guard, overjoyed at the opportunity of trapping the moral marauders.
+Furstenberg was also a fief of Cologne, and any molestation of it would
+involve the meddler, if identified, in complications with the Church and
+the Archbishop.
+
+It was necessary, therefore, to move with caution, and to retreat, if
+possible, unobserved. These difficulties alone were enough to give pause
+to the most intrepid, but Roland was further handicapped by his own
+following. How could he hope to accomplish any subtle movement requiring
+silence, prompt obedience, and great alertness, supported by men whose
+brains were muddled with drink, and whose conduct was saturated with
+conspiracy against him? They had wine enough on board to continue their
+orgy, and he was quite unable to prevent their carouse. With a deep sigh
+he realized that he would be compelled to forego Furstenberg, and thus
+leave behind him a virgin citadel, which he knew was bad tactics from a
+military point of view.
+
+During his meditations his men were coming up from the fuming cabin into
+the fresh air and the sunlight. They appeared by twos and threes,
+yawning and rubbing their eyes, but no one ventured to interrupt the
+leader as, with bent head, he paced back and forth on the deck. The men,
+indeed, seemed exceedingly subdued. They passed with almost overdone
+nonchalance from the boat to the island, and sauntered towards its lower
+end, from which, in the clear morning air, the grim fortress of
+Furstenberg could be plainly discerned diagonally across the river. It
+was Ebearhard who broke in upon Roland's reverie.
+
+"Our friends appear very quiet this morning, but I observe they have all
+happened to coincide upon the northern part of the island as a
+rendezvous for their before-breakfast walk. I surmise they are holding a
+formal meeting of the guild, but neither Greusel nor I have been
+invited, so I suppose that after last night's display we two are no
+longer considered their brethren. This meekness on their part seems to
+me more dangerous than last night's flurry. I think they will demand
+from you a knowledge of what has been done with the gold. Have you
+decided upon your answer?"
+
+"Yes; it is their right to know, so I shall tell them the truth. By this
+time Kruger is on his way somewhere between Ehrenfels and Wiesbaden. He
+will reach Frankfort to-night, and cannot be overtaken."
+
+"Is there not danger that they will desert in a body, return to
+Frankfort, and demand from Herr Goebel their share of the spoil?"
+
+"No matter for that," returned Roland. "Goebel will not part with a
+florin except under security of such letters as I purpose giving you and
+Greusel, and even then only when you have proven to him that I am dead."
+
+"That is all very well," demurred Ebearhard, "but don't you see what a
+dangerous power you put into the hands of the rebels? Goebel is merely a
+merchant, and, though rich, politically powerless. He has already come
+into conflict with the authorities, and spent a term in prison. Do not
+forget that the Archbishops have refused to take action against these
+robber Barons. Our men, if there happen to be one of brains among them,
+can easily terrify Goebel into parting with the treasure by threatening
+to confess their own and his complicity in the raids. Consider what an
+excellent case they can put forward, stating quite truly that they
+joined this expedition in ignorance of its purport, but on the very
+first day, learning what was afoot, they deserted their criminal leader,
+and are now endeavoring to make restitution. Goebel is helpless. If he
+says that they first demanded the gold from him, they as strenuously
+deny it, and their denial must be believed, because they come of their
+own free-will to the authorities. The merchant, already tainted with
+treason, having suffered imprisonment, and narrowly escaped hanging,
+proves on investigation to be up to the neck in this affair. There is no
+difficulty in learning that his barge went down the river, manned by a
+crew of his own choosing. Of course, it need never come to this, because
+Goebel, being a shrewd man, could at once see in what jeopardy he stood,
+and convinced from the men's own story that they were part, at least, of
+your contingent, would deliver up the treasure to them. Don't you see he
+must do so to save his own neck?"
+
+Roland pondered deeply on what had been said to him, but for the moment
+made no reply. Greusel, who joined them during the conversation,
+remaining silent until Ebearhard had finished, now spoke:
+
+"I quite agree with all that has been said."
+
+"What, then, would you advise me to do?" asked Roland.
+
+"I have been talking with one or two of the men," said Greusel. "(They
+won't speak to Ebearhard because he drew his sword on them.) I find they
+believe you took advantage of their absence to bury the gold in what you
+suppose to be a safe place. They are sure you are acquainted with no one
+in Lorch to whom you could safely entrust it, and of course do not
+suspect an emissary from Frankfort. I should advise you to say that
+arrangements have been made for every man to get his share so long as
+nothing untoward happens to you. This will preserve your life should
+they go so far as to threaten it, and compel them to stay on with us.
+After all, we are merely artisans, and not fighting men. I am convinced
+that if ever we are really attacked, we shall make a very poor showing,
+even though we carry swords. Remember how the men tumbled over one
+another in their haste to get out of reach when Ebearhard flourished his
+blade."
+
+"I think Greusel's suggestion is an excellent one," put in Ebearhard.
+
+"Very well," said Roland, "I shall adopt it, although I had made up my
+mind fully to enlighten them."
+
+"There is one more matter that I should like to speak to you about,"
+continued Ebearhard. "Both at Assmannshausen, and at Lorch last night,
+we heard a good deal anent Furstenberg. It is the most dangerous castle
+on the Rhine to meddle with. The Laughing Baron, as they call him,
+although he is a Margrave, is the only man who dared to stop a king on
+his way down the Rhine, and hold him for ransom."
+
+"Yes," said Roland; "Adolf of Nassau, on his way to be crowned at
+Aix-la-Chapelle."
+
+"Quite so. Well, this huge ruffian--I never can remember his name; can
+you, Greusel?"
+
+"No, it beats me."
+
+"Margrave Hermann von Katznellenbogenstahleck," said Roland, so solemnly
+that Ebearhard laughed and even Greusel smiled.
+
+"That's the individual," agreed Ebearhard, "and you must admit the name
+itself is a formidable thing to attack, even without the giant it
+belongs to."
+
+"Banish all apprehension," said Roland. "I have already decided to
+remain here through the day, and drop quietly down the river to-night in
+the darkness past Furstenberg."
+
+"I think that is a wise decision," said Ebearhard.
+
+"'Tis against all military rules," demurred Roland, "but nevertheless
+with such an army as I lead it seems the only way. Do the men know that
+Furstenberg is our point of greatest danger?"
+
+"Yes; but they do not know so much as I. Last night I left them in
+Greusel's charge, being alarmed about what I heard of Furstenberg, and
+engaged a boatman to take me over there before the moon rose. I
+discovered that the Laughing Baron has caused a chain to be buoyed up
+just below the surface of the water, running diagonally up the river
+more than half-way across it, so that any boat coming down is caught and
+drawn into the landing, for the main flood of the Rhine, as you know,
+runs to the westward of this island. The boatman who ferried me knew
+about this chain, but thought it had been abandoned since traffic
+stopped. He says it runs right up into the Castle, and the moment a
+barge strikes against it, a big bell is automatically rung inside the
+stronghold, causing the Baron to laugh so loudly that they sometimes
+hear him over in Lorch."
+
+"This is very interesting, Ebearhard, and an excellent feat of scouting
+must be set down to your credit. Say nothing to the men, because,
+although we give Furstenberg the go-by on this occasion, I shall pay my
+respects to Herman von Katznellenbogenstahleck on my return, and the
+knowledge you bring me will prove useful."
+
+"Ha!" cried Greusel, "here are our infants returning, all in a body,
+Kurzbold at their head as usual. I imagine this morning they are going
+to depend on rhetoric, and allow their swords to remain in scabbard.
+They have evidently come to some momentous decision."
+
+The three retired to the prow of the boat as the guild clambored on at
+the stern. The captain and two of his men had taken the skiff belonging
+to the barge, and were absent at Lorch, purchasing provisions. Roland
+stood at the prow of the barge, slightly in advance of his two
+lieutenants, and awaited the approach of Kurzbold, with seventeen men
+behind him.
+
+"Commander," said the spokesman, with nothing of the late truculence in
+his tone, "we have just held a meeting of the guild, and unanimously
+agreed to ask you one question, and offer you one suggestion."
+
+"I shall be pleased," replied Roland, "to answer the first if I think it
+desirable, and take the second into consideration."
+
+He inclined his head to the delegation, and received a low bow in
+return. This was a most auspicious beginning, showing a certain
+improvement of method on the part of the majority.
+
+"The question is, Commander, what have you done with the gold we
+captured yesterday?"
+
+"A very proper inquiry," replied Roland, "that it gives me much pleasure
+to answer. I have placed the money in a custody which I believe to be
+absolute, arranging that if nothing happens to me, this money shall be
+properly divided in my presence."
+
+"Do you deny, sir, that the money belongs to us?"
+
+"Part of it undoubtedly does, but I, as leader of the expedition, am
+morally, if not legally, responsible to you all for its safe keeping.
+Our barge has stopped three times so far, and Captain Blumenfels tells
+me that he has had no real violence to complain of, but as we progress
+farther down the river, we are bound to encounter some Baron who is not
+so punctilious; for instance, the Margrave von Katznellenbogenstahleck,
+whose stronghold you doubtless saw from the latest meeting-place of the
+guild. Such a man as the Margrave is certain to do what you yourselves
+did without hesitation last night, that is, break open the lockers, and
+if gold were there you may depend it would not long remain in our
+possession after the discovery."
+
+"You miss, or rather, evade the point, Commander. Is the gold ours, or
+is it yours?"
+
+"I have admitted that part of it is yours."
+
+"Then by what right do you assert the power to deal with it, lacking our
+consent? If you will pardon me for saying so, you, the youngest of our
+company, treat the rest of us as though we were children."
+
+"If I possessed a child that acted at once so obstreperously and in so
+cowardly a manner as you did last night, I should cut a stick from the
+forest here, and thrash him with such severity that he would never
+forget it. As I have not done this to you, I deny that I treat you like
+children. The truth is that, although the youngest, I am your commander.
+We are engaged in acts of war, therefore military law prevails, and not
+the code of Justinian. It is my duty to protect your treasure and my
+own, and ensure that each man shall receive his share. After the
+division you may do what you please with the money, for you will then be
+under the common law, and I should not presume even to advise concerning
+its disposal."
+
+"You refuse to tell us, then, what you have done with the gold?"
+
+"I do. Now proceed with your suggestion."
+
+"I fear I put the case too mildly when I called it a suggestion,
+considering the unsatisfactory nature of your reply to my question,
+therefore I withdraw the word 'suggestion,' and substitute the word
+'command.'"
+
+Kurzbold paused, to give his ultimatum the greater force. Behind him
+rose a murmur of approval.
+
+"Words do not matter in the least. I deal with deeds. Out, then, with
+your command!" cried Roland, for the first time exhibiting impatience.
+
+"The command unanimously adopted is this: the Castle of Furstenberg must
+be left alone. We know more of that Castle than you do, especially about
+its owner and his garrison. We have been gathering information as we
+journeyed, and have not remained sulking in the barge."
+
+"Well, that is encouraging news to hear," said Roland. "I thought you
+were engaged in sampling wine."
+
+"You hear the command. Will you obey?"
+
+"I will not," said Roland decisively.
+
+Ebearhard took a step forward to the side of his chief, and glanced at
+him reproachfully. Greusel remained where he was, but neither man spoke.
+
+"You intend to attack Furstenberg?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"When?"
+
+"This afternoon."
+
+Kurzbold turned to his following:
+
+"Brethren," he said, "you have heard this conversation, and it needs no
+comment from me."
+
+Apparently the discussion was to receive no comment from the others
+either. They stood there glum and disconcerted, as if the trend of
+affairs had taken an unexpected turn.
+
+"I think," said one, "we had better retire and consult again."
+
+This was unanimously agreed to, and once more they disembarked upon the
+island, and moved forward to their Witenagemot. Still Greusel and
+Ebearhard said nothing, but watched the men disappear through the trees.
+Roland looked at one after another with a smile.
+
+"I see," he said, "that you disapprove of my conduct."
+
+Greusel remained silent, but Ebearhard laughed and spoke.
+
+"You came deliberately to the conclusion that it was unwise to attack
+Furstenberg. Now, because of Kurzbold's lack of courtesy, you deflect
+from your own mature judgment, and hastily jump into a course opposite
+to that which you marked out for yourself after sober, unbiased
+thought."
+
+"My dear Ebearhard, the duty of a commander is to give, and not to
+receive, commands."
+
+"Quite so. Command and suggestion are merely words, as you yourself
+pointed out, saying that they did not matter."
+
+"In that, Ebearhard, I was wrong. Words do matter, although Kurzbold
+wasn't clever enough to correct me. For example, I hold no man in higher
+esteem than yourself, yet you might use words that would cause me
+instantly to draw my sword upon you, and fight until one or other of us
+succumbed."
+
+Ebearhard laughed.
+
+"You put it very flatteringly, Roland. Truth is, you'd fight till I
+succumbed, my swordsmanship being no match for yours. I shall say the
+words, however, that will cause you to draw your sword, and they are:
+Commander, I will stand by you whatever you do."
+
+"And I," said Greusel curtly.
+
+Roland shook hands in turn with the two men.
+
+"Right," he cried. "If we are fated to go down, we will fall with
+banners flying."
+
+After a time the captain returned with his supplies, but still the
+majority of the guild remained engaged in deliberation. Evidently
+discussion was not proceeding with that unanimity which Kurzbold always
+insisted was the case.
+
+At noon Roland requested the captain to send some of his men with a meal
+for those in prolonged session, and also to carry them a cask which had
+been half-emptied either that morning or the night before.
+
+"They will enjoy a picnic under the trees by the margin of the river,"
+said Roland, as he and his two backers sat down in the empty cabin to
+their own repast.
+
+"Do you think they are purposely delaying, so that you cannot cross over
+this afternoon?"
+
+"'Tis very likely," said Roland. "I'll wait here until the sun sets, and
+then when they realize that I am about to leave them on an uninhabited
+island, without anything to eat, I think you will see them scramble
+aboard."
+
+"But suppose they don't," suggested Greusel. "There are at least three
+of them able to swim across this narrow branch of the Rhine, and engage
+a boatman to take them off, should their signaling be unobserved."
+
+"Again no matter. My plan for the undoing of the castles does not depend
+on force, but on craft. We three cannot carry away as much gold as can
+twenty-one, but our shares will be the same, and then we are not likely
+to find again so full a treasury as that at Rheinstein. My belief that
+these chaps would fight was dispelled by their conduct last night. Think
+of eighteen armed men flying before one sword!"
+
+"Ah, you are scarce just in your estimate, Commander. They were under
+the influence of wine."
+
+"True; but a brave man will fight, drunk or sober."
+
+Although the sun sank out of sight, the men did not return. There had
+been more wine in the cask than Roland supposed, for the cheery songs of
+the guild echoed through the sylvan solitude. Roland told the captain to
+set his men at work and row round the top of the island into the main
+stream of the Rhine. The revelers had evidently appointed watchmen, for
+they speedily came running through the woods, and followed the movements
+of the boat from the shore, keeping pace with it. When the craft reached
+the opposite side of the island, the rowers drew in to the beach.
+
+"Are you coming aboard?" asked Roland pleasantly.
+
+"Will you agree to pass Furstenberg during the night?" demanded
+Kurzbold.
+
+"No."
+
+"Do you expect to succeed, as you did with the other castles?"
+
+"Certainly; otherwise I shouldn't make the attempt."
+
+"I was wrong," said Kurzbold mildly, "in substituting the word 'command'
+for 'suggestion,' which I first employed. There are many grave reasons
+for deferring an attempt on Furstenberg. In the heat of argument these
+reasons were not presented to you. Will you consent to listen to them if
+we go on board?"
+
+"Yes; if you, on your part, will unanimously promise to abide by my
+decision."
+
+"Do you think," said Kurzbold, "that your prejudice against me, which
+perhaps you agree does exist--"
+
+"It exists," confessed Roland.
+
+"Very well. Will you allow that prejudice to prevent you from rendering
+a decision in the men's favor?"
+
+"No. If they present reasons that convince Greusel and Ebearhard against
+the attack on Furstenberg, I shall do what these two men advise, even
+although I myself believe in a contrary course. Thus you see, Herr
+Kurzbold, that my admitted dislike of you shall not come into play at
+all."
+
+"That is quite satisfactory," said Kurzbold. "Will you tie up against
+the farther shore until your decision is rendered?"
+
+"With pleasure," replied Roland; and accordingly the raiders tumbled
+impetuously on board the barge, whereupon the sailors bent to their long
+oars, and quickly reached the western bank, at a picturesque spot out of
+sight of any castle, where the trees came down the mountain-side to the
+water's edge. Here the sailors, springing ashore, tied their stout ropes
+to the tree-trunks, and the great barge lay broadside on to the land,
+with her nose pointing down the stream.
+
+"You see," said Roland to his lieutenants, "without giving way in the
+least I allow you two the decision, and so I take it Furstenberg or
+ourselves will escape disaster on this occasion."
+
+"Aside from all other considerations," replied the cautious Greusel, "I
+think it good diplomacy on this occasion to agree with the men, since
+they have stated their case so deferentially. They are improving,
+Commander."
+
+"It really looks like it," he agreed. "You and Ebearhard had better go
+aft, and counsel them to begin the conference at once, for if we are to
+attack we must do so before darkness sets in. I'll remain here as usual
+at the prow."
+
+Some of the men were strolling about the deck, but the majority remained
+in the cabin, down whose steps the lieutenants descended. Roland's
+impatience increased with the waning of the light.
+
+Suddenly a cry that was instantly smothered rose from the cabin, then a
+shout:
+
+"Treachery! Look out for yourself!"
+
+Roland attempted to stride forward, but four men fell on him, pinioning
+his arms to his side, preventing the drawing of his weapon. Kurzbold,
+with half a dozen others, mounted on deck.
+
+"Disarm him!" he commanded, and one of the men drew Roland's sword from
+its sheath, flinging it along the deck to Kurzbold's feet. The others
+now came up, bringing the two lieutenants, both gagged, with their arms
+tied behind them. Roland ceased his struggles, which he knew to be
+fruitless.
+
+"We wish an amicable settlement of this matter," said Kurzbold,
+addressing the lieutenants, "and regret being compelled to use measures
+that may appear harsh. I do this only to prevent unnecessary bloodshed.
+Earlier in the day," he continued, turning to Roland, "when we found all
+appeals to you were vain, we unanimously deposed you from the
+leadership, which is our right, and also our duty."
+
+"Not under martial law," said Roland.
+
+"I beg to point out that there was no talk of martial law before we left
+Frankfort. It was not till later that we learned we had appointed an
+unreasoning tyrant over us. We have deposed him, and I am elected in his
+place, with John Gensbein as my lieutenant. We will keep you three here
+until complete darkness sets in, then put you ashore unarmed. Bacharach,
+on this side of the Rhine, is to be our next resting-place, and
+doubtless so clever a man as you, Roland, may say that we choose
+Bacharach because it is named for Bacchus, the god of drunkards.
+Nevertheless, to show our good intentions towards you, we will remain
+there all day to-morrow. You can easily reach Bacharach along the
+hilltops before daybreak. We have written a charter of comradeship which
+all have signed except yourselves. If at Bacharach you give us your word
+to act faithfully under my leadership, we will reinstate you in the
+guild, and return your swords. By way of recompense for this leniency,
+we ask you to direct the captain to obey my commands as he has done
+yours."
+
+"Captain Blumenfels," said Roland to the honest sailor, who stood
+looking on in amaze at this turn of affairs, "you are to wait here until
+it is completely dark. See that no lights are burning to give warning to
+those in Furstenberg; and, by the way," added Roland, turning to his
+former company, "I advise you not to drink anything until you are well
+past the Castle. If you sing the songs of the guild within earshot of
+Furstenberg, you are like to sing on the other side of your mouths
+before morning. Don't forget that Margrave Hermann von
+Katznellenbogenstahleck is the chief hangman of Germany." Then once more
+to the captain:
+
+"As the Castle of Furstenberg stands high above the river, and well back
+from it, you will be out of sight if you keep near this shore. However,
+you can easily judge your distance, because the towers are visible even
+in the darkness against the sky. No man on the ramparts of the Castle
+can discern you down here on the black surface of the water, so long as
+you do not carry a light."
+
+"Roland, my deposed friend," said Kurzbold, "I fear you bear resentment,
+for you are giving the captain orders instead of telling him to obey
+mine."
+
+"Kurzbold, you are mistaken. I resign command with great pleasure, and,
+indeed, Greusel and Ebearhard will testify that I had already determined
+to pass Furstenberg unseen. As my former lieutenants are disarmed,
+surely the company, with eighteen swords, is not so frightened as to
+keep them gagged and bound. 'Tis no wonder you wish to avoid the
+Laughing Baron, if that is all the courage you possess."
+
+Stung by these taunts, Kurzbold gruffly ordered his men to release their
+prisoners, but when the gags were removed, and before the cords were
+cut, he addressed the lieutenants:
+
+"Do you give me your words not to make any further resistance, if I
+permit you to remain unbound?"
+
+"I give you my word on nothing, you mutinous dog!" cried Greusel; "and
+if I did, how could you expect me to keep it after such an example of
+treachery from you who pledged your faith, and then broke it? I shall
+obey my Commander, and none other."
+
+"I am your Commander," asserted Kurzbold.
+
+"You are not," proclaimed Greusel.
+
+Ebearhard laughed.
+
+"No need to question me," he said. "I stand by my colleagues."
+
+"Gag them again," ordered Kurzbold.
+
+"No, no!" cried Roland. "We are quite helpless. Give your words,
+gentlemen."
+
+Gloomily Greusel obeyed, and merrily Ebearhard. Darkness was now
+gathering, and when it fell completely the three men were put off into
+the forest.
+
+"You have not yet," said Kurzbold to Roland, "ordered the captain to
+obey me. I do not object to that, but it will be the worse for him and
+his men if they refuse to accept my instructions."
+
+"Do you know this district, Captain Blumenfels?" asked Roland.
+
+"Yes, mein Herr."
+
+"Is there a path along the top that will lead us behind Furstenberg on
+to Bacharach?"
+
+"Yes, mein Herr, but it is a very rough track."
+
+"Is it too far for you to guide us there, and return before the moon
+rises?"
+
+"Oh no, mein Herr, I can conduct you to the trail in half an hour if you
+consent to climb lustily."
+
+"Very good. Herr Kurzbold, if you are not impatient to be off, and will
+permit the captain to direct us on our way, I will tell him to obey
+you."
+
+"How long before you can return, captain?" asked Kurzbold.
+
+"I can be back well within the hour, mein Herr."
+
+"You will obey me if the late Commander orders you to do so?"
+
+"Yes, mein Herr."
+
+"Captain," said Roland, "I inform you in the hearing of these men that
+Herr Kurzbold occupies my place, and is to be obeyed by you until I
+resume command."
+
+Kurzbold laughed.
+
+"You mean until you are re-elected to membership in the guild, for we do
+not propose to make you commander again. Now, captain, to the hill, and
+see that your return is not delayed."
+
+The four men disappeared into the dark forest.
+
+"Captain," said Roland, when they reached the track, "I have taken you
+up here not that I needed your guidance, for I know this land as well as
+you do. You will obey Kurzbold, of course, but if he tells you to make
+for Lorch, allow your boat to drift, and do not get beyond the middle of
+the river until opposite Furstenberg. There is a buoyed chain--"
+
+"I know it well," interrupted the captain. "I have many times avoided
+it, but twice became entangled with it, in spite of all my efforts, and
+was robbed by the Laughing Baron."
+
+"Very well; I intend you to be entrapped by that chain to-night. Offer
+no resistance, and you will be safe enough. Do not attempt to help these
+lads should they be set upon, and it will be hard luck if I am not in
+command again before midnight. Keep close to this shore, but if they
+order you into the middle of the river, or across it, dally, my good
+Blumenfels, dally, until you are stopped by the chain for the third
+time."
+
+When the captain returned to his barge, he found Kurzbold pacing the
+deck in a masterly manner, impatient to be off. For once the combatants,
+with an effort, were refraining from drink.
+
+"We will open a cask," said Kurzbold, "as soon as we have passed the
+Schloss."
+
+He ordered the captain to follow the shore as closely as was safe, and
+take care that they did not come within sight of Furstenberg's tall,
+round tower. All sat or reclined on the dark deck, saying no word as the
+barge slid silently down the swift Rhine. Suddenly the speed of the boat
+was checked so abruptly that one or two of the standing men were flung
+off their feet. From up on the hillside there tolled out the deep note
+of a bell. The barge swung round broadside on the current, and lay there
+with the water rushing like hissing serpents along its side, the bell
+pealing out a loud alarm that seemed to keep time with the shuddering of
+the helpless boat.
+
+"What's wrong, captain?" cried Kurzbold, getting on his feet again and
+running aft.
+
+"I fear, sir, 'tis an anchored chain."
+
+"Can't you cut it?"
+
+"That is impossible, mein Herr."
+
+"Then get out your sweeps, and turn back. Where are we, do you think?"
+
+"Under the battlements of Furstenberg Castle."
+
+"Damnation! Put some speed into your men, and let us get away from
+here."
+
+The captain ordered his crew to hurry, but all their efforts could not
+release the boat from the chain, against which it ground up and down
+with a tearing noise, and even the un-nautical swordsmen saw that the
+current was impelling it diagonally toward the shore, and all the while
+the deep bell tolled on.
+
+"What in the fiend's name is the meaning of that bell?" demanded
+Kurzbold.
+
+"It is the Castle bell, mein Herr," replied the captain.
+
+Before Kurzbold could say anything more the air quivered with shout
+after shout of laughter. Torches began to glisten among the trees, and
+there was a clatter of horses' hoofs on the echoing rock. A more
+magnificent sight was never before presented to the startled eyes of so
+unappreciative a crowd. Along the zigzag road, and among the trees,
+spluttered the torches, each with a trail of sparks like the tail of a
+comet. The bearers were rushing headlong down the slope, for woe to the
+man who did not arrive at the water's edge sooner than his master.
+
+The torchlight gleamed on flashing swords and glittering points of
+spears, but chief sight of all was the Margrave Hermann von
+Katznellenbogenstahleck, a giant in stature, mounted on a magnificent
+stallion, as black as the night, and of a size that corresponded with
+its prodigious rider. The Margrave's long beard and flowing hair were
+red; scarlet, one may say, but perhaps that was the fiery reflection
+from the torches. Servants, scullions, stablemen carried the lights; the
+men-at-arms had no encumbrance but their weapons, and the business-like
+way in which they lined up along the shore was a study in discipline,
+and a terror to any one unused to war. Above all the din and clash of
+arms rang the hearty, stentorian laughter of the Red Margrave actually
+echoing back in gusts of fiendish merriment from the hills on the other
+side of the Rhine.
+
+Now the boat's nose came dully against the ledge of rock, to whose
+surface the swaying chain rose dripping from the water, sparkling like a
+jointed snake under the torchlight.
+
+"God save us all!" cried the Margrave, "what rare show have we here? By
+my sainted patron, the Archbishop, merchants under arms! Whoever saw the
+like? Ha! stout Captain Blumenfels, do I recognize you? Once more my
+chain has caught you. This makes the third time, does it not,
+Blumenfels?"
+
+"Yes, your Majesty."
+
+"You may as well call me 'your Holiness' as 'your Majesty.' I'm
+contented with my title, the 'Laughing Baron,' Haw-haw-haw-haw! And so
+your merchants have taken to arms again? The lesson at the Lorely taught
+them nothing! Are there any ropes aboard, captain?"
+
+"Plenty, my lord."
+
+"Then fling a coil ashore. Now, my tigers," he roared to his
+men-at-arms, "hale me to land those damned shopkeepers."
+
+With a clash of armor and weapons the brigands threw themselves on the
+boat, and in less time than is taken to tell it, every man of the guild
+was disarmed and flung ashore. Here another command of the Red Margrave
+gave them the outlaw's knot, as he termed it, a most painful tying-up of
+the body and the limbs until each victim was rigid as a red of iron.
+They were flung face downwards in a row, and beaten black and blue with
+cudgels, despite their screams of agony and appeals for mercy.
+
+"Now turn them over on their backs," commanded the Margrave, and it was
+done. The glare of the pitiless torches fell upon contorted faces. The
+Baron turned his horse athwart the line of helpless men, and spurred
+that animal over it from end to end, but the intelligent horse, more
+merciful than its rider, stepped with great daintiness, despite its
+unusual size, and never trod on one of the prostrate bodies. During what
+followed, the Red Baron, shaking with laughter, marched his horse up and
+down over the stricken men.
+
+"Now, unload the boat, but do not injure any of the sailors! I hope to
+see them often again. You cannot tell how we have missed you, captain.
+What are you loaded with this time? Sound Frankfort cloth?"
+
+"Yes, your Majesty--I mean, my lord."
+
+"No, you mean my Holiness, for I expect to be an Archbishop yet, if all
+goes well," and his laughter echoed across the Rhine. "Uplift your
+hatches, Blumenfels, and tell your men to help fling the goods ashore."
+
+Delicately paced the fearful horse over the prone men, snorting, perhaps
+in sympathy, from his red nostrils, his jet-black coat a-quiver with the
+excitement of the scene. The captain obeyed the Margrave with promptness
+and celerity. The hatches were lifted, and his sailors, two and two,
+flung on the ledge of rock the merchant's bales. The men-at-arms, who
+proved to be men-of-all-work, had piled their weapons in a heap, and
+were carrying the bales a few yards inland. Through it all the Baron
+roared with laughter, and rode his horse along its living pavement,
+turning now at this end and now at the other.
+
+"Do not be impatient," he cried down to them, "'twill not take long to
+strip the boat of every bale, then I shall hang you on these trees, and
+send back your bodies in the barge, as a lesson to Frankfort. You must
+return, captain," he cried, "for you cannot sell dead bodies to my liege
+of Cologne."
+
+As he spoke a ruddy flush spread over the Rhine, as if some one had
+flashed a red lantern upon the waters. The glow died out upon the
+instant.
+
+"What!" thundered the Margrave, "is that the reflection of my beard, or
+are Beelzebub and his fiends coming up from below for a portion of the
+Frankfort cloth? I will share with good brother Satan, but with no one
+else. Boil me if I ever saw a sight like that before! What was it,
+captain?"
+
+"I saw nothing unusual, my lord."
+
+"There, there!" exclaimed the Margrave, and as he spoke it seemed that a
+crimson film had fallen on the river, growing brighter and brighter.
+
+"Oh, my lord," cried the captain, "the Castle is on fire!"
+
+"Saints protect us!" shouted the Red Margrave, crossing himself, and
+turning to the west, where now both hearing and sight indicated that a
+furnace was roaring. The whole western sky was aglow, and although the
+flames could not be seen for the intervening cliff, every one knew there
+was no other dwelling that could cause such an illumination.
+
+Spurring his horse, and calling his men to come on, the nobleman dashed
+up the steep acclivity, and when the last man had departed, Roland,
+followed by his two lieutenants, stepped from the forest to the right
+down upon the rocky plateau.
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+"A SENTENCE; COME, PREPARE!"
+
+
+"Captain," said Roland quietly, "bring your crew ashore, and fling these
+bales on board again as quickly as you can."
+
+An instant later the sailors were at work, undoing their former efforts.
+
+"In mercy's name, Roland," wailed one of the stricken, "get a sword and
+cut our bonds."
+
+"All in good time," replied Roland. "The bales are more valuable to me
+than you are, and we have two barrels of gold at the foot of the cliff
+to bring in, if they haven't sunk in the Rhine. Greusel, do you and
+Ebearhard take two of the crew, launch the small boat, and rescue the
+barrels if you can find them."
+
+"Mercy on us, Roland! Mercy!" moaned his former comrades.
+
+"I have already wasted too much mercy upon you," he said. "If I rescue
+you now, I shall be compelled to hang you in the morning as breakers of
+law, so I may as well leave you where you are, and allow the Red
+Margrave to save me the trouble. The loss of his castle will not make
+him more compassionate, especially if he learns you were the cause of
+it. You will then experience some refined tortures, I imagine; for, like
+myself, he may think hanging too good for you. I should never have fired
+his castle had it not been for your rebellion."
+
+The men on the ground groaned but made no further appeal. Some of them
+were far-seeing enough to realize that an important change had come over
+the young man they thought so well known to them, who stood there with
+an air of indifference, throwing out a suggestion now and then for the
+more effective handling of the bales; suggestions carrying an impalpable
+force of authority that caused them to be very promptly obeyed. They did
+not know that this person whom they had regarded as one of themselves,
+the youngest at that, treating him accordingly, had but a day or two
+before received a tremendous assurance, which would have turned the head
+of almost any individual in the realm, old or young; the assurance that
+he was to be supreme ruler over millions of creatures like themselves; a
+ruler whose lightest word might carry their extinction with it.
+
+Yet such is the strange littleness of human nature that, although this
+potent knowledge had been gradually exercising its effect on Roland's
+character, it was not the rebellion of the eighteen or their mutinous
+words that now made him hard as granite towards them. It was the trivial
+fact that four of them had dared to manhandle him; had made a personal
+assault upon him; had pinioned his helpless arms, and flung his sword,
+that insignia of honor, to the feet of Kurzbold, leader of the revolt.
+
+The Lord's Anointed, he was coming to consider himself, although not yet
+had the sacred ointment been placed upon his head. A temporal Emperor
+and a vice-regent of Heaven upon earth, his hand was destined to hold
+the invisible hilt of the Almighty's sword of vengeance. The words "I
+will repay" were to reach their fulfillment through his action.
+Notwithstanding his youth, or perhaps because of it, he was animated by
+deep religious feeling, and this, rather than ambition, explained the
+celerity with which he agreed to the proposals of the Archbishops.
+
+The personage the prisoners saw standing on the rock-ledge of
+Furstenberg was vastly different from the young man who, a comrade of
+comrades, had departed from Frankfort in their company. They beheld him
+plainly enough, for there was now no need of torches along the
+foreshore; the night was crimson in its brilliancy, and down the hill
+came a continuous roar, like that of the Rhine Fall seventy leagues
+away.
+
+Into this red glare the small boat and its four occupants entered, and
+Roland saw with a smile that two well-filled casks formed its freight.
+The bales were now aboard the barge again, and the Commander ordered the
+crew to help the quartette in the small boat with the lifting of the
+heavy barrels. Greusel and Ebearhard clambered over the side, and came
+thus to the ledge where Roland stood, as the crew rolled the barrels
+down into the cabin.
+
+"Lieutenants," said the Commander, "select two stout battle-axes from
+that heap. Follow the chain up the hill until you reach that point where
+it is attached to the thick rope. Cut the rope with your axes, and draw
+down the chain with you, thus clearing a passage for the barge."
+
+The two men chose battle-axes, then turned to their leader.
+
+"Should we not get our men aboard," they said, "before the barge is
+free?"
+
+"These rebels are prisoners of the Red Margrave. They belong to him, and
+not to me. Where they are, there they remain."
+
+The lieutenants, with one impulse, advanced to their Commander, who
+frowned as they did so. A cry of despair went up from the pinioned men,
+but Kurzbold shouted:
+
+"Cut him down, Ebearhard, and then release us. In the name of the guild
+I call on you to act! He is unarmed; cut him down! 'Tis foul murder to
+desert us thus."
+
+The cutting down could easily have been accomplished, for Roland stood
+at their mercy, weaponless since the _émeute_ on the barge.
+Notwithstanding the seriousness of the occasion, the optimistic
+Ebearhard laughed, although every one else was grave enough.
+
+"Thank you, Kurzbold, for your suggestion. We have come forward, not to
+use force, but to try persuasion. Roland, you cannot desert to death the
+men whom you conducted out of Frankfort."
+
+"Why can I not?"
+
+"I should have said a moment ago that you will not, but now I say you
+cannot. Kurzbold has just shown what an irreclaimable beast he is, and
+on that account, because birth, or training, or something has made you
+one of different caliber, you cannot thus desert him to the reprisal of
+that red fiend up the hill."
+
+"If I save him now, 'twill be but to hang him an hour later. I am no
+hangman, while the Margrave is. I prefer that he should attend to my
+executions."
+
+Again Ebearhard laughed.
+
+"'Tis no use, Roland, pretending abandonment, for you will not abandon.
+I thoroughly favor choking the life out of Kurzbold, and one or two of
+the others, and will myself volunteer for the office of headsman,
+carrying, as I do, the ax, but let everything be done decently and in
+order, that a dignified execution may follow on a fair trial."
+
+"Commander," shouted the captain from the deck of the barge, "make
+haste, I beg of you. The rope connecting with the Castle has been burnt,
+and the chain is dragging free. The current is swift, and this barge
+heavy. We shall be away within the minute."
+
+"Get your crew ashore on the instant," cried Roland, "and fling me these
+despicable burdens aboard. A man at the head, another at the heels, and
+toss each into the barge. Is there time, captain, to take this heap of
+cutlery with us as trophies of the fray?"
+
+"Yes," replied the captain, "if we are quick about it."
+
+The howling human packages were hurled from ledge to barge; the strong,
+unerring sailors, accustomed to the task, heaved no man into the water.
+Others as speedily fell upon the heap of weapons, and threw them,
+clattering, on the deck. All then leaped aboard, and Roland, motioning
+his lieutenants to precede him, was the last to climb over the prow.
+
+The chain came down over the stones with a clattering run, and fell with
+a great splash into the river. The barge, now clear, swung with the
+current stern foremost; the sailors got to their oars, and gradually
+drew their craft away from the shore. A little farther from the landing,
+those on deck, looking upstream, enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the
+magnificent conflagration. The huge stone Castle seemed to glow white
+hot. The roof had fallen in, and a seething furnace reddened the
+midnight sky. Like a flaming torch the great tower roared to the
+heavens. The whole hilltop resembled the crater of an active volcano.
+Timber floors and wooden partitions, long seasoned, proved excellent
+material for the incendiaries, and even the stones were crumbling away,
+falling into the gulf of fire, sending up a dazzling eruption of sparks,
+as section after section tumbled into this earthly Hades.
+
+The long barge floated placidly down a river resembling molten gold. The
+boat was in disarray, covered with bales of cloth not yet lowered into
+the hold, cluttered here and there with swords, battle-axes, and spears.
+In the various positions where they had been flung lay the helpless men,
+some on their faces, some on their backs. The deck was as light as if
+the red setting sun were casting his rays upon it. Roland seated himself
+on a bale, and said to the captain:
+
+"Turn all these men face upward," and the captain did so.
+
+"Ebearhard, you said execution should take place after a fair trial.
+There is no necessity to call witnesses, or to go through any court of
+law formalities. You two are perfectly cognizant of everything that has
+taken place, and no testimony will either strengthen or weaken that
+knowledge. As a preliminary, take Kurzbold, the new president, and
+Gensbein, his lieutenant, from among that group, and set them apart. Two
+members of the crew will carry out this order," which was carried out
+accordingly.
+
+Roland rose, walked along the prostrate row, and selected, apparently at
+haphazard, four others, then said to the members of his crew:
+
+"Place these four men beside their leader. Left to myself," he continued
+to his lieutenants, "I should hang the six. However, I shall take no
+hand in the matter. I appoint you, Joseph Greusel, and you, Gottlieb
+Ebearhard, as judges, with power of life and death. If your verdict on
+any or all of the accused is death, I shall use neither the ax nor the
+cord, but propose flinging them into the river, and if God wills them to
+reach the shore alive, their binding will be no hindrance to escape."
+
+Kurzbold and his lieutenant broke out into alternate curses and appeals,
+protesting that Greusel and Ebearhard had not been expelled from the
+guild, and calling upon them by their solemn oath of brotherhood to
+release them now that they possessed the power. To these appeals the
+newly-appointed judges made no reply, and for once Ebearhard did not
+laugh.
+
+The other four directed their supplications to Roland himself. They had
+been misled, they cried, and deeply regretted it. Already they suffered
+punishment of a severity almost beyond power of human endurance, and
+they feared their bones were broken with the cudgeling, since which
+assault their bonds grievously tortured them. All swore amendment, and
+their grim commander still remaining silent, they asked him in what
+respect they were more guilty than the dozen others whom seemingly he
+intended to spare. At last Roland replied.
+
+"You four," he said sternly, "dared to lay hands upon me, and for that I
+demand from the judges a sentence of death."
+
+Even his two lieutenants gazed at him in amazement, that he should make
+so much of an action which they themselves had endured and nothing said
+of it. Surely the laying-on of hands, even in rudeness, was not a
+capital crime, yet they saw to their astonishment that Roland was in
+deadly earnest.
+
+The leader turned a calm face toward their scrutiny, but there was a
+frown upon his brow.
+
+"Work while ye have the light," he said. "Judges, consider your
+decision, and deliver your verdict."
+
+Greusel and Ebearhard turned their backs on every one, walked slowly
+aft, and down into the cabin. Roland resumed his seat on the bale of
+cloth, elbows on his knees, and face in his hands. All appeals had
+ceased, and deep silence reigned, every man aboard the boat in a state
+of painful tension. The fire in the distant castle lowered and lowered,
+and darkness was returning to the deck of the barge. At last the judges
+emerged from the cabin, and came slowly forward.
+
+It was Greusel who spoke.
+
+"We wish to know if only these six are on trial?"
+
+"Only these six," replied Roland.
+
+"Our verdict is death," said Greusel. "Kurzbold and Gensbein are to be
+thrown into the Rhine bound as they lie, but the other four receive one
+chance for life, in that the cords shall be cut, leaving their limbs
+free."
+
+This seeming mercy brought no consolation to the quartette, for each
+plaintively proclaimed that he could not swim.
+
+"I thank you for your judgment," said Roland, "which I am sure you must
+have formed with great reluctance. Having proven yourself such excellent
+judges, I doubt not you will now act with equal wisdom as advisers. A
+phrase of yours, Ebearhard, persists in my mind, despite all efforts to
+dislodge it. You uttered on the ledge of rock yonder something to the
+effect that we left Frankfort as comrades together. That is very true,
+and unless you override my resolution, I have come to the conclusion
+that if any of us are fated to die, the penalty shall be dealt by some
+other hand than mine. The twelve who lie here are scarcely less guilty
+than the six now under sentence, and I propose, therefore, to put ashore
+on the east bank Kurzbold and Gensbein, one a rogue, the other a fool.
+The sixteen who remain have so definitely proven themselves to be
+simpletons that I trust they will not resent my calling them such. If
+however, they abandon all claim to the comradeship that has been so much
+prated about, swearing by the Three Kings of Cologne faithfully to
+follow me, and obey my every word without cavil or argument, I will
+pardon them, but the first man who rebels will show that my clemency has
+been misplaced, and I can assure them that it shall not be exercised
+again. Captain, your sailors are familiar with knotted ropes. Bid them
+release all these men except the six condemned."
+
+The boatmen, with great celerity, freed the prostrate captives from
+their bonds, but some of the mutineers had been so cruelly used in the
+cudgeling that it was necessary to assist them to their feet. The early
+summer daybreak was at hand, its approach heralded by the perceptible
+diluting of the darkness that surrounded them, and a ghastly, pallid
+grayness began to overspread the surface of the broad river. Down the
+stream to the west the towers of Bacharach could be faintly
+distinguished, looking like a dream city, the lower gloom of which was
+picked out here and there by points of light, each betokening an early
+riser.
+
+It was a deeply dejected, silent group that stood in this weird
+half-light, awaiting the development of Roland's mind regarding them;
+he, the youngest of their company, quiet, unemotional, whose dominion no
+one now thought of disputing.
+
+"Captain," he continued, "steer for the eastern shore. I know that
+Bacharach is the greatest wine mart on the Rhine, and well sustains the
+reputation of the drunken god for whom it is named, but we will
+nevertheless avoid it. There is a long island opposite the town, but a
+little farther down. I dare say you know it well. Place that island
+between us and Bacharach, and tie up to the mainland, out of view from
+the stronghold of Bacchus. He is a misleading god, with whom we shall
+hold no further commerce.
+
+"Now, Joseph Greusel, and Gottlieb Ebearhard, do you two administer the
+oath of the Three Kings to these twelve men; but before doing so, give
+each one his choice, permitting him to say whether he will follow
+Kurzbold on the land or obey me on the water."
+
+Here Kurzbold broke out again in trembling anger:
+
+"Your pretended fairness is a sham, and your bogus option a piece of
+your own sneaking dishonesty. What chance have we townsmen, put ashore,
+penniless, in an unknown wilderness, far from any human habitation,
+knowing nothing of the way back to Frankfort? Your fraudulent clemency
+rescues us from drowning merely to doom us to starvation."
+
+The daylight had so increased that all might see the gentle smile coming
+to Roland's lips, and the twinkle in his eye as he looked at the
+wrathful Kurzbold.
+
+"A most intelligent leader of men are you, Herr Conrad. I suppose this
+dozen will stampede to join your leadership. They must indeed be proud
+of you when they learn the truth. I shall present to each of you, out of
+my own store of gold that came from the castle you so bravely attacked
+last night, one half the amount that is your due. This will be more
+money than any of you ever possessed before; each portion, indeed,
+excelling the total that you eighteen accumulated during your whole
+lives. I could easily bestow your share without perceptible diminution
+of the fund we three, unaided, extracted from the coffers of the Red
+Margrave. The reason I do not pay in full is this. When you reach
+Frankfort, I must be assured that you will keep your foolish tongues
+silent. If any man speaks of our labors, I shall hear of it on my
+return, and will fine that man his remaining half-share.
+
+"It distresses me to expose your ignorance, Kurzbold, but I put you
+ashore amply provided with money, barely two-thirds of a league from
+Lorch, where you spent so jovial an evening, and where a man with gold
+in his pouch need fear neither hunger nor thirst. Lorch may be attained
+by a leisurely walker in less than half an hour; indeed, it is barely
+two leagues from this spot to Assmannshausen, and surely you know the
+road from that storehouse of red wine to the capital city of Frankfort,
+having once traversed it. A child of six, Kurzbold, might be safely put
+ashore where you shall set foot on land. Therefore, lieutenants, let
+each man know he will receive a bag of coin, and may land unmolested to
+accompany the brave and intelligent Kurzbold."
+
+As he finished this declamation, that caused even some of the beaten
+warriors to laugh at their leader, the barge came gently alongside the
+strand, well out of sight of Bacharach. Each of the dozen swore the
+terrible, unbreakable oath of the Three Kings to be an obedient henchman
+to Roland.
+
+"You may," said Roland, "depart to the cabin, where a flagon of wine
+will be served to every man, and also an early breakfast. After that you
+are permitted to lie down and relax your swollen limbs, meditating on
+the extract from Holy Writ which relates the fate of the blind when led
+by the blind."
+
+When the dozen limped away, the chief turned to his prisoners.
+
+"Against you four I bear resentment that I thought could not be appeased
+except by your expulsion, but reflection shows me that you acted under
+instruction from the foolish leader you selected, and therefore the
+principal, not the agent, is most to blame. I give you the same choice I
+have accorded to the rest. Unloose them, captain; and while this is
+being done, Greusel, get two empty bags from the locker, open one of the
+casks, and place in each bag an amount which you estimate to be one half
+the share which is Kurzbold's due."
+
+The four men standing up took the oath, and thanked Roland for his
+mercy, hurrying away at a sign from him to their bread and wine.
+
+"Send hither," cried Roland after them, "two of the men who have already
+refreshed themselves, each with a loaf of bread and a full flagon of
+wine. And now, captain, release Kurzbold and Gensbein."
+
+When these two stood up and stretched themselves, the bearers of bread
+and wine presented them with this refreshment, and after they had
+partaken of it, Greusel gave them each a bag of gold, which they tied to
+their belts without a word, while Greusel and Ebearhard waited to escort
+them to land.
+
+"We want our swords," said Kurzbold sullenly.
+
+Ebearhard looked at his chief, but he shook his head.
+
+"They have disgraced their swords," he said, "which now by right belong
+to the Margrave Hermann von Katznellenbogenstahleck. Put them ashore,
+lieutenant."
+
+It was broad daylight, and the men had all come up from the cabin,
+standing in a silent group at the stern. Kurzbold, on the bank, foaming
+at the mouth with fury, shook his fist at them, roaring:
+
+"Cowards! Pigs! Dolts! Asses! Poltroons!"
+
+The men made no reply, but Ebearhard's hearty laugh rang through the
+forest.
+
+"You have given us your titles, Kurzbold," he cried. "Send us your
+address whenever you get one!"
+
+"Captain," said Roland, "cast off. Cross to this side of that island,
+and tie up there for the day. Set a man on watch, relieving the sentinel
+every two hours. We have spent an exciting night, and will sleep till
+evening."
+
+"Your honor, may I first stow away these bales, and dispose of the
+battle-axes, spears, and broadswords, so to clear the deck?"
+
+"You may do that, captain, at sunset. As for the bales, they make a very
+comfortable couch upon which I intend to rest."
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+THE PRISONER OF EHRENFELS
+
+
+There is inspiration in the sight of armed men marching steadily
+together; men well disciplined, keeping step to the measured clank of
+their armor. Like a great serpent the soldiers of Cologne issued from
+the forest, coming down two and two, for the path was narrow. They would
+march four abreast when they reached the river road, and the evolutions
+which accomplished this doubling of the columns, without changing step
+or causing confusion, called forth praise from the two southern
+Archbishops.
+
+A beautiful tableau of amity and brotherly love was presented to the
+troops as they looked up at the three Archbishops standing together on
+the balcony in relief against the gray walls of the Castle. The
+officers, who were on horseback, raised their swords sky-pointing from
+their helmets, for they recognized their overlord and his two notable
+confrères. With the motion of one man the three Archbishops acknowledged
+the salute. The troops cheered and cheered as the anaconda made its
+sinuous way down the mountain-side, and company after company came
+abreast the Castle. The Archbishops stood there until the last man
+disappeared down the river road on his way to Coblentz.
+
+"May I ask you," said Mayence, addressing Treves, "to conduct me to the
+flat roof of your Castle? Will you accompany us?" he inquired of
+Cologne.
+
+Cologne and Treves being for once in agreement, the latter led the way,
+and presently the three stood on the broad stone plateau which afforded
+a truly striking panorama of the Rhine. The July sun sinking in the west
+transformed the river into a crimson flood, and at that height the cool
+evening breeze was delicious. Cologne stood with one hand on the
+parapet, and gazed entranced at the scene, but the practical Mayence
+paid no attention whatever to it.
+
+"Your troublesome guest, Treves, has one more request to make, which is
+that you order his flag hoisted to the top of that pole."
+
+Treves at once departed to give this command, while Cologne, with
+clouded brow, turned from his appreciation of the view.
+
+"My Lord," he said, "you have requested the raising of a signal."
+
+"Yes," was the reply.
+
+"A signal which calls your men from the Lahn to the landing at
+Stolzenfels?"
+
+"Yes," repeated Mayence.
+
+"My Lord, I have kept my promise not only to the letter, but in the
+spirit as well. My troops are marching peaceably away, and will reach
+their barracks some time to-morrow. Although I exacted no promise from
+you, you implied there was a truce between us, and that your army, like
+my company, was not to be called into action of any kind."
+
+"Your understanding of our pact is concisely stated, even though my
+share in that pact remained unspoken. A truce, did you say? Is it not
+more than that? I hoped that my seconding of the nomination you proposed
+proved me in complete accord with your views."
+
+"I am not in effect your prisoner, then?"
+
+"Surely not; so contrary to the fact is such an assumption that I
+implore you to accept my hospitality. The signal, which I see is now at
+the mast-head, calls for one barge only, and that contains no soldier,
+merely a captain and his ten stout rowers, whom you may at this moment,
+if you turn round, see emerging from the mouth of the Lahn. I present to
+you, and to the Countess von Sayn, my Schloss of Martinsburg for as long
+as you may require it. It is well furnished, well provisioned, and
+attended to by a group of capable servants, who are at your command. I
+suggest that you cross in my barge, in company with the Countess and her
+kinsman, the Reverend Father. You agree, I take it, to convoy the lady
+safely to her temporary restraint in Pfalz. It was her own request, you
+remember."
+
+"I shall convoy her thither."
+
+"I am trusting to you entirely. The distance is but thirteen leagues,
+and can be accomplished easily in a day. Once on the other side of the
+river she may despatch her kinsman, or some more trustworthy messenger,
+to her own Castle, and thus summon the two waiting-women who will share
+her seclusion."
+
+"Is it your intention, my Lord, that her imprisonment shall--?"
+
+The Archbishop of Mayence held up his thin hand with a gesture of
+deprecation.
+
+"I use no word so harsh as 'imprisonment.' The penance, if you wish so
+to characterize it, is rather in the nature of a retreat, giving her
+needed opportunity for reflection, and, I hope, for regret."
+
+"Nevertheless, my Lord, your action seems to me unnecessarily severe.
+How long do you propose to detain her?"
+
+"I am pained to hear you term it severity, for her treatment will be of
+the mildest description. I thought you would understand that no other
+course was open to me. So far as I am personally concerned, she might
+have said what pleased her, with no adverse consequences, but she
+flouted the highest Court of the realm, and such contempt cannot be
+overlooked. As for the duration of her discipline, it will continue
+until the new Emperor is married, after which celebration the Countess
+is free to go whither she pleases. I shall myself call at Pfalz four
+days from now, that I may be satisfied the lady enjoys every comfort the
+Castle affords."
+
+"And also, perhaps, to be certain she is there immured."
+
+Mayence's thin lips indulged in a wry smile.
+
+"I need no such assurance," he said, "since my Lord of Cologne has
+pledged his word to see that the order of the Court is carried out."
+
+The conversation was here interrupted by the return of Treves. Already
+the great barge was half-way across the river. The surging, swift
+current swept it some distance below Stolzenfels, and the rowers, five a
+side, were working strenuously to force it into slower waters. Lord,
+lady, and monk crossed over to the mouth of the Lahn, and the barge
+returned immediately to convey across horses and escort.
+
+As the valley of the Lahn opened out it presented a picture of quiet
+sylvan beauty, apparently uninhabited by any living thing. The
+Archbishop of Cologne rose, and, shading his eyes from the still radiant
+sun, gazed intently up the little river. No floating craft was anywhere
+in sight. He turned to the captain.
+
+"Where is the flotilla from Mayence?" he asked.
+
+"Flotilla, my Lord?"
+
+"Yes; a hundred barges sailed down from Mayence in the darkness either
+last night or the night before, taking harbor here in the Lahn."
+
+"My Lord, even one barge, manned as this is, could not have journeyed
+such a distance in so short a time, and, indeed, for a flotilla to
+attempt the voyage, except in daylight, would have been impossible. No
+barges have come down the Rhine for months, and had they ventured the
+little Lahn is too shallow to harbor them."
+
+"Thank you, captain. I appear to be ignorant both of the history and the
+geography of this district. If I were to ask you and your stout rowers
+to take me down through the swiftest part of the river to Coblentz, how
+soon would we reach that town?"
+
+"Very speedily, my Lord, but I could undertake no such voyage except at
+the command of my master. He is not one to be disobeyed."
+
+"I quite credit that," said Cologne, sitting down again, the momentary
+desire to recall his marching troops, that had arisen when he saw the
+empty Lahn, dying down when he realized how effectually he had been
+outwitted.
+
+When the horses were brought across, Father Ambrose, at the request of
+the Countess, rode back to Sayn, and sent forward the two waiting-women
+whom she required, and so well did he accomplish his task that they
+arrived at Schloss Martinsburg before ten of the clock that night. At an
+early hour next morning the little procession began its journey up the
+Rhine, his Lordship and the Countess in front; the six horsemen bringing
+up the rear.
+
+The lady was in a mood of deep dejection; the regret which Mayence had
+anticipated as result of imprisonment already enveloped her. It was only
+too evident that the Archbishop of Cologne was bitterly disappointed,
+for he rode silently by her side making no attempt at conversation. They
+rested for several hours during midday, arriving at Caub before the red
+sun set, and now the Countess saw her pinnacled prison lying like an
+anchored ship in midstream.
+
+At Caub they were met by a bearded, truculent-looking ruffian, who
+introduced himself to the Archbishop as the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck.
+
+"You take us rather by surprise, Prince of Cologne," he said. "It is
+true that my overlord, the Archbishop of Mayence, called upon me several
+days ago while descending the Rhine in his ten-oared barge, and said
+there was a remote chance that a prisoner might shortly be given into my
+care. This had often happened before, for my Castle covers some gruesome
+cells that extend under the river,--cells with secret entrances not
+easily come by should any one search the Castle. It is sometimes
+convenient that a prisoner of State should be immured in one of them
+when the Archbishop has no room in his own Schloss Ehrenfels, so I paid
+little attention, and merely said the prisoner would receive a welcome
+on arrival. This morning there came one of the Archbishop's men from
+Stolzenfels, and both my wife and myself were astonished to learn that
+the prisoner would be here this evening under your escort, my Lord, and
+that it was a woman we were to harbor. Further, she was to be given the
+best suite of rooms we had in the Castle, and to be treated with all
+respect as a person of rank. Now, this apartment is in no state of
+readiness to receive such a lady, much less to house one of the dignity
+of your Lordship."
+
+"It does not matter for me," replied the Archbishop. "Being, as I may
+say, part soldier, the bed and board of an inn is quite acceptable upon
+occasion."
+
+"Oh no, your Highness, such a hardship is not to be thought of. The
+Castle of Gutenfels, standing above us, is comfortable as any on the
+Rhine. Its owner, the Count Palatine, is fellow-Elector of yours, and a
+very close friend of my overlord of Mayence, and I am told they vote
+together whenever my overlord needs his assistance."
+
+"That is true," commented Cologne.
+
+"My overlord sent word that anything I needed for the accommodation of
+her ladyship, he recognizing that my warning had been short, I should
+requisition from the Count Palatine, so at midday I went up to call upon
+him, not saying anything, of course, about State prisoners, male or
+female. The moment he heard that you, my Lord, were visiting this
+neighborhood, he begged me to tender to you, and to all your companions
+or following, the hospitality of his Castle for so long as you might
+honor him with your presence."
+
+"The Count Palatine is very gracious, and I shall be glad to accept
+shelter and refreshment."
+
+"He would have been here to greet your Highness, but I was unable to
+inform him at what hour you would arrive, so I waited for you myself,
+and will be pleased to guide you to the gates of Gutenfels."
+
+The conversation was interrupted by a great clatter of galloping horses,
+descending the hill with reckless speed, and at its foot swinging round
+into the main street of the town.
+
+"Ha!" cried the amateur jailer, "here is the Count Palatine himself;"
+and thus it is our fate to meet the fourth Elector of the Empire, who,
+added to the three Archbishops, formed a quorum so potent that it could
+elect or depose an Emperor at will.
+
+The cavalry of the Count Palatine was composed of fifty fully-armed men,
+and their gallop through the town roused the echoes of that ancient
+bailiwick, which, together with the Castle, belonged to the Palatinate.
+The powerful noble extended a cordial welcome to his fellow-Elector, and
+together they mounted to the Castle of Gutenfels.
+
+At dinner that night the Count Palatine proved an amiable host. Under
+his geniality the charming Countess von Sayn gradually recovered her
+lost good spirits, and forgot she was on her way to prison. After all,
+she was young, naturally joyous, and loved interesting company,
+especially that of the two Electors, who were well informed, and had
+seen much of the world. The Archbishop also shook off some of his
+somberness; indeed, all of it as the flagons flowed. Being asked his
+preference in wine, he replied that yesterday he had been regaled with a
+very excellent sample of Oberweseler.
+
+"That is from this neighborhood," replied the Count. "Oberwesel lies but
+a very short distance below, on the opposite side of the river, but we
+contend that our beverage of Caub is at least equal, and sometimes
+superior. You shall try a good vintage of both. How did you come by
+Oberweseler so far north as Stolzenfels?"
+
+"Simply because I was so forward, counting on the good nature of my
+friend of Treves, that I stipulated for Oberweseler."
+
+"Ah! I am anxious to know why."
+
+"For reasons of history, not of the palate. A fair English Princess was
+guest of Stolzenfels long ago, and this wine was served to her."
+
+"In that case," returned the Count, "I also shall fall back on history,
+and first order brimming tankards of old Caub. Really, Madam," he said,
+turning to Hildegunde, "we should have had Royalty here to meet you,
+instead of two old wine-bibbers like his Highness and myself."
+
+The girl looked startled at this mention of Royalty, bringing to her
+mind the turbulent events of yesterday. Nevertheless, with great
+composure, she smiled at her enthusiastic host.
+
+"Still," went on the Count, "if we are not royal ourselves, 'tis a
+degree we are empowered to confer, and, indeed, may be very shortly
+called upon to bestow. That is true from what I hear, is it not, your
+Highness?"
+
+"Yes," replied the Archbishop gravely.
+
+"Well, as I was about to say, this Castle belonged to the Falkensteins,
+and was sold by them to the Palatinate. Rumor, legend, history, call it
+what you like, asserts that the most beautiful woman ever born on the
+Rhine was Countess Beatrice of Falkenstein. But when I drink to the
+toast I am about to offer I shall, Madam," he smiled at Hildegunde,
+"assert that the legend no longer holds, a contention I am prepared to
+maintain by mortal combat. Know then that the Earl of Cornwall, who was
+elected King of Germany in 1257, met Beatrice of Falkenstein in this
+Castle. The meeting was brought about by the Electors themselves, who,
+stupid matchmakers, attempted to coerce each into a marriage with the
+other. Beatrice refused to marry a foreigner.
+
+"The Chronicles are a little vague about the most interesting part of
+the negotiations, but minutely plain about the outcome. In some manner
+the Earl and Beatrice met, and he became instantly enamored of her. This
+is the portion so deplorably slurred by these old monkish writers. I
+need hardly tell you that the Earl himself succeeded where the seven
+Electors failed. Beatrice became Cornwall's wife and Queen of Germany,
+and they lived happily ever afterwards.
+
+"I give you the toast!" cried the chivalrous Count Palatine, rising. "To
+the cherished memory of the Royal lovers of Gutenfels!"
+
+The Archbishop's eyes twinkled as he looked across the table at
+Hildegunde.
+
+"This seems to be a time of Royal betrothals," he said, raising his
+flagon.
+
+"'Seems' is the right word, Guardian," replied the Countess.
+
+Then she sipped the ancient wine of Caub.
+
+Next morning Hildegunde was early afoot. Notwithstanding her trouble of
+mind, she had slept well, and awakened with the birds, so great is the
+influence of youth and health. During her last conscious moments the
+night before, as she lay in the stately bed of the most noble room the
+Castle contained, she bitterly accused herself for the disastrous
+failure of the previous day. The Archbishop of Cologne had given her
+good counsel that was not followed, and his disappointment with the
+result, generously as he endeavored to conceal it, was doubtless the
+deeper because undiscussed. Thinking of coming captivity, a dream of
+grim Pfalz was expected, but instead the girl's spirit wandered through
+the sweet seclusion of Nonnenwerth, living again that happy, earlier
+time, free from politics and the tramp of armed men.
+
+In the morning the porter, at her behest, withdrew bolt, bar, and chain,
+allowing exit into the fresh, cool air, and skirting the Castle, she
+arrived at a broad terrace which fronted it. A fleecy mist extending
+from shore to shore concealed the waters of the Rhine, and partially
+obliterated the little village of Caub at the foot of the hill. Where
+she stood the air was crystal clear, and she seemed to be looking out on
+a broad snow-field of purest white. Beyond Caub its surface was pierced
+by the dozen sharp pinnacles of her future prison, looking like a bed of
+spikes, upon which one might imagine a giant martyr impaled by the
+verdict of a cruel Archbishop.
+
+Gazing upon this nightmare Castle, whose tusks alone were revealed, the
+girl formulated the resolution but faintly suggested the night before.
+On her release should ensue an abandonment of the world, and the
+adoption of a nun's veil in the convent opposite Drachenfels, an island
+exchanged for an island; turmoil for peace.
+
+At breakfast she met again the jovial Count Palatine, and her more sober
+guardian, who both complimented her on the results of her beauty rest,
+the one with great gallantry, the other with more reserve, as befitted a
+Churchman. The Archbishop seemed old and haggard in the morning light,
+and it was not difficult to guess that no beauty sleep had soothed his
+pillow. It wrung the girl's heart to look at him, and again she accused
+herself for lack of all tact and discretion, wishing that her guardian
+took his disappointment more vengefully, setting her to some detested
+task that she might willingly perform.
+
+The hospitable Count, eager that they should stop at least another night
+under his roof, pressed his invitation upon them, and the Archbishop
+gave a tacit consent.
+
+"If the Countess is not too tired," said Cologne, "I propose that she
+accompany me on a little journey I have in view farther up the river. We
+will return here in the evening."
+
+"I should be delighted," cried Hildegunde, "for all sense of fatigue has
+been swept away by a most restful night."
+
+The good-natured Count left them to their own devices, and shortly
+afterwards guardian and ward rode together down the steep declivity to
+the river. The mist was already driven away, except a wisp here and
+there clinging to the gray surface of the water, trailing along as if
+drawn by the current, for the air was motionless, and there was promise
+of a sultry day. They proceeded in silence until a bend in the Rhine
+shut Caub and its sinister water-prison out of sight, and then it was
+the girl who spoke.
+
+"Guardian," she said, "have I offended you beyond forgiveness?"
+
+A gentle smile came to his lips as he gazed upon her with affection.
+
+"You have not offended me at all, my dear," he said, "but I am grieved
+at thwarting circumstance."
+
+"I have been thinking over circumstances too, and hold myself solely to
+blame for their baffling opposition. I will submit without demur to
+whatever length of imprisonment may please, and, if possible, soften the
+Archbishop of Mayence. After my release I shall ask your consent that I
+may forthwith join the Sisterhood at Nonnenwerth. I wish to divide my
+wealth equally between yourself and the convent."
+
+The Archbishop shook his head.
+
+"I could not accept such donation."
+
+"Why not? The former Archbishop of Cologne accepted Linz from my
+ancestress Matilda."
+
+"That was intended to be but a temporary loan."
+
+"Well; call my benefaction temporary if you like, to be kept until I
+call for it, but meanwhile to be used at your discretion."
+
+"It is quite impossible," said the Archbishop firmly.
+
+"Does that mean you will not allow me to adopt the religious life?"
+
+"It means, my child, that I should not feel justified in permitting this
+renunciation of the world until you knew more of what you were giving
+up."
+
+"I know enough already."
+
+"You think so, but your experience of it is too recent for us to expect
+unbiased judgment this morning. I should insist on a year, at least, and
+preferably two years, part of that time to be spent in Frankfort and in
+Cologne. I anticipate a great improvement in Frankfort when the new
+Emperor comes to the throne. If at the end of two years you are still of
+the same mind, I shall offer no further opposition."
+
+"I shall never change my intention."
+
+"Perhaps not. I am told that the determination of a woman is
+irrevocable, so a little delay does not much matter. Meanwhile, another
+problem passes my comprehension. I have thought and thought about it,
+and am convinced there is a misunderstanding somewhere, which possibly
+will be cleared away too late. I am quite certain that Father Ambrose
+did not meet Prince Roland in Frankfort."
+
+"Do you, then, dispute the word of Father Ambrose?" asked the girl,
+quickly checking the accent of indignation that arose in her voice, for
+humility was to be her rôle ever after.
+
+"Father Ambrose is at once both the gentlest and most truthful of men.
+He has undoubtedly seen somebody rob a merchant in Frankfort. He has
+undoubtedly been imprisoned among wine-casks; but that this thief and
+this jailer was Roland is incredible to me who know the young man, and
+physically impossible, for Prince Roland at that time was himself a
+prisoner, as, indeed, he is to-day. Prince Roland cannot be liberated
+from Ehrenfels without an order signed by Mayence, Treves, and myself. I
+alone have not the power to encompass his freedom, and Mayence is
+equally powerless although he is owner of the Castle. Some scoundrel is
+walking the streets of Frankfort pretending to be Roland."
+
+"In that case, my Lord, he would not deny his identity when accosted on
+the bridge."
+
+"A very clever point, my dear, but it does not overcome my difficulty.
+There might be a dozen reasons why the rascal would not incriminate
+himself to any stranger who thus took him by surprise. However, it is
+useless to argue the question, for I persuade you as little as you
+persuade me. The practical thing is to fathom the misunderstanding, and
+remove it. Will you assist me in this?"
+
+"Willingly, if I can, Guardian."
+
+"Very well. I must first inform you that your imprisonment is likely to
+be very short. You are to know that the harmony supposed to exist in
+Stolzenfels is largely mythical: I left behind me the seeds of discord.
+I proposed that the glum niece of Treves, whom you met at our historic
+lunch, should be the future Empress. This nomination was seconded by
+Mayence himself, and received with unconcealed joy by my brother of
+Treves."
+
+"Then for once the Court was unanimous? I think your choice an admirable
+one."
+
+"The Archbishop of Mayence does not agree with you, my dear."
+
+"Then why did he second your nomination?"
+
+"Because he is so much more clever than Treves, who a few minutes later
+would have been the seconder."
+
+"Why should his Lordship of Mayence think one thing and act another?"
+
+"Why is he always doing it? No one can guess what Mayence really thinks,
+if he is judged by what he says. Were Treves' niece to become Empress,
+her uncle would speedily realize his power, and Mayence would lose his
+leadership. Could Mayence to-day secretly promote you to the position of
+Empress, he would gladly do so."
+
+"But won't he at once look for some one else?"
+
+"Certainly. That choice is now occupying his mind. His seconding of the
+nomination was merely a ruse to gain time, but if he proposes any one
+else he will find both Treves and myself against him. His only hope of
+circumventing the ambition of Treves is that something may happen,
+causing you to change your mind concerning Prince Roland."
+
+"You forget, Guardian," protested the girl, "that his Lordship of
+Mayence said he would not permit me to marry Prince Roland after the way
+I had spoken and acted."
+
+"He said that, my dear, under the influence of great resentment against
+you, but Mayence never allows resentment or any other feeling to stand
+in the way of his own interests. If you wrote him a contrite letter
+regretting your defiance of him, and expressing your willingness to bow
+to his wishes, I am very sure he would welcome the communication as a
+happy solution of the quandary in which he finds himself."
+
+"You wish me to do this, Guardian?" she asked wistfully.
+
+"Not until you are satisfied that Prince Roland is innocent of the
+charges you make against him."
+
+"How can I receive such assurance?"
+
+"Ah, now you come to the object of this apparently purposeless journey.
+I have had much experience in the world you are so anxious to renounce,
+and although I have seen the wicked prosper for a time, yet my faith has
+never been shaken in an overruling Providence, and what happened last
+night set me thinking so deeply that daylight stole in upon my
+meditations."
+
+"Oh, my poor Guardian, I knew you had not slept, and all because of a
+worthless creature like myself, and a wicked creature, too, for I did
+not see the hand of Providence so visible to you."
+
+"Surely, my dear, a moment's thought would reveal it to you. Remember
+how we came almost to the door of the prison, when a temporary reprieve
+was handed to us by that coarse reprobate, the Pfalzgraf. Your suite of
+rooms was not yet ready, and thus we found bestowed upon us another free
+day; a day of untrammeled liberty, quite unlooked for. Now, much may be
+done in a day. An Empire has been lost and won within a few hours. With
+this gift came a revelation. That wine-blotched Pfalzgraf would have
+shown no consideration for you: to him a prisoner is a prisoner, to be
+cast anywhere, lock the door, and have done, but a wholesome fear had
+been instilled into him by his overlord. The Archbishop of Mayence had
+taken thought for your comfort, ordering that the best rooms in the
+Castle should be placed at your disposal. Hence, after all that had
+passed, his Lordship felt no malignancy against you, and I dare say
+would have been glad to rescind the order for your imprisonment, were it
+not that he would never admit defeat."
+
+"Oh, Guardian, what an imagination is yours! I am sure his Lordship of
+Mayence will never forgive me."
+
+"His Lordship of Mayence, my dear, is in a dilemma from which no one
+except yourself can extricate him."
+
+"His own cleverness will extricate him."
+
+"Perhaps. Still, I'm not troubling about him. My thoughts are much too
+selfish for that. I wish you to lift me from _my_ uncertainty."
+
+"You mean about Prince Roland? I shall do whatever you ask of me."
+
+"I place no command, but I proffer a suggestion."
+
+"It shall be a command, nevertheless."
+
+"We have left your own prison far behind, and are approaching that of
+Prince Roland. To the door of that detaining Castle I propose to lead
+you. I am forbidden by my compact with the other Electors to see Prince
+Roland or to hold any communication with him. The custodian of the
+Castle, who knows me well, will not refuse any request I make, even if I
+ask to see the young man himself. He will therefore not hesitate to
+admit you when I require him to do so. To take away any taint of
+surreptitiousness about my action, interfering, as one might say, with
+another man's house, I shall this evening write to the Archbishop of
+Mayence, tell him exactly what I have done, and why."
+
+"Do you intend, then, that I should see Prince Roland and talk with
+him?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"My dear Guardian!" cried the girl, her face flushing red, "what on
+earth can I say to him? How am I to excuse my intrusion?"
+
+"A prisoner, I fancy, does not resent intrusion, especially if the
+intruder is--" The old man smiled as he looked at the girl, whose blush
+grew deeper and deeper; then, seeing her confusion, he added: "There are
+many things to say. Introduce yourself as the ward of his Lordship of
+Cologne; reveal that your guardian has confided to you that Prince
+Roland is to be the future Emperor; ask for some assurance from him that
+the property descending to you from your ancestors shall not be
+molested; or perhaps, better still, with the same introduction, tell him
+the story of Father Ambrose. Add that this has disquieted you: demand
+the truth, hearken to what the youth says for himself, thank him, and
+withdraw. It needs no long conversation, though I am prepared to hear
+that he wished to lengthen your stay. I am certain that five minutes
+face to face with him will completely overturn all Father Ambrose has
+said to his disparagement, and a few simple words from him will probably
+dispel the whole mystery. If someone is personating him in Frankfort it
+is more than likely he knows who it is."
+
+They traveled a generous furlong together in silence, the girl's head
+bowed and her brow troubled. At last, as if with an effort, she cleared
+doubt away, and raised her head.
+
+"I will do it," she said decisively.
+
+The Archbishop heaved a deep sigh of relief. He knew now he was out of
+the wood.
+
+"Is this Assmannshausen we are coming to?" she asked, as if to hint that
+the subject on which they had talked so earnestly was finally done with.
+
+"No; this is Lorch, and that is the Castle of Nollich standing above
+it."
+
+"I hope," said the girl, with a sigh of weariness, "that no English
+Princess about to marry an Emperor lodged there, or no Englishman who
+was to become an Emperor--"
+
+The Archbishop interrupted the plaint with a hearty laugh, the first he
+had enjoyed for several days.
+
+"The English seem an interfering race," she went on. "I wish they would
+attend to their own affairs."
+
+"Nollich is uncontaminated," said the Archbishop, "though in olden days
+a reckless knight on horseback rode up to secure his lady-love, and I
+believe rode down again with her, and his route is still called the
+Devil's Ladder."
+
+"Did the marriage turn out so badly?"
+
+"No; I believe they lived happily ever after; but the ascent was so
+cliff-like that mountain sprites are supposed to have given their
+assistance."
+
+"How much farther is Assmannshausen?"
+
+"Less than two leagues. We will stop there and refresh ourselves. Are
+you tired?"
+
+"Oh no; not in the least. I merely wish the ordeal was past."
+
+"You are a brave girl, Hildegunde."
+
+"I am anything but that, Guardian. Still, do not fear I shall flinch."
+
+After partaking of the midday meal at Assmannshausen, the Countess
+proposed that they should leave their horses in the stable, and walk the
+short third of a league to Ehrenfels, and to this her guardian agreed.
+
+He found more difficulty with the custodian than had been expected. The
+man objected, trembling. Without a written order from his master he dare
+not allow any one to visit the prisoner. He would be delighted to oblige
+his Lordship of Cologne, but he was merely a poor wretch who had no
+option in the matter.
+
+"Very well," said Cologne. "I have just come from your master, who is
+stopping with my brother Treves at Stolzenfels. If you persist I must
+then request lodgings from you until such time as a speedy messenger can
+bring your master hither. This journey may cause him great
+inconvenience, and should such be the case, I fear you will fare ill
+with him."
+
+"That may be, my Lord, but I must do my duty."
+
+"Are you sure you have already done it on all occasions?" asked the
+Archbishop severely.
+
+The man's face became ghastly in its pallor.
+
+"I don't know what you mean, my Lord."
+
+"Then I will quickly tell you what I mean. It is rumored that Prince
+Roland has been seen on the streets of Frankfort."
+
+"How--how could that be, my Lord?"
+
+"That is exactly what I wish to know. I believe the Prince is not in
+your custody."
+
+"I assure you, my Lord," said the now thoroughly frightened man, "that
+his Highness is in his room."
+
+"Very well; then conduct this lady thither. Although she does not know
+the Prince, a relative of hers who does asserts that he met his Highness
+in Frankfort. I said this was impossible if you had done that duty you
+prate so much about. The lady merely wishes to ask him for some
+explanation of this affair, so make your choice. Shall she go up with
+you now, or must I send for the other two Archbishops?"
+
+There was but one comforting phrase in this remark, namely, that the
+lady did not know the Prince. Still, it was a dreadful risk, yet the
+custodian hesitated no longer. He took down a bunch of keys, and asked
+the Countess to follow him. Ascending the stair, he unlocked the door,
+and stood aside for the Countess to pass through.
+
+Some one with wildly tousled hair sat sprawling in a chair; arms on the
+table, and head sunk forward down upon them. A full tankard of wine
+within his reach, and a flagon had been overset, sluicing the table with
+its contents, which still fell drip, drip, drip, to the floor.
+
+The young man raised his head, aroused by the harsh unlocking of the
+door, and with the crash it made as his father flung it hard against the
+stone wall for the purpose of giving him warning, but the youth was in
+no condition to profit by this thoughtfulness, nor to understand the
+signals his father made from behind the frightened girl. He clutched
+wildly at the overturned flagon, and with an oath cried:
+
+"Bring me more wine, you old--"
+
+Staggering to his feet, he threw the flagon wide, then slipped on the
+spilled wine and fell heavily to the floor, roaring defiance at the
+world.
+
+The panic-stricken girl shrank back, crying to the jailer:
+
+"Let me out! Close the door quickly, and lock it!" an order obeyed with
+alacrity.
+
+When Hildegunde emerged to the court her guardian asked no question. The
+horror in her face told all.
+
+"I am sorry, my Lord," said the cringing custodian, "but his Highness is
+drunk."
+
+"Does this--does this happen often?"
+
+"Alas! yes, my Lord."
+
+"Poor lad, poor lad! The sins of the fathers shall be visited on the
+children to the third and fourth generation. Hildegunde, forgive me. Let
+us away and forget it all."
+
+The next morning the Countess began her imprisonment in Pfalz.
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS' MEETING
+
+
+Roland slept until the sun was about an hour high over the western
+hills. He found the captain waiting patiently for him to awake, and then
+that useful martinet instantly set his crew at tying up the bales which
+had been torn open, placing them once more in the hold. He was about to
+do the same with the weapons captured from Furstenberg, but Greusel
+stepped forward, and asked him to put pikes, battle-axes, and the long
+swords into the cabin.
+
+Roland nodded his approval, saying:
+
+"They may prove useful instruments in case of an attack on the barge.
+Our own swords are just a trifle short for adding interest to an
+assault."
+
+When once more the hatches were down, and the deck clear, supper was
+served. Shortly after sunset, Roland told the captain to cast off,
+directing him to keep to the eastern shore, passing between what might
+be called the marine Castle of Pfalz and the village of Caub, with the
+strictest silence he could enjoin upon his crew. Pfalz stands upon a
+rock in the Rhine, a short distance up the river from Caub, while above
+that village on the hill behind are situated the strong, square towers
+of Gutenfels.
+
+"Don't you intend to pay a call upon Pfalzgrafenstein?" asked Ebearhard.
+"It is notoriously the most pestilent robber's nest between Mayence and
+Cologne."
+
+"No," said Roland. "On this occasion Pfalz shall escape. You see,
+Ebearhard, on our first trip down the Rhine it is not my intention to
+fight if I can avoid conflict. The plan which proved successful with the
+four castles we have visited is impossible so far as Pfalz is concerned.
+If we attempted to enter this waterschloss by stealth, we would be
+discovered by those levying contributions on the barge. There is no
+cover to conceal us, so I shall give Pfalz the go-by, and also
+Gutenfels, because the latter is not a robber castle, but is owned by
+the Count Palatine, a true gentleman and no thief. The next object of
+our attentions will be Schonburg, on the western side of the river, near
+Oberwesel."
+
+As the grotesque, hexagonal bulk of the Pfalz, with its numerous jutting
+corners and turrets, and over all the pentagonal tower, appeared dimly
+in the center of the Rhine, under the clear stars, the captain ordered
+his men to lie flat on the deck, himself following their example. Roland
+and his company were already seated in the cabin, and the great barge,
+lying so low in the water as to be almost invisible with its black
+paint, floated noiseless as a dream down the swift current.
+
+Without the slightest warning came a shock, and every man on the lockers
+was flung to the floor of the cabin, with cries of dismay, for too well
+they recognized the preliminary to their disasters of the night before.
+Roland sprang up on deck, and found the boat swinging round broadside to
+the current, which had swept it so near to the Castle that at first it
+seemed to have struck against one of the outlying rocks. The fantastic
+form of the Pfalz hung over them, looking like some weird building seen
+in a nightmare, its sharp, pointed pinnacles outlined against the
+starlit sky.
+
+The captain, muttering sonorous German oaths, ordered his men to the
+sweeps, but Roland saw at once that they were too close to the ledge of
+rock for any chance of escape. He hurried down into the cabin.
+
+"Every man his sword, and follow me as silently as possible!"
+
+Up on deck again, Roland said to the captain:
+
+"Let your rowers help the chain to bring the barge alongside, but when
+the robbers appear, pretend to be getting away, although you must
+instantly obey them when ordered to cease your efforts."
+
+The prow of the boat ground against the solid rock, jammed in between
+the stout chain and the low cliff. Roland was the first to spring
+ashore, and the rest nimbly followed him. With every motion of the barge
+the bell inside the Castle rang, and now they could hear the bestirring
+of the garrison, and clashing of metal, although the single door of the
+Pfalz had not yet been opened. This door stood six feet above the
+plateau of rock, and could be entered or quitted only by means of a
+ladder.
+
+Roland led his men to a place of effective concealment along the western
+wall of the Pfalz, only just in time, for as he peered round the corner,
+his men standing back against the wall to the rear, he saw the flash of
+torches from the now-open door, and the placing of a stout ladder at a
+steep angle between the threshold and the floor of rock below. Most of
+the garrison, however, did not wait for this convenience, but leaped
+impetuously from doorway to rock. Others slid down the ladder, and all
+rushed headlong towards the barge, which made its presence known by the
+grinding of its side against the rock, and also by the despairing orders
+of the captain, and the hurrying footsteps of his men on deck.
+
+More leisurely down the ladder came two officers, followed by one whom
+Roland recognized as lord of the Castle, Pfalzgraf Hermann von Stahleck,
+a namesake and relative of the Laughing Baron of Furstenberg, and quite
+as ruthless a robber as he.
+
+"Cease your efforts at the prow," shouted the Pfalzgraf to the captain
+when he had descended the ladder, "and concentrate your force at the
+stern, swinging your boat round broadside on to the landing."
+
+The captain obeyed, and presently the boat lay in such position as the
+nobleman desired. Now there was a great commotion as, at a word from the
+Pfalzgraf, the garrison fell on the barge, and began to wrench off the
+hatches, a task which they well knew how to perform.
+
+"Follow as quietly as possible," whispered Roland to the two lieutenants
+behind him, who, under their breath, passed on word to the men. Roland
+ran nimbly up the ladder. No guard was set where none had ever been
+needed before. Greusel was the last to ascend, then the ladder was
+pulled up, and the massive door swung shut, bolted and chained.
+
+The invaders found torches stuck here and there along the wall, and the
+picturesque courtyard, with its irregular balconies and stairways,
+seemed, in the flickering light, more spacious than was actually the
+case.
+
+Although for the moment in safety, Roland experienced a sense of
+imprisonment as he gazed round the narrow limits of this enclosure. He
+had endeavored to count the number of men who followed the Pfalzgraf,
+but their impetuosity in seeking the barge prevented an accurate
+estimate, although he knew there were more than double the force that
+obeyed him, and therefore it would be suicidal to lead his untrained
+coterie against the seasoned warriors of Stahleck.
+
+He ordered Greusel to take with him six men, and search the Castle,
+bringing into the courtyard whomsoever they might find; also to discover
+whether any window existed that looked out upon the eastern
+landing-place. The remainder of his men he grouped at the door, under
+command of Ebearhard.
+
+"I fear, Ebearhard," he said, "that I boasted prematurely in thinking
+good luck would attend me now that I lead what appears to be an obedient
+following. Here we are in a trap, and unless we can escape through
+rat-holes, I admit that I fail to see for the moment how we are to get
+safely afloat again."
+
+"We are in better fettle than the Pfalzgraf and his men outside,"
+returned Ebearhard, "because this fortress is doubtless well supplied
+with provisions, and is considered impregnable, while the Pfalzgraf's
+impetuous chaps, who did not know enough to stay in comfortable quarters
+when they had them, are without shelter and without food. You have
+certainly done the best you could in the circumstances, and for those
+circumstances you are free of blame, since, not being a wizard, you
+could scarcely know of the chain."
+
+"Indeed, Ebearhard, it is just in that respect I blame myself,
+neglecting your own good example, who discovered the chain at
+Furstenberg. This trap is a new invention, and, so far as I know, has
+never before been attempted on the Rhine. I might have remembered that
+Stahleck here is cousin to the Red Margrave, who likely has told him of
+the device. Indeed, the chances are that Stahleck himself was the
+contriver of the chain, for he seems a man of much more craft and
+intelligence than that huge, laughing animal farther up the river. I
+should have ordered the captain to tie up against the eastern bank, and
+then sent some men in a small boat to learn if the way was clear. No,
+Ebearhard, I blame myself for this muddle, and, through anxiety to pass
+the Pfalz, I have landed myself and my men within its walls. I must pace
+this courtyard for a time, and ponder what next to do. Go you,
+Ebearhard, with the men to the door. Allow no talking or noise. Listen
+intently, and report to me if you hear anything. You see, Ebearhard, the
+devil of it is that Stahleck, like his cousin with Cologne, swears
+allegiance to the Archbishop of Mayence, and here am I, after destroying
+the fief of one Archbishop, securely snared in the fief of another. I
+fear their Lordships' next meeting with me will not pass off so amicably
+as did the last."
+
+"_Next_ meeting?" cried Ebearhard in astonishment; "have you ever met
+the Archbishops?"
+
+Roland gasped, realizing that his absorption in one subject had nearly
+caused him to betray his momentous secret.
+
+"Ah, I remember," continued Ebearhard. "It was on account of the
+Archbishop's presence in Bonn that you returned from that town when
+first you journeyed up the Rhine."
+
+"Yes," said Roland, with relief.
+
+"It seems to me," went on Ebearhard consolingly, "that even if we may
+not leave the Castle, at least the Pfalzgraf cannot penetrate into the
+stronghold, therefore we are safe enough."
+
+"Not so, Ebearhard," replied his chief. "The Pfalzgraf has the barge,
+remember, and it can carry his whole force to Caub or elsewhere,
+returning with ample provisions and siege instruments that will batter
+in the door despite all we can do. Nevertheless, let us keep up our
+hearts. Get you to the gate, Ebearhard. I must have time to think before
+Greusel returns."
+
+Alone, with bent head, he paced back and forwards across the courtyard
+under the wavering light of the torches. Very speedily he concluded that
+no plan could be formed until Greusel made his report regarding the
+intricacies of the Castle.
+
+"My luck is against me! My luck is against me!" he said aloud to
+himself, as if the sound of his own voice might suggest some way out of
+the difficulty.
+
+"Luck always turns against a thief and a marauder," said a sweet and
+clear voice behind him; "and how can it be otherwise, when the
+gallows-tree stands at the end of his journey."
+
+Roland stopped in his walk, and turned abruptly towards the sound. He
+saw standing there, just descended from the stairway at her back, one
+quite evidently a lady; not more than eighteen, perhaps, but
+nevertheless with a flash of defiance in her somber eyes, which were
+bent fearlessly upon him. The two tirewomen accompanying her shrank
+timorously to the background, palpably panic-stricken, and ready to
+faint with fright.
+
+"Ah, Madam, how came you here?" cried Roland, ignoring her insulting
+words, too much surprised by her beauty of face and form to think of
+aught else.
+
+"I came here, because your bully upstairs hammered at my door and bade
+me open, which I would not do, defying him to break it down if he had
+the power. It so happened that he possessed the power, and used it."
+
+"I deeply regret that you should have been disturbed, Madam. My
+lieutenant erred through over-zeal, and I ask your pardon for the
+offense."
+
+The girl laughed.
+
+"Why, sir, you are the politest of pirates, but, indeed, your lieutenant
+seems a harsh man. Without even removing his bonnet, he commanded me to
+betake myself to the courtyard and report to his chief, which obediently
+I have done."
+
+"I did not guess that women inhabited this robber's nest. My lieutenant
+is searching for men in hiding, so please accept my assurance that you
+will suffer no further annoyance. You are surely not alone in this
+house?"
+
+"Oh no. Her ladyship the Pfalzgraf's wife, and her entourage, have
+sought shelter in another part of the Castle, and presently they will
+all troop down here, prisoners to your most ungallant subordinate; that
+is, should their doors prove no stouter than mine, or if your furious
+men have not dislocated their shoulders."
+
+"How came you to be absent from her ladyship's party?"
+
+"Because, urbane pirate captain, I am an unwilling prisoner in this
+stronghold, being an obstreperous person, who refused to obey my
+superiors; those set in authority over me. Consequently am I immured in
+this dismal dungeon of the water-rats, and thus, youthful pirate, I
+welcome even so red-handed an outlaw as yourself."
+
+"Then are we in like case, my lady of midnight beauty, for I, too, am a
+prisoner in Pfalzgrafenstein, and, when you came, was cogitating some
+plan of escape. Therefore, rebellious maiden, the sword of this
+red-handed freebooter is most completely at your service," and the
+speaker once more doffed his bonnet with a gallant sweep that caused the
+plume to kiss the flagstones at his feet, and he bowed low to the brave
+girl who had shown no fear of him.
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+MY LADY SCATTERS THE FREEBOOTERS AND CAPTURES THEIR CHIEF
+
+
+Greusel appeared on one of the balconies, and called down to his leader.
+
+"There are," he said, "a number of women in the western rooms of the
+Castle. They have bolted their doors, but tell me that the rooms contain
+the Pfalzgravine von Stahleck and other noble ladies, with their
+tirewomen. What am I to do?"
+
+"Place a guard in the corridor, Greusel, to make sure that these ladies
+communicate with no one outside the fortress."
+
+"I thought it well," explained Greusel, "not to break in the doors
+without definite instructions from you to that effect."
+
+"Quite right. Tell the ladies we will not molest them."
+
+"You molested me!" cried the handsome girl in the courtyard, her dark
+eyes flashing in the glow of the torches.
+
+"This person," said the unemotional Greusel, betraying no eye for
+beauty, "called us every uncomplimentary name she could think of. We
+were the scum of the earth, according to her account."
+
+The girl laughed scornfully.
+
+"But I would not have dislodged her," continued Greusel, unperturbed,
+"had she not said there was a window in her room, which is on the
+eastern side of the Castle, overlooking the operations of the Pfalzgraf
+on the barge, and she proclaimed her determination to warn Stahleck that
+his Castle was filled with freebooters, as soon as she could make her
+voice heard above the din at the landing. Therefore I broke in the door,
+ordering her and the tirewomen to descend to the courtyard. On examining
+her room I find there is no such window as she described, and she could
+not communicate with the Count, so I advise that you send her back
+again."
+
+Once more the young lady laughed, and exclaimed:
+
+"I could not break down the door for myself, so compelled you and your
+clods to do it. I am immured here; a reluctant captive. You will not
+have me sent back to my cell, I hope, Commander?"
+
+"No; if you are really my fellow-prisoner, and not one of the enemy."
+
+"She may be deluding you also," warned Greusel.
+
+"I will take the risk of that," replied Roland, smiling at the girl, who
+smiled back at him. She had a will of her own, but seemed sensitively
+responsive to fair treatment.
+
+"Are there any men-servants?" asked Roland.
+
+"Only three, and they are tottering with age," replied Greusel, "more
+frightened than the women themselves. Nevertheless, one of the retainers
+is important, being, as he told me, keeper of the treasure-house. I
+relieved him of his keys, and find that the strong-room is well supplied
+with bags of gold. 'Twill be the richest haul yet, excepting our two
+barrels of coin from--"
+
+"Hush, hush!" cried Roland. "Mention no names. Did you discover any
+other exit excepting the door by which we entered?"
+
+"No; but at the northern end there is a window through which a man of
+ordinary size might pass. It is, however, high above the rocks, and I
+discern floating in the tide a fleet of small boats."
+
+"Ah," said Roland, "that is important."
+
+"Taken in conjunction with the gold, most amiable robber," suggested the
+girl.
+
+"Taken in conjunction with the gold," repeated Roland, smiling again;
+and adding, "Taken also in conjunction with a lady who, if I understand
+her, wishes to escape from the Pfalz."
+
+"You are right," agreed the young girl archly. "Do I receive a share of
+the money?"
+
+"Yes; if you join our band."
+
+"Oh!" she cried, with a pout of feigned disappointment, "I thought you
+had already accepted me as a member. And what am I to call my new
+overlord, who acquires wealth so successfully that he does not wish the
+amount mentioned, or the place from which it was taken specified?"
+
+"My name is Roland. Will you consent to a fair exchange?"
+
+"I am called Hilda by my friends."
+
+"Then, Hilda," said the young man, looking at her with admiration, "I
+welcome you as one of my lieutenants."
+
+"One, indeed!" she exclaimed, with affected indignation. "I shall be
+first lieutenant or nothing."
+
+"Up to this moment Herr Joseph Greusel, who so unceremoniously made your
+acquaintance, has been my chief lieutenant, but I willingly depose him,
+and give you his place."
+
+"Do you hear that, Joseph?" Hilda called up to the man leaning over the
+balcony.
+
+The deposed one made a grimace, but no reply.
+
+"Set your guard, and come down, Greusel."
+
+Presently Greusel appeared in the courtyard, followed by four men.
+
+"I have left two on guard," he said.
+
+"Right. What have you done with the servants?"
+
+"Tied them up in a hard knot. I found a loft full of ropes."
+
+"Right again. Take your four men, and stand guard at the door. Send
+Ebearhard to me."
+
+Before Ebearhard arrived, Roland turned to the girl.
+
+"Retire to your room," he said, "and bid your women gather together
+whatever you wish to carry with you."
+
+"I'd rather stay where I am," protested Hilda, "being anxious to hear
+what your plans are. I confess I don't know how you can emerge from this
+Castle in safety."
+
+"Fräulein Hilda, the first duty of a chief lieutenant is obedience."
+
+"Refusing that, what will you do?"
+
+"I shall call two of my men, cause you to be transported to your room,
+and order them to see that you do not leave it again."
+
+"Remaining here when you have departed?"
+
+"That, of course."
+
+"You will take the gold, however."
+
+"Certainly; the gold obeys me; doing what I ask of it."
+
+For a few moments the girl stood there, gazing defiance at him, but
+although a slight smile hovered about his lips, she realized in some
+subtle way--woman's intuition, perhaps--that he meant what he said. Her
+eyes lowered, and an expression of pique came into her pretty face; then
+she breathed a long sigh.
+
+"I shall go to my room," she said very quietly.
+
+"I will call upon you the moment I have given some instructions to my
+third lieutenant."
+
+"You need not trouble," she replied haughtily, speaking, however, as
+mildly as himself. "I remain a prisoner of the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck,
+who, though a distinguished pillager like yourself, nevertheless
+possesses some instincts of a gentleman."
+
+With that, the young woman retired slowly up the stairway, and
+disappeared, followed by her two servants.
+
+"Ebearhard," said Roland, when that official appeared, "Greusel has
+discovered a window to the north through which yourself and a number of
+your men can get down to the rocks with the aid of a cord, and he tells
+me there is a loft full of ropes. A flotilla of boats is tied up at the
+lower end of the Castle. He has visited the treasury, and finds it well
+supplied with bags of coin. I intend to effect a junction between those
+bags and that flotilla. Our position here is quite untenable, for there
+is probably some secret entrance to this Castle that we know nothing of.
+There are also a number of women within whom we cannot coerce, and must
+not starve. Truth to tell, I fear them more than I do the ruffians
+outside. Have any of the men-at-arms discovered that we pulled up the
+ladder and closed the door?"
+
+"I think not, for in such case they would return from their pillages as
+quickly as did the Red Margrave when he found his house was ablaze. My
+opinion is that they are making a clean job of looting the barge."
+
+"If that is so, our barrels of gold are gone, rendering it the more
+necessary that we should carry away every kreuzer our friend Stahleck
+possesses. Call, therefore, every man except one from the door. Greusel
+has the keys, and will lead you to the treasury. Hoist the bags to the
+north window. While your men are doing this, rive a stout rope so that
+you may all speedily descend to the rocks, except as many as are
+necessary to lower the bags. When this is accomplished, Greusel is to
+report to me from the balcony, and then descend, taking with him the man
+on guard at the door. Apportion men and bags in all the boats but one.
+That one I shall take charge of. Put Greusel in command of the flotilla,
+and tell him to convey his fleet as quietly as possible to the eastern
+shore; then paddle up in slack water until he is, say, a third of a
+league above Pfalz. There he must await my skiff. You will stand by that
+skiff until I join you. I shall likely be accompanied by three women, so
+retain the largest and most comfortable of the small boats."
+
+Ebearhard raised his eyebrows at the mention of the women, but said
+nothing.
+
+Roland went in person to the room occupied by the young woman, and
+knocked at her door, whereupon it was opened very promptly.
+
+"Madam," he said, "there is opportunity for escape if you care to avail
+yourself of it."
+
+The girl had been seated when he entered, but now she rose, speaking in
+a voice that was rather tremulous.
+
+"Sir, I was wrong to disobey you when you had treated me so kindly. I
+shall therefore punish myself by remaining where I am."
+
+"In that case, Madam, you will punish me as well; and, indeed, I deserve
+it, forgetting as I did for the moment that I addressed a lady. If you
+will give me the pleasure of escorting you, I shall conduct you in
+safety to whatever place of refuge you wish to reach."
+
+"Sir, you are most courteous, but I fear my intended destination might
+take you farther afield than would be convenient for you."
+
+"My time is my own, and nothing could afford me greater gratification
+than the assurance of your security. Tell me your destination."
+
+"It is the Convent of Nonnenwerth, situated on an island larger than
+this, near Rolandseck."
+
+"I shall be happy to convoy you thither."
+
+"Again I thank you. It is my desire to join the Sisterhood there."
+
+"Not to become a nun?" cried Roland, an intonation of disappointment in
+his voice.
+
+"Yes; although to this determination my guardian is opposed."
+
+"Alas," said Roland, with a sigh, "I confess myself in agreement with
+him so far as your taking the veil is concerned. Still, imprisonment
+seems an unduly harsh alternative."
+
+The girl's seriousness fled, and she smiled at him.
+
+"As you have had some experience of my obstinacy, and proposed an even
+harsher remedy than that--"
+
+"Ah, you forget," interrupted Roland, "that I apologized for my lack of
+manners. I hope during our journey to Nonnenwerth I may earn complete
+forgiveness."
+
+"Oh, you are forgiven already, which is magnanimous of me, when you
+recollect that the fault was wholly my own. I will join you in the
+courtyard at once if I may."
+
+"Very well. I shall be down there after I have given final instructions
+to my men."
+
+Roland arrived at the north window, and saw that the flotilla had
+already departed. He could discern Ebearhard standing with his hand on
+the prow of the remaining boat, so pulled up the rope, untied it from
+the ring to which it was fastened, and threw it down to his lieutenant.
+
+"A rope is always useful," he whispered, "and we will puzzle the good
+Pfalzgraf regarding our exit."
+
+In the courtyard he found the three women awaiting him. Quietly he drew
+back the heavy bolts, and undid the stout chains. Holding the door
+slightly ajar, he peered out at the scene on the landing, brightly
+illuminated by numerous torches which the servants held aloft.
+
+The men-at-arms were enjoying themselves hugely, and the great heap of
+bales already on the rocks showed that they resolved not to leave even
+one package on the barge. The fact that they stood in the light
+prevented their seeing the exit of the quartette from the Castle, even
+had any been on the outlook.
+
+Roland swung the door wide, placed the ladder in exactly the same
+position it had formerly occupied, assisted the three women to the
+ground, and then led them round the western side of the Castle through
+the darkness to Ebearhard and his skiff. Dipping their paddles with
+great caution, they kept well out of the torchlight radius.
+
+As they left the shadow of the Castle, and came within sight of the
+party on the landing, they were somewhat startled by a lusty cheer.
+
+"Ah," said Ebearhard, "they have discovered our barrels of gold."
+
+"'Tis very likely," replied Roland.
+
+"Still," added Ebearhard consolingly, "I think we have made a good
+exchange. There appears to be more money in Stahleck's bags than in our
+two barrels."
+
+"By the Three Kings!" cried Roland, staring upstream, "the barge is
+getting away. They have looted her completely, and are giving her a
+parting salute. The robbers evidently bear no malice against our popular
+captain. Hear them inviting him to call again!"
+
+They listened to the rattle of the big chain. It was more amenable than
+that at Furstenberg, confirming Roland in his belief that Stahleck was
+the inventor of the device. They saw half a dozen men paying out a rope,
+while the first section of the chain sank, leaving a passage-way for the
+barge. Silhouetted against the torchlight, the boatmen were getting
+ready with their sweeps, prepared to dip them into the water as soon as
+the vessel got clear of the rocky island.
+
+"We will paddle alongside before they begin to row," said Roland; and
+Captain Blumenfels was gently hailed from the river, much to his
+astonishment.
+
+"Make for the eastern bank, captain," whispered Roland, "and keep a
+lookout ahead for a number of small boats like this."
+
+Presently, rowing up the river strenuously, close to the shore, the
+barge came upon the flotilla. Here Roland bade Hilda remain where she
+was, and leaving Ebearhard in charge of the skiff, he clambered up on
+the barge, ordering Greusel to range his boats alongside and fling
+aboard the treasure.
+
+"Well, captain, did his Excellency of Pfalz leave you anything at all?"
+
+"Not a rag," replied the captain. "The barge is empty as a drum."
+
+"In that case there is nothing for it but a speedy return to Frankfort.
+I do not regret the cloth, which has been paid for over and over again,
+but I am mercenary enough to grudge Stahleck our two barrels of gold."
+
+"Oh, as to the gold," replied the captain gravely, "I took the liberty
+of reversing your plan at Lorch."
+
+"What plan?"
+
+"Your honor poured gold into wine barrels, but I poured the red wine of
+Lorch into the gold barrels, and threw the empty cask overboard. Perhaps
+you know that the Pfalzgraf grows excellent white wine round his Castle
+of Stahleck, and despises the red wine of Lorch and Assmannshausen. He
+tasted the wine, which had not been improved by being poured into the
+dirty gold barrels, spat it out with an oath, and said we were welcome
+to keep it. He has also promised to send me a cask of good white wine to
+Frankfort."
+
+"Captain, despite your quiet, unassuming manner, you are the most
+ingenious of men."
+
+"Indeed, I but copied your honor's ingenuity."
+
+"However it happened, you saved the gold, and that action alone will
+make a rich man of you, for you must accept my third share of the
+money."
+
+By this time the bags had been heaved aboard. Greusel followed them, and
+stood ready to receive further orders.
+
+"You will all make for Frankfort," said Roland, "keeping close as
+possible to this side of the river. No man is to be allowed ashore until
+you reach the capital. Captain, are there provisions enough aboard for
+the voyage?"
+
+"Yes, your honor."
+
+"Very well. Put every available person at the oars, and get past
+Furstenberg before daybreak. My men, who have not had an opportunity to
+distinguish themselves as warriors, will take their turn at the sweeps.
+You and Ebearhard," he continued, turning to Greusel, "will employ the
+time in counting the money and making a fair division. With regard to
+the two barrels, the captain will receive my third share, and also be
+one of us in the apportionment of the gold we secured to-night. It was
+through his thoughtfulness that the barrels were saved. Whatever portion
+you find me entitled to, place in the keeping of the merchant, Herr
+Goebel. And now I shall tie four bags to my belt for emergencies."
+
+"Are you not coming with us, Roland?" asked Greusel anxiously.
+
+"No. Urgent business requires my presence in the neighborhood of Bonn,
+but I shall meet you in the Kaiser cellar before a month is out."
+
+Saying this, he shook hands with the captain and Greusel, and descended
+into the small boat, bidding farewell to Ebearhard.
+
+"Urge them," were his last words, "to get well out of sight of Pfalz and
+Furstenberg before the day breaks, and as for the small boats, turn them
+loose; present them as a peace-offering to the Rhine."
+
+In the darkness Prince Roland allowed his frail barque to float down the
+stream, using his paddle merely to keep it toward the east, so to avoid
+the chain. He found himself accompanied by a silent, spectral fleet; the
+empty boats that his men had sent adrift. To all appearance the little
+squadron lay motionless, while the dim Castle of Pfalz, with its score
+of pointed turrets piercing a less dark sky, seemed like a great ship
+moving slowly up the Rhine. When it had disappeared to the south, Roland
+ventured to speak, in a low voice.
+
+"Madam," he said, "tell your women so to arrange what extra apparel you
+have brought to form a couch, where you may recline, and sleep for the
+rest of the night."
+
+"Captain Roland," she replied, her gentle little laugh floating with so
+musical a cadence athwart the waters that he found himself regretting
+such a sweet voice should be kept from the world by the unappreciative
+walls of a convent,--"Captain Roland, I was never more awake than I am
+at this moment. Life has somehow become unexpectedly interesting. I
+experience the deliciously guilty feeling of belonging to a stealthy
+society of banditti. Do not, I beg of you, deprive me of that pleasure
+by asking me to sleep."
+
+"In the morning, Madam, there will be little opportunity for rest. We
+must put all the distance we can between ourselves and the Pfalzgraf
+von Stahleck. I expect you to ride far and fast to-morrow."
+
+"Do you intend, then, to abandon this boat?"
+
+"I must, Madam. The river has been long so empty that this flotilla,
+which I cannot shake off, being unaccustomed to oars or paddle, will
+attract attention from both sides of the Rhine, and when the darkness
+lifts we are almost certain to be stopped. The boats will be recognized
+as belonging to the Pfalzgraf, and I wish to sever all connection
+between this night's work and my own future."
+
+"What, then, do you propose?"
+
+"As soon as day breaks we will come to land, and allow our boat to float
+away with the rest. Can you walk?"
+
+"I love walking," cried the girl with enthusiasm. "I ask your pity for
+myself, immured in that windowless dungeon, situated on a tiny point of
+rock; I, who have roamed the hills and explored the valleys of my own
+land on foot, breathing the air of freedom with delight. Let me,
+therefore, I beg of you, remain awake that I may taste the pleasure of
+anticipation in my thoughts; or is such a wish disobedience on the part
+of your first lieutenant? I do not mean it so, and will quietly cry
+myself to sleep if you insist."
+
+"Indeed, Hilda," said Roland, laughing, and abandoning the more formal
+title of "madam," "I am no such tyrant as you suppose. Besides, your
+office of first lieutenant has lapsed, because our men have all gone
+south, while we travel north."
+
+"Then may I talk with you?"
+
+"Nothing would please me better. I was thinking of your own welfare, and
+not of my desire, when I counseled slumber."
+
+"Oh, I assure you I slept very well during the first part of the night,
+for, there being nothing else to do, I went to bed early, and was quite
+unconscious until the dreadful ringing of that alarm bell, which set the
+whole Castle astir."
+
+"Why were you imprisoned?"
+
+"Because--because," she replied haltingly, "I had chosen the religious
+life, the which my guardian opposed. He appeared to think that some
+experience of the rigors of the convent might make me less eager to
+immure myself in a nunnery, which, like Pfalz Castle, is also on a
+restricted island."
+
+"Then his remedy has proved unavailing?"
+
+"Quite. The Sisters will be very good to me, for I shall enrich their
+convent with my wealth. 'Twill be vastly different from incarceration in
+Pfalz."
+
+"Hilda, I doubt that. Captivity is captivity, under whatever name you
+term it. I cannot understand why one who spoke so enthusiastically just
+now of hills and valleys and liberty should take the irrevocable step
+which you propose; a step that will rob you forever of those joys."
+
+The girl remained silent, and he went on, speaking earnestly:
+
+"I think in one respect you are like myself. You love the murmur of the
+trees, and the song of the running stream."
+
+"I do, I do," she whispered, as if to herself.
+
+"The air that blows around the mountain-top inspires you, and you cannot
+view the hills on the horizon without wishing to explore them, and learn
+what is on the other side."
+
+There was light enough for him to see that the girl's head sank into her
+open hand.
+
+"You, I take it, have never been restricted by discipline."
+
+Her head came up quickly.
+
+"You think that because of what I said in the courtyard?"
+
+"No; my mind was running towards the future rather than to the past. The
+rigor of strict rules would prove as irksome to you as would a cage to a
+free bird of the forest."
+
+"I fear you are in the right," she said with a sigh; and then,
+impatiently, "Oh, you do not understand the situation, and I cannot
+explain! The convent is merely a retreat for me; the lesser of two evils
+presented."
+
+"You spoke of your land. Where is that land?"
+
+"Do you know Schloss Sayn?" she asked.
+
+"Sayn? Sayn?" he repeated. "Where have I heard that name before, and
+recently too? I thought I knew every castle on the Rhine, but I do not
+remember Sayn."
+
+The girl laughed.
+
+"You will find no fellow-craftsman there, Pirate Roland, if ever you
+visit it. The Schloss is not on the Rhine, and, perhaps on that account,
+rather than because of its owner's honesty, is free from the taint you
+suggest. It stands high in the valley of the Saynbach, more than half a
+league from this river."
+
+"Ah, that accounts for my ignorance. I never saw Sayn Castle, although I
+seem to have heard of it. Are you its owner?"
+
+"Yes; I told you I was wealthy."
+
+"Where is the Schloss situated?"
+
+"Below Coblentz, on the eastern side of the river."
+
+"Then why not let me take you there instead of to the convent?"
+
+"Willingly, if you had brought your barge-load of armed men, but in Sayn
+Castle I am helpless, commanding a peaceful retinue of servants who,
+although devoted to me, are useless when it comes to defense."
+
+"I cannot account for it," said Roland in meditative tone, "but the
+thought of that convent becomes more and more distasteful. You will be
+free of your guardian, no doubt, but you merely exchange one whom you
+know for another whom you don't, and that other a member of your own
+sex."
+
+"Do you disparage my sex, then?"
+
+"No; but I cannot imagine any man being discourteous to you. Surely
+every gentleman with a sword by his side should spring at once to your
+defense."
+
+The girl laughed.
+
+"Ah, Captain Roland, you are very young, and, I fear, inexperienced,
+despite your filibustering. However, this lovely, still, summer night,
+with its warm, velvety darkness, was made for pleasant thoughts. Enough
+about myself. Let me hear something of you. Did you come up the river or
+down, with your barge?"
+
+"We came down."
+
+"How long since you adopted a career of crime? You do not seem to be a
+hardened villain."
+
+"Believe me," protested Roland earnestly, "I am not, and I do not admit
+that my career is one of crime."
+
+"Indeed," said the girl, laughing again, "I am not so gullible as you
+think. I could almost fancy that you were the incendiary of Furstenberg
+Castle."
+
+"What!" exclaimed Roland in consternation. "How came you to learn of its
+destruction?"
+
+"There!" cried the girl gleefully, "you have all but confessed. You are
+as startled as if I had said: 'I arrest you in the name of the
+Emperor!'"
+
+"Who told you that Furstenberg Castle was burned?" demanded the young
+man sternly.
+
+"Yesterday morning there came swiftly down the river, with no less than
+twelve oarsmen, a long, thin boat, traveling like the wind. It did not
+pause at Pfalz, but the man standing in the stern hailed the Castle, and
+shouted to the Pfalzgraf that Furstenberg had been burned by the outlaws
+of the Hunsruck. He was on his way to Bonn to inform the Archbishop of
+Cologne, and he carried also Imperial news for his Lordship: tidings
+that the Emperor is dead."
+
+"Dead!" breathed Roland in horror, scarcely above his breath. "The
+Emperor dead! I wonder if that can be true."
+
+"Little matter whether it is true or no," said the girl indifferently.
+"He doubtless passed away in a drunken sleep, and I am told his drunken
+son will be elected in his place."
+
+"Madam!" said Roland harshly, awakened from his stupor by her words, "I
+must inform your ignorance that the Emperor's son is not a drunkard,
+and, indeed, scarcely touches wine at all, being a most strenuous
+opposer to its misuse. How can one so fair, and, as I believed, so
+honest, repeat such unfounded slander?"
+
+"Are you a partisan of his?"
+
+"I come from Frankfort; have seen the Prince, and know I speak the
+truth."
+
+"Ah, well," replied the girl lightly, "you and I will not quarrel over
+his Highness. I accept your amendment, and will never more bear false
+witness against him. After all, it makes slight difference one way or
+the other. An Emperor goes, and an Emperor is elected in his place as
+powerless as his predecessor. 'Tis the Archbishops who rule."
+
+"You seem well versed in politics, Madam."
+
+The girl leaned forward to him.
+
+"Do not 'madam' me, I beg of you, Roland. I dare say rumor has
+prejudiced me against the young man, but I have promised not to speak
+slightingly of him again. I wish this veil of darkness was lifted, that
+I might see your face, to note the effect of anger. Do you know, I am
+disappointed in you, Roland? You spoke in such level tones in the
+courtyard that I thought anger was foreign to your nature."
+
+"I am not angry," said Roland gruffly, "but I detest malicious gossip."
+
+"Oh, so do I, so do I! I spoke thoughtlessly. I will kneel to the new
+Emperor and beg his pardon, if you insist."
+
+Roland remained silent, and for a time they floated thus down the river,
+she trailing her fingers in the water, which made a pleasant ripple
+against them, looking up at him now and then. Perceptibly the darkness
+was thinning. One seemed to smell morning in the air. A bird piped
+dreamily in the forest at intervals, as if only half-awakened. The two
+women reclining in the prow were sound asleep.
+
+Roland picked up the paddle, and with a strong, sweeping stroke turned
+the head of the boat towards the land. Now she could see his lowering
+brow, and if the sight pleased her, 'twas not manifested in her next
+remark.
+
+She took her hand from the water, drew herself up proudly, and said:
+
+"I shall not apologize to you again, and I hate your blameless Prince!"
+
+"Madam, I ask for no apology, and whether you hate or like the Prince
+matters nothing to me, or, I dare say, to him, either."
+
+"Cannot you even allow a woman her privilege of the last word?" she
+cried indignantly.
+
+Roland's brow cleared, and a smile came to his lips, as he remained
+silent, thus bestowing upon her the prerogative she seemed to crave.
+Hilda lay back in the prow of the boat between her sleeping women, with
+hands clasped behind her head, and her eyes closed. More and more the
+light increased, and sturdily with his paddle Roland propelled the boat
+towards the shore, bringing it alongside the low bank at last. He sprang
+out on the turf, and with the paddle in one hand held the boat to land
+with the other.
+
+"We are now," he said, "a short distance above St. Goarhausen, where I
+hope to purchase horses. Will you kindly disembark?"
+
+The girl, without moving, or opening her eyes, said quietly:
+
+"Please throw the paddle into the boat again. I shall make for
+Nonnenwerth in this craft, which is more comfortable than a saddle."
+
+The paddle came rattling down upon the bottom of the skiff. Roland
+stooped, and before she knew what he was about, took Hilda in his arms,
+lifted her ashore, and laid her carefully on the grass.
+
+"Come," he cried to the newly-awakened serving-women, "tumble out of
+that without further delay," and they obeyed him in haste.
+
+He stepped into the skiff, flung their belongings on the sward, turned
+the prow to the west, and, leaping ashore, bestowed a kick upon the boat
+that impelled it like an arrow far out into the stream.
+
+Hilda was standing on her feet now, speechless with indignation.
+
+"Come along," urged Roland cheerfully, "breakfast awaits us when we earn
+it;" but seeing that she made no move, the frown furrowed his brow
+again.
+
+"Madam," he said, "I tell you frankly that to be thwarted by petulance
+annoys me. It happens that time is of the utmost importance until we are
+much farther from Pfalz. If you think that the ownership of wealth and a
+castle gives you the right to flout a plain, ordinary man, you take a
+mistaken view of things. I care nothing for your castle, or for your
+wealth. You may be a lady of title for aught I know, but even that does
+not impress me. We must not stand here like two quarrelsome children. I
+will conduct you to the Adler Inn at St. Goarhausen, where I know from
+experience you will be taken care of. I shall then purchase four horses,
+and return to the inn after you have breakfasted. Three of these horses
+are at your disposal, also the fourth and myself, if you will condescend
+to make use of us. If not, I shall ask you to accept what money you need
+for your journey, so that you may travel north unmolested, while I take
+my way in the other direction."
+
+"How can I repay the money," she demanded, "if I do not know who and
+what you are?"
+
+"I shall send for it, either to your Castle of Sayn, or the Convent of
+Nonnenwerth. You need be under no obligation to me."
+
+"But," cried the girl with a sob, "I am already under obligation to you;
+an obligation which I cannot repay."
+
+"Oh yes, you can."
+
+"How?"
+
+"By coming with me, who will persuade you, as readily as you did with
+your guardian, who coerced you."
+
+"I am an ungrateful simpleton," she murmured. "Of course your way is the
+right one, and I am quite helpless if you desert me."
+
+"There," cried Roland, with enthusiasm, "you have more than repaid
+whatever you may owe."
+
+After breakfasting at St. Goarhausen and purchasing the horses, they
+journeyed down the rough road that extended along the right bank of the
+Rhine. Roland and Hilda rode side by side, the other two following some
+distance to the rear. The young man maintained a gloomy silence, and the
+girl, misapprehending his thoughts, remained silent also, with downcast
+eyes, seeing nothing of the beautiful scenery they were passing. Every
+now and then Roland cast a sidelong glance at her, and his melancholy
+deepened as he remembered how heedlessly he had pledged his word to the
+three Archbishops regarding his marriage.
+
+"I see," she said at last, "that I have offended you more seriously than
+I feared."
+
+"No, no," he assured her. "There is a burden that I cannot cast from my
+mind."
+
+"May I know what it is?"
+
+"I dare not tell you, Hilda. I have been a fool. I am in the position of
+a man who must break his oath and live dishonored, or keep it, and
+remain for ever unhappy. Which would you do were you in my place?"
+
+"Once given, I should keep my oath," she replied promptly, "unless those
+who accepted it would release me."
+
+Roland shook his head.
+
+"They will not release me," he said dolefully.
+
+Again they rode together in silence, content to be near each other,
+despite the young man's alternations of elation and despair. 'Twas, all
+in all, a long summer's day of sweet unhappiness for each.
+
+One of Roland's reasons for choosing the right bank of the Rhine was to
+avoid the important city of Coblentz, with its inevitable questioning,
+and it was late afternoon when they saw this town on the farther shore,
+passing it without hindrance.
+
+"You will rest this night," she said, "in my Castle of Sayn, and then,
+as time is pressing, to-morrow you must return. We have met no
+interference even by this dangerous route, and I shall make my way alone
+without fear to Nonnenwerth, for I know you are anxious to be in
+Frankfort once more."
+
+"I swear to you, Hilda, that if, without breaking my oath, I should
+never see Frankfort again, I would be the most joyous of men."
+
+"Does your oath relate to Frankfort?"
+
+"My oath relates to a woman," he said shortly.
+
+"Ah," she breathed, "then you must keep it," and so they fell into
+silence and unhappiness again.
+
+She had talked of security on the road they traversed, but turning a
+corner north of Vallandar they speedily found that a Rhine road is never
+safe.
+
+Both reined in their horses as if moved by the same impulse, but to
+retreat now would simply draw pursuit upon them. Mounted on a splendid
+white charger, gorgeous with trappings, glittering with silver and gold,
+rode a dignified man in the outdoor habit of a general in times of
+peace.
+
+Following him came an escort of twoscore horsemen; they in the full
+panoply of war; and behind them, on foot, in procession extending like a
+gigantic snake down the Rhine road, an army of at least three thousand
+men, the setting sun flashing fire from the points of their spears. Here
+and there, down the line, floated above them silken flags, and Roland
+recognized the device on the foremost one.
+
+"God!" he shouted in dismay. "The Archbishop of Cologne!"
+
+The girl uttered a little frightened cry, and edged her horse nearer to
+that of her escort.
+
+"My guardian! My guardian!" she breathed. "I shall be rearrested!"
+
+Seeing them standing as if stricken to stone, two horsemen detached
+themselves from the cavalry and galloped forward.
+
+"Make way there, you fools!" cried the leader. "Get ye to the side; into
+the river; where you like; out of the path of my Lord the Archbishop."
+
+Nevertheless Roland stood his ground, and dared even to frown at the
+officers of his Lordship.
+
+"Stand aside _you_," he commanded in a tone of mastery, "and do not
+venture to intrude between the Archbishop and me."
+
+The rider knew that no man who valued his head would dare use such
+language in the very presence of the Archbishop, unless he were the
+highest in the land. His dignified Lordship looked up to see the cause
+of this interruption, and of these angry words.
+
+First came into his face an expression of amazement, then a smile melted
+the stern lips as he looked on Roland and recognized him. The impetuous
+horsemen faded away to the background. There was no answering smile on
+Roland's face. He reached out and clasped the hand of the girl.
+
+"Now, by the Three Kings!" he whispered, "I shall break my oath."
+
+Hilda glanced up at him, frightened by his vehemence, wincing under his
+iron grasp.
+
+An unexpected sound interrupted the tension. The Archbishop had come to
+a stand, and "Halt! Halt! Halt!" rang out the word along the line of
+men, whose feet ceased to stir the dust of the road. The unexpected
+sound was that of hearty laughter from the dignified and mighty Prince
+of the Church.
+
+"Forgive me, your Highness!" he cried, "but I laugh to think of the
+countenances of my somber brothers, Treves and Mayence, when they learn
+how sturdily you have kept your word with them. By the true Cross,
+Prince Roland, although we wished you to marry her, we had no thought
+that you would break into the Castle of Pfalz to win her hand. Ah, dear,
+what a pity 'tis we grow old! The impetuousness of youth outweighs the
+calculated wisdom of the three greatest prelates outside Rome. Judging
+by your fair face (and I have always held it to be beautiful, remember),
+you, Hildegunde Lauretta Priscilla Agnes, Countess of Sayn, are not
+moving northward to Nonnenwerth. I always insisted that the Saalhof at
+Frankfort was a more cheerful edifice than any nunnery on the Rhine, yet
+you never turned upon me such a glance of confidence as I see you bestow
+on your future Emperor."
+
+"I hope, my Lord and Guardian," cried the girl, "that I have met you in
+time to deflect your course to my Castle of Sayn."
+
+"Sweet Countess, I thank you for the invitation. My men can go on to
+their camp in the stronghold of my brother of Mayence, Schloss
+Martinsburg, and I shall gladly return with you to the hospitable hearth
+of Sayn. Indeed," said the Archbishop, lowering his voice, "I shall feel
+safer there than in enjoying the hospitality I had intended to accept."
+
+"Are you not surprised to meet me?" asked the lady, with a laugh,
+adjusting words and manner to the new situation, which she more quickly
+comprehended than did her companion, who glanced with bewilderment from
+Countess to prelate, and back again.
+
+The Archbishop waved his hand.
+
+"Nothing you could do would surprise me, since your interview with the
+Court of Archbishops. I am on my way to Frankfort." Then, more
+seriously, to Prince Roland: "You heard of your father's death?"
+
+"I learned it only this morning, my Lord. I shall return to Frankfort
+when I am assured that this gentlewoman is in a place of safety."
+
+"Ah, Countess, there will be no lack of safety now! But will you not
+ease an old man's conscience by admitting he was in the right?"
+
+The Countess looked up at Roland with a smile.
+
+"Yes, dear Guardian," she said. "You were in the right."
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+"FOR THE EMPRESS, AND NOT FOR THE EMPIRE"
+
+
+While the long line of troops stood at salute in single file, the
+Archbishop turned his horse to the north and rode past his regiments,
+followed by the Countess and Roland. His Lordship was accompanied to the
+end of the ranks by his general, who received final instructions
+regarding the march.
+
+"You will encamp for the night not at Schloss Martinsburg, as I had
+intended, but a league or two up the Lahn. To-morrow morning continue
+your march along the Lahn as far as Limburg, and there await my arrival.
+We will enter Frankfort by the north gate instead of from the west."
+
+The Archbishop sat on his horse for some minutes, watching the departing
+force, then called Roland to his right hand, and Hildegunde to his left,
+and thus the three set out on the short journey to Sayn.
+
+"Your Highness," began the Archbishop, "I find myself in a position of
+some embarrassment. I think explanations are due to me from you both.
+Here I ride between two escaped prisoners, and I travel away from,
+instead of towards, their respective dungeons. My plain duty, on
+encountering you, was to place you in custody of a sufficient guard,
+marching you separately the one to Pfalz and the other to Ehrenfels.
+Having accomplished this I should report the case to my two colleagues,
+yet here am I actually compounding a misdemeanor, and assisting
+prisoners to escape."
+
+"My Lord," spoke up Roland, "I am quite satisfied that my own
+imprisonment has been illegal, therefore I make no apology for
+circumventing it. Before entering upon any explanation, I ask
+enlightenment regarding the detention of my lady of Sayn. Am I right in
+surmising that she, like myself, was placed under arrest by the three
+Archbishops?"
+
+"Yes, your Highness."
+
+"On what charge?"
+
+"High treason."
+
+"Against whom?"
+
+There was a pause, during which the Archbishop did not reply.
+
+"I need not have asked such a question," resumed the Prince, "for high
+treason can relate only to the monarch. In what measure has her ladyship
+encroached upon the prerogative of the Emperor?"
+
+"Your Highness forgets that there is such a thing as treason against the
+State."
+
+"Are not members of the nobility privileged in this matter?"
+
+"They cannot be, for the State is greater than any individual."
+
+"I shall make a note of that, my Lord of Cologne. I believe you are in
+the right, and I hope so. During my lonely incarceration," the Prince
+laughed a little, "I have studied the condition of the State, arriving
+at the conclusion that the greatest traitors in our land are the three
+Archbishops, who, arrogating to themselves power that should belong to
+the Crown, did not use that power for suppressing those other
+treason-mongers, the Barons of the Rhine."
+
+"What would you have us do with them?"
+
+"You should disarm them. You should exact restitution of their
+illegally-won wealth. You should open the Rhine to honest commerce."
+
+"That is easy to enunciate, and difficult to perform. If the Castles
+were disarmed, especially those on the left bank, a great injustice
+would be done that might lead to the extinction of many noble families.
+Why, the forests of Germany are filled with desperate outlaws, who
+respect neither life nor property. I myself have suffered but recently
+from their depredations. In broad daylight an irresistible band of these
+ruffians descended upon and captured the supposed impregnable Castle of
+Rheinstein, shamefully maltreating Baron Hugo von Hohenfels, tying him
+motionless, and nearly strangling him with stout ropes, after which the
+scoundrels robbed him of every stiver he possessed. The following
+midnight but one they descended on Furstenberg, a fief of my own, and
+not contenting themselves with robbery, brought red ruin on the Margrave
+by burning his Castle to the ground."
+
+"My Lord, red ruin and the Red Margrave were made for each other. It was
+the justice of God that they should meet." The young man raised aloft
+his swordarm, shaking his clenched fist at the sky. "That hand held the
+torch that fired Furstenberg. The Castle was taken and burned by three
+sword makers from Frankfort, who never saw the Hunsruck or the outlaws
+thereof."
+
+The Archbishop reined in his horse, and looked at the excited young man
+with amazement.
+
+"_You_ fired Furstenberg?"
+
+"Yes; and effectively, my Lord. I shall rebuild it for you, but the Red
+Margrave I shall hang, as my predecessor Rudolph did his ancestor."
+
+An expression of sternness hardened the Archbishop's face.
+
+"Sir," he said, "I regret to hear you speak like this, and your safety
+lies in the fact that I do not believe a word of it. Even so, such wild
+words fill me with displeasure. I beg to remind you that the Election of
+an Emperor has not yet taken place, and I, for one, am likely to
+reconsider my decision. Still, as I said, I do not believe a word of
+your absurd tale."
+
+"I believe every syllable of it!" cried the Countess with enthusiasm,
+"and glory that there is a mind brave enough, and a hand obedient to it,
+to smoke out a robber and a murderer."
+
+The tension this astonishing revelation caused was relieved by a laugh
+from the Archbishop.
+
+"My dear Hildegunde, you are forgetting your own ancestors. I venture
+that no woman of the House of Sayn talked thus when the Emperor Rudolph
+marched Count von Sayn to the scaffold. You would probably sing another
+song if asked to restore the millions amassed by Henry III. of Sayn and
+his successors; all accumulated by robbery as cruel as any that the Red
+Margrave has perpetrated."
+
+"My Lord," said the Countess proudly, "you had no need to ask that
+question, for you knew the answer to it before you spoke. Every thaler I
+control shall be handed over to Prince Roland, to be used for the
+regeneration of his country."
+
+Again the Archbishop laughed.
+
+"Surely I knew that, my dear, and I should not have said what I did. I
+suppose you will not allow me to vote against his Highness at the coming
+Election."
+
+"Indeed, you shall vote enthusiastically for him, because you know in
+your own heart he is the man Germany needs."
+
+"Was there ever such a change of front?" cried the Archbishop. "Why, my
+dear, the charges you so hotly made against his Highness are as nothing
+to what he has himself confessed; yet now he is the savior of Germany,
+when previously--Ah, well, I must not play the tale-bearer."
+
+"Prince Roland," cried the girl, "my kinsman, Father Ambrose, said he
+met you in Frankfort, although now I believe him to have been mistaken."
+
+"Oh no; I encountered the good Father on the bridge."
+
+"There now!" exclaimed the Archbishop, "what do you say to that, my
+lady?"
+
+She seemed perplexed by the admission, but quickly replied to his
+Lordship:
+
+"'Twas you said that could not be, as he was a close prisoner in
+Ehrenfels." She continued, addressing the Prince: "Father Ambrose
+asserted that you were a companion of drinkers and brawlers in a low
+wine cellar of Frankfort."
+
+"Quite true; a score of them."
+
+The girl became more and more perplexed.
+
+"Did you imprison Father Ambrose?"
+
+"Yes; in the lowest wine cellar, but only for a day or two. I am very
+sorry, Madam, but it was a stern necessity of war. He was meddling with
+affairs he knew nothing of, and there was no time for explanations. He,
+a man of peace, would not have sanctioned what there was to do even if I
+had explained."
+
+"He says," continued the girl, "that he saw you rob a merchant of a bag
+of gold."
+
+"That is untrue!" cried the Prince.
+
+"My dear Hildegunde, what is the robbing of a bag of gold from a
+merchant when he admits having stolen gold by the castle full?"
+
+"I robbed no merchant," protested the Prince. "How could Father Ambrose
+make such a statement?"
+
+"He mounted an outside stairway on the Fahrgasse, and through lighted
+windows on the opposite side saw you place the point of your sword at
+the throat of an unarmed merchant, and take from him a bag of gold."
+
+Roland, whose brow had been knitted into an angry frown, now threw back
+his head and laughed joyously.
+
+"Oh, that was a mere frolic," he alleged.
+
+It was the girl's turn to frown.
+
+"When you took stolen treasure from thievish Barons and Margraves
+protected by scores of armed men, with the object of breaking their
+power, for the relief of commerce, I admired you, but to say that the
+despoiling of a helpless merchant is a frolic--"
+
+"No, no, my dear, you do not understand," eagerly corrected the Prince,
+unconscious of the affectionate phrase that caused a flush to rise in
+the cheeks of his listener. "The merchant was, and is, my partner; a
+blameless man, Herr Goebel, who came near to being hanged on my behalf
+when these Archbishops took me captive. I sought from him a thousand
+thalers; he insisted on learning my plans for opening the Rhine, and
+still would not give the money until, reluctantly, I was obliged to
+confess myself son of the Emperor. This he could not credit, stipulating
+that before giving the money I must produce for him a safe-conduct,
+signed by the Emperor, and verified by the Great Seal of the Empire.
+This document I obtained at dire personal risk, through the aid of my
+mother. Here it is."
+
+He thrust his hand into his doublet, and produced the parchment in
+question, delivering it to the lady, who, however, did not unfold it,
+but kept her eyes fixed upon him.
+
+"This distrust annoyed me; it should not have done so, for he was merely
+acting in the cautious manner natural to a merchant. With a boyishness I
+now regret, I put my sword to his throat, demanding the money, which I
+received. I took only half of it, for my mother had given me five
+hundred thalers. Oh, no; I did not rob my friend Goebel, but merely
+tried to teach him that lack of faith is a dangerous thing."
+
+If the old man who listened could have exchanged confidences with the
+young woman who listened, he would have learned they shared the same
+thought, which was that the young Prince spoke so straight-forwardly
+neither doubted him for a moment. The old man, it is true, felt that his
+talk was rather reckless of consequences, but, on the other hand, this
+in itself was complimentary, for, as he remembered, the Prince had been
+cautious enough when catechized by the three Archbishops together.
+
+"I have often read," said Cologne, with a smile, "pathetic accounts of
+prisoners, who in extreme loneliness carved their names over and over
+again on stone as hard as the jailer's heart, but your Highness seems
+rather to have enjoyed yourself while so cruelly interned. May I further
+beg of you to enlighten us concerning a somewhat bibulous youth who at
+the present moment is enjoying, in every sense of the word, the
+hospitality of Ehrenfels Castle?"
+
+It was now the Archbishop's turn to astonish the Prince.
+
+"You knew of my device, then?"
+
+"'Knew' is a little too strong. 'Suspect' more nearly fits the case. You
+won over your jailer, and some one else took your place as prisoner."
+
+"Yes; a young man to whom I owe small thanks, and with whom I have an
+account to settle. He is son of the custodian, and thinks he has us both
+under his thumb, Heinrich drinks as if he were a fish or a Baron, but I
+shall cure him of that habit before it becomes firmly established."
+
+"Am I correct in assuming that you found your liberty only after your
+interview with the three Electors?"
+
+"Oh, bless you, no! I was free months before that time. Indeed, it is
+only since then that my substitute is practically useless. Heinrich
+might have passed for me at a pinch, but only because neither you nor
+your colleagues had seen me. I have kept him under lock and key ever
+since, because I dare not allow him abroad until the Election has taken
+place."
+
+"I see. A very wise precaution. Well, your Highness, I shall say nothing
+of what you tell me; furthermore, I still promise you my vote; that is,
+if you will obey my orders until you are elected Emperor. I foresee we
+are not going to have the easy time with you that was anticipated, but
+this concerns Mayence and Treves, rather than myself, for I have no
+ambition to rule by proxy. And now, my lady of Sayn, when we journeyed
+southward that day from Gutenfels Castle I gave you some information
+regarding the mind of Mayence. You remember, perhaps, what I said about
+his quandary. I rather suspect that he admires you, notwithstanding your
+defiance of him; but there is nothing remarkable in that, for we all
+appreciate you, old and young. I, too, carry a document of safe-conduct,
+like Prince Roland here, although I see that his Highness has placed his
+safety in your hands."
+
+The old man smiled, and Hildegunde found herself still carrying the
+parchment Roland had given her. For a moment she was confused, then
+smiled also, and offered it back; but the Prince shook his head. The
+Archbishop went on:
+
+"Mayence sent down to me your written release, signed by himself and
+Treves. He asked me to attach a signature, and liberate you on my way to
+Frankfort, which I intended to do had this impetuous young man not
+forestalled me. By the way, Highness, how did you happen to meet
+Countess von Sayn in Pfalz?"
+
+"We will tell you about that later, Guardian," said Hildegunde, before
+Roland could speak. "What instructions did his Lordship of Mayence give
+concerning me?"
+
+"He asked me to bring you to my palace in Frankfort, and subtly
+expressed the hope you had changed your mind."
+
+"You may assure him I have," said the Countess, again speaking rapidly;
+"but let us leave all details of that for the moment. I am then to go
+with you to the capital?"
+
+"Yes; to-morrow morning."
+
+"To remain until the coronation?"
+
+"Certainly; if such is your wish. But do you not see something very
+significant in my brother Mayence's change of plan, for you know he did
+not intend to release you until after that event?"
+
+"Yes, yes," replied the Countess breathlessly. "I see it quite clearly,
+but do not wish to discuss the matter at the present moment."
+
+"Very well. I intended to enter Frankfort from the west, but meeting you
+so unexpectedly, I have deflected my troops up the Lahn to Limburg, at
+which town we will join them to-morrow night, thus following Father
+Ambrose's route to the capital."
+
+"Ah, that will be very interesting. Prince Roland, you accompany us, I
+hope?"
+
+"Of a surety," replied the young man confidently.
+
+"No," quietly said the Archbishop.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because I say no."
+
+The young man almost an Emperor drew himself up proudly, and his lips
+pressed together into a firm line of determination.
+
+"Does your Highness so quickly forget your promise?"
+
+"What promise?" asked the Prince, scowling.
+
+"In consideration of my keeping silence touching your recent outrageous
+career of fire and slaughter, and the enslavement of Heinrich, you
+promised to obey me until you became Emperor."
+
+"I intend to obey all reasonable requests, but I very much desire to
+accompany the Countess from her Castle to the capital, I have never seen
+Limburg, or taken that route to Frankfort."
+
+"It is a charming old city," replied the Archbishop dryly, "which you
+can visit any time at the expense of a day's ride. Meanwhile, I shall
+escort the Countess thither, and endeavor to entertain her with pleasing
+and instructive conversation during the journey."
+
+The Prince continued to frown, yet bit his lip and repressed an angry
+retort.
+
+"But," protested the girl, "would it not be much safer for his Highness
+to enter the city of Frankfort protected by your army?"
+
+The Archbishop laughed a little.
+
+"My dear Hildegunde, the presence of Prince Roland causes you to
+overlook a vast difference in the status of you both, but surely the
+exercise of a little imagination should present to you the true aspect
+of affairs. You are a free woman, and I hold the document by which you
+regained your liberty. Do not be deluded, therefore, by the apparent
+fact that his Highness can raise a clenched fist aloft and defy the
+heavens. It is not so. He wears fetters on his ankles, and manacles
+round his wrists. Roland is a prisoner, and must straightway immure
+himself. Your Highness, before us stands the stately Castle of Sayn,
+where presently you shall refresh yourself, and be furnished with an
+untired charger, on which to ride all night, that you may reach the
+gates of Ehrenfels early to-morrow morning. Once there, place the
+wine-loving Heinrich out of harm in the deepest dungeon, and take his
+place as prisoner. It is arranged that the three Archbishops personally
+escort you to Frankfort in the barge of Mayence, which will land you at
+the water-steps of the Royal Palace. If it were known that I had been
+even an hour in your company your chances of reaching the throne would
+be seriously jeopardized."
+
+"Surely such haste is unnecessary," cried the girl. "He can set out
+to-morrow in one direction while we go in another. He traveled all last
+night, and for most part of it was paddling a boat containing four
+people; has ridden almost since daylight, and now to journey on
+horseback throughout the night is too much for human endurance."
+
+The grave smile of the Archbishop shone upon her anxiety.
+
+"For lack of a nail the shoe was lost," he said, "and you know the
+remainder of the warning. If Prince Roland cares to risk an Empire for a
+night's rest, I withdraw my objection."
+
+The Prince suddenly wheeled his horse, and coming briskly round to the
+side of the girl, placed a hand on hers.
+
+"A decision, Countess!" he cried. "Give me your decision. I shall always
+obey you!"
+
+"Oh, the rashness of youth!" murmured the Archbishop.
+
+The girl looked up at the young man, and he caught his breath and
+clasped her hand more tightly as he gazed into the depths of her
+glorious eyes.
+
+"You must go," she sighed.
+
+"Yes, alas!"
+
+He raised her unresisting hand to his lips, and again turned his horse.
+
+"You will obey?" asked the Archbishop.
+
+"I will obey, my Lord."
+
+He flashed from its scabbard, into the rays of the setting sun, the
+sword he had made, and elevating the hilt to his forehead, saluted the
+Archbishop.
+
+"I shall see you at Ehrenfels, my Lord."
+
+"Ah, do not go thus. Come to the Castle for an hour's rest at least."
+
+The young man whirled his sword around, and caught it by the blade,
+touching the hilt with his lips as if it were a cross.
+
+"I thank God," said he, "that I can willingly keep my oath."
+
+Then, looking at the girl--"For the Empress, and not for the Empire!" he
+cried.
+
+The sword seemed to drop into the scabbard of its own accord, as Roland
+set spurs to his steed and away.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+THE SWORD MAKER AT BAY
+
+
+The heir-presumptive to the throne reached Frankfort very quietly in the
+Archbishop's barge, and was landed after nightfall at the water-steps of
+the Imperial Palace. The funeral of the Emperor took place almost as if
+it were a private ceremonial. Grave trouble had been anticipated, and
+the route of the procession for the short distance between Palace and
+Cathedral was thickly lined on either side by the troops of the three
+Archbishops. This precaution proved unnecessary. The dispirited citizens
+cared nothing for their late nominal ruler, and they manifested their
+undisguised hatred of the real rulers, the Archbishops, by keeping
+indoors while their soldiers marched the streets.
+
+The condition of the capital was unique. It suffered from a famine of
+money rather than a famine of food. Frankfort starved in the midst of
+plenty. Never had the earth been more fruitful than during this year,
+and the coming autumn promised a harvest that would fill the granaries
+to overflowing, yet no one brought in food to Frankfort, for the common
+people had not the money to buy. The working population depended
+entirely upon the merchants and manufacturers, and with the collapse of
+mercantile business thousands were thrown out of employment, and this
+penniless mob was augmented by the speedy cessation of all
+manufacturing.
+
+After the futile bread riots earlier in the year, put down so
+drastically by the Archbishops, the population of the city greatly
+diminished, and the country round about swarmed with homeless wanderers,
+who at least were sure of something to eat, but being city-bred, and
+consequently useless for agricultural employment, they gradually joined
+into groups and marauding bands, greatly to the menace of the provinces
+they traversed. Indeed, rumor had it that the robberies from certain
+castles on the Rhine, and the burning of Furstenberg, were the work of
+these free companies, consequently a sense of uneasiness permeated the
+Empire, whose rulers, great and small, began to foresee that a
+continuance of this state of things meant disaster to the rich as well
+as misery to the poor. Charity, spasmodic and unorganized, proved wholly
+unable to cope with the disaster that had befallen the capital city.
+
+When darkness set in on the third night after Roland's return to
+Frankfort, he made his way out into the unlighted streets, acting with
+caution until certain he was not followed, then betook himself to the
+Palace belonging to the Archbishop of Cologne.
+
+The porter at first refused him entrance, and Roland, not wishing to
+make himself known, declared he had an appointment with his Lordship.
+Trusting that the underling could not read, he presented his parchment
+safe-conduct, asking him to give that to his Lordship, with a message
+that the bearer awaited his pleasure. The suspicious servant, seeing the
+Grand Seal of the Empire upon the document, at once conducted Roland to
+a room on the ground floor, then departed with the manuscript to find
+his master.
+
+The Archbishop returned with him, the Imperial scroll in his hand, and a
+distinctly perceptible frown on his brow. When the servant withdrew,
+closing the door, the prelate said:
+
+"Highness, this is a very dangerous procedure on your part."
+
+"Why, my Lord?"
+
+"Because you are certain to have been followed."
+
+"What matter for that?" asked the young man. "I am quite unknown in
+Frankfort."
+
+"Prince Roland," said the Archbishop gravely, "until your Election is
+actually accomplished, you would be wise to do nothing that might arouse
+the suspicion of Mayence. This house is watched night and day, and all
+who come and go are noted. I dare say that within fifteen minutes
+Mayence will know you have visited me."
+
+"My dear Archbishop, they cannot note an unknown man. The uneasiness of
+Frankfort has already taken hold of me, and therefore I saw to it that I
+was not followed."
+
+"If you were not followed when you came, you will certainly be followed
+as you return."
+
+"In that case, my Lord, the spies will track me to the innocent home of
+Herr Goebel, the merchant, in the Fahrgasse."
+
+"They will shadow you when you leave his house."
+
+"Then their industry will be rewarded by an enjoyable terminus; in other
+words, the drinking cellar of the Rheingold."
+
+"Be assured, your Highness, that ultimately you will be traced to the
+Royal Palace."
+
+"Again not so, my Lord. They will be led across the bridge into the
+mechanics' quarter of Sachsenhausen, and if the watch continues, they
+must make a night of it, for I shall enter my humble room there and go
+to bed."
+
+"I see you have it all planned out," commented the discomfited
+Archbishop.
+
+The young man laughed.
+
+"I anticipate an interesting life, my Lord, because it is my habit to
+think before I act, and I notice that this apparently baffles the
+Electors. The truth is that you three are so subtle, and so much afraid
+of one another, so on the alert lest you be taken by surprise, that a
+straightforward action on my part throws all intrigue out of gear. Now,
+I'll warrant you cannot guess why I came here to-night."
+
+"Oh, I know the reason very well."
+
+"Do you? That astonishes me. What is the reason?"
+
+"You came to see the Countess von Sayn."
+
+"Ah, is the lady within? Why, of course, she must be. I remember now,
+she was to accompany you to Frankfort, and it naturally follows she is
+your guest."
+
+"She is my guest, your Highness, and one reason why you cannot see her
+is because at this moment the lady converses with the Count Palatine,
+who has just arrived from Gutenfels. As the Countess and myself enjoyed
+his hospitality not long ago in that stronghold, I have invited him to
+be my guest until the coronation ceremonies are completed."
+
+"My Lord, I regret that your hospitality halts when it reaches your
+future Emperor. Why may I not be introduced to the Count Palatine?"
+
+"Such introduction must not take place except in the presence of the
+other Electors. I am very anxious, as you may perceive, that nothing
+shall be done to jeopardize your own prospects. We have arrived, your
+Highness, at a critical moment. History relates that more than one
+candidate has come to the very steps of the throne, only to be rejected
+at the last moment. I am too sincere a friend to risk such an outcome in
+your own case."
+
+"Then you think it injudicious of me to see the Countess until after the
+Election?"
+
+"I not only think it injudicious, your Highness, but I intend to prevent
+a meeting."
+
+Again the young man laughed.
+
+"'Tis blessed then that I came for no such purpose; otherwise I might be
+deeply disappointed."
+
+"For what purpose did you come, Highness?"
+
+"The Imperial Palace, my Lord, belongs no more to my mother. If she or I
+continue there to reside, we seem to be taking for granted that I shall
+be elected Emperor; an assumption unfair to the seven Electors, whose
+choice should be untrammeled by even a hint of influence. I beg of you,
+therefore, my Lord, to extend your hospitality to my mother. I have
+spoken to her on this subject, and she will gladly be your guest, happy,
+I am sure, to forsake that gloomy abode."
+
+"I am honored, your Highness, by the opportunity you give me. I shall
+wait upon the Empress to-morrow at whatever hour it is convenient for
+her Majesty to receive me."
+
+"You are most kind. I suggested that she should name an hour, and midday
+was chosen."
+
+The Archbishop bowed profoundly. The young man rose, and held out his
+hand, which the Archbishop took with cordiality. The Prince looked very
+straight-forwardly at his host, and the latter thought he detected a
+twinkle in his eye, as he said with decision:
+
+"To-morrow I shall formally notify my Lord of Mayence that the Empress
+has chosen your Palace as her place of residence until after the
+coronation, and I shall request his Lordship to crave your permission
+that I may call here every day to see my mother."
+
+Again Cologne bowed, and made no further protest, although Roland
+seemingly expected one, but as it did not come, the Prince continued:
+
+"Here is my address in Sachsenhausen, should you wish a communication to
+reach me in haste; and kindly command your porter not to parley when I
+again demand speech with your Lordship. Good-night. I thank you, my
+Lord, for your courtesy," and the energetic youth disappeared before the
+slow-thinking Archbishop could call up words with which to reply.
+
+Cologne did not immediately rejoin his guests, but stood a very figure
+of perplexity, muttering to himself:
+
+"If our friend Mayence thinks that youngster is to be molded like soft
+clay, he is very much mistaken. I hope Roland will not cause him to feel
+the iron hand too soon. I wonder why Mayence is delaying the Election?
+Can it be that already he distrusts his choice, or is it the question of
+a wife?"
+
+Meanwhile the front door of the Archbishop's Palace had clanged shut,
+and Roland strode across the square careless or unconscious of spies,
+looking neither to the right nor to the left. He made his way speedily
+to the Fahrgasse, walking down that thoroughfare until he came to Herr
+Goebel's door, where he knocked, and was admitted. Ushered into the room
+where he had parted from the merchant, he found Herr Goebel seated at
+his table as if he had never left it. The merchant, with a cry of
+delight, greeted the young man.
+
+"Well, Herr Goebel, you see I have been a successful trafficker. Your
+bales of goods are all in Castle Pfalz, and I trust the barge returned
+safely to you with the money."
+
+"It did indeed, your Highness."
+
+"Has the coin been counted?"
+
+"Yes; and it totals an enormous, almost unbelievable, sum, which I have
+set down here to the last stiver."
+
+"That is brave news. Have any demands been made on you for its
+partition?"
+
+"No, your Highness."
+
+"Now, Herr Goebel, I have determined that all that money, which is in
+effect stolen property, shall go to the feeding of Frankfort's poor.
+Buying provender shrewdly, how long would this treasure keep hunger away
+from the gates of Frankfort?"
+
+"That requires some calculation, your Highness."
+
+"A month?"
+
+"Surely so."
+
+"Two months, perhaps?"
+
+"'Tis likely; but I deal in cloth, not in food, and therefore cannot
+speak definitely without computation and the advice of those expert in
+the matter."
+
+"Very well, Herr Goebel; get your computations made as soon as possible.
+Call together your merchants' guild, and ask its members--By the way,"
+said Roland, suddenly checking himself, "give to me in writing the
+amount of gold I have sent you."
+
+The unsuspecting merchant did so, and Roland's eyes opened with
+astonishment when he glanced at the total. He then placed the paper in
+the wallet he carried.
+
+"You were perhaps about to suggest that a committee be appointed,"
+ventured the merchant.
+
+"Yes; a small but capable committee, of which you shall be chairman and
+treasurer. But first you will ask the merchants to subscribe, out of
+their known wealth, a sum equaling the gold I filched from the Barons."
+
+The merchant's face fell, and took on a doleful expression.
+
+"The times, your Highness, have long been very bad, none of us making
+money--"
+
+The Prince held up his hand, and the merchant ceased his plaint.
+
+"If I can strip a Baron of his wealth," he said, "I will not waste words
+over the fleecing of merchants. This contribution is to be given in the
+name of the three Archbishops, whose heavy hands came down on you after
+the late insurrection. The Archbishops have now nine thousand troops in
+Frankfort. If given leave, they will collect the sum three times over
+within a very few hours; so you, as chairman of the committee, may
+decide whether the fund shall be a voluntary contribution or an impost
+gathered by soldiery: it matters nothing to me. Have it proclaimed
+throughout the city that owing to the graciousness of the three
+Archbishops starvation is now at an end in Frankfort."
+
+"Highness, with your permission, and all due deference, it seems rather
+unjust that we should contribute the cash and lose the credit."
+
+"Yes, Herr Goebel; this is a very unjust world, as doubtless many of the
+starving people thought when they recollected that a few hundred of you
+possessed vast wealth while they were penniless. Nevertheless, there are
+good times ahead for all of us. Let me suggest that this money which I
+sent to you may prove sufficient and so the subscriptions of the
+merchants can be returned to them; that is, if the relief fund is
+honestly administered. So set to work early to-morrow with energy. You
+merchants have had a long vacation. I think the Rhine will be open
+before many weeks are past, and then you can turn to your money-making,
+but our first duty is to feed the hungry. Good-night, Herr Goebel."
+
+He left the merchant as dazed as was the Archbishop. Once again outside
+he made directly for the wine cellar of the Rheingold. On reaching the
+steps he heard a roar of talk, lightened now and then by the sound of
+laughter. He paused a moment before descending. It was evident that the
+company was enjoying itself, and Roland soliloquized somewhat sadly:
+
+"I am the disturbing element in that group. They seem to agree famously
+when by themselves. Ah, well, no matter. They will soon be rid of me!"
+
+When Roland descended the stair, the proprietor greeted him with joy.
+
+"I have missed you, Herr Roland," he said, "so you may imagine how much
+the guild has regretted your absence."
+
+"Yes; I hear them bemoaning their fate."
+
+The inn-keeper laughed.
+
+"How many are here to-night?"
+
+"There is a full house, Sir Roland."
+
+"Really? Are Kurzbold and Gensbein within?"
+
+"Oh, yes; and there is no scarcity of money, thanks to you, I
+understand."
+
+"Rather, our thanks are for ever due to you, Herr Host, for sustaining
+us so long when we were penniless. We shall never forget that," and so
+with a semi-military salute to the gratified cellar-man, Roland pushed
+open the door and entered the banqueting room of the iron-workers'
+guild. An instant silence fell on the group.
+
+"Good evening to you, gentlemen," said the Prince, taking off his hat,
+and with a twist of his shoulders flinging the cloak from them.
+
+Instantly arose a great cheer, and Greusel, who occupied the chair at
+the head of the table, strode forward, took Roland's hat and cloak, and
+hung them up. After that he attempted to lead their Captain to the seat
+of honor.
+
+"No, no, my dear lieutenant," said Roland, placing his hand
+affectionately on the other's shoulder, "a better man than I occupies
+the chair, and shall never be displaced by me."
+
+The others, now on their feet, with the exception of Kurzbold and
+Gensbein, vociferously demanded that Roland take the chair. Smilingly he
+shook his head, and holding up his hand for silence, addressed them.
+
+"Take your seats, comrades; and, Greusel, if you force me to give a
+command, I order you into that chair without further protest."
+
+Greusel, with evident reluctance, obeyed.
+
+"Truth to tell, brothers, I have but a few moments to stop. I merely
+dropped in to enjoy a sip of wine with you, and to offer a proposal
+that, within five minutes, will make me the most unpopular man in this
+room, therefore you see my wisdom in refusing a chair from which I
+should be very promptly ejected."
+
+One of the members poured a tankard full of wine from a flagon, and
+handed it to Roland, who, saluting the company, drank.
+
+"You did not divide the money, Greusel?"
+
+"No, Roland. We gave each man five hundred thalers, to keep as best he
+might. We then concealed the rest of the gold between the bottom of the
+boat and its inner planking. Ebearhard and I construed your orders
+somewhat liberally, conceiving it was your desire to get our treasure
+and ourselves safely into Frankfort."
+
+"Quite right," corroborated Roland.
+
+"When morning came upon us, we soon discovered that the whole country
+was aroused, because of the destruction of Furstenberg and the looting
+of Sonneck. No one knew where the next raid would strike, and therefore
+the whole country-side was in a turmoil. Now, the only fact known to the
+despoiled was that a long black barge had appeared in front of the
+Castle while the attack was made from behind. We realized that it would
+be impossible for us to go up the river except in darkness, so in case
+of a search we concealed the treasure where it was not likely to be come
+at, and each day lay quiet at an unfrequented part of the river, rowing
+all night. Not until we reached the Main did we venture on a daylight
+voyage. It was agreed among us unanimously that the money should be
+placed in Herr Goebel's keeping until you returned."
+
+"That was all excellently done," commented Roland. "I have just been to
+see Herr Goebel, and was surprised to learn how much we had actually
+taken. And now I ask you to make a great sacrifice. This city is
+starving. If we give that gold to its relief, the merchants of Frankfort
+will contribute an equal amount. I do not know how long such a total
+will keep the wolves from the doors of Frankfort; probably for six
+months. I shall learn definitely to-morrow." Here Roland outlined his
+plan of relief, which was received in silence.
+
+Kurzbold spoke up.
+
+"I should like to know how much the total is?"
+
+"That is a matter with which you have nothing to do," growled Greusel;
+then, turning to Roland, who had not yet taken a seat, he said: "So far
+as my share is concerned, I agree."
+
+"I agree," added Ebearhard; and so it went down along each side of the
+table until eighteen had spoken.
+
+Kurzbold rose with a smile on his face.
+
+"I don't know how it is, ex-Captain, that the moment you come among us
+there seems to arise a spirit of disputation."
+
+"Curiously enough, Herr Kurzbold, that same thought arose in my mind as
+I listened to your hilarity before I entered. I beg to add, for your
+satisfaction, that this is my last visit to the guild, and never again
+shall I disturb its harmony."
+
+"There is no lack of harmony," cried Ebearhard, laughing, as he rose.
+"The agreement has been practically unanimous--quite unanimous in fact,
+among those entitled to share in the great treasure. I believe Herr
+Kurzbold has a claim, if it has not been forfeited, to the loot of
+Rheinstein."
+
+"Now, even the genial Ebearhard," continued Kurzbold, "although his
+words are blameless, speaks with a certain tone of acerbity, while my
+friend Greusel has become gruff as a bear."
+
+"You need not labor that point, Herr Kurzbold," said Roland. "I have
+resigned."
+
+"I just wished to remark," Kurzbold went on, "that I rose for the
+purpose of stating I had some slight share in something; stolen
+property; honor among thieves, you know. Are my rights to this share
+disputed?"
+
+"No," said the chairman shortly.
+
+"Very well," concluded Kurzbold, "as I am graciously permitted to speak
+in the august presence of our ex-Captain, I desire to say that whatever
+my share happens to be, I bestow it gladly, nay, exultantly, upon the
+poor of Frankfort."
+
+With that Kurzbold sat down, and there was first a roar of laughter,
+followed by a clapping of hands. Gensbein rose, and said briefly:
+
+"I do as Kurzbold does."
+
+"Now," said Roland, "I want a number of volunteers to start out into the
+country early to-morrow morning, Greusel, you, as chairman, will
+designate the routes. Each man is to penetrate as far as he can along
+the main roads, asking the farmers to bring everything in the shape of
+food they have to sell. Tell them a vast sum has been collected, and
+that their cartloads will be bought entire the moment they enter the
+city. There will be no waiting for their money. Prompt payment, and
+everything eatable purchased immediately. Greusel, I put on you the
+hardest task. Penetrate into the forest south of the Main, and tell the
+charcoal-burners and woodmen to bring in material for kitchen fires. How
+many will volunteer?"
+
+Every man rose. Roland thanked them. "I shall now divulge a secret, and
+you will see that when it was told to me I remembered your interests. It
+has been my privilege to meet, since I saw you, more than one man who is
+a ruler in this Empire."
+
+"Did they tell you who is to be the new Emperor?" cried one.
+
+"That is known only to the Electors. But what I was about to say is
+this. There are to be established by the Government ironworks on a scale
+hitherto unknown in any land. I believe, and did my best to inculcate
+that belief in others, that we are on the verge of an age of iron, and,
+knowing your skill, I am privileged to offer each of you the
+superintendency of a department, with compensation never before given so
+lavishly in Germany. I am also induced to believe that the new Emperor
+will bestow a title on each of you who desire such honor, so that there
+can be no question of your right to wear a sword. Greusel, you must
+receive reports from each of our food scouts, and I shall be glad to
+know the outcome, if you take the trouble to call upon me any hour after
+nine o'clock at night, at my old room in Sachsenhausen. And now,
+good-night, and good-luck to you all."
+
+Roland went over the bridge, and so reached his room on the other side.
+He glanced around several times to satisfy himself he was not spied
+upon, and laughed at the apprehension of the Archbishop. Entering his
+room, he lit a lamp, took off his cloak and flung it on the bed, then
+unbuckled his sword-belt and hung it and the weapon on a peg, placing
+his cloak above them. He was startled by a loud knock at the door, and
+stood for a moment astonished, until it was repeated with the stern
+warning:
+
+"Open in the name of the Archbishop!"
+
+The young man strode forward, drew back the bolt, and flung open the
+door. An officer, with two soldiers behind him, came across the
+threshold, and at the side-motion of the officer's head a soldier closed
+and bolted the door. Roland experienced a momentary thrill of
+indignation at this rude intrusion, then he remembered he was a
+mechanic, and that his line must be the humble and deferential.
+
+"You came to-night from the Imperial Palace. What were you doing there?"
+
+"I was trying to gain admission, sir."
+
+"For what purpose?"
+
+"I wished," said Roland, rapidly outlining his defense in his own mind,
+"I wished to see some high officer; some one of your own position, sir,
+but was not so fortunate as to succeed. I could not pass the sentries
+without a permit, which I did not then possess, but hope to acquire
+to-morrow."
+
+"Again I ask, for what purpose?"
+
+"For a purpose which causes me delight in meeting your excellency."
+
+"I am no excellency. Come to the point! For what purpose?"
+
+"To show the officer a sword of such superior quality that a man armed
+with it, and given a certain amount of skill, stands impregnable."
+
+"Do you mean to tell me you went to the Royal Palace for the purpose of
+selling a second-hand sword?"
+
+"Oh, no, my lord."
+
+"Do not be so free with your titles. Call me Lieutenant."
+
+"Well, Lieutenant, sir; I hope to get orders for a hundred, or perhaps a
+thousand of these weapons."
+
+"Where did you go after leaving the Palace?"
+
+"I went to the residence of that great Prince of the Church, the
+Archbishop of Cologne."
+
+"Ah! You did not succeed in seeing his Lordship, I suppose?"
+
+"Pardon me, Lieutenant, but I did. His Lordship is keenly interested in
+both weapons and armor."
+
+"Did he give you an order for swords?"
+
+"No, Lieutenant; he seems to be a very cautious man. He asked me to
+visit him in Cologne, or if I could not do that, to see his general, now
+in Frankfort. You understand, Lieutenant, the presence of the three
+Archbishops with their armies offers me a great opportunity, by which I
+hope to profit."
+
+The officer looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face.
+
+"Where next did you go?"
+
+"I went to the house of a merchant in the Fahrgasse."
+
+"Ah, that tale doesn't hold! Merchants are not allowed to wear swords."
+
+"No, Lieutenant, but a merchant on occasion can supply capital that will
+enable a skilled workman to accept a large contract. If I should see the
+general of his Lordship to-morrow, and he gave me an order for, say, two
+thousand swords, I have not enough money to buy the metal, and I could
+not ask for payment until I delivered the weapons."
+
+"Did the merchant agree to capitalize you?"
+
+"He, too, was a cautious man, Lieutenant. He wished first to see the
+contract, and know who stood responsible for payment."
+
+"Wise man," commented the officer; "and so, disheartened, I suppose, you
+returned here?"
+
+"No, Lieutenant; the day has been warm, and I have traveled a good deal.
+I went from the merchant's house to the Rheingold tavern, there to drink
+a tankard of wine with my comrades, a score of men who have formed what
+they call the ironworkers' guild. I drank a tankard with them, and then
+came direct here, where I arrived but a few moments ago."
+
+The officer was more and more puzzled. Despite this young man's
+deferential manner, his language was scarcely that of a mechanic, yet
+this certainly was his own room, and he had told the absolute truth
+about his wanderings, as one who has nothing to fear.
+
+The Lieutenant stood for a space of time with eyes to the floor, as
+silent as the soldiers behind him. Suddenly he looked up.
+
+"Show me the sword. I'll tell you where it's made!"
+
+If he expected hesitation he was mistaken. Roland gave a joyful cry,
+swept aside the cloak, whisked forth the sword, flung it up, and caught
+it by the blade, then with a low bow handed it to the officer, who
+flashed it through the air, bent the blade between finger and thumb,
+then took it near the lamp and scrutinized it with the eye of an expert.
+
+"A good weapon, my friend. Where was it made? I have never seen one like
+it."
+
+"It was made by my own hands here in Frankfort. Of course I go first to
+those who know least about the matter, but if I can get an introduction
+to his Lordship of Mayence, his officers will know a sword when they see
+it; and I hope to-night fortune, in leading you to my door, has brought
+me an officer of Mayence."
+
+The Lieutenant looked at him, and for the first time smiled. He handed
+back the weapon, signed to his men to unbolt the door, which they did,
+stepping out; then he said:
+
+"I bid you good-night. Your answers have been satisfactory, but I set
+you down not as a mechanic, but a very excellent merchant of swords."
+
+"Lieutenant," said Roland, "you do not flatter me." He raised his weapon
+in military salute. "I am no merchant, but a sword maker."
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+THE BETROTHAL IN THE GARDEN
+
+
+Next morning Prince Roland sent a letter to the Archbishop of Mayence
+informing him that the Empress had taken up her abode in the Palace of
+her old friend, the Lord of Cologne, giving the reasons for this move
+and his own desertion of the Imperial Palace, and asking permission to
+call upon his mother each day. The messenger brought back a prompt
+reply, which commended the delicacy of his motives in leaving the Royal
+Palace, but added that, so far as the three Archbishops were concerned,
+the Saalhof was still at their disposal: of course Prince Roland's
+movements were quite untrammeled, and again, so far as concerned the
+three Archbishops, he was at liberty to visit whom he pleased, as often
+as he liked.
+
+While waiting for the return of his messenger, Roland called upon Herr
+Goebel, and told him that twenty emissaries had gone forth in every
+direction from Frankfort to inform the farming community that a market
+had been opened in the city, and in exchange learned what the merchant
+had already done towards furthering the necessary organization.
+
+"Oh, by the way, Herr Goebel," he cried, suddenly recollecting, "just
+write out and sign a document to this effect: 'I promise Herr Roland,
+sword maker of Sachsenhausen, to supply him with the capital necessary
+for carrying out his contract with his Lordship the Archbishop of
+Cologne.'"
+
+Without demur the merchant indited the document, signed it, and gave it
+to the Prince.
+
+"If any emissary of Mayence pays you a domiciliary visit, Herr Goebel,
+asking questions about me, carefully conceal my real status, and reply
+that I am an honest, skillful sword maker, anxious to revive the
+iron-working industry, and for this reason, being yourself solicitous
+for the welfare of Frankfort, you are risking some money."
+
+In the afternoon Roland walked to the Palace of Cologne and boldly
+entered, with no attempt at secrecy, the doorkeeper on this occasion
+offering no impediment to his progress. He learned that the Empress,
+much fatigued, had retired to her room and must not be disturbed; that
+the Archbishop was consulting with the Count Palatine, while the
+Countess von Sayn was walking in the garden. Roland passed with some
+haste through the Palace, and emerged into the grounds behind it:
+grounds delightfully umbrageous, and of an extent surprisingly large,
+surrounded by a very high wall of stone, so solidly built that it might
+successfully stand a siege.
+
+Roland found the girl sauntering very slowly along one of the most
+secluded alleys, whose gravel-path lay deeply in the shade caused by the
+thick foliage of over-hanging trees, which made a cool, green tunnel of
+the walk. Her head was slightly bowed in thought, her beautiful face
+pathetic in its weariness, and the young man realized, with a pang of
+sympathy, that she was still to all intents and purposes a prisoner,
+with no companions but venerable people. She could not, and indeed did
+not attempt to suppress an exclamation of delight at seeing him,
+stretching out both hands in greeting, and her countenance cleared as if
+by magic.
+
+"I was thinking of you!" she cried, without a trace of coquetry.
+
+"I judged your thoughts to be rather gloomy," he said, with a laugh, in
+which she joined.
+
+"Gloomy only because I could see or hear nothing of you."
+
+"Did you know I came yesterday?"
+
+"No. Why did you not ask to see me?"
+
+"I was informed you were entertaining the Count Palatine."
+
+"Ah, yes. He is a delightful old man. I like him better and better as
+time goes on. My guardian and I were guests of his at Gutenfels just
+before I occupied the marine prison of Pfalz."
+
+"So your guardian told me."
+
+They were now walking side by side in this secluded, thickly-wooded
+avenue, just wide enough for two, running in a straight line from wall
+to wall the whole length of the property, in the part most remote from
+the house.
+
+"Nothing disastrous has happened to you?" she asked. "I have had
+miserable forebodings."
+
+"No; I am living a most commonplace life, quite uneventful."
+
+"But why, why does the Archbishop of Mayence delay the Election?"
+
+"I did not know he was doing so."
+
+"Oh, my guardian is very anxious about it. Such postponement, I
+understand, never happened before. The State is without a head."
+
+"Has your guardian spoken to Mayence about it?"
+
+"Yes; and has been met by the most icy politeness. Mayence wishes this
+Election to take place with a full conclave of the seven Electors, three
+of whom have not yet arrived. But my guardian says they never arrive,
+and take no interest in Imperial matters. He pointed out to Mayence that
+a quorum of the Court is already in Frankfort, but his Lordship of the
+Upper Rhine merely protests that they must not force an Election, all of
+which my guardian thinks is a mere hiding of some design on the part of
+Mayence."
+
+Prince Roland meditated on this for a few moments, then, as if shaking
+off his doubts, he said:
+
+"It never occurs to one Archbishop that either of the others may be
+speaking the truth. There is so much mistrust among them that they
+nullify all united action, which accounts for the prostrate state of
+this city, the capital of one of the most prosperous countries under the
+sun. So far as I can see, taken individually, they are upright,
+trustworthy men. Now, to give you an instance. Your guardian last night
+was simply panic-stricken at my audacity in visiting him. He said I must
+not come again, refusing me permission to see you; he told you nothing
+of my conference with him: he felt certain I was being tracked by spies,
+and could not be made to understand that my presence here was of no
+consequence one way or another."
+
+"Then why are you here now?"
+
+"I am just coming to that. I asked your guardian to invite my mother as
+his guest. Have you met her yet?"
+
+"No; they told me the Empress was too tired to receive any one. I am to
+be introduced at dinner to-night."
+
+"Well, this morning I wrote to the Archbishop of Mayence, telling him of
+my interview with your guardian, the reason for it, and the results. His
+reply came promptly by return." Roland produced the document. "Just read
+that, and see whether you detect anything sinister in it."
+
+She read the letter thoughtfully.
+
+"That is honest enough on the surface."
+
+"On the surface, yes; but why not below the surface as well? That is a
+frank assent to a frank request. I think that if the Archbishops would
+treat each other with open candor they would save themselves a good deal
+of anxiety."
+
+"Perhaps," said the girl, very quietly.
+
+"You are not convinced?"
+
+"I don't know what to think." Then she looked up at him quickly. "Were
+you followed last night?"
+
+"Ah!" ejaculated Roland, laughing a little "apparently not, so far as I
+could see, but the night was very dark." Then he related to her the
+incidents succeeding the return to his room, while she listened with
+breathless eagerness. "The Lieutenant," he concluded, "did not deny that
+he was in the service of Mayence when I hinted as much, but, on the
+other hand, he did not admit it. Of course, I knew by his uniform to
+whom he belonged. He conducted my examination with military abruptness,
+but skillfully and with increasing courtesy, although I proclaimed
+myself a mechanic."
+
+"You a mechanic!" she said incredulously. "Do you think he believed it?"
+
+"I see you doubt my histrionic ability, but when next he waits upon me I
+shall produce documentary evidence of my status, and, what is more, I'll
+take to my workshop." 
+
+"Do you possess a workshop?" cried the girl in amazement.
+
+"Do I? Why, I am partner with a man named Greusel, and we own a workshop
+together. A gruff, clumsy individual, as you would think, but who,
+nevertheless, with his delicate hammer, would beat you out in metal a
+brooch finer than that you are wearing."
+
+"Do you mean Joseph?"
+
+"Yes," replied Roland, astonished. "What do you know of him?"
+
+"Have you forgotten so soon? It was his stalwart shoulders that burst in
+my door at Pfalz, and you yourself told me his name was Joseph Greusel.
+Were all those marauders you commanded honest mechanics?"
+
+"Every man of them."
+
+"Then you must be the villain of the piece who led those worthy
+ironworkers astray?"
+
+Roland laughed heartily.
+
+"That is quite true," he said. "Have I fallen in your estimation?"
+
+"No; to me you appeared as a rescuer. Besides, I come of a race of
+ruffians, and doubtless on that account take a more lenient view of your
+villainy than may be the case with others."
+
+The young man stopped in his walk, and seized her hands again, which she
+allowed him to possess unresisting.
+
+"Hilda," he said solemnly, "your guardian thought the Archbishop of
+Mayence had relented, and would withdraw his opposition to our marriage.
+Has Mayence said anything to corroborate that estimate?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"Has your guardian broached the subject to him?" 
+
+"Yes; but the attitude of my Lord of Mayence was quite inscrutable.
+Personally I think my guardian wrong in his surmise. The Archbishop of
+Treves murmured that Mayence never forgives. I am certain I offended him
+too deeply for pardon. He wishes the future Empress to be a pliable
+creature who will influence her husband according to his Lordship's
+desires, but, as I have boasted several times, I belong to the House of
+Sayn."
+
+"Hilda, will you marry me in spite of the Archbishops?"
+
+"Roland, will you forego kingship for my sake?"
+
+"Yes; a thousand times yes!"
+
+"You said 'For the Empress; not for the Empire,' but if I am no Empress,
+you will as cheerfully wed me?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then _I_ say yes!"
+
+He caught her in his arms, and they floated into the heaven of their
+first kiss, an ecstatic melting together. Suddenly she drew away from
+him.
+
+"There is some one coming," she whispered.
+
+"Nothing matters now," said Roland breathlessly. "There is no one in the
+world to-day but you and me."
+
+Hildegunde drew her hands down her cheeks, as if to brush away their
+tell-tale color and their warmth.
+
+"'Tis like," said Roland, "that you marry a poor man."
+
+"Nothing matters now," she repeated, laughing tremulously. "I am said to
+be the richest woman in Germany. I shall build you a forge and enlist
+myself your apprentice. We will paint over the door 'Herr Roland and
+wife; sword makers.'"
+
+Two men appeared at the end of the alley, and stood still; the one with
+a frown on his brow, the other with a smile on his lips.
+
+"Oh!" whispered the Countess, panic striking from her face the color
+that her palms had failed to remove, "the Archbishop and the Count
+Palatine!"
+
+His Lordship strode forward, followed more leisurely by the smiling
+Count.
+
+"Prince Roland," said Cologne, "I had not expected this after our
+conference of last night."
+
+"I fail to understand why, my Lord, when my parting words were 'Tell
+your porter to let me in without parley.' That surely indicated an
+intention on my part to visit the Palace."
+
+"Your Highness knows that so far as I am concerned you are very welcome,
+and always shall be so, but at this juncture there are others to
+consider."
+
+Roland interrupted.
+
+"Read this letter, my Lord, and you will learn that I am here with the
+full concurrence of that generous Prince of the Church, Mayence."
+
+Cologne, with knitted brow, scrutinized the communication.
+
+"Your Highness is most courageous, but, if I may be permitted, just a
+trifle too clever."
+
+"My Highness is not clever at all, but merely meets a situation as it
+arises."
+
+"Prince Roland," said the Countess, her head raised proudly, "may I
+introduce to you my friend, and almost my neighbor, the Count Palatine
+of the Rhine?"
+
+"Ah, pardon me," murmured the Archbishop, covered with confusion, but
+the jovial Count swept away all embarrassment by his hearty greeting.
+
+"Prince Roland, I am delighted with the honor her ladyship accords me."
+
+"And I, my Lord, am exceedingly gratified to meet the Count Palatine
+again."
+
+"Again?" cried the Count in astonishment, "If ever we had encountered
+one another, your Highness, I certainly should not have been the one to
+forget the privilege."
+
+The Prince laughed.
+
+"It is true, nevertheless. My Lord Count, there is a namesake of mine in
+the precincts of your strong Castle of Gutenfels; a namesake who does
+more honor to the title than I do myself."
+
+The Count Palatine threw back his head, and the forest garden echoed
+with boisterous laughter.
+
+"You mean my black charger, Prince Roland!" he shouted. "A noble horse
+indeed. How knew you of him? If your Highness cares for horses allow me
+to present him to you."
+
+"Never, my Lord Count. You are too fond of him yourself, and I have
+always had an affectionate feeling towards you for your love of that
+animal, which, indeed, hardly exceeds my own. I grasped his bridle-rein,
+and held the stirrup while you mounted."
+
+"How is that possible?" asked the astonished Count.
+
+"I cared for Prince Roland nearly a month, receiving generous wages,
+and, what I valued more, your own commendation, for you saw I was as
+fond of horses as you were."
+
+"Good heavens! Were you that youth who came so mysteriously, and
+disappeared without warning?"
+
+"Yes," laughed the Prince. "I know Gutenfels nearly as well as you do. I
+was a spy, studying the art of war and methods of fortification. I
+stopped in various capacities at nearly all the famous Castles of the
+Rhine, and this knowledge recently came in--"
+
+"Your Highness, your Highness!" pleaded the Archbishop. "I implore you
+to remember that the Count Palatine is an Elector of the Empire, and, as
+I told last night, we are facing a crisis. Until that crisis is passed
+you will add to my already great anxiety by any lack of reticence on
+your part."
+
+"By the Three Kings!" cried the Count, "this youth, if I may venture to
+call him so, has bound me to him with bands stronger than chain armor. I
+shall vote for him whoever falters."
+
+"His Highness," said the Archbishop, with a propitiatory smile, "has
+been listening to the Eastern tales which our ancestors brought from the
+Crusades, and I fear has filled his head with fancies."
+
+"Really, Archbishop, you misjudge me," said the young man; "I am the
+most practical person in the Empire. You interrupted my boasting to her
+ladyship of my handiwork. I would have you know I am a capable mechanic
+and a sword maker. What think you of that, my Lord?" he asked, drawing
+forth his weapon, and handing it to Cologne.
+
+"An excellent blade indeed," said the latter, balancing it in his hand.
+
+"Very well, my Lord, I made it and tempered it unassisted. I beg you to
+re-enter your palace, and write me out an order for a thousand of these
+weapons."
+
+"If your Highness really wishes me to do this, and there is no concealed
+humorism in your request which I am too dull to fathom, you must
+accompany me to my study and dictate the document I am to indite. I
+shall wait till you bid farewell to the Countess."
+
+A glance of mutual understanding flashed between the girl and himself,
+then Roland raised her hand to his lips, and although the onlookers saw
+the gallant salutation, they knew nothing of the gentle pressure with
+which the fingers exchanged their confidences.
+
+"Madam," said the Prince, "it will be my pleasure and duty to wait upon
+my mother to-morrow. May I look forward to the happiness of presenting
+you to her?"
+
+"I thank you," said the Countess simply, with a glance of appeal at her
+guardian. That good man sighed, then led the way into the house.
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST
+
+
+Roland left the palace with a sense of elation he had never before
+experienced, but this received a check as he saw standing in the middle
+of the square the Lieutenant of the night before. His first impulse was
+to avoid the officer, yet almost instinctively he turned and walked
+directly to him, which apparently nonplussed the brave emissary of
+Mayence.
+
+"Good afternoon to you, sir," began Roland, as if overjoyed to see him.
+"Will you permit me to speak to you, sir?"
+
+"Well?" said the Lieutenant curtly.
+
+"My forge, which has been black and cold for many a long day, will soon
+be alight and warm again. What think you of this?" He handed to the
+Lieutenant his order for a thousand swords, and the officer made a
+mental note of the commission as an interesting point in armament that
+would be appreciated by his chief.
+
+"You did not inform me last night who was the merchant you hoped would
+finance your enterprise."
+
+"Hoped?" echoed Roland, his eyes sparkling. "'Tis more than hope, Herr
+Lieutenant. His name is Goebel, and he is one of the richest and
+chiefest traffickers of Frankfort. Why, my fortune is made! Read this,
+written in his own hand. I got it from him before midday, on my mere
+word that I was certain of an order from his Lordship."
+
+"You are indeed much to be envied," said the Lieutenant coldly,
+returning the two documents.
+
+"Ah, but I am just at the beginning. If _you_ would favor me by
+smoothing the way to his Lordship, the Archbishop of Mayence, I in
+return--"
+
+"Out upon you for a base-born, profit-mongering churl! Do you think that
+I, an officer, would demean myself by partnering a bagman!"
+
+The Lieutenant turned on his heel, strode away and left him. Roland
+pursued his way with bowed head, as though stricken by the rebuff.
+Nearing the bridge, he saw a crowd around an empty cart, standing by
+which a man in rough clothing was cursing most vociferously.
+
+At first he thought there had been an accident, but most of the people
+were laughing loudly; so, halting in the outskirts, he asked the cause
+of the commotion.
+
+"'Tis but a fool farmer," said a man, "who came from the country with
+his load of vegetables. 'Tis safer to enter a lion's den unarmed than to
+come into Frankfort with food while people are starving. He has been
+plundered to the last leaf."
+
+Roland shouldered his way through the crowd, and touched the frantic man
+on the shoulder.
+
+"What was the value of your load?" he said.
+
+"A misbegotten liar told me this morning that a market had opened in
+Frankfort, and that there was money to be had. No sooner am I in the
+town than everything I brought in is stolen."
+
+"Yes, yes; I know all about that. My question is, How much is your
+merchandise worth?"
+
+"Worth? Thirty thalers I expected to get, and now--"
+
+"Thirty thalers," interrupted the Prince. "Here is your money. Get you
+gone, and tell your neighbors there is prompt payment for all the
+provender they can bring in."
+
+The man calmed down as if a bucket of water had been thrown on him. He
+counted the payment with miserly care, testing each coin between his
+teeth, then mounted his cart without a word of thanks, and, to the
+disappointment of the gathering mob, drove away. Roland, seething with
+anger, walked directly to the house of Herr Goebel, and found that
+placid old burgher seated at his table.
+
+"Ten thousand curses on your indolence!" he cried. "Where are your
+committee, and the emissaries empowered to carry out this scheme of
+relief I have ordered?"
+
+"Committee? Emissaries?" cried the astonished man. "There has been no
+time!"
+
+"Time, you thick-headed fool! I'll time you by hanging you to your own
+front door. There has been time for me to send my men out into the
+country; time for a farmer to come in with a cartload of produce, and be
+robbed here under your very nose! Maledictions on you, you sit here,
+well fed, and cry there is no time! If I had not paid the yeoman he
+would have gone back into the country crying we were all thieves here in
+Frankfort. Now listen to me. I drew my sword once upon you in jest.
+Should I draw it a second time it will be to penetrate your lazy carcass
+by running you through. If within two hours there is not a paymaster at
+every gate in Frankfort to buy and pay for each cartload of produce as
+it comes, and also a number of guides to tell that farmer where to
+deliver his goods, I'll give your town over to the military, and order
+the sacking of every merchant's house within its walls."
+
+"It shall be done; it shall be done; it shall be done!" breathed the
+merchant, trembling as he rose, and he kept repeating the phrase with
+the iteration of a parrot.
+
+"You owe me thirty thalers," said the Prince calming down; "the first
+payment out of the relief fund. Give me the money."
+
+With quivering hands Herr Goebel, seeing no humor in the application,
+handed over the money, which the Prince slipped into his wallet.
+
+Dusk had fallen when at last he reached his room in Sachsenhausen, and
+there he found awaiting him Joseph Greusel, in semi-darkness and in
+total gloom.
+
+"Your housekeeper let me in," said the visitor.
+
+"Good! I did not expect you back so soon. Have the others returned?"
+
+"I do not know. I came direct here. I carry very ominous news, Roland,
+of impending disaster in Frankfort."
+
+"Greater than at present oppresses it?"
+
+"Civil war, fire, and bloodshed. Close the door, Roland; I am tired out,
+and I do not wish to be overheard."
+
+The Prince obeyed the request, locking the door. Going to a cupboard, he
+produced a generous flagon of wine and a tankard, setting the same on a
+small table before Greusel, then he threw himself down in the one
+armchair the room possessed. Greusel filled the tankard, and emptied it
+without drawing breath. He plunged directly into his narrative.
+
+"I had penetrated less than half a league into the forest when I was
+stopped by an armed man who stepped out from behind a tree. He wore the
+uniform of Mayence, and proclaimed me a prisoner. I explained my
+mission, but this had no effect upon him. He asked if I would go with
+him quietly, or compel him to call assistance. Being helpless, I said I
+would go quietly. Notwithstanding this, he bound my wrists behind me,
+then with a strip of cloth blindfolded me. Taking me by the arm, he led
+me through the forest for a distance impossible to calculate. I think,
+however, we walked not more than ten minutes. There was a stop and a
+whispered parley; a pause of a few minutes, and a further conference,
+which I partially heard. The commander before whom I must be taken was
+not ready to receive me. I should be placed in a tent, and a guard set
+over me.
+
+"This was done. I asked that the cord, which hurt my wrists, might be
+removed, but instead, my ankles were tied together, and I sat there on
+the ground, leaning against a pole at the back of the tent. Here my
+conductor left me, and I heard him give orders to those without to
+maintain a strict watch, but to hold no communication with me.
+
+"I imagine that the tent I occupied stood back to back with the tent of
+the commander, for after some time I heard the sound of voices, and it
+seemed to me voices of two men in authority. They had come to the back
+part of their tent, as if to speak confidentially, and their voices were
+low, yet I could hear them quite distinctly, being separated from them
+merely by two thicknesses of cloth. What I learned was this. There is
+concealed in the forest, within half an hour's quick march of the
+southern gate, a force of seven thousand soldiers. These soldiers belong
+to the Archbishop of Mayence, who commands an additional three thousand
+within the walls of Frankfort. Mayence holds the southern gate, as
+Treves holds the western and Cologne the northern. You see at once what
+that implies. Mayence can pour his troops into Frankfort, say, at
+midnight, and in the morning he has ten thousand soldiers as compared
+with the three thousand each commanded by the Archbishops of Treves and
+Cologne. That means civil war, and the complete crushing of the two
+northern Archbishops."
+
+"I think you take too serious a view of the matter," commented Roland.
+"Mayence is undoubtedly a subtle man, who takes every precaution that he
+shall have his own way. The reason that there will be no civil war is
+this. I happen to know on very excellent authority that so far as the
+Electoral Court goes, Mayence is paramount. He does not need to conquer
+Cologne and Treves by force, because he is already supreme by his genius
+for intrigue. He is a born ruler, and his methods are all those of
+diplomacy as against those of arms. I dare say if occasion demanded it
+he would strike quick and strike effectually, but occasion does not
+demand. I am rather sure of my facts, and I know that the three
+Archbishops, together with the Count Palatine of the Rhine, are in
+agreement to elect my namesake, Prince Roland, Emperor of Germany."
+
+"Yes," said Greusel, "I heard that rumor, and it is generally believed
+in Frankfort. Rumor, however, as usual, speaks falsely."
+
+The Prince smiled at his pessimistic colleague, for that colleague was
+talking to the man who knew; nevertheless, he listened patiently, for of
+course he could not yet reveal himself to his somber lieutenant, who
+continued his narrative:
+
+"The two men spoke of the unfortunate Prince, who is, I understand,
+still a prisoner in Ehrenfels."
+
+Here Roland laughed outright.
+
+"My dear Greusel, you are entirely mistaken. The Prince was never really
+a prisoner, and is at this moment in Frankfort, as free to do what he
+likes as I am."
+
+"I am sorry," said Greusel, "that you do not grasp the seriousness of
+the situation, but I have not yet come to the vital part of it, although
+I thought the very fact that seven thousand men threatened Frankfort
+would impress you."
+
+"It does, Greusel," said Roland, remembering the distrust in which both
+the Countess and her guardian held Mayence, and also the close watch his
+Lordship was keeping over Frankfort, as evidenced by the domiciliary
+visit paid to himself by an officer of that potentate. "Go on, Greusel,"
+he said more soberly, "I shall not interrupt you again."
+
+"I gathered that Prince Roland actually had been chosen, but
+complications arose which I do not altogether understand. These
+complications relate to a woman, or two women; both of them equally
+objectionable to the Archbishop of Mayence. One of these two women was
+to marry the new Emperor, but rather than have this happen, Mayence
+determined that another than Prince Roland should be elected, the reason
+being that Mayence feared one Empress would be entirely under the
+influence of Cologne, if chosen, and the other under the influence of
+Treves. So his subtle Lordship is deluding both of these Electors.
+Cologne has been asked to bring to Frankfort the woman he controls,
+therefore he harbors the illusion that Mayence is reconciled to her.
+Treves also has been requested to bring the lady who is his relative;
+thus she, too, is in Frankfort, and Treves blindly believes Mayence is
+favorable to her cause.
+
+"As a matter of fact Mayence will have neither, but has resolved to
+spring upon the Electoral Court at the last moment the name of the Grand
+Duke Karl of Hesse, a middle-aged man already married, and entirely
+under the dominance of his Lordship of Mayence."
+
+"Pardon me, Greusel, I must interrupt, in spite of my disclaimer. What
+you say sounds very ingenious, but it cannot be carried out. Treves,
+Cologne, and the Count Palatine are already pledged to vote for Prince
+Roland, so is Mayence himself, and to change front at the last moment
+would be to forswear himself, and act as traitor to his colleagues. Now,
+he cannot afford to lose even one vote, and I believe that the
+Archbishop of Cologne will vote for Prince Roland through thick and
+thin. I think the same of the Count Palatine. Treves, of course, is
+always doubtful and wavering, but you see that the negative vote of the
+Archbishop of Cologne would render Mayence powerless and an Election
+impossible."
+
+"Doubtless what you say is true, and now you have put your finger on the
+danger spot. Why has the Election been delayed beyond all precedent?"
+
+"That I do not know," replied Roland.
+
+"Then I will tell you. The Archbishop of Mayence has sent peremptory
+orders to the other three Electors, who are reported to be careless so
+far as Imperial affairs are concerned, and quite indifferent regarding
+the personality of the future Emperor. No one of these three Electors,
+however, dares offend so powerful a man as Mayence. If the Archbishop
+can overawe his colleagues nominally equal to him in position, each
+commanding an army, how think you can three small nobles, with no
+soldiers at their beck, withstand his requests, suavely given, no doubt,
+but with an iron menace behind them?"
+
+"True, true," muttered Roland.
+
+"Two of these nobles have already arrived, and are housed with the
+Archbishop of Mayence. The third is expected here within three days;
+four days at the farthest. Mayence will immediately convene the
+Electoral Court, when the Count Palatine, with the two Archbishops, may
+be astonished to find that for the first time in history, the whole
+seven are present in the Wahlzimmer. Mayence will ask Cologne to make
+the nomination, and he will put forward the name of Prince Roland. On a
+vote being taken the Prince will be in a minority of one. Mayence then
+shows his hand, nominating the Grand Duke Karl, who will be elected by a
+majority of one. Then may ensue a commotion in the Wahlzimmer, and
+accusations of bad faith, but remember that Cologne and Treves are taken
+completely by surprise. They cannot communicate with their commanders,
+for the three thousand troops which Mayence already has within Frankfort
+will have quietly surrounded the Town Hall that contains the Election
+Chamber, and Mayence's seven thousand men from the forest are pouring
+through the southern gate into the city, making straight for the Romer.
+Meanwhile the Grand Duke Karl, a man well known to the populace of
+Frankfort, appears on the balcony of the Kaisersaal, and is loudly
+acclaimed the new Emperor."
+
+"Ah, Greusel, forgive my attitude of doubt. It is all as plain now as
+the Cathedral tower. Still, there will be no civil war. Treves and
+Cologne will gather up their troops and go home, once more defeated by a
+man cleverer and more unscrupulous than both of them put together. They
+are but infants in his hands."
+
+"Have you any suggestion to make?" asked Greusel.
+
+"No; there is nothing to be done. You see, the young Prince has no
+following. He is quite unknown in Frankfort. His name can arouse no
+enthusiasm, and, all in all, that strikes me as a very good thing. The
+Grand Duke Karl is popular, and I believe he will make a very good
+Emperor."
+
+"You mean, Roland, that the Archbishop of Mayence will make a very good
+ruler, for he will be the real king."
+
+"Well, after all, Joseph, there is much to be said in favor of Mayence.
+He is a man who knows what he wants, and, what is more, gets it, and
+that, after all is the main thing in life. If any one could sway the
+Archbishop so that he put his great talents to the benefit of his
+country, instead of thinking only of himself, what a triumph of
+influence that would be! By the Three Kings, I'd like to do it! I admire
+him. If I found opportunity and could persuade him to join us in the
+relief of Frankfort, and in opening the Rhine to commerce, we would give
+these inane merchants a lesson in organization."
+
+Greusel rose from his chair, poured out another tankard full from the
+flagon, and drank it off.
+
+"I must go down now and meet the guild," he said. "I have eaten nothing
+all day, and am as hungry as a wolf from the Taunus."
+
+"Oh, how did you escape, by the way?"
+
+"I didn't escape. I was led blindfolded into a tent, where my bandage
+was removed, and here a man in ordinary dress questioned me concerning
+my object in entering the forest. I told him exactly the truth, and
+explained what we were trying to do in Frankfort. I dare say I looked
+honest and rather stupid. He asked when I set out; in what direction I
+came; questioning me with a great affectation of indifference; wanted to
+know if I had met many persons, and I told him quite truthfully I met no
+one but the man I understood was a forester; a keeper, I supposed."
+
+"'There are a number of us,' he said, 'hunting the wild boar, and we do
+not wish the animal life of these woods to be disturbed. We shall not be
+here longer than a week, but I advise you to seek another spot for what
+timber you require.'
+
+"He asked me, finally, if any one in Frankfort knew I had come to the
+forest, and I answered that the guild of twenty knew, and that we were
+all to meet to-night at the Rheingold tavern to report. He pondered for
+a while on this statement, and I suppose reached the conclusion that if
+I did not return to Frankfort, this score of men might set out in the
+morning to search for me, it being well known that the forest is
+dangerous on account of wild boars. So, as if it were of no consequence,
+he blindfolded me again, apologizing privately for doing so, saying it
+was quite unnecessary in the first instance, but as the guard had done
+so, he did not wish to censure him by implication.
+
+"I answered that it did not matter at all, but desired him to order my
+wrists released, which was done."
+
+"I must say," commented Roland, "that the Archbishop of Mayence is well
+served by his officers. Your examiner was a wise man."
+
+"Yes," replied Greusel, "but nevertheless, I am telling my story here in
+Frankfort."
+
+"No difference for that, because, as I have said, we can do nothing.
+Still, it is a blessing your examiner could not guess what you overheard
+in the other tent. He let you go thinking you had seen and learned
+nothing, and in doing so warded off a search party to-morrow."
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+A SECRET MARRIAGE
+
+
+Blessed is he that expects nothing, for he shall not be disappointed.
+Roland walked with Greusel across the bridge and through the streets to
+the entrance of the Rheingold, and there stopped.
+
+"I shall not go down with you," he said. "You have given me much to
+think of, and I am in no mood for a hilarious meeting. Indeed, I fear I
+should but damp the enthusiasm of the lads. Continue your good work
+to-morrow, and report to me at my room."
+
+With this Roland bade Greusel good-night and turned away. He walked very
+slowly as far as the bridge, and there, resting his arms on the parapet,
+looked down at the dark water. He was astonished to realize how little
+he cared about giving up the Emperorship, and he recalled, with a glow
+of delight, his recent talk in the garden with Hildegunde, and her
+assurance that she lacked all ambition to become the first lady in the
+land so long as they two spent their lives together.
+
+The bells of Frankfort tolling the hour of ten aroused him from his
+reverie, and brought down his thoughts from delicious dreams of romance
+to realms of reality. The precious minutes were passing over his head
+swiftly as the drops of water beneath his feet. There was little use of
+feeding Frankfort if it must be given over to fire and slaughter.
+
+With a chill of apprehension he reviewed the cold treachery of Mayence,
+willing to levy the horrors of civil war upon an already stricken city
+so long as his own selfish purposes were attained.
+
+"And yet," he said to himself, "there must be good in the man. I wish I
+knew his history. Perhaps he had to fight for every step he has risen in
+the world. Perhaps he has been baffled and defeated by deception;
+overcome by chicanery until his faith died within him. My faith would
+die within me were it not that when I meet a Mayence I encounter also
+the virtue of a Cologne, and the bluff honesty of a Count Palatine. How
+marvelous is this world, where the trickery of a Kurzbold and a Gensbein
+is canceled by the faithfulness unto death of a Greusel and an
+Ebearhard! Thus doth good balance evil, and then--and then, how Heaven
+beams upon earth in the angel glance of a good woman. God guide me
+aright! God guide me aright!" he repeated fervently, "and suppress in me
+all anger and uncharitableness."
+
+He walked rapidly across the bridge into Sachsenhausen, past his room at
+the street corner, and on to the monastery of the Benedictines, whose
+little chapel stood open night and day for the prayers of those in
+trouble or in sadness, habited only by one of the elder brothers, who
+gave, if it were needed, advice, encouragement, or spiritual comfort.
+Removing his hat, the Prince entered into the silence on tiptoe, and
+kneeling before the altar, prayed devoutly for direction, asking the
+Almighty to turn the thoughts of His servant, Mayence, into channels
+that flowed towards peace and the relief of this unhappy city.
+
+As he rose to his feet a weight lifted from his shoulders, and the
+buoyancy of youth drove away the depression that temporarily overcame
+him on hearing of the army threatening Frankfort. His plans were honest,
+his methods conciliatory, and the path now seemed clear before him. The
+monk in charge, who had been kneeling in a dark corner near the door,
+now came forward to intercept him.
+
+"Will your Highness deny me in the chapel as you did upon the bridge?"
+
+Roland stopped. In the gloom he had not recognized the ghostly Father.
+
+"No, Father Ambrose, and I do now what I should have done then. I pray
+your blessing on the enterprise before me."
+
+"My son, it is willingly given, the more willingly that I may atone in
+part my forgetting of the Holy Words: 'Judge not, that ye be not
+judged.' I grievously misjudged you, as I learn from both the Archbishop
+and my kinswoman. I ask your forgiveness."
+
+"I shall forgive you, Father Ambrose, if you make full, not partial
+atonement. The consequences of your mistake have proved drastic and
+far-reaching. The least of these consequences is that it has cost me the
+Emperorship."
+
+"Oh," moaned the good man, "_mea culpa, mea culpa!_ No penance put upon
+me can compensate for that disaster."
+
+"You blame yourself overmuch, good Father. The penance I have to impose
+will leave me deeply in your debt. Now, to come from the least to the
+greatest of these results, so far as I am concerned, my marriage with
+your kinswoman, whom I love devotedly, is in jeopardy. Through her
+conviction that I was a thief, she braved the Archbishop of Mayence, who
+imprisoned her, and now his Lordship has determined that the Grand Duke
+Karl of Hesse shall be Emperor. Thus we arrive at the most important
+outcome of your error. Between the overwhelming forces of Mayence and
+the insufficient troops of Cologne and Treves there may ensue a conflict
+causing the streets of Frankfort to flow with blood."
+
+The pious man groaned dismally.
+
+"I have a plan which will prevent this. The day after to-morrow I shall
+renounce all claim to the throne; but being selfish, like the rest, I
+refuse to renounce all claim to the woman the Archbishops themselves
+chose as my wife, neither shall I allow the case to be made further the
+plaything of circumstance. Your kinswoman, no later ago than this
+afternoon, confessed her love for me and her complete disregard of any
+position I may hold in this realm. Now, Father Ambrose, I ask you
+several questions. Is it in consonance with the rules of the Church that
+a marriage be solemnized in this chapel?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Are you entitled to perform the ceremony?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Is it possible this ceremony can be performed to-morrow?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Will you therefore attend to the necessary preliminaries, of which I am
+vastly ignorant, and say at what hour the Countess and I may present
+ourselves in this chapel?"
+
+"The Archbishop of Cologne is guardian to her ladyship. Will you bring
+me his sanction?"
+
+"Ah, Father Ambrose, there is just the point. So far as concerns himself
+I doubt not that the Archbishop is the most unambitious of men, but to
+the marriage of his ward with a sword maker I fear he would refuse
+consent which he would gladly give to a marriage with an Emperor."
+
+The monk hung his head, and pondered on the proposition. At last he
+said:
+
+"Why not ask my Lord the Archbishop?"
+
+"I dare not venture. Too much is at stake. She might be carried away to
+any castle in Germany. Remember that Cologne has already acquiesced in
+her imprisonment, and but that the iron chain of the Pfalzgraf brought
+me to her prison door--The iron chain, do I say? 'Twas the hand of God
+that directed me to her, and now, with the help of Him who guided me,
+not all the Archbishops in Christendom shall prevent our marriage. No,
+Father Ambrose, pile on yourself all the futile penances you can adopt.
+They are useless, for they do not remedy the wrong you have committed.
+And now, good-night to your Reverence!"
+
+The young man strode towards the door.
+
+"My son," said the quiet voice of the priest, "when you were on your
+knees just now did you pray for remission from anger?"
+
+Roland whirled round.
+
+_"Mea culpa,_ as you said just now. Father Ambrose, I ask your pardon. I
+made an unfair use of your mistake to coerce you. You were quite right
+in relating what your own eyes saw here in Frankfort, and although the
+inference drawn was wrong, you were not to blame for that. I recognize
+your scruples, but nevertheless protest that already I possess the
+sanction of the Archbishop, which has never been withdrawn."
+
+"Prince Roland, if you bring hither the Countess von Sayn to-morrow
+afternoon, when the bells strike three, I will marry you, and gladly
+accept whatever penances ensue. I fear the monk's robe has not crushed
+out all the impulses of the Sayn blood. In my case, perhaps, it has only
+covered them. And now, good-night, and God's blessing fall upon you and
+her you are to marry."
+
+Roland went directly from the chapel to his own room, where he slept the
+sleep of one who has made up his mind. Nevertheless, it was not a
+dreamless sleep, for throughout the night he seemed to hear the tramp of
+armed men marching upon unconscious Frankfort, and this sound was so
+persistent, that at last he woke, yet still it continued. Springing up
+in alarm, and flinging wide the wooden shutters of his window, he was
+amazed to see that the sun was already high, while the sound that
+disturbed him was caused by a procession of heavy-footed horses,
+dragging over the cobble-stones carts well-laden with farm produce.
+
+Having dressed and finished breakfast, he wrote a letter to the
+Archbishop of Mayence:
+
+     "My LORD ARCHBISHOP,--There are some important proposals which I
+     wish to make to the Electors, and as it is an unwritten rule that I
+     should not communicate with them separately, I beg of you to
+     convene a meeting to-morrow, in the Wahlzimmer, at the hour of
+     midday. Perhaps it is permissible to add, for your own information,
+     that while my major proposition has to do with the relief of
+     Frankfort, the minor suggestions I shall make will have the effect
+     of clearing away obstacles that at present obstruct your path, and
+     I venture to think that what I say will meet with your warmest
+     approval."
+
+It was so necessary that this communication should reach the Archbishop
+as soon as possible that Roland became his own messenger, and himself
+delivered the document at the Archbishop's Palace. As he turned away he
+was startled by a hand being placed on his shoulder with a weight
+suggesting an action of arrest rather than a greeting of friendship. He
+turned quickly, and saw the Lieutenant who had so discourteously used
+him in the square. There was, however, no menace in the officer's
+countenance.
+
+"Still thrusting your sword at people?"
+
+"Yes, Lieutenant, and very harmlessly. 'Tis a bloodless combat I wage
+with the sword. I praise its construction, and leave to superiors like
+yourself, sir, the proving of its quality."
+
+"You are an energetic young man, and we of Mayence admire competence
+whether shown by mechanic or noble. Was the letter you handed in just
+now addressed to his Lordship?"
+
+"Yes, Lieutenant."
+
+"'Twill be quite without effect."
+
+"It grieves me to hear you say so, sir."
+
+"Take my advice, and make no effort to see the Archbishop until after
+the Election. I judge you to be a sane young fellow, for whom I confess
+a liking. You are the only man in Frankfort who has unhesitatingly told
+me the exact truth, and I have not yet recovered from my amazement. Now,
+when you return to your frugal room in Sachsenhausen you do not attempt
+to reach it by mounting the stairs with one step?"
+
+"Naturally not, Lieutenant."
+
+"Very well. When the Emperor is proclaimed, come you to me. I'll
+introduce you to my superior, and he, if impressed with your weapon,
+will take you a step higher, and thus you will mount until you come to
+an officer who may give you an astonishing order."
+
+"I thank you, Lieutenant, and hope later to avail myself of your
+kindness."
+
+The Lieutenant slapped him on the shoulder, and wished him good-luck. As
+Roland pushed his way through the crowd, he said to himself, with a
+sigh:
+
+"I regret not being Emperor, if only for the sake of young fellows like
+that."
+
+Frankfort was transformed as if a magician had waved his wand over it.
+The streets swarmed with people. Farmers' vehicles of every description
+added to the confusion, and Roland frowned as he noticed how badly
+organized had been the preparations for coping with this sudden influx
+of food, but he also saw that the men of Mayence had taken a hand in the
+matter, and were rapidly bringing method out of chaos. The uniforms of
+Cologne or Treves were seldom seen, while the quiet but firm soldiers of
+Mayence were everywhere ordering to their homes those already served,
+and clearing the way for the empty-handed.
+
+At last Roland reached the Palace of Cologne, through a square thronged
+with people. Within he found his mother and the Countess, seated in a
+room whose windows overlooked the square, watching the stirring scene
+presented to them. Having saluted his mother, he greeted the girl with a
+quiet pressure of the hand.
+
+"What is the cause of all this commotion?" asked the Empress.
+
+Roland tapped his breast.
+
+"I am the cause, mother," and he related the history of the relief
+committee, and if appreciation carries with it gratification, his was
+the advantage of knowing that the two women agreed he was the most
+wonderful of men.
+
+"But indeed, mother," continued Roland, "I selfishly rob you of the
+credit. The beginning of all this was really your gift to me of five
+hundred thalers, that time I came to crave your assistance in procuring
+me this document I still carry, and without your thalers and the
+parchment, this never could have happened. So you see they have
+increased like the loaves and fishes of Holy Writ, and thus feed the
+multitude."
+
+Her Majesty arose, smiling.
+
+"Ah, Roland," she said, kissing him, "you always gave your mother more
+credit than she deserved. It wrung my heart at the time that I was so
+scant of money." Then, pleading fatigue, the Empress left the room.
+
+"Hilda!" cried the young man, "when you and I discuss things, those
+things become true. Yesterday we agreed that the Imperial throne was not
+so enviable a seat as a chair by the domestic hearth. To-day I propose
+to secure the chair at the hearth, and to-morrow I shall freely give up
+the Imperial throne."
+
+The girl uttered an exclamation that seemed partly concurrence and
+partly dismay, but she spoke no word, gazing at him intently as he
+strode up and down the room, and listening with eagerness. Walking
+backwards and forwards, looking like an enthusiastic boy, he very
+graphically detailed the situation as he had learned it from Greusel.
+
+"Now you see, my dear, any opposition to the Archbishop of Mayence means
+a conflict, and supposing in that conflict our friends were to win, the
+victory would be scarcely less disastrous than defeat. I at once made up
+my mind, fortified by my knowledge of your opinion on the subject, that
+for all the kingships in the world I could not be the cause of civil
+dissension."
+
+"That is a just and noble decision," she said, speaking for the first
+time.
+
+Then, standing before her, the young man in more moderate tone related
+what had happened and what had been said in the chapel of the
+Benedictine Fathers. She looked up at him, earnest face aglow, during
+the first part of his recital, and now and then the sunshine of a smile
+flickered at the corners of her mouth as she recognized her kinsman in
+her lover's repetition of his words, but when it came to the question of
+a marriage, her eyes sank to the floor, and remained there.
+
+"Well, Hilda," he said at last, "have you the courage to go with me, all
+unadvised, all unchaperoned, to the chapel this afternoon at three
+o'clock?"
+
+She rose slowly, still without looking at him, placed her hands on his
+shoulders, then slipped them round his neck, laying her cheek beside
+his.
+
+"It requires no courage, Roland," she whispered, "to go anywhere if you
+are with me. I need to call up my courage only when I think with a
+shudder of our being separated."
+
+Some minutes elapsed before conversation was resumed.
+
+"Where is the Archbishop?" asked Roland, in belated manner remembering
+his host.
+
+"He and the Count Palatine went out together about an hour since. I
+think they were somewhat disturbed at the unusual commotion, and desired
+to know what it meant. Do you want to consult my guardian after all?"
+
+"Not unless you desire me to do so?"
+
+"I wish only what you wish, Roland."
+
+"I am glad his Lordship is absent. Let us to the garden, Hilda, and
+discover a quiet exit if we can."
+
+A stout door was found in the wall to the rear, almost concealed with
+shrubbery. The bolts were strong, and rusted in, but the prowess of
+Roland overcame them, and he drew the door partially open. It looked out
+upon a narrow alley with another high wall opposite. Roland looked up
+and down the lane, and saw it was completely deserted.
+
+"This will do excellently," he said, shoving the door shut again, but
+without thrusting the bolts into position. He took her two hands in his.
+
+"Dearest, noblest, sweetest of girls! I must now leave you. Await me
+here at half-past one. I go out by this door, for it is necessary I
+should know exactly where the alley joins a main street. It would be
+rather embarrassing if you were standing here, and Father Ambrose
+looking for us in the chapel, while I was frantically searching for and
+not finding the lane."
+
+Some time in advance of the hour set, the impatient young man kept the
+appointment he had made, and when the Countess appeared exactly on the
+minute, he held open the door for her, then, drawing it shut behind him,
+they were both out in the city of Frankfort together. Roland's high
+spirits were such that he could scarcely refrain from dancing along at
+her side.
+
+"I'd like to take your hand," he said, "and swing it, and show you the
+sights of the city, as if we were two young people in from the country."
+
+"I am a country girl, please to remember," said the Countess. "I know
+nothing of Frankfort, or, indeed, of any other large town."
+
+"I am glad of that, for there is much to see in Frankfort. We will make
+for the Cathedral, that beautiful red building, splendid and grand,
+where we should have been married with great and useless ceremony if I
+had been crowned Emperor. But I am sure the simple chapel in the working
+town of Sachsenhausen better suits a sword maker and his bride."
+
+Now they came out into the busy street, which seemed more thronged than
+ever. In making their way to the Cathedral, the mob became so dense that
+progression was difficult. The current seemed setting in one direction,
+and it carried them along with it. Hildegunde took the young man's arm,
+and clung close to him.
+
+"They are driving us, whether we will or no, towards our old enemy, the
+Archbishop of Mayence. That is his Palace facing the square. There is
+some sort of demonstration going on," cried Roland, as cheer after cheer
+ascended to the heavens. "How grim and silent the Palace appears, all
+shuttered as if it were a house of the dead! Somehow it reminds me of
+Mayence himself. I had pictured him occupying a house of gloom like
+that."
+
+"Do you think we are in any danger?" asked the girl. "The people seem
+very boisterous."
+
+"Oh, no danger at all. This mob is in the greatest good-humor. Listen to
+their heart-stirring cheers! The people have been fed; that is the
+reason of it."
+
+"Is that why they cheer? It sounds to me like an ovation to the
+Archbishop! Listen to them: 'Long live Mayence! God bless the
+Archbishop!' There is no terror in those shouts."
+
+Nevertheless his Lordship of Mayence had taken every precaution. The
+shutters of his Palace were tightly closed, and along the whole front of
+the edifice a double line of soldiers was ranged under the silent
+command of their officers. They stood still and stiffly as stone-graven
+statues in front of a Cathedral. The cheers rang unceasingly. Then,
+suddenly, as if the sinister Palace opened one eye, shutters were turned
+away from a great window giving upon the portico above the door. The
+window itself was then thrown wide. Cheering ceased, and in the new
+silence, from out the darkness there stepped with great dignity an old
+man, gorgeous in his long robes of office, and surmounting that splendid
+intellectual head rested the mitered hat of an Archbishop. After the
+momentary silence the cheers seemed to storm the very door of the sky
+itself, but the old man moved no muscle, and no color tinged his wan
+face.
+
+"By the Kings," whispered Roland, during a temporary lull, "what a man!
+There stands power embodied, and yet I venture 'tis his first taste of
+popularity. I am glad we have seen this sight, both mob and master. How
+quick are the people to understand who is the real ruler of Germany! I
+wish he were my friend!"
+
+Slowly the Archbishop raised his open hands, holding them for a moment
+in benediction over the vast assemblage. Once more the cheers died away,
+and every head was bowed, then the Archbishop was in his place no
+longer. Unseen hands closed the windows, and a moment later the shutters
+blinded it. The multitude began to dissolve, and the two wanderers found
+their way become clearer and clearer.
+
+Together they entered the empty, red Cathedral, and together knelt down
+in a secluded corner. After some minutes passed thus Roland remembered
+that the hour of two had struck while they were gazing at the
+Archbishop. Gently he touched the hand of his companion. They rose, and
+walked slowly through the great church.
+
+"There," he whispered, "is where the Emperor is crowned. The Archbishop
+of Mayence always performs that ceremony, so, after all, there is some
+justification for his self-assumed leadership."
+
+Again out into the sunshine they walked to the Fahrgasse, and then to
+the bridge, where the Countess paused with an expression of delight at
+the beauty of the waterside city, glorified by the westering sun.
+Crossing the river, and going down the Bruckenstrasse of Sachsenhausen,
+Roland said:
+
+"Referring to people who are not Emperors, that is my room at the
+corner, where I lived when supposed to be in prison."
+
+"Is that where you made your swords?" she asked.
+
+"No; Greusel's workshop and mine is farther along that side street. It
+is a grimy shop of no importance, but here, on the other side, we have
+an edifice that counts. That low building is the Benedictine monastery,
+and this is its little chapel."
+
+The Countess made no comment, but stood looking at it for a few moments
+until her thoughts were interrupted by the solemn tones of a bell
+striking three. Roland went up the steps, and held open the door while
+she passed in, then, removing his hat, he followed her.
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+LONG LIVE THEIR MAJESTIES
+
+
+The most anxious man in all Frankfort was not to be found among the
+mighty who ruled the Empire, or among the merchants who trafficked
+therein, or among the people who starved when there was no traffic. The
+most anxious man was a small, fussy individual of great importance in
+his own estimation, cringing to those above him, denouncing those
+beneath; Herr Durnberg, Master of the Romer, in other words, the Keeper
+of the Town Hall. The great masters whom this little master served were
+imperious and unreasonable. They gave him too little information
+regarding their intentions, yet if he failed in his strict duty towards
+them, they would crush him as ruthlessly as if he were a wasp.
+
+Unhappy Durnberg! Every morning he expected the Electoral Court to be
+convened that day, and every evening he was disappointed. It was his
+first duty to lay out upon the table in that great room, the Kaisersaal,
+a banquet, to be partaken of by the newly-made Emperor, and by the seven
+potentates who elected him. It was also his duty to provide two huge
+tanks of wine, one containing the ruby liquor pressed out at
+Assmannshausen; the other the straw-colored beverage that had made
+Hochheim famous. These tanks were connected by pipes with the plain,
+unassuming fountain standing opposite the Town Hall in that square
+called the Romerberg. The moment an election took place Herr Durnberg
+turned off the flow of water from the fountain, and turned on the flow
+of wine, thus for an hour and a half there poured from the northward
+pointing spout of the fountain the rich red wine of Assmannshausen, and
+from the southern spout the delicate white wine of Hochheim. Now, wine
+will keep for a long time, but a dinner will not, so the distracted
+Durnberg prepared banquet after banquet for which there were no
+consumers.
+
+At last, thought Herr Durnberg, his vigilance was about to be rewarded.
+There came up the broad, winding stair, to the landing on which opened
+the great doors of the Kaisersaal, two joyous-looking young people,
+evidently lovers, and with the hilt of his sword the youth knocked
+against the stout panels of the door. It was Herr Durnberg himself who
+opened, and he said haughtily--
+
+"The Romer is closed, and will not be free to strangers until after the
+Election."
+
+"We enter, nevertheless. I am Prince Roland, here to meet the Court of
+Electors, who convene at midday in the adjoining Wahlzimmer. You,
+Romer-meister, will announce to their august Lordships that I am here,
+and, when their will is expressed, summon me to audience with them."
+
+Herr Durnberg bowed almost to the polished floor, and flinging open both
+doors, retreated backwards, still bent double as he implored them to
+enter. Locking the doors, for the Electors would reach the Wahlzimmer
+through a private way, to be used by none but themselves, the bustling
+Durnberg produced two chairs, which he set by the windows in the front,
+and again running the risk of falling on his nose, bowed his
+distinguished visitors to seats where they might entertain themselves by
+watching the enormous crowd that filled the Romerberg from end to end,
+for every man in Frankfort knew an Election was impending, and it was
+after the banquet, when the wine began to flow in the fountain, that the
+new Emperor exhibited himself to his people by stepping from the
+Kaisersaal out upon the balcony in front of it.
+
+"Do you feel any shyness about meeting this formidable conclave?
+Remember you have at least two good friends among them."
+
+The girl placed her hand in his, and looked affectionately upon him.
+
+"When you are with me, Roland, I am afraid of nothing."
+
+"I should not ask you to pass through this ordeal were it not for your
+guardian. His astonishment at the announcement of our marriage will be
+so honest and unacted that even the suspicious Mayence cannot accuse him
+of connivance in what we have done. Of course, the strength of my
+position is that I have but carried out the formal request of their
+three Lordships; a request which has never been rescinded."
+
+Before she could reply the hour of twelve rang forth. The deferential
+Herr Durnberg entered from the Wahlzimmer, and softly approached them.
+
+"Your Highness," he said, "my Lords, the Electors, request your presence
+in the Wahlzimmer."
+
+"How many are there, Romer-meister?"
+
+"There are four, your Highness; the three Archbishops and the Count
+Palatine."
+
+"Ah," breathed Roland, relieved that Mayence had not called up his
+reserve, and assured now that the seventh Elector had not arrived. With
+a glance of encouragement at his wife, Roland passed into the presence.
+
+Herr Durnberg, anxious about the outcome, showed an inclination to close
+the door and remain inside, but a very definite gesture from Mayence
+wafted the good man to outer regions.
+
+Mayence opened the proceedings.
+
+"Yesterday I received a communication from your Highness, requesting me
+to convene this Court. I am as ignorant as my colleagues regarding the
+subjects to be placed before us. I therefore announce to you that we are
+prepared to listen."
+
+"I thank you, my Lord of Mayence," began the Prince very quietly. "When
+first I had the honor of meeting your three Lordships in the Castle of
+Ehrenfels, I signed certain documents, and came to an agreement with you
+upon other verbal requests. I am not yet a man of large experience, but
+at that time, although comparatively few days have elapsed, I was a mere
+boy, trusting in the good faith of the whole world, knowing nothing of
+its chicanery. Since then I have been through a bitter school, learning
+bitter lessons, but I am nevertheless encouraged, in that for every man
+of treachery and deceit I meet two who are trustworthy."
+
+"Pardon me," said Mayence suavely, "I did not understand that the
+discourse you proposed was to be a sermon. If your theme is a lecture on
+morality, I beg to remind you that this Wahlzimmer is a place of
+business, and what you say is better suited to a chapel or even a
+church, than to the Election Chamber of the Empire."
+
+"I am sorry, my Lord," said Roland humbly, "if my introduction does not
+meet your approval. I assure you that the very opposite was my
+intention. My purpose is to show you why a change has come over me, and
+in order--"
+
+"Once more I regret interrupting, but the reason for whatever change has
+occurred can be of little interest to any one but yourself. You begin by
+making vague charges of dishonesty, treachery, and what-not, against
+some person or persons unknown. May I ask you to be definite?"
+
+"Is it your Lordship's wish that I should mention names?"
+
+Cologne showed signs of uneasiness; Treves looked in bewilderment from
+one to another of his colleagues; the Count Palatine sat deeply
+interested, his elbows on the table, massive chin supported by huge
+hands.
+
+"Your Highness is the best judge whether names should be mentioned or
+not," said Mayence, quite calmly, as if his withers were unwrung. "But
+you must see that if you hint at conspiracy and bafflement, certain
+inferences are likely to be drawn. Since the time you speak of there has
+been no opportunity for you to meet your fellow-men, therefore these
+inferences are apt to take the color that reference is made to one or
+the other of the three personages you did meet. I therefore counsel you
+either to abstain from innuendo or explain explicitly what you mean."
+
+"I the more willingly bow to your Lordship's decision because it is
+characterized by that wisdom which accompanies every word your Lordship
+utters. I shall therefore designate good men and bad."
+
+Mayence gazed at the young man in amazement, but merely said:
+
+"Proceed, sir, on your perilous road."
+
+"I am the head of a gang of freebooters. When this company left
+Frankfort under my command we appeared to be all of one mind. My gang
+consisted entirely of ironworkers, well-set-up young fellows in splendid
+physical condition, yet before I was gone a day on our journey I found
+myself confronted by mutiny. A man named Kurzbold was the leader of this
+rebellion; a treacherous hound, whom I sentenced to death. The two who
+stood by me were Greusel and Ebearhard, therefore I told you that when I
+met one villain I encountered two trustworthy men."
+
+"When did this happen?" asked Mayence. "And what was the object of your
+freebooting expedition?"
+
+"High Heaven!" cried the Archbishop of Cologne, unable longer to
+restrain his impatience when he saw the fatal trend of the Prince's
+confession, "what madness has overcome you? Can you not see the effect
+of these disturbing disclosures?"
+
+The Prince smiled, and answered first the last question.
+
+"'Tis an honest confession, my Lord, of what may be considered a
+dishonest practice. It is information that should be within your
+knowledge before you sit down to elect an Emperor.
+
+"When did this happen, my Lord of Mayence?" he continued, turning to the
+chairman. "It happened when you thought I was your prisoner in
+Ehrenfels. Never for a day did you hold me there. I roamed the country
+at my pleasure. I examined leisurely and effectively the defenses of
+nearly every castle on the Rhine from the town of Bonn to your own city
+of Mayence. The object of our expedition, you ask? It was to loot the
+stolen treasure of the robber castles, and incidentally it resulted in
+the destruction by fire of Furstenberg. The marauding excursion ended at
+Pfalz, where I lightened the Pfalzgraf of his wealth, and liberated the
+Countess von Sayn, unlawfully imprisoned within that fortress."
+
+"By the Three Kings!" cried the Count Palatine, bringing his huge fist
+down on the table like the blow of a sledge hammer, "you are a man, and
+I glory that it is my privilege to vote for you."
+
+"I agree with my brother of Cologne," said Treves, speaking for the
+first time, "that this young man does not properly weigh the inevitable
+result of his terrible words. I vote, of course, with my Lord of
+Mayence, but such a vote will be most reluctantly given for a
+self-confessed burglar and incendiary."
+
+"Be not too hasty, gentlemen," counseled Mayence. "We are not met here
+to cast votes. Your Highness, I complained a moment ago of lack of
+interest in your recital; I beg to withdraw that plea. After having
+heard you I agree that the Countess was unjustly imprisoned. She was
+accurate in her estimate of your character."
+
+"I think not, my Lord, I do not regard myself as burglar, incendiary,
+thief, or robber. I call myself rather a restorer of stolen property. I
+shed no blood, which in itself is a remarkable feature of action so
+drastic as mine. The incendiarism was merely incidental, forced upon me
+by the fact that the Red Margrave tied up eighteen of my men, whom he
+proposed presently to hang. I diverted his attention from this execution
+by the first method that occurred to me, namely, the firing of his
+Castle. In my letter to you yesterday, my Lord, I promised to clear away
+certain obstacles from your path. I therefore remove one, by saying that
+an object of this conference is my own renunciation of the Emperorship,
+thus while I thank my Lord Count for his proffered franchise, I quiet
+the mind of my Lord of Treves by assuring him his defection has no
+terror for me. And now, my Lord of Mayence, will you listen carefully to
+my suggestion?"
+
+"Prince Roland," replied his Lordship, almost with geniality, "I have
+never heard so graphic a narrator in my life. Proceed, I beg of you."
+
+"When our band of cut-purses set out from Frankfort, they supposed the
+gold was to be shared equally among us. Mutiny taught me to use the arts
+of diplomacy, which I despise. I hoped to attain such influence over
+them that they would agree to abjure wealth for the benefit of
+Frankfort. I am happy to say that I accomplished my object, so that
+yesterday and to-day you have witnessed the results of my efforts; the
+relief of a starving city. I merely removed the wealth of robbers to
+benefit those whom they robbed. Knowing the dangerous feeling actuating
+this town against your Lordships, I caused proclamation to be made
+crediting this relief to the Archbishops.
+
+"My Lord of Mayence, when yesterday I saw you appear on your own
+balcony, the most stern, the most dignified figure I ever beheld; when I
+heard the ringing cheers that greeted you; when I realized, as never
+before, the majesty of your genius, I cursed the stupid decree of Fate
+that denied me your friendship. What could we not have accomplished
+together for the Fatherland? I, with my youth and energy, under the
+tutelage of your wisdom and experience. You tasted there, probably for
+the first time in your life, the intoxicating cup of popularity, yet it
+affected you no more than if you had drunk of the fountain in the
+Romerberg.
+
+"Now, my Lords, here is what I ask of you, and it will show how much I
+would have depended upon you had I been chosen to the position at first
+proposed to me. I request you, my Lord of Treves, to remove your three
+thousand troops to the other side of the Rhine."
+
+"I shall do nothing of the sort," blurted Treves, amazed at the absurd
+proposal.
+
+Roland went on, unheeding:
+
+"I ask you, my Lord of Cologne, to march your troops to Assmannshausen."
+
+"You indeed babble like the boy you said you were!" cried the indignant
+Cologne. "You show no grasp of statesmanship."
+
+A faint smile quivered on the thin lips of Mayence at his colleagues'
+ill-disguised fear at leaving him the man in possession so far as
+Frankfort was concerned. The naive proposal which angered his two
+brethren merely amused Mayence. This young man's absurdity was an
+intellectual treat. Roland smiled in sympathy as he turned towards him,
+but his next words banished all expression of pleasure from the face of
+Mayence.
+
+"I hope to succeed better with you, my Lord. Of course I recognize I
+have no standing with this Court since my refusal of the gift you
+intended to bestow. I ask you to draft into this city seven thousand
+men;" then after a pause: "_the seven thousand will not have far to
+march, my Lord._"
+
+He caught an expression almost of fear in the Archbishop's eyes, which
+were quickly veiled, but his Lordship's tone was as unwavering as ever
+when he asked:
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"I mean that the city of Mayence is nearer to Frankfort than either
+Cologne or Treves."
+
+"Your geographical point is undeniable. What am I to do with my ten
+thousand once they are here?"
+
+"My Lord, I admire the rigid discipline of your men, and estimate from
+that the genius of organization possessed by your officers; a genius
+imparted, I believe, by you. No one knows better than I the state of
+confusion which this effort at relief has brought upon the city. I
+suggest that your capable officers divide this city into cantons,
+proclaim martial law, and deliver to every inhabitant rations of food as
+if each man, woman, and child were a member of your army. Meanwhile the
+merchants should be relieved of a task for which they have proved their
+incapacity, and turn their attention to commerce. This relief at best
+must be temporary. The vital task is to open the Rhine. The merchants
+will load every barge on the river with goods, and this flotilla the
+armies of Treves and Cologne will escort in safety to the latter city.
+In passing they will deliver an ultimatum to every castle, demanding a
+contribution in gold towards the further relief of Frankfort, until
+commerce readjusts itself, and assuring each nobleman that if this
+commerce is molested, his castle shall be forfeited, and himself
+imprisoned or hanged."
+
+"Quite an effective plan, I think, your Highness, to which I willingly
+agree, if you can assure me of the support of my two colleagues, which I
+regret to say has already been refused."
+
+His Lordship looked from one to another, but neither withdrew his
+declaration.
+
+"Prince Roland," continued Mayence, "we seem to have reached a deadlock,
+and I fear its cause is that distrust of one human being toward another
+that you deplored a while ago. I confess myself, however, so pleased
+with the trend of your mind as exhibited in your conversation with us,
+that I am desirous to know what further proposals you care to make, now
+that our mutual good intentions have led us into an impasse."
+
+"Willingly, my Lord. I propose that you at once proceed to the Election
+of an Emperor, for the delay in his choosing has already caused an
+anxiety and a tension dangerous to the peace of this country."
+
+"Ah, that is easier said than done, your Highness. Having yourself
+eliminated the one on whom we were agreed, it seems to me you should at
+least suggest a substitute."
+
+"Again willingly, my Lord. You should choose some quiet, conservative
+man, and, if possible, one well known to the citizens of Frankfort, and
+held in good esteem by the people everywhere. He should be a man of
+middle age--" Mayence's eyes began to close again, and his lips to
+tighten--"and if he had some experience in government, that would be all
+to the good. One already married is preferable to a bachelor, for then
+no delicate considerations regarding a woman can arise, as, I need not
+remind your Lordship, have arisen in my own case. A man of common sense
+should be selected, who would not make rash experiments with the ideals
+of the German people, as a younger and less balanced person might be
+tempted to do. That he should be a good Churchman goes without saying--"
+
+"A truce, a truce!" cried Mayence sternly. "Again we are running into a
+moral catalogue impossible of embodiment. Is there any such man in your
+mind, or are you merely treating us to a counsel of perfection?"
+
+"Notwithstanding my pessimism," said Roland, "I still think so well of
+my countrymen as to believe there are many such. Not to make any
+recommendation to those so much better qualified to judge than I, but
+merely to give a sample, I mention the Grand Duke Karl of Hesse, who
+fulfills every requirement I have named."
+
+For what seemed to the onlookers a tense period of suspense, the old man
+seated and the young man standing gazed intently at one another. Mayence
+knew at once that in some manner unknown to him the Prince had fathomed
+his intentions; that his Highness alone knew why the Election had been
+delayed, yet the Prince conveyed this knowledge directly to the person
+most concerned, in the very presence of those whom Mayence desired to
+keep ignorant, without giving them the slightest hint anent the actual
+state of affairs.
+
+The favorable opinion which the Archbishop had originally formed of
+Roland in Ehrenfels during this conference became greatly augmented.
+Even the most austere of men is more or less susceptible to flattery,
+and yet in flattering him Roland had managed to convey his own sincerity
+in this laudation.
+
+"We will suppose the Grand Duke Karl elected," Mayence said at last.
+"What then?"
+
+"Why then, my Lord, the three differing bodies of troops at present
+occupying Frankfort would be withdrawn, and the danger line crossed over
+to the right side."
+
+Mayence now asked a question that in his own mind was crucial. Once more
+he would tempt the young man to state plainly what he actually knew.
+
+"Can your Highness give us any reason why you fear danger from the
+presence of troops commanded by three friendly men like my colleagues
+and myself?"
+
+"My fear is that the hands of one or the other of you may be forced, and
+I can perhaps explain my apprehension better by citing an incident to
+which I have already alluded. I had not the slightest intention of
+burning Castle Furstenberg, but suddenly my hand was forced. I was
+responsible for the safety of my men. I hesitated not for one instant to
+fire the Castle. Of the peaceful intentions of my Lords the Archbishops
+there can be no question, but at any moment a street brawl between the
+soldiers, say, of Cologne and Treves, may bring on a crisis that can
+only be quelled by bloodshed. Do you see my point?"
+
+"Yes, your Highness, I do, and your point is well taken. I repose such
+confidence in our future Emperor that voluntarily I shall withdraw my
+troops from Frankfort at once. Furthermore, I shall open the Rhine, by
+sending along its banks the ultimatum you propose, not supported by my
+army, but supported by the name of the Archbishop of Mayence, and I
+shall be interested to know what Baron on the Rhine dare flout that
+title. Will you accept my aid, Prince Roland?"
+
+"I accept it, my Lord, with deep gratitude, knowing that it will prove
+effective."
+
+His Lordship rose in his place.
+
+"I said this was not an Electoral Court. I rise to announce my mistake.
+We Electors here gathered together form a majority. I propose to you the
+name of Prince Roland, son of our late Emperor."
+
+"My Lord, my Lord!" cried Roland, raising his hand, "you do not know
+all."
+
+"Patient Heaven!" cried the irritated Archbishop, "you make too much of
+us as father confessors. Do not tell us now you have been guilty of
+assassination!"
+
+"No, my Lord, but you should know that I have married the Lady
+Hildegunde, Countess von Sayn, whom you have already rejected as
+Empress."
+
+"Well, if you have accepted the dame, the balance is redressed. I am not
+sure but you made an excellent choice."
+
+It was now the turn of the amazed Archbishop of Cologne to rise to his
+feet.
+
+"What his Highness says is impossible. The Lady von Sayn has been in my
+care ever since she entered Frankfort, and I pledge my word she has
+never left my Palace!"
+
+"We were married yesterday at three o'clock, in the chapel of the
+Benedictine Fathers, and in the presence of four of them. We left your
+Palace, my Lord, by a door which you may discover in the wall of your
+garden, near the summer-house, and my wife is present in the adjoining
+room to implore your forgiveness."
+
+Cologne collapsed into his chair, and drew a hand across his bewildered
+brow. The situation appeared to amuse Mayence.
+
+"I wish your Highness had withheld this information until I was sure
+that my brother of Treves will vote with me, as he promised. My Lord of
+Treves, you heard my proposition. May I count on your concurrence?"
+
+Treves' house of cards fell so suddenly to the ground that under the
+compelling eyes of Mayence he could do no more than stammer his
+acquiescence.
+
+"I vote for the Prince," he said in tones barely audible.
+
+"And you, my Lord of Cologne?"
+
+"Aye," said Cologne gruffly.
+
+"The Count Palatine?"
+
+"Yes," thundered the latter. "A choice that meets my full approval, and
+I speak now for the Empress as well as the Emperor."
+
+"Durnberg!" cried Mayence, raising his voice.
+
+The doors were instantly opened, and the cringing Romer-meister
+appeared.
+
+"Is the banquet prepared?"
+
+"Ready to lay on the table, my Lord."
+
+"The wine for the fountains?"
+
+"Needs but the turning of the tap, my Lord."
+
+"Order up the banquet, turn the tap; and as the new Emperor is unknown
+to the people, cause heralds with trumpets to set out and proclaim the
+Election of Prince Roland of Frankfort."
+
+"Yes, my Lord."
+
+The Archbishop of Mayence led the way out into the grand Kaisersaal, and
+the new Empress rose from her chair, standing there, her face white as
+the costume she wore. Mayence advanced to her, bending his gray head
+over the hand he took in his own.
+
+"Your Majesty," he said gravely, and this was her first hint of the
+outcome, "I congratulate you upon your marriage, as I have already
+congratulated your husband."
+
+"My Lord Archbishop," she said in uncertain voice, "you cannot blame me
+for obeying you."
+
+"I think my poor commands would have been futile were it not for the
+assistance lent me by his Majesty."
+
+The salutations of the others were drowned by the cheers of the great
+assemblage in the Romerberg. The red wine and white had begun to flow,
+and the people knew what had happened. In the intervals between the
+clangor of the trumpets, they heard that a Prince of their own town had
+been elected, so all eyes turned to the Romer, and cries of "The
+Emperor! The Emperor!" issued from every throat. The multitude felt that
+a new day was dawning.
+
+"I believe," said Mayence, "that hitherto only the Emperor has appeared
+on the balcony, but to-day I suggest a precedent. Let Emperor and
+Empress appear before the people."
+
+He motioned to Herr Durnberg, and the latter flung open the tall
+windows; then Roland taking his wife's hand, stepped out upon the
+balcony.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sword Maker, by Robert Barr
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+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
+    <title>The Sword Maker, by Robert Barr</title>
+    <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" />
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+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
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+  <pre>
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sword Maker, by Robert Barr
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Sword Maker
+
+Author: Robert Barr
+
+Release Date: January 10, 2005 [EBook #14656]
+Last Updated: August 3, 2018
+
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SWORD MAKER ***
+
+
+
+
+Etext produced by Juliet Sutherland, Richard Lammers and the PG Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+HTML file produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+    <div style="height: 8em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      THE SWORD MAKER
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      By Robert Barr
+    </h2>
+    <h4>
+      Author Of &ldquo;Tekla&rdquo; &ldquo;Cardillac&rdquo; &ldquo;The Victors&rdquo;
+      &ldquo;In The Midst Of Alarms&rdquo; Etc.
+    </h4>
+    <h5>
+      New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company Publishers
+    </h5>
+    <h3>
+      1910
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <b>CONTENTS</b>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>THE SWORD MAKER</b> </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> I. AN OFFER TO OPEN THE RIVER </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> II. THE BARGAIN IS STRUCK </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> III. DISSENSION IN THE IRONWORKERS&rsquo; GUILD
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> IV. THE DISTURBING JOURNEY OF FATHER AMBROSE
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> V. THE COUNTESS VON SAYN AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF
+      COLOGNE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> VI. TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM THE COUNTESS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> VII. MUTINY IN THE WILDERNESS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> VIII. THE MISSING LEADER AND THE MISSING GOLD
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> IX. A SOLEMN PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> X. A CALAMITOUS CONFERENCE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> XI. GOLD GALORE THAT TAKES TO ITSELF WINGS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> XII. THE LAUGHING RED MARGRAVE OF FURSTENBERG
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> XIII. &ldquo;A SENTENCE; COME, PREPARE!&rdquo;
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> XIV. THE PRISONER OF EHRENFELS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> XV. JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS&rsquo; MEETING </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> XVI. MY LADY SCATTERS THE FREEBOOTERS AND
+      CAPTURES THEIR CHIEF </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> XVII. &ldquo;FOR THE EMPRESS, AND NOT FOR THE
+      EMPIRE&rdquo; </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> XVIII. THE SWORD MAKER AT BAY </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> XIX. THE BETROTHAL IN THE GARDEN </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> XX. THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> XXI. A SECRET MARRIAGE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> XXII. LONG LIVE THEIR MAJESTIES </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THE SWORD MAKER
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      I. AN OFFER TO OPEN THE RIVER
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Considering the state of the imperial city of Frankfort, one would not
+      expect to find such a gathering as was assembled in the Kaiser cellar of
+      the Rheingold drinking tavern. Outside in the streets all was turbulence
+      and disorder; a frenzy on the part of the populace taxing to the utmost
+      the efforts of the city authorities to keep it within bounds, and prevent
+      the development of a riot that might result in the partial destruction at
+      least of this once prosperous city. And indeed, the inhabitants of
+      Frankfort could plead some excuse for their boisterousness. Temporarily,
+      at any rate, all business was at a standstill. The skillful mechanics of
+      the town had long been out of work, and now to the ranks of the unemployed
+      were added, from time to time, clerks and such-like clerical people,
+      expert accountants, persuasive salesmen, and small shopkeepers, for no one
+      now possessed the money to buy more than the bare necessities of life. Yet
+      the warehouses of Frankfort were full to overflowing, with every kind of
+      store that might have supplied the needs of the people, and to the
+      unlearned man it seemed unjust that he and his family should starve while
+      granaries were packed with the agricultural produce of the South, and huge
+      warehouses were glutted with enough cloth from Frankfort and the
+      surrounding districts to clothe ten times the number of tatterdemalions
+      who clamored through the streets.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wrath of the people was concentrated against one man, and he the
+      highest in the land; to blame, of course, in a secondary degree, but not
+      the one primarily at fault for this deplorable state of things. The
+      Emperor, always indolent from the time he came to the throne, had grown
+      old and crabbed and fat, caring for nothing but his flagon of wine that
+      stood continually at his elbow. Laxity of rule in the beginning allowed
+      his nobles to get the upper hand, and now it would require a civil war to
+      bring them into subjection again. They, sitting snug in their strongholds,
+      with plenty of wine in their cellars and corn in their bins, cared nothing
+      for the troubles of the city. Indeed, those who inhabited either bank of
+      the Rhine, watching from their elevated castles the main avenue of traffic
+      between Frankfort and Cologne, her chief market, had throughout that long
+      reign severely taxed the merchants conveying goods downstream. During the
+      last five years, their exactions became so piratical that finally they
+      killed the goose that laid the golden eggs, so now the Rhine was without a
+      boat, and Frankfort without a buyer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For too long Frankfort had looked to the Emperor, whose business it was to
+      keep order in his domain, and when at last the merchants, combining to
+      help themselves, made an effort towards freedom, it was too late. The
+      result of their combination was a flotilla of nearly a hundred boats,
+      which, gathering at Frankfort and Mayence, proceeded together down the
+      river, convoyed by a fleet containing armed men, and thus they thought to
+      win through to Cologne, and so dispose of their goods. But the robber
+      Barons combined also, hung chains across the river at the Lorely rocks,
+      its narrowest part, and realizing that this fleet could defeat any single
+      one of them, they for once acted in concert, falling upon the boats when
+      their running against the chains threw them into confusion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The nobles and their brigands were seasoned fighters all, while the armed
+      men secured by the merchants were mere hirelings, who fled in panic; and
+      those not cut to pieces by their savage adversaries became themselves
+      marauders on a small scale, scattered throughout the land, for there was
+      little use of tramping back to the capital, where already a large portion
+      of the population suffered the direst straits.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not a single bale of goods reached Cologne, for the robbers divided
+      everything amongst themselves, with some pretty quarrels, and then they
+      sank the boats in the deepest part of the river as a warning, lest the
+      merchants of Frankfort and Mayence should imagine the Rhine belonged to
+      them. Meantime, all petitions to the Emperor being in vain, the merchants
+      gave up the fight. They were a commercial, not a warlike people. They
+      discharged their servants and underlings, and starvation slowly settled
+      down upon the distressed city.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After the maritime disaster on the Rhine, some of the merchants made a
+      futile attempt to amend matters, for which their leaders paid dearly. They
+      appealed to the seven Electors, finding their petitions to the Emperor
+      were in vain, asking these seven noblemen, including the three warlike
+      Archbishops of Cologne, Treves, and Mayence, to depose the Emperor, which
+      they had power to do, and elect his son in his stead. But they overlooked
+      the fact that a majority of the Electors themselves, and probably the
+      Archbishops also, benefited directly or indirectly by the piracies on the
+      Rhine. The answer to this request was the prompt hanging of three leading
+      merchants, the imprisonment of a score of others, and a warning to the
+      rest that the shoemaker should stick to his last, leaving high politics to
+      those born to rule. This misguided effort caused the three Archbishops to
+      arrest Prince Roland, the Emperor&rsquo;s only son, and incarcerate him in
+      Ehrenfels, a strong castle on the Rhine belonging to the Archbishop of
+      Mayence, who was thus made custodian of the young man, and responsible to
+      his brother prelates of Cologne and Treves for the safe-keeping of the
+      Prince. The Archbishops, as has been said, were too well satisfied with
+      the weak administration then established at Frankfort to wish a change, so
+      the lad was removed from the capital, that the citizens of Frankfort might
+      be under no temptation to place him at their head, and endeavor to
+      overturn the existing order of things.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This being the state of affairs in Frankfort, with every one gloomy, and a
+      majority starving, it was little wonder that the main cellar of the
+      Rheingold tavern should be empty, although when times were good it was
+      difficult to find a seat there after the sun went down. But in the smaller
+      Kaiser cellar, along each side of the single long table, sat young men
+      numbering a score, who ate black bread and drank Rhine wine, to the
+      roaring of song and the telling of story. They formed a close coterie,
+      admitting no stranger to their circle if one dissenting voice was raised
+      against his acceptance, yet in spite of this exclusiveness there was not a
+      drop of noble blood in the company. They belonged, however, to the
+      aristocracy of craftsmen; metal-workers for the most part, ingenious
+      artificers in iron, beaters of copper, fashioners of gold and silver.
+      Glorious blacksmiths, they called themselves; but now, like every one
+      else, with nothing to do. In spite of their city up-bringing all were
+      stalwart, well-set-up young men; and, indeed, the swinging of hammers is
+      good exercise for the muscles of the arm, and in those turbulent days a
+      youth who could not take care of himself with his stick or his fists was
+      like to fare ill if he ventured forth after nightfall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This, indeed, had been the chief reason for the forming of their guild,
+      and if one of their number was set upon, the secret call of the
+      organization shouted aloud brought instant help were any of the members
+      within hearing. Belonging neither to the military nor the aristocracy,
+      they were not allowed to wear swords, and to obtain this privilege was one
+      of the objects of their organization. Indeed, each member of the guild
+      secretly possessed a weapon of the best, although he risked his neck if
+      ever he carried it abroad with him. Among their number were three of the
+      most expert sword makers in all Germany.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These three sword makers had been instrumental in introducing to their
+      order the man who was now its leader. This youth came to one of them with
+      ideas concerning the proper construction of a sword, and the balancing of
+      it, so that it hung easily in the hand as though part of the fore-arm.
+      Usually, the expert has small patience with the theories of an amateur;
+      but this young fellow, whose ambition it was to invent a sword, possessed
+      such intimate knowledge of the weapon as it was used, not only in Germany,
+      but also in France and Italy, that the sword maker introduced him to
+      fellow-craftsmen at other shops, and they taught him how to construct a
+      sword. These instructors, learning that although, as Roland laughingly
+      said, he was not allowed to wear a sword, he could wield it with a
+      precision little short of marvelous, the guild gave permission for this
+      stranger to be a guest at one of their weekly meetings at the Kaiser
+      cellar, where he exhibited his wonderful skill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not one of them, nor, indeed, all of them together, stood any chance when
+      confronting him. They clamored to be taught, offering good money for the
+      lessons, believing that if they acquired but a tithe of his excellence
+      with the blade they might venture to wear it at night, and let their skill
+      save them from capture. But the young fellow refused their money, and
+      somewhat haughtily declined the rôle of fencing-master, whereupon they
+      unanimously elected him a member of the coterie, waiving for this one
+      occasion the rule which forbade the choice of any but a metal-worker. When
+      the stranger accepted the election, he was informed that it was the duty
+      of each member to come to the aid of his brethren when required, and they
+      therefore requested him to teach them swordsmanship. Roland, laughing,
+      seeing how he had been trapped, as it were, with his own consent, acceded
+      to the universal wish, and before a year had passed his twenty comrades
+      were probably the leading swordsmen in the city of Frankfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Shortly after the disaster to the merchants&rsquo; fleet at the Lorely,
+      Roland disappeared without a word of farewell to those who had come to
+      think so much of him. He had been extremely reticent regarding his
+      profession, if he had one, and no one knew where he lodged. It was feared
+      that the authorities had arrested him with the sword in his possession,
+      for he grew more reckless than any of the others in carrying the weapon.
+      One night, however, he reappeared, and took his seat at the head of the
+      table as if nothing had happened. Evidently he had traveled far and on
+      foot, for his clothes were dusty and the worse for wear. He refused to
+      give any account of himself, but admitted that he was hungry, thirsty, and
+      in need of money.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His hunger and thirst were speedily satisfied, but the money scarcity was
+      not so easily remedied. All the score were out of employment, with the
+      exception of the three sword makers, whose trade the uncertainty of the
+      times augmented rather than diminished. To cheer up Roland, who was a
+      young fellow of unquenchable geniality, they elected him to the empty
+      honor of being their leader, Kurzbold&rsquo;s term of office having ended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The guild met every night now, instead of once a week, and it may be
+      shrewdly suspected that the collation of black bread and sausage formed
+      the sole meal of the day for many of them. Nevertheless, their hilarity
+      was undiminished, and the rafters rang with song and laugh, and echoed
+      also maledictions upon a supine Government, and on the rapacious Rhine
+      lords. But the bestowal of even black bread and the least expensive of
+      wine could not continue indefinitely. They owed a bill to the landlord
+      upon which that worthy, patient as he had proved himself, always hoping
+      for better times, wished for at least something on account. All his other
+      customers had deserted him, and if they drank at all, chose some place
+      where the wine was thin and cheap. The landlord held out bravely for three
+      months after Roland was elected president, then, bemoaning his fate,
+      informed the guild that he would be compelled to close the Rheingold
+      tavern.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give me a week!&rdquo; cried Roland, rising in his place at the
+      head of the table, &ldquo;and I will make an effort to get enough gold to
+      settle the bill at least, with perhaps something over for each of our
+      pockets.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This promise brought forth applause and a rattle of flagons on the table,
+      so palpably empty that the ever-hopeful landlord proceeded forthwith to
+      fill them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is one proviso,&rdquo; said Roland, as they drank his health
+      in the wine his offer produced. &ldquo;To get this money I must do
+      something in return. I have a plan in mind which it would be premature to
+      disclose. If it succeeds, none of us will ever need to bend back over a
+      workman&rsquo;s bench again, or hammer metal except for our own pleasure.
+      But acting alone I am powerless, so I must receive your promise that you
+      will stand by any pledge I make on your behalf, and follow me into
+      whatever danger I choose to lead you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a great uproar at this, and a boisterous consent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This day week, then,&rdquo; said Roland, as he strapped sword to
+      side, threw cloak over shoulders, so that it completely concealed the
+      forbidden weapon, waved a hand to his cheering comrades, and went out into
+      the night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once ascended the cellar steps, the young man stood in the narrow street
+      as though hesitating what to do. Faintly there came to him the sound of
+      singing from the cellar he had quitted, and he smiled slightly as he
+      listened to the rousing chorus he knew so well. From the direction of the
+      Palace a more sinister echo floated on the night air; the unmistakable
+      howl of anger, pain, and terror; the noise that a pursued and stricken mob
+      makes when driven by soldiers. The populace had evidently been engaged in
+      its futile and dangerous task of demonstrating, and proclaiming its
+      hunger, and the authorities were scattering it; keeping it ever on the
+      move.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was still early; not yet ten o&rsquo;clock, and a full moon shone over
+      the city, unlighted otherwise. Drawing his cloak closer about him, Roland
+      walked rapidly in an opposite direction to that from which the tumult of
+      the rabble came, until he arrived at the wide Fahrgasse, a street running
+      north and south, its southern end terminating at the old bridge. Along
+      this thoroughfare lived the wealthiest merchants of Frankfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland turned, and proceeded slowly towards the river, critically
+      examining the tall, picturesque buildings on either hand, cogitating the
+      question which of them would best answer his purpose. They all seemed
+      uninviting enough, for their windows were dark, most of them tightly
+      shuttered; and, indeed, the thoroughfare looked like a street of the dead,
+      the deserted appearance enhanced, rather than relieved, by the white
+      moonlight lying on its cobble-stones.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nearing the bridge, he discovered one stout door ajar, and behind it shone
+      the yellow glow of a lamp. He paused, and examined critically the façade
+      of the house, which, with its quiet, dignified architectural beauty,
+      seemed the abode of wealth. Although the shutters were closed, his intent
+      inspection showed him thin shafts of light from the chinks, and he
+      surmised that an assemblage of some sort was in progress, probably a
+      secret convention, the members of which entered unannounced, and left the
+      door ajar ready for the next comer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment he thought of venturing in, but remembering his mission
+      required the convincing of one man rather than the persuasion of a group,
+      he forbore, but noted in his mind the position and designation of the
+      house, resolving to select this building as the theater of his first
+      effort, and return to it next morning. It would serve his purpose as well
+      as another.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland&rsquo;s attention was then suddenly directed to his own position,
+      standing in the bright moonlight, for there swung round from the river
+      road, into the Fahrgasse, a small and silent company, who marched as one
+      man. The moon was shining almost directly up the street, but the houses to
+      the west stood in its radiance, while those in the east were still in
+      shadow. Roland pressed himself back against the darkened wall to his left,
+      near the partially opened door; between it and the river. The silent
+      procession advanced to the door ajar, and there paused, forming their
+      ranks into two lines, thus making a passage for a tall, fine-looking,
+      bearded man, who walked to the threshold, then turned and raised his
+      bonnet in salute.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My friends,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;this is kind of you, and
+      although I have been silent, I ask you to believe that deeply I appreciate
+      your welcome escort. And now, enter with me, and we will drink a stoup of
+      wine together, to the somber toast, &lsquo;God save our stricken city!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, Herr Goebel. To-night is sacred. We have seen you safely to
+      your waiting family, and at that reunion there should be no intruders. But
+      to-morrow night, if you will have us, we will drink to the city, and to
+      your own good health, Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This sentiment was applauded by all, and the merchant, seeing that they
+      would not accept his present invitation, bowed in acquiescence, and bade
+      them good-by. When the door closed the delegation separated into units,
+      and each went his own way. Roland, stepping out of the shadow, accosted
+      the rearmost man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me, mein Herr,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but may I ask what
+      ceremony is this in which you have been taking part?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The person accosted looked with some alarm at his questioner, but the
+      moonlight revealed a face singularly gentle and winning; a face that in
+      spite of its youth inspired instinctive confidence. The tone, too, was
+      very persuasive, and seemed devoid even of the offense of curiosity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis no ceremony,&rdquo; said the delegate, &ldquo;but merely
+      the return home of our friend, Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Has he, then, been on a journey?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you are very young, and probably unacquainted with Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have lived here all my life,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I am a
+      native of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;you show yourself
+      amazingly ignorant of its concerns; otherwise you would know that Herr
+      Goebel is one of the leading merchants of the city, a man honorable,
+      enlightened, and energetic&mdash;an example to us all, and one esteemed
+      alike by noble or peasant. We honor ourselves in honoring him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Goebel should be proud of such commendation, mein Herr, coming
+      I judge, from one to whom the words you use might also be applied.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant bowed gravely at this compliment, but made no remark upon it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon my further curiosity,&rdquo; continued the young man,
+      &ldquo;but from whence does Herr Goebel return?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He comes from prison,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;He made the
+      mistake of thinking that our young Prince would prove a better ruler than
+      his father, our Emperor, and but that the Archbishops feared a riot if
+      they went to extremes, Herr Goebel ran great danger of losing his life
+      rather than his liberty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you say, mein Herr, interests me very much, and I thank you
+      for your courtesy. My excuse for questioning you is this. I am moved by a
+      desire to enter the employ of such a man as Herr Goebel, and I purpose
+      calling upon him to-morrow, if you think he would be good enough to
+      receive me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He will doubtless receive you,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;but
+      I am quite certain your mission will fail. At the present moment none of
+      us are engaging clerks, however competent. Ignorant though you are of
+      civic affairs, you must be aware that all business is at a standstill in
+      Frankfort. Although Herr Goebel has said nothing about it, I learn from an
+      unquestionable source that he himself is keeping from starvation all his
+      former employees, so I am sure he would not take on, for a stranger, any
+      further obligation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, I am well acquainted with the position of affairs, and it is
+      to suggest a remedy that I desire speech with Herr Goebel. I do not
+      possess the privilege of acquaintance with any merchant in this city, so
+      one object of my accosting you was to learn, if possible, how I might
+      secure some note of introduction to the merchant that would ensure his
+      receiving me, and obtain for me a hearing when once I had been admitted to
+      his house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If Roland expected the stranger to volunteer such a note, he quite
+      underestimated the caution of a Frankfort merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As I said before, you will meet with no difficulty so far as
+      entrance to the house is concerned. May I take it that you yourself
+      understand the art of writing?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh yes,&rdquo; replied Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then indite your own letter of introduction. Say that you have
+      evolved a plan for the redemption of Frankfort, and Herr Goebel will
+      receive you without demur. He will listen patiently, and give a definite
+      decision regarding the feasibility of your project. And now, good sir, my
+      way lies to the left. I wish you success, and bid you good-night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The stranger left Roland standing at the intersection of two streets, one
+      of which led to the Saalhof. They had been approaching the Romerberg, or
+      market-place, the center of Frankfort, when the merchant so suddenly ended
+      the conversation and turned aside. Roland remembered that no Jew was
+      allowed to set foot in the Romerberg, and now surmised the nationality of
+      his late companion. The youth proceeded alone through the Romerberg, and
+      down directly to the river, reaching the spot where the huge Saalhof faced
+      its flood. Roland saw that triple guards surrounded the Emperor&rsquo;s
+      Palace. The mob had been cleared away, but no one was allowed to linger in
+      its precincts, and the youth was gruffly ordered to take himself
+      elsewhere, which he promptly did, walking up the Saalgasse, and past the
+      Cathedral, until he came once more into the Fahrgasse, down which he
+      proceeded, pausing for another glance at Goebel&rsquo;s house, until he
+      came to the bridge, where he stood with arms resting on the parapet,
+      thoughtfully shaping in his mind what he would say to Herr Goebel in the
+      morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Along the opposite side of the river lay a compact mass of barges; ugly,
+      somber, black in the moonlight, silent witnesses to the ruin of Frankfort.
+      The young man gazed at this melancholy accumulation of useless floating
+      stock, and breathed the deeper when he reflected that whoever could set
+      these boats in motion again would prove himself, temporarily at least, the
+      savior of the city.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the bells began to toll eleven, Roland roused himself, walked across
+      the bridge to Sachsenhausen, and so to his squalid lodging, consoling
+      himself with the remembrance that the great King Charlemagne had made this
+      his own place of residence. Here, before retiring to bed, he wrote the
+      letter which he was to send in next day to Herr Goebel, composing it with
+      some care, so that it aroused curiosity without satisfying it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was half-past ten next morning when Roland presented himself at the
+      door of the leading merchant in the Fahrgasse, and sent in to that worthy
+      his judiciously worded epistle. He was kept waiting in the hall longer
+      than he expected, but at last the venerable porter appeared, and said Herr
+      Goebel would be pleased to receive him. He was conducted up the stair to
+      the first floor, and into a front room which seemed to be partly library
+      and partly business office. Here seated at a stout table, he recognized
+      the grave burgher whose home-coming he had witnessed the night before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The keen eyes of the merchant seemed to penetrate to his inmost thought,
+      and it struck Roland that there came into them an expression of
+      disappointment, for he probably did not expect so youthful a visitor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you be seated, mein Herr,&rdquo; said his host; and Roland,
+      with an inclination of the head, accepted the invitation. &ldquo;My time
+      is very completely occupied to-day,&rdquo; continued the elder man,
+      &ldquo;for although there is little business afoot in Frankfort, my own
+      affairs have been rather neglected of late, and I am endeavoring to
+      overtake the arrears.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I stood by your doorcheek
+      last night when you returned home.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you so? May I ask why?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There was no particular reason. It happened that I walked down the
+      Fahrgasse, endeavoring to make up my mind upon whom I should call to-day.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And why have I received the preference?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps, sir, it would be more accurate to say your house received
+      the preference, if it is such. I was struck by its appearance of solidity
+      and wealth, and, differing from all others in the door being ajar, I
+      lingered before it last night with some inclination to enter. Then the
+      procession which accompanied you came along. I heard your address to your
+      friends, and wondered what the formality was about. After the door was
+      closed I accosted one of those who escorted you, and learned your name,
+      business, and reputation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must be a stranger in Frankfort when you needed to make such
+      inquiry.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Those are almost the same words that my acquaintance of last night
+      used, and he seemed astonished when I replied that I was born in
+      Frankfort, and had lived here all my life.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, I suppose no man is so well known as he thinks he is, but I
+      venture to assert that you are not engaged in business here.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you are in the right. I fear I have hitherto led a somewhat
+      useless existence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On money earned by some one else, perhaps.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again you hit the nail on the head, Herr Goebel. I lodge on the
+      other side of the river, and coming to and fro each day, the sight of all
+      those useless barges depresses me, and I have formulated a plan for
+      putting them in motion again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear, sir, that wiser heads than yours have been meditating upon
+      that project without avail.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should have been more gratified, Herr Goebel, if you had said
+      &lsquo;older heads.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The suspicion of a smile hovered for a brief instant round the shrewd,
+      firm lips of the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young sir, your gentle reproof is deserved. I know nothing of your
+      wisdom, and so should have referred to the age, and not to the equipment
+      of your head. It occurs to me, as I study you more closely, that I have
+      met you before. Your face seems familiar.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis but a chance resemblance, I suspect. Until very recently
+      I have been absorbed in my studies, and rarely left my father&rsquo;s
+      house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am doubtless mistaken. But to return to our theme. As you are
+      ignorant of my name and standing in this city, you are probably unaware of
+      the efforts already made to remove the deadlock on the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that, Herr Goebel, you are at fault. I know an expedition of
+      folly was promoted at enormous expense, and that the empty barges,
+      numbering something like fivescore, now rest in the deepest part of the
+      Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why do you call it an expedition of folly?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely the result shows it to be such.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A plan may meet with disaster, even where every precaution has been
+      taken. We did the best we could, and if the men we had paid for the
+      protection of the flotilla had not, with base cowardice, deserted their
+      posts, these barges would have reached Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never! The defenders you chose were riff-raff, picked up in the
+      gutters of Frankfort, and you actually supposed such cattle, undisciplined
+      and untrained, would stand up against the fearless fighters of the Barons,
+      swashbucklers, hardened to the use of sword and pike. What else was to be
+      expected? The goods were not theirs, but yours. They had received their
+      pay, and so speedily took themselves out of danger.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You forget, sir, or you do not know, that several hundred of them
+      were cut to pieces.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that, also, but the knowledge does not in the least nullify
+      my contention. I am merely endeavoring to show you that the heads you
+      spoke of a moment ago were only older, but not necessarily wiser than
+      mine. It would be impossible for me to devise an expedition so
+      preposterous.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What should we have done?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For one thing, you should have gone yourselves, and defended your
+      own bales.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant showed visible signs of a slowly rising anger, and had the
+      young man&rsquo;s head contained the wisdom he appeared to claim for it,
+      he would have known that his remarks were entirely lacking in tact, and
+      that he was making no progress, but rather the reverse. &ldquo;You speak
+      like a heedless, untutored youth. How could we defend our bales, when no
+      merchant is allowed to wear a sword?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland rose and put his hands to the throat of his cloak.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not allowed to wear a sword;&rdquo; and saying this, he
+      dramatically flung wide his cloak, displaying the prohibited weapon
+      hanging from his belt. The merchant sat back in his chair, visibly
+      impressed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You seem to repose great confidence in me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;What
+      if I were to inform the authorities?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The youth smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You forget, Herr Goebel, that I learned much about you from your
+      friend last night. I feel quite safe in your house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He flung his cloak once more over the weapon, and sat down again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is your occupation, sir?&rdquo; asked the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am a teacher of swordsmanship. I practice the art of a
+      fencing-master.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your clients are aristocrats, then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so. The class with which I am now engaged contains twenty
+      skilled artisans of about my own age.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If they do not belong to the aristocracy, your instruction must be
+      surreptitious, because it is against the law.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is both surreptitious and against the law, but in spite of these
+      disadvantages, my twenty pupils are the best swordsmen in Frankfort, and I
+      would willingly pit them against any twenty nobles with whom I am
+      acquainted.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So!&rdquo; cried the merchant. &ldquo;You are acquainted with
+      twenty nobles, are you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, you see,&rdquo; explained the young man, flushing slightly,
+      &ldquo;these metal-workers whom I drill, being out of employment, cannot
+      afford to pay for their lessons, and naturally, as you indicated, a
+      fencing-master must look to the nobles for his bread. I used the word
+      acquaintance hastily. I am acquainted with the nobles in the same way that
+      a clerk in the woolen trade might say he was acquainted with a score of
+      merchants, to none of whom he had ever spoken.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see. Am I to take it that your project for opening the Rhine
+      depends for its success on those twenty metal-workers, who quite lawlessly
+      know how to handle their swords?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell me what your plan is.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not care to disclose my plan, even to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought you came here hoping I should further your project, and
+      perhaps finance it. Am I wrong in such a surmise?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you are not. The very first proviso is that you pay to me
+      across this table a thousand thalers in gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The smile came again to the lips of the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Anything else?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes. You will select one of your largest barges, and fill it with
+      whatever class of goods you deal in.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you know what class of goods I deal in?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No! I do not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Goebel&rsquo;s smile broadened. That a youth so ignorant of everything
+      pertaining to the commerce of Frankfort, should come in thus boldly and
+      demand a thousand thalers in gold from a man whose occupation he did not
+      know, seemed to the merchant one of the greatest pieces of impudence he
+      had encountered in his long experience of men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;After all, my merchandise,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;matters little
+      one way or another when I am engaged with such a customer as you. What
+      next?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will next place a price upon the shipload; a price such as you
+      would accept if the boat reached Cologne intact. I agree to pay you that
+      money, together with the thousand thalers, when I return to Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And when will that be, young sir?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are better able to estimate the length of time than I. I do not
+      know, for instance, how long it takes a barge to voyage from Frankfort to
+      Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Given fair weather, which we may expect in July, and premising that
+      there are no interruptions, let us say a week.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would a man journeying on horseback from Cologne to Frankfort reach
+      here sooner than the boat?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The barge having to make headway against a strong current, I should
+      say the horseman would accomplish the trip in a third of the time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. To allow for all contingencies, I promise to pay the
+      money one month from the day we leave the wharf at Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That would be eminently satisfactory.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I forgot to mention that I expect you, knowing more about
+      navigation than I, to supply a trustworthy captain and an efficient crew
+      for the manning of the barge. I should like men who understand the
+      currents of the river, and who, if questioned by the Barons, would not be
+      likely to tell more than they were asked.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can easily provide such a set of sailors.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well, Herr Goebel. Those are my requirements. Will you agree
+      to supply them?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With great pleasure, my young and enthusiastic friend, provided
+      that you comply with one of the most common of our commercial rules.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And what is that, mein Herr?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before you depart you will leave with me ample security that if I
+      never see you again, the value of the goods, plus the thousand thalers,
+      will be repaid to me when the month is past.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; said the young man, &ldquo;you impose an impossible
+      condition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give me a bond, then, signed by three responsible merchants.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, as I am acquainted with no merchant in this city except
+      yourself, how could I hope to obtain the signature of even one responsible
+      man?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How, then, do you expect to obtain my consent to a project which I
+      know cannot succeed, while I bear all the risk?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me, Herr Goebel. I and my comrades risk our lives. You risk
+      merely your money and your goods.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You intend, then, to fight your way down the Rhine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely. How else?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Supported by only twenty followers?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you hope to succeed where a thousand of our men failed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; they were hirelings, as I told you. With my twenty I could put
+      them all to flight. Aside from this, I should like to point out to you
+      that the merchants of Frankfort formed their combination at public
+      meetings, called together by the burgomaster. There was no secrecy about
+      their deliberations. Every robber Baron along the Rhine knew what you were
+      going to attempt, and was prepared for your coming. I intend that your
+      barge shall leave Frankfort at midnight. My company will proceed across
+      country, and join her at some agreed spot, probably below Bingen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see. Well, my young friend, you have placed before me a very
+      interesting proposal, but I am a business man, and not an adventurer.
+      Unless you can furnish me with security, I decline to advance a single
+      thaler, not to mention a thousand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man rose to his feet, and the merchant, with a sigh, seemed glad
+      that the conference was ended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Goebel, you deeply disappoint me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry for that, and regret the forfeiting of your good
+      opinion, but despite that disadvantage I must persist in my obstinacy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not wonder that this fair city lies desolate if her prosperity
+      depends upon her merchants, and if you are chief among them; yet I cannot
+      forget that you risked life and liberty on my behalf, though now you will
+      not venture a miserable thousand thalers on my word of honor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On <i>your</i> behalf? What do you mean?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean, Herr Goebel, that I am Prince Roland, only son of the
+      Emperor, and that you placed your neck in jeopardy to elevate me to the
+      throne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      II. THE BARGAIN IS STRUCK
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Every epoch seems to have possessed a two-word phrase that contained, as
+      it were, the condensed wisdom of the age, and was universally believed by
+      the people. For instance, the aphorism &ldquo;Know thyself&rdquo; rose to
+      popularity when cultured minds turned towards science. In the period to
+      which this recital belongs the adage &ldquo;Blood tells&rdquo; enjoyed
+      universal acceptance. It was, in fact, that erroneous statement &ldquo;The
+      King can do no wrong&rdquo; done up into tabloid form. From it, too,
+      sprang that double-worded maxim of the days of chivalry, &ldquo;<i>Noblesse
+      oblige</i>.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In our own time, the two-worded phrase is &ldquo;Money talks,&rdquo; and
+      if diligent inquirers probe deeply into the matter, they will find that
+      the aspirations of the people always correspond with reasonable accuracy
+      to the meaning of the phrase then in use. Nothing could be more excellent,
+      for instance, than the proverb &ldquo;Money talks&rdquo; as representing
+      two commercial countries like America and England. In that short sentence
+      is packed the essence of many other wise and drastic sayings, as, for
+      instance, &ldquo;The devil take the hindmost;&rdquo; for, of course, if
+      money talks, then the man without it must remain silent, and his place is
+      at the tail of the procession, where the devil prowls about like a Cossack
+      at the rear of Napoleon&rsquo;s army.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Confronting each other in that ancient house on the Fahrgasse, we witness,
+      then, the personification of the two phrases, ancient and modern: blood
+      represented by the standing lad, and money by the seated merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am Prince Roland, only son of the Emperor,&rdquo; the young man
+      had said, and he saw at once by the expression on the face of his host
+      that, could he be convinced of the truth of the assertion, the thousand
+      thalers that the Prince had demanded would be his on the instant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a full minute Roland thought he had succeeded, but as the surprise
+      died out of the merchant&rsquo;s countenance, there replaced it that mask
+      of caution which had had so much to do with the building of his fortune.
+      During their conference Herr Goebel cudgeled his brain, trying to remember
+      where he had seen this young man before, but memory had roamed among
+      clerks, salesmen, and industrious people of that sort where, somehow, this
+      young fellow did not fit in. When Roland suddenly sprung on him the
+      incredible statement that he was a member of the Imperial family, the
+      merchant&rsquo;s recollection then turned towards pageants he had seen, in
+      one of which this young stranger might very well have borne a part. Blood
+      was beginning to tell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But now experience came to the merchant&rsquo;s aid. Only in romances did
+      princes of the blood royal wander about like troubadours. Even a member of
+      the lesser nobility did not call unheralded at the house of a merchant.
+      The aristocracy always wanted money, it is true, &ldquo;but what they
+      thought they might require, they went and took,&rdquo; as witness the
+      piratical Barons of the Rhine, whose exactions brought misery on the great
+      city of Frankfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then all at once came the clinching remembrance that when the Electors
+      were appealed to on behalf of the young Prince, the three Archbishops had
+      promptly seized his Royal Highness, and, in spite of the pleadings of the
+      Empress (the Emperor was drunk and indifferent) placed him in the custody
+      of the Archbishop nearest to Frankfort, the warrior prelate of Mayence,
+      who imprisoned him in the strong fortress of Ehrenfels, from which, well
+      guarded and isolated as it was upon a crag over-hanging the Rhine, no man
+      could escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you kindly be seated again, sir,&rdquo; requested the
+      merchant, and if he had spoken a short time before, he would have put the
+      phrase &ldquo;your Royal Highness&rdquo; in the place of the word &ldquo;sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland, after a moment&rsquo;s hesitation, sat down. He saw that his coup
+      had failed, because he was unable to back it up by proofs. His dramatic
+      action had been like a brilliant cavalry charge, for a moment successful,
+      but coming to naught because there was no solid infantry to turn the
+      temporary confusion of the enemy into complete rout. Realizing that the
+      battle must be fought over again, the Prince sat back with a sigh of
+      disappointment, a shade of discontent on his handsome face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I find myself in rather a quandary,&rdquo; proceeded the merchant.
+      &ldquo;If indeed you are the Emperor&rsquo;s son, it is not for such as I
+      to cross-examine you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ask me any questions you like, sir. I shall answer them promptly
+      enough.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I beg you to supply proof of the statement you make, you would
+      be likely to reply that as you dared not enter your father&rsquo;s Palace,
+      you are unable to furnish me with corroboration.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you put the case in better language than I could employ. In
+      more halting terms that is what I should have said.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When were you last in the Palace?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;About the same time, sir, that you took up your residence in
+      prison.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, yes; that naturally would be your answer. Now, my young friend,
+      you have shown me that you know nothing of mercantile practice; therefore
+      it may perhaps interest you if I explain some of our methods.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Goebel, you may save your breath. Such a recital must not only
+      fail to interest me, but will bore me extremely. I care nothing for your
+      mercantile procedure, and, to be quite plain with you, I despise your
+      trade, and find some difficulty in repressing my contempt for those who
+      practice it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If an emissary of mine,&rdquo; returned Goebel, unperturbed,
+      &ldquo;approached a client or customer for the purpose of obtaining a
+      favor, and used as little tact as you do, I should dismiss him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not asking any favors from you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You wish me to hand over to you a thousand thalers, otherwise why
+      came you here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I desire to bestow upon you the greatest of boons, namely to open
+      up the Rhine, and bring back prosperity to Frankfort, which you brainless,
+      cowardly merchants have allowed to slip through your fingers, blaming now
+      the Barons, now the Emperor, now the Electors; censuring everybody, in
+      fact, except the real culprits ... yourselves. You speak of the money as a
+      favor, but it is merely an advance for a few weeks, and will be returned
+      to you; yet because I desire to confer this inestimable gift upon you and
+      your city, you expect me to cringe to you, and flatter you, as if I were a
+      member of your own sycophantic league. I refuse to do anything of the
+      kind, and yet, by God, I&rsquo;ll have the money!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant, for the first time during their conference, laughed
+      heartily. The young man&rsquo;s face was aflame with anger, yet the
+      truculent words he used did more to convince Herr Goebel that he belonged
+      to the aristocracy than if he had spoken with the most exemplary humility.
+      Goebel felt convinced he was not the Prince, but some young noble, who,
+      intimate with the Royal Family, and knowing the Emperor&rsquo;s son to be
+      out of the way, thought it safe to assume his name, the better to carry
+      forward his purpose, whatever that purpose might actually be. That it was
+      to open the Rhine he did not for a moment credit, and that he would ever
+      see his cash again, if once he parted with it, he could not believe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At the risk of tiring you, I shall nevertheless proceed with what I
+      was about to say. We merchants, for our own protection, contribute to a
+      fund which might be entitled one for secret service. This fund enables us
+      to procure private information that may be of value in our business. Among
+      other things we need to know are accurate details pertaining to the
+      intentions and doings of our rulers, for whatever our own short-comings
+      may be, the actions of those above us affect business one way or the
+      other. May I read you a short report that came in while I was serving my
+      term of imprisonment?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, read what you like,&rdquo; said Roland indifferently, throwing
+      back his head, and partially closing his eyes, with an air of <i>ennui</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant drew towards him a file of papers, and going through them
+      carefully, selected a document, and drew it forth, then, clearing his
+      throat, he read aloud&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;At an hour after midnight, on St. Stanislas&rsquo; Day,
+      three nobles, one representing the Archbishop of Mayence, the second the
+      Archbishop of Treves, and the third the Archbishop of Cologne, armed with
+      authority from these three Electors and Princes of the Church, entered the
+      Saalhof from the side facing the river, and arrested in his bed the young
+      Prince Roland. They assured the Empress, who protested, that the Prince
+      would be well cared for, and that, as an insurrection was feared in
+      Frankfort, it was considered safer that the person whom they intended to
+      elevate to the throne on the event of the Emperor&rsquo;s death, should be
+      out of harm&rsquo;s way, being placed under the direct care of the
+      Archbishop of Mayence. They informed the Empress that the Archbishops
+      would not remove the Prince from the Palace in opposition to the wishes of
+      either the Emperor or herself, but if this permission was not given, a
+      meeting of the Electors would at once be called, and some one else
+      selected to succeed the present ruler.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;This consideration exerted a great influence upon the
+      Empress, who counseled her son to acquiesce. The young man was led to a
+      boat then in waiting by the river steps of the Palace, and so conveyed
+      down the Main to the Rhine, which was reached just after daybreak. Without
+      landing, and keeping as much as possible to the middle of the river, the
+      party proceeded down the Rhine, past Bingen, to the foot of the crag on
+      which stands the castle of Ehrenfels. The Prince was taken up to the
+      Castle, where he now remains.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The Archbishops from their revenues allot to him seven
+      hundred thalers a month, in addition to his maintenance. It is impossible
+      for him to escape from this stronghold unaided, and as the Emperor takes
+      no interest in the matter, and the Empress has given her consent, he is
+      like to be an inmate of Ehrenfels during the pleasure of the Archbishops,
+      who doubtless will not elect him to the throne in succession unless he
+      proves compliant to their wishes. The Prince being a young man of no
+      particular force of character&rsquo;&rdquo; (the merchant paused in his
+      reading, and looked across at his <i>vis-à-vis</i> with a smile, but the
+      latter appeared to be asleep), &ldquo;&lsquo;he will probably succumb to
+      the Archbishops, therefore merchants are advised to base no hopes upon an
+      improvement in affairs, even though the son should succeed the father.
+      Despite the precautions taken, the arrest and imprisonment of the Prince,
+      and even the place of his detention, became rather generally known in
+      Frankfort, but the news is in the form of rumor only, and excites little
+      interest throughout the city.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, Sir Roland, what do you say to that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, nothing much,&rdquo; replied Roland. &ldquo;The account might
+      have stated that in the boat were five rowers, who worked lustily until we
+      reached the Rhine, when, the wind being favorable, a sail was hoisted, and
+      with the current assisting the wind, we made excellent time to Ehrenfels.
+      I observe, further, that your secret service keeps you very well informed,
+      and therefore withdraw a tithe of the harsh things I said regarding the
+      stupidity of the merchants.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Many thanks for the concession,&rdquo; said Goebel, replacing the
+      document with its fellows. &ldquo;Now, as a plain and practical man, what
+      strikes me is this: you need only return to Ehrenfels for two months, and
+      as there is little use for money in that fortress, your maintenance being
+      guaranteed, and seven hundred thalers allowed, you can come away with four
+      hundred thalers more than the sum you demand from me, and thus put your
+      project into force without being under obligations to any despised
+      merchant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, Herr Goebel, but can you predict what will happen in
+      Frankfort before two months are past? You learn from that document that
+      the shrewd Archbishops anticipate an insurrection, and doubtless they
+      command the force at hand ready to crush it, but during this conflict,
+      which you seem to regard so lightly, does it ever occur to you that the
+      merchants&rsquo; palaces along the Fahrgasse may be sacked and burnt?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That, of course, is possible,&rdquo; commented the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nay, it is absolutely certain. Civil war means ruin, to innocent
+      and guilty alike.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are in the right. Now, will you tell me how you escaped from
+      Ehrenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; if you agree to my terms without further haggling.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall agree to your terms if I believe your story.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seems impossible, sir, to pin you down to any definite bargain.
+      Is this the way you conduct your business?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; unless I am well assured of the good faith of my customer. I
+      offered you ordinary business terms when I asked for security, or for the
+      signature of three responsible merchants to your bond. It is because I am
+      a merchant, and not a speculator, that I haggle, as you term it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well, then, I will tell you how I got away, but I begin my
+      recital rather hopelessly, for you always leave yourself a loophole of
+      escape. If you believe my story, you say! Yes: could I weave a romance
+      about tearing my sheets into ropes; of lowering myself in the dark from
+      the battlements to the ground; of an alarm given; of torches flashing; of
+      diving into the Rhine, and swimming under the water until I nearly
+      strangled; of floating down over the rapids, with arrows whizzing round me
+      in the night; of climbing dripping to the farther shore, far from sight of
+      Ehrenfels, then, doubtless, you would believe. But my escape was
+      prosaically commonplace, depending on the cupidity of one man. The
+      material for it was placed in my hands by the Archbishops themselves. Your
+      account states that the Castle is well guarded. So it is, but when the
+      Archbishop needs an augmentation of his force, he withdraws his men from
+      Ehrenfels to Mayence, as my prison is the nearest of his possessions to
+      his capital city, and thus at times it happens that the Castle is bereft
+      of all save the custodian and his family. His eldest son happens to be of
+      my own age, and not unlike me in appearance. None of the guards saw me,
+      except the custodian, and you must remember he was a very complacent
+      jailer, for the reason that he knew well every rising sun might bring with
+      it tidings that I was his Emperor, so he cultivated my acquaintance, to
+      learn in his own thrifty, peasant way what manner of ruler I might become,
+      and I, having no one else to talk to, made much of his company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Frequently he impressed upon me that his task of jailer was most
+      irksome to him, but poverty compelling, what could he do? He swore he
+      would accomplish whatever was in his power to mitigate my captivity, and
+      this indeed did; so at last when the Castle was empty I made him a
+      proposal. Now remember, Sir Merchant, that what I tell you is in
+      confidence, and should you break faith with me, I will have you hanged if
+      I become Emperor, or slit your throat with my own sword if I don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on. I shall tell no one.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I said to my jailer: &lsquo;There are not half a dozen people in
+      this world who know me by sight, and among that half-dozen no Elector is
+      included. Outside the Palace at Frankfort I am acquainted with a sword
+      maker or two, and about a score of good fellows who are friends of theirs,
+      but to them I am merely a fencing-master. Now, seven hundred thalers a
+      month pass through your honest hands to mine, and will continue to do so.
+      Your son seems to be even more silent than yourself, and he is a young
+      fellow whom I suspect knows the difference between a thaler and a button
+      on his own coat. If you do what I wish, there will be some slight risk,
+      but think of the reward immediate and in future! At once you come into an
+      income of seven hundred thalers a month. If I am elected Emperor, I shall
+      ennoble you, and present you with the best post in the land. If you don&rsquo;t
+      do what I wish, I shall cause your head cut off as the first act of my
+      first day of power.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You did not threaten to slit his throat with your own sword,
+      failing your elevation?&rdquo; asked the merchant, with a smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. He was quite safe from my vengeance unless I came to the
+      throne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case I should say the custodian need not fear the future.
+      But please go on with your account.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I proposed that his son and I should exchange costumes; in short,
+      the young man was to take my place, occupying the suite of rooms assigned
+      to me in the Castle. I told his father there was not the slightest fear of
+      discovery, for if the Archbishop of Mayence sent some one to see that the
+      Prince was safe, or even came himself, all the young man need do was to
+      follow my example and keep silent, for I had said nothing from the time I
+      was roused in my room in the Saalhof until I was lodged in Ehrenfels. I
+      promised, if set at liberty, to keep within touch of Frankfort, where, at
+      the first rumor of any crisis, I could return instantly to Ehrenfels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The custodian is a slow-minded man, although not so laggard in
+      coming to an agreement as yourself. He took a week to turn the matter over
+      in his mind, and then made the plunge. He is now jailer to his own son,
+      and that young peasant lives in a style he never dreamed of before. The
+      Archbishops are satisfied, because they believe I cannot escape from the
+      stronghold&mdash;like yourself, holding but a poor opinion of my
+      abilities; and their devout Lordships know that outside the fortress no
+      person, not even my mother, wishes me forth. I took in my wallet five
+      hundred thalers, and fared like the peasant I seemed to be, down the
+      Rhine, now on one side, now on the other, until I came to the ancient town
+      of Castra Bonnensia of the Romans, which name the inhabitants now shorten
+      to Bonn. There I found the Archbishop in residence, and not at Cologne, as
+      I had supposed. The town being thronged with soldiers and inquisitive
+      people of Cologne&rsquo;s court, I returned up the Rhine again,
+      remembering I had gone rather far afield, and although you may not believe
+      it, I called upon my old friend the custodian of Ehrenfels, and enjoyed an
+      excellent meal with him, consuming some of the seductive wine that is
+      grown on the same side of the river about a league above Ehrenfels.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dare say,&rdquo; said the merchant, &ldquo;that I can give the
+      reason for this apparently reckless visit of yours to Ehrenfels. You were
+      in want of money, the five hundred thalers being spent.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you are exactly in the right, and I got it, too, without
+      nearly so much talk as I have been compelled to waste on the present
+      occasion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What was your object in going down the river instead of turning to
+      Frankfort?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I had become interested in my prison, and had studied methods by
+      which it could be successfully attacked. I knew that my father allowed the
+      Barons of the Rhine to override him, and I wondered if his wisdom was
+      greater than I thought. Probably, said I to myself, he knew their castles
+      to be impregnable, but, with the curiosity of youth, I desired to form an
+      opinion of my own. I therefore lodged as a wayfarer at every castle to I
+      could gain admittance, making friends with some underling, and getting a
+      bed on occasion in the stables, although often I lodged within the castle
+      itself. Thus I came to the belief, which I bring to you, that assisted by
+      twenty fearless men I can capture any castle on the Rhine with the
+      exception of three. And now, Herr Goebel, I have said all I intend to say.
+      Do you discredit my story?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant gazed across at him quizzically for some time without making
+      any reply, then he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you think I believe you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Frankly, I do not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I am unable to give you the gold, I can at least furnish some
+      good advice. Set up as a poet, good Master Roland, and weave for our
+      delectation stories of the Rhine. I think your imagination, if cultivated,
+      would give you a very high place among the romancers of our time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With a patience that Herr Goebel had not expected, Roland replied:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It grieves me to return empty-handed to my twenty friends, who last
+      night bade me a very confident adieu.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, they will be disappointed, and I shrewdly suspect that my
+      thousand thalers would not go towards the prosecuting of the expedition
+      you have outlined, but rather in feasting and in wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again, sir, you are right. It is unfortunate that I am so often
+      compelled to corroborate your statements, when all the acumen with which
+      you credit my mind is turned towards the task of proving you a purse-proud
+      fool, puffed up in your own conceit, and as short-sighted as an owl in the
+      summer sunlight. However, let us stick to our text. If what I said had
+      been true, although of course you know it isn&rsquo;t, you have
+      nevertheless enough common sense to be aware that I would certainly show a
+      pardonable reluctance about visiting my father&rsquo;s Palace. It is
+      thronged with spies of the Archbishop, and although, as I have said, I am
+      not very well known, there is a chance that one or another might recognize
+      me, and then, almost instantly, a man on a swift horse would be on his way
+      to Mayence. If I knew that I had been discovered, I should make at once
+      for Ehrenfels, arriving there before an investigation was held. But my
+      twenty comrades would wait for me in vain. Nevertheless, I shall venture
+      into the Saalhof this very afternoon, and bring to you a letter written by
+      my mother certifying that I am her son. Would that convince you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; were I sure the signature was genuine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, there you go again! Always a loophole!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man spoke in accents of such genuine despair that his host was
+      touched despite his incredulity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Look you here,&rdquo; he said, bending across the table. &ldquo;There
+      is, of course, one chance in ten thousand that you are what you say. I
+      have never seen the signature of the Empress, and such a missive could
+      easily be forged by a scholar, which I take you to be. If, then, you wish
+      to convince me, I&rsquo;ll put before you a test which will be greatly to
+      your advantage, and which I will accept without the loophole.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In Heaven&rsquo;s name, let&rsquo;s hear what it is.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is something that you cannot forge: the Great Seal of the
+      Realm, attached to all documents signed by the Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have had no dealings with my father for years,&rdquo; cried the
+      young man. &ldquo;I have not even seen him these many months past. I can
+      obtain the signature of my mother to anything I like to write, but not
+      that of my father.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Patience, patience,&rdquo; said the merchant, holding up his hand.
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis well known that the Empress can bend the Emperor to her
+      will when she chooses to exert it. You see, in spite of all, I am quite
+      taking it for granted that you are the Prince, otherwise &lsquo;twere
+      useless to waste time in this talk. You display all the confidence of
+      youth in speaking of the exploits you propose, and, indeed, it is cheering
+      for a middle-aged person like myself to meet one so confident of anything
+      in these pessimistic days. But have you considered what will happen if
+      something goes wrong during one of your raids?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing can go wrong. I feel no fear on that score.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought as much. Very well, I will tell you what could go wrong.
+      Some Baron may entrap you and your score, and forthwith hang you all from
+      his battlements. Now, it is but common sense to prevent such a
+      termination, if it be possible. Therefore seek out the Empress. Tell her
+      that you and your twenty companions are about to embark on an enterprise
+      greatly beneficial to the land. Say that you go incognito, and that, even
+      should you fail, &lsquo;twill bring no discredit to your Royal House. But
+      point out the danger of which I forewarn you. Ask her to get the signature
+      of the Emperor attached to a safe-conduct, together with the device of the
+      Great Seal; then if the Baron who captures you cannot read, he will still
+      know the potency of the picture, and as there is no loophole to my
+      acceptance of this proof, I will, for your convenience, and for my own
+      protection, write the safe-conduct on as sound a bit of parchment as ever
+      was signed in a palace.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Saying this, Herr Goebel rose, and went to his desk in a corner of the
+      room, where he indited the memorial he had outlined, and, after sprinkling
+      it with sand, presented it to Roland, who read:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;These presents warn him to whom they are presented that Roland the
+      bearer is my son, and that what he has done has been done with my
+      sanction, therefore he and his twenty comrades are to be held scathless,
+      pending an appeal to me in my capital city of Frankfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Whomsoever disobeys this instrument forfeits his own life, and that
+      of his family and followers, while his possessions will be confiscated by
+      the State.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland frowned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t it please you?&rdquo; asked Goebel, his suspicions
+      returning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, it seems to me rather a plebeian action, to attack a man&rsquo;s
+      castle, and then, if captured, crawl behind a drastic threat like this.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant shrugged his shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a sentimental objection, but of course you need not
+      use the document unless you wish, though I think if you see twenty-one
+      looped ropes dangling in the air your hesitation will vanish. Oh, not on
+      your own account,&rdquo; cried Goebel, as a sign of dissent from his
+      visitor, &ldquo;but because of those twenty fine young fellows who
+      doubtless wait to drink wine with you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is true,&rdquo; said Roland, with a sigh, folding up the stiff
+      parchment, opening his cloak, and thrusting it under his belt, standing up
+      as he did this.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bring me that parchment, bearing the Emperor&rsquo;s signature and
+      the Great Seal, and you will find the golden coins awaiting you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. At what time this evening would it please you to admit
+      me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Friends of mine are coming to-night, but they are not likely to
+      stop long; merely a few handshakes, and a few cups of wine. I shall be
+      ready for you when the Cathedral clock strikes ten.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this the long conference ended, and the aged servitor in the hall
+      showed Roland into the Fahrgasse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the young man proceeded down the Weckmarkt into the Saalgasse, he
+      muttered to himself:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The penurious old scoundrel! God keep me in future from dealing
+      with such! To the very last he suspects me of being a forger, and has
+      written this with his own hand, doubtless filling it with secret marks.
+      Still, perhaps it is as well to possess such a safeguard. This is my
+      loophole out of the coming enterprise, I fear we are all cowards, noble
+      and merchant alike.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He walked slowly past the city front of the Palace, cogitating some means
+      of entering without revealing his identity, but soon found that even this
+      casual scrutiny made him an object of suspicion. He could not risk being
+      accosted, for, if taken to the guard-room and questioned&mdash;searched,
+      perhaps, and the sword found on him&mdash;a complication would arise
+      adding materially to the difficulties already in his way. Quickening his
+      pace, he passed through the Fahrthor, and so to the river-bank, where he
+      saw that the side of the Saalhof fronting the Main was guarded merely by
+      one or two sentries, for the mob could not gather on the surface of the
+      waters, as it gathered on the cobble-stones of the Saalgasse and the
+      Fahrthor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Retracing his steps, the Prince walked rapidly until he came to the
+      bridge, advancing to the iron Cross which commemorates the fowl sacrifice
+      to the devil, as the first living creature venturing upon that ancient
+      structure. Here he leaned against the parapet, gazed at the river façade
+      of the Palace, and studied his problem. There were three sets of steps
+      from the terrace to the water, a broad flight in the center for use upon
+      state occasions, and a narrow flight at either end; the western staircase
+      being that in ordinary use, and the eastern steps trodden by the servants
+      carrying buckets of water from the river to the kitchen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The nearer steps,&rdquo; he said to himself, &ldquo;offer the most
+      feasible opportunity. I&rsquo;ll try them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He counted his money, for here was probably a case for bribery. He found
+      twenty-four gold pieces, and some loose silver. Returning the coins to his
+      pouch, he walked to the land, and proceeded up the river until he reached
+      a wharf where small skiffs were to let. One of these he engaged, and
+      refusing the services of a waterman, stepped in, and drifted down the
+      stream. He detached sword and scabbard from his belt, removed the cloak
+      and wrapped the weapon in it, placing the folded garment out of sight
+      under the covering at the prow. With his paddle he kept the boat close to
+      the right bank, discovering an excellent place of concealment under the
+      arch supporting the steps, through which the water flowed. He waited by
+      the steps for a few moments until a scullion in long gabardine came down
+      and dipped his bucket in the swift current.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here, my fine fellow,&rdquo; accosted Roland, &ldquo;do you wish to
+      earn a pair of gold pieces?&rdquo; and he showed the yellow coins in the
+      palm of his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The menial&rsquo;s eyes glistened, and he cast a rapid glance over his
+      shoulder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he replied breathlessly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then leave your bucket where it is, and step into this wherry.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The underling, again with a cautious look around, did as he was ordered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now throw off that outer garment, and give it to me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland put it on over his own clothes, and flung his bonnet beside the
+      cloak and sword, for the servant was bareheaded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get under that archway, and keep out of sight until you hear me
+      whistle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Taking the bucket, Roland mounted the steps, and strode out of the
+      brilliant sunlight into the comparative gloom of the corridor that led to
+      the kitchen. He had been two hours with the merchant, and it was now the
+      time of midday eating. Every one was hurrying to and fro, with no time to
+      heed anything that did not pertain to the business in hand, so placing the
+      bucket in a darkened embrasure, the intruder flung off the gabardine
+      beside it, and searching, found a back stair which he ascended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once in the upper regions, he knew his way about, and proceeded directly
+      to his mother&rsquo;s room, being sure at this hour to find her within. On
+      his unannounced entrance the Empress gave utterance to an exclamation that
+      indicated dismay rather than pleasure, but she hurried forward to meet and
+      embrace him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Roland!&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;what do you here? How came you
+      to the Palace?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By way of the river. My boat is under the arch of the servants&rsquo;
+      stairway, and I have not a moment to lose.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How did you escape from Ehrenfels, and why have you come here?
+      Surely you know the Palace will be the first place searched for you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There will be no search, mother. Take my word for it that no one is
+      aware of my absence from Ehrenfels but the custodian, and for the best of
+      reasons he dare not say a word. Do not be alarmed, I beg of you. I am free
+      by his permission, and shall return to the Castle before he needs me.
+      Indeed, mother, so far from jeopardizing my own safety, I am here to
+      preserve it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He drew from under his belt Herr Goebel&rsquo;s parchment, and handed it
+      to her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In case it should occur to the good Archbishop, or any other noble,
+      to hang me, I thought it best to get such a declaration signed by the
+      Emperor, and decorated with the Great Seal of the Empire. Then, if any
+      attempt is made on my life, as well as on my liberty, I may produce this
+      Imperial decree, and bring my case to Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely, surely,&rdquo; exclaimed the agitated lady, her hands
+      trembling as she held the document and tried to read it; &ldquo;I can
+      obtain your father&rsquo;s signature, but the Great Seal must be attached
+      by the Chamberlain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good, mother. The Chamberlain will do as his Majesty orders.
+      The seal is even more important than the signature, if it comes to that,
+      and I am sure the Chamberlain will make no objection when the instrument
+      is for the protection of your son&rsquo;s life. It is not necessary to say
+      that I am here, or have anything to do with the matter. But lose not a
+      moment, and give orders that no one shall enter this room.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The empress hastened away with the parchment, while the young man walked
+      impatiently up and down the room. It seemed hours before she returned, but
+      at last she came back with the document duly executed. Roland thrust it
+      under his belt again, and reassuring his mother, who was now weeping on
+      his shoulder, he tried to tear himself away. The Empress detained him
+      until, with fumbling hands, she unlocked a drawer in a cabinet, and took
+      from it a bag that gave forth a chink of metal as she pressed it on her
+      son.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I must not take it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am quite well
+      provided. The generous Archbishops allow me seven hundred thalers a month,
+      which is paid with exemplary regularity.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are only five hundred thalers here,&rdquo; replied the
+      Empress. &ldquo;I wish there were more, but you must accept it, for I
+      should feel easier in my mind to know that you possess even that much. Do
+      they misuse you at Ehrenfels, my son?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no, no, no! I live like a burgomaster. You need feel no fear on
+      my account, mother. Ehrenfels is a delightful spot, with old Bingen just
+      across the water. I like it much better than I did Frankfort, with its
+      howling mobs, and shall be very glad to get quit again of the city.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, with a hurried farewell, he left the weeping woman, and descending
+      the back stair, secured the abandoned gabardine, put it on, and so came to
+      the water&rsquo;s edge, entering into possession of his boat again.
+      Returning the craft to its owner, he resumed sword and cloak once more,
+      and found his way to a tavern, where he ordered a satisfactory meal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the evening he arrived at the Rheingold, and meeting the landlord in
+      the large, empty, public cellar, asked that worthy if his friends had
+      assembled yet, and was told they were all within the Kaiser cellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;I said I would be gone a week, but
+      here I am within a day. If that&rsquo;s not justifying a man&rsquo;s word,
+      I should like to know what is. And now, landlord, set forth the best meal
+      you can provide, with a double quantity of wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For yourself, sir?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For all, landlord. What else? The lads have had no supper, I&rsquo;ll
+      warrant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A little black bread has gone the rounds.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All the more reason that we should have a huge pasty, steaming hot,
+      or two or three of them if necessary. And your best wine, landlord. That
+      from the Rheingau.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the landlord demurred.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A meal for yourself, sir, as leader, I could venture upon, but
+      feeding a score of hungry men is a different matter. Remember, sir, I have
+      not seen the color of their silver for many a long day, and, since these
+      evil times have set in, I am a poor man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sordid silver? Out upon silver! unless it is some silvery fish from
+      the river, fresh and firm; and that&rsquo;s a good idea. We will begin
+      with fish while you prepare the meat. &lsquo;Tis gold I deal with
+      to-night, and most of it is for your pouch. Run your hand in here and
+      enjoy the thrill,&rdquo; and Roland held open the mouth of the bag which
+      contained his treasure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; cried the inn-keeper, his face aglow. &ldquo;No such
+      meal is spread to-night in Frankfort as will be set before you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a great shout as Roland entered the Kaiser cellar, and a hurrah
+      of welcome.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ha, renegade!&rdquo; cried one. &ldquo;Have you shirked your task
+      so soon?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Coward, coward, poltroon!&rdquo; was the cry. &ldquo;I see by his
+      face he has failed. Never mind them, Roland. Your chair at the head of the
+      table always awaits you. There is a piece of black bread left, and though
+      the wine is thin, it quenches thirst.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland flung off his cloak, hung it and the sword on a peg, and took his
+      seat at the head of the table. Pushing away the flagons that stood near
+      him, he drew the leathern bag from his belt, and poured the shining yellow
+      coins on the table, at the sight of which there arose such a yell that the
+      stout beams above them seemed to quake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Apologize!&rdquo; demanded Roland, when the clamor quieted down.
+      &ldquo;The man who refuses to apologize, and that abjectly, must take down
+      his sword from the peg and settle with me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A shout of apology was the response.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We grovel at your feet, High Mightiness!&rdquo; cried the man who
+      had called him poltroon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have taken the liberty of ordering a fish and meat supper, with a
+      double quantity of Rudesheimer wine. Again I offer to fight any man who
+      resents this encroachment on my part.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could spit you with a hand tied behind my back,&rdquo; cried one,
+      &ldquo;but I am of a forgiving nature, and will wait instead for the
+      spitted fowl.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Most of this money,&rdquo; continued Roland quietly, &ldquo;goes, I
+      suspect, to the landlord, as a slight recognition of past kindness, but I
+      am promised a further supply this evening, which will be divided equally
+      among ourselves. I ask you, therefore, to be sparing of the wine.&rdquo;
+      Here he was compelled to pause for some moments, and listen to groans,
+      hoots, howls, and the rapping of empty flagons on the stout table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The commotion was interrupted by the entrance of the landlord, who brought
+      with him the promised Rhine wine; for, hearing the noise, he supposed it
+      represented impatience of the company at the delay, a mistake which no one
+      thought it worth while to rectify. He promised that the fish would follow
+      in a very few minutes, and went out to see that his word was kept.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why should we be sparing of the wine?&rdquo; asked a capable
+      drinker, who had drained his flagon before asking the question. &ldquo;With
+      all that money on the table it seems to me a scandalous proviso.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis not a command at all,&rdquo; replied Roland, &ldquo;but
+      merely a suggestion. I spoke in the interests of fair-play. An appointment
+      was made by me for ten o&rsquo;clock this evening, and I wish to keep it
+      and remain uninfluenced by wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What&rsquo;s her name, Roland?&rdquo; inquired the wine-bibber.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was about to divulge that secret when you interrupted me. The
+      name is Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What! the cloth merchant on the Fahrgasse?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it cloth he deals in? I didn&rsquo;t know the particulars of his
+      occupation beyond the facts that he is a merchant, and lives in the
+      Fahrgasse. This morning I enjoyed the privilege of presenting to Herr
+      Goebel a mutually beneficial plan which would give us all something to do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, is Goebel to be our employer? I&rsquo;m a sword forger, and
+      work for no puny cloth merchant,&rdquo; said Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This appointment,&rdquo; continued Roland, unheeding, &ldquo;is set
+      for ten o&rsquo;clock, and I expect to return here before half-past,
+      therefore&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Therefore we&rsquo;re not to drink all the wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Exactly.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Their leader sat down as the landlord, followed by an assistant, entered,
+      carrying the paraphernalia for the substantial repast, and proceeded to
+      set the table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the hilarious meal was finished, the company sat for another
+      half-hour over its wine, then Roland rose, buckled on his sword, and flung
+      his cloak over his shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Roland, I hope you have not sold your soul for this gold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but I have pledged your bodies, and my own as well. Greusel,
+      will you act as secretary and treasurer? Scrutinize the landlord&rsquo;s
+      bill with a generous eye, and pay him the amount we owe. If anything is
+      left, we will divide it equally,&rdquo; and with that he waved his hand to
+      them, departing amidst a round of cheers, for the active youths were tired
+      of idleness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Punctuality is the politeness of kings, and as the bells of Frankfort were
+      ringing ten o&rsquo;clock, Roland knocked at the door of the merchant&rsquo;s
+      house in the Fahrgasse. It was promptly opened by the ancient porter, who,
+      after securing it again, conducted the young man up the solid stairway to
+      the office-room on the first floor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ushered in, the Prince found the merchant seated in his usual chair, as if
+      he had never moved from the spot where Roland had left him at noon that
+      day. Half a dozen candles shed their soft radiance over the table, and on
+      one corner of it, close by Herr Goebel&rsquo;s right elbow, the visitor
+      saw a well-filled doeskin bag which he fancied might contain the thousand
+      thalers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good even to you, Herr Goebel,&rdquo; said the young man, doffing
+      his bonnet. &ldquo;I hope I have not trodden too closely on the heels of
+      my appointment, thus withdrawing you prematurely from the festivities,
+      which I trust you enjoyed all the more that you breathed the air of
+      liberty again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The occasion, sir, was solemn rather than festive, for although I
+      was glad to see my old friends again, and I believe they were glad to see
+      me, the condition of the city is such, and growing rapidly worse, that
+      merchants cannot rejoice when they are gathered together.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, well, Herr Goebel, we will soon mend all that. How long will it
+      require to load your boat and choose your crew?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Everything can be ready by the evening of the day after to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will select one of your largest barges. Remember, it must house
+      twenty-one men besides the crew and the goods.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I shall see that complete arrangements are made for your
+      comfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you. But do not provide too much luxury. It might arouse
+      suspicion from the Barons who search the boat.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the Barons will see you and your men in the boat.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think not. At least, we don&rsquo;t intend to be seen. I will
+      call upon you again to-morrow at ten o&rsquo;clock. Will you kindly order
+      your captain to be here to meet me? I wish you to give him instructions in
+      my presence that he is to do whatever I ask of him. We will join the boat
+      on the Rhine between Ehrenfels and Assmannshausen. Instruct him to wait
+      for us midway between the two places, on the right bank. And now the
+      money, if you please.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The money is here,&rdquo; said the merchant, sitting up a little
+      more stiffly in his chair as he patted the well-stuffed bag. &ldquo;The
+      money is here if you have brought the instrument that authorizes you to
+      take it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have brought it with me, mein herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then show it to me,&rdquo; demanded the merchant, adjusting his
+      horn glasses with the air of one who will not allow himself to be
+      hoodwinked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With the greatest pleasure,&rdquo; returned the young man, standing
+      before him. He unfastened his cloak, and allowed it to fall at his feet,
+      then whisked out his sword, and presented the point of it to the merchant&rsquo;s
+      throat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Goebel, who had been fumbling with his glasses, suddenly became aware of
+      his danger, and shrank back so far as his chair allowed, but the point of
+      the sword followed him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you mean by that?&rdquo; he gasped.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean to show you that in this game iron is superior to gold. Your
+      card is on the table, represented by that bag. Mine is still in my hand,
+      and unplayed, but it takes the trick, I think. I hope you see the
+      uselessness of resistance. You cannot even cry out, for at the first
+      attempt a thrust of this blade cuts the very roots of utterance. It will
+      be quite easy for me to escape, because I shall go quietly out with the
+      bag under my cloak, telling the porter that you do not wish to be
+      disturbed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is the Prince of Thieves you are, then,&rdquo; said Herr Goebel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So it would appear. With your right hand pass that bag of gold
+      across the table, and beg of me to accept it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant promptly did what he was told to do.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man put his sword back in its place, laughing joyously, but
+      there was no answering smile on the face of Herr Goebel. As he had said,
+      the condition of things in Frankfort, especially in that room, failed to
+      make for merriment. Roland, without being invited, drew up a chair, and
+      sat down at the opposite side of the table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please do not attempt to dash for the door,&rdquo; he warned,
+      &ldquo;because I can quite easily intercept you, as I am nearer to it than
+      you are, and more active. Call philosophy to your aid, and take whatever
+      happens calmly. I assure you, &lsquo;tis the best way, and the only way.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He untied the cord, and poured the bulk of the gold out upon the table.
+      The merchant watched him with amazement. For all the robber knew, the door
+      might be opened at any moment, but he went on with numbering the coins as
+      nonchalantly as if seated in the treasury of the Corn Exchange. When he
+      had counted half the sum the bag contained, he poured the loose money by
+      handfuls into the wallet that had held his mother&rsquo;s contribution,
+      and pushed towards the merchant the bag, in which remained five hundred
+      thalers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are to know,&rdquo; he said with a smile, abandoning his
+      bent-forward posture, &ldquo;that when I visited my mother this afternoon,
+      she quite unexpectedly gave me five hundred thalers, so I shall accept
+      from you only half the sum I demanded this morning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your mother!&rdquo; cried the merchant. &ldquo;Who is your mother?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Empress, as I told you. Oh, at last I understand your
+      uneasiness. You wished to see that document! Why didn&rsquo;t you ask for
+      it? I asked for the money plainly enough. Well, here it is. Examine Seal
+      and sign-manual.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant minutely scrutinized the Great Seal and the signature above
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what to think,&rdquo; stammered Herr Goebel at
+      last, gazing across the table with bewildered face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Think of your good fortune. A moment ago you imagined a thousand
+      thalers were lost. Now it is but five hundred thalers invested, and you
+      are a partner with the Royal House of the Empire.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      III. DISSENSION IN THE IRONWORKERS&rsquo; GUILD
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Up to the time of his midnight awakening, Prince Roland had led a
+      care-free, uneventful life. Although he received the general education
+      supposed to be suitable for a youth of his station, he interested himself
+      keenly in only two studies, but as one of these challenged the other, as
+      it were, the result was entirely to the good. He was a very quiet boy,
+      much under the influence of his mother, seeing little or nothing of his
+      easy-going, inebriated father. It was his mother who turned her son&rsquo;s
+      attention towards the literature of his country, and he became an
+      omnivorous reader of the old monkish manuscripts with which the Palace was
+      well supplied. Especially had his mind been attracted by the stories and
+      legends of the Rhine. The mixture of history, fiction, and superstition
+      which he found in these vellum pages, so daintily limned, and so
+      artistically embellished with initial letters in gold and crimson and
+      blue, fascinated him, and filled him with that desire to see those grim
+      strongholds on the mountain-sides by the river, which later on resulted in
+      his journey from Ehrenfels to Bonn, when his ingenuity, and the cupidity
+      of his custodian, freed him from the very slight thraldom in which he was
+      held by the Archbishop of Mayence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If his attention had been entirely absorbed by the reading of these tomes,
+      he might have become a mere dreamy bookworm, his intellect saturated with
+      the sentimental and romantic mysticism permeating Germany even unto this
+      day, and, as he cared nothing for the sports of boyhood, body might have
+      suffered as brain developed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, luckily, he had been placed under the instruction of Rinaldo, the
+      greatest master of the sword that the world had up to that period
+      produced. Rinaldo was an Italian from Milan, whom gold tempted across the
+      Alps for the purpose of instructing the Emperor&rsquo;s son in Frankfort.
+      He was a man of grace and politeness, and young Roland took to him from
+      the first, exhibiting such aptitude in the art of fencing that the Italian
+      was not only proud of one who did such credit to his tuition, but came to
+      love the youth as if he were his own son.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For the sword-making of Germany the Italian expressed the utmost contempt.
+      The coarse weapons produced by the ironworkers of Frankfort needed
+      strength rather than skill in their manipulation. Between the Italian
+      method and the German was all the contrast that exists between the
+      catching of salmon with a delicate line and a gossamer fly, or clubbing
+      the fish to death as did the boatmen at that fishery called the Waag down
+      the Rhine by St. Goar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland listened intently and without defense to the diatribe against his
+      country&rsquo;s weapons and the clumsy method of using them, but although
+      he said nothing, he formed opinions of his own, believing there was some
+      merit in strength which the Italian ignored; so, studying the subject, he
+      himself invented a sword which, while lacking the stoutness of the German
+      weapon, retained some of its stability, and was almost as easily handled
+      as the Italian rapier, without the disadvantage of its extreme frailty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus it came about that young Roland stole away from the Palace and made
+      the acquaintance of the sword makers. The practice of fencing exercises
+      every muscle in the body, and Roland&rsquo;s constant bouts with Rinaldo
+      did more than make him a master of the weapon, with equal facility in his
+      right arm or his left; it produced an athlete of the first quality; agile
+      and strong, developing his physical powers universally, and not in any one
+      direction.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile Roland remained deplorably ignorant regarding affairs of State,
+      this being a subject of which his mother knew nothing. The Emperor, who
+      should have been his son&rsquo;s natural teacher, gave his whole attention
+      to the wine-flagon, letting affairs drift towards disaster, allowing the
+      power that deserted his trembling fingers to be grasped by stronger but
+      unauthorized hands. Roland&rsquo;s surreptitious excursions into the city
+      to confer with the sword makers taught him little of politics, for his
+      conversations with these mechanics were devoted entirely to metal-working.
+      He was hustled now and again by the turbulent mob, in going to and fro,
+      but he did not know why it clamored, and, indeed, took little interest in
+      the matter, conscious only that he came more and more to hate the city and
+      loathe its inhabitants. When he could have his own way, he said to
+      himself, he would retire to some country castle which his father owned,
+      and there devote himself to such employment as fell in with his wishes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he was to receive a sharp lesson that no man, however highly placed,
+      is independent of his fellows. He was unaware of the commotion that arose
+      round his own name, and of the grim hanging of the leaders who chose him
+      as their supreme head. When, bewildered and sleepy, he was aroused at
+      midnight, and saw three armed men standing by his bedside, he received a
+      shock that did more to awaken him than the grip of alien hands on his
+      shoulders. During that night ride in the boat he said nothing but thought
+      much. He had heard his mother plead for him without for a moment delaying
+      his departure. She, evidently, was powerless. There was then in the land a
+      force superior to that of the Throne. Something that had been said quieted
+      his mother&rsquo;s fears, for at last she allowed him to go without
+      further protest, but weeping a little, and embracing him much. There was
+      no roughness or rudeness on the part of those who conveyed him down the
+      river Main, and finally along the Rhine to Ehrenfels, but rather the
+      utmost courtesy and deference, yet Roland remained silent throughout the
+      long journey, agitated by this new, invisible, irresistible sovereignty
+      animated with the will and power to do what it liked with him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the Castle of Ehrenfels he found awaiting him no rigorous imprisonment.
+      He was treated as a welcome guest of an invisible host. It was his
+      conversations with the garrulous custodian, who was a shrewd observer of
+      the passing show, that gradually awakened the young Prince to some
+      familiarity with the affairs of the country. He learned now in what a
+      deplorable state the capital stood, through the ever-increasing exactions
+      of the robber Barons along the Rhine. He asked his instructor why the
+      merchants did not send their goods by some other route, which was a very
+      natural query, but was told there existed no other route. A great forest
+      extended for the most part between Frankfort and Cologne, and through the
+      wilderness were no roads, for even those constructed by the Romans had
+      been allowed to fall into decay; overgrown with trees, Nature thus
+      destroying the neglected handiwork of man; the forest reclaiming its own.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed,&rdquo; continued the custodian, &ldquo;for the last ten
+      years things have been going to the devil, for the lack of a strong hand
+      in the capital. A strong hand is needed by nobles and outlaws alike. We
+      want a new Frederick Barbarossa; the hangman&rsquo;s rope and the torch
+      judiciously applied might be the saving of the country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ehrenfels, belonging to the Archbishop, was not a nest of piracy, and so
+      its guardian could talk in this manner if he chose, but had he uttered
+      these sentiments farther down the Rhine, he would himself have experienced
+      the utility of the hangman&rsquo;s rope. Roland, knowing by this time who
+      had taken him into custody, said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why do not the three Archbishops put a stop to it? They possess the
+      power.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old jailer shrugged his shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My chief, the great prelate of Mayence, would do it speedily enough
+      if he stood alone, but the Archbishops of Treves have ever been robbers
+      themselves, and Cologne is little better, therefore they neutralize one
+      another. No two of them will allow the other to act, fearing he may gain
+      in power, and thus upset the balance of responsibility, which I assure
+      your Highness is very nicely adjusted. Each of the three claim allegiance
+      from this Baron or the other, and although the Archbishops themselves may
+      not lay toll directly on the Rhine, their ardent partisans do, which
+      produces a deadlock.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus Roland received an education not to be had in palaces, and, saying
+      little beyond asking an occasional question, he thought much, and came to
+      certain conclusions. He arrived at an ambition to open the lordly Rhine
+      and spent his time gathering knowledge and forming plans.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Twelve hours after receiving the five hundred thalers from the merchant,
+      he again presented himself at the now familiar door in the Fahrgasse. In
+      the room on the first floor he found with Herr Goebel a thick-set,
+      heavily-bearded, weather-beaten man, who stood bonnet in hand while the
+      merchant gave him final instructions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good-morning, Sir Roland,&rdquo; cried Herr Goebel cheerfully. He
+      exhibited no resentment for his treatment of the night before, and
+      apparently daylight brought with it renewed confidence that the young man
+      might succeed in his mission. There was now no hesitation in the merchant&rsquo;s
+      manner; alert and decided, all mistrust seemed to have vanished. &ldquo;This
+      is Captain Blumenfels, whom I put in charge of the barge, and who has
+      gathered together a crew on which he can depend although, of course, you
+      must not expect them to fight.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I shall attend to that portion of
+      the enterprise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Captain Blumenfels,&rdquo; continued Herr Goebel, &ldquo;this
+      young man is commander. You are to obey him in every particular, just as
+      you would obey me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain bowed without speaking.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall not detain you any longer, captain, as you will be anxious
+      to see the bales disposed of to your liking on the barge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain thereupon took himself off, and Roland came to the conclusion
+      that he liked this rough-and-ready mariner with so little to say for
+      himself; a silent man of action, evidently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Herr Goebel turned his attention to Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have ordered bales of cloth to the value of a trifle more than
+      four thousand thalers to be placed in the barge,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The
+      bales are numbered, and I have given the captain an inventory showing the
+      price of each. I suppose you despise our vulgar traffic, and, indeed, I
+      had no thought of asking so highly placed a person as yourself to sell my
+      goods, therefore Blumenfels will superintend the marketing when you reach
+      Cologne&mdash;that is, if you ever get so far.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your pardon, Herr Goebel, but I have my own plans regarding the
+      disposal of your goods. I intend to be quit of them long before I see
+      Cologne. Indeed, should I prosper, I hope your boat will set its nose
+      southward for the return journey some distance this side of Coblentz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant gazed up at him in astonishment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your design is impossible. There is no sale for cloth nearer than
+      Coblentz. Your remarks prove you unacquainted with the river.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have walked every foot of both sides of the river between
+      Ehrenfels and Bonn. There are many wealthy castles on this side of
+      Coblentz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, my good sir, true; but how became they wealthy? Simply by
+      robbing the merchants. Are you not aware that each of these castles is
+      inhabited by a titled brigand? You surely do not expect to sell my cloth
+      to the Barons?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not? Remember how long it is since a cloth-barge went down the
+      Rhine. Think for a moment of the arduous life which these Barons lead,
+      hunting the boar, the bear, and the deer, tearing recklessly through
+      thicket and over forest-covered ground. Why, our noble friends must be in
+      rags by this time, or clad in the skins of the beasts they kill! They will
+      be delighted to see and handle a piece of well-woven cloth once more.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a full minute the merchant gaped aghast at this senseless talk so
+      seriously put forward; then a smile came to his lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, I begin to understand you. Your words are on a par
+      with the practical joke you played upon me so successfully last night. Of
+      course, you know as well as I that the Barons will buy nothing. They will
+      take such goods as they want if you but give them opportunity. What you
+      say is merely your way of intimating it is none of my affair how the goods
+      are disposed of, so long as you hand over to me four thousand thalers.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Four thousand five hundred, if you please.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall be quite content with the four thousand, regarding the
+      extra five hundred as paid for services rendered. Now, can I do anything
+      further to aid you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes. I wish you to send a man on horseback to Lorch, there to await
+      the barge. Choose a man as silent as your captain; one whom you trust
+      implicitly, for I hope to send back with him four thousand five hundred
+      thalers, and also some additional gold, which I beg of you to keep safely
+      for me until I return.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, there can be no gold for me at Lorch.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dispatch a trustworthy man in case I receive the money. You will be
+      anxious to know how we prosper, and I can at least forward a budget of
+      news.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But should there be gold, he cannot return safely with it to
+      Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes, if he keeps to the eastern bank of the Rhine. There is no
+      castle between Lorch and Frankfort except Ehrenfels, and that, being the
+      property of the Archbishop, may be passed safely.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. The man shall await you at Lorch. Inquire for Herr
+      Kruger at Mergler&rsquo;s Inn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That night, in the Kaiser cellar, another excellent supper was spread
+      before the members of the metal-workers&rsquo; league. It was quite as
+      hilarious as the banquet of the night before; perhaps more so, because
+      now, for the first time in months, the athletic young men were well fed,
+      with money in their pouches. Each was clad in a new suit of clothes.
+      Nothing like uniformity in costume had been attempted, there being but one
+      day in which to replenish the wardrobes, which involved the acquiring of
+      garments already made. However no trouble was experienced about this, for
+      each branch of the metal-workers had its own recognized outfit, which was
+      kept on hand in all sizes by various dealers catering to the wants of
+      artisans, from apprentices to masters of their trade. The costumes were
+      admirably adapted to the use for which they were intended. There was
+      nothing superfluous in their make-up, and, being loosely cut, they allowed
+      ample play to stalwart limbs. For dealing with metal the wearers required
+      a cloth tightly woven, of a texture as nearly as possible resembling
+      leather, and better accouterment for a rough-and-tumble, freebooter&rsquo;s
+      excursion could not have been found, short of coats of mail, or, failing
+      that, of leather itself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland appeared in the trousers and doublet of a sword maker, and his
+      comrades cheered loudly when he threw off his cloak and displayed for the
+      first time that he was actually one of themselves. Hitherto something in
+      the fashioning of his wearing apparel had in a manner differentiated him
+      from the rest of the company, but now nothing in his dress indicated that
+      he was leader of the coterie, and this pleased the independent
+      metal-workers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The previous night, after the landlord&rsquo;s bill was generously
+      liquidated, each man had received upwards of thirty thalers. Roland then
+      related to them his adventure with the merchant, and the result of his
+      sword-play in the vicinity of Herr Goebel&rsquo;s throat. Two
+      accomplishments he possessed endeared Roland to his comrades: first, the
+      ability to sing a good song; and second, his talent for telling an
+      interesting story, whether it was a personal adventure, a legend of the
+      Rhine, or some tale of the gnomes which, as every one knows, haunt the
+      gloomy forests in the mountain regions. His account of the evening spent
+      with Herr Goebel aroused much laughter and applause, which greatly
+      augmented when the material advantages of the interview were distributed
+      among the guild.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This evening he purposed making a still more important disclosure; thus
+      when the meal was finished, and the landlord, after replenishing the
+      flagons, had retired, the new sword maker rose in his place at the head of
+      the table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I crave your strict attention for a few minutes. Although I refused
+      to confide my plans to Herr Goebel, I consider it my duty to inform you
+      minutely of what is before us, and if I speak with some solemnity, it is
+      because I realize we may never again meet around this table. We depart
+      from Frankfort to-morrow upon a hazardous expedition, and some of us may
+      not return.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I say, Roland,&rdquo; protested Conrad Kurzbold, &ldquo;don&rsquo;t
+      mar a jovial evening with a note of tragedy. It&rsquo;s bad art, you know.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold was one of the three actual sword makers, and had been president
+      of the guild until he gave place to Roland. He was the oldest of the
+      company; an ambitious man, a glib talker, with great influence among his
+      fellows, and a natural leader of them. What he said generally represented
+      the opinion of the gathering.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For once, Kurzbold, I must ask you to excuse me,&rdquo; persisted
+      Roland. &ldquo;It is necessary that on this, the last, opportunity I
+      should place before you exactly what I intend to do. I am very anxious not
+      to minimize the danger. I wish no man to follow me blindfold, thus I speak
+      early in the evening, that you may not be influenced by the enthusiasm of
+      wine in coming to a decision. I desire each man here to estimate the risk,
+      and choose, before we separate to-night, whether or not he will accompany
+      the expedition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here is the compact made with Herr Goebel: I promised that, with
+      the help of my comrades, I would endeavor to open the Rhine to mercantile
+      traffic. On the strength of such promise he gave me the money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this announcement rose a wild round of applause, and with the thunder
+      of flagons on the table, and the shouting of each member, no single voice
+      could make itself heard above the tumult. These lads had no conception of
+      the perils they were to face, and Roland alone remained imperturbable,
+      becoming more and more serious as the uproar went on. When at last quiet
+      was restored, he continued, with a gravity in striking contrast to the
+      hilarity of his audience:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Goebel is filling his largest barge with bales of cloth, and
+      he has engaged an efficient crew, and a capable captain who will assume
+      charge of the navigation. The barge will proceed to-morrow night down the
+      Main, leaving Frankfort as unostentatiously as possible, while we march
+      across the country to Assmannshausen, and there join this craft. It is
+      essential that no hint of our intention shall spread abroad in gossipy
+      Frankfort, therefore, depending on Captain Blumenfels to get his boat
+      clear of the city without observation, and before the moon rises, I ask
+      you to leave to-morrow separately by different gates, meeting me at
+      Hochst, something more than two leagues down the river. I dare say you all
+      know the Elector&rsquo;s palace, whose beautiful tower is a landmark for
+      the country round.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I protest against such a rendezvous,&rdquo; objected Kurzbold.
+      &ldquo;Make it the tavern of the Nassauer Hof, Roland. We shall all be
+      thirsty after a walk of two leagues.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not at that time in the morning, I hope,&rdquo; said Roland,
+      &ldquo;for I shall await you in the shadow of the tower at nine o&rsquo;clock.
+      Let every man drink his fill to-night, for I intend to lead a sober
+      company from Hochst to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you&rsquo;re optimistic, Roland,&rdquo; cried John Gensbein.
+      &ldquo;Give us till twelve o&rsquo;clock to cool our heads.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Drink all you wish this evening,&rdquo; repeated Roland, &ldquo;but
+      to-morrow we begin our work, with a long day&rsquo;s march ahead of us, so
+      nine is none too early for a start from Hochst.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sufficient to the day is the wine thereof,&rdquo; said Conrad
+      Kurzbold, rising to his feet. &ldquo;Wine, blessed liquor as it is,
+      possesses nevertheless one defect, which blot on its escutcheon is that it
+      cannot carry over till next day, except in so far as a headache is
+      concerned, and a certain dryness of the mouth. It is futile to bid us lay
+      in a supply to-night that will be of any use to-morrow morning. For my
+      part, I give you warning, Roland, that I shall make directly for the
+      Nassauer Hof, or for the Schone Aussicht, where they keep most excellent
+      vintages.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To this declaration Roland made no reply, but continued his explanatory
+      remarks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We shall join the barge, as I have said, above Assmannshausen,
+      probably at night, and then cross directly over the river. The first
+      castle with which I intend to deal is that celebrated robber&rsquo;s
+      roost, Rheinstein, standing two hundred and sixty feet above the water.
+      Disembarking about a league up the river from Rheinstein, before daybreak
+      we will all lie concealed in the forest within sight of the Castle gates.
+      When the sun is well risen, Captain Blumenfels will navigate his boat down
+      the river, and as it approaches Rheinstein we shall probably enjoy the
+      privilege of seeing the gates open wide, as the company from the Castle
+      descend precipitously to the water. While they rifle the barge we shall
+      rifle the Castle, overpowering whoever we may find there, and taking in
+      return for the cloth they steal such gold or silver as the treasury
+      affords. We will then imprison all within the Castle, so that a premature
+      alarm may not be given. If we are hurried, we may lock them in cellars, or
+      place them in dungeons, then leave the Castle with our booty, but I do not
+      purpose descending to the river until we have traversed a league or more
+      of the mountain forest, where we may remain concealed until the barge
+      appears, and so take ship again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The next castle is Falkenberg, the third Sonneck, both on the same
+      side of the river as Rheinstein, and within a short distance from the
+      stronghold, but the plan with each being the same as that already
+      outlined, it is not necessary for me to repeat it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An excellent arrangement!&rdquo; cried several; but John Gensbein
+      spoke up in criticism.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is there to be no fighting?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;I expected you
+      to say that after we had secured the gold we would fall on the robbers to
+      the rear, and smite them hip and thigh.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is likely to be all the fighting you can wish for,&rdquo;
+      replied Roland, &ldquo;for at some point our scheme may go awry. It is not
+      my intention to attack, but I expect you to fight like heroes in our own
+      defense.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I agree with Herr Roland,&rdquo; put in Conrad Kurzbold, rising to
+      his feet. &ldquo;If we purpose to win our way down to Cologne, it is
+      unnecessary to search for trouble, because we shall find enough of it
+      awaiting us at one point or another. But Roland stopped his account at
+      what seems to me the most interesting juncture. What is the destination of
+      the gold we loot from the castles?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The first call upon our accumulation will be the payment of four
+      thousand five hundred thalers to Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, damn the merchant!&rdquo; cried Conrad. &ldquo;We are risking
+      our lives, and I don&rsquo;t see why he should reach out his claws. He
+      will profit enough through our exertions if we open the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True; but that was the bargain I made with him. We risk our lives,
+      as you say, but he risks his goods, besides providing barge, captain, and
+      crew. He also furnished us with the five hundred thalers now in our
+      pockets. We must deal honestly with the man who has supported us in the
+      beginning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, very well,&rdquo; growled Kurzbold, &ldquo;have it your own
+      way; but in my opinion the merchants should combine and raise a fund with
+      which to reward us for our exertions if we succeed. Still, I shall not
+      press my contention in the face of an overwhelming sentiment against me.
+      However, I should like to speak to our leader on one matter which it
+      seemed ungracious to mention last night. The merchant offered him a
+      thousand thalers in gold, and he, with a generosity which I must point out
+      to him was exercised at our expense, returned half that money to Herr
+      Goebel. I confess that all I received has been spent; my hand is lonesome
+      when it enters my pouch. I should be glad of that portion which might have
+      been mine (and when I speak for myself, I speak for all) were it not for
+      the misplaced prodigality of our leader who, possessing the money, was so
+      thoughtless of our fellowship that he actually handed over five hundred
+      thalers to a man who had not the slightest claim upon it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Kurzbold,&rdquo; said Roland, with some severity, &ldquo;many
+      penniless nights passed over our heads in this room. If you know so much
+      better than I how to procure money, why did you not do so? I should not
+      venture to criticise a man who, without any effort on my part, placed
+      thirty thalers at my disposal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a great clamor at this, every one except Kurzbold, who stood
+      stubbornly in his place, and Gensbein, who sat next to him, becoming
+      vociferous in defense of their leader.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is uncomrade-like,&rdquo; cried Ebearhard above the din, &ldquo;to
+      spend the money and then growl.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I speak in the interests of us all,&rdquo; shouted Kurzbold.
+      &ldquo;In the interests of our leader, no less than ourselves,&rdquo; but
+      the others howled him down.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland, holding up his right hand, seemed to request silence and obtained
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am rather glad,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that this discussion has
+      arisen, because there is still time to amend our programme. Herr Goebel&rsquo;s
+      barge will not be loaded until to-morrow night, so the order may even yet
+      be countermanded. The five hundred thalers which belonged to me I say
+      nothing about, but the five hundred advanced by Herr Goebel must be
+      returned to him unless we are in perfect unanimity.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this suggestion Kurzbold sat down with some suddenness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I told you, when I left this room, promising to find the money
+      within a week, that one condition was the backing of my fellows. You
+      empowered me to pledge the efforts of our club as though it contained but
+      one man. If that promise is not to be kept in spirit as well as in letter,
+      I shall retire from the position I now hold, and you may elect in my stead
+      Conrad Kurzbold, John Gensbein, or any one else that pleases you. But
+      first I must be in a position to give back intact Herr Goebel&rsquo;s
+      money; then, as I have divulged to you my plans, Conrad Kurzbold may
+      approach him, and make better terms than I was able to arrange.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There were cries of &ldquo;Nonsense! Nonsense!&rdquo; &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t
+      take a little opposition in that spirit, Roland.&rdquo; &ldquo;We are all
+      free-speaking comrades, you know.&rdquo; &ldquo;You are our leader, and
+      must remain so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold rose to his feet for the third time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Literally and figuratively, my friend Roland has me on the hip, for
+      my hip-pocket contains no money, and it is impossible for me to refund. I
+      imagine, if the truth were told, we are all more or less in the same
+      condition, for we have had equipment to buy, and what-not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Also Hochheimer,&rdquo; said one, at which there was a laugh, as
+      Kurzbold was noted for his love of good wine. Up to this point Roland had
+      carried the assemblage with him, but now he made an injudicious remark
+      that instantly changed the spirit of the room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am astonished,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that any objection should
+      be made to the fair treatment of Herr Goebel, for you are all of the
+      merchant class, and should therefore hold by one of your own order.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He could proceed no farther. Standing there, pale and determined, he was
+      simply stormed down. His ignorance of affairs, of which on several
+      occasions the merchant himself had complained, led him quite unconsciously
+      to touch the pride of his hearers. It was John Gensbein who angrily gave
+      expression to the sentiment of the meeting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To what class do <i>you</i> belong, I should like to know? Do you
+      claim affinity with the merchant class? If you do, you are no leader of
+      ours. I inform you, sir, that we are skilled artisans, with the craft to
+      turn out creditable work, while the merchants are merely the vendors of
+      our products. Which, therefore, takes the higher place in a community, and
+      which deserves it better: he who with artistic instinct unites the efforts
+      of brain and hand to produce wares that are at once beautiful and useful,
+      or he who merely chaffers over his counter to get as much lucre as he can
+      for the creations that come from our benches?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To Roland&rsquo;s aristocratic mind, every man who lacked noble blood in
+      his veins stood on the same level, and it astonished him that any mere
+      plebeian should claim precedence over another. He himself felt
+      immeasurably superior to those present, sensible of a fathomless gulf
+      between him and them, which he, in his condescension, might cross as
+      suited his whim, but over which none might follow him back again; and
+      this, he was well aware, they would be the first to admit did they but
+      know his actual rank.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment he was tempted to acknowledge his identity, and crush them by
+      throwing the crown at their heads, but some hitherto undiscovered
+      stubbornness in his nature asserted itself, arousing a determination to
+      stand or fall by whatever strength of character he might possess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I withdraw that remark,&rdquo; he said, as soon as he could obtain
+      a hearing. &ldquo;I not only withdraw it, but I apologize to you for my
+      folly in making it. It was merely thoughtlessness on my part, and, resting
+      on your generosity, I should like you to consider the words unsaid.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once more eighteen of the twenty swung round to his side. Roland now
+      turned his attention to Conrad Kurzbold, ignoring John Gensbein, who had
+      sat down flushed after his declamation, bewildered by the mutability of
+      the many as Coriolanus had been before him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Kurzbold,&rdquo; began Roland sternly, &ldquo;have you any
+      further criticism to offer?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but I stand by what I have already said.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I thank you for your honest expression of that determination,
+      and I announce that you cannot accompany this expedition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again Roland instantaneously lost the confidence of his auditors, and they
+      were not slow in making him of the fact.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is simply tyranny,&rdquo; said Ebearhard. &ldquo;If a man may
+      not open his mouth without running danger of expulsion, then all
+      comradeship is at an end, and I take it that good comradeship is the pivot
+      on which this organization turns. I do not remember that we ever placed it
+      in the power of our president merely by his own word to cast out one of us
+      from the fellowship. I may add, Roland, that you seem to harbor strange
+      ideas concerning rank and power. I have been a member of this guild much
+      longer than you, and perhaps understand better its purpose. Our leader is
+      not elected to govern a band of serfs. Indeed, and I say it subject to
+      correction from my friends, the very opposite is the case. Our leader is
+      our servant, and must conduct himself as we order. It is not for him to
+      lay down the law to us, but whatever laws exist for our governance, and I
+      thank Heaven there are few of them, must be settled in conclave by a
+      majority of the league.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right! Right!&rdquo; was the unanimous cry, and when Ebearhard sat
+      down all were seated except Roland, who stood at the end of the table with
+      pale face and compressed lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;about to set out against the Barons
+      of the Rhine, entrenched in their strong castles. Hitherto these men have
+      been completely successful, defying alike the Government and the people.
+      It was my hope that we might reverse this condition of things. Now,
+      Brother Ebearhard, name me a single Baron along the whole length of the
+      Rhine who would permit one of his men-at-arms to bandy words with him on
+      any subject whatever.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should hope,&rdquo; replied Ebearhard, &ldquo;that we do not
+      model our conduct after that of a robber.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The robbers, I beg to point out to you, Ebearhard, are successful.
+      It is success we are after, also a portion of that gold of which Herr
+      Kurzbold has pathetically proclaimed his need.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you consider us your men-at-arms, then, in the same sense that a
+      Rhine Baron would employ the term?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You claim the liberty of expelling any one you choose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I claim the liberty to hang any of you if I find it necessary.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, the devil!&rdquo; cried Ebearhard, sitting down as if this went
+      beyond him. He gazed up and down the table as much as to say, &ldquo;I
+      leave this in your hands, gentlemen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The meeting gave immediate expression of its agreement with Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gentlemen,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I insist that Conrad Kurzbold
+      apologizes to me for the expressions he has used, and promises not again
+      to offend in like manner.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll do nothing of the sort,&rdquo; asserted Kurzbold, with
+      equal firmness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case,&rdquo; exclaimed Roland, &ldquo;I shall retire, and I
+      ask you to put me in a position to repay Herr Goebel the money I extracted
+      from him. I resign the very thankless office of so-called leadership.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this several wallets came out upon the table, but their contents
+      clinked rather weakly. The majority of the guild sat silent and sobered by
+      the crisis that had so unexpectedly come upon them. Joseph Greusel, seeing
+      that no one else made a move, uprose, and spoke slowly. He was a man who
+      never had much to say for himself; a listener rather than a talker, in
+      whom Roland reposed great confidence, believing him to be one who would
+      not flinch if trial came, and he had determined to make Greusel his
+      lieutenant if the expedition was not wrecked before it set out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My friends,&rdquo; said Greusel gloomily, &ldquo;we have arrived at
+      a deadlock, and I should not venture to speak but that I see no one else
+      ready to make a suggestion. I cannot claim to be non-partisan in the
+      matter. This crisis has been unnecessarily brought about by what I state
+      firmly is a most ungenerous attack on the part of Conrad Kurzbold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There were murmurs of dissent, but Greusel proceeded stolidly, taking no
+      notice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not disputed that Kurzbold accepted the money from Roland
+      last night, spent it to-day, and now comes penniless amongst us, quite
+      unable to refund the amount when his unjust remarks produce their natural
+      effect. He is like a man who makes a wager knowing he hasn&rsquo;t the
+      money to pay should he lose. If Roland retires from this guild, I retire
+      also, ashamed to keep company with men who uphold a trick worthy of a
+      ruined gambler.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Joseph,&rdquo; cried Ebearhard, springing up with a laugh,
+      &ldquo;you were misnamed in your infancy. You should have been called
+      Herod, practically justifying a slaughter of us innocents.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I stand by Benjamin,&rdquo; growled Gruesel, &ldquo;the youngest
+      and most capable of our circle; the one who produced the money while all
+      the rest of us talked.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You never talked till now, Joseph,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, still
+      trying to ease the situation with a laugh, &ldquo;and what you say is not
+      only deplorably severe, but uttered, as I will show you, upon entirely
+      mistaken grounds. We did not, and do not, support Conrad Kurzbold in what
+      he said at first. Now you rate us as if we were no better than thieves.
+      Dishonest gamblers, you call us, and Lord knows what else, and then you
+      threaten withdrawal. I submit that your diatribe is quite undeserved. We
+      all condemn Kurzbold for censuring Roland&rsquo;s generosity to the
+      merchant, unanimously upholding Roland in that action, and have said so
+      plainly enough. What we object to is this: Roland arrogates to himself
+      power which he does not possess, of peremptorily expelling any member
+      whose remarks displease him. Surely you cannot support him in that any
+      more than we.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let us take one thing at a time,&rdquo; resumed Greusel, &ldquo;not
+      forgetting from whom came the original provocation. I must know where we
+      stand. I therefore move a vote of censure on Conrad Kurzbold for his
+      unmerited attack upon our president anent his dealings with Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I second that with great pleasure,&rdquo; said Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, as we cannot ask our leader to put that motion, I shall take
+      the liberty of submitting it myself,&rdquo; continued Greusel. &ldquo;All
+      in favor of the vote of censure which you have heard, make it manifest by
+      standing up.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every one arose except Roland, Gensbein, and Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, we have removed that obstacle to a clear understanding of
+      the case, and before I formally deliver this vote of censure to Herr
+      Kurzbold, I request him to reconsider his position, and of his own motion
+      to make such delivery unnecessary.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If it is the case that Roland assumes authority to expel whom he
+      pleases from this guild, I shall not support him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It <i>is</i> the case! It <i>is</i> the case!&rdquo; shouted
+      several.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me, comrades; I have the floor,&rdquo; continued Greusel.
+      &ldquo;I am not attempting oratory, but trying to disentangle a skein in
+      which we have involved ourselves. I wish to receive neither applause nor
+      hissing until I have finished the business. You say it is the case. I say
+      it is not. Roland gave Herr Kurzbold the alternative either of apologizing
+      or of paying over the money, so that it might be returned to the merchant.
+      As I understand the matter, our president does not insist on Kurzbold
+      leaving the guild, but merely announces his own withdrawal from it. You
+      have allowed Kurzbold to put you in the position of being compelled to
+      choose between himself and Roland. If you are logical men you cannot pass
+      a vote of censure on Kurzbold, and then choose him instead of Roland. I
+      therefore move a vote of confidence in our chief, the man who has produced
+      the money, a thousand thalers in all, half of which was his own, and has
+      divided it equally amongst us, when the landlord&rsquo;s bill was paid,
+      withholding not a single thaler, nor arrogating&mdash;I think that was
+      your word, friend Ebearhard&mdash;to himself a stiver more of the money
+      than each of the others received. While Kurzbold has prated of
+      comradeship, Roland has given us an excellent example of it, and I think
+      he deserves our warmest thanks and our cordial support. I therefore submit
+      to you the following motion: This meeting tenders to the president its
+      warmest thanks for his recent efforts on behalf of the guild, and begs to
+      assure him of its most strenuous assistance in carrying out the project he
+      has put before it to-night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Joseph,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, rising, with his usual laugh,
+      &ldquo;you are a very clever man, although you usually persist in hiding
+      your light under a bushel. I desire to associate myself with the
+      expressions you have used, and therefore second your motion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I now put the resolution which you have all heard,&rdquo; said
+      Greusel, &ldquo;and I ask those in favor of it to stand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every one stood up promptly enough except the two recalcitrants, and of
+      those two John Gensbein showed signs of hesitation and uneasiness. He half
+      rose, sat down again; then, apparently at the urging of the man next him,
+      stood up, a picture of irresolution. Kurzbold, finding himself now alone,
+      laughed, and got upon his feet, thus making the vote unanimous. As the
+      company seated itself, Greusel turned to the president.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, it is said that all&rsquo;s well that ends well. It gives me
+      pleasure to tender you the unanimous vote of thanks and confidence of the
+      iron-workers&rsquo; guild, and before calling upon you to make any reply,
+      if such should be your intention, I will ask Conrad Kurzbold to say a few
+      words, which I am sure we shall all be delighted to hear.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold rose bravely enough, in spite of the fact that Joseph Greusel&rsquo;s
+      diplomacy had made a complete separation between him and all the others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should like to say,&rdquo; he began, with an air of casual
+      indifference, &ldquo;that my first mention of the money was wholly in
+      jest. Our friend Roland took my remarks seriously, which, of course, I
+      should not have resented, and there is little use in recapitulating what
+      followed. As, however, my utterances gave offense which was not intended
+      by me, I have no hesitation in apologizing for them, and withdrawing the
+      ill-advised sentences. No one here feels a greater appreciation of what
+      our president has done than I, and I hope he will accept my apology in the
+      same spirit in which it is tendered.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Master of the Guild,&rdquo; said Greusel, and Roland took the
+      floor once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have nothing to say but &lsquo;Thank you.&rsquo; The antagonists
+      whom we hope to meet are men brave, determined, and ruthless. If any one
+      in this company holds rancor against me, I ask him to turn it towards the
+      Barons, and punish me after the expedition is accomplished. Let us
+      tolerate no disagreements in face of the foe.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man took his cloak and sword from the peg on which they hung,
+      passed down along the table, and thrust across his hand to Kurzbold, who
+      shook it warmly. Arriving at the door, Roland turned round.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish to see Captain Blumenfels, and give him final instructions
+      regarding our rendezvous on the Rhine, so good-night. I hope to meet you
+      all under the shadow of the Elector&rsquo;s tower in Hochst to-morrow
+      morning at nine,&rdquo; and with that the president departed, being too
+      inexperienced to know that soft words do not always turn away wrath, and
+      that mutiny is seldom quelled with a handshake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      IV. THE DISTURBING JOURNEY OF FATHER AMBROSE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The setting summer sun shone full on the western side of Sayn Castle,
+      sending the shadow of that tenth-century edifice far along the greensward
+      of the upper valley. Upon a balcony, perched like a swallow&rsquo;s nest
+      against the eastern end of Sayn Castle, a lovely girl of eighteen leaned,
+      meditating, with arms resting on the balustrade, the harshness of whose
+      stone surface was nullified by the soft texture of a gaudily-covered robe
+      flung over it. This ample cloth, brought from the East by a Crusading
+      ancestor of the girl, made a gay patch of scarlet and gold against the
+      somber side of the Castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The youthful Countess Hildegunde von Sayn watched the slow oncoming of a
+      monk, evidently tired, who toiled along the hillside deep in the shadow of
+      the Castle, as if its cool shade was grateful to him. Belonging, as he
+      did, to the very practical Order of the Benedictines, whose belief was in
+      work sanctioned by prayer, the Reverend Father did not deny himself this
+      temporary refuge from the hot rays of the sun, which had poured down upon
+      him all day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Looking up as he approached the stronghold, and seeing the girl, little
+      dreaming of the frivolous mission she would propose, he waved his hand to
+      her, and she responded gracefully with a similar gesture.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Indeed, however strongly the monk might disapprove, there was much to be
+      said in favor of the resolution to which the young lady had come. She was
+      well educated, probably the richest heiress in Germany, and carefully as
+      the pious Sisters of Nonnenwerth Convent may have concealed the fact from
+      her, she was extremely beautiful, and knew it, and although the valley of
+      the Saynbach was a very haven of peace and prosperity, the girl became
+      just a trifle lonely, and yearned to know something of life and the Court
+      in Frankfort, to which her high rank certainly entitled her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is true that very disquieting rumors had reached her concerning the
+      condition of things in the capital city; nevertheless she determined to
+      learn from an authoritative source whether or not it was safe to take up a
+      temporary residence in Frankfort, and for this purpose the reluctant
+      Father Ambrose would journey southward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose was more than sixty years old, and if he had belonged to
+      the world, instead of to religion, would have been entitled to the name
+      Henry von Sayn. His presence in the Benedictine Order was proof of the
+      fact that money will not accomplish everything. His famous, or perhaps we
+      should say infamous, ancestor, Count Henry III. of Sayn, who died in 1246,
+      was a robber and a murderer, justly esteemed the terror of the Rhine.
+      Concealed as it was in the Sayn valley, half a league from the great
+      river, the situation of his stronghold favored his depredations. He filled
+      his warehousing rooms with merchandise from barges going down the river,
+      and with gold seized from unhappy merchants on their way up. He thought no
+      more of cutting a throat than of cutting a purse, and it was only when he
+      became amazingly wealthy that the increase of years brought trouble to a
+      conscience which all men thought had ceased to exist. Thereupon, for the
+      welfare of his soul, he built the Abbey of Sayn, and provided for the
+      monks therein. Yet, when he came to die, he entertained fearsome, but
+      admittedly well-founded doubts regarding his future state, so he proceeded
+      to sanctify a treasure no longer of any use to him, by bequeathing it to
+      the Church, driving, however, a bargain by which he received assurance
+      that his body should rest quietly in the tomb he had prepared for himself
+      within the Abbey walls.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was buried with impressive ceremony, and the monks he had endowed did
+      everything to carry out their share of the pact. The tomb was staunchly
+      built with stones so heavy that no ordinary ghost could have emerged
+      therefrom, but to be doubly sure a gigantic log was placed on top of it,
+      strongly clamped down with concealed bands of iron, and, so that this log
+      might not reveal its purpose, the monks cunningly carved it into some
+      semblance of Henry himself, until it seemed a recumbent statue of the late
+      villainous Count.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But despite such thoughtfulness their plan failed, for when next they
+      visited the tomb the statue lay prone, face downwards, as if some
+      irresistible, unseen power had flung it to the stone flags of the floor.
+      Replacing the statue, and watching by the tomb, was found to be of little
+      use. The watchers invariably fell asleep, and the great wooden figure,
+      which during their last waking moments lay gazing towards the roof, was
+      now on its face on the monastery floor, peering down in the opposite
+      direction, and this somehow was regarded by the brethren as a fact of
+      ominous significance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The new Count von Sayn, heir to the title and estate of the late Henry
+      III. was a gloomy, pious man, very different indeed from his turbulent
+      predecessor. Naturally he was much perturbed by the conduct of the wooden
+      statue. At first he affected disbelief in the phenomena despite the
+      assurances of the monks, and later on the simple brethren deeply regretted
+      they had made any mention of the manifestations. The new Count himself
+      took up the task of watching, and paced all night before the tomb of the
+      third Henry. He was not a man to fall asleep while engaged on such a
+      somber mission, and the outcome of his vigil was so amazing that in the
+      morning he gathered the brethren together in the great hall of the Abbey,
+      that he might relate to them his experience.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wooden statue had turned over, and fallen to the floor, as was its
+      habit, but on this occasion it groaned as it fell. This mournful sound
+      struck terror into the heart of the lonely watcher, who now, he confessed,
+      regretted he had not accepted the offer of the monks to share his midnight
+      surveillance. The courage of the House of Sayn is, however, a well-known
+      quality, and, notwithstanding his piety, the new holder of the title was
+      possessed of it, for although admitting a momentary impulse towards
+      flight, and the calling for assistance which the monks would readily have
+      given, he stood his ground, and in trembling voice asked what he could do
+      to forward the contentment of his deceased relative.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The statue replied, still face downward on the stone floor, that never
+      could the late wicked Count rest in peace unless the heir to his titles
+      and lands should take upon himself the sins Henry had committed during his
+      life, while a younger member of the family should become a monk of the
+      Benedictine Order, and daily intercede for the welfare of his soul.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With extreme reluctance,&rdquo; continued the devout nobleman,
+      &ldquo;I gave my assent to this unwelcome proposal, providing only that it
+      should receive the sanction of the Abbot and brethren of the Monastery of
+      Sayn, hoping by a life of continuous rectitude to annul, in some measure
+      at least, the evil works of Henry III.; and that holy sanction I now
+      request, trusting if given it may remove any doubts regarding the
+      righteousness of my promise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the Count bowed low to the enthroned Abbot and, with less reverence,
+      to the assembled brethren. The Abbot rose to his feet, and in a few
+      well-chosen words complimented the nobleman on the sacrifice he made,
+      predicting that it would redound greatly to his spiritual welfare.
+      Speaking for himself, he had no hesitation in giving the required
+      sanction, but as the Count made it a proviso that the brethren should
+      concur, he now requested their acquiescence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was accorded in silent unanimity, whereupon Count von Sayn, deeply
+      sighing as one accepting a burden almost too heavy to bear, spoke with a
+      tremor of grief in his voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not for me,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;to question your wisdom,
+      nor shrink from my allotted task. After all, I am but human, and up to
+      this decisive moment had hoped, alas! in vain, that some one more worthy
+      than I might be chosen in my place. The most grievous part of the
+      undertaking, so far as I am concerned, was outlined in the last words
+      spoken by the wooden statue. The evil deeds my ancestor has committed will
+      in time be obliterated by the prayers of the younger member of my family
+      who becomes a monk, but the accumulated gold carries with it a continual
+      curse, which can be wiped off each coin only by that coin benefiting the
+      merchants who have been robbed. The contamination of this metal,
+      therefore, I must bear, for it adds to the agony of my ancestor that,
+      little realizing what he was doing, he bequeathed this poisonous dross to
+      the Abbey he founded. I am required to lend it in Frankfort, upon
+      undoubted security and suitable usury, that it may stimulate and fertilize
+      the commerce of the land, much as the contents of a compost heap,
+      disagreeable in the senses, and defiling to him who handles it, when
+      spread upon the fields results in the production of flower, fruit, and
+      food, giving fragrance, delight, and sustenance to the human frame.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The count, bowing for the third time to the conclave, passed from its
+      presence with mournful step and sorrowful countenance; whereupon the
+      brethren, seeing themselves thus denuded of wealth they had hoped to
+      enjoy, gave utterance to a groan doubtless much greater in volume than
+      that emitted by the carven statue, which wooden figure may be seen to-day
+      in the museum of the modern Castle of Sayn by any one who cares to spend
+      the fifty pfennigs charged for admission.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All that has been related happened generations before the time when the
+      Countess Hildegunde reigned as head of the House of Sayn, but Father
+      Ambrose formed a link with the past in that he was the present scion of
+      Sayn who, as a Benedictine, daily offered prayer for the repose of the
+      wicked Henry III. The gold which Henry&rsquo;s immediate successor so
+      craftily deflected from the monks seemed to be blessed rather than cursed,
+      for under the care of that subtle manager it multiplied greatly in
+      Frankfort, and scandal-mongers asserted that besides receiving the usury
+      exacted, the pietistic Count tapped the treasure-casks of upward-sailing
+      Rhine merchants quite as successfully, if more quietly, than the profane
+      Henry had done. Thus the House of Sayn was one of the richest in Germany.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The aged monk and the youthful Countess were distant relatives, but he
+      regarded her as a daughter, and her affection was given to him as to a
+      father, in other than the spiritual sense.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In his youth Ambrose the Benedictine, because of his eloquence in
+      discourse, and also on account of his aristocratic rank, officiated at the
+      court in Frankfort. Later, he became spiritual and temporal adviser to
+      that great prelate, the Archbishop of Cologne, and the Archbishop, being
+      guardian of the Countess von Sayn, sent Father Ambrose to the castle of
+      his ancestor to look after the affairs of Sayn, both religious and
+      material. Under his gentle rule the great wealth of his House increased,
+      although he, the cause of prosperity, had no share in the riches he
+      produced, for, as has been written of the Benedictines:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was as teachers of ... scientific agriculture, as drainers of
+      fens and morasses, as clearers of forests, as makers of roads, as tillers
+      of the reclaimed soil, as architects of durable and even stately
+      buildings, as exhibiting a visible type of orderly government, as
+      establishing the superiority of peace over war as the normal condition of
+      life, as students in the library which the rule set up in every monastery,
+      as the masters in schools open not merely to their own postulants but to
+      the children of secular families also, that they won their high place in
+      history as benefactors of mankind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Father Ambrose,&rdquo; cried the girl, when at last he entered
+      her presence, &ldquo;I watched your approach from afar off. You walked
+      with halting step, and shoulders increasingly bowed. You are wearing
+      yourself out in my service, and that I cannot permit. You return this
+      evening a tired man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not physically tired,&rdquo; replied the monk, with a smile.
+      &ldquo;My head is bowed with meditation and prayer, rather than with
+      fatigue. Indeed, it is others who do the harassing manual labor, while I
+      simply direct and instruct. Sometimes I think I am an encumberer in the
+      vineyard, lazily using brain instead of hand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nonsense!&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;the vineyard would be but a
+      barren plantation without you; and speaking of it reminds me that I have
+      poured out, with my own hand, a tankard of the choicest, oldest wine in
+      our cellars, which I allow no one but yourself to taste. Sit down, I beg
+      of you, and drink.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wise old man smiled, wondering what innocent trap was being set for
+      him. He raised the tankard to his lips, but merely indulged in one sip of
+      the delectable beverage. Then he seated himself, and looked at the girl,
+      still smiling. She went on speaking rapidly, a delicate flush warming her
+      fair cheeks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Father, you are the most patient and indefatigable of
+      agriculturists, sparing neither yourself nor others, but there is danger
+      that you grow bucolic through overlong absence from the great affairs of
+      this world.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What can be greater, my child, than increasing the productiveness
+      of the land; than training men to supply all their needs from the fruitful
+      earth?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, true,&rdquo; admitted the girl, her eyes sparkling with
+      eagerness, &ldquo;but to persist overlong even in well-doing becomes
+      ultimately tedious. If the laborer is worthy of his hire, so, too, is the
+      master. You should take a change, and as I know your fondness for travel,
+      I have planned a journey for you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man permitted himself another sip of the wine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, an easy journey; no farther than the royal city of Frankfort,
+      there to wander among the scenes of your youth, and become interested for
+      a time in the activities of your fellow-men. You have so long consorted
+      with those inferior to you in intellect and learning that a meeting with
+      your equals&mdash;though I doubt if there are any such even in Frankfort&mdash;must
+      prove as refreshing to your mind as that old wine would to your body, did
+      you but obey me and drink it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose slowly shook his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;From what I hear of Frankfort,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;it is
+      anything but an inspiring town. In my day it was indeed a place of cheer,
+      learning, and prosperity, but now it is a city of desolation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The rumors we hear, Father, may be exaggerated; and even if the
+      city itself be doleful, which I doubt, there is sure to be light and
+      gayety in the precincts of the Court and in the homes of the nobility.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What have I to do with Court or palaces? My duty lies here.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It may be,&rdquo; cried the girl archly, &ldquo;that some part of
+      your duty lies there. If Frankfort is indeed in bad case, your sage advice
+      might be of the greatest benefit. Prosperity seems to follow your
+      footsteps, and, besides, you were once a chaplain in the Court, and surely
+      you have not lost all interest in your former charge?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again that quiet, engaging smile lit up the monk&rsquo;s emaciated
+      features, and then he asked a question with that honest directness which
+      sometimes embarrassed those he addressed:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Daughter Hildegunde, what is it you want?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the girl, sitting very upright in her chair,
+      &ldquo;I confess to loneliness. The sameness of life in this castle
+      oppresses me, and in its continuous dullness I grow old before my time. I
+      wish to enjoy a month or two in Frankfort, and, as doubtless you have
+      guessed, I send you forth as my ambassador to spy out the land.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In such case, daughter, you should present your petition to that
+      Prince of the Church, the Archbishop of Cologne, who is your guardian.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, no, no!&rdquo; cried the girl emphatically; &ldquo;you are
+      putting the grapes into the barrel instead of into the vat. Before I
+      trouble the worthy Archbishop with my request, I must learn whether it is
+      practicable or not. If the city is indeed in a state of turbulence, of
+      course I shall not think of going thither. It is this I wish to discover,
+      but if you are afraid.&rdquo; She shrugged her shoulders and spread out
+      her hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now the old monk came as near to laughing as he ever did.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Clever, Hildegunde, but unnecessary. You cannot spur me to action
+      by slighting the well-known valor of our race. I will go where and when
+      you command me, and report to you faithfully what I see and hear. Should
+      the time seem favorable for you to visit Frankfort, and if your guardian
+      consents, I shall raise not even one objection.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, dear Father, I do not lay this as a command upon you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; a request is quite sufficient. To-morrow morning I shall set
+      out.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Along the Rhine?&rdquo; queried the girl, so eagerly that the old
+      man&rsquo;s eyes twinkled at the celerity with which she accepted his
+      proposition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think it safer,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;to journey inland over the
+      hills. The robbers on the Rhine have been so long bereft of the natural
+      prey that one or other of them may forget I am Father Ambrose, a poor
+      monk, remembering me only as Henry of the rich House of Sayn, and
+      therefore hold me for ransom. I would not willingly be a cause of strife,
+      so I shall go by way of Limburg on the Lahn, and there visit my old friend
+      the Bishop, and enjoy once more a sight of the ancient Cathedral on the
+      cliff by the river.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the young Countess awoke next morning, and reviewed in her mind the
+      chief event of the preceding day, remembering the reluctance of Father
+      Ambrose to undertake the quest she had outlined without the consent of his
+      overlord the Archbishop, a feeling of compunction swept over her. She
+      berated her own selfishness, resolving to send her petition to her
+      guardian, the Archbishop, and abide by his decision.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When breakfast was finished, she asked her lady-in-waiting to request the
+      presence of Father Ambrose, but instead of the monk came disturbing news.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The seneschal says that Father Ambrose left the Castle at daybreak
+      this morning, taking with him frugal rations for a three days&rsquo;
+      journey.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In which direction did he go?&rdquo; asked the lady of Sayn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He went on horseback up the valley, after making inquiries about
+      the route to Limburg on the Lahn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; said the Countess. &ldquo;He spoke yesterday of taking
+      such a journey, but I did not think he would leave so early.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was the beginning of great anxiety for the young lady of the Castle.
+      She knew at once that pursuit was useless, for daybreak comes early in
+      summer, and already the good Father had been five hours on his way&mdash;a
+      way that he was certain to lose many times before he reached the capital
+      city. An ordinary messenger might have been overtaken, but the meditative
+      Father would go whither his horse carried him, and when he awoke from his
+      thoughts and his prayers, would make inquiries, and so proceed. A day or
+      two later came a message that he had achieved the hospitality of Limburg&rsquo;s
+      bishop, but after that arrived no further word.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nearly two weeks had elapsed when, from the opposite direction, Hildegunde
+      received a communication which added to her already painful apprehension.
+      It was a letter from her guardian in Cologne, giving warning that within a
+      week he would call at her Castle of Sayn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Matters of great import to you and me,&rdquo; concluded the
+      Archbishop, &ldquo;are toward. You will be called upon to meet formally my
+      two colleagues of Mayence and Treves, at the latter&rsquo;s strong Castle
+      of Stolzenfels, above Coblentz. From the moment we enter that
+      palace-fortress, I shall, temporarily, at least, cease to be your
+      guardian, and become merely one of your three overlords. But however
+      frowningly I may sit in the throne of an Elector, believe me I shall
+      always be your friend. Tell Father Ambrose I wish to consult with him the
+      moment I arrive at your castle, and that he must not absent himself
+      therefrom on any pretext until he has seen me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here was trouble indeed, with Father Ambrose as completely disappeared as
+      if the dragons of the Taunus had swallowed him. Never before on his
+      journeys had he failed to communicate with her, even when his travels were
+      taken on account of the Archbishop, and not, as in this case, on her own.
+      She experienced the darkest forebodings from this incredible silence.
+      Imagine, then, her relief, when exactly two weeks from the day he had left
+      Schloss Sayn, she saw him coming down the valley. As when she last beheld
+      him, he traveled on foot, leading his horse, that had gone lame.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Throwing etiquette to the wind, she flew down the stairway, and ran to
+      meet her thrice-welcome friend.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She realized with grief that he was haggard, and the smile he called up to
+      greet her was wan and pitiful.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Father, Father!&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;what has happened to
+      you? I have been nearly distraught with doubt and fear, hearing nothing of
+      you since your message from Limburg.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was made a prisoner,&rdquo; said the old man quietly, &ldquo;and
+      allowed to communicate with no one outside my cell. &lsquo;Tis a long and
+      sad story, and, worse than all one that bodes ill for the Empire. I should
+      have arrived earlier in the day, but my poor, patient beast has fallen
+      lame.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes!&rdquo; said the girl indignantly, &ldquo;and you spare him
+      instead of yourself!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The monk laid his left hand affectionately on her shoulder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You would have done the same, my dear,&rdquo; he said, and she
+      looked up at him with a sweet smile. They were kin, and if she censured
+      any quality in him, the comment carried something of self-reproach.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A servitor took away the lame horse; another waited on Father Ambrose in
+      his small room, which was simple as that of a monastery cell, and as
+      meagerly furnished. After a slight refection, Father Ambrose received
+      peremptory command to rest for three full hours, the lady of the Castle
+      saying it was impossible for her to receive him until that time had
+      elapsed. The order was welcome to the tired monk, although he knew how
+      impatient Hildegunde must be to unpack his budget of news, and he fell
+      asleep even as he gave instructions that he should be awakened at nine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Descending at that time, the supper hour of the Castle, he found a dainty
+      meal awaiting him, flanked by a flagon of that rare wine which he sipped
+      so sparingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I lodged with my brethren in their small and quiet monastery on the
+      opposite side of the Main from Frankfort, in that suburb of the workingmen
+      which is called Sachsenhausen. Even if my eyes had not seen the desolation
+      of the city, with the summer grass growing in many of its streets, the
+      description given of its condition by my brethren would have been
+      saddening enough to hear. All authority seems at an end. The nobles have
+      fled to their country estates, for defense in the city is impossible
+      should once a universal riot break out, and thinking men look for an
+      insurrection when continued hunger has worn down the patience of the
+      people. Up to the present sporadic outbreaks have been cruelly suppressed,
+      starving men falling mutilated before the sword-cuts of the soldiers; but
+      now disaffection has penetrated the ranks of the Army itself, through
+      short rations and deferred pay, and when the people learn that the
+      military are more like to join them than oppose, destruction will fall
+      upon Frankfort. The Emperor sits alone in drunken stupor, and it is said
+      cannot last much longer, he who has lasted too long already; while the
+      Empress is as much a recluse as a nun in a convent.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the young Prince?&rdquo; interrupted the Countess. &ldquo;What
+      of him? Is there no hope if he comes to the throne?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; cried the monk, with a long-drawn sigh, dolefully
+      shaking his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Father Ambrose, you knew him as a lad, almost as a young man.
+      I have heard you speak highly of his promise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He denied me; denied his own identity; threatened my life with his
+      sword, and finally flung me into the most loathsome dungeon in all
+      Frankfort!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl uttered an ejaculation of dismay. If so harsh an estimate of the
+      heir-presumptive came from so mild and gentle a critic as Father Ambrose,
+      then surely was this young man lower in the grade of humanity than even
+      his bestial father.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And yet,&rdquo; said the girl to herself, &ldquo;what else was to
+      be expected? Go on,&rdquo; she murmured; &ldquo;tell me from the
+      beginning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One evening, crossing the old bridge from Frankfort to
+      Sachsenhausen, I saw approach me a swaggering figure that seemed familiar,
+      and as he drew nearer I recognized Prince Roland, son of the Emperor,
+      despite the fact that he held his cloak over the lower part of his face,
+      as if, in the gathering dusk, to avoid recognition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Your Highness!&rsquo; I cried in surprise. On the instant
+      his sword was out, and as the cloak fell from his face, displaying lips
+      which took on a sinister firmness, I saw that I was not mistaken in so
+      accosting him. He threw a quick glance from side to side, but the bridge,
+      like the silent streets, was deserted. We stood alone, beside the iron
+      Cross, and there under the Figure of Christ he denied me, with the sharp
+      point of his sword against my breast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Why do you dare address me by such a title?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You are Prince Roland, son of the Emperor.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The sword-point pressed more sharply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You lie!&rsquo; he cried, &lsquo;and if you reiterate that
+      falsehood, you will pay the penalty instantly with your life, despite your
+      monkish cowl. I am nobody. I have no father.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;May I ask, then, sir, who you are?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You may ask, but there is no reason for me to answer.
+      Nevertheless, to satisfy your impertinent curiosity, I inform you that I
+      am an ironworker, a maker of swords, and if you desire a taste of my
+      handiwork, you have but to persist in your questioning. I lodge in the
+      laboring quarter of Sachsenhausen, and am now on my way into Frankfort,
+      which surely I have the right to enter free from any inquiry unauthorized
+      by the law.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;In that case I beg your pardon,&rsquo; said I. &lsquo;The
+      likeness is very striking. I had once the honor to be chaplain at Court,
+      where frequently I saw the young Prince in company with that noble lady,
+      noble in every sense of the word, his mother, the Empress.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I watched the young man narrowly as I said this, and despite his
+      self-control, he winced perceptibly, and I thought I saw a gleam of
+      recognition in his eyes. He thrust the sword back into its scabbard, and
+      said with a light laugh:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;&rsquo;Tis I that should beg your pardon for my haste and
+      roughness. I assure you I honor the cloth you wear, and would not
+      willingly offer it violence. We are all liable to make mistakes at times.
+      I freely forgive yours and trust you will extend a like leniency to mine.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With that he doffed his hat, and left me standing there.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely,&rdquo; said the Countess, deeply interested in the recital,
+      &ldquo;so far as speech was concerned he made amends?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, my daughter; such speech never came from the lips of an
+      ironworker.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are convinced he was the Prince?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never for one instant did I doubt it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be that as it may, Father Ambrose, why should not the young man
+      walk the streets of his own capital city, and even explore the laborers&rsquo;
+      quarter of Sachsenhausen, if he finds it interesting to do so? Is it not
+      his right to wear a sword, and go where he lists; and is it such a very
+      heinous thing that, being accosted by a stranger, he should refuse to make
+      the admission demanded? You took him, as one might say, unaware.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The monk bowed his head, but did not waste time in offering any defense of
+      his action.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I followed him,&rdquo; he went on, &ldquo;through the narrow and
+      tortuous streets of Frankfort, an easy adventure, because darkness had set
+      in, but even in daylight my course would have been safe enough, for never
+      once did he look over his shoulder, or betray any of that suspicion
+      characteristic of our laboring classes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think that tells in his favor,&rdquo; persisted the girl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He came to the steps of the Rheingold, a disreputable drinking
+      cellar, and disappeared from my sight down its steps. A great shout
+      greeted him, and the rattle of tankards on a table, as he joined what was
+      evidently his coterie. Standing outside, I heard song and ribaldry within.
+      The heir-presumptive to the throne of the Empire was too obviously a
+      drunken brawler; a friend and comrade of the lowest scum in Frankfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;After a short time he emerged alone, and once more I followed him.
+      He went with the directness of a purposeful man to the Fahrgasse, the
+      street of the rich merchants, knocked at a door, and was admitted. Along
+      the first-floor front were three lighted windows, and I saw his form pass
+      the first two of these, but from my station in the street could not
+      witness what was going on within. Looking about me, I found to my right a
+      narrow alley, occupied by an outside stairway. This I mounted, and from
+      its topmost step I beheld the interior of the large room on the opposite
+      side of the way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It appeared to me that Prince Roland had been expected, for the
+      elderly man seated at the table, his calm face toward me, showed no
+      surprise at the Prince&rsquo;s entrance. His Highness sat with his back
+      towards me, and for a time it seemed that nothing was going forward but an
+      amiable conversation. Suddenly the Prince rose, threw off his cloak,
+      whisked out his sword, and presented its point at the throat of the
+      merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was clear, from the expression of dismay on the merchant&rsquo;s
+      face, that this move on the part of his guest was entirely unexpected, but
+      its object was speedily manifested. The old man, with trembling hand,
+      pushed across the table to his assailant a well-filled bag, which the
+      Prince at once untied. Pouring out a heap of yellow gold, he began with
+      great deliberation to count the money, which, when you consider his
+      precarious situation, showed the young man to be old in crime. Some
+      portion of the gold he returned to the merchant; the rest he dropped into
+      an empty bag, which he tied to his belt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not wait to see anything more, but came down to the foot of
+      the stairs, that I might learn if Roland took his money to his dissolute
+      comrades. He came out, and once more I followed him, and once more he led
+      me to the Rheingold cellar. On this occasion, however, I took step by step
+      with him until we entered the large wineroom at the foot of the stairs, he
+      less than an arm&rsquo;s length in front of me, still under the illusion
+      that he was alone. Prince though he was, I determined to expostulate with
+      him, and if possible persuade a restitution of the gold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Your Highness!&rsquo; I began, touching him lightly on the
+      shoulder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Instantly he turned upon me with a savage oath, grasped me by the
+      throat, and forced me backward against the cellar wall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You spying sneak!&rsquo; he cried. &lsquo;In spite of my
+      warning you have been hounding my footsteps!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The moment I attempted to reply, he throttled me so as to choke
+      every effort at utterance. There now approached us, with alarm in his
+      wine-colored face, a gross, corpulent man, whom the Prince addressed as
+      proprietor of the place, which doubtless he was.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Landlord,&rsquo; said Roland very quietly, &lsquo;this
+      unfortunate monk is weak in the head, and although he means no harm with
+      his meddling, he may well cause disaster to my comrades and myself.
+      Earlier in the evening he accosted on the bridge, but I spared him, hoping
+      never to see his monkish costume again. You may judge the state of his
+      mind when I tell you he accuses me of being the Emperor&rsquo;s son, and
+      Heaven only knows what he would estimate to be the quality of my comrades
+      were he to see them.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Two or three times I attempted to speak, but the closing of his
+      fingers upon my throat prevented me, and even when they were slightly
+      relaxed I was scarcely able to breathe.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess listened with the closest attention, fixing upon the narrator
+      her splendid eyes, and in them, despite their feminine beauty and
+      softness, seemed to smoulder a deep fire of resentment at the treatment
+      accorded her kinsman, a luminant of danger transmitted to her down the
+      ages from ancestors equally ready to fight for the Sepulcher in Palestine
+      or for the gold on the borders of the Rhine. In the pause, during which
+      the monk wiped from his wrinkled brow the moisture brought there by
+      remembrance of the indignity he had undergone, kindliness in the eyes of
+      the Countess overcame their menace, and she said gently:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am quite confident, Father, that such a ruffian could not be
+      Prince Roland. He was indeed the rude mechanic he proclaimed himself. No
+      man of noble blood would have acted thus.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Listen, my child, listen,&rdquo; resumed Father Ambrose. &ldquo;Turning
+      to the landlord, the Prince asked:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Is there a safe and vacant room in your establishment where
+      I could bestow this meddlesome priest for a few days?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;There is a wine vault underneath this drinking cellar,&rsquo;
+      responded the landlord.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Does anyone enter that vault except yourself?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;No one,&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Will you undertake charge of the priest, seeing that he
+      communicates with none outside?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Of a surety, Captain,&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Good. I will pay you well, and that in advance.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This ruffian was never the Prince,&rdquo; interrupted the Countess
+      firmly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I beg you to listen, Hildegunde, and my next sentence will convince
+      you. The Prince continued:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Not only prevent his communication with others, but do not
+      listen to him yourself. He will endeavor to persuade you that his name is
+      Father Ambrose, and that he is a monk in good standing with the
+      Benedictine Order. If he finds you care little for that, he may indeed
+      pretend he is of noble origin himself; that he is Henry von Sayn, and thus
+      endeavor to work on whatever sympathy you may feel for the aristocrats.
+      But I assure you he is no more a Sayn than I am Prince Roland.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Indeed, Captain,&rsquo; replied the host, &lsquo;I have as
+      little liking for an aristocrat as for a monk, so you may depend that I
+      will keep him safe enough until you order his release.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, my dear Hildegunde, you see there was no mistake on my part.
+      This young man asserted he knew nothing of me, and indeed, I believed he
+      had forgotten the time of my chaplaincy at the Court, often as he listened
+      to my discourses, yet all the time he knew me, and now, with an effrontery
+      that seems incredible, he showed no hesitation in proving me right when I
+      accosted him as son of the Emperor. I must in justice, however, admit that
+      he instructed the landlord when he paid him, to treat me with gentleness,
+      and to see that I had plenty to eat and drink. When three days had
+      expired, I was to be allowed my liberty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;He can do no harm then,&rsquo; concluded the Prince, in his
+      talk with the landlord, &lsquo;for by that time I shall have succeeded or
+      failed.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was led down a narrow, broken stairway by the proprietor, and
+      thrust into a dark and damp cellar, partially filled with casks of wine,
+      and there I remained until set at liberty a few days ago.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I returned at once to the Benedictine Monastery where I had lodged,
+      expecting to find my brethren filled with anxiety concerning me, but such
+      was not the case. Any one man is little missed in this world, and my
+      comrades supposed that I was invited to the Court, and had forgotten them
+      as I saw they had forgotten me, so I said nothing of my adventure, but
+      mounted my waiting horse and journeyed back to the Castle of Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a long time there was silence between the two, then the younger spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you intend to take any action regarding your unauthorized
+      imprisonment?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no,&rdquo; replied the forgiving monk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it certain that this dissolute young man will be chosen Emperor?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is a likelihood, but not a certainty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would not the election of such a person to the highest position in
+      the State prove even a greater misfortune to the land than the continuance
+      of the present regime, for this young man adds to his father&rsquo;s vice
+      of drunkenness the evil qualities, of dishonesty, cruelty, ribaldry, and a
+      lack of respect for the privileges both of Church and nobility?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Such indeed is my opinion, daughter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then is it not your duty at once to acquaint the three Archbishops
+      with what you have already told me, so that the disaster of his election
+      may be avoided?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is a matter to which I gave deep thought during my journey
+      thither, and I also invoked the aid of Heaven in guiding me to a just
+      conclusion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And that conclusion, Father?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is to say nothing whatever about my experiences in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because it is not given to a humble man like myself, occupying a
+      position of no authority, to fathom what may be in the minds of those
+      great Princes of the Church, the Archbishops. In effect they rule the
+      country, and it is possible that they prefer to place on the throne a
+      drunken nonentity who will offer no impediment to their ambitions, rather
+      than to elect a moral young man who might in time prove too strong for
+      them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sure no such motive would actuate the Archbishop of Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His Lordship of Cologne, my child, dare not break with their
+      Lordships of Treves and Mayence, so you may be sure that if these two wish
+      to elect Prince Roland Emperor, nothing I could say to the Archbishop of
+      Cologne would prevent that choice.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I had forgotten, in the excitement of listening to your
+      adventures, but talking of the Archbishop reminds me his Highness of
+      Cologne will visit us to-morrow, and he especially wishes to see you. You
+      may imagine my anxiety when I received his message a few days ago, knowing
+      nothing of your whereabouts.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wishes to see me?&rdquo; ejaculated Father Ambrose, wrinkling a
+      perplexed brow. &ldquo;I wonder what for. Can he have any knowledge of my
+      visit to Frankfort?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How could he?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Archbishops possess sources of enlightenment that we wot not
+      of. If he charges me with being absent from my post, I must admit the
+      fact.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course. Let me confess to him as soon as he arrives; your
+      journey was entirely due to my persistence. I alone am to blame.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man slowly shook his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am at least equally culpable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I shall
+      answer truthfully any question asked me, but I hope I am not in the wrong
+      if I volunteer no information.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl rose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You could do no wrong, Father, even if you tried; and now
+      good-night. Sleep soundly and fear nothing. On the rare occasions when the
+      good Archbishop was angry with me, I have always managed to placate him,
+      and I shall not fail in this instance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose bade her good-night, and left the room with the languid air
+      of one thoroughly tired. As the young Countess stood there watching his
+      retreat and disappearance, her dainty little fist clenched, and her
+      eyebrows came together, bringing to her handsome face the determined
+      expression which marked the countenances of some of her Crusader ancestors
+      whose portraits decorated the walls.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If ever I get that ruffian Prince Roland into my power,&rdquo; she
+      said to herself, &ldquo;I will make him regret his treatment of so
+      tolerant and forbearing a man as Father Ambrose.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      V. THE COUNTESS VON SAYN AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      It was high noon when that great Prince of the Church, the Archbishop of
+      Cologne, arrived at Castle Sayn, with a very inconsiderable following,
+      which seemed to indicate that he traveled on no affair of State, for on
+      such occasions he led a small army. The lovely young Countess awaited him
+      at the top of the Castle steps, and he greeted her with the courtesy of a
+      polished man of the world, rather than with the more austere consideration
+      of a great Churchman. Indeed, it seemed to the quick apprehension of the
+      girl that as he raised her fair hand to his lips his obeisance was lower,
+      more deferential, than their differing stations in life justified.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He shook hands with Father Ambrose in the manner of old friend accosting
+      old friend, and nothing in his salutation indicated displeasure of any
+      sort in the background.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Perhaps, then, that sense of uneasiness felt by both the aged Father
+      Ambrose and the youthful Countess Hildegunde in the Archbishop&rsquo;s
+      presence came from their consciousness of conspiracy, resulting in the
+      ill-fated journey to Frankfort. Nevertheless, all that afternoon the two
+      were oppressed by the shadow of some impending danger, and the good
+      spirits of the Archbishop seemed to them assumed for the occasion, and
+      indeed in this they were not far wrong. His Lordship of Cologne was keenly
+      apprehensive regarding an important conference set down for the next day,
+      and the exuberance of an essentially serious man in such a crisis is prone
+      to be overdone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose, who, in the midst of luxury and plenty, lived with the
+      abstemiousness of an anchorite, and always partook of his scant
+      refreshment alone in his cell, was invited by the Archbishop to a seat at
+      the table in the dining-hall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So long as you cast no look of reproach upon me for my enjoyment of
+      Sayn&rsquo;s most excellent cuisine, and my appreciation of its unequaled
+      cellar, I shall not comment on your dinner of parched peas and your
+      unexhilarating tankard of water. Besides, I wish to consult with Ambrose
+      the librarian of Sayn, touching the archives of this house, rather than
+      with Ambrose the superintendent of farms, or Father Ambrose the monk.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the midday meal the Archbishop led, and at times monopolized, the
+      conversation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;While you were under the tutelage of the good Sisters at
+      Nonnenwerth Convent, Hildegunde, the Abbess frequently spoke of your
+      proficiency in historical studies. Did you ever turn your attention to the
+      annals of your own House?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Guardian. From what I heard casually of my ancestors a record
+      of their doings would be scarcely the sort of reading recommended to a
+      young girl.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, very true, very true,&rdquo; agreed the Archbishop. &ldquo;Some
+      of the Counts of Sayn led turbulent lives, and except with a battle-ax it
+      was difficult to persuade them not to meddle with the goods and chattels
+      of their neighbors. A strenuous line they proved in those olden days; but
+      many noble women have adorned the Castle of Sayn whose lives shine out
+      like an inspiration against the dark background of medieval tumult. Did
+      you ever hear of your forebear, the gracious Countess Matilda von Sayn,
+      who lived some hundreds of years ago? Indeed, the letters I have been
+      reading, written in her quaint handwriting, are dated about the middle of
+      the thirteenth century. I cannot learn whether she was older or younger
+      than the Archbishop of Cologne of that period, and thus I wish to enlist
+      the interest of Father Ambrose in searching the archives of Sayn for
+      anything pertaining to her. The Countess sent many epistles to the
+      Archbishop which he carefully preserved, while documents of much more
+      importance to the Archbishopric were allowed to go astray.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Her letters breathe a deep devotion to the Church, and a warm
+      kindliness to its chief ornament of that day, the then Archbishop of
+      Cologne. She was evidently his most cherished adviser, and in points of
+      difficulty her counsel exhibits all the clarity of a man&rsquo;s brain, to
+      which is added a tenderness and a sense of justice entirely womanly. I
+      could not help fancying that this great prelate&rsquo;s success in his
+      Archbishopric was largely due to the disinterested advice of this noble
+      woman. It is clearly to be seen that the Countess was the benignant power
+      behind the throne, and she watched his continued advancement with a love
+      resembling that lavished on a favorite son. Her writings now and then
+      betray an affection of a quality so motherly that I came to believe she
+      was much older than the great Churchman, but then there is the fact that
+      she long outlived him, so it is possible she may have been the younger.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, my Lord, are you about to weave us a romance?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop smiled, and for a moment placed his hand upon hers, which
+      rested on the table beside him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A romance, perhaps, between myself and the Countess of long ago,
+      for as I read these letters I used much of their contents for my own
+      guidance, and found her precepts as wise to-day as they were in 1250, and
+      to me ... to me,&rdquo; the Archbishop sighed, &ldquo;she seems to live
+      again. Yes, I confess my ardent regard for her, and if you call that
+      romance, it is surely of a very innocent nature.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the other Archbishop? Your predecessor, the friend of Matilda;
+      what of him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, Hildegunde, I have much less evidence to go upon, for his
+      letters, if they exist, are concealed somewhere in the archives of Sayn
+      Castle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To-morrow,&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;I shall robe myself in the
+      oldest garments I possess, and will rummage those dusty archives until I
+      find the letters of him who was Archbishop in 1250.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have bestowed that task upon one less impulsive. Father Ambrose
+      is the searcher, and he and I will put our wise old heads together in
+      consultation over them before entrusting them to the perusal of that
+      impetuous young noblewoman, the present Countess von Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The impetuous person referred to brought down her hand with a peremptory
+      impact upon the table, and exclaimed emphatically:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord Archbishop, I shall read those letters to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once more the Archbishop placed his hand on hers, this time, however,
+      clasping it firmly in his own. There was no smile on his face as he said
+      gravely:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My lady, to-morrow you will face three living Archbishops, more
+      difficult, perhaps, to deal with than one who is dust.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Three!&rdquo; she cried, startled, a gleam of apprehension
+      troubling her fine eyes. &ldquo;My Lords of Mayence, Treves, and yourself?
+      Are they coming here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The conclave of the Archbishops will be held at Castle Stolzenfels,
+      the Rhine residence of my brother of Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why is this Court convened?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That will be explained to you, Hildegunde, by his Highness of
+      Mayence. I did not intend to speak to you about this until later, so I
+      will merely say that there is nothing to fear. I, being your guardian, am
+      sent to escort you to Stolzenfels, and as we ride there together I wish to
+      place before you some suggestions which you may find useful when the
+      meeting takes place.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall faithfully follow any advice you give me, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sure of it, Hildegunde, and you will remember that I speak as
+      guardian, not as Councilor of State. My observations will be requests and
+      not commands. You see, we have reversed the positions of my predecessor
+      and the Countess Matilda. It was always she who tendered advice, which he
+      invariably accepted. Now I must take the rôle of advice-giver; thus you
+      and I transpose the parts of the former Archbishop of Cologne, and the
+      former Countess of Sayn, who, I am sorry to note, have been completely
+      banished from your thoughts by my premature announcement regarding the
+      three living Archbishops.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, not at all, not at all! I am still thinking of those two. Have
+      you told me all you know about them?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Far from it. Although I was handicapped in my reconstitution of
+      their friendship by lack of the Archbishop&rsquo;s letters, he had
+      nevertheless made a note here and there upon the communications he
+      received from the Countess. Throughout the letters certain paragraphs are
+      marked with a cross, as if for reperusal, these paragraphs being
+      invariably most delicately and charmingly written. But now I come to the
+      last very important document, the only one of which a copy has been kept,
+      written in the Archbishop&rsquo;s own hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In the year 1250, the Countess von Sayn had ceded to him the Rhine
+      town of Linz. Linz seems to have been a rebellious and troublesome fief,
+      which the Sayns held by force of arms. When it came into the possession of
+      the Archbishop, the foolish inhabitants, remembering that Cologne was a
+      long distance down the river compared with the up-river journey to Sayn,
+      broke out into open revolt. The Archbishop sent up his army, and most
+      effectually crushed this outbreak, severely punishing the rebels. He
+      returned from this subdued town to his own city of Cologne, and whether
+      from the exposure of the brief campaign, or some other cause, he was taken
+      ill and shortly after died.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The new Archbishop was installed, and nearly two years passed, so
+      far as I can learn, before the Countess Matilda made claim that the town
+      of Linz should come again within her jurisdiction, saying that this
+      restitution had been promised by the late Archbishop. His successor,
+      however, disputed this claim. He possessed, he said, the deed of gift
+      making over the town of Linz to his predecessor, and this document was
+      definite enough. If then, it was the intention of the late Archbishop to
+      return Linz to the House of Sayn, the Countess doubtless held some
+      document to that effect, and in this case he would like to know its
+      purport.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Countess replied that an understanding had existed between the
+      late Archbishop and herself regarding the subjugation of the town of Linz
+      and its return to her after the rebellion was quelled. But for the
+      untimely death of the late Archbishop she did not doubt that his part of
+      the contract would have been kept long since. Nevertheless, she did
+      possess a document, in the late Archbishop&rsquo;s own hand, setting out
+      the terms of their agreement, and of this manuscript she sent a copy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The crafty Archbishop, without casting doubt on the authenticity of
+      the copy, said that of course it would be illegal for him to act upon it.
+      He must have the original document. Matilda replied, very shrewdly, that
+      on her part she could not allow the original document to quit her custody,
+      as upon it rested her rights to the town of Linz. She would, however,
+      exhibit this document to any ecclesiastical committee her correspondent
+      might appoint, and the members of the committee so chosen should be men
+      well acquainted with the late Archbishop&rsquo;s writing and signature. In
+      reply the Archbishop regretted that he could not accept her suggestion.
+      The people of Cologne, believing that their overlord had rightfully
+      acquired Linz, cheerfully consented to make good their title by battle,
+      thus having, as it were, bought the town with their blood, and indeed, a
+      deplorable sacrifice of life, it would become a dangerous venture to give
+      up the town unless indisputable documentary evidence might be exhibited to
+      them showing that such a bargain was made by the deceased prelate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But before proceeding farther in this matter, he asked the Countess
+      if she were prepared to swear that the copy forwarded to him was a full
+      and faithful rendition of the original. Did it contain every word the late
+      Archbishop had written in that letter?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To this the Countess made no reply, and allowed to lapse any title
+      she might have to the town of Linz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think,&rdquo; cried the girl indignantly, &ldquo;that my
+      ancestress was in the right, refusing further communication with this
+      ignoble Churchman who dared to impugn her good faith.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop smiled at her vehemence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall make no attempt to defend my astute predecessor. A
+      money-lender&rsquo;s soul tenanted his austere body, but what would you
+      say if his implication of the Countess Matilda&rsquo;s good faith was
+      justified?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean that the copy which she sent of the Archbishop&rsquo;s
+      letter was fraudulent? I cannot believe it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not fraudulent. So far as it went her copy was word perfect. She
+      neglected to add, however, a final sentence, and rather than make it public
+      forfeited her rightful claim to great possessions. Of the Archbishop&rsquo;s
+      communications to her there remains in our archives a copy of this last
+      epistle written in his own hand. I cannot imagine why he added the final
+      clauses to what was in essence an important business communication. The
+      premonition he admits may have set his thoughts upon things not of this
+      world, but undoubtedly he believed that he would live long enough to
+      conquer the rebels of Linz, and restore to the Countess her property. This
+      is what he wrote, and she refused to publish:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Matilda, I feel that my days are numbered, and that their
+      number is scant. To all the world my life seems to have been successful
+      beyond the wishes of mortal man, but to me it is a dismal failure, in that
+      I die bachelor Archbishop of Cologne, and you are the spinster Countess
+      von Sayn.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      VI. TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM THE COUNTESS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      There are few favored spots occupied by blue water and greensward over
+      which a greater splendor is cast by the rising sun on a midsummer morning
+      than that portion of the Rhine near Coblentz, and as our little procession
+      emerged from the valley of the Saynbach every member of it was struck with
+      the beauty of the flat country across the Rhine, ripening toward a yellow
+      harvest, flooded by the golden glory of the rising sun.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Their route led to the left by the foot of the eastern hills, and not yet
+      along the margin of the great river. Gradually, however, as they journeyed
+      in a southerly direction, the highlands deflected them westward until at
+      last there was but scant room for the road between rock and water. Always
+      they were in the shade, a comforting feature of a midsummer journey, an
+      advantage, however, soon to be lost when they crossed the Rhine by the
+      ferry to Coblentz. The distance from Sayn Castle to Schloss Stolzenfels
+      was a little less than four leagues, so their early start permitted a
+      leisurely journey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop and the Countess rode side by side. Following them at some
+      distance came Father Ambrose, deep in his meditations, and paying little
+      attention to the horse he rode, which indeed, faithful animal, knew more
+      about the way than did his rider. Still farther to the rear rode half a
+      dozen mounted lancemen, two and two, the scant escort of one who commanded
+      many thousands of armed men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How lovely and how peaceful is the scene,&rdquo; said the Countess.
+      &ldquo;How beautiful are the fields of waving grain; their color of dawn
+      softened by the deep green of interspersed vineyards, and the water
+      without a ripple, like a slumbering lake rather than a strong river. It
+      seems as though anger, contention, and struggle could not exist in a realm
+      so heavenly.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Seems&rsquo; is the word to use,&rdquo; commented the
+      Archbishop gravely, &ldquo;but the unbroken placidity of the river you so
+      much admire is a peace of defeat. I had much rather see its flood
+      disturbed by moving barges and the turmoil of commerce. It is a peace that
+      means starvation and death to our capital city, and, indeed, in a lesser
+      degree, to my own town of Cologne, and to Coblentz, whose gates we are
+      approaching.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But surely,&rdquo; persisted the girl, &ldquo;the outlook is
+      improving, when you and I travel unmolested with a mere handful of men to
+      guard us. Time was when a great and wealthy Archbishop might not stir
+      abroad with less than a thousand men in his train.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose matters mend,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;as we progress in
+      civilized usage. The number of my escort, however, is not limited by my
+      own modesty, but stipulated by the Court of Archbishops. Mayence travels
+      down the Rhine and Treves down the Moselle, each with a similar following
+      at his heels.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are pessimistic this lovely morning, my Lord, and will not even
+      admit that the world is beautiful.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It all depends on the point of view, Hildegunde. I regard it from a
+      position toward the end of life, and you from the charming station of
+      youth: the far-apart outlook of an old man and a young girl.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nonsense, Guardian, you are anything but old. Nevertheless I am
+      much disappointed with your attitude this morning. I fully expected to be
+      complimented by you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t my whole attitude breathe of compliment?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, but I expected a particular compliment to-day!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What have I overlooked?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You overlooked the fact that yesterday you aroused my most intense
+      curiosity regarding the journey we are now taking together, and the
+      conference which is to follow. Despite deep anxiety to learn what is
+      before me I have not asked you a single question, nor even hinted at the
+      subject until this moment. Now, I think I should be rewarded for my
+      reticence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Countess, you are an exception among women, and I merely
+      withheld the well-earned praise until such time as I could broach the
+      subject occupying my mind ever since we left the Castle. With the
+      awkwardness of a man I did not know how to begin until you so kindly
+      indicated the way.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps, after all, I make a false claim, because I have guessed
+      your secret, and therefore my deep solicitude is assumed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Guessed it?&rdquo; queried the Archbishop, a shade of anxiety
+      crossing his face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes. Your story of the former Archbishop and the Countess Matilda
+      gave me a clue. You have discovered a document proving my right to the
+      town of Linz on the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop bowed his head, but said nothing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your sense of justice urges you to make amends, but such a long
+      time has elapsed that my claim is doubtless outlawed, and you do not quite
+      know how restoration may be effected. You have, I take it, consulted with
+      one or other of your colleagues, Mayence or Treves, or perhaps with both.
+      They have made objection to your proposed generosity, and put forward the
+      argument that you are but temporary trustee of the Cologne Archbishopric;
+      that you must guard the rights of your successor; and this truism could
+      not help but appeal to that quality of equity which distinguishes you, so
+      a conference of the prelates has been called, and a majority of that Court
+      will decide whether or not the town of Linz shall be tendered to me.
+      Perhaps a suggestion will be made that I allow things to remain as they
+      are, in which case I shall at once refuse to accept the town of Linz. Now,
+      Guardian, how near have I come to solving the mystery?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They rode along in silence together, the Archbishop pondering on the
+      problem of her further enlightenment. At last he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cologne is ruled by its Archbishop, wisely or the reverse as the
+      case may be. The Archbishop, much as he reveres the opinion of his
+      distinguished colleagues, would never put them to the inconvenience of
+      giving a decision on any matter not concerning them. Linz&rsquo;s fate was
+      settled when the handwriting of my predecessor, prelate of 1250 A.D.,
+      convinced me that this Rhine town belonged to the House of Sayn.
+      Restitution has already been accomplished in due legal form, and when next
+      the Countess Hildegunde rides through Linz, she rides through her own
+      town.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall never, never accept it, Guardian.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is yours now, Countess. If you do not wish to hold the town, use
+      it as a gift to the fortunate man you marry. And now, Hildegunde, this
+      long-postponed advice I wish to press upon your attention, must be given,
+      for we are nearing the ferry to Coblentz, and between that town and
+      Stolzenfels we may have company. Of the three Archbishops you will meet
+      to-day, there is only one of whom you need take account.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I know that,&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;his Lordship of
+      Cologne!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop smiled, but went on seriously:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where two or three men are gathered together, one is sure to be
+      leader. In our case the chief of the trio supposed to be equal is his
+      Highness of Mayence. Treves and I pretend not to be under his thumb, but
+      we are: that is to say, Treves holds I am under his thumb, and I hold
+      Treves is under his thumb, and so when one or the other of us join the
+      Archbishop of Mayence, there is a majority of the Court, and the third
+      member is helpless.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But why don&rsquo;t you and Treves join together?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because each thinks the other a coward, and doubtless both are
+      right. The point of the matter is that Mayence is the iron man of the
+      combination; therefore I beg you beware of him, and I also entreat you to
+      agree with the proposal he will make. It will be of tremendous advantage
+      to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case, my Lord, how could I refuse?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope, my child, you will not, but if you should make objection,
+      do so with all the tact at your disposal. In fact, refrain wholly from
+      objection if you can, and plead for time to consider, so that you and I
+      may consult together, thus affording me opportunity of bringing arguments
+      to bear that may influence your decision.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Guardian, you alarm me by the awesome way in which you
+      speak. What fateful choice hangs over my head?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have no wish to frighten you, my daughter, and, indeed, I
+      anticipate little chance of disagreement at the conference. I merely
+      desire that you shall understand something of Mayence. He is a man whom
+      opposition may drive to extremity, and being accustomed to crush those who
+      disagree with him, rather than conquer by more diplomatic methods, I am
+      anxious you should not be led into any semblance of dissent from his
+      wishes. By agreement between Mayence, Treves, and myself, I am not allowed
+      to enlighten you regarding the question at issue. I perhaps strain that
+      agreement a little when I endeavor to put you on your guard. If, at any
+      point in the discussion, you wish a few moments to reflect, glance across
+      the table at me, and I shall immediately intervene with some interruption
+      which must be debated by the three members of the Court. Of course, I
+      shall do everything in my power to protect you should our grim friend
+      Mayence lose his temper, as may happen if you thwart him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why am I likely to thwart him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why indeed? I see no reason. I am merely an old person perhaps
+      over-cautious. Hence this warding off of a crisis which I hope will never
+      arise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Guardian, I have one question to ask, and that will settle the
+      matter here on the border of the Rhine, before we reach Stolzenfels. Do
+      you thoroughly approve, with your heart, mind, and conscience, of the
+      proposition to be made to me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do,&rdquo; replied the Archbishop, in a tone of conviction that
+      none could gainsay. &ldquo;Heart and soul, agree.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, Guardian, your crisis that never came vanishes. I shall tell
+      his Lordship of Mayence, in my sweetest voice and most ingratiating
+      manner, that I will do whatever he requests.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the conversation ceased, for the solitude now gave way to a scene of
+      activity, as they came to the landing alongside which lay the floating
+      bridge, a huge barge, capable of carrying their whole company at one
+      voyage. Several hundred persons, on horseback or on foot, gathered along
+      the river-bank, raised a cheer as the Archbishop appeared. The Countess
+      thought they waited to greet him, but they were merely travelers or market
+      people who found their journey interrupted at this point. An emissary of
+      the Archbishop had commanded the ferry-boat to remain at its eastern
+      landing until his Lordship came aboard. When the distinguished party
+      embarked, the crew instantly cast off their moorings, and the tethered
+      barge, impelled by the swift current, gently swung across to the opposite
+      shore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A great concourse of people greeted their arrival at Coblentz, and if
+      vociferous shouts and hurrahs are signs of popularity, the Archbishop had
+      reason to congratulate himself upon his reception. The prelate bowed and
+      smiled, but did not pause at Coblentz, and, to the evident disappointment
+      of the multitude, continued his way up the Rhine. When the little
+      cavalcade drew away from the mob, the Countess spoke:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I had no thought,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;that Coblentz contained
+      so many inhabitants.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Neither does it,&rdquo; replied the Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then is this simply an influx of people from the country, and is
+      the conclave of the Archbishops of such importance that it draws so many
+      sightseers?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Court held by the Archbishops on this occasion is very
+      important. I suspect, however, that those are no sightseers, for the
+      general public is quite unaware that we meet to-day. They who cheered so
+      lustily just now are, I think, men of Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you mean soldiers?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aye. Soldiers in the dress of ordinary townsmen, but I dare say
+      they all know where to find their weapons should a war-cry arise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you imply that the Archbishop of Treves has broken his compact?
+      I understood that your escort was limited to the few men following you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Lordship laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Archbishop of Treves,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;is not a great
+      strategist, yet I surmise he is ready in case of trouble to seize the city
+      of Coblentz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What trouble could arise?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The present moment is somewhat critical, for the Emperor lies dying
+      in Frankfort. We three Electors hope to avoid all commotion by having our
+      plans prepared and acting upon them promptly. But the hours between the
+      death of an Emperor and the appointment of his successor are fateful with
+      uncertainty. I suppose the good Sisters at Nonnenwerth taught you about
+      the Election of an Emperor?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, Guardian, I am sorry to confess that if they did I have
+      forgotten all about it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are seven Electors; four high nobles of the Empire and three
+      Archbishops, Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. The present Count
+      Palatine of the Rhine is, like my friend Treves, completely under the
+      dominion of the Archbishop of Mayence, so the three Lords Spiritual, with
+      the aid of the Count Palatine, form a majority of the Electoral Court.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I understand. And now I surmise that you assemble at Stolzenfels to
+      choose our future Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; he has already been chosen, but his name will not be announced
+      to any person save one before the Emperor dies.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doubtless that one is the Count Palatine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Countess, he remains ignorant; and I give you warning, Madam, I
+      am not to be cross-questioned by indirection. You should be merciful: I am
+      but clay in your hands, yet there is certain information I am forbidden to
+      impart, so I will merely say that if the Archbishop happens to be in
+      good-humor this afternoon, he is very likely to tell you who will be the
+      future Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl gave an exclamation of surprise.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To tell me? Why should he do so?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I said I was not to be cross-examined any further. I tremble now
+      with apprehension lest I have let slip something I should not, therefore
+      we will change the subject to one of paramount importance; namely, our
+      midday meal. I intended to stop at Coblentz for that repast, but the
+      Archbishop of Treves, whose guests we are, was good enough to accept a
+      menu I suggested, therefore we will sit at table with him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You suggested a menu?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I hope you will approve of it. There is some excellent Rhine
+      salmon, with a sauce most popular in Treves, a sauce that has been
+      celebrated for centuries. Next some tender venison from the forest behind
+      Stolzenfels, which is noted for its deer. There are, beside, cakes and
+      various breads, also vegetables, and all are to be washed down by delicate
+      Oberweseler wine. How does my speis-card please you, Countess?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am committing it to memory, Guardian, so that I shall know what
+      to prepare for you when next you visit my Castle of Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, this repast is not in my honor, but in yours. I feared you
+      might object to the simplicity of it. It is upon record that this meal was
+      much enjoyed by a young lady some centuries ago, at this very Castle of
+      Stolzenfels, shortly after it was completed. Indeed, I think it likely she
+      was the noble castle&rsquo;s first guest. Stolzenfels was built by Arnold
+      von Isenberg, the greatest Archbishop that ever ruled over Treves, if I
+      may except Archbishop Baldwin, the fighter. Isenberg determined to have a
+      stronghold on the Rhine midway between Mayence and Cologne, and he made it
+      a palace as well as a fortress, taking his time about it&mdash;in all
+      seventeen years. He began its erection in 1242, and so was building at the
+      time your ancestress Matilda ceded Linz to the Archbishop of Cologne,
+      therefore I imagine Cologne probably wished to have a stronghold within
+      striking distance of Treves&rsquo; new castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One of the first to visit Stolzenfels was a charming young English
+      girl named Isabella, who was no other than the youngest daughter of John,
+      King of England. Doubtless she came here with an imposing suite of
+      attendants, and I surmise that the great prelate&rsquo;s castle saw
+      impressive pageants and festivities, for the chronicler, after setting
+      down the menu whose excellence I hope to test to-day, adds:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;They ate well, and drank better, and the Royal maiden danced
+      a great deal.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Her brother then occupied the English throne. He was Henry III.,
+      and of course much attention was paid over here to his dancing sister.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, Guardian, what you say gives a new interest to old
+      Stolzenfels. I have never been within the Castle, but now I shall view it
+      with delight, wondering through which of the rooms the English Princess
+      danced. Why did Isabella come from England all the way to the Rhine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She came to meet the three Archbishops.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Really? For what purpose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That they might in ecclesiastical form, and upon the highest
+      ecclesiastical authority, announce her betrothal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Announce in Stolzenfels the betrothal of an English Princess, the
+      daughter of one king and sister of another! Did she, then, marry a German?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; she married the Emperor, Frederick II.; Frederick of
+      Hohenstaufen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Slowly the girl turned her head, and looked steadfastly at the Archbishop,
+      who was gazing earnestly up the road as if to catch a glimpse of the
+      Castle which had been the scene of the events he related. Her face became
+      pale, and a questioning wonder rose in her eyes. What did the Archbishop
+      really mean by this latest historical recital? True, he was a man who had
+      given much study to ancient lore; rather fond of exhibiting his
+      proficiency therein when he secured patient listeners. Could there be any
+      secret meaning in his story of the English Princess who danced? Was there
+      any hidden analogy between the journey of the English Isabella, and the
+      short trip taken that day by Hildegunde of Sayn? She was about to speak
+      when the Archbishop made a slight signal with his right hand, and a
+      horseman who had followed them all the way from Coblentz now spurred up
+      alongside of his Lordship, who said sharply to the newcomer:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many of Treves&rsquo; men are in Coblentz?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Eight hundred and fifty, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Enough to capture the town?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Coblentz is already in their possession, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They seem to be unarmed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Their weapons are stored under guard in the Church of St. Castor,
+      and can be in the hands of the soldiers within a few minutes after a
+      signal is rung by the St. Castor&rsquo;s bells.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are there any troops in Coblentz from Mayence?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many of my men have been placed behind the Castle of
+      Stolzenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Three thousand are concealed in the forest near the hilltop.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many men has my Lord of Mayence within call?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Apparently only the scant half-dozen that reached Stolzenfels with
+      him yesterday.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you sure of that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Scouts have been sent all through the forest to the south, and have
+      brought us no word of an advancing company. Other scouts have gone up the
+      river as far as Bingen, but everything is quiet, and it would have been
+      impossible for his Lordship to march a considerable number of men from any
+      quarter towards Stolzenfels without one or other of our hundred spies
+      learning of the movement.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then doubtless Mayence depends on his henchman Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would seem so, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you; that will do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rider saluted, turned his horse towards the north, and galloped away,
+      and a few moments later the little procession came within sight of
+      Stolzenfels, standing grandly on its conical hill beside the Rhine,
+      against a background of green formed by the mountainous forests to the
+      rear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This conversation, which she could not help but hear, had driven entirely
+      from the mind of Hildegunde the pretty story of the English Princess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, Guardian!&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;we seem to be in the midst
+      of impending civil war.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are in the midst of an assured peace,&rdquo; he replied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What! with Coblentz practically seized, and three thousand of your
+      men lurking in the woods above us?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes. I told you that Treves was no strategist. I suppose he and
+      Mayence imagine that by seizing the town of Coblentz they cut off my
+      retreat to Cologne. They know it would be useless in a crisis for me to
+      journey up the river, as I should then be getting farther and farther from
+      my base of supplies both in men and provisions, therefore the Archbishop
+      of Mayence has neglected to garrison that quarter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Guardian, you are surely entrapped, with Coblentz thus held?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so, my child, while I command three thousand men to their eight
+      hundred.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But that means a battle!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A battle that will never take place, Hildegunde, because I shall
+      seize something much more valuable than any town, namely, the persons of
+      the two Archbishops. With their Lordships of Treves and Mayence in my
+      custody, cut off from communication with their own troops, I have slight
+      fear of a leaderless army. The very magnitude of the force at my command
+      is an assurance of peace.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They now arrived at the branching hill-road leading up to the gates of
+      Stolzenfels just above them, and conversation ceased, but the Countess was
+      fated to remember before the afternoon grew old the final words Cologne
+      spoke so confidently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      VII. MUTINY IN THE WILDERNESS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      It was a lovely morning in July when Prince Roland walked into the shadow
+      of the handsome tower which to-day is all that survives of the Elector&rsquo;s
+      palace at Hochst, on the river Main. He found Greusel there awaiting him,
+      but none of the others. When the two had greeted one another, the Prince
+      said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Joseph, I determined several days ago to appoint you my lieutenant
+      on this expedition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you take my advice, Roland, you will do nothing of the kind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because it may be looked upon as favoritism, and so promote
+      jealously in the ranks, which is a thing to avoid.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Whom would you suggest for the place?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Conrad Kurzbold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What! and run the risk of divided authority? I am determined to be
+      commander, you know.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kurzbold, even if made lieutenant, would be as much under your
+      orders as the rest of us. He is an energetic man, and you may thus direct
+      his energy along the right path. From being a critic, he will become one
+      of the criticised, giving him something to think about. Then your
+      appointment of him would show that you bear no ill-feeling for what he
+      said last night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You appear to think, Greusel, that it is the duty of a commander to
+      curry favor with his following.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but I regard tact as a useful quality. You see, you are not in
+      the position of a general with an army. The members of the guild can
+      depose you whenever they like and elect a successor, or they may desert
+      you in a body, and you have no redress. Your methods should not be
+      drastic, but rather those of a man who seeks election to some high office.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear I am not constituted for such a rôle, Greusel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you are to succeed in the task you have undertaken, Roland, you
+      must adapt yourself to your situation as it actually is, and not as you
+      would wish to have it. I stood by you yesterday evening, and succeeded in
+      influencing the others to do the same, yet there is no denying that you
+      spoke to those men in a most overbearing manner. Why, you could not have
+      been more downright had you been an officer of the Emperor himself. What
+      passed through my mind as I listened was, &lsquo;Where did this youth get
+      his swagger?&rsquo; You ordered Kurzbold out of the ranks, you know.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then why favor my action?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because I was reluctant to see a promising marauding adventure
+      wrecked at the very outset for lack of a few soothing words.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland laughed heartily. The morning was inspiring, and he was in good
+      fettle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your words to Kurzbold were anything but soothing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I was compelled to crush him. He was the cause of the
+      disturbance, and therefore I had no mercy so far as the affair impinged
+      upon him. But the others, with the exception of Gensbein perhaps, are
+      good, honest, sweet-tempered fellows, whom I did not wish to see misled. I
+      think you must put out of your mind all thought of punishment, no matter
+      what the offense against your authority may be.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then how would you deal with insubordination when it arises?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should trust to the good sense of the remaining members of your
+      company to make it uncomfortable for the offender.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But suppose they don&rsquo;t?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel shrugged his shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case you are helpless, I fear. At any rate, talking of
+      hanging, or the infliction of any other punishment, is quite futile so
+      long as you do not possess the power to carry out your sentence. To return
+      to my simile of the general: a general can order any private in his army
+      to be hanged, and the man is taken out and hanged accordingly, but if one
+      of the guild is to be executed, he must be condemned by an overwhelming
+      vote of his fellows, because even if a bare majority sentenced one
+      belonging to the minority it would mean civil war among us. Suppose, for
+      example, it was proposed to hang you, and eleven voted for the execution
+      and nine against it. Do you think we nine would submit to the verdict of
+      the eleven? Not so. I am myself the most peaceful of men, but the moment
+      it came to that point, I should run my sword through the proposer of the
+      execution before he had time to draw his weapon. In other words, I&rsquo;d
+      murder him to lessen the odds, and then we&rsquo;d fight it out like men.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why didn&rsquo;t you say all this last night, Greusel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Last night my whole attention was concentrated on inducing Kurzbold
+      to forget that you had threatened the company with a hangman&rsquo;s rope.
+      Had he remembered that, I could never have carried the vote of confidence.
+      But you surely saw that the other men were most anxious to support you if
+      your case was placed fairly before them, a matter which, for some reason,
+      you thought it beneath your dignity to attempt.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Joseph, your wholesale censure this morning does much to
+      nullify the vote I received last night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Roland, I am not censuring you at all; I am merely
+      endeavoring to place facts before you so that you will recognize them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite so, but what I complain of is that these facts were not
+      exhibited in time for me to shoulder or shirk the responsibility. I do not
+      believe that military operations can be successfully carried on by a
+      little family party, the head of which must coddle the others in the
+      group, and beg pardon before he says &lsquo;Devil take you!&rsquo; I would
+      not have accepted the leadership last night had I known the conditions.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, it is not yet too late to recede. The barge does not leave
+      Frankfort until this evening, and it is but two leagues back to that city.
+      Within half an hour at the farthest, every man of us will be assembled
+      here. Now is the time to have it out with them, because to-morrow morning
+      the opportunity to withdraw will be gone.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is too late even now, Greusel. If last night the guild could not
+      make up the money we owe to Goebel, what hope is there that a single coin
+      remains in their pockets this morning? Do I understand, then, that you
+      refuse to act as my lieutenant?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but I warn you it will be a step in the wrong direction. You
+      are quite sure of me; and as merely a man-at-arms, as you called us last
+      night, I shall be in a better position to speak in your favor than if I
+      were indebted to you for promotion from the ranks.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see. Therefore you counsel me to nominate Kurzbold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not Gensbein, who was nearly as mutinous as Kurzbold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Gensbein, if you prefer him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He showed a well-balanced mind last night, being part of the time
+      on one side and part on the other.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear commander, we were all against you last night, when you
+      spoke of hanging, and even when you only went as far as expulsion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I suppose you were, and the circumstances being such as you
+      state, doubtless you were justified. I am to command, then, a regiment
+      that may obey or not, according to the whim of the moment; a cheering
+      prospect, and one I had not anticipated. When I received the promise of
+      twenty men that they would carry out faithfully whatever I undertook on
+      their behalf, I expected them to stand by it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think you are unjust, Roland. No one has refused, and probably no
+      one will. If any one disobeys a command, then you can act as seems best to
+      you, but I wish you fully to realize the weakness of your status should it
+      come to drastic punishment.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite so, quite so,&rdquo; said Roland curtly. He clasped his hands
+      behind his back, and without further words paced up and down along the
+      bank of the river, head bowed in thought.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard was the next arrival, and he greeted Greusel cordially, then one
+      after another various members of the company came upon the scene. To the
+      new-comers Roland made no salutation, but continued his meditating walk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last the bell in the tower pealed forth nine slow, sonorous strokes,
+      and Roland raised his head, ceasing his perambulations. Greusel looked
+      anxiously at him as he came forward to the group, but his countenance gave
+      no indication whether or not he had determined to abandon the expedition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are we all here?&rdquo; asked Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; was the reply; &ldquo;Kurzbold, Eiselbert, Rasselstein,
+      and Gensbein have not arrived yet.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then we will wait for them a few moments longer,&rdquo; said the
+      commander, with no trace of resentment at their unpunctuality, and from
+      this Greusel assumed that he not only intended to go on, but had taken to
+      heart the warning given him. Ebearhard and a comrade walked up the road
+      rapidly toward Frankfort, hoping for some sign of the laggards, and Roland
+      resumed his stroll beside the river. At last Ebearhard and his companion
+      returned, and the former approached Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see nothing of those four,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;What do you
+      propose to do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think sixteen good men, all of a mind, will accomplish quite as
+      much as twenty who are divided in purpose. I propose, therefore, to go on,
+      unless you consider the missing four necessary, in which case we can do
+      nothing but wait.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am in favor of going forward,&rdquo; said Ebearhard; then turning
+      to the rest, who had gathered themselves around their captain, he appealed
+      to them. All approved of immediate action.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you intend to follow the river road, Captain?&rdquo; asked
+      Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, for two or three leagues, but after that we strike across the
+      country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. We can proceed leisurely along the road, and our friends
+      may overtake us if they have any desire to do so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right!&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;Then let us set out.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The seventeen walked without any company formation through the village,
+      then, approaching a wayside tavern, they were hailed by a loud shout from
+      the drinkers in front of it. Kurzbold was the spokesman for the party of
+      four, which he, with his comrades, made up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come here and drink success to glory,&rdquo; he shouted. &ldquo;Where
+      have you lads been all the morning?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The rendezvous,&rdquo; said Roland sternly, &ldquo;was at the
+      Elector&rsquo;s tower.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My rendezvous wasn&rsquo;t. I have been here for more than an hour,&rdquo;
+      said Kurzbold. &ldquo;I told you last night that when I arrived at Hochst
+      I should be thirsty, and would try to mitigate the disadvantage at a
+      tavern.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, with a laugh, &ldquo;we can all see you
+      have succeeded in removing the disadvantage.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you mean I&rsquo;m drunk, do you? I&rsquo;ll fight any man who
+      says I&rsquo;m drunk. It was a tremendous thirst caused by the dryness of
+      my throat from last night, and the dust on the Frankfort road this
+      morning. It takes a great deal of wine to overcome two thirsts. Come
+      along, lads, and drink to the success of the journey. No hard feeling.
+      Landlord, set out the wine here for seventeen people, and don&rsquo;t
+      forget us four in addition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole company strolled in under the trees that fronted the tavern,
+      except Roland, who stood aloof.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s a salute to you, Captain,&rdquo; cried Kurzbold.
+      &ldquo;I drink wine with you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not till we return from a successful expedition,&rdquo; said
+      Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, nonsense!&rdquo; hiccoughed Kurzbold. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t think
+      that your office places you so high above us that it is <i>infra dig</i>.
+      to drink with your comrades.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To this diatribe Roland made no reply, and the sixteen, seeing the
+      attitude of their leader, hesitated to raise flagon to lip. The diplomatic
+      Ebearhard seized a measure of wine and approached Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Drink with us, Commander,&rdquo; he said aloud; and then in a
+      whisper, &ldquo;Greusel and I think you should.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you, comrade,&rdquo; said Roland, taking the flagon from him.
+      &ldquo;And now, brethren, I give you a toast.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good, good, good!&rdquo; cried Kurzbold, with drunken hilarity.
+      &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s to the success of the expedition. That&rsquo;s the
+      toast, I make no doubt, eh, Captain?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The sentiment is included in the toast I shall offer you. Drink to
+      the health of Joseph Greusel, whom I have this morning appointed my
+      lieutenant. If we all conduct ourselves as honorably and capably as he,
+      our project is bound to prosper.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel, who was seated at a table, allowed his head to sink into his
+      hands. Here was his advice scouted, and a direct challenge flung in the
+      face of the company. He believed now that, after all, Roland had resolved
+      to return to Frankfort, money or no money. If he intended to proceed to
+      the Rhine, then even worse might happen, for it was plain he was bent on
+      rule or ruin. Instantly the challenge was accepted. Kurzbold stood up,
+      swaying uncertainly, compelled to maintain his upright position by
+      grasping the top of the table at which he had been seated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stop there, stop there!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;No man drinks to
+      that toast just yet. Patience, patience! all things in their order. If we
+      claim the power to elect our captain, by the cock-crowned Cross of the old
+      bridge we have a right to name the lieutenant! This is a question for the
+      companionship to decide, and a usurpation on the part of Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sit down, you fool!&rdquo; shouted Ebearhard savagely. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re
+      drunk. The Captain couldn&rsquo;t have made a better selection. What say
+      you, comrades?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A universal shout of &ldquo;Aye!&rdquo; greeted the question, and even
+      Kurzbold&rsquo;s three comrades joined in it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And now, gentlemen, no more talk. Here&rsquo;s to the health of the
+      new lieutenant, Joseph Greusel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The toast was drunk enthusiastically, all standing, with the exception of
+      Kurzbold, who came down in his seat with a thud.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right!&rdquo; he cried, waving his hand. &ldquo;All right; all
+      right! That&rsquo;s what I said. Greusel&rsquo;s good man, and now he&rsquo;s
+      elected by the companionship, he&rsquo;s all right. I drink to him. Drink
+      to anybody, I will!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In groping round for the flagon, he upset it, and then roared loudly for
+      the landlord to supply him again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, comrades,&rdquo; said Roland sharply, &ldquo;fall in! We&rsquo;ve
+      a long march ahead of us. Come, Greusel, we must lead the van, for I wish
+      to instruct you in your duties.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was rather a straggling procession that set out from Hochst.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; began Roland, as he strode along beside Greusel,
+      &ldquo;I should make some excuse for not following the advice you so
+      strenuously urged upon me this morning regarding the appointment of a
+      lieutenant. The truth is I wished to teach you a lesson, and could not
+      resist the temptation of proving that a crisis firmly and promptly met
+      disappears, whereas if you compromise with it there is a danger of being
+      overwhelmed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I admit. Commander, that you were successful just now, and the
+      reason is that most of our brigade are sane and sober this morning. But
+      wait until to-night, when the wine passes round several times, and if you
+      try conclusions with them then you are likely to fail.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the wine won&rsquo;t pass round to-night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can you prevent it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wait, and you will see,&rdquo; said Roland, with a laugh.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time they arrived at a fork in the road, one section going
+      southwest and the other straight west. The left branch was infinitely the
+      better thoroughfare, for the most part following the Main until it reached
+      the Rhine. Roland, however, chose the right-hand road.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought you were going along by the river,&rdquo; said his
+      lieutenant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have changed my mind,&rdquo; replied Roland, without further
+      explanation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At first Kurzbold determined to set the pace. He would show the company he
+      was not drunk, and tax them to follow him, but, his stout legs proving
+      unable to carry out this excellent resolution, he gradually fell to the
+      rear. As the sun rose higher, and grew hotter, the pace began to tell on
+      him, and he accepted without protest the support of two comrades who had
+      been drinking with him at Hochst. He retrograded into a condition of
+      pessimistic dejection as the enthusiasm of the wine evaporated. A little
+      later he wished to lie down by the roadside and allow a cruel and
+      unappreciative world to pass on its own way, but his comrades encouraged
+      him to further efforts, and in some manner they succeeded in dragging him
+      along at the tail of the procession.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As they approached the village of Zeilsheim, Roland requested his
+      lieutenant to inform the marchers that there would be no halt until <i>mittagessen</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Zeilsheim is rather more than a league from Hochst, and Kurzbold allowed
+      himself to wake up sufficiently to maintain that the distance earned
+      another drink, but his supporters dragged him on with difficulty past
+      those houses which displayed a bush over the door. At the larger town of
+      Hofheim, five leagues from Frankfort, the same command was passed down the
+      ranks, and at this there was some grumbling, for the day had become very
+      hot, and the way was exceedingly trying, up hill and down dale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Well set up as these city lads were, walking had never been their
+      accustomed exercise. The interesting Taunus mountains, which to-day
+      constitute an exercise ground full of delights to the pedestrian, forming,
+      as they do, practically a suburb of Frankfort, were at that time an
+      unexplored wilderness, whose forests were infested by roving brigands,
+      where no man ventured except at the risk of an untimely grave. The
+      mediæval townsman rarely trusted himself very far outside the city gates,
+      and our enterprising marauders, whom to outward view seemed stalwart
+      enough to stand great fatigue, proved so soft under the hot sun along the
+      shadeless road that by the time they reached Breckenheim, barely six
+      leagues from Frankfort, there was a mopping of brows and a general feeling
+      that the limit of endurance had been reached.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At Breckenheim Roland called a halt for midday refreshment, and he was
+      compelled to wait nearly half an hour until the last straggler of his
+      woebegone crew limped from the road on to the greensward in front of the
+      <i>Weinstaube</i> which had been selected for a feeding-place. Black bread
+      and a coarse kind of country cheese were the only provisions obtainable,
+      but of these eatables there was an ample supply, and, better than all to
+      the jaded wayfarers, wine in abundance, of good quality, too, for
+      Breckenheim stands little more than a league to the north of the
+      celebrated Hochheim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wanderers came in by ones and twos, and sank down upon the benches
+      before the tavern, or sprawled at full length on the short grass, where
+      Kurzbold and his three friends dropped promptly off into sleep. A more
+      dejected and amenable gang even Roland could not have wished to command.
+      Every ounce of fight, or even discussion, was gone from them. They cared
+      not where they were, or what any one said to them. Their sole desire was
+      to be let alone, and they took not the slightest interest even in the
+      preparing of their frugal meal. A mug of wine served to each mitigated the
+      general depression, although Kurzbold showed how far gone he was by
+      swearing dismally when roused even to drink the wine. He said he was
+      resolved to lead a temperate life in future, but nevertheless managed to
+      dispose of his allowance in one long, parched draught.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel approached his chief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There will be some difficulty,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;when this
+      meal has to be paid for. I find that the men are all practically
+      penniless.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell them they need anticipate no trouble about that,&rdquo;
+      replied Roland. &ldquo;I have settled the bill, and will see that they do
+      not starve or die of thirst before we reach the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is proposed,&rdquo; continued Greusel, &ldquo;that each man
+      should give all the money he possesses into a general fund to be dealt
+      with by a committee the men will appoint. What do you say to this?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is nothing to say. I notice that the proposal was not made
+      until the proposers&rsquo; pouches were empty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They know that some of us have money,&rdquo; Greusel went on,
+      &ldquo;myself, for instance, and they wish us to share as good comrades
+      should&mdash;at least, that is their phrase.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An admirable phrase, yet I don&rsquo;t agree with it. How much
+      money have you, Greusel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The thirty thalers are practically intact, and Ebearhard has about
+      the same.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, fifty thalers lie safe in my pouch, but not a coin goes into
+      the treasury of any committee the men may appoint. If they choose a
+      committee, let them finance it themselves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There will be some dissatisfaction at that decision, Commander.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dare say. Still, as you know, I am always ready to do anything
+      conducive to good feeling, so you may inform them that you and Ebearhard
+      and myself, that is, three of us, will contribute to the committee&rsquo;s
+      funds an amount equal to that subscribed by the other eighteen. Such
+      lavishness on our part ought to satisfy them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It won&rsquo;t, Commander, because there&rsquo;s not a single
+      kreuzer among the eighteen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So be it. That&rsquo;s as far as I am willing to go. Appeal to
+      their reasoning powers, Greusel. If each of the eighteen contributes one
+      thaler, we three will contribute six thalers apiece. Ask them whether they
+      do not think we are generous when we do six times more than any one of
+      them towards providing capital for a committee.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis not willingness they lack, Commander, but ability.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They are not logical, Joseph. They prate of comradeship, and when
+      it comes to an exercise of power they demand equality. How, then, can
+      they, with any sense of fairness, prove ungrateful to us when we offer to
+      bear six times the burden they are asked to shoulder?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lieutenant said no more, but departed to announce the decision to the
+      men, and either the commander&rsquo;s reasoning overcame all opposition,
+      or else the company was too tired to engage in a controversy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the black bread and cheese were served, with a further supply of
+      wine, all sat up and ate heartily. The banquet ended, Greusel made an
+      announcement to the men. There would now be an hour&rsquo;s rest, he said,
+      before taking to the road again. The meal and the wine had been paid for
+      by the commander, so no one need worry on that account, but if any man
+      wished more wine he must pay the shot himself. However, before the
+      afternoon&rsquo;s march was begun flagons of wine would be served at the
+      commander&rsquo;s expense. This information was received in silence, and
+      the men stretched themselves out on the grass to make the most of their
+      hour of rest. Roland strolled off alone to view the village. The
+      lieutenant and Ebearhard sat together at a table, conversing in low tones.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, &ldquo;what do you think of it all?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what to think,&rdquo; replied Greusel. &ldquo;If
+      the Barons of the Rhine could see us, and knew that we intended to attack
+      them, I imagine there would be a great roar of laughter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard emulated the Barons, and laughed. He was a cheerful person.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t doubt it,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;and talking of
+      prospects, what&rsquo;s your opinion of the Commander?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am quite adrift on that score also. This morning I endeavored to
+      give him some good advice. I asked him not to appoint me lieutenant, but
+      to choose Kurzbold or Gensbein from among the malcontents, for I thought
+      if responsibility were placed on their shoulders we should be favored with
+      less criticism.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A very good idea it seems to me,&rdquo; remarked Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, you saw how promptly he ignored it, yet after all there may
+      be more wisdom in that head of his than I suspected. Look you how he has
+      made a buffer of me. He gives no commands to the men himself, but merely
+      orders me to pass along the word for this or that. He appears determined
+      to have his own way, and yet not to bring about a personal conflict
+      between himself and his following.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you suppose that to be cowardice on his part?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; he is not a coward. He doubtless intends that I shall stand the
+      brunt of any ill-temper on the part of the men. Should disobedience arise,
+      it will be my orders that are disobeyed, not his. If the matter is of no
+      importance one way or the other, I take it he will say nothing, but I
+      surmise that when it comes to the vital point, he will brush me aside as
+      though I were a feather, and himself confront the men regardless of
+      consequences. This morning I thought they would win in such a case, but,
+      by the iron Cross, I am not so confident now. Remember how he sprung my
+      appointment on the crowd, counting, I am sure, on your help. He said to
+      me, when we were alone by the tower, that you were the most fair-minded
+      man among the lot, and he evidently played on that, giving them not a
+      moment to think, and you backed him up. He carried his point, and since
+      then has not said a word to them, all orders going through me, but I know
+      he intended, as he told you, to take the river road, instead of which he
+      has led us over this hilly district until every man is ready to drop. He
+      is himself very sparing of wine, and is in fit condition. I understand he
+      has tramped both banks of the Rhine, from Ehrenfels to Bonn, so this walk
+      is nothing to him. At the end of it he was off for a stroll, and here are
+      these men lying above the sod like the dead underneath it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot make him out,&rdquo; mused Ebearhard. &ldquo;What has been
+      his training? He appears to be well educated, and yet in some common
+      matters is ignorant as a child, as, for instance, not knowing the
+      difference in status between a skilled artisan and a chaffering merchant!
+      What can have been his up-bringing? He is obviously not of the merchant
+      class, yet he persuades the chief of our merchants, and the most
+      conservative, to engage in this wild goose chase, and actually venture
+      money and goods in supporting him. This expedition will cost Herr Goebel
+      at least five thousand thalers, all because of the blandishments of a
+      youth who walked in from the street, unintroduced. Then he is not an
+      artisan of any sort, for when he joined us his hands were quite useless,
+      except upon the sword-hilt.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He said he was a fencing-master,&rdquo; explained Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know he did, and yet when he was offered a fee to instruct us he
+      wouldn&rsquo;t look at it. The first duty of a fencing-master, like the
+      rest of us, is to make money. Roland quite evidently scorns it, and at the
+      last instructs us for nothing. Fencing-masters don&rsquo;t promote
+      freebooting expeditions, and, besides, a fencing-master is always urbane
+      and polite, cringing to every one. I have watched Roland closely at times,
+      trying to study him, and in doing so have caught momentary glimpses of
+      such contempt for us, that, by the good Lord above us, it made me shrivel
+      up. You know, Greusel, that youth has more of the qualities usually
+      attributed to a noble than those which go to the make-up of any tradesman.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He is a puzzle to me,&rdquo; admitted Greusel, &ldquo;and if this
+      excursion does not break up at the outset, I am not sure that it will be a
+      success.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Noticing a look of alarm in Ebearhard&rsquo;s eyes, Greusel cast a glance
+      over his shoulder, and saw Roland standing behind him. The young man said
+      quietly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It hasn&rsquo;t broken up at the outset, for we are already more
+      than five leagues from Frankfort. Our foray must be a success while I have
+      two such wise advisers as I find sitting here.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Neither of the men replied. Both were wondering how much their leader had
+      overheard. He took his place on the bench beside Ebearhard, and said to
+      him:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish you to act as my second lieutenant. If anything happens to
+      me, Greusel takes my place and you take his. This, by the way, is an
+      appointment, rather than an election. It is not to be put before the
+      guild. You simply act as second lieutenant, and that is all there is about
+      it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good, Commander,&rdquo; said Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Greusel, how much money have you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thirty thalers.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Economical man! Will you lend me the sum until we reach
+      Assmannshausen?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly.&rdquo; Greusel pulled forth his wallet, poured out the
+      gold, and Roland took charge of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you, Ebearhard? How are you off for funds?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I possess twenty-five thalers.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I borrow from you as well?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was thinking,&rdquo; continued the young man, as he put away the
+      gold, &ldquo;that this committee idea of the men has merits of its own;
+      therefore I have formed myself into a committee, appointed, not elected,
+      and will make the disbursements. How much money does our company possess?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not a stiver, so far as I can learn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, in that case there is little use in my attempting a collection.
+      Now, as I was saying, Greusel, if anything happens to me, you carry on the
+      enterprise along the lines I have laid down. The first thing, of course,
+      is to reach Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing can happen to you before we arrive there,&rdquo; hazarded
+      Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not so sure. The sun is very powerful to-day, and should
+      it beat me down, let me lie where I fall, and allow nothing to interrupt
+      the march. Once at Assmannshausen, you two must keep a sharp lookout up
+      the river. When you see the barge, gather your men and lead them up to it.
+      It is to await us about half a league above Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three conversed until the hour was consumed, then Roland, throwing his
+      cloak over his arm, rose, and said to his lieutenant:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just rouse the men, if you please; and you, Ebearhard, tell the
+      landlord to give each a flagon of wine. We take the road to Wiesbaden. I
+      shall walk slowly on ahead, so that you and the company may overtake me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this the young leader sauntered indifferently away, leaving to his
+      subordinates the ungracious task of setting tired men to their work again.
+      Greusel looked glum, but Ebearhard laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some distance to the east of Wiesbaden the leader deflected his company
+      from the road, and thus they passed Wiesbaden to the left, arriving at the
+      village of Sonnenberg. The straggling company made a halt for a short
+      time, while provisions were purchased, every man carrying his own share,
+      which was scantly sufficient for supper and breakfast, and a quantity of
+      wine was acquired to gratify each throat with about a liter and a half;
+      plenty for a reasonable thirst, but not enough for a carouse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The company grumbled at being compelled to quit Sonnenberg. They had hoped
+      to spend the night at Wiesbaden, and vociferously proclaimed themselves
+      satisfied with the amount of country already traversed. Their leader said
+      nothing, but left Greusel and Ebearhard to deal with them. He paid for the
+      provisions and the wine, and then, with his cloak loosely over his arm,
+      struck out for the west, as if the declining sun were his goal. The rest
+      followed him slowly, in deep depression of spirits. They were in a wild
+      country, unknown to any of them. The hills had become higher and steeper,
+      and there was not even a beaten path to follow; but Roland, who apparently
+      knew his way, trudged steadily on in advance even of his lieutenants. A
+      bank of dark clouds had risen in the east, the heat of the day being
+      followed by a thunderstorm that growled menacingly above the Taunus
+      mountains, evidently accompanying a torrent of rain, although none fell in
+      the line of march.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sun had set when the leader brought his company down into the valley
+      of the Walluf, about two and a half leagues from Sonnenberg. Here the men
+      found themselves in a wilderness through which ran a brawling stream.
+      Roland announced to them that this would be their camping place for the
+      night. At once there was an uproar of dissent. How were they to camp out
+      without tents? A heavy rain was impending. Listen to the thunder, and
+      taking warning from the swollen torrent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wrap your cloaks around you,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;and sleep
+      under the trees. I have often done it myself, and will repeat the
+      experience to-night. If you are not yet tired enough to ensure sound
+      slumber, I shall be delighted to lead you on for another few leagues.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men held a low-voiced, sullen consultation, gathered in a circle. They
+      speedily decided upon returning to Sonnenberg, which it was the unanimous
+      opinion of the company they should never have left. Townsmen all, who had
+      not in their lives spent a night without a roof over their heads, such
+      accommodation as their leader proposed they should endure seemed like
+      being cast away on a desert island. The mystery of the forest affrighted
+      them. For all they could tell the woods were full of wild animals, and
+      they knew that somewhere near lurked outlaws no less savage. The eighteen,
+      ignoring Greusel and Ebearhard, who stood on one side, watching their
+      deliberations with anxious faces, moved in a body upon their leader, who
+      sat on the bank of the torrent, his feet dangling down towards the foaming
+      water.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have resolved to return to Sonnenberg,&rdquo; said the leader of
+      the conclave.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An excellent resolution,&rdquo; agreed Roland cheerfully. &ldquo;It
+      is a pleasant village, and I have passed through it several times. By the
+      way, Wiesbaden, which is much larger, possesses the advantage to tired men
+      of being half a league nearer.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The spokesman seemed taken aback by Roland&rsquo;s nonchalant attitude.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We do not know the road to Wiesbaden, and, indeed, are in some
+      doubt whether or no we can find our way to Sonnenberg with darkness coming
+      on.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then if I were you, I shouldn&rsquo;t attempt it. Why not eat your
+      supper, and drink your wine in this sheltering grove?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By that time it will be as dark as Erebus,&rdquo; protested the
+      spokesman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then remain here, as I suggested, for the night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; we are determined to reach Sonnenberg. A storm impends.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case, gentlemen, don&rsquo;t let me detain you. The gloom
+      thickens as you spend your time in talk.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, that&rsquo;s all very well, but when we reach Sonnenberg we
+      shall need money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you will.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And we intend to secure it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite right.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We demand from you three thalers for each man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you want the money from me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, we do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That would absorb all the funds I possess.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No matter. We mean to have it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You propose to take it from me by force?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, well, such being the case, perhaps it would be better for me to
+      yield willingly?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I quite agree with you. There are eighteen of you, all armed with
+      swords, while I control but one blade.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Saying this he unfastened his cloak, which he had put on in the gathering
+      chill of the evening, and untying from his belt a well-filled wallet, held
+      it up to their gaze.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As this bag undisputedly belongs to me, I have a right to dispose
+      of it as I choose. I therefore give it to the brook, whose outcry is as
+      insistent as yours, and much more musical.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stop, Roland, stop!&rdquo; shouted Ebearhard, but the warning came
+      too late. The young man flung the bag into the torrent, where it
+      disappeared in a smother of foam. He rose to his feet and drew his sword.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you wish a fight now, it will be for the love of it, no filthy
+      lucre being at stake.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By Plutus, you are an accursed fool!&rdquo; cried the spokesman,
+      making no further show of aggression now that nothing but steel was to be
+      gained by a contest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A fool; yes!&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;And therefore the better
+      qualified to lead all such. Now go to Sonnenberg, or go to Hades!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men did neither. They sat down under the trees, ate their supper, and
+      drank their wine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you dine with me?&rdquo; said Roland, approaching his two
+      gloomy lieutenants, who stood silent at some distance from the circle
+      formed by the others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Greusel sullenly, &ldquo;but I would have dined
+      with greater pleasure had you not proven the spokesman&rsquo;s words true.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean about my being a fool? Oh, you yourself practically called
+      me that this morning. Come, let us sit down farther along the stream,
+      where they cannot overhear what we say.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This being done, Roland continued cheerfully:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I may explain to you that a week ago I had only a wallet of my own,
+      but before leaving on this journey I called upon my mother, and she
+      presented me with another bag. I foresaw during <i>mittagessen</i> that a
+      demand would be made upon us for money, therefore I borrowed all that you
+      two possessed. Walking on ahead, I prepared for what I knew must come,
+      filling the empty wallet with very small stones picked up along the road.
+      That wallet went into the stream. It is surprising how prone human nature
+      is to jump at conclusions. Why should any of you think that I am simpleton
+      enough to throw away good money? Dear, dear, what a world this is, to be
+      sure!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Half an hour later all were lying down enveloped in their cloaks, sleeping
+      soundly because of their fatigue, despite being out of doors. Next morning
+      there was consternation in the camp, real or pretended. Roland was nowhere
+      to be found, nor did further search reveal his whereabouts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      VIII. THE MISSING LEADER AND THE MISSING GOLD
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Probably because of the new responsibility resting upon him, Joseph
+      Greusel was the first to awaken next morning. He let his long cloak fall
+      from his shoulders as he sat up, and gazed about him with astonishment. It
+      seemed as if some powerful wizard of the hills had spirited him away
+      during the night. He had gone to sleep in a place of terror. The thunder
+      rolled threateningly among the peaks of Taunus, and the reflection of the
+      lightning flash, almost incessant in its recurrence, had lit up the grove
+      with an unholy yellow glare. The never-ceasing roar of the foaming
+      torrent, which in the darkness gleamed with ghostly pallor, had somehow
+      got on his nerves. Under the momentary illumination of the lightning, the
+      waves appeared to leap up at him like a pack of hungry wolves, flecked
+      with froth, and the noise strove to emulate the distant thunder. The grove
+      itself was ominous in its gloom, and sinister shapes seemed to be moving
+      about among the trees.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      How different was the aspect now! The sun was still beneath the eastern
+      horizon. The cloudless sky gave promise of another warm day, and the air,
+      of crystalline clearness, was inspiring to breathe. To Greusel&rsquo;s
+      mind, tinged with religious feeling, the situation in which he found
+      himself seemed like a section of the Garden of Eden. The stream, which the
+      night before had been to his superstitious mind a thing of terror, was
+      this morning a placid, smiling, rippling brook that a man might without
+      effort leap across.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He rubbed his eyes in amazement, thinking the mists of sleep must be
+      responsible for this magic transformation, until he remembered the distant
+      thunderstorm of the night before among the eastern mountains, and surmised
+      that a heavy rainfall had deluged these speedily drained peaks and
+      valleys.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What a blessed thing,&rdquo; he said to himself fervently, &ldquo;is
+      the ever-recurring morning. How it clears away the errors and the passions
+      of darkness! It is as if God desired to give man repeated opportunities of
+      reform, and of encouragement. How sane everything seems now, as compared
+      with the turbulence of the sulphurous night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As he rose he became aware of an unaccustomed weight by his side, and
+      putting down his hand was astonished to encounter a bag evidently filled
+      with coin. It had been tied by its deerskin thong to his belt, just as was
+      his own empty wallet. He sat down again, drew it round to the front of
+      him, and unfastened it. Pouring out the gold, he found that the wallet
+      contained a hundred and fifteen thalers, mostly in gold, with the addition
+      of a few silver coins. At once it occurred to him that these were Roland&rsquo;s
+      sixty thalers, his own thirty, and Ebearhard&rsquo;s twenty-five. For some
+      reason, probably fearing the men would suspect the ruse practiced on them
+      the night before, Roland had made him treasurer of the company. But why
+      should he have done it surreptitiously?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Readjusting the leathern sack, he again rose to his feet, but now cast his
+      cloak about him, thus concealing the purse. Ebearhard lay sound asleep
+      near him. Farther away the eighteen remaining members of the company were
+      huddled closely together, as if they had gone to rest in a room too small
+      for them, although the whole country was theirs from which to choose
+      sleeping quarters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Remembering how the brook had decreased in size, and was now running clear
+      and pellucid, he feared that the bag of stones Roland had so dramatically
+      flung into it might be plainly visible. He determined to rouse his
+      commander, and seek the bag for some distance downstream; for he knew that
+      when the men awakened, all night-fear would have departed from them, and
+      seeing the shrinkage of the brook they might themselves institute a
+      search.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On looking round for Roland he saw no sign of him, but this caused little
+      disquietude, for he supposed that the leader had risen still earlier than
+      himself, wishing to stroll through the forest, or up and down the rivulet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel, with the purpose of finding the bag, and in the hope, also, of
+      encountering his chief, walked down the valley by the margin of the
+      waterway. Peering constantly into the limpid waters, he discovered no
+      trace of what he sought. Down and down the valley, which was wooded all
+      the way, he walked, and sometimes he was compelled to forsake his liquid
+      guide, and clamber through thickets to reach its border again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last he arrived at a little waterfall, and here occurred a break in the
+      woods, causing him to stand entranced by the view which presented itself.
+      Down the declivity the forest lasted for some distance, then it gave place
+      to ever-descending vineyards, with here and there a house showing among
+      the vines. At the foot of this hill ran a broad blue ribbon, which he knew
+      to be the Rhine, although he had never seen it before. Over it floated a
+      silvery gauze of rapidly disappearing mist. The western shore appeared to
+      be flat, and farther along the horizon was formed by hills, not so lofty
+      as that on which he stood, but beautiful against the blue sky, made to
+      seem nearer than they were by the first rays of the rising sun, which
+      tipped the summits with crimson.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel drew a long breath of deep satisfaction. He had never before
+      realized that the world was so enchanting and so peaceful. It seemed
+      impossible that men privileged to live in such a land could find no better
+      occupation than cutting one another&rsquo;s throats.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gentle plash of the waterfall at his right hand accentuated the
+      stillness. From his height he glanced down into the broad, pellucid pool,
+      into whose depths the water fell, and there, perfectly visible, lay the
+      bag of bogus treasure. Cautiously he worked his way down to the gravelly
+      border of the little lake, flung off his clothes, and plunged head-first
+      into this Diana&rsquo;s pool. It was a delicious experience, and he swam
+      round and round the circular basin, clambered up on the gravel and allowed
+      the stream to fall over his glistening shoulders, reveling in Nature&rsquo;s
+      shower-bath. Satisfied at length, he indulged in another rainbow plunge,
+      grasped the bag, and rose again to the surface. Coming ashore, he
+      unloosened the swollen thongs, poured out the stones along the strand,
+      then, after a moment&rsquo;s thought, he wrung the water out of the bag
+      itself, and tied it to his belt, for there was no predicting where the men
+      would wander when once they awoke, and if he threw it away among the
+      bushes, it might be found, breeding first wonder how it came there, and
+      then suspicion of the trick.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel walked back to camp by the other bank of the stream. Although the
+      early rays of the sun percolated through the upper branches of the trees
+      above them, the eighteen prone men slept as if they were but seven. He
+      sprang over the brook, touched the recumbent Ebearhard with his foot, and
+      so awoke him. This excellent man yawned, and stretched out his arms above
+      his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;re an early bird, Greusel,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Have
+      you got the worm?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I have,&rdquo; replied the latter. &ldquo;I found it in the
+      basin of a waterfall nearly a league from here,&rdquo; and with that he
+      drew aside his cloak, showing the still wet but empty bag.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a few moments Ebearhard did not understand. He rose and shook himself,
+      glancing about him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Great Jove!&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;this surely isn&rsquo;t the
+      stream by which we lay down last night? Do you mean to tell me that thread
+      of water struck terror into my heart only a few hours ago? I never slept
+      out of doors before in all my life, and could not have imagined it would
+      produce such an effect. I see what you mean now. You have found the bag
+      which Roland threw into the foaming torrent.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I was as much astonished at the transformation as you when I
+      awoke, and then it occurred to me that when our friends saw the reduction
+      of the rivulet, they would forthwith begin a treasure-hunt, so I
+      determined to obliterate the evidence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was the bag really full of stones?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, that is a lesson to me. I believe after all that Roland is
+      helplessly truthful, but last night I thought he befooled us. I was
+      certain it was the bag of coin he had thrown away, and becoming ashamed of
+      himself, had lied to us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How could you imagine that? He showed us both the bag of money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He produced a bag full of something, but I, being the doubting
+      Thomas of the group, was not convinced it contained money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, that reminds me, Ebearhard; here is the bag we saw last night.
+      I discovered it attached to my belt this morning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He attached it to the wrong belt, then, for you believed him. He
+      should have tied it to mine. What reason does he give for presenting it to
+      you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now you touch a point of anxiety in my own mind. I have seen
+      nothing of Roland this morning. I surmised that he had arisen before me,
+      and expected to meet him somewhere down the stream, but have not done so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He may have gone farther afield. As you found the bag, he of
+      course, missed it, and probably continued his search.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I doubt that, because I came upon a point of view reaching to the
+      Rhine and the hills beyond. I could trace the stream for a considerable
+      distance, and watched it for a long time, but there appeared to be nothing
+      alive in the forest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t suppose he has gone back to Frankfort, do you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am at loss what to think.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If he has abandoned this gang of malcontents, I should be the last
+      to blame him. The way these pigs acted yesterday was disgraceful, ending
+      up their day with rank mutiny and threats of violence. By the iron Cross,
+      Greusel, he has forsaken this misbegotten lot, and it serves them
+      perfectly right, prating about comradeship and carrying themselves like
+      cut-throats. This is Roland&rsquo;s method of returning our money, for I
+      suppose that bag contains your thirty thalers and my twenty-five.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, and his own sixty as well. Poor disappointed devil, generous
+      to the last. It was he who obtained all the money at the beginning, then
+      these drunken swine spend it on wine, and prove so generous and brave that
+      eighteen of them muster courage enough to face one man, and he the man who
+      had bestowed the gold upon them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Greusel, the whole situation fills me with disgust. I propose we
+      leave the lot sleeping there, go to Wiesbaden for breakfast, and then
+      trudge back to Frankfort. It would serve the brutes right.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Greusel quietly; &ldquo;I shall carry out Roland&rsquo;s
+      instructions.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought you hadn&rsquo;t seen him this morning?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not a trace of him. You heard his orders at Breckenheim.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t remember. What were they?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That if anything happened to him, I was to drive the herd to
+      Assmannshausen. I quite agree with you, Ebearhard, that he is justified in
+      deserting this menagerie, but, on the other hand, you and I have stood
+      faithfully by him, and it doesn&rsquo;t seem to me right that he should
+      leave us without a word. I don&rsquo;t believe he has done so, and I
+      expect any moment to see him return.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;re wrong, Greusel. He&rsquo;s gone. That purse is
+      sufficient explanation, and as you recall to my mind his instructions, I
+      believe something of this must have suggested itself to him even that
+      early in the day. He has divested himself of every particle of money in
+      his possession, turning it over to you, but instead of returning to
+      Frankfort he has made his way over the hills to Assmannshausen, and will
+      await us there.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What would be the object of that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One reason may be that he will learn whether or not you have enough
+      control over these people to bring them to the Rhine. He will satisfy
+      himself that your discipline is such as to improve their manners. It may
+      be in his mind to resign, and make you leader, if you prove yourself able
+      to control them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suppose I fail in that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, then&mdash;this is all fancy, remember&mdash;I imagine he may
+      look round Assmannshausen to find another company who will at least obey
+      him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you say sounds very reasonable. Still, I do not see why he
+      should have left two friends like us without a word.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A word, my dear Greusel, would have led to another, and another,
+      and another. One of the first questions asked him would be &lsquo;But what
+      are Ebearhard and I to do?&rsquo; That&rsquo;s exactly what he doesn&rsquo;t
+      wish to answer. He desires to know what you will do of your own accord. He
+      is likely rather hopeless about this mob, but is giving you an
+      opportunity, and then another chance. Why, his design is clear as that
+      rivulet there, and as easily seen through. You will either bring those men
+      across the hills, or you won&rsquo;t. If you and I are compelled to
+      clamber over to Assmannshausen alone, Roland will probably be more pleased
+      to see us than if we brought this rogues&rsquo; contingent straggling at
+      our heels. He will appoint you chief officer of his new company, and me
+      the second. If you doubt my conclusions, I&rsquo;ll wager twenty-five
+      thalers against your thirty that I am in the right.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never gamble, Ebearhard, especially when certain to lose. You are
+      a shrewder man than I, by a long bowshot.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a work of fiction it would of course be concealed till the proper time
+      came that all of these men were completely wrong in their prognostications
+      regarding the fate of Roland, but this being history it may be stated that
+      the young man had not the least desire to test Greusel&rsquo;s ability,
+      nor would his lieutenants find him awaiting them when they reached
+      Assmannshausen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello! Rouse up there! What have we for breakfast? Has all the wine
+      been drunk? I hope not. My mouth&rsquo;s like a brick furnace!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was the brave Kurzbold who spoke, as he playfully kicked, not too
+      gently, those of his comrades who lay nearest him. He was answered by
+      groans and imprecations, as one by one the sleeping beauties aroused
+      themselves, and wondered where the deuce they were.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who has stolen the river?&rdquo; cried Gensbein.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, stealing the river doesn&rsquo;t matter,&rdquo; said a third.
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s only running water. Who drank all the wine? That&rsquo;s
+      a more serious question.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, whoever&rsquo;s taken away the river, I can swear without
+      searching my pouch has made no theft from me, for I spent my last stiver
+      yesterday.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t boast,&rdquo; growled Kurzbold. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not
+      alone in your poverty. We&rsquo;re all in the same case. Curse that fool
+      of a Roland for throwing away good money just when it&rsquo;s most needed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good money is always most needed,&rdquo; exclaimed the philosophic
+      Gensbein.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He rose and shook himself, then looked down at the beautiful but
+      unimportant rivulet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I say, lads, were we as drunk as all that last night? Was there an
+      impassable torrent here or not?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How could we be drunk, you fool, on little more than a liter of
+      wine each,&rdquo; cried Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please be more civil in your talk,&rdquo; returned his friend.
+      &ldquo;You were drunk all day. The liter and a half was a mere nightcap.
+      If you are certain there was a torrent, then I must have been in the same
+      condition as yourself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The spokesman of the previous night, who had been chided for not springing
+      on Roland before he succeeded in doing away with the treasure, here
+      uttered a shout.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This water,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;is clear as air. You can see
+      every pebble at the bottom. Get to work, you sleepyheads, and search down
+      the stream. We&rsquo;ll recover that bag yet, and then it&rsquo;s back to
+      Sonnenberg for breakfast. Whoever finds it, finds it for the guild; a fair
+      and equal division amongst us. That is, amongst the eighteen of us. I
+      propose that Roland, Greusel, and Ebearhard do not share. They were all in
+      the plot to rob us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Agreed!&rdquo; cried the others, and the treasure-hunt impetuously
+      began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel and Ebearhard watched them disappear through the forest down the
+      stream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Greusel,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, &ldquo;what a deplorable passion is
+      the frantic quest for money in these days, especially money that we have
+      not earned. Our excited treasure-hunters do not realize that at such a
+      moment in the early morning the only subject worth consideration is
+      breakfast. Being unsparing and prodigal last night, it would take a small
+      miracle of the fishes to suffice them to-day. There is barely enough for
+      two hungry men, and as we are rid of these chaps for half an hour at
+      least, I propose we sit down to our first meal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel made no comment upon this remark, but the advice commended itself
+      to him, for he followed it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some time after they had finished breakfast, the unsuccessful company
+      returned by twos and threes. Apparently they had not wandered so far as
+      the waterfall, for no one said anything of the amazing view of the Rhine.
+      Indeed, it was plain that they considered themselves involved in a
+      boundless wilderness, and were too perplexed to suggest a way out. After a
+      storm of malediction over the breakfastless state of things, and a good
+      deal of quarreling among themselves anent who had been most greedy the
+      night before, they now turned their attention to the silent men who were
+      watching them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where&rsquo;s Roland?&rdquo; they demanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; replied Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t he tell you where he was going?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have not seen him this morning,&rdquo; explained Ebearhard
+      gently. &ldquo;He seems to have disappeared in the night. Perhaps he fell
+      into the stream. Perhaps, on the other hand, he has deliberately deserted
+      us. He gave us no hint of his intentions last night, and we are as
+      ignorant as yourselves regarding his whereabouts.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is outrageous!&rdquo; cried Kurzbold. &ldquo;It is the duty of
+      a leader to provide for his following.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; if the following follows.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have followed,&rdquo; said Kurzbold indignantly, &ldquo;and have
+      been led into this desert, not in the least knowing where in Heaven&rsquo;s
+      name we are. And now to be left like this, breakfastless, thirsty&mdash;&rdquo;
+      Here Kurzbold&rsquo;s language failed him, and he drew the back of his
+      hand across parched lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When you remember, gentlemen,&rdquo; continued Ebearhard, in
+      accents of honey, &ldquo;that your last dealings with your leader took
+      place with eighteen swords drawn; when you recollect that you expressed
+      your determination to rob him, and when you call to mind that you brave
+      eighteen threatened him with personal violence if he resisted this
+      brigandage on your part, I cannot understand why you should be surprised
+      at his withdrawal from your fellowship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you always were a glib talker, but the question now is what are
+      we to do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, and that is a question for you to decide,&rdquo; said
+      Ebearhard. &ldquo;When you mutinied last night, you practically deposed
+      Roland from the leadership. To my mind, he had no further obligations
+      towards you, so, having roughly taken the power into your own hands, it is
+      for you to deal with it as you think best. I should never so far forget
+      myself as to venture even a suggestion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As I hinted to you,&rdquo; said Kurzbold, &ldquo;you are talking
+      too much. You are merely one of ourselves, although you have kept yourself
+      separate from us. Greusel has been appointed lieutenant by our unanimous
+      vote, and if his chief proves a poltroon, he is the man to act. Therefore,
+      Joseph Greusel, I ask on behalf of the company what you intend to do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before I can answer that question,&rdquo; replied Greusel, &ldquo;I
+      must know whether or not you will act as you did yesterday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you mean by that?&rdquo; Several, speaking together, put
+      the question.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish to know whether you will follow cheerfully and without demur
+      where I lead? I refuse to act as guide if I run the risk of finding
+      eighteen sword-points at my throat when I have done my best.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you talk like a fool,&rdquo; commented Kurzbold. &ldquo;We
+      followed Roland faithfully enough until he brought us into this impasse.
+      You make entirely too much of last night&rsquo;s episode. None of us
+      intended to hurt him, as you are very well aware, and besides, we don&rsquo;t
+      want a leader who is frightened, and runs away at the first sign of
+      danger.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Make up your minds what you propose to do,&rdquo; said Greusel
+      stubbornly, &ldquo;and give me your decision; then you will receive mine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel saw that although Kurzbold talked like the bully he was, the
+      others were rather subdued, and no voice but his was raised in defense of
+      their previous conduct.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is one thing you must tell us before we can come to a
+      decision,&rdquo; went on Kurzbold. &ldquo;How much money have you and
+      Ebearhard?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At midday yesterday I had thirty thalers, and Ebearhard had
+      twenty-five. While you were all sleeping on the grass, after our meal at
+      Breckenheim, Roland asked us for the money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You surely were not such idiots as to give it to him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He was our commander, and we both considered it right to do what he
+      asked of us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He said,&rdquo; put in Ebearhard, &ldquo;that your suggestion about
+      a finance committee was a good one, and that he had determined to be that
+      committee. He asked us if any of you had money, but I told him I thought
+      it was all spent, which probably accounts for his restricting the
+      application to us two.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then we are here in an unknown wilderness, twenty men, hungry, and
+      without a florin amongst us,&rdquo; wailed Kurzbold, and the comments of
+      those behind him were painful to hear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am glad that at last you thoroughly appreciate our situation, and
+      I hope that in addition you realize it has been brought about not through
+      any fault of Roland&rsquo;s, who gave in to your whims and childishness
+      until you came to the point of murder and robbery. Therefore blame
+      yourselves and not him. You now know as much of our position as I do, so
+      make up your minds about the next step, and inform me what conclusion you
+      come to.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;re a mighty courageous leader,&rdquo; cried Kurzbold
+      scornfully, and with this the hungry ones retired some distance into the
+      grove, from whence echoes of an angry debate came to the two men who sat
+      by the margin of the stream. After a time they strode forward again. Once
+      more Kurzbold was the spokesman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have determined to return to Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose you remember enough of the way to lead us at least as far
+      as Wiesbaden. Beyond that point we can look to ourselves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should be delighted,&rdquo; said Greusel, &ldquo;to be your
+      guide, but unfortunately I am traveling in the other direction with
+      Ebearhard.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, in the name of starvation?&rdquo; roared Kurzbold. &ldquo;You
+      know no more of the country ahead of us than we do. By going back we can
+      get something to eat, and a drink, at one of the farmhouses we passed this
+      side of Sonnenberg.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How?&rdquo; inquired Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, if they ask for payment we will give them iron instead of
+      silver. No man need starve with a sword by his side.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Granted that this is feasible, and that the farmers yield instead
+      of raising the country-side against you, when you reach Frankfort what are
+      you going to do? Eat and drink with the landlord of the Rheingold until he
+      becomes bankrupt? You must remember that it was Roland who liquidated our
+      last debt there, without asking or receiving a word of thanks, and he did
+      that not a moment too soon, for the landlord was at the end of his
+      resources and would have closed his tavern within another week.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold stormed at this harping on the subject of Roland and his
+      generosity, but those with him were hungry, and they now remembered, too
+      late, that what Greusel said was strictly true. If Roland had put in an
+      appearance then, he would have found a most docile company to lead. They
+      were actually murmuring against Kurzbold, and blaming him and his clan for
+      the disaster that had overtaken them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why will you not come back with us?&rdquo; pleaded the penitents,
+      with surprising mildness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because the future in Frankfort strikes me as hopeless. Not one
+      amongst us has the brains of Roland, whom we have thrown out. Besides, it
+      is nine and a half long leagues to Frankfort, and only three and a half
+      leagues to Assmannshausen. I expect to find Roland there, and although I
+      know nothing of his intentions, I imagine he has gone to enlist a company
+      of a score or thereabouts that will obey his commands. There is some hope
+      by going forward to Assmannshausen; there is absolutely none in retreating
+      to Frankfort. Then, as I said, Assmannshausen is little more than three
+      leagues away; a fact worth consideration by hungry men. On the Rhine we
+      are in the rich wine country, where there is plenty to eat and drink,
+      probably for the asking, whereas if we turn our faces towards the east we
+      are marching upon starvation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The buzz of comment aroused by this speech proved to the two men that
+      Kurzbold stood once more alone. Greusel, without seeming to care which way
+      the cat jumped, had induced that unreasoning animal to leap as he liked.
+      His air of supreme indifference aroused Ebearhard&rsquo;s admiration,
+      especially when he remembered that under his cloak there rested a hundred
+      and fifteen thalers in gold and silver.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you know nothing of the way,&rdquo; protested Kurzbold. &ldquo;None
+      of us are acquainted with the country to the west.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t need to be acquainted with it,&rdquo; said Greusel.
+      &ldquo;We steer westward by glancing at the sun now and then, and cannot
+      go astray, because we must come to the Rhine; then it&rsquo;s either up or
+      down the river, as the case may be, to reach Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To the Rhine! To the Rhine!&rdquo; was now the universal cry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before we begin our journey,&rdquo; said Greusel, as if he accepted
+      the leadership with reluctance, &ldquo;I must have your promise that you
+      will obey me without question. I am not so patient a man as Roland, but on
+      my part I guarantee you an excellent meal and good wine as soon as we
+      reach Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can you promise that,&rdquo; growled Kurzbold, &ldquo;when you
+      have given away your money?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because, as I told you, I expect to meet Roland there.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But he threw away his bag.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I told him it was a foolish thing to do, and perhaps that is
+      why he left without saying a word, even to me. He is an ingenious man.
+      Assmannshausen is familiar to him, and I dare say he would not have
+      discarded his money without knowing where to get more.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To the Rhine! To the Rhine! To the Rhine!&rdquo; cried the
+      impatient host, gathering up their cloaks, and tightening their belts, as
+      the savage does when he is hungry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To the Rhine, then,&rdquo; said Greusel, springing across the
+      little stream in company with Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You did that very well, Greusel,&rdquo; complimented the latter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I would rather have gone alone with you,&rdquo; replied the new
+      leader, &ldquo;for I have condemned myself to wear this heavy cloak, which
+      is all very well to sleep in, but burdensome under a hot sun.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The sun won&rsquo;t be so oppressive,&rdquo; predicted his friend,
+      &ldquo;while we keep to the forest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is very true, but remember we are somewhere in the Rheingau,
+      and that we must come out into the vineyards by and by.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t grumble, Greusel, but hold up your head as a great
+      diplomatist. Roland himself could not have managed these chaps so well,
+      you flaunting hypocrite, the only capitalist amongst us, yet talking as if
+      you were a monk sworn to eternal poverty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel changed the subject.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you notice,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that we are following some
+      sort of path, which we must have trodden last evening, without seeing it
+      in the dusk.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I imagine,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, &ldquo;that Roland knew very well
+      where he was going. He strode along ahead of us as if sure of his ground.
+      I don&rsquo;t doubt but this will lead us to Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Which, it may be remarked, it did not. The path was little more than a
+      trail, which a sharp-eyed man might follow, and it led up-hill and down
+      dale direct to the Archbishop&rsquo;s Castle of Ehrenfels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The forest lasted for a distance that the men in front estimated to be
+      about two leagues, then they emerged into open country, and saw the
+      welcome vines growing. Climbing out of the valley, they observed to the
+      right, near the top of a hill, a small hamlet, which had the effect of
+      instantaneously raising the spirits of the woebegone company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hooray for breakfast!&rdquo; they shouted, and had it not been for
+      their own fatigue, and the steepness of the hill, they would have broken
+      into a run.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Halt!&rdquo; cried Greusel sternly, standing before and above them.
+      At once they obeyed the word of command, which caused Ebearhard to smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will climb to the top of this hill,&rdquo; said Greusel,
+      &ldquo;and there rest under command of my lieutenant, Ebearhard. As we now
+      emerge into civilization, I warn you that if we are to obtain breakfast it
+      must be by persuasion, and not by force. Therefore, while you wait on the
+      hilltop, I shall go alone into the houses on the right, and see what can
+      be done towards providing a meal for eighteen men. Ebearhard and I will
+      fast until we reach Assmannshausen. On the other hand, you should be
+      prepared for disappointment; loaves of bread are not to be picked up on
+      the point of a sword. If I return and order you to march on unfed, you
+      must do so as cheerfully as you can.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This ultimatum called forth not a word of opposition, and Ebearhard led
+      the van while Greusel deflected up the hill to his right, the sooner to
+      reach the village.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He learned that the name of the place was Anton-Kap; that the route he had
+      been following would take him to Ehrenfels, and that he must adopt a
+      reasonably rough mountain-road to the right in order to reach
+      Assmannshausen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By somewhat straining the resources of the place, which proved to possess
+      no inn, he collected bread enough for the eighteen, and there was no
+      dearth of wine, although it proved a coarse drink that reflected little
+      credit on the reputation of the Rheingau. He paid for this meal in
+      advance, saying that they were all in a hurry to reach Assmannshausen, and
+      wished to leave as soon as the frugal breakfast was consumed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mounting a small elevation to the west of the village, he signaled to the
+      patient men to come on, which they lost no time in doing. The bread was
+      eaten and the wine drunk without a word being said by any one. And now
+      they took their way down the hill again, crossed the little Geisenheim
+      stream, and up once more, traversing a high table-land giving them a view
+      of the Rhine, finally descending through another valley, which led them
+      into Assmannshausen, celebrated for its red wine, a color they had not yet
+      met with.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Assmannshausen proved to be a city as compared with the hamlets they had
+      passed, yet was small enough to make a thorough search of the place a
+      matter that consumed neither much effort nor time. Greusel led his men to
+      a <i>Weinstaube</i> a short distance out of the village, and, to their
+      delight, succeeded in establishing a credit for them to the extent of one
+      liter of wine each, with a substantial meal of meat, eggs, and what-not.
+      Greusel and Ebearhard left them there in the height of great enjoyment,
+      all the more delightful after the hunger and fatigue they had encountered,
+      for the three and a half leagues had proved almost without a single
+      stretch of level land. The two officers inquired for Roland, without
+      success, at the various houses of entertainment which Assmannshausen
+      boasted, then canvassed every home in the village, but no one had seen
+      anything of the man they described.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Coming out to the river front, deeply discouraged, the two gazed across
+      the empty water, from which all enlivening traffic had departed. It was
+      now evident to both that Roland had not entered Assmannshausen, for in so
+      small and gossipy a hamlet no stranger could even have passed through
+      without being observed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Joseph,&rdquo; asked Ebearhard, &ldquo;what do you intend to
+      do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is nothing to do but to wait until our money is gone. It is
+      absolutely certain that Roland is not here. Can it be possible that after
+      all he returned?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How could he have done so? We know him to have been without money;
+      therefore why to Frankfort, even if such a trip were possible for a
+      penniless man?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry now,&rdquo; said Greusel despondently, &ldquo;that I did
+      not follow a suggestion that occurred to me, which was to take the men
+      direct down the valley where we encamped, to the banks of the Rhine, and
+      there make inquiries.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think he went that way?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did, until you persuaded me out of it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again I ask what could be his object?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seems to me that this mutiny made a greater impression on his
+      mind than I had supposed. After all, he is not one of us, and never has
+      been. You yourself pointed that out when we were talking of him at
+      Breckenheim. If you caught glances of contempt for us while we were all
+      one jolly family in the Kaiser cellar, what must be his loathing for the
+      guild after such a day as yesterday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s true. You must travel with a man before you learn his
+      real character.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Meaning Roland?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Meaning this crew, guzzling up at the tavern. Meaning you, meaning
+      me; yes, and meaning Roland also. I never knew until yesterday and to-day
+      what a capable fellow you were, and when I remember that I nominated
+      Kurzbold for our leader before Roland appeared on the scene, I am amazed
+      at my lack of judgment of men. As for Roland himself, my opinion of him
+      has fallen. Nothing could have persuaded me that he would desert us all
+      without a word of explanation, no matter what happened. My predictions
+      regarding his conduct are evidently wrong. What do you think has actually
+      occurred?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my opinion that the more he thought over the mutiny, the
+      angrier he became; a cold, stubborn anger, not vocal at all, as Kurzbold&rsquo;s
+      would be. I think that after fastening the money to my belt he went down
+      the valley to the Rhine. He knows the country, you must remember. He would
+      then either wait there until the barge appeared, or more likely would
+      proceed up along the margin of the river, and hail the boat when it came
+      in sight. The captain would recognize him, and turn in, and we know the
+      captain is under his command. At this moment they are doubtless poling
+      slowly up the Rhine to the Main again, and will thus reach Frankfort. Herr
+      Goebel has confidence in Roland, otherwise he would never have risked so
+      much on his bare word. He will confess to his financier that he has been
+      mistaken in us, and doubtless tell him all that happened, and the merchant
+      will appreciate that, even though he has lost his five hundred thalers,
+      Roland would not permit him to lose his goods as well.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you suppose Roland will enlist another company?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is very likely, for Herr Goebel trusts him, and, goodness knows,
+      there are enough unemployed men in Frankfort for Roland to select a better
+      score than we have proved to be.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was quite certain that Roland was not in Assmannshausen, yet Greusel
+      was a prophet as false as Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      IX. A SOLEMN PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      When Roland wrapped his cloak about him, and lay down on the sward at some
+      distance from the spot where his officers already slept, he found that he
+      could not follow their example. Although, he had remained outwardly calm
+      when the attack was made upon him, his mind was greatly perturbed over the
+      outlook. He reviewed his own conduct, wondering whether it would be
+      possible for him so to amend it that he could acquire the respect and
+      maintain the obedience of his men. If he could not accomplish this, then
+      was his plan foredoomed to failure. His cogitations drove away sleep, and
+      he called to mind the last occasion on which he made this same spot his
+      bedroom. Then he had slumbered dreamlessly the night through. He was on
+      the direct trail between Ehrenfels Castle and the town of Wiesbaden, the
+      route over which supplies had been carried to the Castle time and again
+      when the periodical barges from Mayence failed to arrive. It had been
+      pointed out to him by the custodian of the Castle when the young man first
+      became irked by the confined limits of the Schloss, and frequently since
+      that time he had made his way through the forest to Wiesbaden and back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Never before had he seen the little Walluf so boisterous, pretending that
+      it was important, and he quite rightly surmised that the cause was a
+      sudden downpour in the mountains farther east. The distant mutterings of
+      thunder having long since ceased, he recognized that the volume of the
+      stream was constantly lessening. As the brook gradually subsided to its
+      customary level, the forest became more and more silent. The greater his
+      endeavor to sleep, the less dormant Roland felt, and all his senses seemed
+      unduly quickened by this ineffectual beckoning to somnolence. He judged by
+      the position of the stars, as he lay on his back, that it was past
+      midnight, when suddenly he became aware of a noise to the west of him, on
+      the other side of the brook. Sitting up, and listening intently, he
+      suspected, from the rustle of the underbrush, that some one was following
+      the trail, and would presently come upon his sleeping men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He rose stealthily, unsheathed his sword, leaped across the rivulet, and
+      proceeded with caution up the acclivity, keeping on the trail as best he
+      could in the darkness. He was determined to learn the business of the
+      wayfarer, without disturbing his men, so crept rapidly up the hill.
+      Presently he saw the glimmer of a light, and conjectured that some one was
+      coming impetuously down, guided by a lanthorn swinging in his hand. Roland
+      stood on guard with sword extended straight in front of him, and the
+      oncomer&rsquo;s breast was almost at the point of it when he hauled
+      himself up with a sudden cry of dismay, as the lanthorn revealed an armed
+      man holding the path.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have no money,&rdquo; were the first words of the stranger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Little matter for that,&rdquo; replied Roland. &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis
+      information I wish, not gear. Why are you speeding through the forest at
+      night, for no sane man traverses this path in the darkness?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could not wait for daylight,&rdquo; said the stranger, breathing
+      heavily. &ldquo;I carry a message of the greatest importance. Do not delay
+      me, I beg of you. I travel on affairs of State; Imperial matters, and it
+      is necessary I should reach Frankfort in time, or heads may fall.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So serious as that?&rdquo; asked Roland, lowering the point of his
+      sword, for he saw the messenger was unarmed. &ldquo;Whom do you seek?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That I dare not tell you. The message concerns those of the
+      highest, and I am pledged to secrecy. Be assured, sir, that I speak the
+      truth.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your voice sounds honest. Hold up the lanthorn at arm&rsquo;s
+      length, that I may learn if your face corresponds with it. Ha, that is
+      most satisfactory! And now, my hurrying youth, will you reveal your
+      mission, or shall I be compelled to run my sword through your body?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You would not learn it even then,&rdquo; gasped the young man,
+      shrinking still farther up the hill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is true enough,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;therefore shall I not
+      impale you, but will instead relate to you the secret you carry. You are
+      making not for Frankfort&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I assure you, sir, by the sacred Word, that I am, and grieve my
+      oath does not allow me to do your bidding, even though you would kill me,
+      which is easily done, since I am unarmed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You pass through Frankfort, I doubt not, but your goal is a certain
+      small room in the neighboring suburb of Sachsenhausen, and he whom you
+      seek is a youth of about your own age, named Roland. You travel on the
+      behest of your father, who was much agonized in mind when you left him,
+      and he, I take it, is custodian of Ehrenfels Castle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In God&rsquo;s name!&rdquo; cried the youth, aghast, &ldquo;how did
+      you guess all that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again Roland laughed quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, Heinrich,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;your agitation causes you to
+      forget old friends. Hold up your lanthorn again, and learn whether or not
+      you recognize me, as I recognized you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Heaven be praised! Prince Roland!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; your journey is at an end, my good Heinrich, thank the fortune
+      that kept me awake this night. Do you know why you are sent on this long
+      and breathless journey?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Highness. There has come to the Castle from the Archbishop of
+      Mayence a lengthy document for you to sign, and you are informed that the
+      day after to-morrow their Lordships of Mayence, Treves, and Cologne, meet
+      together at the Castle to hold some conversation with you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By my sword, then, Heinrich, had you found me in Sachsenhausen we
+      had never attained Ehrenfels in time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think I could have accomplished it,&rdquo; replied the young man.
+      &ldquo;I should have reached Wiesbaden before daybreak, and there bought
+      the fastest horse that could be found. My father told me to time myself,
+      and if by securing another horse at Frankfort for you I could not make the
+      return journey speedily enough, I was to engage a boat with twenty rowers,
+      if necessary, and convey you to Ehrenfels before the Archbishops arrived.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, Heinrich, you must have deluded me when you said you had no
+      money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Highness, I have none, but I carry an order for plenty upon a
+      merchant in Wiesbaden, who would also supply me with a horse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Heinrich, there are many stars burning above us to-night, and I
+      have been watching them, but your star must be blazing the brightest of
+      all. Sit you down and rest until I return. Make no noise, for there are
+      twenty others asleep by the stream. My cloak is at the bottom of the hill,
+      and I must fetch it. I shall be with you shortly, so keep your candle
+      alight, that I may not miss you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With that Roland returned rapidly down the slope, untying his bag of money
+      as he descended. Cautiously he fastened it to the belt of Greusel, then,
+      snatching his cloak from the ground, he sprang once more across the
+      stream, and climbed to the waiting Heinrich.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was broad daylight before they saw the towers of Ehrenfels, and they
+      found little difficulty in rousing Heinrich&rsquo;s father, for he had
+      slept as badly that night as Roland himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The caretaker flung his arms around the young prisoner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, thank God, thank God!&rdquo; was all he could cry, and &ldquo;Thank
+      God!&rdquo; again he repeated. &ldquo;Never before have I felt my head so
+      insecure upon my shoulders. Had you not been here when they came,
+      Highness, their Lordships would have listened to no explanation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Really you were in little danger with such a clever son. The
+      Archbishops would never have suspected that he was not I, for none of the
+      three has ever seen me. I am quite sure Heinrich would have effected my
+      signature excellently, and answered to their satisfaction all questions
+      they might ask. So long as he complied with their wishes, there would be
+      no inquiries set afoot, for none would suspect the change. Indeed,
+      custodian, you have missed the opportunity of your life in not suppressing
+      me, thus allowing your son to be elected Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness forgets that my poor boy cannot write his own name,
+      much less yours. Besides, it would be a matter of high treason to forge
+      your signature, so again I thank God you are here. Indeed, your Highness,
+      I am in great trouble about my son.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, the danger is not so serious as you think.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis not the danger, Highness. That it is his duty to face,
+      but he takes advantage of his position as prisoner. He knows I dare refuse
+      him nothing, and he calls for wine, wine, wine, spending his days in
+      revelry and his nights in stupor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You astonish me. Why not cudgel the nonsense out of him? Your arm
+      is strong enough.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dare not lay stick on him, and I beg you to breathe nothing of
+      what I have told you, for he holds us both in his grasp, and he knows it.
+      If I called for help to put him in a real dungeon, he would blurt out the
+      whole secret.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case you must even make terms with him. &lsquo;Twill be for
+      but a very short time, and after that we will reform him. He was
+      frightened enough of my sword in the forest, and I shall make him dance to
+      its point once this crisis is over.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall do the best I can, Highness. But you must have been on your
+      way to Ehrenfels. Had you heard aught of what is afoot?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing. &lsquo;Twas mere chance that Heinrich and I met in the
+      forest, and he was within a jot of impinging himself upon my sword in his
+      hurry. I stood in the darkness, while he himself held a light for the
+      better convenience of any chance marauder who wished to undo him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Unarmed, and without money,&rdquo; said the custodian, &ldquo;I
+      thought he was safer than otherwise. But you are surely hungry, Highness.
+      Advance then within, and I will see to your needs.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So presently the errant Prince consumed an excellent, if early breakfast,
+      and, without troubling to undress, flung himself upon a couch, sleeping
+      dreamlessly through the time that Greusel and Ebearhard were conjuring up
+      motives for him, of which he was entirely innocent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Roland woke in the afternoon, he had quite forgotten that a score of
+      men who, nominally, at least, acknowledged him master, were wondering what
+      had become of him. He called the custodian, and asked for a sight of the
+      parchments that his Lordship of Mayence had sent across the river for his
+      perusal. He found the documents to be a very carefully written series of
+      demands disguised under the form of requests.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pledges which were asked of the young Prince were beautifully
+      engrossed on three parchments, each one a duplicate of the other two. If
+      Roland accepted them, they were to be signed next day, in presence of the
+      three Archbishops. Two certainties were impressed upon him when he had
+      read the scroll: first, the Archbishops were determined to rule; and
+      second, if he did not promise to obey they would elect some other than
+      himself Emperor on the death or deposition of his father. The young man
+      resolved to be acquiescent and allow the future to settle the question
+      whether he or the Archbishops should be the head of the Empire. A strange
+      exultation filled him at the prospect, and all thought of other things
+      vanished from his mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Leaving the parchments on the table in the knights&rsquo; hall, where he
+      had examined them, he mounted to the battlements to enjoy the fresh breeze
+      that, no matter how warm the day, blows round the towers of Ehrenfels.
+      Here a stone promenade, hung high above the Rhine, gave a wonderful view
+      up and down the river and along the opposite shore. From this elevated,
+      paved plateau he could see down the river the strongholds of Rheinstein
+      and Falkenberg, and up the river almost as far as Mayence. He judged by
+      the altitude of the sun that it was about four o&rsquo;clock in the
+      afternoon. The sight of Rheinstein should have suggested to him his
+      deserted company, for that was the first castle he intended to attack, but
+      the prospect opened up to him by the communication of the Archbishops had
+      driven everything else from his mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently the cautious custodian joined him in his eyrie, and Roland knew
+      instinctively why he had come. The old man was wondering whether or not he
+      would make difficulties about signing the parchments. He feared the
+      heedless impetuosity and conceit of youth; the natural dislike on the part
+      of a proud young prince to be restricted and bound down by his elders, and
+      the jailer could not conceal his gratification when the prisoner informed
+      him that of course he would comply with the desires of the three prelates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You see,&rdquo; he continued, with a smile, &ldquo;I must attach my
+      signature to those instruments in order to make good my promises to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was interrupted by a cry of astonishment from his aged comrade.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will wonders never cease!&rdquo; cried the old man. &ldquo;Those
+      merchants in Frankfort must be irredeemable fools. Look you there,
+      Highness! Do you see that barge coming down the river, heavily laden, as I
+      am a sinner, for she lies low in the water. It is one of the largest of
+      the Frankfort boats, and those hopeful simpletons doubtless imagine they
+      can make their way through to Cologne with enough goods left to pay for
+      the journey. &lsquo;Tis madness! Why, the knights of Rheinstein and
+      Falkenberg alone will loot them before they are out of our sight. If they
+      think to avoid those rovers by hugging our shore, their mistake will be
+      apparent before they have gone far.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland gazed at the approaching craft, and instantly remembered that he
+      was responsible for its appearance on the Rhine. He recognized Herr Goebel&rsquo;s
+      great barge, with its thick mast in the prow, on which no sail was hoisted
+      because the wind blew upstream. On recollecting his deserted men, he
+      wondered whether or not Greusel had brought them across the hills to
+      Assmannshausen. Had they yet discovered that Joseph carried the bag of
+      gold? He laughed aloud as he thought of the scrimmage that would ensue
+      when this knowledge came to them. But little as he cared for the eighteen,
+      he experienced a pang of regret as he estimated the predicament in which
+      both Greusel and Ebearhard had stood on learning he had left them without
+      a word. Still, even now he could not see how any explanation on his part
+      was possible without revealing his identity, and that he was determined
+      not to do.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Turning round, he said abruptly to the custodian:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Were the seven hundred thalers paid to you each month?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of a surety,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That will be two thousand one hundred thalers altogether. Did you
+      spend the money?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have not touched a single coin. That amount is yours, and yours
+      alone, Prince Roland. If I have been of service I am quite content to wait
+      for my reward, or should I not be here, I know you will remember my
+      family.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May the Lord forget me if I don&rsquo;t. Still, the twenty-one
+      hundred thalers are all yours, remember, but I beg of you to lend me a
+      thousand, for I possess not a single gold piece in my bag. Indeed, if it
+      comes to that, I do not possess even a bag. I had two yesterday, but one I
+      gave away and the other I threw away.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man hurried down, and presently returned with the bag of money
+      that Roland had asked of him. Before this happened, however, Roland,
+      watching the barge, saw it round to, and tie up at the shore some distance
+      above Assmannshausen. He took the gold, and passed down the stone stair to
+      the courtyard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall return,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;before the sun sets,&rdquo;
+      and without more ado, this extraordinary captive left his prison, and
+      descended the hill in the direction of the barge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After greeting Captain Blumenfels, he learned that the boat had been
+      delayed by running on a sandbank in the Main during the night, but they
+      had got it off at daybreak, and here they were. As, standing on the shore,
+      Roland talked with the captain on the barge, he saw approaching from
+      Assmannshausen two men whom he recognized. Telling the captain he might
+      not be ready for several days, he walked along the shore to meet his
+      astonished friends, who, as was usual with them, jumped at an erroneous
+      conclusion, and supposed that he arrived on the barge which they had seen
+      rounding to for the purpose of taking up her berth by the river-bank.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel and Ebearhard stood still until he came up to them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good afternoon, gentlemen. Are you here alone, or have you brought
+      the mob with you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your capable lieutenant, sir,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, before his
+      slower companion could begin to frame a sentence, &ldquo;allowed the men
+      to think they were having their own way, but in reality diverted them into
+      his, so they are now enjoying a credit of one liter each at the tavern of
+      the Golden Anker.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;is but as a drop of water in a
+      parched desert. Have they discovered you hold the money, Greusel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not yet; but I fear they will begin to suspect by and by. I
+      suppose you went down the valley of the brook to the Rhine, and overhauled
+      the barge there?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose so,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;What else did you think I
+      could do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was sure you had done that, but I feared you would turn the barge
+      back to Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never thought of such a thing. Indeed, the captain told me he met
+      difficulty enough navigating the shallow Main, and I think he prefers the
+      deeper Rhine. Of course, you know why I left you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men looked at each other without reply, and Roland laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see you have been harboring dark suspicions, but the case is very
+      simple. The pious monks tell us that the Scriptures say if a man asks us
+      to go one league with him, we should go two. My good friends of the guild
+      last night made a most reasonable request, namely, that I should bestow
+      upon them three thalers each, and surely, to quote the monks again, the
+      laborer is worthy of his hire.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, that is the way you look upon it, then,&rdquo; said Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;From a scriptural point of view, yes; and I am going to better the
+      teachings of my young days by giving each of the men ten times the amount
+      he desired. Thirty thalers each are waiting in this bag for them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By my sword!&rdquo; cried Ebearhard, &ldquo;if that isn&rsquo;t
+      setting a premium on mutiny it comes perilously close.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so, Ebearhard; not so. You and Greusel did not mutiny,
+      therefore to each of you I give a hundred and thirty thalers, which is the
+      thirty thalers the mutineers receive, and a hundred thalers extra, as a
+      reward of virtue because you did not join them. After all, there is much
+      to be said for the men&rsquo;s point of view. I had led them ruthlessly
+      under a burning July sun, along a rough and shadeless road, then dragged
+      them away from the ample wine-vaults of Sonnenberg; next guided them on
+      through brambles, over streams, into bogs and out again; and lastly, when
+      they were dog-tired, hungry and ill-tempered, I carelessly pointed to a
+      section of the landscape, and said, &lsquo;There, my dear chaps, is your
+      bedroom&rsquo;; lads who had never before slept without blankets and a
+      roof. No wonder they mutinied; but even then, by the love of God for His
+      creatures, they did not actually attack me when I stood up with drawn
+      sword in my hand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course you have that at least to be thankful for,&rdquo; said
+      Ebearhard. &ldquo;Eighteen to one was foul odds.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I be thankful! Surely you are dreaming, Ebearhard. Why should I be
+      thankful, except that I escaped the remorse for at least killing a dozen
+      of them!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard laughed heartily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, if so sure of yourself as all that, you need no sympathy from
+      me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You thought I would be outmatched? By the Three Kings! do you
+      imagine me such a fool as to teach you artisans the higher qualities of
+      the sword? There would have been a woeful surprise for the eighteen had
+      they ventured another step farther. However, that&rsquo;s all past and
+      done with, and we&rsquo;ll say no more about it. Let us sit down here on
+      the sward, and indulge in the more agreeable recreation of counting money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He spread his cloak on the grass, and poured out the gold upon it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am keeping two hundred thalers for myself, as leader of the
+      expedition, and covetous. Here are your hundred and thirty thalers,
+      Greusel, and yours, Ebearhard. You will find remaining five hundred and
+      forty, which, if divided with reasonable accuracy, should afford thirty
+      thalers to each of our precious eighteen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aren&rsquo;t you coming with us to Assmannshausen, that you may
+      give this money to the men yourself?&rdquo; asked Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; that pleasure falls to my lieutenants, first and second. One
+      may divide the money while the other delivers the moral lecture against
+      mutiny, illustrated by the amount that good behavior gains. Say nothing to
+      the men about the barge being here, merely telling them to prepare for
+      action. Now that you are in funds, engage a large room, exclusively for
+      yourselves, at the Golden Anker. Thus you will be the better able to keep
+      the men from talking with strangers, and so prevent any news of our
+      intentions drifting across the river to Rheinstein or Falkenberg. You
+      might put it to them, should they object to the special room, that you are
+      reconstituting, as it were, the Kaiser cellar of Frankfort in the village
+      of Assmannshausen. Go forward, therefore, with your usual meetings of the
+      guild, as it was before I lowered its tone by becoming a member. Knowing
+      the lads as I do, I suggest that you make your bargain with them before
+      you deliver the money. No promise; no thirty thalers. And now, good-by. I
+      shall be exceedingly busy for some days arranging for a further supply of
+      money, so do not seek me out no matter what happens.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this Roland shook hands, and returned to Ehrenfels Castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three sumptuous barges of the Archbishops hove in sight at midday, two
+      coming up the river and one floating down. They maneuvered to the landing
+      so that all reached it at the same time, and thus the three Archbishops
+      were enabled to set foot simultaneously on the firm ground, as was right
+      and proper, no one of them obtaining precedence over the other two. On
+      entering the Castle of Ehrenfels in state, they proceeded to the large
+      hall of the knights, and seated themselves in three equal chairs that were
+      set along the solid table. Here a repast was spread before them,
+      accompanied by the finest wine the Rheingau produced, and although the
+      grand prelates ate lustily, they were most sparing in their drink, for
+      when they acted in concert none dared risk putting himself at a
+      disadvantage with the others. They would make up for their abstinence when
+      each rested in the security of his own castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The board being cleared, Roland was summoned, and bowing deeply to each of
+      the three he took his place, modestly standing on the opposite side of the
+      table. The Archbishop of Mayence, as the oldest of the trio, occupied the
+      middle chair; Treves, the next in age, at his right hand, and Cologne at
+      his left. A keen observer might have noticed that the deferential, yet
+      dignified, bearing of the young Prince made a favorable impression upon
+      these rulers who, when they acted together, formed a power that only
+      nominally was second in the realm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Mayence who broke the silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, some months ago turbulence in the State rendered it
+      advisable that you, as a probable nominee to the throne, should be
+      withdrawn from the capital to the greater safety which this house affords.
+      I hope it has never been suggested to you that this unavoidable detention
+      merited the harsh name of imprisonment?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never, your Lordships,&rdquo; said Roland, with perfect truth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three slightly inclined their heads, and Mayence continued:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I trust that in the carrying out of our behests you have been put
+      to no inconvenience during your residence in my Castle of Ehrenfels, but
+      if you find cause for complaint I shall see to it that the transgressor is
+      sharply punished.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, had such been the case I should at once have communicated
+      with your Lordship at Mayence. The fact that you have received no such
+      protest from me answers your question, but I should like to add emphasis
+      to this reply by saying I have met with the greatest courtesy and kindness
+      within these walls.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I speak for my brothers and myself when I assert we are all
+      gratified to hear the expression that has fallen from your lips. There was
+      sent for your perusal a document in triplicate. Have you found time to
+      read it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, my Lord, and I beg to state at once that I will sign it with
+      the greater pleasure since in any case, if called to the high position you
+      propose, I should have consulted your Lordships on every matter that I
+      deemed important enough to be worthy of your attention, and in no instance
+      could I think of setting up my own opinion against the united wisdom of
+      your Lordships.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a few minutes there ensued a whispered conversation among the three,
+      then Mayence spoke again:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Once more I voice the sentiments of my colleagues, Prince Roland,
+      when I assure you that the words you have just spoken give us the utmost
+      satisfaction. In the whole world to-day there is no prouder honor than
+      that which it is in the Electors&rsquo; power to bestow upon you, and it
+      is a blessed augury for the welfare of our country when the energy and
+      aspiration of youth in this high place associates itself with the
+      experience of age.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here he made a signal, and the aged custodian, who had been standing with
+      his back against the door, well out of earshot, for the conversation was
+      carried on in the most subdued and gentle tones, hurried forward, and
+      Mayence requested him to produce the documents entrusted to his care.
+      These were spread out before the young man, who signed each of them amidst
+      a deep silence, broken only by the scratching of the quill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Up to this point Roland had been merely a Prince of the Empire; now, to
+      all practical purposes, he was heir-apparent to the throne. This
+      distinction was delicately indicated by Mayence, who asked the attendant
+      to bring forward a chair, and then requested the young man to seat
+      himself. Roland had supposed the ceremonies at an end, but it was soon
+      evident that something further remained, for the three venerable heads
+      were again in juxtaposition, and apparently there was some whispered
+      difference as to the manner of procedure. Then Cologne, as the youngest of
+      the three, was prevailed upon to act as spokesman, and with a smile he
+      regarded the young man before he began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I reside farther than my two colleagues from your fair, if
+      turbulent, city of Frankfort, and perhaps that is one reason why I know
+      little of the town and its ways from personal observation. You are a young
+      man who, I may say, has greatly commended himself to us all, and so in
+      whatever questions I may put, you will not, I hope, imagine that there is
+      anything underneath them which does not appear on the surface.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland drew a long breath, and some of the color left his face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What in the name of Heaven is coming now,&rdquo; he said to
+      himself, &ldquo;that calls for so ominous a prelude? It must be something
+      more than usually serious. May the good Lord give me courage to face it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But outwardly he merely inclined his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have all been young ourselves, and I trust none of us forget the
+      temptations, and perhaps the dangers, that surround youth, especially when
+      highly placed. I am told that Frankfort is a gay city, and doubtless you
+      have mixed, to some extent at least, in its society.&rdquo; Here the
+      Archbishop paused, and, as he evidently expected a reply, Roland spoke:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I regret to say, my Lord, that my opportunities for social
+      intercourse have hitherto been somewhat limited. Greatly absorbed in
+      study, there has been little time for me to acquire companions, much less
+      friends.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What your Highness says, so far from being a drawback, as you seem
+      to imagine, is all to the good. It leaves the future clear of
+      complications that might otherwise cause you embarrassment.&rdquo; Here
+      the Archbishop smiled again, and Roland found himself liking the august
+      prelate. &ldquo;It was not, however, of men that I desired to speak, but
+      of women.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, is that all?&rdquo; cried the impetuous youth. &ldquo;I feared,
+      my Lord, that you were about to treat of some serious subject. So far as
+      women are concerned, I am unacquainted with any, excepting only my mother.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this the three prelates smiled in differing degrees; even the stern
+      lips of Mayence relaxing at the young man&rsquo;s confident assumption
+      that consideration of women was not a matter of importance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness clears the ground admirably for me,&rdquo; continued
+      Cologne, &ldquo;and takes a great weight from my mind, because I am
+      entrusted by my brethren with a proposal which I have found some
+      difficulty in setting forth. It is this. The choice of an Empress is one
+      of the most momentous questions that an Emperor is called upon to decide.
+      In all except the highest rank personal preference has much to do with the
+      selection of a wife, but in the case of a king do you agree with me that
+      State considerations must be kept in view?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Undoubtedly, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is a matter to which we three Electors have given the
+      weightiest consideration, finally agreeing on one whom we believe to
+      possess the necessary qualifications; a lady highly born, deeply
+      religious, enormously wealthy, and exceedingly beautiful. She is related
+      to the most noble in the land. I refer to Hildegunde Lauretta Priscilla
+      Agnes, Countess of Sayn. If there is any reason why your preference should
+      not coincide with ours, I beg you quite frankly to state it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is no reason at all, your Lordships,&rdquo; cried Roland,
+      with a deep sigh of relief on learning that his fears were so unfounded.
+      &ldquo;I shall be most happy and honored to wed the lady at any time your
+      Lordships and she may select.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then,&rdquo; said the Archbishop of Mayence, rising to his feet and
+      speaking with great solemnity, &ldquo;you are chosen as the future Emperor
+      of our land.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      X. A CALAMITOUS CONFERENCE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The prelate and his ward were met at the doors of Stolzenfels by the
+      Archbishop of Treves in person, and the welcome they received left nothing
+      to be desired in point of cordiality. There were many servants, male and
+      female, about the Castle, but no show of armed men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess was conducted to a room whose outlook fascinated her. It
+      occupied one entire floor of a square tower, with windows facing the four
+      points of the compass, and from this height she could view the Rhine up to
+      the stern old Castle of Marksburg, and down past Coblentz to her own realm
+      of Sayn, where it bordered the river, although the stronghold from which
+      she ruled this domain was hidden by the hills ending in Ehrenbreitstein.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When she descended on being called to <i>mittagessen</i>, she was
+      introduced to a sister of the Archbishop of Treves, a grave, elderly
+      woman, and to the Archbishop&rsquo;s niece, a lady about ten years older
+      than Hildegunde. Neither of these grand dames had much to say, and the
+      conversation at the meal rested chiefly with the two Archbishops. Indeed,
+      had the Countess but known it, her presence there was a great
+      disappointment to the two noblewomen, for the close relationship of the
+      younger to the Archbishop of Treves rendered it impossible that she should
+      be offered the honor about to be bestowed upon the younger and more
+      beautiful Countess von Sayn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop of Mayence, although a resident of the Castle, partook of
+      refreshment in the smallest room of the suite reserved for him, where he
+      was waited upon by his own servants and catered for by his own cook.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the great Rhine salmon, smoking hot, was placed upon the table,
+      Cologne was generous in his praise of it, and related again, for the
+      information of his host and household, the story of the English Princess
+      who had partaken of a similar fish, doubtless in this same room. Despite
+      the historical bill of fare, and the mildly exhilarating qualities of the
+      excellent Oberweseler wine, whose delicate reddish color the sentimental
+      Archbishop compared to the blush on a bride&rsquo;s cheeks, the social
+      aspect of the midday refection was overshadowed by an almost indefinable
+      sense of impending danger. In the pseudogenial conversation of the two
+      Archbishops there was something forced: the attitude of the elderly
+      hostess was one of unrelieved gloom. After a few conventional greetings to
+      her young guest, she spoke no more during the meal. Her daughter, who sat
+      beside the Countess on the opposite side of the table from his Lordship of
+      Cologne, merely answered &ldquo;Yes&rdquo; or &ldquo;No&rdquo; to the
+      comments of the lady of Sayn praising the romantic situation of the
+      Castle, its unique qualities of architecture, and the splendid outlook
+      from its battlements, eulogies which began enthusiastically enough, but
+      finally faded away into silence, chilled by a reception so unfriendly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus cast back upon her own thoughts, the girl grew more and more uneasy
+      as the peculiar features of the occasion became clearer in her own mind.
+      Here was her revered, beloved friend forcing hilarity which she knew he
+      could not feel, breaking bread and drinking wine with a colleague while
+      three thousand of his armed men peered down on the roof that sheltered
+      him, ready at a signal to pounce upon Stolzenfels like birds of prey,
+      capturing, and if necessary, slaying. She remembered the hearty cheers
+      that welcomed them on their arrival at Coblentz, yet every man who thus
+      boisterously greeted them, waving his bonnet in the air, was doubtless an
+      enemy. The very secrecy, the unknown nature of the danger, depressed her
+      more and more as she thought of it; the fierce soldiers hidden in the
+      forest, ready to leap up, burn and kill at an unknown sign from a Prince
+      of religion; the deadly weapons concealed in a Church of Christ: all this
+      grim reality of a Faith she held dear had never been hinted at by the
+      gentle nuns among whom she lived so happily for the greater part of her
+      life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last her somber hostess rose, and Hildegunde, with a sigh of relief,
+      followed her example. The Archbishop of Cologne gallantly held back the
+      curtain at the doorway, and bowed low when the three ladies passed
+      through. The silent hostess conducted her guest to a parlor on the same
+      floor as the dining-room; a parlor from which opened another door
+      connecting it with a small knights&rsquo; hall; the <i>kleine Rittersaal</i>
+      in which the Court of the Archbishops was to be held.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop&rsquo;s sister did not enter the parlor, but here took
+      formal farewell of Countess von Sayn, who turned to the sole occupant of
+      the room, her kinsman and counselor, Father Ambrose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Were you not asked to dine with us?&rdquo; she inquired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; but I thought it better to refuse. First, in case the three
+      Archbishops might have something confidential to say to you; and second,
+      because at best I am poor company at a banquet.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, you need not have been so thoughtful: first, as you say,
+      there were not three Archbishops present, but only two, and neither said
+      anything to me that all the world might not hear; second, the rest of the
+      company, the sister and the niece of Treves, were so doleful that you
+      would have proved a hilarious companion compared with them. Did my
+      guardian make any statement to you yesterday afternoon that revealed the
+      object of this coming Court?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;None whatever. Our conversation related entirely to your estate and
+      my management of it. We spoke of crops, of cultivation, and of vineyards.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have no knowledge, then, of the reason why we are summoned
+      hither?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On that subject, Hildegunde, I am as ignorant as you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I am wholly in the dark,&rdquo; murmured the
+      Countess, &ldquo;although I know nothing definite.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You surmise, in spite of your guardian&rsquo;s disclaimer, that the
+      discussion will pertain to your recovery of the town of Linz?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps; but not likely. Did you say anything of your journey to
+      Frankfort?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not a word. I understood from you that no mention should be made of
+      my visit unless his Lordship asked questions proving he was aware of it,
+      in which case I was to tell the truth.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You were quite right, Father. Did my guardian ask you to accompany
+      us to Stolzenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Assuredly, or I should not have ventured.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What reason did he give, and what instructions did he lay upon you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He thought you should have by your side some one akin to you. His
+      instructions were that in no circumstances was I to offer any remark upon
+      the proceedings. Indeed, I am not allowed to speak unless in answer to a
+      question directly put to me, and then in the fewest possible words.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hildegunde ceased her cross-examination, and seated herself by a window
+      which gave a view of the steep mountain-side behind the Castle, where,
+      sheltered by the thick, dark forest, she knew that her guardian&rsquo;s
+      men lay in ambush. She shuddered slightly, wondering what was the meaning
+      of these preparations, and in the deep silence became aware of the
+      accelerated beating of her heart. She felt but little reassured by the
+      presence of her kinsman, whose lips moved without a murmur, and whose
+      grave eyes seemed fixed on futurity, meditating the mystery of the next
+      world, and completely oblivious to the realities of the earth he
+      inhabited.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She turned her troubled gaze once more to the green forest, and after a
+      long lapse of time the dual reveries were broken by the entrance of an
+      official gorgeously appareled. This functionary bowed low, and said with
+      great solemnity:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, the Court of my Lords the Archbishops awaits your presence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The <i>kleine Rittersaal</i> occupied a fine position on the river-side
+      front of Stolzenfels, its windows giving a view of the Rhine, with the
+      strong Castle of Lahneck over-hanging the mouth of the Lahn, and the more
+      ornamental Schloss Martinsburg at the upper end of Oberlahnstein. The
+      latter edifice, built by a former Elector of Mayence, was rarely occupied
+      by the present Archbishop, but, as he sat in the central chair of the
+      Court, he had the advantage of being able to look across the river at his
+      own house should it please him to do so.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three Archbishops were standing behind the long table when the
+      Countess entered, thus acknowledging that she who came into their
+      presence, young and beautiful, was a very great lady by right of descent
+      and rank. She acknowledged their courtesy by a graceful inclination of the
+      head, and the three Princes of the Church responded each with a bow, that
+      of Mayence scarcely perceptible, that of Treves deferential and courtly,
+      that of Cologne with a friendly smile of encouragement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the center of the hall opposite the long table had been placed an
+      immense chair, taken from the grand <i>Rittersaal</i>, ornamented with
+      gilded carving, and covered in richly-colored Genoa velvet. It looked like
+      a throne, which indeed it was, used only on occasions when Royalty visited
+      the Castle. To this sumptuous seat the scarcely less gorgeous functionary
+      conducted the girl, and when she had taken her place, the three
+      Archbishops seated themselves. The glorified menial then bent himself
+      until his forehead nearly touched the floor, and silently departed. Father
+      Ambrose, his coarse, ill-cut clothes of somber color in striking contrast
+      to the richness of costume worn by the others, stood humbly beside the
+      chair that supported his kinswoman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess gave a quick glance at the Archbishop of Mayence, then
+      lowered her eyes. Cologne she had known all her life; Treves she had met
+      that day, and rather liked, although feeling she could not esteem him as
+      she did her guardian, but a thrill of fear followed her swift look at the
+      man in the center.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A face of great strength,&rdquo; she said to herself, &ldquo;but
+      his thin, straight lips, tightly compressed, seemed cruel, as well as
+      determined.&rdquo; With a flash of comprehension she understood now her
+      guardian&rsquo;s warning not to thwart him. It was easy to credit the
+      acknowledged fact that this man dominated the other two. Nevertheless,
+      when he spoke his voice was surprisingly mild.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we are met here in an hour of grave
+      anxiety. The Emperor, who has been ill for some time, is now upon his
+      death-bed, and the physicians who attend him inform me that at any moment
+      we may be called upon to elect his successor. That successor has already
+      been chosen; chosen, I may add, in an informal manner, but his selection
+      is not likely to be canceled, unless by some act of his own which would
+      cause us to reconsider our decision. Our adoption was made very recently
+      in my castle of Ehrenfels, and we are come together again in the Castle of
+      my brother Treves, not in our sacred office as Archbishops, but in our
+      secular capacity as Electors of the Empire, to determine a matter which we
+      consider of almost equal importance. It is our privilege to bestow upon
+      you the highest honor that may be conferred on any woman in the realm; the
+      position of Empress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When you have signified your acceptance of this great elevation, I
+      must put to you several questions concerning your future duties to the
+      State, and these are embodied in a document which you will be asked to
+      sign.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess did not raise her eyes. While the Archbishop was speaking the
+      color flamed up in her cheeks, but faded away again, and her guardian, who
+      watched her very intently across the table, saw her face become so pale
+      that he feared she was about to faint. However, she rallied, and at last
+      looked up, not at her dark-browed questioner, but at the Archbishop of
+      Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I not know,&rdquo; she said, in a voice scarcely audible,
+      &ldquo;who is my future husband?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely, surely,&rdquo; replied her guardian soothingly, &ldquo;but
+      the Elector of Mayence is our spokesman here, and you must address your
+      question to his Lordship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She now turned her frightened eyes upon Mayence, whose brow had become
+      slightly ruffled at this interruption, and whose lips were more firmly
+      closed. He sat there imperturbable, refusing the beseechment of her eyes,
+      and thus forced her to repeat her question, though to him it took another
+      form.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, who is to be the next Emperor?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Countess von Sayn, I fear that in modifying my opening address to
+      accord with the comprehension of a girl but recently emerged from convent
+      life, I have led you into an error. The Court of Electors is not convened
+      for the purpose of securing your consent, but with the duty of imposing
+      upon you a command. It is not for you to ask questions, but to answer
+      them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean that I am to marry this unknown man, whether I will or no?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is my meaning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl sat back in her chair, and the moisture that had gathered in her
+      eyes disappeared as if licked up by the little flame that burned in their
+      depths.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Ask your questions, and I will
+      answer them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before I put any question, I must have your consent to my first
+      proposition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is quite unnecessary, my Lord. When you hear my answer to your
+      questions, you will very speedily withdraw your first proposition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Elector of Treves, who had been shifting uneasily in his chair, now
+      leaned forward, and spoke in an ingratiating manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Countess, you are a neighbor of mine, although you live on the
+      opposite side of the river, and I am honored in receiving you as my guest.
+      As guest and neighbor, I appeal to you on our behalf: be assured that we
+      wish nothing but your very greatest good and happiness.&rdquo; The spark
+      in her eyes died down, and they beamed kindly on the courtier Elector.
+      &ldquo;You see before you three old bachelors, quite unversed in the ways
+      of women. If anything that has been said offends you, pray overlook our
+      default, for I assure you, on behalf of my colleagues and myself, that any
+      one of us would bitterly regret uttering a single word to cause you
+      disquietude.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My disquietude, my Lord, is caused by the refusal to utter the
+      single name I have asked for. Am I a peasant girl to be handed over to the
+      hind that makes the highest offer?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so. No such thought entered our minds. The name is, of course,
+      a secret at the present moment, and I quite appreciate the reluctance of
+      my Lord of Mayence to mention it, but I think in this instance an
+      exception may safely be made, and I now appeal to his Lordship to
+      enlighten the Countess.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence answered indifferently:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not agree with you, but we are here three Electors of equal
+      power, and two can always outvote one.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Elector of Cologne smiled slightly; he had seen this comedy enacted
+      before, and never objected to it. The carrying of some unimportant point
+      in opposition to their chief always gave Treves a certain sense of
+      independence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord of Cologne,&rdquo; said the latter, bending forward and
+      addressing the man at the other end of the table &ldquo;do you not agree
+      with me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly,&rdquo; replied Cologne, with some curtness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case,&rdquo; continued Treves, &ldquo;I take it upon myself
+      to announce to you, Madam, that the young man chosen for our future ruler
+      is Prince Roland, only son of the dying Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hands of the Countess nervously clutched the soft velvet on the arms
+      of her chair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you,&rdquo; she said, addressing Treves, and speaking as
+      calmly as though she were Mayence himself. &ldquo;May I ask you if this
+      marriage was proposed to the young man?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves looked up nervously at the stern face of Mayence, who nodded to
+      him, as much as to say:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are doing well; go on.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Treves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was my name concealed from him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Had he ever heard of me before?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely,&rdquo; replied the diplomatic Treves, &ldquo;for the fame
+      of the Countess von Sayn has traveled farther than her modesty will admit.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did he agree?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Instantly; joyfully, it seemed to me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In any case, he has never seen me,&rdquo; continued the Countess.
+      &ldquo;Did he make any inquiry, whether I was tall or short, old or young,
+      rich or poor, beautiful or ugly?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He seemed very well satisfied with our choice.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves had his elbows on the table, leaning forward with open palms
+      supporting his chin. He had spoken throughout in the most ingratiating
+      manner, his tones soft and honeyed. He was so evidently pleased with his
+      own diplomacy that even the eye of the stern Mayence twinkled maliciously
+      when the girl turned impulsively toward the other end of the table, and
+      cried:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Guardian, tell me the truth! I know this young man accepted me as
+      if I were a sack of grain, his whole mind intent on one thing only: to
+      secure for himself the position of Emperor. Is it not so?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not so, Countess,&rdquo; said Cologne solemnly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, it is true, made no stipulation regarding you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was sure of it. Any Gretchen in Germany would have done just as
+      well. I was merely part of the bargain he was compelled to make with you,
+      and now I announce to the Court that no power on earth will induce me to
+      marry Prince Roland. I claim the right of my womanhood to wed only the man
+      whom I love, and who loves me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence gave utterance to an exclamation that might be coarsely described
+      as a snort of contempt. The Elector of Treves was leaning back in his
+      chair discomfited by her abrupt desertion of him. The Elector of Cologne
+      now leaned forward, dismayed at the turn affairs had taken, deep anxiety
+      visible on his brow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Countess von Sayn,&rdquo; he began, and thus his ward realized how
+      deeply she had offended, &ldquo;in all my life I never met any young man
+      who impressed me so favorably as Prince Roland of Germany. If I possessed
+      a daughter whom I dearly loved, I could wish her no better fortune than to
+      marry so honest a youth as he. The very point you make against him should
+      have told most strongly in his favor with a young girl. My reading of his
+      character is that so far as concerns the love you spoke of, he knows as
+      little of it as yourself, and thus he agreed to our proposal with a
+      seeming indifference which you entirely misjudge. If you, then, have any
+      belief in my goodwill towards you, in my deep anxiety for your welfare and
+      happiness, I implore you to agree to the suggestion my Lord of Mayence has
+      made. You speak of love knowing nothing concerning it. I call to your
+      remembrance the fact that one noble lady of your race may have foregone
+      the happiness that love perhaps brings, in her desire for the advancement
+      of one whom she loved so truly that she chose for her guide the more
+      subdued but steadier star of duty. The case is presented to you, my dear,
+      in different form, and I feel assured that duty and love will shine
+      together.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the venerable Archbishop spoke with such deep earnestness, in a voice
+      she loved so well, the girl buried her face in her hands, and he could see
+      the tears trickle between her fingers. A silence followed her guardian&rsquo;s
+      appeal, disturbed only by the agitated breathing of Hildegunde.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cold voice of the Elector of Mayence broke the stillness, like a
+      breath from a glazier:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you consent, Madam?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; gasped the girl, her shoulders quivering with emotion,
+      but she did not look up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear that the object of this convocation was like to be forgotten
+      in the gush of sentiment issuing from both sides of me. This is a business
+      meeting, and not a love-feast. Will you do me the courtesy, Madam, of
+      raising your head and answering my question?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl dashed the tears from her eyes, and sat up straight, grasping
+      with nervous hands the arms of the throne, as if to steady herself against
+      the coming ordeal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I scarcely heard what you said. Do you consent to marry Prince
+      Roland of Germany?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have consented,&rdquo; she replied firmly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you use your influence with him that he may carry out the
+      behests of the three Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, if the behests are for the good of the country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot accept any qualifications, therefore I repeat my question.
+      Will you use your influence with him that he may carry out the behests of
+      the three Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can have no influence with such a man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Answer my question, Madam.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Say yes, Hildegunde,&rdquo; pleaded Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She turned to him swimming eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Guardian, Guardian!&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;I have done
+      everything I can, and all for you; all for you. I cannot stand any more.
+      This is torture to me. Let me go home, and another day when I am calmer I
+      will answer your questions!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The perturbed Archbishop sat back again with a deep sigh. The ignorance of
+      women with which his colleague of Treves had credited all three was being
+      amazingly dispelled. He could not understand why this girl should show
+      such emotion at the thought of marrying the heir to the throne, when
+      assured the young man was all that any reasonable woman could desire.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, I pray you give your attention to me,&rdquo; said the
+      unimpassioned voice of Mayence. &ldquo;I have listened to your
+      conversation with my colleagues, and the patience I exhibited will, I
+      hope, be credited to me. This matter of business&rdquo;&mdash;he
+      emphasized the word&mdash;&ldquo;must be settled to-day, and to clear away
+      all misapprehension, I desire to say that your guardian has really no
+      influence on this matter. It was settled before you came into the room.
+      You are merely allowed a choice of two outcomes: first, marriage with
+      Prince Roland; second, imprisonment in Pfalz Castle, situated in the
+      middle of the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is that?&rdquo; demanded the Countess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am tired of repeating my statements.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You would imprison me&mdash;me, a Countess of Sayn?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire
+      bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by
+      Rhine robbers as well.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Madam. A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your
+      ancestors.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not true,&rdquo; cried the girl, in blazing wrath. &ldquo;&lsquo;Twas
+      the Emperor Rudolph who hanged him; the same Emperor that chastised an
+      Archbishop of Mayence, and brought him, cringing, to his knees, begging
+      for pardon, which the Emperor contemptuously flung to him. You dare not
+      imprison me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Refuse to marry Prince Roland, and learn,&rdquo; said the
+      Archbishop very quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl sprang to her feet, a-quiver with anger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do refuse! Prince Roland has hoodwinked the three of you! He is a
+      libertine and a brawler, consorting with the lowest in the cellars of
+      Frankfort; a liar and a thief, and not a brave thief at that, but a
+      cutthroat who holds his sword to the breast of an unarmed merchant while
+      he filches from him his gold. Added to that, a drunkard as his father is;
+      and, above all, a hypocrite, as his father is not, yet clever enough, with
+      all his vices, to cozen three men whose vile rule has ruined Frankfort,
+      and left the broad Rhine empty of its life-giving commerce;&rdquo; she
+      waved her hand toward the vacant river.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop of Cologne was the first to rise, horror-stricken.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The girl is mad!&rdquo; he murmured.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves rose also, but Mayence sat still, a sour smile on his lips, yet a
+      twinkle of admiration in his eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, my poor Guardian, I am not mad,&rdquo; she cried, regarding him
+      with a smile, her wrath subsiding as quickly as it had risen. &ldquo;What
+      I say is true, and it may be that our meeting, turbulent as it has been,
+      will prevent you from making a great mistake. He whom you would put on the
+      throne is not the man you think.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear ward!&rdquo; cried Cologne, &ldquo;how can you make such
+      accusations against him? What should a girl living in seclusion as you
+      live, know of what is passing in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seems strange, Guardian, but it is true, nevertheless. Sit down
+      again, I beg of you, and you, my Lord of Treves. Even my Lord of Mayence
+      will, I think, comprehend my abhorrence when such a proposal was made to
+      me, and I hope, my Lord, you will forgive my outburst of anger just now.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She heard the trembling Treves mutter:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mayence never forgives.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Father Ambrose, come forward.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why?&rdquo; asked Ambrose, waking from his reverie.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell them your experiences in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not allowed to speak,&rdquo; objected the monk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Speak, speak!&rdquo; cried Cologne. &ldquo;What, sir, have you had
+      to do with this girl&rsquo;s misleading?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought,&rdquo; he said wistfully to his kinswoman, &ldquo;that I
+      was not to mention my visit to Frankfort unless my Lord the Archbishop
+      brought up the subject.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you not been listening to these proceedings?&rdquo; cried the
+      girl impatiently. &ldquo;The subject is brought up before three
+      Archbishops, instead of before one. Tell their Lordships what you know of
+      Prince Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose, with a deep sigh, began his recital, to which Treves and
+      Cologne listened with ever-increasing amazement, while the sullen Mayence
+      sat back in his chair, face imperturbable, but the thin lips closing
+      firmer and firmer as the narrative went on.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the monologue ended, his Reverence of Cologne was the first to speak:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In the name of Heaven, why did you not tell me all this yesterday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose looked helplessly at his kinswoman, but made no reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I forbade him, my Lord,&rdquo; said the girl proudly, and for the
+      first time addressing him by a formal title, as if from now on he was to
+      be reckoned with her enemies. &ldquo;I alone am responsible for the
+      journey to Frankfort and its consequences, whatever they may be. You
+      invoked the name of Heaven just now, my Lord, and I would have you know
+      that I am convinced Heaven itself intervened on my behalf to expose the
+      real character of Prince Roland, who has successfully deluded three men
+      like yourselves, supposed to be astute!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop turned upon her sorrowful eyes, troubled yet kindly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Countess,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I have not ventured to
+      censure you; nevertheless I am, or have been, your guardian, and should, I
+      think, have been consulted before you committed yourself to an action that
+      threatens disaster to our plans.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl replied, still with the hauteur so lately assumed:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not dispute my wardship, and have more than once thanked you
+      for your care of me, but at this crisis of my life&mdash;a crisis
+      transforming me instantly from a girl to a woman&mdash;you fail me, seeing
+      me here at bay. I wished to spend a month or two at the capital city, but
+      before troubling you with such a request I determined to learn whether or
+      not the state of Frankfort was as disturbed as rumor alleged. Finding
+      matters there to be hopeless, the project of a visit was at once
+      abandoned, and knowing nothing of the honor about to be conferred on
+      Prince Roland, I thought it best to keep what had been discovered
+      regarding his character a secret between the Reverend Father and myself. I
+      dare say an attempt will be made to cast doubt on the Reverend Father&rsquo;s
+      story, and perhaps my three judges may convince themselves of its
+      falseness, but they cannot convince me, and I tell you finally and
+      formally that no power on earth will induce me to marry a marauder and a
+      thief!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This announcement effectually silenced the one friend she possessed among
+      the three. Mayence slowly turned his head, and looked upon the colleague
+      at his right, as much as to say, &ldquo;Do you wish to add your quota to
+      this inconsequential talk?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves, at this silent appeal, leaned forward, and spoke to the perturbed
+      monk, who knew that, in some way he did not quite understand, affairs were
+      drifting towards a catastrophe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Father Ambrose,&rdquo; began the Elector of Treves, &ldquo;would
+      you kindly tell us the exact date when this encounter on the bridge took
+      place?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Saint Cyrille&rsquo;s Day,&rdquo; replied Father Ambrose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And during the night of that day you were incarcerated in the
+      cellar among the wine-casks?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would it surprise you to know, Father Ambrose, that during Saint
+      Cyrille&rsquo;s Day, and for many days previous to that date, Prince
+      Roland was a close prisoner in his Lordship of Mayence&rsquo;s strong
+      Castle of Ehrenfels, and that it was quite impossible for you to have met
+      him in Frankfort, or anywhere else?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nevertheless, I did meet him,&rdquo; persisted Father Ambrose, with
+      the quiet obstinacy of a mild man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where did you lodge in Frankfort, Father?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At the Benedictine Monastery in Sachsenhausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do the good brethren supply their guests with a potent wine?
+      Frankfort is, and always has been, the chief market of that exhilarating
+      but illusion-creating beverage.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cheeks of the Countess flushed crimson at this insinuation on her
+      kinsman&rsquo;s sobriety. The old monk&rsquo;s hand rested on the arm of
+      her throne, and she placed her own hand upon his as if to encourage him to
+      resent the implied slander. After all, they were two Sayns hard pressed by
+      these ruthless potentates. But Ambrose answered mildly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It may be that the monastery contains wine, my Lord, and doubtless
+      the wine is good, but during my visit I did not taste it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cross-examination at an end, the Lord of Mayence spoke scarcely above a
+      whisper, a trace of weariness in his manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lords,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we have wandered from the subject.
+      The romance by Father Ambrose is but indifferently interesting, and
+      nothing at all to the point. Even a child may understand what has
+      happened, for it is merely a case of mistaken identity, and my sympathy
+      goes out entirely towards the unknown; a man who knew his own mind, and
+      being naturally indignant at an interference both persistent and uncalled
+      for, quite rightly immured the meddler among the casks, probably shrewd
+      enough to see that this practicer of temperance would not interfere with
+      their integrity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, stand up!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess seemed inclined to disobey this curt order, but a beseeching
+      look from her now thoroughly frightened guardian changed her intention,
+      and she rose to her feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, the greatest honor which it is in the power of this Empire
+      to bestow upon a woman has been proffered to you, and rejected with
+      unnecessary heat. I beg therefore, to inform you, that in the judgment of
+      this Court you are considered unworthy of the exalted position which,
+      before knowing your true character, it was intended you should fill. The
+      various calumnies you have poured upon the innocent head of Prince Roland
+      amount in effect to high treason.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon, my Lord!&rdquo; cried the Archbishop of Cologne, &ldquo;your
+      contention will hold neither in law nor in fact. High treason is an
+      offense that can be committed only against the realm as a whole, or
+      against its ruler in person. Prince Roland is not yet Emperor of Germany,
+      and however much we may regret the language used in his disparagement, it
+      has arisen through a misunderstanding quite patent to us all. A good but
+      dreamy man made a mistake, which, however deplorable, has been put forward
+      with a sincerity that none of us can question; indeed, it was the
+      intention of Father Ambrose to keep his supposed knowledge a secret, and
+      you both saw with what evident reluctance he spoke when commanded to do so
+      by my colleague of Treves. Whatever justice there may be in disciplining
+      Father Ambrose, there is none at all for exaggerated censure upon my lady,
+      the Countess of Sayn, and before pronouncing a further censure I beg your
+      Lordship to take into consideration the circumstances of the case, by
+      which a young girl, without any previous warning or preparation, is called
+      upon suddenly to make the most momentous decision of her life. I say it is
+      to her ladyship&rsquo;s credit that she refused the highest station in the
+      land in the interests of what she supposes to be, however erroneously, the
+      cause of honesty, sobriety, and, I may add, of Christianity; qualities for
+      which we three men should stand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord,&rdquo; objected Treves, &ldquo;we meet here as temporal
+      Princes, and not as Archbishops of the Church.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that, my brother of Treves, and my appeal is to the temporal
+      law. Prince Roland, despite his high lineage, is merely a citizen of the
+      Empire, and a subject of his Majesty, the Emperor. It is therefore
+      impossible that the crime of treason can be committed against him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During this protest and discussion the Elector of Mayence had leaned back
+      again in his usual attitude of tired indifference; his keen eyes almost
+      closed. When he spoke he made no reference to what either of his two
+      confrères had said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; he began, without raising his voice, &ldquo;it is the
+      sentence of this Court that you shall be imprisoned during its pleasure in
+      the Castle of Pfalzgrafenstein, which stands on a rock in the middle of
+      the Rhine. Under the guardianship of the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck, who will
+      be responsible for your safe keeping, I hope you will listen to the devout
+      counsel of his excellent wife to such effect that when next you are
+      privileged to meet a Court so highly constituted as this you may be better
+      instructed regarding the language with which it should be addressed. You
+      are permitted to take with you two waiting-women, chosen by yourself from
+      your own household, but all communication with the outside world is
+      forbidden. You said something to the effect that this Court dared not
+      pronounce such sentence against you, but if you possessed that wisdom you
+      so conspicuously lack, you might have surmised that a power which ventured
+      to imprison the future Emperor of this land would not hesitate to place in
+      durance a mere Countess von Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess bowed her head slightly, and without protest sat down again.
+      The Elector of Cologne arose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, I raised a point of law which has been ignored.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is the proper time to raise it,&rdquo; replied Mayence,
+      &ldquo;and you shall be instantly satisfied. This Court is competent to
+      give its decision upon any point of law. If my Lord of Treves agrees with
+      me, your objection is disallowed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I agree,&rdquo; said the Elector of Treves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord of Cologne,&rdquo; said Mayence, turning towards the person
+      addressed, &ldquo;the decision of the Court is against you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hildegunde was already learning a lesson. Although dazed by the verdict,
+      she could not but admire the quiet, conversational tone adopted by the
+      three men before her, as compared with her own late vehemence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The decision of the Court is not unexpected,&rdquo; said Cologne,
+      &ldquo;and I regret that I am compelled to appeal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To whom will you appeal?&rdquo; inquired Mayence mildly, &ldquo;The
+      Emperor, as you know, is quite unfit for the transaction of public
+      business, and even if such were not the case, would hesitate to overturn a
+      decision given by a majority of this Court.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I appeal,&rdquo; replied Cologne, &ldquo;to a power that even
+      Emperors must obey; the power of physical force.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean,&rdquo; said Mayence sadly, &ldquo;to the three thousand
+      men concealed in the forest behind this house in which you are an honored
+      guest?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Elector of Cologne was so taken aback by this almost whispered remark
+      that he was momentarily struck speechless. A sudden pallor swept the usual
+      ruddiness from his face. The Lord of Mayence gently inclined his head as
+      if awaiting an answer, and when it did not come, went on impassively:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I may inform you, my Lord, that my army occupies the capital city
+      of Frankfort, able and ready to quell any disturbance that may be caused
+      by the announcement of the Emperor&rsquo;s death, but there are still
+      plenty of seasoned troops ready to uphold the decisions of this Court.
+      When your spies scoured the country in the forests, and along the river
+      almost to the gates of my city of Mayence, they appeared to labor under
+      the illusion that I could move my soldiers only overland. Naturally, they
+      met no sign of such an incursion, because I had requisitioned a hundred
+      barges which I found empty in the river Main by Frankfort. These were
+      floated down the Main to Mayence, and there received their quota of a
+      hundred men each. The night being dark they came down the Rhine, it seems,
+      quite unobserved, and are now concealed in the mouth of the river Lahn
+      directly opposite this Castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When my flag is hoisted on the staff of the main tower this
+      flotilla will be at the landing below us within half an hour. You
+      doubtless have made similar arrangements for bringing your three thousand
+      down upon Stolzenfels, but the gates of this Castle are now closed.
+      Indeed, Stolzenfels was put in condition to withstand a siege very shortly
+      after you and your ward entered it, and it is garrisoned by two hundred
+      fighting men, kindly provided at my suggestion by my brother of Treves. I
+      doubt if its capture is possible, even though you gave the signal, which
+      we will not allow. Of course, your plan of capturing Treves and myself was
+      a good one could it be carried out, for a man in jeopardy will always
+      compromise, and as I estimate you are in that position I should be glad to
+      know what arrangement you propose.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop of Cologne did not reply, but stood with bent head and
+      frowning brow. It was the Countess von Sayn who, rising, spoke:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord Archbishop of Mayence,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;I could
+      never forgive myself if through action of mine a fatal struggle took place
+      between my countrymen. I have no desire to enact the part of Helen of
+      Troy. I am therefore ready and willing to be imprisoned, or to marry
+      Prince Roland of Frankfort, whichever alternative you command, so long as
+      no disadvantage comes to my friend, his Lordship of Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; said Mayence suavely, &ldquo;there are not <i>now</i>
+      two alternatives, as you suppose.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In such case, your Highness, I betake myself instantly to Pfalz
+      Castle, and I ask that my guardian be allowed to escort me on the journey.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, your determination is approved, and your request granted,
+      but, as the business for which the three Electors were convened is not yet
+      accomplished, I request you to withdraw until such time as an agreement
+      has been arrived at. Father Ambrose is permitted to accompany you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gallant Elector of Treves sprang at once to his feet, pleading for the
+      privilege of conducting the Countess to the apartments of his sister and
+      her daughter. As the door to the ante-room opened the Elector of Cologne,
+      whose eyes followed his departing ward, did not fail to observe that the
+      lobby was thronged with armed men, and he realized now, if he had not done
+      so from Mayence&rsquo;s observation, how completely he was trapped. Even
+      had a hundred thousand of his soldiers stood in readiness on the hills, it
+      was impossible for him to give the signal bringing them to his rescue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A few minutes later the Elector of Treves returned, and took his place at
+      Mayence&rsquo;s right hand. The latter spoke as though the conference had
+      been unanimous and amiable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now that we three are alone together, I think we shall discuss our
+      problems under a feeling of less apprehension if the small army in the
+      forest is bade God-speed on its way to Cologne. Such being the case,&rdquo;
+      he went on, turning to Cologne, &ldquo;would you kindly write an order to
+      that effect to your commander. Inform him that we three Electors wish to
+      review your troops from the northern balcony, and bid them file past from
+      the hills to the river road. They are to cross the Moselle by the old
+      bridge, and so return to your city. You will perhaps pledge faith that no
+      signal will be made to your officers as they pass us. I make this appeal
+      with the greater confidence since you are well aware three thousand men
+      would but destroy themselves in any attempt to capture this Castle, with
+      an army of ten thousand on their flank to annihilate them. Do you agree?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I agree,&rdquo; replied Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He wrote out the order required, and handed it to Mayence, who scrutinized
+      the document with some care before passing it on to Treves. Mayence
+      addressed Cologne in his blandest tones:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would you kindly instruct our colleague how to get that message
+      safely into the hands of your commander.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If he will have it sent to the head of my small escort, ordering
+      him to take it directly up the hill behind this Castle until he comes to
+      my sentinels, whom he knows personally, they will allow him to pass
+      through, and deliver my written command to the officer in charge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This being done, and Treves once more returned, Mayence said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sure we all realize that the Countess von Sayn, however
+      admirable in other respects, possesses an independent mind and a
+      determined will rendering her quite unsuited for the station we intended
+      her to occupy. I think her guardian must be convinced now, even though he
+      had little suspicion of it before, that this lady would not easily be
+      influenced by any considerations we might place before her. The
+      regrettable incidents of this conference have probably instilled into her
+      mind a certain prejudice against us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here, for the first time, the Elector of Cologne laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is highly probable, my Lord,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and, indeed,
+      your moderate way of putting the case is unanswerable. Her ladyship as an
+      Empress under our influence is out of the question. I therefore make a
+      proposal with some confidence, quite certain it will please you both. I
+      venture to nominate for the position of Empress that very demure and
+      silent lady who is niece of my brother the Elector of Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves strangled a gasp in its birth, but could not suppress the light of
+      ambition that suddenly leaped into his eyes. The elevation of his widowed
+      sister&rsquo;s child to the Imperial throne was an advantage so
+      tremendous, and came about so unexpectedly, that for the moment his slow
+      brain was numbed by the glorious prospect. It seemed incredible that
+      Cologne had actually put forward such a proposition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The eyes of Mayence veiled themselves almost to shutting point, but in no
+      other manner did emotion show. Like a flash his alert mind saw the full
+      purport of the bombshell Cologne had so carelessly tossed between himself
+      and his henchman. Cologne, having lost everything, had now proved clever
+      enough to set by the ears those who overruled him by their united vote. If
+      this girl were made Empress she would be entirely under the influence of
+      her uncle, of whose household she had been a pliant member ever since
+      childhood. Yet what was Mayence to do? Should he object to the nomination,
+      he would at once obliterate the unswerving loyalty of Treves, and if this
+      happened, Treves and Cologne, joining, would outvote him, and his
+      objection would prove futile. He would enrage Treves without carrying his
+      own point, and he knew that he held his position only because of the
+      dog-like fidelity of the weaker man. Slow anger rose in his heart as he
+      pictured the conditions of the future. Whatever influence he sought to
+      exert upon the Emperor by the indirect assistance of the Empress, must be
+      got at through the complacency of Treves, who would gradually come to
+      appreciate his own increased importance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All this passed through the mind of Mayence, and his decision had been
+      arrived at before Treves recovered his composure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It gives me great pleasure,&rdquo; said the Elector of Mayence,
+      firmly suppressing the malignancy of his glance towards the man seated on
+      his left,&mdash;&ldquo;it gives me very great pleasure indeed to second so
+      admirable a nomination, the more so that I am thus permitted to offer my
+      congratulations to an esteemed colleague and a valued friend. My Lord of
+      Treves, I trust that you will make this nomination unanimous, for, to my
+      delight, his Lordship of Cologne anticipated, by a few moments the
+      proposal I was about to submit to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord,&rdquo; stammered Treves, finding his voice with
+      difficulty, &ldquo;I&mdash;I&mdash;of course will agree to whatever the
+      Court decides. I&mdash;I thank you, my Lord, and you too, my brother of
+      Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then,&rdquo; cried Mayence, almost joyfully, &ldquo;the task for
+      which we are convened is accomplished, and I declare this Court adjourned.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He rose from his chair. The overjoyed Prince at his right took no thought
+      of the fact that their chairman had not called upon the lady that she
+      might receive the decision of the conclave and answer the questions to be
+      put to her, but Cologne perceived the omission, and knew that from that
+      moment Mayence would set his subtility at work to nullify the nomination.
+      Even though his bombshell had not exploded, and the two other Electors
+      were apparently greater friends than ever, Cologne had achieved his
+      immediate object, and was satisfied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Through the open windows came the sound of the steady tramping of
+      disciplined men, and the metallic clash of armor and arms in transit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now,&rdquo; cried Mayence, &ldquo;we will enjoy the advantage
+      of reviewing the brave troops of Cologne. Lead the way, my Lord of Treves.
+      You know the Castle better than we do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The proud Treves, treading on air, guided his guests to the northern
+      balcony.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XI. GOLD GALORE THAT TAKES TO ITSELF WINGS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In the thick darkness Roland paced up and down the east bank of the Rhine
+      at a spot nearly midway between Assmannshausen and Ehrenfels. The night
+      was intensely silent, its stillness merely accentuated by the gentle
+      ripple of the water current against the barge&rsquo;s blunt nose, which
+      pointed upstream. Standing motionless as a statue, the massive figure of
+      Captain Blumenfels appeared in deeper blackness against the inky hills on
+      the other side of the Rhine. Long sweeps lay parallel to the bulwarks of
+      the barge, and stalwart men were at their posts, waiting the word of
+      command to handle these exaggerated oars, in defiance of wind and tide. On
+      this occasion, however, the tide only would be against them, for the
+      strong southern breeze was wholly favorable. Their voyage that night would
+      be short, but strenuous; merely crossing the river, and tying up against
+      the opposite bank; but the Rhine swirled powerfully round the rock of
+      Ehrenfels above them, and the men at the sweeps must pull vigorously if
+      they were not to be carried down into premature danger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland, who when they left Frankfort was in point of time the youngest
+      member of the guild, now seemed, if one could distinguish him through the
+      gloom of the night, to have become years older, and there was an added
+      dignity in his bearing, for, although now but a potential freebooter, he
+      had received assurance that he would be eventually elected Emperor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had sent word that morning to Greusel at the Golden Anker, bidding him
+      get together his men, and lead them up to the barge not later than an hour
+      before the moon rose, for Roland was anxious to reach the other side of
+      the Rhine unseen from either shore. He cautioned Greusel to make his march
+      a silent one, and this order Joseph at first found some difficulty in
+      carrying out, but in any case he need have entertained no fear. The strong
+      red wine of Assmannshausen is a potent liquid, and the inhabitants of the
+      town were accustomed to song and laughter on the one street of the place
+      at all hours of the night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When they arrived, the men were quiet enough, and speedily stowed
+      themselves away in their quarters at the stern of the barge, whereupon
+      Roland, the last to spring aboard, waved his hand at the captain to cast
+      off. The nose of the boat was shoved away from land, and then the powerful
+      sweeps dipped into the water. Slowly but surely she made her way across
+      the river; silent and invisible from either bank. The current, however,
+      swept them down opposite the twinkling lights of Assmannshausen, after
+      which, in the more tranquil waters of the western shore, they rowed
+      steadily upstream for about half a league, and then, with ropes tied round
+      trees growing at the water&rsquo;s edge, laid up for the remainder of the
+      night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland now counseled his company to enjoy what sleep was possible, as they
+      would be roused at the first glint of daybreak; so, with great
+      good-nature, each man wrapped himself up in his cloak and lay down on the
+      cabin floor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the eastern sky became gray, the slumberers were awakened, and a
+      ration of bread and wine served to each. The captain already had received
+      his instructions, and the men discarding their cloaks, followed their
+      leader into the still gloomy forest. Here, with as little noise as might
+      be, they climbed the steep wooded hill, and arriving at something almost
+      like a path, a hundred yards up from the river, they turned to the right,
+      and so marched, no man speaking above a whisper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The forest became lighter and lighter, and at last Roland, holding up his
+      hand to sign caution, turned to the left from the path, and farther up
+      into the unbroken forest. They had traversed perhaps a league when another
+      silent order brought them to a standstill, and peering through the trees
+      to the east, the men caught glimpses of the grand, gray battlements of
+      that famous stronghold, Rheinstein, seeing at the corner nearest them a
+      square tower, next a machicolated curtain of wall, and a larger square
+      tower almost as high as the first hanging over the precipice that
+      descended to the Rhine. Inside this impregnable enclosure rose the great
+      bulk of the Castle itself, and near at hand the massive square keep, with
+      an octagonal turret on the southeast corner, the top of which was the
+      highest point of the stronghold, although a round tower rising directly
+      over the Rhine was not much lower.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland, advancing through the trees, but motioning his men to remain where
+      they were, peered across to the battlements and down at the entrance gate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Baron von Hohenfels sat so secure in his elevated robber&rsquo;s nest,
+      which he deemed invincible&mdash;and, indeed, the cliff on which it stood,
+      nearly a hundred yards high, made it so if approached from the Rhine&mdash;that
+      he kept only one man on watch, and this sentinel was stationed on the
+      elevated platform of the round tower. Roland saw him yawn wearily as he
+      leaned against his tall lance, and was glad to learn that even one man
+      kept guard, for at first he feared that all within the Castle were asleep,
+      the round tower, until Roland had shifted his position to the north, being
+      blotted out by the nearer square donjon keep. Now satisfied, he signaled
+      his men to sit down, which they did. He himself took up a position behind
+      a tree, where, unseen, he could watch the man with the lance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So indolent was the sentry that Roland began to fear the barge would pass
+      by unnoticed. Not for months had any sailing craft appeared on the river,
+      and doubtless the warden regarded his office as both useless and
+      wearisome. Brighter and brighter became the eastern sky, and at last a
+      tinge of red appeared above the hills across the silent Rhine. Suddenly
+      the guardian straightened up, then, shading his eyes with his right hand,
+      he leaned over the battlements, peering to the south. A moment later the
+      stillness was rent by a lusty shout, and the man disappeared as if he had
+      fallen through a trap-door. Presently the notes of a bugle echoed within
+      the walls, followed by clashes of armor and the buzzing sound of men, as
+      though a wasp&rsquo;s nest had been disturbed. Half a dozen came into
+      sight on top of the various towers and battlements, glanced at the river,
+      and vanished as hastily as the sentinel had done.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last the gates came ponderously open, and the first three men to emerge
+      were on horseback, one of them hastily getting into an outer garment, but
+      the well-trained horses, who knew their business quite as thoroughly as
+      their riders, for they were accustomed to plunge into the river if any
+      barge disobeyed the order commanding it to halt, turned from the gate, and
+      dashed down the steep road that descended through the forest. The
+      men-at-arms poured forth with sword or pike, and in turn went out of
+      sight. They appeared to be leaderless, dashing forward in no particular
+      formation, yet, like the horses, they knew their business. All this
+      turmoil was not without its effect on Roland&rsquo;s following, who edged
+      forward on hands and knees to discover what was going on, everyone
+      breathless with excitement; but they saw their leader cool and motionless,
+      counting on his fingers the number of men who passed out, for he knew
+      exactly how many fighters the Castle contained.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not yet, not yet!&rdquo; he whispered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Finally three lordly individuals strode out; officers their more
+      resplendent clothing indicated them to be, and the trio followed the
+      others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ha!&rdquo; cried Roland, &ldquo;old Baron Hugo drank too deeply
+      last night to be so early astir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was speaking aloud now.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take warning from that, my lads, and never allow wine to interfere
+      with business. Follow me, but cautiously, one after the other in single
+      file, and look to your footing. &lsquo;Tis perilous steep between here and
+      the gate;&rdquo; and, indeed, so they found it, but all reached the level
+      forecourt in safety, and so through the open portal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Close and bar those gates,&rdquo; was the next command, instantly
+      obeyed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Down the stone steps of the Castle, puffing and grunting, came a gigantic,
+      obese individual, his face bloated with excess, his eyes bleary with the
+      lees of too much wine. He was struggling into his doublet, assisted by a
+      terrified old valet, and was swearing most deplorably. Seeing the crowd at
+      the gate, and half-blindly mistaking them for his own men, he roared:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you there, you hounds? To the river, every man of you, and
+      curse your leprous, indolent souls! Why in the fiend&rsquo;s name&mdash;&rdquo;
+      But here he came to an abrupt stop on the lowest step, the sting of a
+      sword&rsquo;s point at his throat, and now, out of breath, his purple face
+      became mottled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good morning to you, Baron Hugo von Hohenfels. These men whom you
+      address so coarsely obey no orders but mine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And who, imp of Satan, are you?&rdquo; sputtered the old man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By profession a hangman. From our fastnesses in the hills, seeing a
+      barge float down the river, we thought it likely you would leave the
+      Castle undefended, and so came in to execute the Prince of Robbers.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baron was quaking like a huge jelly. It was evident that, although
+      noted for his cruelty, he was at heart a coward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&mdash;you&mdash;you&mdash;&rdquo; he stammered, &ldquo;are
+      outlaws! You are outlaws from the Hunsruck.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How clever of you, Baron, to recognize us at once. Now you know
+      what to expect. Greusel, unwind the rope I gave you last night. I will
+      show you its purpose.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel did as he was requested without comment, but Ebearhard approached
+      closely to his chief, and whispered:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why resort to violence? We have no quarrel with this elephant.
+      &lsquo;Tis his gold we want, and to hang him is a waste of time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hush, Ebearhard,&rdquo; commanded Roland sternly. &ldquo;The
+      greater includes the less. I know this man, and am taking the quickest way
+      to his treasure-house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard fell back, but by this time the useful Greusel had made a loop
+      of the rope, and threw it like a cravat around the Baron&rsquo;s neck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, no!&rdquo; cried the frightened nobleman. &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis
+      not my life you seek. That is of no use to such as you; and, besides, I
+      have never harmed the outlaws.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is a lie,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;You sent an expedition
+      against us just a year ago.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Twas not I,&rdquo; protested Hohenfels, &ldquo;but the
+      pirate of Falkenberg. Still, no matter. I&rsquo;ll buy my life from you. I
+      am a wealthy man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How much?&rdquo; asked Roland, hesitating.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;More than all of you can carry away.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In gold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of a surety in gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where are the keys of your treasury?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In my chamber. I will bring them to you,&rdquo; and the Baron
+      turned to mount the steps again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so,&rdquo; cried Roland. &ldquo;Stand where you are, and send
+      your man for them. If they are not here before I count twoscore, you hang,
+      and nothing will save you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baron told the trembling valet where to find the keys.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Greusel, you and Ebearhard accompany him, and at the first sign of
+      treachery, or any attempt to give an alarm, run him through with your
+      swords. Does your man know where the treasury is?&rdquo; he continued to
+      the Baron.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes, yes!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How is your gold bestowed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In leathern bags.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good. Greusel, take sixteen of the men, and bring down into the
+      courtyard all the gold you can carry. Then we will estimate whether or not
+      it is sufficient to buy the Baron&rsquo;s life, for I hold him in high
+      esteem. He is a valuable man. See to it that there is no delay, Greusel,
+      and never lose sight of this valet. Bring him back, laden with gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They all disappeared within the Castle, led by the old servitor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sit you down, Baron,&rdquo; said Roland genially. &ldquo;You seem
+      agitated, for which there is no cause should there prove to be gold enough
+      to outweigh you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ponderous noble seated himself with a weary sigh.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And pray to the good Lord above us,&rdquo; went on Roland, &ldquo;that
+      your men may not return before this transaction is completed, for if they
+      do, my first duty will be to strangle you. Even gold will not save you in
+      that case. But still, you have another chance for your life, should such
+      an untoward event take place. Shout to them through the closed gates that
+      they must return to the edge of the river until you join them; then, if
+      they obey, you are spared. Remember, I beg of you, the uselessness of an
+      outcry, for we are in possession of Rheinstein, and you know that the
+      Castle is unassailable from without.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baron groaned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do not be hasty with your cord,&rdquo; he said dejectedly. &ldquo;I
+      will follow your command.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The robbers, however, did not return, but the treasure-searchers did,
+      piling the bags in the courtyard, and again Hohenfels groaned dismally at
+      the sight. Roland indicated certain sacks with the point of his sword,
+      ordering them to be opened. Each was full of gold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, my lads,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;oblige the Baron by burdening
+      yourselves with this weight of metal, then we shall make for the Hunsruck.
+      Open the gates. Lead the men to the point where we halted, Greusel, and
+      there await me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rich company departed, and Roland beguiled the time and the weariness
+      of the Baron by a light and interesting conversation to which there was
+      neither reply nor interruption. At last, having allowed time for his band
+      to reach their former halting-place, he took the rope from the Baron&rsquo;s
+      neck, tied the old robber&rsquo;s hands behind him, then bound his feet,
+      cutting the rope in lengths with his sword. He served the trembling valet
+      in the same way, shutting him up within the Castle, and locking the door
+      with the largest key in the bunch, which bunch he threw down beside his
+      lordship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Baron von Hohenfels,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I have kept my word
+      with you, and now bid farewell. I leave you out-of-doors, because you seem
+      rather scant of breath, for which complaint fresh air is beneficial.
+      Adieu, my lord Baron.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baron said nothing as Roland, with a sweep of his bonnet, took leave
+      of him, climbed the steep path and joined his waiting men. He led them
+      along the hillside, through the forest for some distance, then descended
+      to the water&rsquo;s edge. The river was blank, so they all sat down under
+      the trees out of sight, leaving one man on watch. Here Roland spent a very
+      anxious half-hour, mitigated by the knowledge that the men of Rheinstein
+      were little versed in woodcraft, and so might not be able to trace the
+      fugitives. It was likely they would make a dash in quite the opposite
+      direction, towards the Hunsruck, because Hohenfels believed they were
+      outlaws from that district, and did not in any way associate them with the
+      plundered barge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But if the robbers of Rheinstein took a fancy to sink the barge, an act
+      only too frequently committed, then were Roland and his company in a
+      quandary, without food, or means of crossing the river. However, he was
+      sure that Captain Blumenfels would follow his instructions, which were to
+      offer no resistance, but rather to assist the looters in their exactions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Within a league,&rdquo; said Roland to his men, &ldquo;stand three
+      pirate castles: Rheinstein, which we have just left; Falkenberg, but a
+      short distance below, and then Sonneck. If nothing happens to the barge, I
+      expect to finish with all three before nightfall; for, the strongholds
+      being so close together, we must work rapidly, and not allow news of our
+      doings to leap in advance of us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But suppose,&rdquo; said Kurzbold, &ldquo;that Hohenfels&rsquo; men
+      hold the barge at the landing for their own use?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will wait here for another half-hour,&rdquo; replied Roland,
+      &ldquo;and then, if we see nothing of the boat, proceed along the water&rsquo;s
+      edge until we learn what has become of her. I do not think the thieves
+      will interfere with the barge, as they have not been angered either by
+      disobedience of their orders to land, or resistance after the barge is by
+      the shore. Besides, I count on the fact that the officers, at least, will
+      be anxious to let the barge proceed, hoping other laden boats may follow,
+      and, indeed, I think for this reason they will be much more moderate in
+      their looting than we have been.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before he had finished speaking, the man on watch by the water announced
+      the barge in sight, floating down with the current. At this they all
+      emerged from the forest. Captain Blumenfels, carefully scanning the shore,
+      saw them at once, and turned the boat&rsquo;s head towards the spot where
+      they stood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The bags of gold were bolted away in the stout lockers extending on each
+      side of the cabin. While this was being done, Roland gave minute
+      instructions to the captain regarding the next item in the programme, and
+      once more entered the forest with his men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The task before them was more difficult than the spoiling of Rheinstein,
+      because the huge bulk of Falkenberg stood on a summit of treeless rock;
+      the Castle itself, a gigantic, oblong gray mass, with a slender square
+      campanile some distance from it, rising high above its battlements on the
+      slope that went down towards the Rhine, forming thus an excellent
+      watch-tower. But although the conical hill of rock was bare of the large
+      trees that surrounded Rheinstein, there were plenty of bowlders and
+      shrubbery behind which cover could be sought. On this occasion the
+      marauding guild could not secure a position on a level with the
+      battlements of the Castle, as had been the case behind Rheinstein, and,
+      furthermore, they were compelled to make their dash for the gate up-hill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But these disadvantages were counterbalanced by the fact that Falkenberg
+      was situated much higher than Rheinstein, and was farther away from the
+      river, so that when the garrison descended to the water&rsquo;s edge it
+      could not return as speedily as was the case with Hohenfels&rsquo; men.
+      Rheinstein stood directly over the water, and only two hundred and sixty
+      feet above it, while, comparatively speaking, Falkenberg was back in the
+      country. Still all these castles had been so long unmolested, and
+      considered themselves so secure, that adequate watching had fallen into
+      abeyance, and at Falkenberg guard was kept by one lone man on the tall
+      campanile. The attacking party saw no one on the battlements of the
+      Castle, so worked their way round the hill until the man on the tower was
+      hidden from them by the bulk of the Castle itself, and thus they crawled
+      like lizards from bush to bush, from stone to stone, and from rock-ledge
+      to rock-ledge, taking their time, and not deserting one position of
+      obscurity until another was decided upon. The fact that the watchman was
+      upon the Rhine side of the Castle greatly favored a stealthy approach from
+      any landward point.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last the alarm was given; the gate opened, and, as it proved, every man
+      in the Castle went headlong down the hill. The amateur cracksmen therefore
+      had everything their own way, and while this at first seemed an advantage,
+      they speedily found it the reverse, for although they wandered from room
+      to room, the treasure could not be discovered. The interior of Falkenberg
+      was unknown to Roland, this being one of the strongholds where he had been
+      compelled to sleep in an outhouse. At last they found the door to the
+      treasure-chamber, for Roland suggested it was probably in a similar
+      position to that at Rheinstein, and those who had accompanied Hohenfels&rsquo;
+      valet made search according to this hint, and were rewarded by coming upon
+      a door so stoutly locked that all their efforts to force it open were
+      fruitless.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Deeply disappointed, with a number of the men grumbling savagely, they
+      were compelled to withdraw empty handed, warned by approaching shouts that
+      the garrison was returning, so the men crawled away as they had come, and
+      made for the river, where on this occasion the boat already awaited them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lord of Falkenberg proved as moderate in his exactions as the men of
+      Rheinstein. Many bales had been cut open, and the thieves, with the
+      knowledge of cloth-weavers, selected in every case only the best goods,
+      but of these had taken merely enough for one costume each.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Although the company had made so early a beginning, it was past noon by
+      the time they reached the barge on the second occasion. A substantial meal
+      was served, for every man was ravenously hungry, besides being disgusted
+      to learn that there were ups and downs even in the trade of thievery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Early in the afternoon they made for the delicate Castle of Sonneck, whose
+      slender turrets stood out beautifully against the blue sky. Here excellent
+      cover was found within sight of the doorway, for Sonneck stood alone on
+      its rock without the protection of a wall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In this case the experience of Rheinstein was repeated, with the exception
+      that it was not the master of the Castle they encountered, but a
+      frightened warder, who, with a sharp sword to influence him, produced keys
+      and opened the treasury. Not nearly so large a haul of gold was made as in
+      the first instance, yet enough was obtained to constitute a most lucrative
+      day&rsquo;s work, and with this they sought the barge in high spirits.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They waited in the shadow of the hills until dusk, then quietly made their
+      way across the river behind the shelter of the two islands, and so came to
+      rest alongside the bank, just above the busy town of Lorch, scarcely two
+      leagues down the river from the berth they had occupied the night before.
+      After the barge was tied up, Roland walked on deck with the captain,
+      listening to his account of events from the level of the river surface. It
+      proved that, all in all, Roland could suggest no amendment of the day&rsquo;s
+      proceedings. So far as Blumenfels was concerned, everything had gone
+      without a hitch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As they promenaded thus, one of the men came forward, and said, rather
+      cavalierly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Commander, your comrades wish to see you in the cabin.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland made no reply, but continued his conversation with the captain
+      until he learned from that somewhat reticent individual all he wished to
+      know. Then he walked leisurely aft, and descended into the cabin, where he
+      found the eighteen seated on the lockers, as if the conclave were a
+      deliberate body like the Electors, who had come to some momentous
+      decision.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have unanimously passed a resolution,&rdquo; said Kurzbold,
+      &ldquo;that the money shall be divided equally amongst us each evening.
+      You do not object, I suppose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; I don&rsquo;t object to your passing a resolution.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good. We do not wish to waste time just now in the division,
+      because we are going to Lorch, intending to celebrate our success with a
+      banquet. Would Greusel, Ebearhard, and yourself care to join us?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot speak for the other two,&rdquo; returned Roland quietly;
+      &ldquo;but personally I shall be unable to attend, as there are some plans
+      for the future which need thinking over.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case we shall not expect you,&rdquo; went on Kurzbold, who
+      seemed in no way grieved at the loss of his commander&rsquo;s company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; suggested John Gensbein, &ldquo;our chief will drop
+      in upon us later in the evening. We learned at Assmannshausen that the
+      Krone is a very excellent tavern, so we shall sup there.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How did you know we were to stop at Lorch?&rdquo; asked Roland,
+      wondering if in any way they had heard he was to meet Goebel&rsquo;s
+      emissary in this village.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We were not sure,&rdquo; replied Gensbein, &ldquo;but we made
+      inquiries concerning all the villages and castles down the Rhine, and have
+      taken notes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, in that case you are well qualified as a guide. I may find
+      occasion to use the knowledge thus acquired.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are all equally involved in this expedition,&rdquo; said
+      Kurzbold impatiently, &ldquo;and you must not imagine yourself the only
+      person to be considered. But we lose time. What we wish at the present
+      moment is that you will unlock one of these chests, and divide amongst us
+      a bag of gold. The rest is to be partitioned when we return this evening;
+      and after that, Herr Roland, we shall not need to trouble you by asking
+      for more money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are the thirty thalers I gave you the other day all spent, Herr
+      Kurzbold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No matter for that,&rdquo; replied this insubordinate ex-president.
+      &ldquo;The money in the lockers is ours, and we demand a portion of it
+      now, with the remainder after the banquet.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without another word, Roland took the bunch of keys from his belt, opened
+      one of the lockers, lifted out a bag of gold, untied the thongs, and
+      poured out the coins on the lid of the chest, which he locked again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is the money,&rdquo; he said to Kurzbold. &ldquo;I shall send
+      Greusel and Ebearhard to share in its distribution, and thus you can
+      invite them to your banquet. My own portion you may leave on the lid of
+      the locker.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With that he departed up on deck again, and said to his officers:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kurzbold, on behalf of the men, has demanded a bag of gold. You
+      will go to the cabin and receive your share. They will also invite you to
+      a banquet at the Krone. Accept that invitation, and if possible engage a
+      private room, as you did at Assmannshausen, to prevent the men talking
+      with any of the inhabitants. Keep them roystering there until all the
+      village has gone to bed; then convoy them back to the barge as quietly as
+      you can. A resolution has been passed that the money is to be divided
+      amongst our warriors on their return, but I imagine that they will be in
+      no condition to act as accountants when I have the pleasure of beholding
+      them again, so if anything is said about the apportionment, suggest a
+      postponement of the ceremony until morning. I need not add that I expect
+      you both to drink sparingly, for this is advice I intend to follow myself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland paced the deck deep in thought until his difficult contingent
+      departed towards the twinkling lights of the village, then he went to the
+      cabin, poured his share of the gold into his pouch, and followed the
+      company at a distance into Lorch. He avoided the Krone, and after
+      inquiring his way, stopped at the much smaller hostelry, Mergler&rsquo;s
+      Inn. Here he gave his name, and asking if any one waited for him, was
+      conducted upstairs to a room where he found Herr Kruger just about to sit
+      down to his supper. A stout lad nearing twenty years of age stood in the
+      middle of the room, and from his appearance Roland did not need the elder
+      man&rsquo;s word for it that this was his son.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I took the precaution of bringing him with me,&rdquo; said Kruger,
+      &ldquo;as I thought two horsemen were better than one in the business I
+      had undertaken.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You were quite right,&rdquo; returned Roland, &ldquo;and I
+      congratulate you upon so stalwart a traveling companion. With your
+      permission I shall order a meal, and sup with you, thus we may save time
+      by talking while we eat, because you will need to depart as speedily as
+      possible.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean in the darkness? To-night?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; as soon as you can get away. There are urgent reasons why you
+      should be on the road without delay. How came you here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On horseback; first down the Main, then along the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. In the darkness you will return by the way you came, but
+      only as far as the Castle of Ehrenfels, three leagues from here. There you
+      are to rouse up the custodian, and in safety spend the remainder of the
+      night. To-morrow morning he will furnish you a guide to conduct you
+      through the forest to Wiesbaden, and from thence you know your way to
+      Frankfort, which you should reach not later than evening.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this point the landlord, who had been summoned, came in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will dine with my friends here,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I
+      suppose I need not ask if you possess some of the good red wine of Lorch,
+      which they tell me equals that of Assmannshausen?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of the very best, mein Herr, the product of my own vineyard, and I
+      can therefore guarantee it sound. As for equaling that of Assmannshausen,
+      we have always considered it superior, and, indeed, many other good judges
+      agree with us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then bring me a stoup of it, and you will be enabled to add my
+      opinion to that of the others.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the landlord produced the wine, Roland raised it to his lips, and
+      absorbed a hearty draught.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is indeed most excellent, landlord, and does credit alike to
+      your vines and your inn. I wish to send two large casks of so fine a wine
+      to a merchant of my acquaintance in Frankfort, and my friend, Herr Kruger,
+      has promised to convey it thither. If you can spare me two casks of such
+      excellent vintage, they will make an evenly balanced burden for the horse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely, mein Herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Choose two of those long casks, landlord, with bung-holes of the
+      largest at the sides. Do you possess such a thing as a pack-saddle?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you, my young friend,&rdquo; he said, turning to Kruger&rsquo;s
+      son, &ldquo;rode here on a saddle?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; interjected his father; &ldquo;I ride a saddle, but my
+      son was forced to content himself with a length of Herr Goebel&rsquo;s
+      coarse cloth, folded four times, and strapped to the horse&rsquo;s back.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then the cloth may still be used as a cushion for the pack-saddle,
+      and you, my lad, will be compelled to walk, to which I dare venture you
+      are well accustomed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lad grinned, but made no objection.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, landlord, while we eat, fill your casks with wine, then place
+      the pack-saddle on the back of this young man&rsquo;s horse, and the casks
+      thereon, for I dare say you have men expert in such a matter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are no better the length of the Rhine,&rdquo; said the
+      landlord proudly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lay the casks so that the bung-holes are upward, and do not drive
+      the bungs more tightly in place than is necessary, for they are to be
+      extracted before Frankfort is reached, that another friend of mine may
+      profit by the wine. When this is done, bring me word, and let me know how
+      much I owe you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The landlord gone, the three men fell to their meal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is more gold,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;than I expected, and
+      it is impossible even for two of you to carry it in bags attached to your
+      belts. Besides, if you are molested, such bestowal of it would prove most
+      unsafe. A burden of wine, however, is too common either to attract notice
+      or arouse cupidity. I propose, then, when we leave here, to bring you to
+      the barge belonging to Herr Goebel, and taking out the bungs, we will pour
+      the gold into the barrels, letting the wine that is displaced overflow to
+      the ground. Then we will stoutly drive in the bungs, and should the guards
+      question you at the gates of Frankfort, you may let them taste the wine if
+      they insist, and I dare say it will contain no flavor of the metal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A most excellent suggestion,&rdquo; said Herr Kruger with
+      enthusiasm. &ldquo;An admirable plan; for I confess I looked forward with
+      some anxiety to this journey, laden down with bags of gold under my cloak.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes. You are simply an honest drinker, tired of the white wine of
+      Frankfort, and providing yourself with the stronger fluid that Lorch
+      produces. I am sure you will deliver the money safely to Herr Goebel,
+      somewhat in drink, it is true, but, like the rest of us, none the worse
+      for that when the fumes are gone.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The repast finished, and all accounts liquidated, the trio left the inn,
+      and, leading the two horses, reached the barge without observation. Here
+      the bungs were removed from the casks, and the three men, assisted by the
+      captain, quietly and speedily opened bag after bag, pouring the coins down
+      into the wine; surely a unique adulteration, astonishing even to so heady
+      a fluid as the vintage of Lorch. From the whole amount Roland deducted two
+      thousand thalers, which he divided equally between two empty bags.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This thousand thalers,&rdquo; said he to Kruger, &ldquo;is to be
+      shared by your son and yourself, in addition to whatever you may receive
+      from Herr Goebel. The other you will hand to the custodian of Ehrenfels
+      Castle, saying it came from his friend Roland, and is recompense for the
+      money he lent the other day. That will be an effective letter of
+      introduction to him. Say that I ask him to send his son with you as guide
+      through the forest to Wiesbaden; and so good-night and good luck to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was long after midnight when the guild came roystering up the bank of
+      the Rhine to the barge. The moon had risen, and gave them sufficient light
+      to steer a reasonably straight course without danger of falling into the
+      water. Ebearhard was with them, but Greusel walked rapidly ahead, so that
+      he might say a few words to his chief before the others arrived.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I succeeded in preventing their talking with any stranger, but they
+      have taken aboard enough wine to make them very difficult and rather
+      quarrelsome if thwarted. When I proposed that they should leave the
+      counting until to-morrow morning they first became suspicious, and then
+      resented the imputation that they were not in fit condition for such a
+      task. I recommend, therefore, that you allow them to divide the money
+      to-night. It will allay their fear that some trick is to be played upon
+      them, and if you hint at intoxication, they are likely to get out of hand.
+      As it does not matter when the money is distributed, I counsel you to
+      humor them to-night, and postpone reasoning until to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll think about it,&rdquo; said Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They have bought several casks of wine, and are taking turns in
+      carrying them. Will you allow this wine to come aboard, even if you
+      determine to throw it into the water to-morrow?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes,&rdquo; said Roland, with a shrug of the shoulders. &ldquo;Coax
+      them into the cabin as quietly as possible, and keep them there if you
+      can, for should they get on deck, we shall lose some of them in the river.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel turned back to meet the bellowing mob, while Roland roused the
+      captain and his men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get ready,&rdquo; he said to Blumenfels, &ldquo;and the moment I
+      raise my hand, shove off. Make for this side of the larger island, and
+      come to rest there for the remainder of the night. Command your rowers to
+      put their whole force into the sweeps.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was done accordingly, and well done, as was the captain&rsquo;s
+      custom. The late moon threw a ghostly light over the scene, and the barren
+      island proved deserted and forbidding, as the crew tied up the barge
+      alongside. Most of the lights in Lorch had gone out, and the town lay in
+      the silence of pallid moonbeams like a city of the dead. Roland stood on
+      deck with Greusel and Ebearhard by his side, the latter relating the
+      difficulties of the evening. There had been singing in the cabin during
+      the passage across, then came a lull in the roar from below, followed by a
+      shout that betokened danger. An instant later the crowd came boiling up
+      the short stair to the deck, Kurzbold in command, all swords drawn, and
+      glistening in the moonlight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You scoundrel!&rdquo; he cried to Roland, &ldquo;those lockers are
+      full of empty bags.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that,&rdquo; replied Roland, quietly. &ldquo;The money is in
+      safe keeping, and will be honestly divided at the conclusion of this
+      expedition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You thief! You robber!&rdquo; shouted Kurzbold, flourishing his
+      weapon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite accurate,&rdquo; replied Roland, unperturbed. &ldquo;I was
+      once called a Prince of Thieves when I did not deserve the title. Now I
+      have earned it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have earned the penalty of thieving, and we propose to throw
+      you into the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not, I trust, before you learn where the money is deposited.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Drunk as they were, this consideration staggered them, but Kurzbold was
+      mad with rage and wine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come on, you poltroons!&rdquo; he shouted. &ldquo;There are only
+      three of them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Draw your swords, gentlemen,&rdquo; whispered Roland, flashing his
+      own blade in the moonlight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel and Ebearhard obeyed his command.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XII. THE LAUGHING RED MARGRAVE OF FURSTENBERG
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard laughed, and took two steps forward. Whenever affairs became
+      serious, one could always depend on a laugh from Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Excuse me, Commander,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but you placed Greusel
+      and me in charge of this pious and sober party; therefore I, being the
+      least of your officers, must stand the first brunt of our failure to keep
+      these lambs peaceable for the night. Greusel, stand behind me, and in
+      front of the Commander. I, being reasonably sober, believe I can cut down
+      six of the innocents before they finish with me. You will attend to the
+      next six, leaving exactly half a dozen for Roland to eliminate in his own
+      fashion. Now, Herr Conrad Kurzbold, come on.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have no quarrel with you,&rdquo; said Kurzbold. &ldquo;Stand
+      aside.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I force a quarrel upon you, undisciplined pig. Defend yourself,
+      for, by the Three Kings, I am going to tap your walking wine-barrel!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold, however, retreating with more haste than caution, one or two
+      behind him were sent sprawling, and the half-dozen which were Roland&rsquo;s
+      portion tumbled over one another down the steep ladder into the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard laughed again when the last man disappeared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think,&rdquo; he said to Roland, &ldquo;that you will meet no
+      further trouble from our friends. They evidently broke open the lockers,
+      alarmed because Greusel and I asked for a postponement of the counting,
+      probably intending to make the division without our assistance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you hidden the money?&rdquo; asked Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not exactly,&rdquo; replied Roland; &ldquo;but, in case anything
+      should happen to me, I will tell you what I have done with it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he finished his recital, he added:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will give each of you a letter to Herr Goebel, identifying you.
+      He is entitled to four thousand five hundred thalers of the money. The
+      balance you will divide among those of us who survive.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland slept on deck, wrapped in his cloak. His two lieutenants took turn
+      in keeping watch, but nothing except snores came up from the cabin. The
+      mutineers were not examples of early rising next morning. The sun gave
+      promise of another warm day, and Roland walked up and down the deck,
+      anxiety printed on his brow. He had made up his mind to knock at the door
+      of the Laughing Baron, a giant in stature, reported to be the most
+      ingenious, most cruel, and bravest of all the robber noblemen of the
+      Rhine, whose Castle was notoriously the hardest nut to crack along the
+      banks of that famous river. For several reasons it would not be wise to
+      linger much longer in the neighborhood of Lorch. The three castles they
+      had entered the day before were still visible on the western bank. News of
+      the raid would undoubtedly travel to Furstenberg, also within sight down
+      the river, and thus the hilarious Margrave would be put on his guard,
+      overjoyed at the opportunity of trapping the moral marauders. Furstenberg
+      was also a fief of Cologne, and any molestation of it would involve the
+      meddler, if identified, in complications with the Church and the
+      Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was necessary, therefore, to move with caution, and to retreat, if
+      possible, unobserved. These difficulties alone were enough to give pause
+      to the most intrepid, but Roland was further handicapped by his own
+      following. How could he hope to accomplish any subtle movement requiring
+      silence, prompt obedience, and great alertness, supported by men whose
+      brains were muddled with drink, and whose conduct was saturated with
+      conspiracy against him? They had wine enough on board to continue their
+      orgy, and he was quite unable to prevent their carouse. With a deep sigh
+      he realized that he would be compelled to forego Furstenberg, and thus
+      leave behind him a virgin citadel, which he knew was bad tactics from a
+      military point of view.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During his meditations his men were coming up from the fuming cabin into
+      the fresh air and the sunlight. They appeared by twos and threes, yawning
+      and rubbing their eyes, but no one ventured to interrupt the leader as,
+      with bent head, he paced back and forth on the deck. The men, indeed,
+      seemed exceedingly subdued. They passed with almost overdone nonchalance
+      from the boat to the island, and sauntered towards its lower end, from
+      which, in the clear morning air, the grim fortress of Furstenberg could be
+      plainly discerned diagonally across the river. It was Ebearhard who broke
+      in upon Roland&rsquo;s reverie.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Our friends appear very quiet this morning, but I observe they have
+      all happened to coincide upon the northern part of the island as a
+      rendezvous for their before-breakfast walk. I surmise they are holding a
+      formal meeting of the guild, but neither Greusel nor I have been invited,
+      so I suppose that after last night&rsquo;s display we two are no longer
+      considered their brethren. This meekness on their part seems to me more
+      dangerous than last night&rsquo;s flurry. I think they will demand from
+      you a knowledge of what has been done with the gold. Have you decided upon
+      your answer?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; it is their right to know, so I shall tell them the truth. By
+      this time Kruger is on his way somewhere between Ehrenfels and Wiesbaden.
+      He will reach Frankfort to-night, and cannot be overtaken.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is there not danger that they will desert in a body, return to
+      Frankfort, and demand from Herr Goebel their share of the spoil?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No matter for that,&rdquo; returned Roland. &ldquo;Goebel will not
+      part with a florin except under security of such letters as I purpose
+      giving you and Greusel, and even then only when you have proven to him
+      that I am dead.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is all very well,&rdquo; demurred Ebearhard, &ldquo;but don&rsquo;t
+      you see what a dangerous power you put into the hands of the rebels?
+      Goebel is merely a merchant, and, though rich, politically powerless. He
+      has already come into conflict with the authorities, and spent a term in
+      prison. Do not forget that the Archbishops have refused to take action
+      against these robber Barons. Our men, if there happen to be one of brains
+      among them, can easily terrify Goebel into parting with the treasure by
+      threatening to confess their own and his complicity in the raids. Consider
+      what an excellent case they can put forward, stating quite truly that they
+      joined this expedition in ignorance of its purport, but on the very first
+      day, learning what was afoot, they deserted their criminal leader, and are
+      now endeavoring to make restitution. Goebel is helpless. If he says that
+      they first demanded the gold from him, they as strenuously deny it, and
+      their denial must be believed, because they come of their own free-will to
+      the authorities. The merchant, already tainted with treason, having
+      suffered imprisonment, and narrowly escaped hanging, proves on
+      investigation to be up to the neck in this affair. There is no difficulty
+      in learning that his barge went down the river, manned by a crew of his
+      own choosing. Of course, it need never come to this, because Goebel, being
+      a shrewd man, could at once see in what jeopardy he stood, and convinced
+      from the men&rsquo;s own story that they were part, at least, of your
+      contingent, would deliver up the treasure to them. Don&rsquo;t you see he
+      must do so to save his own neck?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland pondered deeply on what had been said to him, but for the moment
+      made no reply. Greusel, who joined them during the conversation, remaining
+      silent until Ebearhard had finished, now spoke:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I quite agree with all that has been said.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What, then, would you advise me to do?&rdquo; asked Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have been talking with one or two of the men,&rdquo; said
+      Greusel. &ldquo;(They won&rsquo;t speak to Ebearhard because he drew his
+      sword on them.) I find they believe you took advantage of their absence to
+      bury the gold in what you suppose to be a safe place. They are sure you
+      are acquainted with no one in Lorch to whom you could safely entrust it,
+      and of course do not suspect an emissary from Frankfort. I should advise
+      you to say that arrangements have been made for every man to get his share
+      so long as nothing untoward happens to you. This will preserve your life
+      should they go so far as to threaten it, and compel them to stay on with
+      us. After all, we are merely artisans, and not fighting men. I am
+      convinced that if ever we are really attacked, we shall make a very poor
+      showing, even though we carry swords. Remember how the men tumbled over
+      one another in their haste to get out of reach when Ebearhard flourished
+      his blade.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think Greusel&rsquo;s suggestion is an excellent one,&rdquo; put
+      in Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I shall adopt it, although I
+      had made up my mind fully to enlighten them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is one more matter that I should like to speak to you about,&rdquo;
+      continued Ebearhard. &ldquo;Both at Assmannshausen, and at Lorch last
+      night, we heard a good deal anent Furstenberg. It is the most dangerous
+      castle on the Rhine to meddle with. The Laughing Baron, as they call him,
+      although he is a Margrave, is the only man who dared to stop a king on his
+      way down the Rhine, and hold him for ransom.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Roland; &ldquo;Adolf of Nassau, on his way to be
+      crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite so. Well, this huge ruffian&mdash;I never can remember his
+      name; can you, Greusel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, it beats me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Margrave Hermann von Katznellenbogenstahleck,&rdquo; said Roland,
+      so solemnly that Ebearhard laughed and even Greusel smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the individual,&rdquo; agreed Ebearhard, &ldquo;and
+      you must admit the name itself is a formidable thing to attack, even
+      without the giant it belongs to.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Banish all apprehension,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I have already
+      decided to remain here through the day, and drop quietly down the river
+      to-night in the darkness past Furstenberg.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think that is a wise decision,&rdquo; said Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis against all military rules,&rdquo; demurred Roland,
+      &ldquo;but nevertheless with such an army as I lead it seems the only way.
+      Do the men know that Furstenberg is our point of greatest danger?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; but they do not know so much as I. Last night I left them in
+      Greusel&rsquo;s charge, being alarmed about what I heard of Furstenberg,
+      and engaged a boatman to take me over there before the moon rose. I
+      discovered that the Laughing Baron has caused a chain to be buoyed up just
+      below the surface of the water, running diagonally up the river more than
+      half-way across it, so that any boat coming down is caught and drawn into
+      the landing, for the main flood of the Rhine, as you know, runs to the
+      westward of this island. The boatman who ferried me knew about this chain,
+      but thought it had been abandoned since traffic stopped. He says it runs
+      right up into the Castle, and the moment a barge strikes against it, a big
+      bell is automatically rung inside the stronghold, causing the Baron to
+      laugh so loudly that they sometimes hear him over in Lorch.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is very interesting, Ebearhard, and an excellent feat of
+      scouting must be set down to your credit. Say nothing to the men, because,
+      although we give Furstenberg the go-by on this occasion, I shall pay my
+      respects to Herman von Katznellenbogenstahleck on my return, and the
+      knowledge you bring me will prove useful.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ha!&rdquo; cried Greusel, &ldquo;here are our infants returning,
+      all in a body, Kurzbold at their head as usual. I imagine this morning
+      they are going to depend on rhetoric, and allow their swords to remain in
+      scabbard. They have evidently come to some momentous decision.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three retired to the prow of the boat as the guild clambored on at the
+      stern. The captain and two of his men had taken the skiff belonging to the
+      barge, and were absent at Lorch, purchasing provisions. Roland stood at
+      the prow of the barge, slightly in advance of his two lieutenants, and
+      awaited the approach of Kurzbold, with seventeen men behind him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Commander,&rdquo; said the spokesman, with nothing of the late
+      truculence in his tone, &ldquo;we have just held a meeting of the guild,
+      and unanimously agreed to ask you one question, and offer you one
+      suggestion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall be pleased,&rdquo; replied Roland, &ldquo;to answer the
+      first if I think it desirable, and take the second into consideration.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He inclined his head to the delegation, and received a low bow in return.
+      This was a most auspicious beginning, showing a certain improvement of
+      method on the part of the majority.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The question is, Commander, what have you done with the gold we
+      captured yesterday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A very proper inquiry,&rdquo; replied Roland, &ldquo;that it gives
+      me much pleasure to answer. I have placed the money in a custody which I
+      believe to be absolute, arranging that if nothing happens to me, this
+      money shall be properly divided in my presence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you deny, sir, that the money belongs to us?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Part of it undoubtedly does, but I, as leader of the expedition, am
+      morally, if not legally, responsible to you all for its safe keeping. Our
+      barge has stopped three times so far, and Captain Blumenfels tells me that
+      he has had no real violence to complain of, but as we progress farther
+      down the river, we are bound to encounter some Baron who is not so
+      punctilious; for instance, the Margrave von Katznellenbogenstahleck, whose
+      stronghold you doubtless saw from the latest meeting-place of the guild.
+      Such a man as the Margrave is certain to do what you yourselves did
+      without hesitation last night, that is, break open the lockers, and if
+      gold were there you may depend it would not long remain in our possession
+      after the discovery.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You miss, or rather, evade the point, Commander. Is the gold ours,
+      or is it yours?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have admitted that part of it is yours.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then by what right do you assert the power to deal with it, lacking
+      our consent? If you will pardon me for saying so, you, the youngest of our
+      company, treat the rest of us as though we were children.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I possessed a child that acted at once so obstreperously and in
+      so cowardly a manner as you did last night, I should cut a stick from the
+      forest here, and thrash him with such severity that he would never forget
+      it. As I have not done this to you, I deny that I treat you like children.
+      The truth is that, although the youngest, I am your commander. We are
+      engaged in acts of war, therefore military law prevails, and not the code
+      of Justinian. It is my duty to protect your treasure and my own, and
+      ensure that each man shall receive his share. After the division you may
+      do what you please with the money, for you will then be under the common
+      law, and I should not presume even to advise concerning its disposal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You refuse to tell us, then, what you have done with the gold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do. Now proceed with your suggestion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear I put the case too mildly when I called it a suggestion,
+      considering the unsatisfactory nature of your reply to my question,
+      therefore I withdraw the word &lsquo;suggestion,&rsquo; and substitute the
+      word 'command.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold paused, to give his ultimatum the greater force. Behind him rose
+      a murmur of approval.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Words do not matter in the least. I deal with deeds. Out, then,
+      with your command!&rdquo; cried Roland, for the first time exhibiting
+      impatience.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The command unanimously adopted is this: the Castle of Furstenberg
+      must be left alone. We know more of that Castle than you do, especially
+      about its owner and his garrison. We have been gathering information as we
+      journeyed, and have not remained sulking in the barge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, that is encouraging news to hear,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I
+      thought you were engaged in sampling wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You hear the command. Will you obey?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will not,&rdquo; said Roland decisively.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard took a step forward to the side of his chief, and glanced at him
+      reproachfully. Greusel remained where he was, but neither man spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You intend to attack Furstenberg?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This afternoon.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold turned to his following:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Brethren,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you have heard this conversation,
+      and it needs no comment from me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Apparently the discussion was to receive no comment from the others
+      either. They stood there glum and disconcerted, as if the trend of affairs
+      had taken an unexpected turn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think,&rdquo; said one, &ldquo;we had better retire and consult
+      again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was unanimously agreed to, and once more they disembarked upon the
+      island, and moved forward to their Witenagemot. Still Greusel and
+      Ebearhard said nothing, but watched the men disappear through the trees.
+      Roland looked at one after another with a smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that you disapprove of my conduct.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel remained silent, but Ebearhard laughed and spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You came deliberately to the conclusion that it was unwise to
+      attack Furstenberg. Now, because of Kurzbold&rsquo;s lack of courtesy, you
+      deflect from your own mature judgment, and hastily jump into a course
+      opposite to that which you marked out for yourself after sober, unbiased
+      thought.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Ebearhard, the duty of a commander is to give, and not to
+      receive, commands.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite so. Command and suggestion are merely words, as you yourself
+      pointed out, saying that they did not matter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that, Ebearhard, I was wrong. Words do matter, although Kurzbold
+      wasn&rsquo;t clever enough to correct me. For example, I hold no man in
+      higher esteem than yourself, yet you might use words that would cause me
+      instantly to draw my sword upon you, and fight until one or other of us
+      succumbed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You put it very flatteringly, Roland. Truth is, you&rsquo;d fight
+      till I succumbed, my swordsmanship being no match for yours. I shall say
+      the words, however, that will cause you to draw your sword, and they are:
+      Commander, I will stand by you whatever you do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And I,&rdquo; said Greusel curtly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland shook hands in turn with the two men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right,&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;If we are fated to go down, we will
+      fall with banners flying.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a time the captain returned with his supplies, but still the
+      majority of the guild remained engaged in deliberation. Evidently
+      discussion was not proceeding with that unanimity which Kurzbold always
+      insisted was the case.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At noon Roland requested the captain to send some of his men with a meal
+      for those in prolonged session, and also to carry them a cask which had
+      been half-emptied either that morning or the night before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They will enjoy a picnic under the trees by the margin of the
+      river,&rdquo; said Roland, as he and his two backers sat down in the empty
+      cabin to their own repast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you think they are purposely delaying, so that you cannot cross
+      over this afternoon?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis very likely,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll wait
+      here until the sun sets, and then when they realize that I am about to
+      leave them on an uninhabited island, without anything to eat, I think you
+      will see them scramble aboard.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But suppose they don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; suggested Greusel. &ldquo;There
+      are at least three of them able to swim across this narrow branch of the
+      Rhine, and engage a boatman to take them off, should their signaling be
+      unobserved.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again no matter. My plan for the undoing of the castles does not
+      depend on force, but on craft. We three cannot carry away as much gold as
+      can twenty-one, but our shares will be the same, and then we are not
+      likely to find again so full a treasury as that at Rheinstein. My belief
+      that these chaps would fight was dispelled by their conduct last night.
+      Think of eighteen armed men flying before one sword!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, you are scarce just in your estimate, Commander. They were
+      under the influence of wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True; but a brave man will fight, drunk or sober.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Although the sun sank out of sight, the men did not return. There had been
+      more wine in the cask than Roland supposed, for the cheery songs of the
+      guild echoed through the sylvan solitude. Roland told the captain to set
+      his men at work and row round the top of the island into the main stream
+      of the Rhine. The revelers had evidently appointed watchmen, for they
+      speedily came running through the woods, and followed the movements of the
+      boat from the shore, keeping pace with it. When the craft reached the
+      opposite side of the island, the rowers drew in to the beach.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you coming aboard?&rdquo; asked Roland pleasantly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you agree to pass Furstenberg during the night?&rdquo;
+      demanded Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you expect to succeed, as you did with the other castles?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly; otherwise I shouldn&rsquo;t make the attempt.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was wrong,&rdquo; said Kurzbold mildly, &ldquo;in substituting
+      the word &lsquo;command&rsquo; for &lsquo;suggestion,&rsquo; which I first
+      employed. There are many grave reasons for deferring an attempt on
+      Furstenberg. In the heat of argument these reasons were not presented to
+      you. Will you consent to listen to them if we go on board?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; if you, on your part, will unanimously promise to abide by my
+      decision.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you think,&rdquo; said Kurzbold, &ldquo;that your prejudice
+      against me, which perhaps you agree does exist&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It exists,&rdquo; confessed Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. Will you allow that prejudice to prevent you from
+      rendering a decision in the men&rsquo;s favor?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. If they present reasons that convince Greusel and Ebearhard
+      against the attack on Furstenberg, I shall do what these two men advise,
+      even although I myself believe in a contrary course. Thus you see, Herr
+      Kurzbold, that my admitted dislike of you shall not come into play at all.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is quite satisfactory,&rdquo; said Kurzbold. &ldquo;Will you
+      tie up against the farther shore until your decision is rendered?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With pleasure,&rdquo; replied Roland; and accordingly the raiders
+      tumbled impetuously on board the barge, whereupon the sailors bent to
+      their long oars, and quickly reached the western bank, at a picturesque
+      spot out of sight of any castle, where the trees came down the
+      mountain-side to the water&rsquo;s edge. Here the sailors, springing
+      ashore, tied their stout ropes to the tree-trunks, and the great barge lay
+      broadside on to the land, with her nose pointing down the stream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You see,&rdquo; said Roland to his lieutenants, &ldquo;without
+      giving way in the least I allow you two the decision, and so I take it
+      Furstenberg or ourselves will escape disaster on this occasion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aside from all other considerations,&rdquo; replied the cautious
+      Greusel, &ldquo;I think it good diplomacy on this occasion to agree with
+      the men, since they have stated their case so deferentially. They are
+      improving, Commander.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It really looks like it,&rdquo; he agreed. &ldquo;You and Ebearhard
+      had better go aft, and counsel them to begin the conference at once, for
+      if we are to attack we must do so before darkness sets in. I&rsquo;ll
+      remain here as usual at the prow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some of the men were strolling about the deck, but the majority remained
+      in the cabin, down whose steps the lieutenants descended. Roland&rsquo;s
+      impatience increased with the waning of the light.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly a cry that was instantly smothered rose from the cabin, then a
+      shout:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Treachery! Look out for yourself!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland attempted to stride forward, but four men fell on him, pinioning
+      his arms to his side, preventing the drawing of his weapon. Kurzbold, with
+      half a dozen others, mounted on deck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Disarm him!&rdquo; he commanded, and one of the men drew Roland&rsquo;s
+      sword from its sheath, flinging it along the deck to Kurzbold&rsquo;s
+      feet. The others now came up, bringing the two lieutenants, both gagged,
+      with their arms tied behind them. Roland ceased his struggles, which he
+      knew to be fruitless.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We wish an amicable settlement of this matter,&rdquo; said
+      Kurzbold, addressing the lieutenants, &ldquo;and regret being compelled to
+      use measures that may appear harsh. I do this only to prevent unnecessary
+      bloodshed. Earlier in the day,&rdquo; he continued, turning to Roland,
+      &ldquo;when we found all appeals to you were vain, we unanimously deposed
+      you from the leadership, which is our right, and also our duty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not under martial law,&rdquo; said Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I beg to point out that there was no talk of martial law before we
+      left Frankfort. It was not till later that we learned we had appointed an
+      unreasoning tyrant over us. We have deposed him, and I am elected in his
+      place, with John Gensbein as my lieutenant. We will keep you three here
+      until complete darkness sets in, then put you ashore unarmed. Bacharach,
+      on this side of the Rhine, is to be our next resting-place, and doubtless
+      so clever a man as you, Roland, may say that we choose Bacharach because
+      it is named for Bacchus, the god of drunkards. Nevertheless, to show our
+      good intentions towards you, we will remain there all day to-morrow. You
+      can easily reach Bacharach along the hilltops before daybreak. We have
+      written a charter of comradeship which all have signed except yourselves.
+      If at Bacharach you give us your word to act faithfully under my
+      leadership, we will reinstate you in the guild, and return your swords. By
+      way of recompense for this leniency, we ask you to direct the captain to
+      obey my commands as he has done yours.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain Blumenfels,&rdquo; said Roland to the honest sailor, who
+      stood looking on in amaze at this turn of affairs, &ldquo;you are to wait
+      here until it is completely dark. See that no lights are burning to give
+      warning to those in Furstenberg; and, by the way,&rdquo; added Roland,
+      turning to his former company, &ldquo;I advise you not to drink anything
+      until you are well past the Castle. If you sing the songs of the guild
+      within earshot of Furstenberg, you are like to sing on the other side of
+      your mouths before morning. Don&rsquo;t forget that Margrave Hermann von
+      Katznellenbogenstahleck is the chief hangman of Germany.&rdquo; Then once
+      more to the captain:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As the Castle of Furstenberg stands high above the river, and well
+      back from it, you will be out of sight if you keep near this shore.
+      However, you can easily judge your distance, because the towers are
+      visible even in the darkness against the sky. No man on the ramparts of
+      the Castle can discern you down here on the black surface of the water, so
+      long as you do not carry a light.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Roland, my deposed friend,&rdquo; said Kurzbold, &ldquo;I fear you
+      bear resentment, for you are giving the captain orders instead of telling
+      him to obey mine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kurzbold, you are mistaken. I resign command with great pleasure,
+      and, indeed, Greusel and Ebearhard will testify that I had already
+      determined to pass Furstenberg unseen. As my former lieutenants are
+      disarmed, surely the company, with eighteen swords, is not so frightened
+      as to keep them gagged and bound. &lsquo;Tis no wonder you wish to avoid
+      the Laughing Baron, if that is all the courage you possess.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Stung by these taunts, Kurzbold gruffly ordered his men to release their
+      prisoners, but when the gags were removed, and before the cords were cut,
+      he addressed the lieutenants:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you give me your words not to make any further resistance, if I
+      permit you to remain unbound?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I give you my word on nothing, you mutinous dog!&rdquo; cried
+      Greusel; &ldquo;and if I did, how could you expect me to keep it after
+      such an example of treachery from you who pledged your faith, and then
+      broke it? I shall obey my Commander, and none other.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am your Commander,&rdquo; asserted Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are not,&rdquo; proclaimed Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No need to question me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I stand by my
+      colleagues.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gag them again,&rdquo; ordered Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; cried Roland. &ldquo;We are quite helpless. Give
+      your words, gentlemen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gloomily Greusel obeyed, and merrily Ebearhard. Darkness was now
+      gathering, and when it fell completely the three men were put off into the
+      forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have not yet,&rdquo; said Kurzbold to Roland, &ldquo;ordered
+      the captain to obey me. I do not object to that, but it will be the worse
+      for him and his men if they refuse to accept my instructions.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you know this district, Captain Blumenfels?&rdquo; asked Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, mein Herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is there a path along the top that will lead us behind Furstenberg
+      on to Bacharach?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, mein Herr, but it is a very rough track.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it too far for you to guide us there, and return before the moon
+      rises?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh no, mein Herr, I can conduct you to the trail in half an hour if
+      you consent to climb lustily.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good. Herr Kurzbold, if you are not impatient to be off, and
+      will permit the captain to direct us on our way, I will tell him to obey
+      you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How long before you can return, captain?&rdquo; asked Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can be back well within the hour, mein Herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will obey me if the late Commander orders you to do so?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, mein Herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I inform you in the hearing of
+      these men that Herr Kurzbold occupies my place, and is to be obeyed by you
+      until I resume command.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean until you are re-elected to membership in the guild, for
+      we do not propose to make you commander again. Now, captain, to the hill,
+      and see that your return is not delayed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The four men disappeared into the dark forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain,&rdquo; said Roland, when they reached the track, &ldquo;I
+      have taken you up here not that I needed your guidance, for I know this
+      land as well as you do. You will obey Kurzbold, of course, but if he tells
+      you to make for Lorch, allow your boat to drift, and do not get beyond the
+      middle of the river until opposite Furstenberg. There is a buoyed chain&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know it well,&rdquo; interrupted the captain. &ldquo;I have many
+      times avoided it, but twice became entangled with it, in spite of all my
+      efforts, and was robbed by the Laughing Baron.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well; I intend you to be entrapped by that chain to-night.
+      Offer no resistance, and you will be safe enough. Do not attempt to help
+      these lads should they be set upon, and it will be hard luck if I am not
+      in command again before midnight. Keep close to this shore, but if they
+      order you into the middle of the river, or across it, dally, my good
+      Blumenfels, dally, until you are stopped by the chain for the third time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the captain returned to his barge, he found Kurzbold pacing the deck
+      in a masterly manner, impatient to be off. For once the combatants, with
+      an effort, were refraining from drink.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will open a cask,&rdquo; said Kurzbold, &ldquo;as soon as we
+      have passed the Schloss.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He ordered the captain to follow the shore as closely as was safe, and
+      take care that they did not come within sight of Furstenberg&rsquo;s tall,
+      round tower. All sat or reclined on the dark deck, saying no word as the
+      barge slid silently down the swift Rhine. Suddenly the speed of the boat
+      was checked so abruptly that one or two of the standing men were flung off
+      their feet. From up on the hillside there tolled out the deep note of a
+      bell. The barge swung round broadside on the current, and lay there with
+      the water rushing like hissing serpents along its side, the bell pealing
+      out a loud alarm that seemed to keep time with the shuddering of the
+      helpless boat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What&rsquo;s wrong, captain?&rdquo; cried Kurzbold, getting on his
+      feet again and running aft.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear, sir, &lsquo;tis an anchored chain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t you cut it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is impossible, mein Herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then get out your sweeps, and turn back. Where are we, do you
+      think?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Under the battlements of Furstenberg Castle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Damnation! Put some speed into your men, and let us get away from
+      here.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain ordered his crew to hurry, but all their efforts could not
+      release the boat from the chain, against which it ground up and down with
+      a tearing noise, and even the un-nautical swordsmen saw that the current
+      was impelling it diagonally toward the shore, and all the while the deep
+      bell tolled on.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What in the fiend&rsquo;s name is the meaning of that bell?&rdquo;
+      demanded Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is the Castle bell, mein Herr,&rdquo; replied the captain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before Kurzbold could say anything more the air quivered with shout after
+      shout of laughter. Torches began to glisten among the trees, and there was
+      a clatter of horses&rsquo; hoofs on the echoing rock. A more magnificent
+      sight was never before presented to the startled eyes of so unappreciative
+      a crowd. Along the zigzag road, and among the trees, spluttered the
+      torches, each with a trail of sparks like the tail of a comet. The bearers
+      were rushing headlong down the slope, for woe to the man who did not
+      arrive at the water&rsquo;s edge sooner than his master.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The torchlight gleamed on flashing swords and glittering points of spears,
+      but chief sight of all was the Margrave Hermann von
+      Katznellenbogenstahleck, a giant in stature, mounted on a magnificent
+      stallion, as black as the night, and of a size that corresponded with its
+      prodigious rider. The Margrave&rsquo;s long beard and flowing hair were
+      red; scarlet, one may say, but perhaps that was the fiery reflection from
+      the torches. Servants, scullions, stablemen carried the lights; the
+      men-at-arms had no encumbrance but their weapons, and the business-like
+      way in which they lined up along the shore was a study in discipline, and
+      a terror to any one unused to war. Above all the din and clash of arms
+      rang the hearty, stentorian laughter of the Red Margrave actually echoing
+      back in gusts of fiendish merriment from the hills on the other side of
+      the Rhine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the boat&rsquo;s nose came dully against the ledge of rock, to whose
+      surface the swaying chain rose dripping from the water, sparkling like a
+      jointed snake under the torchlight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God save us all!&rdquo; cried the Margrave, &ldquo;what rare show
+      have we here? By my sainted patron, the Archbishop, merchants under arms!
+      Whoever saw the like? Ha! stout Captain Blumenfels, do I recognize you?
+      Once more my chain has caught you. This makes the third time, does it not,
+      Blumenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your Majesty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may as well call me &lsquo;your Holiness&rsquo; as &lsquo;your
+      Majesty.&rsquo; I&rsquo;m contented with my title, the &lsquo;Laughing
+      Baron,&rsquo; Haw-haw-haw-haw! And so your merchants have taken to arms
+      again? The lesson at the Lorely taught them nothing! Are there any ropes
+      aboard, captain?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Plenty, my lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then fling a coil ashore. Now, my tigers,&rdquo; he roared to his
+      men-at-arms, &ldquo;hale me to land those damned shopkeepers.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With a clash of armor and weapons the brigands threw themselves on the
+      boat, and in less time than is taken to tell it, every man of the guild
+      was disarmed and flung ashore. Here another command of the Red Margrave
+      gave them the outlaw&rsquo;s knot, as he termed it, a most painful
+      tying-up of the body and the limbs until each victim was rigid as a red of
+      iron. They were flung face downwards in a row, and beaten black and blue
+      with cudgels, despite their screams of agony and appeals for mercy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now turn them over on their backs,&rdquo; commanded the Margrave,
+      and it was done. The glare of the pitiless torches fell upon contorted
+      faces. The Baron turned his horse athwart the line of helpless men, and
+      spurred that animal over it from end to end, but the intelligent horse,
+      more merciful than its rider, stepped with great daintiness, despite its
+      unusual size, and never trod on one of the prostrate bodies. During what
+      followed, the Red Baron, shaking with laughter, marched his horse up and
+      down over the stricken men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, unload the boat, but do not injure any of the sailors! I hope
+      to see them often again. You cannot tell how we have missed you, captain.
+      What are you loaded with this time? Sound Frankfort cloth?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your Majesty&mdash;I mean, my lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, you mean my Holiness, for I expect to be an Archbishop yet, if
+      all goes well,&rdquo; and his laughter echoed across the Rhine. &ldquo;Uplift
+      your hatches, Blumenfels, and tell your men to help fling the goods
+      ashore.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Delicately paced the fearful horse over the prone men, snorting, perhaps
+      in sympathy, from his red nostrils, his jet-black coat a-quiver with the
+      excitement of the scene. The captain obeyed the Margrave with promptness
+      and celerity. The hatches were lifted, and his sailors, two and two, flung
+      on the ledge of rock the merchant&rsquo;s bales. The men-at-arms, who
+      proved to be men-of-all-work, had piled their weapons in a heap, and were
+      carrying the bales a few yards inland. Through it all the Baron roared
+      with laughter, and rode his horse along its living pavement, turning now
+      at this end and now at the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do not be impatient,&rdquo; he cried down to them, &ldquo;&lsquo;twill
+      not take long to strip the boat of every bale, then I shall hang you on
+      these trees, and send back your bodies in the barge, as a lesson to
+      Frankfort. You must return, captain,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;for you
+      cannot sell dead bodies to my liege of Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As he spoke a ruddy flush spread over the Rhine, as if some one had
+      flashed a red lantern upon the waters. The glow died out upon the instant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What!&rdquo; thundered the Margrave, &ldquo;is that the reflection
+      of my beard, or are Beelzebub and his fiends coming up from below for a
+      portion of the Frankfort cloth? I will share with good brother Satan, but
+      with no one else. Boil me if I ever saw a sight like that before! What was
+      it, captain?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I saw nothing unusual, my lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, there!&rdquo; exclaimed the Margrave, and as he spoke it
+      seemed that a crimson film had fallen on the river, growing brighter and
+      brighter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my lord,&rdquo; cried the captain, &ldquo;the Castle is on
+      fire!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Saints protect us!&rdquo; shouted the Red Margrave, crossing
+      himself, and turning to the west, where now both hearing and sight
+      indicated that a furnace was roaring. The whole western sky was aglow, and
+      although the flames could not be seen for the intervening cliff, every one
+      knew there was no other dwelling that could cause such an illumination.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Spurring his horse, and calling his men to come on, the nobleman dashed up
+      the steep acclivity, and when the last man had departed, Roland, followed
+      by his two lieutenants, stepped from the forest to the right down upon the
+      rocky plateau.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XIII. &ldquo;A SENTENCE; COME, PREPARE!&rdquo;
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain,&rdquo; said Roland quietly, &ldquo;bring your crew ashore,
+      and fling these bales on board again as quickly as you can.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An instant later the sailors were at work, undoing their former efforts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In mercy&rsquo;s name, Roland,&rdquo; wailed one of the stricken,
+      &ldquo;get a sword and cut our bonds.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All in good time,&rdquo; replied Roland. &ldquo;The bales are more
+      valuable to me than you are, and we have two barrels of gold at the foot
+      of the cliff to bring in, if they haven&rsquo;t sunk in the Rhine.
+      Greusel, do you and Ebearhard take two of the crew, launch the small boat,
+      and rescue the barrels if you can find them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mercy on us, Roland! Mercy!&rdquo; moaned his former comrades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have already wasted too much mercy upon you,&rdquo; he said.
+      &ldquo;If I rescue you now, I shall be compelled to hang you in the
+      morning as breakers of law, so I may as well leave you where you are, and
+      allow the Red Margrave to save me the trouble. The loss of his castle will
+      not make him more compassionate, especially if he learns you were the
+      cause of it. You will then experience some refined tortures, I imagine;
+      for, like myself, he may think hanging too good for you. I should never
+      have fired his castle had it not been for your rebellion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men on the ground groaned but made no further appeal. Some of them
+      were far-seeing enough to realize that an important change had come over
+      the young man they thought so well known to them, who stood there with an
+      air of indifference, throwing out a suggestion now and then for the more
+      effective handling of the bales; suggestions carrying an impalpable force
+      of authority that caused them to be very promptly obeyed. They did not
+      know that this person whom they had regarded as one of themselves, the
+      youngest at that, treating him accordingly, had but a day or two before
+      received a tremendous assurance, which would have turned the head of
+      almost any individual in the realm, old or young; the assurance that he
+      was to be supreme ruler over millions of creatures like themselves; a
+      ruler whose lightest word might carry their extinction with it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet such is the strange littleness of human nature that, although this
+      potent knowledge had been gradually exercising its effect on Roland&rsquo;s
+      character, it was not the rebellion of the eighteen or their mutinous
+      words that now made him hard as granite towards them. It was the trivial
+      fact that four of them had dared to manhandle him; had made a personal
+      assault upon him; had pinioned his helpless arms, and flung his sword,
+      that insignia of honor, to the feet of Kurzbold, leader of the revolt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord&rsquo;s Anointed, he was coming to consider himself, although not
+      yet had the sacred ointment been placed upon his head. A temporal Emperor
+      and a vice-regent of Heaven upon earth, his hand was destined to hold the
+      invisible hilt of the Almighty&rsquo;s sword of vengeance. The words
+      &ldquo;I will repay&rdquo; were to reach their fulfillment through his
+      action. Notwithstanding his youth, or perhaps because of it, he was
+      animated by deep religious feeling, and this, rather than ambition,
+      explained the celerity with which he agreed to the proposals of the
+      Archbishops.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The personage the prisoners saw standing on the rock-ledge of Furstenberg
+      was vastly different from the young man who, a comrade of comrades, had
+      departed from Frankfort in their company. They beheld him plainly enough,
+      for there was now no need of torches along the foreshore; the night was
+      crimson in its brilliancy, and down the hill came a continuous roar, like
+      that of the Rhine Fall seventy leagues away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Into this red glare the small boat and its four occupants entered, and
+      Roland saw with a smile that two well-filled casks formed its freight. The
+      bales were now aboard the barge again, and the Commander ordered the crew
+      to help the quartette in the small boat with the lifting of the heavy
+      barrels. Greusel and Ebearhard clambered over the side, and came thus to
+      the ledge where Roland stood, as the crew rolled the barrels down into the
+      cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lieutenants,&rdquo; said the Commander, &ldquo;select two stout
+      battle-axes from that heap. Follow the chain up the hill until you reach
+      that point where it is attached to the thick rope. Cut the rope with your
+      axes, and draw down the chain with you, thus clearing a passage for the
+      barge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two men chose battle-axes, then turned to their leader.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Should we not get our men aboard,&rdquo; they said, &ldquo;before
+      the barge is free?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;These rebels are prisoners of the Red Margrave. They belong to him,
+      and not to me. Where they are, there they remain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lieutenants, with one impulse, advanced to their Commander, who
+      frowned as they did so. A cry of despair went up from the pinioned men,
+      but Kurzbold shouted:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cut him down, Ebearhard, and then release us. In the name of the
+      guild I call on you to act! He is unarmed; cut him down! &lsquo;Tis foul
+      murder to desert us thus.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cutting down could easily have been accomplished, for Roland stood at
+      their mercy, weaponless since the <i>émeute</i> on the barge.
+      Notwithstanding the seriousness of the occasion, the optimistic Ebearhard
+      laughed, although every one else was grave enough.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you, Kurzbold, for your suggestion. We have come forward, not
+      to use force, but to try persuasion. Roland, you cannot desert to death
+      the men whom you conducted out of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why can I not?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should have said a moment ago that you will not, but now I say
+      you cannot. Kurzbold has just shown what an irreclaimable beast he is, and
+      on that account, because birth, or training, or something has made you one
+      of different caliber, you cannot thus desert him to the reprisal of that
+      red fiend up the hill.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I save him now, &lsquo;twill be but to hang him an hour later. I
+      am no hangman, while the Margrave is. I prefer that he should attend to my
+      executions.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again Ebearhard laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis no use, Roland, pretending abandonment, for you will not
+      abandon. I thoroughly favor choking the life out of Kurzbold, and one or
+      two of the others, and will myself volunteer for the office of headsman,
+      carrying, as I do, the ax, but let everything be done decently and in
+      order, that a dignified execution may follow on a fair trial.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Commander,&rdquo; shouted the captain from the deck of the barge,
+      &ldquo;make haste, I beg of you. The rope connecting with the Castle has
+      been burnt, and the chain is dragging free. The current is swift, and this
+      barge heavy. We shall be away within the minute.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get your crew ashore on the instant,&rdquo; cried Roland, &ldquo;and
+      fling me these despicable burdens aboard. A man at the head, another at
+      the heels, and toss each into the barge. Is there time, captain, to take
+      this heap of cutlery with us as trophies of the fray?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied the captain, &ldquo;if we are quick about it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The howling human packages were hurled from ledge to barge; the strong,
+      unerring sailors, accustomed to the task, heaved no man into the water.
+      Others as speedily fell upon the heap of weapons, and threw them,
+      clattering, on the deck. All then leaped aboard, and Roland, motioning his
+      lieutenants to precede him, was the last to climb over the prow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The chain came down over the stones with a clattering run, and fell with a
+      great splash into the river. The barge, now clear, swung with the current
+      stern foremost; the sailors got to their oars, and gradually drew their
+      craft away from the shore. A little farther from the landing, those on
+      deck, looking upstream, enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the magnificent
+      conflagration. The huge stone Castle seemed to glow white hot. The roof
+      had fallen in, and a seething furnace reddened the midnight sky. Like a
+      flaming torch the great tower roared to the heavens. The whole hilltop
+      resembled the crater of an active volcano. Timber floors and wooden
+      partitions, long seasoned, proved excellent material for the incendiaries,
+      and even the stones were crumbling away, falling into the gulf of fire,
+      sending up a dazzling eruption of sparks, as section after section tumbled
+      into this earthly Hades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The long barge floated placidly down a river resembling molten gold. The
+      boat was in disarray, covered with bales of cloth not yet lowered into the
+      hold, cluttered here and there with swords, battle-axes, and spears. In
+      the various positions where they had been flung lay the helpless men, some
+      on their faces, some on their backs. The deck was as light as if the red
+      setting sun were casting his rays upon it. Roland seated himself on a
+      bale, and said to the captain:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Turn all these men face upward,&rdquo; and the captain did so.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ebearhard, you said execution should take place after a fair trial.
+      There is no necessity to call witnesses, or to go through any court of law
+      formalities. You two are perfectly cognizant of everything that has taken
+      place, and no testimony will either strengthen or weaken that knowledge.
+      As a preliminary, take Kurzbold, the new president, and Gensbein, his
+      lieutenant, from among that group, and set them apart. Two members of the
+      crew will carry out this order,&rdquo; which was carried out accordingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland rose, walked along the prostrate row, and selected, apparently at
+      haphazard, four others, then said to the members of his crew:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Place these four men beside their leader. Left to myself,&rdquo; he
+      continued to his lieutenants, &ldquo;I should hang the six. However, I
+      shall take no hand in the matter. I appoint you, Joseph Greusel, and you,
+      Gottlieb Ebearhard, as judges, with power of life and death. If your
+      verdict on any or all of the accused is death, I shall use neither the ax
+      nor the cord, but propose flinging them into the river, and if God wills
+      them to reach the shore alive, their binding will be no hindrance to
+      escape.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold and his lieutenant broke out into alternate curses and appeals,
+      protesting that Greusel and Ebearhard had not been expelled from the
+      guild, and calling upon them by their solemn oath of brotherhood to
+      release them now that they possessed the power. To these appeals the
+      newly-appointed judges made no reply, and for once Ebearhard did not
+      laugh.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other four directed their supplications to Roland himself. They had
+      been misled, they cried, and deeply regretted it. Already they suffered
+      punishment of a severity almost beyond power of human endurance, and they
+      feared their bones were broken with the cudgeling, since which assault
+      their bonds grievously tortured them. All swore amendment, and their grim
+      commander still remaining silent, they asked him in what respect they were
+      more guilty than the dozen others whom seemingly he intended to spare. At
+      last Roland replied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You four,&rdquo; he said sternly, &ldquo;dared to lay hands upon
+      me, and for that I demand from the judges a sentence of death.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Even his two lieutenants gazed at him in amazement, that he should make so
+      much of an action which they themselves had endured and nothing said of
+      it. Surely the laying-on of hands, even in rudeness, was not a capital
+      crime, yet they saw to their astonishment that Roland was in deadly
+      earnest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The leader turned a calm face toward their scrutiny, but there was a frown
+      upon his brow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Work while ye have the light,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Judges,
+      consider your decision, and deliver your verdict.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel and Ebearhard turned their backs on every one, walked slowly aft,
+      and down into the cabin. Roland resumed his seat on the bale of cloth,
+      elbows on his knees, and face in his hands. All appeals had ceased, and
+      deep silence reigned, every man aboard the boat in a state of painful
+      tension. The fire in the distant castle lowered and lowered, and darkness
+      was returning to the deck of the barge. At last the judges emerged from
+      the cabin, and came slowly forward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Greusel who spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We wish to know if only these six are on trial?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only these six,&rdquo; replied Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Our verdict is death,&rdquo; said Greusel. &ldquo;Kurzbold and
+      Gensbein are to be thrown into the Rhine bound as they lie, but the other
+      four receive one chance for life, in that the cords shall be cut, leaving
+      their limbs free.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This seeming mercy brought no consolation to the quartette, for each
+      plaintively proclaimed that he could not swim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you for your judgment,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;which I
+      am sure you must have formed with great reluctance. Having proven yourself
+      such excellent judges, I doubt not you will now act with equal wisdom as
+      advisers. A phrase of yours, Ebearhard, persists in my mind, despite all
+      efforts to dislodge it. You uttered on the ledge of rock yonder something
+      to the effect that we left Frankfort as comrades together. That is very
+      true, and unless you override my resolution, I have come to the conclusion
+      that if any of us are fated to die, the penalty shall be dealt by some
+      other hand than mine. The twelve who lie here are scarcely less guilty
+      than the six now under sentence, and I propose, therefore, to put ashore
+      on the east bank Kurzbold and Gensbein, one a rogue, the other a fool. The
+      sixteen who remain have so definitely proven themselves to be simpletons
+      that I trust they will not resent my calling them such. If however, they
+      abandon all claim to the comradeship that has been so much prated about,
+      swearing by the Three Kings of Cologne faithfully to follow me, and obey
+      my every word without cavil or argument, I will pardon them, but the first
+      man who rebels will show that my clemency has been misplaced, and I can
+      assure them that it shall not be exercised again. Captain, your sailors
+      are familiar with knotted ropes. Bid them release all these men except the
+      six condemned.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boatmen, with great celerity, freed the prostrate captives from their
+      bonds, but some of the mutineers had been so cruelly used in the cudgeling
+      that it was necessary to assist them to their feet. The early summer
+      daybreak was at hand, its approach heralded by the perceptible diluting of
+      the darkness that surrounded them, and a ghastly, pallid grayness began to
+      overspread the surface of the broad river. Down the stream to the west the
+      towers of Bacharach could be faintly distinguished, looking like a dream
+      city, the lower gloom of which was picked out here and there by points of
+      light, each betokening an early riser.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a deeply dejected, silent group that stood in this weird
+      half-light, awaiting the development of Roland&rsquo;s mind regarding
+      them; he, the youngest of their company, quiet, unemotional, whose
+      dominion no one now thought of disputing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;steer for the eastern shore. I
+      know that Bacharach is the greatest wine mart on the Rhine, and well
+      sustains the reputation of the drunken god for whom it is named, but we
+      will nevertheless avoid it. There is a long island opposite the town, but
+      a little farther down. I dare say you know it well. Place that island
+      between us and Bacharach, and tie up to the mainland, out of view from the
+      stronghold of Bacchus. He is a misleading god, with whom we shall hold no
+      further commerce.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Joseph Greusel, and Gottlieb Ebearhard, do you two administer
+      the oath of the Three Kings to these twelve men; but before doing so, give
+      each one his choice, permitting him to say whether he will follow Kurzbold
+      on the land or obey me on the water.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here Kurzbold broke out again in trembling anger:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your pretended fairness is a sham, and your bogus option a piece of
+      your own sneaking dishonesty. What chance have we townsmen, put ashore,
+      penniless, in an unknown wilderness, far from any human habitation,
+      knowing nothing of the way back to Frankfort? Your fraudulent clemency
+      rescues us from drowning merely to doom us to starvation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The daylight had so increased that all might see the gentle smile coming
+      to Roland&rsquo;s lips, and the twinkle in his eye as he looked at the
+      wrathful Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A most intelligent leader of men are you, Herr Conrad. I suppose
+      this dozen will stampede to join your leadership. They must indeed be
+      proud of you when they learn the truth. I shall present to each of you,
+      out of my own store of gold that came from the castle you so bravely
+      attacked last night, one half the amount that is your due. This will be
+      more money than any of you ever possessed before; each portion, indeed,
+      excelling the total that you eighteen accumulated during your whole lives.
+      I could easily bestow your share without perceptible diminution of the
+      fund we three, unaided, extracted from the coffers of the Red Margrave.
+      The reason I do not pay in full is this. When you reach Frankfort, I must
+      be assured that you will keep your foolish tongues silent. If any man
+      speaks of our labors, I shall hear of it on my return, and will fine that
+      man his remaining half-share.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It distresses me to expose your ignorance, Kurzbold, but I put you
+      ashore amply provided with money, barely two-thirds of a league from
+      Lorch, where you spent so jovial an evening, and where a man with gold in
+      his pouch need fear neither hunger nor thirst. Lorch may be attained by a
+      leisurely walker in less than half an hour; indeed, it is barely two
+      leagues from this spot to Assmannshausen, and surely you know the road
+      from that storehouse of red wine to the capital city of Frankfort, having
+      once traversed it. A child of six, Kurzbold, might be safely put ashore
+      where you shall set foot on land. Therefore, lieutenants, let each man
+      know he will receive a bag of coin, and may land unmolested to accompany
+      the brave and intelligent Kurzbold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As he finished this declamation, that caused even some of the beaten
+      warriors to laugh at their leader, the barge came gently alongside the
+      strand, well out of sight of Bacharach. Each of the dozen swore the
+      terrible, unbreakable oath of the Three Kings to be an obedient henchman
+      to Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;depart to the cabin, where a
+      flagon of wine will be served to every man, and also an early breakfast.
+      After that you are permitted to lie down and relax your swollen limbs,
+      meditating on the extract from Holy Writ which relates the fate of the
+      blind when led by the blind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the dozen limped away, the chief turned to his prisoners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Against you four I bear resentment that I thought could not be
+      appeased except by your expulsion, but reflection shows me that you acted
+      under instruction from the foolish leader you selected, and therefore the
+      principal, not the agent, is most to blame. I give you the same choice I
+      have accorded to the rest. Unloose them, captain; and while this is being
+      done, Greusel, get two empty bags from the locker, open one of the casks,
+      and place in each bag an amount which you estimate to be one half the
+      share which is Kurzbold&rsquo;s due.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The four men standing up took the oath, and thanked Roland for his mercy,
+      hurrying away at a sign from him to their bread and wine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Send hither,&rdquo; cried Roland after them, &ldquo;two of the men
+      who have already refreshed themselves, each with a loaf of bread and a
+      full flagon of wine. And now, captain, release Kurzbold and Gensbein.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When these two stood up and stretched themselves, the bearers of bread and
+      wine presented them with this refreshment, and after they had partaken of
+      it, Greusel gave them each a bag of gold, which they tied to their belts
+      without a word, while Greusel and Ebearhard waited to escort them to land.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We want our swords,&rdquo; said Kurzbold sullenly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard looked at his chief, but he shook his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They have disgraced their swords,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;which now
+      by right belong to the Margrave Hermann von Katznellenbogenstahleck. Put
+      them ashore, lieutenant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was broad daylight, and the men had all come up from the cabin,
+      standing in a silent group at the stern. Kurzbold, on the bank, foaming at
+      the mouth with fury, shook his fist at them, roaring:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cowards! Pigs! Dolts! Asses! Poltroons!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men made no reply, but Ebearhard&rsquo;s hearty laugh rang through the
+      forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have given us your titles, Kurzbold,&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;Send
+      us your address whenever you get one!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;cast off. Cross to this side of
+      that island, and tie up there for the day. Set a man on watch, relieving
+      the sentinel every two hours. We have spent an exciting night, and will
+      sleep till evening.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your honor, may I first stow away these bales, and dispose of the
+      battle-axes, spears, and broadswords, so to clear the deck?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may do that, captain, at sunset. As for the bales, they make a
+      very comfortable couch upon which I intend to rest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XIV. THE PRISONER OF EHRENFELS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      There is inspiration in the sight of armed men marching steadily together;
+      men well disciplined, keeping step to the measured clank of their armor.
+      Like a great serpent the soldiers of Cologne issued from the forest,
+      coming down two and two, for the path was narrow. They would march four
+      abreast when they reached the river road, and the evolutions which
+      accomplished this doubling of the columns, without changing step or
+      causing confusion, called forth praise from the two southern Archbishops.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A beautiful tableau of amity and brotherly love was presented to the
+      troops as they looked up at the three Archbishops standing together on the
+      balcony in relief against the gray walls of the Castle. The officers, who
+      were on horseback, raised their swords sky-pointing from their helmets,
+      for they recognized their overlord and his two notable confrères. With the
+      motion of one man the three Archbishops acknowledged the salute. The
+      troops cheered and cheered as the anaconda made its sinuous way down the
+      mountain-side, and company after company came abreast the Castle. The
+      Archbishops stood there until the last man disappeared down the river road
+      on his way to Coblentz.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I ask you,&rdquo; said Mayence, addressing Treves, &ldquo;to
+      conduct me to the flat roof of your Castle? Will you accompany us?&rdquo;
+      he inquired of Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cologne and Treves being for once in agreement, the latter led the way,
+      and presently the three stood on the broad stone plateau which afforded a
+      truly striking panorama of the Rhine. The July sun sinking in the west
+      transformed the river into a crimson flood, and at that height the cool
+      evening breeze was delicious. Cologne stood with one hand on the parapet,
+      and gazed entranced at the scene, but the practical Mayence paid no
+      attention whatever to it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your troublesome guest, Treves, has one more request to make, which
+      is that you order his flag hoisted to the top of that pole.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves at once departed to give this command, while Cologne, with clouded
+      brow, turned from his appreciation of the view.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you have requested the raising of a
+      signal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A signal which calls your men from the Lahn to the landing at
+      Stolzenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; repeated Mayence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, I have kept my promise not only to the letter, but in the
+      spirit as well. My troops are marching peaceably away, and will reach
+      their barracks some time to-morrow. Although I exacted no promise from
+      you, you implied there was a truce between us, and that your army, like my
+      company, was not to be called into action of any kind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your understanding of our pact is concisely stated, even though my
+      share in that pact remained unspoken. A truce, did you say? Is it not more
+      than that? I hoped that my seconding of the nomination you proposed proved
+      me in complete accord with your views.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not in effect your prisoner, then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely not; so contrary to the fact is such an assumption that I
+      implore you to accept my hospitality. The signal, which I see is now at
+      the mast-head, calls for one barge only, and that contains no soldier,
+      merely a captain and his ten stout rowers, whom you may at this moment, if
+      you turn round, see emerging from the mouth of the Lahn. I present to you,
+      and to the Countess von Sayn, my Schloss of Martinsburg for as long as you
+      may require it. It is well furnished, well provisioned, and attended to by
+      a group of capable servants, who are at your command. I suggest that you
+      cross in my barge, in company with the Countess and her kinsman, the
+      Reverend Father. You agree, I take it, to convoy the lady safely to her
+      temporary restraint in Pfalz. It was her own request, you remember.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall convoy her thither.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am trusting to you entirely. The distance is but thirteen
+      leagues, and can be accomplished easily in a day. Once on the other side
+      of the river she may despatch her kinsman, or some more trustworthy
+      messenger, to her own Castle, and thus summon the two waiting-women who
+      will share her seclusion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it your intention, my Lord, that her imprisonment shall&mdash;?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop of Mayence held up his thin hand with a gesture of
+      deprecation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I use no word so harsh as &lsquo;imprisonment.&rsquo; The penance,
+      if you wish so to characterize it, is rather in the nature of a retreat,
+      giving her needed opportunity for reflection, and, I hope, for regret.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nevertheless, my Lord, your action seems to me unnecessarily
+      severe. How long do you propose to detain her?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am pained to hear you term it severity, for her treatment will be
+      of the mildest description. I thought you would understand that no other
+      course was open to me. So far as I am personally concerned, she might have
+      said what pleased her, with no adverse consequences, but she flouted the
+      highest Court of the realm, and such contempt cannot be overlooked. As for
+      the duration of her discipline, it will continue until the new Emperor is
+      married, after which celebration the Countess is free to go whither she
+      pleases. I shall myself call at Pfalz four days from now, that I may be
+      satisfied the lady enjoys every comfort the Castle affords.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And also, perhaps, to be certain she is there immured.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence&rsquo;s thin lips indulged in a wry smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I need no such assurance,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;since my Lord of
+      Cologne has pledged his word to see that the order of the Court is carried
+      out.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The conversation was here interrupted by the return of Treves. Already the
+      great barge was half-way across the river. The surging, swift current
+      swept it some distance below Stolzenfels, and the rowers, five a side,
+      were working strenuously to force it into slower waters. Lord, lady, and
+      monk crossed over to the mouth of the Lahn, and the barge returned
+      immediately to convey across horses and escort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the valley of the Lahn opened out it presented a picture of quiet
+      sylvan beauty, apparently uninhabited by any living thing. The Archbishop
+      of Cologne rose, and, shading his eyes from the still radiant sun, gazed
+      intently up the little river. No floating craft was anywhere in sight. He
+      turned to the captain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is the flotilla from Mayence?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Flotilla, my Lord?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; a hundred barges sailed down from Mayence in the darkness
+      either last night or the night before, taking harbor here in the Lahn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, even one barge, manned as this is, could not have
+      journeyed such a distance in so short a time, and, indeed, for a flotilla
+      to attempt the voyage, except in daylight, would have been impossible. No
+      barges have come down the Rhine for months, and had they ventured the
+      little Lahn is too shallow to harbor them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you, captain. I appear to be ignorant both of the history and
+      the geography of this district. If I were to ask you and your stout rowers
+      to take me down through the swiftest part of the river to Coblentz, how
+      soon would we reach that town?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very speedily, my Lord, but I could undertake no such voyage except
+      at the command of my master. He is not one to be disobeyed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I quite credit that,&rdquo; said Cologne, sitting down again, the
+      momentary desire to recall his marching troops, that had arisen when he
+      saw the empty Lahn, dying down when he realized how effectually he had
+      been outwitted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the horses were brought across, Father Ambrose, at the request of the
+      Countess, rode back to Sayn, and sent forward the two waiting-women whom
+      she required, and so well did he accomplish his task that they arrived at
+      Schloss Martinsburg before ten of the clock that night. At an early hour
+      next morning the little procession began its journey up the Rhine, his
+      Lordship and the Countess in front; the six horsemen bringing up the rear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lady was in a mood of deep dejection; the regret which Mayence had
+      anticipated as result of imprisonment already enveloped her. It was only
+      too evident that the Archbishop of Cologne was bitterly disappointed, for
+      he rode silently by her side making no attempt at conversation. They
+      rested for several hours during midday, arriving at Caub before the red
+      sun set, and now the Countess saw her pinnacled prison lying like an
+      anchored ship in midstream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At Caub they were met by a bearded, truculent-looking ruffian, who
+      introduced himself to the Archbishop as the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You take us rather by surprise, Prince of Cologne,&rdquo; he said.
+      &ldquo;It is true that my overlord, the Archbishop of Mayence, called upon
+      me several days ago while descending the Rhine in his ten-oared barge, and
+      said there was a remote chance that a prisoner might shortly be given into
+      my care. This had often happened before, for my Castle covers some
+      gruesome cells that extend under the river,&mdash;cells with secret
+      entrances not easily come by should any one search the Castle. It is
+      sometimes convenient that a prisoner of State should be immured in one of
+      them when the Archbishop has no room in his own Schloss Ehrenfels, so I
+      paid little attention, and merely said the prisoner would receive a
+      welcome on arrival. This morning there came one of the Archbishop&rsquo;s
+      men from Stolzenfels, and both my wife and myself were astonished to learn
+      that the prisoner would be here this evening under your escort, my Lord,
+      and that it was a woman we were to harbor. Further, she was to be given
+      the best suite of rooms we had in the Castle, and to be treated with all
+      respect as a person of rank. Now, this apartment is in no state of
+      readiness to receive such a lady, much less to house one of the dignity of
+      your Lordship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It does not matter for me,&rdquo; replied the Archbishop. &ldquo;Being,
+      as I may say, part soldier, the bed and board of an inn is quite
+      acceptable upon occasion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh no, your Highness, such a hardship is not to be thought of. The
+      Castle of Gutenfels, standing above us, is comfortable as any on the
+      Rhine. Its owner, the Count Palatine, is fellow-Elector of yours, and a
+      very close friend of my overlord of Mayence, and I am told they vote
+      together whenever my overlord needs his assistance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is true,&rdquo; commented Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My overlord sent word that anything I needed for the accommodation
+      of her ladyship, he recognizing that my warning had been short, I should
+      requisition from the Count Palatine, so at midday I went up to call upon
+      him, not saying anything, of course, about State prisoners, male or
+      female. The moment he heard that you, my Lord, were visiting this
+      neighborhood, he begged me to tender to you, and to all your companions or
+      following, the hospitality of his Castle for so long as you might honor
+      him with your presence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Count Palatine is very gracious, and I shall be glad to accept
+      shelter and refreshment.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He would have been here to greet your Highness, but I was unable to
+      inform him at what hour you would arrive, so I waited for you myself, and
+      will be pleased to guide you to the gates of Gutenfels.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The conversation was interrupted by a great clatter of galloping horses,
+      descending the hill with reckless speed, and at its foot swinging round
+      into the main street of the town.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ha!&rdquo; cried the amateur jailer, &ldquo;here is the Count
+      Palatine himself;&rdquo; and thus it is our fate to meet the fourth
+      Elector of the Empire, who, added to the three Archbishops, formed a
+      quorum so potent that it could elect or depose an Emperor at will.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cavalry of the Count Palatine was composed of fifty fully-armed men,
+      and their gallop through the town roused the echoes of that ancient
+      bailiwick, which, together with the Castle, belonged to the Palatinate.
+      The powerful noble extended a cordial welcome to his fellow-Elector, and
+      together they mounted to the Castle of Gutenfels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At dinner that night the Count Palatine proved an amiable host. Under his
+      geniality the charming Countess von Sayn gradually recovered her lost good
+      spirits, and forgot she was on her way to prison. After all, she was
+      young, naturally joyous, and loved interesting company, especially that of
+      the two Electors, who were well informed, and had seen much of the world.
+      The Archbishop also shook off some of his somberness; indeed, all of it as
+      the flagons flowed. Being asked his preference in wine, he replied that
+      yesterday he had been regaled with a very excellent sample of Oberweseler.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is from this neighborhood,&rdquo; replied the Count. &ldquo;Oberwesel
+      lies but a very short distance below, on the opposite side of the river,
+      but we contend that our beverage of Caub is at least equal, and sometimes
+      superior. You shall try a good vintage of both. How did you come by
+      Oberweseler so far north as Stolzenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Simply because I was so forward, counting on the good nature of my
+      friend of Treves, that I stipulated for Oberweseler.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah! I am anxious to know why.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For reasons of history, not of the palate. A fair English Princess
+      was guest of Stolzenfels long ago, and this wine was served to her.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case,&rdquo; returned the Count, &ldquo;I also shall fall
+      back on history, and first order brimming tankards of old Caub. Really,
+      Madam,&rdquo; he said, turning to Hildegunde, &ldquo;we should have had
+      Royalty here to meet you, instead of two old wine-bibbers like his
+      Highness and myself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl looked startled at this mention of Royalty, bringing to her mind
+      the turbulent events of yesterday. Nevertheless, with great composure, she
+      smiled at her enthusiastic host.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Still,&rdquo; went on the Count, &ldquo;if we are not royal
+      ourselves, &lsquo;tis a degree we are empowered to confer, and, indeed,
+      may be very shortly called upon to bestow. That is true from what I hear,
+      is it not, your Highness?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied the Archbishop gravely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, as I was about to say, this Castle belonged to the
+      Falkensteins, and was sold by them to the Palatinate. Rumor, legend,
+      history, call it what you like, asserts that the most beautiful woman ever
+      born on the Rhine was Countess Beatrice of Falkenstein. But when I drink
+      to the toast I am about to offer I shall, Madam,&rdquo; he smiled at
+      Hildegunde, &ldquo;assert that the legend no longer holds, a contention I
+      am prepared to maintain by mortal combat. Know then that the Earl of
+      Cornwall, who was elected King of Germany in 1257, met Beatrice of
+      Falkenstein in this Castle. The meeting was brought about by the Electors
+      themselves, who, stupid matchmakers, attempted to coerce each into a
+      marriage with the other. Beatrice refused to marry a foreigner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Chronicles are a little vague about the most interesting part
+      of the negotiations, but minutely plain about the outcome. In some manner
+      the Earl and Beatrice met, and he became instantly enamored of her. This
+      is the portion so deplorably slurred by these old monkish writers. I need
+      hardly tell you that the Earl himself succeeded where the seven Electors
+      failed. Beatrice became Cornwall&rsquo;s wife and Queen of Germany, and
+      they lived happily ever afterwards.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I give you the toast!&rdquo; cried the chivalrous Count Palatine,
+      rising. &ldquo;To the cherished memory of the Royal lovers of Gutenfels!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop&rsquo;s eyes twinkled as he looked across the table at
+      Hildegunde.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This seems to be a time of Royal betrothals,&rdquo; he said,
+      raising his flagon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Seems&rsquo; is the right word, Guardian,&rdquo; replied the
+      Countess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then she sipped the ancient wine of Caub.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next morning Hildegunde was early afoot. Notwithstanding her trouble of
+      mind, she had slept well, and awakened with the birds, so great is the
+      influence of youth and health. During her last conscious moments the night
+      before, as she lay in the stately bed of the most noble room the Castle
+      contained, she bitterly accused herself for the disastrous failure of the
+      previous day. The Archbishop of Cologne had given her good counsel that
+      was not followed, and his disappointment with the result, generously as he
+      endeavored to conceal it, was doubtless the deeper because undiscussed.
+      Thinking of coming captivity, a dream of grim Pfalz was expected, but
+      instead the girl&rsquo;s spirit wandered through the sweet seclusion of
+      Nonnenwerth, living again that happy, earlier time, free from politics and
+      the tramp of armed men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the morning the porter, at her behest, withdrew bolt, bar, and chain,
+      allowing exit into the fresh, cool air, and skirting the Castle, she
+      arrived at a broad terrace which fronted it. A fleecy mist extending from
+      shore to shore concealed the waters of the Rhine, and partially
+      obliterated the little village of Caub at the foot of the hill. Where she
+      stood the air was crystal clear, and she seemed to be looking out on a
+      broad snow-field of purest white. Beyond Caub its surface was pierced by
+      the dozen sharp pinnacles of her future prison, looking like a bed of
+      spikes, upon which one might imagine a giant martyr impaled by the verdict
+      of a cruel Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gazing upon this nightmare Castle, whose tusks alone were revealed, the
+      girl formulated the resolution but faintly suggested the night before. On
+      her release should ensue an abandonment of the world, and the adoption of
+      a nun&rsquo;s veil in the convent opposite Drachenfels, an island
+      exchanged for an island; turmoil for peace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At breakfast she met again the jovial Count Palatine, and her more sober
+      guardian, who both complimented her on the results of her beauty rest, the
+      one with great gallantry, the other with more reserve, as befitted a
+      Churchman. The Archbishop seemed old and haggard in the morning light, and
+      it was not difficult to guess that no beauty sleep had soothed his pillow.
+      It wrung the girl&rsquo;s heart to look at him, and again she accused
+      herself for lack of all tact and discretion, wishing that her guardian
+      took his disappointment more vengefully, setting her to some detested task
+      that she might willingly perform.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hospitable Count, eager that they should stop at least another night
+      under his roof, pressed his invitation upon them, and the Archbishop gave
+      a tacit consent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If the Countess is not too tired,&rdquo; said Cologne, &ldquo;I
+      propose that she accompany me on a little journey I have in view farther
+      up the river. We will return here in the evening.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should be delighted,&rdquo; cried Hildegunde, &ldquo;for all
+      sense of fatigue has been swept away by a most restful night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The good-natured Count left them to their own devices, and shortly
+      afterwards guardian and ward rode together down the steep declivity to the
+      river. The mist was already driven away, except a wisp here and there
+      clinging to the gray surface of the water, trailing along as if drawn by
+      the current, for the air was motionless, and there was promise of a sultry
+      day. They proceeded in silence until a bend in the Rhine shut Caub and its
+      sinister water-prison out of sight, and then it was the girl who spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Guardian,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;have I offended you beyond
+      forgiveness?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A gentle smile came to his lips as he gazed upon her with affection.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have not offended me at all, my dear,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but
+      I am grieved at thwarting circumstance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have been thinking over circumstances too, and hold myself solely
+      to blame for their baffling opposition. I will submit without demur to
+      whatever length of imprisonment may please, and, if possible, soften the
+      Archbishop of Mayence. After my release I shall ask your consent that I
+      may forthwith join the Sisterhood at Nonnenwerth. I wish to divide my
+      wealth equally between yourself and the convent.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop shook his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could not accept such donation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not? The former Archbishop of Cologne accepted Linz from my
+      ancestress Matilda.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was intended to be but a temporary loan.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well; call my benefaction temporary if you like, to be kept until I
+      call for it, but meanwhile to be used at your discretion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is quite impossible,&rdquo; said the Archbishop firmly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Does that mean you will not allow me to adopt the religious life?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It means, my child, that I should not feel justified in permitting
+      this renunciation of the world until you knew more of what you were giving
+      up.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know enough already.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think so, but your experience of it is too recent for us to
+      expect unbiased judgment this morning. I should insist on a year, at
+      least, and preferably two years, part of that time to be spent in
+      Frankfort and in Cologne. I anticipate a great improvement in Frankfort
+      when the new Emperor comes to the throne. If at the end of two years you
+      are still of the same mind, I shall offer no further opposition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall never change my intention.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps not. I am told that the determination of a woman is
+      irrevocable, so a little delay does not much matter. Meanwhile, another
+      problem passes my comprehension. I have thought and thought about it, and
+      am convinced there is a misunderstanding somewhere, which possibly will be
+      cleared away too late. I am quite certain that Father Ambrose did not meet
+      Prince Roland in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you, then, dispute the word of Father Ambrose?&rdquo; asked the
+      girl, quickly checking the accent of indignation that arose in her voice,
+      for humility was to be her rôle ever after.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Father Ambrose is at once both the gentlest and most truthful of
+      men. He has undoubtedly seen somebody rob a merchant in Frankfort. He has
+      undoubtedly been imprisoned among wine-casks; but that this thief and this
+      jailer was Roland is incredible to me who know the young man, and
+      physically impossible, for Prince Roland at that time was himself a
+      prisoner, as, indeed, he is to-day. Prince Roland cannot be liberated from
+      Ehrenfels without an order signed by Mayence, Treves, and myself. I alone
+      have not the power to encompass his freedom, and Mayence is equally
+      powerless although he is owner of the Castle. Some scoundrel is walking
+      the streets of Frankfort pretending to be Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case, my Lord, he would not deny his identity when accosted
+      on the bridge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A very clever point, my dear, but it does not overcome my
+      difficulty. There might be a dozen reasons why the rascal would not
+      incriminate himself to any stranger who thus took him by surprise.
+      However, it is useless to argue the question, for I persuade you as little
+      as you persuade me. The practical thing is to fathom the misunderstanding,
+      and remove it. Will you assist me in this?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Willingly, if I can, Guardian.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. I must first inform you that your imprisonment is likely
+      to be very short. You are to know that the harmony supposed to exist in
+      Stolzenfels is largely mythical: I left behind me the seeds of discord. I
+      proposed that the glum niece of Treves, whom you met at our historic
+      lunch, should be the future Empress. This nomination was seconded by
+      Mayence himself, and received with unconcealed joy by my brother of
+      Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then for once the Court was unanimous? I think your choice an
+      admirable one.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Archbishop of Mayence does not agree with you, my dear.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then why did he second your nomination?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because he is so much more clever than Treves, who a few minutes
+      later would have been the seconder.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why should his Lordship of Mayence think one thing and act another?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why is he always doing it? No one can guess what Mayence really
+      thinks, if he is judged by what he says. Were Treves&rsquo; niece to
+      become Empress, her uncle would speedily realize his power, and Mayence
+      would lose his leadership. Could Mayence to-day secretly promote you to
+      the position of Empress, he would gladly do so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But won&rsquo;t he at once look for some one else?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly. That choice is now occupying his mind. His seconding of
+      the nomination was merely a ruse to gain time, but if he proposes any one
+      else he will find both Treves and myself against him. His only hope of
+      circumventing the ambition of Treves is that something may happen, causing
+      you to change your mind concerning Prince Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You forget, Guardian,&rdquo; protested the girl, &ldquo;that his
+      Lordship of Mayence said he would not permit me to marry Prince Roland
+      after the way I had spoken and acted.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He said that, my dear, under the influence of great resentment
+      against you, but Mayence never allows resentment or any other feeling to
+      stand in the way of his own interests. If you wrote him a contrite letter
+      regretting your defiance of him, and expressing your willingness to bow to
+      his wishes, I am very sure he would welcome the communication as a happy
+      solution of the quandary in which he finds himself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You wish me to do this, Guardian?&rdquo; she asked wistfully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not until you are satisfied that Prince Roland is innocent of the
+      charges you make against him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can I receive such assurance?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now you come to the object of this apparently purposeless
+      journey. I have had much experience in the world you are so anxious to
+      renounce, and although I have seen the wicked prosper for a time, yet my
+      faith has never been shaken in an overruling Providence, and what happened
+      last night set me thinking so deeply that daylight stole in upon my
+      meditations.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my poor Guardian, I knew you had not slept, and all because of
+      a worthless creature like myself, and a wicked creature, too, for I did
+      not see the hand of Providence so visible to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely, my dear, a moment&rsquo;s thought would reveal it to you.
+      Remember how we came almost to the door of the prison, when a temporary
+      reprieve was handed to us by that coarse reprobate, the Pfalzgraf. Your
+      suite of rooms was not yet ready, and thus we found bestowed upon us
+      another free day; a day of untrammeled liberty, quite unlooked for. Now,
+      much may be done in a day. An Empire has been lost and won within a few
+      hours. With this gift came a revelation. That wine-blotched Pfalzgraf
+      would have shown no consideration for you: to him a prisoner is a
+      prisoner, to be cast anywhere, lock the door, and have done, but a
+      wholesome fear had been instilled into him by his overlord. The Archbishop
+      of Mayence had taken thought for your comfort, ordering that the best
+      rooms in the Castle should be placed at your disposal. Hence, after all
+      that had passed, his Lordship felt no malignancy against you, and I dare
+      say would have been glad to rescind the order for your imprisonment, were
+      it not that he would never admit defeat.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Guardian, what an imagination is yours! I am sure his Lordship
+      of Mayence will never forgive me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His Lordship of Mayence, my dear, is in a dilemma from which no one
+      except yourself can extricate him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His own cleverness will extricate him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps. Still, I&rsquo;m not troubling about him. My thoughts are
+      much too selfish for that. I wish you to lift me from <i>my</i>
+      uncertainty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean about Prince Roland? I shall do whatever you ask of me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I place no command, but I proffer a suggestion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It shall be a command, nevertheless.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have left your own prison far behind, and are approaching that
+      of Prince Roland. To the door of that detaining Castle I propose to lead
+      you. I am forbidden by my compact with the other Electors to see Prince
+      Roland or to hold any communication with him. The custodian of the Castle,
+      who knows me well, will not refuse any request I make, even if I ask to
+      see the young man himself. He will therefore not hesitate to admit you
+      when I require him to do so. To take away any taint of surreptitiousness
+      about my action, interfering, as one might say, with another man&rsquo;s
+      house, I shall this evening write to the Archbishop of Mayence, tell him
+      exactly what I have done, and why.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you intend, then, that I should see Prince Roland and talk with
+      him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Guardian!&rdquo; cried the girl, her face flushing red,
+      &ldquo;what on earth can I say to him? How am I to excuse my intrusion?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A prisoner, I fancy, does not resent intrusion, especially if the
+      intruder is&mdash;&rdquo; The old man smiled as he looked at the girl,
+      whose blush grew deeper and deeper; then, seeing her confusion, he added:
+      &ldquo;There are many things to say. Introduce yourself as the ward of his
+      Lordship of Cologne; reveal that your guardian has confided to you that
+      Prince Roland is to be the future Emperor; ask for some assurance from him
+      that the property descending to you from your ancestors shall not be
+      molested; or perhaps, better still, with the same introduction, tell him
+      the story of Father Ambrose. Add that this has disquieted you: demand the
+      truth, hearken to what the youth says for himself, thank him, and
+      withdraw. It needs no long conversation, though I am prepared to hear that
+      he wished to lengthen your stay. I am certain that five minutes face to
+      face with him will completely overturn all Father Ambrose has said to his
+      disparagement, and a few simple words from him will probably dispel the
+      whole mystery. If someone is personating him in Frankfort it is more than
+      likely he knows who it is.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They traveled a generous furlong together in silence, the girl&rsquo;s
+      head bowed and her brow troubled. At last, as if with an effort, she
+      cleared doubt away, and raised her head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will do it,&rdquo; she said decisively.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop heaved a deep sigh of relief. He knew now he was out of the
+      wood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is this Assmannshausen we are coming to?&rdquo; she asked, as if to
+      hint that the subject on which they had talked so earnestly was finally
+      done with.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; this is Lorch, and that is the Castle of Nollich standing above
+      it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope,&rdquo; said the girl, with a sigh of weariness, &ldquo;that
+      no English Princess about to marry an Emperor lodged there, or no
+      Englishman who was to become an Emperor&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop interrupted the plaint with a hearty laugh, the first he
+      had enjoyed for several days.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The English seem an interfering race,&rdquo; she went on. &ldquo;I
+      wish they would attend to their own affairs.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nollich is uncontaminated,&rdquo; said the Archbishop, &ldquo;though
+      in olden days a reckless knight on horseback rode up to secure his
+      lady-love, and I believe rode down again with her, and his route is still
+      called the Devil&rsquo;s Ladder.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did the marriage turn out so badly?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; I believe they lived happily ever after; but the ascent was so
+      cliff-like that mountain sprites are supposed to have given their
+      assistance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How much farther is Assmannshausen?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Less than two leagues. We will stop there and refresh ourselves.
+      Are you tired?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh no; not in the least. I merely wish the ordeal was past.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are a brave girl, Hildegunde.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am anything but that, Guardian. Still, do not fear I shall
+      flinch.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After partaking of the midday meal at Assmannshausen, the Countess
+      proposed that they should leave their horses in the stable, and walk the
+      short third of a league to Ehrenfels, and to this her guardian agreed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He found more difficulty with the custodian than had been expected. The
+      man objected, trembling. Without a written order from his master he dare
+      not allow any one to visit the prisoner. He would be delighted to oblige
+      his Lordship of Cologne, but he was merely a poor wretch who had no option
+      in the matter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; said Cologne. &ldquo;I have just come from your
+      master, who is stopping with my brother Treves at Stolzenfels. If you
+      persist I must then request lodgings from you until such time as a speedy
+      messenger can bring your master hither. This journey may cause him great
+      inconvenience, and should such be the case, I fear you will fare ill with
+      him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That may be, my Lord, but I must do my duty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you sure you have already done it on all occasions?&rdquo;
+      asked the Archbishop severely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man&rsquo;s face became ghastly in its pallor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what you mean, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I will quickly tell you what I mean. It is rumored that Prince
+      Roland has been seen on the streets of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How&mdash;how could that be, my Lord?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is exactly what I wish to know. I believe the Prince is not in
+      your custody.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I assure you, my Lord,&rdquo; said the now thoroughly frightened
+      man, &ldquo;that his Highness is in his room.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well; then conduct this lady thither. Although she does not
+      know the Prince, a relative of hers who does asserts that he met his
+      Highness in Frankfort. I said this was impossible if you had done that
+      duty you prate so much about. The lady merely wishes to ask him for some
+      explanation of this affair, so make your choice. Shall she go up with you
+      now, or must I send for the other two Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was but one comforting phrase in this remark, namely, that the lady
+      did not know the Prince. Still, it was a dreadful risk, yet the custodian
+      hesitated no longer. He took down a bunch of keys, and asked the Countess
+      to follow him. Ascending the stair, he unlocked the door, and stood aside
+      for the Countess to pass through.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some one with wildly tousled hair sat sprawling in a chair; arms on the
+      table, and head sunk forward down upon them. A full tankard of wine within
+      his reach, and a flagon had been overset, sluicing the table with its
+      contents, which still fell drip, drip, drip, to the floor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man raised his head, aroused by the harsh unlocking of the door,
+      and with the crash it made as his father flung it hard against the stone
+      wall for the purpose of giving him warning, but the youth was in no
+      condition to profit by this thoughtfulness, nor to understand the signals
+      his father made from behind the frightened girl. He clutched wildly at the
+      overturned flagon, and with an oath cried:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bring me more wine, you old&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Staggering to his feet, he threw the flagon wide, then slipped on the
+      spilled wine and fell heavily to the floor, roaring defiance at the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The panic-stricken girl shrank back, crying to the jailer:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me out! Close the door quickly, and lock it!&rdquo; an order
+      obeyed with alacrity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Hildegunde emerged to the court her guardian asked no question. The
+      horror in her face told all.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry, my Lord,&rdquo; said the cringing custodian, &ldquo;but
+      his Highness is drunk.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Does this&mdash;does this happen often?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alas! yes, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Poor lad, poor lad! The sins of the fathers shall be visited on the
+      children to the third and fourth generation. Hildegunde, forgive me. Let
+      us away and forget it all.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next morning the Countess began her imprisonment in Pfalz.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XV. JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS&rsquo; MEETING
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Roland slept until the sun was about an hour high over the western hills.
+      He found the captain waiting patiently for him to awake, and then that
+      useful martinet instantly set his crew at tying up the bales which had
+      been torn open, placing them once more in the hold. He was about to do the
+      same with the weapons captured from Furstenberg, but Greusel stepped
+      forward, and asked him to put pikes, battle-axes, and the long swords into
+      the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland nodded his approval, saying:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They may prove useful instruments in case of an attack on the
+      barge. Our own swords are just a trifle short for adding interest to an
+      assault.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When once more the hatches were down, and the deck clear, supper was
+      served. Shortly after sunset, Roland told the captain to cast off,
+      directing him to keep to the eastern shore, passing between what might be
+      called the marine Castle of Pfalz and the village of Caub, with the
+      strictest silence he could enjoin upon his crew. Pfalz stands upon a rock
+      in the Rhine, a short distance up the river from Caub, while above that
+      village on the hill behind are situated the strong, square towers of
+      Gutenfels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you intend to pay a call upon Pfalzgrafenstein?&rdquo;
+      asked Ebearhard. &ldquo;It is notoriously the most pestilent robber&rsquo;s
+      nest between Mayence and Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;On this occasion Pfalz shall escape.
+      You see, Ebearhard, on our first trip down the Rhine it is not my
+      intention to fight if I can avoid conflict. The plan which proved
+      successful with the four castles we have visited is impossible so far as
+      Pfalz is concerned. If we attempted to enter this waterschloss by stealth,
+      we would be discovered by those levying contributions on the barge. There
+      is no cover to conceal us, so I shall give Pfalz the go-by, and also
+      Gutenfels, because the latter is not a robber castle, but is owned by the
+      Count Palatine, a true gentleman and no thief. The next object of our
+      attentions will be Schonburg, on the western side of the river, near
+      Oberwesel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the grotesque, hexagonal bulk of the Pfalz, with its numerous jutting
+      corners and turrets, and over all the pentagonal tower, appeared dimly in
+      the center of the Rhine, under the clear stars, the captain ordered his
+      men to lie flat on the deck, himself following their example. Roland and
+      his company were already seated in the cabin, and the great barge, lying
+      so low in the water as to be almost invisible with its black paint,
+      floated noiseless as a dream down the swift current.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without the slightest warning came a shock, and every man on the lockers
+      was flung to the floor of the cabin, with cries of dismay, for too well
+      they recognized the preliminary to their disasters of the night before.
+      Roland sprang up on deck, and found the boat swinging round broadside to
+      the current, which had swept it so near to the Castle that at first it
+      seemed to have struck against one of the outlying rocks. The fantastic
+      form of the Pfalz hung over them, looking like some weird building seen in
+      a nightmare, its sharp, pointed pinnacles outlined against the starlit
+      sky.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain, muttering sonorous German oaths, ordered his men to the
+      sweeps, but Roland saw at once that they were too close to the ledge of
+      rock for any chance of escape. He hurried down into the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Every man his sword, and follow me as silently as possible!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Up on deck again, Roland said to the captain:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let your rowers help the chain to bring the barge alongside, but
+      when the robbers appear, pretend to be getting away, although you must
+      instantly obey them when ordered to cease your efforts.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prow of the boat ground against the solid rock, jammed in between the
+      stout chain and the low cliff. Roland was the first to spring ashore, and
+      the rest nimbly followed him. With every motion of the barge the bell
+      inside the Castle rang, and now they could hear the bestirring of the
+      garrison, and clashing of metal, although the single door of the Pfalz had
+      not yet been opened. This door stood six feet above the plateau of rock,
+      and could be entered or quitted only by means of a ladder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland led his men to a place of effective concealment along the western
+      wall of the Pfalz, only just in time, for as he peered round the corner,
+      his men standing back against the wall to the rear, he saw the flash of
+      torches from the now-open door, and the placing of a stout ladder at a
+      steep angle between the threshold and the floor of rock below. Most of the
+      garrison, however, did not wait for this convenience, but leaped
+      impetuously from doorway to rock. Others slid down the ladder, and all
+      rushed headlong towards the barge, which made its presence known by the
+      grinding of its side against the rock, and also by the despairing orders
+      of the captain, and the hurrying footsteps of his men on deck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      More leisurely down the ladder came two officers, followed by one whom
+      Roland recognized as lord of the Castle, Pfalzgraf Hermann von Stahleck, a
+      namesake and relative of the Laughing Baron of Furstenberg, and quite as
+      ruthless a robber as he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cease your efforts at the prow,&rdquo; shouted the Pfalzgraf to the
+      captain when he had descended the ladder, &ldquo;and concentrate your
+      force at the stern, swinging your boat round broadside on to the landing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain obeyed, and presently the boat lay in such position as the
+      nobleman desired. Now there was a great commotion as, at a word from the
+      Pfalzgraf, the garrison fell on the barge, and began to wrench off the
+      hatches, a task which they well knew how to perform.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Follow as quietly as possible,&rdquo; whispered Roland to the two
+      lieutenants behind him, who, under their breath, passed on word to the
+      men. Roland ran nimbly up the ladder. No guard was set where none had ever
+      been needed before. Greusel was the last to ascend, then the ladder was
+      pulled up, and the massive door swung shut, bolted and chained.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The invaders found torches stuck here and there along the wall, and the
+      picturesque courtyard, with its irregular balconies and stairways, seemed,
+      in the flickering light, more spacious than was actually the case.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Although for the moment in safety, Roland experienced a sense of
+      imprisonment as he gazed round the narrow limits of this enclosure. He had
+      endeavored to count the number of men who followed the Pfalzgraf, but
+      their impetuosity in seeking the barge prevented an accurate estimate,
+      although he knew there were more than double the force that obeyed him,
+      and therefore it would be suicidal to lead his untrained coterie against
+      the seasoned warriors of Stahleck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He ordered Greusel to take with him six men, and search the Castle,
+      bringing into the courtyard whomsoever they might find; also to discover
+      whether any window existed that looked out upon the eastern landing-place.
+      The remainder of his men he grouped at the door, under command of
+      Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear, Ebearhard,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that I boasted
+      prematurely in thinking good luck would attend me now that I lead what
+      appears to be an obedient following. Here we are in a trap, and unless we
+      can escape through rat-holes, I admit that I fail to see for the moment
+      how we are to get safely afloat again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are in better fettle than the Pfalzgraf and his men outside,&rdquo;
+      returned Ebearhard, &ldquo;because this fortress is doubtless well
+      supplied with provisions, and is considered impregnable, while the
+      Pfalzgraf&rsquo;s impetuous chaps, who did not know enough to stay in
+      comfortable quarters when they had them, are without shelter and without
+      food. You have certainly done the best you could in the circumstances, and
+      for those circumstances you are free of blame, since, not being a wizard,
+      you could scarcely know of the chain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, Ebearhard, it is just in that respect I blame myself,
+      neglecting your own good example, who discovered the chain at Furstenberg.
+      This trap is a new invention, and, so far as I know, has never before been
+      attempted on the Rhine. I might have remembered that Stahleck here is
+      cousin to the Red Margrave, who likely has told him of the device. Indeed,
+      the chances are that Stahleck himself was the contriver of the chain, for
+      he seems a man of much more craft and intelligence than that huge,
+      laughing animal farther up the river. I should have ordered the captain to
+      tie up against the eastern bank, and then sent some men in a small boat to
+      learn if the way was clear. No, Ebearhard, I blame myself for this muddle,
+      and, through anxiety to pass the Pfalz, I have landed myself and my men
+      within its walls. I must pace this courtyard for a time, and ponder what
+      next to do. Go you, Ebearhard, with the men to the door. Allow no talking
+      or noise. Listen intently, and report to me if you hear anything. You see,
+      Ebearhard, the devil of it is that Stahleck, like his cousin with Cologne,
+      swears allegiance to the Archbishop of Mayence, and here am I, after
+      destroying the fief of one Archbishop, securely snared in the fief of
+      another. I fear their Lordships&rsquo; next meeting with me will not pass
+      off so amicably as did the last.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Next</i> meeting?&rdquo; cried Ebearhard in astonishment;
+      &ldquo;have you ever met the Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland gasped, realizing that his absorption in one subject had nearly
+      caused him to betray his momentous secret.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, I remember,&rdquo; continued Ebearhard. &ldquo;It was on
+      account of the Archbishop&rsquo;s presence in Bonn that you returned from
+      that town when first you journeyed up the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Roland, with relief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seems to me,&rdquo; went on Ebearhard consolingly, &ldquo;that
+      even if we may not leave the Castle, at least the Pfalzgraf cannot
+      penetrate into the stronghold, therefore we are safe enough.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so, Ebearhard,&rdquo; replied his chief. &ldquo;The Pfalzgraf
+      has the barge, remember, and it can carry his whole force to Caub or
+      elsewhere, returning with ample provisions and siege instruments that will
+      batter in the door despite all we can do. Nevertheless, let us keep up our
+      hearts. Get you to the gate, Ebearhard. I must have time to think before
+      Greusel returns.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Alone, with bent head, he paced back and forwards across the courtyard
+      under the wavering light of the torches. Very speedily he concluded that
+      no plan could be formed until Greusel made his report regarding the
+      intricacies of the Castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My luck is against me! My luck is against me!&rdquo; he said aloud
+      to himself, as if the sound of his own voice might suggest some way out of
+      the difficulty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Luck always turns against a thief and a marauder,&rdquo; said a
+      sweet and clear voice behind him; &ldquo;and how can it be otherwise, when
+      the gallows-tree stands at the end of his journey.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland stopped in his walk, and turned abruptly towards the sound. He saw
+      standing there, just descended from the stairway at her back, one quite
+      evidently a lady; not more than eighteen, perhaps, but nevertheless with a
+      flash of defiance in her somber eyes, which were bent fearlessly upon him.
+      The two tirewomen accompanying her shrank timorously to the background,
+      palpably panic-stricken, and ready to faint with fright.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Madam, how came you here?&rdquo; cried Roland, ignoring her
+      insulting words, too much surprised by her beauty of face and form to
+      think of aught else.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I came here, because your bully upstairs hammered at my door and
+      bade me open, which I would not do, defying him to break it down if he had
+      the power. It so happened that he possessed the power, and used it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I deeply regret that you should have been disturbed, Madam. My
+      lieutenant erred through over-zeal, and I ask your pardon for the offense.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, sir, you are the politest of pirates, but, indeed, your
+      lieutenant seems a harsh man. Without even removing his bonnet, he
+      commanded me to betake myself to the courtyard and report to his chief,
+      which obediently I have done.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not guess that women inhabited this robber&rsquo;s nest. My
+      lieutenant is searching for men in hiding, so please accept my assurance
+      that you will suffer no further annoyance. You are surely not alone in
+      this house?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh no. Her ladyship the Pfalzgraf&rsquo;s wife, and her entourage,
+      have sought shelter in another part of the Castle, and presently they will
+      all troop down here, prisoners to your most ungallant subordinate; that
+      is, should their doors prove no stouter than mine, or if your furious men
+      have not dislocated their shoulders.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How came you to be absent from her ladyship&rsquo;s party?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because, urbane pirate captain, I am an unwilling prisoner in this
+      stronghold, being an obstreperous person, who refused to obey my
+      superiors; those set in authority over me. Consequently am I immured in
+      this dismal dungeon of the water-rats, and thus, youthful pirate, I
+      welcome even so red-handed an outlaw as yourself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then are we in like case, my lady of midnight beauty, for I, too,
+      am a prisoner in Pfalzgrafenstein, and, when you came, was cogitating some
+      plan of escape. Therefore, rebellious maiden, the sword of this red-handed
+      freebooter is most completely at your service,&rdquo; and the speaker once
+      more doffed his bonnet with a gallant sweep that caused the plume to kiss
+      the flagstones at his feet, and he bowed low to the brave girl who had
+      shown no fear of him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XVI. MY LADY SCATTERS THE FREEBOOTERS AND CAPTURES THEIR CHIEF
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Greusel appeared on one of the balconies, and called down to his leader.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;a number of women in the western
+      rooms of the Castle. They have bolted their doors, but tell me that the
+      rooms contain the Pfalzgravine von Stahleck and other noble ladies, with
+      their tirewomen. What am I to do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Place a guard in the corridor, Greusel, to make sure that these
+      ladies communicate with no one outside the fortress.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought it well,&rdquo; explained Greusel, &ldquo;not to break in
+      the doors without definite instructions from you to that effect.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite right. Tell the ladies we will not molest them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You molested me!&rdquo; cried the handsome girl in the courtyard,
+      her dark eyes flashing in the glow of the torches.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This person,&rdquo; said the unemotional Greusel, betraying no eye
+      for beauty, &ldquo;called us every uncomplimentary name she could think
+      of. We were the scum of the earth, according to her account.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl laughed scornfully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I would not have dislodged her,&rdquo; continued Greusel,
+      unperturbed, &ldquo;had she not said there was a window in her room, which
+      is on the eastern side of the Castle, overlooking the operations of the
+      Pfalzgraf on the barge, and she proclaimed her determination to warn
+      Stahleck that his Castle was filled with freebooters, as soon as she could
+      make her voice heard above the din at the landing. Therefore I broke in
+      the door, ordering her and the tirewomen to descend to the courtyard. On
+      examining her room I find there is no such window as she described, and
+      she could not communicate with the Count, so I advise that you send her
+      back again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once more the young lady laughed, and exclaimed:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could not break down the door for myself, so compelled you and
+      your clods to do it. I am immured here; a reluctant captive. You will not
+      have me sent back to my cell, I hope, Commander?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; if you are really my fellow-prisoner, and not one of the enemy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She may be deluding you also,&rdquo; warned Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will take the risk of that,&rdquo; replied Roland, smiling at the
+      girl, who smiled back at him. She had a will of her own, but seemed
+      sensitively responsive to fair treatment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are there any men-servants?&rdquo; asked Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only three, and they are tottering with age,&rdquo; replied
+      Greusel, &ldquo;more frightened than the women themselves. Nevertheless,
+      one of the retainers is important, being, as he told me, keeper of the
+      treasure-house. I relieved him of his keys, and find that the strong-room
+      is well supplied with bags of gold. &lsquo;Twill be the richest haul yet,
+      excepting our two barrels of coin from&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hush, hush!&rdquo; cried Roland. &ldquo;Mention no names. Did you
+      discover any other exit excepting the door by which we entered?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but at the northern end there is a window through which a man
+      of ordinary size might pass. It is, however, high above the rocks, and I
+      discern floating in the tide a fleet of small boats.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;that is important.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Taken in conjunction with the gold, most amiable robber,&rdquo;
+      suggested the girl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Taken in conjunction with the gold,&rdquo; repeated Roland, smiling
+      again; and adding, &ldquo;Taken also in conjunction with a lady who, if I
+      understand her, wishes to escape from the Pfalz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are right,&rdquo; agreed the young girl archly. &ldquo;Do I
+      receive a share of the money?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; if you join our band.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; she cried, with a pout of feigned disappointment,
+      &ldquo;I thought you had already accepted me as a member. And what am I to
+      call my new overlord, who acquires wealth so successfully that he does not
+      wish the amount mentioned, or the place from which it was taken specified?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My name is Roland. Will you consent to a fair exchange?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am called Hilda by my friends.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, Hilda,&rdquo; said the young man, looking at her with
+      admiration, &ldquo;I welcome you as one of my lieutenants.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One, indeed!&rdquo; she exclaimed, with affected indignation.
+      &ldquo;I shall be first lieutenant or nothing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Up to this moment Herr Joseph Greusel, who so unceremoniously made
+      your acquaintance, has been my chief lieutenant, but I willingly depose
+      him, and give you his place.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you hear that, Joseph?&rdquo; Hilda called up to the man leaning
+      over the balcony.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The deposed one made a grimace, but no reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Set your guard, and come down, Greusel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently Greusel appeared in the courtyard, followed by four men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have left two on guard,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right. What have you done with the servants?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tied them up in a hard knot. I found a loft full of ropes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right again. Take your four men, and stand guard at the door. Send
+      Ebearhard to me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before Ebearhard arrived, Roland turned to the girl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Retire to your room,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and bid your women
+      gather together whatever you wish to carry with you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather stay where I am,&rdquo; protested Hilda, &ldquo;being
+      anxious to hear what your plans are. I confess I don&rsquo;t know how you
+      can emerge from this Castle in safety.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fräulein Hilda, the first duty of a chief lieutenant is obedience.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Refusing that, what will you do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall call two of my men, cause you to be transported to your
+      room, and order them to see that you do not leave it again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Remaining here when you have departed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That, of course.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will take the gold, however.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly; the gold obeys me; doing what I ask of it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a few moments the girl stood there, gazing defiance at him, but
+      although a slight smile hovered about his lips, she realized in some
+      subtle way&mdash;woman&rsquo;s intuition, perhaps&mdash;that he meant what
+      he said. Her eyes lowered, and an expression of pique came into her pretty
+      face; then she breathed a long sigh.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall go to my room,&rdquo; she said very quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will call upon you the moment I have given some instructions to
+      my third lieutenant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You need not trouble,&rdquo; she replied haughtily, speaking,
+      however, as mildly as himself. &ldquo;I remain a prisoner of the Pfalzgraf
+      von Stahleck, who, though a distinguished pillager like yourself,
+      nevertheless possesses some instincts of a gentleman.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With that, the young woman retired slowly up the stairway, and
+      disappeared, followed by her two servants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ebearhard,&rdquo; said Roland, when that official appeared, &ldquo;Greusel
+      has discovered a window to the north through which yourself and a number
+      of your men can get down to the rocks with the aid of a cord, and he tells
+      me there is a loft full of ropes. A flotilla of boats is tied up at the
+      lower end of the Castle. He has visited the treasury, and finds it well
+      supplied with bags of coin. I intend to effect a junction between those
+      bags and that flotilla. Our position here is quite untenable, for there is
+      probably some secret entrance to this Castle that we know nothing of.
+      There are also a number of women within whom we cannot coerce, and must
+      not starve. Truth to tell, I fear them more than I do the ruffians
+      outside. Have any of the men-at-arms discovered that we pulled up the
+      ladder and closed the door?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think not, for in such case they would return from their pillages
+      as quickly as did the Red Margrave when he found his house was ablaze. My
+      opinion is that they are making a clean job of looting the barge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If that is so, our barrels of gold are gone, rendering it the more
+      necessary that we should carry away every kreuzer our friend Stahleck
+      possesses. Call, therefore, every man except one from the door. Greusel
+      has the keys, and will lead you to the treasury. Hoist the bags to the
+      north window. While your men are doing this, rive a stout rope so that you
+      may all speedily descend to the rocks, except as many as are necessary to
+      lower the bags. When this is accomplished, Greusel is to report to me from
+      the balcony, and then descend, taking with him the man on guard at the
+      door. Apportion men and bags in all the boats but one. That one I shall
+      take charge of. Put Greusel in command of the flotilla, and tell him to
+      convey his fleet as quietly as possible to the eastern shore; then paddle
+      up in slack water until he is, say, a third of a league above Pfalz. There
+      he must await my skiff. You will stand by that skiff until I join you. I
+      shall likely be accompanied by three women, so retain the largest and most
+      comfortable of the small boats.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard raised his eyebrows at the mention of the women, but said
+      nothing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland went in person to the room occupied by the young woman, and knocked
+      at her door, whereupon it was opened very promptly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;there is opportunity for escape if
+      you care to avail yourself of it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl had been seated when he entered, but now she rose, speaking in a
+      voice that was rather tremulous.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, I was wrong to disobey you when you had treated me so kindly.
+      I shall therefore punish myself by remaining where I am.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case, Madam, you will punish me as well; and, indeed, I
+      deserve it, forgetting as I did for the moment that I addressed a lady. If
+      you will give me the pleasure of escorting you, I shall conduct you in
+      safety to whatever place of refuge you wish to reach.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you are most courteous, but I fear my intended destination
+      might take you farther afield than would be convenient for you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My time is my own, and nothing could afford me greater
+      gratification than the assurance of your security. Tell me your
+      destination.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is the Convent of Nonnenwerth, situated on an island larger than
+      this, near Rolandseck.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall be happy to convoy you thither.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again I thank you. It is my desire to join the Sisterhood there.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not to become a nun?&rdquo; cried Roland, an intonation of
+      disappointment in his voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; although to this determination my guardian is opposed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alas,&rdquo; said Roland, with a sigh, &ldquo;I confess myself in
+      agreement with him so far as your taking the veil is concerned. Still,
+      imprisonment seems an unduly harsh alternative.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl&rsquo;s seriousness fled, and she smiled at him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As you have had some experience of my obstinacy, and proposed an
+      even harsher remedy than that&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, you forget,&rdquo; interrupted Roland, &ldquo;that I apologized
+      for my lack of manners. I hope during our journey to Nonnenwerth I may
+      earn complete forgiveness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you are forgiven already, which is magnanimous of me, when you
+      recollect that the fault was wholly my own. I will join you in the
+      courtyard at once if I may.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. I shall be down there after I have given final
+      instructions to my men.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland arrived at the north window, and saw that the flotilla had already
+      departed. He could discern Ebearhard standing with his hand on the prow of
+      the remaining boat, so pulled up the rope, untied it from the ring to
+      which it was fastened, and threw it down to his lieutenant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A rope is always useful,&rdquo; he whispered, &ldquo;and we will
+      puzzle the good Pfalzgraf regarding our exit.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the courtyard he found the three women awaiting him. Quietly he drew
+      back the heavy bolts, and undid the stout chains. Holding the door
+      slightly ajar, he peered out at the scene on the landing, brightly
+      illuminated by numerous torches which the servants held aloft.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men-at-arms were enjoying themselves hugely, and the great heap of
+      bales already on the rocks showed that they resolved not to leave even one
+      package on the barge. The fact that they stood in the light prevented
+      their seeing the exit of the quartette from the Castle, even had any been
+      on the outlook.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland swung the door wide, placed the ladder in exactly the same position
+      it had formerly occupied, assisted the three women to the ground, and then
+      led them round the western side of the Castle through the darkness to
+      Ebearhard and his skiff. Dipping their paddles with great caution, they
+      kept well out of the torchlight radius.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As they left the shadow of the Castle, and came within sight of the party
+      on the landing, they were somewhat startled by a lusty cheer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, &ldquo;they have discovered our barrels
+      of gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis very likely,&rdquo; replied Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Still,&rdquo; added Ebearhard consolingly, &ldquo;I think we have
+      made a good exchange. There appears to be more money in Stahleck&rsquo;s
+      bags than in our two barrels.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By the Three Kings!&rdquo; cried Roland, staring upstream, &ldquo;the
+      barge is getting away. They have looted her completely, and are giving her
+      a parting salute. The robbers evidently bear no malice against our popular
+      captain. Hear them inviting him to call again!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They listened to the rattle of the big chain. It was more amenable than
+      that at Furstenberg, confirming Roland in his belief that Stahleck was the
+      inventor of the device. They saw half a dozen men paying out a rope, while
+      the first section of the chain sank, leaving a passage-way for the barge.
+      Silhouetted against the torchlight, the boatmen were getting ready with
+      their sweeps, prepared to dip them into the water as soon as the vessel
+      got clear of the rocky island.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will paddle alongside before they begin to row,&rdquo; said
+      Roland; and Captain Blumenfels was gently hailed from the river, much to
+      his astonishment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Make for the eastern bank, captain,&rdquo; whispered Roland,
+      &ldquo;and keep a lookout ahead for a number of small boats like this.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently, rowing up the river strenuously, close to the shore, the barge
+      came upon the flotilla. Here Roland bade Hilda remain where she was, and
+      leaving Ebearhard in charge of the skiff, he clambered up on the barge,
+      ordering Greusel to range his boats alongside and fling aboard the
+      treasure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, captain, did his Excellency of Pfalz leave you anything at
+      all?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not a rag,&rdquo; replied the captain. &ldquo;The barge is empty as
+      a drum.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case there is nothing for it but a speedy return to
+      Frankfort. I do not regret the cloth, which has been paid for over and
+      over again, but I am mercenary enough to grudge Stahleck our two barrels
+      of gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, as to the gold,&rdquo; replied the captain gravely, &ldquo;I
+      took the liberty of reversing your plan at Lorch.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What plan?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your honor poured gold into wine barrels, but I poured the red wine
+      of Lorch into the gold barrels, and threw the empty cask overboard.
+      Perhaps you know that the Pfalzgraf grows excellent white wine round his
+      Castle of Stahleck, and despises the red wine of Lorch and Assmannshausen.
+      He tasted the wine, which had not been improved by being poured into the
+      dirty gold barrels, spat it out with an oath, and said we were welcome to
+      keep it. He has also promised to send me a cask of good white wine to
+      Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain, despite your quiet, unassuming manner, you are the most
+      ingenious of men.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, I but copied your honor&rsquo;s ingenuity.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;However it happened, you saved the gold, and that action alone will
+      make a rich man of you, for you must accept my third share of the money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time the bags had been heaved aboard. Greusel followed them, and
+      stood ready to receive further orders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will all make for Frankfort,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;keeping
+      close as possible to this side of the river. No man is to be allowed
+      ashore until you reach the capital. Captain, are there provisions enough
+      aboard for the voyage?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your honor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. Put every available person at the oars, and get past
+      Furstenberg before daybreak. My men, who have not had an opportunity to
+      distinguish themselves as warriors, will take their turn at the sweeps.
+      You and Ebearhard,&rdquo; he continued, turning to Greusel, &ldquo;will
+      employ the time in counting the money and making a fair division. With
+      regard to the two barrels, the captain will receive my third share, and
+      also be one of us in the apportionment of the gold we secured to-night. It
+      was through his thoughtfulness that the barrels were saved. Whatever
+      portion you find me entitled to, place in the keeping of the merchant,
+      Herr Goebel. And now I shall tie four bags to my belt for emergencies.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you not coming with us, Roland?&rdquo; asked Greusel anxiously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. Urgent business requires my presence in the neighborhood of
+      Bonn, but I shall meet you in the Kaiser cellar before a month is out.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Saying this, he shook hands with the captain and Greusel, and descended
+      into the small boat, bidding farewell to Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Urge them,&rdquo; were his last words, &ldquo;to get well out of
+      sight of Pfalz and Furstenberg before the day breaks, and as for the small
+      boats, turn them loose; present them as a peace-offering to the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the darkness Prince Roland allowed his frail barque to float down the
+      stream, using his paddle merely to keep it toward the east, so to avoid
+      the chain. He found himself accompanied by a silent, spectral fleet; the
+      empty boats that his men had sent adrift. To all appearance the little
+      squadron lay motionless, while the dim Castle of Pfalz, with its score of
+      pointed turrets piercing a less dark sky, seemed like a great ship moving
+      slowly up the Rhine. When it had disappeared to the south, Roland ventured
+      to speak, in a low voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;tell your women so to arrange what
+      extra apparel you have brought to form a couch, where you may recline, and
+      sleep for the rest of the night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain Roland,&rdquo; she replied, her gentle little laugh
+      floating with so musical a cadence athwart the waters that he found
+      himself regretting such a sweet voice should be kept from the world by the
+      unappreciative walls of a convent,&mdash;&ldquo;Captain Roland, I was
+      never more awake than I am at this moment. Life has somehow become
+      unexpectedly interesting. I experience the deliciously guilty feeling of
+      belonging to a stealthy society of banditti. Do not, I beg of you, deprive
+      me of that pleasure by asking me to sleep.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In the morning, Madam, there will be little opportunity for rest.
+      We must put all the distance we can between ourselves and the Pfalzgraf
+      von Stahleck. I expect you to ride far and fast to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you intend, then, to abandon this boat?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I must, Madam. The river has been long so empty that this flotilla,
+      which I cannot shake off, being unaccustomed to oars or paddle, will
+      attract attention from both sides of the Rhine, and when the darkness
+      lifts we are almost certain to be stopped. The boats will be recognized as
+      belonging to the Pfalzgraf, and I wish to sever all connection between
+      this night&rsquo;s work and my own future.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What, then, do you propose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As soon as day breaks we will come to land, and allow our boat to
+      float away with the rest. Can you walk?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I love walking,&rdquo; cried the girl with enthusiasm. &ldquo;I ask
+      your pity for myself, immured in that windowless dungeon, situated on a
+      tiny point of rock; I, who have roamed the hills and explored the valleys
+      of my own land on foot, breathing the air of freedom with delight. Let me,
+      therefore, I beg of you, remain awake that I may taste the pleasure of
+      anticipation in my thoughts; or is such a wish disobedience on the part of
+      your first lieutenant? I do not mean it so, and will quietly cry myself to
+      sleep if you insist.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, Hilda,&rdquo; said Roland, laughing, and abandoning the
+      more formal title of &ldquo;madam,&rdquo; &ldquo;I am no such tyrant as
+      you suppose. Besides, your office of first lieutenant has lapsed, because
+      our men have all gone south, while we travel north.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then may I talk with you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing would please me better. I was thinking of your own welfare,
+      and not of my desire, when I counseled slumber.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I assure you I slept very well during the first part of the
+      night, for, there being nothing else to do, I went to bed early, and was
+      quite unconscious until the dreadful ringing of that alarm bell, which set
+      the whole Castle astir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why were you imprisoned?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because&mdash;because,&rdquo; she replied haltingly, &ldquo;I had
+      chosen the religious life, the which my guardian opposed. He appeared to
+      think that some experience of the rigors of the convent might make me less
+      eager to immure myself in a nunnery, which, like Pfalz Castle, is also on
+      a restricted island.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then his remedy has proved unavailing?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite. The Sisters will be very good to me, for I shall enrich
+      their convent with my wealth. &lsquo;Twill be vastly different from
+      incarceration in Pfalz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hilda, I doubt that. Captivity is captivity, under whatever name
+      you term it. I cannot understand why one who spoke so enthusiastically
+      just now of hills and valleys and liberty should take the irrevocable step
+      which you propose; a step that will rob you forever of those joys.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl remained silent, and he went on, speaking earnestly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think in one respect you are like myself. You love the murmur of
+      the trees, and the song of the running stream.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do, I do,&rdquo; she whispered, as if to herself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The air that blows around the mountain-top inspires you, and you
+      cannot view the hills on the horizon without wishing to explore them, and
+      learn what is on the other side.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was light enough for him to see that the girl&rsquo;s head sank into
+      her open hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You, I take it, have never been restricted by discipline.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Her head came up quickly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think that because of what I said in the courtyard?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; my mind was running towards the future rather than to the past.
+      The rigor of strict rules would prove as irksome to you as would a cage to
+      a free bird of the forest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear you are in the right,&rdquo; she said with a sigh; and then,
+      impatiently, &ldquo;Oh, you do not understand the situation, and I cannot
+      explain! The convent is merely a retreat for me; the lesser of two evils
+      presented.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You spoke of your land. Where is that land?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you know Schloss Sayn?&rdquo; she asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sayn? Sayn?&rdquo; he repeated. &ldquo;Where have I heard that name
+      before, and recently too? I thought I knew every castle on the Rhine, but
+      I do not remember Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will find no fellow-craftsman there, Pirate Roland, if ever you
+      visit it. The Schloss is not on the Rhine, and, perhaps on that account,
+      rather than because of its owner&rsquo;s honesty, is free from the taint
+      you suggest. It stands high in the valley of the Saynbach, more than half
+      a league from this river.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, that accounts for my ignorance. I never saw Sayn Castle,
+      although I seem to have heard of it. Are you its owner?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I told you I was wealthy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is the Schloss situated?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Below Coblentz, on the eastern side of the river.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then why not let me take you there instead of to the convent?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Willingly, if you had brought your barge-load of armed men, but in
+      Sayn Castle I am helpless, commanding a peaceful retinue of servants who,
+      although devoted to me, are useless when it comes to defense.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot account for it,&rdquo; said Roland in meditative tone,
+      &ldquo;but the thought of that convent becomes more and more distasteful.
+      You will be free of your guardian, no doubt, but you merely exchange one
+      whom you know for another whom you don&rsquo;t, and that other a member of
+      your own sex.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you disparage my sex, then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but I cannot imagine any man being discourteous to you. Surely
+      every gentleman with a sword by his side should spring at once to your
+      defense.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Captain Roland, you are very young, and, I fear, inexperienced,
+      despite your filibustering. However, this lovely, still, summer night,
+      with its warm, velvety darkness, was made for pleasant thoughts. Enough
+      about myself. Let me hear something of you. Did you come up the river or
+      down, with your barge?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We came down.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How long since you adopted a career of crime? You do not seem to be
+      a hardened villain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Believe me,&rdquo; protested Roland earnestly, &ldquo;I am not, and
+      I do not admit that my career is one of crime.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed,&rdquo; said the girl, laughing again, &ldquo;I am not so
+      gullible as you think. I could almost fancy that you were the incendiary
+      of Furstenberg Castle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What!&rdquo; exclaimed Roland in consternation. &ldquo;How came you
+      to learn of its destruction?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There!&rdquo; cried the girl gleefully, &ldquo;you have all but
+      confessed. You are as startled as if I had said: &lsquo;I arrest you in
+      the name of the Emperor!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who told you that Furstenberg Castle was burned?&rdquo; demanded
+      the young man sternly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yesterday morning there came swiftly down the river, with no less
+      than twelve oarsmen, a long, thin boat, traveling like the wind. It did
+      not pause at Pfalz, but the man standing in the stern hailed the Castle,
+      and shouted to the Pfalzgraf that Furstenberg had been burned by the
+      outlaws of the Hunsruck. He was on his way to Bonn to inform the
+      Archbishop of Cologne, and he carried also Imperial news for his Lordship:
+      tidings that the Emperor is dead.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dead!&rdquo; breathed Roland in horror, scarcely above his breath.
+      &ldquo;The Emperor dead! I wonder if that can be true.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Little matter whether it is true or no,&rdquo; said the girl
+      indifferently. &ldquo;He doubtless passed away in a drunken sleep, and I
+      am told his drunken son will be elected in his place.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam!&rdquo; said Roland harshly, awakened from his stupor by her
+      words, &ldquo;I must inform your ignorance that the Emperor&rsquo;s son is
+      not a drunkard, and, indeed, scarcely touches wine at all, being a most
+      strenuous opposer to its misuse. How can one so fair, and, as I believed,
+      so honest, repeat such unfounded slander?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you a partisan of his?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I come from Frankfort; have seen the Prince, and know I speak the
+      truth.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, well,&rdquo; replied the girl lightly, &ldquo;you and I will
+      not quarrel over his Highness. I accept your amendment, and will never
+      more bear false witness against him. After all, it makes slight difference
+      one way or the other. An Emperor goes, and an Emperor is elected in his
+      place as powerless as his predecessor. &lsquo;Tis the Archbishops who
+      rule.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You seem well versed in politics, Madam.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl leaned forward to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do not &lsquo;madam&rsquo; me, I beg of you, Roland. I dare say
+      rumor has prejudiced me against the young man, but I have promised not to
+      speak slightingly of him again. I wish this veil of darkness was lifted,
+      that I might see your face, to note the effect of anger. Do you know, I am
+      disappointed in you, Roland? You spoke in such level tones in the
+      courtyard that I thought anger was foreign to your nature.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not angry,&rdquo; said Roland gruffly, &ldquo;but I detest
+      malicious gossip.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, so do I, so do I! I spoke thoughtlessly. I will kneel to the
+      new Emperor and beg his pardon, if you insist.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland remained silent, and for a time they floated thus down the river,
+      she trailing her fingers in the water, which made a pleasant ripple
+      against them, looking up at him now and then. Perceptibly the darkness was
+      thinning. One seemed to smell morning in the air. A bird piped dreamily in
+      the forest at intervals, as if only half-awakened. The two women reclining
+      in the prow were sound asleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland picked up the paddle, and with a strong, sweeping stroke turned the
+      head of the boat towards the land. Now she could see his lowering brow,
+      and if the sight pleased her, &lsquo;twas not manifested in her next
+      remark.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She took her hand from the water, drew herself up proudly, and said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall not apologize to you again, and I hate your blameless
+      Prince!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, I ask for no apology, and whether you hate or like the
+      Prince matters nothing to me, or, I dare say, to him, either.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cannot you even allow a woman her privilege of the last word?&rdquo;
+      she cried indignantly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland&rsquo;s brow cleared, and a smile came to his lips, as he remained
+      silent, thus bestowing upon her the prerogative she seemed to crave. Hilda
+      lay back in the prow of the boat between her sleeping women, with hands
+      clasped behind her head, and her eyes closed. More and more the light
+      increased, and sturdily with his paddle Roland propelled the boat towards
+      the shore, bringing it alongside the low bank at last. He sprang out on
+      the turf, and with the paddle in one hand held the boat to land with the
+      other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are now,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;a short distance above St.
+      Goarhausen, where I hope to purchase horses. Will you kindly disembark?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl, without moving, or opening her eyes, said quietly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please throw the paddle into the boat again. I shall make for
+      Nonnenwerth in this craft, which is more comfortable than a saddle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The paddle came rattling down upon the bottom of the skiff. Roland
+      stooped, and before she knew what he was about, took Hilda in his arms,
+      lifted her ashore, and laid her carefully on the grass.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come,&rdquo; he cried to the newly-awakened serving-women, &ldquo;tumble
+      out of that without further delay,&rdquo; and they obeyed him in haste.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stepped into the skiff, flung their belongings on the sward, turned the
+      prow to the west, and, leaping ashore, bestowed a kick upon the boat that
+      impelled it like an arrow far out into the stream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hilda was standing on her feet now, speechless with indignation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come along,&rdquo; urged Roland cheerfully, &ldquo;breakfast awaits
+      us when we earn it;&rdquo; but seeing that she made no move, the frown
+      furrowed his brow again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I tell you frankly that to be
+      thwarted by petulance annoys me. It happens that time is of the utmost
+      importance until we are much farther from Pfalz. If you think that the
+      ownership of wealth and a castle gives you the right to flout a plain,
+      ordinary man, you take a mistaken view of things. I care nothing for your
+      castle, or for your wealth. You may be a lady of title for aught I know,
+      but even that does not impress me. We must not stand here like two
+      quarrelsome children. I will conduct you to the Adler Inn at St.
+      Goarhausen, where I know from experience you will be taken care of. I
+      shall then purchase four horses, and return to the inn after you have
+      breakfasted. Three of these horses are at your disposal, also the fourth
+      and myself, if you will condescend to make use of us. If not, I shall ask
+      you to accept what money you need for your journey, so that you may travel
+      north unmolested, while I take my way in the other direction.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can I repay the money,&rdquo; she demanded, &ldquo;if I do not
+      know who and what you are?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall send for it, either to your Castle of Sayn, or the Convent
+      of Nonnenwerth. You need be under no obligation to me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; cried the girl with a sob, &ldquo;I am already under
+      obligation to you; an obligation which I cannot repay.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh yes, you can.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By coming with me, who will persuade you, as readily as you did
+      with your guardian, who coerced you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am an ungrateful simpleton,&rdquo; she murmured. &ldquo;Of course
+      your way is the right one, and I am quite helpless if you desert me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There,&rdquo; cried Roland, with enthusiasm, &ldquo;you have more
+      than repaid whatever you may owe.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After breakfasting at St. Goarhausen and purchasing the horses, they
+      journeyed down the rough road that extended along the right bank of the
+      Rhine. Roland and Hilda rode side by side, the other two following some
+      distance to the rear. The young man maintained a gloomy silence, and the
+      girl, misapprehending his thoughts, remained silent also, with downcast
+      eyes, seeing nothing of the beautiful scenery they were passing. Every now
+      and then Roland cast a sidelong glance at her, and his melancholy deepened
+      as he remembered how heedlessly he had pledged his word to the three
+      Archbishops regarding his marriage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; she said at last, &ldquo;that I have offended you
+      more seriously than I feared.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no,&rdquo; he assured her. &ldquo;There is a burden that I
+      cannot cast from my mind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I know what it is?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dare not tell you, Hilda. I have been a fool. I am in the
+      position of a man who must break his oath and live dishonored, or keep it,
+      and remain for ever unhappy. Which would you do were you in my place?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Once given, I should keep my oath,&rdquo; she replied promptly,
+      &ldquo;unless those who accepted it would release me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland shook his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They will not release me,&rdquo; he said dolefully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again they rode together in silence, content to be near each other,
+      despite the young man&rsquo;s alternations of elation and despair. &lsquo;Twas,
+      all in all, a long summer&rsquo;s day of sweet unhappiness for each.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of Roland&rsquo;s reasons for choosing the right bank of the Rhine was
+      to avoid the important city of Coblentz, with its inevitable questioning,
+      and it was late afternoon when they saw this town on the farther shore,
+      passing it without hindrance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will rest this night,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;in my Castle of
+      Sayn, and then, as time is pressing, to-morrow you must return. We have
+      met no interference even by this dangerous route, and I shall make my way
+      alone without fear to Nonnenwerth, for I know you are anxious to be in
+      Frankfort once more.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I swear to you, Hilda, that if, without breaking my oath, I should
+      never see Frankfort again, I would be the most joyous of men.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Does your oath relate to Frankfort?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My oath relates to a woman,&rdquo; he said shortly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; she breathed, &ldquo;then you must keep it,&rdquo; and
+      so they fell into silence and unhappiness again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had talked of security on the road they traversed, but turning a
+      corner north of Vallandar they speedily found that a Rhine road is never
+      safe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Both reined in their horses as if moved by the same impulse, but to
+      retreat now would simply draw pursuit upon them. Mounted on a splendid
+      white charger, gorgeous with trappings, glittering with silver and gold,
+      rode a dignified man in the outdoor habit of a general in times of peace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Following him came an escort of twoscore horsemen; they in the full
+      panoply of war; and behind them, on foot, in procession extending like a
+      gigantic snake down the Rhine road, an army of at least three thousand
+      men, the setting sun flashing fire from the points of their spears. Here
+      and there, down the line, floated above them silken flags, and Roland
+      recognized the device on the foremost one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God!&rdquo; he shouted in dismay. &ldquo;The Archbishop of Cologne!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl uttered a little frightened cry, and edged her horse nearer to
+      that of her escort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My guardian! My guardian!&rdquo; she breathed. &ldquo;I shall be
+      rearrested!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing them standing as if stricken to stone, two horsemen detached
+      themselves from the cavalry and galloped forward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Make way there, you fools!&rdquo; cried the leader. &ldquo;Get ye
+      to the side; into the river; where you like; out of the path of my Lord
+      the Archbishop.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nevertheless Roland stood his ground, and dared even to frown at the
+      officers of his Lordship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stand aside <i>you</i>,&rdquo; he commanded in a tone of mastery,
+      &ldquo;and do not venture to intrude between the Archbishop and me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rider knew that no man who valued his head would dare use such
+      language in the very presence of the Archbishop, unless he were the
+      highest in the land. His dignified Lordship looked up to see the cause of
+      this interruption, and of these angry words.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First came into his face an expression of amazement, then a smile melted
+      the stern lips as he looked on Roland and recognized him. The impetuous
+      horsemen faded away to the background. There was no answering smile on
+      Roland&rsquo;s face. He reached out and clasped the hand of the girl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, by the Three Kings!&rdquo; he whispered, &ldquo;I shall break
+      my oath.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hilda glanced up at him, frightened by his vehemence, wincing under his
+      iron grasp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An unexpected sound interrupted the tension. The Archbishop had come to a
+      stand, and &ldquo;Halt! Halt! Halt!&rdquo; rang out the word along the
+      line of men, whose feet ceased to stir the dust of the road. The
+      unexpected sound was that of hearty laughter from the dignified and mighty
+      Prince of the Church.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Forgive me, your Highness!&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;but I laugh to
+      think of the countenances of my somber brothers, Treves and Mayence, when
+      they learn how sturdily you have kept your word with them. By the true
+      Cross, Prince Roland, although we wished you to marry her, we had no
+      thought that you would break into the Castle of Pfalz to win her hand. Ah,
+      dear, what a pity &lsquo;tis we grow old! The impetuousness of youth
+      outweighs the calculated wisdom of the three greatest prelates outside
+      Rome. Judging by your fair face (and I have always held it to be
+      beautiful, remember), you, Hildegunde Lauretta Priscilla Agnes, Countess
+      of Sayn, are not moving northward to Nonnenwerth. I always insisted that
+      the Saalhof at Frankfort was a more cheerful edifice than any nunnery on
+      the Rhine, yet you never turned upon me such a glance of confidence as I
+      see you bestow on your future Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope, my Lord and Guardian,&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;that I
+      have met you in time to deflect your course to my Castle of Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sweet Countess, I thank you for the invitation. My men can go on to
+      their camp in the stronghold of my brother of Mayence, Schloss
+      Martinsburg, and I shall gladly return with you to the hospitable hearth
+      of Sayn. Indeed,&rdquo; said the Archbishop, lowering his voice, &ldquo;I
+      shall feel safer there than in enjoying the hospitality I had intended to
+      accept.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you not surprised to meet me?&rdquo; asked the lady, with a
+      laugh, adjusting words and manner to the new situation, which she more
+      quickly comprehended than did her companion, who glanced with bewilderment
+      from Countess to prelate, and back again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop waved his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing you could do would surprise me, since your interview with
+      the Court of Archbishops. I am on my way to Frankfort.&rdquo; Then, more
+      seriously, to Prince Roland: &ldquo;You heard of your father&rsquo;s
+      death?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I learned it only this morning, my Lord. I shall return to
+      Frankfort when I am assured that this gentlewoman is in a place of safety.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Countess, there will be no lack of safety now! But will you not
+      ease an old man&rsquo;s conscience by admitting he was in the right?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess looked up at Roland with a smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, dear Guardian,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;You were in the right.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XVII. &ldquo;FOR THE EMPRESS, AND NOT FOR THE EMPIRE&rdquo;
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      While the long line of troops stood at salute in single file, the
+      Archbishop turned his horse to the north and rode past his regiments,
+      followed by the Countess and Roland. His Lordship was accompanied to the
+      end of the ranks by his general, who received final instructions regarding
+      the march.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will encamp for the night not at Schloss Martinsburg, as I had
+      intended, but a league or two up the Lahn. To-morrow morning continue your
+      march along the Lahn as far as Limburg, and there await my arrival. We
+      will enter Frankfort by the north gate instead of from the west.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop sat on his horse for some minutes, watching the departing
+      force, then called Roland to his right hand, and Hildegunde to his left,
+      and thus the three set out on the short journey to Sayn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness,&rdquo; began the Archbishop, &ldquo;I find myself in
+      a position of some embarrassment. I think explanations are due to me from
+      you both. Here I ride between two escaped prisoners, and I travel away
+      from, instead of towards, their respective dungeons. My plain duty, on
+      encountering you, was to place you in custody of a sufficient guard,
+      marching you separately the one to Pfalz and the other to Ehrenfels.
+      Having accomplished this I should report the case to my two colleagues,
+      yet here am I actually compounding a misdemeanor, and assisting prisoners
+      to escape.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord,&rdquo; spoke up Roland, &ldquo;I am quite satisfied that
+      my own imprisonment has been illegal, therefore I make no apology for
+      circumventing it. Before entering upon any explanation, I ask
+      enlightenment regarding the detention of my lady of Sayn. Am I right in
+      surmising that she, like myself, was placed under arrest by the three
+      Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your Highness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On what charge?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;High treason.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Against whom?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause, during which the Archbishop did not reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I need not have asked such a question,&rdquo; resumed the Prince,
+      &ldquo;for high treason can relate only to the monarch. In what measure
+      has her ladyship encroached upon the prerogative of the Emperor?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness forgets that there is such a thing as treason against
+      the State.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are not members of the nobility privileged in this matter?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They cannot be, for the State is greater than any individual.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall make a note of that, my Lord of Cologne. I believe you are
+      in the right, and I hope so. During my lonely incarceration,&rdquo; the
+      Prince laughed a little, &ldquo;I have studied the condition of the State,
+      arriving at the conclusion that the greatest traitors in our land are the
+      three Archbishops, who, arrogating to themselves power that should belong
+      to the Crown, did not use that power for suppressing those other
+      treason-mongers, the Barons of the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What would you have us do with them?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You should disarm them. You should exact restitution of their
+      illegally-won wealth. You should open the Rhine to honest commerce.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is easy to enunciate, and difficult to perform. If the Castles
+      were disarmed, especially those on the left bank, a great injustice would
+      be done that might lead to the extinction of many noble families. Why, the
+      forests of Germany are filled with desperate outlaws, who respect neither
+      life nor property. I myself have suffered but recently from their
+      depredations. In broad daylight an irresistible band of these ruffians
+      descended upon and captured the supposed impregnable Castle of Rheinstein,
+      shamefully maltreating Baron Hugo von Hohenfels, tying him motionless, and
+      nearly strangling him with stout ropes, after which the scoundrels robbed
+      him of every stiver he possessed. The following midnight but one they
+      descended on Furstenberg, a fief of my own, and not contenting themselves
+      with robbery, brought red ruin on the Margrave by burning his Castle to
+      the ground.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, red ruin and the Red Margrave were made for each other. It
+      was the justice of God that they should meet.&rdquo; The young man raised
+      aloft his swordarm, shaking his clenched fist at the sky. &ldquo;That hand
+      held the torch that fired Furstenberg. The Castle was taken and burned by
+      three sword makers from Frankfort, who never saw the Hunsruck or the
+      outlaws thereof.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop reined in his horse, and looked at the excited young man
+      with amazement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>You</i> fired Furstenberg?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; and effectively, my Lord. I shall rebuild it for you, but the
+      Red Margrave I shall hang, as my predecessor Rudolph did his ancestor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An expression of sternness hardened the Archbishop&rsquo;s face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I regret to hear you speak like this,
+      and your safety lies in the fact that I do not believe a word of it. Even
+      so, such wild words fill me with displeasure. I beg to remind you that the
+      Election of an Emperor has not yet taken place, and I, for one, am likely
+      to reconsider my decision. Still, as I said, I do not believe a word of
+      your absurd tale.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I believe every syllable of it!&rdquo; cried the Countess with
+      enthusiasm, &ldquo;and glory that there is a mind brave enough, and a hand
+      obedient to it, to smoke out a robber and a murderer.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The tension this astonishing revelation caused was relieved by a laugh
+      from the Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Hildegunde, you are forgetting your own ancestors. I
+      venture that no woman of the House of Sayn talked thus when the Emperor
+      Rudolph marched Count von Sayn to the scaffold. You would probably sing
+      another song if asked to restore the millions amassed by Henry III. of
+      Sayn and his successors; all accumulated by robbery as cruel as any that
+      the Red Margrave has perpetrated.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord,&rdquo; said the Countess proudly, &ldquo;you had no need
+      to ask that question, for you knew the answer to it before you spoke.
+      Every thaler I control shall be handed over to Prince Roland, to be used
+      for the regeneration of his country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the Archbishop laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely I knew that, my dear, and I should not have said what I did.
+      I suppose you will not allow me to vote against his Highness at the coming
+      Election.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, you shall vote enthusiastically for him, because you know
+      in your own heart he is the man Germany needs.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was there ever such a change of front?&rdquo; cried the Archbishop.
+      &ldquo;Why, my dear, the charges you so hotly made against his Highness
+      are as nothing to what he has himself confessed; yet now he is the savior
+      of Germany, when previously&mdash;Ah, well, I must not play the
+      tale-bearer.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;my kinsman, Father
+      Ambrose, said he met you in Frankfort, although now I believe him to have
+      been mistaken.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh no; I encountered the good Father on the bridge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There now!&rdquo; exclaimed the Archbishop, &ldquo;what do you say
+      to that, my lady?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She seemed perplexed by the admission, but quickly replied to his
+      Lordship:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Twas you said that could not be, as he was a close prisoner
+      in Ehrenfels.&rdquo; She continued, addressing the Prince: &ldquo;Father
+      Ambrose asserted that you were a companion of drinkers and brawlers in a
+      low wine cellar of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite true; a score of them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl became more and more perplexed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you imprison Father Ambrose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; in the lowest wine cellar, but only for a day or two. I am
+      very sorry, Madam, but it was a stern necessity of war. He was meddling
+      with affairs he knew nothing of, and there was no time for explanations.
+      He, a man of peace, would not have sanctioned what there was to do even if
+      I had explained.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He says,&rdquo; continued the girl, &ldquo;that he saw you rob a
+      merchant of a bag of gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is untrue!&rdquo; cried the Prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Hildegunde, what is the robbing of a bag of gold from a
+      merchant when he admits having stolen gold by the castle full?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I robbed no merchant,&rdquo; protested the Prince. &ldquo;How could
+      Father Ambrose make such a statement?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He mounted an outside stairway on the Fahrgasse, and through
+      lighted windows on the opposite side saw you place the point of your sword
+      at the throat of an unarmed merchant, and take from him a bag of gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland, whose brow had been knitted into an angry frown, now threw back
+      his head and laughed joyously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, that was a mere frolic,&rdquo; he alleged.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was the girl&rsquo;s turn to frown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When you took stolen treasure from thievish Barons and Margraves
+      protected by scores of armed men, with the object of breaking their power,
+      for the relief of commerce, I admired you, but to say that the despoiling
+      of a helpless merchant is a frolic&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, my dear, you do not understand,&rdquo; eagerly corrected
+      the Prince, unconscious of the affectionate phrase that caused a flush to
+      rise in the cheeks of his listener. &ldquo;The merchant was, and is, my
+      partner; a blameless man, Herr Goebel, who came near to being hanged on my
+      behalf when these Archbishops took me captive. I sought from him a
+      thousand thalers; he insisted on learning my plans for opening the Rhine,
+      and still would not give the money until, reluctantly, I was obliged to
+      confess myself son of the Emperor. This he could not credit, stipulating
+      that before giving the money I must produce for him a safe-conduct, signed
+      by the Emperor, and verified by the Great Seal of the Empire. This
+      document I obtained at dire personal risk, through the aid of my mother.
+      Here it is.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He thrust his hand into his doublet, and produced the parchment in
+      question, delivering it to the lady, who, however, did not unfold it, but
+      kept her eyes fixed upon him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This distrust annoyed me; it should not have done so, for he was
+      merely acting in the cautious manner natural to a merchant. With a
+      boyishness I now regret, I put my sword to his throat, demanding the
+      money, which I received. I took only half of it, for my mother had given
+      me five hundred thalers. Oh, no; I did not rob my friend Goebel, but
+      merely tried to teach him that lack of faith is a dangerous thing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If the old man who listened could have exchanged confidences with the
+      young woman who listened, he would have learned they shared the same
+      thought, which was that the young Prince spoke so straight-forwardly
+      neither doubted him for a moment. The old man, it is true, felt that his
+      talk was rather reckless of consequences, but, on the other hand, this in
+      itself was complimentary, for, as he remembered, the Prince had been
+      cautious enough when catechized by the three Archbishops together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have often read,&rdquo; said Cologne, with a smile, &ldquo;pathetic
+      accounts of prisoners, who in extreme loneliness carved their names over
+      and over again on stone as hard as the jailer&rsquo;s heart, but your
+      Highness seems rather to have enjoyed yourself while so cruelly interned.
+      May I further beg of you to enlighten us concerning a somewhat bibulous
+      youth who at the present moment is enjoying, in every sense of the word,
+      the hospitality of Ehrenfels Castle?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was now the Archbishop&rsquo;s turn to astonish the Prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You knew of my device, then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Knew&rsquo; is a little too strong. &lsquo;Suspect&rsquo;
+      more nearly fits the case. You won over your jailer, and some one else
+      took your place as prisoner.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; a young man to whom I owe small thanks, and with whom I have
+      an account to settle. He is son of the custodian, and thinks he has us
+      both under his thumb, Heinrich drinks as if he were a fish or a Baron, but
+      I shall cure him of that habit before it becomes firmly established.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Am I correct in assuming that you found your liberty only after
+      your interview with the three Electors?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, bless you, no! I was free months before that time. Indeed, it
+      is only since then that my substitute is practically useless. Heinrich
+      might have passed for me at a pinch, but only because neither you nor your
+      colleagues had seen me. I have kept him under lock and key ever since,
+      because I dare not allow him abroad until the Election has taken place.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see. A very wise precaution. Well, your Highness, I shall say
+      nothing of what you tell me; furthermore, I still promise you my vote;
+      that is, if you will obey my orders until you are elected Emperor. I
+      foresee we are not going to have the easy time with you that was
+      anticipated, but this concerns Mayence and Treves, rather than myself, for
+      I have no ambition to rule by proxy. And now, my lady of Sayn, when we
+      journeyed southward that day from Gutenfels Castle I gave you some
+      information regarding the mind of Mayence. You remember, perhaps, what I
+      said about his quandary. I rather suspect that he admires you,
+      notwithstanding your defiance of him; but there is nothing remarkable in
+      that, for we all appreciate you, old and young. I, too, carry a document
+      of safe-conduct, like Prince Roland here, although I see that his Highness
+      has placed his safety in your hands.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man smiled, and Hildegunde found herself still carrying the
+      parchment Roland had given her. For a moment she was confused, then smiled
+      also, and offered it back; but the Prince shook his head. The Archbishop
+      went on:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mayence sent down to me your written release, signed by himself and
+      Treves. He asked me to attach a signature, and liberate you on my way to
+      Frankfort, which I intended to do had this impetuous young man not
+      forestalled me. By the way, Highness, how did you happen to meet Countess
+      von Sayn in Pfalz?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will tell you about that later, Guardian,&rdquo; said
+      Hildegunde, before Roland could speak. &ldquo;What instructions did his
+      Lordship of Mayence give concerning me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He asked me to bring you to my palace in Frankfort, and subtly
+      expressed the hope you had changed your mind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may assure him I have,&rdquo; said the Countess, again speaking
+      rapidly; &ldquo;but let us leave all details of that for the moment. I am
+      then to go with you to the capital?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; to-morrow morning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To remain until the coronation?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly; if such is your wish. But do you not see something very
+      significant in my brother Mayence&rsquo;s change of plan, for you know he
+      did not intend to release you until after that event?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, yes,&rdquo; replied the Countess breathlessly. &ldquo;I see it
+      quite clearly, but do not wish to discuss the matter at the present
+      moment.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. I intended to enter Frankfort from the west, but meeting
+      you so unexpectedly, I have deflected my troops up the Lahn to Limburg, at
+      which town we will join them to-morrow night, thus following Father
+      Ambrose&rsquo;s route to the capital.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, that will be very interesting. Prince Roland, you accompany us,
+      I hope?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of a surety,&rdquo; replied the young man confidently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; quietly said the Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because I say no.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man almost an Emperor drew himself up proudly, and his lips
+      pressed together into a firm line of determination.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Does your Highness so quickly forget your promise?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What promise?&rdquo; asked the Prince, scowling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In consideration of my keeping silence touching your recent
+      outrageous career of fire and slaughter, and the enslavement of Heinrich,
+      you promised to obey me until you became Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I intend to obey all reasonable requests, but I very much desire to
+      accompany the Countess from her Castle to the capital, I have never seen
+      Limburg, or taken that route to Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is a charming old city,&rdquo; replied the Archbishop dryly,
+      &ldquo;which you can visit any time at the expense of a day&rsquo;s ride.
+      Meanwhile, I shall escort the Countess thither, and endeavor to entertain
+      her with pleasing and instructive conversation during the journey.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince continued to frown, yet bit his lip and repressed an angry
+      retort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; protested the girl, &ldquo;would it not be much safer
+      for his Highness to enter the city of Frankfort protected by your army?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop laughed a little.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Hildegunde, the presence of Prince Roland causes you to
+      overlook a vast difference in the status of you both, but surely the
+      exercise of a little imagination should present to you the true aspect of
+      affairs. You are a free woman, and I hold the document by which you
+      regained your liberty. Do not be deluded, therefore, by the apparent fact
+      that his Highness can raise a clenched fist aloft and defy the heavens. It
+      is not so. He wears fetters on his ankles, and manacles round his wrists.
+      Roland is a prisoner, and must straightway immure himself. Your Highness,
+      before us stands the stately Castle of Sayn, where presently you shall
+      refresh yourself, and be furnished with an untired charger, on which to
+      ride all night, that you may reach the gates of Ehrenfels early to-morrow
+      morning. Once there, place the wine-loving Heinrich out of harm in the
+      deepest dungeon, and take his place as prisoner. It is arranged that the
+      three Archbishops personally escort you to Frankfort in the barge of
+      Mayence, which will land you at the water-steps of the Royal Palace. If it
+      were known that I had been even an hour in your company your chances of
+      reaching the throne would be seriously jeopardized.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely such haste is unnecessary,&rdquo; cried the girl. &ldquo;He
+      can set out to-morrow in one direction while we go in another. He traveled
+      all last night, and for most part of it was paddling a boat containing
+      four people; has ridden almost since daylight, and now to journey on
+      horseback throughout the night is too much for human endurance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The grave smile of the Archbishop shone upon her anxiety.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For lack of a nail the shoe was lost,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and
+      you know the remainder of the warning. If Prince Roland cares to risk an
+      Empire for a night&rsquo;s rest, I withdraw my objection.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince suddenly wheeled his horse, and coming briskly round to the
+      side of the girl, placed a hand on hers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A decision, Countess!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;Give me your
+      decision. I shall always obey you!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, the rashness of youth!&rdquo; murmured the Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl looked up at the young man, and he caught his breath and clasped
+      her hand more tightly as he gazed into the depths of her glorious eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must go,&rdquo; she sighed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, alas!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He raised her unresisting hand to his lips, and again turned his horse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will obey?&rdquo; asked the Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will obey, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He flashed from its scabbard, into the rays of the setting sun, the sword
+      he had made, and elevating the hilt to his forehead, saluted the
+      Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall see you at Ehrenfels, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, do not go thus. Come to the Castle for an hour&rsquo;s rest at
+      least.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man whirled his sword around, and caught it by the blade,
+      touching the hilt with his lips as if it were a cross.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank God,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;that I can willingly keep my
+      oath.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, looking at the girl&mdash;&ldquo;For the Empress, and not for the
+      Empire!&rdquo; he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sword seemed to drop into the scabbard of its own accord, as Roland
+      set spurs to his steed and away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XVIII. THE SWORD MAKER AT BAY
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The heir-presumptive to the throne reached Frankfort very quietly in the
+      Archbishop&rsquo;s barge, and was landed after nightfall at the
+      water-steps of the Imperial Palace. The funeral of the Emperor took place
+      almost as if it were a private ceremonial. Grave trouble had been
+      anticipated, and the route of the procession for the short distance
+      between Palace and Cathedral was thickly lined on either side by the
+      troops of the three Archbishops. This precaution proved unnecessary. The
+      dispirited citizens cared nothing for their late nominal ruler, and they
+      manifested their undisguised hatred of the real rulers, the Archbishops,
+      by keeping indoors while their soldiers marched the streets.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The condition of the capital was unique. It suffered from a famine of
+      money rather than a famine of food. Frankfort starved in the midst of
+      plenty. Never had the earth been more fruitful than during this year, and
+      the coming autumn promised a harvest that would fill the granaries to
+      overflowing, yet no one brought in food to Frankfort, for the common
+      people had not the money to buy. The working population depended entirely
+      upon the merchants and manufacturers, and with the collapse of mercantile
+      business thousands were thrown out of employment, and this penniless mob
+      was augmented by the speedy cessation of all manufacturing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After the futile bread riots earlier in the year, put down so drastically
+      by the Archbishops, the population of the city greatly diminished, and the
+      country round about swarmed with homeless wanderers, who at least were
+      sure of something to eat, but being city-bred, and consequently useless
+      for agricultural employment, they gradually joined into groups and
+      marauding bands, greatly to the menace of the provinces they traversed.
+      Indeed, rumor had it that the robberies from certain castles on the Rhine,
+      and the burning of Furstenberg, were the work of these free companies,
+      consequently a sense of uneasiness permeated the Empire, whose rulers,
+      great and small, began to foresee that a continuance of this state of
+      things meant disaster to the rich as well as misery to the poor. Charity,
+      spasmodic and unorganized, proved wholly unable to cope with the disaster
+      that had befallen the capital city.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When darkness set in on the third night after Roland&rsquo;s return to
+      Frankfort, he made his way out into the unlighted streets, acting with
+      caution until certain he was not followed, then betook himself to the
+      Palace belonging to the Archbishop of Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The porter at first refused him entrance, and Roland, not wishing to make
+      himself known, declared he had an appointment with his Lordship. Trusting
+      that the underling could not read, he presented his parchment
+      safe-conduct, asking him to give that to his Lordship, with a message that
+      the bearer awaited his pleasure. The suspicious servant, seeing the Grand
+      Seal of the Empire upon the document, at once conducted Roland to a room
+      on the ground floor, then departed with the manuscript to find his master.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop returned with him, the Imperial scroll in his hand, and a
+      distinctly perceptible frown on his brow. When the servant withdrew,
+      closing the door, the prelate said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Highness, this is a very dangerous procedure on your part.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, my Lord?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because you are certain to have been followed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What matter for that?&rdquo; asked the young man. &ldquo;I am quite
+      unknown in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; said the Archbishop gravely, &ldquo;until
+      your Election is actually accomplished, you would be wise to do nothing
+      that might arouse the suspicion of Mayence. This house is watched night
+      and day, and all who come and go are noted. I dare say that within fifteen
+      minutes Mayence will know you have visited me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Archbishop, they cannot note an unknown man. The uneasiness
+      of Frankfort has already taken hold of me, and therefore I saw to it that
+      I was not followed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you were not followed when you came, you will certainly be
+      followed as you return.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case, my Lord, the spies will track me to the innocent home
+      of Herr Goebel, the merchant, in the Fahrgasse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They will shadow you when you leave his house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then their industry will be rewarded by an enjoyable terminus; in
+      other words, the drinking cellar of the Rheingold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be assured, your Highness, that ultimately you will be traced to
+      the Royal Palace.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again not so, my Lord. They will be led across the bridge into the
+      mechanics&rsquo; quarter of Sachsenhausen, and if the watch continues,
+      they must make a night of it, for I shall enter my humble room there and
+      go to bed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see you have it all planned out,&rdquo; commented the discomfited
+      Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I anticipate an interesting life, my Lord, because it is my habit
+      to think before I act, and I notice that this apparently baffles the
+      Electors. The truth is that you three are so subtle, and so much afraid of
+      one another, so on the alert lest you be taken by surprise, that a
+      straightforward action on my part throws all intrigue out of gear. Now, I&rsquo;ll
+      warrant you cannot guess why I came here to-night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I know the reason very well.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you? That astonishes me. What is the reason?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You came to see the Countess von Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, is the lady within? Why, of course, she must be. I remember
+      now, she was to accompany you to Frankfort, and it naturally follows she
+      is your guest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She is my guest, your Highness, and one reason why you cannot see
+      her is because at this moment the lady converses with the Count Palatine,
+      who has just arrived from Gutenfels. As the Countess and myself enjoyed
+      his hospitality not long ago in that stronghold, I have invited him to be
+      my guest until the coronation ceremonies are completed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, I regret that your hospitality halts when it reaches your
+      future Emperor. Why may I not be introduced to the Count Palatine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Such introduction must not take place except in the presence of the
+      other Electors. I am very anxious, as you may perceive, that nothing shall
+      be done to jeopardize your own prospects. We have arrived, your Highness,
+      at a critical moment. History relates that more than one candidate has
+      come to the very steps of the throne, only to be rejected at the last
+      moment. I am too sincere a friend to risk such an outcome in your own
+      case.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then you think it injudicious of me to see the Countess until after
+      the Election?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I not only think it injudicious, your Highness, but I intend to
+      prevent a meeting.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the young man laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis blessed then that I came for no such purpose; otherwise
+      I might be deeply disappointed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For what purpose did you come, Highness?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Imperial Palace, my Lord, belongs no more to my mother. If she
+      or I continue there to reside, we seem to be taking for granted that I
+      shall be elected Emperor; an assumption unfair to the seven Electors,
+      whose choice should be untrammeled by even a hint of influence. I beg of
+      you, therefore, my Lord, to extend your hospitality to my mother. I have
+      spoken to her on this subject, and she will gladly be your guest, happy, I
+      am sure, to forsake that gloomy abode.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am honored, your Highness, by the opportunity you give me. I
+      shall wait upon the Empress to-morrow at whatever hour it is convenient
+      for her Majesty to receive me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are most kind. I suggested that she should name an hour, and
+      midday was chosen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop bowed profoundly. The young man rose, and held out his
+      hand, which the Archbishop took with cordiality. The Prince looked very
+      straight-forwardly at his host, and the latter thought he detected a
+      twinkle in his eye, as he said with decision:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To-morrow I shall formally notify my Lord of Mayence that the
+      Empress has chosen your Palace as her place of residence until after the
+      coronation, and I shall request his Lordship to crave your permission that
+      I may call here every day to see my mother.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again Cologne bowed, and made no further protest, although Roland
+      seemingly expected one, but as it did not come, the Prince continued:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here is my address in Sachsenhausen, should you wish a
+      communication to reach me in haste; and kindly command your porter not to
+      parley when I again demand speech with your Lordship. Good-night. I thank
+      you, my Lord, for your courtesy,&rdquo; and the energetic youth
+      disappeared before the slow-thinking Archbishop could call up words with
+      which to reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cologne did not immediately rejoin his guests, but stood a very figure of
+      perplexity, muttering to himself:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If our friend Mayence thinks that youngster is to be molded like
+      soft clay, he is very much mistaken. I hope Roland will not cause him to
+      feel the iron hand too soon. I wonder why Mayence is delaying the
+      Election? Can it be that already he distrusts his choice, or is it the
+      question of a wife?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile the front door of the Archbishop&rsquo;s Palace had clanged
+      shut, and Roland strode across the square careless or unconscious of
+      spies, looking neither to the right nor to the left. He made his way
+      speedily to the Fahrgasse, walking down that thoroughfare until he came to
+      Herr Goebel&rsquo;s door, where he knocked, and was admitted. Ushered into
+      the room where he had parted from the merchant, he found Herr Goebel
+      seated at his table as if he had never left it. The merchant, with a cry
+      of delight, greeted the young man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Herr Goebel, you see I have been a successful trafficker.
+      Your bales of goods are all in Castle Pfalz, and I trust the barge
+      returned safely to you with the money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It did indeed, your Highness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Has the coin been counted?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; and it totals an enormous, almost unbelievable, sum, which I
+      have set down here to the last stiver.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is brave news. Have any demands been made on you for its
+      partition?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, your Highness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Herr Goebel, I have determined that all that money, which is
+      in effect stolen property, shall go to the feeding of Frankfort&rsquo;s
+      poor. Buying provender shrewdly, how long would this treasure keep hunger
+      away from the gates of Frankfort?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That requires some calculation, your Highness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A month?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Two months, perhaps?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis likely; but I deal in cloth, not in food, and therefore
+      cannot speak definitely without computation and the advice of those expert
+      in the matter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well, Herr Goebel; get your computations made as soon as
+      possible. Call together your merchants&rsquo; guild, and ask its members&mdash;By
+      the way,&rdquo; said Roland, suddenly checking himself, &ldquo;give to me
+      in writing the amount of gold I have sent you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The unsuspecting merchant did so, and Roland&rsquo;s eyes opened with
+      astonishment when he glanced at the total. He then placed the paper in the
+      wallet he carried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You were perhaps about to suggest that a committee be appointed,&rdquo;
+      ventured the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; a small but capable committee, of which you shall be chairman
+      and treasurer. But first you will ask the merchants to subscribe, out of
+      their known wealth, a sum equaling the gold I filched from the Barons.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant&rsquo;s face fell, and took on a doleful expression.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The times, your Highness, have long been very bad, none of us
+      making money&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince held up his hand, and the merchant ceased his plaint.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I can strip a Baron of his wealth,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I will
+      not waste words over the fleecing of merchants. This contribution is to be
+      given in the name of the three Archbishops, whose heavy hands came down on
+      you after the late insurrection. The Archbishops have now nine thousand
+      troops in Frankfort. If given leave, they will collect the sum three times
+      over within a very few hours; so you, as chairman of the committee, may
+      decide whether the fund shall be a voluntary contribution or an impost
+      gathered by soldiery: it matters nothing to me. Have it proclaimed
+      throughout the city that owing to the graciousness of the three
+      Archbishops starvation is now at an end in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Highness, with your permission, and all due deference, it seems
+      rather unjust that we should contribute the cash and lose the credit.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Herr Goebel; this is a very unjust world, as doubtless many of
+      the starving people thought when they recollected that a few hundred of
+      you possessed vast wealth while they were penniless. Nevertheless, there
+      are good times ahead for all of us. Let me suggest that this money which I
+      sent to you may prove sufficient and so the subscriptions of the merchants
+      can be returned to them; that is, if the relief fund is honestly
+      administered. So set to work early to-morrow with energy. You merchants
+      have had a long vacation. I think the Rhine will be open before many weeks
+      are past, and then you can turn to your money-making, but our first duty
+      is to feed the hungry. Good-night, Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He left the merchant as dazed as was the Archbishop. Once again outside he
+      made directly for the wine cellar of the Rheingold. On reaching the steps
+      he heard a roar of talk, lightened now and then by the sound of laughter.
+      He paused a moment before descending. It was evident that the company was
+      enjoying itself, and Roland soliloquized somewhat sadly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am the disturbing element in that group. They seem to agree
+      famously when by themselves. Ah, well, no matter. They will soon be rid of
+      me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Roland descended the stair, the proprietor greeted him with joy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have missed you, Herr Roland,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;so you may
+      imagine how much the guild has regretted your absence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I hear them bemoaning their fate.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The inn-keeper laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many are here to-night?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is a full house, Sir Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Really? Are Kurzbold and Gensbein within?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes; and there is no scarcity of money, thanks to you, I
+      understand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Rather, our thanks are for ever due to you, Herr Host, for
+      sustaining us so long when we were penniless. We shall never forget that,&rdquo;
+      and so with a semi-military salute to the gratified cellar-man, Roland
+      pushed open the door and entered the banqueting room of the iron-workers&rsquo;
+      guild. An instant silence fell on the group.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good evening to you, gentlemen,&rdquo; said the Prince, taking off
+      his hat, and with a twist of his shoulders flinging the cloak from them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Instantly arose a great cheer, and Greusel, who occupied the chair at the
+      head of the table, strode forward, took Roland&rsquo;s hat and cloak, and
+      hung them up. After that he attempted to lead their Captain to the seat of
+      honor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, my dear lieutenant,&rdquo; said Roland, placing his hand
+      affectionately on the other&rsquo;s shoulder, &ldquo;a better man than I
+      occupies the chair, and shall never be displaced by me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The others, now on their feet, with the exception of Kurzbold and
+      Gensbein, vociferously demanded that Roland take the chair. Smilingly he
+      shook his head, and holding up his hand for silence, addressed them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take your seats, comrades; and, Greusel, if you force me to give a
+      command, I order you into that chair without further protest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel, with evident reluctance, obeyed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Truth to tell, brothers, I have but a few moments to stop. I merely
+      dropped in to enjoy a sip of wine with you, and to offer a proposal that,
+      within five minutes, will make me the most unpopular man in this room,
+      therefore you see my wisdom in refusing a chair from which I should be
+      very promptly ejected.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of the members poured a tankard full of wine from a flagon, and handed
+      it to Roland, who, saluting the company, drank.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You did not divide the money, Greusel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Roland. We gave each man five hundred thalers, to keep as best
+      he might. We then concealed the rest of the gold between the bottom of the
+      boat and its inner planking. Ebearhard and I construed your orders
+      somewhat liberally, conceiving it was your desire to get our treasure and
+      ourselves safely into Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite right,&rdquo; corroborated Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When morning came upon us, we soon discovered that the whole
+      country was aroused, because of the destruction of Furstenberg and the
+      looting of Sonneck. No one knew where the next raid would strike, and
+      therefore the whole country-side was in a turmoil. Now, the only fact
+      known to the despoiled was that a long black barge had appeared in front
+      of the Castle while the attack was made from behind. We realized that it
+      would be impossible for us to go up the river except in darkness, so in
+      case of a search we concealed the treasure where it was not likely to be
+      come at, and each day lay quiet at an unfrequented part of the river,
+      rowing all night. Not until we reached the Main did we venture on a
+      daylight voyage. It was agreed among us unanimously that the money should
+      be placed in Herr Goebel&rsquo;s keeping until you returned.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was all excellently done,&rdquo; commented Roland. &ldquo;I
+      have just been to see Herr Goebel, and was surprised to learn how much we
+      had actually taken. And now I ask you to make a great sacrifice. This city
+      is starving. If we give that gold to its relief, the merchants of
+      Frankfort will contribute an equal amount. I do not know how long such a
+      total will keep the wolves from the doors of Frankfort; probably for six
+      months. I shall learn definitely to-morrow.&rdquo; Here Roland outlined
+      his plan of relief, which was received in silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold spoke up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should like to know how much the total is?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is a matter with which you have nothing to do,&rdquo; growled
+      Greusel; then, turning to Roland, who had not yet taken a seat, he said:
+      &ldquo;So far as my share is concerned, I agree.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I agree,&rdquo; added Ebearhard; and so it went down along each
+      side of the table until eighteen had spoken.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold rose with a smile on his face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how it is, ex-Captain, that the moment you come
+      among us there seems to arise a spirit of disputation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Curiously enough, Herr Kurzbold, that same thought arose in my mind
+      as I listened to your hilarity before I entered. I beg to add, for your
+      satisfaction, that this is my last visit to the guild, and never again
+      shall I disturb its harmony.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is no lack of harmony,&rdquo; cried Ebearhard, laughing, as
+      he rose. &ldquo;The agreement has been practically unanimous&mdash;quite
+      unanimous in fact, among those entitled to share in the great treasure. I
+      believe Herr Kurzbold has a claim, if it has not been forfeited, to the
+      loot of Rheinstein.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, even the genial Ebearhard,&rdquo; continued Kurzbold, &ldquo;although
+      his words are blameless, speaks with a certain tone of acerbity, while my
+      friend Greusel has become gruff as a bear.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You need not labor that point, Herr Kurzbold,&rdquo; said Roland.
+      &ldquo;I have resigned.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I just wished to remark,&rdquo; Kurzbold went on, &ldquo;that I
+      rose for the purpose of stating I had some slight share in something;
+      stolen property; honor among thieves, you know. Are my rights to this
+      share disputed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said the chairman shortly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; concluded Kurzbold, &ldquo;as I am graciously
+      permitted to speak in the august presence of our ex-Captain, I desire to
+      say that whatever my share happens to be, I bestow it gladly, nay,
+      exultantly, upon the poor of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With that Kurzbold sat down, and there was first a roar of laughter,
+      followed by a clapping of hands. Gensbein rose, and said briefly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do as Kurzbold does.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I want a number of volunteers to
+      start out into the country early to-morrow morning, Greusel, you, as
+      chairman, will designate the routes. Each man is to penetrate as far as he
+      can along the main roads, asking the farmers to bring everything in the
+      shape of food they have to sell. Tell them a vast sum has been collected,
+      and that their cartloads will be bought entire the moment they enter the
+      city. There will be no waiting for their money. Prompt payment, and
+      everything eatable purchased immediately. Greusel, I put on you the
+      hardest task. Penetrate into the forest south of the Main, and tell the
+      charcoal-burners and woodmen to bring in material for kitchen fires. How
+      many will volunteer?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every man rose. Roland thanked them. &ldquo;I shall now divulge a secret,
+      and you will see that when it was told to me I remembered your interests.
+      It has been my privilege to meet, since I saw you, more than one man who
+      is a ruler in this Empire.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did they tell you who is to be the new Emperor?&rdquo; cried one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is known only to the Electors. But what I was about to say is
+      this. There are to be established by the Government ironworks on a scale
+      hitherto unknown in any land. I believe, and did my best to inculcate that
+      belief in others, that we are on the verge of an age of iron, and, knowing
+      your skill, I am privileged to offer each of you the superintendency of a
+      department, with compensation never before given so lavishly in Germany. I
+      am also induced to believe that the new Emperor will bestow a title on
+      each of you who desire such honor, so that there can be no question of
+      your right to wear a sword. Greusel, you must receive reports from each of
+      our food scouts, and I shall be glad to know the outcome, if you take the
+      trouble to call upon me any hour after nine o&rsquo;clock at night, at my
+      old room in Sachsenhausen. And now, good-night, and good-luck to you all.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland went over the bridge, and so reached his room on the other side. He
+      glanced around several times to satisfy himself he was not spied upon, and
+      laughed at the apprehension of the Archbishop. Entering his room, he lit a
+      lamp, took off his cloak and flung it on the bed, then unbuckled his
+      sword-belt and hung it and the weapon on a peg, placing his cloak above
+      them. He was startled by a loud knock at the door, and stood for a moment
+      astonished, until it was repeated with the stern warning:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Open in the name of the Archbishop!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man strode forward, drew back the bolt, and flung open the door.
+      An officer, with two soldiers behind him, came across the threshold, and
+      at the side-motion of the officer&rsquo;s head a soldier closed and bolted
+      the door. Roland experienced a momentary thrill of indignation at this
+      rude intrusion, then he remembered he was a mechanic, and that his line
+      must be the humble and deferential.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You came to-night from the Imperial Palace. What were you doing
+      there?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was trying to gain admission, sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For what purpose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wished,&rdquo; said Roland, rapidly outlining his defense in his
+      own mind, &ldquo;I wished to see some high officer; some one of your own
+      position, sir, but was not so fortunate as to succeed. I could not pass
+      the sentries without a permit, which I did not then possess, but hope to
+      acquire to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again I ask, for what purpose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For a purpose which causes me delight in meeting your excellency.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am no excellency. Come to the point! For what purpose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To show the officer a sword of such superior quality that a man
+      armed with it, and given a certain amount of skill, stands impregnable.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you mean to tell me you went to the Royal Palace for the purpose
+      of selling a second-hand sword?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no, my lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do not be so free with your titles. Call me Lieutenant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Lieutenant, sir; I hope to get orders for a hundred, or
+      perhaps a thousand of these weapons.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where did you go after leaving the Palace?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I went to the residence of that great Prince of the Church, the
+      Archbishop of Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah! You did not succeed in seeing his Lordship, I suppose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me, Lieutenant, but I did. His Lordship is keenly interested
+      in both weapons and armor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did he give you an order for swords?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Lieutenant; he seems to be a very cautious man. He asked me to
+      visit him in Cologne, or if I could not do that, to see his general, now
+      in Frankfort. You understand, Lieutenant, the presence of the three
+      Archbishops with their armies offers me a great opportunity, by which I
+      hope to profit.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The officer looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where next did you go?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I went to the house of a merchant in the Fahrgasse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, that tale doesn&rsquo;t hold! Merchants are not allowed to wear
+      swords.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Lieutenant, but a merchant on occasion can supply capital that
+      will enable a skilled workman to accept a large contract. If I should see
+      the general of his Lordship to-morrow, and he gave me an order for, say,
+      two thousand swords, I have not enough money to buy the metal, and I could
+      not ask for payment until I delivered the weapons.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did the merchant agree to capitalize you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He, too, was a cautious man, Lieutenant. He wished first to see the
+      contract, and know who stood responsible for payment.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wise man,&rdquo; commented the officer; &ldquo;and so,
+      disheartened, I suppose, you returned here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Lieutenant; the day has been warm, and I have traveled a good
+      deal. I went from the merchant&rsquo;s house to the Rheingold tavern,
+      there to drink a tankard of wine with my comrades, a score of men who have
+      formed what they call the ironworkers&rsquo; guild. I drank a tankard with
+      them, and then came direct here, where I arrived but a few moments ago.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The officer was more and more puzzled. Despite this young man&rsquo;s
+      deferential manner, his language was scarcely that of a mechanic, yet this
+      certainly was his own room, and he had told the absolute truth about his
+      wanderings, as one who has nothing to fear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lieutenant stood for a space of time with eyes to the floor, as silent
+      as the soldiers behind him. Suddenly he looked up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Show me the sword. I&rsquo;ll tell you where it&rsquo;s made!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If he expected hesitation he was mistaken. Roland gave a joyful cry, swept
+      aside the cloak, whisked forth the sword, flung it up, and caught it by
+      the blade, then with a low bow handed it to the officer, who flashed it
+      through the air, bent the blade between finger and thumb, then took it
+      near the lamp and scrutinized it with the eye of an expert.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A good weapon, my friend. Where was it made? I have never seen one
+      like it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was made by my own hands here in Frankfort. Of course I go first
+      to those who know least about the matter, but if I can get an introduction
+      to his Lordship of Mayence, his officers will know a sword when they see
+      it; and I hope to-night fortune, in leading you to my door, has brought me
+      an officer of Mayence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lieutenant looked at him, and for the first time smiled. He handed
+      back the weapon, signed to his men to unbolt the door, which they did,
+      stepping out; then he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I bid you good-night. Your answers have been satisfactory, but I
+      set you down not as a mechanic, but a very excellent merchant of swords.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lieutenant,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;you do not flatter me.&rdquo;
+      He raised his weapon in military salute. &ldquo;I am no merchant, but a
+      sword maker.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XIX. THE BETROTHAL IN THE GARDEN
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Next morning Prince Roland sent a letter to the Archbishop of Mayence
+      informing him that the Empress had taken up her abode in the Palace of her
+      old friend, the Lord of Cologne, giving the reasons for this move and his
+      own desertion of the Imperial Palace, and asking permission to call upon
+      his mother each day. The messenger brought back a prompt reply, which
+      commended the delicacy of his motives in leaving the Royal Palace, but
+      added that, so far as the three Archbishops were concerned, the Saalhof
+      was still at their disposal: of course Prince Roland&rsquo;s movements
+      were quite untrammeled, and again, so far as concerned the three
+      Archbishops, he was at liberty to visit whom he pleased, as often as he
+      liked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While waiting for the return of his messenger, Roland called upon Herr
+      Goebel, and told him that twenty emissaries had gone forth in every
+      direction from Frankfort to inform the farming community that a market had
+      been opened in the city, and in exchange learned what the merchant had
+      already done towards furthering the necessary organization.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, by the way, Herr Goebel,&rdquo; he cried, suddenly
+      recollecting, &ldquo;just write out and sign a document to this effect:
+      &lsquo;I promise Herr Roland, sword maker of Sachsenhausen, to supply him
+      with the capital necessary for carrying out his contract with his Lordship
+      the Archbishop of Cologne.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without demur the merchant indited the document, signed it, and gave it to
+      the Prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If any emissary of Mayence pays you a domiciliary visit, Herr
+      Goebel, asking questions about me, carefully conceal my real status, and
+      reply that I am an honest, skillful sword maker, anxious to revive the
+      iron-working industry, and for this reason, being yourself solicitous for
+      the welfare of Frankfort, you are risking some money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the afternoon Roland walked to the Palace of Cologne and boldly
+      entered, with no attempt at secrecy, the doorkeeper on this occasion
+      offering no impediment to his progress. He learned that the Empress, much
+      fatigued, had retired to her room and must not be disturbed; that the
+      Archbishop was consulting with the Count Palatine, while the Countess von
+      Sayn was walking in the garden. Roland passed with some haste through the
+      Palace, and emerged into the grounds behind it: grounds delightfully
+      umbrageous, and of an extent surprisingly large, surrounded by a very high
+      wall of stone, so solidly built that it might successfully stand a siege.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland found the girl sauntering very slowly along one of the most
+      secluded alleys, whose gravel-path lay deeply in the shade caused by the
+      thick foliage of over-hanging trees, which made a cool, green tunnel of
+      the walk. Her head was slightly bowed in thought, her beautiful face
+      pathetic in its weariness, and the young man realized, with a pang of
+      sympathy, that she was still to all intents and purposes a prisoner, with
+      no companions but venerable people. She could not, and indeed did not
+      attempt to suppress an exclamation of delight at seeing him, stretching
+      out both hands in greeting, and her countenance cleared as if by magic.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was thinking of you!&rdquo; she cried, without a trace of
+      coquetry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I judged your thoughts to be rather gloomy,&rdquo; he said, with a
+      laugh, in which she joined.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gloomy only because I could see or hear nothing of you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you know I came yesterday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. Why did you not ask to see me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was informed you were entertaining the Count Palatine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, yes. He is a delightful old man. I like him better and better
+      as time goes on. My guardian and I were guests of his at Gutenfels just
+      before I occupied the marine prison of Pfalz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So your guardian told me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They were now walking side by side in this secluded, thickly-wooded
+      avenue, just wide enough for two, running in a straight line from wall to
+      wall the whole length of the property, in the part most remote from the
+      house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing disastrous has happened to you?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;I
+      have had miserable forebodings.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; I am living a most commonplace life, quite uneventful.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But why, why does the Archbishop of Mayence delay the Election?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not know he was doing so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my guardian is very anxious about it. Such postponement, I
+      understand, never happened before. The State is without a head.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Has your guardian spoken to Mayence about it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; and has been met by the most icy politeness. Mayence wishes
+      this Election to take place with a full conclave of the seven Electors,
+      three of whom have not yet arrived. But my guardian says they never
+      arrive, and take no interest in Imperial matters. He pointed out to
+      Mayence that a quorum of the Court is already in Frankfort, but his
+      Lordship of the Upper Rhine merely protests that they must not force an
+      Election, all of which my guardian thinks is a mere hiding of some design
+      on the part of Mayence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Prince Roland meditated on this for a few moments, then, as if shaking off
+      his doubts, he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It never occurs to one Archbishop that either of the others may be
+      speaking the truth. There is so much mistrust among them that they nullify
+      all united action, which accounts for the prostrate state of this city,
+      the capital of one of the most prosperous countries under the sun. So far
+      as I can see, taken individually, they are upright, trustworthy men. Now,
+      to give you an instance. Your guardian last night was simply
+      panic-stricken at my audacity in visiting him. He said I must not come
+      again, refusing me permission to see you; he told you nothing of my
+      conference with him: he felt certain I was being tracked by spies, and
+      could not be made to understand that my presence here was of no
+      consequence one way or another.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then why are you here now?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am just coming to that. I asked your guardian to invite my mother
+      as his guest. Have you met her yet?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; they told me the Empress was too tired to receive any one. I am
+      to be introduced at dinner to-night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, this morning I wrote to the Archbishop of Mayence, telling
+      him of my interview with your guardian, the reason for it, and the
+      results. His reply came promptly by return.&rdquo; Roland produced the
+      document. &ldquo;Just read that, and see whether you detect anything
+      sinister in it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She read the letter thoughtfully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is honest enough on the surface.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On the surface, yes; but why not below the surface as well? That is
+      a frank assent to a frank request. I think that if the Archbishops would
+      treat each other with open candor they would save themselves a good deal
+      of anxiety.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; said the girl, very quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are not convinced?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what to think.&rdquo; Then she looked up at him
+      quickly. &ldquo;Were you followed last night?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; ejaculated Roland, laughing a little &ldquo;apparently
+      not, so far as I could see, but the night was very dark.&rdquo; Then he
+      related to her the incidents succeeding the return to his room, while she
+      listened with breathless eagerness. &ldquo;The Lieutenant,&rdquo; he
+      concluded, &ldquo;did not deny that he was in the service of Mayence when
+      I hinted as much, but, on the other hand, he did not admit it. Of course,
+      I knew by his uniform to whom he belonged. He conducted my examination
+      with military abruptness, but skillfully and with increasing courtesy,
+      although I proclaimed myself a mechanic.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You a mechanic!&rdquo; she said incredulously. &ldquo;Do you think
+      he believed it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see you doubt my histrionic ability, but when next he waits upon
+      me I shall produce documentary evidence of my status, and, what is more, I&rsquo;ll
+      take to my workshop.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you possess a workshop?&rdquo; cried the girl in amazement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do I? Why, I am partner with a man named Greusel, and we own a
+      workshop together. A gruff, clumsy individual, as you would think, but
+      who, nevertheless, with his delicate hammer, would beat you out in metal a
+      brooch finer than that you are wearing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you mean Joseph?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Roland, astonished. &ldquo;What do you know of
+      him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you forgotten so soon? It was his stalwart shoulders that
+      burst in my door at Pfalz, and you yourself told me his name was Joseph
+      Greusel. Were all those marauders you commanded honest mechanics?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Every man of them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then you must be the villain of the piece who led those worthy
+      ironworkers astray?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland laughed heartily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is quite true,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Have I fallen in your
+      estimation?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; to me you appeared as a rescuer. Besides, I come of a race of
+      ruffians, and doubtless on that account take a more lenient view of your
+      villainy than may be the case with others.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man stopped in his walk, and seized her hands again, which she
+      allowed him to possess unresisting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hilda,&rdquo; he said solemnly, &ldquo;your guardian thought the
+      Archbishop of Mayence had relented, and would withdraw his opposition to
+      our marriage. Has Mayence said anything to corroborate that estimate?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Has your guardian broached the subject to him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; but the attitude of my Lord of Mayence was quite inscrutable.
+      Personally I think my guardian wrong in his surmise. The Archbishop of
+      Treves murmured that Mayence never forgives. I am certain I offended him
+      too deeply for pardon. He wishes the future Empress to be a pliable
+      creature who will influence her husband according to his Lordship&rsquo;s
+      desires, but, as I have boasted several times, I belong to the House of
+      Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hilda, will you marry me in spite of the Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Roland, will you forego kingship for my sake?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; a thousand times yes!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You said &lsquo;For the Empress; not for the Empire,&rsquo; but if
+      I am no Empress, you will as cheerfully wed me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then <i>I</i> say yes!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He caught her in his arms, and they floated into the heaven of their first
+      kiss, an ecstatic melting together. Suddenly she drew away from him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is some one coming,&rdquo; she whispered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing matters now,&rdquo; said Roland breathlessly. &ldquo;There
+      is no one in the world to-day but you and me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hildegunde drew her hands down her cheeks, as if to brush away their
+      tell-tale color and their warmth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis like,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;that you marry a poor
+      man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing matters now,&rdquo; she repeated, laughing tremulously.
+      &ldquo;I am said to be the richest woman in Germany. I shall build you a
+      forge and enlist myself your apprentice. We will paint over the door
+      &lsquo;Herr Roland and wife; sword makers.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two men appeared at the end of the alley, and stood still; the one with a
+      frown on his brow, the other with a smile on his lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; whispered the Countess, panic striking from her face the
+      color that her palms had failed to remove, &ldquo;the Archbishop and the
+      Count Palatine!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Lordship strode forward, followed more leisurely by the smiling Count.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; said Cologne, &ldquo;I had not expected this
+      after our conference of last night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fail to understand why, my Lord, when my parting words were
+      &lsquo;Tell your porter to let me in without parley.&rsquo; That surely
+      indicated an intention on my part to visit the Palace.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness knows that so far as I am concerned you are very
+      welcome, and always shall be so, but at this juncture there are others to
+      consider.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland interrupted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Read this letter, my Lord, and you will learn that I am here with
+      the full concurrence of that generous Prince of the Church, Mayence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cologne, with knitted brow, scrutinized the communication.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness is most courageous, but, if I may be permitted, just
+      a trifle too clever.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Highness is not clever at all, but merely meets a situation as
+      it arises.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; said the Countess, her head raised proudly,
+      &ldquo;may I introduce to you my friend, and almost my neighbor, the Count
+      Palatine of the Rhine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, pardon me,&rdquo; murmured the Archbishop, covered with
+      confusion, but the jovial Count swept away all embarrassment by his hearty
+      greeting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, I am delighted with the honor her ladyship accords
+      me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And I, my Lord, am exceedingly gratified to meet the Count Palatine
+      again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again?&rdquo; cried the Count in astonishment, &ldquo;If ever we
+      had encountered one another, your Highness, I certainly should not have
+      been the one to forget the privilege.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is true, nevertheless. My Lord Count, there is a namesake of
+      mine in the precincts of your strong Castle of Gutenfels; a namesake who
+      does more honor to the title than I do myself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Count Palatine threw back his head, and the forest garden echoed with
+      boisterous laughter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean my black charger, Prince Roland!&rdquo; he shouted.
+      &ldquo;A noble horse indeed. How knew you of him? If your Highness cares
+      for horses allow me to present him to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never, my Lord Count. You are too fond of him yourself, and I have
+      always had an affectionate feeling towards you for your love of that
+      animal, which, indeed, hardly exceeds my own. I grasped his bridle-rein,
+      and held the stirrup while you mounted.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How is that possible?&rdquo; asked the astonished Count.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cared for Prince Roland nearly a month, receiving generous wages,
+      and, what I valued more, your own commendation, for you saw I was as fond
+      of horses as you were.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good heavens! Were you that youth who came so mysteriously, and
+      disappeared without warning?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; laughed the Prince. &ldquo;I know Gutenfels nearly as
+      well as you do. I was a spy, studying the art of war and methods of
+      fortification. I stopped in various capacities at nearly all the famous
+      Castles of the Rhine, and this knowledge recently came in&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness, your Highness!&rdquo; pleaded the Archbishop.
+      &ldquo;I implore you to remember that the Count Palatine is an Elector of
+      the Empire, and, as I told last night, we are facing a crisis. Until that
+      crisis is passed you will add to my already great anxiety by any lack of
+      reticence on your part.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By the Three Kings!&rdquo; cried the Count, &ldquo;this youth, if I
+      may venture to call him so, has bound me to him with bands stronger than
+      chain armor. I shall vote for him whoever falters.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His Highness,&rdquo; said the Archbishop, with a propitiatory
+      smile, &ldquo;has been listening to the Eastern tales which our ancestors
+      brought from the Crusades, and I fear has filled his head with fancies.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Really, Archbishop, you misjudge me,&rdquo; said the young man;
+      &ldquo;I am the most practical person in the Empire. You interrupted my
+      boasting to her ladyship of my handiwork. I would have you know I am a
+      capable mechanic and a sword maker. What think you of that, my Lord?&rdquo;
+      he asked, drawing forth his weapon, and handing it to Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An excellent blade indeed,&rdquo; said the latter, balancing it in
+      his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well, my Lord, I made it and tempered it unassisted. I beg you
+      to re-enter your palace, and write me out an order for a thousand of these
+      weapons.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If your Highness really wishes me to do this, and there is no
+      concealed humorism in your request which I am too dull to fathom, you must
+      accompany me to my study and dictate the document I am to indite. I shall
+      wait till you bid farewell to the Countess.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A glance of mutual understanding flashed between the girl and himself,
+      then Roland raised her hand to his lips, and although the onlookers saw
+      the gallant salutation, they knew nothing of the gentle pressure with
+      which the fingers exchanged their confidences.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; said the Prince, &ldquo;it will be my pleasure and
+      duty to wait upon my mother to-morrow. May I look forward to the happiness
+      of presenting you to her?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you,&rdquo; said the Countess simply, with a glance of
+      appeal at her guardian. That good man sighed, then led the way into the
+      house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XX. THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Roland left the palace with a sense of elation he had never before
+      experienced, but this received a check as he saw standing in the middle of
+      the square the Lieutenant of the night before. His first impulse was to
+      avoid the officer, yet almost instinctively he turned and walked directly
+      to him, which apparently nonplussed the brave emissary of Mayence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good afternoon to you, sir,&rdquo; began Roland, as if overjoyed to
+      see him. &ldquo;Will you permit me to speak to you, sir?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well?&rdquo; said the Lieutenant curtly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My forge, which has been black and cold for many a long day, will
+      soon be alight and warm again. What think you of this?&rdquo; He handed to
+      the Lieutenant his order for a thousand swords, and the officer made a
+      mental note of the commission as an interesting point in armament that
+      would be appreciated by his chief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You did not inform me last night who was the merchant you hoped
+      would finance your enterprise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hoped?&rdquo; echoed Roland, his eyes sparkling. &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis
+      more than hope, Herr Lieutenant. His name is Goebel, and he is one of the
+      richest and chiefest traffickers of Frankfort. Why, my fortune is made!
+      Read this, written in his own hand. I got it from him before midday, on my
+      mere word that I was certain of an order from his Lordship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are indeed much to be envied,&rdquo; said the Lieutenant
+      coldly, returning the two documents.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, but I am just at the beginning. If <i>you</i> would favor me by
+      smoothing the way to his Lordship, the Archbishop of Mayence, I in return&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Out upon you for a base-born, profit-mongering churl! Do you think
+      that I, an officer, would demean myself by partnering a bagman!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lieutenant turned on his heel, strode away and left him. Roland
+      pursued his way with bowed head, as though stricken by the rebuff. Nearing
+      the bridge, he saw a crowd around an empty cart, standing by which a man
+      in rough clothing was cursing most vociferously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At first he thought there had been an accident, but most of the people
+      were laughing loudly; so, halting in the outskirts, he asked the cause of
+      the commotion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis but a fool farmer,&rdquo; said a man, &ldquo;who came
+      from the country with his load of vegetables. &lsquo;Tis safer to enter a
+      lion&rsquo;s den unarmed than to come into Frankfort with food while
+      people are starving. He has been plundered to the last leaf.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland shouldered his way through the crowd, and touched the frantic man
+      on the shoulder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What was the value of your load?&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A misbegotten liar told me this morning that a market had opened in
+      Frankfort, and that there was money to be had. No sooner am I in the town
+      than everything I brought in is stolen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, yes; I know all about that. My question is, How much is your
+      merchandise worth?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Worth? Thirty thalers I expected to get, and now&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thirty thalers,&rdquo; interrupted the Prince. &ldquo;Here is your
+      money. Get you gone, and tell your neighbors there is prompt payment for
+      all the provender they can bring in.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man calmed down as if a bucket of water had been thrown on him. He
+      counted the payment with miserly care, testing each coin between his
+      teeth, then mounted his cart without a word of thanks, and, to the
+      disappointment of the gathering mob, drove away. Roland, seething with
+      anger, walked directly to the house of Herr Goebel, and found that placid
+      old burgher seated at his table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ten thousand curses on your indolence!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;Where
+      are your committee, and the emissaries empowered to carry out this scheme
+      of relief I have ordered?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Committee? Emissaries?&rdquo; cried the astonished man. &ldquo;There
+      has been no time!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Time, you thick-headed fool! I&rsquo;ll time you by hanging you to
+      your own front door. There has been time for me to send my men out into
+      the country; time for a farmer to come in with a cartload of produce, and
+      be robbed here under your very nose! Maledictions on you, you sit here,
+      well fed, and cry there is no time! If I had not paid the yeoman he would
+      have gone back into the country crying we were all thieves here in
+      Frankfort. Now listen to me. I drew my sword once upon you in jest. Should
+      I draw it a second time it will be to penetrate your lazy carcass by
+      running you through. If within two hours there is not a paymaster at every
+      gate in Frankfort to buy and pay for each cartload of produce as it comes,
+      and also a number of guides to tell that farmer where to deliver his
+      goods, I&rsquo;ll give your town over to the military, and order the
+      sacking of every merchant&rsquo;s house within its walls.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It shall be done; it shall be done; it shall be done!&rdquo;
+      breathed the merchant, trembling as he rose, and he kept repeating the
+      phrase with the iteration of a parrot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You owe me thirty thalers,&rdquo; said the Prince calming down;
+      &ldquo;the first payment out of the relief fund. Give me the money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With quivering hands Herr Goebel, seeing no humor in the application,
+      handed over the money, which the Prince slipped into his wallet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Dusk had fallen when at last he reached his room in Sachsenhausen, and
+      there he found awaiting him Joseph Greusel, in semi-darkness and in total
+      gloom.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your housekeeper let me in,&rdquo; said the visitor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good! I did not expect you back so soon. Have the others returned?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not know. I came direct here. I carry very ominous news,
+      Roland, of impending disaster in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Greater than at present oppresses it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Civil war, fire, and bloodshed. Close the door, Roland; I am tired
+      out, and I do not wish to be overheard.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince obeyed the request, locking the door. Going to a cupboard, he
+      produced a generous flagon of wine and a tankard, setting the same on a
+      small table before Greusel, then he threw himself down in the one armchair
+      the room possessed. Greusel filled the tankard, and emptied it without
+      drawing breath. He plunged directly into his narrative.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I had penetrated less than half a league into the forest when I was
+      stopped by an armed man who stepped out from behind a tree. He wore the
+      uniform of Mayence, and proclaimed me a prisoner. I explained my mission,
+      but this had no effect upon him. He asked if I would go with him quietly,
+      or compel him to call assistance. Being helpless, I said I would go
+      quietly. Notwithstanding this, he bound my wrists behind me, then with a
+      strip of cloth blindfolded me. Taking me by the arm, he led me through the
+      forest for a distance impossible to calculate. I think, however, we walked
+      not more than ten minutes. There was a stop and a whispered parley; a
+      pause of a few minutes, and a further conference, which I partially heard.
+      The commander before whom I must be taken was not ready to receive me. I
+      should be placed in a tent, and a guard set over me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This was done. I asked that the cord, which hurt my wrists, might
+      be removed, but instead, my ankles were tied together, and I sat there on
+      the ground, leaning against a pole at the back of the tent. Here my
+      conductor left me, and I heard him give orders to those without to
+      maintain a strict watch, but to hold no communication with me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I imagine that the tent I occupied stood back to back with the tent
+      of the commander, for after some time I heard the sound of voices, and it
+      seemed to me voices of two men in authority. They had come to the back
+      part of their tent, as if to speak confidentially, and their voices were
+      low, yet I could hear them quite distinctly, being separated from them
+      merely by two thicknesses of cloth. What I learned was this. There is
+      concealed in the forest, within half an hour&rsquo;s quick march of the
+      southern gate, a force of seven thousand soldiers. These soldiers belong
+      to the Archbishop of Mayence, who commands an additional three thousand
+      within the walls of Frankfort. Mayence holds the southern gate, as Treves
+      holds the western and Cologne the northern. You see at once what that
+      implies. Mayence can pour his troops into Frankfort, say, at midnight, and
+      in the morning he has ten thousand soldiers as compared with the three
+      thousand each commanded by the Archbishops of Treves and Cologne. That
+      means civil war, and the complete crushing of the two northern
+      Archbishops.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think you take too serious a view of the matter,&rdquo; commented
+      Roland. &ldquo;Mayence is undoubtedly a subtle man, who takes every
+      precaution that he shall have his own way. The reason that there will be
+      no civil war is this. I happen to know on very excellent authority that so
+      far as the Electoral Court goes, Mayence is paramount. He does not need to
+      conquer Cologne and Treves by force, because he is already supreme by his
+      genius for intrigue. He is a born ruler, and his methods are all those of
+      diplomacy as against those of arms. I dare say if occasion demanded it he
+      would strike quick and strike effectually, but occasion does not demand. I
+      am rather sure of my facts, and I know that the three Archbishops,
+      together with the Count Palatine of the Rhine, are in agreement to elect
+      my namesake, Prince Roland, Emperor of Germany.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Greusel, &ldquo;I heard that rumor, and it is
+      generally believed in Frankfort. Rumor, however, as usual, speaks falsely.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince smiled at his pessimistic colleague, for that colleague was
+      talking to the man who knew; nevertheless, he listened patiently, for of
+      course he could not yet reveal himself to his somber lieutenant, who
+      continued his narrative:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The two men spoke of the unfortunate Prince, who is, I understand,
+      still a prisoner in Ehrenfels.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here Roland laughed outright.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Greusel, you are entirely mistaken. The Prince was never
+      really a prisoner, and is at this moment in Frankfort, as free to do what
+      he likes as I am.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry,&rdquo; said Greusel, &ldquo;that you do not grasp the
+      seriousness of the situation, but I have not yet come to the vital part of
+      it, although I thought the very fact that seven thousand men threatened
+      Frankfort would impress you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It does, Greusel,&rdquo; said Roland, remembering the distrust in
+      which both the Countess and her guardian held Mayence, and also the close
+      watch his Lordship was keeping over Frankfort, as evidenced by the
+      domiciliary visit paid to himself by an officer of that potentate. &ldquo;Go
+      on, Greusel,&rdquo; he said more soberly, &ldquo;I shall not interrupt you
+      again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I gathered that Prince Roland actually had been chosen, but
+      complications arose which I do not altogether understand. These
+      complications relate to a woman, or two women; both of them equally
+      objectionable to the Archbishop of Mayence. One of these two women was to
+      marry the new Emperor, but rather than have this happen, Mayence
+      determined that another than Prince Roland should be elected, the reason
+      being that Mayence feared one Empress would be entirely under the
+      influence of Cologne, if chosen, and the other under the influence of
+      Treves. So his subtle Lordship is deluding both of these Electors. Cologne
+      has been asked to bring to Frankfort the woman he controls, therefore he
+      harbors the illusion that Mayence is reconciled to her. Treves also has
+      been requested to bring the lady who is his relative; thus she, too, is in
+      Frankfort, and Treves blindly believes Mayence is favorable to her cause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As a matter of fact Mayence will have neither, but has resolved to
+      spring upon the Electoral Court at the last moment the name of the Grand
+      Duke Karl of Hesse, a middle-aged man already married, and entirely under
+      the dominance of his Lordship of Mayence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me, Greusel, I must interrupt, in spite of my disclaimer.
+      What you say sounds very ingenious, but it cannot be carried out. Treves,
+      Cologne, and the Count Palatine are already pledged to vote for Prince
+      Roland, so is Mayence himself, and to change front at the last moment
+      would be to forswear himself, and act as traitor to his colleagues. Now,
+      he cannot afford to lose even one vote, and I believe that the Archbishop
+      of Cologne will vote for Prince Roland through thick and thin. I think the
+      same of the Count Palatine. Treves, of course, is always doubtful and
+      wavering, but you see that the negative vote of the Archbishop of Cologne
+      would render Mayence powerless and an Election impossible.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doubtless what you say is true, and now you have put your finger on
+      the danger spot. Why has the Election been delayed beyond all precedent?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That I do not know,&rdquo; replied Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I will tell you. The Archbishop of Mayence has sent peremptory
+      orders to the other three Electors, who are reported to be careless so far
+      as Imperial affairs are concerned, and quite indifferent regarding the
+      personality of the future Emperor. No one of these three Electors,
+      however, dares offend so powerful a man as Mayence. If the Archbishop can
+      overawe his colleagues nominally equal to him in position, each commanding
+      an army, how think you can three small nobles, with no soldiers at their
+      beck, withstand his requests, suavely given, no doubt, but with an iron
+      menace behind them?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, true,&rdquo; muttered Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Two of these nobles have already arrived, and are housed with the
+      Archbishop of Mayence. The third is expected here within three days; four
+      days at the farthest. Mayence will immediately convene the Electoral
+      Court, when the Count Palatine, with the two Archbishops, may be
+      astonished to find that for the first time in history, the whole seven are
+      present in the Wahlzimmer. Mayence will ask Cologne to make the
+      nomination, and he will put forward the name of Prince Roland. On a vote
+      being taken the Prince will be in a minority of one. Mayence then shows
+      his hand, nominating the Grand Duke Karl, who will be elected by a
+      majority of one. Then may ensue a commotion in the Wahlzimmer, and
+      accusations of bad faith, but remember that Cologne and Treves are taken
+      completely by surprise. They cannot communicate with their commanders, for
+      the three thousand troops which Mayence already has within Frankfort will
+      have quietly surrounded the Town Hall that contains the Election Chamber,
+      and Mayence&rsquo;s seven thousand men from the forest are pouring through
+      the southern gate into the city, making straight for the Romer. Meanwhile
+      the Grand Duke Karl, a man well known to the populace of Frankfort,
+      appears on the balcony of the Kaisersaal, and is loudly acclaimed the new
+      Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Greusel, forgive my attitude of doubt. It is all as plain now
+      as the Cathedral tower. Still, there will be no civil war. Treves and
+      Cologne will gather up their troops and go home, once more defeated by a
+      man cleverer and more unscrupulous than both of them put together. They
+      are but infants in his hands.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you any suggestion to make?&rdquo; asked Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; there is nothing to be done. You see, the young Prince has no
+      following. He is quite unknown in Frankfort. His name can arouse no
+      enthusiasm, and, all in all, that strikes me as a very good thing. The
+      Grand Duke Karl is popular, and I believe he will make a very good
+      Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean, Roland, that the Archbishop of Mayence will make a very
+      good ruler, for he will be the real king.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, after all, Joseph, there is much to be said in favor of
+      Mayence. He is a man who knows what he wants, and, what is more, gets it,
+      and that, after all is the main thing in life. If any one could sway the
+      Archbishop so that he put his great talents to the benefit of his country,
+      instead of thinking only of himself, what a triumph of influence that
+      would be! By the Three Kings, I&rsquo;d like to do it! I admire him. If I
+      found opportunity and could persuade him to join us in the relief of
+      Frankfort, and in opening the Rhine to commerce, we would give these inane
+      merchants a lesson in organization.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel rose from his chair, poured out another tankard full from the
+      flagon, and drank it off.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I must go down now and meet the guild,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I
+      have eaten nothing all day, and am as hungry as a wolf from the Taunus.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, how did you escape, by the way?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t escape. I was led blindfolded into a tent, where my
+      bandage was removed, and here a man in ordinary dress questioned me
+      concerning my object in entering the forest. I told him exactly the truth,
+      and explained what we were trying to do in Frankfort. I dare say I looked
+      honest and rather stupid. He asked when I set out; in what direction I
+      came; questioning me with a great affectation of indifference; wanted to
+      know if I had met many persons, and I told him quite truthfully I met no
+      one but the man I understood was a forester; a keeper, I supposed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;There are a number of us,&rsquo; he said, &lsquo;hunting the
+      wild boar, and we do not wish the animal life of these woods to be
+      disturbed. We shall not be here longer than a week, but I advise you to
+      seek another spot for what timber you require.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He asked me, finally, if any one in Frankfort knew I had come to
+      the forest, and I answered that the guild of twenty knew, and that we were
+      all to meet to-night at the Rheingold tavern to report. He pondered for a
+      while on this statement, and I suppose reached the conclusion that if I
+      did not return to Frankfort, this score of men might set out in the
+      morning to search for me, it being well known that the forest is dangerous
+      on account of wild boars. So, as if it were of no consequence, he
+      blindfolded me again, apologizing privately for doing so, saying it was
+      quite unnecessary in the first instance, but as the guard had done so, he
+      did not wish to censure him by implication.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I answered that it did not matter at all, but desired him to order
+      my wrists released, which was done.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I must say,&rdquo; commented Roland, &ldquo;that the Archbishop of
+      Mayence is well served by his officers. Your examiner was a wise man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Greusel, &ldquo;but nevertheless, I am telling
+      my story here in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No difference for that, because, as I have said, we can do nothing.
+      Still, it is a blessing your examiner could not guess what you overheard
+      in the other tent. He let you go thinking you had seen and learned
+      nothing, and in doing so warded off a search party to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XXI. A SECRET MARRIAGE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Blessed is he that expects nothing, for he shall not be disappointed.
+      Roland walked with Greusel across the bridge and through the streets to
+      the entrance of the Rheingold, and there stopped.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall not go down with you,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You have given
+      me much to think of, and I am in no mood for a hilarious meeting. Indeed,
+      I fear I should but damp the enthusiasm of the lads. Continue your good
+      work to-morrow, and report to me at my room.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this Roland bade Greusel good-night and turned away. He walked very
+      slowly as far as the bridge, and there, resting his arms on the parapet,
+      looked down at the dark water. He was astonished to realize how little he
+      cared about giving up the Emperorship, and he recalled, with a glow of
+      delight, his recent talk in the garden with Hildegunde, and her assurance
+      that she lacked all ambition to become the first lady in the land so long
+      as they two spent their lives together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The bells of Frankfort tolling the hour of ten aroused him from his
+      reverie, and brought down his thoughts from delicious dreams of romance to
+      realms of reality. The precious minutes were passing over his head swiftly
+      as the drops of water beneath his feet. There was little use of feeding
+      Frankfort if it must be given over to fire and slaughter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With a chill of apprehension he reviewed the cold treachery of Mayence,
+      willing to levy the horrors of civil war upon an already stricken city so
+      long as his own selfish purposes were attained.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And yet,&rdquo; he said to himself, &ldquo;there must be good in
+      the man. I wish I knew his history. Perhaps he had to fight for every step
+      he has risen in the world. Perhaps he has been baffled and defeated by
+      deception; overcome by chicanery until his faith died within him. My faith
+      would die within me were it not that when I meet a Mayence I encounter
+      also the virtue of a Cologne, and the bluff honesty of a Count Palatine.
+      How marvelous is this world, where the trickery of a Kurzbold and a
+      Gensbein is canceled by the faithfulness unto death of a Greusel and an
+      Ebearhard! Thus doth good balance evil, and then&mdash;and then, how
+      Heaven beams upon earth in the angel glance of a good woman. God guide me
+      aright! God guide me aright!&rdquo; he repeated fervently, &ldquo;and
+      suppress in me all anger and uncharitableness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He walked rapidly across the bridge into Sachsenhausen, past his room at
+      the street corner, and on to the monastery of the Benedictines, whose
+      little chapel stood open night and day for the prayers of those in trouble
+      or in sadness, habited only by one of the elder brothers, who gave, if it
+      were needed, advice, encouragement, or spiritual comfort. Removing his
+      hat, the Prince entered into the silence on tiptoe, and kneeling before
+      the altar, prayed devoutly for direction, asking the Almighty to turn the
+      thoughts of His servant, Mayence, into channels that flowed towards peace
+      and the relief of this unhappy city.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As he rose to his feet a weight lifted from his shoulders, and the
+      buoyancy of youth drove away the depression that temporarily overcame him
+      on hearing of the army threatening Frankfort. His plans were honest, his
+      methods conciliatory, and the path now seemed clear before him. The monk
+      in charge, who had been kneeling in a dark corner near the door, now came
+      forward to intercept him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will your Highness deny me in the chapel as you did upon the
+      bridge?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland stopped. In the gloom he had not recognized the ghostly Father.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Father Ambrose, and I do now what I should have done then. I
+      pray your blessing on the enterprise before me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My son, it is willingly given, the more willingly that I may atone
+      in part my forgetting of the Holy Words: &lsquo;Judge not, that ye be not
+      judged.&rsquo; I grievously misjudged you, as I learn from both the
+      Archbishop and my kinswoman. I ask your forgiveness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall forgive you, Father Ambrose, if you make full, not partial
+      atonement. The consequences of your mistake have proved drastic and
+      far-reaching. The least of these consequences is that it has cost me the
+      Emperorship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; moaned the good man, &ldquo;<i>mea culpa, mea culpa!</i>
+      No penance put upon me can compensate for that disaster.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You blame yourself overmuch, good Father. The penance I have to
+      impose will leave me deeply in your debt. Now, to come from the least to
+      the greatest of these results, so far as I am concerned, my marriage with
+      your kinswoman, whom I love devotedly, is in jeopardy. Through her
+      conviction that I was a thief, she braved the Archbishop of Mayence, who
+      imprisoned her, and now his Lordship has determined that the Grand Duke
+      Karl of Hesse shall be Emperor. Thus we arrive at the most important
+      outcome of your error. Between the overwhelming forces of Mayence and the
+      insufficient troops of Cologne and Treves there may ensue a conflict
+      causing the streets of Frankfort to flow with blood.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pious man groaned dismally.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have a plan which will prevent this. The day after to-morrow I
+      shall renounce all claim to the throne; but being selfish, like the rest,
+      I refuse to renounce all claim to the woman the Archbishops themselves
+      chose as my wife, neither shall I allow the case to be made further the
+      plaything of circumstance. Your kinswoman, no later ago than this
+      afternoon, confessed her love for me and her complete disregard of any
+      position I may hold in this realm. Now, Father Ambrose, I ask you several
+      questions. Is it in consonance with the rules of the Church that a
+      marriage be solemnized in this chapel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you entitled to perform the ceremony?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it possible this ceremony can be performed to-morrow?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you therefore attend to the necessary preliminaries, of which
+      I am vastly ignorant, and say at what hour the Countess and I may present
+      ourselves in this chapel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Archbishop of Cologne is guardian to her ladyship. Will you
+      bring me his sanction?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Father Ambrose, there is just the point. So far as concerns
+      himself I doubt not that the Archbishop is the most unambitious of men,
+      but to the marriage of his ward with a sword maker I fear he would refuse
+      consent which he would gladly give to a marriage with an Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The monk hung his head, and pondered on the proposition. At last he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not ask my Lord the Archbishop?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dare not venture. Too much is at stake. She might be carried away
+      to any castle in Germany. Remember that Cologne has already acquiesced in
+      her imprisonment, and but that the iron chain of the Pfalzgraf brought me
+      to her prison door&mdash;The iron chain, do I say? &lsquo;Twas the hand of
+      God that directed me to her, and now, with the help of Him who guided me,
+      not all the Archbishops in Christendom shall prevent our marriage. No,
+      Father Ambrose, pile on yourself all the futile penances you can adopt.
+      They are useless, for they do not remedy the wrong you have committed. And
+      now, good-night to your Reverence!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man strode towards the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My son,&rdquo; said the quiet voice of the priest, &ldquo;when you
+      were on your knees just now did you pray for remission from anger?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland whirled round.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <i>&ldquo;Mea culpa,</i> as you said just now. Father Ambrose, I ask your
+      pardon. I made an unfair use of your mistake to coerce you. You were quite
+      right in relating what your own eyes saw here in Frankfort, and although
+      the inference drawn was wrong, you were not to blame for that. I recognize
+      your scruples, but nevertheless protest that already I possess the
+      sanction of the Archbishop, which has never been withdrawn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, if you bring hither the Countess von Sayn to-morrow
+      afternoon, when the bells strike three, I will marry you, and gladly
+      accept whatever penances ensue. I fear the monk&rsquo;s robe has not
+      crushed out all the impulses of the Sayn blood. In my case, perhaps, it
+      has only covered them. And now, good-night, and God&rsquo;s blessing fall
+      upon you and her you are to marry.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland went directly from the chapel to his own room, where he slept the
+      sleep of one who has made up his mind. Nevertheless, it was not a
+      dreamless sleep, for throughout the night he seemed to hear the tramp of
+      armed men marching upon unconscious Frankfort, and this sound was so
+      persistent, that at last he woke, yet still it continued. Springing up in
+      alarm, and flinging wide the wooden shutters of his window, he was amazed
+      to see that the sun was already high, while the sound that disturbed him
+      was caused by a procession of heavy-footed horses, dragging over the
+      cobble-stones carts well-laden with farm produce.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having dressed and finished breakfast, he wrote a letter to the Archbishop
+      of Mayence:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     &ldquo;My LORD ARCHBISHOP,&mdash;There are some important proposals which I
+     wish to make to the Electors, and as it is an unwritten rule that I
+     should not communicate with them separately, I beg of you to
+     convene a meeting to-morrow, in the Wahlzimmer, at the hour of
+     midday. Perhaps it is permissible to add, for your own information,
+     that while my major proposition has to do with the relief of
+     Frankfort, the minor suggestions I shall make will have the effect
+     of clearing away obstacles that at present obstruct your path, and
+     I venture to think that what I say will meet with your warmest
+     approval.&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      It was so necessary that this communication should reach the Archbishop as
+      soon as possible that Roland became his own messenger, and himself
+      delivered the document at the Archbishop&rsquo;s Palace. As he turned away
+      he was startled by a hand being placed on his shoulder with a weight
+      suggesting an action of arrest rather than a greeting of friendship. He
+      turned quickly, and saw the Lieutenant who had so discourteously used him
+      in the square. There was, however, no menace in the officer&rsquo;s
+      countenance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Still thrusting your sword at people?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Lieutenant, and very harmlessly. &lsquo;Tis a bloodless combat
+      I wage with the sword. I praise its construction, and leave to superiors
+      like yourself, sir, the proving of its quality.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are an energetic young man, and we of Mayence admire competence
+      whether shown by mechanic or noble. Was the letter you handed in just now
+      addressed to his Lordship?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Lieutenant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Twill be quite without effect.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It grieves me to hear you say so, sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take my advice, and make no effort to see the Archbishop until
+      after the Election. I judge you to be a sane young fellow, for whom I
+      confess a liking. You are the only man in Frankfort who has unhesitatingly
+      told me the exact truth, and I have not yet recovered from my amazement.
+      Now, when you return to your frugal room in Sachsenhausen you do not
+      attempt to reach it by mounting the stairs with one step?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Naturally not, Lieutenant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. When the Emperor is proclaimed, come you to me. I&rsquo;ll
+      introduce you to my superior, and he, if impressed with your weapon, will
+      take you a step higher, and thus you will mount until you come to an
+      officer who may give you an astonishing order.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you, Lieutenant, and hope later to avail myself of your
+      kindness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lieutenant slapped him on the shoulder, and wished him good-luck. As
+      Roland pushed his way through the crowd, he said to himself, with a sigh:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I regret not being Emperor, if only for the sake of young fellows
+      like that.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Frankfort was transformed as if a magician had waved his wand over it. The
+      streets swarmed with people. Farmers&rsquo; vehicles of every description
+      added to the confusion, and Roland frowned as he noticed how badly
+      organized had been the preparations for coping with this sudden influx of
+      food, but he also saw that the men of Mayence had taken a hand in the
+      matter, and were rapidly bringing method out of chaos. The uniforms of
+      Cologne or Treves were seldom seen, while the quiet but firm soldiers of
+      Mayence were everywhere ordering to their homes those already served, and
+      clearing the way for the empty-handed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last Roland reached the Palace of Cologne, through a square thronged
+      with people. Within he found his mother and the Countess, seated in a room
+      whose windows overlooked the square, watching the stirring scene presented
+      to them. Having saluted his mother, he greeted the girl with a quiet
+      pressure of the hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is the cause of all this commotion?&rdquo; asked the Empress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland tapped his breast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am the cause, mother,&rdquo; and he related the history of the
+      relief committee, and if appreciation carries with it gratification, his
+      was the advantage of knowing that the two women agreed he was the most
+      wonderful of men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But indeed, mother,&rdquo; continued Roland, &ldquo;I selfishly rob
+      you of the credit. The beginning of all this was really your gift to me of
+      five hundred thalers, that time I came to crave your assistance in
+      procuring me this document I still carry, and without your thalers and the
+      parchment, this never could have happened. So you see they have increased
+      like the loaves and fishes of Holy Writ, and thus feed the multitude.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Her Majesty arose, smiling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Roland,&rdquo; she said, kissing him, &ldquo;you always gave
+      your mother more credit than she deserved. It wrung my heart at the time
+      that I was so scant of money.&rdquo; Then, pleading fatigue, the Empress
+      left the room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hilda!&rdquo; cried the young man, &ldquo;when you and I discuss
+      things, those things become true. Yesterday we agreed that the Imperial
+      throne was not so enviable a seat as a chair by the domestic hearth.
+      To-day I propose to secure the chair at the hearth, and to-morrow I shall
+      freely give up the Imperial throne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl uttered an exclamation that seemed partly concurrence and partly
+      dismay, but she spoke no word, gazing at him intently as he strode up and
+      down the room, and listening with eagerness. Walking backwards and
+      forwards, looking like an enthusiastic boy, he very graphically detailed
+      the situation as he had learned it from Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now you see, my dear, any opposition to the Archbishop of Mayence
+      means a conflict, and supposing in that conflict our friends were to win,
+      the victory would be scarcely less disastrous than defeat. I at once made
+      up my mind, fortified by my knowledge of your opinion on the subject, that
+      for all the kingships in the world I could not be the cause of civil
+      dissension.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is a just and noble decision,&rdquo; she said, speaking for
+      the first time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, standing before her, the young man in more moderate tone related
+      what had happened and what had been said in the chapel of the Benedictine
+      Fathers. She looked up at him, earnest face aglow, during the first part
+      of his recital, and now and then the sunshine of a smile flickered at the
+      corners of her mouth as she recognized her kinsman in her lover&rsquo;s
+      repetition of his words, but when it came to the question of a marriage,
+      her eyes sank to the floor, and remained there.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Hilda,&rdquo; he said at last, &ldquo;have you the courage to
+      go with me, all unadvised, all unchaperoned, to the chapel this afternoon
+      at three o&rsquo;clock?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She rose slowly, still without looking at him, placed her hands on his
+      shoulders, then slipped them round his neck, laying her cheek beside his.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It requires no courage, Roland,&rdquo; she whispered, &ldquo;to go
+      anywhere if you are with me. I need to call up my courage only when I
+      think with a shudder of our being separated.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some minutes elapsed before conversation was resumed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is the Archbishop?&rdquo; asked Roland, in belated manner
+      remembering his host.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He and the Count Palatine went out together about an hour since. I
+      think they were somewhat disturbed at the unusual commotion, and desired
+      to know what it meant. Do you want to consult my guardian after all?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not unless you desire me to do so?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish only what you wish, Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am glad his Lordship is absent. Let us to the garden, Hilda, and
+      discover a quiet exit if we can.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A stout door was found in the wall to the rear, almost concealed with
+      shrubbery. The bolts were strong, and rusted in, but the prowess of Roland
+      overcame them, and he drew the door partially open. It looked out upon a
+      narrow alley with another high wall opposite. Roland looked up and down
+      the lane, and saw it was completely deserted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This will do excellently,&rdquo; he said, shoving the door shut
+      again, but without thrusting the bolts into position. He took her two
+      hands in his.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dearest, noblest, sweetest of girls! I must now leave you. Await me
+      here at half-past one. I go out by this door, for it is necessary I should
+      know exactly where the alley joins a main street. It would be rather
+      embarrassing if you were standing here, and Father Ambrose looking for us
+      in the chapel, while I was frantically searching for and not finding the
+      lane.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some time in advance of the hour set, the impatient young man kept the
+      appointment he had made, and when the Countess appeared exactly on the
+      minute, he held open the door for her, then, drawing it shut behind him,
+      they were both out in the city of Frankfort together. Roland&rsquo;s high
+      spirits were such that he could scarcely refrain from dancing along at her
+      side.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to take your hand,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and swing
+      it, and show you the sights of the city, as if we were two young people in
+      from the country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am a country girl, please to remember,&rdquo; said the Countess.
+      &ldquo;I know nothing of Frankfort, or, indeed, of any other large town.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am glad of that, for there is much to see in Frankfort. We will
+      make for the Cathedral, that beautiful red building, splendid and grand,
+      where we should have been married with great and useless ceremony if I had
+      been crowned Emperor. But I am sure the simple chapel in the working town
+      of Sachsenhausen better suits a sword maker and his bride.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now they came out into the busy street, which seemed more thronged than
+      ever. In making their way to the Cathedral, the mob became so dense that
+      progression was difficult. The current seemed setting in one direction,
+      and it carried them along with it. Hildegunde took the young man&rsquo;s
+      arm, and clung close to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They are driving us, whether we will or no, towards our old enemy,
+      the Archbishop of Mayence. That is his Palace facing the square. There is
+      some sort of demonstration going on,&rdquo; cried Roland, as cheer after
+      cheer ascended to the heavens. &ldquo;How grim and silent the Palace
+      appears, all shuttered as if it were a house of the dead! Somehow it
+      reminds me of Mayence himself. I had pictured him occupying a house of
+      gloom like that.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you think we are in any danger?&rdquo; asked the girl. &ldquo;The
+      people seem very boisterous.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no danger at all. This mob is in the greatest good-humor.
+      Listen to their heart-stirring cheers! The people have been fed; that is
+      the reason of it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that why they cheer? It sounds to me like an ovation to the
+      Archbishop! Listen to them: &lsquo;Long live Mayence! God bless the
+      Archbishop!&rsquo; There is no terror in those shouts.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nevertheless his Lordship of Mayence had taken every precaution. The
+      shutters of his Palace were tightly closed, and along the whole front of
+      the edifice a double line of soldiers was ranged under the silent command
+      of their officers. They stood still and stiffly as stone-graven statues in
+      front of a Cathedral. The cheers rang unceasingly. Then, suddenly, as if
+      the sinister Palace opened one eye, shutters were turned away from a great
+      window giving upon the portico above the door. The window itself was then
+      thrown wide. Cheering ceased, and in the new silence, from out the
+      darkness there stepped with great dignity an old man, gorgeous in his long
+      robes of office, and surmounting that splendid intellectual head rested
+      the mitered hat of an Archbishop. After the momentary silence the cheers
+      seemed to storm the very door of the sky itself, but the old man moved no
+      muscle, and no color tinged his wan face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By the Kings,&rdquo; whispered Roland, during a temporary lull,
+      &ldquo;what a man! There stands power embodied, and yet I venture &lsquo;tis
+      his first taste of popularity. I am glad we have seen this sight, both mob
+      and master. How quick are the people to understand who is the real ruler
+      of Germany! I wish he were my friend!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Slowly the Archbishop raised his open hands, holding them for a moment in
+      benediction over the vast assemblage. Once more the cheers died away, and
+      every head was bowed, then the Archbishop was in his place no longer.
+      Unseen hands closed the windows, and a moment later the shutters blinded
+      it. The multitude began to dissolve, and the two wanderers found their way
+      become clearer and clearer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Together they entered the empty, red Cathedral, and together knelt down in
+      a secluded corner. After some minutes passed thus Roland remembered that
+      the hour of two had struck while they were gazing at the Archbishop.
+      Gently he touched the hand of his companion. They rose, and walked slowly
+      through the great church.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There,&rdquo; he whispered, &ldquo;is where the Emperor is crowned.
+      The Archbishop of Mayence always performs that ceremony, so, after all,
+      there is some justification for his self-assumed leadership.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again out into the sunshine they walked to the Fahrgasse, and then to the
+      bridge, where the Countess paused with an expression of delight at the
+      beauty of the waterside city, glorified by the westering sun. Crossing the
+      river, and going down the Bruckenstrasse of Sachsenhausen, Roland said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Referring to people who are not Emperors, that is my room at the
+      corner, where I lived when supposed to be in prison.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that where you made your swords?&rdquo; she asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; Greusel&rsquo;s workshop and mine is farther along that side
+      street. It is a grimy shop of no importance, but here, on the other side,
+      we have an edifice that counts. That low building is the Benedictine
+      monastery, and this is its little chapel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess made no comment, but stood looking at it for a few moments
+      until her thoughts were interrupted by the solemn tones of a bell striking
+      three. Roland went up the steps, and held open the door while she passed
+      in, then, removing his hat, he followed her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XXII. LONG LIVE THEIR MAJESTIES
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The most anxious man in all Frankfort was not to be found among the mighty
+      who ruled the Empire, or among the merchants who trafficked therein, or
+      among the people who starved when there was no traffic. The most anxious
+      man was a small, fussy individual of great importance in his own
+      estimation, cringing to those above him, denouncing those beneath; Herr
+      Durnberg, Master of the Romer, in other words, the Keeper of the Town
+      Hall. The great masters whom this little master served were imperious and
+      unreasonable. They gave him too little information regarding their
+      intentions, yet if he failed in his strict duty towards them, they would
+      crush him as ruthlessly as if he were a wasp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Unhappy Durnberg! Every morning he expected the Electoral Court to be
+      convened that day, and every evening he was disappointed. It was his first
+      duty to lay out upon the table in that great room, the Kaisersaal, a
+      banquet, to be partaken of by the newly-made Emperor, and by the seven
+      potentates who elected him. It was also his duty to provide two huge tanks
+      of wine, one containing the ruby liquor pressed out at Assmannshausen; the
+      other the straw-colored beverage that had made Hochheim famous. These
+      tanks were connected by pipes with the plain, unassuming fountain standing
+      opposite the Town Hall in that square called the Romerberg. The moment an
+      election took place Herr Durnberg turned off the flow of water from the
+      fountain, and turned on the flow of wine, thus for an hour and a half
+      there poured from the northward pointing spout of the fountain the rich
+      red wine of Assmannshausen, and from the southern spout the delicate white
+      wine of Hochheim. Now, wine will keep for a long time, but a dinner will
+      not, so the distracted Durnberg prepared banquet after banquet for which
+      there were no consumers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, thought Herr Durnberg, his vigilance was about to be rewarded.
+      There came up the broad, winding stair, to the landing on which opened the
+      great doors of the Kaisersaal, two joyous-looking young people, evidently
+      lovers, and with the hilt of his sword the youth knocked against the stout
+      panels of the door. It was Herr Durnberg himself who opened, and he said
+      haughtily&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Romer is closed, and will not be free to strangers until after
+      the Election.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We enter, nevertheless. I am Prince Roland, here to meet the Court
+      of Electors, who convene at midday in the adjoining Wahlzimmer. You,
+      Romer-meister, will announce to their august Lordships that I am here,
+      and, when their will is expressed, summon me to audience with them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Herr Durnberg bowed almost to the polished floor, and flinging open both
+      doors, retreated backwards, still bent double as he implored them to
+      enter. Locking the doors, for the Electors would reach the Wahlzimmer
+      through a private way, to be used by none but themselves, the bustling
+      Durnberg produced two chairs, which he set by the windows in the front,
+      and again running the risk of falling on his nose, bowed his distinguished
+      visitors to seats where they might entertain themselves by watching the
+      enormous crowd that filled the Romerberg from end to end, for every man in
+      Frankfort knew an Election was impending, and it was after the banquet,
+      when the wine began to flow in the fountain, that the new Emperor
+      exhibited himself to his people by stepping from the Kaisersaal out upon
+      the balcony in front of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you feel any shyness about meeting this formidable conclave?
+      Remember you have at least two good friends among them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl placed her hand in his, and looked affectionately upon him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When you are with me, Roland, I am afraid of nothing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should not ask you to pass through this ordeal were it not for
+      your guardian. His astonishment at the announcement of our marriage will
+      be so honest and unacted that even the suspicious Mayence cannot accuse
+      him of connivance in what we have done. Of course, the strength of my
+      position is that I have but carried out the formal request of their three
+      Lordships; a request which has never been rescinded.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before she could reply the hour of twelve rang forth. The deferential Herr
+      Durnberg entered from the Wahlzimmer, and softly approached them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;my Lords, the Electors,
+      request your presence in the Wahlzimmer.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many are there, Romer-meister?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are four, your Highness; the three Archbishops and the Count
+      Palatine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; breathed Roland, relieved that Mayence had not called up
+      his reserve, and assured now that the seventh Elector had not arrived.
+      With a glance of encouragement at his wife, Roland passed into the
+      presence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Herr Durnberg, anxious about the outcome, showed an inclination to close
+      the door and remain inside, but a very definite gesture from Mayence
+      wafted the good man to outer regions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence opened the proceedings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yesterday I received a communication from your Highness, requesting
+      me to convene this Court. I am as ignorant as my colleagues regarding the
+      subjects to be placed before us. I therefore announce to you that we are
+      prepared to listen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you, my Lord of Mayence,&rdquo; began the Prince very
+      quietly. &ldquo;When first I had the honor of meeting your three Lordships
+      in the Castle of Ehrenfels, I signed certain documents, and came to an
+      agreement with you upon other verbal requests. I am not yet a man of large
+      experience, but at that time, although comparatively few days have
+      elapsed, I was a mere boy, trusting in the good faith of the whole world,
+      knowing nothing of its chicanery. Since then I have been through a bitter
+      school, learning bitter lessons, but I am nevertheless encouraged, in that
+      for every man of treachery and deceit I meet two who are trustworthy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me,&rdquo; said Mayence suavely, &ldquo;I did not understand
+      that the discourse you proposed was to be a sermon. If your theme is a
+      lecture on morality, I beg to remind you that this Wahlzimmer is a place
+      of business, and what you say is better suited to a chapel or even a
+      church, than to the Election Chamber of the Empire.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry, my Lord,&rdquo; said Roland humbly, &ldquo;if my
+      introduction does not meet your approval. I assure you that the very
+      opposite was my intention. My purpose is to show you why a change has come
+      over me, and in order&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Once more I regret interrupting, but the reason for whatever change
+      has occurred can be of little interest to any one but yourself. You begin
+      by making vague charges of dishonesty, treachery, and what-not, against
+      some person or persons unknown. May I ask you to be definite?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it your Lordship&rsquo;s wish that I should mention names?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cologne showed signs of uneasiness; Treves looked in bewilderment from one
+      to another of his colleagues; the Count Palatine sat deeply interested,
+      his elbows on the table, massive chin supported by huge hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness is the best judge whether names should be mentioned
+      or not,&rdquo; said Mayence, quite calmly, as if his withers were unwrung.
+      &ldquo;But you must see that if you hint at conspiracy and bafflement,
+      certain inferences are likely to be drawn. Since the time you speak of
+      there has been no opportunity for you to meet your fellow-men, therefore
+      these inferences are apt to take the color that reference is made to one
+      or the other of the three personages you did meet. I therefore counsel you
+      either to abstain from innuendo or explain explicitly what you mean.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I the more willingly bow to your Lordship&rsquo;s decision because
+      it is characterized by that wisdom which accompanies every word your
+      Lordship utters. I shall therefore designate good men and bad.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence gazed at the young man in amazement, but merely said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Proceed, sir, on your perilous road.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am the head of a gang of freebooters. When this company left
+      Frankfort under my command we appeared to be all of one mind. My gang
+      consisted entirely of ironworkers, well-set-up young fellows in splendid
+      physical condition, yet before I was gone a day on our journey I found
+      myself confronted by mutiny. A man named Kurzbold was the leader of this
+      rebellion; a treacherous hound, whom I sentenced to death. The two who
+      stood by me were Greusel and Ebearhard, therefore I told you that when I
+      met one villain I encountered two trustworthy men.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When did this happen?&rdquo; asked Mayence. &ldquo;And what was the
+      object of your freebooting expedition?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;High Heaven!&rdquo; cried the Archbishop of Cologne, unable longer
+      to restrain his impatience when he saw the fatal trend of the Prince&rsquo;s
+      confession, &ldquo;what madness has overcome you? Can you not see the
+      effect of these disturbing disclosures?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince smiled, and answered first the last question.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis an honest confession, my Lord, of what may be considered
+      a dishonest practice. It is information that should be within your
+      knowledge before you sit down to elect an Emperor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When did this happen, my Lord of Mayence?&rdquo; he continued,
+      turning to the chairman. &ldquo;It happened when you thought I was your
+      prisoner in Ehrenfels. Never for a day did you hold me there. I roamed the
+      country at my pleasure. I examined leisurely and effectively the defenses
+      of nearly every castle on the Rhine from the town of Bonn to your own city
+      of Mayence. The object of our expedition, you ask? It was to loot the
+      stolen treasure of the robber castles, and incidentally it resulted in the
+      destruction by fire of Furstenberg. The marauding excursion ended at
+      Pfalz, where I lightened the Pfalzgraf of his wealth, and liberated the
+      Countess von Sayn, unlawfully imprisoned within that fortress.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By the Three Kings!&rdquo; cried the Count Palatine, bringing his
+      huge fist down on the table like the blow of a sledge hammer, &ldquo;you
+      are a man, and I glory that it is my privilege to vote for you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I agree with my brother of Cologne,&rdquo; said Treves, speaking
+      for the first time, &ldquo;that this young man does not properly weigh the
+      inevitable result of his terrible words. I vote, of course, with my Lord
+      of Mayence, but such a vote will be most reluctantly given for a
+      self-confessed burglar and incendiary.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be not too hasty, gentlemen,&rdquo; counseled Mayence. &ldquo;We
+      are not met here to cast votes. Your Highness, I complained a moment ago
+      of lack of interest in your recital; I beg to withdraw that plea. After
+      having heard you I agree that the Countess was unjustly imprisoned. She
+      was accurate in her estimate of your character.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think not, my Lord, I do not regard myself as burglar,
+      incendiary, thief, or robber. I call myself rather a restorer of stolen
+      property. I shed no blood, which in itself is a remarkable feature of
+      action so drastic as mine. The incendiarism was merely incidental, forced
+      upon me by the fact that the Red Margrave tied up eighteen of my men, whom
+      he proposed presently to hang. I diverted his attention from this
+      execution by the first method that occurred to me, namely, the firing of
+      his Castle. In my letter to you yesterday, my Lord, I promised to clear
+      away certain obstacles from your path. I therefore remove one, by saying
+      that an object of this conference is my own renunciation of the
+      Emperorship, thus while I thank my Lord Count for his proffered franchise,
+      I quiet the mind of my Lord of Treves by assuring him his defection has no
+      terror for me. And now, my Lord of Mayence, will you listen carefully to
+      my suggestion?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; replied his Lordship, almost with geniality,
+      &ldquo;I have never heard so graphic a narrator in my life. Proceed, I beg
+      of you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When our band of cut-purses set out from Frankfort, they supposed
+      the gold was to be shared equally among us. Mutiny taught me to use the
+      arts of diplomacy, which I despise. I hoped to attain such influence over
+      them that they would agree to abjure wealth for the benefit of Frankfort.
+      I am happy to say that I accomplished my object, so that yesterday and
+      to-day you have witnessed the results of my efforts; the relief of a
+      starving city. I merely removed the wealth of robbers to benefit those
+      whom they robbed. Knowing the dangerous feeling actuating this town
+      against your Lordships, I caused proclamation to be made crediting this
+      relief to the Archbishops.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord of Mayence, when yesterday I saw you appear on your own
+      balcony, the most stern, the most dignified figure I ever beheld; when I
+      heard the ringing cheers that greeted you; when I realized, as never
+      before, the majesty of your genius, I cursed the stupid decree of Fate
+      that denied me your friendship. What could we not have accomplished
+      together for the Fatherland? I, with my youth and energy, under the
+      tutelage of your wisdom and experience. You tasted there, probably for the
+      first time in your life, the intoxicating cup of popularity, yet it
+      affected you no more than if you had drunk of the fountain in the
+      Romerberg.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, my Lords, here is what I ask of you, and it will show how much
+      I would have depended upon you had I been chosen to the position at first
+      proposed to me. I request you, my Lord of Treves, to remove your three
+      thousand troops to the other side of the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall do nothing of the sort,&rdquo; blurted Treves, amazed at
+      the absurd proposal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland went on, unheeding:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I ask you, my Lord of Cologne, to march your troops to
+      Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You indeed babble like the boy you said you were!&rdquo; cried the
+      indignant Cologne. &ldquo;You show no grasp of statesmanship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A faint smile quivered on the thin lips of Mayence at his colleagues&rsquo;
+      ill-disguised fear at leaving him the man in possession so far as
+      Frankfort was concerned. The naive proposal which angered his two brethren
+      merely amused Mayence. This young man&rsquo;s absurdity was an
+      intellectual treat. Roland smiled in sympathy as he turned towards him,
+      but his next words banished all expression of pleasure from the face of
+      Mayence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope to succeed better with you, my Lord. Of course I recognize I
+      have no standing with this Court since my refusal of the gift you intended
+      to bestow. I ask you to draft into this city seven thousand men;&rdquo;
+      then after a pause: &ldquo;<i>the seven thousand will not have far to
+      march, my Lord.</i>&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He caught an expression almost of fear in the Archbishop&rsquo;s eyes,
+      which were quickly veiled, but his Lordship&rsquo;s tone was as unwavering
+      as ever when he asked:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you mean by that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean that the city of Mayence is nearer to Frankfort than either
+      Cologne or Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your geographical point is undeniable. What am I to do with my ten
+      thousand once they are here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, I admire the rigid discipline of your men, and estimate
+      from that the genius of organization possessed by your officers; a genius
+      imparted, I believe, by you. No one knows better than I the state of
+      confusion which this effort at relief has brought upon the city. I suggest
+      that your capable officers divide this city into cantons, proclaim martial
+      law, and deliver to every inhabitant rations of food as if each man,
+      woman, and child were a member of your army. Meanwhile the merchants
+      should be relieved of a task for which they have proved their incapacity,
+      and turn their attention to commerce. This relief at best must be
+      temporary. The vital task is to open the Rhine. The merchants will load
+      every barge on the river with goods, and this flotilla the armies of
+      Treves and Cologne will escort in safety to the latter city. In passing
+      they will deliver an ultimatum to every castle, demanding a contribution
+      in gold towards the further relief of Frankfort, until commerce readjusts
+      itself, and assuring each nobleman that if this commerce is molested, his
+      castle shall be forfeited, and himself imprisoned or hanged.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite an effective plan, I think, your Highness, to which I
+      willingly agree, if you can assure me of the support of my two colleagues,
+      which I regret to say has already been refused.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Lordship looked from one to another, but neither withdrew his
+      declaration.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; continued Mayence, &ldquo;we seem to have
+      reached a deadlock, and I fear its cause is that distrust of one human
+      being toward another that you deplored a while ago. I confess myself,
+      however, so pleased with the trend of your mind as exhibited in your
+      conversation with us, that I am desirous to know what further proposals
+      you care to make, now that our mutual good intentions have led us into an
+      impasse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Willingly, my Lord. I propose that you at once proceed to the
+      Election of an Emperor, for the delay in his choosing has already caused
+      an anxiety and a tension dangerous to the peace of this country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, that is easier said than done, your Highness. Having yourself
+      eliminated the one on whom we were agreed, it seems to me you should at
+      least suggest a substitute.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again willingly, my Lord. You should choose some quiet,
+      conservative man, and, if possible, one well known to the citizens of
+      Frankfort, and held in good esteem by the people everywhere. He should be
+      a man of middle age&mdash;&rdquo; Mayence&rsquo;s eyes began to close
+      again, and his lips to tighten&mdash;&ldquo;and if he had some experience
+      in government, that would be all to the good. One already married is
+      preferable to a bachelor, for then no delicate considerations regarding a
+      woman can arise, as, I need not remind your Lordship, have arisen in my
+      own case. A man of common sense should be selected, who would not make
+      rash experiments with the ideals of the German people, as a younger and
+      less balanced person might be tempted to do. That he should be a good
+      Churchman goes without saying&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A truce, a truce!&rdquo; cried Mayence sternly. &ldquo;Again we are
+      running into a moral catalogue impossible of embodiment. Is there any such
+      man in your mind, or are you merely treating us to a counsel of
+      perfection?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Notwithstanding my pessimism,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I still
+      think so well of my countrymen as to believe there are many such. Not to
+      make any recommendation to those so much better qualified to judge than I,
+      but merely to give a sample, I mention the Grand Duke Karl of Hesse, who
+      fulfills every requirement I have named.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For what seemed to the onlookers a tense period of suspense, the old man
+      seated and the young man standing gazed intently at one another. Mayence
+      knew at once that in some manner unknown to him the Prince had fathomed
+      his intentions; that his Highness alone knew why the Election had been
+      delayed, yet the Prince conveyed this knowledge directly to the person
+      most concerned, in the very presence of those whom Mayence desired to keep
+      ignorant, without giving them the slightest hint anent the actual state of
+      affairs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The favorable opinion which the Archbishop had originally formed of Roland
+      in Ehrenfels during this conference became greatly augmented. Even the
+      most austere of men is more or less susceptible to flattery, and yet in
+      flattering him Roland had managed to convey his own sincerity in this
+      laudation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will suppose the Grand Duke Karl elected,&rdquo; Mayence said at
+      last. &ldquo;What then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why then, my Lord, the three differing bodies of troops at present
+      occupying Frankfort would be withdrawn, and the danger line crossed over
+      to the right side.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence now asked a question that in his own mind was crucial. Once more
+      he would tempt the young man to state plainly what he actually knew.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can your Highness give us any reason why you fear danger from the
+      presence of troops commanded by three friendly men like my colleagues and
+      myself?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My fear is that the hands of one or the other of you may be forced,
+      and I can perhaps explain my apprehension better by citing an incident to
+      which I have already alluded. I had not the slightest intention of burning
+      Castle Furstenberg, but suddenly my hand was forced. I was responsible for
+      the safety of my men. I hesitated not for one instant to fire the Castle.
+      Of the peaceful intentions of my Lords the Archbishops there can be no
+      question, but at any moment a street brawl between the soldiers, say, of
+      Cologne and Treves, may bring on a crisis that can only be quelled by
+      bloodshed. Do you see my point?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your Highness, I do, and your point is well taken. I repose
+      such confidence in our future Emperor that voluntarily I shall withdraw my
+      troops from Frankfort at once. Furthermore, I shall open the Rhine, by
+      sending along its banks the ultimatum you propose, not supported by my
+      army, but supported by the name of the Archbishop of Mayence, and I shall
+      be interested to know what Baron on the Rhine dare flout that title. Will
+      you accept my aid, Prince Roland?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I accept it, my Lord, with deep gratitude, knowing that it will
+      prove effective.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Lordship rose in his place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I said this was not an Electoral Court. I rise to announce my
+      mistake. We Electors here gathered together form a majority. I propose to
+      you the name of Prince Roland, son of our late Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, my Lord!&rdquo; cried Roland, raising his hand, &ldquo;you
+      do not know all.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Patient Heaven!&rdquo; cried the irritated Archbishop, &ldquo;you
+      make too much of us as father confessors. Do not tell us now you have been
+      guilty of assassination!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, my Lord, but you should know that I have married the Lady
+      Hildegunde, Countess von Sayn, whom you have already rejected as Empress.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, if you have accepted the dame, the balance is redressed. I am
+      not sure but you made an excellent choice.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was now the turn of the amazed Archbishop of Cologne to rise to his
+      feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What his Highness says is impossible. The Lady von Sayn has been in
+      my care ever since she entered Frankfort, and I pledge my word she has
+      never left my Palace!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We were married yesterday at three o&rsquo;clock, in the chapel of
+      the Benedictine Fathers, and in the presence of four of them. We left your
+      Palace, my Lord, by a door which you may discover in the wall of your
+      garden, near the summer-house, and my wife is present in the adjoining
+      room to implore your forgiveness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cologne collapsed into his chair, and drew a hand across his bewildered
+      brow. The situation appeared to amuse Mayence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish your Highness had withheld this information until I was sure
+      that my brother of Treves will vote with me, as he promised. My Lord of
+      Treves, you heard my proposition. May I count on your concurrence?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves&rsquo; house of cards fell so suddenly to the ground that under the
+      compelling eyes of Mayence he could do no more than stammer his
+      acquiescence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I vote for the Prince,&rdquo; he said in tones barely audible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you, my Lord of Cologne?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aye,&rdquo; said Cologne gruffly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Count Palatine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; thundered the latter. &ldquo;A choice that meets my
+      full approval, and I speak now for the Empress as well as the Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Durnberg!&rdquo; cried Mayence, raising his voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The doors were instantly opened, and the cringing Romer-meister appeared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is the banquet prepared?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ready to lay on the table, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The wine for the fountains?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Needs but the turning of the tap, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Order up the banquet, turn the tap; and as the new Emperor is
+      unknown to the people, cause heralds with trumpets to set out and proclaim
+      the Election of Prince Roland of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop of Mayence led the way out into the grand Kaisersaal, and
+      the new Empress rose from her chair, standing there, her face white as the
+      costume she wore. Mayence advanced to her, bending his gray head over the
+      hand he took in his own.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Majesty,&rdquo; he said gravely, and this was her first hint
+      of the outcome, &ldquo;I congratulate you upon your marriage, as I have
+      already congratulated your husband.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord Archbishop,&rdquo; she said in uncertain voice, &ldquo;you
+      cannot blame me for obeying you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think my poor commands would have been futile were it not for the
+      assistance lent me by his Majesty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The salutations of the others were drowned by the cheers of the great
+      assemblage in the Romerberg. The red wine and white had begun to flow, and
+      the people knew what had happened. In the intervals between the clangor of
+      the trumpets, they heard that a Prince of their own town had been elected,
+      so all eyes turned to the Romer, and cries of &ldquo;The Emperor! The
+      Emperor!&rdquo; issued from every throat. The multitude felt that a new
+      day was dawning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I believe,&rdquo; said Mayence, &ldquo;that hitherto only the
+      Emperor has appeared on the balcony, but to-day I suggest a precedent. Let
+      Emperor and Empress appear before the people.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He motioned to Herr Durnberg, and the latter flung open the tall windows;
+      then Roland taking his wife&rsquo;s hand, stepped out upon the balcony.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      THE END
+    </h3>
+    <div style="height: 6em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+
+    <pre>
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sword Maker, by Robert Barr
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Sword Maker
+
+Author: Robert Barr
+
+Release Date: January 10, 2005 [EBook #14656]
+[Date last updated: December 14, 2005]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SWORD MAKER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Richard Lammers and the PG Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+              THE
+
+          SWORD MAKER
+
+              BY
+
+          ROBERT BARR
+
+
+           AUTHOR OF
+
+ "TEKLA" "CARDILLAC" "THE VICTORS"
+      "IN THE MIDST OF ALARMS"
+              ETC.
+
+            NEW YORK
+
+    FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+
+           PUBLISHERS
+
+
+
+
+   FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
+
+           June, 1910
+
+
+
+
+         TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+      I. AN OFFER TO OPEN THE RIVER
+     II. THE BARGAIN IS STRUCK
+    III. DISSENSION IN THE IRONWORKERS' GUILD
+     IV. THE DISTURBING JOURNEY OF FATHER AMBROSE
+      V. THE COUNTESS VON SAYN AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE
+     VI. TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM THE COUNTESS
+    VII. MUTINY IN THE WILDERNESS
+   VIII. THE MISSING LEADER AND THE MISSING GOLD
+     IX. A SOLEMN PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE
+      X. A CALAMITOUS CONFERENCE
+     XI. GOLD GALORE THAT TAKES TO ITSELF WINGS
+    XII. THE LAUGHING RED MARGRAVE OF FURSTENBERG
+   XIII. "A SENTENCE; COME, PREPARE!"
+    XIV. THE PRISONER OF EHRENFELS
+     XV. JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS' MEETING
+    XVI. MY LADY SCATTERS THE FREEBOOTERS AND CAPTURES THEIR CHIEF
+   XVII. "FOR THE EMPRESS, AND NOT FOR THE EMPIRE"
+  XVIII. THE SWORD MAKER AT BAY
+    XIX. THE BETROTHAL IN THE GARDEN
+     XX. THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST
+    XXI. A SECRET MARRIAGE
+   XXII. LONG LIVE THEIR MAJESTIES
+
+
+
+
+THE SWORD MAKER
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+AN OFFER TO OPEN THE RIVER
+
+
+Considering the state of the imperial city of Frankfort, one would not
+expect to find such a gathering as was assembled in the Kaiser cellar of
+the Rheingold drinking tavern. Outside in the streets all was turbulence
+and disorder; a frenzy on the part of the populace taxing to the utmost
+the efforts of the city authorities to keep it within bounds, and
+prevent the development of a riot that might result in the partial
+destruction at least of this once prosperous city. And indeed, the
+inhabitants of Frankfort could plead some excuse for their
+boisterousness. Temporarily, at any rate, all business was at a
+standstill. The skillful mechanics of the town had long been out of
+work, and now to the ranks of the unemployed were added, from time to
+time, clerks and such-like clerical people, expert accountants,
+persuasive salesmen, and small shopkeepers, for no one now possessed the
+money to buy more than the bare necessities of life. Yet the warehouses
+of Frankfort were full to overflowing, with every kind of store that
+might have supplied the needs of the people, and to the unlearned man it
+seemed unjust that he and his family should starve while granaries were
+packed with the agricultural produce of the South, and huge warehouses
+were glutted with enough cloth from Frankfort and the surrounding
+districts to clothe ten times the number of tatterdemalions who clamored
+through the streets.
+
+The wrath of the people was concentrated against one man, and he the
+highest in the land; to blame, of course, in a secondary degree, but not
+the one primarily at fault for this deplorable state of things. The
+Emperor, always indolent from the time he came to the throne, had grown
+old and crabbed and fat, caring for nothing but his flagon of wine that
+stood continually at his elbow. Laxity of rule in the beginning allowed
+his nobles to get the upper hand, and now it would require a civil war
+to bring them into subjection again. They, sitting snug in their
+strongholds, with plenty of wine in their cellars and corn in their
+bins, cared nothing for the troubles of the city. Indeed, those who
+inhabited either bank of the Rhine, watching from their elevated castles
+the main avenue of traffic between Frankfort and Cologne, her chief
+market, had throughout that long reign severely taxed the merchants
+conveying goods downstream. During the last five years, their exactions
+became so piratical that finally they killed the goose that laid the
+golden eggs, so now the Rhine was without a boat, and Frankfort without
+a buyer.
+
+For too long Frankfort had looked to the Emperor, whose business it was
+to keep order in his domain, and when at last the merchants, combining
+to help themselves, made an effort towards freedom, it was too late. The
+result of their combination was a flotilla of nearly a hundred boats,
+which, gathering at Frankfort and Mayence, proceeded together down the
+river, convoyed by a fleet containing armed men, and thus they thought
+to win through to Cologne, and so dispose of their goods. But the robber
+Barons combined also, hung chains across the river at the Lorely rocks,
+its narrowest part, and realizing that this fleet could defeat any
+single one of them, they for once acted in concert, falling upon the
+boats when their running against the chains threw them into confusion.
+
+The nobles and their brigands were seasoned fighters all, while the
+armed men secured by the merchants were mere hirelings, who fled in
+panic; and those not cut to pieces by their savage adversaries became
+themselves marauders on a small scale, scattered throughout the land,
+for there was little use of tramping back to the capital, where already
+a large portion of the population suffered the direst straits.
+
+Not a single bale of goods reached Cologne, for the robbers divided
+everything amongst themselves, with some pretty quarrels, and then they
+sank the boats in the deepest part of the river as a warning, lest the
+merchants of Frankfort and Mayence should imagine the Rhine belonged to
+them. Meantime, all petitions to the Emperor being in vain, the
+merchants gave up the fight. They were a commercial, not a warlike
+people. They discharged their servants and underlings, and starvation
+slowly settled down upon the distressed city.
+
+After the maritime disaster on the Rhine, some of the merchants made a
+futile attempt to amend matters, for which their leaders paid dearly.
+They appealed to the seven Electors, finding their petitions to the
+Emperor were in vain, asking these seven noblemen, including the three
+warlike Archbishops of Cologne, Treves, and Mayence, to depose the
+Emperor, which they had power to do, and elect his son in his stead. But
+they overlooked the fact that a majority of the Electors themselves, and
+probably the Archbishops also, benefited directly or indirectly by the
+piracies on the Rhine. The answer to this request was the prompt hanging
+of three leading merchants, the imprisonment of a score of others, and a
+warning to the rest that the shoemaker should stick to his last, leaving
+high politics to those born to rule. This misguided effort caused the
+three Archbishops to arrest Prince Roland, the Emperor's only son, and
+incarcerate him in Ehrenfels, a strong castle on the Rhine belonging to
+the Archbishop of Mayence, who was thus made custodian of the young man,
+and responsible to his brother prelates of Cologne and Treves for the
+safe-keeping of the Prince. The Archbishops, as has been said, were too
+well satisfied with the weak administration then established at
+Frankfort to wish a change, so the lad was removed from the capital,
+that the citizens of Frankfort might be under no temptation to place him
+at their head, and endeavor to overturn the existing order of things.
+
+This being the state of affairs in Frankfort, with every one gloomy, and
+a majority starving, it was little wonder that the main cellar of the
+Rheingold tavern should be empty, although when times were good it was
+difficult to find a seat there after the sun went down. But in the
+smaller Kaiser cellar, along each side of the single long table, sat
+young men numbering a score, who ate black bread and drank Rhine wine,
+to the roaring of song and the telling of story. They formed a close
+coterie, admitting no stranger to their circle if one dissenting voice
+was raised against his acceptance, yet in spite of this exclusiveness
+there was not a drop of noble blood in the company. They belonged,
+however, to the aristocracy of craftsmen; metal-workers for the most
+part, ingenious artificers in iron, beaters of copper, fashioners of
+gold and silver. Glorious blacksmiths, they called themselves; but now,
+like every one else, with nothing to do. In spite of their city
+up-bringing all were stalwart, well-set-up young men; and, indeed, the
+swinging of hammers is good exercise for the muscles of the arm, and in
+those turbulent days a youth who could not take care of himself with his
+stick or his fists was like to fare ill if he ventured forth after
+nightfall.
+
+This, indeed, had been the chief reason for the forming of their guild,
+and if one of their number was set upon, the secret call of the
+organization shouted aloud brought instant help were any of the members
+within hearing. Belonging neither to the military nor the aristocracy,
+they were not allowed to wear swords, and to obtain this privilege was
+one of the objects of their organization. Indeed, each member of the
+guild secretly possessed a weapon of the best, although he risked his
+neck if ever he carried it abroad with him. Among their number were
+three of the most expert sword makers in all Germany.
+
+These three sword makers had been instrumental in introducing to their
+order the man who was now its leader. This youth came to one of them
+with ideas concerning the proper construction of a sword, and the
+balancing of it, so that it hung easily in the hand as though part of
+the fore-arm. Usually, the expert has small patience with the theories
+of an amateur; but this young fellow, whose ambition it was to invent a
+sword, possessed such intimate knowledge of the weapon as it was used,
+not only in Germany, but also in France and Italy, that the sword maker
+introduced him to fellow-craftsmen at other shops, and they taught him
+how to construct a sword. These instructors, learning that although, as
+Roland laughingly said, he was not allowed to wear a sword, he could
+wield it with a precision little short of marvelous, the guild gave
+permission for this stranger to be a guest at one of their weekly
+meetings at the Kaiser cellar, where he exhibited his wonderful skill.
+
+Not one of them, nor, indeed, all of them together, stood any chance
+when confronting him. They clamored to be taught, offering good money
+for the lessons, believing that if they acquired but a tithe of his
+excellence with the blade they might venture to wear it at night, and
+let their skill save them from capture. But the young fellow refused
+their money, and somewhat haughtily declined the role of fencing-master,
+whereupon they unanimously elected him a member of the coterie, waiving
+for this one occasion the rule which forbade the choice of any but a
+metal-worker. When the stranger accepted the election, he was informed
+that it was the duty of each member to come to the aid of his brethren
+when required, and they therefore requested him to teach them
+swordsmanship. Roland, laughing, seeing how he had been trapped, as it
+were, with his own consent, acceded to the universal wish, and before a
+year had passed his twenty comrades were probably the leading swordsmen
+in the city of Frankfort.
+
+Shortly after the disaster to the merchants' fleet at the Lorely, Roland
+disappeared without a word of farewell to those who had come to think so
+much of him. He had been extremely reticent regarding his profession, if
+he had one, and no one knew where he lodged. It was feared that the
+authorities had arrested him with the sword in his possession, for he
+grew more reckless than any of the others in carrying the weapon. One
+night, however, he reappeared, and took his seat at the head of the
+table as if nothing had happened. Evidently he had traveled far and on
+foot, for his clothes were dusty and the worse for wear. He refused to
+give any account of himself, but admitted that he was hungry, thirsty,
+and in need of money.
+
+His hunger and thirst were speedily satisfied, but the money scarcity
+was not so easily remedied. All the score were out of employment, with
+the exception of the three sword makers, whose trade the uncertainty of
+the times augmented rather than diminished. To cheer up Roland, who was
+a young fellow of unquenchable geniality, they elected him to the empty
+honor of being their leader, Kurzbold's term of office having ended.
+
+The guild met every night now, instead of once a week, and it may be
+shrewdly suspected that the collation of black bread and sausage formed
+the sole meal of the day for many of them. Nevertheless, their hilarity
+was undiminished, and the rafters rang with song and laugh, and echoed
+also maledictions upon a supine Government, and on the rapacious Rhine
+lords. But the bestowal of even black bread and the least expensive of
+wine could not continue indefinitely. They owed a bill to the landlord
+upon which that worthy, patient as he had proved himself, always hoping
+for better times, wished for at least something on account. All his
+other customers had deserted him, and if they drank at all, chose some
+place where the wine was thin and cheap. The landlord held out bravely
+for three months after Roland was elected president, then, bemoaning his
+fate, informed the guild that he would be compelled to close the
+Rheingold tavern.
+
+"Give me a week!" cried Roland, rising in his place at the head of the
+table, "and I will make an effort to get enough gold to settle the bill
+at least, with perhaps something over for each of our pockets."
+
+This promise brought forth applause and a rattle of flagons on the
+table, so palpably empty that the ever-hopeful landlord proceeded
+forthwith to fill them.
+
+"There is one proviso," said Roland, as they drank his health in the
+wine his offer produced. "To get this money I must do something in
+return. I have a plan in mind which it would be premature to disclose.
+If it succeeds, none of us will ever need to bend back over a workman's
+bench again, or hammer metal except for our own pleasure. But acting
+alone I am powerless, so I must receive your promise that you will stand
+by any pledge I make on your behalf, and follow me into whatever danger
+I choose to lead you."
+
+There was a great uproar at this, and a boisterous consent.
+
+"This day week, then," said Roland, as he strapped sword to side, threw
+cloak over shoulders, so that it completely concealed the forbidden
+weapon, waved a hand to his cheering comrades, and went out into the
+night.
+
+Once ascended the cellar steps, the young man stood in the narrow street
+as though hesitating what to do. Faintly there came to him the sound of
+singing from the cellar he had quitted, and he smiled slightly as he
+listened to the rousing chorus he knew so well. From the direction of
+the Palace a more sinister echo floated on the night air; the
+unmistakable howl of anger, pain, and terror; the noise that a pursued
+and stricken mob makes when driven by soldiers. The populace had
+evidently been engaged in its futile and dangerous task of
+demonstrating, and proclaiming its hunger, and the authorities were
+scattering it; keeping it ever on the move.
+
+It was still early; not yet ten o'clock, and a full moon shone over the
+city, unlighted otherwise. Drawing his cloak closer about him, Roland
+walked rapidly in an opposite direction to that from which the tumult of
+the rabble came, until he arrived at the wide Fahrgasse, a street
+running north and south, its southern end terminating at the old bridge.
+Along this thoroughfare lived the wealthiest merchants of Frankfort.
+
+Roland turned, and proceeded slowly towards the river, critically
+examining the tall, picturesque buildings on either hand, cogitating the
+question which of them would best answer his purpose. They all seemed
+uninviting enough, for their windows were dark, most of them tightly
+shuttered; and, indeed, the thoroughfare looked like a street of the
+dead, the deserted appearance enhanced, rather than relieved, by the
+white moonlight lying on its cobble-stones.
+
+Nearing the bridge, he discovered one stout door ajar, and behind it
+shone the yellow glow of a lamp. He paused, and examined critically the
+facade of the house, which, with its quiet, dignified architectural
+beauty, seemed the abode of wealth. Although the shutters were closed,
+his intent inspection showed him thin shafts of light from the chinks,
+and he surmised that an assemblage of some sort was in progress,
+probably a secret convention, the members of which entered unannounced,
+and left the door ajar ready for the next comer.
+
+For a moment he thought of venturing in, but remembering his mission
+required the convincing of one man rather than the persuasion of a
+group, he forbore, but noted in his mind the position and designation of
+the house, resolving to select this building as the theater of his first
+effort, and return to it next morning. It would serve his purpose as
+well as another.
+
+Roland's attention was then suddenly directed to his own position,
+standing in the bright moonlight, for there swung round from the river
+road, into the Fahrgasse, a small and silent company, who marched as one
+man. The moon was shining almost directly up the street, but the houses
+to the west stood in its radiance, while those in the east were still in
+shadow. Roland pressed himself back against the darkened wall to his
+left, near the partially opened door; between it and the river. The
+silent procession advanced to the door ajar, and there paused, forming
+their ranks into two lines, thus making a passage for a tall,
+fine-looking, bearded man, who walked to the threshold, then turned and
+raised his bonnet in salute.
+
+"My friends," he said, "this is kind of you, and although I have been
+silent, I ask you to believe that deeply I appreciate your welcome
+escort. And now, enter with me, and we will drink a stoup of wine
+together, to the somber toast, 'God save our stricken city!'"
+
+"No, no, Herr Goebel. To-night is sacred. We have seen you safely to
+your waiting family, and at that reunion there should be no intruders.
+But to-morrow night, if you will have us, we will drink to the city, and
+to your own good health, Herr Goebel."
+
+This sentiment was applauded by all, and the merchant, seeing that they
+would not accept his present invitation, bowed in acquiescence, and bade
+them good-by. When the door closed the delegation separated into units,
+and each went his own way. Roland, stepping out of the shadow, accosted
+the rearmost man.
+
+"Pardon me, mein Herr," he said, "but may I ask what ceremony is this in
+which you have been taking part?"
+
+The person accosted looked with some alarm at his questioner, but the
+moonlight revealed a face singularly gentle and winning; a face that in
+spite of its youth inspired instinctive confidence. The tone, too, was
+very persuasive, and seemed devoid even of the offense of curiosity.
+
+"'Tis no ceremony," said the delegate, "but merely the return home of
+our friend, Herr Goebel."
+
+"Has he, then, been on a journey?"
+
+"Sir, you are very young, and probably unacquainted with Frankfort."
+
+"I have lived here all my life," said Roland. "I am a native of
+Frankfort."
+
+"In that case," replied the other, "you show yourself amazingly ignorant
+of its concerns; otherwise you would know that Herr Goebel is one of the
+leading merchants of the city, a man honorable, enlightened, and
+energetic--an example to us all, and one esteemed alike by noble or
+peasant. We honor ourselves in honoring him."
+
+"Herr Goebel should be proud of such commendation, mein Herr, coming I
+judge, from one to whom the words you use might also be applied."
+
+The merchant bowed gravely at this compliment, but made no remark upon
+it.
+
+"Pardon my further curiosity," continued the young man, "but from whence
+does Herr Goebel return?"
+
+"He comes from prison," said the other. "He made the mistake of thinking
+that our young Prince would prove a better ruler than his father, our
+Emperor, and but that the Archbishops feared a riot if they went to
+extremes, Herr Goebel ran great danger of losing his life rather than
+his liberty."
+
+"What you say, mein Herr, interests me very much, and I thank you for
+your courtesy. My excuse for questioning you is this. I am moved by a
+desire to enter the employ of such a man as Herr Goebel, and I purpose
+calling upon him to-morrow, if you think he would be good enough to
+receive me."
+
+"He will doubtless receive you," replied the other, "but I am quite
+certain your mission will fail. At the present moment none of us are
+engaging clerks, however competent. Ignorant though you are of civic
+affairs, you must be aware that all business is at a standstill in
+Frankfort. Although Herr Goebel has said nothing about it, I learn from
+an unquestionable source that he himself is keeping from starvation all
+his former employees, so I am sure he would not take on, for a stranger,
+any further obligation."
+
+"Sir, I am well acquainted with the position of affairs, and it is to
+suggest a remedy that I desire speech with Herr Goebel. I do not possess
+the privilege of acquaintance with any merchant in this city, so one
+object of my accosting you was to learn, if possible, how I might secure
+some note of introduction to the merchant that would ensure his
+receiving me, and obtain for me a hearing when once I had been admitted
+to his house."
+
+If Roland expected the stranger to volunteer such a note, he quite
+underestimated the caution of a Frankfort merchant.
+
+"As I said before, you will meet with no difficulty so far as entrance
+to the house is concerned. May I take it that you yourself understand
+the art of writing?"
+
+"Oh yes," replied Roland.
+
+"Then indite your own letter of introduction. Say that you have evolved
+a plan for the redemption of Frankfort, and Herr Goebel will receive you
+without demur. He will listen patiently, and give a definite decision
+regarding the feasibility of your project. And now, good sir, my way
+lies to the left. I wish you success, and bid you good-night."
+
+The stranger left Roland standing at the intersection of two streets,
+one of which led to the Saalhof. They had been approaching the
+Romerberg, or market-place, the center of Frankfort, when the merchant
+so suddenly ended the conversation and turned aside. Roland remembered
+that no Jew was allowed to set foot in the Romerberg, and now surmised
+the nationality of his late companion. The youth proceeded alone through
+the Romerberg, and down directly to the river, reaching the spot where
+the huge Saalhof faced its flood. Roland saw that triple guards
+surrounded the Emperor's Palace. The mob had been cleared away, but no
+one was allowed to linger in its precincts, and the youth was gruffly
+ordered to take himself elsewhere, which he promptly did, walking up the
+Saalgasse, and past the Cathedral, until he came once more into the
+Fahrgasse, down which he proceeded, pausing for another glance at
+Goebel's house, until he came to the bridge, where he stood with arms
+resting on the parapet, thoughtfully shaping in his mind what he would
+say to Herr Goebel in the morning.
+
+Along the opposite side of the river lay a compact mass of barges; ugly,
+somber, black in the moonlight, silent witnesses to the ruin of
+Frankfort. The young man gazed at this melancholy accumulation of
+useless floating stock, and breathed the deeper when he reflected that
+whoever could set these boats in motion again would prove himself,
+temporarily at least, the savior of the city.
+
+When the bells began to toll eleven, Roland roused himself, walked
+across the bridge to Sachsenhausen, and so to his squalid lodging,
+consoling himself with the remembrance that the great King Charlemagne
+had made this his own place of residence. Here, before retiring to bed,
+he wrote the letter which he was to send in next day to Herr Goebel,
+composing it with some care, so that it aroused curiosity without
+satisfying it.
+
+It was half-past ten next morning when Roland presented himself at the
+door of the leading merchant in the Fahrgasse, and sent in to that
+worthy his judiciously worded epistle. He was kept waiting in the hall
+longer than he expected, but at last the venerable porter appeared, and
+said Herr Goebel would be pleased to receive him. He was conducted up
+the stair to the first floor, and into a front room which seemed to be
+partly library and partly business office. Here seated at a stout table,
+he recognized the grave burgher whose home-coming he had witnessed the
+night before.
+
+The keen eyes of the merchant seemed to penetrate to his inmost thought,
+and it struck Roland that there came into them an expression of
+disappointment, for he probably did not expect so youthful a visitor.
+
+"Will you be seated, mein Herr," said his host; and Roland, with an
+inclination of the head, accepted the invitation. "My time is very
+completely occupied to-day," continued the elder man, "for although
+there is little business afoot in Frankfort, my own affairs have been
+rather neglected of late, and I am endeavoring to overtake the arrears."
+
+"I know that," said Roland. "I stood by your doorcheek last night when
+you returned home."
+
+"Did you so? May I ask why?"
+
+"There was no particular reason. It happened that I walked down the
+Fahrgasse, endeavoring to make up my mind upon whom I should call
+to-day."
+
+"And why have I received the preference?"
+
+"Perhaps, sir, it would be more accurate to say your house received the
+preference, if it is such. I was struck by its appearance of solidity
+and wealth, and, differing from all others in the door being ajar, I
+lingered before it last night with some inclination to enter. Then the
+procession which accompanied you came along. I heard your address to
+your friends, and wondered what the formality was about. After the door
+was closed I accosted one of those who escorted you, and learned your
+name, business, and reputation."
+
+"You must be a stranger in Frankfort when you needed to make such
+inquiry."
+
+"Those are almost the same words that my acquaintance of last night
+used, and he seemed astonished when I replied that I was born in
+Frankfort, and had lived here all my life."
+
+"Ah, I suppose no man is so well known as he thinks he is, but I venture
+to assert that you are not engaged in business here."
+
+"Sir, you are in the right. I fear I have hitherto led a somewhat
+useless existence."
+
+"On money earned by some one else, perhaps."
+
+"Again you hit the nail on the head, Herr Goebel. I lodge on the other
+side of the river, and coming to and fro each day, the sight of all
+those useless barges depresses me, and I have formulated a plan for
+putting them in motion again."
+
+"I fear, sir, that wiser heads than yours have been meditating upon that
+project without avail."
+
+"I should have been more gratified, Herr Goebel, if you had said 'older
+heads.'"
+
+The suspicion of a smile hovered for a brief instant round the shrewd,
+firm lips of the merchant.
+
+"Young sir, your gentle reproof is deserved. I know nothing of your
+wisdom, and so should have referred to the age, and not to the equipment
+of your head. It occurs to me, as I study you more closely, that I have
+met you before. Your face seems familiar."
+
+"'Tis but a chance resemblance, I suspect. Until very recently I have
+been absorbed in my studies, and rarely left my father's house."
+
+"I am doubtless mistaken. But to return to our theme. As you are
+ignorant of my name and standing in this city, you are probably unaware
+of the efforts already made to remove the deadlock on the Rhine."
+
+"In that, Herr Goebel, you are at fault. I know an expedition of folly
+was promoted at enormous expense, and that the empty barges, numbering
+something like fivescore, now rest in the deepest part of the Rhine."
+
+"Why do you call it an expedition of folly?"
+
+"Surely the result shows it to be such."
+
+"A plan may meet with disaster, even where every precaution has been
+taken. We did the best we could, and if the men we had paid for the
+protection of the flotilla had not, with base cowardice, deserted their
+posts, these barges would have reached Cologne."
+
+"Never! The defenders you chose were riff-raff, picked up in the gutters
+of Frankfort, and you actually supposed such cattle, undisciplined and
+untrained, would stand up against the fearless fighters of the Barons,
+swashbucklers, hardened to the use of sword and pike. What else was to
+be expected? The goods were not theirs, but yours. They had received
+their pay, and so speedily took themselves out of danger."
+
+"You forget, sir, or you do not know, that several hundred of them were
+cut to pieces."
+
+"I know that, also, but the knowledge does not in the least nullify my
+contention. I am merely endeavoring to show you that the heads you spoke
+of a moment ago were only older, but not necessarily wiser than mine. It
+would be impossible for me to devise an expedition so preposterous."
+
+"What should we have done?"
+
+"For one thing, you should have gone yourselves, and defended your own
+bales."
+
+The merchant showed visible signs of a slowly rising anger, and had the
+young man's head contained the wisdom he appeared to claim for it, he
+would have known that his remarks were entirely lacking in tact, and
+that he was making no progress, but rather the reverse. "You speak like
+a heedless, untutored youth. How could we defend our bales, when no
+merchant is allowed to wear a sword?"
+
+Roland rose and put his hands to the throat of his cloak.
+
+"I am not allowed to wear a sword;" and saying this, he dramatically
+flung wide his cloak, displaying the prohibited weapon hanging from his
+belt. The merchant sat back in his chair, visibly impressed.
+
+"You seem to repose great confidence in me," he said. "What if I were to
+inform the authorities?"
+
+The youth smiled.
+
+"You forget, Herr Goebel, that I learned much about you from your friend
+last night. I feel quite safe in your house."
+
+He flung his cloak once more over the weapon, and sat down again.
+
+"What is your occupation, sir?" asked the merchant.
+
+"I am a teacher of swordsmanship. I practice the art of a
+fencing-master."
+
+"Your clients are aristocrats, then?"
+
+"Not so. The class with which I am now engaged contains twenty skilled
+artisans of about my own age."
+
+"If they do not belong to the aristocracy, your instruction must be
+surreptitious, because it is against the law."
+
+"It is both surreptitious and against the law, but in spite of these
+disadvantages, my twenty pupils are the best swordsmen in Frankfort, and
+I would willingly pit them against any twenty nobles with whom I am
+acquainted."
+
+"So!" cried the merchant. "You are acquainted with twenty nobles, are
+you?"
+
+"Well, you see," explained the young man, flushing slightly, "these
+metal-workers whom I drill, being out of employment, cannot afford to
+pay for their lessons, and naturally, as you indicated, a fencing-master
+must look to the nobles for his bread. I used the word acquaintance
+hastily. I am acquainted with the nobles in the same way that a clerk in
+the woolen trade might say he was acquainted with a score of merchants,
+to none of whom he had ever spoken."
+
+"I see. Am I to take it that your project for opening the Rhine depends
+for its success on those twenty metal-workers, who quite lawlessly know
+how to handle their swords?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Tell me what your plan is."
+
+"I do not care to disclose my plan, even to you."
+
+"I thought you came here hoping I should further your project, and
+perhaps finance it. Am I wrong in such a surmise?"
+
+"Sir, you are not. The very first proviso is that you pay to me across
+this table a thousand thalers in gold."
+
+The smile came again to the lips of the merchant.
+
+"Anything else?" he asked.
+
+"Yes. You will select one of your largest barges, and fill it with
+whatever class of goods you deal in."
+
+"Don't you know what class of goods I deal in?"
+
+"No! I do not."
+
+Goebel's smile broadened. That a youth so ignorant of everything
+pertaining to the commerce of Frankfort, should come in thus boldly and
+demand a thousand thalers in gold from a man whose occupation he did not
+know, seemed to the merchant one of the greatest pieces of impudence he
+had encountered in his long experience of men.
+
+"After all, my merchandise," he said, "matters little one way or another
+when I am engaged with such a customer as you. What next?"
+
+"You will next place a price upon the shipload; a price such as you
+would accept if the boat reached Cologne intact. I agree to pay you that
+money, together with the thousand thalers, when I return to Frankfort."
+
+"And when will that be, young sir?"
+
+"You are better able to estimate the length of time than I. I do not
+know, for instance, how long it takes a barge to voyage from Frankfort
+to Cologne."
+
+"Given fair weather, which we may expect in July, and premising that
+there are no interruptions, let us say a week."
+
+"Would a man journeying on horseback from Cologne to Frankfort reach
+here sooner than the boat?"
+
+"The barge having to make headway against a strong current, I should say
+the horseman would accomplish the trip in a third of the time."
+
+"Very well. To allow for all contingencies, I promise to pay the money
+one month from the day we leave the wharf at Frankfort."
+
+"That would be eminently satisfactory."
+
+"I forgot to mention that I expect you, knowing more about navigation
+than I, to supply a trustworthy captain and an efficient crew for the
+manning of the barge. I should like men who understand the currents of
+the river, and who, if questioned by the Barons, would not be likely to
+tell more than they were asked."
+
+"I can easily provide such a set of sailors."
+
+"Very well, Herr Goebel. Those are my requirements. Will you agree to
+supply them?"
+
+"With great pleasure, my young and enthusiastic friend, provided that
+you comply with one of the most common of our commercial rules."
+
+"And what is that, mein Herr?"
+
+"Before you depart you will leave with me ample security that if I never
+see you again, the value of the goods, plus the thousand thalers, will
+be repaid to me when the month is past."
+
+"Ah," said the young man, "you impose an impossible condition."
+
+"Give me a bond, then, signed by three responsible merchants."
+
+"Sir, as I am acquainted with no merchant in this city except yourself,
+how could I hope to obtain the signature of even one responsible man?"
+
+"How, then, do you expect to obtain my consent to a project which I know
+cannot succeed, while I bear all the risk?"
+
+"Pardon me, Herr Goebel. I and my comrades risk our lives. You risk
+merely your money and your goods."
+
+"You intend, then, to fight your way down the Rhine?"
+
+"Surely. How else?"
+
+"Supported by only twenty followers?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And you hope to succeed where a thousand of our men failed?"
+
+"Yes; they were hirelings, as I told you. With my twenty I could put
+them all to flight. Aside from this, I should like to point out to you
+that the merchants of Frankfort formed their combination at public
+meetings, called together by the burgomaster. There was no secrecy about
+their deliberations. Every robber Baron along the Rhine knew what you
+were going to attempt, and was prepared for your coming. I intend that
+your barge shall leave Frankfort at midnight. My company will proceed
+across country, and join her at some agreed spot, probably below
+Bingen."
+
+"I see. Well, my young friend, you have placed before me a very
+interesting proposal, but I am a business man, and not an adventurer.
+Unless you can furnish me with security, I decline to advance a single
+thaler, not to mention a thousand."
+
+The young man rose to his feet, and the merchant, with a sigh, seemed
+glad that the conference was ended.
+
+"Herr Goebel, you deeply disappoint me."
+
+"I am sorry for that, and regret the forfeiting of your good opinion,
+but despite that disadvantage I must persist in my obstinacy."
+
+"I do not wonder that this fair city lies desolate if her prosperity
+depends upon her merchants, and if you are chief among them; yet I
+cannot forget that you risked life and liberty on my behalf, though now
+you will not venture a miserable thousand thalers on my word of honor."
+
+"On _your_ behalf? What do you mean?"
+
+"I mean, Herr Goebel, that I am Prince Roland, only son of the Emperor,
+and that you placed your neck in jeopardy to elevate me to the throne."
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE BARGAIN IS STRUCK
+
+
+Every epoch seems to have possessed a two-word phrase that contained, as
+it were, the condensed wisdom of the age, and was universally believed
+by the people. For instance, the aphorism "Know thyself" rose to
+popularity when cultured minds turned towards science. In the period to
+which this recital belongs the adage "Blood tells" enjoyed universal
+acceptance. It was, in fact, that erroneous statement "The King can do
+no wrong" done up into tabloid form. From it, too, sprang that
+double-worded maxim of the days of chivalry, "_Noblesse oblige_."
+
+In our own time, the two-worded phrase is "Money talks," and if diligent
+inquirers probe deeply into the matter, they will find that the
+aspirations of the people always correspond with reasonable accuracy to
+the meaning of the phrase then in use. Nothing could be more excellent,
+for instance, than the proverb "Money talks" as representing two
+commercial countries like America and England. In that short sentence is
+packed the essence of many other wise and drastic sayings, as, for
+instance, "The devil take the hindmost;" for, of course, if money talks,
+then the man without it must remain silent, and his place is at the tail
+of the procession, where the devil prowls about like a Cossack at the
+rear of Napoleon's army.
+
+Confronting each other in that ancient house on the Fahrgasse, we
+witness, then, the personification of the two phrases, ancient and
+modern: blood represented by the standing lad, and money by the seated
+merchant.
+
+"I am Prince Roland, only son of the Emperor," the young man had said,
+and he saw at once by the expression on the face of his host that, could
+he be convinced of the truth of the assertion, the thousand thalers that
+the Prince had demanded would be his on the instant.
+
+For a full minute Roland thought he had succeeded, but as the surprise
+died out of the merchant's countenance, there replaced it that mask of
+caution which had had so much to do with the building of his fortune.
+During their conference Herr Goebel cudgeled his brain, trying to
+remember where he had seen this young man before, but memory had roamed
+among clerks, salesmen, and industrious people of that sort where,
+somehow, this young fellow did not fit in. When Roland suddenly sprung
+on him the incredible statement that he was a member of the Imperial
+family, the merchant's recollection then turned towards pageants he had
+seen, in one of which this young stranger might very well have borne a
+part. Blood was beginning to tell.
+
+But now experience came to the merchant's aid. Only in romances did
+princes of the blood royal wander about like troubadours. Even a member
+of the lesser nobility did not call unheralded at the house of a
+merchant. The aristocracy always wanted money, it is true, "but what
+they thought they might require, they went and took," as witness the
+piratical Barons of the Rhine, whose exactions brought misery on the
+great city of Frankfort.
+
+Then all at once came the clinching remembrance that when the Electors
+were appealed to on behalf of the young Prince, the three Archbishops
+had promptly seized his Royal Highness, and, in spite of the pleadings
+of the Empress (the Emperor was drunk and indifferent) placed him in the
+custody of the Archbishop nearest to Frankfort, the warrior prelate of
+Mayence, who imprisoned him in the strong fortress of Ehrenfels, from
+which, well guarded and isolated as it was upon a crag over-hanging the
+Rhine, no man could escape.
+
+"Will you kindly be seated again, sir," requested the merchant, and if
+he had spoken a short time before, he would have put the phrase "your
+Royal Highness" in the place of the word "sir."
+
+Roland, after a moment's hesitation, sat down. He saw that his coup had
+failed, because he was unable to back it up by proofs. His dramatic
+action had been like a brilliant cavalry charge, for a moment
+successful, but coming to naught because there was no solid infantry to
+turn the temporary confusion of the enemy into complete rout. Realizing
+that the battle must be fought over again, the Prince sat back with a
+sigh of disappointment, a shade of discontent on his handsome face.
+
+"I find myself in rather a quandary," proceeded the merchant. "If indeed
+you are the Emperor's son, it is not for such as I to cross-examine
+you."
+
+"Ask me any questions you like, sir. I shall answer them promptly
+enough."
+
+"If I beg you to supply proof of the statement you make, you would be
+likely to reply that as you dared not enter your father's Palace, you
+are unable to furnish me with corroboration."
+
+"Sir, you put the case in better language than I could employ. In more
+halting terms that is what I should have said."
+
+"When were you last in the Palace?"
+
+"About the same time, sir, that you took up your residence in prison."
+
+"Ah, yes; that naturally would be your answer. Now, my young friend, you
+have shown me that you know nothing of mercantile practice; therefore it
+may perhaps interest you if I explain some of our methods."
+
+"Herr Goebel, you may save your breath. Such a recital must not only
+fail to interest me, but will bore me extremely. I care nothing for your
+mercantile procedure, and, to be quite plain with you, I despise your
+trade, and find some difficulty in repressing my contempt for those who
+practice it."
+
+"If an emissary of mine," returned Goebel, unperturbed, "approached a
+client or customer for the purpose of obtaining a favor, and used as
+little tact as you do, I should dismiss him."
+
+"I'm not asking any favors from you."
+
+"You wish me to hand over to you a thousand thalers, otherwise why came
+you here?"
+
+"I desire to bestow upon you the greatest of boons, namely to open up
+the Rhine, and bring back prosperity to Frankfort, which you brainless,
+cowardly merchants have allowed to slip through your fingers, blaming
+now the Barons, now the Emperor, now the Electors; censuring everybody,
+in fact, except the real culprits ... yourselves. You speak of the money
+as a favor, but it is merely an advance for a few weeks, and will be
+returned to you; yet because I desire to confer this inestimable gift
+upon you and your city, you expect me to cringe to you, and flatter you,
+as if I were a member of your own sycophantic league. I refuse to do
+anything of the kind, and yet, by God, I'll have the money!"
+
+The merchant, for the first time during their conference, laughed
+heartily. The young man's face was aflame with anger, yet the truculent
+words he used did more to convince Herr Goebel that he belonged to the
+aristocracy than if he had spoken with the most exemplary humility.
+Goebel felt convinced he was not the Prince, but some young noble, who,
+intimate with the Royal Family, and knowing the Emperor's son to be out
+of the way, thought it safe to assume his name, the better to carry
+forward his purpose, whatever that purpose might actually be. That it
+was to open the Rhine he did not for a moment credit, and that he would
+ever see his cash again, if once he parted with it, he could not
+believe.
+
+"At the risk of tiring you, I shall nevertheless proceed with what I was
+about to say. We merchants, for our own protection, contribute to a fund
+which might be entitled one for secret service. This fund enables us to
+procure private information that may be of value in our business. Among
+other things we need to know are accurate details pertaining to the
+intentions and doings of our rulers, for whatever our own short-comings
+may be, the actions of those above us affect business one way or the
+other. May I read you a short report that came in while I was serving my
+term of imprisonment?"
+
+"Oh, read what you like," said Roland indifferently, throwing back his
+head, and partially closing his eyes, with an air of _ennui_.
+
+The merchant drew towards him a file of papers, and going through them
+carefully, selected a document, and drew it forth, then, clearing his
+throat, he read aloud--
+
+"'At an hour after midnight, on St. Stanislas' Day, three nobles, one
+representing the Archbishop of Mayence, the second the Archbishop of
+Treves, and the third the Archbishop of Cologne, armed with authority
+from these three Electors and Princes of the Church, entered the Saalhof
+from the side facing the river, and arrested in his bed the young Prince
+Roland. They assured the Empress, who protested, that the Prince would
+be well cared for, and that, as an insurrection was feared in Frankfort,
+it was considered safer that the person whom they intended to elevate to
+the throne on the event of the Emperor's death, should be out of harm's
+way, being placed under the direct care of the Archbishop of Mayence.
+They informed the Empress that the Archbishops would not remove the
+Prince from the Palace in opposition to the wishes of either the Emperor
+or herself, but if this permission was not given, a meeting of the
+Electors would at once be called, and some one else selected to succeed
+the present ruler.
+
+"'This consideration exerted a great influence upon the Empress, who
+counseled her son to acquiesce. The young man was led to a boat then in
+waiting by the river steps of the Palace, and so conveyed down the Main
+to the Rhine, which was reached just after daybreak. Without landing,
+and keeping as much as possible to the middle of the river, the party
+proceeded down the Rhine, past Bingen, to the foot of the crag on which
+stands the castle of Ehrenfels. The Prince was taken up to the Castle,
+where he now remains.
+
+"'The Archbishops from their revenues allot to him seven hundred thalers
+a month, in addition to his maintenance. It is impossible for him to
+escape from this stronghold unaided, and as the Emperor takes no
+interest in the matter, and the Empress has given her consent, he is
+like to be an inmate of Ehrenfels during the pleasure of the
+Archbishops, who doubtless will not elect him to the throne in
+succession unless he proves compliant to their wishes. The Prince being
+a young man of no particular force of character'" (the merchant paused
+in his reading, and looked across at his _vis-a-vis_ with a smile, but
+the latter appeared to be asleep), "'he will probably succumb to the
+Archbishops, therefore merchants are advised to base no hopes upon an
+improvement in affairs, even though the son should succeed the father.
+Despite the precautions taken, the arrest and imprisonment of the
+Prince, and even the place of his detention, became rather generally
+known in Frankfort, but the news is in the form of rumor only, and
+excites little interest throughout the city.'
+
+"There, Sir Roland, what do you say to that?"
+
+"Oh, nothing much," replied Roland. "The account might have stated that
+in the boat were five rowers, who worked lustily until we reached the
+Rhine, when, the wind being favorable, a sail was hoisted, and with the
+current assisting the wind, we made excellent time to Ehrenfels. I
+observe, further, that your secret service keeps you very well informed,
+and therefore withdraw a tithe of the harsh things I said regarding the
+stupidity of the merchants."
+
+"Many thanks for the concession," said Goebel, replacing the document
+with its fellows. "Now, as a plain and practical man, what strikes me is
+this: you need only return to Ehrenfels for two months, and as there is
+little use for money in that fortress, your maintenance being
+guaranteed, and seven hundred thalers allowed, you can come away with
+four hundred thalers more than the sum you demand from me, and thus put
+your project into force without being under obligations to any despised
+merchant."
+
+"True, Herr Goebel, but can you predict what will happen in Frankfort
+before two months are past? You learn from that document that the shrewd
+Archbishops anticipate an insurrection, and doubtless they command the
+force at hand ready to crush it, but during this conflict, which you
+seem to regard so lightly, does it ever occur to you that the merchants'
+palaces along the Fahrgasse may be sacked and burnt?"
+
+"That, of course, is possible," commented the merchant.
+
+"Nay, it is absolutely certain. Civil war means ruin, to innocent and
+guilty alike."
+
+"You are in the right. Now, will you tell me how you escaped from
+Ehrenfels?"
+
+"Yes; if you agree to my terms without further haggling."
+
+"I shall agree to your terms if I believe your story."
+
+"It seems impossible, sir, to pin you down to any definite bargain. Is
+this the way you conduct your business?"
+
+"Yes; unless I am well assured of the good faith of my customer. I
+offered you ordinary business terms when I asked for security, or for
+the signature of three responsible merchants to your bond. It is because
+I am a merchant, and not a speculator, that I haggle, as you term it."
+
+"Very well, then, I will tell you how I got away, but I begin my recital
+rather hopelessly, for you always leave yourself a loophole of escape.
+If you believe my story, you say! Yes: could I weave a romance about
+tearing my sheets into ropes; of lowering myself in the dark from the
+battlements to the ground; of an alarm given; of torches flashing; of
+diving into the Rhine, and swimming under the water until I nearly
+strangled; of floating down over the rapids, with arrows whizzing round
+me in the night; of climbing dripping to the farther shore, far from
+sight of Ehrenfels, then, doubtless, you would believe. But my escape
+was prosaically commonplace, depending on the cupidity of one man. The
+material for it was placed in my hands by the Archbishops themselves.
+Your account states that the Castle is well guarded. So it is, but when
+the Archbishop needs an augmentation of his force, he withdraws his men
+from Ehrenfels to Mayence, as my prison is the nearest of his
+possessions to his capital city, and thus at times it happens that the
+Castle is bereft of all save the custodian and his family. His eldest
+son happens to be of my own age, and not unlike me in appearance. None
+of the guards saw me, except the custodian, and you must remember he was
+a very complacent jailer, for the reason that he knew well every rising
+sun might bring with it tidings that I was his Emperor, so he cultivated
+my acquaintance, to learn in his own thrifty, peasant way what manner of
+ruler I might become, and I, having no one else to talk to, made much of
+his company.
+
+"Frequently he impressed upon me that his task of jailer was most
+irksome to him, but poverty compelling, what could he do? He swore he
+would accomplish whatever was in his power to mitigate my captivity, and
+this indeed did; so at last when the Castle was empty I made him a
+proposal. Now remember, Sir Merchant, that what I tell you is in
+confidence, and should you break faith with me, I will have you hanged
+if I become Emperor, or slit your throat with my own sword if I don't."
+
+"Go on. I shall tell no one."
+
+"I said to my jailer: 'There are not half a dozen people in this world
+who know me by sight, and among that half-dozen no Elector is included.
+Outside the Palace at Frankfort I am acquainted with a sword maker or
+two, and about a score of good fellows who are friends of theirs, but to
+them I am merely a fencing-master. Now, seven hundred thalers a month
+pass through your honest hands to mine, and will continue to do so. Your
+son seems to be even more silent than yourself, and he is a young fellow
+whom I suspect knows the difference between a thaler and a button on his
+own coat. If you do what I wish, there will be some slight risk, but
+think of the reward immediate and in future! At once you come into an
+income of seven hundred thalers a month. If I am elected Emperor, I
+shall ennoble you, and present you with the best post in the land. If
+you don't do what I wish, I shall cause your head cut off as the first
+act of my first day of power.'"
+
+"You did not threaten to slit his throat with your own sword, failing
+your elevation?" asked the merchant, with a smile.
+
+"No. He was quite safe from my vengeance unless I came to the throne."
+
+"In that case I should say the custodian need not fear the future. But
+please go on with your account."
+
+"I proposed that his son and I should exchange costumes; in short, the
+young man was to take my place, occupying the suite of rooms assigned to
+me in the Castle. I told his father there was not the slightest fear of
+discovery, for if the Archbishop of Mayence sent some one to see that
+the Prince was safe, or even came himself, all the young man need do was
+to follow my example and keep silent, for I had said nothing from the
+time I was roused in my room in the Saalhof until I was lodged in
+Ehrenfels. I promised, if set at liberty, to keep within touch of
+Frankfort, where, at the first rumor of any crisis, I could return
+instantly to Ehrenfels.
+
+"The custodian is a slow-minded man, although not so laggard in coming
+to an agreement as yourself. He took a week to turn the matter over in
+his mind, and then made the plunge. He is now jailer to his own son, and
+that young peasant lives in a style he never dreamed of before. The
+Archbishops are satisfied, because they believe I cannot escape from the
+stronghold--like yourself, holding but a poor opinion of my abilities;
+and their devout Lordships know that outside the fortress no person, not
+even my mother, wishes me forth. I took in my wallet five hundred
+thalers, and fared like the peasant I seemed to be, down the Rhine, now
+on one side, now on the other, until I came to the ancient town of
+Castra Bonnensia of the Romans, which name the inhabitants now shorten
+to Bonn. There I found the Archbishop in residence, and not at Cologne,
+as I had supposed. The town being thronged with soldiers and inquisitive
+people of Cologne's court, I returned up the Rhine again, remembering I
+had gone rather far afield, and although you may not believe it, I
+called upon my old friend the custodian of Ehrenfels, and enjoyed an
+excellent meal with him, consuming some of the seductive wine that is
+grown on the same side of the river about a league above Ehrenfels."
+
+"I dare say," said the merchant, "that I can give the reason for this
+apparently reckless visit of yours to Ehrenfels. You were in want of
+money, the five hundred thalers being spent."
+
+"Sir, you are exactly in the right, and I got it, too, without nearly so
+much talk as I have been compelled to waste on the present occasion."
+
+"What was your object in going down the river instead of turning to
+Frankfort?"
+
+"I had become interested in my prison, and had studied methods by which
+it could be successfully attacked. I knew that my father allowed the
+Barons of the Rhine to override him, and I wondered if his wisdom was
+greater than I thought. Probably, said I to myself, he knew their
+castles to be impregnable, but, with the curiosity of youth, I desired
+to form an opinion of my own. I therefore lodged as a wayfarer at every
+castle to I could gain admittance, making friends with some underling,
+and getting a bed on occasion in the stables, although often I lodged
+within the castle itself. Thus I came to the belief, which I bring to
+you, that assisted by twenty fearless men I can capture any castle on
+the Rhine with the exception of three. And now, Herr Goebel, I have said
+all I intend to say. Do you discredit my story?"
+
+The merchant gazed across at him quizzically for some time without
+making any reply, then he said:
+
+"Do you think I believe you?"
+
+"Frankly, I do not."
+
+"If I am unable to give you the gold, I can at least furnish some good
+advice. Set up as a poet, good Master Roland, and weave for our
+delectation stories of the Rhine. I think your imagination, if
+cultivated, would give you a very high place among the romancers of our
+time."
+
+With a patience that Herr Goebel had not expected, Roland replied:
+
+"It grieves me to return empty-handed to my twenty friends, who last
+night bade me a very confident adieu."
+
+"Yes, they will be disappointed, and I shrewdly suspect that my thousand
+thalers would not go towards the prosecuting of the expedition you have
+outlined, but rather in feasting and in wine."
+
+"Again, sir, you are right. It is unfortunate that I am so often
+compelled to corroborate your statements, when all the acumen with which
+you credit my mind is turned towards the task of proving you a
+purse-proud fool, puffed up in your own conceit, and as short-sighted as
+an owl in the summer sunlight. However, let us stick to our text. If
+what I said had been true, although of course you know it isn't, you
+have nevertheless enough common sense to be aware that I would certainly
+show a pardonable reluctance about visiting my father's Palace. It is
+thronged with spies of the Archbishop, and although, as I have said, I
+am not very well known, there is a chance that one or another might
+recognize me, and then, almost instantly, a man on a swift horse would
+be on his way to Mayence. If I knew that I had been discovered, I should
+make at once for Ehrenfels, arriving there before an investigation was
+held. But my twenty comrades would wait for me in vain. Nevertheless, I
+shall venture into the Saalhof this very afternoon, and bring to you a
+letter written by my mother certifying that I am her son. Would that
+convince you?"
+
+"Yes; were I sure the signature was genuine."
+
+"Ah, there you go again! Always a loophole!"
+
+The young man spoke in accents of such genuine despair that his host was
+touched despite his incredulity.
+
+"Look you here," he said, bending across the table. "There is, of
+course, one chance in ten thousand that you are what you say. I have
+never seen the signature of the Empress, and such a missive could easily
+be forged by a scholar, which I take you to be. If, then, you wish to
+convince me, I'll put before you a test which will be greatly to your
+advantage, and which I will accept without the loophole."
+
+"In Heaven's name, let's hear what it is."
+
+"There is something that you cannot forge: the Great Seal of the Realm,
+attached to all documents signed by the Emperor."
+
+"I have had no dealings with my father for years," cried the young man.
+"I have not even seen him these many months past. I can obtain the
+signature of my mother to anything I like to write, but not that of my
+father."
+
+"Patience, patience," said the merchant, holding up his hand. "'Tis well
+known that the Empress can bend the Emperor to her will when she chooses
+to exert it. You see, in spite of all, I am quite taking it for granted
+that you are the Prince, otherwise 'twere useless to waste time in this
+talk. You display all the confidence of youth in speaking of the
+exploits you propose, and, indeed, it is cheering for a middle-aged
+person like myself to meet one so confident of anything in these
+pessimistic days. But have you considered what will happen if something
+goes wrong during one of your raids?"
+
+"Nothing can go wrong. I feel no fear on that score."
+
+"I thought as much. Very well, I will tell you what could go wrong. Some
+Baron may entrap you and your score, and forthwith hang you all from his
+battlements. Now, it is but common sense to prevent such a termination,
+if it be possible. Therefore seek out the Empress. Tell her that you and
+your twenty companions are about to embark on an enterprise greatly
+beneficial to the land. Say that you go incognito, and that, even should
+you fail, 'twill bring no discredit to your Royal House. But point out
+the danger of which I forewarn you. Ask her to get the signature of the
+Emperor attached to a safe-conduct, together with the device of the
+Great Seal; then if the Baron who captures you cannot read, he will
+still know the potency of the picture, and as there is no loophole to my
+acceptance of this proof, I will, for your convenience, and for my own
+protection, write the safe-conduct on as sound a bit of parchment as
+ever was signed in a palace."
+
+Saying this, Herr Goebel rose, and went to his desk in a corner of the
+room, where he indited the memorial he had outlined, and, after
+sprinkling it with sand, presented it to Roland, who read:
+
+"These presents warn him to whom they are presented that Roland the
+bearer is my son, and that what he has done has been done with my
+sanction, therefore he and his twenty comrades are to be held scathless,
+pending an appeal to me in my capital city of Frankfort.
+
+"Whomsoever disobeys this instrument forfeits his own life, and that of
+his family and followers, while his possessions will be confiscated by
+the State."
+
+Roland frowned.
+
+"Doesn't it please you?" asked Goebel, his suspicions returning.
+
+"Well, it seems to me rather a plebeian action, to attack a man's
+castle, and then, if captured, crawl behind a drastic threat like this."
+
+The merchant shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"That's a sentimental objection, but of course you need not use the
+document unless you wish, though I think if you see twenty-one looped
+ropes dangling in the air your hesitation will vanish. Oh, not on your
+own account," cried Goebel, as a sign of dissent from his visitor, "but
+because of those twenty fine young fellows who doubtless wait to drink
+wine with you."
+
+"That is true," said Roland, with a sigh, folding up the stiff
+parchment, opening his cloak, and thrusting it under his belt, standing
+up as he did this.
+
+"Bring me that parchment, bearing the Emperor's signature and the Great
+Seal, and you will find the golden coins awaiting you."
+
+"Very well. At what time this evening would it please you to admit me?"
+
+"Friends of mine are coming to-night, but they are not likely to stop
+long; merely a few handshakes, and a few cups of wine. I shall be ready
+for you when the Cathedral clock strikes ten."
+
+With this the long conference ended, and the aged servitor in the hall
+showed Roland into the Fahrgasse.
+
+As the young man proceeded down the Weckmarkt into the Saalgasse, he
+muttered to himself:
+
+"The penurious old scoundrel! God keep me in future from dealing with
+such! To the very last he suspects me of being a forger, and has written
+this with his own hand, doubtless filling it with secret marks. Still,
+perhaps it is as well to possess such a safeguard. This is my loophole
+out of the coming enterprise, I fear we are all cowards, noble and
+merchant alike."
+
+He walked slowly past the city front of the Palace, cogitating some
+means of entering without revealing his identity, but soon found that
+even this casual scrutiny made him an object of suspicion. He could not
+risk being accosted, for, if taken to the guard-room and
+questioned--searched, perhaps, and the sword found on him--a
+complication would arise adding materially to the difficulties already
+in his way. Quickening his pace, he passed through the Fahrthor, and so
+to the river-bank, where he saw that the side of the Saalhof fronting
+the Main was guarded merely by one or two sentries, for the mob could
+not gather on the surface of the waters, as it gathered on the
+cobble-stones of the Saalgasse and the Fahrthor.
+
+Retracing his steps, the Prince walked rapidly until he came to the
+bridge, advancing to the iron Cross which commemorates the fowl
+sacrifice to the devil, as the first living creature venturing upon that
+ancient structure. Here he leaned against the parapet, gazed at the
+river facade of the Palace, and studied his problem. There were three
+sets of steps from the terrace to the water, a broad flight in the
+center for use upon state occasions, and a narrow flight at either end;
+the western staircase being that in ordinary use, and the eastern steps
+trodden by the servants carrying buckets of water from the river to the
+kitchen.
+
+"The nearer steps," he said to himself, "offer the most feasible
+opportunity. I'll try them."
+
+He counted his money, for here was probably a case for bribery. He found
+twenty-four gold pieces, and some loose silver. Returning the coins to
+his pouch, he walked to the land, and proceeded up the river until he
+reached a wharf where small skiffs were to let. One of these he engaged,
+and refusing the services of a waterman, stepped in, and drifted down
+the stream. He detached sword and scabbard from his belt, removed the
+cloak and wrapped the weapon in it, placing the folded garment out of
+sight under the covering at the prow. With his paddle he kept the boat
+close to the right bank, discovering an excellent place of concealment
+under the arch supporting the steps, through which the water flowed. He
+waited by the steps for a few moments until a scullion in long gabardine
+came down and dipped his bucket in the swift current.
+
+"Here, my fine fellow," accosted Roland, "do you wish to earn a pair of
+gold pieces?" and he showed the yellow coins in the palm of his hand.
+
+The menial's eyes glistened, and he cast a rapid glance over his
+shoulder.
+
+"Yes," he replied breathlessly.
+
+"Then leave your bucket where it is, and step into this wherry."
+
+The underling, again with a cautious look around, did as he was ordered.
+
+"Now throw off that outer garment, and give it to me."
+
+Roland put it on over his own clothes, and flung his bonnet beside the
+cloak and sword, for the servant was bareheaded.
+
+"Get under that archway, and keep out of sight until you hear me
+whistle."
+
+Taking the bucket, Roland mounted the steps, and strode out of the
+brilliant sunlight into the comparative gloom of the corridor that led
+to the kitchen. He had been two hours with the merchant, and it was now
+the time of midday eating. Every one was hurrying to and fro, with no
+time to heed anything that did not pertain to the business in hand, so
+placing the bucket in a darkened embrasure, the intruder flung off the
+gabardine beside it, and searching, found a back stair which he
+ascended.
+
+Once in the upper regions, he knew his way about, and proceeded directly
+to his mother's room, being sure at this hour to find her within. On his
+unannounced entrance the Empress gave utterance to an exclamation that
+indicated dismay rather than pleasure, but she hurried forward to meet
+and embrace him.
+
+"Oh, Roland!" she cried, "what do you here? How came you to the Palace?"
+
+"By way of the river. My boat is under the arch of the servants'
+stairway, and I have not a moment to lose."
+
+"How did you escape from Ehrenfels, and why have you come here? Surely
+you know the Palace will be the first place searched for you?"
+
+"There will be no search, mother. Take my word for it that no one is
+aware of my absence from Ehrenfels but the custodian, and for the best
+of reasons he dare not say a word. Do not be alarmed, I beg of you. I am
+free by his permission, and shall return to the Castle before he needs
+me. Indeed, mother, so far from jeopardizing my own safety, I am here to
+preserve it."
+
+He drew from under his belt Herr Goebel's parchment, and handed it to
+her.
+
+"In case it should occur to the good Archbishop, or any other noble, to
+hang me, I thought it best to get such a declaration signed by the
+Emperor, and decorated with the Great Seal of the Empire. Then, if any
+attempt is made on my life, as well as on my liberty, I may produce this
+Imperial decree, and bring my case to Frankfort."
+
+"Surely, surely," exclaimed the agitated lady, her hands trembling as
+she held the document and tried to read it; "I can obtain your father's
+signature, but the Great Seal must be attached by the Chamberlain."
+
+"Very good, mother. The Chamberlain will do as his Majesty orders. The
+seal is even more important than the signature, if it comes to that, and
+I am sure the Chamberlain will make no objection when the instrument is
+for the protection of your son's life. It is not necessary to say that I
+am here, or have anything to do with the matter. But lose not a moment,
+and give orders that no one shall enter this room."
+
+The empress hastened away with the parchment, while the young man walked
+impatiently up and down the room. It seemed hours before she returned,
+but at last she came back with the document duly executed. Roland thrust
+it under his belt again, and reassuring his mother, who was now weeping
+on his shoulder, he tried to tear himself away. The Empress detained him
+until, with fumbling hands, she unlocked a drawer in a cabinet, and took
+from it a bag that gave forth a chink of metal as she pressed it on her
+son.
+
+"I must not take it," he said. "I am quite well provided. The generous
+Archbishops allow me seven hundred thalers a month, which is paid with
+exemplary regularity."
+
+"There are only five hundred thalers here," replied the Empress. "I wish
+there were more, but you must accept it, for I should feel easier in my
+mind to know that you possess even that much. Do they misuse you at
+Ehrenfels, my son?"
+
+"Oh, no, no, no! I live like a burgomaster. You need feel no fear on my
+account, mother. Ehrenfels is a delightful spot, with old Bingen just
+across the water. I like it much better than I did Frankfort, with its
+howling mobs, and shall be very glad to get quit again of the city."
+
+Then, with a hurried farewell, he left the weeping woman, and descending
+the back stair, secured the abandoned gabardine, put it on, and so came
+to the water's edge, entering into possession of his boat again.
+Returning the craft to its owner, he resumed sword and cloak once more,
+and found his way to a tavern, where he ordered a satisfactory meal.
+
+In the evening he arrived at the Rheingold, and meeting the landlord in
+the large, empty, public cellar, asked that worthy if his friends had
+assembled yet, and was told they were all within the Kaiser cellar.
+
+"Good!" he cried. "I said I would be gone a week, but here I am within a
+day. If that's not justifying a man's word, I should like to know what
+is. And now, landlord, set forth the best meal you can provide, with a
+double quantity of wine."
+
+"For yourself, sir?"
+
+"For all, landlord. What else? The lads have had no supper, I'll
+warrant."
+
+"A little black bread has gone the rounds."
+
+"All the more reason that we should have a huge pasty, steaming hot, or
+two or three of them if necessary. And your best wine, landlord. That
+from the Rheingau."
+
+But the landlord demurred.
+
+"A meal for yourself, sir, as leader, I could venture upon, but feeding
+a score of hungry men is a different matter. Remember, sir, I have not
+seen the color of their silver for many a long day, and, since these
+evil times have set in, I am a poor man."
+
+"Sordid silver? Out upon silver! unless it is some silvery fish from the
+river, fresh and firm; and that's a good idea. We will begin with fish
+while you prepare the meat. 'Tis gold I deal with to-night, and most of
+it is for your pouch. Run your hand in here and enjoy the thrill," and
+Roland held open the mouth of the bag which contained his treasure.
+
+"Ah!" cried the inn-keeper, his face aglow. "No such meal is spread
+to-night in Frankfort as will be set before you."
+
+There was a great shout as Roland entered the Kaiser cellar, and a
+hurrah of welcome.
+
+"Ha, renegade!" cried one. "Have you shirked your task so soon?"
+
+"Coward, coward, poltroon!" was the cry. "I see by his face he has
+failed. Never mind them, Roland. Your chair at the head of the table
+always awaits you. There is a piece of black bread left, and though the
+wine is thin, it quenches thirst."
+
+Roland flung off his cloak, hung it and the sword on a peg, and took his
+seat at the head of the table. Pushing away the flagons that stood near
+him, he drew the leathern bag from his belt, and poured the shining
+yellow coins on the table, at the sight of which there arose such a yell
+that the stout beams above them seemed to quake.
+
+"Apologize!" demanded Roland, when the clamor quieted down. "The man who
+refuses to apologize, and that abjectly, must take down his sword from
+the peg and settle with me!"
+
+A shout of apology was the response.
+
+"We grovel at your feet, High Mightiness!" cried the man who had called
+him poltroon.
+
+"I have taken the liberty of ordering a fish and meat supper, with a
+double quantity of Rudesheimer wine. Again I offer to fight any man who
+resents this encroachment on my part."
+
+"I could spit you with a hand tied behind my back," cried one, "but I am
+of a forgiving nature, and will wait instead for the spitted fowl."
+
+"Most of this money," continued Roland quietly, "goes, I suspect, to the
+landlord, as a slight recognition of past kindness, but I am promised a
+further supply this evening, which will be divided equally among
+ourselves. I ask you, therefore, to be sparing of the wine." Here he was
+compelled to pause for some moments, and listen to groans, hoots, howls,
+and the rapping of empty flagons on the stout table.
+
+The commotion was interrupted by the entrance of the landlord, who
+brought with him the promised Rhine wine; for, hearing the noise, he
+supposed it represented impatience of the company at the delay, a
+mistake which no one thought it worth while to rectify. He promised that
+the fish would follow in a very few minutes, and went out to see that
+his word was kept.
+
+"Why should we be sparing of the wine?" asked a capable drinker, who had
+drained his flagon before asking the question. "With all that money on
+the table it seems to me a scandalous proviso."
+
+"'Tis not a command at all," replied Roland, "but merely a suggestion. I
+spoke in the interests of fair-play. An appointment was made by me for
+ten o'clock this evening, and I wish to keep it and remain uninfluenced
+by wine."
+
+"What's her name, Roland?" inquired the wine-bibber.
+
+"I was about to divulge that secret when you interrupted me. The name is
+Herr Goebel."
+
+"What! the cloth merchant on the Fahrgasse?"
+
+"Is it cloth he deals in? I didn't know the particulars of his
+occupation beyond the facts that he is a merchant, and lives in the
+Fahrgasse. This morning I enjoyed the privilege of presenting to Herr
+Goebel a mutually beneficial plan which would give us all something to
+do."
+
+"Oh, is Goebel to be our employer? I'm a sword forger, and work for no
+puny cloth merchant," said Kurzbold.
+
+"This appointment," continued Roland, unheeding, "is set for ten
+o'clock, and I expect to return here before half-past, therefore--"
+
+"Therefore we're not to drink all the wine."
+
+"Exactly."
+
+Their leader sat down as the landlord, followed by an assistant,
+entered, carrying the paraphernalia for the substantial repast, and
+proceeded to set the table.
+
+When the hilarious meal was finished, the company sat for another
+half-hour over its wine, then Roland rose, buckled on his sword, and
+flung his cloak over his shoulders.
+
+"Roland, I hope you have not sold your soul for this gold?"
+
+"No; but I have pledged your bodies, and my own as well. Greusel, will
+you act as secretary and treasurer? Scrutinize the landlord's bill with
+a generous eye, and pay him the amount we owe. If anything is left, we
+will divide it equally," and with that he waved his hand to them,
+departing amidst a round of cheers, for the active youths were tired of
+idleness.
+
+Punctuality is the politeness of kings, and as the bells of Frankfort
+were ringing ten o'clock, Roland knocked at the door of the merchant's
+house in the Fahrgasse. It was promptly opened by the ancient porter,
+who, after securing it again, conducted the young man up the solid
+stairway to the office-room on the first floor.
+
+Ushered in, the Prince found the merchant seated in his usual chair, as
+if he had never moved from the spot where Roland had left him at noon
+that day. Half a dozen candles shed their soft radiance over the table,
+and on one corner of it, close by Herr Goebel's right elbow, the visitor
+saw a well-filled doeskin bag which he fancied might contain the
+thousand thalers.
+
+"Good even to you, Herr Goebel," said the young man, doffing his bonnet.
+"I hope I have not trodden too closely on the heels of my appointment,
+thus withdrawing you prematurely from the festivities, which I trust you
+enjoyed all the more that you breathed the air of liberty again."
+
+"The occasion, sir, was solemn rather than festive, for although I was
+glad to see my old friends again, and I believe they were glad to see
+me, the condition of the city is such, and growing rapidly worse, that
+merchants cannot rejoice when they are gathered together."
+
+"Ah, well, Herr Goebel, we will soon mend all that. How long will it
+require to load your boat and choose your crew?"
+
+"Everything can be ready by the evening of the day after to-morrow."
+
+"You will select one of your largest barges. Remember, it must house
+twenty-one men besides the crew and the goods."
+
+"Yes; I shall see that complete arrangements are made for your comfort."
+
+"Thank you. But do not provide too much luxury. It might arouse
+suspicion from the Barons who search the boat."
+
+"But the Barons will see you and your men in the boat."
+
+"I think not. At least, we don't intend to be seen. I will call upon you
+again to-morrow at ten o'clock. Will you kindly order your captain to be
+here to meet me? I wish you to give him instructions in my presence that
+he is to do whatever I ask of him. We will join the boat on the Rhine
+between Ehrenfels and Assmannshausen. Instruct him to wait for us midway
+between the two places, on the right bank. And now the money, if you
+please."
+
+"The money is here," said the merchant, sitting up a little more stiffly
+in his chair as he patted the well-stuffed bag. "The money is here if
+you have brought the instrument that authorizes you to take it."
+
+"I have brought it with me, mein herr."
+
+"Then show it to me," demanded the merchant, adjusting his horn glasses
+with the air of one who will not allow himself to be hoodwinked.
+
+"With the greatest pleasure," returned the young man, standing before
+him. He unfastened his cloak, and allowed it to fall at his feet, then
+whisked out his sword, and presented the point of it to the merchant's
+throat.
+
+Goebel, who had been fumbling with his glasses, suddenly became aware of
+his danger, and shrank back so far as his chair allowed, but the point
+of the sword followed him.
+
+"What do you mean by that?" he gasped.
+
+"I mean to show you that in this game iron is superior to gold. Your
+card is on the table, represented by that bag. Mine is still in my hand,
+and unplayed, but it takes the trick, I think. I hope you see the
+uselessness of resistance. You cannot even cry out, for at the first
+attempt a thrust of this blade cuts the very roots of utterance. It will
+be quite easy for me to escape, because I shall go quietly out with the
+bag under my cloak, telling the porter that you do not wish to be
+disturbed."
+
+"It is the Prince of Thieves you are, then," said Herr Goebel.
+
+"So it would appear. With your right hand pass that bag of gold across
+the table, and beg of me to accept it."
+
+The merchant promptly did what he was told to do.
+
+The young man put his sword back in its place, laughing joyously, but
+there was no answering smile on the face of Herr Goebel. As he had said,
+the condition of things in Frankfort, especially in that room, failed to
+make for merriment. Roland, without being invited, drew up a chair, and
+sat down at the opposite side of the table.
+
+"Please do not attempt to dash for the door," he warned, "because I can
+quite easily intercept you, as I am nearer to it than you are, and more
+active. Call philosophy to your aid, and take whatever happens calmly. I
+assure you, 'tis the best way, and the only way."
+
+He untied the cord, and poured the bulk of the gold out upon the table.
+The merchant watched him with amazement. For all the robber knew, the
+door might be opened at any moment, but he went on with numbering the
+coins as nonchalantly as if seated in the treasury of the Corn Exchange.
+When he had counted half the sum the bag contained, he poured the loose
+money by handfuls into the wallet that had held his mother's
+contribution, and pushed towards the merchant the bag, in which remained
+five hundred thalers.
+
+"You are to know," he said with a smile, abandoning his bent-forward
+posture, "that when I visited my mother this afternoon, she quite
+unexpectedly gave me five hundred thalers, so I shall accept from you
+only half the sum I demanded this morning."
+
+"Your mother!" cried the merchant. "Who is your mother?"
+
+"The Empress, as I told you. Oh, at last I understand your uneasiness.
+You wished to see that document! Why didn't you ask for it? I asked for
+the money plainly enough. Well, here it is. Examine Seal and
+sign-manual."
+
+The merchant minutely scrutinized the Great Seal and the signature above
+it.
+
+"I don't know what to think," stammered Herr Goebel at last, gazing
+across the table with bewildered face.
+
+"Think of your good fortune. A moment ago you imagined a thousand
+thalers were lost. Now it is but five hundred thalers invested, and you
+are a partner with the Royal House of the Empire."
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+DISSENSION IN THE IRONWORKERS' GUILD
+
+
+Up to the time of his midnight awakening, Prince Roland had led a
+care-free, uneventful life. Although he received the general education
+supposed to be suitable for a youth of his station, he interested
+himself keenly in only two studies, but as one of these challenged the
+other, as it were, the result was entirely to the good. He was a very
+quiet boy, much under the influence of his mother, seeing little or
+nothing of his easy-going, inebriated father. It was his mother who
+turned her son's attention towards the literature of his country, and he
+became an omnivorous reader of the old monkish manuscripts with which
+the Palace was well supplied. Especially had his mind been attracted by
+the stories and legends of the Rhine. The mixture of history, fiction,
+and superstition which he found in these vellum pages, so daintily
+limned, and so artistically embellished with initial letters in gold and
+crimson and blue, fascinated him, and filled him with that desire to see
+those grim strongholds on the mountain-sides by the river, which later
+on resulted in his journey from Ehrenfels to Bonn, when his ingenuity,
+and the cupidity of his custodian, freed him from the very slight
+thraldom in which he was held by the Archbishop of Mayence.
+
+If his attention had been entirely absorbed by the reading of these
+tomes, he might have become a mere dreamy bookworm, his intellect
+saturated with the sentimental and romantic mysticism permeating Germany
+even unto this day, and, as he cared nothing for the sports of boyhood,
+body might have suffered as brain developed.
+
+But, luckily, he had been placed under the instruction of Rinaldo, the
+greatest master of the sword that the world had up to that period
+produced. Rinaldo was an Italian from Milan, whom gold tempted across
+the Alps for the purpose of instructing the Emperor's son in Frankfort.
+He was a man of grace and politeness, and young Roland took to him from
+the first, exhibiting such aptitude in the art of fencing that the
+Italian was not only proud of one who did such credit to his tuition,
+but came to love the youth as if he were his own son.
+
+For the sword-making of Germany the Italian expressed the utmost
+contempt. The coarse weapons produced by the ironworkers of Frankfort
+needed strength rather than skill in their manipulation. Between the
+Italian method and the German was all the contrast that exists between
+the catching of salmon with a delicate line and a gossamer fly, or
+clubbing the fish to death as did the boatmen at that fishery called the
+Waag down the Rhine by St. Goar.
+
+Roland listened intently and without defense to the diatribe against his
+country's weapons and the clumsy method of using them, but although he
+said nothing, he formed opinions of his own, believing there was some
+merit in strength which the Italian ignored; so, studying the subject,
+he himself invented a sword which, while lacking the stoutness of the
+German weapon, retained some of its stability, and was almost as easily
+handled as the Italian rapier, without the disadvantage of its extreme
+frailty.
+
+Thus it came about that young Roland stole away from the Palace and made
+the acquaintance of the sword makers. The practice of fencing exercises
+every muscle in the body, and Roland's constant bouts with Rinaldo did
+more than make him a master of the weapon, with equal facility in his
+right arm or his left; it produced an athlete of the first quality;
+agile and strong, developing his physical powers universally, and not in
+any one direction.
+
+Meanwhile Roland remained deplorably ignorant regarding affairs of
+State, this being a subject of which his mother knew nothing. The
+Emperor, who should have been his son's natural teacher, gave his whole
+attention to the wine-flagon, letting affairs drift towards disaster,
+allowing the power that deserted his trembling fingers to be grasped by
+stronger but unauthorized hands. Roland's surreptitious excursions into
+the city to confer with the sword makers taught him little of politics,
+for his conversations with these mechanics were devoted entirely to
+metal-working. He was hustled now and again by the turbulent mob, in
+going to and fro, but he did not know why it clamored, and, indeed, took
+little interest in the matter, conscious only that he came more and more
+to hate the city and loathe its inhabitants. When he could have his own
+way, he said to himself, he would retire to some country castle which
+his father owned, and there devote himself to such employment as fell in
+with his wishes.
+
+But he was to receive a sharp lesson that no man, however highly placed,
+is independent of his fellows. He was unaware of the commotion that
+arose round his own name, and of the grim hanging of the leaders who
+chose him as their supreme head. When, bewildered and sleepy, he was
+aroused at midnight, and saw three armed men standing by his bedside, he
+received a shock that did more to awaken him than the grip of alien
+hands on his shoulders. During that night ride in the boat he said
+nothing but thought much. He had heard his mother plead for him without
+for a moment delaying his departure. She, evidently, was powerless.
+There was then in the land a force superior to that of the Throne.
+Something that had been said quieted his mother's fears, for at last she
+allowed him to go without further protest, but weeping a little, and
+embracing him much. There was no roughness or rudeness on the part of
+those who conveyed him down the river Main, and finally along the Rhine
+to Ehrenfels, but rather the utmost courtesy and deference, yet Roland
+remained silent throughout the long journey, agitated by this new,
+invisible, irresistible sovereignty animated with the will and power to
+do what it liked with him.
+
+At the Castle of Ehrenfels he found awaiting him no rigorous
+imprisonment. He was treated as a welcome guest of an invisible host. It
+was his conversations with the garrulous custodian, who was a shrewd
+observer of the passing show, that gradually awakened the young Prince
+to some familiarity with the affairs of the country. He learned now in
+what a deplorable state the capital stood, through the ever-increasing
+exactions of the robber Barons along the Rhine. He asked his instructor
+why the merchants did not send their goods by some other route, which
+was a very natural query, but was told there existed no other route. A
+great forest extended for the most part between Frankfort and Cologne,
+and through the wilderness were no roads, for even those constructed by
+the Romans had been allowed to fall into decay; overgrown with trees,
+Nature thus destroying the neglected handiwork of man; the forest
+reclaiming its own.
+
+"Indeed," continued the custodian, "for the last ten years things have
+been going to the devil, for the lack of a strong hand in the capital. A
+strong hand is needed by nobles and outlaws alike. We want a new
+Frederick Barbarossa; the hangman's rope and the torch judiciously
+applied might be the saving of the country."
+
+Ehrenfels, belonging to the Archbishop, was not a nest of piracy, and so
+its guardian could talk in this manner if he chose, but had he uttered
+these sentiments farther down the Rhine, he would himself have
+experienced the utility of the hangman's rope. Roland, knowing by this
+time who had taken him into custody, said:
+
+"Why do not the three Archbishops put a stop to it? They possess the
+power."
+
+The old jailer shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"My chief, the great prelate of Mayence, would do it speedily enough if
+he stood alone, but the Archbishops of Treves have ever been robbers
+themselves, and Cologne is little better, therefore they neutralize one
+another. No two of them will allow the other to act, fearing he may gain
+in power, and thus upset the balance of responsibility, which I assure
+your Highness is very nicely adjusted. Each of the three claim
+allegiance from this Baron or the other, and although the Archbishops
+themselves may not lay toll directly on the Rhine, their ardent
+partisans do, which produces a deadlock."
+
+Thus Roland received an education not to be had in palaces, and, saying
+little beyond asking an occasional question, he thought much, and came
+to certain conclusions. He arrived at an ambition to open the lordly
+Rhine and spent his time gathering knowledge and forming plans.
+
+Twelve hours after receiving the five hundred thalers from the merchant,
+he again presented himself at the now familiar door in the Fahrgasse. In
+the room on the first floor he found with Herr Goebel a thick-set,
+heavily-bearded, weather-beaten man, who stood bonnet in hand while the
+merchant gave him final instructions.
+
+"Good-morning, Sir Roland," cried Herr Goebel cheerfully. He exhibited
+no resentment for his treatment of the night before, and apparently
+daylight brought with it renewed confidence that the young man might
+succeed in his mission. There was now no hesitation in the merchant's
+manner; alert and decided, all mistrust seemed to have vanished. "This
+is Captain Blumenfels, whom I put in charge of the barge, and who has
+gathered together a crew on which he can depend although, of course, you
+must not expect them to fight."
+
+"No," said Roland, "I shall attend to that portion of the enterprise."
+
+"Now, Captain Blumenfels," continued Herr Goebel, "this young man is
+commander. You are to obey him in every particular, just as you would
+obey me."
+
+The captain bowed without speaking.
+
+"I shall not detain you any longer, captain, as you will be anxious to
+see the bales disposed of to your liking on the barge."
+
+The captain thereupon took himself off, and Roland came to the
+conclusion that he liked this rough-and-ready mariner with so little to
+say for himself; a silent man of action, evidently.
+
+Herr Goebel turned his attention to Roland.
+
+"I have ordered bales of cloth to the value of a trifle more than four
+thousand thalers to be placed in the barge," he said. "The bales are
+numbered, and I have given the captain an inventory showing the price of
+each. I suppose you despise our vulgar traffic, and, indeed, I had no
+thought of asking so highly placed a person as yourself to sell my
+goods, therefore Blumenfels will superintend the marketing when you
+reach Cologne--that is, if you ever get so far."
+
+"Your pardon, Herr Goebel, but I have my own plans regarding the
+disposal of your goods. I intend to be quit of them long before I see
+Cologne. Indeed, should I prosper, I hope your boat will set its nose
+southward for the return journey some distance this side of Coblentz."
+
+The merchant gazed up at him in astonishment.
+
+"Your design is impossible. There is no sale for cloth nearer than
+Coblentz. Your remarks prove you unacquainted with the river."
+
+"I have walked every foot of both sides of the river between Ehrenfels
+and Bonn. There are many wealthy castles on this side of Coblentz."
+
+"True, my good sir, true; but how became they wealthy? Simply by robbing
+the merchants. Are you not aware that each of these castles is inhabited
+by a titled brigand? You surely do not expect to sell my cloth to the
+Barons?"
+
+"Why not? Remember how long it is since a cloth-barge went down the
+Rhine. Think for a moment of the arduous life which these Barons lead,
+hunting the boar, the bear, and the deer, tearing recklessly through
+thicket and over forest-covered ground. Why, our noble friends must be
+in rags by this time, or clad in the skins of the beasts they kill! They
+will be delighted to see and handle a piece of well-woven cloth once
+more."
+
+For a full minute the merchant gaped aghast at this senseless talk so
+seriously put forward; then a smile came to his lips.
+
+"Prince Roland, I begin to understand you. Your words are on a par with
+the practical joke you played upon me so successfully last night. Of
+course, you know as well as I that the Barons will buy nothing. They
+will take such goods as they want if you but give them opportunity. What
+you say is merely your way of intimating it is none of my affair how the
+goods are disposed of, so long as you hand over to me four thousand
+thalers." 
+
+"Four thousand five hundred, if you please."
+
+"I shall be quite content with the four thousand, regarding the extra
+five hundred as paid for services rendered. Now, can I do anything
+further to aid you?"
+
+"Yes. I wish you to send a man on horseback to Lorch, there to await the
+barge. Choose a man as silent as your captain; one whom you trust
+implicitly, for I hope to send back with him four thousand five hundred
+thalers, and also some additional gold, which I beg of you to keep
+safely for me until I return."
+
+"Prince Roland, there can be no gold for me at Lorch."
+
+"Dispatch a trustworthy man in case I receive the money. You will be
+anxious to know how we prosper, and I can at least forward a budget of
+news."
+
+"But should there be gold, he cannot return safely with it to
+Frankfort."
+
+"Oh, yes, if he keeps to the eastern bank of the Rhine. There is no
+castle between Lorch and Frankfort except Ehrenfels, and that, being the
+property of the Archbishop, may be passed safely."
+
+"Very well. The man shall await you at Lorch. Inquire for Herr Kruger at
+Mergler's Inn."
+
+That night, in the Kaiser cellar, another excellent supper was spread
+before the members of the metal-workers' league. It was quite as
+hilarious as the banquet of the night before; perhaps more so, because
+now, for the first time in months, the athletic young men were well fed,
+with money in their pouches. Each was clad in a new suit of clothes.
+Nothing like uniformity in costume had been attempted, there being but
+one day in which to replenish the wardrobes, which involved the
+acquiring of garments already made. However no trouble was experienced
+about this, for each branch of the metal-workers had its own recognized
+outfit, which was kept on hand in all sizes by various dealers catering
+to the wants of artisans, from apprentices to masters of their trade.
+The costumes were admirably adapted to the use for which they were
+intended. There was nothing superfluous in their make-up, and, being
+loosely cut, they allowed ample play to stalwart limbs. For dealing with
+metal the wearers required a cloth tightly woven, of a texture as nearly
+as possible resembling leather, and better accouterment for a
+rough-and-tumble, freebooter's excursion could not have been found,
+short of coats of mail, or, failing that, of leather itself.
+
+Roland appeared in the trousers and doublet of a sword maker, and his
+comrades cheered loudly when he threw off his cloak and displayed for
+the first time that he was actually one of themselves. Hitherto
+something in the fashioning of his wearing apparel had in a manner
+differentiated him from the rest of the company, but now nothing in his
+dress indicated that he was leader of the coterie, and this pleased the
+independent metal-workers.
+
+The previous night, after the landlord's bill was generously liquidated,
+each man had received upwards of thirty thalers. Roland then related to
+them his adventure with the merchant, and the result of his sword-play
+in the vicinity of Herr Goebel's throat. Two accomplishments he
+possessed endeared Roland to his comrades: first, the ability to sing a
+good song; and second, his talent for telling an interesting story,
+whether it was a personal adventure, a legend of the Rhine, or some tale
+of the gnomes which, as every one knows, haunt the gloomy forests in the
+mountain regions. His account of the evening spent with Herr Goebel
+aroused much laughter and applause, which greatly augmented when the
+material advantages of the interview were distributed among the guild.
+
+This evening he purposed making a still more important disclosure; thus
+when the meal was finished, and the landlord, after replenishing the
+flagons, had retired, the new sword maker rose in his place at the head
+of the table.
+
+"I crave your strict attention for a few minutes. Although I refused to
+confide my plans to Herr Goebel, I consider it my duty to inform you
+minutely of what is before us, and if I speak with some solemnity, it is
+because I realize we may never again meet around this table. We depart
+from Frankfort to-morrow upon a hazardous expedition, and some of us may
+not return."
+
+"Oh, I say, Roland," protested Conrad Kurzbold, "don't mar a jovial
+evening with a note of tragedy. It's bad art, you know."
+
+Kurzbold was one of the three actual sword makers, and had been
+president of the guild until he gave place to Roland. He was the oldest
+of the company; an ambitious man, a glib talker, with great influence
+among his fellows, and a natural leader of them. What he said generally
+represented the opinion of the gathering.
+
+"For once, Kurzbold, I must ask you to excuse me," persisted Roland. "It
+is necessary that on this, the last, opportunity I should place before
+you exactly what I intend to do. I am very anxious not to minimize the
+danger. I wish no man to follow me blindfold, thus I speak early in the
+evening, that you may not be influenced by the enthusiasm of wine in
+coming to a decision. I desire each man here to estimate the risk, and
+choose, before we separate to-night, whether or not he will accompany
+the expedition.
+
+"Here is the compact made with Herr Goebel: I promised that, with the
+help of my comrades, I would endeavor to open the Rhine to mercantile
+traffic. On the strength of such promise he gave me the money."
+
+At this announcement rose a wild round of applause, and with the thunder
+of flagons on the table, and the shouting of each member, no single
+voice could make itself heard above the tumult. These lads had no
+conception of the perils they were to face, and Roland alone remained
+imperturbable, becoming more and more serious as the uproar went on.
+When at last quiet was restored, he continued, with a gravity in
+striking contrast to the hilarity of his audience:
+
+"Herr Goebel is filling his largest barge with bales of cloth, and he
+has engaged an efficient crew, and a capable captain who will assume
+charge of the navigation. The barge will proceed to-morrow night down
+the Main, leaving Frankfort as unostentatiously as possible, while we
+march across the country to Assmannshausen, and there join this craft.
+It is essential that no hint of our intention shall spread abroad in
+gossipy Frankfort, therefore, depending on Captain Blumenfels to get his
+boat clear of the city without observation, and before the moon rises, I
+ask you to leave to-morrow separately by different gates, meeting me at
+Hochst, something more than two leagues down the river. I dare say you
+all know the Elector's palace, whose beautiful tower is a landmark for
+the country round."
+
+"I protest against such a rendezvous," objected Kurzbold. "Make it the
+tavern of the Nassauer Hof, Roland. We shall all be thirsty after a walk
+of two leagues."
+
+"Not at that time in the morning, I hope," said Roland, "for I shall
+await you in the shadow of the tower at nine o'clock. Let every man
+drink his fill to-night, for I intend to lead a sober company from
+Hochst to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, you're optimistic, Roland," cried John Gensbein. "Give us till
+twelve o'clock to cool our heads."
+
+"Drink all you wish this evening," repeated Roland, "but to-morrow we
+begin our work, with a long day's march ahead of us, so nine is none too
+early for a start from Hochst."
+
+"Sufficient to the day is the wine thereof," said Conrad Kurzbold,
+rising to his feet. "Wine, blessed liquor as it is, possesses
+nevertheless one defect, which blot on its escutcheon is that it cannot
+carry over till next day, except in so far as a headache is concerned,
+and a certain dryness of the mouth. It is futile to bid us lay in a
+supply to-night that will be of any use to-morrow morning. For my part,
+I give you warning, Roland, that I shall make directly for the Nassauer
+Hof, or for the Schone Aussicht, where they keep most excellent
+vintages."
+
+To this declaration Roland made no reply, but continued his explanatory
+remarks.
+
+"We shall join the barge, as I have said, above Assmannshausen, probably
+at night, and then cross directly over the river. The first castle with
+which I intend to deal is that celebrated robber's roost, Rheinstein,
+standing two hundred and sixty feet above the water. Disembarking about
+a league up the river from Rheinstein, before daybreak we will all lie
+concealed in the forest within sight of the Castle gates. When the sun
+is well risen, Captain Blumenfels will navigate his boat down the river,
+and as it approaches Rheinstein we shall probably enjoy the privilege of
+seeing the gates open wide, as the company from the Castle descend
+precipitously to the water. While they rifle the barge we shall rifle
+the Castle, overpowering whoever we may find there, and taking in return
+for the cloth they steal such gold or silver as the treasury affords. We
+will then imprison all within the Castle, so that a premature alarm may
+not be given. If we are hurried, we may lock them in cellars, or place
+them in dungeons, then leave the Castle with our booty, but I do not
+purpose descending to the river until we have traversed a league or more
+of the mountain forest, where we may remain concealed until the barge
+appears, and so take ship again.
+
+"The next castle is Falkenberg, the third Sonneck, both on the same side
+of the river as Rheinstein, and within a short distance from the
+stronghold, but the plan with each being the same as that already
+outlined, it is not necessary for me to repeat it."
+
+"An excellent arrangement!" cried several; but John Gensbein spoke up in
+criticism.
+
+"Is there to be no fighting?" he asked. "I expected you to say that
+after we had secured the gold we would fall on the robbers to the rear,
+and smite them hip and thigh."
+
+"There is likely to be all the fighting you can wish for," replied
+Roland, "for at some point our scheme may go awry. It is not my
+intention to attack, but I expect you to fight like heroes in our own
+defense."
+
+"I agree with Herr Roland," put in Conrad Kurzbold, rising to his feet.
+"If we purpose to win our way down to Cologne, it is unnecessary to
+search for trouble, because we shall find enough of it awaiting us at
+one point or another. But Roland stopped his account at what seems to me
+the most interesting juncture. What is the destination of the gold we
+loot from the castles?"
+
+"The first call upon our accumulation will be the payment of four
+thousand five hundred thalers to Herr Goebel."
+
+"Oh, damn the merchant!" cried Conrad. "We are risking our lives, and I
+don't see why he should reach out his claws. He will profit enough
+through our exertions if we open the Rhine."
+
+"True; but that was the bargain I made with him. We risk our lives, as
+you say, but he risks his goods, besides providing barge, captain, and
+crew. He also furnished us with the five hundred thalers now in our
+pockets. We must deal honestly with the man who has supported us in the
+beginning."
+
+"Oh, very well," growled Kurzbold, "have it your own way; but in my
+opinion the merchants should combine and raise a fund with which to
+reward us for our exertions if we succeed. Still, I shall not press my
+contention in the face of an overwhelming sentiment against me. However,
+I should like to speak to our leader on one matter which it seemed
+ungracious to mention last night. The merchant offered him a thousand
+thalers in gold, and he, with a generosity which I must point out to him
+was exercised at our expense, returned half that money to Herr Goebel. I
+confess that all I received has been spent; my hand is lonesome when it
+enters my pouch. I should be glad of that portion which might have been
+mine (and when I speak for myself, I speak for all) were it not for the
+misplaced prodigality of our leader who, possessing the money, was so
+thoughtless of our fellowship that he actually handed over five hundred
+thalers to a man who had not the slightest claim upon it."
+
+"Herr Kurzbold," said Roland, with some severity, "many penniless nights
+passed over our heads in this room. If you know so much better than I
+how to procure money, why did you not do so? I should not venture to
+criticise a man who, without any effort on my part, placed thirty
+thalers at my disposal."
+
+There was a great clamor at this, every one except Kurzbold, who stood
+stubbornly in his place, and Gensbein, who sat next to him, becoming
+vociferous in defense of their leader.
+
+"It is uncomrade-like," cried Ebearhard above the din, "to spend the
+money and then growl."
+
+"I speak in the interests of us all," shouted Kurzbold. "In the
+interests of our leader, no less than ourselves," but the others howled
+him down.
+
+Roland, holding up his right hand, seemed to request silence and
+obtained it.
+
+"I am rather glad," he said, "that this discussion has arisen, because
+there is still time to amend our programme. Herr Goebel's barge will not
+be loaded until to-morrow night, so the order may even yet be
+countermanded. The five hundred thalers which belonged to me I say
+nothing about, but the five hundred advanced by Herr Goebel must be
+returned to him unless we are in perfect unanimity."
+
+At this suggestion Kurzbold sat down with some suddenness.
+
+"I told you, when I left this room, promising to find the money within a
+week, that one condition was the backing of my fellows. You empowered me
+to pledge the efforts of our club as though it contained but one man. If
+that promise is not to be kept in spirit as well as in letter, I shall
+retire from the position I now hold, and you may elect in my stead
+Conrad Kurzbold, John Gensbein, or any one else that pleases you. But
+first I must be in a position to give back intact Herr Goebel's money;
+then, as I have divulged to you my plans, Conrad Kurzbold may approach
+him, and make better terms than I was able to arrange."
+
+There were cries of "Nonsense! Nonsense!" "Don't take a little
+opposition in that spirit, Roland." "We are all free-speaking comrades,
+you know." "You are our leader, and must remain so."
+
+Kurzbold rose to his feet for the third time.
+
+"Literally and figuratively, my friend Roland has me on the hip, for my
+hip-pocket contains no money, and it is impossible for me to refund. I
+imagine, if the truth were told, we are all more or less in the same
+condition, for we have had equipment to buy, and what-not."
+
+"Also Hochheimer," said one, at which there was a laugh, as Kurzbold was
+noted for his love of good wine. Up to this point Roland had carried the
+assemblage with him, but now he made an injudicious remark that
+instantly changed the spirit of the room.
+
+"I am astonished," he said, "that any objection should be made to the
+fair treatment of Herr Goebel, for you are all of the merchant class,
+and should therefore hold by one of your own order."
+
+He could proceed no farther. Standing there, pale and determined, he was
+simply stormed down. His ignorance of affairs, of which on several
+occasions the merchant himself had complained, led him quite
+unconsciously to touch the pride of his hearers. It was John Gensbein
+who angrily gave expression to the sentiment of the meeting.
+
+"To what class do _you_ belong, I should like to know? Do you claim
+affinity with the merchant class? If you do, you are no leader of ours.
+I inform you, sir, that we are skilled artisans, with the craft to turn
+out creditable work, while the merchants are merely the vendors of our
+products. Which, therefore, takes the higher place in a community, and
+which deserves it better: he who with artistic instinct unites the
+efforts of brain and hand to produce wares that are at once beautiful
+and useful, or he who merely chaffers over his counter to get as much
+lucre as he can for the creations that come from our benches?"
+
+To Roland's aristocratic mind, every man who lacked noble blood in his
+veins stood on the same level, and it astonished him that any mere
+plebeian should claim precedence over another. He himself felt
+immeasurably superior to those present, sensible of a fathomless gulf
+between him and them, which he, in his condescension, might cross as
+suited his whim, but over which none might follow him back again; and
+this, he was well aware, they would be the first to admit did they but
+know his actual rank.
+
+For a moment he was tempted to acknowledge his identity, and crush them
+by throwing the crown at their heads, but some hitherto undiscovered
+stubbornness in his nature asserted itself, arousing a determination to
+stand or fall by whatever strength of character he might possess.
+
+"I withdraw that remark," he said, as soon as he could obtain a hearing.
+"I not only withdraw it, but I apologize to you for my folly in making
+it. It was merely thoughtlessness on my part, and, resting on your
+generosity, I should like you to consider the words unsaid."
+
+Once more eighteen of the twenty swung round to his side. Roland now
+turned his attention to Conrad Kurzbold, ignoring John Gensbein, who had
+sat down flushed after his declamation, bewildered by the mutability of
+the many as Coriolanus had been before him.
+
+"Herr Kurzbold," began Roland sternly, "have you any further criticism
+to offer?"
+
+"No; but I stand by what I have already said."
+
+"Well, I thank you for your honest expression of that determination, and
+I announce that you cannot accompany this expedition."
+
+Again Roland instantaneously lost the confidence of his auditors, and
+they were not slow in making him of the fact.
+
+"This is simply tyranny," said Ebearhard. "If a man may not open his
+mouth without running danger of expulsion, then all comradeship is at an
+end, and I take it that good comradeship is the pivot on which this
+organization turns. I do not remember that we ever placed it in the
+power of our president merely by his own word to cast out one of us from
+the fellowship. I may add, Roland, that you seem to harbor strange ideas
+concerning rank and power. I have been a member of this guild much
+longer than you, and perhaps understand better its purpose. Our leader
+is not elected to govern a band of serfs. Indeed, and I say it subject
+to correction from my friends, the very opposite is the case. Our leader
+is our servant, and must conduct himself as we order. It is not for him
+to lay down the law to us, but whatever laws exist for our governance,
+and I thank Heaven there are few of them, must be settled in conclave by
+a majority of the league."
+
+"Right! Right!" was the unanimous cry, and when Ebearhard sat down all
+were seated except Roland, who stood at the end of the table with pale
+face and compressed lips.
+
+"We are," he said, "about to set out against the Barons of the Rhine,
+entrenched in their strong castles. Hitherto these men have been
+completely successful, defying alike the Government and the people. It
+was my hope that we might reverse this condition of things. Now, Brother
+Ebearhard, name me a single Baron along the whole length of the Rhine
+who would permit one of his men-at-arms to bandy words with him on any
+subject whatever."
+
+"I should hope," replied Ebearhard, "that we do not model our conduct
+after that of a robber."
+
+"The robbers, I beg to point out to you, Ebearhard, are successful. It
+is success we are after, also a portion of that gold of which Herr
+Kurzbold has pathetically proclaimed his need."
+
+"Do you consider us your men-at-arms, then, in the same sense that a
+Rhine Baron would employ the term?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"You claim the liberty of expelling any one you choose?"
+
+"Yes; I claim the liberty to hang any of you if I find it necessary."
+
+"Oh, the devil!" cried Ebearhard, sitting down as if this went beyond
+him. He gazed up and down the table as much as to say, "I leave this in
+your hands, gentlemen."
+
+The meeting gave immediate expression of its agreement with Ebearhard.
+
+"Gentlemen," said Roland, "I insist that Conrad Kurzbold apologizes to
+me for the expressions he has used, and promises not again to offend in
+like manner."
+
+"I'll do nothing of the sort," asserted Kurzbold, with equal firmness.
+
+"In that case," exclaimed Roland, "I shall retire, and I ask you to put
+me in a position to repay Herr Goebel the money I extracted from him. I
+resign the very thankless office of so-called leadership."
+
+At this several wallets came out upon the table, but their contents
+clinked rather weakly. The majority of the guild sat silent and sobered
+by the crisis that had so unexpectedly come upon them. Joseph Greusel,
+seeing that no one else made a move, uprose, and spoke slowly. He was a
+man who never had much to say for himself; a listener rather than a
+talker, in whom Roland reposed great confidence, believing him to be one
+who would not flinch if trial came, and he had determined to make
+Greusel his lieutenant if the expedition was not wrecked before it set
+out.
+
+"My friends," said Greusel gloomily, "we have arrived at a deadlock, and
+I should not venture to speak but that I see no one else ready to make a
+suggestion. I cannot claim to be non-partisan in the matter. This crisis
+has been unnecessarily brought about by what I state firmly is a most
+ungenerous attack on the part of Conrad Kurzbold."
+
+There were murmurs of dissent, but Greusel proceeded stolidly, taking no
+notice.
+
+"It is not disputed that Kurzbold accepted the money from Roland last
+night, spent it to-day, and now comes penniless amongst us, quite unable
+to refund the amount when his unjust remarks produce their natural
+effect. He is like a man who makes a wager knowing he hasn't the money
+to pay should he lose. If Roland retires from this guild, I retire also,
+ashamed to keep company with men who uphold a trick worthy of a ruined
+gambler."
+
+"My dear Joseph," cried Ebearhard, springing up with a laugh, "you were
+misnamed in your infancy. You should have been called Herod, practically
+justifying a slaughter of us innocents."
+
+"I stand by Benjamin," growled Gruesel, "the youngest and most capable
+of our circle; the one who produced the money while all the rest of us
+talked."
+
+"You never talked till now, Joseph," said Ebearhard, still trying to
+ease the situation with a laugh, "and what you say is not only
+deplorably severe, but uttered, as I will show you, upon entirely
+mistaken grounds. We did not, and do not, support Conrad Kurzbold in
+what he said at first. Now you rate us as if we were no better than
+thieves. Dishonest gamblers, you call us, and Lord knows what else, and
+then you threaten withdrawal. I submit that your diatribe is quite
+undeserved. We all condemn Kurzbold for censuring Roland's generosity to
+the merchant, unanimously upholding Roland in that action, and have said
+so plainly enough. What we object to is this: Roland arrogates to
+himself power which he does not possess, of peremptorily expelling any
+member whose remarks displease him. Surely you cannot support him in
+that any more than we."
+
+"Let us take one thing at a time," resumed Greusel, "not forgetting from
+whom came the original provocation. I must know where we stand. I
+therefore move a vote of censure on Conrad Kurzbold for his unmerited
+attack upon our president anent his dealings with Herr Goebel."
+
+"I second that with great pleasure," said Ebearhard.
+
+"Now, as we cannot ask our leader to put that motion, I shall take the
+liberty of submitting it myself," continued Greusel. "All in favor of
+the vote of censure which you have heard, make it manifest by standing
+up."
+
+Every one arose except Roland, Gensbein, and Kurzbold.
+
+"There, we have removed that obstacle to a clear understanding of the
+case, and before I formally deliver this vote of censure to Herr
+Kurzbold, I request him to reconsider his position, and of his own
+motion to make such delivery unnecessary.
+
+"If it is the case that Roland assumes authority to expel whom he
+pleases from this guild, I shall not support him."
+
+"It _is_ the case! It _is_ the case!" shouted several.
+
+"Pardon me, comrades; I have the floor," continued Greusel. "I am not
+attempting oratory, but trying to disentangle a skein in which we have
+involved ourselves. I wish to receive neither applause nor hissing until
+I have finished the business. You say it is the case. I say it is not.
+Roland gave Herr Kurzbold the alternative either of apologizing or of
+paying over the money, so that it might be returned to the merchant. As
+I understand the matter, our president does not insist on Kurzbold
+leaving the guild, but merely announces his own withdrawal from it. You
+have allowed Kurzbold to put you in the position of being compelled to
+choose between himself and Roland. If you are logical men you cannot
+pass a vote of censure on Kurzbold, and then choose him instead of
+Roland. I therefore move a vote of confidence in our chief, the man who
+has produced the money, a thousand thalers in all, half of which was his
+own, and has divided it equally amongst us, when the landlord's bill was
+paid, withholding not a single thaler, nor arrogating--I think that was
+your word, friend Ebearhard--to himself a stiver more of the money than
+each of the others received. While Kurzbold has prated of comradeship,
+Roland has given us an excellent example of it, and I think he deserves
+our warmest thanks and our cordial support. I therefore submit to you
+the following motion: This meeting tenders to the president its warmest
+thanks for his recent efforts on behalf of the guild, and begs to assure
+him of its most strenuous assistance in carrying out the project he has
+put before it to-night."
+
+"Joseph," said Ebearhard, rising, with his usual laugh, "you are a very
+clever man, although you usually persist in hiding your light under a
+bushel. I desire to associate myself with the expressions you have used,
+and therefore second your motion."
+
+"I now put the resolution which you have all heard," said Greusel, "and
+I ask those in favor of it to stand."
+
+Every one stood up promptly enough except the two recalcitrants, and of
+those two John Gensbein showed signs of hesitation and uneasiness. He
+half rose, sat down again; then, apparently at the urging of the man
+next him, stood up, a picture of irresolution. Kurzbold, finding himself
+now alone, laughed, and got upon his feet, thus making the vote
+unanimous. As the company seated itself, Greusel turned to the
+president.
+
+"Sir, it is said that all's well that ends well. It gives me pleasure to
+tender you the unanimous vote of thanks and confidence of the
+iron-workers' guild, and before calling upon you to make any reply, if
+such should be your intention, I will ask Conrad Kurzbold to say a few
+words, which I am sure we shall all be delighted to hear."
+
+Kurzbold rose bravely enough, in spite of the fact that Joseph Greusel's
+diplomacy had made a complete separation between him and all the others.
+
+"I should like to say," he began, with an air of casual indifference,
+"that my first mention of the money was wholly in jest. Our friend
+Roland took my remarks seriously, which, of course, I should not have
+resented, and there is little use in recapitulating what followed. As,
+however, my utterances gave offense which was not intended by me, I have
+no hesitation in apologizing for them, and withdrawing the ill-advised
+sentences. No one here feels a greater appreciation of what our
+president has done than I, and I hope he will accept my apology in the
+same spirit in which it is tendered."
+
+"Now, Master of the Guild," said Greusel, and Roland took the floor once
+more.
+
+"I have nothing to say but 'Thank you.' The antagonists whom we hope to
+meet are men brave, determined, and ruthless. If any one in this company
+holds rancor against me, I ask him to turn it towards the Barons, and
+punish me after the expedition is accomplished. Let us tolerate no
+disagreements in face of the foe."
+
+The young man took his cloak and sword from the peg on which they hung,
+passed down along the table, and thrust across his hand to Kurzbold, who
+shook it warmly. Arriving at the door, Roland turned round.
+
+"I wish to see Captain Blumenfels, and give him final instructions
+regarding our rendezvous on the Rhine, so good-night. I hope to meet you
+all under the shadow of the Elector's tower in Hochst to-morrow morning
+at nine," and with that the president departed, being too inexperienced
+to know that soft words do not always turn away wrath, and that mutiny
+is seldom quelled with a handshake.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+THE DISTURBING JOURNEY OF FATHER AMBROSE
+
+
+The setting summer sun shone full on the western side of Sayn Castle,
+sending the shadow of that tenth-century edifice far along the
+greensward of the upper valley. Upon a balcony, perched like a swallow's
+nest against the eastern end of Sayn Castle, a lovely girl of eighteen
+leaned, meditating, with arms resting on the balustrade, the harshness
+of whose stone surface was nullified by the soft texture of a
+gaudily-covered robe flung over it. This ample cloth, brought from the
+East by a Crusading ancestor of the girl, made a gay patch of scarlet
+and gold against the somber side of the Castle.
+
+The youthful Countess Hildegunde von Sayn watched the slow oncoming of a
+monk, evidently tired, who toiled along the hillside deep in the shadow
+of the Castle, as if its cool shade was grateful to him. Belonging, as
+he did, to the very practical Order of the Benedictines, whose belief
+was in work sanctioned by prayer, the Reverend Father did not deny
+himself this temporary refuge from the hot rays of the sun, which had
+poured down upon him all day.
+
+Looking up as he approached the stronghold, and seeing the girl, little
+dreaming of the frivolous mission she would propose, he waved his hand
+to her, and she responded gracefully with a similar gesture.
+
+Indeed, however strongly the monk might disapprove, there was much to be
+said in favor of the resolution to which the young lady had come. She
+was well educated, probably the richest heiress in Germany, and
+carefully as the pious Sisters of Nonnenwerth Convent may have concealed
+the fact from her, she was extremely beautiful, and knew it, and
+although the valley of the Saynbach was a very haven of peace and
+prosperity, the girl became just a trifle lonely, and yearned to know
+something of life and the Court in Frankfort, to which her high rank
+certainly entitled her.
+
+It is true that very disquieting rumors had reached her concerning the
+condition of things in the capital city; nevertheless she determined to
+learn from an authoritative source whether or not it was safe to take up
+a temporary residence in Frankfort, and for this purpose the reluctant
+Father Ambrose would journey southward.
+
+Father Ambrose was more than sixty years old, and if he had belonged to
+the world, instead of to religion, would have been entitled to the name
+Henry von Sayn. His presence in the Benedictine Order was proof of the
+fact that money will not accomplish everything. His famous, or perhaps
+we should say infamous, ancestor, Count Henry III. of Sayn, who died in
+1246, was a robber and a murderer, justly esteemed the terror of the
+Rhine. Concealed as it was in the Sayn valley, half a league from the
+great river, the situation of his stronghold favored his depredations.
+He filled his warehousing rooms with merchandise from barges going down
+the river, and with gold seized from unhappy merchants on their way up.
+He thought no more of cutting a throat than of cutting a purse, and it
+was only when he became amazingly wealthy that the increase of years
+brought trouble to a conscience which all men thought had ceased to
+exist. Thereupon, for the welfare of his soul, he built the Abbey of
+Sayn, and provided for the monks therein. Yet, when he came to die, he
+entertained fearsome, but admittedly well-founded doubts regarding his
+future state, so he proceeded to sanctify a treasure no longer of any
+use to him, by bequeathing it to the Church, driving, however, a bargain
+by which he received assurance that his body should rest quietly in the
+tomb he had prepared for himself within the Abbey walls.
+
+He was buried with impressive ceremony, and the monks he had endowed did
+everything to carry out their share of the pact. The tomb was staunchly
+built with stones so heavy that no ordinary ghost could have emerged
+therefrom, but to be doubly sure a gigantic log was placed on top of it,
+strongly clamped down with concealed bands of iron, and, so that this
+log might not reveal its purpose, the monks cunningly carved it into
+some semblance of Henry himself, until it seemed a recumbent statue of
+the late villainous Count.
+
+But despite such thoughtfulness their plan failed, for when next they
+visited the tomb the statue lay prone, face downwards, as if some
+irresistible, unseen power had flung it to the stone flags of the floor.
+Replacing the statue, and watching by the tomb, was found to be of
+little use. The watchers invariably fell asleep, and the great wooden
+figure, which during their last waking moments lay gazing towards the
+roof, was now on its face on the monastery floor, peering down in the
+opposite direction, and this somehow was regarded by the brethren as a
+fact of ominous significance.
+
+The new Count von Sayn, heir to the title and estate of the late Henry
+III. was a gloomy, pious man, very different indeed from his turbulent
+predecessor. Naturally he was much perturbed by the conduct of the
+wooden statue. At first he affected disbelief in the phenomena despite
+the assurances of the monks, and later on the simple brethren deeply
+regretted they had made any mention of the manifestations. The new Count
+himself took up the task of watching, and paced all night before the
+tomb of the third Henry. He was not a man to fall asleep while engaged
+on such a somber mission, and the outcome of his vigil was so amazing
+that in the morning he gathered the brethren together in the great hall
+of the Abbey, that he might relate to them his experience.
+
+The wooden statue had turned over, and fallen to the floor, as was its
+habit, but on this occasion it groaned as it fell. This mournful sound
+struck terror into the heart of the lonely watcher, who now, he
+confessed, regretted he had not accepted the offer of the monks to share
+his midnight surveillance. The courage of the House of Sayn is, however,
+a well-known quality, and, notwithstanding his piety, the new holder of
+the title was possessed of it, for although admitting a momentary
+impulse towards flight, and the calling for assistance which the monks
+would readily have given, he stood his ground, and in trembling voice
+asked what he could do to forward the contentment of his deceased
+relative.
+
+The statue replied, still face downward on the stone floor, that never
+could the late wicked Count rest in peace unless the heir to his titles
+and lands should take upon himself the sins Henry had committed during
+his life, while a younger member of the family should become a monk of
+the Benedictine Order, and daily intercede for the welfare of his soul.
+
+"With extreme reluctance," continued the devout nobleman, "I gave my
+assent to this unwelcome proposal, providing only that it should receive
+the sanction of the Abbot and brethren of the Monastery of Sayn, hoping
+by a life of continuous rectitude to annul, in some measure at least,
+the evil works of Henry III.; and that holy sanction I now request,
+trusting if given it may remove any doubts regarding the righteousness
+of my promise."
+
+Here the Count bowed low to the enthroned Abbot and, with less
+reverence, to the assembled brethren. The Abbot rose to his feet, and in
+a few well-chosen words complimented the nobleman on the sacrifice he
+made, predicting that it would redound greatly to his spiritual welfare.
+Speaking for himself, he had no hesitation in giving the required
+sanction, but as the Count made it a proviso that the brethren should
+concur, he now requested their acquiescence.
+
+This was accorded in silent unanimity, whereupon Count von Sayn, deeply
+sighing as one accepting a burden almost too heavy to bear, spoke with a
+tremor of grief in his voice.
+
+"It is not for me," he said, "to question your wisdom, nor shrink from
+my allotted task. After all, I am but human, and up to this decisive
+moment had hoped, alas! in vain, that some one more worthy than I might
+be chosen in my place. The most grievous part of the undertaking, so far
+as I am concerned, was outlined in the last words spoken by the wooden
+statue. The evil deeds my ancestor has committed will in time be
+obliterated by the prayers of the younger member of my family who
+becomes a monk, but the accumulated gold carries with it a continual
+curse, which can be wiped off each coin only by that coin benefiting the
+merchants who have been robbed. The contamination of this metal,
+therefore, I must bear, for it adds to the agony of my ancestor that,
+little realizing what he was doing, he bequeathed this poisonous dross
+to the Abbey he founded. I am required to lend it in Frankfort, upon
+undoubted security and suitable usury, that it may stimulate and
+fertilize the commerce of the land, much as the contents of a compost
+heap, disagreeable in the senses, and defiling to him who handles it,
+when spread upon the fields results in the production of flower, fruit,
+and food, giving fragrance, delight, and sustenance to the human frame."
+
+The count, bowing for the third time to the conclave, passed from its
+presence with mournful step and sorrowful countenance; whereupon the
+brethren, seeing themselves thus denuded of wealth they had hoped to
+enjoy, gave utterance to a groan doubtless much greater in volume than
+that emitted by the carven statue, which wooden figure may be seen
+to-day in the museum of the modern Castle of Sayn by any one who cares
+to spend the fifty pfennigs charged for admission.
+
+All that has been related happened generations before the time when the
+Countess Hildegunde reigned as head of the House of Sayn, but Father
+Ambrose formed a link with the past in that he was the present scion of
+Sayn who, as a Benedictine, daily offered prayer for the repose of the
+wicked Henry III. The gold which Henry's immediate successor so craftily
+deflected from the monks seemed to be blessed rather than cursed, for
+under the care of that subtle manager it multiplied greatly in
+Frankfort, and scandal-mongers asserted that besides receiving the usury
+exacted, the pietistic Count tapped the treasure-casks of upward-sailing
+Rhine merchants quite as successfully, if more quietly, than the profane
+Henry had done. Thus the House of Sayn was one of the richest in
+Germany.
+
+The aged monk and the youthful Countess were distant relatives, but he
+regarded her as a daughter, and her affection was given to him as to a
+father, in other than the spiritual sense.
+
+In his youth Ambrose the Benedictine, because of his eloquence in
+discourse, and also on account of his aristocratic rank, officiated at
+the court in Frankfort. Later, he became spiritual and temporal adviser
+to that great prelate, the Archbishop of Cologne, and the Archbishop,
+being guardian of the Countess von Sayn, sent Father Ambrose to the
+castle of his ancestor to look after the affairs of Sayn, both religious
+and material. Under his gentle rule the great wealth of his House
+increased, although he, the cause of prosperity, had no share in the
+riches he produced, for, as has been written of the Benedictines:
+
+"It was as teachers of ... scientific agriculture, as drainers of fens
+and morasses, as clearers of forests, as makers of roads, as tillers of
+the reclaimed soil, as architects of durable and even stately buildings,
+as exhibiting a visible type of orderly government, as establishing the
+superiority of peace over war as the normal condition of life, as
+students in the library which the rule set up in every monastery, as the
+masters in schools open not merely to their own postulants but to the
+children of secular families also, that they won their high place in
+history as benefactors of mankind."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Oh, Father Ambrose," cried the girl, when at last he entered her
+presence, "I watched your approach from afar off. You walked with
+halting step, and shoulders increasingly bowed. You are wearing yourself
+out in my service, and that I cannot permit. You return this evening a
+tired man."
+
+"Not physically tired," replied the monk, with a smile. "My head is
+bowed with meditation and prayer, rather than with fatigue. Indeed, it
+is others who do the harassing manual labor, while I simply direct and
+instruct. Sometimes I think I am an encumberer in the vineyard, lazily
+using brain instead of hand."
+
+"Nonsense!" cried the girl, "the vineyard would be but a barren
+plantation without you; and speaking of it reminds me that I have poured
+out, with my own hand, a tankard of the choicest, oldest wine in our
+cellars, which I allow no one but yourself to taste. Sit down, I beg of
+you, and drink."
+
+The wise old man smiled, wondering what innocent trap was being set for
+him. He raised the tankard to his lips, but merely indulged in one sip
+of the delectable beverage. Then he seated himself, and looked at the
+girl, still smiling. She went on speaking rapidly, a delicate flush
+warming her fair cheeks.
+
+"Father, you are the most patient and indefatigable of agriculturists,
+sparing neither yourself nor others, but there is danger that you grow
+bucolic through overlong absence from the great affairs of this world."
+
+"What can be greater, my child, than increasing the productiveness of
+the land; than training men to supply all their needs from the fruitful
+earth?"
+
+"True, true," admitted the girl, her eyes sparkling with eagerness, "but
+to persist overlong even in well-doing becomes ultimately tedious. If
+the laborer is worthy of his hire, so, too, is the master. You should
+take a change, and as I know your fondness for travel, I have planned a
+journey for you."
+
+The old man permitted himself another sip of the wine.
+
+"Where?" he asked.
+
+"Oh, an easy journey; no farther than the royal city of Frankfort, there
+to wander among the scenes of your youth, and become interested for a
+time in the activities of your fellow-men. You have so long consorted
+with those inferior to you in intellect and learning that a meeting with
+your equals--though I doubt if there are any such even in
+Frankfort--must prove as refreshing to your mind as that old wine would
+to your body, did you but obey me and drink it."
+
+Father Ambrose slowly shook his head.
+
+"From what I hear of Frankfort," he said, "it is anything but an
+inspiring town. In my day it was indeed a place of cheer, learning, and
+prosperity, but now it is a city of desolation."
+
+"The rumors we hear, Father, may be exaggerated; and even if the city
+itself be doleful, which I doubt, there is sure to be light and gayety
+in the precincts of the Court and in the homes of the nobility."
+
+"What have I to do with Court or palaces? My duty lies here."
+
+"It may be," cried the girl archly, "that some part of your duty lies
+there. If Frankfort is indeed in bad case, your sage advice might be of
+the greatest benefit. Prosperity seems to follow your footsteps, and,
+besides, you were once a chaplain in the Court, and surely you have not
+lost all interest in your former charge?"
+
+Again that quiet, engaging smile lit up the monk's emaciated features,
+and then he asked a question with that honest directness which sometimes
+embarrassed those he addressed:
+
+"Daughter Hildegunde, what is it you want?"
+
+"Well," said the girl, sitting very upright in her chair, "I confess to
+loneliness. The sameness of life in this castle oppresses me, and in its
+continuous dullness I grow old before my time. I wish to enjoy a month
+or two in Frankfort, and, as doubtless you have guessed, I send you
+forth as my ambassador to spy out the land."
+
+"In such case, daughter, you should present your petition to that Prince
+of the Church, the Archbishop of Cologne, who is your guardian."
+
+"No, no, no, no!" cried the girl emphatically; "you are putting the
+grapes into the barrel instead of into the vat. Before I trouble the
+worthy Archbishop with my request, I must learn whether it is
+practicable or not. If the city is indeed in a state of turbulence, of
+course I shall not think of going thither. It is this I wish to
+discover, but if you are afraid." She shrugged her shoulders and spread
+out her hands.
+
+And now the old monk came as near to laughing as he ever did.
+
+"Clever, Hildegunde, but unnecessary. You cannot spur me to action by
+slighting the well-known valor of our race. I will go where and when you
+command me, and report to you faithfully what I see and hear. Should the
+time seem favorable for you to visit Frankfort, and if your guardian
+consents, I shall raise not even one objection."
+
+"Oh, dear Father, I do not lay this as a command upon you."
+
+"No; a request is quite sufficient. To-morrow morning I shall set out."
+
+"Along the Rhine?" queried the girl, so eagerly that the old man's eyes
+twinkled at the celerity with which she accepted his proposition.
+
+"I think it safer," he said, "to journey inland over the hills. The
+robbers on the Rhine have been so long bereft of the natural prey that
+one or other of them may forget I am Father Ambrose, a poor monk,
+remembering me only as Henry of the rich House of Sayn, and therefore
+hold me for ransom. I would not willingly be a cause of strife, so I
+shall go by way of Limburg on the Lahn, and there visit my old friend
+the Bishop, and enjoy once more a sight of the ancient Cathedral on the
+cliff by the river."
+
+When the young Countess awoke next morning, and reviewed in her mind the
+chief event of the preceding day, remembering the reluctance of Father
+Ambrose to undertake the quest she had outlined without the consent of
+his overlord the Archbishop, a feeling of compunction swept over her.
+She berated her own selfishness, resolving to send her petition to her
+guardian, the Archbishop, and abide by his decision.
+
+When breakfast was finished, she asked her lady-in-waiting to request
+the presence of Father Ambrose, but instead of the monk came disturbing
+news.
+
+"The seneschal says that Father Ambrose left the Castle at daybreak this
+morning, taking with him frugal rations for a three days' journey."
+
+"In which direction did he go?" asked the lady of Sayn.
+
+"He went on horseback up the valley, after making inquiries about the
+route to Limburg on the Lahn."
+
+"Ah!" said the Countess. "He spoke yesterday of taking such a journey,
+but I did not think he would leave so early."
+
+This was the beginning of great anxiety for the young lady of the
+Castle. She knew at once that pursuit was useless, for daybreak comes
+early in summer, and already the good Father had been five hours on his
+way--a way that he was certain to lose many times before he reached the
+capital city. An ordinary messenger might have been overtaken, but the
+meditative Father would go whither his horse carried him, and when he
+awoke from his thoughts and his prayers, would make inquiries, and so
+proceed. A day or two later came a message that he had achieved the
+hospitality of Limburg's bishop, but after that arrived no further word.
+
+Nearly two weeks had elapsed when, from the opposite direction,
+Hildegunde received a communication which added to her already painful
+apprehension. It was a letter from her guardian in Cologne, giving
+warning that within a week he would call at her Castle of Sayn.
+
+"Matters of great import to you and me," concluded the Archbishop, "are
+toward. You will be called upon to meet formally my two colleagues of
+Mayence and Treves, at the latter's strong Castle of Stolzenfels, above
+Coblentz. From the moment we enter that palace-fortress, I shall,
+temporarily, at least, cease to be your guardian, and become merely one
+of your three overlords. But however frowningly I may sit in the throne
+of an Elector, believe me I shall always be your friend. Tell Father
+Ambrose I wish to consult with him the moment I arrive at your castle,
+and that he must not absent himself therefrom on any pretext until he
+has seen me."
+
+Here was trouble indeed, with Father Ambrose as completely disappeared
+as if the dragons of the Taunus had swallowed him. Never before on his
+journeys had he failed to communicate with her, even when his travels
+were taken on account of the Archbishop, and not, as in this case, on
+her own. She experienced the darkest forebodings from this incredible
+silence. Imagine, then, her relief, when exactly two weeks from the day
+he had left Schloss Sayn, she saw him coming down the valley. As when
+she last beheld him, he traveled on foot, leading his horse, that had
+gone lame.
+
+Throwing etiquette to the wind, she flew down the stairway, and ran to
+meet her thrice-welcome friend.
+
+She realized with grief that he was haggard, and the smile he called up
+to greet her was wan and pitiful.
+
+"Oh, Father, Father!" she cried, "what has happened to you? I have been
+nearly distraught with doubt and fear, hearing nothing of you since your
+message from Limburg."
+
+"I was made a prisoner," said the old man quietly, "and allowed to
+communicate with no one outside my cell. 'Tis a long and sad story, and,
+worse than all one that bodes ill for the Empire. I should have arrived
+earlier in the day, but my poor, patient beast has fallen lame."
+
+"Yes!" said the girl indignantly, "and you spare him instead of
+yourself!"
+
+The monk laid his left hand affectionately on her shoulder.
+
+"You would have done the same, my dear," he said, and she looked up at
+him with a sweet smile. They were kin, and if she censured any quality
+in him, the comment carried something of self-reproach.
+
+A servitor took away the lame horse; another waited on Father Ambrose in
+his small room, which was simple as that of a monastery cell, and as
+meagerly furnished. After a slight refection, Father Ambrose received
+peremptory command to rest for three full hours, the lady of the Castle
+saying it was impossible for her to receive him until that time had
+elapsed. The order was welcome to the tired monk, although he knew how
+impatient Hildegunde must be to unpack his budget of news, and he fell
+asleep even as he gave instructions that he should be awakened at nine.
+
+Descending at that time, the supper hour of the Castle, he found a
+dainty meal awaiting him, flanked by a flagon of that rare wine which he
+sipped so sparingly.
+
+"I lodged with my brethren in their small and quiet monastery on the
+opposite side of the Main from Frankfort, in that suburb of the
+workingmen which is called Sachsenhausen. Even if my eyes had not seen
+the desolation of the city, with the summer grass growing in many of its
+streets, the description given of its condition by my brethren would
+have been saddening enough to hear. All authority seems at an end. The
+nobles have fled to their country estates, for defense in the city is
+impossible should once a universal riot break out, and thinking men look
+for an insurrection when continued hunger has worn down the patience of
+the people. Up to the present sporadic outbreaks have been cruelly
+suppressed, starving men falling mutilated before the sword-cuts of the
+soldiers; but now disaffection has penetrated the ranks of the Army
+itself, through short rations and deferred pay, and when the people
+learn that the military are more like to join them than oppose,
+destruction will fall upon Frankfort. The Emperor sits alone in drunken
+stupor, and it is said cannot last much longer, he who has lasted too
+long already; while the Empress is as much a recluse as a nun in a
+convent."
+
+"But the young Prince?" interrupted the Countess. "What of him? Is there
+no hope if he comes to the throne?"
+
+"Ah!" cried the monk, with a long-drawn sigh, dolefully shaking his
+head.
+
+"But, Father Ambrose, you knew him as a lad, almost as a young man. I
+have heard you speak highly of his promise."
+
+"He denied me; denied his own identity; threatened my life with his
+sword, and finally flung me into the most loathsome dungeon in all
+Frankfort!"
+
+The girl uttered an ejaculation of dismay. If so harsh an estimate of
+the heir-presumptive came from so mild and gentle a critic as Father
+Ambrose, then surely was this young man lower in the grade of humanity
+than even his bestial father.
+
+"And yet," said the girl to herself, "what else was to be expected? Go
+on," she murmured; "tell me from the beginning."
+
+"One evening, crossing the old bridge from Frankfort to Sachsenhausen, I
+saw approach me a swaggering figure that seemed familiar, and as he drew
+nearer I recognized Prince Roland, son of the Emperor, despite the fact
+that he held his cloak over the lower part of his face, as if, in the
+gathering dusk, to avoid recognition.
+
+"'Your Highness!' I cried in surprise. On the instant his sword was out,
+and as the cloak fell from his face, displaying lips which took on a
+sinister firmness, I saw that I was not mistaken in so accosting him. He
+threw a quick glance from side to side, but the bridge, like the silent
+streets, was deserted. We stood alone, beside the iron Cross, and there
+under the Figure of Christ he denied me, with the sharp point of his
+sword against my breast.
+
+"'Why do you dare address me by such a title?'
+
+"'You are Prince Roland, son of the Emperor.'
+
+"The sword-point pressed more sharply.
+
+"'You lie!' he cried, 'and if you reiterate that falsehood, you will pay
+the penalty instantly with your life, despite your monkish cowl. I am
+nobody. I have no father.'
+
+"'May I ask, then, sir, who you are?'
+
+"'You may ask, but there is no reason for me to answer. Nevertheless, to
+satisfy your impertinent curiosity, I inform you that I am an
+ironworker, a maker of swords, and if you desire a taste of my
+handiwork, you have but to persist in your questioning. I lodge in the
+laboring quarter of Sachsenhausen, and am now on my way into Frankfort,
+which surely I have the right to enter free from any inquiry
+unauthorized by the law.'
+
+"'In that case I beg your pardon,' said I. 'The likeness is very
+striking. I had once the honor to be chaplain at Court, where frequently
+I saw the young Prince in company with that noble lady, noble in every
+sense of the word, his mother, the Empress.'
+
+"I watched the young man narrowly as I said this, and despite his
+self-control, he winced perceptibly, and I thought I saw a gleam of
+recognition in his eyes. He thrust the sword back into its scabbard, and
+said with a light laugh:
+
+"''Tis I that should beg your pardon for my haste and roughness. I
+assure you I honor the cloth you wear, and would not willingly offer it
+violence. We are all liable to make mistakes at times. I freely forgive
+yours and trust you will extend a like leniency to mine.'
+
+"With that he doffed his hat, and left me standing there."
+
+"Surely," said the Countess, deeply interested in the recital, "so far
+as speech was concerned he made amends?"
+
+"Yes, my daughter; such speech never came from the lips of an
+ironworker."
+
+"You are convinced he was the Prince?"
+
+"Never for one instant did I doubt it."
+
+"Be that as it may, Father Ambrose, why should not the young man walk
+the streets of his own capital city, and even explore the laborers'
+quarter of Sachsenhausen, if he finds it interesting to do so? Is it not
+his right to wear a sword, and go where he lists; and is it such a very
+heinous thing that, being accosted by a stranger, he should refuse to
+make the admission demanded? You took him, as one might say, unaware."
+
+The monk bowed his head, but did not waste time in offering any defense
+of his action.
+
+"I followed him," he went on, "through the narrow and tortuous streets
+of Frankfort, an easy adventure, because darkness had set in, but even
+in daylight my course would have been safe enough, for never once did he
+look over his shoulder, or betray any of that suspicion characteristic
+of our laboring classes."
+
+"I think that tells in his favor," persisted the girl.
+
+"He came to the steps of the Rheingold, a disreputable drinking cellar,
+and disappeared from my sight down its steps. A great shout greeted him,
+and the rattle of tankards on a table, as he joined what was evidently
+his coterie. Standing outside, I heard song and ribaldry within. The
+heir-presumptive to the throne of the Empire was too obviously a drunken
+brawler; a friend and comrade of the lowest scum in Frankfort.
+
+"After a short time he emerged alone, and once more I followed him. He
+went with the directness of a purposeful man to the Fahrgasse, the
+street of the rich merchants, knocked at a door, and was admitted. Along
+the first-floor front were three lighted windows, and I saw his form
+pass the first two of these, but from my station in the street could not
+witness what was going on within. Looking about me, I found to my right
+a narrow alley, occupied by an outside stairway. This I mounted, and
+from its topmost step I beheld the interior of the large room on the
+opposite side of the way.
+
+"It appeared to me that Prince Roland had been expected, for the elderly
+man seated at the table, his calm face toward me, showed no surprise at
+the Prince's entrance. His Highness sat with his back towards me, and
+for a time it seemed that nothing was going forward but an amiable
+conversation. Suddenly the Prince rose, threw off his cloak, whisked out
+his sword, and presented its point at the throat of the merchant.
+
+"It was clear, from the expression of dismay on the merchant's face,
+that this move on the part of his guest was entirely unexpected, but its
+object was speedily manifested. The old man, with trembling hand, pushed
+across the table to his assailant a well-filled bag, which the Prince at
+once untied. Pouring out a heap of yellow gold, he began with great
+deliberation to count the money, which, when you consider his precarious
+situation, showed the young man to be old in crime. Some portion of the
+gold he returned to the merchant; the rest he dropped into an empty bag,
+which he tied to his belt.
+
+"I did not wait to see anything more, but came down to the foot of the
+stairs, that I might learn if Roland took his money to his dissolute
+comrades. He came out, and once more I followed him, and once more he
+led me to the Rheingold cellar. On this occasion, however, I took step
+by step with him until we entered the large wineroom at the foot of the
+stairs, he less than an arm's length in front of me, still under the
+illusion that he was alone. Prince though he was, I determined to
+expostulate with him, and if possible persuade a restitution of the
+gold.
+
+"'Your Highness!' I began, touching him lightly on the shoulder.
+
+"Instantly he turned upon me with a savage oath, grasped me by the
+throat, and forced me backward against the cellar wall.
+
+"'You spying sneak!' he cried. 'In spite of my warning you have been
+hounding my footsteps!'
+
+"The moment I attempted to reply, he throttled me so as to choke every
+effort at utterance. There now approached us, with alarm in his
+wine-colored face, a gross, corpulent man, whom the Prince addressed as
+proprietor of the place, which doubtless he was.
+
+"'Landlord,' said Roland very quietly, 'this unfortunate monk is weak in
+the head, and although he means no harm with his meddling, he may well
+cause disaster to my comrades and myself. Earlier in the evening he
+accosted on the bridge, but I spared him, hoping never to see his
+monkish costume again. You may judge the state of his mind when I tell
+you he accuses me of being the Emperor's son, and Heaven only knows what
+he would estimate to be the quality of my comrades were he to see them.'
+
+"Two or three times I attempted to speak, but the closing of his fingers
+upon my throat prevented me, and even when they were slightly relaxed I
+was scarcely able to breathe."
+
+The Countess listened with the closest attention, fixing upon the
+narrator her splendid eyes, and in them, despite their feminine beauty
+and softness, seemed to smoulder a deep fire of resentment at the
+treatment accorded her kinsman, a luminant of danger transmitted to her
+down the ages from ancestors equally ready to fight for the Sepulcher in
+Palestine or for the gold on the borders of the Rhine. In the pause,
+during which the monk wiped from his wrinkled brow the moisture brought
+there by remembrance of the indignity he had undergone, kindliness in
+the eyes of the Countess overcame their menace, and she said gently:
+
+"I am quite confident, Father, that such a ruffian could not be Prince
+Roland. He was indeed the rude mechanic he proclaimed himself. No man of
+noble blood would have acted thus."
+
+"Listen, my child, listen," resumed Father Ambrose. "Turning to the
+landlord, the Prince asked:
+
+"'Is there a safe and vacant room in your establishment where I could
+bestow this meddlesome priest for a few days?'
+
+"'There is a wine vault underneath this drinking cellar,' responded the
+landlord.
+
+"'Does anyone enter that vault except yourself?'
+
+"'No one,'
+
+"'Will you undertake charge of the priest, seeing that he communicates
+with none outside?'
+
+"'Of a surety, Captain,'
+
+"'Good. I will pay you well, and that in advance.'"
+
+"This ruffian was never the Prince," interrupted the Countess firmly.
+
+"I beg you to listen, Hildegunde, and my next sentence will convince
+you. The Prince continued:
+
+"'Not only prevent his communication with others, but do not listen to
+him yourself. He will endeavor to persuade you that his name is Father
+Ambrose, and that he is a monk in good standing with the Benedictine
+Order. If he finds you care little for that, he may indeed pretend he is
+of noble origin himself; that he is Henry von Sayn, and thus endeavor to
+work on whatever sympathy you may feel for the aristocrats. But I assure
+you he is no more a Sayn than I am Prince Roland.'
+
+"'Indeed, Captain,' replied the host, 'I have as little liking for an
+aristocrat as for a monk, so you may depend that I will keep him safe
+enough until you order his release.'
+
+"Now, my dear Hildegunde, you see there was no mistake on my part. This
+young man asserted he knew nothing of me, and indeed, I believed he had
+forgotten the time of my chaplaincy at the Court, often as he listened
+to my discourses, yet all the time he knew me, and now, with an
+effrontery that seems incredible, he showed no hesitation in proving me
+right when I accosted him as son of the Emperor. I must in justice,
+however, admit that he instructed the landlord when he paid him, to
+treat me with gentleness, and to see that I had plenty to eat and drink.
+When three days had expired, I was to be allowed my liberty.
+
+"'He can do no harm then,' concluded the Prince, in his talk with the
+landlord, 'for by that time I shall have succeeded or failed.'
+
+"I was led down a narrow, broken stairway by the proprietor, and thrust
+into a dark and damp cellar, partially filled with casks of wine, and
+there I remained until set at liberty a few days ago.
+
+"I returned at once to the Benedictine Monastery where I had lodged,
+expecting to find my brethren filled with anxiety concerning me, but
+such was not the case. Any one man is little missed in this world, and
+my comrades supposed that I was invited to the Court, and had forgotten
+them as I saw they had forgotten me, so I said nothing of my adventure,
+but mounted my waiting horse and journeyed back to the Castle of Sayn."
+
+For a long time there was silence between the two, then the younger
+spoke.
+
+"Do you intend to take any action regarding your unauthorized
+imprisonment?"
+
+"Oh, no," replied the forgiving monk.
+
+"Is it certain that this dissolute young man will be chosen Emperor?"
+
+"There is a likelihood, but not a certainty."
+
+"Would not the election of such a person to the highest position in the
+State prove even a greater misfortune to the land than the continuance
+of the present regime, for this young man adds to his father's vice of
+drunkenness the evil qualities, of dishonesty, cruelty, ribaldry, and a
+lack of respect for the privileges both of Church and nobility?"
+
+"Such indeed is my opinion, daughter."
+
+"Then is it not your duty at once to acquaint the three Archbishops with
+what you have already told me, so that the disaster of his election may
+be avoided?"
+
+"It is a matter to which I gave deep thought during my journey thither,
+and I also invoked the aid of Heaven in guiding me to a just
+conclusion."
+
+"And that conclusion, Father?"
+
+"Is to say nothing whatever about my experiences in Frankfort."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because it is not given to a humble man like myself, occupying a
+position of no authority, to fathom what may be in the minds of those
+great Princes of the Church, the Archbishops. In effect they rule the
+country, and it is possible that they prefer to place on the throne a
+drunken nonentity who will offer no impediment to their ambitions,
+rather than to elect a moral young man who might in time prove too
+strong for them."
+
+"I am sure no such motive would actuate the Archbishop of Cologne."
+
+"His Lordship of Cologne, my child, dare not break with their Lordships
+of Treves and Mayence, so you may be sure that if these two wish to
+elect Prince Roland Emperor, nothing I could say to the Archbishop of
+Cologne would prevent that choice."
+
+"Oh, I had forgotten, in the excitement of listening to your adventures,
+but talking of the Archbishop reminds me his Highness of Cologne will
+visit us to-morrow, and he especially wishes to see you. You may imagine
+my anxiety when I received his message a few days ago, knowing nothing
+of your whereabouts."
+
+"Wishes to see me?" ejaculated Father Ambrose, wrinkling a perplexed
+brow. "I wonder what for. Can he have any knowledge of my visit to
+Frankfort?"
+
+"How could he?"
+
+"The Archbishops possess sources of enlightenment that we wot not of. If
+he charges me with being absent from my post, I must admit the fact."
+
+"Of course. Let me confess to him as soon as he arrives; your journey
+was entirely due to my persistence. I alone am to blame."
+
+The old man slowly shook his head.
+
+"I am at least equally culpable," he said. "I shall answer truthfully
+any question asked me, but I hope I am not in the wrong if I volunteer
+no information."
+
+The girl rose.
+
+"You could do no wrong, Father, even if you tried; and now good-night.
+Sleep soundly and fear nothing. On the rare occasions when the good
+Archbishop was angry with me, I have always managed to placate him, and
+I shall not fail in this instance."
+
+Father Ambrose bade her good-night, and left the room with the languid
+air of one thoroughly tired. As the young Countess stood there watching
+his retreat and disappearance, her dainty little fist clenched, and her
+eyebrows came together, bringing to her handsome face the determined
+expression which marked the countenances of some of her Crusader
+ancestors whose portraits decorated the walls.
+
+"If ever I get that ruffian Prince Roland into my power," she said to
+herself, "I will make him regret his treatment of so tolerant and
+forbearing a man as Father Ambrose."
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+THE COUNTESS VON SAYN AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE
+
+
+It was high noon when that great Prince of the Church, the Archbishop of
+Cologne, arrived at Castle Sayn, with a very inconsiderable following,
+which seemed to indicate that he traveled on no affair of State, for on
+such occasions he led a small army. The lovely young Countess awaited
+him at the top of the Castle steps, and he greeted her with the courtesy
+of a polished man of the world, rather than with the more austere
+consideration of a great Churchman. Indeed, it seemed to the quick
+apprehension of the girl that as he raised her fair hand to his lips his
+obeisance was lower, more deferential, than their differing stations in
+life justified.
+
+He shook hands with Father Ambrose in the manner of old friend accosting
+old friend, and nothing in his salutation indicated displeasure of any
+sort in the background.
+
+Perhaps, then, that sense of uneasiness felt by both the aged Father
+Ambrose and the youthful Countess Hildegunde in the Archbishop's
+presence came from their consciousness of conspiracy, resulting in the
+ill-fated journey to Frankfort. Nevertheless, all that afternoon the two
+were oppressed by the shadow of some impending danger, and the good
+spirits of the Archbishop seemed to them assumed for the occasion, and
+indeed in this they were not far wrong. His Lordship of Cologne was
+keenly apprehensive regarding an important conference set down for the
+next day, and the exuberance of an essentially serious man in such a
+crisis is prone to be overdone.
+
+Father Ambrose, who, in the midst of luxury and plenty, lived with the
+abstemiousness of an anchorite, and always partook of his scant
+refreshment alone in his cell, was invited by the Archbishop to a seat
+at the table in the dining-hall.
+
+"So long as you cast no look of reproach upon me for my enjoyment of
+Sayn's most excellent cuisine, and my appreciation of its unequaled
+cellar, I shall not comment on your dinner of parched peas and your
+unexhilarating tankard of water. Besides, I wish to consult with Ambrose
+the librarian of Sayn, touching the archives of this house, rather than
+with Ambrose the superintendent of farms, or Father Ambrose the monk."
+
+During the midday meal the Archbishop led, and at times monopolized, the
+conversation.
+
+"While you were under the tutelage of the good Sisters at Nonnenwerth
+Convent, Hildegunde, the Abbess frequently spoke of your proficiency in
+historical studies. Did you ever turn your attention to the annals of
+your own House?"
+
+"No, Guardian. From what I heard casually of my ancestors a record of
+their doings would be scarcely the sort of reading recommended to a
+young girl."
+
+"Ah, very true, very true," agreed the Archbishop. "Some of the Counts
+of Sayn led turbulent lives, and except with a battle-ax it was
+difficult to persuade them not to meddle with the goods and chattels of
+their neighbors. A strenuous line they proved in those olden days; but
+many noble women have adorned the Castle of Sayn whose lives shine out
+like an inspiration against the dark background of medieval tumult. Did
+you ever hear of your forebear, the gracious Countess Matilda von Sayn,
+who lived some hundreds of years ago? Indeed, the letters I have been
+reading, written in her quaint handwriting, are dated about the middle
+of the thirteenth century. I cannot learn whether she was older or
+younger than the Archbishop of Cologne of that period, and thus I wish
+to enlist the interest of Father Ambrose in searching the archives of
+Sayn for anything pertaining to her. The Countess sent many epistles to
+the Archbishop which he carefully preserved, while documents of much
+more importance to the Archbishopric were allowed to go astray.
+
+"Her letters breathe a deep devotion to the Church, and a warm
+kindliness to its chief ornament of that day, the then Archbishop of
+Cologne. She was evidently his most cherished adviser, and in points of
+difficulty her counsel exhibits all the clarity of a man's brain, to
+which is added a tenderness and a sense of justice entirely womanly. I
+could not help fancying that this great prelate's success in his
+Archbishopric was largely due to the disinterested advice of this noble
+woman. It is clearly to be seen that the Countess was the benignant
+power behind the throne, and she watched his continued advancement with
+a love resembling that lavished on a favorite son. Her writings now and
+then betray an affection of a quality so motherly that I came to believe
+she was much older than the great Churchman, but then there is the fact
+that she long outlived him, so it is possible she may have been the
+younger."
+
+"Why, my Lord, are you about to weave us a romance?"
+
+The Archbishop smiled, and for a moment placed his hand upon hers, which
+rested on the table beside him.
+
+"A romance, perhaps, between myself and the Countess of long ago, for as
+I read these letters I used much of their contents for my own guidance,
+and found her precepts as wise to-day as they were in 1250, and to me
+... to me," the Archbishop sighed, "she seems to live again. Yes, I
+confess my ardent regard for her, and if you call that romance, it is
+surely of a very innocent nature."
+
+"But the other Archbishop? Your predecessor, the friend of Matilda; what
+of him?"
+
+"There, Hildegunde, I have much less evidence to go upon, for his
+letters, if they exist, are concealed somewhere in the archives of Sayn
+Castle."
+
+"To-morrow," cried the girl, "I shall robe myself in the oldest garments
+I possess, and will rummage those dusty archives until I find the
+letters of him who was Archbishop in 1250."
+
+"I have bestowed that task upon one less impulsive. Father Ambrose is
+the searcher, and he and I will put our wise old heads together in
+consultation over them before entrusting them to the perusal of that
+impetuous young noblewoman, the present Countess von Sayn."
+
+The impetuous person referred to brought down her hand with a peremptory
+impact upon the table, and exclaimed emphatically:
+
+"My Lord Archbishop, I shall read those letters to-morrow."
+
+Once more the Archbishop placed his hand on hers, this time, however,
+clasping it firmly in his own. There was no smile on his face as he said
+gravely:
+
+"My lady, to-morrow you will face three living Archbishops, more
+difficult, perhaps, to deal with than one who is dust."
+
+"Three!" she cried, startled, a gleam of apprehension troubling her fine
+eyes. "My Lords of Mayence, Treves, and yourself? Are they coming here?"
+
+"The conclave of the Archbishops will be held at Castle Stolzenfels, the
+Rhine residence of my brother of Treves."
+
+"Why is this Court convened?"
+
+"That will be explained to you, Hildegunde, by his Highness of Mayence.
+I did not intend to speak to you about this until later, so I will
+merely say that there is nothing to fear. I, being your guardian, am
+sent to escort you to Stolzenfels, and as we ride there together I wish
+to place before you some suggestions which you may find useful when the
+meeting takes place."
+
+"I shall faithfully follow any advice you give me, my Lord."
+
+"I am sure of it, Hildegunde, and you will remember that I speak as
+guardian, not as Councilor of State. My observations will be requests
+and not commands. You see, we have reversed the positions of my
+predecessor and the Countess Matilda. It was always she who tendered
+advice, which he invariably accepted. Now I must take the role of
+advice-giver; thus you and I transpose the parts of the former
+Archbishop of Cologne, and the former Countess of Sayn, who, I am sorry
+to note, have been completely banished from your thoughts by my
+premature announcement regarding the three living Archbishops."
+
+"Oh, not at all, not at all! I am still thinking of those two. Have you
+told me all you know about them?"
+
+"Far from it. Although I was handicapped in my reconstitution of their
+friendship by lack of the Archbishop's letters, he had nevertheless made
+a note here and there upon the communications he received from the
+Countess. Throughout the letters certain paragraphs are marked with a
+cross, as if for reperusal, these paragraphs being invariably most
+delicately and charmingly written. But now I come to the last very
+important document, the only one of which a copy has been kept, written
+in the Archbishop's own hand.
+
+"In the year 1250, the Countess von Sayn had ceded to him the Rhine town
+of Linz. Linz seems to have been a rebellious and troublesome fief,
+which the Sayns held by force of arms. When it came into the possession
+of the Archbishop, the foolish inhabitants, remembering that Cologne was
+a long distance down the river compared with the up-river journey to
+Sayn, broke out into open revolt. The Archbishop sent up his army, and
+most effectually crushed this outbreak, severely punishing the rebels.
+He returned from this subdued town to his own city of Cologne, and
+whether from the exposure of the brief campaign, or some other cause, he
+was taken ill and shortly after died.
+
+"The new Archbishop was installed, and nearly two years passed, so far
+as I can learn, before the Countess Matilda made claim that the town of
+Linz should come again within her jurisdiction, saying that this
+restitution had been promised by the late Archbishop. His successor,
+however, disputed this claim. He possessed, he said, the deed of gift
+making over the town of Linz to his predecessor, and this document was
+definite enough. If then, it was the intention of the late Archbishop to
+return Linz to the House of Sayn, the Countess doubtless held some
+document to that effect, and in this case he would like to know its
+purport.
+
+"The Countess replied that an understanding had existed between the late
+Archbishop and herself regarding the subjugation of the town of Linz and
+its return to her after the rebellion was quelled. But for the untimely
+death of the late Archbishop she did not doubt that his part of the
+contract would have been kept long since. Nevertheless, she did possess
+a document, in the late Archbishop's own hand, setting out the terms of
+their agreement, and of this manuscript she sent a copy.
+
+"The crafty Archbishop, without casting doubt on the authenticity of the
+copy, said that of course it would be illegal for him to act upon it. He
+must have the original document. Matilda replied, very shrewdly, that on
+her part she could not allow the original document to quit her custody,
+as upon it rested her rights to the town of Linz. She would, however,
+exhibit this document to any ecclesiastical committee her correspondent
+might appoint, and the members of the committee so chosen should be men
+well acquainted with the late Archbishop's writing and signature. In
+reply the Archbishop regretted that he could not accept her suggestion.
+The people of Cologne, believing that their overlord had rightfully
+acquired Linz, cheerfully consented to make good their title by battle,
+thus having, as it were, bought the town with their blood, and indeed, a
+deplorable sacrifice of life, it would become a dangerous venture to
+give up the town unless indisputable documentary evidence might be
+exhibited to them showing that such a bargain was made by the deceased
+prelate.
+
+"But before proceeding farther in this matter, he asked the Countess if
+she were prepared to swear that the copy forwarded to him was a full and
+faithful rendition of the original. Did it contain every word the late
+Archbishop had written in that letter?
+
+"To this the Countess made no reply, and allowed to lapse any title she
+might have to the town of Linz."
+
+"I think," cried the girl indignantly, "that my ancestress was in the
+right, refusing further communication with this ignoble Churchman who
+dared to impugn her good faith."
+
+The Archbishop smiled at her vehemence.
+
+"I shall make no attempt to defend my astute predecessor. A
+money-lender's soul tenanted his austere body, but what would you say if
+his implication of the Countess Matilda's good faith was justified?"
+
+"You mean that the copy which she sent of the Archbishop's letter was
+fraudulent? I cannot believe it."
+
+"Not fraudulent. So far as it went her copy was word perfect. She
+neglected to add, however, a final sentence, and rather than make it
+public forfeited her rightful claim to great possessions. Of the
+Archbishop's communications to her there remains in our archives a copy
+of this last epistle written in his own hand. I cannot imagine why he
+added the final clauses to what was in essence an important business
+communication. The premonition he admits may have set his thoughts upon
+things not of this world, but undoubtedly he believed that he would live
+long enough to conquer the rebels of Linz, and restore to the Countess
+her property. This is what he wrote, and she refused to publish:
+
+"'Matilda, I feel that my days are numbered, and that their number is
+scant. To all the world my life seems to have been successful beyond the
+wishes of mortal man, but to me it is a dismal failure, in that I die
+bachelor Archbishop of Cologne, and you are the spinster Countess von
+Sayn.'"
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM THE COUNTESS
+
+
+There are few favored spots occupied by blue water and greensward over
+which a greater splendor is cast by the rising sun on a midsummer
+morning than that portion of the Rhine near Coblentz, and as our little
+procession emerged from the valley of the Saynbach every member of it
+was struck with the beauty of the flat country across the Rhine,
+ripening toward a yellow harvest, flooded by the golden glory of the
+rising sun.
+
+Their route led to the left by the foot of the eastern hills, and not
+yet along the margin of the great river. Gradually, however, as they
+journeyed in a southerly direction, the highlands deflected them
+westward until at last there was but scant room for the road between
+rock and water. Always they were in the shade, a comforting feature of a
+midsummer journey, an advantage, however, soon to be lost when they
+crossed the Rhine by the ferry to Coblentz. The distance from Sayn
+Castle to Schloss Stolzenfels was a little less than four leagues, so
+their early start permitted a leisurely journey.
+
+The Archbishop and the Countess rode side by side. Following them at
+some distance came Father Ambrose, deep in his meditations, and paying
+little attention to the horse he rode, which indeed, faithful animal,
+knew more about the way than did his rider. Still farther to the rear
+rode half a dozen mounted lancemen, two and two, the scant escort of one
+who commanded many thousands of armed men.
+
+"How lovely and how peaceful is the scene," said the Countess. "How
+beautiful are the fields of waving grain; their color of dawn softened
+by the deep green of interspersed vineyards, and the water without a
+ripple, like a slumbering lake rather than a strong river. It seems as
+though anger, contention, and struggle could not exist in a realm so
+heavenly."
+
+"'Seems' is the word to use," commented the Archbishop gravely, "but the
+unbroken placidity of the river you so much admire is a peace of defeat.
+I had much rather see its flood disturbed by moving barges and the
+turmoil of commerce. It is a peace that means starvation and death to
+our capital city, and, indeed, in a lesser degree, to my own town of
+Cologne, and to Coblentz, whose gates we are approaching."
+
+"But surely," persisted the girl, "the outlook is improving, when you
+and I travel unmolested with a mere handful of men to guard us. Time was
+when a great and wealthy Archbishop might not stir abroad with less than
+a thousand men in his train."
+
+The Archbishop smiled.
+
+"I suppose matters mend," he said, "as we progress in civilized usage.
+The number of my escort, however, is not limited by my own modesty, but
+stipulated by the Court of Archbishops. Mayence travels down the Rhine
+and Treves down the Moselle, each with a similar following at his
+heels."
+
+"You are pessimistic this lovely morning, my Lord, and will not even
+admit that the world is beautiful."
+
+"It all depends on the point of view, Hildegunde. I regard it from a
+position toward the end of life, and you from the charming station of
+youth: the far-apart outlook of an old man and a young girl."
+
+"Nonsense, Guardian, you are anything but old. Nevertheless I am much
+disappointed with your attitude this morning. I fully expected to be
+complimented by you."
+
+"Doesn't my whole attitude breathe of compliment?"
+
+"Ah, but I expected a particular compliment to-day!"
+
+"What have I overlooked?"
+
+"You overlooked the fact that yesterday you aroused my most intense
+curiosity regarding the journey we are now taking together, and the
+conference which is to follow. Despite deep anxiety to learn what is
+before me I have not asked you a single question, nor even hinted at the
+subject until this moment. Now, I think I should be rewarded for my
+reticence."
+
+"Ah, Countess, you are an exception among women, and I merely withheld
+the well-earned praise until such time as I could broach the subject
+occupying my mind ever since we left the Castle. With the awkwardness of
+a man I did not know how to begin until you so kindly indicated the
+way."
+
+"Perhaps, after all, I make a false claim, because I have guessed your
+secret, and therefore my deep solicitude is assumed."
+
+"Guessed it?" queried the Archbishop, a shade of anxiety crossing his
+face.
+
+"Yes. Your story of the former Archbishop and the Countess Matilda gave
+me a clue. You have discovered a document proving my right to the town
+of Linz on the Rhine."
+
+The Archbishop bowed his head, but said nothing.
+
+"Your sense of justice urges you to make amends, but such a long time
+has elapsed that my claim is doubtless outlawed, and you do not quite
+know how restoration may be effected. You have, I take it, consulted
+with one or other of your colleagues, Mayence or Treves, or perhaps with
+both. They have made objection to your proposed generosity, and put
+forward the argument that you are but temporary trustee of the Cologne
+Archbishopric; that you must guard the rights of your successor; and
+this truism could not help but appeal to that quality of equity which
+distinguishes you, so a conference of the prelates has been called, and
+a majority of that Court will decide whether or not the town of Linz
+shall be tendered to me. Perhaps a suggestion will be made that I allow
+things to remain as they are, in which case I shall at once refuse to
+accept the town of Linz. Now, Guardian, how near have I come to solving
+the mystery?"
+
+They rode along in silence together, the Archbishop pondering on the
+problem of her further enlightenment. At last he said:
+
+"Cologne is ruled by its Archbishop, wisely or the reverse as the case
+may be. The Archbishop, much as he reveres the opinion of his
+distinguished colleagues, would never put them to the inconvenience of
+giving a decision on any matter not concerning them. Linz's fate was
+settled when the handwriting of my predecessor, prelate of 1250 A.D.,
+convinced me that this Rhine town belonged to the House of Sayn.
+Restitution has already been accomplished in due legal form, and when
+next the Countess Hildegunde rides through Linz, she rides through her
+own town."
+
+"I shall never, never accept it, Guardian."
+
+"It is yours now, Countess. If you do not wish to hold the town, use it
+as a gift to the fortunate man you marry. And now, Hildegunde, this
+long-postponed advice I wish to press upon your attention, must be
+given, for we are nearing the ferry to Coblentz, and between that town
+and Stolzenfels we may have company. Of the three Archbishops you will
+meet to-day, there is only one of whom you need take account."
+
+"Oh, I know that," cried the girl, "his Lordship of Cologne!"
+
+The Archbishop smiled, but went on seriously:
+
+"Where two or three men are gathered together, one is sure to be leader.
+In our case the chief of the trio supposed to be equal is his Highness
+of Mayence. Treves and I pretend not to be under his thumb, but we are:
+that is to say, Treves holds I am under his thumb, and I hold Treves is
+under his thumb, and so when one or the other of us join the Archbishop
+of Mayence, there is a majority of the Court, and the third member is
+helpless."
+
+"But why don't you and Treves join together?"
+
+"Because each thinks the other a coward, and doubtless both are right.
+The point of the matter is that Mayence is the iron man of the
+combination; therefore I beg you beware of him, and I also entreat you
+to agree with the proposal he will make. It will be of tremendous
+advantage to you."
+
+"In that case, my Lord, how could I refuse?"
+
+"I hope, my child, you will not, but if you should make objection, do so
+with all the tact at your disposal. In fact, refrain wholly from
+objection if you can, and plead for time to consider, so that you and I
+may consult together, thus affording me opportunity of bringing
+arguments to bear that may influence your decision."
+
+"My dear Guardian, you alarm me by the awesome way in which you speak.
+What fateful choice hangs over my head?"
+
+"I have no wish to frighten you, my daughter, and, indeed, I anticipate
+little chance of disagreement at the conference. I merely desire that
+you shall understand something of Mayence. He is a man whom opposition
+may drive to extremity, and being accustomed to crush those who disagree
+with him, rather than conquer by more diplomatic methods, I am anxious
+you should not be led into any semblance of dissent from his wishes. By
+agreement between Mayence, Treves, and myself, I am not allowed to
+enlighten you regarding the question at issue. I perhaps strain that
+agreement a little when I endeavor to put you on your guard. If, at any
+point in the discussion, you wish a few moments to reflect, glance
+across the table at me, and I shall immediately intervene with some
+interruption which must be debated by the three members of the Court. Of
+course, I shall do everything in my power to protect you should our grim
+friend Mayence lose his temper, as may happen if you thwart him."
+
+"Why am I likely to thwart him?"
+
+"Why indeed? I see no reason. I am merely an old person perhaps
+over-cautious. Hence this warding off of a crisis which I hope will
+never arise."
+
+"Guardian, I have one question to ask, and that will settle the matter
+here on the border of the Rhine, before we reach Stolzenfels. Do you
+thoroughly approve, with your heart, mind, and conscience, of the
+proposition to be made to me?"
+
+"I do," replied the Archbishop, in a tone of conviction that none could
+gainsay. "Heart and soul, agree."
+
+"Then, Guardian, your crisis that never came vanishes. I shall tell his
+Lordship of Mayence, in my sweetest voice and most ingratiating manner,
+that I will do whatever he requests."
+
+Here the conversation ceased, for the solitude now gave way to a scene
+of activity, as they came to the landing alongside which lay the
+floating bridge, a huge barge, capable of carrying their whole company
+at one voyage. Several hundred persons, on horseback or on foot,
+gathered along the river-bank, raised a cheer as the Archbishop
+appeared. The Countess thought they waited to greet him, but they were
+merely travelers or market people who found their journey interrupted at
+this point. An emissary of the Archbishop had commanded the ferry-boat
+to remain at its eastern landing until his Lordship came aboard. When
+the distinguished party embarked, the crew instantly cast off their
+moorings, and the tethered barge, impelled by the swift current, gently
+swung across to the opposite shore.
+
+A great concourse of people greeted their arrival at Coblentz, and if
+vociferous shouts and hurrahs are signs of popularity, the Archbishop
+had reason to congratulate himself upon his reception. The prelate bowed
+and smiled, but did not pause at Coblentz, and, to the evident
+disappointment of the multitude, continued his way up the Rhine. When
+the little cavalcade drew away from the mob, the Countess spoke:
+
+"I had no thought," she said, "that Coblentz contained so many
+inhabitants."
+
+"Neither does it," replied the Archbishop.
+
+"Then is this simply an influx of people from the country, and is the
+conclave of the Archbishops of such importance that it draws so many
+sightseers?"
+
+"The Court held by the Archbishops on this occasion is very important. I
+suspect, however, that those are no sightseers, for the general public
+is quite unaware that we meet to-day. They who cheered so lustily just
+now are, I think, men of Treves."
+
+"Do you mean soldiers?"
+
+"Aye. Soldiers in the dress of ordinary townsmen, but I dare say they
+all know where to find their weapons should a war-cry arise."
+
+"Do you imply that the Archbishop of Treves has broken his compact? I
+understood that your escort was limited to the few men following you."
+
+His Lordship laughed.
+
+"The Archbishop of Treves," he said, "is not a great strategist, yet I
+surmise he is ready in case of trouble to seize the city of Coblentz."
+
+"What trouble could arise?"
+
+"The present moment is somewhat critical, for the Emperor lies dying in
+Frankfort. We three Electors hope to avoid all commotion by having our
+plans prepared and acting upon them promptly. But the hours between the
+death of an Emperor and the appointment of his successor are fateful
+with uncertainty. I suppose the good Sisters at Nonnenwerth taught you
+about the Election of an Emperor?"
+
+"Indeed, Guardian, I am sorry to confess that if they did I have
+forgotten all about it."
+
+"There are seven Electors; four high nobles of the Empire and three
+Archbishops, Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. The present Count
+Palatine of the Rhine is, like my friend Treves, completely under the
+dominion of the Archbishop of Mayence, so the three Lords Spiritual,
+with the aid of the Count Palatine, form a majority of the Electoral
+Court."
+
+"I understand. And now I surmise that you assemble at Stolzenfels to
+choose our future Emperor."
+
+"No; he has already been chosen, but his name will not be announced to
+any person save one before the Emperor dies."
+
+"Doubtless that one is the Count Palatine."
+
+"No, Countess, he remains ignorant; and I give you warning, Madam, I am
+not to be cross-questioned by indirection. You should be merciful: I am
+but clay in your hands, yet there is certain information I am forbidden
+to impart, so I will merely say that if the Archbishop happens to be in
+good-humor this afternoon, he is very likely to tell you who will be the
+future Emperor."
+
+The girl gave an exclamation of surprise.
+
+"To tell me? Why should he do so?"
+
+"I said I was not to be cross-examined any further. I tremble now with
+apprehension lest I have let slip something I should not, therefore we
+will change the subject to one of paramount importance; namely, our
+midday meal. I intended to stop at Coblentz for that repast, but the
+Archbishop of Treves, whose guests we are, was good enough to accept a
+menu I suggested, therefore we will sit at table with him."
+
+"You suggested a menu?"
+
+"Yes; I hope you will approve of it. There is some excellent Rhine
+salmon, with a sauce most popular in Treves, a sauce that has been
+celebrated for centuries. Next some tender venison from the forest
+behind Stolzenfels, which is noted for its deer. There are, beside,
+cakes and various breads, also vegetables, and all are to be washed down
+by delicate Oberweseler wine. How does my speis-card please you,
+Countess?"
+
+"I am committing it to memory, Guardian, so that I shall know what to
+prepare for you when next you visit my Castle of Sayn."
+
+"Oh, this repast is not in my honor, but in yours. I feared you might
+object to the simplicity of it. It is upon record that this meal was
+much enjoyed by a young lady some centuries ago, at this very Castle of
+Stolzenfels, shortly after it was completed. Indeed, I think it likely
+she was the noble castle's first guest. Stolzenfels was built by Arnold
+von Isenberg, the greatest Archbishop that ever ruled over Treves, if I
+may except Archbishop Baldwin, the fighter. Isenberg determined to have
+a stronghold on the Rhine midway between Mayence and Cologne, and he
+made it a palace as well as a fortress, taking his time about it--in all
+seventeen years. He began its erection in 1242, and so was building at
+the time your ancestress Matilda ceded Linz to the Archbishop of
+Cologne, therefore I imagine Cologne probably wished to have a
+stronghold within striking distance of Treves' new castle.
+
+"One of the first to visit Stolzenfels was a charming young English girl
+named Isabella, who was no other than the youngest daughter of John,
+King of England. Doubtless she came here with an imposing suite of
+attendants, and I surmise that the great prelate's castle saw impressive
+pageants and festivities, for the chronicler, after setting down the
+menu whose excellence I hope to test to-day, adds:
+
+"'They ate well, and drank better, and the Royal maiden danced a great
+deal.'
+
+"Her brother then occupied the English throne. He was Henry III., and of
+course much attention was paid over here to his dancing sister."
+
+"Why, Guardian, what you say gives a new interest to old Stolzenfels. I
+have never been within the Castle, but now I shall view it with delight,
+wondering through which of the rooms the English Princess danced. Why
+did Isabella come from England all the way to the Rhine?"
+
+"She came to meet the three Archbishops."
+
+"Really? For what purpose?"
+
+"That they might in ecclesiastical form, and upon the highest
+ecclesiastical authority, announce her betrothal."
+
+"Announce in Stolzenfels the betrothal of an English Princess, the
+daughter of one king and sister of another! Did she, then, marry a
+German?"
+
+"Yes; she married the Emperor, Frederick II.; Frederick of
+Hohenstaufen."
+
+Slowly the girl turned her head, and looked steadfastly at the
+Archbishop, who was gazing earnestly up the road as if to catch a
+glimpse of the Castle which had been the scene of the events he related.
+Her face became pale, and a questioning wonder rose in her eyes. What
+did the Archbishop really mean by this latest historical recital? True,
+he was a man who had given much study to ancient lore; rather fond of
+exhibiting his proficiency therein when he secured patient listeners.
+Could there be any secret meaning in his story of the English Princess
+who danced? Was there any hidden analogy between the journey of the
+English Isabella, and the short trip taken that day by Hildegunde of
+Sayn? She was about to speak when the Archbishop made a slight signal
+with his right hand, and a horseman who had followed them all the way
+from Coblentz now spurred up alongside of his Lordship, who said sharply
+to the newcomer:
+
+"How many of Treves' men are in Coblentz?"
+
+"Eight hundred and fifty, my Lord."
+
+"Enough to capture the town?"
+
+"Coblentz is already in their possession, my Lord."
+
+"They seem to be unarmed."
+
+"Their weapons are stored under guard in the Church of St. Castor, and
+can be in the hands of the soldiers within a few minutes after a signal
+is rung by the St. Castor's bells."
+
+"Are there any troops in Coblentz from Mayence?"
+
+"No, my Lord."
+
+"How many of my men have been placed behind the Castle of Stolzenfels?"
+
+"Three thousand are concealed in the forest near the hilltop."
+
+"How many men has my Lord of Mayence within call?"
+
+"Apparently only the scant half-dozen that reached Stolzenfels with him
+yesterday."
+
+"Are you sure of that?"
+
+"Scouts have been sent all through the forest to the south, and have
+brought us no word of an advancing company. Other scouts have gone up
+the river as far as Bingen, but everything is quiet, and it would have
+been impossible for his Lordship to march a considerable number of men
+from any quarter towards Stolzenfels without one or other of our hundred
+spies learning of the movement."
+
+"Then doubtless Mayence depends on his henchman Treves."
+
+"It would seem so, my Lord."
+
+"Thank you; that will do."
+
+The rider saluted, turned his horse towards the north, and galloped
+away, and a few moments later the little procession came within sight of
+Stolzenfels, standing grandly on its conical hill beside the Rhine,
+against a background of green formed by the mountainous forests to the
+rear.
+
+This conversation, which she could not help but hear, had driven
+entirely from the mind of Hildegunde the pretty story of the English
+Princess.
+
+"Why, Guardian!" she said, "we seem to be in the midst of impending
+civil war."
+
+The Archbishop smiled.
+
+"We are in the midst of an assured peace," he replied.
+
+"What! with Coblentz practically seized, and three thousand of your men
+lurking in the woods above us?"
+
+"Yes. I told you that Treves was no strategist. I suppose he and Mayence
+imagine that by seizing the town of Coblentz they cut off my retreat to
+Cologne. They know it would be useless in a crisis for me to journey up
+the river, as I should then be getting farther and farther from my base
+of supplies both in men and provisions, therefore the Archbishop of
+Mayence has neglected to garrison that quarter."
+
+"But, Guardian, you are surely entrapped, with Coblentz thus held?"
+
+"Not so, my child, while I command three thousand men to their eight
+hundred."
+
+"But that means a battle!"
+
+"A battle that will never take place, Hildegunde, because I shall seize
+something much more valuable than any town, namely, the persons of the
+two Archbishops. With their Lordships of Treves and Mayence in my
+custody, cut off from communication with their own troops, I have slight
+fear of a leaderless army. The very magnitude of the force at my command
+is an assurance of peace."
+
+They now arrived at the branching hill-road leading up to the gates of
+Stolzenfels just above them, and conversation ceased, but the Countess
+was fated to remember before the afternoon grew old the final words
+Cologne spoke so confidently.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+MUTINY IN THE WILDERNESS
+
+
+It was a lovely morning in July when Prince Roland walked into the
+shadow of the handsome tower which to-day is all that survives of the
+Elector's palace at Hochst, on the river Main. He found Greusel there
+awaiting him, but none of the others. When the two had greeted one
+another, the Prince said:
+
+"Joseph, I determined several days ago to appoint you my lieutenant on
+this expedition."
+
+"If you take my advice, Roland, you will do nothing of the kind."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because it may be looked upon as favoritism, and so promote jealously
+in the ranks, which is a thing to avoid."
+
+"Whom would you suggest for the place?"
+
+"Conrad Kurzbold."
+
+"What! and run the risk of divided authority? I am determined to be
+commander, you know."
+
+"Kurzbold, even if made lieutenant, would be as much under your orders
+as the rest of us. He is an energetic man, and you may thus direct his
+energy along the right path. From being a critic, he will become one of
+the criticised, giving him something to think about. Then your
+appointment of him would show that you bear no ill-feeling for what he
+said last night."
+
+"You appear to think, Greusel, that it is the duty of a commander to
+curry favor with his following."
+
+"No; but I regard tact as a useful quality. You see, you are not in the
+position of a general with an army. The members of the guild can depose
+you whenever they like and elect a successor, or they may desert you in
+a body, and you have no redress. Your methods should not be drastic, but
+rather those of a man who seeks election to some high office."
+
+"I fear I am not constituted for such a role, Greusel."
+
+"If you are to succeed in the task you have undertaken, Roland, you must
+adapt yourself to your situation as it actually is, and not as you would
+wish to have it. I stood by you yesterday evening, and succeeded in
+influencing the others to do the same, yet there is no denying that you
+spoke to those men in a most overbearing manner. Why, you could not have
+been more downright had you been an officer of the Emperor himself. What
+passed through my mind as I listened was, 'Where did this youth get his
+swagger?' You ordered Kurzbold out of the ranks, you know."
+
+"Then why favor my action?"
+
+"Because I was reluctant to see a promising marauding adventure wrecked
+at the very outset for lack of a few soothing words."
+
+Roland laughed heartily. The morning was inspiring, and he was in good
+fettle.
+
+"Your words to Kurzbold were anything but soothing."
+
+"Oh, I was compelled to crush him. He was the cause of the disturbance,
+and therefore I had no mercy so far as the affair impinged upon him. But
+the others, with the exception of Gensbein perhaps, are good, honest,
+sweet-tempered fellows, whom I did not wish to see misled. I think you
+must put out of your mind all thought of punishment, no matter what the
+offense against your authority may be."
+
+"Then how would you deal with insubordination when it arises?"
+
+"I should trust to the good sense of the remaining members of your
+company to make it uncomfortable for the offender."
+
+"But suppose they don't?"
+
+Greusel shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"In that case you are helpless, I fear. At any rate, talking of hanging,
+or the infliction of any other punishment, is quite futile so long as
+you do not possess the power to carry out your sentence. To return to my
+simile of the general: a general can order any private in his army to be
+hanged, and the man is taken out and hanged accordingly, but if one of
+the guild is to be executed, he must be condemned by an overwhelming
+vote of his fellows, because even if a bare majority sentenced one
+belonging to the minority it would mean civil war among us. Suppose, for
+example, it was proposed to hang you, and eleven voted for the execution
+and nine against it. Do you think we nine would submit to the verdict of
+the eleven? Not so. I am myself the most peaceful of men, but the moment
+it came to that point, I should run my sword through the proposer of the
+execution before he had time to draw his weapon. In other words, I'd
+murder him to lessen the odds, and then we'd fight it out like men."
+
+"Why didn't you say all this last night, Greusel?"
+
+"Last night my whole attention was concentrated on inducing Kurzbold to
+forget that you had threatened the company with a hangman's rope. Had he
+remembered that, I could never have carried the vote of confidence. But
+you surely saw that the other men were most anxious to support you if
+your case was placed fairly before them, a matter which, for some
+reason, you thought it beneath your dignity to attempt."
+
+"My dear Joseph, your wholesale censure this morning does much to
+nullify the vote I received last night."
+
+"My dear Roland, I am not censuring you at all; I am merely endeavoring
+to place facts before you so that you will recognize them."
+
+"Quite so, but what I complain of is that these facts were not exhibited
+in time for me to shoulder or shirk the responsibility. I do not believe
+that military operations can be successfully carried on by a little
+family party, the head of which must coddle the others in the group, and
+beg pardon before he says 'Devil take you!' I would not have accepted
+the leadership last night had I known the conditions."
+
+"Well, it is not yet too late to recede. The barge does not leave
+Frankfort until this evening, and it is but two leagues back to that
+city. Within half an hour at the farthest, every man of us will be
+assembled here. Now is the time to have it out with them, because
+to-morrow morning the opportunity to withdraw will be gone."
+
+"It is too late even now, Greusel. If last night the guild could not
+make up the money we owe to Goebel, what hope is there that a single
+coin remains in their pockets this morning? Do I understand, then, that
+you refuse to act as my lieutenant?"
+
+"No; but I warn you it will be a step in the wrong direction. You are
+quite sure of me; and as merely a man-at-arms, as you called us last
+night, I shall be in a better position to speak in your favor than if I
+were indebted to you for promotion from the ranks."
+
+"I see. Therefore you counsel me to nominate Kurzbold?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"Why not Gensbein, who was nearly as mutinous as Kurzbold?"
+
+"Well, Gensbein, if you prefer him."
+
+"He showed a well-balanced mind last night, being part of the time on
+one side and part on the other."
+
+"My dear commander, we were all against you last night, when you spoke
+of hanging, and even when you only went as far as expulsion."
+
+"Yes, I suppose you were, and the circumstances being such as you state,
+doubtless you were justified. I am to command, then, a regiment that may
+obey or not, according to the whim of the moment; a cheering prospect,
+and one I had not anticipated. When I received the promise of twenty men
+that they would carry out faithfully whatever I undertook on their
+behalf, I expected them to stand by it."
+
+"I think you are unjust, Roland. No one has refused, and probably no one
+will. If any one disobeys a command, then you can act as seems best to
+you, but I wish you fully to realize the weakness of your status should
+it come to drastic punishment."
+
+"Quite so, quite so," said Roland curtly. He clasped his hands behind
+his back, and without further words paced up and down along the bank of
+the river, head bowed in thought.
+
+Ebearhard was the next arrival, and he greeted Greusel cordially, then
+one after another various members of the company came upon the scene. To
+the new-comers Roland made no salutation, but continued his meditating
+walk.
+
+At last the bell in the tower pealed forth nine slow, sonorous strokes,
+and Roland raised his head, ceasing his perambulations. Greusel looked
+anxiously at him as he came forward to the group, but his countenance
+gave no indication whether or not he had determined to abandon the
+expedition.
+
+"Are we all here?" asked Roland.
+
+"No," was the reply; "Kurzbold, Eiselbert, Rasselstein, and Gensbein
+have not arrived yet."
+
+"Then we will wait for them a few moments longer," said the commander,
+with no trace of resentment at their unpunctuality, and from this
+Greusel assumed that he not only intended to go on, but had taken to
+heart the warning given him. Ebearhard and a comrade walked up the road
+rapidly toward Frankfort, hoping for some sign of the laggards, and
+Roland resumed his stroll beside the river. At last Ebearhard and his
+companion returned, and the former approached Roland.
+
+"I see nothing of those four," he said. "What do you propose to do?"
+
+Roland smiled.
+
+"I think sixteen good men, all of a mind, will accomplish quite as much
+as twenty who are divided in purpose. I propose, therefore, to go on,
+unless you consider the missing four necessary, in which case we can do
+nothing but wait."
+
+"I am in favor of going forward," said Ebearhard; then turning to the
+rest, who had gathered themselves around their captain, he appealed to
+them. All approved of immediate action.
+
+"Do you intend to follow the river road, Captain?" asked Ebearhard.
+
+"Yes, for two or three leagues, but after that we strike across the
+country."
+
+"Very well. We can proceed leisurely along the road, and our friends may
+overtake us if they have any desire to do so."
+
+"Right!" said Roland. "Then let us set out."
+
+The seventeen walked without any company formation through the village,
+then, approaching a wayside tavern, they were hailed by a loud shout
+from the drinkers in front of it. Kurzbold was the spokesman for the
+party of four, which he, with his comrades, made up.
+
+"Come here and drink success to glory," he shouted. "Where have you lads
+been all the morning?"
+
+"The rendezvous," said Roland sternly, "was at the Elector's tower."
+
+"My rendezvous wasn't. I have been here for more than an hour," said
+Kurzbold. "I told you last night that when I arrived at Hochst I should
+be thirsty, and would try to mitigate the disadvantage at a tavern."
+
+"Yes," said Ebearhard, with a laugh, "we can all see you have succeeded
+in removing the disadvantage."
+
+"Oh, you mean I'm drunk, do you? I'll fight any man who says I'm drunk.
+It was a tremendous thirst caused by the dryness of my throat from last
+night, and the dust on the Frankfort road this morning. It takes a great
+deal of wine to overcome two thirsts. Come along, lads, and drink to the
+success of the journey. No hard feeling. Landlord, set out the wine here
+for seventeen people, and don't forget us four in addition."
+
+The whole company strolled in under the trees that fronted the tavern,
+except Roland, who stood aloof.
+
+"Here's a salute to you, Captain," cried Kurzbold. "I drink wine with
+you."
+
+"Not till we return from a successful expedition," said Roland.
+
+"Oh, nonsense!" hiccoughed Kurzbold. "Don't think that your office
+places you so high above us that it is _infra dig_. to drink with your
+comrades."
+
+To this diatribe Roland made no reply, and the sixteen, seeing the
+attitude of their leader, hesitated to raise flagon to lip. The
+diplomatic Ebearhard seized a measure of wine and approached Roland.
+
+"Drink with us, Commander," he said aloud; and then in a whisper,
+"Greusel and I think you should."
+
+"Thank you, comrade," said Roland, taking the flagon from him. "And now,
+brethren, I give you a toast."
+
+"Good, good, good!" cried Kurzbold, with drunken hilarity. "Here's to
+the success of the expedition. That's the toast, I make no doubt, eh,
+Captain?"
+
+"The sentiment is included in the toast I shall offer you. Drink to the
+health of Joseph Greusel, whom I have this morning appointed my
+lieutenant. If we all conduct ourselves as honorably and capably as he,
+our project is bound to prosper."
+
+Greusel, who was seated at a table, allowed his head to sink into his
+hands. Here was his advice scouted, and a direct challenge flung in the
+face of the company. He believed now that, after all, Roland had
+resolved to return to Frankfort, money or no money. If he intended to
+proceed to the Rhine, then even worse might happen, for it was plain he
+was bent on rule or ruin. Instantly the challenge was accepted. Kurzbold
+stood up, swaying uncertainly, compelled to maintain his upright
+position by grasping the top of the table at which he had been seated.
+
+"Stop there, stop there!" he cried. "No man drinks to that toast just
+yet. Patience, patience! all things in their order. If we claim the
+power to elect our captain, by the cock-crowned Cross of the old bridge
+we have a right to name the lieutenant! This is a question for the
+companionship to decide, and a usurpation on the part of Roland."
+
+"Sit down, you fool!" shouted Ebearhard savagely. "You're drunk. The
+Captain couldn't have made a better selection. What say you, comrades?"
+
+A universal shout of "Aye!" greeted the question, and even Kurzbold's
+three comrades joined in it.
+
+"And now, gentlemen, no more talk. Here's to the health of the new
+lieutenant, Joseph Greusel."
+
+The toast was drunk enthusiastically, all standing, with the exception
+of Kurzbold, who came down in his seat with a thud.
+
+"All right!" he cried, waving his hand. "All right; all right! That's
+what I said. Greusel's good man, and now he's elected by the
+companionship, he's all right. I drink to him. Drink to anybody, I
+will!"
+
+In groping round for the flagon, he upset it, and then roared loudly for
+the landlord to supply him again.
+
+"Now, comrades," said Roland sharply, "fall in! We've a long march ahead
+of us. Come, Greusel, we must lead the van, for I wish to instruct you
+in your duties."
+
+It was rather a straggling procession that set out from Hochst.
+
+"Perhaps," began Roland, as he strode along beside Greusel, "I should
+make some excuse for not following the advice you so strenuously urged
+upon me this morning regarding the appointment of a lieutenant. The
+truth is I wished to teach you a lesson, and could not resist the
+temptation of proving that a crisis firmly and promptly met disappears,
+whereas if you compromise with it there is a danger of being
+overwhelmed."
+
+"I admit. Commander, that you were successful just now, and the reason
+is that most of our brigade are sane and sober this morning. But wait
+until to-night, when the wine passes round several times, and if you try
+conclusions with them then you are likely to fail."
+
+"But the wine won't pass round to-night."
+
+"How can you prevent it?"
+
+"Wait, and you will see," said Roland, with a laugh.
+
+By this time they arrived at a fork in the road, one section going
+southwest and the other straight west. The left branch was infinitely
+the better thoroughfare, for the most part following the Main until it
+reached the Rhine. Roland, however, chose the right-hand road.
+
+"I thought you were going along by the river," said his lieutenant.
+
+"I have changed my mind," replied Roland, without further explanation.
+
+At first Kurzbold determined to set the pace. He would show the company
+he was not drunk, and tax them to follow him, but, his stout legs
+proving unable to carry out this excellent resolution, he gradually fell
+to the rear. As the sun rose higher, and grew hotter, the pace began to
+tell on him, and he accepted without protest the support of two comrades
+who had been drinking with him at Hochst. He retrograded into a
+condition of pessimistic dejection as the enthusiasm of the wine
+evaporated. A little later he wished to lie down by the roadside and
+allow a cruel and unappreciative world to pass on its own way, but his
+comrades encouraged him to further efforts, and in some manner they
+succeeded in dragging him along at the tail of the procession.
+
+As they approached the village of Zeilsheim, Roland requested his
+lieutenant to inform the marchers that there would be no halt until
+_mittagessen_.
+
+Zeilsheim is rather more than a league from Hochst, and Kurzbold allowed
+himself to wake up sufficiently to maintain that the distance earned
+another drink, but his supporters dragged him on with difficulty past
+those houses which displayed a bush over the door. At the larger town of
+Hofheim, five leagues from Frankfort, the same command was passed down
+the ranks, and at this there was some grumbling, for the day had become
+very hot, and the way was exceedingly trying, up hill and down dale.
+
+Well set up as these city lads were, walking had never been their
+accustomed exercise. The interesting Taunus mountains, which to-day
+constitute an exercise ground full of delights to the pedestrian,
+forming, as they do, practically a suburb of Frankfort, were at that
+time an unexplored wilderness, whose forests were infested by roving
+brigands, where no man ventured except at the risk of an untimely grave.
+The mediaeval townsman rarely trusted himself very far outside the city
+gates, and our enterprising marauders, whom to outward view seemed
+stalwart enough to stand great fatigue, proved so soft under the hot sun
+along the shadeless road that by the time they reached Breckenheim,
+barely six leagues from Frankfort, there was a mopping of brows and a
+general feeling that the limit of endurance had been reached.
+
+At Breckenheim Roland called a halt for midday refreshment, and he was
+compelled to wait nearly half an hour until the last straggler of his
+woebegone crew limped from the road on to the greensward in front of the
+_Weinstaube_ which had been selected for a feeding-place. Black bread
+and a coarse kind of country cheese were the only provisions obtainable,
+but of these eatables there was an ample supply, and, better than all to
+the jaded wayfarers, wine in abundance, of good quality, too, for
+Breckenheim stands little more than a league to the north of the
+celebrated Hochheim.
+
+The wanderers came in by ones and twos, and sank down upon the benches
+before the tavern, or sprawled at full length on the short grass, where
+Kurzbold and his three friends dropped promptly off into sleep. A more
+dejected and amenable gang even Roland could not have wished to command.
+Every ounce of fight, or even discussion, was gone from them. They cared
+not where they were, or what any one said to them. Their sole desire was
+to be let alone, and they took not the slightest interest even in the
+preparing of their frugal meal. A mug of wine served to each mitigated
+the general depression, although Kurzbold showed how far gone he was by
+swearing dismally when roused even to drink the wine. He said he was
+resolved to lead a temperate life in future, but nevertheless managed to
+dispose of his allowance in one long, parched draught.
+
+Greusel approached his chief.
+
+"There will be some difficulty," he said, "when this meal has to be paid
+for. I find that the men are all practically penniless."
+
+"Tell them they need anticipate no trouble about that," replied Roland.
+"I have settled the bill, and will see that they do not starve or die of
+thirst before we reach the Rhine."
+
+"It is proposed," continued Greusel, "that each man should give all the
+money he possesses into a general fund to be dealt with by a committee
+the men will appoint. What do you say to this?"
+
+"There is nothing to say. I notice that the proposal was not made until
+the proposers' pouches were empty."
+
+"They know that some of us have money," Greusel went on, "myself, for
+instance, and they wish us to share as good comrades should--at least,
+that is their phrase."
+
+"An admirable phrase, yet I don't agree with it. How much money have
+you, Greusel?"
+
+"The thirty thalers are practically intact, and Ebearhard has about the
+same."
+
+"Well, fifty thalers lie safe in my pouch, but not a coin goes into the
+treasury of any committee the men may appoint. If they choose a
+committee, let them finance it themselves."
+
+"There will be some dissatisfaction at that decision, Commander."
+
+"I dare say. Still, as you know, I am always ready to do anything
+conducive to good feeling, so you may inform them that you and Ebearhard
+and myself, that is, three of us, will contribute to the committee's
+funds an amount equal to that subscribed by the other eighteen. Such
+lavishness on our part ought to satisfy them."
+
+"It won't, Commander, because there's not a single kreuzer among the
+eighteen."
+
+"So be it. That's as far as I am willing to go. Appeal to their
+reasoning powers, Greusel. If each of the eighteen contributes one
+thaler, we three will contribute six thalers apiece. Ask them whether
+they do not think we are generous when we do six times more than any one
+of them towards providing capital for a committee."
+
+"'Tis not willingness they lack, Commander, but ability."
+
+"They are not logical, Joseph. They prate of comradeship, and when it
+comes to an exercise of power they demand equality. How, then, can they,
+with any sense of fairness, prove ungrateful to us when we offer to bear
+six times the burden they are asked to shoulder?"
+
+The lieutenant said no more, but departed to announce the decision to
+the men, and either the commander's reasoning overcame all opposition,
+or else the company was too tired to engage in a controversy.
+
+When the black bread and cheese were served, with a further supply of
+wine, all sat up and ate heartily. The banquet ended, Greusel made an
+announcement to the men. There would now be an hour's rest, he said,
+before taking to the road again. The meal and the wine had been paid for
+by the commander, so no one need worry on that account, but if any man
+wished more wine he must pay the shot himself. However, before the
+afternoon's march was begun flagons of wine would be served at the
+commander's expense. This information was received in silence, and the
+men stretched themselves out on the grass to make the most of their hour
+of rest. Roland strolled off alone to view the village. The lieutenant
+and Ebearhard sat together at a table, conversing in low tones.
+
+"Well," said Ebearhard, "what do you think of it all?"
+
+"I don't know what to think," replied Greusel. "If the Barons of the
+Rhine could see us, and knew that we intended to attack them, I imagine
+there would be a great roar of laughter."
+
+Ebearhard emulated the Barons, and laughed. He was a cheerful person.
+
+"I don't doubt it," he said; "and talking of prospects, what's your
+opinion of the Commander?"
+
+"I am quite adrift on that score also. This morning I endeavored to give
+him some good advice. I asked him not to appoint me lieutenant, but to
+choose Kurzbold or Gensbein from among the malcontents, for I thought if
+responsibility were placed on their shoulders we should be favored with
+less criticism."
+
+"A very good idea it seems to me," remarked Ebearhard.
+
+"Well, you saw how promptly he ignored it, yet after all there may be
+more wisdom in that head of his than I suspected. Look you how he has
+made a buffer of me. He gives no commands to the men himself, but merely
+orders me to pass along the word for this or that. He appears determined
+to have his own way, and yet not to bring about a personal conflict
+between himself and his following."
+
+"Do you suppose that to be cowardice on his part?"
+
+"No; he is not a coward. He doubtless intends that I shall stand the
+brunt of any ill-temper on the part of the men. Should disobedience
+arise, it will be my orders that are disobeyed, not his. If the matter
+is of no importance one way or the other, I take it he will say nothing,
+but I surmise that when it comes to the vital point, he will brush me
+aside as though I were a feather, and himself confront the men
+regardless of consequences. This morning I thought they would win in
+such a case, but, by the iron Cross, I am not so confident now. Remember
+how he sprung my appointment on the crowd, counting, I am sure, on your
+help. He said to me, when we were alone by the tower, that you were the
+most fair-minded man among the lot, and he evidently played on that,
+giving them not a moment to think, and you backed him up. He carried his
+point, and since then has not said a word to them, all orders going
+through me, but I know he intended, as he told you, to take the river
+road, instead of which he has led us over this hilly district until
+every man is ready to drop. He is himself very sparing of wine, and is
+in fit condition. I understand he has tramped both banks of the Rhine,
+from Ehrenfels to Bonn, so this walk is nothing to him. At the end of it
+he was off for a stroll, and here are these men lying above the sod like
+the dead underneath it."
+
+"I cannot make him out," mused Ebearhard. "What has been his training?
+He appears to be well educated, and yet in some common matters is
+ignorant as a child, as, for instance, not knowing the difference in
+status between a skilled artisan and a chaffering merchant! What can
+have been his up-bringing? He is obviously not of the merchant class, yet
+he persuades the chief of our merchants, and the most conservative, to
+engage in this wild goose chase, and actually venture money and goods in
+supporting him. This expedition will cost Herr Goebel at least five
+thousand thalers, all because of the blandishments of a youth who walked
+in from the street, unintroduced. Then he is not an artisan of any sort,
+for when he joined us his hands were quite useless, except upon the
+sword-hilt."
+
+"He said he was a fencing-master," explained Greusel.
+
+"I know he did, and yet when he was offered a fee to instruct us he
+wouldn't look at it. The first duty of a fencing-master, like the rest
+of us, is to make money. Roland quite evidently scorns it, and at the
+last instructs us for nothing. Fencing-masters don't promote freebooting
+expeditions, and, besides, a fencing-master is always urbane and polite,
+cringing to every one. I have watched Roland closely at times, trying to
+study him, and in doing so have caught momentary glimpses of such
+contempt for us, that, by the good Lord above us, it made me shrivel up.
+You know, Greusel, that youth has more of the qualities usually
+attributed to a noble than those which go to the make-up of any
+tradesman."
+
+"He is a puzzle to me," admitted Greusel, "and if this excursion does
+not break up at the outset, I am not sure that it will be a success."
+
+Noticing a look of alarm in Ebearhard's eyes, Greusel cast a glance over
+his shoulder, and saw Roland standing behind him. The young man said
+quietly:
+
+"It hasn't broken up at the outset, for we are already more than five
+leagues from Frankfort. Our foray must be a success while I have two
+such wise advisers as I find sitting here."
+
+Neither of the men replied. Both were wondering how much their leader
+had overheard. He took his place on the bench beside Ebearhard, and said
+to him:
+
+"I wish you to act as my second lieutenant. If anything happens to me,
+Greusel takes my place and you take his. This, by the way, is an
+appointment, rather than an election. It is not to be put before the
+guild. You simply act as second lieutenant, and that is all there is
+about it."
+
+"Very good, Commander," said Ebearhard.
+
+"Greusel, how much money have you?"
+
+"Thirty thalers."
+
+"Economical man! Will you lend me the sum until we reach
+Assmannshausen?"
+
+"Certainly." Greusel pulled forth his wallet, poured out the gold, and
+Roland took charge of it.
+
+"And you, Ebearhard? How are you off for funds?"
+
+"I possess twenty-five thalers."
+
+"May I borrow from you as well?"
+
+"Oh, yes."
+
+"I was thinking," continued the young man, as he put away the gold,
+"that this committee idea of the men has merits of its own; therefore I
+have formed myself into a committee, appointed, not elected, and will
+make the disbursements. How much money does our company possess?"
+
+"Not a stiver, so far as I can learn."
+
+"Ah, in that case there is little use in my attempting a collection.
+Now, as I was saying, Greusel, if anything happens to me, you carry on
+the enterprise along the lines I have laid down. The first thing, of
+course, is to reach Assmannshausen."
+
+"Nothing can happen to you before we arrive there," hazarded Greusel.
+
+"I'm not so sure. The sun is very powerful to-day, and should it beat me
+down, let me lie where I fall, and allow nothing to interrupt the march.
+Once at Assmannshausen, you two must keep a sharp lookout up the river.
+When you see the barge, gather your men and lead them up to it. It is to
+await us about half a league above Assmannshausen."
+
+The three conversed until the hour was consumed, then Roland, throwing
+his cloak over his arm, rose, and said to his lieutenant:
+
+"Just rouse the men, if you please; and you, Ebearhard, tell the
+landlord to give each a flagon of wine. We take the road to Wiesbaden. I
+shall walk slowly on ahead, so that you and the company may overtake
+me."
+
+With this the young leader sauntered indifferently away, leaving to his
+subordinates the ungracious task of setting tired men to their work
+again. Greusel looked glum, but Ebearhard laughed.
+
+Some distance to the east of Wiesbaden the leader deflected his company
+from the road, and thus they passed Wiesbaden to the left, arriving at
+the village of Sonnenberg. The straggling company made a halt for a
+short time, while provisions were purchased, every man carrying his own
+share, which was scantly sufficient for supper and breakfast, and a
+quantity of wine was acquired to gratify each throat with about a liter
+and a half; plenty for a reasonable thirst, but not enough for a
+carouse.
+
+The company grumbled at being compelled to quit Sonnenberg. They had
+hoped to spend the night at Wiesbaden, and vociferously proclaimed
+themselves satisfied with the amount of country already traversed. Their
+leader said nothing, but left Greusel and Ebearhard to deal with them.
+He paid for the provisions and the wine, and then, with his cloak
+loosely over his arm, struck out for the west, as if the declining sun
+were his goal. The rest followed him slowly, in deep depression of
+spirits. They were in a wild country, unknown to any of them. The hills
+had become higher and steeper, and there was not even a beaten path to
+follow; but Roland, who apparently knew his way, trudged steadily on in
+advance even of his lieutenants. A bank of dark clouds had risen in the
+east, the heat of the day being followed by a thunderstorm that growled
+menacingly above the Taunus mountains, evidently accompanying a torrent
+of rain, although none fell in the line of march.
+
+The sun had set when the leader brought his company down into the valley
+of the Walluf, about two and a half leagues from Sonnenberg. Here the
+men found themselves in a wilderness through which ran a brawling
+stream. Roland announced to them that this would be their camping place
+for the night. At once there was an uproar of dissent. How were they to
+camp out without tents? A heavy rain was impending. Listen to the
+thunder, and taking warning from the swollen torrent.
+
+"Wrap your cloaks around you," said Roland, "and sleep under the trees.
+I have often done it myself, and will repeat the experience to-night. If
+you are not yet tired enough to ensure sound slumber, I shall be
+delighted to lead you on for another few leagues."
+
+The men held a low-voiced, sullen consultation, gathered in a circle.
+They speedily decided upon returning to Sonnenberg, which it was the
+unanimous opinion of the company they should never have left. Townsmen
+all, who had not in their lives spent a night without a roof over their
+heads, such accommodation as their leader proposed they should endure
+seemed like being cast away on a desert island. The mystery of the
+forest affrighted them. For all they could tell the woods were full of
+wild animals, and they knew that somewhere near lurked outlaws no less
+savage. The eighteen, ignoring Greusel and Ebearhard, who stood on one
+side, watching their deliberations with anxious faces, moved in a body
+upon their leader, who sat on the bank of the torrent, his feet dangling
+down towards the foaming water.
+
+"We have resolved to return to Sonnenberg," said the leader of the
+conclave.
+
+"An excellent resolution," agreed Roland cheerfully. "It is a pleasant
+village, and I have passed through it several times. By the way,
+Wiesbaden, which is much larger, possesses the advantage to tired men of
+being half a league nearer."
+
+The spokesman seemed taken aback by Roland's nonchalant attitude.
+
+"We do not know the road to Wiesbaden, and, indeed, are in some doubt
+whether or no we can find our way to Sonnenberg with darkness coming
+on."
+
+"Then if I were you, I shouldn't attempt it. Why not eat your supper,
+and drink your wine in this sheltering grove?"
+
+"By that time it will be as dark as Erebus," protested the spokesman.
+
+"Then remain here, as I suggested, for the night."
+
+"No; we are determined to reach Sonnenberg. A storm impends."
+
+"In that case, gentlemen, don't let me detain you. The gloom thickens as
+you spend your time in talk."
+
+"Oh, that's all very well, but when we reach Sonnenberg we shall need
+money."
+
+"So you will."
+
+"And we intend to secure it."
+
+"Quite right."
+
+"We demand from you three thalers for each man."
+
+"Oh, you want the money from me?"
+
+"Yes, we do."
+
+"That would absorb all the funds I possess."
+
+"No matter. We mean to have it."
+
+"You propose to take it from me by force?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Ah, well, such being the case, perhaps it would be better for me to
+yield willingly?"
+
+"I think so."
+
+"I quite agree with you. There are eighteen of you, all armed with
+swords, while I control but one blade."
+
+Saying this he unfastened his cloak, which he had put on in the
+gathering chill of the evening, and untying from his belt a well-filled
+wallet, held it up to their gaze.
+
+"As this bag undisputedly belongs to me, I have a right to dispose of it
+as I choose. I therefore give it to the brook, whose outcry is as
+insistent as yours, and much more musical."
+
+"Stop, Roland, stop!" shouted Ebearhard, but the warning came too late.
+The young man flung the bag into the torrent, where it disappeared in a
+smother of foam. He rose to his feet and drew his sword.
+
+"If you wish a fight now, it will be for the love of it, no filthy lucre
+being at stake."
+
+"By Plutus, you are an accursed fool!" cried the spokesman, making no
+further show of aggression now that nothing but steel was to be gained
+by a contest.
+
+"A fool; yes!" said Roland. "And therefore the better qualified to lead
+all such. Now go to Sonnenberg, or go to Hades!"
+
+The men did neither. They sat down under the trees, ate their supper,
+and drank their wine.
+
+"Will you dine with me?" said Roland, approaching his two gloomy
+lieutenants, who stood silent at some distance from the circle formed by
+the others.
+
+"Yes," said Greusel sullenly, "but I would have dined with greater
+pleasure had you not proven the spokesman's words true."
+
+"You mean about my being a fool? Oh, you yourself practically called me
+that this morning. Come, let us sit down farther along the stream, where
+they cannot overhear what we say."
+
+This being done, Roland continued cheerfully:
+
+"I may explain to you that a week ago I had only a wallet of my own, but
+before leaving on this journey I called upon my mother, and she
+presented me with another bag. I foresaw during _mittagessen_ that a
+demand would be made upon us for money, therefore I borrowed all that
+you two possessed. Walking on ahead, I prepared for what I knew must
+come, filling the empty wallet with very small stones picked up along
+the road. That wallet went into the stream. It is surprising how prone
+human nature is to jump at conclusions. Why should any of you think that
+I am simpleton enough to throw away good money? Dear, dear, what a world
+this is, to be sure!"
+
+Half an hour later all were lying down enveloped in their cloaks,
+sleeping soundly because of their fatigue, despite being out of doors.
+Next morning there was consternation in the camp, real or pretended.
+Roland was nowhere to be found, nor did further search reveal his
+whereabouts.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+THE MISSING LEADER AND THE MISSING GOLD
+
+
+Probably because of the new responsibility resting upon him, Joseph
+Greusel was the first to awaken next morning. He let his long cloak fall
+from his shoulders as he sat up, and gazed about him with astonishment.
+It seemed as if some powerful wizard of the hills had spirited him away
+during the night. He had gone to sleep in a place of terror. The thunder
+rolled threateningly among the peaks of Taunus, and the reflection of
+the lightning flash, almost incessant in its recurrence, had lit up the
+grove with an unholy yellow glare. The never-ceasing roar of the foaming
+torrent, which in the darkness gleamed with ghostly pallor, had somehow
+got on his nerves. Under the momentary illumination of the lightning,
+the waves appeared to leap up at him like a pack of hungry wolves,
+flecked with froth, and the noise strove to emulate the distant thunder.
+The grove itself was ominous in its gloom, and sinister shapes seemed to
+be moving about among the trees.
+
+How different was the aspect now! The sun was still beneath the eastern
+horizon. The cloudless sky gave promise of another warm day, and the
+air, of crystalline clearness, was inspiring to breathe. To Greusel's
+mind, tinged with religious feeling, the situation in which he found
+himself seemed like a section of the Garden of Eden. The stream, which
+the night before had been to his superstitious mind a thing of terror,
+was this morning a placid, smiling, rippling brook that a man might
+without effort leap across.
+
+He rubbed his eyes in amazement, thinking the mists of sleep must be
+responsible for this magic transformation, until he remembered the
+distant thunderstorm of the night before among the eastern mountains,
+and surmised that a heavy rainfall had deluged these speedily drained
+peaks and valleys.
+
+"What a blessed thing," he said to himself fervently, "is the
+ever-recurring morning. How it clears away the errors and the passions
+of darkness! It is as if God desired to give man repeated opportunities
+of reform, and of encouragement. How sane everything seems now, as
+compared with the turbulence of the sulphurous night."
+
+As he rose he became aware of an unaccustomed weight by his side, and
+putting down his hand was astonished to encounter a bag evidently filled
+with coin. It had been tied by its deerskin thong to his belt, just as
+was his own empty wallet. He sat down again, drew it round to the front
+of him, and unfastened it. Pouring out the gold, he found that the
+wallet contained a hundred and fifteen thalers, mostly in gold, with the
+addition of a few silver coins. At once it occurred to him that these
+were Roland's sixty thalers, his own thirty, and Ebearhard's
+twenty-five. For some reason, probably fearing the men would suspect the
+ruse practiced on them the night before, Roland had made him treasurer
+of the company. But why should he have done it surreptitiously?
+
+Readjusting the leathern sack, he again rose to his feet, but now cast
+his cloak about him, thus concealing the purse. Ebearhard lay sound
+asleep near him. Farther away the eighteen remaining members of the
+company were huddled closely together, as if they had gone to rest in a
+room too small for them, although the whole country was theirs from
+which to choose sleeping quarters.
+
+Remembering how the brook had decreased in size, and was now running
+clear and pellucid, he feared that the bag of stones Roland had so
+dramatically flung into it might be plainly visible. He determined to
+rouse his commander, and seek the bag for some distance downstream; for
+he knew that when the men awakened, all night-fear would have departed
+from them, and seeing the shrinkage of the brook they might themselves
+institute a search.
+
+On looking round for Roland he saw no sign of him, but this caused
+little disquietude, for he supposed that the leader had risen still
+earlier than himself, wishing to stroll through the forest, or up and
+down the rivulet.
+
+Greusel, with the purpose of finding the bag, and in the hope, also, of
+encountering his chief, walked down the valley by the margin of the
+waterway. Peering constantly into the limpid waters, he discovered no
+trace of what he sought. Down and down the valley, which was wooded all
+the way, he walked, and sometimes he was compelled to forsake his liquid
+guide, and clamber through thickets to reach its border again.
+
+At last he arrived at a little waterfall, and here occurred a break in
+the woods, causing him to stand entranced by the view which presented
+itself. Down the declivity the forest lasted for some distance, then it
+gave place to ever-descending vineyards, with here and there a house
+showing among the vines. At the foot of this hill ran a broad blue
+ribbon, which he knew to be the Rhine, although he had never seen it
+before. Over it floated a silvery gauze of rapidly disappearing mist.
+The western shore appeared to be flat, and farther along the horizon was
+formed by hills, not so lofty as that on which he stood, but beautiful
+against the blue sky, made to seem nearer than they were by the first
+rays of the rising sun, which tipped the summits with crimson.
+
+Greusel drew a long breath of deep satisfaction. He had never before
+realized that the world was so enchanting and so peaceful. It seemed
+impossible that men privileged to live in such a land could find no
+better occupation than cutting one another's throats.
+
+The gentle plash of the waterfall at his right hand accentuated the
+stillness. From his height he glanced down into the broad, pellucid
+pool, into whose depths the water fell, and there, perfectly visible,
+lay the bag of bogus treasure. Cautiously he worked his way down to the
+gravelly border of the little lake, flung off his clothes, and plunged
+head-first into this Diana's pool. It was a delicious experience, and he
+swam round and round the circular basin, clambered up on the gravel and
+allowed the stream to fall over his glistening shoulders, reveling in
+Nature's shower-bath. Satisfied at length, he indulged in another
+rainbow plunge, grasped the bag, and rose again to the surface. Coming
+ashore, he unloosened the swollen thongs, poured out the stones along
+the strand, then, after a moment's thought, he wrung the water out of
+the bag itself, and tied it to his belt, for there was no predicting
+where the men would wander when once they awoke, and if he threw it away
+among the bushes, it might be found, breeding first wonder how it came
+there, and then suspicion of the trick.
+
+Greusel walked back to camp by the other bank of the stream. Although
+the early rays of the sun percolated through the upper branches of the
+trees above them, the eighteen prone men slept as if they were but
+seven. He sprang over the brook, touched the recumbent Ebearhard with
+his foot, and so awoke him. This excellent man yawned, and stretched out
+his arms above his head.
+
+"You're an early bird, Greusel," he said. "Have you got the worm?"
+
+"Yes, I have," replied the latter. "I found it in the basin of a
+waterfall nearly a league from here," and with that he drew aside his
+cloak, showing the still wet but empty bag.
+
+For a few moments Ebearhard did not understand. He rose and shook
+himself, glancing about him.
+
+"Great Jove!" he cried, "this surely isn't the stream by which we lay
+down last night? Do you mean to tell me that thread of water struck
+terror into my heart only a few hours ago? I never slept out of doors
+before in all my life, and could not have imagined it would produce such
+an effect. I see what you mean now. You have found the bag which Roland
+threw into the foaming torrent."
+
+"Yes; I was as much astonished at the transformation as you when I
+awoke, and then it occurred to me that when our friends saw the
+reduction of the rivulet, they would forthwith begin a treasure-hunt, so
+I determined to obliterate the evidence."
+
+"Was the bag really full of stones?"
+
+"Oh, yes."
+
+"Well, that is a lesson to me. I believe after all that Roland is
+helplessly truthful, but last night I thought he befooled us. I was
+certain it was the bag of coin he had thrown away, and becoming ashamed
+of himself, had lied to us."
+
+"How could you imagine that? He showed us both the bag of money."
+
+"He produced a bag full of something, but I, being the doubting Thomas
+of the group, was not convinced it contained money."
+
+"Ah, that reminds me, Ebearhard; here is the bag we saw last night. I
+discovered it attached to my belt this morning."
+
+"He attached it to the wrong belt, then, for you believed him. He should
+have tied it to mine. What reason does he give for presenting it to
+you?"
+
+"Ah, now you touch a point of anxiety in my own mind. I have seen
+nothing of Roland this morning. I surmised that he had arisen before me,
+and expected to meet him somewhere down the stream, but have not done
+so."
+
+"He may have gone farther afield. As you found the bag, he of course,
+missed it, and probably continued his search."
+
+"I doubt that, because I came upon a point of view reaching to the Rhine
+and the hills beyond. I could trace the stream for a considerable
+distance, and watched it for a long time, but there appeared to be
+nothing alive in the forest."
+
+"You don't suppose he has gone back to Frankfort, do you?"
+
+"I am at loss what to think."
+
+"If he has abandoned this gang of malcontents, I should be the last to
+blame him. The way these pigs acted yesterday was disgraceful, ending up
+their day with rank mutiny and threats of violence. By the iron Cross,
+Greusel, he has forsaken this misbegotten lot, and it serves them
+perfectly right, prating about comradeship and carrying themselves like
+cut-throats. This is Roland's method of returning our money, for I
+suppose that bag contains your thirty thalers and my twenty-five."
+
+"Yes, and his own sixty as well. Poor disappointed devil, generous to
+the last. It was he who obtained all the money at the beginning, then
+these drunken swine spend it on wine, and prove so generous and brave
+that eighteen of them muster courage enough to face one man, and he the
+man who had bestowed the gold upon them."
+
+"Greusel, the whole situation fills me with disgust. I propose we leave
+the lot sleeping there, go to Wiesbaden for breakfast, and then trudge
+back to Frankfort. It would serve the brutes right."
+
+"No," said Greusel quietly; "I shall carry out Roland's instructions."
+
+"I thought you hadn't seen him this morning?"
+
+"Not a trace of him. You heard his orders at Breckenheim."
+
+"I don't remember. What were they?"
+
+"That if anything happened to him, I was to drive the herd to
+Assmannshausen. I quite agree with you, Ebearhard, that he is justified
+in deserting this menagerie, but, on the other hand, you and I have
+stood faithfully by him, and it doesn't seem to me right that he should
+leave us without a word. I don't believe he has done so, and I expect
+any moment to see him return."
+
+"You're wrong, Greusel. He's gone. That purse is sufficient explanation,
+and as you recall to my mind his instructions, I believe something of
+this must have suggested itself to him even that early in the day. He
+has divested himself of every particle of money in his possession,
+turning it over to you, but instead of returning to Frankfort he has
+made his way over the hills to Assmannshausen, and will await us there."
+
+"What would be the object of that?"
+
+"One reason may be that he will learn whether or not you have enough
+control over these people to bring them to the Rhine. He will satisfy
+himself that your discipline is such as to improve their manners. It may
+be in his mind to resign, and make you leader, if you prove yourself
+able to control them."
+
+"Suppose I fail in that?"
+
+"Well, then--this is all fancy, remember--I imagine he may look round
+Assmannshausen to find another company who will at least obey him."
+
+"What you say sounds very reasonable. Still, I do not see why he should
+have left two friends like us without a word."
+
+"A word, my dear Greusel, would have led to another, and another, and
+another. One of the first questions asked him would be 'But what are
+Ebearhard and I to do?' That's exactly what he doesn't wish to answer.
+He desires to know what you will do of your own accord. He is likely
+rather hopeless about this mob, but is giving you an opportunity, and
+then another chance. Why, his design is clear as that rivulet there, and
+as easily seen through. You will either bring those men across the
+hills, or you won't. If you and I are compelled to clamber over to
+Assmannshausen alone, Roland will probably be more pleased to see us
+than if we brought this rogues' contingent straggling at our heels. He
+will appoint you chief officer of his new company, and me the second. If
+you doubt my conclusions, I'll wager twenty-five thalers against your
+thirty that I am in the right."
+
+"I never gamble, Ebearhard, especially when certain to lose. You are a
+shrewder man than I, by a long bowshot."
+
+In a work of fiction it would of course be concealed till the proper
+time came that all of these men were completely wrong in their
+prognostications regarding the fate of Roland, but this being history it
+may be stated that the young man had not the least desire to test
+Greusel's ability, nor would his lieutenants find him awaiting them when
+they reached Assmannshausen.
+
+"Hello! Rouse up there! What have we for breakfast? Has all the wine
+been drunk? I hope not. My mouth's like a brick furnace!"
+
+It was the brave Kurzbold who spoke, as he playfully kicked, not too
+gently, those of his comrades who lay nearest him. He was answered by
+groans and imprecations, as one by one the sleeping beauties aroused
+themselves, and wondered where the deuce they were.
+
+"Who has stolen the river?" cried Gensbein.
+
+"Oh, stealing the river doesn't matter," said a third. "It's only
+running water. Who drank all the wine? That's a more serious question."
+
+"Well, whoever's taken away the river, I can swear without searching my
+pouch has made no theft from me, for I spent my last stiver yesterday."
+
+"Don't boast," growled Kurzbold. "You're not alone in your poverty.
+We're all in the same case. Curse that fool of a Roland for throwing
+away good money just when it's most needed."
+
+"Good money is always most needed," exclaimed the philosophic Gensbein.
+
+He rose and shook himself, then looked down at the beautiful but
+unimportant rivulet.
+
+"I say, lads, were we as drunk as all that last night? Was there an
+impassable torrent here or not?"
+
+"How could we be drunk, you fool, on little more than a liter of wine
+each," cried Kurzbold.
+
+"Please be more civil in your talk," returned his friend. "You were
+drunk all day. The liter and a half was a mere nightcap. If you are
+certain there was a torrent, then I must have been in the same condition
+as yourself."
+
+The spokesman of the previous night, who had been chided for not
+springing on Roland before he succeeded in doing away with the treasure,
+here uttered a shout.
+
+"This water," he said, "is clear as air. You can see every pebble at the
+bottom. Get to work, you sleepyheads, and search down the stream. We'll
+recover that bag yet, and then it's back to Sonnenberg for breakfast.
+Whoever finds it, finds it for the guild; a fair and equal division
+amongst us. That is, amongst the eighteen of us. I propose that Roland,
+Greusel, and Ebearhard do not share. They were all in the plot to rob
+us."
+
+"Agreed!" cried the others, and the treasure-hunt impetuously began.
+
+Greusel and Ebearhard watched them disappear through the forest down the
+stream.
+
+"Greusel," said Ebearhard, "what a deplorable passion is the frantic
+quest for money in these days, especially money that we have not earned.
+Our excited treasure-hunters do not realize that at such a moment in the
+early morning the only subject worth consideration is breakfast. Being
+unsparing and prodigal last night, it would take a small miracle of the
+fishes to suffice them to-day. There is barely enough for two hungry
+men, and as we are rid of these chaps for half an hour at least, I
+propose we sit down to our first meal."
+
+Greusel made no comment upon this remark, but the advice commended
+itself to him, for he followed it.
+
+Some time after they had finished breakfast, the unsuccessful company
+returned by twos and threes. Apparently they had not wandered so far as
+the waterfall, for no one said anything of the amazing view of the
+Rhine. Indeed, it was plain that they considered themselves involved in
+a boundless wilderness, and were too perplexed to suggest a way out.
+After a storm of malediction over the breakfastless state of things, and
+a good deal of quarreling among themselves anent who had been most
+greedy the night before, they now turned their attention to the silent
+men who were watching them.
+
+"Where's Roland?" they demanded.
+
+"I don't know," replied Greusel.
+
+"Didn't he tell you where he was going?"
+
+"We have not seen him this morning," explained Ebearhard gently. "He
+seems to have disappeared in the night. Perhaps he fell into the stream.
+Perhaps, on the other hand, he has deliberately deserted us. He gave us
+no hint of his intentions last night, and we are as ignorant as
+yourselves regarding his whereabouts."
+
+"This is outrageous!" cried Kurzbold. "It is the duty of a leader to
+provide for his following."
+
+"Yes; if the following follows."
+
+"We have followed," said Kurzbold indignantly, "and have been led into
+this desert, not in the least knowing where in Heaven's name we are. And
+now to be left like this, breakfastless, thirsty--" Here Kurzbold's
+language failed him, and he drew the back of his hand across parched
+lips.
+
+"When you remember, gentlemen," continued Ebearhard, in accents of
+honey, "that your last dealings with your leader took place with
+eighteen swords drawn; when you recollect that you expressed your
+determination to rob him, and when you call to mind that you brave
+eighteen threatened him with personal violence if he resisted this
+brigandage on your part, I cannot understand why you should be surprised
+at his withdrawal from your fellowship."
+
+"Oh, you always were a glib talker, but the question now is what are we
+to do?"
+
+"Yes, and that is a question for you to decide," said Ebearhard. "When
+you mutinied last night, you practically deposed Roland from the
+leadership. To my mind, he had no further obligations towards you, so,
+having roughly taken the power into your own hands, it is for you to
+deal with it as you think best. I should never so far forget myself as
+to venture even a suggestion."
+
+"As I hinted to you," said Kurzbold, "you are talking too much. You are
+merely one of ourselves, although you have kept yourself separate from
+us. Greusel has been appointed lieutenant by our unanimous vote, and if
+his chief proves a poltroon, he is the man to act. Therefore, Joseph
+Greusel, I ask on behalf of the company what you intend to do?"
+
+"Before I can answer that question," replied Greusel, "I must know
+whether or not you will act as you did yesterday?"
+
+"What do you mean by that?" Several, speaking together, put the
+question.
+
+"I wish to know whether you will follow cheerfully and without demur
+where I lead? I refuse to act as guide if I run the risk of finding
+eighteen sword-points at my throat when I have done my best."
+
+"Oh, you talk like a fool," commented Kurzbold. "We followed Roland
+faithfully enough until he brought us into this impasse. You make
+entirely too much of last night's episode. None of us intended to hurt
+him, as you are very well aware, and besides, we don't want a leader who
+is frightened, and runs away at the first sign of danger."
+
+"Make up your minds what you propose to do," said Greusel stubbornly,
+"and give me your decision; then you will receive mine."
+
+Greusel saw that although Kurzbold talked like the bully he was, the
+others were rather subdued, and no voice but his was raised in defense
+of their previous conduct.
+
+"There is one thing you must tell us before we can come to a decision,"
+went on Kurzbold. "How much money have you and Ebearhard?"
+
+"At midday yesterday I had thirty thalers, and Ebearhard had
+twenty-five. While you were all sleeping on the grass, after our meal at
+Breckenheim, Roland asked us for the money."
+
+"You surely were not such idiots as to give it to him?"
+
+"He was our commander, and we both considered it right to do what he
+asked of us."
+
+"He said," put in Ebearhard, "that your suggestion about a finance
+committee was a good one, and that he had determined to be that
+committee. He asked us if any of you had money, but I told him I thought
+it was all spent, which probably accounts for his restricting the
+application to us two."
+
+"Then we are here in an unknown wilderness, twenty men, hungry, and
+without a florin amongst us," wailed Kurzbold, and the comments of those
+behind him were painful to hear.
+
+"I am glad that at last you thoroughly appreciate our situation, and I
+hope that in addition you realize it has been brought about not through
+any fault of Roland's, who gave in to your whims and childishness until
+you came to the point of murder and robbery. Therefore blame yourselves
+and not him. You now know as much of our position as I do, so make up
+your minds about the next step, and inform me what conclusion you come
+to."
+
+"You're a mighty courageous leader," cried Kurzbold scornfully, and with
+this the hungry ones retired some distance into the grove, from whence
+echoes of an angry debate came to the two men who sat by the margin of
+the stream. After a time they strode forward again. Once more Kurzbold
+was the spokesman.
+
+"We have determined to return to Frankfort."
+
+"Very good."
+
+"I suppose you remember enough of the way to lead us at least as far as
+Wiesbaden. Beyond that point we can look to ourselves."
+
+"I should be delighted," said Greusel, "to be your guide, but
+unfortunately I am traveling in the other direction with Ebearhard."
+
+"Why, in the name of starvation?" roared Kurzbold. "You know no more of
+the country ahead of us than we do. By going back we can get something
+to eat, and a drink, at one of the farmhouses we passed this side of
+Sonnenberg."
+
+"How?" inquired Greusel.
+
+"Why, if they ask for payment we will give them iron instead of silver.
+No man need starve with a sword by his side."
+
+"Granted that this is feasible, and that the farmers yield instead of
+raising the country-side against you, when you reach Frankfort what are
+you going to do? Eat and drink with the landlord of the Rheingold until
+he becomes bankrupt? You must remember that it was Roland who liquidated
+our last debt there, without asking or receiving a word of thanks, and
+he did that not a moment too soon, for the landlord was at the end of
+his resources and would have closed his tavern within another week."
+
+Kurzbold stormed at this harping on the subject of Roland and his
+generosity, but those with him were hungry, and they now remembered, too
+late, that what Greusel said was strictly true. If Roland had put in an
+appearance then, he would have found a most docile company to lead. They
+were actually murmuring against Kurzbold, and blaming him and his clan
+for the disaster that had overtaken them.
+
+"Why will you not come back with us?" pleaded the penitents, with
+surprising mildness.
+
+"Because the future in Frankfort strikes me as hopeless. Not one amongst
+us has the brains of Roland, whom we have thrown out. Besides, it is
+nine and a half long leagues to Frankfort, and only three and a half
+leagues to Assmannshausen. I expect to find Roland there, and although I
+know nothing of his intentions, I imagine he has gone to enlist a
+company of a score or thereabouts that will obey his commands. There is
+some hope by going forward to Assmannshausen; there is absolutely none
+in retreating to Frankfort. Then, as I said, Assmannshausen is little
+more than three leagues away; a fact worth consideration by hungry men.
+On the Rhine we are in the rich wine country, where there is plenty to
+eat and drink, probably for the asking, whereas if we turn our faces
+towards the east we are marching upon starvation."
+
+The buzz of comment aroused by this speech proved to the two men that
+Kurzbold stood once more alone. Greusel, without seeming to care which
+way the cat jumped, had induced that unreasoning animal to leap as he
+liked. His air of supreme indifference aroused Ebearhard's admiration,
+especially when he remembered that under his cloak there rested a
+hundred and fifteen thalers in gold and silver.
+
+"But you know nothing of the way," protested Kurzbold. "None of us are
+acquainted with the country to the west."
+
+"We don't need to be acquainted with it," said Greusel. "We steer
+westward by glancing at the sun now and then, and cannot go astray,
+because we must come to the Rhine; then it's either up or down the
+river, as the case may be, to reach Assmannshausen."
+
+"To the Rhine! To the Rhine!" was now the universal cry.
+
+"Before we begin our journey," said Greusel, as if he accepted the
+leadership with reluctance, "I must have your promise that you will obey
+me without question. I am not so patient a man as Roland, but on my part
+I guarantee you an excellent meal and good wine as soon as we reach
+Assmannshausen."
+
+"How can you promise that," growled Kurzbold, "when you have given away
+your money?"
+
+"Because, as I told you, I expect to meet Roland there."
+
+"But he threw away his bag."
+
+"Yes; I told him it was a foolish thing to do, and perhaps that is why
+he left without saying a word, even to me. He is an ingenious man.
+Assmannshausen is familiar to him, and I dare say he would not have
+discarded his money without knowing where to get more."
+
+"To the Rhine! To the Rhine! To the Rhine!" cried the impatient host,
+gathering up their cloaks, and tightening their belts, as the savage
+does when he is hungry.
+
+"To the Rhine, then," said Greusel, springing across the little stream
+in company with Ebearhard.
+
+"You did that very well, Greusel," complimented the latter.
+
+"I would rather have gone alone with you," replied the new leader, "for
+I have condemned myself to wear this heavy cloak, which is all very well
+to sleep in, but burdensome under a hot sun."
+
+"The sun won't be so oppressive," predicted his friend, "while we keep
+to the forest."
+
+"That is very true, but remember we are somewhere in the Rheingau, and
+that we must come out into the vineyards by and by."
+
+"Don't grumble, Greusel, but hold up your head as a great diplomatist.
+Roland himself could not have managed these chaps so well, you flaunting
+hypocrite, the only capitalist amongst us, yet talking as if you were a
+monk sworn to eternal poverty."
+
+Greusel changed the subject.
+
+"Do you notice," he said, "that we are following some sort of path,
+which we must have trodden last evening, without seeing it in the dusk."
+
+"I imagine," said Ebearhard, "that Roland knew very well where he was
+going. He strode along ahead of us as if sure of his ground. I don't
+doubt but this will lead us to Assmannshausen."
+
+Which, it may be remarked, it did not. The path was little more than a
+trail, which a sharp-eyed man might follow, and it led up-hill and down
+dale direct to the Archbishop's Castle of Ehrenfels.
+
+The forest lasted for a distance that the men in front estimated to be
+about two leagues, then they emerged into open country, and saw the
+welcome vines growing. Climbing out of the valley, they observed to the
+right, near the top of a hill, a small hamlet, which had the effect of
+instantaneously raising the spirits of the woebegone company.
+
+"Hooray for breakfast!" they shouted, and had it not been for their own
+fatigue, and the steepness of the hill, they would have broken into a
+run.
+
+"Halt!" cried Greusel sternly, standing before and above them. At once
+they obeyed the word of command, which caused Ebearhard to smile.
+
+"You will climb to the top of this hill," said Greusel, "and there rest
+under command of my lieutenant, Ebearhard. As we now emerge into
+civilization, I warn you that if we are to obtain breakfast it must be
+by persuasion, and not by force. Therefore, while you wait on the
+hilltop, I shall go alone into the houses on the right, and see what can
+be done towards providing a meal for eighteen men. Ebearhard and I will
+fast until we reach Assmannshausen. On the other hand, you should be
+prepared for disappointment; loaves of bread are not to be picked up on
+the point of a sword. If I return and order you to march on unfed, you
+must do so as cheerfully as you can."
+
+This ultimatum called forth not a word of opposition, and Ebearhard led
+the van while Greusel deflected up the hill to his right, the sooner to
+reach the village.
+
+He learned that the name of the place was Anton-Kap; that the route he
+had been following would take him to Ehrenfels, and that he must adopt a
+reasonably rough mountain-road to the right in order to reach
+Assmannshausen.
+
+By somewhat straining the resources of the place, which proved to
+possess no inn, he collected bread enough for the eighteen, and there
+was no dearth of wine, although it proved a coarse drink that reflected
+little credit on the reputation of the Rheingau. He paid for this meal
+in advance, saying that they were all in a hurry to reach
+Assmannshausen, and wished to leave as soon as the frugal breakfast was
+consumed.
+
+Mounting a small elevation to the west of the village, he signaled to
+the patient men to come on, which they lost no time in doing. The bread
+was eaten and the wine drunk without a word being said by any one. And
+now they took their way down the hill again, crossed the little
+Geisenheim stream, and up once more, traversing a high table-land giving
+them a view of the Rhine, finally descending through another valley,
+which led them into Assmannshausen, celebrated for its red wine, a color
+they had not yet met with.
+
+Assmannshausen proved to be a city as compared with the hamlets they had
+passed, yet was small enough to make a thorough search of the place a
+matter that consumed neither much effort nor time. Greusel led his men
+to a _Weinstaube_ a short distance out of the village, and, to their
+delight, succeeded in establishing a credit for them to the extent of
+one liter of wine each, with a substantial meal of meat, eggs, and
+what-not. Greusel and Ebearhard left them there in the height of great
+enjoyment, all the more delightful after the hunger and fatigue they had
+encountered, for the three and a half leagues had proved almost without
+a single stretch of level land. The two officers inquired for Roland,
+without success, at the various houses of entertainment which
+Assmannshausen boasted, then canvassed every home in the village, but no
+one had seen anything of the man they described.
+
+Coming out to the river front, deeply discouraged, the two gazed across
+the empty water, from which all enlivening traffic had departed. It was
+now evident to both that Roland had not entered Assmannshausen, for in
+so small and gossipy a hamlet no stranger could even have passed through
+without being observed.
+
+"Well, Joseph," asked Ebearhard, "what do you intend to do?"
+
+"There is nothing to do but to wait until our money is gone. It is
+absolutely certain that Roland is not here. Can it be possible that
+after all he returned?"
+
+"How could he have done so? We know him to have been without money;
+therefore why to Frankfort, even if such a trip were possible for a
+penniless man?"
+
+"I am sorry now," said Greusel despondently, "that I did not follow a
+suggestion that occurred to me, which was to take the men direct down
+the valley where we encamped, to the banks of the Rhine, and there make
+inquiries."
+
+"You think he went that way?"
+
+"I did, until you persuaded me out of it."
+
+"Again I ask what could be his object?"
+
+"It seems to me that this mutiny made a greater impression on his mind
+than I had supposed. After all, he is not one of us, and never has been.
+You yourself pointed that out when we were talking of him at
+Breckenheim. If you caught glances of contempt for us while we were all
+one jolly family in the Kaiser cellar, what must be his loathing for the
+guild after such a day as yesterday?"
+
+"That's true. You must travel with a man before you learn his real
+character."
+
+"Meaning Roland?"
+
+"Meaning this crew, guzzling up at the tavern. Meaning you, meaning me;
+yes, and meaning Roland also. I never knew until yesterday and to-day
+what a capable fellow you were, and when I remember that I nominated
+Kurzbold for our leader before Roland appeared on the scene, I am amazed
+at my lack of judgment of men. As for Roland himself, my opinion of him
+has fallen. Nothing could have persuaded me that he would desert us all
+without a word of explanation, no matter what happened. My predictions
+regarding his conduct are evidently wrong. What do you think has
+actually occurred?"
+
+"It's my opinion that the more he thought over the mutiny, the angrier
+he became; a cold, stubborn anger, not vocal at all, as Kurzbold's would
+be. I think that after fastening the money to my belt he went down the
+valley to the Rhine. He knows the country, you must remember. He would
+then either wait there until the barge appeared, or more likely would
+proceed up along the margin of the river, and hail the boat when it came
+in sight. The captain would recognize him, and turn in, and we know the
+captain is under his command. At this moment they are doubtless poling
+slowly up the Rhine to the Main again, and will thus reach Frankfort.
+Herr Goebel has confidence in Roland, otherwise he would never have
+risked so much on his bare word. He will confess to his financier that
+he has been mistaken in us, and doubtless tell him all that happened,
+and the merchant will appreciate that, even though he has lost his five
+hundred thalers, Roland would not permit him to lose his goods as well."
+
+"Do you suppose Roland will enlist another company?"
+
+"It is very likely, for Herr Goebel trusts him, and, goodness knows,
+there are enough unemployed men in Frankfort for Roland to select a
+better score than we have proved to be."
+
+It was quite certain that Roland was not in Assmannshausen, yet Greusel
+was a prophet as false as Ebearhard.
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+A SOLEMN PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE
+
+
+When Roland wrapped his cloak about him, and lay down on the sward at
+some distance from the spot where his officers already slept, he found
+that he could not follow their example. Although, he had remained
+outwardly calm when the attack was made upon him, his mind was greatly
+perturbed over the outlook. He reviewed his own conduct, wondering
+whether it would be possible for him so to amend it that he could
+acquire the respect and maintain the obedience of his men. If he could
+not accomplish this, then was his plan foredoomed to failure. His
+cogitations drove away sleep, and he called to mind the last occasion on
+which he made this same spot his bedroom. Then he had slumbered
+dreamlessly the night through. He was on the direct trail between
+Ehrenfels Castle and the town of Wiesbaden, the route over which
+supplies had been carried to the Castle time and again when the
+periodical barges from Mayence failed to arrive. It had been pointed out
+to him by the custodian of the Castle when the young man first became
+irked by the confined limits of the Schloss, and frequently since that
+time he had made his way through the forest to Wiesbaden and back.
+
+Never before had he seen the little Walluf so boisterous, pretending
+that it was important, and he quite rightly surmised that the cause was
+a sudden downpour in the mountains farther east. The distant mutterings
+of thunder having long since ceased, he recognized that the volume of
+the stream was constantly lessening. As the brook gradually subsided to
+its customary level, the forest became more and more silent. The greater
+his endeavor to sleep, the less dormant Roland felt, and all his senses
+seemed unduly quickened by this ineffectual beckoning to somnolence. He
+judged by the position of the stars, as he lay on his back, that it was
+past midnight, when suddenly he became aware of a noise to the west of
+him, on the other side of the brook. Sitting up, and listening intently,
+he suspected, from the rustle of the underbrush, that some one was
+following the trail, and would presently come upon his sleeping men.
+
+He rose stealthily, unsheathed his sword, leaped across the rivulet, and
+proceeded with caution up the acclivity, keeping on the trail as best he
+could in the darkness. He was determined to learn the business of the
+wayfarer, without disturbing his men, so crept rapidly up the hill.
+Presently he saw the glimmer of a light, and conjectured that some one
+was coming impetuously down, guided by a lanthorn swinging in his hand.
+Roland stood on guard with sword extended straight in front of him, and
+the oncomer's breast was almost at the point of it when he hauled
+himself up with a sudden cry of dismay, as the lanthorn revealed an
+armed man holding the path.
+
+"I have no money," were the first words of the stranger.
+
+"Little matter for that," replied Roland. "'Tis information I wish, not
+gear. Why are you speeding through the forest at night, for no sane man
+traverses this path in the darkness?"
+
+"I could not wait for daylight," said the stranger, breathing heavily.
+"I carry a message of the greatest importance. Do not delay me, I beg of
+you. I travel on affairs of State; Imperial matters, and it is necessary
+I should reach Frankfort in time, or heads may fall."
+
+"So serious as that?" asked Roland, lowering the point of his sword, for
+he saw the messenger was unarmed. "Whom do you seek?"
+
+"That I dare not tell you. The message concerns those of the highest,
+and I am pledged to secrecy. Be assured, sir, that I speak the truth."
+
+"Your voice sounds honest. Hold up the lanthorn at arm's length, that I
+may learn if your face corresponds with it. Ha, that is most
+satisfactory! And now, my hurrying youth, will you reveal your mission,
+or shall I be compelled to run my sword through your body?"
+
+"You would not learn it even then," gasped the young man, shrinking
+still farther up the hill.
+
+Roland laughed.
+
+"That is true enough," he said, "therefore shall I not impale you, but
+will instead relate to you the secret you carry. You are making not for
+Frankfort--"
+
+"I assure you, sir, by the sacred Word, that I am, and grieve my oath
+does not allow me to do your bidding, even though you would kill me,
+which is easily done, since I am unarmed."
+
+"You pass through Frankfort, I doubt not, but your goal is a certain
+small room in the neighboring suburb of Sachsenhausen, and he whom you
+seek is a youth of about your own age, named Roland. You travel on the
+behest of your father, who was much agonized in mind when you left him,
+and he, I take it, is custodian of Ehrenfels Castle."
+
+"In God's name!" cried the youth, aghast, "how did you guess all that?"
+
+Again Roland laughed quietly.
+
+"Why, Heinrich," he said, "your agitation causes you to forget old
+friends. Hold up your lanthorn again, and learn whether or not you
+recognize me, as I recognized you."
+
+"Heaven be praised! Prince Roland!"
+
+"Yes; your journey is at an end, my good Heinrich, thank the fortune
+that kept me awake this night. Do you know why you are sent on this long
+and breathless journey?"
+
+"Yes, Highness. There has come to the Castle from the Archbishop of
+Mayence a lengthy document for you to sign, and you are informed that
+the day after to-morrow their Lordships of Mayence, Treves, and Cologne,
+meet together at the Castle to hold some conversation with you."
+
+"By my sword, then, Heinrich, had you found me in Sachsenhausen we had
+never attained Ehrenfels in time."
+
+"I think I could have accomplished it," replied the young man. "I should
+have reached Wiesbaden before daybreak, and there bought the fastest
+horse that could be found. My father told me to time myself, and if by
+securing another horse at Frankfort for you I could not make the return
+journey speedily enough, I was to engage a boat with twenty rowers, if
+necessary, and convey you to Ehrenfels before the Archbishops arrived."
+
+"Then, Heinrich, you must have deluded me when you said you had no
+money."
+
+"No, Highness, I have none, but I carry an order for plenty upon a
+merchant in Wiesbaden, who would also supply me with a horse."
+
+"Heinrich, there are many stars burning above us to-night, and I have
+been watching them, but your star must be blazing the brightest of all.
+Sit you down and rest until I return. Make no noise, for there are
+twenty others asleep by the stream. My cloak is at the bottom of the
+hill, and I must fetch it. I shall be with you shortly, so keep your
+candle alight, that I may not miss you."
+
+With that Roland returned rapidly down the slope, untying his bag of
+money as he descended. Cautiously he fastened it to the belt of Greusel,
+then, snatching his cloak from the ground, he sprang once more across
+the stream, and climbed to the waiting Heinrich.
+
+It was broad daylight before they saw the towers of Ehrenfels, and they
+found little difficulty in rousing Heinrich's father, for he had slept
+as badly that night as Roland himself.
+
+The caretaker flung his arms around the young prisoner.
+
+"Oh, thank God, thank God!" was all he could cry, and "Thank God!" again
+he repeated. "Never before have I felt my head so insecure upon my
+shoulders. Had you not been here when they came, Highness, their
+Lordships would have listened to no explanation."
+
+"Really you were in little danger with such a clever son. The
+Archbishops would never have suspected that he was not I, for none of
+the three has ever seen me. I am quite sure Heinrich would have effected
+my signature excellently, and answered to their satisfaction all
+questions they might ask. So long as he complied with their wishes,
+there would be no inquiries set afoot, for none would suspect the
+change. Indeed, custodian, you have missed the opportunity of your life
+in not suppressing me, thus allowing your son to be elected Emperor."
+
+"Your Highness forgets that my poor boy cannot write his own name, much
+less yours. Besides, it would be a matter of high treason to forge your
+signature, so again I thank God you are here. Indeed, your Highness, I
+am in great trouble about my son."
+
+"Oh, the danger is not so serious as you think."
+
+"'Tis not the danger, Highness. That it is his duty to face, but he
+takes advantage of his position as prisoner. He knows I dare refuse him
+nothing, and he calls for wine, wine, wine, spending his days in revelry
+and his nights in stupor."
+
+"You astonish me. Why not cudgel the nonsense out of him? Your arm is
+strong enough."
+
+"I dare not lay stick on him, and I beg you to breathe nothing of what I
+have told you, for he holds us both in his grasp, and he knows it. If I
+called for help to put him in a real dungeon, he would blurt out the
+whole secret."
+
+"In that case you must even make terms with him. 'Twill be for but a
+very short time, and after that we will reform him. He was frightened
+enough of my sword in the forest, and I shall make him dance to its
+point once this crisis is over."
+
+"I shall do the best I can, Highness. But you must have been on your way
+to Ehrenfels. Had you heard aught of what is afoot?"
+
+"Nothing. 'Twas mere chance that Heinrich and I met in the forest, and
+he was within a jot of impinging himself upon my sword in his hurry. I
+stood in the darkness, while he himself held a light for the better
+convenience of any chance marauder who wished to undo him."
+
+"Unarmed, and without money," said the custodian, "I thought he was
+safer than otherwise. But you are surely hungry, Highness. Advance then
+within, and I will see to your needs."
+
+So presently the errant Prince consumed an excellent, if early
+breakfast, and, without troubling to undress, flung himself upon a
+couch, sleeping dreamlessly through the time that Greusel and Ebearhard
+were conjuring up motives for him, of which he was entirely innocent.
+
+When Roland woke in the afternoon, he had quite forgotten that a score
+of men who, nominally, at least, acknowledged him master, were wondering
+what had become of him. He called the custodian, and asked for a sight
+of the parchments that his Lordship of Mayence had sent across the river
+for his perusal. He found the documents to be a very carefully written
+series of demands disguised under the form of requests.
+
+The pledges which were asked of the young Prince were beautifully
+engrossed on three parchments, each one a duplicate of the other two. If
+Roland accepted them, they were to be signed next day, in presence of
+the three Archbishops. Two certainties were impressed upon him when he
+had read the scroll: first, the Archbishops were determined to rule; and
+second, if he did not promise to obey they would elect some other than
+himself Emperor on the death or deposition of his father. The young man
+resolved to be acquiescent and allow the future to settle the question
+whether he or the Archbishops should be the head of the Empire. A
+strange exultation filled him at the prospect, and all thought of other
+things vanished from his mind.
+
+Leaving the parchments on the table in the knights' hall, where he had
+examined them, he mounted to the battlements to enjoy the fresh breeze
+that, no matter how warm the day, blows round the towers of Ehrenfels.
+Here a stone promenade, hung high above the Rhine, gave a wonderful view
+up and down the river and along the opposite shore. From this elevated,
+paved plateau he could see down the river the strongholds of Rheinstein
+and Falkenberg, and up the river almost as far as Mayence. He judged by
+the altitude of the sun that it was about four o'clock in the afternoon.
+The sight of Rheinstein should have suggested to him his deserted
+company, for that was the first castle he intended to attack, but the
+prospect opened up to him by the communication of the Archbishops had
+driven everything else from his mind.
+
+Presently the cautious custodian joined him in his eyrie, and Roland
+knew instinctively why he had come. The old man was wondering whether or
+not he would make difficulties about signing the parchments. He feared
+the heedless impetuosity and conceit of youth; the natural dislike on
+the part of a proud young prince to be restricted and bound down by his
+elders, and the jailer could not conceal his gratification when the
+prisoner informed him that of course he would comply with the desires of
+the three prelates.
+
+"You see," he continued, with a smile, "I must attach my signature to
+those instruments in order to make good my promises to you."
+
+He was interrupted by a cry of astonishment from his aged comrade.
+
+"Will wonders never cease!" cried the old man. "Those merchants in
+Frankfort must be irredeemable fools. Look you there, Highness! Do you
+see that barge coming down the river, heavily laden, as I am a sinner,
+for she lies low in the water. It is one of the largest of the Frankfort
+boats, and those hopeful simpletons doubtless imagine they can make
+their way through to Cologne with enough goods left to pay for the
+journey. 'Tis madness! Why, the knights of Rheinstein and Falkenberg
+alone will loot them before they are out of our sight. If they think to
+avoid those rovers by hugging our shore, their mistake will be apparent
+before they have gone far."
+
+Roland gazed at the approaching craft, and instantly remembered that he
+was responsible for its appearance on the Rhine. He recognized Herr
+Goebel's great barge, with its thick mast in the prow, on which no sail
+was hoisted because the wind blew upstream. On recollecting his deserted
+men, he wondered whether or not Greusel had brought them across the
+hills to Assmannshausen. Had they yet discovered that Joseph carried the
+bag of gold? He laughed aloud as he thought of the scrimmage that would
+ensue when this knowledge came to them. But little as he cared for the
+eighteen, he experienced a pang of regret as he estimated the
+predicament in which both Greusel and Ebearhard had stood on learning he
+had left them without a word. Still, even now he could not see how any
+explanation on his part was possible without revealing his identity, and
+that he was determined not to do.
+
+Turning round, he said abruptly to the custodian:
+
+"Were the seven hundred thalers paid to you each month?"
+
+"Of a surety," was the reply.
+
+"That will be two thousand one hundred thalers altogether. Did you spend
+the money?"
+
+"I have not touched a single coin. That amount is yours, and yours
+alone, Prince Roland. If I have been of service I am quite content to
+wait for my reward, or should I not be here, I know you will remember my
+family."
+
+"May the Lord forget me if I don't. Still, the twenty-one hundred
+thalers are all yours, remember, but I beg of you to lend me a thousand,
+for I possess not a single gold piece in my bag. Indeed, if it comes to
+that, I do not possess even a bag. I had two yesterday, but one I gave
+away and the other I threw away."
+
+The old man hurried down, and presently returned with the bag of money
+that Roland had asked of him. Before this happened, however, Roland,
+watching the barge, saw it round to, and tie up at the shore some
+distance above Assmannshausen. He took the gold, and passed down the
+stone stair to the courtyard.
+
+"I shall return," he said, "before the sun sets," and without more ado,
+this extraordinary captive left his prison, and descended the hill in
+the direction of the barge.
+
+After greeting Captain Blumenfels, he learned that the boat had been
+delayed by running on a sandbank in the Main during the night, but they
+had got it off at daybreak, and here they were. As, standing on the
+shore, Roland talked with the captain on the barge, he saw approaching
+from Assmannshausen two men whom he recognized. Telling the captain he
+might not be ready for several days, he walked along the shore to meet
+his astonished friends, who, as was usual with them, jumped at an
+erroneous conclusion, and supposed that he arrived on the barge which
+they had seen rounding to for the purpose of taking up her berth by the
+river-bank.
+
+Greusel and Ebearhard stood still until he came up to them.
+
+"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Are you here alone, or have you brought the
+mob with you?"
+
+"Your capable lieutenant, sir," said Ebearhard, before his slower
+companion could begin to frame a sentence, "allowed the men to think
+they were having their own way, but in reality diverted them into his,
+so they are now enjoying a credit of one liter each at the tavern of the
+Golden Anker."
+
+"That," said Roland, "is but as a drop of water in a parched desert.
+Have they discovered you hold the money, Greusel?"
+
+"No, not yet; but I fear they will begin to suspect by and by. I suppose
+you went down the valley of the brook to the Rhine, and overhauled the
+barge there?"
+
+"I suppose so," said Roland. "What else did you think I could do?"
+
+"I was sure you had done that, but I feared you would turn the barge
+back to Frankfort."
+
+"I never thought of such a thing. Indeed, the captain told me he met
+difficulty enough navigating the shallow Main, and I think he prefers
+the deeper Rhine. Of course, you know why I left you."
+
+The men looked at each other without reply, and Roland laughed.
+
+"I see you have been harboring dark suspicions, but the case is very
+simple. The pious monks tell us that the Scriptures say if a man asks us
+to go one league with him, we should go two. My good friends of the
+guild last night made a most reasonable request, namely, that I should
+bestow upon them three thalers each, and surely, to quote the monks
+again, the laborer is worthy of his hire."
+
+"Oh, that is the way you look upon it, then," said Greusel.
+
+"From a scriptural point of view, yes; and I am going to better the
+teachings of my young days by giving each of the men ten times the
+amount he desired. Thirty thalers each are waiting in this bag for
+them."
+
+"By my sword!" cried Ebearhard, "if that isn't setting a premium on
+mutiny it comes perilously close."
+
+"Not so, Ebearhard; not so. You and Greusel did not mutiny, therefore to
+each of you I give a hundred and thirty thalers, which is the thirty
+thalers the mutineers receive, and a hundred thalers extra, as a reward
+of virtue because you did not join them. After all, there is much to be
+said for the men's point of view. I had led them ruthlessly under a
+burning July sun, along a rough and shadeless road, then dragged them
+away from the ample wine-vaults of Sonnenberg; next guided them on
+through brambles, over streams, into bogs and out again; and lastly,
+when they were dog-tired, hungry and ill-tempered, I carelessly pointed
+to a section of the landscape, and said, 'There, my dear chaps, is your
+bedroom'; lads who had never before slept without blankets and a roof.
+No wonder they mutinied; but even then, by the love of God for His
+creatures, they did not actually attack me when I stood up with drawn
+sword in my hand."
+
+"Of course you have that at least to be thankful for," said Ebearhard.
+"Eighteen to one was foul odds."
+
+"I be thankful! Surely you are dreaming, Ebearhard. Why should I be
+thankful, except that I escaped the remorse for at least killing a dozen
+of them!"
+
+Ebearhard laughed heartily.
+
+"Oh, if so sure of yourself as all that, you need no sympathy from me."
+
+"You thought I would be outmatched? By the Three Kings! do you imagine
+me such a fool as to teach you artisans the higher qualities of the
+sword? There would have been a woeful surprise for the eighteen had they
+ventured another step farther. However, that's all past and done with,
+and we'll say no more about it. Let us sit down here on the sward, and
+indulge in the more agreeable recreation of counting money."
+
+He spread his cloak on the grass, and poured out the gold upon it.
+
+"I am keeping two hundred thalers for myself, as leader of the
+expedition, and covetous. Here are your hundred and thirty thalers,
+Greusel, and yours, Ebearhard. You will find remaining five hundred and
+forty, which, if divided with reasonable accuracy, should afford thirty
+thalers to each of our precious eighteen."
+
+"Aren't you coming with us to Assmannshausen, that you may give this
+money to the men yourself?" asked Greusel.
+
+"No; that pleasure falls to my lieutenants, first and second. One may
+divide the money while the other delivers the moral lecture against
+mutiny, illustrated by the amount that good behavior gains. Say nothing
+to the men about the barge being here, merely telling them to prepare
+for action. Now that you are in funds, engage a large room, exclusively
+for yourselves, at the Golden Anker. Thus you will be the better able to
+keep the men from talking with strangers, and so prevent any news of our
+intentions drifting across the river to Rheinstein or Falkenberg. You
+might put it to them, should they object to the special room, that you
+are reconstituting, as it were, the Kaiser cellar of Frankfort in the
+village of Assmannshausen. Go forward, therefore, with your usual
+meetings of the guild, as it was before I lowered its tone by becoming a
+member. Knowing the lads as I do, I suggest that you make your bargain
+with them before you deliver the money. No promise; no thirty thalers.
+And now, good-by. I shall be exceedingly busy for some days arranging
+for a further supply of money, so do not seek me out no matter what
+happens."
+
+With this Roland shook hands, and returned to Ehrenfels Castle.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The three sumptuous barges of the Archbishops hove in sight at midday,
+two coming up the river and one floating down. They maneuvered to the
+landing so that all reached it at the same time, and thus the three
+Archbishops were enabled to set foot simultaneously on the firm ground,
+as was right and proper, no one of them obtaining precedence over the
+other two. On entering the Castle of Ehrenfels in state, they proceeded
+to the large hall of the knights, and seated themselves in three equal
+chairs that were set along the solid table. Here a repast was spread
+before them, accompanied by the finest wine the Rheingau produced, and
+although the grand prelates ate lustily, they were most sparing in their
+drink, for when they acted in concert none dared risk putting himself at
+a disadvantage with the others. They would make up for their abstinence
+when each rested in the security of his own castle.
+
+The board being cleared, Roland was summoned, and bowing deeply to each
+of the three he took his place, modestly standing on the opposite side
+of the table. The Archbishop of Mayence, as the oldest of the trio,
+occupied the middle chair; Treves, the next in age, at his right hand,
+and Cologne at his left. A keen observer might have noticed that the
+deferential, yet dignified, bearing of the young Prince made a favorable
+impression upon these rulers who, when they acted together, formed a
+power that only nominally was second in the realm.
+
+It was Mayence who broke the silence.
+
+"Prince Roland, some months ago turbulence in the State rendered it
+advisable that you, as a probable nominee to the throne, should be
+withdrawn from the capital to the greater safety which this house
+affords. I hope it has never been suggested to you that this unavoidable
+detention merited the harsh name of imprisonment?"
+
+"Never, your Lordships," said Roland, with perfect truth.
+
+The three slightly inclined their heads, and Mayence continued:
+
+"I trust that in the carrying out of our behests you have been put to no
+inconvenience during your residence in my Castle of Ehrenfels, but if
+you find cause for complaint I shall see to it that the transgressor is
+sharply punished."
+
+"My Lord, had such been the case I should at once have communicated with
+your Lordship at Mayence. The fact that you have received no such
+protest from me answers your question, but I should like to add emphasis
+to this reply by saying I have met with the greatest courtesy and
+kindness within these walls."
+
+"I speak for my brothers and myself when I assert we are all gratified
+to hear the expression that has fallen from your lips. There was sent
+for your perusal a document in triplicate. Have you found time to read
+it?"
+
+"Yes, my Lord, and I beg to state at once that I will sign it with the
+greater pleasure since in any case, if called to the high position you
+propose, I should have consulted your Lordships on every matter that I
+deemed important enough to be worthy of your attention, and in no
+instance could I think of setting up my own opinion against the united
+wisdom of your Lordships."
+
+For a few minutes there ensued a whispered conversation among the three,
+then Mayence spoke again:
+
+"Once more I voice the sentiments of my colleagues, Prince Roland, when
+I assure you that the words you have just spoken give us the utmost
+satisfaction. In the whole world to-day there is no prouder honor than
+that which it is in the Electors' power to bestow upon you, and it is a
+blessed augury for the welfare of our country when the energy and
+aspiration of youth in this high place associates itself with the
+experience of age."
+
+Here he made a signal, and the aged custodian, who had been standing
+with his back against the door, well out of earshot, for the
+conversation was carried on in the most subdued and gentle tones,
+hurried forward, and Mayence requested him to produce the documents
+entrusted to his care. These were spread out before the young man, who
+signed each of them amidst a deep silence, broken only by the scratching
+of the quill.
+
+Up to this point Roland had been merely a Prince of the Empire; now, to
+all practical purposes, he was heir-apparent to the throne. This
+distinction was delicately indicated by Mayence, who asked the attendant
+to bring forward a chair, and then requested the young man to seat
+himself. Roland had supposed the ceremonies at an end, but it was soon
+evident that something further remained, for the three venerable heads
+were again in juxtaposition, and apparently there was some whispered
+difference as to the manner of procedure. Then Cologne, as the youngest
+of the three, was prevailed upon to act as spokesman, and with a smile
+he regarded the young man before he began.
+
+"I reside farther than my two colleagues from your fair, if turbulent,
+city of Frankfort, and perhaps that is one reason why I know little of
+the town and its ways from personal observation. You are a young man
+who, I may say, has greatly commended himself to us all, and so in
+whatever questions I may put, you will not, I hope, imagine that there
+is anything underneath them which does not appear on the surface."
+
+Roland drew a long breath, and some of the color left his face.
+
+"What in the name of Heaven is coming now," he said to himself, "that
+calls for so ominous a prelude? It must be something more than usually
+serious. May the good Lord give me courage to face it!"
+
+But outwardly he merely inclined his head.
+
+"We have all been young ourselves, and I trust none of us forget the
+temptations, and perhaps the dangers, that surround youth, especially
+when highly placed. I am told that Frankfort is a gay city, and
+doubtless you have mixed, to some extent at least, in its society." Here
+the Archbishop paused, and, as he evidently expected a reply, Roland
+spoke:
+
+"I regret to say, my Lord, that my opportunities for social intercourse
+have hitherto been somewhat limited. Greatly absorbed in study, there
+has been little time for me to acquire companions, much less friends."
+
+"What your Highness says, so far from being a drawback, as you seem to
+imagine, is all to the good. It leaves the future clear of complications
+that might otherwise cause you embarrassment." Here the Archbishop
+smiled again, and Roland found himself liking the august prelate. "It
+was not, however, of men that I desired to speak, but of women."
+
+"Oh, is that all?" cried the impetuous youth. "I feared, my Lord, that
+you were about to treat of some serious subject. So far as women are
+concerned, I am unacquainted with any, excepting only my mother."
+
+At this the three prelates smiled in differing degrees; even the stern
+lips of Mayence relaxing at the young man's confident assumption that
+consideration of women was not a matter of importance.
+
+"Your Highness clears the ground admirably for me," continued Cologne,
+"and takes a great weight from my mind, because I am entrusted by my
+brethren with a proposal which I have found some difficulty in setting
+forth. It is this. The choice of an Empress is one of the most momentous
+questions that an Emperor is called upon to decide. In all except the
+highest rank personal preference has much to do with the selection of a
+wife, but in the case of a king do you agree with me that State
+considerations must be kept in view?"
+
+"Undoubtedly, my Lord."
+
+"This is a matter to which we three Electors have given the weightiest
+consideration, finally agreeing on one whom we believe to possess the
+necessary qualifications; a lady highly born, deeply religious,
+enormously wealthy, and exceedingly beautiful. She is related to the
+most noble in the land. I refer to Hildegunde Lauretta Priscilla Agnes,
+Countess of Sayn. If there is any reason why your preference should not
+coincide with ours, I beg you quite frankly to state it."
+
+"There is no reason at all, your Lordships," cried Roland, with a deep
+sigh of relief on learning that his fears were so unfounded. "I shall be
+most happy and honored to wed the lady at any time your Lordships and
+she may select."
+
+"Then," said the Archbishop of Mayence, rising to his feet and speaking
+with great solemnity, "you are chosen as the future Emperor of our
+land."
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+A CALAMITOUS CONFERENCE
+
+
+The prelate and his ward were met at the doors of Stolzenfels by the
+Archbishop of Treves in person, and the welcome they received left
+nothing to be desired in point of cordiality. There were many servants,
+male and female, about the Castle, but no show of armed men.
+
+The Countess was conducted to a room whose outlook fascinated her. It
+occupied one entire floor of a square tower, with windows facing the
+four points of the compass, and from this height she could view the
+Rhine up to the stern old Castle of Marksburg, and down past Coblentz to
+her own realm of Sayn, where it bordered the river, although the
+stronghold from which she ruled this domain was hidden by the hills
+ending in Ehrenbreitstein.
+
+When she descended on being called to _mittagessen_, she was introduced
+to a sister of the Archbishop of Treves, a grave, elderly woman, and to
+the Archbishop's niece, a lady about ten years older than Hildegunde.
+Neither of these grand dames had much to say, and the conversation at
+the meal rested chiefly with the two Archbishops. Indeed, had the
+Countess but known it, her presence there was a great disappointment to
+the two noblewomen, for the close relationship of the younger to the
+Archbishop of Treves rendered it impossible that she should be offered
+the honor about to be bestowed upon the younger and more beautiful
+Countess von Sayn.
+
+The Archbishop of Mayence, although a resident of the Castle, partook of
+refreshment in the smallest room of the suite reserved for him, where he
+was waited upon by his own servants and catered for by his own cook.
+
+When the great Rhine salmon, smoking hot, was placed upon the table,
+Cologne was generous in his praise of it, and related again, for the
+information of his host and household, the story of the English Princess
+who had partaken of a similar fish, doubtless in this same room. Despite
+the historical bill of fare, and the mildly exhilarating qualities of
+the excellent Oberweseler wine, whose delicate reddish color the
+sentimental Archbishop compared to the blush on a bride's cheeks, the
+social aspect of the midday refection was overshadowed by an almost
+indefinable sense of impending danger. In the pseudogenial conversation
+of the two Archbishops there was something forced: the attitude of the
+elderly hostess was one of unrelieved gloom. After a few conventional
+greetings to her young guest, she spoke no more during the meal. Her
+daughter, who sat beside the Countess on the opposite side of the table
+from his Lordship of Cologne, merely answered "Yes" or "No" to the
+comments of the lady of Sayn praising the romantic situation of the
+Castle, its unique qualities of architecture, and the splendid outlook
+from its battlements, eulogies which began enthusiastically enough, but
+finally faded away into silence, chilled by a reception so unfriendly.
+
+Thus cast back upon her own thoughts, the girl grew more and more uneasy
+as the peculiar features of the occasion became clearer in her own mind.
+Here was her revered, beloved friend forcing hilarity which she knew he
+could not feel, breaking bread and drinking wine with a colleague while
+three thousand of his armed men peered down on the roof that sheltered
+him, ready at a signal to pounce upon Stolzenfels like birds of prey,
+capturing, and if necessary, slaying. She remembered the hearty cheers
+that welcomed them on their arrival at Coblentz, yet every man who thus
+boisterously greeted them, waving his bonnet in the air, was doubtless
+an enemy. The very secrecy, the unknown nature of the danger, depressed
+her more and more as she thought of it; the fierce soldiers hidden in
+the forest, ready to leap up, burn and kill at an unknown sign from a
+Prince of religion; the deadly weapons concealed in a Church of Christ:
+all this grim reality of a Faith she held dear had never been hinted at
+by the gentle nuns among whom she lived so happily for the greater part
+of her life.
+
+At last her somber hostess rose, and Hildegunde, with a sigh of relief,
+followed her example. The Archbishop of Cologne gallantly held back the
+curtain at the doorway, and bowed low when the three ladies passed
+through. The silent hostess conducted her guest to a parlor on the same
+floor as the dining-room; a parlor from which opened another door
+connecting it with a small knights' hall; the _kleine Rittersaal_ in
+which the Court of the Archbishops was to be held.
+
+The Archbishop's sister did not enter the parlor, but here took formal
+farewell of Countess von Sayn, who turned to the sole occupant of the
+room, her kinsman and counselor, Father Ambrose.
+
+"Were you not asked to dine with us?" she inquired.
+
+"Yes; but I thought it better to refuse. First, in case the three
+Archbishops might have something confidential to say to you; and second,
+because at best I am poor company at a banquet."
+
+"Indeed, you need not have been so thoughtful: first, as you say, there
+were not three Archbishops present, but only two, and neither said
+anything to me that all the world might not hear; second, the rest of
+the company, the sister and the niece of Treves, were so doleful that
+you would have proved a hilarious companion compared with them. Did my
+guardian make any statement to you yesterday afternoon that revealed the
+object of this coming Court?"
+
+"None whatever. Our conversation related entirely to your estate and my
+management of it. We spoke of crops, of cultivation, and of vineyards."
+
+"You have no knowledge, then, of the reason why we are summoned hither?"
+
+"On that subject, Hildegunde, I am as ignorant as you."
+
+"I don't think I am wholly in the dark," murmured the Countess,
+"although I know nothing definite."
+
+"You surmise, in spite of your guardian's disclaimer, that the
+discussion will pertain to your recovery of the town of Linz?"
+
+"Perhaps; but not likely. Did you say anything of your journey to
+Frankfort?"
+
+"Not a word. I understood from you that no mention should be made of my
+visit unless his Lordship asked questions proving he was aware of it, in
+which case I was to tell the truth."
+
+"You were quite right, Father. Did my guardian ask you to accompany us
+to Stolzenfels?"
+
+"Assuredly, or I should not have ventured."
+
+"What reason did he give, and what instructions did he lay upon you?"
+
+"He thought you should have by your side some one akin to you. His
+instructions were that in no circumstances was I to offer any remark
+upon the proceedings. Indeed, I am not allowed to speak unless in answer
+to a question directly put to me, and then in the fewest possible
+words."
+
+Hildegunde ceased her cross-examination, and seated herself by a window
+which gave a view of the steep mountain-side behind the Castle, where,
+sheltered by the thick, dark forest, she knew that her guardian's men
+lay in ambush. She shuddered slightly, wondering what was the meaning of
+these preparations, and in the deep silence became aware of the
+accelerated beating of her heart. She felt but little reassured by the
+presence of her kinsman, whose lips moved without a murmur, and whose
+grave eyes seemed fixed on futurity, meditating the mystery of the next
+world, and completely oblivious to the realities of the earth he
+inhabited.
+
+She turned her troubled gaze once more to the green forest, and after a
+long lapse of time the dual reveries were broken by the entrance of an
+official gorgeously appareled. This functionary bowed low, and said with
+great solemnity:
+
+"Madam, the Court of my Lords the Archbishops awaits your presence."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The _kleine Rittersaal_ occupied a fine position on the river-side front
+of Stolzenfels, its windows giving a view of the Rhine, with the strong
+Castle of Lahneck over-hanging the mouth of the Lahn, and the more
+ornamental Schloss Martinsburg at the upper end of Oberlahnstein. The
+latter edifice, built by a former Elector of Mayence, was rarely
+occupied by the present Archbishop, but, as he sat in the central chair
+of the Court, he had the advantage of being able to look across the
+river at his own house should it please him to do so.
+
+The three Archbishops were standing behind the long table when the
+Countess entered, thus acknowledging that she who came into their
+presence, young and beautiful, was a very great lady by right of descent
+and rank. She acknowledged their courtesy by a graceful inclination of
+the head, and the three Princes of the Church responded each with a bow,
+that of Mayence scarcely perceptible, that of Treves deferential and
+courtly, that of Cologne with a friendly smile of encouragement.
+
+In the center of the hall opposite the long table had been placed an
+immense chair, taken from the grand _Rittersaal_, ornamented with gilded
+carving, and covered in richly-colored Genoa velvet. It looked like a
+throne, which indeed it was, used only on occasions when Royalty visited
+the Castle. To this sumptuous seat the scarcely less gorgeous
+functionary conducted the girl, and when she had taken her place, the
+three Archbishops seated themselves. The glorified menial then bent
+himself until his forehead nearly touched the floor, and silently
+departed. Father Ambrose, his coarse, ill-cut clothes of somber color in
+striking contrast to the richness of costume worn by the others, stood
+humbly beside the chair that supported his kinswoman.
+
+The Countess gave a quick glance at the Archbishop of Mayence, then
+lowered her eyes. Cologne she had known all her life; Treves she had met
+that day, and rather liked, although feeling she could not esteem him as
+she did her guardian, but a thrill of fear followed her swift look at
+the man in the center.
+
+"A face of great strength," she said to herself, "but his thin, straight
+lips, tightly compressed, seemed cruel, as well as determined." With a
+flash of comprehension she understood now her guardian's warning not to
+thwart him. It was easy to credit the acknowledged fact that this man
+dominated the other two. Nevertheless, when he spoke his voice was
+surprisingly mild.
+
+"Madam," he said, "we are met here in an hour of grave anxiety. The
+Emperor, who has been ill for some time, is now upon his death-bed, and
+the physicians who attend him inform me that at any moment we may be
+called upon to elect his successor. That successor has already been
+chosen; chosen, I may add, in an informal manner, but his selection is
+not likely to be canceled, unless by some act of his own which would
+cause us to reconsider our decision. Our adoption was made very recently
+in my castle of Ehrenfels, and we are come together again in the Castle
+of my brother Treves, not in our sacred office as Archbishops, but in
+our secular capacity as Electors of the Empire, to determine a matter
+which we consider of almost equal importance. It is our privilege to
+bestow upon you the highest honor that may be conferred on any woman in
+the realm; the position of Empress.
+
+"When you have signified your acceptance of this great elevation, I must
+put to you several questions concerning your future duties to the State,
+and these are embodied in a document which you will be asked to sign."
+
+The Countess did not raise her eyes. While the Archbishop was speaking
+the color flamed up in her cheeks, but faded away again, and her
+guardian, who watched her very intently across the table, saw her face
+become so pale that he feared she was about to faint. However, she
+rallied, and at last looked up, not at her dark-browed questioner, but
+at the Archbishop of Cologne.
+
+"May I not know," she said, in a voice scarcely audible, "who is my
+future husband?"
+
+"Surely, surely," replied her guardian soothingly, "but the Elector of
+Mayence is our spokesman here, and you must address your question to his
+Lordship."
+
+She now turned her frightened eyes upon Mayence, whose brow had become
+slightly ruffled at this interruption, and whose lips were more firmly
+closed. He sat there imperturbable, refusing the beseechment of her
+eyes, and thus forced her to repeat her question, though to him it took
+another form.
+
+"My Lord, who is to be the next Emperor?"
+
+"Countess von Sayn, I fear that in modifying my opening address to
+accord with the comprehension of a girl but recently emerged from
+convent life, I have led you into an error. The Court of Electors is not
+convened for the purpose of securing your consent, but with the duty of
+imposing upon you a command. It is not for you to ask questions, but to
+answer them."
+
+"You mean that I am to marry this unknown man, whether I will or no?"
+
+"That is my meaning."
+
+The girl sat back in her chair, and the moisture that had gathered in
+her eyes disappeared as if licked up by the little flame that burned in
+their depths.
+
+"Very well," she said. "Ask your questions, and I will answer them."
+
+"Before I put any question, I must have your consent to my first
+proposition."
+
+"That is quite unnecessary, my Lord. When you hear my answer to your
+questions, you will very speedily withdraw your first proposition."
+
+The Elector of Treves, who had been shifting uneasily in his chair, now
+leaned forward, and spoke in an ingratiating manner.
+
+"Countess, you are a neighbor of mine, although you live on the opposite
+side of the river, and I am honored in receiving you as my guest. As
+guest and neighbor, I appeal to you on our behalf: be assured that we
+wish nothing but your very greatest good and happiness." The spark in
+her eyes died down, and they beamed kindly on the courtier Elector. "You
+see before you three old bachelors, quite unversed in the ways of women.
+If anything that has been said offends you, pray overlook our default,
+for I assure you, on behalf of my colleagues and myself, that any one of
+us would bitterly regret uttering a single word to cause you
+disquietude."
+
+"My disquietude, my Lord, is caused by the refusal to utter the single
+name I have asked for. Am I a peasant girl to be handed over to the hind
+that makes the highest offer?"
+
+"Not so. No such thought entered our minds. The name is, of course, a
+secret at the present moment, and I quite appreciate the reluctance of
+my Lord of Mayence to mention it, but I think in this instance an
+exception may safely be made, and I now appeal to his Lordship to
+enlighten the Countess."
+
+Mayence answered indifferently:
+
+"I do not agree with you, but we are here three Electors of equal power,
+and two can always outvote one."
+
+The Elector of Cologne smiled slightly; he had seen this comedy enacted
+before, and never objected to it. The carrying of some unimportant point
+in opposition to their chief always gave Treves a certain sense of
+independence.
+
+"My Lord of Cologne," said the latter, bending forward and addressing
+the man at the other end of the table "do you not agree with me?"
+
+"Certainly," replied Cologne, with some curtness.
+
+"In that case," continued Treves, "I take it upon myself to announce to
+you, Madam, that the young man chosen for our future ruler is Prince
+Roland, only son of the dying Emperor."
+
+The hands of the Countess nervously clutched the soft velvet on the arms
+of her chair.
+
+"I thank you," she said, addressing Treves, and speaking as calmly as
+though she were Mayence himself. "May I ask you if this marriage was
+proposed to the young man?"
+
+Treves looked up nervously at the stern face of Mayence, who nodded to
+him, as much as to say:
+
+"You are doing well; go on."
+
+"Yes," replied Treves.
+
+"Was my name concealed from him?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Had he ever heard of me before?"
+
+"Surely," replied the diplomatic Treves, "for the fame of the Countess
+von Sayn has traveled farther than her modesty will admit."
+
+"Did he agree?"
+
+"Instantly; joyfully, it seemed to me."
+
+"In any case, he has never seen me," continued the Countess. "Did he
+make any inquiry, whether I was tall or short, old or young, rich or
+poor, beautiful or ugly?"
+
+"He seemed very well satisfied with our choice."
+
+Treves had his elbows on the table, leaning forward with open palms
+supporting his chin. He had spoken throughout in the most ingratiating
+manner, his tones soft and honeyed. He was so evidently pleased with his
+own diplomacy that even the eye of the stern Mayence twinkled
+maliciously when the girl turned impulsively toward the other end of the
+table, and cried:
+
+"Guardian, tell me the truth! I know this young man accepted me as if I
+were a sack of grain, his whole mind intent on one thing only: to secure
+for himself the position of Emperor. Is it not so?"
+
+"It is not so, Countess," said Cologne solemnly.
+
+"Prince Roland, it is true, made no stipulation regarding you."
+
+"I was sure of it. Any Gretchen in Germany would have done just as well.
+I was merely part of the bargain he was compelled to make with you, and
+now I announce to the Court that no power on earth will induce me to
+marry Prince Roland. I claim the right of my womanhood to wed only the
+man whom I love, and who loves me!"
+
+Mayence gave utterance to an exclamation that might be coarsely
+described as a snort of contempt. The Elector of Treves was leaning back
+in his chair discomfited by her abrupt desertion of him. The Elector of
+Cologne now leaned forward, dismayed at the turn affairs had taken, deep
+anxiety visible on his brow.
+
+"Countess von Sayn," he began, and thus his ward realized how deeply she
+had offended, "in all my life I never met any young man who impressed me
+so favorably as Prince Roland of Germany. If I possessed a daughter whom
+I dearly loved, I could wish her no better fortune than to marry so
+honest a youth as he. The very point you make against him should have
+told most strongly in his favor with a young girl. My reading of his
+character is that so far as concerns the love you spoke of, he knows as
+little of it as yourself, and thus he agreed to our proposal with a
+seeming indifference which you entirely misjudge. If you, then, have any
+belief in my goodwill towards you, in my deep anxiety for your welfare
+and happiness, I implore you to agree to the suggestion my Lord of
+Mayence has made. You speak of love knowing nothing concerning it. I
+call to your remembrance the fact that one noble lady of your race may
+have foregone the happiness that love perhaps brings, in her desire for
+the advancement of one whom she loved so truly that she chose for her
+guide the more subdued but steadier star of duty. The case is presented
+to you, my dear, in different form, and I feel assured that duty and
+love will shine together."
+
+As the venerable Archbishop spoke with such deep earnestness, in a voice
+she loved so well, the girl buried her face in her hands, and he could
+see the tears trickle between her fingers. A silence followed her
+guardian's appeal, disturbed only by the agitated breathing of
+Hildegunde.
+
+The cold voice of the Elector of Mayence broke the stillness, like a
+breath from a glazier:
+
+"Do you consent, Madam?"
+
+"Yes," gasped the girl, her shoulders quivering with emotion, but she
+did not look up.
+
+"I fear that the object of this convocation was like to be forgotten in
+the gush of sentiment issuing from both sides of me. This is a business
+meeting, and not a love-feast. Will you do me the courtesy, Madam, of
+raising your head and answering my question?"
+
+The girl dashed the tears from her eyes, and sat up straight, grasping
+with nervous hands the arms of the throne, as if to steady herself
+against the coming ordeal.
+
+"I scarcely heard what you said. Do you consent to marry Prince Roland
+of Germany?"
+
+"I have consented," she replied firmly.
+
+"Will you use your influence with him that he may carry out the behests
+of the three Archbishops?"
+
+"Yes, if the behests are for the good of the country."
+
+"I cannot accept any qualifications, therefore I repeat my question.
+Will you use your influence with him that he may carry out the behests
+of the three Archbishops?"
+
+"I can have no influence with such a man."
+
+"Answer my question, Madam."
+
+"Say yes, Hildegunde," pleaded Cologne.
+
+She turned to him swimming eyes.
+
+"Oh, Guardian, Guardian!" she cried, "I have done everything I can, and
+all for you; all for you. I cannot stand any more. This is torture to
+me. Let me go home, and another day when I am calmer I will answer your
+questions!"
+
+The perturbed Archbishop sat back again with a deep sigh. The ignorance
+of women with which his colleague of Treves had credited all three was
+being amazingly dispelled. He could not understand why this girl should
+show such emotion at the thought of marrying the heir to the throne,
+when assured the young man was all that any reasonable woman could
+desire.
+
+"Madam, I pray you give your attention to me," said the unimpassioned
+voice of Mayence. "I have listened to your conversation with my
+colleagues, and the patience I exhibited will, I hope, be credited to
+me. This matter of business"--he emphasized the word--"must be settled
+to-day, and to clear away all misapprehension, I desire to say that your
+guardian has really no influence on this matter. It was settled before
+you came into the room. You are merely allowed a choice of two outcomes:
+first, marriage with Prince Roland; second, imprisonment in Pfalz
+Castle, situated in the middle of the Rhine."
+
+"What is that?" demanded the Countess.
+
+"I am tired of repeating my statements."
+
+"You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
+
+Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire
+bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by
+Rhine robbers as well.
+
+"Yes, Madam. A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."
+
+"It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath. "'Twas the Emperor
+Rudolph who hanged him; the same Emperor that chastised an Archbishop of
+Mayence, and brought him, cringing, to his knees, begging for pardon,
+which the Emperor contemptuously flung to him. You dare not imprison
+me!"
+
+"Refuse to marry Prince Roland, and learn," said the Archbishop very
+quietly.
+
+The girl sprang to her feet, a-quiver with anger.
+
+"I do refuse! Prince Roland has hoodwinked the three of you! He is a
+libertine and a brawler, consorting with the lowest in the cellars of
+Frankfort; a liar and a thief, and not a brave thief at that, but a
+cutthroat who holds his sword to the breast of an unarmed merchant while
+he filches from him his gold. Added to that, a drunkard as his father
+is; and, above all, a hypocrite, as his father is not, yet clever
+enough, with all his vices, to cozen three men whose vile rule has
+ruined Frankfort, and left the broad Rhine empty of its life-giving
+commerce;" she waved her hand toward the vacant river.
+
+The Archbishop of Cologne was the first to rise, horror-stricken.
+
+"The girl is mad!" he murmured.
+
+Treves rose also, but Mayence sat still, a sour smile on his lips, yet a
+twinkle of admiration in his eyes.
+
+"No, my poor Guardian, I am not mad," she cried, regarding him with a
+smile, her wrath subsiding as quickly as it had risen. "What I say is
+true, and it may be that our meeting, turbulent as it has been, will
+prevent you from making a great mistake. He whom you would put on the
+throne is not the man you think."
+
+"My dear ward!" cried Cologne, "how can you make such accusations
+against him? What should a girl living in seclusion as you live, know of
+what is passing in Frankfort."
+
+"It seems strange, Guardian, but it is true, nevertheless. Sit down
+again, I beg of you, and you, my Lord of Treves. Even my Lord of Mayence
+will, I think, comprehend my abhorrence when such a proposal was made to
+me, and I hope, my Lord, you will forgive my outburst of anger just
+now."
+
+She heard the trembling Treves mutter:
+
+"Mayence never forgives."
+
+"Now, Father Ambrose, come forward."
+
+"Why?" asked Ambrose, waking from his reverie.
+
+"Tell them your experiences in Frankfort."
+
+"I am not allowed to speak," objected the monk.
+
+"Speak, speak!" cried Cologne. "What, sir, have you had to do with this
+girl's misleading?"
+
+"I thought," he said wistfully to his kinswoman, "that I was not to
+mention my visit to Frankfort unless my Lord the Archbishop brought up
+the subject."
+
+"Have you not been listening to these proceedings?" cried the girl
+impatiently. "The subject is brought up before three Archbishops,
+instead of before one. Tell their Lordships what you know of Prince
+Roland."
+
+Father Ambrose, with a deep sigh, began his recital, to which Treves and
+Cologne listened with ever-increasing amazement, while the sullen
+Mayence sat back in his chair, face imperturbable, but the thin lips
+closing firmer and firmer as the narrative went on.
+
+When the monologue ended, his Reverence of Cologne was the first to
+speak:
+
+"In the name of Heaven, why did you not tell me all this yesterday?"
+
+Father Ambrose looked helplessly at his kinswoman, but made no reply.
+
+"I forbade him, my Lord," said the girl proudly, and for the first time
+addressing him by a formal title, as if from now on he was to be
+reckoned with her enemies. "I alone am responsible for the journey to
+Frankfort and its consequences, whatever they may be. You invoked the
+name of Heaven just now, my Lord, and I would have you know that I am
+convinced Heaven itself intervened on my behalf to expose the real
+character of Prince Roland, who has successfully deluded three men like
+yourselves, supposed to be astute!"
+
+The Archbishop turned upon her sorrowful eyes, troubled yet kindly.
+
+"My dear Countess," he said, "I have not ventured to censure you;
+nevertheless I am, or have been, your guardian, and should, I think,
+have been consulted before you committed yourself to an action that
+threatens disaster to our plans."
+
+The girl replied, still with the hauteur so lately assumed:
+
+"I do not dispute my wardship, and have more than once thanked you for
+your care of me, but at this crisis of my life--a crisis transforming me
+instantly from a girl to a woman--you fail me, seeing me here at bay. I
+wished to spend a month or two at the capital city, but before troubling
+you with such a request I determined to learn whether or not the state
+of Frankfort was as disturbed as rumor alleged. Finding matters there to
+be hopeless, the project of a visit was at once abandoned, and knowing
+nothing of the honor about to be conferred on Prince Roland, I thought
+it best to keep what had been discovered regarding his character a
+secret between the Reverend Father and myself. I dare say an attempt
+will be made to cast doubt on the Reverend Father's story, and perhaps
+my three judges may convince themselves of its falseness, but they
+cannot convince me, and I tell you finally and formally that no power on
+earth will induce me to marry a marauder and a thief!"
+
+This announcement effectually silenced the one friend she possessed
+among the three. Mayence slowly turned his head, and looked upon the
+colleague at his right, as much as to say, "Do you wish to add your
+quota to this inconsequential talk?"
+
+Treves, at this silent appeal, leaned forward, and spoke to the
+perturbed monk, who knew that, in some way he did not quite understand,
+affairs were drifting towards a catastrophe.
+
+"Father Ambrose," began the Elector of Treves, "would you kindly tell us
+the exact date when this encounter on the bridge took place?"
+
+"Saint Cyrille's Day," replied Father Ambrose.
+
+"And during the night of that day you were incarcerated in the cellar
+among the wine-casks?"
+
+"Yes, my Lord."
+
+"Would it surprise you to know, Father Ambrose, that during Saint
+Cyrille's Day, and for many days previous to that date, Prince Roland
+was a close prisoner in his Lordship of Mayence's strong Castle of
+Ehrenfels, and that it was quite impossible for you to have met him in
+Frankfort, or anywhere else?"
+
+"Nevertheless, I did meet him," persisted Father Ambrose, with the quiet
+obstinacy of a mild man.
+
+Treves smiled.
+
+"Where did you lodge in Frankfort, Father?"
+
+"At the Benedictine Monastery in Sachsenhausen."
+
+"Do the good brethren supply their guests with a potent wine? Frankfort
+is, and always has been, the chief market of that exhilarating but
+illusion-creating beverage."
+
+The cheeks of the Countess flushed crimson at this insinuation on her
+kinsman's sobriety. The old monk's hand rested on the arm of her throne,
+and she placed her own hand upon his as if to encourage him to resent
+the implied slander. After all, they were two Sayns hard pressed by
+these ruthless potentates. But Ambrose answered mildly:
+
+"It may be that the monastery contains wine, my Lord, and doubtless the
+wine is good, but during my visit I did not taste it."
+
+Cross-examination at an end, the Lord of Mayence spoke scarcely above a
+whisper, a trace of weariness in his manner.
+
+"My Lords," he said, "we have wandered from the subject. The romance by
+Father Ambrose is but indifferently interesting, and nothing at all to
+the point. Even a child may understand what has happened, for it is
+merely a case of mistaken identity, and my sympathy goes out entirely
+towards the unknown; a man who knew his own mind, and being naturally
+indignant at an interference both persistent and uncalled for, quite
+rightly immured the meddler among the casks, probably shrewd enough to
+see that this practicer of temperance would not interfere with their
+integrity.
+
+"Madam, stand up!"
+
+The Countess seemed inclined to disobey this curt order, but a
+beseeching look from her now thoroughly frightened guardian changed her
+intention, and she rose to her feet.
+
+"Madam, the greatest honor which it is in the power of this Empire to
+bestow upon a woman has been proffered to you, and rejected with
+unnecessary heat. I beg therefore, to inform you, that in the judgment
+of this Court you are considered unworthy of the exalted position which,
+before knowing your true character, it was intended you should fill. The
+various calumnies you have poured upon the innocent head of Prince
+Roland amount in effect to high treason."
+
+"Pardon, my Lord!" cried the Archbishop of Cologne, "your contention
+will hold neither in law nor in fact. High treason is an offense that
+can be committed only against the realm as a whole, or against its ruler
+in person. Prince Roland is not yet Emperor of Germany, and however much
+we may regret the language used in his disparagement, it has arisen
+through a misunderstanding quite patent to us all. A good but dreamy man
+made a mistake, which, however deplorable, has been put forward with a
+sincerity that none of us can question; indeed, it was the intention of
+Father Ambrose to keep his supposed knowledge a secret, and you both saw
+with what evident reluctance he spoke when commanded to do so by my
+colleague of Treves. Whatever justice there may be in disciplining
+Father Ambrose, there is none at all for exaggerated censure upon my
+lady, the Countess of Sayn, and before pronouncing a further censure I
+beg your Lordship to take into consideration the circumstances of the
+case, by which a young girl, without any previous warning or
+preparation, is called upon suddenly to make the most momentous decision
+of her life. I say it is to her ladyship's credit that she refused the
+highest station in the land in the interests of what she supposes to be,
+however erroneously, the cause of honesty, sobriety, and, I may add, of
+Christianity; qualities for which we three men should stand."
+
+"My Lord," objected Treves, "we meet here as temporal Princes, and not
+as Archbishops of the Church."
+
+"I know that, my brother of Treves, and my appeal is to the temporal
+law. Prince Roland, despite his high lineage, is merely a citizen of the
+Empire, and a subject of his Majesty, the Emperor. It is therefore
+impossible that the crime of treason can be committed against him."
+
+During this protest and discussion the Elector of Mayence had leaned
+back again in his usual attitude of tired indifference; his keen eyes
+almost closed. When he spoke he made no reference to what either of his
+two confreres had said.
+
+"Madam," he began, without raising his voice, "it is the sentence of
+this Court that you shall be imprisoned during its pleasure in the
+Castle of Pfalzgrafenstein, which stands on a rock in the middle of the
+Rhine. Under the guardianship of the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck, who will be
+responsible for your safe keeping, I hope you will listen to the devout
+counsel of his excellent wife to such effect that when next you are
+privileged to meet a Court so highly constituted as this you may be
+better instructed regarding the language with which it should be
+addressed. You are permitted to take with you two waiting-women, chosen
+by yourself from your own household, but all communication with the
+outside world is forbidden. You said something to the effect that this
+Court dared not pronounce such sentence against you, but if you
+possessed that wisdom you so conspicuously lack, you might have surmised
+that a power which ventured to imprison the future Emperor of this land
+would not hesitate to place in durance a mere Countess von Sayn."
+
+The Countess bowed her head slightly, and without protest sat down
+again. The Elector of Cologne arose.
+
+"My Lord, I raised a point of law which has been ignored."
+
+"This is the proper time to raise it," replied Mayence, "and you shall
+be instantly satisfied. This Court is competent to give its decision
+upon any point of law. If my Lord of Treves agrees with me, your
+objection is disallowed."
+
+"I agree," said the Elector of Treves.
+
+"My Lord of Cologne," said Mayence, turning towards the person
+addressed, "the decision of the Court is against you."
+
+Hildegunde was already learning a lesson. Although dazed by the verdict,
+she could not but admire the quiet, conversational tone adopted by the
+three men before her, as compared with her own late vehemence.
+
+"The decision of the Court is not unexpected," said Cologne, "and I
+regret that I am compelled to appeal."
+
+"To whom will you appeal?" inquired Mayence mildly, "The Emperor, as you
+know, is quite unfit for the transaction of public business, and even if
+such were not the case, would hesitate to overturn a decision given by a
+majority of this Court."
+
+"I appeal," replied Cologne, "to a power that even Emperors must obey;
+the power of physical force."
+
+"You mean," said Mayence sadly, "to the three thousand men concealed in
+the forest behind this house in which you are an honored guest?"
+
+The Elector of Cologne was so taken aback by this almost whispered
+remark that he was momentarily struck speechless. A sudden pallor swept
+the usual ruddiness from his face. The Lord of Mayence gently inclined
+his head as if awaiting an answer, and when it did not come, went on
+impassively:
+
+"I may inform you, my Lord, that my army occupies the capital city of
+Frankfort, able and ready to quell any disturbance that may be caused by
+the announcement of the Emperor's death, but there are still plenty of
+seasoned troops ready to uphold the decisions of this Court. When your
+spies scoured the country in the forests, and along the river almost to
+the gates of my city of Mayence, they appeared to labor under the
+illusion that I could move my soldiers only overland. Naturally, they
+met no sign of such an incursion, because I had requisitioned a hundred
+barges which I found empty in the river Main by Frankfort. These were
+floated down the Main to Mayence, and there received their quota of a
+hundred men each. The night being dark they came down the Rhine, it
+seems, quite unobserved, and are now concealed in the mouth of the river
+Lahn directly opposite this Castle.
+
+"When my flag is hoisted on the staff of the main tower this flotilla
+will be at the landing below us within half an hour. You doubtless have
+made similar arrangements for bringing your three thousand down upon
+Stolzenfels, but the gates of this Castle are now closed. Indeed,
+Stolzenfels was put in condition to withstand a siege very shortly after
+you and your ward entered it, and it is garrisoned by two hundred
+fighting men, kindly provided at my suggestion by my brother of Treves.
+I doubt if its capture is possible, even though you gave the signal,
+which we will not allow. Of course, your plan of capturing Treves and
+myself was a good one could it be carried out, for a man in jeopardy
+will always compromise, and as I estimate you are in that position I
+should be glad to know what arrangement you propose."
+
+The Archbishop of Cologne did not reply, but stood with bent head and
+frowning brow. It was the Countess von Sayn who, rising, spoke:
+
+"My Lord Archbishop of Mayence," she said, "I could never forgive myself
+if through action of mine a fatal struggle took place between my
+countrymen. I have no desire to enact the part of Helen of Troy. I am
+therefore ready and willing to be imprisoned, or to marry Prince Roland
+of Frankfort, whichever alternative you command, so long as no
+disadvantage comes to my friend, his Lordship of Cologne."
+
+"Madam," said Mayence suavely, "there are not _now_ two alternatives, as
+you suppose."
+
+"In such case, your Highness, I betake myself instantly to Pfalz Castle,
+and I ask that my guardian be allowed to escort me on the journey."
+
+"Madam, your determination is approved, and your request granted, but,
+as the business for which the three Electors were convened is not yet
+accomplished, I request you to withdraw until such time as an agreement
+has been arrived at. Father Ambrose is permitted to accompany you."
+
+The gallant Elector of Treves sprang at once to his feet, pleading for
+the privilege of conducting the Countess to the apartments of his sister
+and her daughter. As the door to the ante-room opened the Elector of
+Cologne, whose eyes followed his departing ward, did not fail to observe
+that the lobby was thronged with armed men, and he realized now, if he
+had not done so from Mayence's observation, how completely he was
+trapped. Even had a hundred thousand of his soldiers stood in readiness
+on the hills, it was impossible for him to give the signal bringing them
+to his rescue.
+
+A few minutes later the Elector of Treves returned, and took his place
+at Mayence's right hand. The latter spoke as though the conference had
+been unanimous and amiable.
+
+"Now that we three are alone together, I think we shall discuss our
+problems under a feeling of less apprehension if the small army in the
+forest is bade God-speed on its way to Cologne. Such being the case," he
+went on, turning to Cologne, "would you kindly write an order to that
+effect to your commander. Inform him that we three Electors wish to
+review your troops from the northern balcony, and bid them file past
+from the hills to the river road. They are to cross the Moselle by the
+old bridge, and so return to your city. You will perhaps pledge faith
+that no signal will be made to your officers as they pass us. I make
+this appeal with the greater confidence since you are well aware three
+thousand men would but destroy themselves in any attempt to capture this
+Castle, with an army of ten thousand on their flank to annihilate them.
+Do you agree?"
+
+"I agree," replied Cologne.
+
+He wrote out the order required, and handed it to Mayence, who
+scrutinized the document with some care before passing it on to Treves.
+Mayence addressed Cologne in his blandest tones:
+
+"Would you kindly instruct our colleague how to get that message safely
+into the hands of your commander."
+
+"If he will have it sent to the head of my small escort, ordering him to
+take it directly up the hill behind this Castle until he comes to my
+sentinels, whom he knows personally, they will allow him to pass
+through, and deliver my written command to the officer in charge."
+
+This being done, and Treves once more returned, Mayence said:
+
+"I am sure we all realize that the Countess von Sayn, however admirable
+in other respects, possesses an independent mind and a determined will
+rendering her quite unsuited for the station we intended her to occupy.
+I think her guardian must be convinced now, even though he had little
+suspicion of it before, that this lady would not easily be influenced by
+any considerations we might place before her. The regrettable incidents
+of this conference have probably instilled into her mind a certain
+prejudice against us."
+
+Here, for the first time, the Elector of Cologne laughed.
+
+"It is highly probable, my Lord," he said, "and, indeed, your moderate
+way of putting the case is unanswerable. Her ladyship as an Empress
+under our influence is out of the question. I therefore make a proposal
+with some confidence, quite certain it will please you both. I venture
+to nominate for the position of Empress that very demure and silent lady
+who is niece of my brother the Elector of Treves."
+
+Treves strangled a gasp in its birth, but could not suppress the light
+of ambition that suddenly leaped into his eyes. The elevation of his
+widowed sister's child to the Imperial throne was an advantage so
+tremendous, and came about so unexpectedly, that for the moment his slow
+brain was numbed by the glorious prospect. It seemed incredible that
+Cologne had actually put forward such a proposition.
+
+The eyes of Mayence veiled themselves almost to shutting point, but in
+no other manner did emotion show. Like a flash his alert mind saw the
+full purport of the bombshell Cologne had so carelessly tossed between
+himself and his henchman. Cologne, having lost everything, had now
+proved clever enough to set by the ears those who overruled him by their
+united vote. If this girl were made Empress she would be entirely under
+the influence of her uncle, of whose household she had been a pliant
+member ever since childhood. Yet what was Mayence to do? Should he
+object to the nomination, he would at once obliterate the unswerving
+loyalty of Treves, and if this happened, Treves and Cologne, joining,
+would outvote him, and his objection would prove futile. He would enrage
+Treves without carrying his own point, and he knew that he held his
+position only because of the dog-like fidelity of the weaker man. Slow
+anger rose in his heart as he pictured the conditions of the future.
+Whatever influence he sought to exert upon the Emperor by the indirect
+assistance of the Empress, must be got at through the complacency of
+Treves, who would gradually come to appreciate his own increased
+importance.
+
+All this passed through the mind of Mayence, and his decision had been
+arrived at before Treves recovered his composure.
+
+"It gives me great pleasure," said the Elector of Mayence, firmly
+suppressing the malignancy of his glance towards the man seated on his
+left,--"it gives me very great pleasure indeed to second so admirable a
+nomination, the more so that I am thus permitted to offer my
+congratulations to an esteemed colleague and a valued friend. My Lord of
+Treves, I trust that you will make this nomination unanimous, for, to my
+delight, his Lordship of Cologne anticipated, by a few moments the
+proposal I was about to submit to you."
+
+"My Lord," stammered Treves, finding his voice with difficulty,
+"I--I--of course will agree to whatever the Court decides. I--I thank
+you, my Lord, and you too, my brother of Cologne."
+
+"Then," cried Mayence, almost joyfully, "the task for which we are
+convened is accomplished, and I declare this Court adjourned."
+
+He rose from his chair. The overjoyed Prince at his right took no
+thought of the fact that their chairman had not called upon the lady
+that she might receive the decision of the conclave and answer the
+questions to be put to her, but Cologne perceived the omission, and knew
+that from that moment Mayence would set his subtility at work to nullify
+the nomination. Even though his bombshell had not exploded, and the two
+other Electors were apparently greater friends than ever, Cologne had
+achieved his immediate object, and was satisfied.
+
+Through the open windows came the sound of the steady tramping of
+disciplined men, and the metallic clash of armor and arms in transit.
+
+"Ah, now," cried Mayence, "we will enjoy the advantage of reviewing the
+brave troops of Cologne. Lead the way, my Lord of Treves. You know the
+Castle better than we do."
+
+The proud Treves, treading on air, guided his guests to the northern
+balcony.
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+GOLD GALORE THAT TAKES TO ITSELF WINGS
+
+
+In the thick darkness Roland paced up and down the east bank of the
+Rhine at a spot nearly midway between Assmannshausen and Ehrenfels. The
+night was intensely silent, its stillness merely accentuated by the
+gentle ripple of the water current against the barge's blunt nose, which
+pointed upstream. Standing motionless as a statue, the massive figure of
+Captain Blumenfels appeared in deeper blackness against the inky hills
+on the other side of the Rhine. Long sweeps lay parallel to the bulwarks
+of the barge, and stalwart men were at their posts, waiting the word of
+command to handle these exaggerated oars, in defiance of wind and tide.
+On this occasion, however, the tide only would be against them, for the
+strong southern breeze was wholly favorable. Their voyage that night
+would be short, but strenuous; merely crossing the river, and tying up
+against the opposite bank; but the Rhine swirled powerfully round the
+rock of Ehrenfels above them, and the men at the sweeps must pull
+vigorously if they were not to be carried down into premature danger.
+
+Roland, who when they left Frankfort was in point of time the youngest
+member of the guild, now seemed, if one could distinguish him through
+the gloom of the night, to have become years older, and there was an
+added dignity in his bearing, for, although now but a potential
+freebooter, he had received assurance that he would be eventually
+elected Emperor.
+
+He had sent word that morning to Greusel at the Golden Anker, bidding
+him get together his men, and lead them up to the barge not later than
+an hour before the moon rose, for Roland was anxious to reach the other
+side of the Rhine unseen from either shore. He cautioned Greusel to make
+his march a silent one, and this order Joseph at first found some
+difficulty in carrying out, but in any case he need have entertained no
+fear. The strong red wine of Assmannshausen is a potent liquid, and the
+inhabitants of the town were accustomed to song and laughter on the one
+street of the place at all hours of the night.
+
+When they arrived, the men were quiet enough, and speedily stowed
+themselves away in their quarters at the stern of the barge, whereupon
+Roland, the last to spring aboard, waved his hand at the captain to cast
+off. The nose of the boat was shoved away from land, and then the
+powerful sweeps dipped into the water. Slowly but surely she made her
+way across the river; silent and invisible from either bank. The
+current, however, swept them down opposite the twinkling lights of
+Assmannshausen, after which, in the more tranquil waters of the western
+shore, they rowed steadily upstream for about half a league, and then,
+with ropes tied round trees growing at the water's edge, laid up for the
+remainder of the night.
+
+Roland now counseled his company to enjoy what sleep was possible, as
+they would be roused at the first glint of daybreak; so, with great
+good-nature, each man wrapped himself up in his cloak and lay down on
+the cabin floor.
+
+When the eastern sky became gray, the slumberers were awakened, and a
+ration of bread and wine served to each. The captain already had
+received his instructions, and the men discarding their cloaks, followed
+their leader into the still gloomy forest. Here, with as little noise as
+might be, they climbed the steep wooded hill, and arriving at something
+almost like a path, a hundred yards up from the river, they turned to
+the right, and so marched, no man speaking above a whisper.
+
+The forest became lighter and lighter, and at last Roland, holding up
+his hand to sign caution, turned to the left from the path, and farther
+up into the unbroken forest. They had traversed perhaps a league when
+another silent order brought them to a standstill, and peering through
+the trees to the east, the men caught glimpses of the grand, gray
+battlements of that famous stronghold, Rheinstein, seeing at the corner
+nearest them a square tower, next a machicolated curtain of wall, and a
+larger square tower almost as high as the first hanging over the
+precipice that descended to the Rhine. Inside this impregnable enclosure
+rose the great bulk of the Castle itself, and near at hand the massive
+square keep, with an octagonal turret on the southeast corner, the top
+of which was the highest point of the stronghold, although a round tower
+rising directly over the Rhine was not much lower.
+
+Roland, advancing through the trees, but motioning his men to remain
+where they were, peered across to the battlements and down at the
+entrance gate.
+
+Baron von Hohenfels sat so secure in his elevated robber's nest, which
+he deemed invincible--and, indeed, the cliff on which it stood, nearly a
+hundred yards high, made it so if approached from the Rhine--that he
+kept only one man on watch, and this sentinel was stationed on the
+elevated platform of the round tower. Roland saw him yawn wearily as he
+leaned against his tall lance, and was glad to learn that even one man
+kept guard, for at first he feared that all within the Castle were
+asleep, the round tower, until Roland had shifted his position to the
+north, being blotted out by the nearer square donjon keep. Now
+satisfied, he signaled his men to sit down, which they did. He himself
+took up a position behind a tree, where, unseen, he could watch the man
+with the lance.
+
+So indolent was the sentry that Roland began to fear the barge would
+pass by unnoticed. Not for months had any sailing craft appeared on the
+river, and doubtless the warden regarded his office as both useless and
+wearisome. Brighter and brighter became the eastern sky, and at last a
+tinge of red appeared above the hills across the silent Rhine. Suddenly
+the guardian straightened up, then, shading his eyes with his right
+hand, he leaned over the battlements, peering to the south. A moment
+later the stillness was rent by a lusty shout, and the man disappeared
+as if he had fallen through a trap-door. Presently the notes of a bugle
+echoed within the walls, followed by clashes of armor and the buzzing
+sound of men, as though a wasp's nest had been disturbed. Half a dozen
+came into sight on top of the various towers and battlements, glanced at
+the river, and vanished as hastily as the sentinel had done.
+
+At last the gates came ponderously open, and the first three men to
+emerge were on horseback, one of them hastily getting into an outer
+garment, but the well-trained horses, who knew their business quite as
+thoroughly as their riders, for they were accustomed to plunge into the
+river if any barge disobeyed the order commanding it to halt, turned
+from the gate, and dashed down the steep road that descended through the
+forest. The men-at-arms poured forth with sword or pike, and in turn
+went out of sight. They appeared to be leaderless, dashing forward in no
+particular formation, yet, like the horses, they knew their business.
+All this turmoil was not without its effect on Roland's following, who
+edged forward on hands and knees to discover what was going on, everyone
+breathless with excitement; but they saw their leader cool and
+motionless, counting on his fingers the number of men who passed out,
+for he knew exactly how many fighters the Castle contained.
+
+"Not yet, not yet!" he whispered.
+
+Finally three lordly individuals strode out; officers their more
+resplendent clothing indicated them to be, and the trio followed the
+others.
+
+"Ha!" cried Roland, "old Baron Hugo drank too deeply last night to be so
+early astir."
+
+He was speaking aloud now.
+
+"Take warning from that, my lads, and never allow wine to interfere with
+business. Follow me, but cautiously, one after the other in single file,
+and look to your footing. 'Tis perilous steep between here and the
+gate;" and, indeed, so they found it, but all reached the level
+forecourt in safety, and so through the open portal.
+
+"Close and bar those gates," was the next command, instantly obeyed.
+
+Down the stone steps of the Castle, puffing and grunting, came a
+gigantic, obese individual, his face bloated with excess, his eyes
+bleary with the lees of too much wine. He was struggling into his
+doublet, assisted by a terrified old valet, and was swearing most
+deplorably. Seeing the crowd at the gate, and half-blindly mistaking
+them for his own men, he roared:
+
+"What do you there, you hounds? To the river, every man of you, and
+curse your leprous, indolent souls! Why in the fiend's name--" But here
+he came to an abrupt stop on the lowest step, the sting of a sword's
+point at his throat, and now, out of breath, his purple face became
+mottled.
+
+"Good morning to you, Baron Hugo von Hohenfels. These men whom you
+address so coarsely obey no orders but mine."
+
+"And who, imp of Satan, are you?" sputtered the old man.
+
+"By profession a hangman. From our fastnesses in the hills, seeing a
+barge float down the river, we thought it likely you would leave the
+Castle undefended, and so came in to execute the Prince of Robbers."
+
+The Baron was quaking like a huge jelly. It was evident that, although
+noted for his cruelty, he was at heart a coward.
+
+"You--you--you--" he stammered, "are outlaws! You are outlaws from the
+Hunsruck."
+
+"How clever of you, Baron, to recognize us at once. Now you know what to
+expect. Greusel, unwind the rope I gave you last night. I will show you
+its purpose."
+
+Greusel did as he was requested without comment, but Ebearhard
+approached closely to his chief, and whispered:
+
+"Why resort to violence? We have no quarrel with this elephant. 'Tis his
+gold we want, and to hang him is a waste of time."
+
+"Hush, Ebearhard," commanded Roland sternly. "The greater includes the
+less. I know this man, and am taking the quickest way to his
+treasure-house."
+
+Ebearhard fell back, but by this time the useful Greusel had made a loop
+of the rope, and threw it like a cravat around the Baron's neck.
+
+"No, no, no!" cried the frightened nobleman. "'Tis not my life you seek.
+That is of no use to such as you; and, besides, I have never harmed the
+outlaws."
+
+"That is a lie," said Roland. "You sent an expedition against us just a
+year ago."
+
+"'Twas not I," protested Hohenfels, "but the pirate of Falkenberg.
+Still, no matter. I'll buy my life from you. I am a wealthy man."
+
+"How much?" asked Roland, hesitating.
+
+"More than all of you can carry away."
+
+"In gold?"
+
+"Of a surety in gold."
+
+"Where are the keys of your treasury?"
+
+"In my chamber. I will bring them to you," and the Baron turned to mount
+the steps again.
+
+"Not so," cried Roland. "Stand where you are, and send your man for
+them. If they are not here before I count twoscore, you hang, and
+nothing will save you."
+
+The Baron told the trembling valet where to find the keys.
+
+"Greusel, you and Ebearhard accompany him, and at the first sign of
+treachery, or any attempt to give an alarm, run him through with your
+swords. Does your man know where the treasury is?" he continued to the
+Baron.
+
+"Oh, yes, yes!"
+
+"How is your gold bestowed?"
+
+"In leathern bags."
+
+"Good. Greusel, take sixteen of the men, and bring down into the
+courtyard all the gold you can carry. Then we will estimate whether or
+not it is sufficient to buy the Baron's life, for I hold him in high
+esteem. He is a valuable man. See to it that there is no delay, Greusel,
+and never lose sight of this valet. Bring him back, laden with gold."
+
+They all disappeared within the Castle, led by the old servitor.
+
+"Sit you down, Baron," said Roland genially. "You seem agitated, for
+which there is no cause should there prove to be gold enough to outweigh
+you."
+
+The ponderous noble seated himself with a weary sigh.
+
+"And pray to the good Lord above us," went on Roland, "that your men may
+not return before this transaction is completed, for if they do, my
+first duty will be to strangle you. Even gold will not save you in that
+case. But still, you have another chance for your life, should such an
+untoward event take place. Shout to them through the closed gates that
+they must return to the edge of the river until you join them; then, if
+they obey, you are spared. Remember, I beg of you, the uselessness of an
+outcry, for we are in possession of Rheinstein, and you know that the
+Castle is unassailable from without."
+
+The Baron groaned.
+
+"Do not be hasty with your cord," he said dejectedly. "I will follow
+your command."
+
+The robbers, however, did not return, but the treasure-searchers did,
+piling the bags in the courtyard, and again Hohenfels groaned dismally
+at the sight. Roland indicated certain sacks with the point of his
+sword, ordering them to be opened. Each was full of gold.
+
+"Now, my lads," he cried, "oblige the Baron by burdening yourselves with
+this weight of metal, then we shall make for the Hunsruck. Open the
+gates. Lead the men to the point where we halted, Greusel, and there
+await me."
+
+The rich company departed, and Roland beguiled the time and the
+weariness of the Baron by a light and interesting conversation to which
+there was neither reply nor interruption. At last, having allowed time
+for his band to reach their former halting-place, he took the rope from
+the Baron's neck, tied the old robber's hands behind him, then bound his
+feet, cutting the rope in lengths with his sword. He served the
+trembling valet in the same way, shutting him up within the Castle, and
+locking the door with the largest key in the bunch, which bunch he threw
+down beside his lordship.
+
+"Baron von Hohenfels," he said, "I have kept my word with you, and now
+bid farewell. I leave you out-of-doors, because you seem rather scant of
+breath, for which complaint fresh air is beneficial. Adieu, my lord
+Baron."
+
+The Baron said nothing as Roland, with a sweep of his bonnet, took leave
+of him, climbed the steep path and joined his waiting men. He led them
+along the hillside, through the forest for some distance, then descended
+to the water's edge. The river was blank, so they all sat down under the
+trees out of sight, leaving one man on watch. Here Roland spent a very
+anxious half-hour, mitigated by the knowledge that the men of Rheinstein
+were little versed in woodcraft, and so might not be able to trace the
+fugitives. It was likely they would make a dash in quite the opposite
+direction, towards the Hunsruck, because Hohenfels believed they were
+outlaws from that district, and did not in any way associate them with
+the plundered barge.
+
+But if the robbers of Rheinstein took a fancy to sink the barge, an act
+only too frequently committed, then were Roland and his company in a
+quandary, without food, or means of crossing the river. However, he was
+sure that Captain Blumenfels would follow his instructions, which were
+to offer no resistance, but rather to assist the looters in their
+exactions.
+
+"Within a league," said Roland to his men, "stand three pirate castles:
+Rheinstein, which we have just left; Falkenberg, but a short distance
+below, and then Sonneck. If nothing happens to the barge, I expect to
+finish with all three before nightfall; for, the strongholds being so
+close together, we must work rapidly, and not allow news of our doings
+to leap in advance of us."
+
+"But suppose," said Kurzbold, "that Hohenfels' men hold the barge at the
+landing for their own use?"
+
+"We will wait here for another half-hour," replied Roland, "and then, if
+we see nothing of the boat, proceed along the water's edge until we
+learn what has become of her. I do not think the thieves will interfere
+with the barge, as they have not been angered either by disobedience of
+their orders to land, or resistance after the barge is by the shore.
+Besides, I count on the fact that the officers, at least, will be
+anxious to let the barge proceed, hoping other laden boats may follow,
+and, indeed, I think for this reason they will be much more moderate in
+their looting than we have been."
+
+Before he had finished speaking, the man on watch by the water announced
+the barge in sight, floating down with the current. At this they all
+emerged from the forest. Captain Blumenfels, carefully scanning the
+shore, saw them at once, and turned the boat's head towards the spot
+where they stood.
+
+The bags of gold were bolted away in the stout lockers extending on each
+side of the cabin. While this was being done, Roland gave minute
+instructions to the captain regarding the next item in the programme,
+and once more entered the forest with his men.
+
+The task before them was more difficult than the spoiling of Rheinstein,
+because the huge bulk of Falkenberg stood on a summit of treeless rock;
+the Castle itself, a gigantic, oblong gray mass, with a slender square
+campanile some distance from it, rising high above its battlements on
+the slope that went down towards the Rhine, forming thus an excellent
+watch-tower. But although the conical hill of rock was bare of the large
+trees that surrounded Rheinstein, there were plenty of bowlders and
+shrubbery behind which cover could be sought. On this occasion the
+marauding guild could not secure a position on a level with the
+battlements of the Castle, as had been the case behind Rheinstein, and,
+furthermore, they were compelled to make their dash for the gate up-hill.
+
+But these disadvantages were counterbalanced by the fact that Falkenberg
+was situated much higher than Rheinstein, and was farther away from the
+river, so that when the garrison descended to the water's edge it could
+not return as speedily as was the case with Hohenfels' men. Rheinstein
+stood directly over the water, and only two hundred and sixty feet above
+it, while, comparatively speaking, Falkenberg was back in the country.
+Still all these castles had been so long unmolested, and considered
+themselves so secure, that adequate watching had fallen into abeyance,
+and at Falkenberg guard was kept by one lone man on the tall campanile.
+The attacking party saw no one on the battlements of the Castle, so
+worked their way round the hill until the man on the tower was hidden
+from them by the bulk of the Castle itself, and thus they crawled like
+lizards from bush to bush, from stone to stone, and from rock-ledge to
+rock-ledge, taking their time, and not deserting one position of
+obscurity until another was decided upon. The fact that the watchman was
+upon the Rhine side of the Castle greatly favored a stealthy approach
+from any landward point.
+
+At last the alarm was given; the gate opened, and, as it proved, every
+man in the Castle went headlong down the hill. The amateur cracksmen
+therefore had everything their own way, and while this at first seemed
+an advantage, they speedily found it the reverse, for although they
+wandered from room to room, the treasure could not be discovered. The
+interior of Falkenberg was unknown to Roland, this being one of the
+strongholds where he had been compelled to sleep in an outhouse. At last
+they found the door to the treasure-chamber, for Roland suggested it was
+probably in a similar position to that at Rheinstein, and those who had
+accompanied Hohenfels' valet made search according to this hint, and
+were rewarded by coming upon a door so stoutly locked that all their
+efforts to force it open were fruitless.
+
+Deeply disappointed, with a number of the men grumbling savagely, they
+were compelled to withdraw empty handed, warned by approaching shouts
+that the garrison was returning, so the men crawled away as they had
+come, and made for the river, where on this occasion the boat already
+awaited them.
+
+The lord of Falkenberg proved as moderate in his exactions as the men
+of Rheinstein. Many bales had been cut open, and the thieves, with the
+knowledge of cloth-weavers, selected in every case only the best goods,
+but of these had taken merely enough for one costume each.
+
+Although the company had made so early a beginning, it was past noon by
+the time they reached the barge on the second occasion. A substantial 
+meal was served, for every man was ravenously hungry, besides being
+disgusted to learn that there were ups and downs even in the trade
+of thievery.
+
+Early in the afternoon they made for the delicate Castle of Sonneck,
+whose slender turrets stood out beautifully against the blue sky. Here
+excellent cover was found within sight of the doorway, for Sonneck stood
+alone on its rock without the protection of a wall.
+
+In this case the experience of Rheinstein was repeated, with the
+exception that it was not the master of the Castle they encountered, but
+a frightened warder, who, with a sharp sword to influence him, produced
+keys and opened the treasury. Not nearly so large a haul of gold was
+made as in the first instance, yet enough was obtained to constitute a
+most lucrative day's work, and with this they sought the barge in high
+spirits.
+
+They waited in the shadow of the hills until dusk, then quietly made
+their way across the river behind the shelter of the two islands, and so
+came to rest alongside the bank, just above the busy town of Lorch,
+scarcely two leagues down the river from the berth they had occupied the
+night before. After the barge was tied up, Roland walked on deck with
+the captain, listening to his account of events from the level of the
+river surface. It proved that, all in all, Roland could suggest no
+amendment of the day's proceedings. So far as Blumenfels was concerned,
+everything had gone without a hitch.
+
+As they promenaded thus, one of the men came forward, and said, rather
+cavalierly:
+
+"Commander, your comrades wish to see you in the cabin."
+
+Roland made no reply, but continued his conversation with the captain
+until he learned from that somewhat reticent individual all he wished to
+know. Then he walked leisurely aft, and descended into the cabin, where
+he found the eighteen seated on the lockers, as if the conclave were a
+deliberate body like the Electors, who had come to some momentous
+decision.
+
+"We have unanimously passed a resolution," said Kurzbold, "that the
+money shall be divided equally amongst us each evening. You do not
+object, I suppose?"
+
+"No; I don't object to your passing a resolution."
+
+"Very good. We do not wish to waste time just now in the division,
+because we are going to Lorch, intending to celebrate our success with a
+banquet. Would Greusel, Ebearhard, and yourself care to join us?"
+
+"I cannot speak for the other two," returned Roland quietly; "but
+personally I shall be unable to attend, as there are some plans for the
+future which need thinking over."
+
+"In that case we shall not expect you," went on Kurzbold, who seemed in
+no way grieved at the loss of his commander's company.
+
+"Perhaps," suggested John Gensbein, "our chief will drop in upon us
+later in the evening. We learned at Assmannshausen that the Krone is a
+very excellent tavern, so we shall sup there."
+
+"How did you know we were to stop at Lorch?" asked Roland, wondering if
+in any way they had heard he was to meet Goebel's emissary in this
+village.
+
+"We were not sure," replied Gensbein, "but we made inquiries concerning
+all the villages and castles down the Rhine, and have taken notes."
+
+"Ah, in that case you are well qualified as a guide. I may find occasion
+to use the knowledge thus acquired."
+
+"We are all equally involved in this expedition," said Kurzbold
+impatiently, "and you must not imagine yourself the only person to be
+considered. But we lose time. What we wish at the present moment is that
+you will unlock one of these chests, and divide amongst us a bag of
+gold. The rest is to be partitioned when we return this evening; and
+after that, Herr Roland, we shall not need to trouble you by asking for
+more money."
+
+"Are the thirty thalers I gave you the other day all spent, Herr
+Kurzbold?"
+
+"No matter for that," replied this insubordinate ex-president. "The
+money in the lockers is ours, and we demand a portion of it now, with
+the remainder after the banquet."
+
+Without another word, Roland took the bunch of keys from his belt,
+opened one of the lockers, lifted out a bag of gold, untied the thongs,
+and poured out the coins on the lid of the chest, which he locked again.
+
+"There is the money," he said to Kurzbold. "I shall send Greusel and
+Ebearhard to share in its distribution, and thus you can invite them to
+your banquet. My own portion you may leave on the lid of the locker."
+
+With that he departed up on deck again, and said to his officers:
+
+"Kurzbold, on behalf of the men, has demanded a bag of gold. You will go
+to the cabin and receive your share. They will also invite you to a
+banquet at the Krone. Accept that invitation, and if possible engage a
+private room, as you did at Assmannshausen, to prevent the men talking
+with any of the inhabitants. Keep them roystering there until all the
+village has gone to bed; then convoy them back to the barge as quietly
+as you can. A resolution has been passed that the money is to be divided
+amongst our warriors on their return, but I imagine that they will be in
+no condition to act as accountants when I have the pleasure of beholding
+them again, so if anything is said about the apportionment, suggest a
+postponement of the ceremony until morning. I need not add that I expect
+you both to drink sparingly, for this is advice I intend to follow
+myself."
+
+Roland paced the deck deep in thought until his difficult contingent
+departed towards the twinkling lights of the village, then he went to
+the cabin, poured his share of the gold into his pouch, and followed the
+company at a distance into Lorch. He avoided the Krone, and after
+inquiring his way, stopped at the much smaller hostelry, Mergler's Inn.
+Here he gave his name, and asking if any one waited for him, was
+conducted upstairs to a room where he found Herr Kruger just about to
+sit down to his supper. A stout lad nearing twenty years of age stood in
+the middle of the room, and from his appearance Roland did not need the
+elder man's word for it that this was his son.
+
+"I took the precaution of bringing him with me," said Kruger, "as I
+thought two horsemen were better than one in the business I had
+undertaken."
+
+"You were quite right," returned Roland, "and I congratulate you upon so
+stalwart a traveling companion. With your permission I shall order a
+meal, and sup with you, thus we may save time by talking while we eat,
+because you will need to depart as speedily as possible."
+
+"You mean in the darkness? To-night?"
+
+"Yes; as soon as you can get away. There are urgent reasons why you
+should be on the road without delay. How came you here?"
+
+"On horseback; first down the Main, then along the Rhine."
+
+"Very well. In the darkness you will return by the way you came, but
+only as far as the Castle of Ehrenfels, three leagues from here. There
+you are to rouse up the custodian, and in safety spend the remainder of
+the night. To-morrow morning he will furnish you a guide to conduct you
+through the forest to Wiesbaden, and from thence you know your way to
+Frankfort, which you should reach not later than evening."
+
+At this point the landlord, who had been summoned, came in.
+
+"I will dine with my friends here," said Roland. "I suppose I need not
+ask if you possess some of the good red wine of Lorch, which they tell
+me equals that of Assmannshausen?"
+
+"Of the very best, mein Herr, the product of my own vineyard, and I can
+therefore guarantee it sound. As for equaling that of Assmannshausen, we
+have always considered it superior, and, indeed, many other good judges
+agree with us."
+
+"Then bring me a stoup of it, and you will be enabled to add my opinion
+to that of the others."
+
+When the landlord produced the wine, Roland raised it to his lips, and
+absorbed a hearty draught.
+
+"This is indeed most excellent, landlord, and does credit alike to your
+vines and your inn. I wish to send two large casks of so fine a wine to
+a merchant of my acquaintance in Frankfort, and my friend, Herr Kruger,
+has promised to convey it thither. If you can spare me two casks of such
+excellent vintage, they will make an evenly balanced burden for the
+horse."
+
+"Surely, mein Herr."
+
+"Choose two of those long casks, landlord, with bung-holes of the
+largest at the sides. Do you possess such a thing as a pack-saddle?"
+
+"Oh, yes."
+
+"And you, my young friend," he said, turning to Kruger's son, "rode here
+on a saddle?"
+
+"No," interjected his father; "I ride a saddle, but my son was forced to
+content himself with a length of Herr Goebel's coarse cloth, folded four
+times, and strapped to the horse's back."
+
+"Then the cloth may still be used as a cushion for the pack-saddle, and
+you, my lad, will be compelled to walk, to which I dare venture you are
+well accustomed."
+
+The lad grinned, but made no objection.
+
+"Now, landlord, while we eat, fill your casks with wine, then place the
+pack-saddle on the back of this young man's horse, and the casks
+thereon, for I dare say you have men expert in such a matter."
+
+"There are no better the length of the Rhine," said the landlord
+proudly.
+
+"Lay the casks so that the bung-holes are upward, and do not drive the
+bungs more tightly in place than is necessary, for they are to be
+extracted before Frankfort is reached, that another friend of mine may
+profit by the wine. When this is done, bring me word, and let me know
+how much I owe you."
+
+The landlord gone, the three men fell to their meal.
+
+"There is more gold," said Roland, "than I expected, and it is
+impossible even for two of you to carry it in bags attached to your
+belts. Besides, if you are molested, such bestowal of it would prove
+most unsafe. A burden of wine, however, is too common either to attract
+notice or arouse cupidity. I propose, then, when we leave here, to bring
+you to the barge belonging to Herr Goebel, and taking out the bungs, we
+will pour the gold into the barrels, letting the wine that is displaced
+overflow to the ground. Then we will stoutly drive in the bungs, and
+should the guards question you at the gates of Frankfort, you may let
+them taste the wine if they insist, and I dare say it will contain no
+flavor of the metal."
+
+"A most excellent suggestion," said Herr Kruger with enthusiasm. "An
+admirable plan; for I confess I looked forward with some anxiety to this
+journey, laden down with bags of gold under my cloak."
+
+"Yes. You are simply an honest drinker, tired of the white wine of
+Frankfort, and providing yourself with the stronger fluid that Lorch
+produces. I am sure you will deliver the money safely to Herr Goebel,
+somewhat in drink, it is true, but, like the rest of us, none the worse
+for that when the fumes are gone."
+
+The repast finished, and all accounts liquidated, the trio left the inn,
+and, leading the two horses, reached the barge without observation. Here
+the bungs were removed from the casks, and the three men, assisted by
+the captain, quietly and speedily opened bag after bag, pouring the
+coins down into the wine; surely a unique adulteration, astonishing even
+to so heady a fluid as the vintage of Lorch. From the whole amount
+Roland deducted two thousand thalers, which he divided equally between
+two empty bags.
+
+"This thousand thalers," said he to Kruger, "is to be shared by your son
+and yourself, in addition to whatever you may receive from Herr Goebel.
+The other you will hand to the custodian of Ehrenfels Castle, saying it
+came from his friend Roland, and is recompense for the money he lent the
+other day. That will be an effective letter of introduction to him. Say
+that I ask him to send his son with you as guide through the forest to
+Wiesbaden; and so good-night and good luck to you."
+
+It was long after midnight when the guild came roystering up the bank of
+the Rhine to the barge. The moon had risen, and gave them sufficient
+light to steer a reasonably straight course without danger of falling
+into the water. Ebearhard was with them, but Greusel walked rapidly
+ahead, so that he might say a few words to his chief before the others
+arrived.
+
+"I succeeded in preventing their talking with any stranger, but they
+have taken aboard enough wine to make them very difficult and rather
+quarrelsome if thwarted. When I proposed that they should leave the
+counting until to-morrow morning they first became suspicious, and then
+resented the imputation that they were not in fit condition for such a
+task. I recommend, therefore, that you allow them to divide the money
+to-night. It will allay their fear that some trick is to be played upon
+them, and if you hint at intoxication, they are likely to get out of
+hand. As it does not matter when the money is distributed, I counsel you
+to humor them to-night, and postpone reasoning until to-morrow."
+
+"I'll think about it," said Roland.
+
+"They have bought several casks of wine, and are taking turns in
+carrying them. Will you allow this wine to come aboard, even if you
+determine to throw it into the water to-morrow?"
+
+"Oh, yes," said Roland, with a shrug of the shoulders. "Coax them into
+the cabin as quietly as possible, and keep them there if you can, for
+should they get on deck, we shall lose some of them in the river."
+
+Greusel turned back to meet the bellowing mob, while Roland roused the
+captain and his men.
+
+"Get ready," he said to Blumenfels, "and the moment I raise my hand,
+shove off. Make for this side of the larger island, and come to rest
+there for the remainder of the night. Command your rowers to put their
+whole force into the sweeps."
+
+This was done accordingly, and well done, as was the captain's custom.
+The late moon threw a ghostly light over the scene, and the barren
+island proved deserted and forbidding, as the crew tied up the barge
+alongside. Most of the lights in Lorch had gone out, and the town lay in
+the silence of pallid moonbeams like a city of the dead. Roland stood on
+deck with Greusel and Ebearhard by his side, the latter relating the
+difficulties of the evening. There had been singing in the cabin during
+the passage across, then came a lull in the roar from below, followed by
+a shout that betokened danger. An instant later the crowd came boiling
+up the short stair to the deck, Kurzbold in command, all swords drawn,
+and glistening in the moonlight.
+
+"You scoundrel!" he cried to Roland, "those lockers are full of empty
+bags."
+
+"I know that," replied Roland, quietly. "The money is in safe keeping,
+and will be honestly divided at the conclusion of this expedition."
+
+"You thief! You robber!" shouted Kurzbold, flourishing his weapon.
+
+"Quite accurate," replied Roland, unperturbed. "I was once called a
+Prince of Thieves when I did not deserve the title. Now I have earned
+it."
+
+"You have earned the penalty of thieving, and we propose to throw you
+into the Rhine."
+
+"Not, I trust, before you learn where the money is deposited."
+
+Drunk as they were, this consideration staggered them, but Kurzbold was
+mad with rage and wine.
+
+"Come on, you poltroons!" he shouted. "There are only three of them."
+
+"Draw your swords, gentlemen," whispered Roland, flashing his own blade
+in the moonlight.
+
+Greusel and Ebearhard obeyed his command.
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE LAUGHING RED MARGRAVE OF FURSTENBERG
+
+
+Ebearhard laughed, and took two steps forward. Whenever affairs became
+serious, one could always depend on a laugh from Ebearhard.
+
+"Excuse me, Commander," he said, "but you placed Greusel and me in
+charge of this pious and sober party; therefore I, being the least of
+your officers, must stand the first brunt of our failure to keep these
+lambs peaceable for the night. Greusel, stand behind me, and in front of
+the Commander. I, being reasonably sober, believe I can cut down six of
+the innocents before they finish with me. You will attend to the next
+six, leaving exactly half a dozen for Roland to eliminate in his own
+fashion. Now, Herr Conrad Kurzbold, come on."
+
+"We have no quarrel with you," said Kurzbold. "Stand aside."
+
+"But I force a quarrel upon you, undisciplined pig. Defend yourself,
+for, by the Three Kings, I am going to tap your walking wine-barrel!"
+
+Kurzbold, however, retreating with more haste than caution, one or two
+behind him were sent sprawling, and the half-dozen which were Roland's
+portion tumbled over one another down the steep ladder into the cabin.
+
+Ebearhard laughed again when the last man disappeared.
+
+"I think," he said to Roland, "that you will meet no further trouble
+from our friends. They evidently broke open the lockers, alarmed because
+Greusel and I asked for a postponement of the counting, probably
+intending to make the division without our assistance."
+
+"Have you hidden the money?" asked Greusel.
+
+"Not exactly," replied Roland; "but, in case anything should happen to
+me, I will tell you what I have done with it."
+
+When he finished his recital, he added:
+
+"I will give each of you a letter to Herr Goebel, identifying you. He is
+entitled to four thousand five hundred thalers of the money. The balance
+you will divide among those of us who survive."
+
+Roland slept on deck, wrapped in his cloak. His two lieutenants took
+turn in keeping watch, but nothing except snores came up from the cabin.
+The mutineers were not examples of early rising next morning. The sun
+gave promise of another warm day, and Roland walked up and down the
+deck, anxiety printed on his brow. He had made up his mind to knock at
+the door of the Laughing Baron, a giant in stature, reported to be the
+most ingenious, most cruel, and bravest of all the robber noblemen of
+the Rhine, whose Castle was notoriously the hardest nut to crack along
+the banks of that famous river. For several reasons it would not be wise
+to linger much longer in the neighborhood of Lorch. The three castles
+they had entered the day before were still visible on the western bank.
+News of the raid would undoubtedly travel to Furstenberg, also within
+sight down the river, and thus the hilarious Margrave would be put on
+his guard, overjoyed at the opportunity of trapping the moral marauders.
+Furstenberg was also a fief of Cologne, and any molestation of it would
+involve the meddler, if identified, in complications with the Church and
+the Archbishop.
+
+It was necessary, therefore, to move with caution, and to retreat, if
+possible, unobserved. These difficulties alone were enough to give pause
+to the most intrepid, but Roland was further handicapped by his own
+following. How could he hope to accomplish any subtle movement requiring
+silence, prompt obedience, and great alertness, supported by men whose
+brains were muddled with drink, and whose conduct was saturated with
+conspiracy against him? They had wine enough on board to continue their
+orgy, and he was quite unable to prevent their carouse. With a deep sigh
+he realized that he would be compelled to forego Furstenberg, and thus
+leave behind him a virgin citadel, which he knew was bad tactics from a
+military point of view.
+
+During his meditations his men were coming up from the fuming cabin into
+the fresh air and the sunlight. They appeared by twos and threes,
+yawning and rubbing their eyes, but no one ventured to interrupt the
+leader as, with bent head, he paced back and forth on the deck. The men,
+indeed, seemed exceedingly subdued. They passed with almost overdone
+nonchalance from the boat to the island, and sauntered towards its lower
+end, from which, in the clear morning air, the grim fortress of
+Furstenberg could be plainly discerned diagonally across the river. It
+was Ebearhard who broke in upon Roland's reverie.
+
+"Our friends appear very quiet this morning, but I observe they have all
+happened to coincide upon the northern part of the island as a
+rendezvous for their before-breakfast walk. I surmise they are holding a
+formal meeting of the guild, but neither Greusel nor I have been
+invited, so I suppose that after last night's display we two are no
+longer considered their brethren. This meekness on their part seems to
+me more dangerous than last night's flurry. I think they will demand
+from you a knowledge of what has been done with the gold. Have you
+decided upon your answer?"
+
+"Yes; it is their right to know, so I shall tell them the truth. By this
+time Kruger is on his way somewhere between Ehrenfels and Wiesbaden. He
+will reach Frankfort to-night, and cannot be overtaken."
+
+"Is there not danger that they will desert in a body, return to
+Frankfort, and demand from Herr Goebel their share of the spoil?"
+
+"No matter for that," returned Roland. "Goebel will not part with a
+florin except under security of such letters as I purpose giving you and
+Greusel, and even then only when you have proven to him that I am dead."
+
+"That is all very well," demurred Ebearhard, "but don't you see what a
+dangerous power you put into the hands of the rebels? Goebel is merely a
+merchant, and, though rich, politically powerless. He has already come
+into conflict with the authorities, and spent a term in prison. Do not
+forget that the Archbishops have refused to take action against these
+robber Barons. Our men, if there happen to be one of brains among them,
+can easily terrify Goebel into parting with the treasure by threatening
+to confess their own and his complicity in the raids. Consider what an
+excellent case they can put forward, stating quite truly that they
+joined this expedition in ignorance of its purport, but on the very
+first day, learning what was afoot, they deserted their criminal leader,
+and are now endeavoring to make restitution. Goebel is helpless. If he
+says that they first demanded the gold from him, they as strenuously
+deny it, and their denial must be believed, because they come of their
+own free-will to the authorities. The merchant, already tainted with
+treason, having suffered imprisonment, and narrowly escaped hanging,
+proves on investigation to be up to the neck in this affair. There is no
+difficulty in learning that his barge went down the river, manned by a
+crew of his own choosing. Of course, it need never come to this, because
+Goebel, being a shrewd man, could at once see in what jeopardy he stood,
+and convinced from the men's own story that they were part, at least, of
+your contingent, would deliver up the treasure to them. Don't you see he
+must do so to save his own neck?"
+
+Roland pondered deeply on what had been said to him, but for the moment
+made no reply. Greusel, who joined them during the conversation,
+remaining silent until Ebearhard had finished, now spoke:
+
+"I quite agree with all that has been said."
+
+"What, then, would you advise me to do?" asked Roland.
+
+"I have been talking with one or two of the men," said Greusel. "(They
+won't speak to Ebearhard because he drew his sword on them.) I find they
+believe you took advantage of their absence to bury the gold in what you
+suppose to be a safe place. They are sure you are acquainted with no one
+in Lorch to whom you could safely entrust it, and of course do not
+suspect an emissary from Frankfort. I should advise you to say that
+arrangements have been made for every man to get his share so long as
+nothing untoward happens to you. This will preserve your life should
+they go so far as to threaten it, and compel them to stay on with us.
+After all, we are merely artisans, and not fighting men. I am convinced
+that if ever we are really attacked, we shall make a very poor showing,
+even though we carry swords. Remember how the men tumbled over one
+another in their haste to get out of reach when Ebearhard flourished his
+blade."
+
+"I think Greusel's suggestion is an excellent one," put in Ebearhard.
+
+"Very well," said Roland, "I shall adopt it, although I had made up my
+mind fully to enlighten them."
+
+"There is one more matter that I should like to speak to you about,"
+continued Ebearhard. "Both at Assmannshausen, and at Lorch last night,
+we heard a good deal anent Furstenberg. It is the most dangerous castle
+on the Rhine to meddle with. The Laughing Baron, as they call him,
+although he is a Margrave, is the only man who dared to stop a king on
+his way down the Rhine, and hold him for ransom."
+
+"Yes," said Roland; "Adolf of Nassau, on his way to be crowned at
+Aix-la-Chapelle."
+
+"Quite so. Well, this huge ruffian--I never can remember his name; can
+you, Greusel?"
+
+"No, it beats me."
+
+"Margrave Hermann von Katznellenbogenstahleck," said Roland, so solemnly
+that Ebearhard laughed and even Greusel smiled.
+
+"That's the individual," agreed Ebearhard, "and you must admit the name
+itself is a formidable thing to attack, even without the giant it
+belongs to."
+
+"Banish all apprehension," said Roland. "I have already decided to
+remain here through the day, and drop quietly down the river to-night in
+the darkness past Furstenberg."
+
+"I think that is a wise decision," said Ebearhard.
+
+"'Tis against all military rules," demurred Roland, "but nevertheless
+with such an army as I lead it seems the only way. Do the men know that
+Furstenberg is our point of greatest danger?"
+
+"Yes; but they do not know so much as I. Last night I left them in
+Greusel's charge, being alarmed about what I heard of Furstenberg, and
+engaged a boatman to take me over there before the moon rose. I
+discovered that the Laughing Baron has caused a chain to be buoyed up
+just below the surface of the water, running diagonally up the river
+more than half-way across it, so that any boat coming down is caught and
+drawn into the landing, for the main flood of the Rhine, as you know,
+runs to the westward of this island. The boatman who ferried me knew
+about this chain, but thought it had been abandoned since traffic
+stopped. He says it runs right up into the Castle, and the moment a
+barge strikes against it, a big bell is automatically rung inside the
+stronghold, causing the Baron to laugh so loudly that they sometimes
+hear him over in Lorch."
+
+"This is very interesting, Ebearhard, and an excellent feat of scouting
+must be set down to your credit. Say nothing to the men, because,
+although we give Furstenberg the go-by on this occasion, I shall pay my
+respects to Herman von Katznellenbogenstahleck on my return, and the
+knowledge you bring me will prove useful."
+
+"Ha!" cried Greusel, "here are our infants returning, all in a body,
+Kurzbold at their head as usual. I imagine this morning they are going
+to depend on rhetoric, and allow their swords to remain in scabbard.
+They have evidently come to some momentous decision."
+
+The three retired to the prow of the boat as the guild clambored on at
+the stern. The captain and two of his men had taken the skiff belonging
+to the barge, and were absent at Lorch, purchasing provisions. Roland
+stood at the prow of the barge, slightly in advance of his two
+lieutenants, and awaited the approach of Kurzbold, with seventeen men
+behind him.
+
+"Commander," said the spokesman, with nothing of the late truculence in
+his tone, "we have just held a meeting of the guild, and unanimously
+agreed to ask you one question, and offer you one suggestion."
+
+"I shall be pleased," replied Roland, "to answer the first if I think it
+desirable, and take the second into consideration."
+
+He inclined his head to the delegation, and received a low bow in
+return. This was a most auspicious beginning, showing a certain
+improvement of method on the part of the majority.
+
+"The question is, Commander, what have you done with the gold we
+captured yesterday?"
+
+"A very proper inquiry," replied Roland, "that it gives me much pleasure
+to answer. I have placed the money in a custody which I believe to be
+absolute, arranging that if nothing happens to me, this money shall be
+properly divided in my presence."
+
+"Do you deny, sir, that the money belongs to us?"
+
+"Part of it undoubtedly does, but I, as leader of the expedition, am
+morally, if not legally, responsible to you all for its safe keeping.
+Our barge has stopped three times so far, and Captain Blumenfels tells
+me that he has had no real violence to complain of, but as we progress
+farther down the river, we are bound to encounter some Baron who is not
+so punctilious; for instance, the Margrave von Katznellenbogenstahleck,
+whose stronghold you doubtless saw from the latest meeting-place of the
+guild. Such a man as the Margrave is certain to do what you yourselves
+did without hesitation last night, that is, break open the lockers, and
+if gold were there you may depend it would not long remain in our
+possession after the discovery."
+
+"You miss, or rather, evade the point, Commander. Is the gold ours, or
+is it yours?"
+
+"I have admitted that part of it is yours."
+
+"Then by what right do you assert the power to deal with it, lacking our
+consent? If you will pardon me for saying so, you, the youngest of our
+company, treat the rest of us as though we were children."
+
+"If I possessed a child that acted at once so obstreperously and in so
+cowardly a manner as you did last night, I should cut a stick from the
+forest here, and thrash him with such severity that he would never
+forget it. As I have not done this to you, I deny that I treat you like
+children. The truth is that, although the youngest, I am your commander.
+We are engaged in acts of war, therefore military law prevails, and not
+the code of Justinian. It is my duty to protect your treasure and my
+own, and ensure that each man shall receive his share. After the
+division you may do what you please with the money, for you will then be
+under the common law, and I should not presume even to advise concerning
+its disposal."
+
+"You refuse to tell us, then, what you have done with the gold?"
+
+"I do. Now proceed with your suggestion."
+
+"I fear I put the case too mildly when I called it a suggestion,
+considering the unsatisfactory nature of your reply to my question,
+therefore I withdraw the word 'suggestion,' and substitute the word
+'command.'"
+
+Kurzbold paused, to give his ultimatum the greater force. Behind him
+rose a murmur of approval.
+
+"Words do not matter in the least. I deal with deeds. Out, then, with
+your command!" cried Roland, for the first time exhibiting impatience.
+
+"The command unanimously adopted is this: the Castle of Furstenberg must
+be left alone. We know more of that Castle than you do, especially about
+its owner and his garrison. We have been gathering information as we
+journeyed, and have not remained sulking in the barge."
+
+"Well, that is encouraging news to hear," said Roland. "I thought you
+were engaged in sampling wine."
+
+"You hear the command. Will you obey?"
+
+"I will not," said Roland decisively.
+
+Ebearhard took a step forward to the side of his chief, and glanced at
+him reproachfully. Greusel remained where he was, but neither man spoke.
+
+"You intend to attack Furstenberg?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"When?"
+
+"This afternoon."
+
+Kurzbold turned to his following:
+
+"Brethren," he said, "you have heard this conversation, and it needs no
+comment from me."
+
+Apparently the discussion was to receive no comment from the others
+either. They stood there glum and disconcerted, as if the trend of
+affairs had taken an unexpected turn.
+
+"I think," said one, "we had better retire and consult again."
+
+This was unanimously agreed to, and once more they disembarked upon the
+island, and moved forward to their Witenagemot. Still Greusel and
+Ebearhard said nothing, but watched the men disappear through the trees.
+Roland looked at one after another with a smile.
+
+"I see," he said, "that you disapprove of my conduct."
+
+Greusel remained silent, but Ebearhard laughed and spoke.
+
+"You came deliberately to the conclusion that it was unwise to attack
+Furstenberg. Now, because of Kurzbold's lack of courtesy, you deflect
+from your own mature judgment, and hastily jump into a course opposite
+to that which you marked out for yourself after sober, unbiased
+thought."
+
+"My dear Ebearhard, the duty of a commander is to give, and not to
+receive, commands."
+
+"Quite so. Command and suggestion are merely words, as you yourself
+pointed out, saying that they did not matter."
+
+"In that, Ebearhard, I was wrong. Words do matter, although Kurzbold
+wasn't clever enough to correct me. For example, I hold no man in higher
+esteem than yourself, yet you might use words that would cause me
+instantly to draw my sword upon you, and fight until one or other of us
+succumbed."
+
+Ebearhard laughed.
+
+"You put it very flatteringly, Roland. Truth is, you'd fight till I
+succumbed, my swordsmanship being no match for yours. I shall say the
+words, however, that will cause you to draw your sword, and they are:
+Commander, I will stand by you whatever you do."
+
+"And I," said Greusel curtly.
+
+Roland shook hands in turn with the two men.
+
+"Right," he cried. "If we are fated to go down, we will fall with
+banners flying."
+
+After a time the captain returned with his supplies, but still the
+majority of the guild remained engaged in deliberation. Evidently
+discussion was not proceeding with that unanimity which Kurzbold always
+insisted was the case.
+
+At noon Roland requested the captain to send some of his men with a meal
+for those in prolonged session, and also to carry them a cask which had
+been half-emptied either that morning or the night before.
+
+"They will enjoy a picnic under the trees by the margin of the river,"
+said Roland, as he and his two backers sat down in the empty cabin to
+their own repast.
+
+"Do you think they are purposely delaying, so that you cannot cross over
+this afternoon?"
+
+"'Tis very likely," said Roland. "I'll wait here until the sun sets, and
+then when they realize that I am about to leave them on an uninhabited
+island, without anything to eat, I think you will see them scramble
+aboard."
+
+"But suppose they don't," suggested Greusel. "There are at least three
+of them able to swim across this narrow branch of the Rhine, and engage
+a boatman to take them off, should their signaling be unobserved."
+
+"Again no matter. My plan for the undoing of the castles does not depend
+on force, but on craft. We three cannot carry away as much gold as can
+twenty-one, but our shares will be the same, and then we are not likely
+to find again so full a treasury as that at Rheinstein. My belief that
+these chaps would fight was dispelled by their conduct last night. Think
+of eighteen armed men flying before one sword!"
+
+"Ah, you are scarce just in your estimate, Commander. They were under
+the influence of wine."
+
+"True; but a brave man will fight, drunk or sober."
+
+Although the sun sank out of sight, the men did not return. There had
+been more wine in the cask than Roland supposed, for the cheery songs of
+the guild echoed through the sylvan solitude. Roland told the captain to
+set his men at work and row round the top of the island into the main
+stream of the Rhine. The revelers had evidently appointed watchmen, for
+they speedily came running through the woods, and followed the movements
+of the boat from the shore, keeping pace with it. When the craft reached
+the opposite side of the island, the rowers drew in to the beach.
+
+"Are you coming aboard?" asked Roland pleasantly.
+
+"Will you agree to pass Furstenberg during the night?" demanded
+Kurzbold.
+
+"No."
+
+"Do you expect to succeed, as you did with the other castles?"
+
+"Certainly; otherwise I shouldn't make the attempt."
+
+"I was wrong," said Kurzbold mildly, "in substituting the word 'command'
+for 'suggestion,' which I first employed. There are many grave reasons
+for deferring an attempt on Furstenberg. In the heat of argument these
+reasons were not presented to you. Will you consent to listen to them if
+we go on board?"
+
+"Yes; if you, on your part, will unanimously promise to abide by my
+decision."
+
+"Do you think," said Kurzbold, "that your prejudice against me, which
+perhaps you agree does exist--"
+
+"It exists," confessed Roland.
+
+"Very well. Will you allow that prejudice to prevent you from rendering
+a decision in the men's favor?"
+
+"No. If they present reasons that convince Greusel and Ebearhard against
+the attack on Furstenberg, I shall do what these two men advise, even
+although I myself believe in a contrary course. Thus you see, Herr
+Kurzbold, that my admitted dislike of you shall not come into play at
+all."
+
+"That is quite satisfactory," said Kurzbold. "Will you tie up against
+the farther shore until your decision is rendered?"
+
+"With pleasure," replied Roland; and accordingly the raiders tumbled
+impetuously on board the barge, whereupon the sailors bent to their long
+oars, and quickly reached the western bank, at a picturesque spot out of
+sight of any castle, where the trees came down the mountain-side to the
+water's edge. Here the sailors, springing ashore, tied their stout ropes
+to the tree-trunks, and the great barge lay broadside on to the land,
+with her nose pointing down the stream.
+
+"You see," said Roland to his lieutenants, "without giving way in the
+least I allow you two the decision, and so I take it Furstenberg or
+ourselves will escape disaster on this occasion."
+
+"Aside from all other considerations," replied the cautious Greusel, "I
+think it good diplomacy on this occasion to agree with the men, since
+they have stated their case so deferentially. They are improving,
+Commander."
+
+"It really looks like it," he agreed. "You and Ebearhard had better go
+aft, and counsel them to begin the conference at once, for if we are to
+attack we must do so before darkness sets in. I'll remain here as usual
+at the prow."
+
+Some of the men were strolling about the deck, but the majority remained
+in the cabin, down whose steps the lieutenants descended. Roland's
+impatience increased with the waning of the light.
+
+Suddenly a cry that was instantly smothered rose from the cabin, then a
+shout:
+
+"Treachery! Look out for yourself!"
+
+Roland attempted to stride forward, but four men fell on him, pinioning
+his arms to his side, preventing the drawing of his weapon. Kurzbold,
+with half a dozen others, mounted on deck.
+
+"Disarm him!" he commanded, and one of the men drew Roland's sword from
+its sheath, flinging it along the deck to Kurzbold's feet. The others
+now came up, bringing the two lieutenants, both gagged, with their arms
+tied behind them. Roland ceased his struggles, which he knew to be
+fruitless.
+
+"We wish an amicable settlement of this matter," said Kurzbold,
+addressing the lieutenants, "and regret being compelled to use measures
+that may appear harsh. I do this only to prevent unnecessary bloodshed.
+Earlier in the day," he continued, turning to Roland, "when we found all
+appeals to you were vain, we unanimously deposed you from the
+leadership, which is our right, and also our duty."
+
+"Not under martial law," said Roland.
+
+"I beg to point out that there was no talk of martial law before we left
+Frankfort. It was not till later that we learned we had appointed an
+unreasoning tyrant over us. We have deposed him, and I am elected in his
+place, with John Gensbein as my lieutenant. We will keep you three here
+until complete darkness sets in, then put you ashore unarmed. Bacharach,
+on this side of the Rhine, is to be our next resting-place, and
+doubtless so clever a man as you, Roland, may say that we choose
+Bacharach because it is named for Bacchus, the god of drunkards.
+Nevertheless, to show our good intentions towards you, we will remain
+there all day to-morrow. You can easily reach Bacharach along the
+hilltops before daybreak. We have written a charter of comradeship which
+all have signed except yourselves. If at Bacharach you give us your word
+to act faithfully under my leadership, we will reinstate you in the
+guild, and return your swords. By way of recompense for this leniency,
+we ask you to direct the captain to obey my commands as he has done
+yours."
+
+"Captain Blumenfels," said Roland to the honest sailor, who stood
+looking on in amaze at this turn of affairs, "you are to wait here until
+it is completely dark. See that no lights are burning to give warning to
+those in Furstenberg; and, by the way," added Roland, turning to his
+former company, "I advise you not to drink anything until you are well
+past the Castle. If you sing the songs of the guild within earshot of
+Furstenberg, you are like to sing on the other side of your mouths
+before morning. Don't forget that Margrave Hermann von
+Katznellenbogenstahleck is the chief hangman of Germany." Then once more
+to the captain:
+
+"As the Castle of Furstenberg stands high above the river, and well back
+from it, you will be out of sight if you keep near this shore. However,
+you can easily judge your distance, because the towers are visible even
+in the darkness against the sky. No man on the ramparts of the Castle
+can discern you down here on the black surface of the water, so long as
+you do not carry a light."
+
+"Roland, my deposed friend," said Kurzbold, "I fear you bear resentment,
+for you are giving the captain orders instead of telling him to obey
+mine."
+
+"Kurzbold, you are mistaken. I resign command with great pleasure, and,
+indeed, Greusel and Ebearhard will testify that I had already determined
+to pass Furstenberg unseen. As my former lieutenants are disarmed,
+surely the company, with eighteen swords, is not so frightened as to
+keep them gagged and bound. 'Tis no wonder you wish to avoid the
+Laughing Baron, if that is all the courage you possess."
+
+Stung by these taunts, Kurzbold gruffly ordered his men to release their
+prisoners, but when the gags were removed, and before the cords were
+cut, he addressed the lieutenants:
+
+"Do you give me your words not to make any further resistance, if I
+permit you to remain unbound?"
+
+"I give you my word on nothing, you mutinous dog!" cried Greusel; "and
+if I did, how could you expect me to keep it after such an example of
+treachery from you who pledged your faith, and then broke it? I shall
+obey my Commander, and none other."
+
+"I am your Commander," asserted Kurzbold.
+
+"You are not," proclaimed Greusel.
+
+Ebearhard laughed.
+
+"No need to question me," he said. "I stand by my colleagues."
+
+"Gag them again," ordered Kurzbold.
+
+"No, no!" cried Roland. "We are quite helpless. Give your words,
+gentlemen."
+
+Gloomily Greusel obeyed, and merrily Ebearhard. Darkness was now
+gathering, and when it fell completely the three men were put off into
+the forest.
+
+"You have not yet," said Kurzbold to Roland, "ordered the captain to
+obey me. I do not object to that, but it will be the worse for him and
+his men if they refuse to accept my instructions."
+
+"Do you know this district, Captain Blumenfels?" asked Roland.
+
+"Yes, mein Herr."
+
+"Is there a path along the top that will lead us behind Furstenberg on
+to Bacharach?"
+
+"Yes, mein Herr, but it is a very rough track."
+
+"Is it too far for you to guide us there, and return before the moon
+rises?"
+
+"Oh no, mein Herr, I can conduct you to the trail in half an hour if you
+consent to climb lustily."
+
+"Very good. Herr Kurzbold, if you are not impatient to be off, and will
+permit the captain to direct us on our way, I will tell him to obey
+you."
+
+"How long before you can return, captain?" asked Kurzbold.
+
+"I can be back well within the hour, mein Herr."
+
+"You will obey me if the late Commander orders you to do so?"
+
+"Yes, mein Herr."
+
+"Captain," said Roland, "I inform you in the hearing of these men that
+Herr Kurzbold occupies my place, and is to be obeyed by you until I
+resume command."
+
+Kurzbold laughed.
+
+"You mean until you are re-elected to membership in the guild, for we do
+not propose to make you commander again. Now, captain, to the hill, and
+see that your return is not delayed."
+
+The four men disappeared into the dark forest.
+
+"Captain," said Roland, when they reached the track, "I have taken you
+up here not that I needed your guidance, for I know this land as well as
+you do. You will obey Kurzbold, of course, but if he tells you to make
+for Lorch, allow your boat to drift, and do not get beyond the middle of
+the river until opposite Furstenberg. There is a buoyed chain--"
+
+"I know it well," interrupted the captain. "I have many times avoided
+it, but twice became entangled with it, in spite of all my efforts, and
+was robbed by the Laughing Baron."
+
+"Very well; I intend you to be entrapped by that chain to-night. Offer
+no resistance, and you will be safe enough. Do not attempt to help these
+lads should they be set upon, and it will be hard luck if I am not in
+command again before midnight. Keep close to this shore, but if they
+order you into the middle of the river, or across it, dally, my good
+Blumenfels, dally, until you are stopped by the chain for the third
+time."
+
+When the captain returned to his barge, he found Kurzbold pacing the
+deck in a masterly manner, impatient to be off. For once the combatants,
+with an effort, were refraining from drink.
+
+"We will open a cask," said Kurzbold, "as soon as we have passed the
+Schloss."
+
+He ordered the captain to follow the shore as closely as was safe, and
+take care that they did not come within sight of Furstenberg's tall,
+round tower. All sat or reclined on the dark deck, saying no word as the
+barge slid silently down the swift Rhine. Suddenly the speed of the boat
+was checked so abruptly that one or two of the standing men were flung
+off their feet. From up on the hillside there tolled out the deep note
+of a bell. The barge swung round broadside on the current, and lay there
+with the water rushing like hissing serpents along its side, the bell
+pealing out a loud alarm that seemed to keep time with the shuddering of
+the helpless boat.
+
+"What's wrong, captain?" cried Kurzbold, getting on his feet again and
+running aft.
+
+"I fear, sir, 'tis an anchored chain."
+
+"Can't you cut it?"
+
+"That is impossible, mein Herr."
+
+"Then get out your sweeps, and turn back. Where are we, do you think?"
+
+"Under the battlements of Furstenberg Castle."
+
+"Damnation! Put some speed into your men, and let us get away from
+here."
+
+The captain ordered his crew to hurry, but all their efforts could not
+release the boat from the chain, against which it ground up and down
+with a tearing noise, and even the un-nautical swordsmen saw that the
+current was impelling it diagonally toward the shore, and all the while
+the deep bell tolled on.
+
+"What in the fiend's name is the meaning of that bell?" demanded
+Kurzbold.
+
+"It is the Castle bell, mein Herr," replied the captain.
+
+Before Kurzbold could say anything more the air quivered with shout
+after shout of laughter. Torches began to glisten among the trees, and
+there was a clatter of horses' hoofs on the echoing rock. A more
+magnificent sight was never before presented to the startled eyes of so
+unappreciative a crowd. Along the zigzag road, and among the trees,
+spluttered the torches, each with a trail of sparks like the tail of a
+comet. The bearers were rushing headlong down the slope, for woe to the
+man who did not arrive at the water's edge sooner than his master.
+
+The torchlight gleamed on flashing swords and glittering points of
+spears, but chief sight of all was the Margrave Hermann von
+Katznellenbogenstahleck, a giant in stature, mounted on a magnificent
+stallion, as black as the night, and of a size that corresponded with
+its prodigious rider. The Margrave's long beard and flowing hair were
+red; scarlet, one may say, but perhaps that was the fiery reflection
+from the torches. Servants, scullions, stablemen carried the lights; the
+men-at-arms had no encumbrance but their weapons, and the business-like
+way in which they lined up along the shore was a study in discipline,
+and a terror to any one unused to war. Above all the din and clash of
+arms rang the hearty, stentorian laughter of the Red Margrave actually
+echoing back in gusts of fiendish merriment from the hills on the other
+side of the Rhine.
+
+Now the boat's nose came dully against the ledge of rock, to whose
+surface the swaying chain rose dripping from the water, sparkling like a
+jointed snake under the torchlight.
+
+"God save us all!" cried the Margrave, "what rare show have we here? By
+my sainted patron, the Archbishop, merchants under arms! Whoever saw the
+like? Ha! stout Captain Blumenfels, do I recognize you? Once more my
+chain has caught you. This makes the third time, does it not,
+Blumenfels?"
+
+"Yes, your Majesty."
+
+"You may as well call me 'your Holiness' as 'your Majesty.' I'm
+contented with my title, the 'Laughing Baron,' Haw-haw-haw-haw! And so
+your merchants have taken to arms again? The lesson at the Lorely taught
+them nothing! Are there any ropes aboard, captain?"
+
+"Plenty, my lord."
+
+"Then fling a coil ashore. Now, my tigers," he roared to his
+men-at-arms, "hale me to land those damned shopkeepers."
+
+With a clash of armor and weapons the brigands threw themselves on the
+boat, and in less time than is taken to tell it, every man of the guild
+was disarmed and flung ashore. Here another command of the Red Margrave
+gave them the outlaw's knot, as he termed it, a most painful tying-up of
+the body and the limbs until each victim was rigid as a red of iron.
+They were flung face downwards in a row, and beaten black and blue with
+cudgels, despite their screams of agony and appeals for mercy.
+
+"Now turn them over on their backs," commanded the Margrave, and it was
+done. The glare of the pitiless torches fell upon contorted faces. The
+Baron turned his horse athwart the line of helpless men, and spurred
+that animal over it from end to end, but the intelligent horse, more
+merciful than its rider, stepped with great daintiness, despite its
+unusual size, and never trod on one of the prostrate bodies. During what
+followed, the Red Baron, shaking with laughter, marched his horse up and
+down over the stricken men.
+
+"Now, unload the boat, but do not injure any of the sailors! I hope to
+see them often again. You cannot tell how we have missed you, captain.
+What are you loaded with this time? Sound Frankfort cloth?"
+
+"Yes, your Majesty--I mean, my lord."
+
+"No, you mean my Holiness, for I expect to be an Archbishop yet, if all
+goes well," and his laughter echoed across the Rhine. "Uplift your
+hatches, Blumenfels, and tell your men to help fling the goods ashore."
+
+Delicately paced the fearful horse over the prone men, snorting, perhaps
+in sympathy, from his red nostrils, his jet-black coat a-quiver with the
+excitement of the scene. The captain obeyed the Margrave with promptness
+and celerity. The hatches were lifted, and his sailors, two and two,
+flung on the ledge of rock the merchant's bales. The men-at-arms, who
+proved to be men-of-all-work, had piled their weapons in a heap, and
+were carrying the bales a few yards inland. Through it all the Baron
+roared with laughter, and rode his horse along its living pavement,
+turning now at this end and now at the other.
+
+"Do not be impatient," he cried down to them, "'twill not take long to
+strip the boat of every bale, then I shall hang you on these trees, and
+send back your bodies in the barge, as a lesson to Frankfort. You must
+return, captain," he cried, "for you cannot sell dead bodies to my liege
+of Cologne."
+
+As he spoke a ruddy flush spread over the Rhine, as if some one had
+flashed a red lantern upon the waters. The glow died out upon the
+instant.
+
+"What!" thundered the Margrave, "is that the reflection of my beard, or
+are Beelzebub and his fiends coming up from below for a portion of the
+Frankfort cloth? I will share with good brother Satan, but with no one
+else. Boil me if I ever saw a sight like that before! What was it,
+captain?"
+
+"I saw nothing unusual, my lord."
+
+"There, there!" exclaimed the Margrave, and as he spoke it seemed that a
+crimson film had fallen on the river, growing brighter and brighter.
+
+"Oh, my lord," cried the captain, "the Castle is on fire!"
+
+"Saints protect us!" shouted the Red Margrave, crossing himself, and
+turning to the west, where now both hearing and sight indicated that a
+furnace was roaring. The whole western sky was aglow, and although the
+flames could not be seen for the intervening cliff, every one knew there
+was no other dwelling that could cause such an illumination.
+
+Spurring his horse, and calling his men to come on, the nobleman dashed
+up the steep acclivity, and when the last man had departed, Roland,
+followed by his two lieutenants, stepped from the forest to the right
+down upon the rocky plateau.
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+"A SENTENCE; COME, PREPARE!"
+
+
+"Captain," said Roland quietly, "bring your crew ashore, and fling these
+bales on board again as quickly as you can."
+
+An instant later the sailors were at work, undoing their former efforts.
+
+"In mercy's name, Roland," wailed one of the stricken, "get a sword and
+cut our bonds."
+
+"All in good time," replied Roland. "The bales are more valuable to me
+than you are, and we have two barrels of gold at the foot of the cliff
+to bring in, if they haven't sunk in the Rhine. Greusel, do you and
+Ebearhard take two of the crew, launch the small boat, and rescue the
+barrels if you can find them."
+
+"Mercy on us, Roland! Mercy!" moaned his former comrades.
+
+"I have already wasted too much mercy upon you," he said. "If I rescue
+you now, I shall be compelled to hang you in the morning as breakers of
+law, so I may as well leave you where you are, and allow the Red
+Margrave to save me the trouble. The loss of his castle will not make
+him more compassionate, especially if he learns you were the cause of
+it. You will then experience some refined tortures, I imagine; for, like
+myself, he may think hanging too good for you. I should never have fired
+his castle had it not been for your rebellion."
+
+The men on the ground groaned but made no further appeal. Some of them
+were far-seeing enough to realize that an important change had come over
+the young man they thought so well known to them, who stood there with
+an air of indifference, throwing out a suggestion now and then for the
+more effective handling of the bales; suggestions carrying an impalpable
+force of authority that caused them to be very promptly obeyed. They did
+not know that this person whom they had regarded as one of themselves,
+the youngest at that, treating him accordingly, had but a day or two
+before received a tremendous assurance, which would have turned the head
+of almost any individual in the realm, old or young; the assurance that
+he was to be supreme ruler over millions of creatures like themselves; a
+ruler whose lightest word might carry their extinction with it.
+
+Yet such is the strange littleness of human nature that, although this
+potent knowledge had been gradually exercising its effect on Roland's
+character, it was not the rebellion of the eighteen or their mutinous
+words that now made him hard as granite towards them. It was the trivial
+fact that four of them had dared to manhandle him; had made a personal
+assault upon him; had pinioned his helpless arms, and flung his sword,
+that insignia of honor, to the feet of Kurzbold, leader of the revolt.
+
+The Lord's Anointed, he was coming to consider himself, although not yet
+had the sacred ointment been placed upon his head. A temporal Emperor
+and a vice-regent of Heaven upon earth, his hand was destined to hold
+the invisible hilt of the Almighty's sword of vengeance. The words "I
+will repay" were to reach their fulfillment through his action.
+Notwithstanding his youth, or perhaps because of it, he was animated by
+deep religious feeling, and this, rather than ambition, explained the
+celerity with which he agreed to the proposals of the Archbishops.
+
+The personage the prisoners saw standing on the rock-ledge of
+Furstenberg was vastly different from the young man who, a comrade of
+comrades, had departed from Frankfort in their company. They beheld him
+plainly enough, for there was now no need of torches along the
+foreshore; the night was crimson in its brilliancy, and down the hill
+came a continuous roar, like that of the Rhine Fall seventy leagues
+away.
+
+Into this red glare the small boat and its four occupants entered, and
+Roland saw with a smile that two well-filled casks formed its freight.
+The bales were now aboard the barge again, and the Commander ordered the
+crew to help the quartette in the small boat with the lifting of the
+heavy barrels. Greusel and Ebearhard clambered over the side, and came
+thus to the ledge where Roland stood, as the crew rolled the barrels
+down into the cabin.
+
+"Lieutenants," said the Commander, "select two stout battle-axes from
+that heap. Follow the chain up the hill until you reach that point where
+it is attached to the thick rope. Cut the rope with your axes, and draw
+down the chain with you, thus clearing a passage for the barge."
+
+The two men chose battle-axes, then turned to their leader.
+
+"Should we not get our men aboard," they said, "before the barge is
+free?"
+
+"These rebels are prisoners of the Red Margrave. They belong to him, and
+not to me. Where they are, there they remain."
+
+The lieutenants, with one impulse, advanced to their Commander, who
+frowned as they did so. A cry of despair went up from the pinioned men,
+but Kurzbold shouted:
+
+"Cut him down, Ebearhard, and then release us. In the name of the guild
+I call on you to act! He is unarmed; cut him down! 'Tis foul murder to
+desert us thus."
+
+The cutting down could easily have been accomplished, for Roland stood
+at their mercy, weaponless since the _emeute_ on the barge.
+Notwithstanding the seriousness of the occasion, the optimistic
+Ebearhard laughed, although every one else was grave enough.
+
+"Thank you, Kurzbold, for your suggestion. We have come forward, not to
+use force, but to try persuasion. Roland, you cannot desert to death the
+men whom you conducted out of Frankfort."
+
+"Why can I not?"
+
+"I should have said a moment ago that you will not, but now I say you
+cannot. Kurzbold has just shown what an irreclaimable beast he is, and
+on that account, because birth, or training, or something has made you
+one of different caliber, you cannot thus desert him to the reprisal of
+that red fiend up the hill."
+
+"If I save him now, 'twill be but to hang him an hour later. I am no
+hangman, while the Margrave is. I prefer that he should attend to my
+executions."
+
+Again Ebearhard laughed.
+
+"'Tis no use, Roland, pretending abandonment, for you will not abandon.
+I thoroughly favor choking the life out of Kurzbold, and one or two of
+the others, and will myself volunteer for the office of headsman,
+carrying, as I do, the ax, but let everything be done decently and in
+order, that a dignified execution may follow on a fair trial."
+
+"Commander," shouted the captain from the deck of the barge, "make
+haste, I beg of you. The rope connecting with the Castle has been burnt,
+and the chain is dragging free. The current is swift, and this barge
+heavy. We shall be away within the minute."
+
+"Get your crew ashore on the instant," cried Roland, "and fling me these
+despicable burdens aboard. A man at the head, another at the heels, and
+toss each into the barge. Is there time, captain, to take this heap of
+cutlery with us as trophies of the fray?"
+
+"Yes," replied the captain, "if we are quick about it."
+
+The howling human packages were hurled from ledge to barge; the strong,
+unerring sailors, accustomed to the task, heaved no man into the water.
+Others as speedily fell upon the heap of weapons, and threw them,
+clattering, on the deck. All then leaped aboard, and Roland, motioning
+his lieutenants to precede him, was the last to climb over the prow.
+
+The chain came down over the stones with a clattering run, and fell with
+a great splash into the river. The barge, now clear, swung with the
+current stern foremost; the sailors got to their oars, and gradually
+drew their craft away from the shore. A little farther from the landing,
+those on deck, looking upstream, enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the
+magnificent conflagration. The huge stone Castle seemed to glow white
+hot. The roof had fallen in, and a seething furnace reddened the
+midnight sky. Like a flaming torch the great tower roared to the
+heavens. The whole hilltop resembled the crater of an active volcano.
+Timber floors and wooden partitions, long seasoned, proved excellent
+material for the incendiaries, and even the stones were crumbling away,
+falling into the gulf of fire, sending up a dazzling eruption of sparks,
+as section after section tumbled into this earthly Hades.
+
+The long barge floated placidly down a river resembling molten gold. The
+boat was in disarray, covered with bales of cloth not yet lowered into
+the hold, cluttered here and there with swords, battle-axes, and spears.
+In the various positions where they had been flung lay the helpless men,
+some on their faces, some on their backs. The deck was as light as if
+the red setting sun were casting his rays upon it. Roland seated himself
+on a bale, and said to the captain:
+
+"Turn all these men face upward," and the captain did so.
+
+"Ebearhard, you said execution should take place after a fair trial.
+There is no necessity to call witnesses, or to go through any court of
+law formalities. You two are perfectly cognizant of everything that has
+taken place, and no testimony will either strengthen or weaken that
+knowledge. As a preliminary, take Kurzbold, the new president, and
+Gensbein, his lieutenant, from among that group, and set them apart. Two
+members of the crew will carry out this order," which was carried out
+accordingly.
+
+Roland rose, walked along the prostrate row, and selected, apparently at
+haphazard, four others, then said to the members of his crew:
+
+"Place these four men beside their leader. Left to myself," he continued
+to his lieutenants, "I should hang the six. However, I shall take no
+hand in the matter. I appoint you, Joseph Greusel, and you, Gottlieb
+Ebearhard, as judges, with power of life and death. If your verdict on
+any or all of the accused is death, I shall use neither the ax nor the
+cord, but propose flinging them into the river, and if God wills them to
+reach the shore alive, their binding will be no hindrance to escape."
+
+Kurzbold and his lieutenant broke out into alternate curses and appeals,
+protesting that Greusel and Ebearhard had not been expelled from the
+guild, and calling upon them by their solemn oath of brotherhood to
+release them now that they possessed the power. To these appeals the
+newly-appointed judges made no reply, and for once Ebearhard did not
+laugh.
+
+The other four directed their supplications to Roland himself. They had
+been misled, they cried, and deeply regretted it. Already they suffered
+punishment of a severity almost beyond power of human endurance, and
+they feared their bones were broken with the cudgeling, since which
+assault their bonds grievously tortured them. All swore amendment, and
+their grim commander still remaining silent, they asked him in what
+respect they were more guilty than the dozen others whom seemingly he
+intended to spare. At last Roland replied.
+
+"You four," he said sternly, "dared to lay hands upon me, and for that I
+demand from the judges a sentence of death."
+
+Even his two lieutenants gazed at him in amazement, that he should make
+so much of an action which they themselves had endured and nothing said
+of it. Surely the laying-on of hands, even in rudeness, was not a
+capital crime, yet they saw to their astonishment that Roland was in
+deadly earnest.
+
+The leader turned a calm face toward their scrutiny, but there was a
+frown upon his brow.
+
+"Work while ye have the light," he said. "Judges, consider your
+decision, and deliver your verdict."
+
+Greusel and Ebearhard turned their backs on every one, walked slowly
+aft, and down into the cabin. Roland resumed his seat on the bale of
+cloth, elbows on his knees, and face in his hands. All appeals had
+ceased, and deep silence reigned, every man aboard the boat in a state
+of painful tension. The fire in the distant castle lowered and lowered,
+and darkness was returning to the deck of the barge. At last the judges
+emerged from the cabin, and came slowly forward.
+
+It was Greusel who spoke.
+
+"We wish to know if only these six are on trial?"
+
+"Only these six," replied Roland.
+
+"Our verdict is death," said Greusel. "Kurzbold and Gensbein are to be
+thrown into the Rhine bound as they lie, but the other four receive one
+chance for life, in that the cords shall be cut, leaving their limbs
+free."
+
+This seeming mercy brought no consolation to the quartette, for each
+plaintively proclaimed that he could not swim.
+
+"I thank you for your judgment," said Roland, "which I am sure you must
+have formed with great reluctance. Having proven yourself such excellent
+judges, I doubt not you will now act with equal wisdom as advisers. A
+phrase of yours, Ebearhard, persists in my mind, despite all efforts to
+dislodge it. You uttered on the ledge of rock yonder something to the
+effect that we left Frankfort as comrades together. That is very true,
+and unless you override my resolution, I have come to the conclusion
+that if any of us are fated to die, the penalty shall be dealt by some
+other hand than mine. The twelve who lie here are scarcely less guilty
+than the six now under sentence, and I propose, therefore, to put ashore
+on the east bank Kurzbold and Gensbein, one a rogue, the other a fool.
+The sixteen who remain have so definitely proven themselves to be
+simpletons that I trust they will not resent my calling them such. If
+however, they abandon all claim to the comradeship that has been so much
+prated about, swearing by the Three Kings of Cologne faithfully to
+follow me, and obey my every word without cavil or argument, I will
+pardon them, but the first man who rebels will show that my clemency has
+been misplaced, and I can assure them that it shall not be exercised
+again. Captain, your sailors are familiar with knotted ropes. Bid them
+release all these men except the six condemned."
+
+The boatmen, with great celerity, freed the prostrate captives from
+their bonds, but some of the mutineers had been so cruelly used in the
+cudgeling that it was necessary to assist them to their feet. The early
+summer daybreak was at hand, its approach heralded by the perceptible
+diluting of the darkness that surrounded them, and a ghastly, pallid
+grayness began to overspread the surface of the broad river. Down the
+stream to the west the towers of Bacharach could be faintly
+distinguished, looking like a dream city, the lower gloom of which was
+picked out here and there by points of light, each betokening an early
+riser.
+
+It was a deeply dejected, silent group that stood in this weird
+half-light, awaiting the development of Roland's mind regarding them;
+he, the youngest of their company, quiet, unemotional, whose dominion no
+one now thought of disputing.
+
+"Captain," he continued, "steer for the eastern shore. I know that
+Bacharach is the greatest wine mart on the Rhine, and well sustains the
+reputation of the drunken god for whom it is named, but we will
+nevertheless avoid it. There is a long island opposite the town, but a
+little farther down. I dare say you know it well. Place that island
+between us and Bacharach, and tie up to the mainland, out of view from
+the stronghold of Bacchus. He is a misleading god, with whom we shall
+hold no further commerce.
+
+"Now, Joseph Greusel, and Gottlieb Ebearhard, do you two administer the
+oath of the Three Kings to these twelve men; but before doing so, give
+each one his choice, permitting him to say whether he will follow
+Kurzbold on the land or obey me on the water."
+
+Here Kurzbold broke out again in trembling anger:
+
+"Your pretended fairness is a sham, and your bogus option a piece of
+your own sneaking dishonesty. What chance have we townsmen, put ashore,
+penniless, in an unknown wilderness, far from any human habitation,
+knowing nothing of the way back to Frankfort? Your fraudulent clemency
+rescues us from drowning merely to doom us to starvation."
+
+The daylight had so increased that all might see the gentle smile coming
+to Roland's lips, and the twinkle in his eye as he looked at the
+wrathful Kurzbold.
+
+"A most intelligent leader of men are you, Herr Conrad. I suppose this
+dozen will stampede to join your leadership. They must indeed be proud
+of you when they learn the truth. I shall present to each of you, out of
+my own store of gold that came from the castle you so bravely attacked
+last night, one half the amount that is your due. This will be more
+money than any of you ever possessed before; each portion, indeed,
+excelling the total that you eighteen accumulated during your whole
+lives. I could easily bestow your share without perceptible diminution
+of the fund we three, unaided, extracted from the coffers of the Red
+Margrave. The reason I do not pay in full is this. When you reach
+Frankfort, I must be assured that you will keep your foolish tongues
+silent. If any man speaks of our labors, I shall hear of it on my
+return, and will fine that man his remaining half-share.
+
+"It distresses me to expose your ignorance, Kurzbold, but I put you
+ashore amply provided with money, barely two-thirds of a league from
+Lorch, where you spent so jovial an evening, and where a man with gold
+in his pouch need fear neither hunger nor thirst. Lorch may be attained
+by a leisurely walker in less than half an hour; indeed, it is barely
+two leagues from this spot to Assmannshausen, and surely you know the
+road from that storehouse of red wine to the capital city of Frankfort,
+having once traversed it. A child of six, Kurzbold, might be safely put
+ashore where you shall set foot on land. Therefore, lieutenants, let
+each man know he will receive a bag of coin, and may land unmolested to
+accompany the brave and intelligent Kurzbold."
+
+As he finished this declamation, that caused even some of the beaten
+warriors to laugh at their leader, the barge came gently alongside the
+strand, well out of sight of Bacharach. Each of the dozen swore the
+terrible, unbreakable oath of the Three Kings to be an obedient henchman
+to Roland.
+
+"You may," said Roland, "depart to the cabin, where a flagon of wine
+will be served to every man, and also an early breakfast. After that you
+are permitted to lie down and relax your swollen limbs, meditating on
+the extract from Holy Writ which relates the fate of the blind when led
+by the blind."
+
+When the dozen limped away, the chief turned to his prisoners.
+
+"Against you four I bear resentment that I thought could not be appeased
+except by your expulsion, but reflection shows me that you acted under
+instruction from the foolish leader you selected, and therefore the
+principal, not the agent, is most to blame. I give you the same choice I
+have accorded to the rest. Unloose them, captain; and while this is
+being done, Greusel, get two empty bags from the locker, open one of the
+casks, and place in each bag an amount which you estimate to be one half
+the share which is Kurzbold's due."
+
+The four men standing up took the oath, and thanked Roland for his
+mercy, hurrying away at a sign from him to their bread and wine.
+
+"Send hither," cried Roland after them, "two of the men who have already
+refreshed themselves, each with a loaf of bread and a full flagon of
+wine. And now, captain, release Kurzbold and Gensbein."
+
+When these two stood up and stretched themselves, the bearers of bread
+and wine presented them with this refreshment, and after they had
+partaken of it, Greusel gave them each a bag of gold, which they tied to
+their belts without a word, while Greusel and Ebearhard waited to escort
+them to land.
+
+"We want our swords," said Kurzbold sullenly.
+
+Ebearhard looked at his chief, but he shook his head.
+
+"They have disgraced their swords," he said, "which now by right belong
+to the Margrave Hermann von Katznellenbogenstahleck. Put them ashore,
+lieutenant."
+
+It was broad daylight, and the men had all come up from the cabin,
+standing in a silent group at the stern. Kurzbold, on the bank, foaming
+at the mouth with fury, shook his fist at them, roaring:
+
+"Cowards! Pigs! Dolts! Asses! Poltroons!"
+
+The men made no reply, but Ebearhard's hearty laugh rang through the
+forest.
+
+"You have given us your titles, Kurzbold," he cried. "Send us your
+address whenever you get one!"
+
+"Captain," said Roland, "cast off. Cross to this side of that island,
+and tie up there for the day. Set a man on watch, relieving the sentinel
+every two hours. We have spent an exciting night, and will sleep till
+evening."
+
+"Your honor, may I first stow away these bales, and dispose of the
+battle-axes, spears, and broadswords, so to clear the deck?"
+
+"You may do that, captain, at sunset. As for the bales, they make a very
+comfortable couch upon which I intend to rest."
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+THE PRISONER OF EHRENFELS
+
+
+There is inspiration in the sight of armed men marching steadily
+together; men well disciplined, keeping step to the measured clank of
+their armor. Like a great serpent the soldiers of Cologne issued from
+the forest, coming down two and two, for the path was narrow. They would
+march four abreast when they reached the river road, and the evolutions
+which accomplished this doubling of the columns, without changing step
+or causing confusion, called forth praise from the two southern
+Archbishops.
+
+A beautiful tableau of amity and brotherly love was presented to the
+troops as they looked up at the three Archbishops standing together on
+the balcony in relief against the gray walls of the Castle. The
+officers, who were on horseback, raised their swords sky-pointing from
+their helmets, for they recognized their overlord and his two notable
+confreres. With the motion of one man the three Archbishops acknowledged
+the salute. The troops cheered and cheered as the anaconda made its
+sinuous way down the mountain-side, and company after company came
+abreast the Castle. The Archbishops stood there until the last man
+disappeared down the river road on his way to Coblentz.
+
+"May I ask you," said Mayence, addressing Treves, "to conduct me to the
+flat roof of your Castle? Will you accompany us?" he inquired of
+Cologne.
+
+Cologne and Treves being for once in agreement, the latter led the way,
+and presently the three stood on the broad stone plateau which afforded
+a truly striking panorama of the Rhine. The July sun sinking in the west
+transformed the river into a crimson flood, and at that height the cool
+evening breeze was delicious. Cologne stood with one hand on the
+parapet, and gazed entranced at the scene, but the practical Mayence
+paid no attention whatever to it.
+
+"Your troublesome guest, Treves, has one more request to make, which is
+that you order his flag hoisted to the top of that pole."
+
+Treves at once departed to give this command, while Cologne, with
+clouded brow, turned from his appreciation of the view.
+
+"My Lord," he said, "you have requested the raising of a signal."
+
+"Yes," was the reply.
+
+"A signal which calls your men from the Lahn to the landing at
+Stolzenfels?"
+
+"Yes," repeated Mayence.
+
+"My Lord, I have kept my promise not only to the letter, but in the
+spirit as well. My troops are marching peaceably away, and will reach
+their barracks some time to-morrow. Although I exacted no promise from
+you, you implied there was a truce between us, and that your army, like
+my company, was not to be called into action of any kind."
+
+"Your understanding of our pact is concisely stated, even though my
+share in that pact remained unspoken. A truce, did you say? Is it not
+more than that? I hoped that my seconding of the nomination you proposed
+proved me in complete accord with your views."
+
+"I am not in effect your prisoner, then?"
+
+"Surely not; so contrary to the fact is such an assumption that I
+implore you to accept my hospitality. The signal, which I see is now at
+the mast-head, calls for one barge only, and that contains no soldier,
+merely a captain and his ten stout rowers, whom you may at this moment,
+if you turn round, see emerging from the mouth of the Lahn. I present to
+you, and to the Countess von Sayn, my Schloss of Martinsburg for as long
+as you may require it. It is well furnished, well provisioned, and
+attended to by a group of capable servants, who are at your command. I
+suggest that you cross in my barge, in company with the Countess and her
+kinsman, the Reverend Father. You agree, I take it, to convoy the lady
+safely to her temporary restraint in Pfalz. It was her own request, you
+remember."
+
+"I shall convoy her thither."
+
+"I am trusting to you entirely. The distance is but thirteen leagues,
+and can be accomplished easily in a day. Once on the other side of the
+river she may despatch her kinsman, or some more trustworthy messenger,
+to her own Castle, and thus summon the two waiting-women who will share
+her seclusion."
+
+"Is it your intention, my Lord, that her imprisonment shall--?"
+
+The Archbishop of Mayence held up his thin hand with a gesture of
+deprecation.
+
+"I use no word so harsh as 'imprisonment.' The penance, if you wish so
+to characterize it, is rather in the nature of a retreat, giving her
+needed opportunity for reflection, and, I hope, for regret."
+
+"Nevertheless, my Lord, your action seems to me unnecessarily severe.
+How long do you propose to detain her?"
+
+"I am pained to hear you term it severity, for her treatment will be of
+the mildest description. I thought you would understand that no other
+course was open to me. So far as I am personally concerned, she might
+have said what pleased her, with no adverse consequences, but she
+flouted the highest Court of the realm, and such contempt cannot be
+overlooked. As for the duration of her discipline, it will continue
+until the new Emperor is married, after which celebration the Countess
+is free to go whither she pleases. I shall myself call at Pfalz four
+days from now, that I may be satisfied the lady enjoys every comfort the
+Castle affords."
+
+"And also, perhaps, to be certain she is there immured."
+
+Mayence's thin lips indulged in a wry smile.
+
+"I need no such assurance," he said, "since my Lord of Cologne has
+pledged his word to see that the order of the Court is carried out."
+
+The conversation was here interrupted by the return of Treves. Already
+the great barge was half-way across the river. The surging, swift
+current swept it some distance below Stolzenfels, and the rowers, five a
+side, were working strenuously to force it into slower waters. Lord,
+lady, and monk crossed over to the mouth of the Lahn, and the barge
+returned immediately to convey across horses and escort.
+
+As the valley of the Lahn opened out it presented a picture of quiet
+sylvan beauty, apparently uninhabited by any living thing. The
+Archbishop of Cologne rose, and, shading his eyes from the still radiant
+sun, gazed intently up the little river. No floating craft was anywhere
+in sight. He turned to the captain.
+
+"Where is the flotilla from Mayence?" he asked.
+
+"Flotilla, my Lord?"
+
+"Yes; a hundred barges sailed down from Mayence in the darkness either
+last night or the night before, taking harbor here in the Lahn."
+
+"My Lord, even one barge, manned as this is, could not have journeyed
+such a distance in so short a time, and, indeed, for a flotilla to
+attempt the voyage, except in daylight, would have been impossible. No
+barges have come down the Rhine for months, and had they ventured the
+little Lahn is too shallow to harbor them."
+
+"Thank you, captain. I appear to be ignorant both of the history and the
+geography of this district. If I were to ask you and your stout rowers
+to take me down through the swiftest part of the river to Coblentz, how
+soon would we reach that town?"
+
+"Very speedily, my Lord, but I could undertake no such voyage except at
+the command of my master. He is not one to be disobeyed."
+
+"I quite credit that," said Cologne, sitting down again, the momentary
+desire to recall his marching troops, that had arisen when he saw the
+empty Lahn, dying down when he realized how effectually he had been
+outwitted.
+
+When the horses were brought across, Father Ambrose, at the request of
+the Countess, rode back to Sayn, and sent forward the two waiting-women
+whom she required, and so well did he accomplish his task that they
+arrived at Schloss Martinsburg before ten of the clock that night. At an
+early hour next morning the little procession began its journey up the
+Rhine, his Lordship and the Countess in front; the six horsemen bringing
+up the rear.
+
+The lady was in a mood of deep dejection; the regret which Mayence had
+anticipated as result of imprisonment already enveloped her. It was only
+too evident that the Archbishop of Cologne was bitterly disappointed,
+for he rode silently by her side making no attempt at conversation. They
+rested for several hours during midday, arriving at Caub before the red
+sun set, and now the Countess saw her pinnacled prison lying like an
+anchored ship in midstream.
+
+At Caub they were met by a bearded, truculent-looking ruffian, who
+introduced himself to the Archbishop as the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck.
+
+"You take us rather by surprise, Prince of Cologne," he said. "It is
+true that my overlord, the Archbishop of Mayence, called upon me several
+days ago while descending the Rhine in his ten-oared barge, and said
+there was a remote chance that a prisoner might shortly be given into my
+care. This had often happened before, for my Castle covers some gruesome
+cells that extend under the river,--cells with secret entrances not
+easily come by should any one search the Castle. It is sometimes
+convenient that a prisoner of State should be immured in one of them
+when the Archbishop has no room in his own Schloss Ehrenfels, so I paid
+little attention, and merely said the prisoner would receive a welcome
+on arrival. This morning there came one of the Archbishop's men from
+Stolzenfels, and both my wife and myself were astonished to learn that
+the prisoner would be here this evening under your escort, my Lord, and
+that it was a woman we were to harbor. Further, she was to be given the
+best suite of rooms we had in the Castle, and to be treated with all
+respect as a person of rank. Now, this apartment is in no state of
+readiness to receive such a lady, much less to house one of the dignity
+of your Lordship."
+
+"It does not matter for me," replied the Archbishop. "Being, as I may
+say, part soldier, the bed and board of an inn is quite acceptable upon
+occasion."
+
+"Oh no, your Highness, such a hardship is not to be thought of. The
+Castle of Gutenfels, standing above us, is comfortable as any on the
+Rhine. Its owner, the Count Palatine, is fellow-Elector of yours, and a
+very close friend of my overlord of Mayence, and I am told they vote
+together whenever my overlord needs his assistance."
+
+"That is true," commented Cologne.
+
+"My overlord sent word that anything I needed for the accommodation of
+her ladyship, he recognizing that my warning had been short, I should
+requisition from the Count Palatine, so at midday I went up to call upon
+him, not saying anything, of course, about State prisoners, male or
+female. The moment he heard that you, my Lord, were visiting this
+neighborhood, he begged me to tender to you, and to all your companions
+or following, the hospitality of his Castle for so long as you might
+honor him with your presence."
+
+"The Count Palatine is very gracious, and I shall be glad to accept
+shelter and refreshment."
+
+"He would have been here to greet your Highness, but I was unable to
+inform him at what hour you would arrive, so I waited for you myself,
+and will be pleased to guide you to the gates of Gutenfels."
+
+The conversation was interrupted by a great clatter of galloping horses,
+descending the hill with reckless speed, and at its foot swinging round
+into the main street of the town.
+
+"Ha!" cried the amateur jailer, "here is the Count Palatine himself;"
+and thus it is our fate to meet the fourth Elector of the Empire, who,
+added to the three Archbishops, formed a quorum so potent that it could
+elect or depose an Emperor at will.
+
+The cavalry of the Count Palatine was composed of fifty fully-armed men,
+and their gallop through the town roused the echoes of that ancient
+bailiwick, which, together with the Castle, belonged to the Palatinate.
+The powerful noble extended a cordial welcome to his fellow-Elector, and
+together they mounted to the Castle of Gutenfels.
+
+At dinner that night the Count Palatine proved an amiable host. Under
+his geniality the charming Countess von Sayn gradually recovered her
+lost good spirits, and forgot she was on her way to prison. After all,
+she was young, naturally joyous, and loved interesting company,
+especially that of the two Electors, who were well informed, and had
+seen much of the world. The Archbishop also shook off some of his
+somberness; indeed, all of it as the flagons flowed. Being asked his
+preference in wine, he replied that yesterday he had been regaled with a
+very excellent sample of Oberweseler.
+
+"That is from this neighborhood," replied the Count. "Oberwesel lies but
+a very short distance below, on the opposite side of the river, but we
+contend that our beverage of Caub is at least equal, and sometimes
+superior. You shall try a good vintage of both. How did you come by
+Oberweseler so far north as Stolzenfels?"
+
+"Simply because I was so forward, counting on the good nature of my
+friend of Treves, that I stipulated for Oberweseler."
+
+"Ah! I am anxious to know why."
+
+"For reasons of history, not of the palate. A fair English Princess was
+guest of Stolzenfels long ago, and this wine was served to her."
+
+"In that case," returned the Count, "I also shall fall back on history,
+and first order brimming tankards of old Caub. Really, Madam," he said,
+turning to Hildegunde, "we should have had Royalty here to meet you,
+instead of two old wine-bibbers like his Highness and myself."
+
+The girl looked startled at this mention of Royalty, bringing to her
+mind the turbulent events of yesterday. Nevertheless, with great
+composure, she smiled at her enthusiastic host.
+
+"Still," went on the Count, "if we are not royal ourselves, 'tis a
+degree we are empowered to confer, and, indeed, may be very shortly
+called upon to bestow. That is true from what I hear, is it not, your
+Highness?"
+
+"Yes," replied the Archbishop gravely.
+
+"Well, as I was about to say, this Castle belonged to the Falkensteins,
+and was sold by them to the Palatinate. Rumor, legend, history, call it
+what you like, asserts that the most beautiful woman ever born on the
+Rhine was Countess Beatrice of Falkenstein. But when I drink to the
+toast I am about to offer I shall, Madam," he smiled at Hildegunde,
+"assert that the legend no longer holds, a contention I am prepared to
+maintain by mortal combat. Know then that the Earl of Cornwall, who was
+elected King of Germany in 1257, met Beatrice of Falkenstein in this
+Castle. The meeting was brought about by the Electors themselves, who,
+stupid matchmakers, attempted to coerce each into a marriage with the
+other. Beatrice refused to marry a foreigner.
+
+"The Chronicles are a little vague about the most interesting part of
+the negotiations, but minutely plain about the outcome. In some manner
+the Earl and Beatrice met, and he became instantly enamored of her. This
+is the portion so deplorably slurred by these old monkish writers. I
+need hardly tell you that the Earl himself succeeded where the seven
+Electors failed. Beatrice became Cornwall's wife and Queen of Germany,
+and they lived happily ever afterwards.
+
+"I give you the toast!" cried the chivalrous Count Palatine, rising. "To
+the cherished memory of the Royal lovers of Gutenfels!"
+
+The Archbishop's eyes twinkled as he looked across the table at
+Hildegunde.
+
+"This seems to be a time of Royal betrothals," he said, raising his
+flagon.
+
+"'Seems' is the right word, Guardian," replied the Countess.
+
+Then she sipped the ancient wine of Caub.
+
+Next morning Hildegunde was early afoot. Notwithstanding her trouble of
+mind, she had slept well, and awakened with the birds, so great is the
+influence of youth and health. During her last conscious moments the
+night before, as she lay in the stately bed of the most noble room the
+Castle contained, she bitterly accused herself for the disastrous
+failure of the previous day. The Archbishop of Cologne had given her
+good counsel that was not followed, and his disappointment with the
+result, generously as he endeavored to conceal it, was doubtless the
+deeper because undiscussed. Thinking of coming captivity, a dream of
+grim Pfalz was expected, but instead the girl's spirit wandered through
+the sweet seclusion of Nonnenwerth, living again that happy, earlier
+time, free from politics and the tramp of armed men.
+
+In the morning the porter, at her behest, withdrew bolt, bar, and chain,
+allowing exit into the fresh, cool air, and skirting the Castle, she
+arrived at a broad terrace which fronted it. A fleecy mist extending
+from shore to shore concealed the waters of the Rhine, and partially
+obliterated the little village of Caub at the foot of the hill. Where
+she stood the air was crystal clear, and she seemed to be looking out on
+a broad snow-field of purest white. Beyond Caub its surface was pierced
+by the dozen sharp pinnacles of her future prison, looking like a bed of
+spikes, upon which one might imagine a giant martyr impaled by the
+verdict of a cruel Archbishop.
+
+Gazing upon this nightmare Castle, whose tusks alone were revealed, the
+girl formulated the resolution but faintly suggested the night before.
+On her release should ensue an abandonment of the world, and the
+adoption of a nun's veil in the convent opposite Drachenfels, an island
+exchanged for an island; turmoil for peace.
+
+At breakfast she met again the jovial Count Palatine, and her more sober
+guardian, who both complimented her on the results of her beauty rest,
+the one with great gallantry, the other with more reserve, as befitted a
+Churchman. The Archbishop seemed old and haggard in the morning light,
+and it was not difficult to guess that no beauty sleep had soothed his
+pillow. It wrung the girl's heart to look at him, and again she accused
+herself for lack of all tact and discretion, wishing that her guardian
+took his disappointment more vengefully, setting her to some detested
+task that she might willingly perform.
+
+The hospitable Count, eager that they should stop at least another night
+under his roof, pressed his invitation upon them, and the Archbishop
+gave a tacit consent.
+
+"If the Countess is not too tired," said Cologne, "I propose that she
+accompany me on a little journey I have in view farther up the river. We
+will return here in the evening."
+
+"I should be delighted," cried Hildegunde, "for all sense of fatigue has
+been swept away by a most restful night."
+
+The good-natured Count left them to their own devices, and shortly
+afterwards guardian and ward rode together down the steep declivity to
+the river. The mist was already driven away, except a wisp here and
+there clinging to the gray surface of the water, trailing along as if
+drawn by the current, for the air was motionless, and there was promise
+of a sultry day. They proceeded in silence until a bend in the Rhine
+shut Caub and its sinister water-prison out of sight, and then it was
+the girl who spoke.
+
+"Guardian," she said, "have I offended you beyond forgiveness?"
+
+A gentle smile came to his lips as he gazed upon her with affection.
+
+"You have not offended me at all, my dear," he said, "but I am grieved
+at thwarting circumstance."
+
+"I have been thinking over circumstances too, and hold myself solely to
+blame for their baffling opposition. I will submit without demur to
+whatever length of imprisonment may please, and, if possible, soften the
+Archbishop of Mayence. After my release I shall ask your consent that I
+may forthwith join the Sisterhood at Nonnenwerth. I wish to divide my
+wealth equally between yourself and the convent."
+
+The Archbishop shook his head.
+
+"I could not accept such donation."
+
+"Why not? The former Archbishop of Cologne accepted Linz from my
+ancestress Matilda."
+
+"That was intended to be but a temporary loan."
+
+"Well; call my benefaction temporary if you like, to be kept until I
+call for it, but meanwhile to be used at your discretion."
+
+"It is quite impossible," said the Archbishop firmly.
+
+"Does that mean you will not allow me to adopt the religious life?"
+
+"It means, my child, that I should not feel justified in permitting this
+renunciation of the world until you knew more of what you were giving
+up."
+
+"I know enough already."
+
+"You think so, but your experience of it is too recent for us to expect
+unbiased judgment this morning. I should insist on a year, at least, and
+preferably two years, part of that time to be spent in Frankfort and in
+Cologne. I anticipate a great improvement in Frankfort when the new
+Emperor comes to the throne. If at the end of two years you are still of
+the same mind, I shall offer no further opposition."
+
+"I shall never change my intention."
+
+"Perhaps not. I am told that the determination of a woman is
+irrevocable, so a little delay does not much matter. Meanwhile, another
+problem passes my comprehension. I have thought and thought about it,
+and am convinced there is a misunderstanding somewhere, which possibly
+will be cleared away too late. I am quite certain that Father Ambrose
+did not meet Prince Roland in Frankfort."
+
+"Do you, then, dispute the word of Father Ambrose?" asked the girl,
+quickly checking the accent of indignation that arose in her voice, for
+humility was to be her role ever after.
+
+"Father Ambrose is at once both the gentlest and most truthful of men.
+He has undoubtedly seen somebody rob a merchant in Frankfort. He has
+undoubtedly been imprisoned among wine-casks; but that this thief and
+this jailer was Roland is incredible to me who know the young man, and
+physically impossible, for Prince Roland at that time was himself a
+prisoner, as, indeed, he is to-day. Prince Roland cannot be liberated
+from Ehrenfels without an order signed by Mayence, Treves, and myself. I
+alone have not the power to encompass his freedom, and Mayence is
+equally powerless although he is owner of the Castle. Some scoundrel is
+walking the streets of Frankfort pretending to be Roland."
+
+"In that case, my Lord, he would not deny his identity when accosted on
+the bridge."
+
+"A very clever point, my dear, but it does not overcome my difficulty.
+There might be a dozen reasons why the rascal would not incriminate
+himself to any stranger who thus took him by surprise. However, it is
+useless to argue the question, for I persuade you as little as you
+persuade me. The practical thing is to fathom the misunderstanding, and
+remove it. Will you assist me in this?"
+
+"Willingly, if I can, Guardian."
+
+"Very well. I must first inform you that your imprisonment is likely to
+be very short. You are to know that the harmony supposed to exist in
+Stolzenfels is largely mythical: I left behind me the seeds of discord.
+I proposed that the glum niece of Treves, whom you met at our historic
+lunch, should be the future Empress. This nomination was seconded by
+Mayence himself, and received with unconcealed joy by my brother of
+Treves."
+
+"Then for once the Court was unanimous? I think your choice an admirable
+one."
+
+"The Archbishop of Mayence does not agree with you, my dear."
+
+"Then why did he second your nomination?"
+
+"Because he is so much more clever than Treves, who a few minutes later
+would have been the seconder."
+
+"Why should his Lordship of Mayence think one thing and act another?"
+
+"Why is he always doing it? No one can guess what Mayence really thinks,
+if he is judged by what he says. Were Treves' niece to become Empress,
+her uncle would speedily realize his power, and Mayence would lose his
+leadership. Could Mayence to-day secretly promote you to the position of
+Empress, he would gladly do so."
+
+"But won't he at once look for some one else?"
+
+"Certainly. That choice is now occupying his mind. His seconding of the
+nomination was merely a ruse to gain time, but if he proposes any one
+else he will find both Treves and myself against him. His only hope of
+circumventing the ambition of Treves is that something may happen,
+causing you to change your mind concerning Prince Roland."
+
+"You forget, Guardian," protested the girl, "that his Lordship of
+Mayence said he would not permit me to marry Prince Roland after the way
+I had spoken and acted."
+
+"He said that, my dear, under the influence of great resentment against
+you, but Mayence never allows resentment or any other feeling to stand
+in the way of his own interests. If you wrote him a contrite letter
+regretting your defiance of him, and expressing your willingness to bow
+to his wishes, I am very sure he would welcome the communication as a
+happy solution of the quandary in which he finds himself."
+
+"You wish me to do this, Guardian?" she asked wistfully.
+
+"Not until you are satisfied that Prince Roland is innocent of the
+charges you make against him."
+
+"How can I receive such assurance?"
+
+"Ah, now you come to the object of this apparently purposeless journey.
+I have had much experience in the world you are so anxious to renounce,
+and although I have seen the wicked prosper for a time, yet my faith has
+never been shaken in an overruling Providence, and what happened last
+night set me thinking so deeply that daylight stole in upon my
+meditations."
+
+"Oh, my poor Guardian, I knew you had not slept, and all because of a
+worthless creature like myself, and a wicked creature, too, for I did
+not see the hand of Providence so visible to you."
+
+"Surely, my dear, a moment's thought would reveal it to you. Remember
+how we came almost to the door of the prison, when a temporary reprieve
+was handed to us by that coarse reprobate, the Pfalzgraf. Your suite of
+rooms was not yet ready, and thus we found bestowed upon us another free
+day; a day of untrammeled liberty, quite unlooked for. Now, much may be
+done in a day. An Empire has been lost and won within a few hours. With
+this gift came a revelation. That wine-blotched Pfalzgraf would have
+shown no consideration for you: to him a prisoner is a prisoner, to be
+cast anywhere, lock the door, and have done, but a wholesome fear had
+been instilled into him by his overlord. The Archbishop of Mayence had
+taken thought for your comfort, ordering that the best rooms in the
+Castle should be placed at your disposal. Hence, after all that had
+passed, his Lordship felt no malignancy against you, and I dare say
+would have been glad to rescind the order for your imprisonment, were it
+not that he would never admit defeat."
+
+"Oh, Guardian, what an imagination is yours! I am sure his Lordship of
+Mayence will never forgive me."
+
+"His Lordship of Mayence, my dear, is in a dilemma from which no one
+except yourself can extricate him."
+
+"His own cleverness will extricate him."
+
+"Perhaps. Still, I'm not troubling about him. My thoughts are much too
+selfish for that. I wish you to lift me from _my_ uncertainty."
+
+"You mean about Prince Roland? I shall do whatever you ask of me."
+
+"I place no command, but I proffer a suggestion."
+
+"It shall be a command, nevertheless."
+
+"We have left your own prison far behind, and are approaching that of
+Prince Roland. To the door of that detaining Castle I propose to lead
+you. I am forbidden by my compact with the other Electors to see Prince
+Roland or to hold any communication with him. The custodian of the
+Castle, who knows me well, will not refuse any request I make, even if I
+ask to see the young man himself. He will therefore not hesitate to
+admit you when I require him to do so. To take away any taint of
+surreptitiousness about my action, interfering, as one might say, with
+another man's house, I shall this evening write to the Archbishop of
+Mayence, tell him exactly what I have done, and why."
+
+"Do you intend, then, that I should see Prince Roland and talk with
+him?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"My dear Guardian!" cried the girl, her face flushing red, "what on
+earth can I say to him? How am I to excuse my intrusion?"
+
+"A prisoner, I fancy, does not resent intrusion, especially if the
+intruder is--" The old man smiled as he looked at the girl, whose blush
+grew deeper and deeper; then, seeing her confusion, he added: "There are
+many things to say. Introduce yourself as the ward of his Lordship of
+Cologne; reveal that your guardian has confided to you that Prince
+Roland is to be the future Emperor; ask for some assurance from him that
+the property descending to you from your ancestors shall not be
+molested; or perhaps, better still, with the same introduction, tell him
+the story of Father Ambrose. Add that this has disquieted you: demand
+the truth, hearken to what the youth says for himself, thank him, and
+withdraw. It needs no long conversation, though I am prepared to hear
+that he wished to lengthen your stay. I am certain that five minutes
+face to face with him will completely overturn all Father Ambrose has
+said to his disparagement, and a few simple words from him will probably
+dispel the whole mystery. If someone is personating him in Frankfort it
+is more than likely he knows who it is."
+
+They traveled a generous furlong together in silence, the girl's head
+bowed and her brow troubled. At last, as if with an effort, she cleared
+doubt away, and raised her head.
+
+"I will do it," she said decisively.
+
+The Archbishop heaved a deep sigh of relief. He knew now he was out of
+the wood.
+
+"Is this Assmannshausen we are coming to?" she asked, as if to hint that
+the subject on which they had talked so earnestly was finally done with.
+
+"No; this is Lorch, and that is the Castle of Nollich standing above
+it."
+
+"I hope," said the girl, with a sigh of weariness, "that no English
+Princess about to marry an Emperor lodged there, or no Englishman who
+was to become an Emperor--"
+
+The Archbishop interrupted the plaint with a hearty laugh, the first he
+had enjoyed for several days.
+
+"The English seem an interfering race," she went on. "I wish they would
+attend to their own affairs."
+
+"Nollich is uncontaminated," said the Archbishop, "though in olden days
+a reckless knight on horseback rode up to secure his lady-love, and I
+believe rode down again with her, and his route is still called the
+Devil's Ladder."
+
+"Did the marriage turn out so badly?"
+
+"No; I believe they lived happily ever after; but the ascent was so
+cliff-like that mountain sprites are supposed to have given their
+assistance."
+
+"How much farther is Assmannshausen?"
+
+"Less than two leagues. We will stop there and refresh ourselves. Are
+you tired?"
+
+"Oh no; not in the least. I merely wish the ordeal was past."
+
+"You are a brave girl, Hildegunde."
+
+"I am anything but that, Guardian. Still, do not fear I shall flinch."
+
+After partaking of the midday meal at Assmannshausen, the Countess
+proposed that they should leave their horses in the stable, and walk the
+short third of a league to Ehrenfels, and to this her guardian agreed.
+
+He found more difficulty with the custodian than had been expected. The
+man objected, trembling. Without a written order from his master he dare
+not allow any one to visit the prisoner. He would be delighted to oblige
+his Lordship of Cologne, but he was merely a poor wretch who had no
+option in the matter.
+
+"Very well," said Cologne. "I have just come from your master, who is
+stopping with my brother Treves at Stolzenfels. If you persist I must
+then request lodgings from you until such time as a speedy messenger can
+bring your master hither. This journey may cause him great
+inconvenience, and should such be the case, I fear you will fare ill
+with him."
+
+"That may be, my Lord, but I must do my duty."
+
+"Are you sure you have already done it on all occasions?" asked the
+Archbishop severely.
+
+The man's face became ghastly in its pallor.
+
+"I don't know what you mean, my Lord."
+
+"Then I will quickly tell you what I mean. It is rumored that Prince
+Roland has been seen on the streets of Frankfort."
+
+"How--how could that be, my Lord?"
+
+"That is exactly what I wish to know. I believe the Prince is not in
+your custody."
+
+"I assure you, my Lord," said the now thoroughly frightened man, "that
+his Highness is in his room."
+
+"Very well; then conduct this lady thither. Although she does not know
+the Prince, a relative of hers who does asserts that he met his Highness
+in Frankfort. I said this was impossible if you had done that duty you
+prate so much about. The lady merely wishes to ask him for some
+explanation of this affair, so make your choice. Shall she go up with
+you now, or must I send for the other two Archbishops?"
+
+There was but one comforting phrase in this remark, namely, that the
+lady did not know the Prince. Still, it was a dreadful risk, yet the
+custodian hesitated no longer. He took down a bunch of keys, and asked
+the Countess to follow him. Ascending the stair, he unlocked the door,
+and stood aside for the Countess to pass through.
+
+Some one with wildly tousled hair sat sprawling in a chair; arms on the
+table, and head sunk forward down upon them. A full tankard of wine
+within his reach, and a flagon had been overset, sluicing the table with
+its contents, which still fell drip, drip, drip, to the floor.
+
+The young man raised his head, aroused by the harsh unlocking of the
+door, and with the crash it made as his father flung it hard against the
+stone wall for the purpose of giving him warning, but the youth was in
+no condition to profit by this thoughtfulness, nor to understand the
+signals his father made from behind the frightened girl. He clutched
+wildly at the overturned flagon, and with an oath cried:
+
+"Bring me more wine, you old--"
+
+Staggering to his feet, he threw the flagon wide, then slipped on the
+spilled wine and fell heavily to the floor, roaring defiance at the
+world.
+
+The panic-stricken girl shrank back, crying to the jailer:
+
+"Let me out! Close the door quickly, and lock it!" an order obeyed with
+alacrity.
+
+When Hildegunde emerged to the court her guardian asked no question. The
+horror in her face told all.
+
+"I am sorry, my Lord," said the cringing custodian, "but his Highness is
+drunk."
+
+"Does this--does this happen often?"
+
+"Alas! yes, my Lord."
+
+"Poor lad, poor lad! The sins of the fathers shall be visited on the
+children to the third and fourth generation. Hildegunde, forgive me. Let
+us away and forget it all."
+
+The next morning the Countess began her imprisonment in Pfalz.
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS' MEETING
+
+
+Roland slept until the sun was about an hour high over the western
+hills. He found the captain waiting patiently for him to awake, and then
+that useful martinet instantly set his crew at tying up the bales which
+had been torn open, placing them once more in the hold. He was about to
+do the same with the weapons captured from Furstenberg, but Greusel
+stepped forward, and asked him to put pikes, battle-axes, and the long
+swords into the cabin.
+
+Roland nodded his approval, saying:
+
+"They may prove useful instruments in case of an attack on the barge.
+Our own swords are just a trifle short for adding interest to an
+assault."
+
+When once more the hatches were down, and the deck clear, supper was
+served. Shortly after sunset, Roland told the captain to cast off,
+directing him to keep to the eastern shore, passing between what might
+be called the marine Castle of Pfalz and the village of Caub, with the
+strictest silence he could enjoin upon his crew. Pfalz stands upon a
+rock in the Rhine, a short distance up the river from Caub, while above
+that village on the hill behind are situated the strong, square towers
+of Gutenfels.
+
+"Don't you intend to pay a call upon Pfalzgrafenstein?" asked Ebearhard.
+"It is notoriously the most pestilent robber's nest between Mayence and
+Cologne."
+
+"No," said Roland. "On this occasion Pfalz shall escape. You see,
+Ebearhard, on our first trip down the Rhine it is not my intention to
+fight if I can avoid conflict. The plan which proved successful with the
+four castles we have visited is impossible so far as Pfalz is concerned.
+If we attempted to enter this waterschloss by stealth, we would be
+discovered by those levying contributions on the barge. There is no
+cover to conceal us, so I shall give Pfalz the go-by, and also
+Gutenfels, because the latter is not a robber castle, but is owned by
+the Count Palatine, a true gentleman and no thief. The next object of
+our attentions will be Schonburg, on the western side of the river, near
+Oberwesel."
+
+As the grotesque, hexagonal bulk of the Pfalz, with its numerous jutting
+corners and turrets, and over all the pentagonal tower, appeared dimly
+in the center of the Rhine, under the clear stars, the captain ordered
+his men to lie flat on the deck, himself following their example. Roland
+and his company were already seated in the cabin, and the great barge,
+lying so low in the water as to be almost invisible with its black
+paint, floated noiseless as a dream down the swift current.
+
+Without the slightest warning came a shock, and every man on the lockers
+was flung to the floor of the cabin, with cries of dismay, for too well
+they recognized the preliminary to their disasters of the night before.
+Roland sprang up on deck, and found the boat swinging round broadside to
+the current, which had swept it so near to the Castle that at first it
+seemed to have struck against one of the outlying rocks. The fantastic
+form of the Pfalz hung over them, looking like some weird building seen
+in a nightmare, its sharp, pointed pinnacles outlined against the
+starlit sky.
+
+The captain, muttering sonorous German oaths, ordered his men to the
+sweeps, but Roland saw at once that they were too close to the ledge of
+rock for any chance of escape. He hurried down into the cabin.
+
+"Every man his sword, and follow me as silently as possible!"
+
+Up on deck again, Roland said to the captain:
+
+"Let your rowers help the chain to bring the barge alongside, but when
+the robbers appear, pretend to be getting away, although you must
+instantly obey them when ordered to cease your efforts."
+
+The prow of the boat ground against the solid rock, jammed in between
+the stout chain and the low cliff. Roland was the first to spring
+ashore, and the rest nimbly followed him. With every motion of the barge
+the bell inside the Castle rang, and now they could hear the bestirring
+of the garrison, and clashing of metal, although the single door of the
+Pfalz had not yet been opened. This door stood six feet above the
+plateau of rock, and could be entered or quitted only by means of a
+ladder.
+
+Roland led his men to a place of effective concealment along the western
+wall of the Pfalz, only just in time, for as he peered round the corner,
+his men standing back against the wall to the rear, he saw the flash of
+torches from the now-open door, and the placing of a stout ladder at a
+steep angle between the threshold and the floor of rock below. Most of
+the garrison, however, did not wait for this convenience, but leaped
+impetuously from doorway to rock. Others slid down the ladder, and all
+rushed headlong towards the barge, which made its presence known by the
+grinding of its side against the rock, and also by the despairing orders
+of the captain, and the hurrying footsteps of his men on deck.
+
+More leisurely down the ladder came two officers, followed by one whom
+Roland recognized as lord of the Castle, Pfalzgraf Hermann von Stahleck,
+a namesake and relative of the Laughing Baron of Furstenberg, and quite
+as ruthless a robber as he.
+
+"Cease your efforts at the prow," shouted the Pfalzgraf to the captain
+when he had descended the ladder, "and concentrate your force at the
+stern, swinging your boat round broadside on to the landing."
+
+The captain obeyed, and presently the boat lay in such position as the
+nobleman desired. Now there was a great commotion as, at a word from the
+Pfalzgraf, the garrison fell on the barge, and began to wrench off the
+hatches, a task which they well knew how to perform.
+
+"Follow as quietly as possible," whispered Roland to the two lieutenants
+behind him, who, under their breath, passed on word to the men. Roland
+ran nimbly up the ladder. No guard was set where none had ever been
+needed before. Greusel was the last to ascend, then the ladder was
+pulled up, and the massive door swung shut, bolted and chained.
+
+The invaders found torches stuck here and there along the wall, and the
+picturesque courtyard, with its irregular balconies and stairways,
+seemed, in the flickering light, more spacious than was actually the
+case.
+
+Although for the moment in safety, Roland experienced a sense of
+imprisonment as he gazed round the narrow limits of this enclosure. He
+had endeavored to count the number of men who followed the Pfalzgraf,
+but their impetuosity in seeking the barge prevented an accurate
+estimate, although he knew there were more than double the force that
+obeyed him, and therefore it would be suicidal to lead his untrained
+coterie against the seasoned warriors of Stahleck.
+
+He ordered Greusel to take with him six men, and search the Castle,
+bringing into the courtyard whomsoever they might find; also to discover
+whether any window existed that looked out upon the eastern
+landing-place. The remainder of his men he grouped at the door, under
+command of Ebearhard.
+
+"I fear, Ebearhard," he said, "that I boasted prematurely in thinking
+good luck would attend me now that I lead what appears to be an obedient
+following. Here we are in a trap, and unless we can escape through
+rat-holes, I admit that I fail to see for the moment how we are to get
+safely afloat again."
+
+"We are in better fettle than the Pfalzgraf and his men outside,"
+returned Ebearhard, "because this fortress is doubtless well supplied
+with provisions, and is considered impregnable, while the Pfalzgraf's
+impetuous chaps, who did not know enough to stay in comfortable quarters
+when they had them, are without shelter and without food. You have
+certainly done the best you could in the circumstances, and for those
+circumstances you are free of blame, since, not being a wizard, you
+could scarcely know of the chain."
+
+"Indeed, Ebearhard, it is just in that respect I blame myself,
+neglecting your own good example, who discovered the chain at
+Furstenberg. This trap is a new invention, and, so far as I know, has
+never before been attempted on the Rhine. I might have remembered that
+Stahleck here is cousin to the Red Margrave, who likely has told him of
+the device. Indeed, the chances are that Stahleck himself was the
+contriver of the chain, for he seems a man of much more craft and
+intelligence than that huge, laughing animal farther up the river. I
+should have ordered the captain to tie up against the eastern bank, and
+then sent some men in a small boat to learn if the way was clear. No,
+Ebearhard, I blame myself for this muddle, and, through anxiety to pass
+the Pfalz, I have landed myself and my men within its walls. I must pace
+this courtyard for a time, and ponder what next to do. Go you,
+Ebearhard, with the men to the door. Allow no talking or noise. Listen
+intently, and report to me if you hear anything. You see, Ebearhard, the
+devil of it is that Stahleck, like his cousin with Cologne, swears
+allegiance to the Archbishop of Mayence, and here am I, after destroying
+the fief of one Archbishop, securely snared in the fief of another. I
+fear their Lordships' next meeting with me will not pass off so amicably
+as did the last."
+
+"_Next_ meeting?" cried Ebearhard in astonishment; "have you ever met
+the Archbishops?"
+
+Roland gasped, realizing that his absorption in one subject had nearly
+caused him to betray his momentous secret.
+
+"Ah, I remember," continued Ebearhard. "It was on account of the
+Archbishop's presence in Bonn that you returned from that town when
+first you journeyed up the Rhine."
+
+"Yes," said Roland, with relief.
+
+"It seems to me," went on Ebearhard consolingly, "that even if we may
+not leave the Castle, at least the Pfalzgraf cannot penetrate into the
+stronghold, therefore we are safe enough."
+
+"Not so, Ebearhard," replied his chief. "The Pfalzgraf has the barge,
+remember, and it can carry his whole force to Caub or elsewhere,
+returning with ample provisions and siege instruments that will batter
+in the door despite all we can do. Nevertheless, let us keep up our
+hearts. Get you to the gate, Ebearhard. I must have time to think before
+Greusel returns."
+
+Alone, with bent head, he paced back and forwards across the courtyard
+under the wavering light of the torches. Very speedily he concluded that
+no plan could be formed until Greusel made his report regarding the
+intricacies of the Castle.
+
+"My luck is against me! My luck is against me!" he said aloud to
+himself, as if the sound of his own voice might suggest some way out of
+the difficulty.
+
+"Luck always turns against a thief and a marauder," said a sweet and
+clear voice behind him; "and how can it be otherwise, when the
+gallows-tree stands at the end of his journey."
+
+Roland stopped in his walk, and turned abruptly towards the sound. He
+saw standing there, just descended from the stairway at her back, one
+quite evidently a lady; not more than eighteen, perhaps, but
+nevertheless with a flash of defiance in her somber eyes, which were
+bent fearlessly upon him. The two tirewomen accompanying her shrank
+timorously to the background, palpably panic-stricken, and ready to
+faint with fright.
+
+"Ah, Madam, how came you here?" cried Roland, ignoring her insulting
+words, too much surprised by her beauty of face and form to think of
+aught else.
+
+"I came here, because your bully upstairs hammered at my door and bade
+me open, which I would not do, defying him to break it down if he had
+the power. It so happened that he possessed the power, and used it."
+
+"I deeply regret that you should have been disturbed, Madam. My
+lieutenant erred through over-zeal, and I ask your pardon for the
+offense."
+
+The girl laughed.
+
+"Why, sir, you are the politest of pirates, but, indeed, your lieutenant
+seems a harsh man. Without even removing his bonnet, he commanded me to
+betake myself to the courtyard and report to his chief, which obediently
+I have done."
+
+"I did not guess that women inhabited this robber's nest. My lieutenant
+is searching for men in hiding, so please accept my assurance that you
+will suffer no further annoyance. You are surely not alone in this
+house?"
+
+"Oh no. Her ladyship the Pfalzgraf's wife, and her entourage, have
+sought shelter in another part of the Castle, and presently they will
+all troop down here, prisoners to your most ungallant subordinate; that
+is, should their doors prove no stouter than mine, or if your furious
+men have not dislocated their shoulders."
+
+"How came you to be absent from her ladyship's party?"
+
+"Because, urbane pirate captain, I am an unwilling prisoner in this
+stronghold, being an obstreperous person, who refused to obey my
+superiors; those set in authority over me. Consequently am I immured in
+this dismal dungeon of the water-rats, and thus, youthful pirate, I
+welcome even so red-handed an outlaw as yourself."
+
+"Then are we in like case, my lady of midnight beauty, for I, too, am a
+prisoner in Pfalzgrafenstein, and, when you came, was cogitating some
+plan of escape. Therefore, rebellious maiden, the sword of this
+red-handed freebooter is most completely at your service," and the
+speaker once more doffed his bonnet with a gallant sweep that caused the
+plume to kiss the flagstones at his feet, and he bowed low to the brave
+girl who had shown no fear of him.
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+MY LADY SCATTERS THE FREEBOOTERS AND CAPTURES THEIR CHIEF
+
+
+Greusel appeared on one of the balconies, and called down to his leader.
+
+"There are," he said, "a number of women in the western rooms of the
+Castle. They have bolted their doors, but tell me that the rooms contain
+the Pfalzgravine von Stahleck and other noble ladies, with their
+tirewomen. What am I to do?"
+
+"Place a guard in the corridor, Greusel, to make sure that these ladies
+communicate with no one outside the fortress."
+
+"I thought it well," explained Greusel, "not to break in the doors
+without definite instructions from you to that effect."
+
+"Quite right. Tell the ladies we will not molest them."
+
+"You molested me!" cried the handsome girl in the courtyard, her dark
+eyes flashing in the glow of the torches.
+
+"This person," said the unemotional Greusel, betraying no eye for
+beauty, "called us every uncomplimentary name she could think of. We
+were the scum of the earth, according to her account."
+
+The girl laughed scornfully.
+
+"But I would not have dislodged her," continued Greusel, unperturbed,
+"had she not said there was a window in her room, which is on the
+eastern side of the Castle, overlooking the operations of the Pfalzgraf
+on the barge, and she proclaimed her determination to warn Stahleck that
+his Castle was filled with freebooters, as soon as she could make her
+voice heard above the din at the landing. Therefore I broke in the door,
+ordering her and the tirewomen to descend to the courtyard. On examining
+her room I find there is no such window as she described, and she could
+not communicate with the Count, so I advise that you send her back
+again."
+
+Once more the young lady laughed, and exclaimed:
+
+"I could not break down the door for myself, so compelled you and your
+clods to do it. I am immured here; a reluctant captive. You will not
+have me sent back to my cell, I hope, Commander?"
+
+"No; if you are really my fellow-prisoner, and not one of the enemy."
+
+"She may be deluding you also," warned Greusel.
+
+"I will take the risk of that," replied Roland, smiling at the girl, who
+smiled back at him. She had a will of her own, but seemed sensitively
+responsive to fair treatment.
+
+"Are there any men-servants?" asked Roland.
+
+"Only three, and they are tottering with age," replied Greusel, "more
+frightened than the women themselves. Nevertheless, one of the retainers
+is important, being, as he told me, keeper of the treasure-house. I
+relieved him of his keys, and find that the strong-room is well supplied
+with bags of gold. 'Twill be the richest haul yet, excepting our two
+barrels of coin from--"
+
+"Hush, hush!" cried Roland. "Mention no names. Did you discover any
+other exit excepting the door by which we entered?"
+
+"No; but at the northern end there is a window through which a man of
+ordinary size might pass. It is, however, high above the rocks, and I
+discern floating in the tide a fleet of small boats."
+
+"Ah," said Roland, "that is important."
+
+"Taken in conjunction with the gold, most amiable robber," suggested the
+girl.
+
+"Taken in conjunction with the gold," repeated Roland, smiling again;
+and adding, "Taken also in conjunction with a lady who, if I understand
+her, wishes to escape from the Pfalz."
+
+"You are right," agreed the young girl archly. "Do I receive a share of
+the money?"
+
+"Yes; if you join our band."
+
+"Oh!" she cried, with a pout of feigned disappointment, "I thought you
+had already accepted me as a member. And what am I to call my new
+overlord, who acquires wealth so successfully that he does not wish the
+amount mentioned, or the place from which it was taken specified?"
+
+"My name is Roland. Will you consent to a fair exchange?"
+
+"I am called Hilda by my friends."
+
+"Then, Hilda," said the young man, looking at her with admiration, "I
+welcome you as one of my lieutenants."
+
+"One, indeed!" she exclaimed, with affected indignation. "I shall be
+first lieutenant or nothing."
+
+"Up to this moment Herr Joseph Greusel, who so unceremoniously made your
+acquaintance, has been my chief lieutenant, but I willingly depose him,
+and give you his place."
+
+"Do you hear that, Joseph?" Hilda called up to the man leaning over the
+balcony.
+
+The deposed one made a grimace, but no reply.
+
+"Set your guard, and come down, Greusel."
+
+Presently Greusel appeared in the courtyard, followed by four men.
+
+"I have left two on guard," he said.
+
+"Right. What have you done with the servants?"
+
+"Tied them up in a hard knot. I found a loft full of ropes."
+
+"Right again. Take your four men, and stand guard at the door. Send
+Ebearhard to me."
+
+Before Ebearhard arrived, Roland turned to the girl.
+
+"Retire to your room," he said, "and bid your women gather together
+whatever you wish to carry with you."
+
+"I'd rather stay where I am," protested Hilda, "being anxious to hear
+what your plans are. I confess I don't know how you can emerge from this
+Castle in safety."
+
+"Fraeulein Hilda, the first duty of a chief lieutenant is obedience."
+
+"Refusing that, what will you do?"
+
+"I shall call two of my men, cause you to be transported to your room,
+and order them to see that you do not leave it again."
+
+"Remaining here when you have departed?"
+
+"That, of course."
+
+"You will take the gold, however."
+
+"Certainly; the gold obeys me; doing what I ask of it."
+
+For a few moments the girl stood there, gazing defiance at him, but
+although a slight smile hovered about his lips, she realized in some
+subtle way--woman's intuition, perhaps--that he meant what he said. Her
+eyes lowered, and an expression of pique came into her pretty face; then
+she breathed a long sigh.
+
+"I shall go to my room," she said very quietly.
+
+"I will call upon you the moment I have given some instructions to my
+third lieutenant."
+
+"You need not trouble," she replied haughtily, speaking, however, as
+mildly as himself. "I remain a prisoner of the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck,
+who, though a distinguished pillager like yourself, nevertheless
+possesses some instincts of a gentleman."
+
+With that, the young woman retired slowly up the stairway, and
+disappeared, followed by her two servants.
+
+"Ebearhard," said Roland, when that official appeared, "Greusel has
+discovered a window to the north through which yourself and a number of
+your men can get down to the rocks with the aid of a cord, and he tells
+me there is a loft full of ropes. A flotilla of boats is tied up at the
+lower end of the Castle. He has visited the treasury, and finds it well
+supplied with bags of coin. I intend to effect a junction between those
+bags and that flotilla. Our position here is quite untenable, for there
+is probably some secret entrance to this Castle that we know nothing of.
+There are also a number of women within whom we cannot coerce, and must
+not starve. Truth to tell, I fear them more than I do the ruffians
+outside. Have any of the men-at-arms discovered that we pulled up the
+ladder and closed the door?"
+
+"I think not, for in such case they would return from their pillages as
+quickly as did the Red Margrave when he found his house was ablaze. My
+opinion is that they are making a clean job of looting the barge."
+
+"If that is so, our barrels of gold are gone, rendering it the more
+necessary that we should carry away every kreuzer our friend Stahleck
+possesses. Call, therefore, every man except one from the door. Greusel
+has the keys, and will lead you to the treasury. Hoist the bags to the
+north window. While your men are doing this, rive a stout rope so that
+you may all speedily descend to the rocks, except as many as are
+necessary to lower the bags. When this is accomplished, Greusel is to
+report to me from the balcony, and then descend, taking with him the man
+on guard at the door. Apportion men and bags in all the boats but one.
+That one I shall take charge of. Put Greusel in command of the flotilla,
+and tell him to convey his fleet as quietly as possible to the eastern
+shore; then paddle up in slack water until he is, say, a third of a
+league above Pfalz. There he must await my skiff. You will stand by that
+skiff until I join you. I shall likely be accompanied by three women, so
+retain the largest and most comfortable of the small boats."
+
+Ebearhard raised his eyebrows at the mention of the women, but said
+nothing.
+
+Roland went in person to the room occupied by the young woman, and
+knocked at her door, whereupon it was opened very promptly.
+
+"Madam," he said, "there is opportunity for escape if you care to avail
+yourself of it."
+
+The girl had been seated when he entered, but now she rose, speaking in
+a voice that was rather tremulous.
+
+"Sir, I was wrong to disobey you when you had treated me so kindly. I
+shall therefore punish myself by remaining where I am."
+
+"In that case, Madam, you will punish me as well; and, indeed, I deserve
+it, forgetting as I did for the moment that I addressed a lady. If you
+will give me the pleasure of escorting you, I shall conduct you in
+safety to whatever place of refuge you wish to reach."
+
+"Sir, you are most courteous, but I fear my intended destination might
+take you farther afield than would be convenient for you."
+
+"My time is my own, and nothing could afford me greater gratification
+than the assurance of your security. Tell me your destination."
+
+"It is the Convent of Nonnenwerth, situated on an island larger than
+this, near Rolandseck."
+
+"I shall be happy to convoy you thither."
+
+"Again I thank you. It is my desire to join the Sisterhood there."
+
+"Not to become a nun?" cried Roland, an intonation of disappointment in
+his voice.
+
+"Yes; although to this determination my guardian is opposed."
+
+"Alas," said Roland, with a sigh, "I confess myself in agreement with
+him so far as your taking the veil is concerned. Still, imprisonment
+seems an unduly harsh alternative."
+
+The girl's seriousness fled, and she smiled at him.
+
+"As you have had some experience of my obstinacy, and proposed an even
+harsher remedy than that--"
+
+"Ah, you forget," interrupted Roland, "that I apologized for my lack of
+manners. I hope during our journey to Nonnenwerth I may earn complete
+forgiveness."
+
+"Oh, you are forgiven already, which is magnanimous of me, when you
+recollect that the fault was wholly my own. I will join you in the
+courtyard at once if I may."
+
+"Very well. I shall be down there after I have given final instructions
+to my men."
+
+Roland arrived at the north window, and saw that the flotilla had
+already departed. He could discern Ebearhard standing with his hand on
+the prow of the remaining boat, so pulled up the rope, untied it from
+the ring to which it was fastened, and threw it down to his lieutenant.
+
+"A rope is always useful," he whispered, "and we will puzzle the good
+Pfalzgraf regarding our exit."
+
+In the courtyard he found the three women awaiting him. Quietly he drew
+back the heavy bolts, and undid the stout chains. Holding the door
+slightly ajar, he peered out at the scene on the landing, brightly
+illuminated by numerous torches which the servants held aloft.
+
+The men-at-arms were enjoying themselves hugely, and the great heap of
+bales already on the rocks showed that they resolved not to leave even
+one package on the barge. The fact that they stood in the light
+prevented their seeing the exit of the quartette from the Castle, even
+had any been on the outlook.
+
+Roland swung the door wide, placed the ladder in exactly the same
+position it had formerly occupied, assisted the three women to the
+ground, and then led them round the western side of the Castle through
+the darkness to Ebearhard and his skiff. Dipping their paddles with
+great caution, they kept well out of the torchlight radius.
+
+As they left the shadow of the Castle, and came within sight of the
+party on the landing, they were somewhat startled by a lusty cheer.
+
+"Ah," said Ebearhard, "they have discovered our barrels of gold."
+
+"'Tis very likely," replied Roland.
+
+"Still," added Ebearhard consolingly, "I think we have made a good
+exchange. There appears to be more money in Stahleck's bags than in our
+two barrels."
+
+"By the Three Kings!" cried Roland, staring upstream, "the barge is
+getting away. They have looted her completely, and are giving her a
+parting salute. The robbers evidently bear no malice against our popular
+captain. Hear them inviting him to call again!"
+
+They listened to the rattle of the big chain. It was more amenable than
+that at Furstenberg, confirming Roland in his belief that Stahleck was
+the inventor of the device. They saw half a dozen men paying out a rope,
+while the first section of the chain sank, leaving a passage-way for the
+barge. Silhouetted against the torchlight, the boatmen were getting
+ready with their sweeps, prepared to dip them into the water as soon as
+the vessel got clear of the rocky island.
+
+"We will paddle alongside before they begin to row," said Roland; and
+Captain Blumenfels was gently hailed from the river, much to his
+astonishment.
+
+"Make for the eastern bank, captain," whispered Roland, "and keep a
+lookout ahead for a number of small boats like this."
+
+Presently, rowing up the river strenuously, close to the shore, the
+barge came upon the flotilla. Here Roland bade Hilda remain where she
+was, and leaving Ebearhard in charge of the skiff, he clambered up on
+the barge, ordering Greusel to range his boats alongside and fling
+aboard the treasure.
+
+"Well, captain, did his Excellency of Pfalz leave you anything at all?"
+
+"Not a rag," replied the captain. "The barge is empty as a drum."
+
+"In that case there is nothing for it but a speedy return to Frankfort.
+I do not regret the cloth, which has been paid for over and over again,
+but I am mercenary enough to grudge Stahleck our two barrels of gold."
+
+"Oh, as to the gold," replied the captain gravely, "I took the liberty
+of reversing your plan at Lorch."
+
+"What plan?"
+
+"Your honor poured gold into wine barrels, but I poured the red wine of
+Lorch into the gold barrels, and threw the empty cask overboard. Perhaps
+you know that the Pfalzgraf grows excellent white wine round his Castle
+of Stahleck, and despises the red wine of Lorch and Assmannshausen. He
+tasted the wine, which had not been improved by being poured into the
+dirty gold barrels, spat it out with an oath, and said we were welcome
+to keep it. He has also promised to send me a cask of good white wine to
+Frankfort."
+
+"Captain, despite your quiet, unassuming manner, you are the most
+ingenious of men."
+
+"Indeed, I but copied your honor's ingenuity."
+
+"However it happened, you saved the gold, and that action alone will
+make a rich man of you, for you must accept my third share of the
+money."
+
+By this time the bags had been heaved aboard. Greusel followed them, and
+stood ready to receive further orders.
+
+"You will all make for Frankfort," said Roland, "keeping close as
+possible to this side of the river. No man is to be allowed ashore until
+you reach the capital. Captain, are there provisions enough aboard for
+the voyage?"
+
+"Yes, your honor."
+
+"Very well. Put every available person at the oars, and get past
+Furstenberg before daybreak. My men, who have not had an opportunity to
+distinguish themselves as warriors, will take their turn at the sweeps.
+You and Ebearhard," he continued, turning to Greusel, "will employ the
+time in counting the money and making a fair division. With regard to
+the two barrels, the captain will receive my third share, and also be
+one of us in the apportionment of the gold we secured to-night. It was
+through his thoughtfulness that the barrels were saved. Whatever portion
+you find me entitled to, place in the keeping of the merchant, Herr
+Goebel. And now I shall tie four bags to my belt for emergencies."
+
+"Are you not coming with us, Roland?" asked Greusel anxiously.
+
+"No. Urgent business requires my presence in the neighborhood of Bonn,
+but I shall meet you in the Kaiser cellar before a month is out."
+
+Saying this, he shook hands with the captain and Greusel, and descended
+into the small boat, bidding farewell to Ebearhard.
+
+"Urge them," were his last words, "to get well out of sight of Pfalz and
+Furstenberg before the day breaks, and as for the small boats, turn them
+loose; present them as a peace-offering to the Rhine."
+
+In the darkness Prince Roland allowed his frail barque to float down the
+stream, using his paddle merely to keep it toward the east, so to avoid
+the chain. He found himself accompanied by a silent, spectral fleet; the
+empty boats that his men had sent adrift. To all appearance the little
+squadron lay motionless, while the dim Castle of Pfalz, with its score
+of pointed turrets piercing a less dark sky, seemed like a great ship
+moving slowly up the Rhine. When it had disappeared to the south, Roland
+ventured to speak, in a low voice.
+
+"Madam," he said, "tell your women so to arrange what extra apparel you
+have brought to form a couch, where you may recline, and sleep for the
+rest of the night."
+
+"Captain Roland," she replied, her gentle little laugh floating with so
+musical a cadence athwart the waters that he found himself regretting
+such a sweet voice should be kept from the world by the unappreciative
+walls of a convent,--"Captain Roland, I was never more awake than I am
+at this moment. Life has somehow become unexpectedly interesting. I
+experience the deliciously guilty feeling of belonging to a stealthy
+society of banditti. Do not, I beg of you, deprive me of that pleasure
+by asking me to sleep."
+
+"In the morning, Madam, there will be little opportunity for rest. We
+must put all the distance we can between ourselves and the Pfalzgraf
+von Stahleck. I expect you to ride far and fast to-morrow."
+
+"Do you intend, then, to abandon this boat?"
+
+"I must, Madam. The river has been long so empty that this flotilla,
+which I cannot shake off, being unaccustomed to oars or paddle, will
+attract attention from both sides of the Rhine, and when the darkness
+lifts we are almost certain to be stopped. The boats will be recognized
+as belonging to the Pfalzgraf, and I wish to sever all connection
+between this night's work and my own future."
+
+"What, then, do you propose?"
+
+"As soon as day breaks we will come to land, and allow our boat to float
+away with the rest. Can you walk?"
+
+"I love walking," cried the girl with enthusiasm. "I ask your pity for
+myself, immured in that windowless dungeon, situated on a tiny point of
+rock; I, who have roamed the hills and explored the valleys of my own
+land on foot, breathing the air of freedom with delight. Let me,
+therefore, I beg of you, remain awake that I may taste the pleasure of
+anticipation in my thoughts; or is such a wish disobedience on the part
+of your first lieutenant? I do not mean it so, and will quietly cry
+myself to sleep if you insist."
+
+"Indeed, Hilda," said Roland, laughing, and abandoning the more formal
+title of "madam," "I am no such tyrant as you suppose. Besides, your
+office of first lieutenant has lapsed, because our men have all gone
+south, while we travel north."
+
+"Then may I talk with you?"
+
+"Nothing would please me better. I was thinking of your own welfare, and
+not of my desire, when I counseled slumber."
+
+"Oh, I assure you I slept very well during the first part of the night,
+for, there being nothing else to do, I went to bed early, and was quite
+unconscious until the dreadful ringing of that alarm bell, which set the
+whole Castle astir."
+
+"Why were you imprisoned?"
+
+"Because--because," she replied haltingly, "I had chosen the religious
+life, the which my guardian opposed. He appeared to think that some
+experience of the rigors of the convent might make me less eager to
+immure myself in a nunnery, which, like Pfalz Castle, is also on a
+restricted island."
+
+"Then his remedy has proved unavailing?"
+
+"Quite. The Sisters will be very good to me, for I shall enrich their
+convent with my wealth. 'Twill be vastly different from incarceration in
+Pfalz."
+
+"Hilda, I doubt that. Captivity is captivity, under whatever name you
+term it. I cannot understand why one who spoke so enthusiastically just
+now of hills and valleys and liberty should take the irrevocable step
+which you propose; a step that will rob you forever of those joys."
+
+The girl remained silent, and he went on, speaking earnestly:
+
+"I think in one respect you are like myself. You love the murmur of the
+trees, and the song of the running stream."
+
+"I do, I do," she whispered, as if to herself.
+
+"The air that blows around the mountain-top inspires you, and you cannot
+view the hills on the horizon without wishing to explore them, and learn
+what is on the other side."
+
+There was light enough for him to see that the girl's head sank into her
+open hand.
+
+"You, I take it, have never been restricted by discipline."
+
+Her head came up quickly.
+
+"You think that because of what I said in the courtyard?"
+
+"No; my mind was running towards the future rather than to the past. The
+rigor of strict rules would prove as irksome to you as would a cage to a
+free bird of the forest."
+
+"I fear you are in the right," she said with a sigh; and then,
+impatiently, "Oh, you do not understand the situation, and I cannot
+explain! The convent is merely a retreat for me; the lesser of two evils
+presented."
+
+"You spoke of your land. Where is that land?"
+
+"Do you know Schloss Sayn?" she asked.
+
+"Sayn? Sayn?" he repeated. "Where have I heard that name before, and
+recently too? I thought I knew every castle on the Rhine, but I do not
+remember Sayn."
+
+The girl laughed.
+
+"You will find no fellow-craftsman there, Pirate Roland, if ever you
+visit it. The Schloss is not on the Rhine, and, perhaps on that account,
+rather than because of its owner's honesty, is free from the taint you
+suggest. It stands high in the valley of the Saynbach, more than half a
+league from this river."
+
+"Ah, that accounts for my ignorance. I never saw Sayn Castle, although I
+seem to have heard of it. Are you its owner?"
+
+"Yes; I told you I was wealthy."
+
+"Where is the Schloss situated?"
+
+"Below Coblentz, on the eastern side of the river."
+
+"Then why not let me take you there instead of to the convent?"
+
+"Willingly, if you had brought your barge-load of armed men, but in Sayn
+Castle I am helpless, commanding a peaceful retinue of servants who,
+although devoted to me, are useless when it comes to defense."
+
+"I cannot account for it," said Roland in meditative tone, "but the
+thought of that convent becomes more and more distasteful. You will be
+free of your guardian, no doubt, but you merely exchange one whom you
+know for another whom you don't, and that other a member of your own
+sex."
+
+"Do you disparage my sex, then?"
+
+"No; but I cannot imagine any man being discourteous to you. Surely
+every gentleman with a sword by his side should spring at once to your
+defense."
+
+The girl laughed.
+
+"Ah, Captain Roland, you are very young, and, I fear, inexperienced,
+despite your filibustering. However, this lovely, still, summer night,
+with its warm, velvety darkness, was made for pleasant thoughts. Enough
+about myself. Let me hear something of you. Did you come up the river or
+down, with your barge?"
+
+"We came down."
+
+"How long since you adopted a career of crime? You do not seem to be a
+hardened villain."
+
+"Believe me," protested Roland earnestly, "I am not, and I do not admit
+that my career is one of crime."
+
+"Indeed," said the girl, laughing again, "I am not so gullible as you
+think. I could almost fancy that you were the incendiary of Furstenberg
+Castle."
+
+"What!" exclaimed Roland in consternation. "How came you to learn of its
+destruction?"
+
+"There!" cried the girl gleefully, "you have all but confessed. You are
+as startled as if I had said: 'I arrest you in the name of the
+Emperor!'"
+
+"Who told you that Furstenberg Castle was burned?" demanded the young
+man sternly.
+
+"Yesterday morning there came swiftly down the river, with no less than
+twelve oarsmen, a long, thin boat, traveling like the wind. It did not
+pause at Pfalz, but the man standing in the stern hailed the Castle, and
+shouted to the Pfalzgraf that Furstenberg had been burned by the outlaws
+of the Hunsruck. He was on his way to Bonn to inform the Archbishop of
+Cologne, and he carried also Imperial news for his Lordship: tidings
+that the Emperor is dead."
+
+"Dead!" breathed Roland in horror, scarcely above his breath. "The
+Emperor dead! I wonder if that can be true."
+
+"Little matter whether it is true or no," said the girl indifferently.
+"He doubtless passed away in a drunken sleep, and I am told his drunken
+son will be elected in his place."
+
+"Madam!" said Roland harshly, awakened from his stupor by her words, "I
+must inform your ignorance that the Emperor's son is not a drunkard,
+and, indeed, scarcely touches wine at all, being a most strenuous
+opposer to its misuse. How can one so fair, and, as I believed, so
+honest, repeat such unfounded slander?"
+
+"Are you a partisan of his?"
+
+"I come from Frankfort; have seen the Prince, and know I speak the
+truth."
+
+"Ah, well," replied the girl lightly, "you and I will not quarrel over
+his Highness. I accept your amendment, and will never more bear false
+witness against him. After all, it makes slight difference one way or
+the other. An Emperor goes, and an Emperor is elected in his place as
+powerless as his predecessor. 'Tis the Archbishops who rule."
+
+"You seem well versed in politics, Madam."
+
+The girl leaned forward to him.
+
+"Do not 'madam' me, I beg of you, Roland. I dare say rumor has
+prejudiced me against the young man, but I have promised not to speak
+slightingly of him again. I wish this veil of darkness was lifted, that
+I might see your face, to note the effect of anger. Do you know, I am
+disappointed in you, Roland? You spoke in such level tones in the
+courtyard that I thought anger was foreign to your nature."
+
+"I am not angry," said Roland gruffly, "but I detest malicious gossip."
+
+"Oh, so do I, so do I! I spoke thoughtlessly. I will kneel to the new
+Emperor and beg his pardon, if you insist."
+
+Roland remained silent, and for a time they floated thus down the river,
+she trailing her fingers in the water, which made a pleasant ripple
+against them, looking up at him now and then. Perceptibly the darkness
+was thinning. One seemed to smell morning in the air. A bird piped
+dreamily in the forest at intervals, as if only half-awakened. The two
+women reclining in the prow were sound asleep.
+
+Roland picked up the paddle, and with a strong, sweeping stroke turned
+the head of the boat towards the land. Now she could see his lowering
+brow, and if the sight pleased her, 'twas not manifested in her next
+remark.
+
+She took her hand from the water, drew herself up proudly, and said:
+
+"I shall not apologize to you again, and I hate your blameless Prince!"
+
+"Madam, I ask for no apology, and whether you hate or like the Prince
+matters nothing to me, or, I dare say, to him, either."
+
+"Cannot you even allow a woman her privilege of the last word?" she
+cried indignantly.
+
+Roland's brow cleared, and a smile came to his lips, as he remained
+silent, thus bestowing upon her the prerogative she seemed to crave.
+Hilda lay back in the prow of the boat between her sleeping women, with
+hands clasped behind her head, and her eyes closed. More and more the
+light increased, and sturdily with his paddle Roland propelled the boat
+towards the shore, bringing it alongside the low bank at last. He sprang
+out on the turf, and with the paddle in one hand held the boat to land
+with the other.
+
+"We are now," he said, "a short distance above St. Goarhausen, where I
+hope to purchase horses. Will you kindly disembark?"
+
+The girl, without moving, or opening her eyes, said quietly:
+
+"Please throw the paddle into the boat again. I shall make for
+Nonnenwerth in this craft, which is more comfortable than a saddle."
+
+The paddle came rattling down upon the bottom of the skiff. Roland
+stooped, and before she knew what he was about, took Hilda in his arms,
+lifted her ashore, and laid her carefully on the grass.
+
+"Come," he cried to the newly-awakened serving-women, "tumble out of
+that without further delay," and they obeyed him in haste.
+
+He stepped into the skiff, flung their belongings on the sward, turned
+the prow to the west, and, leaping ashore, bestowed a kick upon the boat
+that impelled it like an arrow far out into the stream.
+
+Hilda was standing on her feet now, speechless with indignation.
+
+"Come along," urged Roland cheerfully, "breakfast awaits us when we earn
+it;" but seeing that she made no move, the frown furrowed his brow
+again.
+
+"Madam," he said, "I tell you frankly that to be thwarted by petulance
+annoys me. It happens that time is of the utmost importance until we are
+much farther from Pfalz. If you think that the ownership of wealth and a
+castle gives you the right to flout a plain, ordinary man, you take a
+mistaken view of things. I care nothing for your castle, or for your
+wealth. You may be a lady of title for aught I know, but even that does
+not impress me. We must not stand here like two quarrelsome children. I
+will conduct you to the Adler Inn at St. Goarhausen, where I know from
+experience you will be taken care of. I shall then purchase four horses,
+and return to the inn after you have breakfasted. Three of these horses
+are at your disposal, also the fourth and myself, if you will condescend
+to make use of us. If not, I shall ask you to accept what money you need
+for your journey, so that you may travel north unmolested, while I take
+my way in the other direction."
+
+"How can I repay the money," she demanded, "if I do not know who and
+what you are?"
+
+"I shall send for it, either to your Castle of Sayn, or the Convent of
+Nonnenwerth. You need be under no obligation to me."
+
+"But," cried the girl with a sob, "I am already under obligation to you;
+an obligation which I cannot repay."
+
+"Oh yes, you can."
+
+"How?"
+
+"By coming with me, who will persuade you, as readily as you did with
+your guardian, who coerced you."
+
+"I am an ungrateful simpleton," she murmured. "Of course your way is the
+right one, and I am quite helpless if you desert me."
+
+"There," cried Roland, with enthusiasm, "you have more than repaid
+whatever you may owe."
+
+After breakfasting at St. Goarhausen and purchasing the horses, they
+journeyed down the rough road that extended along the right bank of the
+Rhine. Roland and Hilda rode side by side, the other two following some
+distance to the rear. The young man maintained a gloomy silence, and the
+girl, misapprehending his thoughts, remained silent also, with downcast
+eyes, seeing nothing of the beautiful scenery they were passing. Every
+now and then Roland cast a sidelong glance at her, and his melancholy
+deepened as he remembered how heedlessly he had pledged his word to the
+three Archbishops regarding his marriage.
+
+"I see," she said at last, "that I have offended you more seriously than
+I feared."
+
+"No, no," he assured her. "There is a burden that I cannot cast from my
+mind."
+
+"May I know what it is?"
+
+"I dare not tell you, Hilda. I have been a fool. I am in the position of
+a man who must break his oath and live dishonored, or keep it, and
+remain for ever unhappy. Which would you do were you in my place?"
+
+"Once given, I should keep my oath," she replied promptly, "unless those
+who accepted it would release me."
+
+Roland shook his head.
+
+"They will not release me," he said dolefully.
+
+Again they rode together in silence, content to be near each other,
+despite the young man's alternations of elation and despair. 'Twas, all
+in all, a long summer's day of sweet unhappiness for each.
+
+One of Roland's reasons for choosing the right bank of the Rhine was to
+avoid the important city of Coblentz, with its inevitable questioning,
+and it was late afternoon when they saw this town on the farther shore,
+passing it without hindrance.
+
+"You will rest this night," she said, "in my Castle of Sayn, and then,
+as time is pressing, to-morrow you must return. We have met no
+interference even by this dangerous route, and I shall make my way alone
+without fear to Nonnenwerth, for I know you are anxious to be in
+Frankfort once more."
+
+"I swear to you, Hilda, that if, without breaking my oath, I should
+never see Frankfort again, I would be the most joyous of men."
+
+"Does your oath relate to Frankfort?"
+
+"My oath relates to a woman," he said shortly.
+
+"Ah," she breathed, "then you must keep it," and so they fell into
+silence and unhappiness again.
+
+She had talked of security on the road they traversed, but turning a
+corner north of Vallandar they speedily found that a Rhine road is never
+safe.
+
+Both reined in their horses as if moved by the same impulse, but to
+retreat now would simply draw pursuit upon them. Mounted on a splendid
+white charger, gorgeous with trappings, glittering with silver and gold,
+rode a dignified man in the outdoor habit of a general in times of
+peace.
+
+Following him came an escort of twoscore horsemen; they in the full
+panoply of war; and behind them, on foot, in procession extending like a
+gigantic snake down the Rhine road, an army of at least three thousand
+men, the setting sun flashing fire from the points of their spears. Here
+and there, down the line, floated above them silken flags, and Roland
+recognized the device on the foremost one.
+
+"God!" he shouted in dismay. "The Archbishop of Cologne!"
+
+The girl uttered a little frightened cry, and edged her horse nearer to
+that of her escort.
+
+"My guardian! My guardian!" she breathed. "I shall be rearrested!"
+
+Seeing them standing as if stricken to stone, two horsemen detached
+themselves from the cavalry and galloped forward.
+
+"Make way there, you fools!" cried the leader. "Get ye to the side; into
+the river; where you like; out of the path of my Lord the Archbishop."
+
+Nevertheless Roland stood his ground, and dared even to frown at the
+officers of his Lordship.
+
+"Stand aside _you_," he commanded in a tone of mastery, "and do not
+venture to intrude between the Archbishop and me."
+
+The rider knew that no man who valued his head would dare use such
+language in the very presence of the Archbishop, unless he were the
+highest in the land. His dignified Lordship looked up to see the cause
+of this interruption, and of these angry words.
+
+First came into his face an expression of amazement, then a smile melted
+the stern lips as he looked on Roland and recognized him. The impetuous
+horsemen faded away to the background. There was no answering smile on
+Roland's face. He reached out and clasped the hand of the girl.
+
+"Now, by the Three Kings!" he whispered, "I shall break my oath."
+
+Hilda glanced up at him, frightened by his vehemence, wincing under his
+iron grasp.
+
+An unexpected sound interrupted the tension. The Archbishop had come to
+a stand, and "Halt! Halt! Halt!" rang out the word along the line of
+men, whose feet ceased to stir the dust of the road. The unexpected
+sound was that of hearty laughter from the dignified and mighty Prince
+of the Church.
+
+"Forgive me, your Highness!" he cried, "but I laugh to think of the
+countenances of my somber brothers, Treves and Mayence, when they learn
+how sturdily you have kept your word with them. By the true Cross,
+Prince Roland, although we wished you to marry her, we had no thought
+that you would break into the Castle of Pfalz to win her hand. Ah, dear,
+what a pity 'tis we grow old! The impetuousness of youth outweighs the
+calculated wisdom of the three greatest prelates outside Rome. Judging
+by your fair face (and I have always held it to be beautiful, remember),
+you, Hildegunde Lauretta Priscilla Agnes, Countess of Sayn, are not
+moving northward to Nonnenwerth. I always insisted that the Saalhof at
+Frankfort was a more cheerful edifice than any nunnery on the Rhine, yet
+you never turned upon me such a glance of confidence as I see you bestow
+on your future Emperor."
+
+"I hope, my Lord and Guardian," cried the girl, "that I have met you in
+time to deflect your course to my Castle of Sayn."
+
+"Sweet Countess, I thank you for the invitation. My men can go on to
+their camp in the stronghold of my brother of Mayence, Schloss
+Martinsburg, and I shall gladly return with you to the hospitable hearth
+of Sayn. Indeed," said the Archbishop, lowering his voice, "I shall feel
+safer there than in enjoying the hospitality I had intended to accept."
+
+"Are you not surprised to meet me?" asked the lady, with a laugh,
+adjusting words and manner to the new situation, which she more quickly
+comprehended than did her companion, who glanced with bewilderment from
+Countess to prelate, and back again.
+
+The Archbishop waved his hand.
+
+"Nothing you could do would surprise me, since your interview with the
+Court of Archbishops. I am on my way to Frankfort." Then, more
+seriously, to Prince Roland: "You heard of your father's death?"
+
+"I learned it only this morning, my Lord. I shall return to Frankfort
+when I am assured that this gentlewoman is in a place of safety."
+
+"Ah, Countess, there will be no lack of safety now! But will you not
+ease an old man's conscience by admitting he was in the right?"
+
+The Countess looked up at Roland with a smile.
+
+"Yes, dear Guardian," she said. "You were in the right."
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+"FOR THE EMPRESS, AND NOT FOR THE EMPIRE"
+
+
+While the long line of troops stood at salute in single file, the
+Archbishop turned his horse to the north and rode past his regiments,
+followed by the Countess and Roland. His Lordship was accompanied to the
+end of the ranks by his general, who received final instructions
+regarding the march.
+
+"You will encamp for the night not at Schloss Martinsburg, as I had
+intended, but a league or two up the Lahn. To-morrow morning continue
+your march along the Lahn as far as Limburg, and there await my arrival.
+We will enter Frankfort by the north gate instead of from the west."
+
+The Archbishop sat on his horse for some minutes, watching the departing
+force, then called Roland to his right hand, and Hildegunde to his left,
+and thus the three set out on the short journey to Sayn.
+
+"Your Highness," began the Archbishop, "I find myself in a position of
+some embarrassment. I think explanations are due to me from you both.
+Here I ride between two escaped prisoners, and I travel away from,
+instead of towards, their respective dungeons. My plain duty, on
+encountering you, was to place you in custody of a sufficient guard,
+marching you separately the one to Pfalz and the other to Ehrenfels.
+Having accomplished this I should report the case to my two colleagues,
+yet here am I actually compounding a misdemeanor, and assisting
+prisoners to escape."
+
+"My Lord," spoke up Roland, "I am quite satisfied that my own
+imprisonment has been illegal, therefore I make no apology for
+circumventing it. Before entering upon any explanation, I ask
+enlightenment regarding the detention of my lady of Sayn. Am I right in
+surmising that she, like myself, was placed under arrest by the three
+Archbishops?"
+
+"Yes, your Highness."
+
+"On what charge?"
+
+"High treason."
+
+"Against whom?"
+
+There was a pause, during which the Archbishop did not reply.
+
+"I need not have asked such a question," resumed the Prince, "for high
+treason can relate only to the monarch. In what measure has her ladyship
+encroached upon the prerogative of the Emperor?"
+
+"Your Highness forgets that there is such a thing as treason against the
+State."
+
+"Are not members of the nobility privileged in this matter?"
+
+"They cannot be, for the State is greater than any individual."
+
+"I shall make a note of that, my Lord of Cologne. I believe you are in
+the right, and I hope so. During my lonely incarceration," the Prince
+laughed a little, "I have studied the condition of the State, arriving
+at the conclusion that the greatest traitors in our land are the three
+Archbishops, who, arrogating to themselves power that should belong to
+the Crown, did not use that power for suppressing those other
+treason-mongers, the Barons of the Rhine."
+
+"What would you have us do with them?"
+
+"You should disarm them. You should exact restitution of their
+illegally-won wealth. You should open the Rhine to honest commerce."
+
+"That is easy to enunciate, and difficult to perform. If the Castles
+were disarmed, especially those on the left bank, a great injustice
+would be done that might lead to the extinction of many noble families.
+Why, the forests of Germany are filled with desperate outlaws, who
+respect neither life nor property. I myself have suffered but recently
+from their depredations. In broad daylight an irresistible band of these
+ruffians descended upon and captured the supposed impregnable Castle of
+Rheinstein, shamefully maltreating Baron Hugo von Hohenfels, tying him
+motionless, and nearly strangling him with stout ropes, after which the
+scoundrels robbed him of every stiver he possessed. The following
+midnight but one they descended on Furstenberg, a fief of my own, and
+not contenting themselves with robbery, brought red ruin on the Margrave
+by burning his Castle to the ground."
+
+"My Lord, red ruin and the Red Margrave were made for each other. It was
+the justice of God that they should meet." The young man raised aloft
+his swordarm, shaking his clenched fist at the sky. "That hand held the
+torch that fired Furstenberg. The Castle was taken and burned by three
+sword makers from Frankfort, who never saw the Hunsruck or the outlaws
+thereof."
+
+The Archbishop reined in his horse, and looked at the excited young man
+with amazement.
+
+"_You_ fired Furstenberg?"
+
+"Yes; and effectively, my Lord. I shall rebuild it for you, but the Red
+Margrave I shall hang, as my predecessor Rudolph did his ancestor."
+
+An expression of sternness hardened the Archbishop's face.
+
+"Sir," he said, "I regret to hear you speak like this, and your safety
+lies in the fact that I do not believe a word of it. Even so, such wild
+words fill me with displeasure. I beg to remind you that the Election of
+an Emperor has not yet taken place, and I, for one, am likely to
+reconsider my decision. Still, as I said, I do not believe a word of
+your absurd tale."
+
+"I believe every syllable of it!" cried the Countess with enthusiasm,
+"and glory that there is a mind brave enough, and a hand obedient to it,
+to smoke out a robber and a murderer."
+
+The tension this astonishing revelation caused was relieved by a laugh
+from the Archbishop.
+
+"My dear Hildegunde, you are forgetting your own ancestors. I venture
+that no woman of the House of Sayn talked thus when the Emperor Rudolph
+marched Count von Sayn to the scaffold. You would probably sing another
+song if asked to restore the millions amassed by Henry III. of Sayn and
+his successors; all accumulated by robbery as cruel as any that the Red
+Margrave has perpetrated."
+
+"My Lord," said the Countess proudly, "you had no need to ask that
+question, for you knew the answer to it before you spoke. Every thaler I
+control shall be handed over to Prince Roland, to be used for the
+regeneration of his country."
+
+Again the Archbishop laughed.
+
+"Surely I knew that, my dear, and I should not have said what I did. I
+suppose you will not allow me to vote against his Highness at the coming
+Election."
+
+"Indeed, you shall vote enthusiastically for him, because you know in
+your own heart he is the man Germany needs."
+
+"Was there ever such a change of front?" cried the Archbishop. "Why, my
+dear, the charges you so hotly made against his Highness are as nothing
+to what he has himself confessed; yet now he is the savior of Germany,
+when previously--Ah, well, I must not play the tale-bearer."
+
+"Prince Roland," cried the girl, "my kinsman, Father Ambrose, said he
+met you in Frankfort, although now I believe him to have been mistaken."
+
+"Oh no; I encountered the good Father on the bridge."
+
+"There now!" exclaimed the Archbishop, "what do you say to that, my
+lady?"
+
+She seemed perplexed by the admission, but quickly replied to his
+Lordship:
+
+"'Twas you said that could not be, as he was a close prisoner in
+Ehrenfels." She continued, addressing the Prince: "Father Ambrose
+asserted that you were a companion of drinkers and brawlers in a low
+wine cellar of Frankfort."
+
+"Quite true; a score of them."
+
+The girl became more and more perplexed.
+
+"Did you imprison Father Ambrose?"
+
+"Yes; in the lowest wine cellar, but only for a day or two. I am very
+sorry, Madam, but it was a stern necessity of war. He was meddling with
+affairs he knew nothing of, and there was no time for explanations. He,
+a man of peace, would not have sanctioned what there was to do even if I
+had explained."
+
+"He says," continued the girl, "that he saw you rob a merchant of a bag
+of gold."
+
+"That is untrue!" cried the Prince.
+
+"My dear Hildegunde, what is the robbing of a bag of gold from a
+merchant when he admits having stolen gold by the castle full?"
+
+"I robbed no merchant," protested the Prince. "How could Father Ambrose
+make such a statement?"
+
+"He mounted an outside stairway on the Fahrgasse, and through lighted
+windows on the opposite side saw you place the point of your sword at
+the throat of an unarmed merchant, and take from him a bag of gold."
+
+Roland, whose brow had been knitted into an angry frown, now threw back
+his head and laughed joyously.
+
+"Oh, that was a mere frolic," he alleged.
+
+It was the girl's turn to frown.
+
+"When you took stolen treasure from thievish Barons and Margraves
+protected by scores of armed men, with the object of breaking their
+power, for the relief of commerce, I admired you, but to say that the
+despoiling of a helpless merchant is a frolic--"
+
+"No, no, my dear, you do not understand," eagerly corrected the Prince,
+unconscious of the affectionate phrase that caused a flush to rise in
+the cheeks of his listener. "The merchant was, and is, my partner; a
+blameless man, Herr Goebel, who came near to being hanged on my behalf
+when these Archbishops took me captive. I sought from him a thousand
+thalers; he insisted on learning my plans for opening the Rhine, and
+still would not give the money until, reluctantly, I was obliged to
+confess myself son of the Emperor. This he could not credit, stipulating
+that before giving the money I must produce for him a safe-conduct,
+signed by the Emperor, and verified by the Great Seal of the Empire.
+This document I obtained at dire personal risk, through the aid of my
+mother. Here it is."
+
+He thrust his hand into his doublet, and produced the parchment in
+question, delivering it to the lady, who, however, did not unfold it,
+but kept her eyes fixed upon him.
+
+"This distrust annoyed me; it should not have done so, for he was merely
+acting in the cautious manner natural to a merchant. With a boyishness I
+now regret, I put my sword to his throat, demanding the money, which I
+received. I took only half of it, for my mother had given me five
+hundred thalers. Oh, no; I did not rob my friend Goebel, but merely
+tried to teach him that lack of faith is a dangerous thing."
+
+If the old man who listened could have exchanged confidences with the
+young woman who listened, he would have learned they shared the same
+thought, which was that the young Prince spoke so straight-forwardly
+neither doubted him for a moment. The old man, it is true, felt that his
+talk was rather reckless of consequences, but, on the other hand, this
+in itself was complimentary, for, as he remembered, the Prince had been
+cautious enough when catechized by the three Archbishops together.
+
+"I have often read," said Cologne, with a smile, "pathetic accounts of
+prisoners, who in extreme loneliness carved their names over and over
+again on stone as hard as the jailer's heart, but your Highness seems
+rather to have enjoyed yourself while so cruelly interned. May I further
+beg of you to enlighten us concerning a somewhat bibulous youth who at
+the present moment is enjoying, in every sense of the word, the
+hospitality of Ehrenfels Castle?"
+
+It was now the Archbishop's turn to astonish the Prince.
+
+"You knew of my device, then?"
+
+"'Knew' is a little too strong. 'Suspect' more nearly fits the case. You
+won over your jailer, and some one else took your place as prisoner."
+
+"Yes; a young man to whom I owe small thanks, and with whom I have an
+account to settle. He is son of the custodian, and thinks he has us both
+under his thumb, Heinrich drinks as if he were a fish or a Baron, but I
+shall cure him of that habit before it becomes firmly established."
+
+"Am I correct in assuming that you found your liberty only after your
+interview with the three Electors?"
+
+"Oh, bless you, no! I was free months before that time. Indeed, it is
+only since then that my substitute is practically useless. Heinrich
+might have passed for me at a pinch, but only because neither you nor
+your colleagues had seen me. I have kept him under lock and key ever
+since, because I dare not allow him abroad until the Election has taken
+place."
+
+"I see. A very wise precaution. Well, your Highness, I shall say nothing
+of what you tell me; furthermore, I still promise you my vote; that is,
+if you will obey my orders until you are elected Emperor. I foresee we
+are not going to have the easy time with you that was anticipated, but
+this concerns Mayence and Treves, rather than myself, for I have no
+ambition to rule by proxy. And now, my lady of Sayn, when we journeyed
+southward that day from Gutenfels Castle I gave you some information
+regarding the mind of Mayence. You remember, perhaps, what I said about
+his quandary. I rather suspect that he admires you, notwithstanding your
+defiance of him; but there is nothing remarkable in that, for we all
+appreciate you, old and young. I, too, carry a document of safe-conduct,
+like Prince Roland here, although I see that his Highness has placed his
+safety in your hands."
+
+The old man smiled, and Hildegunde found herself still carrying the
+parchment Roland had given her. For a moment she was confused, then
+smiled also, and offered it back; but the Prince shook his head. The
+Archbishop went on:
+
+"Mayence sent down to me your written release, signed by himself and
+Treves. He asked me to attach a signature, and liberate you on my way to
+Frankfort, which I intended to do had this impetuous young man not
+forestalled me. By the way, Highness, how did you happen to meet
+Countess von Sayn in Pfalz?"
+
+"We will tell you about that later, Guardian," said Hildegunde, before
+Roland could speak. "What instructions did his Lordship of Mayence give
+concerning me?"
+
+"He asked me to bring you to my palace in Frankfort, and subtly
+expressed the hope you had changed your mind."
+
+"You may assure him I have," said the Countess, again speaking rapidly;
+"but let us leave all details of that for the moment. I am then to go
+with you to the capital?"
+
+"Yes; to-morrow morning."
+
+"To remain until the coronation?"
+
+"Certainly; if such is your wish. But do you not see something very
+significant in my brother Mayence's change of plan, for you know he did
+not intend to release you until after that event?"
+
+"Yes, yes," replied the Countess breathlessly. "I see it quite clearly,
+but do not wish to discuss the matter at the present moment."
+
+"Very well. I intended to enter Frankfort from the west, but meeting you
+so unexpectedly, I have deflected my troops up the Lahn to Limburg, at
+which town we will join them to-morrow night, thus following Father
+Ambrose's route to the capital."
+
+"Ah, that will be very interesting. Prince Roland, you accompany us, I
+hope?"
+
+"Of a surety," replied the young man confidently.
+
+"No," quietly said the Archbishop.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because I say no."
+
+The young man almost an Emperor drew himself up proudly, and his lips
+pressed together into a firm line of determination.
+
+"Does your Highness so quickly forget your promise?"
+
+"What promise?" asked the Prince, scowling.
+
+"In consideration of my keeping silence touching your recent outrageous
+career of fire and slaughter, and the enslavement of Heinrich, you
+promised to obey me until you became Emperor."
+
+"I intend to obey all reasonable requests, but I very much desire to
+accompany the Countess from her Castle to the capital, I have never seen
+Limburg, or taken that route to Frankfort."
+
+"It is a charming old city," replied the Archbishop dryly, "which you
+can visit any time at the expense of a day's ride. Meanwhile, I shall
+escort the Countess thither, and endeavor to entertain her with pleasing
+and instructive conversation during the journey."
+
+The Prince continued to frown, yet bit his lip and repressed an angry
+retort.
+
+"But," protested the girl, "would it not be much safer for his Highness
+to enter the city of Frankfort protected by your army?"
+
+The Archbishop laughed a little.
+
+"My dear Hildegunde, the presence of Prince Roland causes you to
+overlook a vast difference in the status of you both, but surely the
+exercise of a little imagination should present to you the true aspect
+of affairs. You are a free woman, and I hold the document by which you
+regained your liberty. Do not be deluded, therefore, by the apparent
+fact that his Highness can raise a clenched fist aloft and defy the
+heavens. It is not so. He wears fetters on his ankles, and manacles
+round his wrists. Roland is a prisoner, and must straightway immure
+himself. Your Highness, before us stands the stately Castle of Sayn,
+where presently you shall refresh yourself, and be furnished with an
+untired charger, on which to ride all night, that you may reach the
+gates of Ehrenfels early to-morrow morning. Once there, place the
+wine-loving Heinrich out of harm in the deepest dungeon, and take his
+place as prisoner. It is arranged that the three Archbishops personally
+escort you to Frankfort in the barge of Mayence, which will land you at
+the water-steps of the Royal Palace. If it were known that I had been
+even an hour in your company your chances of reaching the throne would
+be seriously jeopardized."
+
+"Surely such haste is unnecessary," cried the girl. "He can set out
+to-morrow in one direction while we go in another. He traveled all last
+night, and for most part of it was paddling a boat containing four
+people; has ridden almost since daylight, and now to journey on
+horseback throughout the night is too much for human endurance."
+
+The grave smile of the Archbishop shone upon her anxiety.
+
+"For lack of a nail the shoe was lost," he said, "and you know the
+remainder of the warning. If Prince Roland cares to risk an Empire for a
+night's rest, I withdraw my objection."
+
+The Prince suddenly wheeled his horse, and coming briskly round to the
+side of the girl, placed a hand on hers.
+
+"A decision, Countess!" he cried. "Give me your decision. I shall always
+obey you!"
+
+"Oh, the rashness of youth!" murmured the Archbishop.
+
+The girl looked up at the young man, and he caught his breath and
+clasped her hand more tightly as he gazed into the depths of her
+glorious eyes.
+
+"You must go," she sighed.
+
+"Yes, alas!"
+
+He raised her unresisting hand to his lips, and again turned his horse.
+
+"You will obey?" asked the Archbishop.
+
+"I will obey, my Lord."
+
+He flashed from its scabbard, into the rays of the setting sun, the
+sword he had made, and elevating the hilt to his forehead, saluted the
+Archbishop.
+
+"I shall see you at Ehrenfels, my Lord."
+
+"Ah, do not go thus. Come to the Castle for an hour's rest at least."
+
+The young man whirled his sword around, and caught it by the blade,
+touching the hilt with his lips as if it were a cross.
+
+"I thank God," said he, "that I can willingly keep my oath."
+
+Then, looking at the girl--"For the Empress, and not for the Empire!" he
+cried.
+
+The sword seemed to drop into the scabbard of its own accord, as Roland
+set spurs to his steed and away.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+THE SWORD MAKER AT BAY
+
+
+The heir-presumptive to the throne reached Frankfort very quietly in the
+Archbishop's barge, and was landed after nightfall at the water-steps of
+the Imperial Palace. The funeral of the Emperor took place almost as if
+it were a private ceremonial. Grave trouble had been anticipated, and
+the route of the procession for the short distance between Palace and
+Cathedral was thickly lined on either side by the troops of the three
+Archbishops. This precaution proved unnecessary. The dispirited citizens
+cared nothing for their late nominal ruler, and they manifested their
+undisguised hatred of the real rulers, the Archbishops, by keeping
+indoors while their soldiers marched the streets.
+
+The condition of the capital was unique. It suffered from a famine of
+money rather than a famine of food. Frankfort starved in the midst of
+plenty. Never had the earth been more fruitful than during this year,
+and the coming autumn promised a harvest that would fill the granaries
+to overflowing, yet no one brought in food to Frankfort, for the common
+people had not the money to buy. The working population depended
+entirely upon the merchants and manufacturers, and with the collapse of
+mercantile business thousands were thrown out of employment, and this
+penniless mob was augmented by the speedy cessation of all
+manufacturing.
+
+After the futile bread riots earlier in the year, put down so
+drastically by the Archbishops, the population of the city greatly
+diminished, and the country round about swarmed with homeless wanderers,
+who at least were sure of something to eat, but being city-bred, and
+consequently useless for agricultural employment, they gradually joined
+into groups and marauding bands, greatly to the menace of the provinces
+they traversed. Indeed, rumor had it that the robberies from certain
+castles on the Rhine, and the burning of Furstenberg, were the work of
+these free companies, consequently a sense of uneasiness permeated the
+Empire, whose rulers, great and small, began to foresee that a
+continuance of this state of things meant disaster to the rich as well
+as misery to the poor. Charity, spasmodic and unorganized, proved wholly
+unable to cope with the disaster that had befallen the capital city.
+
+When darkness set in on the third night after Roland's return to
+Frankfort, he made his way out into the unlighted streets, acting with
+caution until certain he was not followed, then betook himself to the
+Palace belonging to the Archbishop of Cologne.
+
+The porter at first refused him entrance, and Roland, not wishing to
+make himself known, declared he had an appointment with his Lordship.
+Trusting that the underling could not read, he presented his parchment
+safe-conduct, asking him to give that to his Lordship, with a message
+that the bearer awaited his pleasure. The suspicious servant, seeing the
+Grand Seal of the Empire upon the document, at once conducted Roland to
+a room on the ground floor, then departed with the manuscript to find
+his master.
+
+The Archbishop returned with him, the Imperial scroll in his hand, and a
+distinctly perceptible frown on his brow. When the servant withdrew,
+closing the door, the prelate said:
+
+"Highness, this is a very dangerous procedure on your part."
+
+"Why, my Lord?"
+
+"Because you are certain to have been followed."
+
+"What matter for that?" asked the young man. "I am quite unknown in
+Frankfort."
+
+"Prince Roland," said the Archbishop gravely, "until your Election is
+actually accomplished, you would be wise to do nothing that might arouse
+the suspicion of Mayence. This house is watched night and day, and all
+who come and go are noted. I dare say that within fifteen minutes
+Mayence will know you have visited me."
+
+"My dear Archbishop, they cannot note an unknown man. The uneasiness of
+Frankfort has already taken hold of me, and therefore I saw to it that I
+was not followed."
+
+"If you were not followed when you came, you will certainly be followed
+as you return."
+
+"In that case, my Lord, the spies will track me to the innocent home of
+Herr Goebel, the merchant, in the Fahrgasse."
+
+"They will shadow you when you leave his house."
+
+"Then their industry will be rewarded by an enjoyable terminus; in other
+words, the drinking cellar of the Rheingold."
+
+"Be assured, your Highness, that ultimately you will be traced to the
+Royal Palace."
+
+"Again not so, my Lord. They will be led across the bridge into the
+mechanics' quarter of Sachsenhausen, and if the watch continues, they
+must make a night of it, for I shall enter my humble room there and go
+to bed."
+
+"I see you have it all planned out," commented the discomfited
+Archbishop.
+
+The young man laughed.
+
+"I anticipate an interesting life, my Lord, because it is my habit to
+think before I act, and I notice that this apparently baffles the
+Electors. The truth is that you three are so subtle, and so much afraid
+of one another, so on the alert lest you be taken by surprise, that a
+straightforward action on my part throws all intrigue out of gear. Now,
+I'll warrant you cannot guess why I came here to-night."
+
+"Oh, I know the reason very well."
+
+"Do you? That astonishes me. What is the reason?"
+
+"You came to see the Countess von Sayn."
+
+"Ah, is the lady within? Why, of course, she must be. I remember now,
+she was to accompany you to Frankfort, and it naturally follows she is
+your guest."
+
+"She is my guest, your Highness, and one reason why you cannot see her
+is because at this moment the lady converses with the Count Palatine,
+who has just arrived from Gutenfels. As the Countess and myself enjoyed
+his hospitality not long ago in that stronghold, I have invited him to
+be my guest until the coronation ceremonies are completed."
+
+"My Lord, I regret that your hospitality halts when it reaches your
+future Emperor. Why may I not be introduced to the Count Palatine?"
+
+"Such introduction must not take place except in the presence of the
+other Electors. I am very anxious, as you may perceive, that nothing
+shall be done to jeopardize your own prospects. We have arrived, your
+Highness, at a critical moment. History relates that more than one
+candidate has come to the very steps of the throne, only to be rejected
+at the last moment. I am too sincere a friend to risk such an outcome in
+your own case."
+
+"Then you think it injudicious of me to see the Countess until after the
+Election?"
+
+"I not only think it injudicious, your Highness, but I intend to prevent
+a meeting."
+
+Again the young man laughed.
+
+"'Tis blessed then that I came for no such purpose; otherwise I might be
+deeply disappointed."
+
+"For what purpose did you come, Highness?"
+
+"The Imperial Palace, my Lord, belongs no more to my mother. If she or I
+continue there to reside, we seem to be taking for granted that I shall
+be elected Emperor; an assumption unfair to the seven Electors, whose
+choice should be untrammeled by even a hint of influence. I beg of you,
+therefore, my Lord, to extend your hospitality to my mother. I have
+spoken to her on this subject, and she will gladly be your guest, happy,
+I am sure, to forsake that gloomy abode."
+
+"I am honored, your Highness, by the opportunity you give me. I shall
+wait upon the Empress to-morrow at whatever hour it is convenient for
+her Majesty to receive me."
+
+"You are most kind. I suggested that she should name an hour, and midday
+was chosen."
+
+The Archbishop bowed profoundly. The young man rose, and held out his
+hand, which the Archbishop took with cordiality. The Prince looked very
+straight-forwardly at his host, and the latter thought he detected a
+twinkle in his eye, as he said with decision:
+
+"To-morrow I shall formally notify my Lord of Mayence that the Empress
+has chosen your Palace as her place of residence until after the
+coronation, and I shall request his Lordship to crave your permission
+that I may call here every day to see my mother."
+
+Again Cologne bowed, and made no further protest, although Roland
+seemingly expected one, but as it did not come, the Prince continued:
+
+"Here is my address in Sachsenhausen, should you wish a communication to
+reach me in haste; and kindly command your porter not to parley when I
+again demand speech with your Lordship. Good-night. I thank you, my
+Lord, for your courtesy," and the energetic youth disappeared before the
+slow-thinking Archbishop could call up words with which to reply.
+
+Cologne did not immediately rejoin his guests, but stood a very figure
+of perplexity, muttering to himself:
+
+"If our friend Mayence thinks that youngster is to be molded like soft
+clay, he is very much mistaken. I hope Roland will not cause him to feel
+the iron hand too soon. I wonder why Mayence is delaying the Election?
+Can it be that already he distrusts his choice, or is it the question of
+a wife?"
+
+Meanwhile the front door of the Archbishop's Palace had clanged shut,
+and Roland strode across the square careless or unconscious of spies,
+looking neither to the right nor to the left. He made his way speedily
+to the Fahrgasse, walking down that thoroughfare until he came to Herr
+Goebel's door, where he knocked, and was admitted. Ushered into the room
+where he had parted from the merchant, he found Herr Goebel seated at
+his table as if he had never left it. The merchant, with a cry of
+delight, greeted the young man.
+
+"Well, Herr Goebel, you see I have been a successful trafficker. Your
+bales of goods are all in Castle Pfalz, and I trust the barge returned
+safely to you with the money."
+
+"It did indeed, your Highness."
+
+"Has the coin been counted?"
+
+"Yes; and it totals an enormous, almost unbelievable, sum, which I have
+set down here to the last stiver."
+
+"That is brave news. Have any demands been made on you for its
+partition?"
+
+"No, your Highness."
+
+"Now, Herr Goebel, I have determined that all that money, which is in
+effect stolen property, shall go to the feeding of Frankfort's poor.
+Buying provender shrewdly, how long would this treasure keep hunger away
+from the gates of Frankfort?"
+
+"That requires some calculation, your Highness."
+
+"A month?"
+
+"Surely so."
+
+"Two months, perhaps?"
+
+"'Tis likely; but I deal in cloth, not in food, and therefore cannot
+speak definitely without computation and the advice of those expert in
+the matter."
+
+"Very well, Herr Goebel; get your computations made as soon as possible.
+Call together your merchants' guild, and ask its members--By the way,"
+said Roland, suddenly checking himself, "give to me in writing the
+amount of gold I have sent you."
+
+The unsuspecting merchant did so, and Roland's eyes opened with
+astonishment when he glanced at the total. He then placed the paper in
+the wallet he carried.
+
+"You were perhaps about to suggest that a committee be appointed,"
+ventured the merchant.
+
+"Yes; a small but capable committee, of which you shall be chairman and
+treasurer. But first you will ask the merchants to subscribe, out of
+their known wealth, a sum equaling the gold I filched from the Barons."
+
+The merchant's face fell, and took on a doleful expression.
+
+"The times, your Highness, have long been very bad, none of us making
+money--"
+
+The Prince held up his hand, and the merchant ceased his plaint.
+
+"If I can strip a Baron of his wealth," he said, "I will not waste words
+over the fleecing of merchants. This contribution is to be given in the
+name of the three Archbishops, whose heavy hands came down on you after
+the late insurrection. The Archbishops have now nine thousand troops in
+Frankfort. If given leave, they will collect the sum three times over
+within a very few hours; so you, as chairman of the committee, may
+decide whether the fund shall be a voluntary contribution or an impost
+gathered by soldiery: it matters nothing to me. Have it proclaimed
+throughout the city that owing to the graciousness of the three
+Archbishops starvation is now at an end in Frankfort."
+
+"Highness, with your permission, and all due deference, it seems rather
+unjust that we should contribute the cash and lose the credit."
+
+"Yes, Herr Goebel; this is a very unjust world, as doubtless many of the
+starving people thought when they recollected that a few hundred of you
+possessed vast wealth while they were penniless. Nevertheless, there are
+good times ahead for all of us. Let me suggest that this money which I
+sent to you may prove sufficient and so the subscriptions of the
+merchants can be returned to them; that is, if the relief fund is
+honestly administered. So set to work early to-morrow with energy. You
+merchants have had a long vacation. I think the Rhine will be open
+before many weeks are past, and then you can turn to your money-making,
+but our first duty is to feed the hungry. Good-night, Herr Goebel."
+
+He left the merchant as dazed as was the Archbishop. Once again outside
+he made directly for the wine cellar of the Rheingold. On reaching the
+steps he heard a roar of talk, lightened now and then by the sound of
+laughter. He paused a moment before descending. It was evident that the
+company was enjoying itself, and Roland soliloquized somewhat sadly:
+
+"I am the disturbing element in that group. They seem to agree famously
+when by themselves. Ah, well, no matter. They will soon be rid of me!"
+
+When Roland descended the stair, the proprietor greeted him with joy.
+
+"I have missed you, Herr Roland," he said, "so you may imagine how much
+the guild has regretted your absence."
+
+"Yes; I hear them bemoaning their fate."
+
+The inn-keeper laughed.
+
+"How many are here to-night?"
+
+"There is a full house, Sir Roland."
+
+"Really? Are Kurzbold and Gensbein within?"
+
+"Oh, yes; and there is no scarcity of money, thanks to you, I
+understand."
+
+"Rather, our thanks are for ever due to you, Herr Host, for sustaining
+us so long when we were penniless. We shall never forget that," and so
+with a semi-military salute to the gratified cellar-man, Roland pushed
+open the door and entered the banqueting room of the iron-workers'
+guild. An instant silence fell on the group.
+
+"Good evening to you, gentlemen," said the Prince, taking off his hat,
+and with a twist of his shoulders flinging the cloak from them.
+
+Instantly arose a great cheer, and Greusel, who occupied the chair at
+the head of the table, strode forward, took Roland's hat and cloak, and
+hung them up. After that he attempted to lead their Captain to the seat
+of honor.
+
+"No, no, my dear lieutenant," said Roland, placing his hand
+affectionately on the other's shoulder, "a better man than I occupies
+the chair, and shall never be displaced by me."
+
+The others, now on their feet, with the exception of Kurzbold and
+Gensbein, vociferously demanded that Roland take the chair. Smilingly he
+shook his head, and holding up his hand for silence, addressed them.
+
+"Take your seats, comrades; and, Greusel, if you force me to give a
+command, I order you into that chair without further protest."
+
+Greusel, with evident reluctance, obeyed.
+
+"Truth to tell, brothers, I have but a few moments to stop. I merely
+dropped in to enjoy a sip of wine with you, and to offer a proposal
+that, within five minutes, will make me the most unpopular man in this
+room, therefore you see my wisdom in refusing a chair from which I
+should be very promptly ejected."
+
+One of the members poured a tankard full of wine from a flagon, and
+handed it to Roland, who, saluting the company, drank.
+
+"You did not divide the money, Greusel?"
+
+"No, Roland. We gave each man five hundred thalers, to keep as best he
+might. We then concealed the rest of the gold between the bottom of the
+boat and its inner planking. Ebearhard and I construed your orders
+somewhat liberally, conceiving it was your desire to get our treasure
+and ourselves safely into Frankfort."
+
+"Quite right," corroborated Roland.
+
+"When morning came upon us, we soon discovered that the whole country
+was aroused, because of the destruction of Furstenberg and the looting
+of Sonneck. No one knew where the next raid would strike, and therefore
+the whole country-side was in a turmoil. Now, the only fact known to the
+despoiled was that a long black barge had appeared in front of the
+Castle while the attack was made from behind. We realized that it would
+be impossible for us to go up the river except in darkness, so in case
+of a search we concealed the treasure where it was not likely to be come
+at, and each day lay quiet at an unfrequented part of the river, rowing
+all night. Not until we reached the Main did we venture on a daylight
+voyage. It was agreed among us unanimously that the money should be
+placed in Herr Goebel's keeping until you returned."
+
+"That was all excellently done," commented Roland. "I have just been to
+see Herr Goebel, and was surprised to learn how much we had actually
+taken. And now I ask you to make a great sacrifice. This city is
+starving. If we give that gold to its relief, the merchants of Frankfort
+will contribute an equal amount. I do not know how long such a total
+will keep the wolves from the doors of Frankfort; probably for six
+months. I shall learn definitely to-morrow." Here Roland outlined his
+plan of relief, which was received in silence.
+
+Kurzbold spoke up.
+
+"I should like to know how much the total is?"
+
+"That is a matter with which you have nothing to do," growled Greusel;
+then, turning to Roland, who had not yet taken a seat, he said: "So far
+as my share is concerned, I agree."
+
+"I agree," added Ebearhard; and so it went down along each side of the
+table until eighteen had spoken.
+
+Kurzbold rose with a smile on his face.
+
+"I don't know how it is, ex-Captain, that the moment you come among us
+there seems to arise a spirit of disputation."
+
+"Curiously enough, Herr Kurzbold, that same thought arose in my mind as
+I listened to your hilarity before I entered. I beg to add, for your
+satisfaction, that this is my last visit to the guild, and never again
+shall I disturb its harmony."
+
+"There is no lack of harmony," cried Ebearhard, laughing, as he rose.
+"The agreement has been practically unanimous--quite unanimous in fact,
+among those entitled to share in the great treasure. I believe Herr
+Kurzbold has a claim, if it has not been forfeited, to the loot of
+Rheinstein."
+
+"Now, even the genial Ebearhard," continued Kurzbold, "although his
+words are blameless, speaks with a certain tone of acerbity, while my
+friend Greusel has become gruff as a bear."
+
+"You need not labor that point, Herr Kurzbold," said Roland. "I have
+resigned."
+
+"I just wished to remark," Kurzbold went on, "that I rose for the
+purpose of stating I had some slight share in something; stolen
+property; honor among thieves, you know. Are my rights to this share
+disputed?"
+
+"No," said the chairman shortly.
+
+"Very well," concluded Kurzbold, "as I am graciously permitted to speak
+in the august presence of our ex-Captain, I desire to say that whatever
+my share happens to be, I bestow it gladly, nay, exultantly, upon the
+poor of Frankfort."
+
+With that Kurzbold sat down, and there was first a roar of laughter,
+followed by a clapping of hands. Gensbein rose, and said briefly:
+
+"I do as Kurzbold does."
+
+"Now," said Roland, "I want a number of volunteers to start out into the
+country early to-morrow morning, Greusel, you, as chairman, will
+designate the routes. Each man is to penetrate as far as he can along
+the main roads, asking the farmers to bring everything in the shape of
+food they have to sell. Tell them a vast sum has been collected, and
+that their cartloads will be bought entire the moment they enter the
+city. There will be no waiting for their money. Prompt payment, and
+everything eatable purchased immediately. Greusel, I put on you the
+hardest task. Penetrate into the forest south of the Main, and tell the
+charcoal-burners and woodmen to bring in material for kitchen fires. How
+many will volunteer?"
+
+Every man rose. Roland thanked them. "I shall now divulge a secret, and
+you will see that when it was told to me I remembered your interests. It
+has been my privilege to meet, since I saw you, more than one man who is
+a ruler in this Empire."
+
+"Did they tell you who is to be the new Emperor?" cried one.
+
+"That is known only to the Electors. But what I was about to say is
+this. There are to be established by the Government ironworks on a scale
+hitherto unknown in any land. I believe, and did my best to inculcate
+that belief in others, that we are on the verge of an age of iron, and,
+knowing your skill, I am privileged to offer each of you the
+superintendency of a department, with compensation never before given so
+lavishly in Germany. I am also induced to believe that the new Emperor
+will bestow a title on each of you who desire such honor, so that there
+can be no question of your right to wear a sword. Greusel, you must
+receive reports from each of our food scouts, and I shall be glad to
+know the outcome, if you take the trouble to call upon me any hour after
+nine o'clock at night, at my old room in Sachsenhausen. And now,
+good-night, and good-luck to you all."
+
+Roland went over the bridge, and so reached his room on the other side.
+He glanced around several times to satisfy himself he was not spied
+upon, and laughed at the apprehension of the Archbishop. Entering his
+room, he lit a lamp, took off his cloak and flung it on the bed, then
+unbuckled his sword-belt and hung it and the weapon on a peg, placing
+his cloak above them. He was startled by a loud knock at the door, and
+stood for a moment astonished, until it was repeated with the stern
+warning:
+
+"Open in the name of the Archbishop!"
+
+The young man strode forward, drew back the bolt, and flung open the
+door. An officer, with two soldiers behind him, came across the
+threshold, and at the side-motion of the officer's head a soldier closed
+and bolted the door. Roland experienced a momentary thrill of
+indignation at this rude intrusion, then he remembered he was a
+mechanic, and that his line must be the humble and deferential.
+
+"You came to-night from the Imperial Palace. What were you doing there?"
+
+"I was trying to gain admission, sir."
+
+"For what purpose?"
+
+"I wished," said Roland, rapidly outlining his defense in his own mind,
+"I wished to see some high officer; some one of your own position, sir,
+but was not so fortunate as to succeed. I could not pass the sentries
+without a permit, which I did not then possess, but hope to acquire
+to-morrow."
+
+"Again I ask, for what purpose?"
+
+"For a purpose which causes me delight in meeting your excellency."
+
+"I am no excellency. Come to the point! For what purpose?"
+
+"To show the officer a sword of such superior quality that a man armed
+with it, and given a certain amount of skill, stands impregnable."
+
+"Do you mean to tell me you went to the Royal Palace for the purpose of
+selling a second-hand sword?"
+
+"Oh, no, my lord."
+
+"Do not be so free with your titles. Call me Lieutenant."
+
+"Well, Lieutenant, sir; I hope to get orders for a hundred, or perhaps a
+thousand of these weapons."
+
+"Where did you go after leaving the Palace?"
+
+"I went to the residence of that great Prince of the Church, the
+Archbishop of Cologne."
+
+"Ah! You did not succeed in seeing his Lordship, I suppose?"
+
+"Pardon me, Lieutenant, but I did. His Lordship is keenly interested in
+both weapons and armor."
+
+"Did he give you an order for swords?"
+
+"No, Lieutenant; he seems to be a very cautious man. He asked me to
+visit him in Cologne, or if I could not do that, to see his general, now
+in Frankfort. You understand, Lieutenant, the presence of the three
+Archbishops with their armies offers me a great opportunity, by which I
+hope to profit."
+
+The officer looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face.
+
+"Where next did you go?"
+
+"I went to the house of a merchant in the Fahrgasse."
+
+"Ah, that tale doesn't hold! Merchants are not allowed to wear swords."
+
+"No, Lieutenant, but a merchant on occasion can supply capital that will
+enable a skilled workman to accept a large contract. If I should see the
+general of his Lordship to-morrow, and he gave me an order for, say, two
+thousand swords, I have not enough money to buy the metal, and I could
+not ask for payment until I delivered the weapons."
+
+"Did the merchant agree to capitalize you?"
+
+"He, too, was a cautious man, Lieutenant. He wished first to see the
+contract, and know who stood responsible for payment."
+
+"Wise man," commented the officer; "and so, disheartened, I suppose, you
+returned here?"
+
+"No, Lieutenant; the day has been warm, and I have traveled a good deal.
+I went from the merchant's house to the Rheingold tavern, there to drink
+a tankard of wine with my comrades, a score of men who have formed what
+they call the ironworkers' guild. I drank a tankard with them, and then
+came direct here, where I arrived but a few moments ago."
+
+The officer was more and more puzzled. Despite this young man's
+deferential manner, his language was scarcely that of a mechanic, yet
+this certainly was his own room, and he had told the absolute truth
+about his wanderings, as one who has nothing to fear.
+
+The Lieutenant stood for a space of time with eyes to the floor, as
+silent as the soldiers behind him. Suddenly he looked up.
+
+"Show me the sword. I'll tell you where it's made!"
+
+If he expected hesitation he was mistaken. Roland gave a joyful cry,
+swept aside the cloak, whisked forth the sword, flung it up, and caught
+it by the blade, then with a low bow handed it to the officer, who
+flashed it through the air, bent the blade between finger and thumb,
+then took it near the lamp and scrutinized it with the eye of an expert.
+
+"A good weapon, my friend. Where was it made? I have never seen one like
+it."
+
+"It was made by my own hands here in Frankfort. Of course I go first to
+those who know least about the matter, but if I can get an introduction
+to his Lordship of Mayence, his officers will know a sword when they see
+it; and I hope to-night fortune, in leading you to my door, has brought
+me an officer of Mayence."
+
+The Lieutenant looked at him, and for the first time smiled. He handed
+back the weapon, signed to his men to unbolt the door, which they did,
+stepping out; then he said:
+
+"I bid you good-night. Your answers have been satisfactory, but I set
+you down not as a mechanic, but a very excellent merchant of swords."
+
+"Lieutenant," said Roland, "you do not flatter me." He raised his weapon
+in military salute. "I am no merchant, but a sword maker."
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+THE BETROTHAL IN THE GARDEN
+
+
+Next morning Prince Roland sent a letter to the Archbishop of Mayence
+informing him that the Empress had taken up her abode in the Palace of
+her old friend, the Lord of Cologne, giving the reasons for this move
+and his own desertion of the Imperial Palace, and asking permission to
+call upon his mother each day. The messenger brought back a prompt
+reply, which commended the delicacy of his motives in leaving the Royal
+Palace, but added that, so far as the three Archbishops were concerned,
+the Saalhof was still at their disposal: of course Prince Roland's
+movements were quite untrammeled, and again, so far as concerned the
+three Archbishops, he was at liberty to visit whom he pleased, as often
+as he liked.
+
+While waiting for the return of his messenger, Roland called upon Herr
+Goebel, and told him that twenty emissaries had gone forth in every
+direction from Frankfort to inform the farming community that a market
+had been opened in the city, and in exchange learned what the merchant
+had already done towards furthering the necessary organization.
+
+"Oh, by the way, Herr Goebel," he cried, suddenly recollecting, "just
+write out and sign a document to this effect: 'I promise Herr Roland,
+sword maker of Sachsenhausen, to supply him with the capital necessary
+for carrying out his contract with his Lordship the Archbishop of
+Cologne.'"
+
+Without demur the merchant indited the document, signed it, and gave it
+to the Prince.
+
+"If any emissary of Mayence pays you a domiciliary visit, Herr Goebel,
+asking questions about me, carefully conceal my real status, and reply
+that I am an honest, skillful sword maker, anxious to revive the
+iron-working industry, and for this reason, being yourself solicitous
+for the welfare of Frankfort, you are risking some money."
+
+In the afternoon Roland walked to the Palace of Cologne and boldly
+entered, with no attempt at secrecy, the doorkeeper on this occasion
+offering no impediment to his progress. He learned that the Empress,
+much fatigued, had retired to her room and must not be disturbed; that
+the Archbishop was consulting with the Count Palatine, while the
+Countess von Sayn was walking in the garden. Roland passed with some
+haste through the Palace, and emerged into the grounds behind it:
+grounds delightfully umbrageous, and of an extent surprisingly large,
+surrounded by a very high wall of stone, so solidly built that it might
+successfully stand a siege.
+
+Roland found the girl sauntering very slowly along one of the most
+secluded alleys, whose gravel-path lay deeply in the shade caused by the
+thick foliage of over-hanging trees, which made a cool, green tunnel of
+the walk. Her head was slightly bowed in thought, her beautiful face
+pathetic in its weariness, and the young man realized, with a pang of
+sympathy, that she was still to all intents and purposes a prisoner,
+with no companions but venerable people. She could not, and indeed did
+not attempt to suppress an exclamation of delight at seeing him,
+stretching out both hands in greeting, and her countenance cleared as if
+by magic.
+
+"I was thinking of you!" she cried, without a trace of coquetry.
+
+"I judged your thoughts to be rather gloomy," he said, with a laugh, in
+which she joined.
+
+"Gloomy only because I could see or hear nothing of you."
+
+"Did you know I came yesterday?"
+
+"No. Why did you not ask to see me?"
+
+"I was informed you were entertaining the Count Palatine."
+
+"Ah, yes. He is a delightful old man. I like him better and better as
+time goes on. My guardian and I were guests of his at Gutenfels just
+before I occupied the marine prison of Pfalz."
+
+"So your guardian told me."
+
+They were now walking side by side in this secluded, thickly-wooded
+avenue, just wide enough for two, running in a straight line from wall
+to wall the whole length of the property, in the part most remote from
+the house.
+
+"Nothing disastrous has happened to you?" she asked. "I have had
+miserable forebodings."
+
+"No; I am living a most commonplace life, quite uneventful."
+
+"But why, why does the Archbishop of Mayence delay the Election?"
+
+"I did not know he was doing so."
+
+"Oh, my guardian is very anxious about it. Such postponement, I
+understand, never happened before. The State is without a head."
+
+"Has your guardian spoken to Mayence about it?"
+
+"Yes; and has been met by the most icy politeness. Mayence wishes this
+Election to take place with a full conclave of the seven Electors, three
+of whom have not yet arrived. But my guardian says they never arrive,
+and take no interest in Imperial matters. He pointed out to Mayence that
+a quorum of the Court is already in Frankfort, but his Lordship of the
+Upper Rhine merely protests that they must not force an Election, all of
+which my guardian thinks is a mere hiding of some design on the part of
+Mayence."
+
+Prince Roland meditated on this for a few moments, then, as if shaking
+off his doubts, he said:
+
+"It never occurs to one Archbishop that either of the others may be
+speaking the truth. There is so much mistrust among them that they
+nullify all united action, which accounts for the prostrate state of
+this city, the capital of one of the most prosperous countries under the
+sun. So far as I can see, taken individually, they are upright,
+trustworthy men. Now, to give you an instance. Your guardian last night
+was simply panic-stricken at my audacity in visiting him. He said I must
+not come again, refusing me permission to see you; he told you nothing
+of my conference with him: he felt certain I was being tracked by spies,
+and could not be made to understand that my presence here was of no
+consequence one way or another."
+
+"Then why are you here now?"
+
+"I am just coming to that. I asked your guardian to invite my mother as
+his guest. Have you met her yet?"
+
+"No; they told me the Empress was too tired to receive any one. I am to
+be introduced at dinner to-night."
+
+"Well, this morning I wrote to the Archbishop of Mayence, telling him of
+my interview with your guardian, the reason for it, and the results. His
+reply came promptly by return." Roland produced the document. "Just read
+that, and see whether you detect anything sinister in it."
+
+She read the letter thoughtfully.
+
+"That is honest enough on the surface."
+
+"On the surface, yes; but why not below the surface as well? That is a
+frank assent to a frank request. I think that if the Archbishops would
+treat each other with open candor they would save themselves a good deal
+of anxiety."
+
+"Perhaps," said the girl, very quietly.
+
+"You are not convinced?"
+
+"I don't know what to think." Then she looked up at him quickly. "Were
+you followed last night?"
+
+"Ah!" ejaculated Roland, laughing a little "apparently not, so far as I
+could see, but the night was very dark." Then he related to her the
+incidents succeeding the return to his room, while she listened with
+breathless eagerness. "The Lieutenant," he concluded, "did not deny that
+he was in the service of Mayence when I hinted as much, but, on the
+other hand, he did not admit it. Of course, I knew by his uniform to
+whom he belonged. He conducted my examination with military abruptness,
+but skillfully and with increasing courtesy, although I proclaimed
+myself a mechanic."
+
+"You a mechanic!" she said incredulously. "Do you think he believed it?"
+
+"I see you doubt my histrionic ability, but when next he waits upon me I
+shall produce documentary evidence of my status, and, what is more, I'll
+take to my workshop." 
+
+"Do you possess a workshop?" cried the girl in amazement.
+
+"Do I? Why, I am partner with a man named Greusel, and we own a workshop
+together. A gruff, clumsy individual, as you would think, but who,
+nevertheless, with his delicate hammer, would beat you out in metal a
+brooch finer than that you are wearing."
+
+"Do you mean Joseph?"
+
+"Yes," replied Roland, astonished. "What do you know of him?"
+
+"Have you forgotten so soon? It was his stalwart shoulders that burst in
+my door at Pfalz, and you yourself told me his name was Joseph Greusel.
+Were all those marauders you commanded honest mechanics?"
+
+"Every man of them."
+
+"Then you must be the villain of the piece who led those worthy
+ironworkers astray?"
+
+Roland laughed heartily.
+
+"That is quite true," he said. "Have I fallen in your estimation?"
+
+"No; to me you appeared as a rescuer. Besides, I come of a race of
+ruffians, and doubtless on that account take a more lenient view of your
+villainy than may be the case with others."
+
+The young man stopped in his walk, and seized her hands again, which she
+allowed him to possess unresisting.
+
+"Hilda," he said solemnly, "your guardian thought the Archbishop of
+Mayence had relented, and would withdraw his opposition to our marriage.
+Has Mayence said anything to corroborate that estimate?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"Has your guardian broached the subject to him?" 
+
+"Yes; but the attitude of my Lord of Mayence was quite inscrutable.
+Personally I think my guardian wrong in his surmise. The Archbishop of
+Treves murmured that Mayence never forgives. I am certain I offended him
+too deeply for pardon. He wishes the future Empress to be a pliable
+creature who will influence her husband according to his Lordship's
+desires, but, as I have boasted several times, I belong to the House of
+Sayn."
+
+"Hilda, will you marry me in spite of the Archbishops?"
+
+"Roland, will you forego kingship for my sake?"
+
+"Yes; a thousand times yes!"
+
+"You said 'For the Empress; not for the Empire,' but if I am no Empress,
+you will as cheerfully wed me?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then _I_ say yes!"
+
+He caught her in his arms, and they floated into the heaven of their
+first kiss, an ecstatic melting together. Suddenly she drew away from
+him.
+
+"There is some one coming," she whispered.
+
+"Nothing matters now," said Roland breathlessly. "There is no one in the
+world to-day but you and me."
+
+Hildegunde drew her hands down her cheeks, as if to brush away their
+tell-tale color and their warmth.
+
+"'Tis like," said Roland, "that you marry a poor man."
+
+"Nothing matters now," she repeated, laughing tremulously. "I am said to
+be the richest woman in Germany. I shall build you a forge and enlist
+myself your apprentice. We will paint over the door 'Herr Roland and
+wife; sword makers.'"
+
+Two men appeared at the end of the alley, and stood still; the one with
+a frown on his brow, the other with a smile on his lips.
+
+"Oh!" whispered the Countess, panic striking from her face the color
+that her palms had failed to remove, "the Archbishop and the Count
+Palatine!"
+
+His Lordship strode forward, followed more leisurely by the smiling
+Count.
+
+"Prince Roland," said Cologne, "I had not expected this after our
+conference of last night."
+
+"I fail to understand why, my Lord, when my parting words were 'Tell
+your porter to let me in without parley.' That surely indicated an
+intention on my part to visit the Palace."
+
+"Your Highness knows that so far as I am concerned you are very welcome,
+and always shall be so, but at this juncture there are others to
+consider."
+
+Roland interrupted.
+
+"Read this letter, my Lord, and you will learn that I am here with the
+full concurrence of that generous Prince of the Church, Mayence."
+
+Cologne, with knitted brow, scrutinized the communication.
+
+"Your Highness is most courageous, but, if I may be permitted, just a
+trifle too clever."
+
+"My Highness is not clever at all, but merely meets a situation as it
+arises."
+
+"Prince Roland," said the Countess, her head raised proudly, "may I
+introduce to you my friend, and almost my neighbor, the Count Palatine
+of the Rhine?"
+
+"Ah, pardon me," murmured the Archbishop, covered with confusion, but
+the jovial Count swept away all embarrassment by his hearty greeting.
+
+"Prince Roland, I am delighted with the honor her ladyship accords me."
+
+"And I, my Lord, am exceedingly gratified to meet the Count Palatine
+again."
+
+"Again?" cried the Count in astonishment, "If ever we had encountered
+one another, your Highness, I certainly should not have been the one to
+forget the privilege."
+
+The Prince laughed.
+
+"It is true, nevertheless. My Lord Count, there is a namesake of mine in
+the precincts of your strong Castle of Gutenfels; a namesake who does
+more honor to the title than I do myself."
+
+The Count Palatine threw back his head, and the forest garden echoed
+with boisterous laughter.
+
+"You mean my black charger, Prince Roland!" he shouted. "A noble horse
+indeed. How knew you of him? If your Highness cares for horses allow me
+to present him to you."
+
+"Never, my Lord Count. You are too fond of him yourself, and I have
+always had an affectionate feeling towards you for your love of that
+animal, which, indeed, hardly exceeds my own. I grasped his bridle-rein,
+and held the stirrup while you mounted."
+
+"How is that possible?" asked the astonished Count.
+
+"I cared for Prince Roland nearly a month, receiving generous wages,
+and, what I valued more, your own commendation, for you saw I was as
+fond of horses as you were."
+
+"Good heavens! Were you that youth who came so mysteriously, and
+disappeared without warning?"
+
+"Yes," laughed the Prince. "I know Gutenfels nearly as well as you do. I
+was a spy, studying the art of war and methods of fortification. I
+stopped in various capacities at nearly all the famous Castles of the
+Rhine, and this knowledge recently came in--"
+
+"Your Highness, your Highness!" pleaded the Archbishop. "I implore you
+to remember that the Count Palatine is an Elector of the Empire, and, as
+I told last night, we are facing a crisis. Until that crisis is passed
+you will add to my already great anxiety by any lack of reticence on
+your part."
+
+"By the Three Kings!" cried the Count, "this youth, if I may venture to
+call him so, has bound me to him with bands stronger than chain armor. I
+shall vote for him whoever falters."
+
+"His Highness," said the Archbishop, with a propitiatory smile, "has
+been listening to the Eastern tales which our ancestors brought from the
+Crusades, and I fear has filled his head with fancies."
+
+"Really, Archbishop, you misjudge me," said the young man; "I am the
+most practical person in the Empire. You interrupted my boasting to her
+ladyship of my handiwork. I would have you know I am a capable mechanic
+and a sword maker. What think you of that, my Lord?" he asked, drawing
+forth his weapon, and handing it to Cologne.
+
+"An excellent blade indeed," said the latter, balancing it in his hand.
+
+"Very well, my Lord, I made it and tempered it unassisted. I beg you to
+re-enter your palace, and write me out an order for a thousand of these
+weapons."
+
+"If your Highness really wishes me to do this, and there is no concealed
+humorism in your request which I am too dull to fathom, you must
+accompany me to my study and dictate the document I am to indite. I
+shall wait till you bid farewell to the Countess."
+
+A glance of mutual understanding flashed between the girl and himself,
+then Roland raised her hand to his lips, and although the onlookers saw
+the gallant salutation, they knew nothing of the gentle pressure with
+which the fingers exchanged their confidences.
+
+"Madam," said the Prince, "it will be my pleasure and duty to wait upon
+my mother to-morrow. May I look forward to the happiness of presenting
+you to her?"
+
+"I thank you," said the Countess simply, with a glance of appeal at her
+guardian. That good man sighed, then led the way into the house.
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST
+
+
+Roland left the palace with a sense of elation he had never before
+experienced, but this received a check as he saw standing in the middle
+of the square the Lieutenant of the night before. His first impulse was
+to avoid the officer, yet almost instinctively he turned and walked
+directly to him, which apparently nonplussed the brave emissary of
+Mayence.
+
+"Good afternoon to you, sir," began Roland, as if overjoyed to see him.
+"Will you permit me to speak to you, sir?"
+
+"Well?" said the Lieutenant curtly.
+
+"My forge, which has been black and cold for many a long day, will soon
+be alight and warm again. What think you of this?" He handed to the
+Lieutenant his order for a thousand swords, and the officer made a
+mental note of the commission as an interesting point in armament that
+would be appreciated by his chief.
+
+"You did not inform me last night who was the merchant you hoped would
+finance your enterprise."
+
+"Hoped?" echoed Roland, his eyes sparkling. "'Tis more than hope, Herr
+Lieutenant. His name is Goebel, and he is one of the richest and
+chiefest traffickers of Frankfort. Why, my fortune is made! Read this,
+written in his own hand. I got it from him before midday, on my mere
+word that I was certain of an order from his Lordship."
+
+"You are indeed much to be envied," said the Lieutenant coldly,
+returning the two documents.
+
+"Ah, but I am just at the beginning. If _you_ would favor me by
+smoothing the way to his Lordship, the Archbishop of Mayence, I in
+return--"
+
+"Out upon you for a base-born, profit-mongering churl! Do you think that
+I, an officer, would demean myself by partnering a bagman!"
+
+The Lieutenant turned on his heel, strode away and left him. Roland
+pursued his way with bowed head, as though stricken by the rebuff.
+Nearing the bridge, he saw a crowd around an empty cart, standing by
+which a man in rough clothing was cursing most vociferously.
+
+At first he thought there had been an accident, but most of the people
+were laughing loudly; so, halting in the outskirts, he asked the cause
+of the commotion.
+
+"'Tis but a fool farmer," said a man, "who came from the country with
+his load of vegetables. 'Tis safer to enter a lion's den unarmed than to
+come into Frankfort with food while people are starving. He has been
+plundered to the last leaf."
+
+Roland shouldered his way through the crowd, and touched the frantic man
+on the shoulder.
+
+"What was the value of your load?" he said.
+
+"A misbegotten liar told me this morning that a market had opened in
+Frankfort, and that there was money to be had. No sooner am I in the
+town than everything I brought in is stolen."
+
+"Yes, yes; I know all about that. My question is, How much is your
+merchandise worth?"
+
+"Worth? Thirty thalers I expected to get, and now--"
+
+"Thirty thalers," interrupted the Prince. "Here is your money. Get you
+gone, and tell your neighbors there is prompt payment for all the
+provender they can bring in."
+
+The man calmed down as if a bucket of water had been thrown on him. He
+counted the payment with miserly care, testing each coin between his
+teeth, then mounted his cart without a word of thanks, and, to the
+disappointment of the gathering mob, drove away. Roland, seething with
+anger, walked directly to the house of Herr Goebel, and found that
+placid old burgher seated at his table.
+
+"Ten thousand curses on your indolence!" he cried. "Where are your
+committee, and the emissaries empowered to carry out this scheme of
+relief I have ordered?"
+
+"Committee? Emissaries?" cried the astonished man. "There has been no
+time!"
+
+"Time, you thick-headed fool! I'll time you by hanging you to your own
+front door. There has been time for me to send my men out into the
+country; time for a farmer to come in with a cartload of produce, and be
+robbed here under your very nose! Maledictions on you, you sit here,
+well fed, and cry there is no time! If I had not paid the yeoman he
+would have gone back into the country crying we were all thieves here in
+Frankfort. Now listen to me. I drew my sword once upon you in jest.
+Should I draw it a second time it will be to penetrate your lazy carcass
+by running you through. If within two hours there is not a paymaster at
+every gate in Frankfort to buy and pay for each cartload of produce as
+it comes, and also a number of guides to tell that farmer where to
+deliver his goods, I'll give your town over to the military, and order
+the sacking of every merchant's house within its walls."
+
+"It shall be done; it shall be done; it shall be done!" breathed the
+merchant, trembling as he rose, and he kept repeating the phrase with
+the iteration of a parrot.
+
+"You owe me thirty thalers," said the Prince calming down; "the first
+payment out of the relief fund. Give me the money."
+
+With quivering hands Herr Goebel, seeing no humor in the application,
+handed over the money, which the Prince slipped into his wallet.
+
+Dusk had fallen when at last he reached his room in Sachsenhausen, and
+there he found awaiting him Joseph Greusel, in semi-darkness and in
+total gloom.
+
+"Your housekeeper let me in," said the visitor.
+
+"Good! I did not expect you back so soon. Have the others returned?"
+
+"I do not know. I came direct here. I carry very ominous news, Roland,
+of impending disaster in Frankfort."
+
+"Greater than at present oppresses it?"
+
+"Civil war, fire, and bloodshed. Close the door, Roland; I am tired out,
+and I do not wish to be overheard."
+
+The Prince obeyed the request, locking the door. Going to a cupboard, he
+produced a generous flagon of wine and a tankard, setting the same on a
+small table before Greusel, then he threw himself down in the one
+armchair the room possessed. Greusel filled the tankard, and emptied it
+without drawing breath. He plunged directly into his narrative.
+
+"I had penetrated less than half a league into the forest when I was
+stopped by an armed man who stepped out from behind a tree. He wore the
+uniform of Mayence, and proclaimed me a prisoner. I explained my
+mission, but this had no effect upon him. He asked if I would go with
+him quietly, or compel him to call assistance. Being helpless, I said I
+would go quietly. Notwithstanding this, he bound my wrists behind me,
+then with a strip of cloth blindfolded me. Taking me by the arm, he led
+me through the forest for a distance impossible to calculate. I think,
+however, we walked not more than ten minutes. There was a stop and a
+whispered parley; a pause of a few minutes, and a further conference,
+which I partially heard. The commander before whom I must be taken was
+not ready to receive me. I should be placed in a tent, and a guard set
+over me.
+
+"This was done. I asked that the cord, which hurt my wrists, might be
+removed, but instead, my ankles were tied together, and I sat there on
+the ground, leaning against a pole at the back of the tent. Here my
+conductor left me, and I heard him give orders to those without to
+maintain a strict watch, but to hold no communication with me.
+
+"I imagine that the tent I occupied stood back to back with the tent of
+the commander, for after some time I heard the sound of voices, and it
+seemed to me voices of two men in authority. They had come to the back
+part of their tent, as if to speak confidentially, and their voices were
+low, yet I could hear them quite distinctly, being separated from them
+merely by two thicknesses of cloth. What I learned was this. There is
+concealed in the forest, within half an hour's quick march of the
+southern gate, a force of seven thousand soldiers. These soldiers belong
+to the Archbishop of Mayence, who commands an additional three thousand
+within the walls of Frankfort. Mayence holds the southern gate, as
+Treves holds the western and Cologne the northern. You see at once what
+that implies. Mayence can pour his troops into Frankfort, say, at
+midnight, and in the morning he has ten thousand soldiers as compared
+with the three thousand each commanded by the Archbishops of Treves and
+Cologne. That means civil war, and the complete crushing of the two
+northern Archbishops."
+
+"I think you take too serious a view of the matter," commented Roland.
+"Mayence is undoubtedly a subtle man, who takes every precaution that he
+shall have his own way. The reason that there will be no civil war is
+this. I happen to know on very excellent authority that so far as the
+Electoral Court goes, Mayence is paramount. He does not need to conquer
+Cologne and Treves by force, because he is already supreme by his genius
+for intrigue. He is a born ruler, and his methods are all those of
+diplomacy as against those of arms. I dare say if occasion demanded it
+he would strike quick and strike effectually, but occasion does not
+demand. I am rather sure of my facts, and I know that the three
+Archbishops, together with the Count Palatine of the Rhine, are in
+agreement to elect my namesake, Prince Roland, Emperor of Germany."
+
+"Yes," said Greusel, "I heard that rumor, and it is generally believed
+in Frankfort. Rumor, however, as usual, speaks falsely."
+
+The Prince smiled at his pessimistic colleague, for that colleague was
+talking to the man who knew; nevertheless, he listened patiently, for of
+course he could not yet reveal himself to his somber lieutenant, who
+continued his narrative:
+
+"The two men spoke of the unfortunate Prince, who is, I understand,
+still a prisoner in Ehrenfels."
+
+Here Roland laughed outright.
+
+"My dear Greusel, you are entirely mistaken. The Prince was never really
+a prisoner, and is at this moment in Frankfort, as free to do what he
+likes as I am."
+
+"I am sorry," said Greusel, "that you do not grasp the seriousness of
+the situation, but I have not yet come to the vital part of it, although
+I thought the very fact that seven thousand men threatened Frankfort
+would impress you."
+
+"It does, Greusel," said Roland, remembering the distrust in which both
+the Countess and her guardian held Mayence, and also the close watch his
+Lordship was keeping over Frankfort, as evidenced by the domiciliary
+visit paid to himself by an officer of that potentate. "Go on, Greusel,"
+he said more soberly, "I shall not interrupt you again."
+
+"I gathered that Prince Roland actually had been chosen, but
+complications arose which I do not altogether understand. These
+complications relate to a woman, or two women; both of them equally
+objectionable to the Archbishop of Mayence. One of these two women was
+to marry the new Emperor, but rather than have this happen, Mayence
+determined that another than Prince Roland should be elected, the reason
+being that Mayence feared one Empress would be entirely under the
+influence of Cologne, if chosen, and the other under the influence of
+Treves. So his subtle Lordship is deluding both of these Electors.
+Cologne has been asked to bring to Frankfort the woman he controls,
+therefore he harbors the illusion that Mayence is reconciled to her.
+Treves also has been requested to bring the lady who is his relative;
+thus she, too, is in Frankfort, and Treves blindly believes Mayence is
+favorable to her cause.
+
+"As a matter of fact Mayence will have neither, but has resolved to
+spring upon the Electoral Court at the last moment the name of the Grand
+Duke Karl of Hesse, a middle-aged man already married, and entirely
+under the dominance of his Lordship of Mayence."
+
+"Pardon me, Greusel, I must interrupt, in spite of my disclaimer. What
+you say sounds very ingenious, but it cannot be carried out. Treves,
+Cologne, and the Count Palatine are already pledged to vote for Prince
+Roland, so is Mayence himself, and to change front at the last moment
+would be to forswear himself, and act as traitor to his colleagues. Now,
+he cannot afford to lose even one vote, and I believe that the
+Archbishop of Cologne will vote for Prince Roland through thick and
+thin. I think the same of the Count Palatine. Treves, of course, is
+always doubtful and wavering, but you see that the negative vote of the
+Archbishop of Cologne would render Mayence powerless and an Election
+impossible."
+
+"Doubtless what you say is true, and now you have put your finger on the
+danger spot. Why has the Election been delayed beyond all precedent?"
+
+"That I do not know," replied Roland.
+
+"Then I will tell you. The Archbishop of Mayence has sent peremptory
+orders to the other three Electors, who are reported to be careless so
+far as Imperial affairs are concerned, and quite indifferent regarding
+the personality of the future Emperor. No one of these three Electors,
+however, dares offend so powerful a man as Mayence. If the Archbishop
+can overawe his colleagues nominally equal to him in position, each
+commanding an army, how think you can three small nobles, with no
+soldiers at their beck, withstand his requests, suavely given, no doubt,
+but with an iron menace behind them?"
+
+"True, true," muttered Roland.
+
+"Two of these nobles have already arrived, and are housed with the
+Archbishop of Mayence. The third is expected here within three days;
+four days at the farthest. Mayence will immediately convene the
+Electoral Court, when the Count Palatine, with the two Archbishops, may
+be astonished to find that for the first time in history, the whole
+seven are present in the Wahlzimmer. Mayence will ask Cologne to make
+the nomination, and he will put forward the name of Prince Roland. On a
+vote being taken the Prince will be in a minority of one. Mayence then
+shows his hand, nominating the Grand Duke Karl, who will be elected by a
+majority of one. Then may ensue a commotion in the Wahlzimmer, and
+accusations of bad faith, but remember that Cologne and Treves are taken
+completely by surprise. They cannot communicate with their commanders,
+for the three thousand troops which Mayence already has within Frankfort
+will have quietly surrounded the Town Hall that contains the Election
+Chamber, and Mayence's seven thousand men from the forest are pouring
+through the southern gate into the city, making straight for the Romer.
+Meanwhile the Grand Duke Karl, a man well known to the populace of
+Frankfort, appears on the balcony of the Kaisersaal, and is loudly
+acclaimed the new Emperor."
+
+"Ah, Greusel, forgive my attitude of doubt. It is all as plain now as
+the Cathedral tower. Still, there will be no civil war. Treves and
+Cologne will gather up their troops and go home, once more defeated by a
+man cleverer and more unscrupulous than both of them put together. They
+are but infants in his hands."
+
+"Have you any suggestion to make?" asked Greusel.
+
+"No; there is nothing to be done. You see, the young Prince has no
+following. He is quite unknown in Frankfort. His name can arouse no
+enthusiasm, and, all in all, that strikes me as a very good thing. The
+Grand Duke Karl is popular, and I believe he will make a very good
+Emperor."
+
+"You mean, Roland, that the Archbishop of Mayence will make a very good
+ruler, for he will be the real king."
+
+"Well, after all, Joseph, there is much to be said in favor of Mayence.
+He is a man who knows what he wants, and, what is more, gets it, and
+that, after all is the main thing in life. If any one could sway the
+Archbishop so that he put his great talents to the benefit of his
+country, instead of thinking only of himself, what a triumph of
+influence that would be! By the Three Kings, I'd like to do it! I admire
+him. If I found opportunity and could persuade him to join us in the
+relief of Frankfort, and in opening the Rhine to commerce, we would give
+these inane merchants a lesson in organization."
+
+Greusel rose from his chair, poured out another tankard full from the
+flagon, and drank it off.
+
+"I must go down now and meet the guild," he said. "I have eaten nothing
+all day, and am as hungry as a wolf from the Taunus."
+
+"Oh, how did you escape, by the way?"
+
+"I didn't escape. I was led blindfolded into a tent, where my bandage
+was removed, and here a man in ordinary dress questioned me concerning
+my object in entering the forest. I told him exactly the truth, and
+explained what we were trying to do in Frankfort. I dare say I looked
+honest and rather stupid. He asked when I set out; in what direction I
+came; questioning me with a great affectation of indifference; wanted to
+know if I had met many persons, and I told him quite truthfully I met no
+one but the man I understood was a forester; a keeper, I supposed."
+
+"'There are a number of us,' he said, 'hunting the wild boar, and we do
+not wish the animal life of these woods to be disturbed. We shall not be
+here longer than a week, but I advise you to seek another spot for what
+timber you require.'
+
+"He asked me, finally, if any one in Frankfort knew I had come to the
+forest, and I answered that the guild of twenty knew, and that we were
+all to meet to-night at the Rheingold tavern to report. He pondered for
+a while on this statement, and I suppose reached the conclusion that if
+I did not return to Frankfort, this score of men might set out in the
+morning to search for me, it being well known that the forest is
+dangerous on account of wild boars. So, as if it were of no consequence,
+he blindfolded me again, apologizing privately for doing so, saying it
+was quite unnecessary in the first instance, but as the guard had done
+so, he did not wish to censure him by implication.
+
+"I answered that it did not matter at all, but desired him to order my
+wrists released, which was done."
+
+"I must say," commented Roland, "that the Archbishop of Mayence is well
+served by his officers. Your examiner was a wise man."
+
+"Yes," replied Greusel, "but nevertheless, I am telling my story here in
+Frankfort."
+
+"No difference for that, because, as I have said, we can do nothing.
+Still, it is a blessing your examiner could not guess what you overheard
+in the other tent. He let you go thinking you had seen and learned
+nothing, and in doing so warded off a search party to-morrow."
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+A SECRET MARRIAGE
+
+
+Blessed is he that expects nothing, for he shall not be disappointed.
+Roland walked with Greusel across the bridge and through the streets to
+the entrance of the Rheingold, and there stopped.
+
+"I shall not go down with you," he said. "You have given me much to
+think of, and I am in no mood for a hilarious meeting. Indeed, I fear I
+should but damp the enthusiasm of the lads. Continue your good work
+to-morrow, and report to me at my room."
+
+With this Roland bade Greusel good-night and turned away. He walked very
+slowly as far as the bridge, and there, resting his arms on the parapet,
+looked down at the dark water. He was astonished to realize how little
+he cared about giving up the Emperorship, and he recalled, with a glow
+of delight, his recent talk in the garden with Hildegunde, and her
+assurance that she lacked all ambition to become the first lady in the
+land so long as they two spent their lives together.
+
+The bells of Frankfort tolling the hour of ten aroused him from his
+reverie, and brought down his thoughts from delicious dreams of romance
+to realms of reality. The precious minutes were passing over his head
+swiftly as the drops of water beneath his feet. There was little use of
+feeding Frankfort if it must be given over to fire and slaughter.
+
+With a chill of apprehension he reviewed the cold treachery of Mayence,
+willing to levy the horrors of civil war upon an already stricken city
+so long as his own selfish purposes were attained.
+
+"And yet," he said to himself, "there must be good in the man. I wish I
+knew his history. Perhaps he had to fight for every step he has risen in
+the world. Perhaps he has been baffled and defeated by deception;
+overcome by chicanery until his faith died within him. My faith would
+die within me were it not that when I meet a Mayence I encounter also
+the virtue of a Cologne, and the bluff honesty of a Count Palatine. How
+marvelous is this world, where the trickery of a Kurzbold and a Gensbein
+is canceled by the faithfulness unto death of a Greusel and an
+Ebearhard! Thus doth good balance evil, and then--and then, how Heaven
+beams upon earth in the angel glance of a good woman. God guide me
+aright! God guide me aright!" he repeated fervently, "and suppress in me
+all anger and uncharitableness."
+
+He walked rapidly across the bridge into Sachsenhausen, past his room at
+the street corner, and on to the monastery of the Benedictines, whose
+little chapel stood open night and day for the prayers of those in
+trouble or in sadness, habited only by one of the elder brothers, who
+gave, if it were needed, advice, encouragement, or spiritual comfort.
+Removing his hat, the Prince entered into the silence on tiptoe, and
+kneeling before the altar, prayed devoutly for direction, asking the
+Almighty to turn the thoughts of His servant, Mayence, into channels
+that flowed towards peace and the relief of this unhappy city.
+
+As he rose to his feet a weight lifted from his shoulders, and the
+buoyancy of youth drove away the depression that temporarily overcame
+him on hearing of the army threatening Frankfort. His plans were honest,
+his methods conciliatory, and the path now seemed clear before him. The
+monk in charge, who had been kneeling in a dark corner near the door,
+now came forward to intercept him.
+
+"Will your Highness deny me in the chapel as you did upon the bridge?"
+
+Roland stopped. In the gloom he had not recognized the ghostly Father.
+
+"No, Father Ambrose, and I do now what I should have done then. I pray
+your blessing on the enterprise before me."
+
+"My son, it is willingly given, the more willingly that I may atone in
+part my forgetting of the Holy Words: 'Judge not, that ye be not
+judged.' I grievously misjudged you, as I learn from both the Archbishop
+and my kinswoman. I ask your forgiveness."
+
+"I shall forgive you, Father Ambrose, if you make full, not partial
+atonement. The consequences of your mistake have proved drastic and
+far-reaching. The least of these consequences is that it has cost me the
+Emperorship."
+
+"Oh," moaned the good man, "_mea culpa, mea culpa!_ No penance put upon
+me can compensate for that disaster."
+
+"You blame yourself overmuch, good Father. The penance I have to impose
+will leave me deeply in your debt. Now, to come from the least to the
+greatest of these results, so far as I am concerned, my marriage with
+your kinswoman, whom I love devotedly, is in jeopardy. Through her
+conviction that I was a thief, she braved the Archbishop of Mayence, who
+imprisoned her, and now his Lordship has determined that the Grand Duke
+Karl of Hesse shall be Emperor. Thus we arrive at the most important
+outcome of your error. Between the overwhelming forces of Mayence and
+the insufficient troops of Cologne and Treves there may ensue a conflict
+causing the streets of Frankfort to flow with blood."
+
+The pious man groaned dismally.
+
+"I have a plan which will prevent this. The day after to-morrow I shall
+renounce all claim to the throne; but being selfish, like the rest, I
+refuse to renounce all claim to the woman the Archbishops themselves
+chose as my wife, neither shall I allow the case to be made further the
+plaything of circumstance. Your kinswoman, no later ago than this
+afternoon, confessed her love for me and her complete disregard of any
+position I may hold in this realm. Now, Father Ambrose, I ask you
+several questions. Is it in consonance with the rules of the Church that
+a marriage be solemnized in this chapel?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Are you entitled to perform the ceremony?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Is it possible this ceremony can be performed to-morrow?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Will you therefore attend to the necessary preliminaries, of which I am
+vastly ignorant, and say at what hour the Countess and I may present
+ourselves in this chapel?"
+
+"The Archbishop of Cologne is guardian to her ladyship. Will you bring
+me his sanction?"
+
+"Ah, Father Ambrose, there is just the point. So far as concerns himself
+I doubt not that the Archbishop is the most unambitious of men, but to
+the marriage of his ward with a sword maker I fear he would refuse
+consent which he would gladly give to a marriage with an Emperor."
+
+The monk hung his head, and pondered on the proposition. At last he
+said:
+
+"Why not ask my Lord the Archbishop?"
+
+"I dare not venture. Too much is at stake. She might be carried away to
+any castle in Germany. Remember that Cologne has already acquiesced in
+her imprisonment, and but that the iron chain of the Pfalzgraf brought
+me to her prison door--The iron chain, do I say? 'Twas the hand of God
+that directed me to her, and now, with the help of Him who guided me,
+not all the Archbishops in Christendom shall prevent our marriage. No,
+Father Ambrose, pile on yourself all the futile penances you can adopt.
+They are useless, for they do not remedy the wrong you have committed.
+And now, good-night to your Reverence!"
+
+The young man strode towards the door.
+
+"My son," said the quiet voice of the priest, "when you were on your
+knees just now did you pray for remission from anger?"
+
+Roland whirled round.
+
+_"Mea culpa,_ as you said just now. Father Ambrose, I ask your pardon. I
+made an unfair use of your mistake to coerce you. You were quite right
+in relating what your own eyes saw here in Frankfort, and although the
+inference drawn was wrong, you were not to blame for that. I recognize
+your scruples, but nevertheless protest that already I possess the
+sanction of the Archbishop, which has never been withdrawn."
+
+"Prince Roland, if you bring hither the Countess von Sayn to-morrow
+afternoon, when the bells strike three, I will marry you, and gladly
+accept whatever penances ensue. I fear the monk's robe has not crushed
+out all the impulses of the Sayn blood. In my case, perhaps, it has only
+covered them. And now, good-night, and God's blessing fall upon you and
+her you are to marry."
+
+Roland went directly from the chapel to his own room, where he slept the
+sleep of one who has made up his mind. Nevertheless, it was not a
+dreamless sleep, for throughout the night he seemed to hear the tramp of
+armed men marching upon unconscious Frankfort, and this sound was so
+persistent, that at last he woke, yet still it continued. Springing up
+in alarm, and flinging wide the wooden shutters of his window, he was
+amazed to see that the sun was already high, while the sound that
+disturbed him was caused by a procession of heavy-footed horses,
+dragging over the cobble-stones carts well-laden with farm produce.
+
+Having dressed and finished breakfast, he wrote a letter to the
+Archbishop of Mayence:
+
+     "My LORD ARCHBISHOP,--There are some important proposals which I
+     wish to make to the Electors, and as it is an unwritten rule that I
+     should not communicate with them separately, I beg of you to
+     convene a meeting to-morrow, in the Wahlzimmer, at the hour of
+     midday. Perhaps it is permissible to add, for your own information,
+     that while my major proposition has to do with the relief of
+     Frankfort, the minor suggestions I shall make will have the effect
+     of clearing away obstacles that at present obstruct your path, and
+     I venture to think that what I say will meet with your warmest
+     approval."
+
+It was so necessary that this communication should reach the Archbishop
+as soon as possible that Roland became his own messenger, and himself
+delivered the document at the Archbishop's Palace. As he turned away he
+was startled by a hand being placed on his shoulder with a weight
+suggesting an action of arrest rather than a greeting of friendship. He
+turned quickly, and saw the Lieutenant who had so discourteously used
+him in the square. There was, however, no menace in the officer's
+countenance.
+
+"Still thrusting your sword at people?"
+
+"Yes, Lieutenant, and very harmlessly. 'Tis a bloodless combat I wage
+with the sword. I praise its construction, and leave to superiors like
+yourself, sir, the proving of its quality."
+
+"You are an energetic young man, and we of Mayence admire competence
+whether shown by mechanic or noble. Was the letter you handed in just
+now addressed to his Lordship?"
+
+"Yes, Lieutenant."
+
+"'Twill be quite without effect."
+
+"It grieves me to hear you say so, sir."
+
+"Take my advice, and make no effort to see the Archbishop until after
+the Election. I judge you to be a sane young fellow, for whom I confess
+a liking. You are the only man in Frankfort who has unhesitatingly told
+me the exact truth, and I have not yet recovered from my amazement. Now,
+when you return to your frugal room in Sachsenhausen you do not attempt
+to reach it by mounting the stairs with one step?"
+
+"Naturally not, Lieutenant."
+
+"Very well. When the Emperor is proclaimed, come you to me. I'll
+introduce you to my superior, and he, if impressed with your weapon,
+will take you a step higher, and thus you will mount until you come to
+an officer who may give you an astonishing order."
+
+"I thank you, Lieutenant, and hope later to avail myself of your
+kindness."
+
+The Lieutenant slapped him on the shoulder, and wished him good-luck. As
+Roland pushed his way through the crowd, he said to himself, with a
+sigh:
+
+"I regret not being Emperor, if only for the sake of young fellows like
+that."
+
+Frankfort was transformed as if a magician had waved his wand over it.
+The streets swarmed with people. Farmers' vehicles of every description
+added to the confusion, and Roland frowned as he noticed how badly
+organized had been the preparations for coping with this sudden influx
+of food, but he also saw that the men of Mayence had taken a hand in the
+matter, and were rapidly bringing method out of chaos. The uniforms of
+Cologne or Treves were seldom seen, while the quiet but firm soldiers of
+Mayence were everywhere ordering to their homes those already served,
+and clearing the way for the empty-handed.
+
+At last Roland reached the Palace of Cologne, through a square thronged
+with people. Within he found his mother and the Countess, seated in a
+room whose windows overlooked the square, watching the stirring scene
+presented to them. Having saluted his mother, he greeted the girl with a
+quiet pressure of the hand.
+
+"What is the cause of all this commotion?" asked the Empress.
+
+Roland tapped his breast.
+
+"I am the cause, mother," and he related the history of the relief
+committee, and if appreciation carries with it gratification, his was
+the advantage of knowing that the two women agreed he was the most
+wonderful of men.
+
+"But indeed, mother," continued Roland, "I selfishly rob you of the
+credit. The beginning of all this was really your gift to me of five
+hundred thalers, that time I came to crave your assistance in procuring
+me this document I still carry, and without your thalers and the
+parchment, this never could have happened. So you see they have
+increased like the loaves and fishes of Holy Writ, and thus feed the
+multitude."
+
+Her Majesty arose, smiling.
+
+"Ah, Roland," she said, kissing him, "you always gave your mother more
+credit than she deserved. It wrung my heart at the time that I was so
+scant of money." Then, pleading fatigue, the Empress left the room.
+
+"Hilda!" cried the young man, "when you and I discuss things, those
+things become true. Yesterday we agreed that the Imperial throne was not
+so enviable a seat as a chair by the domestic hearth. To-day I propose
+to secure the chair at the hearth, and to-morrow I shall freely give up
+the Imperial throne."
+
+The girl uttered an exclamation that seemed partly concurrence and
+partly dismay, but she spoke no word, gazing at him intently as he
+strode up and down the room, and listening with eagerness. Walking
+backwards and forwards, looking like an enthusiastic boy, he very
+graphically detailed the situation as he had learned it from Greusel.
+
+"Now you see, my dear, any opposition to the Archbishop of Mayence means
+a conflict, and supposing in that conflict our friends were to win, the
+victory would be scarcely less disastrous than defeat. I at once made up
+my mind, fortified by my knowledge of your opinion on the subject, that
+for all the kingships in the world I could not be the cause of civil
+dissension."
+
+"That is a just and noble decision," she said, speaking for the first
+time.
+
+Then, standing before her, the young man in more moderate tone related
+what had happened and what had been said in the chapel of the
+Benedictine Fathers. She looked up at him, earnest face aglow, during
+the first part of his recital, and now and then the sunshine of a smile
+flickered at the corners of her mouth as she recognized her kinsman in
+her lover's repetition of his words, but when it came to the question of
+a marriage, her eyes sank to the floor, and remained there.
+
+"Well, Hilda," he said at last, "have you the courage to go with me, all
+unadvised, all unchaperoned, to the chapel this afternoon at three
+o'clock?"
+
+She rose slowly, still without looking at him, placed her hands on his
+shoulders, then slipped them round his neck, laying her cheek beside
+his.
+
+"It requires no courage, Roland," she whispered, "to go anywhere if you
+are with me. I need to call up my courage only when I think with a
+shudder of our being separated."
+
+Some minutes elapsed before conversation was resumed.
+
+"Where is the Archbishop?" asked Roland, in belated manner remembering
+his host.
+
+"He and the Count Palatine went out together about an hour since. I
+think they were somewhat disturbed at the unusual commotion, and desired
+to know what it meant. Do you want to consult my guardian after all?"
+
+"Not unless you desire me to do so?"
+
+"I wish only what you wish, Roland."
+
+"I am glad his Lordship is absent. Let us to the garden, Hilda, and
+discover a quiet exit if we can."
+
+A stout door was found in the wall to the rear, almost concealed with
+shrubbery. The bolts were strong, and rusted in, but the prowess of
+Roland overcame them, and he drew the door partially open. It looked out
+upon a narrow alley with another high wall opposite. Roland looked up
+and down the lane, and saw it was completely deserted.
+
+"This will do excellently," he said, shoving the door shut again, but
+without thrusting the bolts into position. He took her two hands in his.
+
+"Dearest, noblest, sweetest of girls! I must now leave you. Await me
+here at half-past one. I go out by this door, for it is necessary I
+should know exactly where the alley joins a main street. It would be
+rather embarrassing if you were standing here, and Father Ambrose
+looking for us in the chapel, while I was frantically searching for and
+not finding the lane."
+
+Some time in advance of the hour set, the impatient young man kept the
+appointment he had made, and when the Countess appeared exactly on the
+minute, he held open the door for her, then, drawing it shut behind him,
+they were both out in the city of Frankfort together. Roland's high
+spirits were such that he could scarcely refrain from dancing along at
+her side.
+
+"I'd like to take your hand," he said, "and swing it, and show you the
+sights of the city, as if we were two young people in from the country."
+
+"I am a country girl, please to remember," said the Countess. "I know
+nothing of Frankfort, or, indeed, of any other large town."
+
+"I am glad of that, for there is much to see in Frankfort. We will make
+for the Cathedral, that beautiful red building, splendid and grand,
+where we should have been married with great and useless ceremony if I
+had been crowned Emperor. But I am sure the simple chapel in the working
+town of Sachsenhausen better suits a sword maker and his bride."
+
+Now they came out into the busy street, which seemed more thronged than
+ever. In making their way to the Cathedral, the mob became so dense that
+progression was difficult. The current seemed setting in one direction,
+and it carried them along with it. Hildegunde took the young man's arm,
+and clung close to him.
+
+"They are driving us, whether we will or no, towards our old enemy, the
+Archbishop of Mayence. That is his Palace facing the square. There is
+some sort of demonstration going on," cried Roland, as cheer after cheer
+ascended to the heavens. "How grim and silent the Palace appears, all
+shuttered as if it were a house of the dead! Somehow it reminds me of
+Mayence himself. I had pictured him occupying a house of gloom like
+that."
+
+"Do you think we are in any danger?" asked the girl. "The people seem
+very boisterous."
+
+"Oh, no danger at all. This mob is in the greatest good-humor. Listen to
+their heart-stirring cheers! The people have been fed; that is the
+reason of it."
+
+"Is that why they cheer? It sounds to me like an ovation to the
+Archbishop! Listen to them: 'Long live Mayence! God bless the
+Archbishop!' There is no terror in those shouts."
+
+Nevertheless his Lordship of Mayence had taken every precaution. The
+shutters of his Palace were tightly closed, and along the whole front of
+the edifice a double line of soldiers was ranged under the silent
+command of their officers. They stood still and stiffly as stone-graven
+statues in front of a Cathedral. The cheers rang unceasingly. Then,
+suddenly, as if the sinister Palace opened one eye, shutters were turned
+away from a great window giving upon the portico above the door. The
+window itself was then thrown wide. Cheering ceased, and in the new
+silence, from out the darkness there stepped with great dignity an old
+man, gorgeous in his long robes of office, and surmounting that splendid
+intellectual head rested the mitered hat of an Archbishop. After the
+momentary silence the cheers seemed to storm the very door of the sky
+itself, but the old man moved no muscle, and no color tinged his wan
+face.
+
+"By the Kings," whispered Roland, during a temporary lull, "what a man!
+There stands power embodied, and yet I venture 'tis his first taste of
+popularity. I am glad we have seen this sight, both mob and master. How
+quick are the people to understand who is the real ruler of Germany! I
+wish he were my friend!"
+
+Slowly the Archbishop raised his open hands, holding them for a moment
+in benediction over the vast assemblage. Once more the cheers died away,
+and every head was bowed, then the Archbishop was in his place no
+longer. Unseen hands closed the windows, and a moment later the shutters
+blinded it. The multitude began to dissolve, and the two wanderers found
+their way become clearer and clearer.
+
+Together they entered the empty, red Cathedral, and together knelt down
+in a secluded corner. After some minutes passed thus Roland remembered
+that the hour of two had struck while they were gazing at the
+Archbishop. Gently he touched the hand of his companion. They rose, and
+walked slowly through the great church.
+
+"There," he whispered, "is where the Emperor is crowned. The Archbishop
+of Mayence always performs that ceremony, so, after all, there is some
+justification for his self-assumed leadership."
+
+Again out into the sunshine they walked to the Fahrgasse, and then to
+the bridge, where the Countess paused with an expression of delight at
+the beauty of the waterside city, glorified by the westering sun.
+Crossing the river, and going down the Bruckenstrasse of Sachsenhausen,
+Roland said:
+
+"Referring to people who are not Emperors, that is my room at the
+corner, where I lived when supposed to be in prison."
+
+"Is that where you made your swords?" she asked.
+
+"No; Greusel's workshop and mine is farther along that side street. It
+is a grimy shop of no importance, but here, on the other side, we have
+an edifice that counts. That low building is the Benedictine monastery,
+and this is its little chapel."
+
+The Countess made no comment, but stood looking at it for a few moments
+until her thoughts were interrupted by the solemn tones of a bell
+striking three. Roland went up the steps, and held open the door while
+she passed in, then, removing his hat, he followed her.
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+LONG LIVE THEIR MAJESTIES
+
+
+The most anxious man in all Frankfort was not to be found among the
+mighty who ruled the Empire, or among the merchants who trafficked
+therein, or among the people who starved when there was no traffic. The
+most anxious man was a small, fussy individual of great importance in
+his own estimation, cringing to those above him, denouncing those
+beneath; Herr Durnberg, Master of the Romer, in other words, the Keeper
+of the Town Hall. The great masters whom this little master served were
+imperious and unreasonable. They gave him too little information
+regarding their intentions, yet if he failed in his strict duty towards
+them, they would crush him as ruthlessly as if he were a wasp.
+
+Unhappy Durnberg! Every morning he expected the Electoral Court to be
+convened that day, and every evening he was disappointed. It was his
+first duty to lay out upon the table in that great room, the Kaisersaal,
+a banquet, to be partaken of by the newly-made Emperor, and by the seven
+potentates who elected him. It was also his duty to provide two huge
+tanks of wine, one containing the ruby liquor pressed out at
+Assmannshausen; the other the straw-colored beverage that had made
+Hochheim famous. These tanks were connected by pipes with the plain,
+unassuming fountain standing opposite the Town Hall in that square
+called the Romerberg. The moment an election took place Herr Durnberg
+turned off the flow of water from the fountain, and turned on the flow
+of wine, thus for an hour and a half there poured from the northward
+pointing spout of the fountain the rich red wine of Assmannshausen, and
+from the southern spout the delicate white wine of Hochheim. Now, wine
+will keep for a long time, but a dinner will not, so the distracted
+Durnberg prepared banquet after banquet for which there were no
+consumers.
+
+At last, thought Herr Durnberg, his vigilance was about to be rewarded.
+There came up the broad, winding stair, to the landing on which opened
+the great doors of the Kaisersaal, two joyous-looking young people,
+evidently lovers, and with the hilt of his sword the youth knocked
+against the stout panels of the door. It was Herr Durnberg himself who
+opened, and he said haughtily--
+
+"The Romer is closed, and will not be free to strangers until after the
+Election."
+
+"We enter, nevertheless. I am Prince Roland, here to meet the Court of
+Electors, who convene at midday in the adjoining Wahlzimmer. You,
+Romer-meister, will announce to their august Lordships that I am here,
+and, when their will is expressed, summon me to audience with them."
+
+Herr Durnberg bowed almost to the polished floor, and flinging open both
+doors, retreated backwards, still bent double as he implored them to
+enter. Locking the doors, for the Electors would reach the Wahlzimmer
+through a private way, to be used by none but themselves, the bustling
+Durnberg produced two chairs, which he set by the windows in the front,
+and again running the risk of falling on his nose, bowed his
+distinguished visitors to seats where they might entertain themselves by
+watching the enormous crowd that filled the Romerberg from end to end,
+for every man in Frankfort knew an Election was impending, and it was
+after the banquet, when the wine began to flow in the fountain, that the
+new Emperor exhibited himself to his people by stepping from the
+Kaisersaal out upon the balcony in front of it.
+
+"Do you feel any shyness about meeting this formidable conclave?
+Remember you have at least two good friends among them."
+
+The girl placed her hand in his, and looked affectionately upon him.
+
+"When you are with me, Roland, I am afraid of nothing."
+
+"I should not ask you to pass through this ordeal were it not for your
+guardian. His astonishment at the announcement of our marriage will be
+so honest and unacted that even the suspicious Mayence cannot accuse him
+of connivance in what we have done. Of course, the strength of my
+position is that I have but carried out the formal request of their
+three Lordships; a request which has never been rescinded."
+
+Before she could reply the hour of twelve rang forth. The deferential
+Herr Durnberg entered from the Wahlzimmer, and softly approached them.
+
+"Your Highness," he said, "my Lords, the Electors, request your presence
+in the Wahlzimmer."
+
+"How many are there, Romer-meister?"
+
+"There are four, your Highness; the three Archbishops and the Count
+Palatine."
+
+"Ah," breathed Roland, relieved that Mayence had not called up his
+reserve, and assured now that the seventh Elector had not arrived. With
+a glance of encouragement at his wife, Roland passed into the presence.
+
+Herr Durnberg, anxious about the outcome, showed an inclination to close
+the door and remain inside, but a very definite gesture from Mayence
+wafted the good man to outer regions.
+
+Mayence opened the proceedings.
+
+"Yesterday I received a communication from your Highness, requesting me
+to convene this Court. I am as ignorant as my colleagues regarding the
+subjects to be placed before us. I therefore announce to you that we are
+prepared to listen."
+
+"I thank you, my Lord of Mayence," began the Prince very quietly. "When
+first I had the honor of meeting your three Lordships in the Castle of
+Ehrenfels, I signed certain documents, and came to an agreement with you
+upon other verbal requests. I am not yet a man of large experience, but
+at that time, although comparatively few days have elapsed, I was a mere
+boy, trusting in the good faith of the whole world, knowing nothing of
+its chicanery. Since then I have been through a bitter school, learning
+bitter lessons, but I am nevertheless encouraged, in that for every man
+of treachery and deceit I meet two who are trustworthy."
+
+"Pardon me," said Mayence suavely, "I did not understand that the
+discourse you proposed was to be a sermon. If your theme is a lecture on
+morality, I beg to remind you that this Wahlzimmer is a place of
+business, and what you say is better suited to a chapel or even a
+church, than to the Election Chamber of the Empire."
+
+"I am sorry, my Lord," said Roland humbly, "if my introduction does not
+meet your approval. I assure you that the very opposite was my
+intention. My purpose is to show you why a change has come over me, and
+in order--"
+
+"Once more I regret interrupting, but the reason for whatever change has
+occurred can be of little interest to any one but yourself. You begin by
+making vague charges of dishonesty, treachery, and what-not, against
+some person or persons unknown. May I ask you to be definite?"
+
+"Is it your Lordship's wish that I should mention names?"
+
+Cologne showed signs of uneasiness; Treves looked in bewilderment from
+one to another of his colleagues; the Count Palatine sat deeply
+interested, his elbows on the table, massive chin supported by huge
+hands.
+
+"Your Highness is the best judge whether names should be mentioned or
+not," said Mayence, quite calmly, as if his withers were unwrung. "But
+you must see that if you hint at conspiracy and bafflement, certain
+inferences are likely to be drawn. Since the time you speak of there has
+been no opportunity for you to meet your fellow-men, therefore these
+inferences are apt to take the color that reference is made to one or
+the other of the three personages you did meet. I therefore counsel you
+either to abstain from innuendo or explain explicitly what you mean."
+
+"I the more willingly bow to your Lordship's decision because it is
+characterized by that wisdom which accompanies every word your Lordship
+utters. I shall therefore designate good men and bad."
+
+Mayence gazed at the young man in amazement, but merely said:
+
+"Proceed, sir, on your perilous road."
+
+"I am the head of a gang of freebooters. When this company left
+Frankfort under my command we appeared to be all of one mind. My gang
+consisted entirely of ironworkers, well-set-up young fellows in splendid
+physical condition, yet before I was gone a day on our journey I found
+myself confronted by mutiny. A man named Kurzbold was the leader of this
+rebellion; a treacherous hound, whom I sentenced to death. The two who
+stood by me were Greusel and Ebearhard, therefore I told you that when I
+met one villain I encountered two trustworthy men."
+
+"When did this happen?" asked Mayence. "And what was the object of your
+freebooting expedition?"
+
+"High Heaven!" cried the Archbishop of Cologne, unable longer to
+restrain his impatience when he saw the fatal trend of the Prince's
+confession, "what madness has overcome you? Can you not see the effect
+of these disturbing disclosures?"
+
+The Prince smiled, and answered first the last question.
+
+"'Tis an honest confession, my Lord, of what may be considered a
+dishonest practice. It is information that should be within your
+knowledge before you sit down to elect an Emperor.
+
+"When did this happen, my Lord of Mayence?" he continued, turning to the
+chairman. "It happened when you thought I was your prisoner in
+Ehrenfels. Never for a day did you hold me there. I roamed the country
+at my pleasure. I examined leisurely and effectively the defenses of
+nearly every castle on the Rhine from the town of Bonn to your own city
+of Mayence. The object of our expedition, you ask? It was to loot the
+stolen treasure of the robber castles, and incidentally it resulted in
+the destruction by fire of Furstenberg. The marauding excursion ended at
+Pfalz, where I lightened the Pfalzgraf of his wealth, and liberated the
+Countess von Sayn, unlawfully imprisoned within that fortress."
+
+"By the Three Kings!" cried the Count Palatine, bringing his huge fist
+down on the table like the blow of a sledge hammer, "you are a man, and
+I glory that it is my privilege to vote for you."
+
+"I agree with my brother of Cologne," said Treves, speaking for the
+first time, "that this young man does not properly weigh the inevitable
+result of his terrible words. I vote, of course, with my Lord of
+Mayence, but such a vote will be most reluctantly given for a
+self-confessed burglar and incendiary."
+
+"Be not too hasty, gentlemen," counseled Mayence. "We are not met here
+to cast votes. Your Highness, I complained a moment ago of lack of
+interest in your recital; I beg to withdraw that plea. After having
+heard you I agree that the Countess was unjustly imprisoned. She was
+accurate in her estimate of your character."
+
+"I think not, my Lord, I do not regard myself as burglar, incendiary,
+thief, or robber. I call myself rather a restorer of stolen property. I
+shed no blood, which in itself is a remarkable feature of action so
+drastic as mine. The incendiarism was merely incidental, forced upon me
+by the fact that the Red Margrave tied up eighteen of my men, whom he
+proposed presently to hang. I diverted his attention from this execution
+by the first method that occurred to me, namely, the firing of his
+Castle. In my letter to you yesterday, my Lord, I promised to clear away
+certain obstacles from your path. I therefore remove one, by saying that
+an object of this conference is my own renunciation of the Emperorship,
+thus while I thank my Lord Count for his proffered franchise, I quiet
+the mind of my Lord of Treves by assuring him his defection has no
+terror for me. And now, my Lord of Mayence, will you listen carefully to
+my suggestion?"
+
+"Prince Roland," replied his Lordship, almost with geniality, "I have
+never heard so graphic a narrator in my life. Proceed, I beg of you."
+
+"When our band of cut-purses set out from Frankfort, they supposed the
+gold was to be shared equally among us. Mutiny taught me to use the arts
+of diplomacy, which I despise. I hoped to attain such influence over
+them that they would agree to abjure wealth for the benefit of
+Frankfort. I am happy to say that I accomplished my object, so that
+yesterday and to-day you have witnessed the results of my efforts; the
+relief of a starving city. I merely removed the wealth of robbers to
+benefit those whom they robbed. Knowing the dangerous feeling actuating
+this town against your Lordships, I caused proclamation to be made
+crediting this relief to the Archbishops.
+
+"My Lord of Mayence, when yesterday I saw you appear on your own
+balcony, the most stern, the most dignified figure I ever beheld; when I
+heard the ringing cheers that greeted you; when I realized, as never
+before, the majesty of your genius, I cursed the stupid decree of Fate
+that denied me your friendship. What could we not have accomplished
+together for the Fatherland? I, with my youth and energy, under the
+tutelage of your wisdom and experience. You tasted there, probably for
+the first time in your life, the intoxicating cup of popularity, yet it
+affected you no more than if you had drunk of the fountain in the
+Romerberg.
+
+"Now, my Lords, here is what I ask of you, and it will show how much I
+would have depended upon you had I been chosen to the position at first
+proposed to me. I request you, my Lord of Treves, to remove your three
+thousand troops to the other side of the Rhine."
+
+"I shall do nothing of the sort," blurted Treves, amazed at the absurd
+proposal.
+
+Roland went on, unheeding:
+
+"I ask you, my Lord of Cologne, to march your troops to Assmannshausen."
+
+"You indeed babble like the boy you said you were!" cried the indignant
+Cologne. "You show no grasp of statesmanship."
+
+A faint smile quivered on the thin lips of Mayence at his colleagues'
+ill-disguised fear at leaving him the man in possession so far as
+Frankfort was concerned. The naive proposal which angered his two
+brethren merely amused Mayence. This young man's absurdity was an
+intellectual treat. Roland smiled in sympathy as he turned towards him,
+but his next words banished all expression of pleasure from the face of
+Mayence.
+
+"I hope to succeed better with you, my Lord. Of course I recognize I
+have no standing with this Court since my refusal of the gift you
+intended to bestow. I ask you to draft into this city seven thousand
+men;" then after a pause: "_the seven thousand will not have far to
+march, my Lord._"
+
+He caught an expression almost of fear in the Archbishop's eyes, which
+were quickly veiled, but his Lordship's tone was as unwavering as ever
+when he asked:
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"I mean that the city of Mayence is nearer to Frankfort than either
+Cologne or Treves."
+
+"Your geographical point is undeniable. What am I to do with my ten
+thousand once they are here?"
+
+"My Lord, I admire the rigid discipline of your men, and estimate from
+that the genius of organization possessed by your officers; a genius
+imparted, I believe, by you. No one knows better than I the state of
+confusion which this effort at relief has brought upon the city. I
+suggest that your capable officers divide this city into cantons,
+proclaim martial law, and deliver to every inhabitant rations of food as
+if each man, woman, and child were a member of your army. Meanwhile the
+merchants should be relieved of a task for which they have proved their
+incapacity, and turn their attention to commerce. This relief at best
+must be temporary. The vital task is to open the Rhine. The merchants
+will load every barge on the river with goods, and this flotilla the
+armies of Treves and Cologne will escort in safety to the latter city.
+In passing they will deliver an ultimatum to every castle, demanding a
+contribution in gold towards the further relief of Frankfort, until
+commerce readjusts itself, and assuring each nobleman that if this
+commerce is molested, his castle shall be forfeited, and himself
+imprisoned or hanged."
+
+"Quite an effective plan, I think, your Highness, to which I willingly
+agree, if you can assure me of the support of my two colleagues, which I
+regret to say has already been refused."
+
+His Lordship looked from one to another, but neither withdrew his
+declaration.
+
+"Prince Roland," continued Mayence, "we seem to have reached a deadlock,
+and I fear its cause is that distrust of one human being toward another
+that you deplored a while ago. I confess myself, however, so pleased
+with the trend of your mind as exhibited in your conversation with us,
+that I am desirous to know what further proposals you care to make, now
+that our mutual good intentions have led us into an impasse."
+
+"Willingly, my Lord. I propose that you at once proceed to the Election
+of an Emperor, for the delay in his choosing has already caused an
+anxiety and a tension dangerous to the peace of this country."
+
+"Ah, that is easier said than done, your Highness. Having yourself
+eliminated the one on whom we were agreed, it seems to me you should at
+least suggest a substitute."
+
+"Again willingly, my Lord. You should choose some quiet, conservative
+man, and, if possible, one well known to the citizens of Frankfort, and
+held in good esteem by the people everywhere. He should be a man of
+middle age--" Mayence's eyes began to close again, and his lips to
+tighten--"and if he had some experience in government, that would be all
+to the good. One already married is preferable to a bachelor, for then
+no delicate considerations regarding a woman can arise, as, I need not
+remind your Lordship, have arisen in my own case. A man of common sense
+should be selected, who would not make rash experiments with the ideals
+of the German people, as a younger and less balanced person might be
+tempted to do. That he should be a good Churchman goes without saying--"
+
+"A truce, a truce!" cried Mayence sternly. "Again we are running into a
+moral catalogue impossible of embodiment. Is there any such man in your
+mind, or are you merely treating us to a counsel of perfection?"
+
+"Notwithstanding my pessimism," said Roland, "I still think so well of
+my countrymen as to believe there are many such. Not to make any
+recommendation to those so much better qualified to judge than I, but
+merely to give a sample, I mention the Grand Duke Karl of Hesse, who
+fulfills every requirement I have named."
+
+For what seemed to the onlookers a tense period of suspense, the old man
+seated and the young man standing gazed intently at one another. Mayence
+knew at once that in some manner unknown to him the Prince had fathomed
+his intentions; that his Highness alone knew why the Election had been
+delayed, yet the Prince conveyed this knowledge directly to the person
+most concerned, in the very presence of those whom Mayence desired to
+keep ignorant, without giving them the slightest hint anent the actual
+state of affairs.
+
+The favorable opinion which the Archbishop had originally formed of
+Roland in Ehrenfels during this conference became greatly augmented.
+Even the most austere of men is more or less susceptible to flattery,
+and yet in flattering him Roland had managed to convey his own sincerity
+in this laudation.
+
+"We will suppose the Grand Duke Karl elected," Mayence said at last.
+"What then?"
+
+"Why then, my Lord, the three differing bodies of troops at present
+occupying Frankfort would be withdrawn, and the danger line crossed over
+to the right side."
+
+Mayence now asked a question that in his own mind was crucial. Once more
+he would tempt the young man to state plainly what he actually knew.
+
+"Can your Highness give us any reason why you fear danger from the
+presence of troops commanded by three friendly men like my colleagues
+and myself?"
+
+"My fear is that the hands of one or the other of you may be forced, and
+I can perhaps explain my apprehension better by citing an incident to
+which I have already alluded. I had not the slightest intention of
+burning Castle Furstenberg, but suddenly my hand was forced. I was
+responsible for the safety of my men. I hesitated not for one instant to
+fire the Castle. Of the peaceful intentions of my Lords the Archbishops
+there can be no question, but at any moment a street brawl between the
+soldiers, say, of Cologne and Treves, may bring on a crisis that can
+only be quelled by bloodshed. Do you see my point?"
+
+"Yes, your Highness, I do, and your point is well taken. I repose such
+confidence in our future Emperor that voluntarily I shall withdraw my
+troops from Frankfort at once. Furthermore, I shall open the Rhine, by
+sending along its banks the ultimatum you propose, not supported by my
+army, but supported by the name of the Archbishop of Mayence, and I
+shall be interested to know what Baron on the Rhine dare flout that
+title. Will you accept my aid, Prince Roland?"
+
+"I accept it, my Lord, with deep gratitude, knowing that it will prove
+effective."
+
+His Lordship rose in his place.
+
+"I said this was not an Electoral Court. I rise to announce my mistake.
+We Electors here gathered together form a majority. I propose to you the
+name of Prince Roland, son of our late Emperor."
+
+"My Lord, my Lord!" cried Roland, raising his hand, "you do not know
+all."
+
+"Patient Heaven!" cried the irritated Archbishop, "you make too much of
+us as father confessors. Do not tell us now you have been guilty of
+assassination!"
+
+"No, my Lord, but you should know that I have married the Lady
+Hildegunde, Countess von Sayn, whom you have already rejected as
+Empress."
+
+"Well, if you have accepted the dame, the balance is redressed. I am not
+sure but you made an excellent choice."
+
+It was now the turn of the amazed Archbishop of Cologne to rise to his
+feet.
+
+"What his Highness says is impossible. The Lady von Sayn has been in my
+care ever since she entered Frankfort, and I pledge my word she has
+never left my Palace!"
+
+"We were married yesterday at three o'clock, in the chapel of the
+Benedictine Fathers, and in the presence of four of them. We left your
+Palace, my Lord, by a door which you may discover in the wall of your
+garden, near the summer-house, and my wife is present in the adjoining
+room to implore your forgiveness."
+
+Cologne collapsed into his chair, and drew a hand across his bewildered
+brow. The situation appeared to amuse Mayence.
+
+"I wish your Highness had withheld this information until I was sure
+that my brother of Treves will vote with me, as he promised. My Lord of
+Treves, you heard my proposition. May I count on your concurrence?"
+
+Treves' house of cards fell so suddenly to the ground that under the
+compelling eyes of Mayence he could do no more than stammer his
+acquiescence.
+
+"I vote for the Prince," he said in tones barely audible.
+
+"And you, my Lord of Cologne?"
+
+"Aye," said Cologne gruffly.
+
+"The Count Palatine?"
+
+"Yes," thundered the latter. "A choice that meets my full approval, and
+I speak now for the Empress as well as the Emperor."
+
+"Durnberg!" cried Mayence, raising his voice.
+
+The doors were instantly opened, and the cringing Romer-meister
+appeared.
+
+"Is the banquet prepared?"
+
+"Ready to lay on the table, my Lord."
+
+"The wine for the fountains?"
+
+"Needs but the turning of the tap, my Lord."
+
+"Order up the banquet, turn the tap; and as the new Emperor is unknown
+to the people, cause heralds with trumpets to set out and proclaim the
+Election of Prince Roland of Frankfort."
+
+"Yes, my Lord."
+
+The Archbishop of Mayence led the way out into the grand Kaisersaal, and
+the new Empress rose from her chair, standing there, her face white as
+the costume she wore. Mayence advanced to her, bending his gray head
+over the hand he took in his own.
+
+"Your Majesty," he said gravely, and this was her first hint of the
+outcome, "I congratulate you upon your marriage, as I have already
+congratulated your husband."
+
+"My Lord Archbishop," she said in uncertain voice, "you cannot blame me
+for obeying you."
+
+"I think my poor commands would have been futile were it not for the
+assistance lent me by his Majesty."
+
+The salutations of the others were drowned by the cheers of the great
+assemblage in the Romerberg. The red wine and white had begun to flow,
+and the people knew what had happened. In the intervals between the
+clangor of the trumpets, they heard that a Prince of their own town had
+been elected, so all eyes turned to the Romer, and cries of "The
+Emperor! The Emperor!" issued from every throat. The multitude felt that
+a new day was dawning.
+
+"I believe," said Mayence, "that hitherto only the Emperor has appeared
+on the balcony, but to-day I suggest a precedent. Let Emperor and
+Empress appear before the people."
+
+He motioned to Herr Durnberg, and the latter flung open the tall
+windows; then Roland taking his wife's hand, stepped out upon the
+balcony.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
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+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <title>The Sword Maker, by Robert Barr</title>
+    <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" />
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
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+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
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+  <body>
+
+  <pre>
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Sword Maker, by Robert Barr
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Sword Maker
+
+Author: Robert Barr
+
+Release Date: January 10, 2005 [EBook #14656]
+Last Updated: August 3, 2018
+
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SWORD MAKER ***
+
+
+
+
+Etext produced by Juliet Sutherland, Richard Lammers and the PG Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+HTML file produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+    <div style="height: 8em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h1>
+      THE SWORD MAKER
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      By Robert Barr
+    </h2>
+    <h4>
+      Author Of &ldquo;Tekla&rdquo; &ldquo;Cardillac&rdquo; &ldquo;The Victors&rdquo;
+      &ldquo;In The Midst Of Alarms&rdquo; Etc.
+    </h4>
+    <h5>
+      New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company Publishers
+    </h5>
+    <h3>
+      1910
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <b>CONTENTS</b>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>THE SWORD MAKER</b> </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> I. AN OFFER TO OPEN THE RIVER </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> II. THE BARGAIN IS STRUCK </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> III. DISSENSION IN THE IRONWORKERS&rsquo; GUILD
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> IV. THE DISTURBING JOURNEY OF FATHER AMBROSE
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> V. THE COUNTESS VON SAYN AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF
+      COLOGNE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> VI. TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM THE COUNTESS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> VII. MUTINY IN THE WILDERNESS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> VIII. THE MISSING LEADER AND THE MISSING GOLD
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> IX. A SOLEMN PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> X. A CALAMITOUS CONFERENCE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> XI. GOLD GALORE THAT TAKES TO ITSELF WINGS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> XII. THE LAUGHING RED MARGRAVE OF FURSTENBERG
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> XIII. &ldquo;A SENTENCE; COME, PREPARE!&rdquo;
+      </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> XIV. THE PRISONER OF EHRENFELS </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> XV. JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS&rsquo; MEETING </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> XVI. MY LADY SCATTERS THE FREEBOOTERS AND
+      CAPTURES THEIR CHIEF </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> XVII. &ldquo;FOR THE EMPRESS, AND NOT FOR THE
+      EMPIRE&rdquo; </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> XVIII. THE SWORD MAKER AT BAY </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> XIX. THE BETROTHAL IN THE GARDEN </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> XX. THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> XXI. A SECRET MARRIAGE </a>
+    </p>
+    <p class="toc">
+      <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> XXII. LONG LIVE THEIR MAJESTIES </a>
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THE SWORD MAKER
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      I. AN OFFER TO OPEN THE RIVER
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Considering the state of the imperial city of Frankfort, one would not
+      expect to find such a gathering as was assembled in the Kaiser cellar of
+      the Rheingold drinking tavern. Outside in the streets all was turbulence
+      and disorder; a frenzy on the part of the populace taxing to the utmost
+      the efforts of the city authorities to keep it within bounds, and prevent
+      the development of a riot that might result in the partial destruction at
+      least of this once prosperous city. And indeed, the inhabitants of
+      Frankfort could plead some excuse for their boisterousness. Temporarily,
+      at any rate, all business was at a standstill. The skillful mechanics of
+      the town had long been out of work, and now to the ranks of the unemployed
+      were added, from time to time, clerks and such-like clerical people,
+      expert accountants, persuasive salesmen, and small shopkeepers, for no one
+      now possessed the money to buy more than the bare necessities of life. Yet
+      the warehouses of Frankfort were full to overflowing, with every kind of
+      store that might have supplied the needs of the people, and to the
+      unlearned man it seemed unjust that he and his family should starve while
+      granaries were packed with the agricultural produce of the South, and huge
+      warehouses were glutted with enough cloth from Frankfort and the
+      surrounding districts to clothe ten times the number of tatterdemalions
+      who clamored through the streets.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wrath of the people was concentrated against one man, and he the
+      highest in the land; to blame, of course, in a secondary degree, but not
+      the one primarily at fault for this deplorable state of things. The
+      Emperor, always indolent from the time he came to the throne, had grown
+      old and crabbed and fat, caring for nothing but his flagon of wine that
+      stood continually at his elbow. Laxity of rule in the beginning allowed
+      his nobles to get the upper hand, and now it would require a civil war to
+      bring them into subjection again. They, sitting snug in their strongholds,
+      with plenty of wine in their cellars and corn in their bins, cared nothing
+      for the troubles of the city. Indeed, those who inhabited either bank of
+      the Rhine, watching from their elevated castles the main avenue of traffic
+      between Frankfort and Cologne, her chief market, had throughout that long
+      reign severely taxed the merchants conveying goods downstream. During the
+      last five years, their exactions became so piratical that finally they
+      killed the goose that laid the golden eggs, so now the Rhine was without a
+      boat, and Frankfort without a buyer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For too long Frankfort had looked to the Emperor, whose business it was to
+      keep order in his domain, and when at last the merchants, combining to
+      help themselves, made an effort towards freedom, it was too late. The
+      result of their combination was a flotilla of nearly a hundred boats,
+      which, gathering at Frankfort and Mayence, proceeded together down the
+      river, convoyed by a fleet containing armed men, and thus they thought to
+      win through to Cologne, and so dispose of their goods. But the robber
+      Barons combined also, hung chains across the river at the Lorely rocks,
+      its narrowest part, and realizing that this fleet could defeat any single
+      one of them, they for once acted in concert, falling upon the boats when
+      their running against the chains threw them into confusion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The nobles and their brigands were seasoned fighters all, while the armed
+      men secured by the merchants were mere hirelings, who fled in panic; and
+      those not cut to pieces by their savage adversaries became themselves
+      marauders on a small scale, scattered throughout the land, for there was
+      little use of tramping back to the capital, where already a large portion
+      of the population suffered the direst straits.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not a single bale of goods reached Cologne, for the robbers divided
+      everything amongst themselves, with some pretty quarrels, and then they
+      sank the boats in the deepest part of the river as a warning, lest the
+      merchants of Frankfort and Mayence should imagine the Rhine belonged to
+      them. Meantime, all petitions to the Emperor being in vain, the merchants
+      gave up the fight. They were a commercial, not a warlike people. They
+      discharged their servants and underlings, and starvation slowly settled
+      down upon the distressed city.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After the maritime disaster on the Rhine, some of the merchants made a
+      futile attempt to amend matters, for which their leaders paid dearly. They
+      appealed to the seven Electors, finding their petitions to the Emperor
+      were in vain, asking these seven noblemen, including the three warlike
+      Archbishops of Cologne, Treves, and Mayence, to depose the Emperor, which
+      they had power to do, and elect his son in his stead. But they overlooked
+      the fact that a majority of the Electors themselves, and probably the
+      Archbishops also, benefited directly or indirectly by the piracies on the
+      Rhine. The answer to this request was the prompt hanging of three leading
+      merchants, the imprisonment of a score of others, and a warning to the
+      rest that the shoemaker should stick to his last, leaving high politics to
+      those born to rule. This misguided effort caused the three Archbishops to
+      arrest Prince Roland, the Emperor&rsquo;s only son, and incarcerate him in
+      Ehrenfels, a strong castle on the Rhine belonging to the Archbishop of
+      Mayence, who was thus made custodian of the young man, and responsible to
+      his brother prelates of Cologne and Treves for the safe-keeping of the
+      Prince. The Archbishops, as has been said, were too well satisfied with
+      the weak administration then established at Frankfort to wish a change, so
+      the lad was removed from the capital, that the citizens of Frankfort might
+      be under no temptation to place him at their head, and endeavor to
+      overturn the existing order of things.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This being the state of affairs in Frankfort, with every one gloomy, and a
+      majority starving, it was little wonder that the main cellar of the
+      Rheingold tavern should be empty, although when times were good it was
+      difficult to find a seat there after the sun went down. But in the smaller
+      Kaiser cellar, along each side of the single long table, sat young men
+      numbering a score, who ate black bread and drank Rhine wine, to the
+      roaring of song and the telling of story. They formed a close coterie,
+      admitting no stranger to their circle if one dissenting voice was raised
+      against his acceptance, yet in spite of this exclusiveness there was not a
+      drop of noble blood in the company. They belonged, however, to the
+      aristocracy of craftsmen; metal-workers for the most part, ingenious
+      artificers in iron, beaters of copper, fashioners of gold and silver.
+      Glorious blacksmiths, they called themselves; but now, like every one
+      else, with nothing to do. In spite of their city up-bringing all were
+      stalwart, well-set-up young men; and, indeed, the swinging of hammers is
+      good exercise for the muscles of the arm, and in those turbulent days a
+      youth who could not take care of himself with his stick or his fists was
+      like to fare ill if he ventured forth after nightfall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This, indeed, had been the chief reason for the forming of their guild,
+      and if one of their number was set upon, the secret call of the
+      organization shouted aloud brought instant help were any of the members
+      within hearing. Belonging neither to the military nor the aristocracy,
+      they were not allowed to wear swords, and to obtain this privilege was one
+      of the objects of their organization. Indeed, each member of the guild
+      secretly possessed a weapon of the best, although he risked his neck if
+      ever he carried it abroad with him. Among their number were three of the
+      most expert sword makers in all Germany.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      These three sword makers had been instrumental in introducing to their
+      order the man who was now its leader. This youth came to one of them with
+      ideas concerning the proper construction of a sword, and the balancing of
+      it, so that it hung easily in the hand as though part of the fore-arm.
+      Usually, the expert has small patience with the theories of an amateur;
+      but this young fellow, whose ambition it was to invent a sword, possessed
+      such intimate knowledge of the weapon as it was used, not only in Germany,
+      but also in France and Italy, that the sword maker introduced him to
+      fellow-craftsmen at other shops, and they taught him how to construct a
+      sword. These instructors, learning that although, as Roland laughingly
+      said, he was not allowed to wear a sword, he could wield it with a
+      precision little short of marvelous, the guild gave permission for this
+      stranger to be a guest at one of their weekly meetings at the Kaiser
+      cellar, where he exhibited his wonderful skill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not one of them, nor, indeed, all of them together, stood any chance when
+      confronting him. They clamored to be taught, offering good money for the
+      lessons, believing that if they acquired but a tithe of his excellence
+      with the blade they might venture to wear it at night, and let their skill
+      save them from capture. But the young fellow refused their money, and
+      somewhat haughtily declined the rôle of fencing-master, whereupon they
+      unanimously elected him a member of the coterie, waiving for this one
+      occasion the rule which forbade the choice of any but a metal-worker. When
+      the stranger accepted the election, he was informed that it was the duty
+      of each member to come to the aid of his brethren when required, and they
+      therefore requested him to teach them swordsmanship. Roland, laughing,
+      seeing how he had been trapped, as it were, with his own consent, acceded
+      to the universal wish, and before a year had passed his twenty comrades
+      were probably the leading swordsmen in the city of Frankfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Shortly after the disaster to the merchants&rsquo; fleet at the Lorely,
+      Roland disappeared without a word of farewell to those who had come to
+      think so much of him. He had been extremely reticent regarding his
+      profession, if he had one, and no one knew where he lodged. It was feared
+      that the authorities had arrested him with the sword in his possession,
+      for he grew more reckless than any of the others in carrying the weapon.
+      One night, however, he reappeared, and took his seat at the head of the
+      table as if nothing had happened. Evidently he had traveled far and on
+      foot, for his clothes were dusty and the worse for wear. He refused to
+      give any account of himself, but admitted that he was hungry, thirsty, and
+      in need of money.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His hunger and thirst were speedily satisfied, but the money scarcity was
+      not so easily remedied. All the score were out of employment, with the
+      exception of the three sword makers, whose trade the uncertainty of the
+      times augmented rather than diminished. To cheer up Roland, who was a
+      young fellow of unquenchable geniality, they elected him to the empty
+      honor of being their leader, Kurzbold&rsquo;s term of office having ended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The guild met every night now, instead of once a week, and it may be
+      shrewdly suspected that the collation of black bread and sausage formed
+      the sole meal of the day for many of them. Nevertheless, their hilarity
+      was undiminished, and the rafters rang with song and laugh, and echoed
+      also maledictions upon a supine Government, and on the rapacious Rhine
+      lords. But the bestowal of even black bread and the least expensive of
+      wine could not continue indefinitely. They owed a bill to the landlord
+      upon which that worthy, patient as he had proved himself, always hoping
+      for better times, wished for at least something on account. All his other
+      customers had deserted him, and if they drank at all, chose some place
+      where the wine was thin and cheap. The landlord held out bravely for three
+      months after Roland was elected president, then, bemoaning his fate,
+      informed the guild that he would be compelled to close the Rheingold
+      tavern.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give me a week!&rdquo; cried Roland, rising in his place at the
+      head of the table, &ldquo;and I will make an effort to get enough gold to
+      settle the bill at least, with perhaps something over for each of our
+      pockets.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This promise brought forth applause and a rattle of flagons on the table,
+      so palpably empty that the ever-hopeful landlord proceeded forthwith to
+      fill them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is one proviso,&rdquo; said Roland, as they drank his health
+      in the wine his offer produced. &ldquo;To get this money I must do
+      something in return. I have a plan in mind which it would be premature to
+      disclose. If it succeeds, none of us will ever need to bend back over a
+      workman&rsquo;s bench again, or hammer metal except for our own pleasure.
+      But acting alone I am powerless, so I must receive your promise that you
+      will stand by any pledge I make on your behalf, and follow me into
+      whatever danger I choose to lead you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a great uproar at this, and a boisterous consent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This day week, then,&rdquo; said Roland, as he strapped sword to
+      side, threw cloak over shoulders, so that it completely concealed the
+      forbidden weapon, waved a hand to his cheering comrades, and went out into
+      the night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once ascended the cellar steps, the young man stood in the narrow street
+      as though hesitating what to do. Faintly there came to him the sound of
+      singing from the cellar he had quitted, and he smiled slightly as he
+      listened to the rousing chorus he knew so well. From the direction of the
+      Palace a more sinister echo floated on the night air; the unmistakable
+      howl of anger, pain, and terror; the noise that a pursued and stricken mob
+      makes when driven by soldiers. The populace had evidently been engaged in
+      its futile and dangerous task of demonstrating, and proclaiming its
+      hunger, and the authorities were scattering it; keeping it ever on the
+      move.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was still early; not yet ten o&rsquo;clock, and a full moon shone over
+      the city, unlighted otherwise. Drawing his cloak closer about him, Roland
+      walked rapidly in an opposite direction to that from which the tumult of
+      the rabble came, until he arrived at the wide Fahrgasse, a street running
+      north and south, its southern end terminating at the old bridge. Along
+      this thoroughfare lived the wealthiest merchants of Frankfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland turned, and proceeded slowly towards the river, critically
+      examining the tall, picturesque buildings on either hand, cogitating the
+      question which of them would best answer his purpose. They all seemed
+      uninviting enough, for their windows were dark, most of them tightly
+      shuttered; and, indeed, the thoroughfare looked like a street of the dead,
+      the deserted appearance enhanced, rather than relieved, by the white
+      moonlight lying on its cobble-stones.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nearing the bridge, he discovered one stout door ajar, and behind it shone
+      the yellow glow of a lamp. He paused, and examined critically the façade
+      of the house, which, with its quiet, dignified architectural beauty,
+      seemed the abode of wealth. Although the shutters were closed, his intent
+      inspection showed him thin shafts of light from the chinks, and he
+      surmised that an assemblage of some sort was in progress, probably a
+      secret convention, the members of which entered unannounced, and left the
+      door ajar ready for the next comer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment he thought of venturing in, but remembering his mission
+      required the convincing of one man rather than the persuasion of a group,
+      he forbore, but noted in his mind the position and designation of the
+      house, resolving to select this building as the theater of his first
+      effort, and return to it next morning. It would serve his purpose as well
+      as another.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland&rsquo;s attention was then suddenly directed to his own position,
+      standing in the bright moonlight, for there swung round from the river
+      road, into the Fahrgasse, a small and silent company, who marched as one
+      man. The moon was shining almost directly up the street, but the houses to
+      the west stood in its radiance, while those in the east were still in
+      shadow. Roland pressed himself back against the darkened wall to his left,
+      near the partially opened door; between it and the river. The silent
+      procession advanced to the door ajar, and there paused, forming their
+      ranks into two lines, thus making a passage for a tall, fine-looking,
+      bearded man, who walked to the threshold, then turned and raised his
+      bonnet in salute.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My friends,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;this is kind of you, and
+      although I have been silent, I ask you to believe that deeply I appreciate
+      your welcome escort. And now, enter with me, and we will drink a stoup of
+      wine together, to the somber toast, &lsquo;God save our stricken city!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, Herr Goebel. To-night is sacred. We have seen you safely to
+      your waiting family, and at that reunion there should be no intruders. But
+      to-morrow night, if you will have us, we will drink to the city, and to
+      your own good health, Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This sentiment was applauded by all, and the merchant, seeing that they
+      would not accept his present invitation, bowed in acquiescence, and bade
+      them good-by. When the door closed the delegation separated into units,
+      and each went his own way. Roland, stepping out of the shadow, accosted
+      the rearmost man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me, mein Herr,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but may I ask what
+      ceremony is this in which you have been taking part?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The person accosted looked with some alarm at his questioner, but the
+      moonlight revealed a face singularly gentle and winning; a face that in
+      spite of its youth inspired instinctive confidence. The tone, too, was
+      very persuasive, and seemed devoid even of the offense of curiosity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis no ceremony,&rdquo; said the delegate, &ldquo;but merely
+      the return home of our friend, Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Has he, then, been on a journey?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you are very young, and probably unacquainted with Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have lived here all my life,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I am a
+      native of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;you show yourself
+      amazingly ignorant of its concerns; otherwise you would know that Herr
+      Goebel is one of the leading merchants of the city, a man honorable,
+      enlightened, and energetic&mdash;an example to us all, and one esteemed
+      alike by noble or peasant. We honor ourselves in honoring him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Goebel should be proud of such commendation, mein Herr, coming
+      I judge, from one to whom the words you use might also be applied.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant bowed gravely at this compliment, but made no remark upon it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon my further curiosity,&rdquo; continued the young man,
+      &ldquo;but from whence does Herr Goebel return?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He comes from prison,&rdquo; said the other. &ldquo;He made the
+      mistake of thinking that our young Prince would prove a better ruler than
+      his father, our Emperor, and but that the Archbishops feared a riot if
+      they went to extremes, Herr Goebel ran great danger of losing his life
+      rather than his liberty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you say, mein Herr, interests me very much, and I thank you
+      for your courtesy. My excuse for questioning you is this. I am moved by a
+      desire to enter the employ of such a man as Herr Goebel, and I purpose
+      calling upon him to-morrow, if you think he would be good enough to
+      receive me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He will doubtless receive you,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;but
+      I am quite certain your mission will fail. At the present moment none of
+      us are engaging clerks, however competent. Ignorant though you are of
+      civic affairs, you must be aware that all business is at a standstill in
+      Frankfort. Although Herr Goebel has said nothing about it, I learn from an
+      unquestionable source that he himself is keeping from starvation all his
+      former employees, so I am sure he would not take on, for a stranger, any
+      further obligation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, I am well acquainted with the position of affairs, and it is
+      to suggest a remedy that I desire speech with Herr Goebel. I do not
+      possess the privilege of acquaintance with any merchant in this city, so
+      one object of my accosting you was to learn, if possible, how I might
+      secure some note of introduction to the merchant that would ensure his
+      receiving me, and obtain for me a hearing when once I had been admitted to
+      his house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If Roland expected the stranger to volunteer such a note, he quite
+      underestimated the caution of a Frankfort merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As I said before, you will meet with no difficulty so far as
+      entrance to the house is concerned. May I take it that you yourself
+      understand the art of writing?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh yes,&rdquo; replied Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then indite your own letter of introduction. Say that you have
+      evolved a plan for the redemption of Frankfort, and Herr Goebel will
+      receive you without demur. He will listen patiently, and give a definite
+      decision regarding the feasibility of your project. And now, good sir, my
+      way lies to the left. I wish you success, and bid you good-night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The stranger left Roland standing at the intersection of two streets, one
+      of which led to the Saalhof. They had been approaching the Romerberg, or
+      market-place, the center of Frankfort, when the merchant so suddenly ended
+      the conversation and turned aside. Roland remembered that no Jew was
+      allowed to set foot in the Romerberg, and now surmised the nationality of
+      his late companion. The youth proceeded alone through the Romerberg, and
+      down directly to the river, reaching the spot where the huge Saalhof faced
+      its flood. Roland saw that triple guards surrounded the Emperor&rsquo;s
+      Palace. The mob had been cleared away, but no one was allowed to linger in
+      its precincts, and the youth was gruffly ordered to take himself
+      elsewhere, which he promptly did, walking up the Saalgasse, and past the
+      Cathedral, until he came once more into the Fahrgasse, down which he
+      proceeded, pausing for another glance at Goebel&rsquo;s house, until he
+      came to the bridge, where he stood with arms resting on the parapet,
+      thoughtfully shaping in his mind what he would say to Herr Goebel in the
+      morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Along the opposite side of the river lay a compact mass of barges; ugly,
+      somber, black in the moonlight, silent witnesses to the ruin of Frankfort.
+      The young man gazed at this melancholy accumulation of useless floating
+      stock, and breathed the deeper when he reflected that whoever could set
+      these boats in motion again would prove himself, temporarily at least, the
+      savior of the city.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the bells began to toll eleven, Roland roused himself, walked across
+      the bridge to Sachsenhausen, and so to his squalid lodging, consoling
+      himself with the remembrance that the great King Charlemagne had made this
+      his own place of residence. Here, before retiring to bed, he wrote the
+      letter which he was to send in next day to Herr Goebel, composing it with
+      some care, so that it aroused curiosity without satisfying it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was half-past ten next morning when Roland presented himself at the
+      door of the leading merchant in the Fahrgasse, and sent in to that worthy
+      his judiciously worded epistle. He was kept waiting in the hall longer
+      than he expected, but at last the venerable porter appeared, and said Herr
+      Goebel would be pleased to receive him. He was conducted up the stair to
+      the first floor, and into a front room which seemed to be partly library
+      and partly business office. Here seated at a stout table, he recognized
+      the grave burgher whose home-coming he had witnessed the night before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The keen eyes of the merchant seemed to penetrate to his inmost thought,
+      and it struck Roland that there came into them an expression of
+      disappointment, for he probably did not expect so youthful a visitor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you be seated, mein Herr,&rdquo; said his host; and Roland,
+      with an inclination of the head, accepted the invitation. &ldquo;My time
+      is very completely occupied to-day,&rdquo; continued the elder man,
+      &ldquo;for although there is little business afoot in Frankfort, my own
+      affairs have been rather neglected of late, and I am endeavoring to
+      overtake the arrears.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I stood by your doorcheek
+      last night when you returned home.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you so? May I ask why?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There was no particular reason. It happened that I walked down the
+      Fahrgasse, endeavoring to make up my mind upon whom I should call to-day.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And why have I received the preference?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps, sir, it would be more accurate to say your house received
+      the preference, if it is such. I was struck by its appearance of solidity
+      and wealth, and, differing from all others in the door being ajar, I
+      lingered before it last night with some inclination to enter. Then the
+      procession which accompanied you came along. I heard your address to your
+      friends, and wondered what the formality was about. After the door was
+      closed I accosted one of those who escorted you, and learned your name,
+      business, and reputation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must be a stranger in Frankfort when you needed to make such
+      inquiry.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Those are almost the same words that my acquaintance of last night
+      used, and he seemed astonished when I replied that I was born in
+      Frankfort, and had lived here all my life.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, I suppose no man is so well known as he thinks he is, but I
+      venture to assert that you are not engaged in business here.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you are in the right. I fear I have hitherto led a somewhat
+      useless existence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On money earned by some one else, perhaps.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again you hit the nail on the head, Herr Goebel. I lodge on the
+      other side of the river, and coming to and fro each day, the sight of all
+      those useless barges depresses me, and I have formulated a plan for
+      putting them in motion again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear, sir, that wiser heads than yours have been meditating upon
+      that project without avail.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should have been more gratified, Herr Goebel, if you had said
+      &lsquo;older heads.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The suspicion of a smile hovered for a brief instant round the shrewd,
+      firm lips of the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Young sir, your gentle reproof is deserved. I know nothing of your
+      wisdom, and so should have referred to the age, and not to the equipment
+      of your head. It occurs to me, as I study you more closely, that I have
+      met you before. Your face seems familiar.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis but a chance resemblance, I suspect. Until very recently
+      I have been absorbed in my studies, and rarely left my father&rsquo;s
+      house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am doubtless mistaken. But to return to our theme. As you are
+      ignorant of my name and standing in this city, you are probably unaware of
+      the efforts already made to remove the deadlock on the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that, Herr Goebel, you are at fault. I know an expedition of
+      folly was promoted at enormous expense, and that the empty barges,
+      numbering something like fivescore, now rest in the deepest part of the
+      Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why do you call it an expedition of folly?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely the result shows it to be such.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A plan may meet with disaster, even where every precaution has been
+      taken. We did the best we could, and if the men we had paid for the
+      protection of the flotilla had not, with base cowardice, deserted their
+      posts, these barges would have reached Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never! The defenders you chose were riff-raff, picked up in the
+      gutters of Frankfort, and you actually supposed such cattle, undisciplined
+      and untrained, would stand up against the fearless fighters of the Barons,
+      swashbucklers, hardened to the use of sword and pike. What else was to be
+      expected? The goods were not theirs, but yours. They had received their
+      pay, and so speedily took themselves out of danger.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You forget, sir, or you do not know, that several hundred of them
+      were cut to pieces.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that, also, but the knowledge does not in the least nullify
+      my contention. I am merely endeavoring to show you that the heads you
+      spoke of a moment ago were only older, but not necessarily wiser than
+      mine. It would be impossible for me to devise an expedition so
+      preposterous.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What should we have done?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For one thing, you should have gone yourselves, and defended your
+      own bales.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant showed visible signs of a slowly rising anger, and had the
+      young man&rsquo;s head contained the wisdom he appeared to claim for it,
+      he would have known that his remarks were entirely lacking in tact, and
+      that he was making no progress, but rather the reverse. &ldquo;You speak
+      like a heedless, untutored youth. How could we defend our bales, when no
+      merchant is allowed to wear a sword?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland rose and put his hands to the throat of his cloak.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not allowed to wear a sword;&rdquo; and saying this, he
+      dramatically flung wide his cloak, displaying the prohibited weapon
+      hanging from his belt. The merchant sat back in his chair, visibly
+      impressed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You seem to repose great confidence in me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;What
+      if I were to inform the authorities?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The youth smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You forget, Herr Goebel, that I learned much about you from your
+      friend last night. I feel quite safe in your house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He flung his cloak once more over the weapon, and sat down again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is your occupation, sir?&rdquo; asked the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am a teacher of swordsmanship. I practice the art of a
+      fencing-master.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your clients are aristocrats, then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so. The class with which I am now engaged contains twenty
+      skilled artisans of about my own age.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If they do not belong to the aristocracy, your instruction must be
+      surreptitious, because it is against the law.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is both surreptitious and against the law, but in spite of these
+      disadvantages, my twenty pupils are the best swordsmen in Frankfort, and I
+      would willingly pit them against any twenty nobles with whom I am
+      acquainted.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So!&rdquo; cried the merchant. &ldquo;You are acquainted with
+      twenty nobles, are you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, you see,&rdquo; explained the young man, flushing slightly,
+      &ldquo;these metal-workers whom I drill, being out of employment, cannot
+      afford to pay for their lessons, and naturally, as you indicated, a
+      fencing-master must look to the nobles for his bread. I used the word
+      acquaintance hastily. I am acquainted with the nobles in the same way that
+      a clerk in the woolen trade might say he was acquainted with a score of
+      merchants, to none of whom he had ever spoken.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see. Am I to take it that your project for opening the Rhine
+      depends for its success on those twenty metal-workers, who quite lawlessly
+      know how to handle their swords?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell me what your plan is.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not care to disclose my plan, even to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought you came here hoping I should further your project, and
+      perhaps finance it. Am I wrong in such a surmise?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you are not. The very first proviso is that you pay to me
+      across this table a thousand thalers in gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The smile came again to the lips of the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Anything else?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes. You will select one of your largest barges, and fill it with
+      whatever class of goods you deal in.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you know what class of goods I deal in?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No! I do not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Goebel&rsquo;s smile broadened. That a youth so ignorant of everything
+      pertaining to the commerce of Frankfort, should come in thus boldly and
+      demand a thousand thalers in gold from a man whose occupation he did not
+      know, seemed to the merchant one of the greatest pieces of impudence he
+      had encountered in his long experience of men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;After all, my merchandise,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;matters little
+      one way or another when I am engaged with such a customer as you. What
+      next?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will next place a price upon the shipload; a price such as you
+      would accept if the boat reached Cologne intact. I agree to pay you that
+      money, together with the thousand thalers, when I return to Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And when will that be, young sir?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are better able to estimate the length of time than I. I do not
+      know, for instance, how long it takes a barge to voyage from Frankfort to
+      Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Given fair weather, which we may expect in July, and premising that
+      there are no interruptions, let us say a week.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would a man journeying on horseback from Cologne to Frankfort reach
+      here sooner than the boat?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The barge having to make headway against a strong current, I should
+      say the horseman would accomplish the trip in a third of the time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. To allow for all contingencies, I promise to pay the
+      money one month from the day we leave the wharf at Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That would be eminently satisfactory.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I forgot to mention that I expect you, knowing more about
+      navigation than I, to supply a trustworthy captain and an efficient crew
+      for the manning of the barge. I should like men who understand the
+      currents of the river, and who, if questioned by the Barons, would not be
+      likely to tell more than they were asked.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can easily provide such a set of sailors.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well, Herr Goebel. Those are my requirements. Will you agree
+      to supply them?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With great pleasure, my young and enthusiastic friend, provided
+      that you comply with one of the most common of our commercial rules.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And what is that, mein Herr?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before you depart you will leave with me ample security that if I
+      never see you again, the value of the goods, plus the thousand thalers,
+      will be repaid to me when the month is past.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; said the young man, &ldquo;you impose an impossible
+      condition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give me a bond, then, signed by three responsible merchants.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, as I am acquainted with no merchant in this city except
+      yourself, how could I hope to obtain the signature of even one responsible
+      man?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How, then, do you expect to obtain my consent to a project which I
+      know cannot succeed, while I bear all the risk?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me, Herr Goebel. I and my comrades risk our lives. You risk
+      merely your money and your goods.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You intend, then, to fight your way down the Rhine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely. How else?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Supported by only twenty followers?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you hope to succeed where a thousand of our men failed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; they were hirelings, as I told you. With my twenty I could put
+      them all to flight. Aside from this, I should like to point out to you
+      that the merchants of Frankfort formed their combination at public
+      meetings, called together by the burgomaster. There was no secrecy about
+      their deliberations. Every robber Baron along the Rhine knew what you were
+      going to attempt, and was prepared for your coming. I intend that your
+      barge shall leave Frankfort at midnight. My company will proceed across
+      country, and join her at some agreed spot, probably below Bingen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see. Well, my young friend, you have placed before me a very
+      interesting proposal, but I am a business man, and not an adventurer.
+      Unless you can furnish me with security, I decline to advance a single
+      thaler, not to mention a thousand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man rose to his feet, and the merchant, with a sigh, seemed glad
+      that the conference was ended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Goebel, you deeply disappoint me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry for that, and regret the forfeiting of your good
+      opinion, but despite that disadvantage I must persist in my obstinacy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not wonder that this fair city lies desolate if her prosperity
+      depends upon her merchants, and if you are chief among them; yet I cannot
+      forget that you risked life and liberty on my behalf, though now you will
+      not venture a miserable thousand thalers on my word of honor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On <i>your</i> behalf? What do you mean?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean, Herr Goebel, that I am Prince Roland, only son of the
+      Emperor, and that you placed your neck in jeopardy to elevate me to the
+      throne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      II. THE BARGAIN IS STRUCK
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Every epoch seems to have possessed a two-word phrase that contained, as
+      it were, the condensed wisdom of the age, and was universally believed by
+      the people. For instance, the aphorism &ldquo;Know thyself&rdquo; rose to
+      popularity when cultured minds turned towards science. In the period to
+      which this recital belongs the adage &ldquo;Blood tells&rdquo; enjoyed
+      universal acceptance. It was, in fact, that erroneous statement &ldquo;The
+      King can do no wrong&rdquo; done up into tabloid form. From it, too,
+      sprang that double-worded maxim of the days of chivalry, &ldquo;<i>Noblesse
+      oblige</i>.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In our own time, the two-worded phrase is &ldquo;Money talks,&rdquo; and
+      if diligent inquirers probe deeply into the matter, they will find that
+      the aspirations of the people always correspond with reasonable accuracy
+      to the meaning of the phrase then in use. Nothing could be more excellent,
+      for instance, than the proverb &ldquo;Money talks&rdquo; as representing
+      two commercial countries like America and England. In that short sentence
+      is packed the essence of many other wise and drastic sayings, as, for
+      instance, &ldquo;The devil take the hindmost;&rdquo; for, of course, if
+      money talks, then the man without it must remain silent, and his place is
+      at the tail of the procession, where the devil prowls about like a Cossack
+      at the rear of Napoleon&rsquo;s army.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Confronting each other in that ancient house on the Fahrgasse, we witness,
+      then, the personification of the two phrases, ancient and modern: blood
+      represented by the standing lad, and money by the seated merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am Prince Roland, only son of the Emperor,&rdquo; the young man
+      had said, and he saw at once by the expression on the face of his host
+      that, could he be convinced of the truth of the assertion, the thousand
+      thalers that the Prince had demanded would be his on the instant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a full minute Roland thought he had succeeded, but as the surprise
+      died out of the merchant&rsquo;s countenance, there replaced it that mask
+      of caution which had had so much to do with the building of his fortune.
+      During their conference Herr Goebel cudgeled his brain, trying to remember
+      where he had seen this young man before, but memory had roamed among
+      clerks, salesmen, and industrious people of that sort where, somehow, this
+      young fellow did not fit in. When Roland suddenly sprung on him the
+      incredible statement that he was a member of the Imperial family, the
+      merchant&rsquo;s recollection then turned towards pageants he had seen, in
+      one of which this young stranger might very well have borne a part. Blood
+      was beginning to tell.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But now experience came to the merchant&rsquo;s aid. Only in romances did
+      princes of the blood royal wander about like troubadours. Even a member of
+      the lesser nobility did not call unheralded at the house of a merchant.
+      The aristocracy always wanted money, it is true, &ldquo;but what they
+      thought they might require, they went and took,&rdquo; as witness the
+      piratical Barons of the Rhine, whose exactions brought misery on the great
+      city of Frankfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then all at once came the clinching remembrance that when the Electors
+      were appealed to on behalf of the young Prince, the three Archbishops had
+      promptly seized his Royal Highness, and, in spite of the pleadings of the
+      Empress (the Emperor was drunk and indifferent) placed him in the custody
+      of the Archbishop nearest to Frankfort, the warrior prelate of Mayence,
+      who imprisoned him in the strong fortress of Ehrenfels, from which, well
+      guarded and isolated as it was upon a crag over-hanging the Rhine, no man
+      could escape.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you kindly be seated again, sir,&rdquo; requested the
+      merchant, and if he had spoken a short time before, he would have put the
+      phrase &ldquo;your Royal Highness&rdquo; in the place of the word &ldquo;sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland, after a moment&rsquo;s hesitation, sat down. He saw that his coup
+      had failed, because he was unable to back it up by proofs. His dramatic
+      action had been like a brilliant cavalry charge, for a moment successful,
+      but coming to naught because there was no solid infantry to turn the
+      temporary confusion of the enemy into complete rout. Realizing that the
+      battle must be fought over again, the Prince sat back with a sigh of
+      disappointment, a shade of discontent on his handsome face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I find myself in rather a quandary,&rdquo; proceeded the merchant.
+      &ldquo;If indeed you are the Emperor&rsquo;s son, it is not for such as I
+      to cross-examine you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ask me any questions you like, sir. I shall answer them promptly
+      enough.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I beg you to supply proof of the statement you make, you would
+      be likely to reply that as you dared not enter your father&rsquo;s Palace,
+      you are unable to furnish me with corroboration.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you put the case in better language than I could employ. In
+      more halting terms that is what I should have said.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When were you last in the Palace?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;About the same time, sir, that you took up your residence in
+      prison.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, yes; that naturally would be your answer. Now, my young friend,
+      you have shown me that you know nothing of mercantile practice; therefore
+      it may perhaps interest you if I explain some of our methods.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Goebel, you may save your breath. Such a recital must not only
+      fail to interest me, but will bore me extremely. I care nothing for your
+      mercantile procedure, and, to be quite plain with you, I despise your
+      trade, and find some difficulty in repressing my contempt for those who
+      practice it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If an emissary of mine,&rdquo; returned Goebel, unperturbed,
+      &ldquo;approached a client or customer for the purpose of obtaining a
+      favor, and used as little tact as you do, I should dismiss him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not asking any favors from you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You wish me to hand over to you a thousand thalers, otherwise why
+      came you here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I desire to bestow upon you the greatest of boons, namely to open
+      up the Rhine, and bring back prosperity to Frankfort, which you brainless,
+      cowardly merchants have allowed to slip through your fingers, blaming now
+      the Barons, now the Emperor, now the Electors; censuring everybody, in
+      fact, except the real culprits ... yourselves. You speak of the money as a
+      favor, but it is merely an advance for a few weeks, and will be returned
+      to you; yet because I desire to confer this inestimable gift upon you and
+      your city, you expect me to cringe to you, and flatter you, as if I were a
+      member of your own sycophantic league. I refuse to do anything of the
+      kind, and yet, by God, I&rsquo;ll have the money!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant, for the first time during their conference, laughed
+      heartily. The young man&rsquo;s face was aflame with anger, yet the
+      truculent words he used did more to convince Herr Goebel that he belonged
+      to the aristocracy than if he had spoken with the most exemplary humility.
+      Goebel felt convinced he was not the Prince, but some young noble, who,
+      intimate with the Royal Family, and knowing the Emperor&rsquo;s son to be
+      out of the way, thought it safe to assume his name, the better to carry
+      forward his purpose, whatever that purpose might actually be. That it was
+      to open the Rhine he did not for a moment credit, and that he would ever
+      see his cash again, if once he parted with it, he could not believe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At the risk of tiring you, I shall nevertheless proceed with what I
+      was about to say. We merchants, for our own protection, contribute to a
+      fund which might be entitled one for secret service. This fund enables us
+      to procure private information that may be of value in our business. Among
+      other things we need to know are accurate details pertaining to the
+      intentions and doings of our rulers, for whatever our own short-comings
+      may be, the actions of those above us affect business one way or the
+      other. May I read you a short report that came in while I was serving my
+      term of imprisonment?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, read what you like,&rdquo; said Roland indifferently, throwing
+      back his head, and partially closing his eyes, with an air of <i>ennui</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant drew towards him a file of papers, and going through them
+      carefully, selected a document, and drew it forth, then, clearing his
+      throat, he read aloud&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;At an hour after midnight, on St. Stanislas&rsquo; Day,
+      three nobles, one representing the Archbishop of Mayence, the second the
+      Archbishop of Treves, and the third the Archbishop of Cologne, armed with
+      authority from these three Electors and Princes of the Church, entered the
+      Saalhof from the side facing the river, and arrested in his bed the young
+      Prince Roland. They assured the Empress, who protested, that the Prince
+      would be well cared for, and that, as an insurrection was feared in
+      Frankfort, it was considered safer that the person whom they intended to
+      elevate to the throne on the event of the Emperor&rsquo;s death, should be
+      out of harm&rsquo;s way, being placed under the direct care of the
+      Archbishop of Mayence. They informed the Empress that the Archbishops
+      would not remove the Prince from the Palace in opposition to the wishes of
+      either the Emperor or herself, but if this permission was not given, a
+      meeting of the Electors would at once be called, and some one else
+      selected to succeed the present ruler.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;This consideration exerted a great influence upon the
+      Empress, who counseled her son to acquiesce. The young man was led to a
+      boat then in waiting by the river steps of the Palace, and so conveyed
+      down the Main to the Rhine, which was reached just after daybreak. Without
+      landing, and keeping as much as possible to the middle of the river, the
+      party proceeded down the Rhine, past Bingen, to the foot of the crag on
+      which stands the castle of Ehrenfels. The Prince was taken up to the
+      Castle, where he now remains.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;The Archbishops from their revenues allot to him seven
+      hundred thalers a month, in addition to his maintenance. It is impossible
+      for him to escape from this stronghold unaided, and as the Emperor takes
+      no interest in the matter, and the Empress has given her consent, he is
+      like to be an inmate of Ehrenfels during the pleasure of the Archbishops,
+      who doubtless will not elect him to the throne in succession unless he
+      proves compliant to their wishes. The Prince being a young man of no
+      particular force of character&rsquo;&rdquo; (the merchant paused in his
+      reading, and looked across at his <i>vis-à-vis</i> with a smile, but the
+      latter appeared to be asleep), &ldquo;&lsquo;he will probably succumb to
+      the Archbishops, therefore merchants are advised to base no hopes upon an
+      improvement in affairs, even though the son should succeed the father.
+      Despite the precautions taken, the arrest and imprisonment of the Prince,
+      and even the place of his detention, became rather generally known in
+      Frankfort, but the news is in the form of rumor only, and excites little
+      interest throughout the city.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, Sir Roland, what do you say to that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, nothing much,&rdquo; replied Roland. &ldquo;The account might
+      have stated that in the boat were five rowers, who worked lustily until we
+      reached the Rhine, when, the wind being favorable, a sail was hoisted, and
+      with the current assisting the wind, we made excellent time to Ehrenfels.
+      I observe, further, that your secret service keeps you very well informed,
+      and therefore withdraw a tithe of the harsh things I said regarding the
+      stupidity of the merchants.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Many thanks for the concession,&rdquo; said Goebel, replacing the
+      document with its fellows. &ldquo;Now, as a plain and practical man, what
+      strikes me is this: you need only return to Ehrenfels for two months, and
+      as there is little use for money in that fortress, your maintenance being
+      guaranteed, and seven hundred thalers allowed, you can come away with four
+      hundred thalers more than the sum you demand from me, and thus put your
+      project into force without being under obligations to any despised
+      merchant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, Herr Goebel, but can you predict what will happen in
+      Frankfort before two months are past? You learn from that document that
+      the shrewd Archbishops anticipate an insurrection, and doubtless they
+      command the force at hand ready to crush it, but during this conflict,
+      which you seem to regard so lightly, does it ever occur to you that the
+      merchants&rsquo; palaces along the Fahrgasse may be sacked and burnt?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That, of course, is possible,&rdquo; commented the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nay, it is absolutely certain. Civil war means ruin, to innocent
+      and guilty alike.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are in the right. Now, will you tell me how you escaped from
+      Ehrenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; if you agree to my terms without further haggling.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall agree to your terms if I believe your story.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seems impossible, sir, to pin you down to any definite bargain.
+      Is this the way you conduct your business?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; unless I am well assured of the good faith of my customer. I
+      offered you ordinary business terms when I asked for security, or for the
+      signature of three responsible merchants to your bond. It is because I am
+      a merchant, and not a speculator, that I haggle, as you term it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well, then, I will tell you how I got away, but I begin my
+      recital rather hopelessly, for you always leave yourself a loophole of
+      escape. If you believe my story, you say! Yes: could I weave a romance
+      about tearing my sheets into ropes; of lowering myself in the dark from
+      the battlements to the ground; of an alarm given; of torches flashing; of
+      diving into the Rhine, and swimming under the water until I nearly
+      strangled; of floating down over the rapids, with arrows whizzing round me
+      in the night; of climbing dripping to the farther shore, far from sight of
+      Ehrenfels, then, doubtless, you would believe. But my escape was
+      prosaically commonplace, depending on the cupidity of one man. The
+      material for it was placed in my hands by the Archbishops themselves. Your
+      account states that the Castle is well guarded. So it is, but when the
+      Archbishop needs an augmentation of his force, he withdraws his men from
+      Ehrenfels to Mayence, as my prison is the nearest of his possessions to
+      his capital city, and thus at times it happens that the Castle is bereft
+      of all save the custodian and his family. His eldest son happens to be of
+      my own age, and not unlike me in appearance. None of the guards saw me,
+      except the custodian, and you must remember he was a very complacent
+      jailer, for the reason that he knew well every rising sun might bring with
+      it tidings that I was his Emperor, so he cultivated my acquaintance, to
+      learn in his own thrifty, peasant way what manner of ruler I might become,
+      and I, having no one else to talk to, made much of his company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Frequently he impressed upon me that his task of jailer was most
+      irksome to him, but poverty compelling, what could he do? He swore he
+      would accomplish whatever was in his power to mitigate my captivity, and
+      this indeed did; so at last when the Castle was empty I made him a
+      proposal. Now remember, Sir Merchant, that what I tell you is in
+      confidence, and should you break faith with me, I will have you hanged if
+      I become Emperor, or slit your throat with my own sword if I don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go on. I shall tell no one.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I said to my jailer: &lsquo;There are not half a dozen people in
+      this world who know me by sight, and among that half-dozen no Elector is
+      included. Outside the Palace at Frankfort I am acquainted with a sword
+      maker or two, and about a score of good fellows who are friends of theirs,
+      but to them I am merely a fencing-master. Now, seven hundred thalers a
+      month pass through your honest hands to mine, and will continue to do so.
+      Your son seems to be even more silent than yourself, and he is a young
+      fellow whom I suspect knows the difference between a thaler and a button
+      on his own coat. If you do what I wish, there will be some slight risk,
+      but think of the reward immediate and in future! At once you come into an
+      income of seven hundred thalers a month. If I am elected Emperor, I shall
+      ennoble you, and present you with the best post in the land. If you don&rsquo;t
+      do what I wish, I shall cause your head cut off as the first act of my
+      first day of power.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You did not threaten to slit his throat with your own sword,
+      failing your elevation?&rdquo; asked the merchant, with a smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. He was quite safe from my vengeance unless I came to the
+      throne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case I should say the custodian need not fear the future.
+      But please go on with your account.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I proposed that his son and I should exchange costumes; in short,
+      the young man was to take my place, occupying the suite of rooms assigned
+      to me in the Castle. I told his father there was not the slightest fear of
+      discovery, for if the Archbishop of Mayence sent some one to see that the
+      Prince was safe, or even came himself, all the young man need do was to
+      follow my example and keep silent, for I had said nothing from the time I
+      was roused in my room in the Saalhof until I was lodged in Ehrenfels. I
+      promised, if set at liberty, to keep within touch of Frankfort, where, at
+      the first rumor of any crisis, I could return instantly to Ehrenfels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The custodian is a slow-minded man, although not so laggard in
+      coming to an agreement as yourself. He took a week to turn the matter over
+      in his mind, and then made the plunge. He is now jailer to his own son,
+      and that young peasant lives in a style he never dreamed of before. The
+      Archbishops are satisfied, because they believe I cannot escape from the
+      stronghold&mdash;like yourself, holding but a poor opinion of my
+      abilities; and their devout Lordships know that outside the fortress no
+      person, not even my mother, wishes me forth. I took in my wallet five
+      hundred thalers, and fared like the peasant I seemed to be, down the
+      Rhine, now on one side, now on the other, until I came to the ancient town
+      of Castra Bonnensia of the Romans, which name the inhabitants now shorten
+      to Bonn. There I found the Archbishop in residence, and not at Cologne, as
+      I had supposed. The town being thronged with soldiers and inquisitive
+      people of Cologne&rsquo;s court, I returned up the Rhine again,
+      remembering I had gone rather far afield, and although you may not believe
+      it, I called upon my old friend the custodian of Ehrenfels, and enjoyed an
+      excellent meal with him, consuming some of the seductive wine that is
+      grown on the same side of the river about a league above Ehrenfels.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dare say,&rdquo; said the merchant, &ldquo;that I can give the
+      reason for this apparently reckless visit of yours to Ehrenfels. You were
+      in want of money, the five hundred thalers being spent.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you are exactly in the right, and I got it, too, without
+      nearly so much talk as I have been compelled to waste on the present
+      occasion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What was your object in going down the river instead of turning to
+      Frankfort?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I had become interested in my prison, and had studied methods by
+      which it could be successfully attacked. I knew that my father allowed the
+      Barons of the Rhine to override him, and I wondered if his wisdom was
+      greater than I thought. Probably, said I to myself, he knew their castles
+      to be impregnable, but, with the curiosity of youth, I desired to form an
+      opinion of my own. I therefore lodged as a wayfarer at every castle to I
+      could gain admittance, making friends with some underling, and getting a
+      bed on occasion in the stables, although often I lodged within the castle
+      itself. Thus I came to the belief, which I bring to you, that assisted by
+      twenty fearless men I can capture any castle on the Rhine with the
+      exception of three. And now, Herr Goebel, I have said all I intend to say.
+      Do you discredit my story?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant gazed across at him quizzically for some time without making
+      any reply, then he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you think I believe you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Frankly, I do not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I am unable to give you the gold, I can at least furnish some
+      good advice. Set up as a poet, good Master Roland, and weave for our
+      delectation stories of the Rhine. I think your imagination, if cultivated,
+      would give you a very high place among the romancers of our time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With a patience that Herr Goebel had not expected, Roland replied:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It grieves me to return empty-handed to my twenty friends, who last
+      night bade me a very confident adieu.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, they will be disappointed, and I shrewdly suspect that my
+      thousand thalers would not go towards the prosecuting of the expedition
+      you have outlined, but rather in feasting and in wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again, sir, you are right. It is unfortunate that I am so often
+      compelled to corroborate your statements, when all the acumen with which
+      you credit my mind is turned towards the task of proving you a purse-proud
+      fool, puffed up in your own conceit, and as short-sighted as an owl in the
+      summer sunlight. However, let us stick to our text. If what I said had
+      been true, although of course you know it isn&rsquo;t, you have
+      nevertheless enough common sense to be aware that I would certainly show a
+      pardonable reluctance about visiting my father&rsquo;s Palace. It is
+      thronged with spies of the Archbishop, and although, as I have said, I am
+      not very well known, there is a chance that one or another might recognize
+      me, and then, almost instantly, a man on a swift horse would be on his way
+      to Mayence. If I knew that I had been discovered, I should make at once
+      for Ehrenfels, arriving there before an investigation was held. But my
+      twenty comrades would wait for me in vain. Nevertheless, I shall venture
+      into the Saalhof this very afternoon, and bring to you a letter written by
+      my mother certifying that I am her son. Would that convince you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; were I sure the signature was genuine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, there you go again! Always a loophole!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man spoke in accents of such genuine despair that his host was
+      touched despite his incredulity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Look you here,&rdquo; he said, bending across the table. &ldquo;There
+      is, of course, one chance in ten thousand that you are what you say. I
+      have never seen the signature of the Empress, and such a missive could
+      easily be forged by a scholar, which I take you to be. If, then, you wish
+      to convince me, I&rsquo;ll put before you a test which will be greatly to
+      your advantage, and which I will accept without the loophole.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In Heaven&rsquo;s name, let&rsquo;s hear what it is.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is something that you cannot forge: the Great Seal of the
+      Realm, attached to all documents signed by the Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have had no dealings with my father for years,&rdquo; cried the
+      young man. &ldquo;I have not even seen him these many months past. I can
+      obtain the signature of my mother to anything I like to write, but not
+      that of my father.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Patience, patience,&rdquo; said the merchant, holding up his hand.
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis well known that the Empress can bend the Emperor to her
+      will when she chooses to exert it. You see, in spite of all, I am quite
+      taking it for granted that you are the Prince, otherwise &lsquo;twere
+      useless to waste time in this talk. You display all the confidence of
+      youth in speaking of the exploits you propose, and, indeed, it is cheering
+      for a middle-aged person like myself to meet one so confident of anything
+      in these pessimistic days. But have you considered what will happen if
+      something goes wrong during one of your raids?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing can go wrong. I feel no fear on that score.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought as much. Very well, I will tell you what could go wrong.
+      Some Baron may entrap you and your score, and forthwith hang you all from
+      his battlements. Now, it is but common sense to prevent such a
+      termination, if it be possible. Therefore seek out the Empress. Tell her
+      that you and your twenty companions are about to embark on an enterprise
+      greatly beneficial to the land. Say that you go incognito, and that, even
+      should you fail, &lsquo;twill bring no discredit to your Royal House. But
+      point out the danger of which I forewarn you. Ask her to get the signature
+      of the Emperor attached to a safe-conduct, together with the device of the
+      Great Seal; then if the Baron who captures you cannot read, he will still
+      know the potency of the picture, and as there is no loophole to my
+      acceptance of this proof, I will, for your convenience, and for my own
+      protection, write the safe-conduct on as sound a bit of parchment as ever
+      was signed in a palace.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Saying this, Herr Goebel rose, and went to his desk in a corner of the
+      room, where he indited the memorial he had outlined, and, after sprinkling
+      it with sand, presented it to Roland, who read:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;These presents warn him to whom they are presented that Roland the
+      bearer is my son, and that what he has done has been done with my
+      sanction, therefore he and his twenty comrades are to be held scathless,
+      pending an appeal to me in my capital city of Frankfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Whomsoever disobeys this instrument forfeits his own life, and that
+      of his family and followers, while his possessions will be confiscated by
+      the State.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland frowned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t it please you?&rdquo; asked Goebel, his suspicions
+      returning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, it seems to me rather a plebeian action, to attack a man&rsquo;s
+      castle, and then, if captured, crawl behind a drastic threat like this.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant shrugged his shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a sentimental objection, but of course you need not
+      use the document unless you wish, though I think if you see twenty-one
+      looped ropes dangling in the air your hesitation will vanish. Oh, not on
+      your own account,&rdquo; cried Goebel, as a sign of dissent from his
+      visitor, &ldquo;but because of those twenty fine young fellows who
+      doubtless wait to drink wine with you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is true,&rdquo; said Roland, with a sigh, folding up the stiff
+      parchment, opening his cloak, and thrusting it under his belt, standing up
+      as he did this.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bring me that parchment, bearing the Emperor&rsquo;s signature and
+      the Great Seal, and you will find the golden coins awaiting you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. At what time this evening would it please you to admit
+      me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Friends of mine are coming to-night, but they are not likely to
+      stop long; merely a few handshakes, and a few cups of wine. I shall be
+      ready for you when the Cathedral clock strikes ten.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this the long conference ended, and the aged servitor in the hall
+      showed Roland into the Fahrgasse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the young man proceeded down the Weckmarkt into the Saalgasse, he
+      muttered to himself:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The penurious old scoundrel! God keep me in future from dealing
+      with such! To the very last he suspects me of being a forger, and has
+      written this with his own hand, doubtless filling it with secret marks.
+      Still, perhaps it is as well to possess such a safeguard. This is my
+      loophole out of the coming enterprise, I fear we are all cowards, noble
+      and merchant alike.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He walked slowly past the city front of the Palace, cogitating some means
+      of entering without revealing his identity, but soon found that even this
+      casual scrutiny made him an object of suspicion. He could not risk being
+      accosted, for, if taken to the guard-room and questioned&mdash;searched,
+      perhaps, and the sword found on him&mdash;a complication would arise
+      adding materially to the difficulties already in his way. Quickening his
+      pace, he passed through the Fahrthor, and so to the river-bank, where he
+      saw that the side of the Saalhof fronting the Main was guarded merely by
+      one or two sentries, for the mob could not gather on the surface of the
+      waters, as it gathered on the cobble-stones of the Saalgasse and the
+      Fahrthor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Retracing his steps, the Prince walked rapidly until he came to the
+      bridge, advancing to the iron Cross which commemorates the fowl sacrifice
+      to the devil, as the first living creature venturing upon that ancient
+      structure. Here he leaned against the parapet, gazed at the river façade
+      of the Palace, and studied his problem. There were three sets of steps
+      from the terrace to the water, a broad flight in the center for use upon
+      state occasions, and a narrow flight at either end; the western staircase
+      being that in ordinary use, and the eastern steps trodden by the servants
+      carrying buckets of water from the river to the kitchen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The nearer steps,&rdquo; he said to himself, &ldquo;offer the most
+      feasible opportunity. I&rsquo;ll try them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He counted his money, for here was probably a case for bribery. He found
+      twenty-four gold pieces, and some loose silver. Returning the coins to his
+      pouch, he walked to the land, and proceeded up the river until he reached
+      a wharf where small skiffs were to let. One of these he engaged, and
+      refusing the services of a waterman, stepped in, and drifted down the
+      stream. He detached sword and scabbard from his belt, removed the cloak
+      and wrapped the weapon in it, placing the folded garment out of sight
+      under the covering at the prow. With his paddle he kept the boat close to
+      the right bank, discovering an excellent place of concealment under the
+      arch supporting the steps, through which the water flowed. He waited by
+      the steps for a few moments until a scullion in long gabardine came down
+      and dipped his bucket in the swift current.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here, my fine fellow,&rdquo; accosted Roland, &ldquo;do you wish to
+      earn a pair of gold pieces?&rdquo; and he showed the yellow coins in the
+      palm of his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The menial&rsquo;s eyes glistened, and he cast a rapid glance over his
+      shoulder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he replied breathlessly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then leave your bucket where it is, and step into this wherry.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The underling, again with a cautious look around, did as he was ordered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now throw off that outer garment, and give it to me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland put it on over his own clothes, and flung his bonnet beside the
+      cloak and sword, for the servant was bareheaded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get under that archway, and keep out of sight until you hear me
+      whistle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Taking the bucket, Roland mounted the steps, and strode out of the
+      brilliant sunlight into the comparative gloom of the corridor that led to
+      the kitchen. He had been two hours with the merchant, and it was now the
+      time of midday eating. Every one was hurrying to and fro, with no time to
+      heed anything that did not pertain to the business in hand, so placing the
+      bucket in a darkened embrasure, the intruder flung off the gabardine
+      beside it, and searching, found a back stair which he ascended.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once in the upper regions, he knew his way about, and proceeded directly
+      to his mother&rsquo;s room, being sure at this hour to find her within. On
+      his unannounced entrance the Empress gave utterance to an exclamation that
+      indicated dismay rather than pleasure, but she hurried forward to meet and
+      embrace him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Roland!&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;what do you here? How came you
+      to the Palace?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By way of the river. My boat is under the arch of the servants&rsquo;
+      stairway, and I have not a moment to lose.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How did you escape from Ehrenfels, and why have you come here?
+      Surely you know the Palace will be the first place searched for you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There will be no search, mother. Take my word for it that no one is
+      aware of my absence from Ehrenfels but the custodian, and for the best of
+      reasons he dare not say a word. Do not be alarmed, I beg of you. I am free
+      by his permission, and shall return to the Castle before he needs me.
+      Indeed, mother, so far from jeopardizing my own safety, I am here to
+      preserve it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He drew from under his belt Herr Goebel&rsquo;s parchment, and handed it
+      to her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In case it should occur to the good Archbishop, or any other noble,
+      to hang me, I thought it best to get such a declaration signed by the
+      Emperor, and decorated with the Great Seal of the Empire. Then, if any
+      attempt is made on my life, as well as on my liberty, I may produce this
+      Imperial decree, and bring my case to Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely, surely,&rdquo; exclaimed the agitated lady, her hands
+      trembling as she held the document and tried to read it; &ldquo;I can
+      obtain your father&rsquo;s signature, but the Great Seal must be attached
+      by the Chamberlain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good, mother. The Chamberlain will do as his Majesty orders.
+      The seal is even more important than the signature, if it comes to that,
+      and I am sure the Chamberlain will make no objection when the instrument
+      is for the protection of your son&rsquo;s life. It is not necessary to say
+      that I am here, or have anything to do with the matter. But lose not a
+      moment, and give orders that no one shall enter this room.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The empress hastened away with the parchment, while the young man walked
+      impatiently up and down the room. It seemed hours before she returned, but
+      at last she came back with the document duly executed. Roland thrust it
+      under his belt again, and reassuring his mother, who was now weeping on
+      his shoulder, he tried to tear himself away. The Empress detained him
+      until, with fumbling hands, she unlocked a drawer in a cabinet, and took
+      from it a bag that gave forth a chink of metal as she pressed it on her
+      son.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I must not take it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am quite well
+      provided. The generous Archbishops allow me seven hundred thalers a month,
+      which is paid with exemplary regularity.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are only five hundred thalers here,&rdquo; replied the
+      Empress. &ldquo;I wish there were more, but you must accept it, for I
+      should feel easier in my mind to know that you possess even that much. Do
+      they misuse you at Ehrenfels, my son?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no, no, no! I live like a burgomaster. You need feel no fear on
+      my account, mother. Ehrenfels is a delightful spot, with old Bingen just
+      across the water. I like it much better than I did Frankfort, with its
+      howling mobs, and shall be very glad to get quit again of the city.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, with a hurried farewell, he left the weeping woman, and descending
+      the back stair, secured the abandoned gabardine, put it on, and so came to
+      the water&rsquo;s edge, entering into possession of his boat again.
+      Returning the craft to its owner, he resumed sword and cloak once more,
+      and found his way to a tavern, where he ordered a satisfactory meal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the evening he arrived at the Rheingold, and meeting the landlord in
+      the large, empty, public cellar, asked that worthy if his friends had
+      assembled yet, and was told they were all within the Kaiser cellar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;I said I would be gone a week, but
+      here I am within a day. If that&rsquo;s not justifying a man&rsquo;s word,
+      I should like to know what is. And now, landlord, set forth the best meal
+      you can provide, with a double quantity of wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For yourself, sir?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For all, landlord. What else? The lads have had no supper, I&rsquo;ll
+      warrant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A little black bread has gone the rounds.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All the more reason that we should have a huge pasty, steaming hot,
+      or two or three of them if necessary. And your best wine, landlord. That
+      from the Rheingau.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the landlord demurred.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A meal for yourself, sir, as leader, I could venture upon, but
+      feeding a score of hungry men is a different matter. Remember, sir, I have
+      not seen the color of their silver for many a long day, and, since these
+      evil times have set in, I am a poor man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sordid silver? Out upon silver! unless it is some silvery fish from
+      the river, fresh and firm; and that&rsquo;s a good idea. We will begin
+      with fish while you prepare the meat. &lsquo;Tis gold I deal with
+      to-night, and most of it is for your pouch. Run your hand in here and
+      enjoy the thrill,&rdquo; and Roland held open the mouth of the bag which
+      contained his treasure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; cried the inn-keeper, his face aglow. &ldquo;No such
+      meal is spread to-night in Frankfort as will be set before you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a great shout as Roland entered the Kaiser cellar, and a hurrah
+      of welcome.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ha, renegade!&rdquo; cried one. &ldquo;Have you shirked your task
+      so soon?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Coward, coward, poltroon!&rdquo; was the cry. &ldquo;I see by his
+      face he has failed. Never mind them, Roland. Your chair at the head of the
+      table always awaits you. There is a piece of black bread left, and though
+      the wine is thin, it quenches thirst.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland flung off his cloak, hung it and the sword on a peg, and took his
+      seat at the head of the table. Pushing away the flagons that stood near
+      him, he drew the leathern bag from his belt, and poured the shining yellow
+      coins on the table, at the sight of which there arose such a yell that the
+      stout beams above them seemed to quake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Apologize!&rdquo; demanded Roland, when the clamor quieted down.
+      &ldquo;The man who refuses to apologize, and that abjectly, must take down
+      his sword from the peg and settle with me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A shout of apology was the response.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We grovel at your feet, High Mightiness!&rdquo; cried the man who
+      had called him poltroon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have taken the liberty of ordering a fish and meat supper, with a
+      double quantity of Rudesheimer wine. Again I offer to fight any man who
+      resents this encroachment on my part.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could spit you with a hand tied behind my back,&rdquo; cried one,
+      &ldquo;but I am of a forgiving nature, and will wait instead for the
+      spitted fowl.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Most of this money,&rdquo; continued Roland quietly, &ldquo;goes, I
+      suspect, to the landlord, as a slight recognition of past kindness, but I
+      am promised a further supply this evening, which will be divided equally
+      among ourselves. I ask you, therefore, to be sparing of the wine.&rdquo;
+      Here he was compelled to pause for some moments, and listen to groans,
+      hoots, howls, and the rapping of empty flagons on the stout table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The commotion was interrupted by the entrance of the landlord, who brought
+      with him the promised Rhine wine; for, hearing the noise, he supposed it
+      represented impatience of the company at the delay, a mistake which no one
+      thought it worth while to rectify. He promised that the fish would follow
+      in a very few minutes, and went out to see that his word was kept.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why should we be sparing of the wine?&rdquo; asked a capable
+      drinker, who had drained his flagon before asking the question. &ldquo;With
+      all that money on the table it seems to me a scandalous proviso.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis not a command at all,&rdquo; replied Roland, &ldquo;but
+      merely a suggestion. I spoke in the interests of fair-play. An appointment
+      was made by me for ten o&rsquo;clock this evening, and I wish to keep it
+      and remain uninfluenced by wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What&rsquo;s her name, Roland?&rdquo; inquired the wine-bibber.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was about to divulge that secret when you interrupted me. The
+      name is Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What! the cloth merchant on the Fahrgasse?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it cloth he deals in? I didn&rsquo;t know the particulars of his
+      occupation beyond the facts that he is a merchant, and lives in the
+      Fahrgasse. This morning I enjoyed the privilege of presenting to Herr
+      Goebel a mutually beneficial plan which would give us all something to do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, is Goebel to be our employer? I&rsquo;m a sword forger, and
+      work for no puny cloth merchant,&rdquo; said Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This appointment,&rdquo; continued Roland, unheeding, &ldquo;is set
+      for ten o&rsquo;clock, and I expect to return here before half-past,
+      therefore&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Therefore we&rsquo;re not to drink all the wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Exactly.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Their leader sat down as the landlord, followed by an assistant, entered,
+      carrying the paraphernalia for the substantial repast, and proceeded to
+      set the table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the hilarious meal was finished, the company sat for another
+      half-hour over its wine, then Roland rose, buckled on his sword, and flung
+      his cloak over his shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Roland, I hope you have not sold your soul for this gold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but I have pledged your bodies, and my own as well. Greusel,
+      will you act as secretary and treasurer? Scrutinize the landlord&rsquo;s
+      bill with a generous eye, and pay him the amount we owe. If anything is
+      left, we will divide it equally,&rdquo; and with that he waved his hand to
+      them, departing amidst a round of cheers, for the active youths were tired
+      of idleness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Punctuality is the politeness of kings, and as the bells of Frankfort were
+      ringing ten o&rsquo;clock, Roland knocked at the door of the merchant&rsquo;s
+      house in the Fahrgasse. It was promptly opened by the ancient porter, who,
+      after securing it again, conducted the young man up the solid stairway to
+      the office-room on the first floor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ushered in, the Prince found the merchant seated in his usual chair, as if
+      he had never moved from the spot where Roland had left him at noon that
+      day. Half a dozen candles shed their soft radiance over the table, and on
+      one corner of it, close by Herr Goebel&rsquo;s right elbow, the visitor
+      saw a well-filled doeskin bag which he fancied might contain the thousand
+      thalers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good even to you, Herr Goebel,&rdquo; said the young man, doffing
+      his bonnet. &ldquo;I hope I have not trodden too closely on the heels of
+      my appointment, thus withdrawing you prematurely from the festivities,
+      which I trust you enjoyed all the more that you breathed the air of
+      liberty again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The occasion, sir, was solemn rather than festive, for although I
+      was glad to see my old friends again, and I believe they were glad to see
+      me, the condition of the city is such, and growing rapidly worse, that
+      merchants cannot rejoice when they are gathered together.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, well, Herr Goebel, we will soon mend all that. How long will it
+      require to load your boat and choose your crew?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Everything can be ready by the evening of the day after to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will select one of your largest barges. Remember, it must house
+      twenty-one men besides the crew and the goods.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I shall see that complete arrangements are made for your
+      comfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you. But do not provide too much luxury. It might arouse
+      suspicion from the Barons who search the boat.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the Barons will see you and your men in the boat.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think not. At least, we don&rsquo;t intend to be seen. I will
+      call upon you again to-morrow at ten o&rsquo;clock. Will you kindly order
+      your captain to be here to meet me? I wish you to give him instructions in
+      my presence that he is to do whatever I ask of him. We will join the boat
+      on the Rhine between Ehrenfels and Assmannshausen. Instruct him to wait
+      for us midway between the two places, on the right bank. And now the
+      money, if you please.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The money is here,&rdquo; said the merchant, sitting up a little
+      more stiffly in his chair as he patted the well-stuffed bag. &ldquo;The
+      money is here if you have brought the instrument that authorizes you to
+      take it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have brought it with me, mein herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then show it to me,&rdquo; demanded the merchant, adjusting his
+      horn glasses with the air of one who will not allow himself to be
+      hoodwinked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With the greatest pleasure,&rdquo; returned the young man, standing
+      before him. He unfastened his cloak, and allowed it to fall at his feet,
+      then whisked out his sword, and presented the point of it to the merchant&rsquo;s
+      throat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Goebel, who had been fumbling with his glasses, suddenly became aware of
+      his danger, and shrank back so far as his chair allowed, but the point of
+      the sword followed him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you mean by that?&rdquo; he gasped.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean to show you that in this game iron is superior to gold. Your
+      card is on the table, represented by that bag. Mine is still in my hand,
+      and unplayed, but it takes the trick, I think. I hope you see the
+      uselessness of resistance. You cannot even cry out, for at the first
+      attempt a thrust of this blade cuts the very roots of utterance. It will
+      be quite easy for me to escape, because I shall go quietly out with the
+      bag under my cloak, telling the porter that you do not wish to be
+      disturbed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is the Prince of Thieves you are, then,&rdquo; said Herr Goebel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So it would appear. With your right hand pass that bag of gold
+      across the table, and beg of me to accept it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant promptly did what he was told to do.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man put his sword back in its place, laughing joyously, but
+      there was no answering smile on the face of Herr Goebel. As he had said,
+      the condition of things in Frankfort, especially in that room, failed to
+      make for merriment. Roland, without being invited, drew up a chair, and
+      sat down at the opposite side of the table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please do not attempt to dash for the door,&rdquo; he warned,
+      &ldquo;because I can quite easily intercept you, as I am nearer to it than
+      you are, and more active. Call philosophy to your aid, and take whatever
+      happens calmly. I assure you, &lsquo;tis the best way, and the only way.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He untied the cord, and poured the bulk of the gold out upon the table.
+      The merchant watched him with amazement. For all the robber knew, the door
+      might be opened at any moment, but he went on with numbering the coins as
+      nonchalantly as if seated in the treasury of the Corn Exchange. When he
+      had counted half the sum the bag contained, he poured the loose money by
+      handfuls into the wallet that had held his mother&rsquo;s contribution,
+      and pushed towards the merchant the bag, in which remained five hundred
+      thalers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are to know,&rdquo; he said with a smile, abandoning his
+      bent-forward posture, &ldquo;that when I visited my mother this afternoon,
+      she quite unexpectedly gave me five hundred thalers, so I shall accept
+      from you only half the sum I demanded this morning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your mother!&rdquo; cried the merchant. &ldquo;Who is your mother?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Empress, as I told you. Oh, at last I understand your
+      uneasiness. You wished to see that document! Why didn&rsquo;t you ask for
+      it? I asked for the money plainly enough. Well, here it is. Examine Seal
+      and sign-manual.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant minutely scrutinized the Great Seal and the signature above
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what to think,&rdquo; stammered Herr Goebel at
+      last, gazing across the table with bewildered face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Think of your good fortune. A moment ago you imagined a thousand
+      thalers were lost. Now it is but five hundred thalers invested, and you
+      are a partner with the Royal House of the Empire.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      III. DISSENSION IN THE IRONWORKERS&rsquo; GUILD
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Up to the time of his midnight awakening, Prince Roland had led a
+      care-free, uneventful life. Although he received the general education
+      supposed to be suitable for a youth of his station, he interested himself
+      keenly in only two studies, but as one of these challenged the other, as
+      it were, the result was entirely to the good. He was a very quiet boy,
+      much under the influence of his mother, seeing little or nothing of his
+      easy-going, inebriated father. It was his mother who turned her son&rsquo;s
+      attention towards the literature of his country, and he became an
+      omnivorous reader of the old monkish manuscripts with which the Palace was
+      well supplied. Especially had his mind been attracted by the stories and
+      legends of the Rhine. The mixture of history, fiction, and superstition
+      which he found in these vellum pages, so daintily limned, and so
+      artistically embellished with initial letters in gold and crimson and
+      blue, fascinated him, and filled him with that desire to see those grim
+      strongholds on the mountain-sides by the river, which later on resulted in
+      his journey from Ehrenfels to Bonn, when his ingenuity, and the cupidity
+      of his custodian, freed him from the very slight thraldom in which he was
+      held by the Archbishop of Mayence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If his attention had been entirely absorbed by the reading of these tomes,
+      he might have become a mere dreamy bookworm, his intellect saturated with
+      the sentimental and romantic mysticism permeating Germany even unto this
+      day, and, as he cared nothing for the sports of boyhood, body might have
+      suffered as brain developed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But, luckily, he had been placed under the instruction of Rinaldo, the
+      greatest master of the sword that the world had up to that period
+      produced. Rinaldo was an Italian from Milan, whom gold tempted across the
+      Alps for the purpose of instructing the Emperor&rsquo;s son in Frankfort.
+      He was a man of grace and politeness, and young Roland took to him from
+      the first, exhibiting such aptitude in the art of fencing that the Italian
+      was not only proud of one who did such credit to his tuition, but came to
+      love the youth as if he were his own son.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For the sword-making of Germany the Italian expressed the utmost contempt.
+      The coarse weapons produced by the ironworkers of Frankfort needed
+      strength rather than skill in their manipulation. Between the Italian
+      method and the German was all the contrast that exists between the
+      catching of salmon with a delicate line and a gossamer fly, or clubbing
+      the fish to death as did the boatmen at that fishery called the Waag down
+      the Rhine by St. Goar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland listened intently and without defense to the diatribe against his
+      country&rsquo;s weapons and the clumsy method of using them, but although
+      he said nothing, he formed opinions of his own, believing there was some
+      merit in strength which the Italian ignored; so, studying the subject, he
+      himself invented a sword which, while lacking the stoutness of the German
+      weapon, retained some of its stability, and was almost as easily handled
+      as the Italian rapier, without the disadvantage of its extreme frailty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus it came about that young Roland stole away from the Palace and made
+      the acquaintance of the sword makers. The practice of fencing exercises
+      every muscle in the body, and Roland&rsquo;s constant bouts with Rinaldo
+      did more than make him a master of the weapon, with equal facility in his
+      right arm or his left; it produced an athlete of the first quality; agile
+      and strong, developing his physical powers universally, and not in any one
+      direction.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile Roland remained deplorably ignorant regarding affairs of State,
+      this being a subject of which his mother knew nothing. The Emperor, who
+      should have been his son&rsquo;s natural teacher, gave his whole attention
+      to the wine-flagon, letting affairs drift towards disaster, allowing the
+      power that deserted his trembling fingers to be grasped by stronger but
+      unauthorized hands. Roland&rsquo;s surreptitious excursions into the city
+      to confer with the sword makers taught him little of politics, for his
+      conversations with these mechanics were devoted entirely to metal-working.
+      He was hustled now and again by the turbulent mob, in going to and fro,
+      but he did not know why it clamored, and, indeed, took little interest in
+      the matter, conscious only that he came more and more to hate the city and
+      loathe its inhabitants. When he could have his own way, he said to
+      himself, he would retire to some country castle which his father owned,
+      and there devote himself to such employment as fell in with his wishes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he was to receive a sharp lesson that no man, however highly placed,
+      is independent of his fellows. He was unaware of the commotion that arose
+      round his own name, and of the grim hanging of the leaders who chose him
+      as their supreme head. When, bewildered and sleepy, he was aroused at
+      midnight, and saw three armed men standing by his bedside, he received a
+      shock that did more to awaken him than the grip of alien hands on his
+      shoulders. During that night ride in the boat he said nothing but thought
+      much. He had heard his mother plead for him without for a moment delaying
+      his departure. She, evidently, was powerless. There was then in the land a
+      force superior to that of the Throne. Something that had been said quieted
+      his mother&rsquo;s fears, for at last she allowed him to go without
+      further protest, but weeping a little, and embracing him much. There was
+      no roughness or rudeness on the part of those who conveyed him down the
+      river Main, and finally along the Rhine to Ehrenfels, but rather the
+      utmost courtesy and deference, yet Roland remained silent throughout the
+      long journey, agitated by this new, invisible, irresistible sovereignty
+      animated with the will and power to do what it liked with him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the Castle of Ehrenfels he found awaiting him no rigorous imprisonment.
+      He was treated as a welcome guest of an invisible host. It was his
+      conversations with the garrulous custodian, who was a shrewd observer of
+      the passing show, that gradually awakened the young Prince to some
+      familiarity with the affairs of the country. He learned now in what a
+      deplorable state the capital stood, through the ever-increasing exactions
+      of the robber Barons along the Rhine. He asked his instructor why the
+      merchants did not send their goods by some other route, which was a very
+      natural query, but was told there existed no other route. A great forest
+      extended for the most part between Frankfort and Cologne, and through the
+      wilderness were no roads, for even those constructed by the Romans had
+      been allowed to fall into decay; overgrown with trees, Nature thus
+      destroying the neglected handiwork of man; the forest reclaiming its own.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed,&rdquo; continued the custodian, &ldquo;for the last ten
+      years things have been going to the devil, for the lack of a strong hand
+      in the capital. A strong hand is needed by nobles and outlaws alike. We
+      want a new Frederick Barbarossa; the hangman&rsquo;s rope and the torch
+      judiciously applied might be the saving of the country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ehrenfels, belonging to the Archbishop, was not a nest of piracy, and so
+      its guardian could talk in this manner if he chose, but had he uttered
+      these sentiments farther down the Rhine, he would himself have experienced
+      the utility of the hangman&rsquo;s rope. Roland, knowing by this time who
+      had taken him into custody, said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why do not the three Archbishops put a stop to it? They possess the
+      power.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old jailer shrugged his shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My chief, the great prelate of Mayence, would do it speedily enough
+      if he stood alone, but the Archbishops of Treves have ever been robbers
+      themselves, and Cologne is little better, therefore they neutralize one
+      another. No two of them will allow the other to act, fearing he may gain
+      in power, and thus upset the balance of responsibility, which I assure
+      your Highness is very nicely adjusted. Each of the three claim allegiance
+      from this Baron or the other, and although the Archbishops themselves may
+      not lay toll directly on the Rhine, their ardent partisans do, which
+      produces a deadlock.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus Roland received an education not to be had in palaces, and, saying
+      little beyond asking an occasional question, he thought much, and came to
+      certain conclusions. He arrived at an ambition to open the lordly Rhine
+      and spent his time gathering knowledge and forming plans.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Twelve hours after receiving the five hundred thalers from the merchant,
+      he again presented himself at the now familiar door in the Fahrgasse. In
+      the room on the first floor he found with Herr Goebel a thick-set,
+      heavily-bearded, weather-beaten man, who stood bonnet in hand while the
+      merchant gave him final instructions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good-morning, Sir Roland,&rdquo; cried Herr Goebel cheerfully. He
+      exhibited no resentment for his treatment of the night before, and
+      apparently daylight brought with it renewed confidence that the young man
+      might succeed in his mission. There was now no hesitation in the merchant&rsquo;s
+      manner; alert and decided, all mistrust seemed to have vanished. &ldquo;This
+      is Captain Blumenfels, whom I put in charge of the barge, and who has
+      gathered together a crew on which he can depend although, of course, you
+      must not expect them to fight.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I shall attend to that portion of
+      the enterprise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Captain Blumenfels,&rdquo; continued Herr Goebel, &ldquo;this
+      young man is commander. You are to obey him in every particular, just as
+      you would obey me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain bowed without speaking.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall not detain you any longer, captain, as you will be anxious
+      to see the bales disposed of to your liking on the barge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain thereupon took himself off, and Roland came to the conclusion
+      that he liked this rough-and-ready mariner with so little to say for
+      himself; a silent man of action, evidently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Herr Goebel turned his attention to Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have ordered bales of cloth to the value of a trifle more than
+      four thousand thalers to be placed in the barge,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The
+      bales are numbered, and I have given the captain an inventory showing the
+      price of each. I suppose you despise our vulgar traffic, and, indeed, I
+      had no thought of asking so highly placed a person as yourself to sell my
+      goods, therefore Blumenfels will superintend the marketing when you reach
+      Cologne&mdash;that is, if you ever get so far.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your pardon, Herr Goebel, but I have my own plans regarding the
+      disposal of your goods. I intend to be quit of them long before I see
+      Cologne. Indeed, should I prosper, I hope your boat will set its nose
+      southward for the return journey some distance this side of Coblentz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant gazed up at him in astonishment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your design is impossible. There is no sale for cloth nearer than
+      Coblentz. Your remarks prove you unacquainted with the river.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have walked every foot of both sides of the river between
+      Ehrenfels and Bonn. There are many wealthy castles on this side of
+      Coblentz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, my good sir, true; but how became they wealthy? Simply by
+      robbing the merchants. Are you not aware that each of these castles is
+      inhabited by a titled brigand? You surely do not expect to sell my cloth
+      to the Barons?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not? Remember how long it is since a cloth-barge went down the
+      Rhine. Think for a moment of the arduous life which these Barons lead,
+      hunting the boar, the bear, and the deer, tearing recklessly through
+      thicket and over forest-covered ground. Why, our noble friends must be in
+      rags by this time, or clad in the skins of the beasts they kill! They will
+      be delighted to see and handle a piece of well-woven cloth once more.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a full minute the merchant gaped aghast at this senseless talk so
+      seriously put forward; then a smile came to his lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, I begin to understand you. Your words are on a par
+      with the practical joke you played upon me so successfully last night. Of
+      course, you know as well as I that the Barons will buy nothing. They will
+      take such goods as they want if you but give them opportunity. What you
+      say is merely your way of intimating it is none of my affair how the goods
+      are disposed of, so long as you hand over to me four thousand thalers.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Four thousand five hundred, if you please.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall be quite content with the four thousand, regarding the
+      extra five hundred as paid for services rendered. Now, can I do anything
+      further to aid you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes. I wish you to send a man on horseback to Lorch, there to await
+      the barge. Choose a man as silent as your captain; one whom you trust
+      implicitly, for I hope to send back with him four thousand five hundred
+      thalers, and also some additional gold, which I beg of you to keep safely
+      for me until I return.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, there can be no gold for me at Lorch.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dispatch a trustworthy man in case I receive the money. You will be
+      anxious to know how we prosper, and I can at least forward a budget of
+      news.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But should there be gold, he cannot return safely with it to
+      Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes, if he keeps to the eastern bank of the Rhine. There is no
+      castle between Lorch and Frankfort except Ehrenfels, and that, being the
+      property of the Archbishop, may be passed safely.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. The man shall await you at Lorch. Inquire for Herr
+      Kruger at Mergler&rsquo;s Inn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      That night, in the Kaiser cellar, another excellent supper was spread
+      before the members of the metal-workers&rsquo; league. It was quite as
+      hilarious as the banquet of the night before; perhaps more so, because
+      now, for the first time in months, the athletic young men were well fed,
+      with money in their pouches. Each was clad in a new suit of clothes.
+      Nothing like uniformity in costume had been attempted, there being but one
+      day in which to replenish the wardrobes, which involved the acquiring of
+      garments already made. However no trouble was experienced about this, for
+      each branch of the metal-workers had its own recognized outfit, which was
+      kept on hand in all sizes by various dealers catering to the wants of
+      artisans, from apprentices to masters of their trade. The costumes were
+      admirably adapted to the use for which they were intended. There was
+      nothing superfluous in their make-up, and, being loosely cut, they allowed
+      ample play to stalwart limbs. For dealing with metal the wearers required
+      a cloth tightly woven, of a texture as nearly as possible resembling
+      leather, and better accouterment for a rough-and-tumble, freebooter&rsquo;s
+      excursion could not have been found, short of coats of mail, or, failing
+      that, of leather itself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland appeared in the trousers and doublet of a sword maker, and his
+      comrades cheered loudly when he threw off his cloak and displayed for the
+      first time that he was actually one of themselves. Hitherto something in
+      the fashioning of his wearing apparel had in a manner differentiated him
+      from the rest of the company, but now nothing in his dress indicated that
+      he was leader of the coterie, and this pleased the independent
+      metal-workers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The previous night, after the landlord&rsquo;s bill was generously
+      liquidated, each man had received upwards of thirty thalers. Roland then
+      related to them his adventure with the merchant, and the result of his
+      sword-play in the vicinity of Herr Goebel&rsquo;s throat. Two
+      accomplishments he possessed endeared Roland to his comrades: first, the
+      ability to sing a good song; and second, his talent for telling an
+      interesting story, whether it was a personal adventure, a legend of the
+      Rhine, or some tale of the gnomes which, as every one knows, haunt the
+      gloomy forests in the mountain regions. His account of the evening spent
+      with Herr Goebel aroused much laughter and applause, which greatly
+      augmented when the material advantages of the interview were distributed
+      among the guild.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This evening he purposed making a still more important disclosure; thus
+      when the meal was finished, and the landlord, after replenishing the
+      flagons, had retired, the new sword maker rose in his place at the head of
+      the table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I crave your strict attention for a few minutes. Although I refused
+      to confide my plans to Herr Goebel, I consider it my duty to inform you
+      minutely of what is before us, and if I speak with some solemnity, it is
+      because I realize we may never again meet around this table. We depart
+      from Frankfort to-morrow upon a hazardous expedition, and some of us may
+      not return.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I say, Roland,&rdquo; protested Conrad Kurzbold, &ldquo;don&rsquo;t
+      mar a jovial evening with a note of tragedy. It&rsquo;s bad art, you know.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold was one of the three actual sword makers, and had been president
+      of the guild until he gave place to Roland. He was the oldest of the
+      company; an ambitious man, a glib talker, with great influence among his
+      fellows, and a natural leader of them. What he said generally represented
+      the opinion of the gathering.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For once, Kurzbold, I must ask you to excuse me,&rdquo; persisted
+      Roland. &ldquo;It is necessary that on this, the last, opportunity I
+      should place before you exactly what I intend to do. I am very anxious not
+      to minimize the danger. I wish no man to follow me blindfold, thus I speak
+      early in the evening, that you may not be influenced by the enthusiasm of
+      wine in coming to a decision. I desire each man here to estimate the risk,
+      and choose, before we separate to-night, whether or not he will accompany
+      the expedition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here is the compact made with Herr Goebel: I promised that, with
+      the help of my comrades, I would endeavor to open the Rhine to mercantile
+      traffic. On the strength of such promise he gave me the money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this announcement rose a wild round of applause, and with the thunder
+      of flagons on the table, and the shouting of each member, no single voice
+      could make itself heard above the tumult. These lads had no conception of
+      the perils they were to face, and Roland alone remained imperturbable,
+      becoming more and more serious as the uproar went on. When at last quiet
+      was restored, he continued, with a gravity in striking contrast to the
+      hilarity of his audience:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Goebel is filling his largest barge with bales of cloth, and
+      he has engaged an efficient crew, and a capable captain who will assume
+      charge of the navigation. The barge will proceed to-morrow night down the
+      Main, leaving Frankfort as unostentatiously as possible, while we march
+      across the country to Assmannshausen, and there join this craft. It is
+      essential that no hint of our intention shall spread abroad in gossipy
+      Frankfort, therefore, depending on Captain Blumenfels to get his boat
+      clear of the city without observation, and before the moon rises, I ask
+      you to leave to-morrow separately by different gates, meeting me at
+      Hochst, something more than two leagues down the river. I dare say you all
+      know the Elector&rsquo;s palace, whose beautiful tower is a landmark for
+      the country round.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I protest against such a rendezvous,&rdquo; objected Kurzbold.
+      &ldquo;Make it the tavern of the Nassauer Hof, Roland. We shall all be
+      thirsty after a walk of two leagues.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not at that time in the morning, I hope,&rdquo; said Roland,
+      &ldquo;for I shall await you in the shadow of the tower at nine o&rsquo;clock.
+      Let every man drink his fill to-night, for I intend to lead a sober
+      company from Hochst to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you&rsquo;re optimistic, Roland,&rdquo; cried John Gensbein.
+      &ldquo;Give us till twelve o&rsquo;clock to cool our heads.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Drink all you wish this evening,&rdquo; repeated Roland, &ldquo;but
+      to-morrow we begin our work, with a long day&rsquo;s march ahead of us, so
+      nine is none too early for a start from Hochst.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sufficient to the day is the wine thereof,&rdquo; said Conrad
+      Kurzbold, rising to his feet. &ldquo;Wine, blessed liquor as it is,
+      possesses nevertheless one defect, which blot on its escutcheon is that it
+      cannot carry over till next day, except in so far as a headache is
+      concerned, and a certain dryness of the mouth. It is futile to bid us lay
+      in a supply to-night that will be of any use to-morrow morning. For my
+      part, I give you warning, Roland, that I shall make directly for the
+      Nassauer Hof, or for the Schone Aussicht, where they keep most excellent
+      vintages.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To this declaration Roland made no reply, but continued his explanatory
+      remarks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We shall join the barge, as I have said, above Assmannshausen,
+      probably at night, and then cross directly over the river. The first
+      castle with which I intend to deal is that celebrated robber&rsquo;s
+      roost, Rheinstein, standing two hundred and sixty feet above the water.
+      Disembarking about a league up the river from Rheinstein, before daybreak
+      we will all lie concealed in the forest within sight of the Castle gates.
+      When the sun is well risen, Captain Blumenfels will navigate his boat down
+      the river, and as it approaches Rheinstein we shall probably enjoy the
+      privilege of seeing the gates open wide, as the company from the Castle
+      descend precipitously to the water. While they rifle the barge we shall
+      rifle the Castle, overpowering whoever we may find there, and taking in
+      return for the cloth they steal such gold or silver as the treasury
+      affords. We will then imprison all within the Castle, so that a premature
+      alarm may not be given. If we are hurried, we may lock them in cellars, or
+      place them in dungeons, then leave the Castle with our booty, but I do not
+      purpose descending to the river until we have traversed a league or more
+      of the mountain forest, where we may remain concealed until the barge
+      appears, and so take ship again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The next castle is Falkenberg, the third Sonneck, both on the same
+      side of the river as Rheinstein, and within a short distance from the
+      stronghold, but the plan with each being the same as that already
+      outlined, it is not necessary for me to repeat it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An excellent arrangement!&rdquo; cried several; but John Gensbein
+      spoke up in criticism.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is there to be no fighting?&rdquo; he asked. &ldquo;I expected you
+      to say that after we had secured the gold we would fall on the robbers to
+      the rear, and smite them hip and thigh.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is likely to be all the fighting you can wish for,&rdquo;
+      replied Roland, &ldquo;for at some point our scheme may go awry. It is not
+      my intention to attack, but I expect you to fight like heroes in our own
+      defense.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I agree with Herr Roland,&rdquo; put in Conrad Kurzbold, rising to
+      his feet. &ldquo;If we purpose to win our way down to Cologne, it is
+      unnecessary to search for trouble, because we shall find enough of it
+      awaiting us at one point or another. But Roland stopped his account at
+      what seems to me the most interesting juncture. What is the destination of
+      the gold we loot from the castles?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The first call upon our accumulation will be the payment of four
+      thousand five hundred thalers to Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, damn the merchant!&rdquo; cried Conrad. &ldquo;We are risking
+      our lives, and I don&rsquo;t see why he should reach out his claws. He
+      will profit enough through our exertions if we open the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True; but that was the bargain I made with him. We risk our lives,
+      as you say, but he risks his goods, besides providing barge, captain, and
+      crew. He also furnished us with the five hundred thalers now in our
+      pockets. We must deal honestly with the man who has supported us in the
+      beginning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, very well,&rdquo; growled Kurzbold, &ldquo;have it your own
+      way; but in my opinion the merchants should combine and raise a fund with
+      which to reward us for our exertions if we succeed. Still, I shall not
+      press my contention in the face of an overwhelming sentiment against me.
+      However, I should like to speak to our leader on one matter which it
+      seemed ungracious to mention last night. The merchant offered him a
+      thousand thalers in gold, and he, with a generosity which I must point out
+      to him was exercised at our expense, returned half that money to Herr
+      Goebel. I confess that all I received has been spent; my hand is lonesome
+      when it enters my pouch. I should be glad of that portion which might have
+      been mine (and when I speak for myself, I speak for all) were it not for
+      the misplaced prodigality of our leader who, possessing the money, was so
+      thoughtless of our fellowship that he actually handed over five hundred
+      thalers to a man who had not the slightest claim upon it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Kurzbold,&rdquo; said Roland, with some severity, &ldquo;many
+      penniless nights passed over our heads in this room. If you know so much
+      better than I how to procure money, why did you not do so? I should not
+      venture to criticise a man who, without any effort on my part, placed
+      thirty thalers at my disposal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a great clamor at this, every one except Kurzbold, who stood
+      stubbornly in his place, and Gensbein, who sat next to him, becoming
+      vociferous in defense of their leader.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is uncomrade-like,&rdquo; cried Ebearhard above the din, &ldquo;to
+      spend the money and then growl.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I speak in the interests of us all,&rdquo; shouted Kurzbold.
+      &ldquo;In the interests of our leader, no less than ourselves,&rdquo; but
+      the others howled him down.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland, holding up his right hand, seemed to request silence and obtained
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am rather glad,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that this discussion has
+      arisen, because there is still time to amend our programme. Herr Goebel&rsquo;s
+      barge will not be loaded until to-morrow night, so the order may even yet
+      be countermanded. The five hundred thalers which belonged to me I say
+      nothing about, but the five hundred advanced by Herr Goebel must be
+      returned to him unless we are in perfect unanimity.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this suggestion Kurzbold sat down with some suddenness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I told you, when I left this room, promising to find the money
+      within a week, that one condition was the backing of my fellows. You
+      empowered me to pledge the efforts of our club as though it contained but
+      one man. If that promise is not to be kept in spirit as well as in letter,
+      I shall retire from the position I now hold, and you may elect in my stead
+      Conrad Kurzbold, John Gensbein, or any one else that pleases you. But
+      first I must be in a position to give back intact Herr Goebel&rsquo;s
+      money; then, as I have divulged to you my plans, Conrad Kurzbold may
+      approach him, and make better terms than I was able to arrange.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There were cries of &ldquo;Nonsense! Nonsense!&rdquo; &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t
+      take a little opposition in that spirit, Roland.&rdquo; &ldquo;We are all
+      free-speaking comrades, you know.&rdquo; &ldquo;You are our leader, and
+      must remain so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold rose to his feet for the third time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Literally and figuratively, my friend Roland has me on the hip, for
+      my hip-pocket contains no money, and it is impossible for me to refund. I
+      imagine, if the truth were told, we are all more or less in the same
+      condition, for we have had equipment to buy, and what-not.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Also Hochheimer,&rdquo; said one, at which there was a laugh, as
+      Kurzbold was noted for his love of good wine. Up to this point Roland had
+      carried the assemblage with him, but now he made an injudicious remark
+      that instantly changed the spirit of the room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am astonished,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that any objection should
+      be made to the fair treatment of Herr Goebel, for you are all of the
+      merchant class, and should therefore hold by one of your own order.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He could proceed no farther. Standing there, pale and determined, he was
+      simply stormed down. His ignorance of affairs, of which on several
+      occasions the merchant himself had complained, led him quite unconsciously
+      to touch the pride of his hearers. It was John Gensbein who angrily gave
+      expression to the sentiment of the meeting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To what class do <i>you</i> belong, I should like to know? Do you
+      claim affinity with the merchant class? If you do, you are no leader of
+      ours. I inform you, sir, that we are skilled artisans, with the craft to
+      turn out creditable work, while the merchants are merely the vendors of
+      our products. Which, therefore, takes the higher place in a community, and
+      which deserves it better: he who with artistic instinct unites the efforts
+      of brain and hand to produce wares that are at once beautiful and useful,
+      or he who merely chaffers over his counter to get as much lucre as he can
+      for the creations that come from our benches?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To Roland&rsquo;s aristocratic mind, every man who lacked noble blood in
+      his veins stood on the same level, and it astonished him that any mere
+      plebeian should claim precedence over another. He himself felt
+      immeasurably superior to those present, sensible of a fathomless gulf
+      between him and them, which he, in his condescension, might cross as
+      suited his whim, but over which none might follow him back again; and
+      this, he was well aware, they would be the first to admit did they but
+      know his actual rank.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a moment he was tempted to acknowledge his identity, and crush them by
+      throwing the crown at their heads, but some hitherto undiscovered
+      stubbornness in his nature asserted itself, arousing a determination to
+      stand or fall by whatever strength of character he might possess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I withdraw that remark,&rdquo; he said, as soon as he could obtain
+      a hearing. &ldquo;I not only withdraw it, but I apologize to you for my
+      folly in making it. It was merely thoughtlessness on my part, and, resting
+      on your generosity, I should like you to consider the words unsaid.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once more eighteen of the twenty swung round to his side. Roland now
+      turned his attention to Conrad Kurzbold, ignoring John Gensbein, who had
+      sat down flushed after his declamation, bewildered by the mutability of
+      the many as Coriolanus had been before him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Herr Kurzbold,&rdquo; began Roland sternly, &ldquo;have you any
+      further criticism to offer?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but I stand by what I have already said.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I thank you for your honest expression of that determination,
+      and I announce that you cannot accompany this expedition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again Roland instantaneously lost the confidence of his auditors, and they
+      were not slow in making him of the fact.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is simply tyranny,&rdquo; said Ebearhard. &ldquo;If a man may
+      not open his mouth without running danger of expulsion, then all
+      comradeship is at an end, and I take it that good comradeship is the pivot
+      on which this organization turns. I do not remember that we ever placed it
+      in the power of our president merely by his own word to cast out one of us
+      from the fellowship. I may add, Roland, that you seem to harbor strange
+      ideas concerning rank and power. I have been a member of this guild much
+      longer than you, and perhaps understand better its purpose. Our leader is
+      not elected to govern a band of serfs. Indeed, and I say it subject to
+      correction from my friends, the very opposite is the case. Our leader is
+      our servant, and must conduct himself as we order. It is not for him to
+      lay down the law to us, but whatever laws exist for our governance, and I
+      thank Heaven there are few of them, must be settled in conclave by a
+      majority of the league.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right! Right!&rdquo; was the unanimous cry, and when Ebearhard sat
+      down all were seated except Roland, who stood at the end of the table with
+      pale face and compressed lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;about to set out against the Barons
+      of the Rhine, entrenched in their strong castles. Hitherto these men have
+      been completely successful, defying alike the Government and the people.
+      It was my hope that we might reverse this condition of things. Now,
+      Brother Ebearhard, name me a single Baron along the whole length of the
+      Rhine who would permit one of his men-at-arms to bandy words with him on
+      any subject whatever.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should hope,&rdquo; replied Ebearhard, &ldquo;that we do not
+      model our conduct after that of a robber.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The robbers, I beg to point out to you, Ebearhard, are successful.
+      It is success we are after, also a portion of that gold of which Herr
+      Kurzbold has pathetically proclaimed his need.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you consider us your men-at-arms, then, in the same sense that a
+      Rhine Baron would employ the term?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You claim the liberty of expelling any one you choose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I claim the liberty to hang any of you if I find it necessary.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, the devil!&rdquo; cried Ebearhard, sitting down as if this went
+      beyond him. He gazed up and down the table as much as to say, &ldquo;I
+      leave this in your hands, gentlemen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The meeting gave immediate expression of its agreement with Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gentlemen,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I insist that Conrad Kurzbold
+      apologizes to me for the expressions he has used, and promises not again
+      to offend in like manner.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll do nothing of the sort,&rdquo; asserted Kurzbold, with
+      equal firmness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case,&rdquo; exclaimed Roland, &ldquo;I shall retire, and I
+      ask you to put me in a position to repay Herr Goebel the money I extracted
+      from him. I resign the very thankless office of so-called leadership.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this several wallets came out upon the table, but their contents
+      clinked rather weakly. The majority of the guild sat silent and sobered by
+      the crisis that had so unexpectedly come upon them. Joseph Greusel, seeing
+      that no one else made a move, uprose, and spoke slowly. He was a man who
+      never had much to say for himself; a listener rather than a talker, in
+      whom Roland reposed great confidence, believing him to be one who would
+      not flinch if trial came, and he had determined to make Greusel his
+      lieutenant if the expedition was not wrecked before it set out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My friends,&rdquo; said Greusel gloomily, &ldquo;we have arrived at
+      a deadlock, and I should not venture to speak but that I see no one else
+      ready to make a suggestion. I cannot claim to be non-partisan in the
+      matter. This crisis has been unnecessarily brought about by what I state
+      firmly is a most ungenerous attack on the part of Conrad Kurzbold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There were murmurs of dissent, but Greusel proceeded stolidly, taking no
+      notice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not disputed that Kurzbold accepted the money from Roland
+      last night, spent it to-day, and now comes penniless amongst us, quite
+      unable to refund the amount when his unjust remarks produce their natural
+      effect. He is like a man who makes a wager knowing he hasn&rsquo;t the
+      money to pay should he lose. If Roland retires from this guild, I retire
+      also, ashamed to keep company with men who uphold a trick worthy of a
+      ruined gambler.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Joseph,&rdquo; cried Ebearhard, springing up with a laugh,
+      &ldquo;you were misnamed in your infancy. You should have been called
+      Herod, practically justifying a slaughter of us innocents.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I stand by Benjamin,&rdquo; growled Gruesel, &ldquo;the youngest
+      and most capable of our circle; the one who produced the money while all
+      the rest of us talked.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You never talked till now, Joseph,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, still
+      trying to ease the situation with a laugh, &ldquo;and what you say is not
+      only deplorably severe, but uttered, as I will show you, upon entirely
+      mistaken grounds. We did not, and do not, support Conrad Kurzbold in what
+      he said at first. Now you rate us as if we were no better than thieves.
+      Dishonest gamblers, you call us, and Lord knows what else, and then you
+      threaten withdrawal. I submit that your diatribe is quite undeserved. We
+      all condemn Kurzbold for censuring Roland&rsquo;s generosity to the
+      merchant, unanimously upholding Roland in that action, and have said so
+      plainly enough. What we object to is this: Roland arrogates to himself
+      power which he does not possess, of peremptorily expelling any member
+      whose remarks displease him. Surely you cannot support him in that any
+      more than we.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let us take one thing at a time,&rdquo; resumed Greusel, &ldquo;not
+      forgetting from whom came the original provocation. I must know where we
+      stand. I therefore move a vote of censure on Conrad Kurzbold for his
+      unmerited attack upon our president anent his dealings with Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I second that with great pleasure,&rdquo; said Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, as we cannot ask our leader to put that motion, I shall take
+      the liberty of submitting it myself,&rdquo; continued Greusel. &ldquo;All
+      in favor of the vote of censure which you have heard, make it manifest by
+      standing up.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every one arose except Roland, Gensbein, and Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, we have removed that obstacle to a clear understanding of
+      the case, and before I formally deliver this vote of censure to Herr
+      Kurzbold, I request him to reconsider his position, and of his own motion
+      to make such delivery unnecessary.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If it is the case that Roland assumes authority to expel whom he
+      pleases from this guild, I shall not support him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It <i>is</i> the case! It <i>is</i> the case!&rdquo; shouted
+      several.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me, comrades; I have the floor,&rdquo; continued Greusel.
+      &ldquo;I am not attempting oratory, but trying to disentangle a skein in
+      which we have involved ourselves. I wish to receive neither applause nor
+      hissing until I have finished the business. You say it is the case. I say
+      it is not. Roland gave Herr Kurzbold the alternative either of apologizing
+      or of paying over the money, so that it might be returned to the merchant.
+      As I understand the matter, our president does not insist on Kurzbold
+      leaving the guild, but merely announces his own withdrawal from it. You
+      have allowed Kurzbold to put you in the position of being compelled to
+      choose between himself and Roland. If you are logical men you cannot pass
+      a vote of censure on Kurzbold, and then choose him instead of Roland. I
+      therefore move a vote of confidence in our chief, the man who has produced
+      the money, a thousand thalers in all, half of which was his own, and has
+      divided it equally amongst us, when the landlord&rsquo;s bill was paid,
+      withholding not a single thaler, nor arrogating&mdash;I think that was
+      your word, friend Ebearhard&mdash;to himself a stiver more of the money
+      than each of the others received. While Kurzbold has prated of
+      comradeship, Roland has given us an excellent example of it, and I think
+      he deserves our warmest thanks and our cordial support. I therefore submit
+      to you the following motion: This meeting tenders to the president its
+      warmest thanks for his recent efforts on behalf of the guild, and begs to
+      assure him of its most strenuous assistance in carrying out the project he
+      has put before it to-night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Joseph,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, rising, with his usual laugh,
+      &ldquo;you are a very clever man, although you usually persist in hiding
+      your light under a bushel. I desire to associate myself with the
+      expressions you have used, and therefore second your motion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I now put the resolution which you have all heard,&rdquo; said
+      Greusel, &ldquo;and I ask those in favor of it to stand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every one stood up promptly enough except the two recalcitrants, and of
+      those two John Gensbein showed signs of hesitation and uneasiness. He half
+      rose, sat down again; then, apparently at the urging of the man next him,
+      stood up, a picture of irresolution. Kurzbold, finding himself now alone,
+      laughed, and got upon his feet, thus making the vote unanimous. As the
+      company seated itself, Greusel turned to the president.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, it is said that all&rsquo;s well that ends well. It gives me
+      pleasure to tender you the unanimous vote of thanks and confidence of the
+      iron-workers&rsquo; guild, and before calling upon you to make any reply,
+      if such should be your intention, I will ask Conrad Kurzbold to say a few
+      words, which I am sure we shall all be delighted to hear.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold rose bravely enough, in spite of the fact that Joseph Greusel&rsquo;s
+      diplomacy had made a complete separation between him and all the others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should like to say,&rdquo; he began, with an air of casual
+      indifference, &ldquo;that my first mention of the money was wholly in
+      jest. Our friend Roland took my remarks seriously, which, of course, I
+      should not have resented, and there is little use in recapitulating what
+      followed. As, however, my utterances gave offense which was not intended
+      by me, I have no hesitation in apologizing for them, and withdrawing the
+      ill-advised sentences. No one here feels a greater appreciation of what
+      our president has done than I, and I hope he will accept my apology in the
+      same spirit in which it is tendered.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Master of the Guild,&rdquo; said Greusel, and Roland took the
+      floor once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have nothing to say but &lsquo;Thank you.&rsquo; The antagonists
+      whom we hope to meet are men brave, determined, and ruthless. If any one
+      in this company holds rancor against me, I ask him to turn it towards the
+      Barons, and punish me after the expedition is accomplished. Let us
+      tolerate no disagreements in face of the foe.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man took his cloak and sword from the peg on which they hung,
+      passed down along the table, and thrust across his hand to Kurzbold, who
+      shook it warmly. Arriving at the door, Roland turned round.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish to see Captain Blumenfels, and give him final instructions
+      regarding our rendezvous on the Rhine, so good-night. I hope to meet you
+      all under the shadow of the Elector&rsquo;s tower in Hochst to-morrow
+      morning at nine,&rdquo; and with that the president departed, being too
+      inexperienced to know that soft words do not always turn away wrath, and
+      that mutiny is seldom quelled with a handshake.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      IV. THE DISTURBING JOURNEY OF FATHER AMBROSE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The setting summer sun shone full on the western side of Sayn Castle,
+      sending the shadow of that tenth-century edifice far along the greensward
+      of the upper valley. Upon a balcony, perched like a swallow&rsquo;s nest
+      against the eastern end of Sayn Castle, a lovely girl of eighteen leaned,
+      meditating, with arms resting on the balustrade, the harshness of whose
+      stone surface was nullified by the soft texture of a gaudily-covered robe
+      flung over it. This ample cloth, brought from the East by a Crusading
+      ancestor of the girl, made a gay patch of scarlet and gold against the
+      somber side of the Castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The youthful Countess Hildegunde von Sayn watched the slow oncoming of a
+      monk, evidently tired, who toiled along the hillside deep in the shadow of
+      the Castle, as if its cool shade was grateful to him. Belonging, as he
+      did, to the very practical Order of the Benedictines, whose belief was in
+      work sanctioned by prayer, the Reverend Father did not deny himself this
+      temporary refuge from the hot rays of the sun, which had poured down upon
+      him all day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Looking up as he approached the stronghold, and seeing the girl, little
+      dreaming of the frivolous mission she would propose, he waved his hand to
+      her, and she responded gracefully with a similar gesture.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Indeed, however strongly the monk might disapprove, there was much to be
+      said in favor of the resolution to which the young lady had come. She was
+      well educated, probably the richest heiress in Germany, and carefully as
+      the pious Sisters of Nonnenwerth Convent may have concealed the fact from
+      her, she was extremely beautiful, and knew it, and although the valley of
+      the Saynbach was a very haven of peace and prosperity, the girl became
+      just a trifle lonely, and yearned to know something of life and the Court
+      in Frankfort, to which her high rank certainly entitled her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is true that very disquieting rumors had reached her concerning the
+      condition of things in the capital city; nevertheless she determined to
+      learn from an authoritative source whether or not it was safe to take up a
+      temporary residence in Frankfort, and for this purpose the reluctant
+      Father Ambrose would journey southward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose was more than sixty years old, and if he had belonged to
+      the world, instead of to religion, would have been entitled to the name
+      Henry von Sayn. His presence in the Benedictine Order was proof of the
+      fact that money will not accomplish everything. His famous, or perhaps we
+      should say infamous, ancestor, Count Henry III. of Sayn, who died in 1246,
+      was a robber and a murderer, justly esteemed the terror of the Rhine.
+      Concealed as it was in the Sayn valley, half a league from the great
+      river, the situation of his stronghold favored his depredations. He filled
+      his warehousing rooms with merchandise from barges going down the river,
+      and with gold seized from unhappy merchants on their way up. He thought no
+      more of cutting a throat than of cutting a purse, and it was only when he
+      became amazingly wealthy that the increase of years brought trouble to a
+      conscience which all men thought had ceased to exist. Thereupon, for the
+      welfare of his soul, he built the Abbey of Sayn, and provided for the
+      monks therein. Yet, when he came to die, he entertained fearsome, but
+      admittedly well-founded doubts regarding his future state, so he proceeded
+      to sanctify a treasure no longer of any use to him, by bequeathing it to
+      the Church, driving, however, a bargain by which he received assurance
+      that his body should rest quietly in the tomb he had prepared for himself
+      within the Abbey walls.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was buried with impressive ceremony, and the monks he had endowed did
+      everything to carry out their share of the pact. The tomb was staunchly
+      built with stones so heavy that no ordinary ghost could have emerged
+      therefrom, but to be doubly sure a gigantic log was placed on top of it,
+      strongly clamped down with concealed bands of iron, and, so that this log
+      might not reveal its purpose, the monks cunningly carved it into some
+      semblance of Henry himself, until it seemed a recumbent statue of the late
+      villainous Count.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But despite such thoughtfulness their plan failed, for when next they
+      visited the tomb the statue lay prone, face downwards, as if some
+      irresistible, unseen power had flung it to the stone flags of the floor.
+      Replacing the statue, and watching by the tomb, was found to be of little
+      use. The watchers invariably fell asleep, and the great wooden figure,
+      which during their last waking moments lay gazing towards the roof, was
+      now on its face on the monastery floor, peering down in the opposite
+      direction, and this somehow was regarded by the brethren as a fact of
+      ominous significance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The new Count von Sayn, heir to the title and estate of the late Henry
+      III. was a gloomy, pious man, very different indeed from his turbulent
+      predecessor. Naturally he was much perturbed by the conduct of the wooden
+      statue. At first he affected disbelief in the phenomena despite the
+      assurances of the monks, and later on the simple brethren deeply regretted
+      they had made any mention of the manifestations. The new Count himself
+      took up the task of watching, and paced all night before the tomb of the
+      third Henry. He was not a man to fall asleep while engaged on such a
+      somber mission, and the outcome of his vigil was so amazing that in the
+      morning he gathered the brethren together in the great hall of the Abbey,
+      that he might relate to them his experience.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wooden statue had turned over, and fallen to the floor, as was its
+      habit, but on this occasion it groaned as it fell. This mournful sound
+      struck terror into the heart of the lonely watcher, who now, he confessed,
+      regretted he had not accepted the offer of the monks to share his midnight
+      surveillance. The courage of the House of Sayn is, however, a well-known
+      quality, and, notwithstanding his piety, the new holder of the title was
+      possessed of it, for although admitting a momentary impulse towards
+      flight, and the calling for assistance which the monks would readily have
+      given, he stood his ground, and in trembling voice asked what he could do
+      to forward the contentment of his deceased relative.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The statue replied, still face downward on the stone floor, that never
+      could the late wicked Count rest in peace unless the heir to his titles
+      and lands should take upon himself the sins Henry had committed during his
+      life, while a younger member of the family should become a monk of the
+      Benedictine Order, and daily intercede for the welfare of his soul.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With extreme reluctance,&rdquo; continued the devout nobleman,
+      &ldquo;I gave my assent to this unwelcome proposal, providing only that it
+      should receive the sanction of the Abbot and brethren of the Monastery of
+      Sayn, hoping by a life of continuous rectitude to annul, in some measure
+      at least, the evil works of Henry III.; and that holy sanction I now
+      request, trusting if given it may remove any doubts regarding the
+      righteousness of my promise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the Count bowed low to the enthroned Abbot and, with less reverence,
+      to the assembled brethren. The Abbot rose to his feet, and in a few
+      well-chosen words complimented the nobleman on the sacrifice he made,
+      predicting that it would redound greatly to his spiritual welfare.
+      Speaking for himself, he had no hesitation in giving the required
+      sanction, but as the Count made it a proviso that the brethren should
+      concur, he now requested their acquiescence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was accorded in silent unanimity, whereupon Count von Sayn, deeply
+      sighing as one accepting a burden almost too heavy to bear, spoke with a
+      tremor of grief in his voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not for me,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;to question your wisdom,
+      nor shrink from my allotted task. After all, I am but human, and up to
+      this decisive moment had hoped, alas! in vain, that some one more worthy
+      than I might be chosen in my place. The most grievous part of the
+      undertaking, so far as I am concerned, was outlined in the last words
+      spoken by the wooden statue. The evil deeds my ancestor has committed will
+      in time be obliterated by the prayers of the younger member of my family
+      who becomes a monk, but the accumulated gold carries with it a continual
+      curse, which can be wiped off each coin only by that coin benefiting the
+      merchants who have been robbed. The contamination of this metal,
+      therefore, I must bear, for it adds to the agony of my ancestor that,
+      little realizing what he was doing, he bequeathed this poisonous dross to
+      the Abbey he founded. I am required to lend it in Frankfort, upon
+      undoubted security and suitable usury, that it may stimulate and fertilize
+      the commerce of the land, much as the contents of a compost heap,
+      disagreeable in the senses, and defiling to him who handles it, when
+      spread upon the fields results in the production of flower, fruit, and
+      food, giving fragrance, delight, and sustenance to the human frame.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The count, bowing for the third time to the conclave, passed from its
+      presence with mournful step and sorrowful countenance; whereupon the
+      brethren, seeing themselves thus denuded of wealth they had hoped to
+      enjoy, gave utterance to a groan doubtless much greater in volume than
+      that emitted by the carven statue, which wooden figure may be seen to-day
+      in the museum of the modern Castle of Sayn by any one who cares to spend
+      the fifty pfennigs charged for admission.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All that has been related happened generations before the time when the
+      Countess Hildegunde reigned as head of the House of Sayn, but Father
+      Ambrose formed a link with the past in that he was the present scion of
+      Sayn who, as a Benedictine, daily offered prayer for the repose of the
+      wicked Henry III. The gold which Henry&rsquo;s immediate successor so
+      craftily deflected from the monks seemed to be blessed rather than cursed,
+      for under the care of that subtle manager it multiplied greatly in
+      Frankfort, and scandal-mongers asserted that besides receiving the usury
+      exacted, the pietistic Count tapped the treasure-casks of upward-sailing
+      Rhine merchants quite as successfully, if more quietly, than the profane
+      Henry had done. Thus the House of Sayn was one of the richest in Germany.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The aged monk and the youthful Countess were distant relatives, but he
+      regarded her as a daughter, and her affection was given to him as to a
+      father, in other than the spiritual sense.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In his youth Ambrose the Benedictine, because of his eloquence in
+      discourse, and also on account of his aristocratic rank, officiated at the
+      court in Frankfort. Later, he became spiritual and temporal adviser to
+      that great prelate, the Archbishop of Cologne, and the Archbishop, being
+      guardian of the Countess von Sayn, sent Father Ambrose to the castle of
+      his ancestor to look after the affairs of Sayn, both religious and
+      material. Under his gentle rule the great wealth of his House increased,
+      although he, the cause of prosperity, had no share in the riches he
+      produced, for, as has been written of the Benedictines:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was as teachers of ... scientific agriculture, as drainers of
+      fens and morasses, as clearers of forests, as makers of roads, as tillers
+      of the reclaimed soil, as architects of durable and even stately
+      buildings, as exhibiting a visible type of orderly government, as
+      establishing the superiority of peace over war as the normal condition of
+      life, as students in the library which the rule set up in every monastery,
+      as the masters in schools open not merely to their own postulants but to
+      the children of secular families also, that they won their high place in
+      history as benefactors of mankind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Father Ambrose,&rdquo; cried the girl, when at last he entered
+      her presence, &ldquo;I watched your approach from afar off. You walked
+      with halting step, and shoulders increasingly bowed. You are wearing
+      yourself out in my service, and that I cannot permit. You return this
+      evening a tired man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not physically tired,&rdquo; replied the monk, with a smile.
+      &ldquo;My head is bowed with meditation and prayer, rather than with
+      fatigue. Indeed, it is others who do the harassing manual labor, while I
+      simply direct and instruct. Sometimes I think I am an encumberer in the
+      vineyard, lazily using brain instead of hand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nonsense!&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;the vineyard would be but a
+      barren plantation without you; and speaking of it reminds me that I have
+      poured out, with my own hand, a tankard of the choicest, oldest wine in
+      our cellars, which I allow no one but yourself to taste. Sit down, I beg
+      of you, and drink.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wise old man smiled, wondering what innocent trap was being set for
+      him. He raised the tankard to his lips, but merely indulged in one sip of
+      the delectable beverage. Then he seated himself, and looked at the girl,
+      still smiling. She went on speaking rapidly, a delicate flush warming her
+      fair cheeks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Father, you are the most patient and indefatigable of
+      agriculturists, sparing neither yourself nor others, but there is danger
+      that you grow bucolic through overlong absence from the great affairs of
+      this world.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What can be greater, my child, than increasing the productiveness
+      of the land; than training men to supply all their needs from the fruitful
+      earth?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, true,&rdquo; admitted the girl, her eyes sparkling with
+      eagerness, &ldquo;but to persist overlong even in well-doing becomes
+      ultimately tedious. If the laborer is worthy of his hire, so, too, is the
+      master. You should take a change, and as I know your fondness for travel,
+      I have planned a journey for you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man permitted himself another sip of the wine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, an easy journey; no farther than the royal city of Frankfort,
+      there to wander among the scenes of your youth, and become interested for
+      a time in the activities of your fellow-men. You have so long consorted
+      with those inferior to you in intellect and learning that a meeting with
+      your equals&mdash;though I doubt if there are any such even in Frankfort&mdash;must
+      prove as refreshing to your mind as that old wine would to your body, did
+      you but obey me and drink it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose slowly shook his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;From what I hear of Frankfort,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;it is
+      anything but an inspiring town. In my day it was indeed a place of cheer,
+      learning, and prosperity, but now it is a city of desolation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The rumors we hear, Father, may be exaggerated; and even if the
+      city itself be doleful, which I doubt, there is sure to be light and
+      gayety in the precincts of the Court and in the homes of the nobility.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What have I to do with Court or palaces? My duty lies here.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It may be,&rdquo; cried the girl archly, &ldquo;that some part of
+      your duty lies there. If Frankfort is indeed in bad case, your sage advice
+      might be of the greatest benefit. Prosperity seems to follow your
+      footsteps, and, besides, you were once a chaplain in the Court, and surely
+      you have not lost all interest in your former charge?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again that quiet, engaging smile lit up the monk&rsquo;s emaciated
+      features, and then he asked a question with that honest directness which
+      sometimes embarrassed those he addressed:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Daughter Hildegunde, what is it you want?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said the girl, sitting very upright in her chair,
+      &ldquo;I confess to loneliness. The sameness of life in this castle
+      oppresses me, and in its continuous dullness I grow old before my time. I
+      wish to enjoy a month or two in Frankfort, and, as doubtless you have
+      guessed, I send you forth as my ambassador to spy out the land.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In such case, daughter, you should present your petition to that
+      Prince of the Church, the Archbishop of Cologne, who is your guardian.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, no, no!&rdquo; cried the girl emphatically; &ldquo;you are
+      putting the grapes into the barrel instead of into the vat. Before I
+      trouble the worthy Archbishop with my request, I must learn whether it is
+      practicable or not. If the city is indeed in a state of turbulence, of
+      course I shall not think of going thither. It is this I wish to discover,
+      but if you are afraid.&rdquo; She shrugged her shoulders and spread out
+      her hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now the old monk came as near to laughing as he ever did.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Clever, Hildegunde, but unnecessary. You cannot spur me to action
+      by slighting the well-known valor of our race. I will go where and when
+      you command me, and report to you faithfully what I see and hear. Should
+      the time seem favorable for you to visit Frankfort, and if your guardian
+      consents, I shall raise not even one objection.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, dear Father, I do not lay this as a command upon you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; a request is quite sufficient. To-morrow morning I shall set
+      out.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Along the Rhine?&rdquo; queried the girl, so eagerly that the old
+      man&rsquo;s eyes twinkled at the celerity with which she accepted his
+      proposition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think it safer,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;to journey inland over the
+      hills. The robbers on the Rhine have been so long bereft of the natural
+      prey that one or other of them may forget I am Father Ambrose, a poor
+      monk, remembering me only as Henry of the rich House of Sayn, and
+      therefore hold me for ransom. I would not willingly be a cause of strife,
+      so I shall go by way of Limburg on the Lahn, and there visit my old friend
+      the Bishop, and enjoy once more a sight of the ancient Cathedral on the
+      cliff by the river.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the young Countess awoke next morning, and reviewed in her mind the
+      chief event of the preceding day, remembering the reluctance of Father
+      Ambrose to undertake the quest she had outlined without the consent of his
+      overlord the Archbishop, a feeling of compunction swept over her. She
+      berated her own selfishness, resolving to send her petition to her
+      guardian, the Archbishop, and abide by his decision.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When breakfast was finished, she asked her lady-in-waiting to request the
+      presence of Father Ambrose, but instead of the monk came disturbing news.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The seneschal says that Father Ambrose left the Castle at daybreak
+      this morning, taking with him frugal rations for a three days&rsquo;
+      journey.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In which direction did he go?&rdquo; asked the lady of Sayn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He went on horseback up the valley, after making inquiries about
+      the route to Limburg on the Lahn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; said the Countess. &ldquo;He spoke yesterday of taking
+      such a journey, but I did not think he would leave so early.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was the beginning of great anxiety for the young lady of the Castle.
+      She knew at once that pursuit was useless, for daybreak comes early in
+      summer, and already the good Father had been five hours on his way&mdash;a
+      way that he was certain to lose many times before he reached the capital
+      city. An ordinary messenger might have been overtaken, but the meditative
+      Father would go whither his horse carried him, and when he awoke from his
+      thoughts and his prayers, would make inquiries, and so proceed. A day or
+      two later came a message that he had achieved the hospitality of Limburg&rsquo;s
+      bishop, but after that arrived no further word.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nearly two weeks had elapsed when, from the opposite direction, Hildegunde
+      received a communication which added to her already painful apprehension.
+      It was a letter from her guardian in Cologne, giving warning that within a
+      week he would call at her Castle of Sayn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Matters of great import to you and me,&rdquo; concluded the
+      Archbishop, &ldquo;are toward. You will be called upon to meet formally my
+      two colleagues of Mayence and Treves, at the latter&rsquo;s strong Castle
+      of Stolzenfels, above Coblentz. From the moment we enter that
+      palace-fortress, I shall, temporarily, at least, cease to be your
+      guardian, and become merely one of your three overlords. But however
+      frowningly I may sit in the throne of an Elector, believe me I shall
+      always be your friend. Tell Father Ambrose I wish to consult with him the
+      moment I arrive at your castle, and that he must not absent himself
+      therefrom on any pretext until he has seen me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here was trouble indeed, with Father Ambrose as completely disappeared as
+      if the dragons of the Taunus had swallowed him. Never before on his
+      journeys had he failed to communicate with her, even when his travels were
+      taken on account of the Archbishop, and not, as in this case, on her own.
+      She experienced the darkest forebodings from this incredible silence.
+      Imagine, then, her relief, when exactly two weeks from the day he had left
+      Schloss Sayn, she saw him coming down the valley. As when she last beheld
+      him, he traveled on foot, leading his horse, that had gone lame.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Throwing etiquette to the wind, she flew down the stairway, and ran to
+      meet her thrice-welcome friend.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She realized with grief that he was haggard, and the smile he called up to
+      greet her was wan and pitiful.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Father, Father!&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;what has happened to
+      you? I have been nearly distraught with doubt and fear, hearing nothing of
+      you since your message from Limburg.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was made a prisoner,&rdquo; said the old man quietly, &ldquo;and
+      allowed to communicate with no one outside my cell. &lsquo;Tis a long and
+      sad story, and, worse than all one that bodes ill for the Empire. I should
+      have arrived earlier in the day, but my poor, patient beast has fallen
+      lame.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes!&rdquo; said the girl indignantly, &ldquo;and you spare him
+      instead of yourself!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The monk laid his left hand affectionately on her shoulder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You would have done the same, my dear,&rdquo; he said, and she
+      looked up at him with a sweet smile. They were kin, and if she censured
+      any quality in him, the comment carried something of self-reproach.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A servitor took away the lame horse; another waited on Father Ambrose in
+      his small room, which was simple as that of a monastery cell, and as
+      meagerly furnished. After a slight refection, Father Ambrose received
+      peremptory command to rest for three full hours, the lady of the Castle
+      saying it was impossible for her to receive him until that time had
+      elapsed. The order was welcome to the tired monk, although he knew how
+      impatient Hildegunde must be to unpack his budget of news, and he fell
+      asleep even as he gave instructions that he should be awakened at nine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Descending at that time, the supper hour of the Castle, he found a dainty
+      meal awaiting him, flanked by a flagon of that rare wine which he sipped
+      so sparingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I lodged with my brethren in their small and quiet monastery on the
+      opposite side of the Main from Frankfort, in that suburb of the workingmen
+      which is called Sachsenhausen. Even if my eyes had not seen the desolation
+      of the city, with the summer grass growing in many of its streets, the
+      description given of its condition by my brethren would have been
+      saddening enough to hear. All authority seems at an end. The nobles have
+      fled to their country estates, for defense in the city is impossible
+      should once a universal riot break out, and thinking men look for an
+      insurrection when continued hunger has worn down the patience of the
+      people. Up to the present sporadic outbreaks have been cruelly suppressed,
+      starving men falling mutilated before the sword-cuts of the soldiers; but
+      now disaffection has penetrated the ranks of the Army itself, through
+      short rations and deferred pay, and when the people learn that the
+      military are more like to join them than oppose, destruction will fall
+      upon Frankfort. The Emperor sits alone in drunken stupor, and it is said
+      cannot last much longer, he who has lasted too long already; while the
+      Empress is as much a recluse as a nun in a convent.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the young Prince?&rdquo; interrupted the Countess. &ldquo;What
+      of him? Is there no hope if he comes to the throne?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; cried the monk, with a long-drawn sigh, dolefully
+      shaking his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Father Ambrose, you knew him as a lad, almost as a young man.
+      I have heard you speak highly of his promise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He denied me; denied his own identity; threatened my life with his
+      sword, and finally flung me into the most loathsome dungeon in all
+      Frankfort!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl uttered an ejaculation of dismay. If so harsh an estimate of the
+      heir-presumptive came from so mild and gentle a critic as Father Ambrose,
+      then surely was this young man lower in the grade of humanity than even
+      his bestial father.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And yet,&rdquo; said the girl to herself, &ldquo;what else was to
+      be expected? Go on,&rdquo; she murmured; &ldquo;tell me from the
+      beginning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One evening, crossing the old bridge from Frankfort to
+      Sachsenhausen, I saw approach me a swaggering figure that seemed familiar,
+      and as he drew nearer I recognized Prince Roland, son of the Emperor,
+      despite the fact that he held his cloak over the lower part of his face,
+      as if, in the gathering dusk, to avoid recognition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Your Highness!&rsquo; I cried in surprise. On the instant
+      his sword was out, and as the cloak fell from his face, displaying lips
+      which took on a sinister firmness, I saw that I was not mistaken in so
+      accosting him. He threw a quick glance from side to side, but the bridge,
+      like the silent streets, was deserted. We stood alone, beside the iron
+      Cross, and there under the Figure of Christ he denied me, with the sharp
+      point of his sword against my breast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Why do you dare address me by such a title?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You are Prince Roland, son of the Emperor.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The sword-point pressed more sharply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You lie!&rsquo; he cried, &lsquo;and if you reiterate that
+      falsehood, you will pay the penalty instantly with your life, despite your
+      monkish cowl. I am nobody. I have no father.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;May I ask, then, sir, who you are?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You may ask, but there is no reason for me to answer.
+      Nevertheless, to satisfy your impertinent curiosity, I inform you that I
+      am an ironworker, a maker of swords, and if you desire a taste of my
+      handiwork, you have but to persist in your questioning. I lodge in the
+      laboring quarter of Sachsenhausen, and am now on my way into Frankfort,
+      which surely I have the right to enter free from any inquiry unauthorized
+      by the law.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;In that case I beg your pardon,&rsquo; said I. &lsquo;The
+      likeness is very striking. I had once the honor to be chaplain at Court,
+      where frequently I saw the young Prince in company with that noble lady,
+      noble in every sense of the word, his mother, the Empress.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I watched the young man narrowly as I said this, and despite his
+      self-control, he winced perceptibly, and I thought I saw a gleam of
+      recognition in his eyes. He thrust the sword back into its scabbard, and
+      said with a light laugh:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;&rsquo;Tis I that should beg your pardon for my haste and
+      roughness. I assure you I honor the cloth you wear, and would not
+      willingly offer it violence. We are all liable to make mistakes at times.
+      I freely forgive yours and trust you will extend a like leniency to mine.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With that he doffed his hat, and left me standing there.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely,&rdquo; said the Countess, deeply interested in the recital,
+      &ldquo;so far as speech was concerned he made amends?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, my daughter; such speech never came from the lips of an
+      ironworker.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are convinced he was the Prince?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never for one instant did I doubt it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be that as it may, Father Ambrose, why should not the young man
+      walk the streets of his own capital city, and even explore the laborers&rsquo;
+      quarter of Sachsenhausen, if he finds it interesting to do so? Is it not
+      his right to wear a sword, and go where he lists; and is it such a very
+      heinous thing that, being accosted by a stranger, he should refuse to make
+      the admission demanded? You took him, as one might say, unaware.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The monk bowed his head, but did not waste time in offering any defense of
+      his action.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I followed him,&rdquo; he went on, &ldquo;through the narrow and
+      tortuous streets of Frankfort, an easy adventure, because darkness had set
+      in, but even in daylight my course would have been safe enough, for never
+      once did he look over his shoulder, or betray any of that suspicion
+      characteristic of our laboring classes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think that tells in his favor,&rdquo; persisted the girl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He came to the steps of the Rheingold, a disreputable drinking
+      cellar, and disappeared from my sight down its steps. A great shout
+      greeted him, and the rattle of tankards on a table, as he joined what was
+      evidently his coterie. Standing outside, I heard song and ribaldry within.
+      The heir-presumptive to the throne of the Empire was too obviously a
+      drunken brawler; a friend and comrade of the lowest scum in Frankfort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;After a short time he emerged alone, and once more I followed him.
+      He went with the directness of a purposeful man to the Fahrgasse, the
+      street of the rich merchants, knocked at a door, and was admitted. Along
+      the first-floor front were three lighted windows, and I saw his form pass
+      the first two of these, but from my station in the street could not
+      witness what was going on within. Looking about me, I found to my right a
+      narrow alley, occupied by an outside stairway. This I mounted, and from
+      its topmost step I beheld the interior of the large room on the opposite
+      side of the way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It appeared to me that Prince Roland had been expected, for the
+      elderly man seated at the table, his calm face toward me, showed no
+      surprise at the Prince&rsquo;s entrance. His Highness sat with his back
+      towards me, and for a time it seemed that nothing was going forward but an
+      amiable conversation. Suddenly the Prince rose, threw off his cloak,
+      whisked out his sword, and presented its point at the throat of the
+      merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was clear, from the expression of dismay on the merchant&rsquo;s
+      face, that this move on the part of his guest was entirely unexpected, but
+      its object was speedily manifested. The old man, with trembling hand,
+      pushed across the table to his assailant a well-filled bag, which the
+      Prince at once untied. Pouring out a heap of yellow gold, he began with
+      great deliberation to count the money, which, when you consider his
+      precarious situation, showed the young man to be old in crime. Some
+      portion of the gold he returned to the merchant; the rest he dropped into
+      an empty bag, which he tied to his belt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not wait to see anything more, but came down to the foot of
+      the stairs, that I might learn if Roland took his money to his dissolute
+      comrades. He came out, and once more I followed him, and once more he led
+      me to the Rheingold cellar. On this occasion, however, I took step by step
+      with him until we entered the large wineroom at the foot of the stairs, he
+      less than an arm&rsquo;s length in front of me, still under the illusion
+      that he was alone. Prince though he was, I determined to expostulate with
+      him, and if possible persuade a restitution of the gold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Your Highness!&rsquo; I began, touching him lightly on the
+      shoulder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Instantly he turned upon me with a savage oath, grasped me by the
+      throat, and forced me backward against the cellar wall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;You spying sneak!&rsquo; he cried. &lsquo;In spite of my
+      warning you have been hounding my footsteps!&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The moment I attempted to reply, he throttled me so as to choke
+      every effort at utterance. There now approached us, with alarm in his
+      wine-colored face, a gross, corpulent man, whom the Prince addressed as
+      proprietor of the place, which doubtless he was.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Landlord,&rsquo; said Roland very quietly, &lsquo;this
+      unfortunate monk is weak in the head, and although he means no harm with
+      his meddling, he may well cause disaster to my comrades and myself.
+      Earlier in the evening he accosted on the bridge, but I spared him, hoping
+      never to see his monkish costume again. You may judge the state of his
+      mind when I tell you he accuses me of being the Emperor&rsquo;s son, and
+      Heaven only knows what he would estimate to be the quality of my comrades
+      were he to see them.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Two or three times I attempted to speak, but the closing of his
+      fingers upon my throat prevented me, and even when they were slightly
+      relaxed I was scarcely able to breathe.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess listened with the closest attention, fixing upon the narrator
+      her splendid eyes, and in them, despite their feminine beauty and
+      softness, seemed to smoulder a deep fire of resentment at the treatment
+      accorded her kinsman, a luminant of danger transmitted to her down the
+      ages from ancestors equally ready to fight for the Sepulcher in Palestine
+      or for the gold on the borders of the Rhine. In the pause, during which
+      the monk wiped from his wrinkled brow the moisture brought there by
+      remembrance of the indignity he had undergone, kindliness in the eyes of
+      the Countess overcame their menace, and she said gently:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am quite confident, Father, that such a ruffian could not be
+      Prince Roland. He was indeed the rude mechanic he proclaimed himself. No
+      man of noble blood would have acted thus.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Listen, my child, listen,&rdquo; resumed Father Ambrose. &ldquo;Turning
+      to the landlord, the Prince asked:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Is there a safe and vacant room in your establishment where
+      I could bestow this meddlesome priest for a few days?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;There is a wine vault underneath this drinking cellar,&rsquo;
+      responded the landlord.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Does anyone enter that vault except yourself?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;No one,&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Will you undertake charge of the priest, seeing that he
+      communicates with none outside?&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Of a surety, Captain,&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Good. I will pay you well, and that in advance.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This ruffian was never the Prince,&rdquo; interrupted the Countess
+      firmly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I beg you to listen, Hildegunde, and my next sentence will convince
+      you. The Prince continued:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Not only prevent his communication with others, but do not
+      listen to him yourself. He will endeavor to persuade you that his name is
+      Father Ambrose, and that he is a monk in good standing with the
+      Benedictine Order. If he finds you care little for that, he may indeed
+      pretend he is of noble origin himself; that he is Henry von Sayn, and thus
+      endeavor to work on whatever sympathy you may feel for the aristocrats.
+      But I assure you he is no more a Sayn than I am Prince Roland.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Indeed, Captain,&rsquo; replied the host, &lsquo;I have as
+      little liking for an aristocrat as for a monk, so you may depend that I
+      will keep him safe enough until you order his release.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, my dear Hildegunde, you see there was no mistake on my part.
+      This young man asserted he knew nothing of me, and indeed, I believed he
+      had forgotten the time of my chaplaincy at the Court, often as he listened
+      to my discourses, yet all the time he knew me, and now, with an effrontery
+      that seems incredible, he showed no hesitation in proving me right when I
+      accosted him as son of the Emperor. I must in justice, however, admit that
+      he instructed the landlord when he paid him, to treat me with gentleness,
+      and to see that I had plenty to eat and drink. When three days had
+      expired, I was to be allowed my liberty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;He can do no harm then,&rsquo; concluded the Prince, in his
+      talk with the landlord, &lsquo;for by that time I shall have succeeded or
+      failed.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was led down a narrow, broken stairway by the proprietor, and
+      thrust into a dark and damp cellar, partially filled with casks of wine,
+      and there I remained until set at liberty a few days ago.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I returned at once to the Benedictine Monastery where I had lodged,
+      expecting to find my brethren filled with anxiety concerning me, but such
+      was not the case. Any one man is little missed in this world, and my
+      comrades supposed that I was invited to the Court, and had forgotten them
+      as I saw they had forgotten me, so I said nothing of my adventure, but
+      mounted my waiting horse and journeyed back to the Castle of Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a long time there was silence between the two, then the younger spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you intend to take any action regarding your unauthorized
+      imprisonment?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no,&rdquo; replied the forgiving monk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it certain that this dissolute young man will be chosen Emperor?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is a likelihood, but not a certainty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would not the election of such a person to the highest position in
+      the State prove even a greater misfortune to the land than the continuance
+      of the present regime, for this young man adds to his father&rsquo;s vice
+      of drunkenness the evil qualities, of dishonesty, cruelty, ribaldry, and a
+      lack of respect for the privileges both of Church and nobility?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Such indeed is my opinion, daughter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then is it not your duty at once to acquaint the three Archbishops
+      with what you have already told me, so that the disaster of his election
+      may be avoided?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is a matter to which I gave deep thought during my journey
+      thither, and I also invoked the aid of Heaven in guiding me to a just
+      conclusion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And that conclusion, Father?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is to say nothing whatever about my experiences in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because it is not given to a humble man like myself, occupying a
+      position of no authority, to fathom what may be in the minds of those
+      great Princes of the Church, the Archbishops. In effect they rule the
+      country, and it is possible that they prefer to place on the throne a
+      drunken nonentity who will offer no impediment to their ambitions, rather
+      than to elect a moral young man who might in time prove too strong for
+      them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sure no such motive would actuate the Archbishop of Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His Lordship of Cologne, my child, dare not break with their
+      Lordships of Treves and Mayence, so you may be sure that if these two wish
+      to elect Prince Roland Emperor, nothing I could say to the Archbishop of
+      Cologne would prevent that choice.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I had forgotten, in the excitement of listening to your
+      adventures, but talking of the Archbishop reminds me his Highness of
+      Cologne will visit us to-morrow, and he especially wishes to see you. You
+      may imagine my anxiety when I received his message a few days ago, knowing
+      nothing of your whereabouts.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wishes to see me?&rdquo; ejaculated Father Ambrose, wrinkling a
+      perplexed brow. &ldquo;I wonder what for. Can he have any knowledge of my
+      visit to Frankfort?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How could he?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Archbishops possess sources of enlightenment that we wot not
+      of. If he charges me with being absent from my post, I must admit the
+      fact.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course. Let me confess to him as soon as he arrives; your
+      journey was entirely due to my persistence. I alone am to blame.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man slowly shook his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am at least equally culpable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I shall
+      answer truthfully any question asked me, but I hope I am not in the wrong
+      if I volunteer no information.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl rose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You could do no wrong, Father, even if you tried; and now
+      good-night. Sleep soundly and fear nothing. On the rare occasions when the
+      good Archbishop was angry with me, I have always managed to placate him,
+      and I shall not fail in this instance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose bade her good-night, and left the room with the languid air
+      of one thoroughly tired. As the young Countess stood there watching his
+      retreat and disappearance, her dainty little fist clenched, and her
+      eyebrows came together, bringing to her handsome face the determined
+      expression which marked the countenances of some of her Crusader ancestors
+      whose portraits decorated the walls.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If ever I get that ruffian Prince Roland into my power,&rdquo; she
+      said to herself, &ldquo;I will make him regret his treatment of so
+      tolerant and forbearing a man as Father Ambrose.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      V. THE COUNTESS VON SAYN AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      It was high noon when that great Prince of the Church, the Archbishop of
+      Cologne, arrived at Castle Sayn, with a very inconsiderable following,
+      which seemed to indicate that he traveled on no affair of State, for on
+      such occasions he led a small army. The lovely young Countess awaited him
+      at the top of the Castle steps, and he greeted her with the courtesy of a
+      polished man of the world, rather than with the more austere consideration
+      of a great Churchman. Indeed, it seemed to the quick apprehension of the
+      girl that as he raised her fair hand to his lips his obeisance was lower,
+      more deferential, than their differing stations in life justified.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He shook hands with Father Ambrose in the manner of old friend accosting
+      old friend, and nothing in his salutation indicated displeasure of any
+      sort in the background.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Perhaps, then, that sense of uneasiness felt by both the aged Father
+      Ambrose and the youthful Countess Hildegunde in the Archbishop&rsquo;s
+      presence came from their consciousness of conspiracy, resulting in the
+      ill-fated journey to Frankfort. Nevertheless, all that afternoon the two
+      were oppressed by the shadow of some impending danger, and the good
+      spirits of the Archbishop seemed to them assumed for the occasion, and
+      indeed in this they were not far wrong. His Lordship of Cologne was keenly
+      apprehensive regarding an important conference set down for the next day,
+      and the exuberance of an essentially serious man in such a crisis is prone
+      to be overdone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose, who, in the midst of luxury and plenty, lived with the
+      abstemiousness of an anchorite, and always partook of his scant
+      refreshment alone in his cell, was invited by the Archbishop to a seat at
+      the table in the dining-hall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So long as you cast no look of reproach upon me for my enjoyment of
+      Sayn&rsquo;s most excellent cuisine, and my appreciation of its unequaled
+      cellar, I shall not comment on your dinner of parched peas and your
+      unexhilarating tankard of water. Besides, I wish to consult with Ambrose
+      the librarian of Sayn, touching the archives of this house, rather than
+      with Ambrose the superintendent of farms, or Father Ambrose the monk.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During the midday meal the Archbishop led, and at times monopolized, the
+      conversation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;While you were under the tutelage of the good Sisters at
+      Nonnenwerth Convent, Hildegunde, the Abbess frequently spoke of your
+      proficiency in historical studies. Did you ever turn your attention to the
+      annals of your own House?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Guardian. From what I heard casually of my ancestors a record
+      of their doings would be scarcely the sort of reading recommended to a
+      young girl.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, very true, very true,&rdquo; agreed the Archbishop. &ldquo;Some
+      of the Counts of Sayn led turbulent lives, and except with a battle-ax it
+      was difficult to persuade them not to meddle with the goods and chattels
+      of their neighbors. A strenuous line they proved in those olden days; but
+      many noble women have adorned the Castle of Sayn whose lives shine out
+      like an inspiration against the dark background of medieval tumult. Did
+      you ever hear of your forebear, the gracious Countess Matilda von Sayn,
+      who lived some hundreds of years ago? Indeed, the letters I have been
+      reading, written in her quaint handwriting, are dated about the middle of
+      the thirteenth century. I cannot learn whether she was older or younger
+      than the Archbishop of Cologne of that period, and thus I wish to enlist
+      the interest of Father Ambrose in searching the archives of Sayn for
+      anything pertaining to her. The Countess sent many epistles to the
+      Archbishop which he carefully preserved, while documents of much more
+      importance to the Archbishopric were allowed to go astray.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Her letters breathe a deep devotion to the Church, and a warm
+      kindliness to its chief ornament of that day, the then Archbishop of
+      Cologne. She was evidently his most cherished adviser, and in points of
+      difficulty her counsel exhibits all the clarity of a man&rsquo;s brain, to
+      which is added a tenderness and a sense of justice entirely womanly. I
+      could not help fancying that this great prelate&rsquo;s success in his
+      Archbishopric was largely due to the disinterested advice of this noble
+      woman. It is clearly to be seen that the Countess was the benignant power
+      behind the throne, and she watched his continued advancement with a love
+      resembling that lavished on a favorite son. Her writings now and then
+      betray an affection of a quality so motherly that I came to believe she
+      was much older than the great Churchman, but then there is the fact that
+      she long outlived him, so it is possible she may have been the younger.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, my Lord, are you about to weave us a romance?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop smiled, and for a moment placed his hand upon hers, which
+      rested on the table beside him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A romance, perhaps, between myself and the Countess of long ago,
+      for as I read these letters I used much of their contents for my own
+      guidance, and found her precepts as wise to-day as they were in 1250, and
+      to me ... to me,&rdquo; the Archbishop sighed, &ldquo;she seems to live
+      again. Yes, I confess my ardent regard for her, and if you call that
+      romance, it is surely of a very innocent nature.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the other Archbishop? Your predecessor, the friend of Matilda;
+      what of him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, Hildegunde, I have much less evidence to go upon, for his
+      letters, if they exist, are concealed somewhere in the archives of Sayn
+      Castle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To-morrow,&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;I shall robe myself in the
+      oldest garments I possess, and will rummage those dusty archives until I
+      find the letters of him who was Archbishop in 1250.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have bestowed that task upon one less impulsive. Father Ambrose
+      is the searcher, and he and I will put our wise old heads together in
+      consultation over them before entrusting them to the perusal of that
+      impetuous young noblewoman, the present Countess von Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The impetuous person referred to brought down her hand with a peremptory
+      impact upon the table, and exclaimed emphatically:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord Archbishop, I shall read those letters to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once more the Archbishop placed his hand on hers, this time, however,
+      clasping it firmly in his own. There was no smile on his face as he said
+      gravely:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My lady, to-morrow you will face three living Archbishops, more
+      difficult, perhaps, to deal with than one who is dust.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Three!&rdquo; she cried, startled, a gleam of apprehension
+      troubling her fine eyes. &ldquo;My Lords of Mayence, Treves, and yourself?
+      Are they coming here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The conclave of the Archbishops will be held at Castle Stolzenfels,
+      the Rhine residence of my brother of Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why is this Court convened?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That will be explained to you, Hildegunde, by his Highness of
+      Mayence. I did not intend to speak to you about this until later, so I
+      will merely say that there is nothing to fear. I, being your guardian, am
+      sent to escort you to Stolzenfels, and as we ride there together I wish to
+      place before you some suggestions which you may find useful when the
+      meeting takes place.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall faithfully follow any advice you give me, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sure of it, Hildegunde, and you will remember that I speak as
+      guardian, not as Councilor of State. My observations will be requests and
+      not commands. You see, we have reversed the positions of my predecessor
+      and the Countess Matilda. It was always she who tendered advice, which he
+      invariably accepted. Now I must take the rôle of advice-giver; thus you
+      and I transpose the parts of the former Archbishop of Cologne, and the
+      former Countess of Sayn, who, I am sorry to note, have been completely
+      banished from your thoughts by my premature announcement regarding the
+      three living Archbishops.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, not at all, not at all! I am still thinking of those two. Have
+      you told me all you know about them?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Far from it. Although I was handicapped in my reconstitution of
+      their friendship by lack of the Archbishop&rsquo;s letters, he had
+      nevertheless made a note here and there upon the communications he
+      received from the Countess. Throughout the letters certain paragraphs are
+      marked with a cross, as if for reperusal, these paragraphs being
+      invariably most delicately and charmingly written. But now I come to the
+      last very important document, the only one of which a copy has been kept,
+      written in the Archbishop&rsquo;s own hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In the year 1250, the Countess von Sayn had ceded to him the Rhine
+      town of Linz. Linz seems to have been a rebellious and troublesome fief,
+      which the Sayns held by force of arms. When it came into the possession of
+      the Archbishop, the foolish inhabitants, remembering that Cologne was a
+      long distance down the river compared with the up-river journey to Sayn,
+      broke out into open revolt. The Archbishop sent up his army, and most
+      effectually crushed this outbreak, severely punishing the rebels. He
+      returned from this subdued town to his own city of Cologne, and whether
+      from the exposure of the brief campaign, or some other cause, he was taken
+      ill and shortly after died.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The new Archbishop was installed, and nearly two years passed, so
+      far as I can learn, before the Countess Matilda made claim that the town
+      of Linz should come again within her jurisdiction, saying that this
+      restitution had been promised by the late Archbishop. His successor,
+      however, disputed this claim. He possessed, he said, the deed of gift
+      making over the town of Linz to his predecessor, and this document was
+      definite enough. If then, it was the intention of the late Archbishop to
+      return Linz to the House of Sayn, the Countess doubtless held some
+      document to that effect, and in this case he would like to know its
+      purport.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Countess replied that an understanding had existed between the
+      late Archbishop and herself regarding the subjugation of the town of Linz
+      and its return to her after the rebellion was quelled. But for the
+      untimely death of the late Archbishop she did not doubt that his part of
+      the contract would have been kept long since. Nevertheless, she did
+      possess a document, in the late Archbishop&rsquo;s own hand, setting out
+      the terms of their agreement, and of this manuscript she sent a copy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The crafty Archbishop, without casting doubt on the authenticity of
+      the copy, said that of course it would be illegal for him to act upon it.
+      He must have the original document. Matilda replied, very shrewdly, that
+      on her part she could not allow the original document to quit her custody,
+      as upon it rested her rights to the town of Linz. She would, however,
+      exhibit this document to any ecclesiastical committee her correspondent
+      might appoint, and the members of the committee so chosen should be men
+      well acquainted with the late Archbishop&rsquo;s writing and signature. In
+      reply the Archbishop regretted that he could not accept her suggestion.
+      The people of Cologne, believing that their overlord had rightfully
+      acquired Linz, cheerfully consented to make good their title by battle,
+      thus having, as it were, bought the town with their blood, and indeed, a
+      deplorable sacrifice of life, it would become a dangerous venture to give
+      up the town unless indisputable documentary evidence might be exhibited to
+      them showing that such a bargain was made by the deceased prelate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But before proceeding farther in this matter, he asked the Countess
+      if she were prepared to swear that the copy forwarded to him was a full
+      and faithful rendition of the original. Did it contain every word the late
+      Archbishop had written in that letter?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To this the Countess made no reply, and allowed to lapse any title
+      she might have to the town of Linz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think,&rdquo; cried the girl indignantly, &ldquo;that my
+      ancestress was in the right, refusing further communication with this
+      ignoble Churchman who dared to impugn her good faith.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop smiled at her vehemence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall make no attempt to defend my astute predecessor. A
+      money-lender&rsquo;s soul tenanted his austere body, but what would you
+      say if his implication of the Countess Matilda&rsquo;s good faith was
+      justified?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean that the copy which she sent of the Archbishop&rsquo;s
+      letter was fraudulent? I cannot believe it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not fraudulent. So far as it went her copy was word perfect. She
+      neglected to add, however, a final sentence, and rather than make it public
+      forfeited her rightful claim to great possessions. Of the Archbishop&rsquo;s
+      communications to her there remains in our archives a copy of this last
+      epistle written in his own hand. I cannot imagine why he added the final
+      clauses to what was in essence an important business communication. The
+      premonition he admits may have set his thoughts upon things not of this
+      world, but undoubtedly he believed that he would live long enough to
+      conquer the rebels of Linz, and restore to the Countess her property. This
+      is what he wrote, and she refused to publish:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Matilda, I feel that my days are numbered, and that their
+      number is scant. To all the world my life seems to have been successful
+      beyond the wishes of mortal man, but to me it is a dismal failure, in that
+      I die bachelor Archbishop of Cologne, and you are the spinster Countess
+      von Sayn.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      VI. TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM THE COUNTESS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      There are few favored spots occupied by blue water and greensward over
+      which a greater splendor is cast by the rising sun on a midsummer morning
+      than that portion of the Rhine near Coblentz, and as our little procession
+      emerged from the valley of the Saynbach every member of it was struck with
+      the beauty of the flat country across the Rhine, ripening toward a yellow
+      harvest, flooded by the golden glory of the rising sun.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Their route led to the left by the foot of the eastern hills, and not yet
+      along the margin of the great river. Gradually, however, as they journeyed
+      in a southerly direction, the highlands deflected them westward until at
+      last there was but scant room for the road between rock and water. Always
+      they were in the shade, a comforting feature of a midsummer journey, an
+      advantage, however, soon to be lost when they crossed the Rhine by the
+      ferry to Coblentz. The distance from Sayn Castle to Schloss Stolzenfels
+      was a little less than four leagues, so their early start permitted a
+      leisurely journey.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop and the Countess rode side by side. Following them at some
+      distance came Father Ambrose, deep in his meditations, and paying little
+      attention to the horse he rode, which indeed, faithful animal, knew more
+      about the way than did his rider. Still farther to the rear rode half a
+      dozen mounted lancemen, two and two, the scant escort of one who commanded
+      many thousands of armed men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How lovely and how peaceful is the scene,&rdquo; said the Countess.
+      &ldquo;How beautiful are the fields of waving grain; their color of dawn
+      softened by the deep green of interspersed vineyards, and the water
+      without a ripple, like a slumbering lake rather than a strong river. It
+      seems as though anger, contention, and struggle could not exist in a realm
+      so heavenly.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Seems&rsquo; is the word to use,&rdquo; commented the
+      Archbishop gravely, &ldquo;but the unbroken placidity of the river you so
+      much admire is a peace of defeat. I had much rather see its flood
+      disturbed by moving barges and the turmoil of commerce. It is a peace that
+      means starvation and death to our capital city, and, indeed, in a lesser
+      degree, to my own town of Cologne, and to Coblentz, whose gates we are
+      approaching.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But surely,&rdquo; persisted the girl, &ldquo;the outlook is
+      improving, when you and I travel unmolested with a mere handful of men to
+      guard us. Time was when a great and wealthy Archbishop might not stir
+      abroad with less than a thousand men in his train.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose matters mend,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;as we progress in
+      civilized usage. The number of my escort, however, is not limited by my
+      own modesty, but stipulated by the Court of Archbishops. Mayence travels
+      down the Rhine and Treves down the Moselle, each with a similar following
+      at his heels.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are pessimistic this lovely morning, my Lord, and will not even
+      admit that the world is beautiful.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It all depends on the point of view, Hildegunde. I regard it from a
+      position toward the end of life, and you from the charming station of
+      youth: the far-apart outlook of an old man and a young girl.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nonsense, Guardian, you are anything but old. Nevertheless I am
+      much disappointed with your attitude this morning. I fully expected to be
+      complimented by you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t my whole attitude breathe of compliment?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, but I expected a particular compliment to-day!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What have I overlooked?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You overlooked the fact that yesterday you aroused my most intense
+      curiosity regarding the journey we are now taking together, and the
+      conference which is to follow. Despite deep anxiety to learn what is
+      before me I have not asked you a single question, nor even hinted at the
+      subject until this moment. Now, I think I should be rewarded for my
+      reticence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Countess, you are an exception among women, and I merely
+      withheld the well-earned praise until such time as I could broach the
+      subject occupying my mind ever since we left the Castle. With the
+      awkwardness of a man I did not know how to begin until you so kindly
+      indicated the way.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps, after all, I make a false claim, because I have guessed
+      your secret, and therefore my deep solicitude is assumed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Guessed it?&rdquo; queried the Archbishop, a shade of anxiety
+      crossing his face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes. Your story of the former Archbishop and the Countess Matilda
+      gave me a clue. You have discovered a document proving my right to the
+      town of Linz on the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop bowed his head, but said nothing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your sense of justice urges you to make amends, but such a long
+      time has elapsed that my claim is doubtless outlawed, and you do not quite
+      know how restoration may be effected. You have, I take it, consulted with
+      one or other of your colleagues, Mayence or Treves, or perhaps with both.
+      They have made objection to your proposed generosity, and put forward the
+      argument that you are but temporary trustee of the Cologne Archbishopric;
+      that you must guard the rights of your successor; and this truism could
+      not help but appeal to that quality of equity which distinguishes you, so
+      a conference of the prelates has been called, and a majority of that Court
+      will decide whether or not the town of Linz shall be tendered to me.
+      Perhaps a suggestion will be made that I allow things to remain as they
+      are, in which case I shall at once refuse to accept the town of Linz. Now,
+      Guardian, how near have I come to solving the mystery?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They rode along in silence together, the Archbishop pondering on the
+      problem of her further enlightenment. At last he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cologne is ruled by its Archbishop, wisely or the reverse as the
+      case may be. The Archbishop, much as he reveres the opinion of his
+      distinguished colleagues, would never put them to the inconvenience of
+      giving a decision on any matter not concerning them. Linz&rsquo;s fate was
+      settled when the handwriting of my predecessor, prelate of 1250 A.D.,
+      convinced me that this Rhine town belonged to the House of Sayn.
+      Restitution has already been accomplished in due legal form, and when next
+      the Countess Hildegunde rides through Linz, she rides through her own
+      town.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall never, never accept it, Guardian.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is yours now, Countess. If you do not wish to hold the town, use
+      it as a gift to the fortunate man you marry. And now, Hildegunde, this
+      long-postponed advice I wish to press upon your attention, must be given,
+      for we are nearing the ferry to Coblentz, and between that town and
+      Stolzenfels we may have company. Of the three Archbishops you will meet
+      to-day, there is only one of whom you need take account.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I know that,&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;his Lordship of
+      Cologne!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop smiled, but went on seriously:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where two or three men are gathered together, one is sure to be
+      leader. In our case the chief of the trio supposed to be equal is his
+      Highness of Mayence. Treves and I pretend not to be under his thumb, but
+      we are: that is to say, Treves holds I am under his thumb, and I hold
+      Treves is under his thumb, and so when one or the other of us join the
+      Archbishop of Mayence, there is a majority of the Court, and the third
+      member is helpless.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But why don&rsquo;t you and Treves join together?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because each thinks the other a coward, and doubtless both are
+      right. The point of the matter is that Mayence is the iron man of the
+      combination; therefore I beg you beware of him, and I also entreat you to
+      agree with the proposal he will make. It will be of tremendous advantage
+      to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case, my Lord, how could I refuse?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope, my child, you will not, but if you should make objection,
+      do so with all the tact at your disposal. In fact, refrain wholly from
+      objection if you can, and plead for time to consider, so that you and I
+      may consult together, thus affording me opportunity of bringing arguments
+      to bear that may influence your decision.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Guardian, you alarm me by the awesome way in which you
+      speak. What fateful choice hangs over my head?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have no wish to frighten you, my daughter, and, indeed, I
+      anticipate little chance of disagreement at the conference. I merely
+      desire that you shall understand something of Mayence. He is a man whom
+      opposition may drive to extremity, and being accustomed to crush those who
+      disagree with him, rather than conquer by more diplomatic methods, I am
+      anxious you should not be led into any semblance of dissent from his
+      wishes. By agreement between Mayence, Treves, and myself, I am not allowed
+      to enlighten you regarding the question at issue. I perhaps strain that
+      agreement a little when I endeavor to put you on your guard. If, at any
+      point in the discussion, you wish a few moments to reflect, glance across
+      the table at me, and I shall immediately intervene with some interruption
+      which must be debated by the three members of the Court. Of course, I
+      shall do everything in my power to protect you should our grim friend
+      Mayence lose his temper, as may happen if you thwart him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why am I likely to thwart him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why indeed? I see no reason. I am merely an old person perhaps
+      over-cautious. Hence this warding off of a crisis which I hope will never
+      arise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Guardian, I have one question to ask, and that will settle the
+      matter here on the border of the Rhine, before we reach Stolzenfels. Do
+      you thoroughly approve, with your heart, mind, and conscience, of the
+      proposition to be made to me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do,&rdquo; replied the Archbishop, in a tone of conviction that
+      none could gainsay. &ldquo;Heart and soul, agree.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, Guardian, your crisis that never came vanishes. I shall tell
+      his Lordship of Mayence, in my sweetest voice and most ingratiating
+      manner, that I will do whatever he requests.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here the conversation ceased, for the solitude now gave way to a scene of
+      activity, as they came to the landing alongside which lay the floating
+      bridge, a huge barge, capable of carrying their whole company at one
+      voyage. Several hundred persons, on horseback or on foot, gathered along
+      the river-bank, raised a cheer as the Archbishop appeared. The Countess
+      thought they waited to greet him, but they were merely travelers or market
+      people who found their journey interrupted at this point. An emissary of
+      the Archbishop had commanded the ferry-boat to remain at its eastern
+      landing until his Lordship came aboard. When the distinguished party
+      embarked, the crew instantly cast off their moorings, and the tethered
+      barge, impelled by the swift current, gently swung across to the opposite
+      shore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A great concourse of people greeted their arrival at Coblentz, and if
+      vociferous shouts and hurrahs are signs of popularity, the Archbishop had
+      reason to congratulate himself upon his reception. The prelate bowed and
+      smiled, but did not pause at Coblentz, and, to the evident disappointment
+      of the multitude, continued his way up the Rhine. When the little
+      cavalcade drew away from the mob, the Countess spoke:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I had no thought,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;that Coblentz contained
+      so many inhabitants.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Neither does it,&rdquo; replied the Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then is this simply an influx of people from the country, and is
+      the conclave of the Archbishops of such importance that it draws so many
+      sightseers?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Court held by the Archbishops on this occasion is very
+      important. I suspect, however, that those are no sightseers, for the
+      general public is quite unaware that we meet to-day. They who cheered so
+      lustily just now are, I think, men of Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you mean soldiers?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aye. Soldiers in the dress of ordinary townsmen, but I dare say
+      they all know where to find their weapons should a war-cry arise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you imply that the Archbishop of Treves has broken his compact?
+      I understood that your escort was limited to the few men following you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Lordship laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Archbishop of Treves,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;is not a great
+      strategist, yet I surmise he is ready in case of trouble to seize the city
+      of Coblentz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What trouble could arise?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The present moment is somewhat critical, for the Emperor lies dying
+      in Frankfort. We three Electors hope to avoid all commotion by having our
+      plans prepared and acting upon them promptly. But the hours between the
+      death of an Emperor and the appointment of his successor are fateful with
+      uncertainty. I suppose the good Sisters at Nonnenwerth taught you about
+      the Election of an Emperor?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, Guardian, I am sorry to confess that if they did I have
+      forgotten all about it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are seven Electors; four high nobles of the Empire and three
+      Archbishops, Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. The present Count
+      Palatine of the Rhine is, like my friend Treves, completely under the
+      dominion of the Archbishop of Mayence, so the three Lords Spiritual, with
+      the aid of the Count Palatine, form a majority of the Electoral Court.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I understand. And now I surmise that you assemble at Stolzenfels to
+      choose our future Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; he has already been chosen, but his name will not be announced
+      to any person save one before the Emperor dies.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doubtless that one is the Count Palatine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Countess, he remains ignorant; and I give you warning, Madam, I
+      am not to be cross-questioned by indirection. You should be merciful: I am
+      but clay in your hands, yet there is certain information I am forbidden to
+      impart, so I will merely say that if the Archbishop happens to be in
+      good-humor this afternoon, he is very likely to tell you who will be the
+      future Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl gave an exclamation of surprise.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To tell me? Why should he do so?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I said I was not to be cross-examined any further. I tremble now
+      with apprehension lest I have let slip something I should not, therefore
+      we will change the subject to one of paramount importance; namely, our
+      midday meal. I intended to stop at Coblentz for that repast, but the
+      Archbishop of Treves, whose guests we are, was good enough to accept a
+      menu I suggested, therefore we will sit at table with him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You suggested a menu?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I hope you will approve of it. There is some excellent Rhine
+      salmon, with a sauce most popular in Treves, a sauce that has been
+      celebrated for centuries. Next some tender venison from the forest behind
+      Stolzenfels, which is noted for its deer. There are, beside, cakes and
+      various breads, also vegetables, and all are to be washed down by delicate
+      Oberweseler wine. How does my speis-card please you, Countess?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am committing it to memory, Guardian, so that I shall know what
+      to prepare for you when next you visit my Castle of Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, this repast is not in my honor, but in yours. I feared you
+      might object to the simplicity of it. It is upon record that this meal was
+      much enjoyed by a young lady some centuries ago, at this very Castle of
+      Stolzenfels, shortly after it was completed. Indeed, I think it likely she
+      was the noble castle&rsquo;s first guest. Stolzenfels was built by Arnold
+      von Isenberg, the greatest Archbishop that ever ruled over Treves, if I
+      may except Archbishop Baldwin, the fighter. Isenberg determined to have a
+      stronghold on the Rhine midway between Mayence and Cologne, and he made it
+      a palace as well as a fortress, taking his time about it&mdash;in all
+      seventeen years. He began its erection in 1242, and so was building at the
+      time your ancestress Matilda ceded Linz to the Archbishop of Cologne,
+      therefore I imagine Cologne probably wished to have a stronghold within
+      striking distance of Treves&rsquo; new castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One of the first to visit Stolzenfels was a charming young English
+      girl named Isabella, who was no other than the youngest daughter of John,
+      King of England. Doubtless she came here with an imposing suite of
+      attendants, and I surmise that the great prelate&rsquo;s castle saw
+      impressive pageants and festivities, for the chronicler, after setting
+      down the menu whose excellence I hope to test to-day, adds:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;They ate well, and drank better, and the Royal maiden danced
+      a great deal.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Her brother then occupied the English throne. He was Henry III.,
+      and of course much attention was paid over here to his dancing sister.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, Guardian, what you say gives a new interest to old
+      Stolzenfels. I have never been within the Castle, but now I shall view it
+      with delight, wondering through which of the rooms the English Princess
+      danced. Why did Isabella come from England all the way to the Rhine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She came to meet the three Archbishops.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Really? For what purpose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That they might in ecclesiastical form, and upon the highest
+      ecclesiastical authority, announce her betrothal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Announce in Stolzenfels the betrothal of an English Princess, the
+      daughter of one king and sister of another! Did she, then, marry a German?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; she married the Emperor, Frederick II.; Frederick of
+      Hohenstaufen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Slowly the girl turned her head, and looked steadfastly at the Archbishop,
+      who was gazing earnestly up the road as if to catch a glimpse of the
+      Castle which had been the scene of the events he related. Her face became
+      pale, and a questioning wonder rose in her eyes. What did the Archbishop
+      really mean by this latest historical recital? True, he was a man who had
+      given much study to ancient lore; rather fond of exhibiting his
+      proficiency therein when he secured patient listeners. Could there be any
+      secret meaning in his story of the English Princess who danced? Was there
+      any hidden analogy between the journey of the English Isabella, and the
+      short trip taken that day by Hildegunde of Sayn? She was about to speak
+      when the Archbishop made a slight signal with his right hand, and a
+      horseman who had followed them all the way from Coblentz now spurred up
+      alongside of his Lordship, who said sharply to the newcomer:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many of Treves&rsquo; men are in Coblentz?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Eight hundred and fifty, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Enough to capture the town?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Coblentz is already in their possession, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They seem to be unarmed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Their weapons are stored under guard in the Church of St. Castor,
+      and can be in the hands of the soldiers within a few minutes after a
+      signal is rung by the St. Castor&rsquo;s bells.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are there any troops in Coblentz from Mayence?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many of my men have been placed behind the Castle of
+      Stolzenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Three thousand are concealed in the forest near the hilltop.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many men has my Lord of Mayence within call?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Apparently only the scant half-dozen that reached Stolzenfels with
+      him yesterday.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you sure of that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Scouts have been sent all through the forest to the south, and have
+      brought us no word of an advancing company. Other scouts have gone up the
+      river as far as Bingen, but everything is quiet, and it would have been
+      impossible for his Lordship to march a considerable number of men from any
+      quarter towards Stolzenfels without one or other of our hundred spies
+      learning of the movement.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then doubtless Mayence depends on his henchman Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would seem so, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you; that will do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rider saluted, turned his horse towards the north, and galloped away,
+      and a few moments later the little procession came within sight of
+      Stolzenfels, standing grandly on its conical hill beside the Rhine,
+      against a background of green formed by the mountainous forests to the
+      rear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This conversation, which she could not help but hear, had driven entirely
+      from the mind of Hildegunde the pretty story of the English Princess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, Guardian!&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;we seem to be in the midst
+      of impending civil war.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are in the midst of an assured peace,&rdquo; he replied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What! with Coblentz practically seized, and three thousand of your
+      men lurking in the woods above us?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes. I told you that Treves was no strategist. I suppose he and
+      Mayence imagine that by seizing the town of Coblentz they cut off my
+      retreat to Cologne. They know it would be useless in a crisis for me to
+      journey up the river, as I should then be getting farther and farther from
+      my base of supplies both in men and provisions, therefore the Archbishop
+      of Mayence has neglected to garrison that quarter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, Guardian, you are surely entrapped, with Coblentz thus held?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so, my child, while I command three thousand men to their eight
+      hundred.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But that means a battle!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A battle that will never take place, Hildegunde, because I shall
+      seize something much more valuable than any town, namely, the persons of
+      the two Archbishops. With their Lordships of Treves and Mayence in my
+      custody, cut off from communication with their own troops, I have slight
+      fear of a leaderless army. The very magnitude of the force at my command
+      is an assurance of peace.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They now arrived at the branching hill-road leading up to the gates of
+      Stolzenfels just above them, and conversation ceased, but the Countess was
+      fated to remember before the afternoon grew old the final words Cologne
+      spoke so confidently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      VII. MUTINY IN THE WILDERNESS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      It was a lovely morning in July when Prince Roland walked into the shadow
+      of the handsome tower which to-day is all that survives of the Elector&rsquo;s
+      palace at Hochst, on the river Main. He found Greusel there awaiting him,
+      but none of the others. When the two had greeted one another, the Prince
+      said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Joseph, I determined several days ago to appoint you my lieutenant
+      on this expedition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you take my advice, Roland, you will do nothing of the kind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because it may be looked upon as favoritism, and so promote
+      jealously in the ranks, which is a thing to avoid.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Whom would you suggest for the place?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Conrad Kurzbold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What! and run the risk of divided authority? I am determined to be
+      commander, you know.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kurzbold, even if made lieutenant, would be as much under your
+      orders as the rest of us. He is an energetic man, and you may thus direct
+      his energy along the right path. From being a critic, he will become one
+      of the criticised, giving him something to think about. Then your
+      appointment of him would show that you bear no ill-feeling for what he
+      said last night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You appear to think, Greusel, that it is the duty of a commander to
+      curry favor with his following.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but I regard tact as a useful quality. You see, you are not in
+      the position of a general with an army. The members of the guild can
+      depose you whenever they like and elect a successor, or they may desert
+      you in a body, and you have no redress. Your methods should not be
+      drastic, but rather those of a man who seeks election to some high office.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear I am not constituted for such a rôle, Greusel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you are to succeed in the task you have undertaken, Roland, you
+      must adapt yourself to your situation as it actually is, and not as you
+      would wish to have it. I stood by you yesterday evening, and succeeded in
+      influencing the others to do the same, yet there is no denying that you
+      spoke to those men in a most overbearing manner. Why, you could not have
+      been more downright had you been an officer of the Emperor himself. What
+      passed through my mind as I listened was, &lsquo;Where did this youth get
+      his swagger?&rsquo; You ordered Kurzbold out of the ranks, you know.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then why favor my action?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because I was reluctant to see a promising marauding adventure
+      wrecked at the very outset for lack of a few soothing words.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland laughed heartily. The morning was inspiring, and he was in good
+      fettle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your words to Kurzbold were anything but soothing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I was compelled to crush him. He was the cause of the
+      disturbance, and therefore I had no mercy so far as the affair impinged
+      upon him. But the others, with the exception of Gensbein perhaps, are
+      good, honest, sweet-tempered fellows, whom I did not wish to see misled. I
+      think you must put out of your mind all thought of punishment, no matter
+      what the offense against your authority may be.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then how would you deal with insubordination when it arises?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should trust to the good sense of the remaining members of your
+      company to make it uncomfortable for the offender.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But suppose they don&rsquo;t?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel shrugged his shoulders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case you are helpless, I fear. At any rate, talking of
+      hanging, or the infliction of any other punishment, is quite futile so
+      long as you do not possess the power to carry out your sentence. To return
+      to my simile of the general: a general can order any private in his army
+      to be hanged, and the man is taken out and hanged accordingly, but if one
+      of the guild is to be executed, he must be condemned by an overwhelming
+      vote of his fellows, because even if a bare majority sentenced one
+      belonging to the minority it would mean civil war among us. Suppose, for
+      example, it was proposed to hang you, and eleven voted for the execution
+      and nine against it. Do you think we nine would submit to the verdict of
+      the eleven? Not so. I am myself the most peaceful of men, but the moment
+      it came to that point, I should run my sword through the proposer of the
+      execution before he had time to draw his weapon. In other words, I&rsquo;d
+      murder him to lessen the odds, and then we&rsquo;d fight it out like men.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why didn&rsquo;t you say all this last night, Greusel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Last night my whole attention was concentrated on inducing Kurzbold
+      to forget that you had threatened the company with a hangman&rsquo;s rope.
+      Had he remembered that, I could never have carried the vote of confidence.
+      But you surely saw that the other men were most anxious to support you if
+      your case was placed fairly before them, a matter which, for some reason,
+      you thought it beneath your dignity to attempt.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Joseph, your wholesale censure this morning does much to
+      nullify the vote I received last night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Roland, I am not censuring you at all; I am merely
+      endeavoring to place facts before you so that you will recognize them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite so, but what I complain of is that these facts were not
+      exhibited in time for me to shoulder or shirk the responsibility. I do not
+      believe that military operations can be successfully carried on by a
+      little family party, the head of which must coddle the others in the
+      group, and beg pardon before he says &lsquo;Devil take you!&rsquo; I would
+      not have accepted the leadership last night had I known the conditions.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, it is not yet too late to recede. The barge does not leave
+      Frankfort until this evening, and it is but two leagues back to that city.
+      Within half an hour at the farthest, every man of us will be assembled
+      here. Now is the time to have it out with them, because to-morrow morning
+      the opportunity to withdraw will be gone.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is too late even now, Greusel. If last night the guild could not
+      make up the money we owe to Goebel, what hope is there that a single coin
+      remains in their pockets this morning? Do I understand, then, that you
+      refuse to act as my lieutenant?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but I warn you it will be a step in the wrong direction. You
+      are quite sure of me; and as merely a man-at-arms, as you called us last
+      night, I shall be in a better position to speak in your favor than if I
+      were indebted to you for promotion from the ranks.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see. Therefore you counsel me to nominate Kurzbold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not Gensbein, who was nearly as mutinous as Kurzbold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Gensbein, if you prefer him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He showed a well-balanced mind last night, being part of the time
+      on one side and part on the other.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear commander, we were all against you last night, when you
+      spoke of hanging, and even when you only went as far as expulsion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I suppose you were, and the circumstances being such as you
+      state, doubtless you were justified. I am to command, then, a regiment
+      that may obey or not, according to the whim of the moment; a cheering
+      prospect, and one I had not anticipated. When I received the promise of
+      twenty men that they would carry out faithfully whatever I undertook on
+      their behalf, I expected them to stand by it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think you are unjust, Roland. No one has refused, and probably no
+      one will. If any one disobeys a command, then you can act as seems best to
+      you, but I wish you fully to realize the weakness of your status should it
+      come to drastic punishment.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite so, quite so,&rdquo; said Roland curtly. He clasped his hands
+      behind his back, and without further words paced up and down along the
+      bank of the river, head bowed in thought.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard was the next arrival, and he greeted Greusel cordially, then one
+      after another various members of the company came upon the scene. To the
+      new-comers Roland made no salutation, but continued his meditating walk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last the bell in the tower pealed forth nine slow, sonorous strokes,
+      and Roland raised his head, ceasing his perambulations. Greusel looked
+      anxiously at him as he came forward to the group, but his countenance gave
+      no indication whether or not he had determined to abandon the expedition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are we all here?&rdquo; asked Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; was the reply; &ldquo;Kurzbold, Eiselbert, Rasselstein,
+      and Gensbein have not arrived yet.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then we will wait for them a few moments longer,&rdquo; said the
+      commander, with no trace of resentment at their unpunctuality, and from
+      this Greusel assumed that he not only intended to go on, but had taken to
+      heart the warning given him. Ebearhard and a comrade walked up the road
+      rapidly toward Frankfort, hoping for some sign of the laggards, and Roland
+      resumed his stroll beside the river. At last Ebearhard and his companion
+      returned, and the former approached Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see nothing of those four,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;What do you
+      propose to do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think sixteen good men, all of a mind, will accomplish quite as
+      much as twenty who are divided in purpose. I propose, therefore, to go on,
+      unless you consider the missing four necessary, in which case we can do
+      nothing but wait.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am in favor of going forward,&rdquo; said Ebearhard; then turning
+      to the rest, who had gathered themselves around their captain, he appealed
+      to them. All approved of immediate action.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you intend to follow the river road, Captain?&rdquo; asked
+      Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, for two or three leagues, but after that we strike across the
+      country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. We can proceed leisurely along the road, and our friends
+      may overtake us if they have any desire to do so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right!&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;Then let us set out.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The seventeen walked without any company formation through the village,
+      then, approaching a wayside tavern, they were hailed by a loud shout from
+      the drinkers in front of it. Kurzbold was the spokesman for the party of
+      four, which he, with his comrades, made up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come here and drink success to glory,&rdquo; he shouted. &ldquo;Where
+      have you lads been all the morning?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The rendezvous,&rdquo; said Roland sternly, &ldquo;was at the
+      Elector&rsquo;s tower.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My rendezvous wasn&rsquo;t. I have been here for more than an hour,&rdquo;
+      said Kurzbold. &ldquo;I told you last night that when I arrived at Hochst
+      I should be thirsty, and would try to mitigate the disadvantage at a
+      tavern.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, with a laugh, &ldquo;we can all see you
+      have succeeded in removing the disadvantage.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you mean I&rsquo;m drunk, do you? I&rsquo;ll fight any man who
+      says I&rsquo;m drunk. It was a tremendous thirst caused by the dryness of
+      my throat from last night, and the dust on the Frankfort road this
+      morning. It takes a great deal of wine to overcome two thirsts. Come
+      along, lads, and drink to the success of the journey. No hard feeling.
+      Landlord, set out the wine here for seventeen people, and don&rsquo;t
+      forget us four in addition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The whole company strolled in under the trees that fronted the tavern,
+      except Roland, who stood aloof.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s a salute to you, Captain,&rdquo; cried Kurzbold.
+      &ldquo;I drink wine with you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not till we return from a successful expedition,&rdquo; said
+      Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, nonsense!&rdquo; hiccoughed Kurzbold. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t think
+      that your office places you so high above us that it is <i>infra dig</i>.
+      to drink with your comrades.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      To this diatribe Roland made no reply, and the sixteen, seeing the
+      attitude of their leader, hesitated to raise flagon to lip. The diplomatic
+      Ebearhard seized a measure of wine and approached Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Drink with us, Commander,&rdquo; he said aloud; and then in a
+      whisper, &ldquo;Greusel and I think you should.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you, comrade,&rdquo; said Roland, taking the flagon from him.
+      &ldquo;And now, brethren, I give you a toast.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good, good, good!&rdquo; cried Kurzbold, with drunken hilarity.
+      &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s to the success of the expedition. That&rsquo;s the
+      toast, I make no doubt, eh, Captain?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The sentiment is included in the toast I shall offer you. Drink to
+      the health of Joseph Greusel, whom I have this morning appointed my
+      lieutenant. If we all conduct ourselves as honorably and capably as he,
+      our project is bound to prosper.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel, who was seated at a table, allowed his head to sink into his
+      hands. Here was his advice scouted, and a direct challenge flung in the
+      face of the company. He believed now that, after all, Roland had resolved
+      to return to Frankfort, money or no money. If he intended to proceed to
+      the Rhine, then even worse might happen, for it was plain he was bent on
+      rule or ruin. Instantly the challenge was accepted. Kurzbold stood up,
+      swaying uncertainly, compelled to maintain his upright position by
+      grasping the top of the table at which he had been seated.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stop there, stop there!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;No man drinks to
+      that toast just yet. Patience, patience! all things in their order. If we
+      claim the power to elect our captain, by the cock-crowned Cross of the old
+      bridge we have a right to name the lieutenant! This is a question for the
+      companionship to decide, and a usurpation on the part of Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sit down, you fool!&rdquo; shouted Ebearhard savagely. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re
+      drunk. The Captain couldn&rsquo;t have made a better selection. What say
+      you, comrades?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A universal shout of &ldquo;Aye!&rdquo; greeted the question, and even
+      Kurzbold&rsquo;s three comrades joined in it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And now, gentlemen, no more talk. Here&rsquo;s to the health of the
+      new lieutenant, Joseph Greusel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The toast was drunk enthusiastically, all standing, with the exception of
+      Kurzbold, who came down in his seat with a thud.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right!&rdquo; he cried, waving his hand. &ldquo;All right; all
+      right! That&rsquo;s what I said. Greusel&rsquo;s good man, and now he&rsquo;s
+      elected by the companionship, he&rsquo;s all right. I drink to him. Drink
+      to anybody, I will!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In groping round for the flagon, he upset it, and then roared loudly for
+      the landlord to supply him again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, comrades,&rdquo; said Roland sharply, &ldquo;fall in! We&rsquo;ve
+      a long march ahead of us. Come, Greusel, we must lead the van, for I wish
+      to instruct you in your duties.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was rather a straggling procession that set out from Hochst.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; began Roland, as he strode along beside Greusel,
+      &ldquo;I should make some excuse for not following the advice you so
+      strenuously urged upon me this morning regarding the appointment of a
+      lieutenant. The truth is I wished to teach you a lesson, and could not
+      resist the temptation of proving that a crisis firmly and promptly met
+      disappears, whereas if you compromise with it there is a danger of being
+      overwhelmed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I admit. Commander, that you were successful just now, and the
+      reason is that most of our brigade are sane and sober this morning. But
+      wait until to-night, when the wine passes round several times, and if you
+      try conclusions with them then you are likely to fail.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the wine won&rsquo;t pass round to-night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can you prevent it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wait, and you will see,&rdquo; said Roland, with a laugh.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time they arrived at a fork in the road, one section going
+      southwest and the other straight west. The left branch was infinitely the
+      better thoroughfare, for the most part following the Main until it reached
+      the Rhine. Roland, however, chose the right-hand road.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought you were going along by the river,&rdquo; said his
+      lieutenant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have changed my mind,&rdquo; replied Roland, without further
+      explanation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At first Kurzbold determined to set the pace. He would show the company he
+      was not drunk, and tax them to follow him, but, his stout legs proving
+      unable to carry out this excellent resolution, he gradually fell to the
+      rear. As the sun rose higher, and grew hotter, the pace began to tell on
+      him, and he accepted without protest the support of two comrades who had
+      been drinking with him at Hochst. He retrograded into a condition of
+      pessimistic dejection as the enthusiasm of the wine evaporated. A little
+      later he wished to lie down by the roadside and allow a cruel and
+      unappreciative world to pass on its own way, but his comrades encouraged
+      him to further efforts, and in some manner they succeeded in dragging him
+      along at the tail of the procession.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As they approached the village of Zeilsheim, Roland requested his
+      lieutenant to inform the marchers that there would be no halt until <i>mittagessen</i>.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Zeilsheim is rather more than a league from Hochst, and Kurzbold allowed
+      himself to wake up sufficiently to maintain that the distance earned
+      another drink, but his supporters dragged him on with difficulty past
+      those houses which displayed a bush over the door. At the larger town of
+      Hofheim, five leagues from Frankfort, the same command was passed down the
+      ranks, and at this there was some grumbling, for the day had become very
+      hot, and the way was exceedingly trying, up hill and down dale.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Well set up as these city lads were, walking had never been their
+      accustomed exercise. The interesting Taunus mountains, which to-day
+      constitute an exercise ground full of delights to the pedestrian, forming,
+      as they do, practically a suburb of Frankfort, were at that time an
+      unexplored wilderness, whose forests were infested by roving brigands,
+      where no man ventured except at the risk of an untimely grave. The
+      mediæval townsman rarely trusted himself very far outside the city gates,
+      and our enterprising marauders, whom to outward view seemed stalwart
+      enough to stand great fatigue, proved so soft under the hot sun along the
+      shadeless road that by the time they reached Breckenheim, barely six
+      leagues from Frankfort, there was a mopping of brows and a general feeling
+      that the limit of endurance had been reached.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At Breckenheim Roland called a halt for midday refreshment, and he was
+      compelled to wait nearly half an hour until the last straggler of his
+      woebegone crew limped from the road on to the greensward in front of the
+      <i>Weinstaube</i> which had been selected for a feeding-place. Black bread
+      and a coarse kind of country cheese were the only provisions obtainable,
+      but of these eatables there was an ample supply, and, better than all to
+      the jaded wayfarers, wine in abundance, of good quality, too, for
+      Breckenheim stands little more than a league to the north of the
+      celebrated Hochheim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The wanderers came in by ones and twos, and sank down upon the benches
+      before the tavern, or sprawled at full length on the short grass, where
+      Kurzbold and his three friends dropped promptly off into sleep. A more
+      dejected and amenable gang even Roland could not have wished to command.
+      Every ounce of fight, or even discussion, was gone from them. They cared
+      not where they were, or what any one said to them. Their sole desire was
+      to be let alone, and they took not the slightest interest even in the
+      preparing of their frugal meal. A mug of wine served to each mitigated the
+      general depression, although Kurzbold showed how far gone he was by
+      swearing dismally when roused even to drink the wine. He said he was
+      resolved to lead a temperate life in future, but nevertheless managed to
+      dispose of his allowance in one long, parched draught.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel approached his chief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There will be some difficulty,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;when this
+      meal has to be paid for. I find that the men are all practically
+      penniless.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell them they need anticipate no trouble about that,&rdquo;
+      replied Roland. &ldquo;I have settled the bill, and will see that they do
+      not starve or die of thirst before we reach the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is proposed,&rdquo; continued Greusel, &ldquo;that each man
+      should give all the money he possesses into a general fund to be dealt
+      with by a committee the men will appoint. What do you say to this?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is nothing to say. I notice that the proposal was not made
+      until the proposers&rsquo; pouches were empty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They know that some of us have money,&rdquo; Greusel went on,
+      &ldquo;myself, for instance, and they wish us to share as good comrades
+      should&mdash;at least, that is their phrase.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An admirable phrase, yet I don&rsquo;t agree with it. How much
+      money have you, Greusel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The thirty thalers are practically intact, and Ebearhard has about
+      the same.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, fifty thalers lie safe in my pouch, but not a coin goes into
+      the treasury of any committee the men may appoint. If they choose a
+      committee, let them finance it themselves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There will be some dissatisfaction at that decision, Commander.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dare say. Still, as you know, I am always ready to do anything
+      conducive to good feeling, so you may inform them that you and Ebearhard
+      and myself, that is, three of us, will contribute to the committee&rsquo;s
+      funds an amount equal to that subscribed by the other eighteen. Such
+      lavishness on our part ought to satisfy them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It won&rsquo;t, Commander, because there&rsquo;s not a single
+      kreuzer among the eighteen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So be it. That&rsquo;s as far as I am willing to go. Appeal to
+      their reasoning powers, Greusel. If each of the eighteen contributes one
+      thaler, we three will contribute six thalers apiece. Ask them whether they
+      do not think we are generous when we do six times more than any one of
+      them towards providing capital for a committee.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis not willingness they lack, Commander, but ability.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They are not logical, Joseph. They prate of comradeship, and when
+      it comes to an exercise of power they demand equality. How, then, can
+      they, with any sense of fairness, prove ungrateful to us when we offer to
+      bear six times the burden they are asked to shoulder?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lieutenant said no more, but departed to announce the decision to the
+      men, and either the commander&rsquo;s reasoning overcame all opposition,
+      or else the company was too tired to engage in a controversy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the black bread and cheese were served, with a further supply of
+      wine, all sat up and ate heartily. The banquet ended, Greusel made an
+      announcement to the men. There would now be an hour&rsquo;s rest, he said,
+      before taking to the road again. The meal and the wine had been paid for
+      by the commander, so no one need worry on that account, but if any man
+      wished more wine he must pay the shot himself. However, before the
+      afternoon&rsquo;s march was begun flagons of wine would be served at the
+      commander&rsquo;s expense. This information was received in silence, and
+      the men stretched themselves out on the grass to make the most of their
+      hour of rest. Roland strolled off alone to view the village. The
+      lieutenant and Ebearhard sat together at a table, conversing in low tones.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, &ldquo;what do you think of it all?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what to think,&rdquo; replied Greusel. &ldquo;If
+      the Barons of the Rhine could see us, and knew that we intended to attack
+      them, I imagine there would be a great roar of laughter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard emulated the Barons, and laughed. He was a cheerful person.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t doubt it,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;and talking of
+      prospects, what&rsquo;s your opinion of the Commander?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am quite adrift on that score also. This morning I endeavored to
+      give him some good advice. I asked him not to appoint me lieutenant, but
+      to choose Kurzbold or Gensbein from among the malcontents, for I thought
+      if responsibility were placed on their shoulders we should be favored with
+      less criticism.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A very good idea it seems to me,&rdquo; remarked Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, you saw how promptly he ignored it, yet after all there may
+      be more wisdom in that head of his than I suspected. Look you how he has
+      made a buffer of me. He gives no commands to the men himself, but merely
+      orders me to pass along the word for this or that. He appears determined
+      to have his own way, and yet not to bring about a personal conflict
+      between himself and his following.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you suppose that to be cowardice on his part?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; he is not a coward. He doubtless intends that I shall stand the
+      brunt of any ill-temper on the part of the men. Should disobedience arise,
+      it will be my orders that are disobeyed, not his. If the matter is of no
+      importance one way or the other, I take it he will say nothing, but I
+      surmise that when it comes to the vital point, he will brush me aside as
+      though I were a feather, and himself confront the men regardless of
+      consequences. This morning I thought they would win in such a case, but,
+      by the iron Cross, I am not so confident now. Remember how he sprung my
+      appointment on the crowd, counting, I am sure, on your help. He said to
+      me, when we were alone by the tower, that you were the most fair-minded
+      man among the lot, and he evidently played on that, giving them not a
+      moment to think, and you backed him up. He carried his point, and since
+      then has not said a word to them, all orders going through me, but I know
+      he intended, as he told you, to take the river road, instead of which he
+      has led us over this hilly district until every man is ready to drop. He
+      is himself very sparing of wine, and is in fit condition. I understand he
+      has tramped both banks of the Rhine, from Ehrenfels to Bonn, so this walk
+      is nothing to him. At the end of it he was off for a stroll, and here are
+      these men lying above the sod like the dead underneath it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot make him out,&rdquo; mused Ebearhard. &ldquo;What has been
+      his training? He appears to be well educated, and yet in some common
+      matters is ignorant as a child, as, for instance, not knowing the
+      difference in status between a skilled artisan and a chaffering merchant!
+      What can have been his up-bringing? He is obviously not of the merchant
+      class, yet he persuades the chief of our merchants, and the most
+      conservative, to engage in this wild goose chase, and actually venture
+      money and goods in supporting him. This expedition will cost Herr Goebel
+      at least five thousand thalers, all because of the blandishments of a
+      youth who walked in from the street, unintroduced. Then he is not an
+      artisan of any sort, for when he joined us his hands were quite useless,
+      except upon the sword-hilt.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He said he was a fencing-master,&rdquo; explained Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know he did, and yet when he was offered a fee to instruct us he
+      wouldn&rsquo;t look at it. The first duty of a fencing-master, like the
+      rest of us, is to make money. Roland quite evidently scorns it, and at the
+      last instructs us for nothing. Fencing-masters don&rsquo;t promote
+      freebooting expeditions, and, besides, a fencing-master is always urbane
+      and polite, cringing to every one. I have watched Roland closely at times,
+      trying to study him, and in doing so have caught momentary glimpses of
+      such contempt for us, that, by the good Lord above us, it made me shrivel
+      up. You know, Greusel, that youth has more of the qualities usually
+      attributed to a noble than those which go to the make-up of any tradesman.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He is a puzzle to me,&rdquo; admitted Greusel, &ldquo;and if this
+      excursion does not break up at the outset, I am not sure that it will be a
+      success.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Noticing a look of alarm in Ebearhard&rsquo;s eyes, Greusel cast a glance
+      over his shoulder, and saw Roland standing behind him. The young man said
+      quietly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It hasn&rsquo;t broken up at the outset, for we are already more
+      than five leagues from Frankfort. Our foray must be a success while I have
+      two such wise advisers as I find sitting here.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Neither of the men replied. Both were wondering how much their leader had
+      overheard. He took his place on the bench beside Ebearhard, and said to
+      him:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish you to act as my second lieutenant. If anything happens to
+      me, Greusel takes my place and you take his. This, by the way, is an
+      appointment, rather than an election. It is not to be put before the
+      guild. You simply act as second lieutenant, and that is all there is about
+      it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good, Commander,&rdquo; said Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Greusel, how much money have you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thirty thalers.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Economical man! Will you lend me the sum until we reach
+      Assmannshausen?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly.&rdquo; Greusel pulled forth his wallet, poured out the
+      gold, and Roland took charge of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you, Ebearhard? How are you off for funds?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I possess twenty-five thalers.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I borrow from you as well?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was thinking,&rdquo; continued the young man, as he put away the
+      gold, &ldquo;that this committee idea of the men has merits of its own;
+      therefore I have formed myself into a committee, appointed, not elected,
+      and will make the disbursements. How much money does our company possess?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not a stiver, so far as I can learn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, in that case there is little use in my attempting a collection.
+      Now, as I was saying, Greusel, if anything happens to me, you carry on the
+      enterprise along the lines I have laid down. The first thing, of course,
+      is to reach Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing can happen to you before we arrive there,&rdquo; hazarded
+      Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not so sure. The sun is very powerful to-day, and should
+      it beat me down, let me lie where I fall, and allow nothing to interrupt
+      the march. Once at Assmannshausen, you two must keep a sharp lookout up
+      the river. When you see the barge, gather your men and lead them up to it.
+      It is to await us about half a league above Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three conversed until the hour was consumed, then Roland, throwing his
+      cloak over his arm, rose, and said to his lieutenant:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just rouse the men, if you please; and you, Ebearhard, tell the
+      landlord to give each a flagon of wine. We take the road to Wiesbaden. I
+      shall walk slowly on ahead, so that you and the company may overtake me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this the young leader sauntered indifferently away, leaving to his
+      subordinates the ungracious task of setting tired men to their work again.
+      Greusel looked glum, but Ebearhard laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some distance to the east of Wiesbaden the leader deflected his company
+      from the road, and thus they passed Wiesbaden to the left, arriving at the
+      village of Sonnenberg. The straggling company made a halt for a short
+      time, while provisions were purchased, every man carrying his own share,
+      which was scantly sufficient for supper and breakfast, and a quantity of
+      wine was acquired to gratify each throat with about a liter and a half;
+      plenty for a reasonable thirst, but not enough for a carouse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The company grumbled at being compelled to quit Sonnenberg. They had hoped
+      to spend the night at Wiesbaden, and vociferously proclaimed themselves
+      satisfied with the amount of country already traversed. Their leader said
+      nothing, but left Greusel and Ebearhard to deal with them. He paid for the
+      provisions and the wine, and then, with his cloak loosely over his arm,
+      struck out for the west, as if the declining sun were his goal. The rest
+      followed him slowly, in deep depression of spirits. They were in a wild
+      country, unknown to any of them. The hills had become higher and steeper,
+      and there was not even a beaten path to follow; but Roland, who apparently
+      knew his way, trudged steadily on in advance even of his lieutenants. A
+      bank of dark clouds had risen in the east, the heat of the day being
+      followed by a thunderstorm that growled menacingly above the Taunus
+      mountains, evidently accompanying a torrent of rain, although none fell in
+      the line of march.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sun had set when the leader brought his company down into the valley
+      of the Walluf, about two and a half leagues from Sonnenberg. Here the men
+      found themselves in a wilderness through which ran a brawling stream.
+      Roland announced to them that this would be their camping place for the
+      night. At once there was an uproar of dissent. How were they to camp out
+      without tents? A heavy rain was impending. Listen to the thunder, and
+      taking warning from the swollen torrent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wrap your cloaks around you,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;and sleep
+      under the trees. I have often done it myself, and will repeat the
+      experience to-night. If you are not yet tired enough to ensure sound
+      slumber, I shall be delighted to lead you on for another few leagues.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men held a low-voiced, sullen consultation, gathered in a circle. They
+      speedily decided upon returning to Sonnenberg, which it was the unanimous
+      opinion of the company they should never have left. Townsmen all, who had
+      not in their lives spent a night without a roof over their heads, such
+      accommodation as their leader proposed they should endure seemed like
+      being cast away on a desert island. The mystery of the forest affrighted
+      them. For all they could tell the woods were full of wild animals, and
+      they knew that somewhere near lurked outlaws no less savage. The eighteen,
+      ignoring Greusel and Ebearhard, who stood on one side, watching their
+      deliberations with anxious faces, moved in a body upon their leader, who
+      sat on the bank of the torrent, his feet dangling down towards the foaming
+      water.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have resolved to return to Sonnenberg,&rdquo; said the leader of
+      the conclave.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An excellent resolution,&rdquo; agreed Roland cheerfully. &ldquo;It
+      is a pleasant village, and I have passed through it several times. By the
+      way, Wiesbaden, which is much larger, possesses the advantage to tired men
+      of being half a league nearer.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The spokesman seemed taken aback by Roland&rsquo;s nonchalant attitude.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We do not know the road to Wiesbaden, and, indeed, are in some
+      doubt whether or no we can find our way to Sonnenberg with darkness coming
+      on.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then if I were you, I shouldn&rsquo;t attempt it. Why not eat your
+      supper, and drink your wine in this sheltering grove?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By that time it will be as dark as Erebus,&rdquo; protested the
+      spokesman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then remain here, as I suggested, for the night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; we are determined to reach Sonnenberg. A storm impends.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case, gentlemen, don&rsquo;t let me detain you. The gloom
+      thickens as you spend your time in talk.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, that&rsquo;s all very well, but when we reach Sonnenberg we
+      shall need money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So you will.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And we intend to secure it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite right.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We demand from you three thalers for each man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you want the money from me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, we do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That would absorb all the funds I possess.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No matter. We mean to have it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You propose to take it from me by force?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, well, such being the case, perhaps it would be better for me to
+      yield willingly?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I quite agree with you. There are eighteen of you, all armed with
+      swords, while I control but one blade.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Saying this he unfastened his cloak, which he had put on in the gathering
+      chill of the evening, and untying from his belt a well-filled wallet, held
+      it up to their gaze.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As this bag undisputedly belongs to me, I have a right to dispose
+      of it as I choose. I therefore give it to the brook, whose outcry is as
+      insistent as yours, and much more musical.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stop, Roland, stop!&rdquo; shouted Ebearhard, but the warning came
+      too late. The young man flung the bag into the torrent, where it
+      disappeared in a smother of foam. He rose to his feet and drew his sword.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you wish a fight now, it will be for the love of it, no filthy
+      lucre being at stake.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By Plutus, you are an accursed fool!&rdquo; cried the spokesman,
+      making no further show of aggression now that nothing but steel was to be
+      gained by a contest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A fool; yes!&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;And therefore the better
+      qualified to lead all such. Now go to Sonnenberg, or go to Hades!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men did neither. They sat down under the trees, ate their supper, and
+      drank their wine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you dine with me?&rdquo; said Roland, approaching his two
+      gloomy lieutenants, who stood silent at some distance from the circle
+      formed by the others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Greusel sullenly, &ldquo;but I would have dined
+      with greater pleasure had you not proven the spokesman&rsquo;s words true.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean about my being a fool? Oh, you yourself practically called
+      me that this morning. Come, let us sit down farther along the stream,
+      where they cannot overhear what we say.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This being done, Roland continued cheerfully:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I may explain to you that a week ago I had only a wallet of my own,
+      but before leaving on this journey I called upon my mother, and she
+      presented me with another bag. I foresaw during <i>mittagessen</i> that a
+      demand would be made upon us for money, therefore I borrowed all that you
+      two possessed. Walking on ahead, I prepared for what I knew must come,
+      filling the empty wallet with very small stones picked up along the road.
+      That wallet went into the stream. It is surprising how prone human nature
+      is to jump at conclusions. Why should any of you think that I am simpleton
+      enough to throw away good money? Dear, dear, what a world this is, to be
+      sure!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Half an hour later all were lying down enveloped in their cloaks, sleeping
+      soundly because of their fatigue, despite being out of doors. Next morning
+      there was consternation in the camp, real or pretended. Roland was nowhere
+      to be found, nor did further search reveal his whereabouts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      VIII. THE MISSING LEADER AND THE MISSING GOLD
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Probably because of the new responsibility resting upon him, Joseph
+      Greusel was the first to awaken next morning. He let his long cloak fall
+      from his shoulders as he sat up, and gazed about him with astonishment. It
+      seemed as if some powerful wizard of the hills had spirited him away
+      during the night. He had gone to sleep in a place of terror. The thunder
+      rolled threateningly among the peaks of Taunus, and the reflection of the
+      lightning flash, almost incessant in its recurrence, had lit up the grove
+      with an unholy yellow glare. The never-ceasing roar of the foaming
+      torrent, which in the darkness gleamed with ghostly pallor, had somehow
+      got on his nerves. Under the momentary illumination of the lightning, the
+      waves appeared to leap up at him like a pack of hungry wolves, flecked
+      with froth, and the noise strove to emulate the distant thunder. The grove
+      itself was ominous in its gloom, and sinister shapes seemed to be moving
+      about among the trees.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      How different was the aspect now! The sun was still beneath the eastern
+      horizon. The cloudless sky gave promise of another warm day, and the air,
+      of crystalline clearness, was inspiring to breathe. To Greusel&rsquo;s
+      mind, tinged with religious feeling, the situation in which he found
+      himself seemed like a section of the Garden of Eden. The stream, which the
+      night before had been to his superstitious mind a thing of terror, was
+      this morning a placid, smiling, rippling brook that a man might without
+      effort leap across.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He rubbed his eyes in amazement, thinking the mists of sleep must be
+      responsible for this magic transformation, until he remembered the distant
+      thunderstorm of the night before among the eastern mountains, and surmised
+      that a heavy rainfall had deluged these speedily drained peaks and
+      valleys.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What a blessed thing,&rdquo; he said to himself fervently, &ldquo;is
+      the ever-recurring morning. How it clears away the errors and the passions
+      of darkness! It is as if God desired to give man repeated opportunities of
+      reform, and of encouragement. How sane everything seems now, as compared
+      with the turbulence of the sulphurous night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As he rose he became aware of an unaccustomed weight by his side, and
+      putting down his hand was astonished to encounter a bag evidently filled
+      with coin. It had been tied by its deerskin thong to his belt, just as was
+      his own empty wallet. He sat down again, drew it round to the front of
+      him, and unfastened it. Pouring out the gold, he found that the wallet
+      contained a hundred and fifteen thalers, mostly in gold, with the addition
+      of a few silver coins. At once it occurred to him that these were Roland&rsquo;s
+      sixty thalers, his own thirty, and Ebearhard&rsquo;s twenty-five. For some
+      reason, probably fearing the men would suspect the ruse practiced on them
+      the night before, Roland had made him treasurer of the company. But why
+      should he have done it surreptitiously?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Readjusting the leathern sack, he again rose to his feet, but now cast his
+      cloak about him, thus concealing the purse. Ebearhard lay sound asleep
+      near him. Farther away the eighteen remaining members of the company were
+      huddled closely together, as if they had gone to rest in a room too small
+      for them, although the whole country was theirs from which to choose
+      sleeping quarters.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Remembering how the brook had decreased in size, and was now running clear
+      and pellucid, he feared that the bag of stones Roland had so dramatically
+      flung into it might be plainly visible. He determined to rouse his
+      commander, and seek the bag for some distance downstream; for he knew that
+      when the men awakened, all night-fear would have departed from them, and
+      seeing the shrinkage of the brook they might themselves institute a
+      search.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On looking round for Roland he saw no sign of him, but this caused little
+      disquietude, for he supposed that the leader had risen still earlier than
+      himself, wishing to stroll through the forest, or up and down the rivulet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel, with the purpose of finding the bag, and in the hope, also, of
+      encountering his chief, walked down the valley by the margin of the
+      waterway. Peering constantly into the limpid waters, he discovered no
+      trace of what he sought. Down and down the valley, which was wooded all
+      the way, he walked, and sometimes he was compelled to forsake his liquid
+      guide, and clamber through thickets to reach its border again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last he arrived at a little waterfall, and here occurred a break in the
+      woods, causing him to stand entranced by the view which presented itself.
+      Down the declivity the forest lasted for some distance, then it gave place
+      to ever-descending vineyards, with here and there a house showing among
+      the vines. At the foot of this hill ran a broad blue ribbon, which he knew
+      to be the Rhine, although he had never seen it before. Over it floated a
+      silvery gauze of rapidly disappearing mist. The western shore appeared to
+      be flat, and farther along the horizon was formed by hills, not so lofty
+      as that on which he stood, but beautiful against the blue sky, made to
+      seem nearer than they were by the first rays of the rising sun, which
+      tipped the summits with crimson.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel drew a long breath of deep satisfaction. He had never before
+      realized that the world was so enchanting and so peaceful. It seemed
+      impossible that men privileged to live in such a land could find no better
+      occupation than cutting one another&rsquo;s throats.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gentle plash of the waterfall at his right hand accentuated the
+      stillness. From his height he glanced down into the broad, pellucid pool,
+      into whose depths the water fell, and there, perfectly visible, lay the
+      bag of bogus treasure. Cautiously he worked his way down to the gravelly
+      border of the little lake, flung off his clothes, and plunged head-first
+      into this Diana&rsquo;s pool. It was a delicious experience, and he swam
+      round and round the circular basin, clambered up on the gravel and allowed
+      the stream to fall over his glistening shoulders, reveling in Nature&rsquo;s
+      shower-bath. Satisfied at length, he indulged in another rainbow plunge,
+      grasped the bag, and rose again to the surface. Coming ashore, he
+      unloosened the swollen thongs, poured out the stones along the strand,
+      then, after a moment&rsquo;s thought, he wrung the water out of the bag
+      itself, and tied it to his belt, for there was no predicting where the men
+      would wander when once they awoke, and if he threw it away among the
+      bushes, it might be found, breeding first wonder how it came there, and
+      then suspicion of the trick.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel walked back to camp by the other bank of the stream. Although the
+      early rays of the sun percolated through the upper branches of the trees
+      above them, the eighteen prone men slept as if they were but seven. He
+      sprang over the brook, touched the recumbent Ebearhard with his foot, and
+      so awoke him. This excellent man yawned, and stretched out his arms above
+      his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;re an early bird, Greusel,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Have
+      you got the worm?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I have,&rdquo; replied the latter. &ldquo;I found it in the
+      basin of a waterfall nearly a league from here,&rdquo; and with that he
+      drew aside his cloak, showing the still wet but empty bag.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a few moments Ebearhard did not understand. He rose and shook himself,
+      glancing about him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Great Jove!&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;this surely isn&rsquo;t the
+      stream by which we lay down last night? Do you mean to tell me that thread
+      of water struck terror into my heart only a few hours ago? I never slept
+      out of doors before in all my life, and could not have imagined it would
+      produce such an effect. I see what you mean now. You have found the bag
+      which Roland threw into the foaming torrent.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I was as much astonished at the transformation as you when I
+      awoke, and then it occurred to me that when our friends saw the reduction
+      of the rivulet, they would forthwith begin a treasure-hunt, so I
+      determined to obliterate the evidence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was the bag really full of stones?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, that is a lesson to me. I believe after all that Roland is
+      helplessly truthful, but last night I thought he befooled us. I was
+      certain it was the bag of coin he had thrown away, and becoming ashamed of
+      himself, had lied to us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How could you imagine that? He showed us both the bag of money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He produced a bag full of something, but I, being the doubting
+      Thomas of the group, was not convinced it contained money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, that reminds me, Ebearhard; here is the bag we saw last night.
+      I discovered it attached to my belt this morning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He attached it to the wrong belt, then, for you believed him. He
+      should have tied it to mine. What reason does he give for presenting it to
+      you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now you touch a point of anxiety in my own mind. I have seen
+      nothing of Roland this morning. I surmised that he had arisen before me,
+      and expected to meet him somewhere down the stream, but have not done so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He may have gone farther afield. As you found the bag, he of
+      course, missed it, and probably continued his search.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I doubt that, because I came upon a point of view reaching to the
+      Rhine and the hills beyond. I could trace the stream for a considerable
+      distance, and watched it for a long time, but there appeared to be nothing
+      alive in the forest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t suppose he has gone back to Frankfort, do you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am at loss what to think.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If he has abandoned this gang of malcontents, I should be the last
+      to blame him. The way these pigs acted yesterday was disgraceful, ending
+      up their day with rank mutiny and threats of violence. By the iron Cross,
+      Greusel, he has forsaken this misbegotten lot, and it serves them
+      perfectly right, prating about comradeship and carrying themselves like
+      cut-throats. This is Roland&rsquo;s method of returning our money, for I
+      suppose that bag contains your thirty thalers and my twenty-five.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, and his own sixty as well. Poor disappointed devil, generous
+      to the last. It was he who obtained all the money at the beginning, then
+      these drunken swine spend it on wine, and prove so generous and brave that
+      eighteen of them muster courage enough to face one man, and he the man who
+      had bestowed the gold upon them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Greusel, the whole situation fills me with disgust. I propose we
+      leave the lot sleeping there, go to Wiesbaden for breakfast, and then
+      trudge back to Frankfort. It would serve the brutes right.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Greusel quietly; &ldquo;I shall carry out Roland&rsquo;s
+      instructions.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought you hadn&rsquo;t seen him this morning?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not a trace of him. You heard his orders at Breckenheim.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t remember. What were they?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That if anything happened to him, I was to drive the herd to
+      Assmannshausen. I quite agree with you, Ebearhard, that he is justified in
+      deserting this menagerie, but, on the other hand, you and I have stood
+      faithfully by him, and it doesn&rsquo;t seem to me right that he should
+      leave us without a word. I don&rsquo;t believe he has done so, and I
+      expect any moment to see him return.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;re wrong, Greusel. He&rsquo;s gone. That purse is
+      sufficient explanation, and as you recall to my mind his instructions, I
+      believe something of this must have suggested itself to him even that
+      early in the day. He has divested himself of every particle of money in
+      his possession, turning it over to you, but instead of returning to
+      Frankfort he has made his way over the hills to Assmannshausen, and will
+      await us there.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What would be the object of that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One reason may be that he will learn whether or not you have enough
+      control over these people to bring them to the Rhine. He will satisfy
+      himself that your discipline is such as to improve their manners. It may
+      be in his mind to resign, and make you leader, if you prove yourself able
+      to control them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Suppose I fail in that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, then&mdash;this is all fancy, remember&mdash;I imagine he may
+      look round Assmannshausen to find another company who will at least obey
+      him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you say sounds very reasonable. Still, I do not see why he
+      should have left two friends like us without a word.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A word, my dear Greusel, would have led to another, and another,
+      and another. One of the first questions asked him would be &lsquo;But what
+      are Ebearhard and I to do?&rsquo; That&rsquo;s exactly what he doesn&rsquo;t
+      wish to answer. He desires to know what you will do of your own accord. He
+      is likely rather hopeless about this mob, but is giving you an
+      opportunity, and then another chance. Why, his design is clear as that
+      rivulet there, and as easily seen through. You will either bring those men
+      across the hills, or you won&rsquo;t. If you and I are compelled to
+      clamber over to Assmannshausen alone, Roland will probably be more pleased
+      to see us than if we brought this rogues&rsquo; contingent straggling at
+      our heels. He will appoint you chief officer of his new company, and me
+      the second. If you doubt my conclusions, I&rsquo;ll wager twenty-five
+      thalers against your thirty that I am in the right.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never gamble, Ebearhard, especially when certain to lose. You are
+      a shrewder man than I, by a long bowshot.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a work of fiction it would of course be concealed till the proper time
+      came that all of these men were completely wrong in their prognostications
+      regarding the fate of Roland, but this being history it may be stated that
+      the young man had not the least desire to test Greusel&rsquo;s ability,
+      nor would his lieutenants find him awaiting them when they reached
+      Assmannshausen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hello! Rouse up there! What have we for breakfast? Has all the wine
+      been drunk? I hope not. My mouth&rsquo;s like a brick furnace!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was the brave Kurzbold who spoke, as he playfully kicked, not too
+      gently, those of his comrades who lay nearest him. He was answered by
+      groans and imprecations, as one by one the sleeping beauties aroused
+      themselves, and wondered where the deuce they were.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who has stolen the river?&rdquo; cried Gensbein.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, stealing the river doesn&rsquo;t matter,&rdquo; said a third.
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s only running water. Who drank all the wine? That&rsquo;s
+      a more serious question.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, whoever&rsquo;s taken away the river, I can swear without
+      searching my pouch has made no theft from me, for I spent my last stiver
+      yesterday.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t boast,&rdquo; growled Kurzbold. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not
+      alone in your poverty. We&rsquo;re all in the same case. Curse that fool
+      of a Roland for throwing away good money just when it&rsquo;s most needed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good money is always most needed,&rdquo; exclaimed the philosophic
+      Gensbein.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He rose and shook himself, then looked down at the beautiful but
+      unimportant rivulet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I say, lads, were we as drunk as all that last night? Was there an
+      impassable torrent here or not?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How could we be drunk, you fool, on little more than a liter of
+      wine each,&rdquo; cried Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please be more civil in your talk,&rdquo; returned his friend.
+      &ldquo;You were drunk all day. The liter and a half was a mere nightcap.
+      If you are certain there was a torrent, then I must have been in the same
+      condition as yourself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The spokesman of the previous night, who had been chided for not springing
+      on Roland before he succeeded in doing away with the treasure, here
+      uttered a shout.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This water,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;is clear as air. You can see
+      every pebble at the bottom. Get to work, you sleepyheads, and search down
+      the stream. We&rsquo;ll recover that bag yet, and then it&rsquo;s back to
+      Sonnenberg for breakfast. Whoever finds it, finds it for the guild; a fair
+      and equal division amongst us. That is, amongst the eighteen of us. I
+      propose that Roland, Greusel, and Ebearhard do not share. They were all in
+      the plot to rob us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Agreed!&rdquo; cried the others, and the treasure-hunt impetuously
+      began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel and Ebearhard watched them disappear through the forest down the
+      stream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Greusel,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, &ldquo;what a deplorable passion is
+      the frantic quest for money in these days, especially money that we have
+      not earned. Our excited treasure-hunters do not realize that at such a
+      moment in the early morning the only subject worth consideration is
+      breakfast. Being unsparing and prodigal last night, it would take a small
+      miracle of the fishes to suffice them to-day. There is barely enough for
+      two hungry men, and as we are rid of these chaps for half an hour at
+      least, I propose we sit down to our first meal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel made no comment upon this remark, but the advice commended itself
+      to him, for he followed it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some time after they had finished breakfast, the unsuccessful company
+      returned by twos and threes. Apparently they had not wandered so far as
+      the waterfall, for no one said anything of the amazing view of the Rhine.
+      Indeed, it was plain that they considered themselves involved in a
+      boundless wilderness, and were too perplexed to suggest a way out. After a
+      storm of malediction over the breakfastless state of things, and a good
+      deal of quarreling among themselves anent who had been most greedy the
+      night before, they now turned their attention to the silent men who were
+      watching them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where&rsquo;s Roland?&rdquo; they demanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; replied Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t he tell you where he was going?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have not seen him this morning,&rdquo; explained Ebearhard
+      gently. &ldquo;He seems to have disappeared in the night. Perhaps he fell
+      into the stream. Perhaps, on the other hand, he has deliberately deserted
+      us. He gave us no hint of his intentions last night, and we are as
+      ignorant as yourselves regarding his whereabouts.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is outrageous!&rdquo; cried Kurzbold. &ldquo;It is the duty of
+      a leader to provide for his following.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; if the following follows.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have followed,&rdquo; said Kurzbold indignantly, &ldquo;and have
+      been led into this desert, not in the least knowing where in Heaven&rsquo;s
+      name we are. And now to be left like this, breakfastless, thirsty&mdash;&rdquo;
+      Here Kurzbold&rsquo;s language failed him, and he drew the back of his
+      hand across parched lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When you remember, gentlemen,&rdquo; continued Ebearhard, in
+      accents of honey, &ldquo;that your last dealings with your leader took
+      place with eighteen swords drawn; when you recollect that you expressed
+      your determination to rob him, and when you call to mind that you brave
+      eighteen threatened him with personal violence if he resisted this
+      brigandage on your part, I cannot understand why you should be surprised
+      at his withdrawal from your fellowship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you always were a glib talker, but the question now is what are
+      we to do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, and that is a question for you to decide,&rdquo; said
+      Ebearhard. &ldquo;When you mutinied last night, you practically deposed
+      Roland from the leadership. To my mind, he had no further obligations
+      towards you, so, having roughly taken the power into your own hands, it is
+      for you to deal with it as you think best. I should never so far forget
+      myself as to venture even a suggestion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As I hinted to you,&rdquo; said Kurzbold, &ldquo;you are talking
+      too much. You are merely one of ourselves, although you have kept yourself
+      separate from us. Greusel has been appointed lieutenant by our unanimous
+      vote, and if his chief proves a poltroon, he is the man to act. Therefore,
+      Joseph Greusel, I ask on behalf of the company what you intend to do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before I can answer that question,&rdquo; replied Greusel, &ldquo;I
+      must know whether or not you will act as you did yesterday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you mean by that?&rdquo; Several, speaking together, put
+      the question.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish to know whether you will follow cheerfully and without demur
+      where I lead? I refuse to act as guide if I run the risk of finding
+      eighteen sword-points at my throat when I have done my best.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you talk like a fool,&rdquo; commented Kurzbold. &ldquo;We
+      followed Roland faithfully enough until he brought us into this impasse.
+      You make entirely too much of last night&rsquo;s episode. None of us
+      intended to hurt him, as you are very well aware, and besides, we don&rsquo;t
+      want a leader who is frightened, and runs away at the first sign of
+      danger.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Make up your minds what you propose to do,&rdquo; said Greusel
+      stubbornly, &ldquo;and give me your decision; then you will receive mine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel saw that although Kurzbold talked like the bully he was, the
+      others were rather subdued, and no voice but his was raised in defense of
+      their previous conduct.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is one thing you must tell us before we can come to a
+      decision,&rdquo; went on Kurzbold. &ldquo;How much money have you and
+      Ebearhard?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At midday yesterday I had thirty thalers, and Ebearhard had
+      twenty-five. While you were all sleeping on the grass, after our meal at
+      Breckenheim, Roland asked us for the money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You surely were not such idiots as to give it to him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He was our commander, and we both considered it right to do what he
+      asked of us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He said,&rdquo; put in Ebearhard, &ldquo;that your suggestion about
+      a finance committee was a good one, and that he had determined to be that
+      committee. He asked us if any of you had money, but I told him I thought
+      it was all spent, which probably accounts for his restricting the
+      application to us two.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then we are here in an unknown wilderness, twenty men, hungry, and
+      without a florin amongst us,&rdquo; wailed Kurzbold, and the comments of
+      those behind him were painful to hear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am glad that at last you thoroughly appreciate our situation, and
+      I hope that in addition you realize it has been brought about not through
+      any fault of Roland&rsquo;s, who gave in to your whims and childishness
+      until you came to the point of murder and robbery. Therefore blame
+      yourselves and not him. You now know as much of our position as I do, so
+      make up your minds about the next step, and inform me what conclusion you
+      come to.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&rsquo;re a mighty courageous leader,&rdquo; cried Kurzbold
+      scornfully, and with this the hungry ones retired some distance into the
+      grove, from whence echoes of an angry debate came to the two men who sat
+      by the margin of the stream. After a time they strode forward again. Once
+      more Kurzbold was the spokesman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have determined to return to Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose you remember enough of the way to lead us at least as far
+      as Wiesbaden. Beyond that point we can look to ourselves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should be delighted,&rdquo; said Greusel, &ldquo;to be your
+      guide, but unfortunately I am traveling in the other direction with
+      Ebearhard.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, in the name of starvation?&rdquo; roared Kurzbold. &ldquo;You
+      know no more of the country ahead of us than we do. By going back we can
+      get something to eat, and a drink, at one of the farmhouses we passed this
+      side of Sonnenberg.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How?&rdquo; inquired Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, if they ask for payment we will give them iron instead of
+      silver. No man need starve with a sword by his side.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Granted that this is feasible, and that the farmers yield instead
+      of raising the country-side against you, when you reach Frankfort what are
+      you going to do? Eat and drink with the landlord of the Rheingold until he
+      becomes bankrupt? You must remember that it was Roland who liquidated our
+      last debt there, without asking or receiving a word of thanks, and he did
+      that not a moment too soon, for the landlord was at the end of his
+      resources and would have closed his tavern within another week.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold stormed at this harping on the subject of Roland and his
+      generosity, but those with him were hungry, and they now remembered, too
+      late, that what Greusel said was strictly true. If Roland had put in an
+      appearance then, he would have found a most docile company to lead. They
+      were actually murmuring against Kurzbold, and blaming him and his clan for
+      the disaster that had overtaken them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why will you not come back with us?&rdquo; pleaded the penitents,
+      with surprising mildness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because the future in Frankfort strikes me as hopeless. Not one
+      amongst us has the brains of Roland, whom we have thrown out. Besides, it
+      is nine and a half long leagues to Frankfort, and only three and a half
+      leagues to Assmannshausen. I expect to find Roland there, and although I
+      know nothing of his intentions, I imagine he has gone to enlist a company
+      of a score or thereabouts that will obey his commands. There is some hope
+      by going forward to Assmannshausen; there is absolutely none in retreating
+      to Frankfort. Then, as I said, Assmannshausen is little more than three
+      leagues away; a fact worth consideration by hungry men. On the Rhine we
+      are in the rich wine country, where there is plenty to eat and drink,
+      probably for the asking, whereas if we turn our faces towards the east we
+      are marching upon starvation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The buzz of comment aroused by this speech proved to the two men that
+      Kurzbold stood once more alone. Greusel, without seeming to care which way
+      the cat jumped, had induced that unreasoning animal to leap as he liked.
+      His air of supreme indifference aroused Ebearhard&rsquo;s admiration,
+      especially when he remembered that under his cloak there rested a hundred
+      and fifteen thalers in gold and silver.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you know nothing of the way,&rdquo; protested Kurzbold. &ldquo;None
+      of us are acquainted with the country to the west.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t need to be acquainted with it,&rdquo; said Greusel.
+      &ldquo;We steer westward by glancing at the sun now and then, and cannot
+      go astray, because we must come to the Rhine; then it&rsquo;s either up or
+      down the river, as the case may be, to reach Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To the Rhine! To the Rhine!&rdquo; was now the universal cry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before we begin our journey,&rdquo; said Greusel, as if he accepted
+      the leadership with reluctance, &ldquo;I must have your promise that you
+      will obey me without question. I am not so patient a man as Roland, but on
+      my part I guarantee you an excellent meal and good wine as soon as we
+      reach Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can you promise that,&rdquo; growled Kurzbold, &ldquo;when you
+      have given away your money?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because, as I told you, I expect to meet Roland there.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But he threw away his bag.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I told him it was a foolish thing to do, and perhaps that is
+      why he left without saying a word, even to me. He is an ingenious man.
+      Assmannshausen is familiar to him, and I dare say he would not have
+      discarded his money without knowing where to get more.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To the Rhine! To the Rhine! To the Rhine!&rdquo; cried the
+      impatient host, gathering up their cloaks, and tightening their belts, as
+      the savage does when he is hungry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To the Rhine, then,&rdquo; said Greusel, springing across the
+      little stream in company with Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You did that very well, Greusel,&rdquo; complimented the latter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I would rather have gone alone with you,&rdquo; replied the new
+      leader, &ldquo;for I have condemned myself to wear this heavy cloak, which
+      is all very well to sleep in, but burdensome under a hot sun.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The sun won&rsquo;t be so oppressive,&rdquo; predicted his friend,
+      &ldquo;while we keep to the forest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is very true, but remember we are somewhere in the Rheingau,
+      and that we must come out into the vineyards by and by.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t grumble, Greusel, but hold up your head as a great
+      diplomatist. Roland himself could not have managed these chaps so well,
+      you flaunting hypocrite, the only capitalist amongst us, yet talking as if
+      you were a monk sworn to eternal poverty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel changed the subject.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you notice,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that we are following some
+      sort of path, which we must have trodden last evening, without seeing it
+      in the dusk.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I imagine,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, &ldquo;that Roland knew very well
+      where he was going. He strode along ahead of us as if sure of his ground.
+      I don&rsquo;t doubt but this will lead us to Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Which, it may be remarked, it did not. The path was little more than a
+      trail, which a sharp-eyed man might follow, and it led up-hill and down
+      dale direct to the Archbishop&rsquo;s Castle of Ehrenfels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The forest lasted for a distance that the men in front estimated to be
+      about two leagues, then they emerged into open country, and saw the
+      welcome vines growing. Climbing out of the valley, they observed to the
+      right, near the top of a hill, a small hamlet, which had the effect of
+      instantaneously raising the spirits of the woebegone company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hooray for breakfast!&rdquo; they shouted, and had it not been for
+      their own fatigue, and the steepness of the hill, they would have broken
+      into a run.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Halt!&rdquo; cried Greusel sternly, standing before and above them.
+      At once they obeyed the word of command, which caused Ebearhard to smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will climb to the top of this hill,&rdquo; said Greusel,
+      &ldquo;and there rest under command of my lieutenant, Ebearhard. As we now
+      emerge into civilization, I warn you that if we are to obtain breakfast it
+      must be by persuasion, and not by force. Therefore, while you wait on the
+      hilltop, I shall go alone into the houses on the right, and see what can
+      be done towards providing a meal for eighteen men. Ebearhard and I will
+      fast until we reach Assmannshausen. On the other hand, you should be
+      prepared for disappointment; loaves of bread are not to be picked up on
+      the point of a sword. If I return and order you to march on unfed, you
+      must do so as cheerfully as you can.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This ultimatum called forth not a word of opposition, and Ebearhard led
+      the van while Greusel deflected up the hill to his right, the sooner to
+      reach the village.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He learned that the name of the place was Anton-Kap; that the route he had
+      been following would take him to Ehrenfels, and that he must adopt a
+      reasonably rough mountain-road to the right in order to reach
+      Assmannshausen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By somewhat straining the resources of the place, which proved to possess
+      no inn, he collected bread enough for the eighteen, and there was no
+      dearth of wine, although it proved a coarse drink that reflected little
+      credit on the reputation of the Rheingau. He paid for this meal in
+      advance, saying that they were all in a hurry to reach Assmannshausen, and
+      wished to leave as soon as the frugal breakfast was consumed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mounting a small elevation to the west of the village, he signaled to the
+      patient men to come on, which they lost no time in doing. The bread was
+      eaten and the wine drunk without a word being said by any one. And now
+      they took their way down the hill again, crossed the little Geisenheim
+      stream, and up once more, traversing a high table-land giving them a view
+      of the Rhine, finally descending through another valley, which led them
+      into Assmannshausen, celebrated for its red wine, a color they had not yet
+      met with.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Assmannshausen proved to be a city as compared with the hamlets they had
+      passed, yet was small enough to make a thorough search of the place a
+      matter that consumed neither much effort nor time. Greusel led his men to
+      a <i>Weinstaube</i> a short distance out of the village, and, to their
+      delight, succeeded in establishing a credit for them to the extent of one
+      liter of wine each, with a substantial meal of meat, eggs, and what-not.
+      Greusel and Ebearhard left them there in the height of great enjoyment,
+      all the more delightful after the hunger and fatigue they had encountered,
+      for the three and a half leagues had proved almost without a single
+      stretch of level land. The two officers inquired for Roland, without
+      success, at the various houses of entertainment which Assmannshausen
+      boasted, then canvassed every home in the village, but no one had seen
+      anything of the man they described.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Coming out to the river front, deeply discouraged, the two gazed across
+      the empty water, from which all enlivening traffic had departed. It was
+      now evident to both that Roland had not entered Assmannshausen, for in so
+      small and gossipy a hamlet no stranger could even have passed through
+      without being observed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Joseph,&rdquo; asked Ebearhard, &ldquo;what do you intend to
+      do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is nothing to do but to wait until our money is gone. It is
+      absolutely certain that Roland is not here. Can it be possible that after
+      all he returned?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How could he have done so? We know him to have been without money;
+      therefore why to Frankfort, even if such a trip were possible for a
+      penniless man?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry now,&rdquo; said Greusel despondently, &ldquo;that I did
+      not follow a suggestion that occurred to me, which was to take the men
+      direct down the valley where we encamped, to the banks of the Rhine, and
+      there make inquiries.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think he went that way?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did, until you persuaded me out of it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again I ask what could be his object?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seems to me that this mutiny made a greater impression on his
+      mind than I had supposed. After all, he is not one of us, and never has
+      been. You yourself pointed that out when we were talking of him at
+      Breckenheim. If you caught glances of contempt for us while we were all
+      one jolly family in the Kaiser cellar, what must be his loathing for the
+      guild after such a day as yesterday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s true. You must travel with a man before you learn his
+      real character.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Meaning Roland?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Meaning this crew, guzzling up at the tavern. Meaning you, meaning
+      me; yes, and meaning Roland also. I never knew until yesterday and to-day
+      what a capable fellow you were, and when I remember that I nominated
+      Kurzbold for our leader before Roland appeared on the scene, I am amazed
+      at my lack of judgment of men. As for Roland himself, my opinion of him
+      has fallen. Nothing could have persuaded me that he would desert us all
+      without a word of explanation, no matter what happened. My predictions
+      regarding his conduct are evidently wrong. What do you think has actually
+      occurred?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my opinion that the more he thought over the mutiny, the
+      angrier he became; a cold, stubborn anger, not vocal at all, as Kurzbold&rsquo;s
+      would be. I think that after fastening the money to my belt he went down
+      the valley to the Rhine. He knows the country, you must remember. He would
+      then either wait there until the barge appeared, or more likely would
+      proceed up along the margin of the river, and hail the boat when it came
+      in sight. The captain would recognize him, and turn in, and we know the
+      captain is under his command. At this moment they are doubtless poling
+      slowly up the Rhine to the Main again, and will thus reach Frankfort. Herr
+      Goebel has confidence in Roland, otherwise he would never have risked so
+      much on his bare word. He will confess to his financier that he has been
+      mistaken in us, and doubtless tell him all that happened, and the merchant
+      will appreciate that, even though he has lost his five hundred thalers,
+      Roland would not permit him to lose his goods as well.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you suppose Roland will enlist another company?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is very likely, for Herr Goebel trusts him, and, goodness knows,
+      there are enough unemployed men in Frankfort for Roland to select a better
+      score than we have proved to be.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was quite certain that Roland was not in Assmannshausen, yet Greusel
+      was a prophet as false as Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      IX. A SOLEMN PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      When Roland wrapped his cloak about him, and lay down on the sward at some
+      distance from the spot where his officers already slept, he found that he
+      could not follow their example. Although, he had remained outwardly calm
+      when the attack was made upon him, his mind was greatly perturbed over the
+      outlook. He reviewed his own conduct, wondering whether it would be
+      possible for him so to amend it that he could acquire the respect and
+      maintain the obedience of his men. If he could not accomplish this, then
+      was his plan foredoomed to failure. His cogitations drove away sleep, and
+      he called to mind the last occasion on which he made this same spot his
+      bedroom. Then he had slumbered dreamlessly the night through. He was on
+      the direct trail between Ehrenfels Castle and the town of Wiesbaden, the
+      route over which supplies had been carried to the Castle time and again
+      when the periodical barges from Mayence failed to arrive. It had been
+      pointed out to him by the custodian of the Castle when the young man first
+      became irked by the confined limits of the Schloss, and frequently since
+      that time he had made his way through the forest to Wiesbaden and back.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Never before had he seen the little Walluf so boisterous, pretending that
+      it was important, and he quite rightly surmised that the cause was a
+      sudden downpour in the mountains farther east. The distant mutterings of
+      thunder having long since ceased, he recognized that the volume of the
+      stream was constantly lessening. As the brook gradually subsided to its
+      customary level, the forest became more and more silent. The greater his
+      endeavor to sleep, the less dormant Roland felt, and all his senses seemed
+      unduly quickened by this ineffectual beckoning to somnolence. He judged by
+      the position of the stars, as he lay on his back, that it was past
+      midnight, when suddenly he became aware of a noise to the west of him, on
+      the other side of the brook. Sitting up, and listening intently, he
+      suspected, from the rustle of the underbrush, that some one was following
+      the trail, and would presently come upon his sleeping men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He rose stealthily, unsheathed his sword, leaped across the rivulet, and
+      proceeded with caution up the acclivity, keeping on the trail as best he
+      could in the darkness. He was determined to learn the business of the
+      wayfarer, without disturbing his men, so crept rapidly up the hill.
+      Presently he saw the glimmer of a light, and conjectured that some one was
+      coming impetuously down, guided by a lanthorn swinging in his hand. Roland
+      stood on guard with sword extended straight in front of him, and the
+      oncomer&rsquo;s breast was almost at the point of it when he hauled
+      himself up with a sudden cry of dismay, as the lanthorn revealed an armed
+      man holding the path.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have no money,&rdquo; were the first words of the stranger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Little matter for that,&rdquo; replied Roland. &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis
+      information I wish, not gear. Why are you speeding through the forest at
+      night, for no sane man traverses this path in the darkness?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could not wait for daylight,&rdquo; said the stranger, breathing
+      heavily. &ldquo;I carry a message of the greatest importance. Do not delay
+      me, I beg of you. I travel on affairs of State; Imperial matters, and it
+      is necessary I should reach Frankfort in time, or heads may fall.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So serious as that?&rdquo; asked Roland, lowering the point of his
+      sword, for he saw the messenger was unarmed. &ldquo;Whom do you seek?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That I dare not tell you. The message concerns those of the
+      highest, and I am pledged to secrecy. Be assured, sir, that I speak the
+      truth.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your voice sounds honest. Hold up the lanthorn at arm&rsquo;s
+      length, that I may learn if your face corresponds with it. Ha, that is
+      most satisfactory! And now, my hurrying youth, will you reveal your
+      mission, or shall I be compelled to run my sword through your body?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You would not learn it even then,&rdquo; gasped the young man,
+      shrinking still farther up the hill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is true enough,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;therefore shall I not
+      impale you, but will instead relate to you the secret you carry. You are
+      making not for Frankfort&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I assure you, sir, by the sacred Word, that I am, and grieve my
+      oath does not allow me to do your bidding, even though you would kill me,
+      which is easily done, since I am unarmed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You pass through Frankfort, I doubt not, but your goal is a certain
+      small room in the neighboring suburb of Sachsenhausen, and he whom you
+      seek is a youth of about your own age, named Roland. You travel on the
+      behest of your father, who was much agonized in mind when you left him,
+      and he, I take it, is custodian of Ehrenfels Castle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In God&rsquo;s name!&rdquo; cried the youth, aghast, &ldquo;how did
+      you guess all that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again Roland laughed quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, Heinrich,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;your agitation causes you to
+      forget old friends. Hold up your lanthorn again, and learn whether or not
+      you recognize me, as I recognized you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Heaven be praised! Prince Roland!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; your journey is at an end, my good Heinrich, thank the fortune
+      that kept me awake this night. Do you know why you are sent on this long
+      and breathless journey?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Highness. There has come to the Castle from the Archbishop of
+      Mayence a lengthy document for you to sign, and you are informed that the
+      day after to-morrow their Lordships of Mayence, Treves, and Cologne, meet
+      together at the Castle to hold some conversation with you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By my sword, then, Heinrich, had you found me in Sachsenhausen we
+      had never attained Ehrenfels in time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think I could have accomplished it,&rdquo; replied the young man.
+      &ldquo;I should have reached Wiesbaden before daybreak, and there bought
+      the fastest horse that could be found. My father told me to time myself,
+      and if by securing another horse at Frankfort for you I could not make the
+      return journey speedily enough, I was to engage a boat with twenty rowers,
+      if necessary, and convey you to Ehrenfels before the Archbishops arrived.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, Heinrich, you must have deluded me when you said you had no
+      money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Highness, I have none, but I carry an order for plenty upon a
+      merchant in Wiesbaden, who would also supply me with a horse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Heinrich, there are many stars burning above us to-night, and I
+      have been watching them, but your star must be blazing the brightest of
+      all. Sit you down and rest until I return. Make no noise, for there are
+      twenty others asleep by the stream. My cloak is at the bottom of the hill,
+      and I must fetch it. I shall be with you shortly, so keep your candle
+      alight, that I may not miss you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With that Roland returned rapidly down the slope, untying his bag of money
+      as he descended. Cautiously he fastened it to the belt of Greusel, then,
+      snatching his cloak from the ground, he sprang once more across the
+      stream, and climbed to the waiting Heinrich.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was broad daylight before they saw the towers of Ehrenfels, and they
+      found little difficulty in rousing Heinrich&rsquo;s father, for he had
+      slept as badly that night as Roland himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The caretaker flung his arms around the young prisoner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, thank God, thank God!&rdquo; was all he could cry, and &ldquo;Thank
+      God!&rdquo; again he repeated. &ldquo;Never before have I felt my head so
+      insecure upon my shoulders. Had you not been here when they came,
+      Highness, their Lordships would have listened to no explanation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Really you were in little danger with such a clever son. The
+      Archbishops would never have suspected that he was not I, for none of the
+      three has ever seen me. I am quite sure Heinrich would have effected my
+      signature excellently, and answered to their satisfaction all questions
+      they might ask. So long as he complied with their wishes, there would be
+      no inquiries set afoot, for none would suspect the change. Indeed,
+      custodian, you have missed the opportunity of your life in not suppressing
+      me, thus allowing your son to be elected Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness forgets that my poor boy cannot write his own name,
+      much less yours. Besides, it would be a matter of high treason to forge
+      your signature, so again I thank God you are here. Indeed, your Highness,
+      I am in great trouble about my son.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, the danger is not so serious as you think.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis not the danger, Highness. That it is his duty to face,
+      but he takes advantage of his position as prisoner. He knows I dare refuse
+      him nothing, and he calls for wine, wine, wine, spending his days in
+      revelry and his nights in stupor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You astonish me. Why not cudgel the nonsense out of him? Your arm
+      is strong enough.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dare not lay stick on him, and I beg you to breathe nothing of
+      what I have told you, for he holds us both in his grasp, and he knows it.
+      If I called for help to put him in a real dungeon, he would blurt out the
+      whole secret.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case you must even make terms with him. &lsquo;Twill be for
+      but a very short time, and after that we will reform him. He was
+      frightened enough of my sword in the forest, and I shall make him dance to
+      its point once this crisis is over.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall do the best I can, Highness. But you must have been on your
+      way to Ehrenfels. Had you heard aught of what is afoot?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing. &lsquo;Twas mere chance that Heinrich and I met in the
+      forest, and he was within a jot of impinging himself upon my sword in his
+      hurry. I stood in the darkness, while he himself held a light for the
+      better convenience of any chance marauder who wished to undo him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Unarmed, and without money,&rdquo; said the custodian, &ldquo;I
+      thought he was safer than otherwise. But you are surely hungry, Highness.
+      Advance then within, and I will see to your needs.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So presently the errant Prince consumed an excellent, if early breakfast,
+      and, without troubling to undress, flung himself upon a couch, sleeping
+      dreamlessly through the time that Greusel and Ebearhard were conjuring up
+      motives for him, of which he was entirely innocent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Roland woke in the afternoon, he had quite forgotten that a score of
+      men who, nominally, at least, acknowledged him master, were wondering what
+      had become of him. He called the custodian, and asked for a sight of the
+      parchments that his Lordship of Mayence had sent across the river for his
+      perusal. He found the documents to be a very carefully written series of
+      demands disguised under the form of requests.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pledges which were asked of the young Prince were beautifully
+      engrossed on three parchments, each one a duplicate of the other two. If
+      Roland accepted them, they were to be signed next day, in presence of the
+      three Archbishops. Two certainties were impressed upon him when he had
+      read the scroll: first, the Archbishops were determined to rule; and
+      second, if he did not promise to obey they would elect some other than
+      himself Emperor on the death or deposition of his father. The young man
+      resolved to be acquiescent and allow the future to settle the question
+      whether he or the Archbishops should be the head of the Empire. A strange
+      exultation filled him at the prospect, and all thought of other things
+      vanished from his mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Leaving the parchments on the table in the knights&rsquo; hall, where he
+      had examined them, he mounted to the battlements to enjoy the fresh breeze
+      that, no matter how warm the day, blows round the towers of Ehrenfels.
+      Here a stone promenade, hung high above the Rhine, gave a wonderful view
+      up and down the river and along the opposite shore. From this elevated,
+      paved plateau he could see down the river the strongholds of Rheinstein
+      and Falkenberg, and up the river almost as far as Mayence. He judged by
+      the altitude of the sun that it was about four o&rsquo;clock in the
+      afternoon. The sight of Rheinstein should have suggested to him his
+      deserted company, for that was the first castle he intended to attack, but
+      the prospect opened up to him by the communication of the Archbishops had
+      driven everything else from his mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently the cautious custodian joined him in his eyrie, and Roland knew
+      instinctively why he had come. The old man was wondering whether or not he
+      would make difficulties about signing the parchments. He feared the
+      heedless impetuosity and conceit of youth; the natural dislike on the part
+      of a proud young prince to be restricted and bound down by his elders, and
+      the jailer could not conceal his gratification when the prisoner informed
+      him that of course he would comply with the desires of the three prelates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You see,&rdquo; he continued, with a smile, &ldquo;I must attach my
+      signature to those instruments in order to make good my promises to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was interrupted by a cry of astonishment from his aged comrade.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will wonders never cease!&rdquo; cried the old man. &ldquo;Those
+      merchants in Frankfort must be irredeemable fools. Look you there,
+      Highness! Do you see that barge coming down the river, heavily laden, as I
+      am a sinner, for she lies low in the water. It is one of the largest of
+      the Frankfort boats, and those hopeful simpletons doubtless imagine they
+      can make their way through to Cologne with enough goods left to pay for
+      the journey. &lsquo;Tis madness! Why, the knights of Rheinstein and
+      Falkenberg alone will loot them before they are out of our sight. If they
+      think to avoid those rovers by hugging our shore, their mistake will be
+      apparent before they have gone far.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland gazed at the approaching craft, and instantly remembered that he
+      was responsible for its appearance on the Rhine. He recognized Herr Goebel&rsquo;s
+      great barge, with its thick mast in the prow, on which no sail was hoisted
+      because the wind blew upstream. On recollecting his deserted men, he
+      wondered whether or not Greusel had brought them across the hills to
+      Assmannshausen. Had they yet discovered that Joseph carried the bag of
+      gold? He laughed aloud as he thought of the scrimmage that would ensue
+      when this knowledge came to them. But little as he cared for the eighteen,
+      he experienced a pang of regret as he estimated the predicament in which
+      both Greusel and Ebearhard had stood on learning he had left them without
+      a word. Still, even now he could not see how any explanation on his part
+      was possible without revealing his identity, and that he was determined
+      not to do.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Turning round, he said abruptly to the custodian:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Were the seven hundred thalers paid to you each month?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of a surety,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That will be two thousand one hundred thalers altogether. Did you
+      spend the money?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have not touched a single coin. That amount is yours, and yours
+      alone, Prince Roland. If I have been of service I am quite content to wait
+      for my reward, or should I not be here, I know you will remember my
+      family.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May the Lord forget me if I don&rsquo;t. Still, the twenty-one
+      hundred thalers are all yours, remember, but I beg of you to lend me a
+      thousand, for I possess not a single gold piece in my bag. Indeed, if it
+      comes to that, I do not possess even a bag. I had two yesterday, but one I
+      gave away and the other I threw away.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man hurried down, and presently returned with the bag of money
+      that Roland had asked of him. Before this happened, however, Roland,
+      watching the barge, saw it round to, and tie up at the shore some distance
+      above Assmannshausen. He took the gold, and passed down the stone stair to
+      the courtyard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall return,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;before the sun sets,&rdquo;
+      and without more ado, this extraordinary captive left his prison, and
+      descended the hill in the direction of the barge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After greeting Captain Blumenfels, he learned that the boat had been
+      delayed by running on a sandbank in the Main during the night, but they
+      had got it off at daybreak, and here they were. As, standing on the shore,
+      Roland talked with the captain on the barge, he saw approaching from
+      Assmannshausen two men whom he recognized. Telling the captain he might
+      not be ready for several days, he walked along the shore to meet his
+      astonished friends, who, as was usual with them, jumped at an erroneous
+      conclusion, and supposed that he arrived on the barge which they had seen
+      rounding to for the purpose of taking up her berth by the river-bank.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel and Ebearhard stood still until he came up to them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good afternoon, gentlemen. Are you here alone, or have you brought
+      the mob with you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your capable lieutenant, sir,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, before his
+      slower companion could begin to frame a sentence, &ldquo;allowed the men
+      to think they were having their own way, but in reality diverted them into
+      his, so they are now enjoying a credit of one liter each at the tavern of
+      the Golden Anker.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;is but as a drop of water in a
+      parched desert. Have they discovered you hold the money, Greusel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not yet; but I fear they will begin to suspect by and by. I
+      suppose you went down the valley of the brook to the Rhine, and overhauled
+      the barge there?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose so,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;What else did you think I
+      could do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was sure you had done that, but I feared you would turn the barge
+      back to Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never thought of such a thing. Indeed, the captain told me he met
+      difficulty enough navigating the shallow Main, and I think he prefers the
+      deeper Rhine. Of course, you know why I left you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men looked at each other without reply, and Roland laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see you have been harboring dark suspicions, but the case is very
+      simple. The pious monks tell us that the Scriptures say if a man asks us
+      to go one league with him, we should go two. My good friends of the guild
+      last night made a most reasonable request, namely, that I should bestow
+      upon them three thalers each, and surely, to quote the monks again, the
+      laborer is worthy of his hire.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, that is the way you look upon it, then,&rdquo; said Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;From a scriptural point of view, yes; and I am going to better the
+      teachings of my young days by giving each of the men ten times the amount
+      he desired. Thirty thalers each are waiting in this bag for them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By my sword!&rdquo; cried Ebearhard, &ldquo;if that isn&rsquo;t
+      setting a premium on mutiny it comes perilously close.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so, Ebearhard; not so. You and Greusel did not mutiny,
+      therefore to each of you I give a hundred and thirty thalers, which is the
+      thirty thalers the mutineers receive, and a hundred thalers extra, as a
+      reward of virtue because you did not join them. After all, there is much
+      to be said for the men&rsquo;s point of view. I had led them ruthlessly
+      under a burning July sun, along a rough and shadeless road, then dragged
+      them away from the ample wine-vaults of Sonnenberg; next guided them on
+      through brambles, over streams, into bogs and out again; and lastly, when
+      they were dog-tired, hungry and ill-tempered, I carelessly pointed to a
+      section of the landscape, and said, &lsquo;There, my dear chaps, is your
+      bedroom&rsquo;; lads who had never before slept without blankets and a
+      roof. No wonder they mutinied; but even then, by the love of God for His
+      creatures, they did not actually attack me when I stood up with drawn
+      sword in my hand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course you have that at least to be thankful for,&rdquo; said
+      Ebearhard. &ldquo;Eighteen to one was foul odds.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I be thankful! Surely you are dreaming, Ebearhard. Why should I be
+      thankful, except that I escaped the remorse for at least killing a dozen
+      of them!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard laughed heartily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, if so sure of yourself as all that, you need no sympathy from
+      me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You thought I would be outmatched? By the Three Kings! do you
+      imagine me such a fool as to teach you artisans the higher qualities of
+      the sword? There would have been a woeful surprise for the eighteen had
+      they ventured another step farther. However, that&rsquo;s all past and
+      done with, and we&rsquo;ll say no more about it. Let us sit down here on
+      the sward, and indulge in the more agreeable recreation of counting money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He spread his cloak on the grass, and poured out the gold upon it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am keeping two hundred thalers for myself, as leader of the
+      expedition, and covetous. Here are your hundred and thirty thalers,
+      Greusel, and yours, Ebearhard. You will find remaining five hundred and
+      forty, which, if divided with reasonable accuracy, should afford thirty
+      thalers to each of our precious eighteen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aren&rsquo;t you coming with us to Assmannshausen, that you may
+      give this money to the men yourself?&rdquo; asked Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; that pleasure falls to my lieutenants, first and second. One
+      may divide the money while the other delivers the moral lecture against
+      mutiny, illustrated by the amount that good behavior gains. Say nothing to
+      the men about the barge being here, merely telling them to prepare for
+      action. Now that you are in funds, engage a large room, exclusively for
+      yourselves, at the Golden Anker. Thus you will be the better able to keep
+      the men from talking with strangers, and so prevent any news of our
+      intentions drifting across the river to Rheinstein or Falkenberg. You
+      might put it to them, should they object to the special room, that you are
+      reconstituting, as it were, the Kaiser cellar of Frankfort in the village
+      of Assmannshausen. Go forward, therefore, with your usual meetings of the
+      guild, as it was before I lowered its tone by becoming a member. Knowing
+      the lads as I do, I suggest that you make your bargain with them before
+      you deliver the money. No promise; no thirty thalers. And now, good-by. I
+      shall be exceedingly busy for some days arranging for a further supply of
+      money, so do not seek me out no matter what happens.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this Roland shook hands, and returned to Ehrenfels Castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three sumptuous barges of the Archbishops hove in sight at midday, two
+      coming up the river and one floating down. They maneuvered to the landing
+      so that all reached it at the same time, and thus the three Archbishops
+      were enabled to set foot simultaneously on the firm ground, as was right
+      and proper, no one of them obtaining precedence over the other two. On
+      entering the Castle of Ehrenfels in state, they proceeded to the large
+      hall of the knights, and seated themselves in three equal chairs that were
+      set along the solid table. Here a repast was spread before them,
+      accompanied by the finest wine the Rheingau produced, and although the
+      grand prelates ate lustily, they were most sparing in their drink, for
+      when they acted in concert none dared risk putting himself at a
+      disadvantage with the others. They would make up for their abstinence when
+      each rested in the security of his own castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The board being cleared, Roland was summoned, and bowing deeply to each of
+      the three he took his place, modestly standing on the opposite side of the
+      table. The Archbishop of Mayence, as the oldest of the trio, occupied the
+      middle chair; Treves, the next in age, at his right hand, and Cologne at
+      his left. A keen observer might have noticed that the deferential, yet
+      dignified, bearing of the young Prince made a favorable impression upon
+      these rulers who, when they acted together, formed a power that only
+      nominally was second in the realm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Mayence who broke the silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, some months ago turbulence in the State rendered it
+      advisable that you, as a probable nominee to the throne, should be
+      withdrawn from the capital to the greater safety which this house affords.
+      I hope it has never been suggested to you that this unavoidable detention
+      merited the harsh name of imprisonment?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never, your Lordships,&rdquo; said Roland, with perfect truth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three slightly inclined their heads, and Mayence continued:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I trust that in the carrying out of our behests you have been put
+      to no inconvenience during your residence in my Castle of Ehrenfels, but
+      if you find cause for complaint I shall see to it that the transgressor is
+      sharply punished.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, had such been the case I should at once have communicated
+      with your Lordship at Mayence. The fact that you have received no such
+      protest from me answers your question, but I should like to add emphasis
+      to this reply by saying I have met with the greatest courtesy and kindness
+      within these walls.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I speak for my brothers and myself when I assert we are all
+      gratified to hear the expression that has fallen from your lips. There was
+      sent for your perusal a document in triplicate. Have you found time to
+      read it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, my Lord, and I beg to state at once that I will sign it with
+      the greater pleasure since in any case, if called to the high position you
+      propose, I should have consulted your Lordships on every matter that I
+      deemed important enough to be worthy of your attention, and in no instance
+      could I think of setting up my own opinion against the united wisdom of
+      your Lordships.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a few minutes there ensued a whispered conversation among the three,
+      then Mayence spoke again:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Once more I voice the sentiments of my colleagues, Prince Roland,
+      when I assure you that the words you have just spoken give us the utmost
+      satisfaction. In the whole world to-day there is no prouder honor than
+      that which it is in the Electors&rsquo; power to bestow upon you, and it
+      is a blessed augury for the welfare of our country when the energy and
+      aspiration of youth in this high place associates itself with the
+      experience of age.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here he made a signal, and the aged custodian, who had been standing with
+      his back against the door, well out of earshot, for the conversation was
+      carried on in the most subdued and gentle tones, hurried forward, and
+      Mayence requested him to produce the documents entrusted to his care.
+      These were spread out before the young man, who signed each of them amidst
+      a deep silence, broken only by the scratching of the quill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Up to this point Roland had been merely a Prince of the Empire; now, to
+      all practical purposes, he was heir-apparent to the throne. This
+      distinction was delicately indicated by Mayence, who asked the attendant
+      to bring forward a chair, and then requested the young man to seat
+      himself. Roland had supposed the ceremonies at an end, but it was soon
+      evident that something further remained, for the three venerable heads
+      were again in juxtaposition, and apparently there was some whispered
+      difference as to the manner of procedure. Then Cologne, as the youngest of
+      the three, was prevailed upon to act as spokesman, and with a smile he
+      regarded the young man before he began.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I reside farther than my two colleagues from your fair, if
+      turbulent, city of Frankfort, and perhaps that is one reason why I know
+      little of the town and its ways from personal observation. You are a young
+      man who, I may say, has greatly commended himself to us all, and so in
+      whatever questions I may put, you will not, I hope, imagine that there is
+      anything underneath them which does not appear on the surface.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland drew a long breath, and some of the color left his face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What in the name of Heaven is coming now,&rdquo; he said to
+      himself, &ldquo;that calls for so ominous a prelude? It must be something
+      more than usually serious. May the good Lord give me courage to face it!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But outwardly he merely inclined his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have all been young ourselves, and I trust none of us forget the
+      temptations, and perhaps the dangers, that surround youth, especially when
+      highly placed. I am told that Frankfort is a gay city, and doubtless you
+      have mixed, to some extent at least, in its society.&rdquo; Here the
+      Archbishop paused, and, as he evidently expected a reply, Roland spoke:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I regret to say, my Lord, that my opportunities for social
+      intercourse have hitherto been somewhat limited. Greatly absorbed in
+      study, there has been little time for me to acquire companions, much less
+      friends.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What your Highness says, so far from being a drawback, as you seem
+      to imagine, is all to the good. It leaves the future clear of
+      complications that might otherwise cause you embarrassment.&rdquo; Here
+      the Archbishop smiled again, and Roland found himself liking the august
+      prelate. &ldquo;It was not, however, of men that I desired to speak, but
+      of women.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, is that all?&rdquo; cried the impetuous youth. &ldquo;I feared,
+      my Lord, that you were about to treat of some serious subject. So far as
+      women are concerned, I am unacquainted with any, excepting only my mother.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this the three prelates smiled in differing degrees; even the stern
+      lips of Mayence relaxing at the young man&rsquo;s confident assumption
+      that consideration of women was not a matter of importance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness clears the ground admirably for me,&rdquo; continued
+      Cologne, &ldquo;and takes a great weight from my mind, because I am
+      entrusted by my brethren with a proposal which I have found some
+      difficulty in setting forth. It is this. The choice of an Empress is one
+      of the most momentous questions that an Emperor is called upon to decide.
+      In all except the highest rank personal preference has much to do with the
+      selection of a wife, but in the case of a king do you agree with me that
+      State considerations must be kept in view?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Undoubtedly, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is a matter to which we three Electors have given the
+      weightiest consideration, finally agreeing on one whom we believe to
+      possess the necessary qualifications; a lady highly born, deeply
+      religious, enormously wealthy, and exceedingly beautiful. She is related
+      to the most noble in the land. I refer to Hildegunde Lauretta Priscilla
+      Agnes, Countess of Sayn. If there is any reason why your preference should
+      not coincide with ours, I beg you quite frankly to state it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is no reason at all, your Lordships,&rdquo; cried Roland,
+      with a deep sigh of relief on learning that his fears were so unfounded.
+      &ldquo;I shall be most happy and honored to wed the lady at any time your
+      Lordships and she may select.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then,&rdquo; said the Archbishop of Mayence, rising to his feet and
+      speaking with great solemnity, &ldquo;you are chosen as the future Emperor
+      of our land.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      X. A CALAMITOUS CONFERENCE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The prelate and his ward were met at the doors of Stolzenfels by the
+      Archbishop of Treves in person, and the welcome they received left nothing
+      to be desired in point of cordiality. There were many servants, male and
+      female, about the Castle, but no show of armed men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess was conducted to a room whose outlook fascinated her. It
+      occupied one entire floor of a square tower, with windows facing the four
+      points of the compass, and from this height she could view the Rhine up to
+      the stern old Castle of Marksburg, and down past Coblentz to her own realm
+      of Sayn, where it bordered the river, although the stronghold from which
+      she ruled this domain was hidden by the hills ending in Ehrenbreitstein.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When she descended on being called to <i>mittagessen</i>, she was
+      introduced to a sister of the Archbishop of Treves, a grave, elderly
+      woman, and to the Archbishop&rsquo;s niece, a lady about ten years older
+      than Hildegunde. Neither of these grand dames had much to say, and the
+      conversation at the meal rested chiefly with the two Archbishops. Indeed,
+      had the Countess but known it, her presence there was a great
+      disappointment to the two noblewomen, for the close relationship of the
+      younger to the Archbishop of Treves rendered it impossible that she should
+      be offered the honor about to be bestowed upon the younger and more
+      beautiful Countess von Sayn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop of Mayence, although a resident of the Castle, partook of
+      refreshment in the smallest room of the suite reserved for him, where he
+      was waited upon by his own servants and catered for by his own cook.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the great Rhine salmon, smoking hot, was placed upon the table,
+      Cologne was generous in his praise of it, and related again, for the
+      information of his host and household, the story of the English Princess
+      who had partaken of a similar fish, doubtless in this same room. Despite
+      the historical bill of fare, and the mildly exhilarating qualities of the
+      excellent Oberweseler wine, whose delicate reddish color the sentimental
+      Archbishop compared to the blush on a bride&rsquo;s cheeks, the social
+      aspect of the midday refection was overshadowed by an almost indefinable
+      sense of impending danger. In the pseudogenial conversation of the two
+      Archbishops there was something forced: the attitude of the elderly
+      hostess was one of unrelieved gloom. After a few conventional greetings to
+      her young guest, she spoke no more during the meal. Her daughter, who sat
+      beside the Countess on the opposite side of the table from his Lordship of
+      Cologne, merely answered &ldquo;Yes&rdquo; or &ldquo;No&rdquo; to the
+      comments of the lady of Sayn praising the romantic situation of the
+      Castle, its unique qualities of architecture, and the splendid outlook
+      from its battlements, eulogies which began enthusiastically enough, but
+      finally faded away into silence, chilled by a reception so unfriendly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Thus cast back upon her own thoughts, the girl grew more and more uneasy
+      as the peculiar features of the occasion became clearer in her own mind.
+      Here was her revered, beloved friend forcing hilarity which she knew he
+      could not feel, breaking bread and drinking wine with a colleague while
+      three thousand of his armed men peered down on the roof that sheltered
+      him, ready at a signal to pounce upon Stolzenfels like birds of prey,
+      capturing, and if necessary, slaying. She remembered the hearty cheers
+      that welcomed them on their arrival at Coblentz, yet every man who thus
+      boisterously greeted them, waving his bonnet in the air, was doubtless an
+      enemy. The very secrecy, the unknown nature of the danger, depressed her
+      more and more as she thought of it; the fierce soldiers hidden in the
+      forest, ready to leap up, burn and kill at an unknown sign from a Prince
+      of religion; the deadly weapons concealed in a Church of Christ: all this
+      grim reality of a Faith she held dear had never been hinted at by the
+      gentle nuns among whom she lived so happily for the greater part of her
+      life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last her somber hostess rose, and Hildegunde, with a sigh of relief,
+      followed her example. The Archbishop of Cologne gallantly held back the
+      curtain at the doorway, and bowed low when the three ladies passed
+      through. The silent hostess conducted her guest to a parlor on the same
+      floor as the dining-room; a parlor from which opened another door
+      connecting it with a small knights&rsquo; hall; the <i>kleine Rittersaal</i>
+      in which the Court of the Archbishops was to be held.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop&rsquo;s sister did not enter the parlor, but here took
+      formal farewell of Countess von Sayn, who turned to the sole occupant of
+      the room, her kinsman and counselor, Father Ambrose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Were you not asked to dine with us?&rdquo; she inquired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; but I thought it better to refuse. First, in case the three
+      Archbishops might have something confidential to say to you; and second,
+      because at best I am poor company at a banquet.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, you need not have been so thoughtful: first, as you say,
+      there were not three Archbishops present, but only two, and neither said
+      anything to me that all the world might not hear; second, the rest of the
+      company, the sister and the niece of Treves, were so doleful that you
+      would have proved a hilarious companion compared with them. Did my
+      guardian make any statement to you yesterday afternoon that revealed the
+      object of this coming Court?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;None whatever. Our conversation related entirely to your estate and
+      my management of it. We spoke of crops, of cultivation, and of vineyards.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have no knowledge, then, of the reason why we are summoned
+      hither?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On that subject, Hildegunde, I am as ignorant as you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I am wholly in the dark,&rdquo; murmured the
+      Countess, &ldquo;although I know nothing definite.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You surmise, in spite of your guardian&rsquo;s disclaimer, that the
+      discussion will pertain to your recovery of the town of Linz?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps; but not likely. Did you say anything of your journey to
+      Frankfort?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not a word. I understood from you that no mention should be made of
+      my visit unless his Lordship asked questions proving he was aware of it,
+      in which case I was to tell the truth.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You were quite right, Father. Did my guardian ask you to accompany
+      us to Stolzenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Assuredly, or I should not have ventured.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What reason did he give, and what instructions did he lay upon you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He thought you should have by your side some one akin to you. His
+      instructions were that in no circumstances was I to offer any remark upon
+      the proceedings. Indeed, I am not allowed to speak unless in answer to a
+      question directly put to me, and then in the fewest possible words.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hildegunde ceased her cross-examination, and seated herself by a window
+      which gave a view of the steep mountain-side behind the Castle, where,
+      sheltered by the thick, dark forest, she knew that her guardian&rsquo;s
+      men lay in ambush. She shuddered slightly, wondering what was the meaning
+      of these preparations, and in the deep silence became aware of the
+      accelerated beating of her heart. She felt but little reassured by the
+      presence of her kinsman, whose lips moved without a murmur, and whose
+      grave eyes seemed fixed on futurity, meditating the mystery of the next
+      world, and completely oblivious to the realities of the earth he
+      inhabited.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She turned her troubled gaze once more to the green forest, and after a
+      long lapse of time the dual reveries were broken by the entrance of an
+      official gorgeously appareled. This functionary bowed low, and said with
+      great solemnity:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, the Court of my Lords the Archbishops awaits your presence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The <i>kleine Rittersaal</i> occupied a fine position on the river-side
+      front of Stolzenfels, its windows giving a view of the Rhine, with the
+      strong Castle of Lahneck over-hanging the mouth of the Lahn, and the more
+      ornamental Schloss Martinsburg at the upper end of Oberlahnstein. The
+      latter edifice, built by a former Elector of Mayence, was rarely occupied
+      by the present Archbishop, but, as he sat in the central chair of the
+      Court, he had the advantage of being able to look across the river at his
+      own house should it please him to do so.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three Archbishops were standing behind the long table when the
+      Countess entered, thus acknowledging that she who came into their
+      presence, young and beautiful, was a very great lady by right of descent
+      and rank. She acknowledged their courtesy by a graceful inclination of the
+      head, and the three Princes of the Church responded each with a bow, that
+      of Mayence scarcely perceptible, that of Treves deferential and courtly,
+      that of Cologne with a friendly smile of encouragement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the center of the hall opposite the long table had been placed an
+      immense chair, taken from the grand <i>Rittersaal</i>, ornamented with
+      gilded carving, and covered in richly-colored Genoa velvet. It looked like
+      a throne, which indeed it was, used only on occasions when Royalty visited
+      the Castle. To this sumptuous seat the scarcely less gorgeous functionary
+      conducted the girl, and when she had taken her place, the three
+      Archbishops seated themselves. The glorified menial then bent himself
+      until his forehead nearly touched the floor, and silently departed. Father
+      Ambrose, his coarse, ill-cut clothes of somber color in striking contrast
+      to the richness of costume worn by the others, stood humbly beside the
+      chair that supported his kinswoman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess gave a quick glance at the Archbishop of Mayence, then
+      lowered her eyes. Cologne she had known all her life; Treves she had met
+      that day, and rather liked, although feeling she could not esteem him as
+      she did her guardian, but a thrill of fear followed her swift look at the
+      man in the center.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A face of great strength,&rdquo; she said to herself, &ldquo;but
+      his thin, straight lips, tightly compressed, seemed cruel, as well as
+      determined.&rdquo; With a flash of comprehension she understood now her
+      guardian&rsquo;s warning not to thwart him. It was easy to credit the
+      acknowledged fact that this man dominated the other two. Nevertheless,
+      when he spoke his voice was surprisingly mild.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we are met here in an hour of grave
+      anxiety. The Emperor, who has been ill for some time, is now upon his
+      death-bed, and the physicians who attend him inform me that at any moment
+      we may be called upon to elect his successor. That successor has already
+      been chosen; chosen, I may add, in an informal manner, but his selection
+      is not likely to be canceled, unless by some act of his own which would
+      cause us to reconsider our decision. Our adoption was made very recently
+      in my castle of Ehrenfels, and we are come together again in the Castle of
+      my brother Treves, not in our sacred office as Archbishops, but in our
+      secular capacity as Electors of the Empire, to determine a matter which we
+      consider of almost equal importance. It is our privilege to bestow upon
+      you the highest honor that may be conferred on any woman in the realm; the
+      position of Empress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When you have signified your acceptance of this great elevation, I
+      must put to you several questions concerning your future duties to the
+      State, and these are embodied in a document which you will be asked to
+      sign.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess did not raise her eyes. While the Archbishop was speaking the
+      color flamed up in her cheeks, but faded away again, and her guardian, who
+      watched her very intently across the table, saw her face become so pale
+      that he feared she was about to faint. However, she rallied, and at last
+      looked up, not at her dark-browed questioner, but at the Archbishop of
+      Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I not know,&rdquo; she said, in a voice scarcely audible,
+      &ldquo;who is my future husband?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely, surely,&rdquo; replied her guardian soothingly, &ldquo;but
+      the Elector of Mayence is our spokesman here, and you must address your
+      question to his Lordship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She now turned her frightened eyes upon Mayence, whose brow had become
+      slightly ruffled at this interruption, and whose lips were more firmly
+      closed. He sat there imperturbable, refusing the beseechment of her eyes,
+      and thus forced her to repeat her question, though to him it took another
+      form.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, who is to be the next Emperor?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Countess von Sayn, I fear that in modifying my opening address to
+      accord with the comprehension of a girl but recently emerged from convent
+      life, I have led you into an error. The Court of Electors is not convened
+      for the purpose of securing your consent, but with the duty of imposing
+      upon you a command. It is not for you to ask questions, but to answer
+      them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean that I am to marry this unknown man, whether I will or no?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is my meaning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl sat back in her chair, and the moisture that had gathered in her
+      eyes disappeared as if licked up by the little flame that burned in their
+      depths.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Ask your questions, and I will
+      answer them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before I put any question, I must have your consent to my first
+      proposition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is quite unnecessary, my Lord. When you hear my answer to your
+      questions, you will very speedily withdraw your first proposition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Elector of Treves, who had been shifting uneasily in his chair, now
+      leaned forward, and spoke in an ingratiating manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Countess, you are a neighbor of mine, although you live on the
+      opposite side of the river, and I am honored in receiving you as my guest.
+      As guest and neighbor, I appeal to you on our behalf: be assured that we
+      wish nothing but your very greatest good and happiness.&rdquo; The spark
+      in her eyes died down, and they beamed kindly on the courtier Elector.
+      &ldquo;You see before you three old bachelors, quite unversed in the ways
+      of women. If anything that has been said offends you, pray overlook our
+      default, for I assure you, on behalf of my colleagues and myself, that any
+      one of us would bitterly regret uttering a single word to cause you
+      disquietude.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My disquietude, my Lord, is caused by the refusal to utter the
+      single name I have asked for. Am I a peasant girl to be handed over to the
+      hind that makes the highest offer?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so. No such thought entered our minds. The name is, of course,
+      a secret at the present moment, and I quite appreciate the reluctance of
+      my Lord of Mayence to mention it, but I think in this instance an
+      exception may safely be made, and I now appeal to his Lordship to
+      enlighten the Countess.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence answered indifferently:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not agree with you, but we are here three Electors of equal
+      power, and two can always outvote one.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Elector of Cologne smiled slightly; he had seen this comedy enacted
+      before, and never objected to it. The carrying of some unimportant point
+      in opposition to their chief always gave Treves a certain sense of
+      independence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord of Cologne,&rdquo; said the latter, bending forward and
+      addressing the man at the other end of the table &ldquo;do you not agree
+      with me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly,&rdquo; replied Cologne, with some curtness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case,&rdquo; continued Treves, &ldquo;I take it upon myself
+      to announce to you, Madam, that the young man chosen for our future ruler
+      is Prince Roland, only son of the dying Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hands of the Countess nervously clutched the soft velvet on the arms
+      of her chair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you,&rdquo; she said, addressing Treves, and speaking as
+      calmly as though she were Mayence himself. &ldquo;May I ask you if this
+      marriage was proposed to the young man?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves looked up nervously at the stern face of Mayence, who nodded to
+      him, as much as to say:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are doing well; go on.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Treves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was my name concealed from him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Had he ever heard of me before?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely,&rdquo; replied the diplomatic Treves, &ldquo;for the fame
+      of the Countess von Sayn has traveled farther than her modesty will admit.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did he agree?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Instantly; joyfully, it seemed to me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In any case, he has never seen me,&rdquo; continued the Countess.
+      &ldquo;Did he make any inquiry, whether I was tall or short, old or young,
+      rich or poor, beautiful or ugly?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He seemed very well satisfied with our choice.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves had his elbows on the table, leaning forward with open palms
+      supporting his chin. He had spoken throughout in the most ingratiating
+      manner, his tones soft and honeyed. He was so evidently pleased with his
+      own diplomacy that even the eye of the stern Mayence twinkled maliciously
+      when the girl turned impulsively toward the other end of the table, and
+      cried:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Guardian, tell me the truth! I know this young man accepted me as
+      if I were a sack of grain, his whole mind intent on one thing only: to
+      secure for himself the position of Emperor. Is it not so?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not so, Countess,&rdquo; said Cologne solemnly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, it is true, made no stipulation regarding you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was sure of it. Any Gretchen in Germany would have done just as
+      well. I was merely part of the bargain he was compelled to make with you,
+      and now I announce to the Court that no power on earth will induce me to
+      marry Prince Roland. I claim the right of my womanhood to wed only the man
+      whom I love, and who loves me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence gave utterance to an exclamation that might be coarsely described
+      as a snort of contempt. The Elector of Treves was leaning back in his
+      chair discomfited by her abrupt desertion of him. The Elector of Cologne
+      now leaned forward, dismayed at the turn affairs had taken, deep anxiety
+      visible on his brow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Countess von Sayn,&rdquo; he began, and thus his ward realized how
+      deeply she had offended, &ldquo;in all my life I never met any young man
+      who impressed me so favorably as Prince Roland of Germany. If I possessed
+      a daughter whom I dearly loved, I could wish her no better fortune than to
+      marry so honest a youth as he. The very point you make against him should
+      have told most strongly in his favor with a young girl. My reading of his
+      character is that so far as concerns the love you spoke of, he knows as
+      little of it as yourself, and thus he agreed to our proposal with a
+      seeming indifference which you entirely misjudge. If you, then, have any
+      belief in my goodwill towards you, in my deep anxiety for your welfare and
+      happiness, I implore you to agree to the suggestion my Lord of Mayence has
+      made. You speak of love knowing nothing concerning it. I call to your
+      remembrance the fact that one noble lady of your race may have foregone
+      the happiness that love perhaps brings, in her desire for the advancement
+      of one whom she loved so truly that she chose for her guide the more
+      subdued but steadier star of duty. The case is presented to you, my dear,
+      in different form, and I feel assured that duty and love will shine
+      together.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the venerable Archbishop spoke with such deep earnestness, in a voice
+      she loved so well, the girl buried her face in her hands, and he could see
+      the tears trickle between her fingers. A silence followed her guardian&rsquo;s
+      appeal, disturbed only by the agitated breathing of Hildegunde.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cold voice of the Elector of Mayence broke the stillness, like a
+      breath from a glazier:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you consent, Madam?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; gasped the girl, her shoulders quivering with emotion,
+      but she did not look up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear that the object of this convocation was like to be forgotten
+      in the gush of sentiment issuing from both sides of me. This is a business
+      meeting, and not a love-feast. Will you do me the courtesy, Madam, of
+      raising your head and answering my question?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl dashed the tears from her eyes, and sat up straight, grasping
+      with nervous hands the arms of the throne, as if to steady herself against
+      the coming ordeal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I scarcely heard what you said. Do you consent to marry Prince
+      Roland of Germany?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have consented,&rdquo; she replied firmly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you use your influence with him that he may carry out the
+      behests of the three Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, if the behests are for the good of the country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot accept any qualifications, therefore I repeat my question.
+      Will you use your influence with him that he may carry out the behests of
+      the three Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can have no influence with such a man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Answer my question, Madam.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Say yes, Hildegunde,&rdquo; pleaded Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She turned to him swimming eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Guardian, Guardian!&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;I have done
+      everything I can, and all for you; all for you. I cannot stand any more.
+      This is torture to me. Let me go home, and another day when I am calmer I
+      will answer your questions!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The perturbed Archbishop sat back again with a deep sigh. The ignorance of
+      women with which his colleague of Treves had credited all three was being
+      amazingly dispelled. He could not understand why this girl should show
+      such emotion at the thought of marrying the heir to the throne, when
+      assured the young man was all that any reasonable woman could desire.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, I pray you give your attention to me,&rdquo; said the
+      unimpassioned voice of Mayence. &ldquo;I have listened to your
+      conversation with my colleagues, and the patience I exhibited will, I
+      hope, be credited to me. This matter of business&rdquo;&mdash;he
+      emphasized the word&mdash;&ldquo;must be settled to-day, and to clear away
+      all misapprehension, I desire to say that your guardian has really no
+      influence on this matter. It was settled before you came into the room.
+      You are merely allowed a choice of two outcomes: first, marriage with
+      Prince Roland; second, imprisonment in Pfalz Castle, situated in the
+      middle of the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is that?&rdquo; demanded the Countess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am tired of repeating my statements.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You would imprison me&mdash;me, a Countess of Sayn?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire
+      bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by
+      Rhine robbers as well.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Madam. A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your
+      ancestors.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not true,&rdquo; cried the girl, in blazing wrath. &ldquo;&lsquo;Twas
+      the Emperor Rudolph who hanged him; the same Emperor that chastised an
+      Archbishop of Mayence, and brought him, cringing, to his knees, begging
+      for pardon, which the Emperor contemptuously flung to him. You dare not
+      imprison me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Refuse to marry Prince Roland, and learn,&rdquo; said the
+      Archbishop very quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl sprang to her feet, a-quiver with anger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do refuse! Prince Roland has hoodwinked the three of you! He is a
+      libertine and a brawler, consorting with the lowest in the cellars of
+      Frankfort; a liar and a thief, and not a brave thief at that, but a
+      cutthroat who holds his sword to the breast of an unarmed merchant while
+      he filches from him his gold. Added to that, a drunkard as his father is;
+      and, above all, a hypocrite, as his father is not, yet clever enough, with
+      all his vices, to cozen three men whose vile rule has ruined Frankfort,
+      and left the broad Rhine empty of its life-giving commerce;&rdquo; she
+      waved her hand toward the vacant river.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop of Cologne was the first to rise, horror-stricken.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The girl is mad!&rdquo; he murmured.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves rose also, but Mayence sat still, a sour smile on his lips, yet a
+      twinkle of admiration in his eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, my poor Guardian, I am not mad,&rdquo; she cried, regarding him
+      with a smile, her wrath subsiding as quickly as it had risen. &ldquo;What
+      I say is true, and it may be that our meeting, turbulent as it has been,
+      will prevent you from making a great mistake. He whom you would put on the
+      throne is not the man you think.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear ward!&rdquo; cried Cologne, &ldquo;how can you make such
+      accusations against him? What should a girl living in seclusion as you
+      live, know of what is passing in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seems strange, Guardian, but it is true, nevertheless. Sit down
+      again, I beg of you, and you, my Lord of Treves. Even my Lord of Mayence
+      will, I think, comprehend my abhorrence when such a proposal was made to
+      me, and I hope, my Lord, you will forgive my outburst of anger just now.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She heard the trembling Treves mutter:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mayence never forgives.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Father Ambrose, come forward.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why?&rdquo; asked Ambrose, waking from his reverie.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tell them your experiences in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not allowed to speak,&rdquo; objected the monk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Speak, speak!&rdquo; cried Cologne. &ldquo;What, sir, have you had
+      to do with this girl&rsquo;s misleading?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought,&rdquo; he said wistfully to his kinswoman, &ldquo;that I
+      was not to mention my visit to Frankfort unless my Lord the Archbishop
+      brought up the subject.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you not been listening to these proceedings?&rdquo; cried the
+      girl impatiently. &ldquo;The subject is brought up before three
+      Archbishops, instead of before one. Tell their Lordships what you know of
+      Prince Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose, with a deep sigh, began his recital, to which Treves and
+      Cologne listened with ever-increasing amazement, while the sullen Mayence
+      sat back in his chair, face imperturbable, but the thin lips closing
+      firmer and firmer as the narrative went on.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the monologue ended, his Reverence of Cologne was the first to speak:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In the name of Heaven, why did you not tell me all this yesterday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Father Ambrose looked helplessly at his kinswoman, but made no reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I forbade him, my Lord,&rdquo; said the girl proudly, and for the
+      first time addressing him by a formal title, as if from now on he was to
+      be reckoned with her enemies. &ldquo;I alone am responsible for the
+      journey to Frankfort and its consequences, whatever they may be. You
+      invoked the name of Heaven just now, my Lord, and I would have you know
+      that I am convinced Heaven itself intervened on my behalf to expose the
+      real character of Prince Roland, who has successfully deluded three men
+      like yourselves, supposed to be astute!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop turned upon her sorrowful eyes, troubled yet kindly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Countess,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I have not ventured to
+      censure you; nevertheless I am, or have been, your guardian, and should, I
+      think, have been consulted before you committed yourself to an action that
+      threatens disaster to our plans.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl replied, still with the hauteur so lately assumed:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not dispute my wardship, and have more than once thanked you
+      for your care of me, but at this crisis of my life&mdash;a crisis
+      transforming me instantly from a girl to a woman&mdash;you fail me, seeing
+      me here at bay. I wished to spend a month or two at the capital city, but
+      before troubling you with such a request I determined to learn whether or
+      not the state of Frankfort was as disturbed as rumor alleged. Finding
+      matters there to be hopeless, the project of a visit was at once
+      abandoned, and knowing nothing of the honor about to be conferred on
+      Prince Roland, I thought it best to keep what had been discovered
+      regarding his character a secret between the Reverend Father and myself. I
+      dare say an attempt will be made to cast doubt on the Reverend Father&rsquo;s
+      story, and perhaps my three judges may convince themselves of its
+      falseness, but they cannot convince me, and I tell you finally and
+      formally that no power on earth will induce me to marry a marauder and a
+      thief!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This announcement effectually silenced the one friend she possessed among
+      the three. Mayence slowly turned his head, and looked upon the colleague
+      at his right, as much as to say, &ldquo;Do you wish to add your quota to
+      this inconsequential talk?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves, at this silent appeal, leaned forward, and spoke to the perturbed
+      monk, who knew that, in some way he did not quite understand, affairs were
+      drifting towards a catastrophe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Father Ambrose,&rdquo; began the Elector of Treves, &ldquo;would
+      you kindly tell us the exact date when this encounter on the bridge took
+      place?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Saint Cyrille&rsquo;s Day,&rdquo; replied Father Ambrose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And during the night of that day you were incarcerated in the
+      cellar among the wine-casks?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would it surprise you to know, Father Ambrose, that during Saint
+      Cyrille&rsquo;s Day, and for many days previous to that date, Prince
+      Roland was a close prisoner in his Lordship of Mayence&rsquo;s strong
+      Castle of Ehrenfels, and that it was quite impossible for you to have met
+      him in Frankfort, or anywhere else?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nevertheless, I did meet him,&rdquo; persisted Father Ambrose, with
+      the quiet obstinacy of a mild man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where did you lodge in Frankfort, Father?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At the Benedictine Monastery in Sachsenhausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do the good brethren supply their guests with a potent wine?
+      Frankfort is, and always has been, the chief market of that exhilarating
+      but illusion-creating beverage.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cheeks of the Countess flushed crimson at this insinuation on her
+      kinsman&rsquo;s sobriety. The old monk&rsquo;s hand rested on the arm of
+      her throne, and she placed her own hand upon his as if to encourage him to
+      resent the implied slander. After all, they were two Sayns hard pressed by
+      these ruthless potentates. But Ambrose answered mildly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It may be that the monastery contains wine, my Lord, and doubtless
+      the wine is good, but during my visit I did not taste it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cross-examination at an end, the Lord of Mayence spoke scarcely above a
+      whisper, a trace of weariness in his manner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lords,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;we have wandered from the subject.
+      The romance by Father Ambrose is but indifferently interesting, and
+      nothing at all to the point. Even a child may understand what has
+      happened, for it is merely a case of mistaken identity, and my sympathy
+      goes out entirely towards the unknown; a man who knew his own mind, and
+      being naturally indignant at an interference both persistent and uncalled
+      for, quite rightly immured the meddler among the casks, probably shrewd
+      enough to see that this practicer of temperance would not interfere with
+      their integrity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, stand up!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess seemed inclined to disobey this curt order, but a beseeching
+      look from her now thoroughly frightened guardian changed her intention,
+      and she rose to her feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, the greatest honor which it is in the power of this Empire
+      to bestow upon a woman has been proffered to you, and rejected with
+      unnecessary heat. I beg therefore, to inform you, that in the judgment of
+      this Court you are considered unworthy of the exalted position which,
+      before knowing your true character, it was intended you should fill. The
+      various calumnies you have poured upon the innocent head of Prince Roland
+      amount in effect to high treason.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon, my Lord!&rdquo; cried the Archbishop of Cologne, &ldquo;your
+      contention will hold neither in law nor in fact. High treason is an
+      offense that can be committed only against the realm as a whole, or
+      against its ruler in person. Prince Roland is not yet Emperor of Germany,
+      and however much we may regret the language used in his disparagement, it
+      has arisen through a misunderstanding quite patent to us all. A good but
+      dreamy man made a mistake, which, however deplorable, has been put forward
+      with a sincerity that none of us can question; indeed, it was the
+      intention of Father Ambrose to keep his supposed knowledge a secret, and
+      you both saw with what evident reluctance he spoke when commanded to do so
+      by my colleague of Treves. Whatever justice there may be in disciplining
+      Father Ambrose, there is none at all for exaggerated censure upon my lady,
+      the Countess of Sayn, and before pronouncing a further censure I beg your
+      Lordship to take into consideration the circumstances of the case, by
+      which a young girl, without any previous warning or preparation, is called
+      upon suddenly to make the most momentous decision of her life. I say it is
+      to her ladyship&rsquo;s credit that she refused the highest station in the
+      land in the interests of what she supposes to be, however erroneously, the
+      cause of honesty, sobriety, and, I may add, of Christianity; qualities for
+      which we three men should stand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord,&rdquo; objected Treves, &ldquo;we meet here as temporal
+      Princes, and not as Archbishops of the Church.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that, my brother of Treves, and my appeal is to the temporal
+      law. Prince Roland, despite his high lineage, is merely a citizen of the
+      Empire, and a subject of his Majesty, the Emperor. It is therefore
+      impossible that the crime of treason can be committed against him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During this protest and discussion the Elector of Mayence had leaned back
+      again in his usual attitude of tired indifference; his keen eyes almost
+      closed. When he spoke he made no reference to what either of his two
+      confrères had said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; he began, without raising his voice, &ldquo;it is the
+      sentence of this Court that you shall be imprisoned during its pleasure in
+      the Castle of Pfalzgrafenstein, which stands on a rock in the middle of
+      the Rhine. Under the guardianship of the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck, who will
+      be responsible for your safe keeping, I hope you will listen to the devout
+      counsel of his excellent wife to such effect that when next you are
+      privileged to meet a Court so highly constituted as this you may be better
+      instructed regarding the language with which it should be addressed. You
+      are permitted to take with you two waiting-women, chosen by yourself from
+      your own household, but all communication with the outside world is
+      forbidden. You said something to the effect that this Court dared not
+      pronounce such sentence against you, but if you possessed that wisdom you
+      so conspicuously lack, you might have surmised that a power which ventured
+      to imprison the future Emperor of this land would not hesitate to place in
+      durance a mere Countess von Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess bowed her head slightly, and without protest sat down again.
+      The Elector of Cologne arose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, I raised a point of law which has been ignored.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is the proper time to raise it,&rdquo; replied Mayence,
+      &ldquo;and you shall be instantly satisfied. This Court is competent to
+      give its decision upon any point of law. If my Lord of Treves agrees with
+      me, your objection is disallowed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I agree,&rdquo; said the Elector of Treves.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord of Cologne,&rdquo; said Mayence, turning towards the person
+      addressed, &ldquo;the decision of the Court is against you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hildegunde was already learning a lesson. Although dazed by the verdict,
+      she could not but admire the quiet, conversational tone adopted by the
+      three men before her, as compared with her own late vehemence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The decision of the Court is not unexpected,&rdquo; said Cologne,
+      &ldquo;and I regret that I am compelled to appeal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To whom will you appeal?&rdquo; inquired Mayence mildly, &ldquo;The
+      Emperor, as you know, is quite unfit for the transaction of public
+      business, and even if such were not the case, would hesitate to overturn a
+      decision given by a majority of this Court.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I appeal,&rdquo; replied Cologne, &ldquo;to a power that even
+      Emperors must obey; the power of physical force.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean,&rdquo; said Mayence sadly, &ldquo;to the three thousand
+      men concealed in the forest behind this house in which you are an honored
+      guest?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Elector of Cologne was so taken aback by this almost whispered remark
+      that he was momentarily struck speechless. A sudden pallor swept the usual
+      ruddiness from his face. The Lord of Mayence gently inclined his head as
+      if awaiting an answer, and when it did not come, went on impassively:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I may inform you, my Lord, that my army occupies the capital city
+      of Frankfort, able and ready to quell any disturbance that may be caused
+      by the announcement of the Emperor&rsquo;s death, but there are still
+      plenty of seasoned troops ready to uphold the decisions of this Court.
+      When your spies scoured the country in the forests, and along the river
+      almost to the gates of my city of Mayence, they appeared to labor under
+      the illusion that I could move my soldiers only overland. Naturally, they
+      met no sign of such an incursion, because I had requisitioned a hundred
+      barges which I found empty in the river Main by Frankfort. These were
+      floated down the Main to Mayence, and there received their quota of a
+      hundred men each. The night being dark they came down the Rhine, it seems,
+      quite unobserved, and are now concealed in the mouth of the river Lahn
+      directly opposite this Castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When my flag is hoisted on the staff of the main tower this
+      flotilla will be at the landing below us within half an hour. You
+      doubtless have made similar arrangements for bringing your three thousand
+      down upon Stolzenfels, but the gates of this Castle are now closed.
+      Indeed, Stolzenfels was put in condition to withstand a siege very shortly
+      after you and your ward entered it, and it is garrisoned by two hundred
+      fighting men, kindly provided at my suggestion by my brother of Treves. I
+      doubt if its capture is possible, even though you gave the signal, which
+      we will not allow. Of course, your plan of capturing Treves and myself was
+      a good one could it be carried out, for a man in jeopardy will always
+      compromise, and as I estimate you are in that position I should be glad to
+      know what arrangement you propose.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop of Cologne did not reply, but stood with bent head and
+      frowning brow. It was the Countess von Sayn who, rising, spoke:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord Archbishop of Mayence,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;I could
+      never forgive myself if through action of mine a fatal struggle took place
+      between my countrymen. I have no desire to enact the part of Helen of
+      Troy. I am therefore ready and willing to be imprisoned, or to marry
+      Prince Roland of Frankfort, whichever alternative you command, so long as
+      no disadvantage comes to my friend, his Lordship of Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; said Mayence suavely, &ldquo;there are not <i>now</i>
+      two alternatives, as you suppose.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In such case, your Highness, I betake myself instantly to Pfalz
+      Castle, and I ask that my guardian be allowed to escort me on the journey.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, your determination is approved, and your request granted,
+      but, as the business for which the three Electors were convened is not yet
+      accomplished, I request you to withdraw until such time as an agreement
+      has been arrived at. Father Ambrose is permitted to accompany you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The gallant Elector of Treves sprang at once to his feet, pleading for the
+      privilege of conducting the Countess to the apartments of his sister and
+      her daughter. As the door to the ante-room opened the Elector of Cologne,
+      whose eyes followed his departing ward, did not fail to observe that the
+      lobby was thronged with armed men, and he realized now, if he had not done
+      so from Mayence&rsquo;s observation, how completely he was trapped. Even
+      had a hundred thousand of his soldiers stood in readiness on the hills, it
+      was impossible for him to give the signal bringing them to his rescue.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A few minutes later the Elector of Treves returned, and took his place at
+      Mayence&rsquo;s right hand. The latter spoke as though the conference had
+      been unanimous and amiable.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now that we three are alone together, I think we shall discuss our
+      problems under a feeling of less apprehension if the small army in the
+      forest is bade God-speed on its way to Cologne. Such being the case,&rdquo;
+      he went on, turning to Cologne, &ldquo;would you kindly write an order to
+      that effect to your commander. Inform him that we three Electors wish to
+      review your troops from the northern balcony, and bid them file past from
+      the hills to the river road. They are to cross the Moselle by the old
+      bridge, and so return to your city. You will perhaps pledge faith that no
+      signal will be made to your officers as they pass us. I make this appeal
+      with the greater confidence since you are well aware three thousand men
+      would but destroy themselves in any attempt to capture this Castle, with
+      an army of ten thousand on their flank to annihilate them. Do you agree?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I agree,&rdquo; replied Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He wrote out the order required, and handed it to Mayence, who scrutinized
+      the document with some care before passing it on to Treves. Mayence
+      addressed Cologne in his blandest tones:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Would you kindly instruct our colleague how to get that message
+      safely into the hands of your commander.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If he will have it sent to the head of my small escort, ordering
+      him to take it directly up the hill behind this Castle until he comes to
+      my sentinels, whom he knows personally, they will allow him to pass
+      through, and deliver my written command to the officer in charge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This being done, and Treves once more returned, Mayence said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sure we all realize that the Countess von Sayn, however
+      admirable in other respects, possesses an independent mind and a
+      determined will rendering her quite unsuited for the station we intended
+      her to occupy. I think her guardian must be convinced now, even though he
+      had little suspicion of it before, that this lady would not easily be
+      influenced by any considerations we might place before her. The
+      regrettable incidents of this conference have probably instilled into her
+      mind a certain prejudice against us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here, for the first time, the Elector of Cologne laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is highly probable, my Lord,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and, indeed,
+      your moderate way of putting the case is unanswerable. Her ladyship as an
+      Empress under our influence is out of the question. I therefore make a
+      proposal with some confidence, quite certain it will please you both. I
+      venture to nominate for the position of Empress that very demure and
+      silent lady who is niece of my brother the Elector of Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves strangled a gasp in its birth, but could not suppress the light of
+      ambition that suddenly leaped into his eyes. The elevation of his widowed
+      sister&rsquo;s child to the Imperial throne was an advantage so
+      tremendous, and came about so unexpectedly, that for the moment his slow
+      brain was numbed by the glorious prospect. It seemed incredible that
+      Cologne had actually put forward such a proposition.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The eyes of Mayence veiled themselves almost to shutting point, but in no
+      other manner did emotion show. Like a flash his alert mind saw the full
+      purport of the bombshell Cologne had so carelessly tossed between himself
+      and his henchman. Cologne, having lost everything, had now proved clever
+      enough to set by the ears those who overruled him by their united vote. If
+      this girl were made Empress she would be entirely under the influence of
+      her uncle, of whose household she had been a pliant member ever since
+      childhood. Yet what was Mayence to do? Should he object to the nomination,
+      he would at once obliterate the unswerving loyalty of Treves, and if this
+      happened, Treves and Cologne, joining, would outvote him, and his
+      objection would prove futile. He would enrage Treves without carrying his
+      own point, and he knew that he held his position only because of the
+      dog-like fidelity of the weaker man. Slow anger rose in his heart as he
+      pictured the conditions of the future. Whatever influence he sought to
+      exert upon the Emperor by the indirect assistance of the Empress, must be
+      got at through the complacency of Treves, who would gradually come to
+      appreciate his own increased importance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All this passed through the mind of Mayence, and his decision had been
+      arrived at before Treves recovered his composure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It gives me great pleasure,&rdquo; said the Elector of Mayence,
+      firmly suppressing the malignancy of his glance towards the man seated on
+      his left,&mdash;&ldquo;it gives me very great pleasure indeed to second so
+      admirable a nomination, the more so that I am thus permitted to offer my
+      congratulations to an esteemed colleague and a valued friend. My Lord of
+      Treves, I trust that you will make this nomination unanimous, for, to my
+      delight, his Lordship of Cologne anticipated, by a few moments the
+      proposal I was about to submit to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord,&rdquo; stammered Treves, finding his voice with
+      difficulty, &ldquo;I&mdash;I&mdash;of course will agree to whatever the
+      Court decides. I&mdash;I thank you, my Lord, and you too, my brother of
+      Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then,&rdquo; cried Mayence, almost joyfully, &ldquo;the task for
+      which we are convened is accomplished, and I declare this Court adjourned.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He rose from his chair. The overjoyed Prince at his right took no thought
+      of the fact that their chairman had not called upon the lady that she
+      might receive the decision of the conclave and answer the questions to be
+      put to her, but Cologne perceived the omission, and knew that from that
+      moment Mayence would set his subtility at work to nullify the nomination.
+      Even though his bombshell had not exploded, and the two other Electors
+      were apparently greater friends than ever, Cologne had achieved his
+      immediate object, and was satisfied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Through the open windows came the sound of the steady tramping of
+      disciplined men, and the metallic clash of armor and arms in transit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now,&rdquo; cried Mayence, &ldquo;we will enjoy the advantage
+      of reviewing the brave troops of Cologne. Lead the way, my Lord of Treves.
+      You know the Castle better than we do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The proud Treves, treading on air, guided his guests to the northern
+      balcony.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XI. GOLD GALORE THAT TAKES TO ITSELF WINGS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      In the thick darkness Roland paced up and down the east bank of the Rhine
+      at a spot nearly midway between Assmannshausen and Ehrenfels. The night
+      was intensely silent, its stillness merely accentuated by the gentle
+      ripple of the water current against the barge&rsquo;s blunt nose, which
+      pointed upstream. Standing motionless as a statue, the massive figure of
+      Captain Blumenfels appeared in deeper blackness against the inky hills on
+      the other side of the Rhine. Long sweeps lay parallel to the bulwarks of
+      the barge, and stalwart men were at their posts, waiting the word of
+      command to handle these exaggerated oars, in defiance of wind and tide. On
+      this occasion, however, the tide only would be against them, for the
+      strong southern breeze was wholly favorable. Their voyage that night would
+      be short, but strenuous; merely crossing the river, and tying up against
+      the opposite bank; but the Rhine swirled powerfully round the rock of
+      Ehrenfels above them, and the men at the sweeps must pull vigorously if
+      they were not to be carried down into premature danger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland, who when they left Frankfort was in point of time the youngest
+      member of the guild, now seemed, if one could distinguish him through the
+      gloom of the night, to have become years older, and there was an added
+      dignity in his bearing, for, although now but a potential freebooter, he
+      had received assurance that he would be eventually elected Emperor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He had sent word that morning to Greusel at the Golden Anker, bidding him
+      get together his men, and lead them up to the barge not later than an hour
+      before the moon rose, for Roland was anxious to reach the other side of
+      the Rhine unseen from either shore. He cautioned Greusel to make his march
+      a silent one, and this order Joseph at first found some difficulty in
+      carrying out, but in any case he need have entertained no fear. The strong
+      red wine of Assmannshausen is a potent liquid, and the inhabitants of the
+      town were accustomed to song and laughter on the one street of the place
+      at all hours of the night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When they arrived, the men were quiet enough, and speedily stowed
+      themselves away in their quarters at the stern of the barge, whereupon
+      Roland, the last to spring aboard, waved his hand at the captain to cast
+      off. The nose of the boat was shoved away from land, and then the powerful
+      sweeps dipped into the water. Slowly but surely she made her way across
+      the river; silent and invisible from either bank. The current, however,
+      swept them down opposite the twinkling lights of Assmannshausen, after
+      which, in the more tranquil waters of the western shore, they rowed
+      steadily upstream for about half a league, and then, with ropes tied round
+      trees growing at the water&rsquo;s edge, laid up for the remainder of the
+      night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland now counseled his company to enjoy what sleep was possible, as they
+      would be roused at the first glint of daybreak; so, with great
+      good-nature, each man wrapped himself up in his cloak and lay down on the
+      cabin floor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the eastern sky became gray, the slumberers were awakened, and a
+      ration of bread and wine served to each. The captain already had received
+      his instructions, and the men discarding their cloaks, followed their
+      leader into the still gloomy forest. Here, with as little noise as might
+      be, they climbed the steep wooded hill, and arriving at something almost
+      like a path, a hundred yards up from the river, they turned to the right,
+      and so marched, no man speaking above a whisper.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The forest became lighter and lighter, and at last Roland, holding up his
+      hand to sign caution, turned to the left from the path, and farther up
+      into the unbroken forest. They had traversed perhaps a league when another
+      silent order brought them to a standstill, and peering through the trees
+      to the east, the men caught glimpses of the grand, gray battlements of
+      that famous stronghold, Rheinstein, seeing at the corner nearest them a
+      square tower, next a machicolated curtain of wall, and a larger square
+      tower almost as high as the first hanging over the precipice that
+      descended to the Rhine. Inside this impregnable enclosure rose the great
+      bulk of the Castle itself, and near at hand the massive square keep, with
+      an octagonal turret on the southeast corner, the top of which was the
+      highest point of the stronghold, although a round tower rising directly
+      over the Rhine was not much lower.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland, advancing through the trees, but motioning his men to remain where
+      they were, peered across to the battlements and down at the entrance gate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Baron von Hohenfels sat so secure in his elevated robber&rsquo;s nest,
+      which he deemed invincible&mdash;and, indeed, the cliff on which it stood,
+      nearly a hundred yards high, made it so if approached from the Rhine&mdash;that
+      he kept only one man on watch, and this sentinel was stationed on the
+      elevated platform of the round tower. Roland saw him yawn wearily as he
+      leaned against his tall lance, and was glad to learn that even one man
+      kept guard, for at first he feared that all within the Castle were asleep,
+      the round tower, until Roland had shifted his position to the north, being
+      blotted out by the nearer square donjon keep. Now satisfied, he signaled
+      his men to sit down, which they did. He himself took up a position behind
+      a tree, where, unseen, he could watch the man with the lance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So indolent was the sentry that Roland began to fear the barge would pass
+      by unnoticed. Not for months had any sailing craft appeared on the river,
+      and doubtless the warden regarded his office as both useless and
+      wearisome. Brighter and brighter became the eastern sky, and at last a
+      tinge of red appeared above the hills across the silent Rhine. Suddenly
+      the guardian straightened up, then, shading his eyes with his right hand,
+      he leaned over the battlements, peering to the south. A moment later the
+      stillness was rent by a lusty shout, and the man disappeared as if he had
+      fallen through a trap-door. Presently the notes of a bugle echoed within
+      the walls, followed by clashes of armor and the buzzing sound of men, as
+      though a wasp&rsquo;s nest had been disturbed. Half a dozen came into
+      sight on top of the various towers and battlements, glanced at the river,
+      and vanished as hastily as the sentinel had done.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last the gates came ponderously open, and the first three men to emerge
+      were on horseback, one of them hastily getting into an outer garment, but
+      the well-trained horses, who knew their business quite as thoroughly as
+      their riders, for they were accustomed to plunge into the river if any
+      barge disobeyed the order commanding it to halt, turned from the gate, and
+      dashed down the steep road that descended through the forest. The
+      men-at-arms poured forth with sword or pike, and in turn went out of
+      sight. They appeared to be leaderless, dashing forward in no particular
+      formation, yet, like the horses, they knew their business. All this
+      turmoil was not without its effect on Roland&rsquo;s following, who edged
+      forward on hands and knees to discover what was going on, everyone
+      breathless with excitement; but they saw their leader cool and motionless,
+      counting on his fingers the number of men who passed out, for he knew
+      exactly how many fighters the Castle contained.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not yet, not yet!&rdquo; he whispered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Finally three lordly individuals strode out; officers their more
+      resplendent clothing indicated them to be, and the trio followed the
+      others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ha!&rdquo; cried Roland, &ldquo;old Baron Hugo drank too deeply
+      last night to be so early astir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He was speaking aloud now.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take warning from that, my lads, and never allow wine to interfere
+      with business. Follow me, but cautiously, one after the other in single
+      file, and look to your footing. &lsquo;Tis perilous steep between here and
+      the gate;&rdquo; and, indeed, so they found it, but all reached the level
+      forecourt in safety, and so through the open portal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Close and bar those gates,&rdquo; was the next command, instantly
+      obeyed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Down the stone steps of the Castle, puffing and grunting, came a gigantic,
+      obese individual, his face bloated with excess, his eyes bleary with the
+      lees of too much wine. He was struggling into his doublet, assisted by a
+      terrified old valet, and was swearing most deplorably. Seeing the crowd at
+      the gate, and half-blindly mistaking them for his own men, he roared:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you there, you hounds? To the river, every man of you, and
+      curse your leprous, indolent souls! Why in the fiend&rsquo;s name&mdash;&rdquo;
+      But here he came to an abrupt stop on the lowest step, the sting of a
+      sword&rsquo;s point at his throat, and now, out of breath, his purple face
+      became mottled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good morning to you, Baron Hugo von Hohenfels. These men whom you
+      address so coarsely obey no orders but mine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And who, imp of Satan, are you?&rdquo; sputtered the old man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By profession a hangman. From our fastnesses in the hills, seeing a
+      barge float down the river, we thought it likely you would leave the
+      Castle undefended, and so came in to execute the Prince of Robbers.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baron was quaking like a huge jelly. It was evident that, although
+      noted for his cruelty, he was at heart a coward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&mdash;you&mdash;you&mdash;&rdquo; he stammered, &ldquo;are
+      outlaws! You are outlaws from the Hunsruck.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How clever of you, Baron, to recognize us at once. Now you know
+      what to expect. Greusel, unwind the rope I gave you last night. I will
+      show you its purpose.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel did as he was requested without comment, but Ebearhard approached
+      closely to his chief, and whispered:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why resort to violence? We have no quarrel with this elephant.
+      &lsquo;Tis his gold we want, and to hang him is a waste of time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hush, Ebearhard,&rdquo; commanded Roland sternly. &ldquo;The
+      greater includes the less. I know this man, and am taking the quickest way
+      to his treasure-house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard fell back, but by this time the useful Greusel had made a loop
+      of the rope, and threw it like a cravat around the Baron&rsquo;s neck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, no!&rdquo; cried the frightened nobleman. &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis
+      not my life you seek. That is of no use to such as you; and, besides, I
+      have never harmed the outlaws.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is a lie,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;You sent an expedition
+      against us just a year ago.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Twas not I,&rdquo; protested Hohenfels, &ldquo;but the
+      pirate of Falkenberg. Still, no matter. I&rsquo;ll buy my life from you. I
+      am a wealthy man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How much?&rdquo; asked Roland, hesitating.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;More than all of you can carry away.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In gold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of a surety in gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where are the keys of your treasury?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In my chamber. I will bring them to you,&rdquo; and the Baron
+      turned to mount the steps again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so,&rdquo; cried Roland. &ldquo;Stand where you are, and send
+      your man for them. If they are not here before I count twoscore, you hang,
+      and nothing will save you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baron told the trembling valet where to find the keys.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Greusel, you and Ebearhard accompany him, and at the first sign of
+      treachery, or any attempt to give an alarm, run him through with your
+      swords. Does your man know where the treasury is?&rdquo; he continued to
+      the Baron.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes, yes!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How is your gold bestowed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In leathern bags.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good. Greusel, take sixteen of the men, and bring down into the
+      courtyard all the gold you can carry. Then we will estimate whether or not
+      it is sufficient to buy the Baron&rsquo;s life, for I hold him in high
+      esteem. He is a valuable man. See to it that there is no delay, Greusel,
+      and never lose sight of this valet. Bring him back, laden with gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They all disappeared within the Castle, led by the old servitor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sit you down, Baron,&rdquo; said Roland genially. &ldquo;You seem
+      agitated, for which there is no cause should there prove to be gold enough
+      to outweigh you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The ponderous noble seated himself with a weary sigh.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And pray to the good Lord above us,&rdquo; went on Roland, &ldquo;that
+      your men may not return before this transaction is completed, for if they
+      do, my first duty will be to strangle you. Even gold will not save you in
+      that case. But still, you have another chance for your life, should such
+      an untoward event take place. Shout to them through the closed gates that
+      they must return to the edge of the river until you join them; then, if
+      they obey, you are spared. Remember, I beg of you, the uselessness of an
+      outcry, for we are in possession of Rheinstein, and you know that the
+      Castle is unassailable from without.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baron groaned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do not be hasty with your cord,&rdquo; he said dejectedly. &ldquo;I
+      will follow your command.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The robbers, however, did not return, but the treasure-searchers did,
+      piling the bags in the courtyard, and again Hohenfels groaned dismally at
+      the sight. Roland indicated certain sacks with the point of his sword,
+      ordering them to be opened. Each was full of gold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, my lads,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;oblige the Baron by burdening
+      yourselves with this weight of metal, then we shall make for the Hunsruck.
+      Open the gates. Lead the men to the point where we halted, Greusel, and
+      there await me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rich company departed, and Roland beguiled the time and the weariness
+      of the Baron by a light and interesting conversation to which there was
+      neither reply nor interruption. At last, having allowed time for his band
+      to reach their former halting-place, he took the rope from the Baron&rsquo;s
+      neck, tied the old robber&rsquo;s hands behind him, then bound his feet,
+      cutting the rope in lengths with his sword. He served the trembling valet
+      in the same way, shutting him up within the Castle, and locking the door
+      with the largest key in the bunch, which bunch he threw down beside his
+      lordship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Baron von Hohenfels,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I have kept my word
+      with you, and now bid farewell. I leave you out-of-doors, because you seem
+      rather scant of breath, for which complaint fresh air is beneficial.
+      Adieu, my lord Baron.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Baron said nothing as Roland, with a sweep of his bonnet, took leave
+      of him, climbed the steep path and joined his waiting men. He led them
+      along the hillside, through the forest for some distance, then descended
+      to the water&rsquo;s edge. The river was blank, so they all sat down under
+      the trees out of sight, leaving one man on watch. Here Roland spent a very
+      anxious half-hour, mitigated by the knowledge that the men of Rheinstein
+      were little versed in woodcraft, and so might not be able to trace the
+      fugitives. It was likely they would make a dash in quite the opposite
+      direction, towards the Hunsruck, because Hohenfels believed they were
+      outlaws from that district, and did not in any way associate them with the
+      plundered barge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But if the robbers of Rheinstein took a fancy to sink the barge, an act
+      only too frequently committed, then were Roland and his company in a
+      quandary, without food, or means of crossing the river. However, he was
+      sure that Captain Blumenfels would follow his instructions, which were to
+      offer no resistance, but rather to assist the looters in their exactions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Within a league,&rdquo; said Roland to his men, &ldquo;stand three
+      pirate castles: Rheinstein, which we have just left; Falkenberg, but a
+      short distance below, and then Sonneck. If nothing happens to the barge, I
+      expect to finish with all three before nightfall; for, the strongholds
+      being so close together, we must work rapidly, and not allow news of our
+      doings to leap in advance of us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But suppose,&rdquo; said Kurzbold, &ldquo;that Hohenfels&rsquo; men
+      hold the barge at the landing for their own use?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will wait here for another half-hour,&rdquo; replied Roland,
+      &ldquo;and then, if we see nothing of the boat, proceed along the water&rsquo;s
+      edge until we learn what has become of her. I do not think the thieves
+      will interfere with the barge, as they have not been angered either by
+      disobedience of their orders to land, or resistance after the barge is by
+      the shore. Besides, I count on the fact that the officers, at least, will
+      be anxious to let the barge proceed, hoping other laden boats may follow,
+      and, indeed, I think for this reason they will be much more moderate in
+      their looting than we have been.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before he had finished speaking, the man on watch by the water announced
+      the barge in sight, floating down with the current. At this they all
+      emerged from the forest. Captain Blumenfels, carefully scanning the shore,
+      saw them at once, and turned the boat&rsquo;s head towards the spot where
+      they stood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The bags of gold were bolted away in the stout lockers extending on each
+      side of the cabin. While this was being done, Roland gave minute
+      instructions to the captain regarding the next item in the programme, and
+      once more entered the forest with his men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The task before them was more difficult than the spoiling of Rheinstein,
+      because the huge bulk of Falkenberg stood on a summit of treeless rock;
+      the Castle itself, a gigantic, oblong gray mass, with a slender square
+      campanile some distance from it, rising high above its battlements on the
+      slope that went down towards the Rhine, forming thus an excellent
+      watch-tower. But although the conical hill of rock was bare of the large
+      trees that surrounded Rheinstein, there were plenty of bowlders and
+      shrubbery behind which cover could be sought. On this occasion the
+      marauding guild could not secure a position on a level with the
+      battlements of the Castle, as had been the case behind Rheinstein, and,
+      furthermore, they were compelled to make their dash for the gate up-hill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But these disadvantages were counterbalanced by the fact that Falkenberg
+      was situated much higher than Rheinstein, and was farther away from the
+      river, so that when the garrison descended to the water&rsquo;s edge it
+      could not return as speedily as was the case with Hohenfels&rsquo; men.
+      Rheinstein stood directly over the water, and only two hundred and sixty
+      feet above it, while, comparatively speaking, Falkenberg was back in the
+      country. Still all these castles had been so long unmolested, and
+      considered themselves so secure, that adequate watching had fallen into
+      abeyance, and at Falkenberg guard was kept by one lone man on the tall
+      campanile. The attacking party saw no one on the battlements of the
+      Castle, so worked their way round the hill until the man on the tower was
+      hidden from them by the bulk of the Castle itself, and thus they crawled
+      like lizards from bush to bush, from stone to stone, and from rock-ledge
+      to rock-ledge, taking their time, and not deserting one position of
+      obscurity until another was decided upon. The fact that the watchman was
+      upon the Rhine side of the Castle greatly favored a stealthy approach from
+      any landward point.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last the alarm was given; the gate opened, and, as it proved, every man
+      in the Castle went headlong down the hill. The amateur cracksmen therefore
+      had everything their own way, and while this at first seemed an advantage,
+      they speedily found it the reverse, for although they wandered from room
+      to room, the treasure could not be discovered. The interior of Falkenberg
+      was unknown to Roland, this being one of the strongholds where he had been
+      compelled to sleep in an outhouse. At last they found the door to the
+      treasure-chamber, for Roland suggested it was probably in a similar
+      position to that at Rheinstein, and those who had accompanied Hohenfels&rsquo;
+      valet made search according to this hint, and were rewarded by coming upon
+      a door so stoutly locked that all their efforts to force it open were
+      fruitless.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Deeply disappointed, with a number of the men grumbling savagely, they
+      were compelled to withdraw empty handed, warned by approaching shouts that
+      the garrison was returning, so the men crawled away as they had come, and
+      made for the river, where on this occasion the boat already awaited them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lord of Falkenberg proved as moderate in his exactions as the men of
+      Rheinstein. Many bales had been cut open, and the thieves, with the
+      knowledge of cloth-weavers, selected in every case only the best goods,
+      but of these had taken merely enough for one costume each.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Although the company had made so early a beginning, it was past noon by
+      the time they reached the barge on the second occasion. A substantial meal
+      was served, for every man was ravenously hungry, besides being disgusted
+      to learn that there were ups and downs even in the trade of thievery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Early in the afternoon they made for the delicate Castle of Sonneck, whose
+      slender turrets stood out beautifully against the blue sky. Here excellent
+      cover was found within sight of the doorway, for Sonneck stood alone on
+      its rock without the protection of a wall.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In this case the experience of Rheinstein was repeated, with the exception
+      that it was not the master of the Castle they encountered, but a
+      frightened warder, who, with a sharp sword to influence him, produced keys
+      and opened the treasury. Not nearly so large a haul of gold was made as in
+      the first instance, yet enough was obtained to constitute a most lucrative
+      day&rsquo;s work, and with this they sought the barge in high spirits.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They waited in the shadow of the hills until dusk, then quietly made their
+      way across the river behind the shelter of the two islands, and so came to
+      rest alongside the bank, just above the busy town of Lorch, scarcely two
+      leagues down the river from the berth they had occupied the night before.
+      After the barge was tied up, Roland walked on deck with the captain,
+      listening to his account of events from the level of the river surface. It
+      proved that, all in all, Roland could suggest no amendment of the day&rsquo;s
+      proceedings. So far as Blumenfels was concerned, everything had gone
+      without a hitch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As they promenaded thus, one of the men came forward, and said, rather
+      cavalierly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Commander, your comrades wish to see you in the cabin.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland made no reply, but continued his conversation with the captain
+      until he learned from that somewhat reticent individual all he wished to
+      know. Then he walked leisurely aft, and descended into the cabin, where he
+      found the eighteen seated on the lockers, as if the conclave were a
+      deliberate body like the Electors, who had come to some momentous
+      decision.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have unanimously passed a resolution,&rdquo; said Kurzbold,
+      &ldquo;that the money shall be divided equally amongst us each evening.
+      You do not object, I suppose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; I don&rsquo;t object to your passing a resolution.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good. We do not wish to waste time just now in the division,
+      because we are going to Lorch, intending to celebrate our success with a
+      banquet. Would Greusel, Ebearhard, and yourself care to join us?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot speak for the other two,&rdquo; returned Roland quietly;
+      &ldquo;but personally I shall be unable to attend, as there are some plans
+      for the future which need thinking over.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case we shall not expect you,&rdquo; went on Kurzbold, who
+      seemed in no way grieved at the loss of his commander&rsquo;s company.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; suggested John Gensbein, &ldquo;our chief will drop
+      in upon us later in the evening. We learned at Assmannshausen that the
+      Krone is a very excellent tavern, so we shall sup there.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How did you know we were to stop at Lorch?&rdquo; asked Roland,
+      wondering if in any way they had heard he was to meet Goebel&rsquo;s
+      emissary in this village.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We were not sure,&rdquo; replied Gensbein, &ldquo;but we made
+      inquiries concerning all the villages and castles down the Rhine, and have
+      taken notes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, in that case you are well qualified as a guide. I may find
+      occasion to use the knowledge thus acquired.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are all equally involved in this expedition,&rdquo; said
+      Kurzbold impatiently, &ldquo;and you must not imagine yourself the only
+      person to be considered. But we lose time. What we wish at the present
+      moment is that you will unlock one of these chests, and divide amongst us
+      a bag of gold. The rest is to be partitioned when we return this evening;
+      and after that, Herr Roland, we shall not need to trouble you by asking
+      for more money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are the thirty thalers I gave you the other day all spent, Herr
+      Kurzbold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No matter for that,&rdquo; replied this insubordinate ex-president.
+      &ldquo;The money in the lockers is ours, and we demand a portion of it
+      now, with the remainder after the banquet.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without another word, Roland took the bunch of keys from his belt, opened
+      one of the lockers, lifted out a bag of gold, untied the thongs, and
+      poured out the coins on the lid of the chest, which he locked again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is the money,&rdquo; he said to Kurzbold. &ldquo;I shall send
+      Greusel and Ebearhard to share in its distribution, and thus you can
+      invite them to your banquet. My own portion you may leave on the lid of
+      the locker.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With that he departed up on deck again, and said to his officers:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kurzbold, on behalf of the men, has demanded a bag of gold. You
+      will go to the cabin and receive your share. They will also invite you to
+      a banquet at the Krone. Accept that invitation, and if possible engage a
+      private room, as you did at Assmannshausen, to prevent the men talking
+      with any of the inhabitants. Keep them roystering there until all the
+      village has gone to bed; then convoy them back to the barge as quietly as
+      you can. A resolution has been passed that the money is to be divided
+      amongst our warriors on their return, but I imagine that they will be in
+      no condition to act as accountants when I have the pleasure of beholding
+      them again, so if anything is said about the apportionment, suggest a
+      postponement of the ceremony until morning. I need not add that I expect
+      you both to drink sparingly, for this is advice I intend to follow myself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland paced the deck deep in thought until his difficult contingent
+      departed towards the twinkling lights of the village, then he went to the
+      cabin, poured his share of the gold into his pouch, and followed the
+      company at a distance into Lorch. He avoided the Krone, and after
+      inquiring his way, stopped at the much smaller hostelry, Mergler&rsquo;s
+      Inn. Here he gave his name, and asking if any one waited for him, was
+      conducted upstairs to a room where he found Herr Kruger just about to sit
+      down to his supper. A stout lad nearing twenty years of age stood in the
+      middle of the room, and from his appearance Roland did not need the elder
+      man&rsquo;s word for it that this was his son.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I took the precaution of bringing him with me,&rdquo; said Kruger,
+      &ldquo;as I thought two horsemen were better than one in the business I
+      had undertaken.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You were quite right,&rdquo; returned Roland, &ldquo;and I
+      congratulate you upon so stalwart a traveling companion. With your
+      permission I shall order a meal, and sup with you, thus we may save time
+      by talking while we eat, because you will need to depart as speedily as
+      possible.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean in the darkness? To-night?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; as soon as you can get away. There are urgent reasons why you
+      should be on the road without delay. How came you here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On horseback; first down the Main, then along the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. In the darkness you will return by the way you came, but
+      only as far as the Castle of Ehrenfels, three leagues from here. There you
+      are to rouse up the custodian, and in safety spend the remainder of the
+      night. To-morrow morning he will furnish you a guide to conduct you
+      through the forest to Wiesbaden, and from thence you know your way to
+      Frankfort, which you should reach not later than evening.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At this point the landlord, who had been summoned, came in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will dine with my friends here,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I
+      suppose I need not ask if you possess some of the good red wine of Lorch,
+      which they tell me equals that of Assmannshausen?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of the very best, mein Herr, the product of my own vineyard, and I
+      can therefore guarantee it sound. As for equaling that of Assmannshausen,
+      we have always considered it superior, and, indeed, many other good judges
+      agree with us.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then bring me a stoup of it, and you will be enabled to add my
+      opinion to that of the others.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the landlord produced the wine, Roland raised it to his lips, and
+      absorbed a hearty draught.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is indeed most excellent, landlord, and does credit alike to
+      your vines and your inn. I wish to send two large casks of so fine a wine
+      to a merchant of my acquaintance in Frankfort, and my friend, Herr Kruger,
+      has promised to convey it thither. If you can spare me two casks of such
+      excellent vintage, they will make an evenly balanced burden for the horse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely, mein Herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Choose two of those long casks, landlord, with bung-holes of the
+      largest at the sides. Do you possess such a thing as a pack-saddle?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you, my young friend,&rdquo; he said, turning to Kruger&rsquo;s
+      son, &ldquo;rode here on a saddle?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; interjected his father; &ldquo;I ride a saddle, but my
+      son was forced to content himself with a length of Herr Goebel&rsquo;s
+      coarse cloth, folded four times, and strapped to the horse&rsquo;s back.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then the cloth may still be used as a cushion for the pack-saddle,
+      and you, my lad, will be compelled to walk, to which I dare venture you
+      are well accustomed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lad grinned, but made no objection.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, landlord, while we eat, fill your casks with wine, then place
+      the pack-saddle on the back of this young man&rsquo;s horse, and the casks
+      thereon, for I dare say you have men expert in such a matter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are no better the length of the Rhine,&rdquo; said the
+      landlord proudly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lay the casks so that the bung-holes are upward, and do not drive
+      the bungs more tightly in place than is necessary, for they are to be
+      extracted before Frankfort is reached, that another friend of mine may
+      profit by the wine. When this is done, bring me word, and let me know how
+      much I owe you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The landlord gone, the three men fell to their meal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is more gold,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;than I expected, and
+      it is impossible even for two of you to carry it in bags attached to your
+      belts. Besides, if you are molested, such bestowal of it would prove most
+      unsafe. A burden of wine, however, is too common either to attract notice
+      or arouse cupidity. I propose, then, when we leave here, to bring you to
+      the barge belonging to Herr Goebel, and taking out the bungs, we will pour
+      the gold into the barrels, letting the wine that is displaced overflow to
+      the ground. Then we will stoutly drive in the bungs, and should the guards
+      question you at the gates of Frankfort, you may let them taste the wine if
+      they insist, and I dare say it will contain no flavor of the metal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A most excellent suggestion,&rdquo; said Herr Kruger with
+      enthusiasm. &ldquo;An admirable plan; for I confess I looked forward with
+      some anxiety to this journey, laden down with bags of gold under my cloak.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes. You are simply an honest drinker, tired of the white wine of
+      Frankfort, and providing yourself with the stronger fluid that Lorch
+      produces. I am sure you will deliver the money safely to Herr Goebel,
+      somewhat in drink, it is true, but, like the rest of us, none the worse
+      for that when the fumes are gone.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The repast finished, and all accounts liquidated, the trio left the inn,
+      and, leading the two horses, reached the barge without observation. Here
+      the bungs were removed from the casks, and the three men, assisted by the
+      captain, quietly and speedily opened bag after bag, pouring the coins down
+      into the wine; surely a unique adulteration, astonishing even to so heady
+      a fluid as the vintage of Lorch. From the whole amount Roland deducted two
+      thousand thalers, which he divided equally between two empty bags.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This thousand thalers,&rdquo; said he to Kruger, &ldquo;is to be
+      shared by your son and yourself, in addition to whatever you may receive
+      from Herr Goebel. The other you will hand to the custodian of Ehrenfels
+      Castle, saying it came from his friend Roland, and is recompense for the
+      money he lent the other day. That will be an effective letter of
+      introduction to him. Say that I ask him to send his son with you as guide
+      through the forest to Wiesbaden; and so good-night and good luck to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was long after midnight when the guild came roystering up the bank of
+      the Rhine to the barge. The moon had risen, and gave them sufficient light
+      to steer a reasonably straight course without danger of falling into the
+      water. Ebearhard was with them, but Greusel walked rapidly ahead, so that
+      he might say a few words to his chief before the others arrived.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I succeeded in preventing their talking with any stranger, but they
+      have taken aboard enough wine to make them very difficult and rather
+      quarrelsome if thwarted. When I proposed that they should leave the
+      counting until to-morrow morning they first became suspicious, and then
+      resented the imputation that they were not in fit condition for such a
+      task. I recommend, therefore, that you allow them to divide the money
+      to-night. It will allay their fear that some trick is to be played upon
+      them, and if you hint at intoxication, they are likely to get out of hand.
+      As it does not matter when the money is distributed, I counsel you to
+      humor them to-night, and postpone reasoning until to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll think about it,&rdquo; said Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They have bought several casks of wine, and are taking turns in
+      carrying them. Will you allow this wine to come aboard, even if you
+      determine to throw it into the water to-morrow?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes,&rdquo; said Roland, with a shrug of the shoulders. &ldquo;Coax
+      them into the cabin as quietly as possible, and keep them there if you
+      can, for should they get on deck, we shall lose some of them in the river.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel turned back to meet the bellowing mob, while Roland roused the
+      captain and his men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get ready,&rdquo; he said to Blumenfels, &ldquo;and the moment I
+      raise my hand, shove off. Make for this side of the larger island, and
+      come to rest there for the remainder of the night. Command your rowers to
+      put their whole force into the sweeps.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was done accordingly, and well done, as was the captain&rsquo;s
+      custom. The late moon threw a ghostly light over the scene, and the barren
+      island proved deserted and forbidding, as the crew tied up the barge
+      alongside. Most of the lights in Lorch had gone out, and the town lay in
+      the silence of pallid moonbeams like a city of the dead. Roland stood on
+      deck with Greusel and Ebearhard by his side, the latter relating the
+      difficulties of the evening. There had been singing in the cabin during
+      the passage across, then came a lull in the roar from below, followed by a
+      shout that betokened danger. An instant later the crowd came boiling up
+      the short stair to the deck, Kurzbold in command, all swords drawn, and
+      glistening in the moonlight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You scoundrel!&rdquo; he cried to Roland, &ldquo;those lockers are
+      full of empty bags.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know that,&rdquo; replied Roland, quietly. &ldquo;The money is in
+      safe keeping, and will be honestly divided at the conclusion of this
+      expedition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You thief! You robber!&rdquo; shouted Kurzbold, flourishing his
+      weapon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite accurate,&rdquo; replied Roland, unperturbed. &ldquo;I was
+      once called a Prince of Thieves when I did not deserve the title. Now I
+      have earned it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have earned the penalty of thieving, and we propose to throw
+      you into the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not, I trust, before you learn where the money is deposited.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Drunk as they were, this consideration staggered them, but Kurzbold was
+      mad with rage and wine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come on, you poltroons!&rdquo; he shouted. &ldquo;There are only
+      three of them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Draw your swords, gentlemen,&rdquo; whispered Roland, flashing his
+      own blade in the moonlight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel and Ebearhard obeyed his command.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XII. THE LAUGHING RED MARGRAVE OF FURSTENBERG
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard laughed, and took two steps forward. Whenever affairs became
+      serious, one could always depend on a laugh from Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Excuse me, Commander,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but you placed Greusel
+      and me in charge of this pious and sober party; therefore I, being the
+      least of your officers, must stand the first brunt of our failure to keep
+      these lambs peaceable for the night. Greusel, stand behind me, and in
+      front of the Commander. I, being reasonably sober, believe I can cut down
+      six of the innocents before they finish with me. You will attend to the
+      next six, leaving exactly half a dozen for Roland to eliminate in his own
+      fashion. Now, Herr Conrad Kurzbold, come on.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have no quarrel with you,&rdquo; said Kurzbold. &ldquo;Stand
+      aside.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I force a quarrel upon you, undisciplined pig. Defend yourself,
+      for, by the Three Kings, I am going to tap your walking wine-barrel!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold, however, retreating with more haste than caution, one or two
+      behind him were sent sprawling, and the half-dozen which were Roland&rsquo;s
+      portion tumbled over one another down the steep ladder into the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard laughed again when the last man disappeared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think,&rdquo; he said to Roland, &ldquo;that you will meet no
+      further trouble from our friends. They evidently broke open the lockers,
+      alarmed because Greusel and I asked for a postponement of the counting,
+      probably intending to make the division without our assistance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you hidden the money?&rdquo; asked Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not exactly,&rdquo; replied Roland; &ldquo;but, in case anything
+      should happen to me, I will tell you what I have done with it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When he finished his recital, he added:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will give each of you a letter to Herr Goebel, identifying you.
+      He is entitled to four thousand five hundred thalers of the money. The
+      balance you will divide among those of us who survive.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland slept on deck, wrapped in his cloak. His two lieutenants took turn
+      in keeping watch, but nothing except snores came up from the cabin. The
+      mutineers were not examples of early rising next morning. The sun gave
+      promise of another warm day, and Roland walked up and down the deck,
+      anxiety printed on his brow. He had made up his mind to knock at the door
+      of the Laughing Baron, a giant in stature, reported to be the most
+      ingenious, most cruel, and bravest of all the robber noblemen of the
+      Rhine, whose Castle was notoriously the hardest nut to crack along the
+      banks of that famous river. For several reasons it would not be wise to
+      linger much longer in the neighborhood of Lorch. The three castles they
+      had entered the day before were still visible on the western bank. News of
+      the raid would undoubtedly travel to Furstenberg, also within sight down
+      the river, and thus the hilarious Margrave would be put on his guard,
+      overjoyed at the opportunity of trapping the moral marauders. Furstenberg
+      was also a fief of Cologne, and any molestation of it would involve the
+      meddler, if identified, in complications with the Church and the
+      Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was necessary, therefore, to move with caution, and to retreat, if
+      possible, unobserved. These difficulties alone were enough to give pause
+      to the most intrepid, but Roland was further handicapped by his own
+      following. How could he hope to accomplish any subtle movement requiring
+      silence, prompt obedience, and great alertness, supported by men whose
+      brains were muddled with drink, and whose conduct was saturated with
+      conspiracy against him? They had wine enough on board to continue their
+      orgy, and he was quite unable to prevent their carouse. With a deep sigh
+      he realized that he would be compelled to forego Furstenberg, and thus
+      leave behind him a virgin citadel, which he knew was bad tactics from a
+      military point of view.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      During his meditations his men were coming up from the fuming cabin into
+      the fresh air and the sunlight. They appeared by twos and threes, yawning
+      and rubbing their eyes, but no one ventured to interrupt the leader as,
+      with bent head, he paced back and forth on the deck. The men, indeed,
+      seemed exceedingly subdued. They passed with almost overdone nonchalance
+      from the boat to the island, and sauntered towards its lower end, from
+      which, in the clear morning air, the grim fortress of Furstenberg could be
+      plainly discerned diagonally across the river. It was Ebearhard who broke
+      in upon Roland&rsquo;s reverie.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Our friends appear very quiet this morning, but I observe they have
+      all happened to coincide upon the northern part of the island as a
+      rendezvous for their before-breakfast walk. I surmise they are holding a
+      formal meeting of the guild, but neither Greusel nor I have been invited,
+      so I suppose that after last night&rsquo;s display we two are no longer
+      considered their brethren. This meekness on their part seems to me more
+      dangerous than last night&rsquo;s flurry. I think they will demand from
+      you a knowledge of what has been done with the gold. Have you decided upon
+      your answer?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; it is their right to know, so I shall tell them the truth. By
+      this time Kruger is on his way somewhere between Ehrenfels and Wiesbaden.
+      He will reach Frankfort to-night, and cannot be overtaken.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is there not danger that they will desert in a body, return to
+      Frankfort, and demand from Herr Goebel their share of the spoil?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No matter for that,&rdquo; returned Roland. &ldquo;Goebel will not
+      part with a florin except under security of such letters as I purpose
+      giving you and Greusel, and even then only when you have proven to him
+      that I am dead.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is all very well,&rdquo; demurred Ebearhard, &ldquo;but don&rsquo;t
+      you see what a dangerous power you put into the hands of the rebels?
+      Goebel is merely a merchant, and, though rich, politically powerless. He
+      has already come into conflict with the authorities, and spent a term in
+      prison. Do not forget that the Archbishops have refused to take action
+      against these robber Barons. Our men, if there happen to be one of brains
+      among them, can easily terrify Goebel into parting with the treasure by
+      threatening to confess their own and his complicity in the raids. Consider
+      what an excellent case they can put forward, stating quite truly that they
+      joined this expedition in ignorance of its purport, but on the very first
+      day, learning what was afoot, they deserted their criminal leader, and are
+      now endeavoring to make restitution. Goebel is helpless. If he says that
+      they first demanded the gold from him, they as strenuously deny it, and
+      their denial must be believed, because they come of their own free-will to
+      the authorities. The merchant, already tainted with treason, having
+      suffered imprisonment, and narrowly escaped hanging, proves on
+      investigation to be up to the neck in this affair. There is no difficulty
+      in learning that his barge went down the river, manned by a crew of his
+      own choosing. Of course, it need never come to this, because Goebel, being
+      a shrewd man, could at once see in what jeopardy he stood, and convinced
+      from the men&rsquo;s own story that they were part, at least, of your
+      contingent, would deliver up the treasure to them. Don&rsquo;t you see he
+      must do so to save his own neck?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland pondered deeply on what had been said to him, but for the moment
+      made no reply. Greusel, who joined them during the conversation, remaining
+      silent until Ebearhard had finished, now spoke:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I quite agree with all that has been said.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What, then, would you advise me to do?&rdquo; asked Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have been talking with one or two of the men,&rdquo; said
+      Greusel. &ldquo;(They won&rsquo;t speak to Ebearhard because he drew his
+      sword on them.) I find they believe you took advantage of their absence to
+      bury the gold in what you suppose to be a safe place. They are sure you
+      are acquainted with no one in Lorch to whom you could safely entrust it,
+      and of course do not suspect an emissary from Frankfort. I should advise
+      you to say that arrangements have been made for every man to get his share
+      so long as nothing untoward happens to you. This will preserve your life
+      should they go so far as to threaten it, and compel them to stay on with
+      us. After all, we are merely artisans, and not fighting men. I am
+      convinced that if ever we are really attacked, we shall make a very poor
+      showing, even though we carry swords. Remember how the men tumbled over
+      one another in their haste to get out of reach when Ebearhard flourished
+      his blade.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think Greusel&rsquo;s suggestion is an excellent one,&rdquo; put
+      in Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I shall adopt it, although I
+      had made up my mind fully to enlighten them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is one more matter that I should like to speak to you about,&rdquo;
+      continued Ebearhard. &ldquo;Both at Assmannshausen, and at Lorch last
+      night, we heard a good deal anent Furstenberg. It is the most dangerous
+      castle on the Rhine to meddle with. The Laughing Baron, as they call him,
+      although he is a Margrave, is the only man who dared to stop a king on his
+      way down the Rhine, and hold him for ransom.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Roland; &ldquo;Adolf of Nassau, on his way to be
+      crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite so. Well, this huge ruffian&mdash;I never can remember his
+      name; can you, Greusel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, it beats me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Margrave Hermann von Katznellenbogenstahleck,&rdquo; said Roland,
+      so solemnly that Ebearhard laughed and even Greusel smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the individual,&rdquo; agreed Ebearhard, &ldquo;and
+      you must admit the name itself is a formidable thing to attack, even
+      without the giant it belongs to.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Banish all apprehension,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I have already
+      decided to remain here through the day, and drop quietly down the river
+      to-night in the darkness past Furstenberg.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think that is a wise decision,&rdquo; said Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis against all military rules,&rdquo; demurred Roland,
+      &ldquo;but nevertheless with such an army as I lead it seems the only way.
+      Do the men know that Furstenberg is our point of greatest danger?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; but they do not know so much as I. Last night I left them in
+      Greusel&rsquo;s charge, being alarmed about what I heard of Furstenberg,
+      and engaged a boatman to take me over there before the moon rose. I
+      discovered that the Laughing Baron has caused a chain to be buoyed up just
+      below the surface of the water, running diagonally up the river more than
+      half-way across it, so that any boat coming down is caught and drawn into
+      the landing, for the main flood of the Rhine, as you know, runs to the
+      westward of this island. The boatman who ferried me knew about this chain,
+      but thought it had been abandoned since traffic stopped. He says it runs
+      right up into the Castle, and the moment a barge strikes against it, a big
+      bell is automatically rung inside the stronghold, causing the Baron to
+      laugh so loudly that they sometimes hear him over in Lorch.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is very interesting, Ebearhard, and an excellent feat of
+      scouting must be set down to your credit. Say nothing to the men, because,
+      although we give Furstenberg the go-by on this occasion, I shall pay my
+      respects to Herman von Katznellenbogenstahleck on my return, and the
+      knowledge you bring me will prove useful.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ha!&rdquo; cried Greusel, &ldquo;here are our infants returning,
+      all in a body, Kurzbold at their head as usual. I imagine this morning
+      they are going to depend on rhetoric, and allow their swords to remain in
+      scabbard. They have evidently come to some momentous decision.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The three retired to the prow of the boat as the guild clambored on at the
+      stern. The captain and two of his men had taken the skiff belonging to the
+      barge, and were absent at Lorch, purchasing provisions. Roland stood at
+      the prow of the barge, slightly in advance of his two lieutenants, and
+      awaited the approach of Kurzbold, with seventeen men behind him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Commander,&rdquo; said the spokesman, with nothing of the late
+      truculence in his tone, &ldquo;we have just held a meeting of the guild,
+      and unanimously agreed to ask you one question, and offer you one
+      suggestion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall be pleased,&rdquo; replied Roland, &ldquo;to answer the
+      first if I think it desirable, and take the second into consideration.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He inclined his head to the delegation, and received a low bow in return.
+      This was a most auspicious beginning, showing a certain improvement of
+      method on the part of the majority.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The question is, Commander, what have you done with the gold we
+      captured yesterday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A very proper inquiry,&rdquo; replied Roland, &ldquo;that it gives
+      me much pleasure to answer. I have placed the money in a custody which I
+      believe to be absolute, arranging that if nothing happens to me, this
+      money shall be properly divided in my presence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you deny, sir, that the money belongs to us?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Part of it undoubtedly does, but I, as leader of the expedition, am
+      morally, if not legally, responsible to you all for its safe keeping. Our
+      barge has stopped three times so far, and Captain Blumenfels tells me that
+      he has had no real violence to complain of, but as we progress farther
+      down the river, we are bound to encounter some Baron who is not so
+      punctilious; for instance, the Margrave von Katznellenbogenstahleck, whose
+      stronghold you doubtless saw from the latest meeting-place of the guild.
+      Such a man as the Margrave is certain to do what you yourselves did
+      without hesitation last night, that is, break open the lockers, and if
+      gold were there you may depend it would not long remain in our possession
+      after the discovery.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You miss, or rather, evade the point, Commander. Is the gold ours,
+      or is it yours?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have admitted that part of it is yours.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then by what right do you assert the power to deal with it, lacking
+      our consent? If you will pardon me for saying so, you, the youngest of our
+      company, treat the rest of us as though we were children.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I possessed a child that acted at once so obstreperously and in
+      so cowardly a manner as you did last night, I should cut a stick from the
+      forest here, and thrash him with such severity that he would never forget
+      it. As I have not done this to you, I deny that I treat you like children.
+      The truth is that, although the youngest, I am your commander. We are
+      engaged in acts of war, therefore military law prevails, and not the code
+      of Justinian. It is my duty to protect your treasure and my own, and
+      ensure that each man shall receive his share. After the division you may
+      do what you please with the money, for you will then be under the common
+      law, and I should not presume even to advise concerning its disposal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You refuse to tell us, then, what you have done with the gold?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do. Now proceed with your suggestion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear I put the case too mildly when I called it a suggestion,
+      considering the unsatisfactory nature of your reply to my question,
+      therefore I withdraw the word &lsquo;suggestion,&rsquo; and substitute the
+      word 'command.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold paused, to give his ultimatum the greater force. Behind him rose
+      a murmur of approval.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Words do not matter in the least. I deal with deeds. Out, then,
+      with your command!&rdquo; cried Roland, for the first time exhibiting
+      impatience.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The command unanimously adopted is this: the Castle of Furstenberg
+      must be left alone. We know more of that Castle than you do, especially
+      about its owner and his garrison. We have been gathering information as we
+      journeyed, and have not remained sulking in the barge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, that is encouraging news to hear,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I
+      thought you were engaged in sampling wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You hear the command. Will you obey?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will not,&rdquo; said Roland decisively.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard took a step forward to the side of his chief, and glanced at him
+      reproachfully. Greusel remained where he was, but neither man spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You intend to attack Furstenberg?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This afternoon.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold turned to his following:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Brethren,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you have heard this conversation,
+      and it needs no comment from me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Apparently the discussion was to receive no comment from the others
+      either. They stood there glum and disconcerted, as if the trend of affairs
+      had taken an unexpected turn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think,&rdquo; said one, &ldquo;we had better retire and consult
+      again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was unanimously agreed to, and once more they disembarked upon the
+      island, and moved forward to their Witenagemot. Still Greusel and
+      Ebearhard said nothing, but watched the men disappear through the trees.
+      Roland looked at one after another with a smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that you disapprove of my conduct.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel remained silent, but Ebearhard laughed and spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You came deliberately to the conclusion that it was unwise to
+      attack Furstenberg. Now, because of Kurzbold&rsquo;s lack of courtesy, you
+      deflect from your own mature judgment, and hastily jump into a course
+      opposite to that which you marked out for yourself after sober, unbiased
+      thought.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Ebearhard, the duty of a commander is to give, and not to
+      receive, commands.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite so. Command and suggestion are merely words, as you yourself
+      pointed out, saying that they did not matter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that, Ebearhard, I was wrong. Words do matter, although Kurzbold
+      wasn&rsquo;t clever enough to correct me. For example, I hold no man in
+      higher esteem than yourself, yet you might use words that would cause me
+      instantly to draw my sword upon you, and fight until one or other of us
+      succumbed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You put it very flatteringly, Roland. Truth is, you&rsquo;d fight
+      till I succumbed, my swordsmanship being no match for yours. I shall say
+      the words, however, that will cause you to draw your sword, and they are:
+      Commander, I will stand by you whatever you do.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And I,&rdquo; said Greusel curtly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland shook hands in turn with the two men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right,&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;If we are fated to go down, we will
+      fall with banners flying.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After a time the captain returned with his supplies, but still the
+      majority of the guild remained engaged in deliberation. Evidently
+      discussion was not proceeding with that unanimity which Kurzbold always
+      insisted was the case.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At noon Roland requested the captain to send some of his men with a meal
+      for those in prolonged session, and also to carry them a cask which had
+      been half-emptied either that morning or the night before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They will enjoy a picnic under the trees by the margin of the
+      river,&rdquo; said Roland, as he and his two backers sat down in the empty
+      cabin to their own repast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you think they are purposely delaying, so that you cannot cross
+      over this afternoon?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis very likely,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll wait
+      here until the sun sets, and then when they realize that I am about to
+      leave them on an uninhabited island, without anything to eat, I think you
+      will see them scramble aboard.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But suppose they don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; suggested Greusel. &ldquo;There
+      are at least three of them able to swim across this narrow branch of the
+      Rhine, and engage a boatman to take them off, should their signaling be
+      unobserved.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again no matter. My plan for the undoing of the castles does not
+      depend on force, but on craft. We three cannot carry away as much gold as
+      can twenty-one, but our shares will be the same, and then we are not
+      likely to find again so full a treasury as that at Rheinstein. My belief
+      that these chaps would fight was dispelled by their conduct last night.
+      Think of eighteen armed men flying before one sword!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, you are scarce just in your estimate, Commander. They were
+      under the influence of wine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True; but a brave man will fight, drunk or sober.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Although the sun sank out of sight, the men did not return. There had been
+      more wine in the cask than Roland supposed, for the cheery songs of the
+      guild echoed through the sylvan solitude. Roland told the captain to set
+      his men at work and row round the top of the island into the main stream
+      of the Rhine. The revelers had evidently appointed watchmen, for they
+      speedily came running through the woods, and followed the movements of the
+      boat from the shore, keeping pace with it. When the craft reached the
+      opposite side of the island, the rowers drew in to the beach.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you coming aboard?&rdquo; asked Roland pleasantly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you agree to pass Furstenberg during the night?&rdquo;
+      demanded Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you expect to succeed, as you did with the other castles?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly; otherwise I shouldn&rsquo;t make the attempt.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was wrong,&rdquo; said Kurzbold mildly, &ldquo;in substituting
+      the word &lsquo;command&rsquo; for &lsquo;suggestion,&rsquo; which I first
+      employed. There are many grave reasons for deferring an attempt on
+      Furstenberg. In the heat of argument these reasons were not presented to
+      you. Will you consent to listen to them if we go on board?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; if you, on your part, will unanimously promise to abide by my
+      decision.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you think,&rdquo; said Kurzbold, &ldquo;that your prejudice
+      against me, which perhaps you agree does exist&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It exists,&rdquo; confessed Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. Will you allow that prejudice to prevent you from
+      rendering a decision in the men&rsquo;s favor?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. If they present reasons that convince Greusel and Ebearhard
+      against the attack on Furstenberg, I shall do what these two men advise,
+      even although I myself believe in a contrary course. Thus you see, Herr
+      Kurzbold, that my admitted dislike of you shall not come into play at all.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is quite satisfactory,&rdquo; said Kurzbold. &ldquo;Will you
+      tie up against the farther shore until your decision is rendered?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;With pleasure,&rdquo; replied Roland; and accordingly the raiders
+      tumbled impetuously on board the barge, whereupon the sailors bent to
+      their long oars, and quickly reached the western bank, at a picturesque
+      spot out of sight of any castle, where the trees came down the
+      mountain-side to the water&rsquo;s edge. Here the sailors, springing
+      ashore, tied their stout ropes to the tree-trunks, and the great barge lay
+      broadside on to the land, with her nose pointing down the stream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You see,&rdquo; said Roland to his lieutenants, &ldquo;without
+      giving way in the least I allow you two the decision, and so I take it
+      Furstenberg or ourselves will escape disaster on this occasion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aside from all other considerations,&rdquo; replied the cautious
+      Greusel, &ldquo;I think it good diplomacy on this occasion to agree with
+      the men, since they have stated their case so deferentially. They are
+      improving, Commander.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It really looks like it,&rdquo; he agreed. &ldquo;You and Ebearhard
+      had better go aft, and counsel them to begin the conference at once, for
+      if we are to attack we must do so before darkness sets in. I&rsquo;ll
+      remain here as usual at the prow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some of the men were strolling about the deck, but the majority remained
+      in the cabin, down whose steps the lieutenants descended. Roland&rsquo;s
+      impatience increased with the waning of the light.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly a cry that was instantly smothered rose from the cabin, then a
+      shout:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Treachery! Look out for yourself!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland attempted to stride forward, but four men fell on him, pinioning
+      his arms to his side, preventing the drawing of his weapon. Kurzbold, with
+      half a dozen others, mounted on deck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Disarm him!&rdquo; he commanded, and one of the men drew Roland&rsquo;s
+      sword from its sheath, flinging it along the deck to Kurzbold&rsquo;s
+      feet. The others now came up, bringing the two lieutenants, both gagged,
+      with their arms tied behind them. Roland ceased his struggles, which he
+      knew to be fruitless.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We wish an amicable settlement of this matter,&rdquo; said
+      Kurzbold, addressing the lieutenants, &ldquo;and regret being compelled to
+      use measures that may appear harsh. I do this only to prevent unnecessary
+      bloodshed. Earlier in the day,&rdquo; he continued, turning to Roland,
+      &ldquo;when we found all appeals to you were vain, we unanimously deposed
+      you from the leadership, which is our right, and also our duty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not under martial law,&rdquo; said Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I beg to point out that there was no talk of martial law before we
+      left Frankfort. It was not till later that we learned we had appointed an
+      unreasoning tyrant over us. We have deposed him, and I am elected in his
+      place, with John Gensbein as my lieutenant. We will keep you three here
+      until complete darkness sets in, then put you ashore unarmed. Bacharach,
+      on this side of the Rhine, is to be our next resting-place, and doubtless
+      so clever a man as you, Roland, may say that we choose Bacharach because
+      it is named for Bacchus, the god of drunkards. Nevertheless, to show our
+      good intentions towards you, we will remain there all day to-morrow. You
+      can easily reach Bacharach along the hilltops before daybreak. We have
+      written a charter of comradeship which all have signed except yourselves.
+      If at Bacharach you give us your word to act faithfully under my
+      leadership, we will reinstate you in the guild, and return your swords. By
+      way of recompense for this leniency, we ask you to direct the captain to
+      obey my commands as he has done yours.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain Blumenfels,&rdquo; said Roland to the honest sailor, who
+      stood looking on in amaze at this turn of affairs, &ldquo;you are to wait
+      here until it is completely dark. See that no lights are burning to give
+      warning to those in Furstenberg; and, by the way,&rdquo; added Roland,
+      turning to his former company, &ldquo;I advise you not to drink anything
+      until you are well past the Castle. If you sing the songs of the guild
+      within earshot of Furstenberg, you are like to sing on the other side of
+      your mouths before morning. Don&rsquo;t forget that Margrave Hermann von
+      Katznellenbogenstahleck is the chief hangman of Germany.&rdquo; Then once
+      more to the captain:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As the Castle of Furstenberg stands high above the river, and well
+      back from it, you will be out of sight if you keep near this shore.
+      However, you can easily judge your distance, because the towers are
+      visible even in the darkness against the sky. No man on the ramparts of
+      the Castle can discern you down here on the black surface of the water, so
+      long as you do not carry a light.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Roland, my deposed friend,&rdquo; said Kurzbold, &ldquo;I fear you
+      bear resentment, for you are giving the captain orders instead of telling
+      him to obey mine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kurzbold, you are mistaken. I resign command with great pleasure,
+      and, indeed, Greusel and Ebearhard will testify that I had already
+      determined to pass Furstenberg unseen. As my former lieutenants are
+      disarmed, surely the company, with eighteen swords, is not so frightened
+      as to keep them gagged and bound. &lsquo;Tis no wonder you wish to avoid
+      the Laughing Baron, if that is all the courage you possess.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Stung by these taunts, Kurzbold gruffly ordered his men to release their
+      prisoners, but when the gags were removed, and before the cords were cut,
+      he addressed the lieutenants:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you give me your words not to make any further resistance, if I
+      permit you to remain unbound?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I give you my word on nothing, you mutinous dog!&rdquo; cried
+      Greusel; &ldquo;and if I did, how could you expect me to keep it after
+      such an example of treachery from you who pledged your faith, and then
+      broke it? I shall obey my Commander, and none other.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am your Commander,&rdquo; asserted Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are not,&rdquo; proclaimed Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No need to question me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I stand by my
+      colleagues.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gag them again,&rdquo; ordered Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no!&rdquo; cried Roland. &ldquo;We are quite helpless. Give
+      your words, gentlemen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gloomily Greusel obeyed, and merrily Ebearhard. Darkness was now
+      gathering, and when it fell completely the three men were put off into the
+      forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have not yet,&rdquo; said Kurzbold to Roland, &ldquo;ordered
+      the captain to obey me. I do not object to that, but it will be the worse
+      for him and his men if they refuse to accept my instructions.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you know this district, Captain Blumenfels?&rdquo; asked Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, mein Herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is there a path along the top that will lead us behind Furstenberg
+      on to Bacharach?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, mein Herr, but it is a very rough track.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it too far for you to guide us there, and return before the moon
+      rises?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh no, mein Herr, I can conduct you to the trail in half an hour if
+      you consent to climb lustily.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very good. Herr Kurzbold, if you are not impatient to be off, and
+      will permit the captain to direct us on our way, I will tell him to obey
+      you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How long before you can return, captain?&rdquo; asked Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can be back well within the hour, mein Herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will obey me if the late Commander orders you to do so?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, mein Herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I inform you in the hearing of
+      these men that Herr Kurzbold occupies my place, and is to be obeyed by you
+      until I resume command.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean until you are re-elected to membership in the guild, for
+      we do not propose to make you commander again. Now, captain, to the hill,
+      and see that your return is not delayed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The four men disappeared into the dark forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain,&rdquo; said Roland, when they reached the track, &ldquo;I
+      have taken you up here not that I needed your guidance, for I know this
+      land as well as you do. You will obey Kurzbold, of course, but if he tells
+      you to make for Lorch, allow your boat to drift, and do not get beyond the
+      middle of the river until opposite Furstenberg. There is a buoyed chain&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know it well,&rdquo; interrupted the captain. &ldquo;I have many
+      times avoided it, but twice became entangled with it, in spite of all my
+      efforts, and was robbed by the Laughing Baron.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well; I intend you to be entrapped by that chain to-night.
+      Offer no resistance, and you will be safe enough. Do not attempt to help
+      these lads should they be set upon, and it will be hard luck if I am not
+      in command again before midnight. Keep close to this shore, but if they
+      order you into the middle of the river, or across it, dally, my good
+      Blumenfels, dally, until you are stopped by the chain for the third time.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the captain returned to his barge, he found Kurzbold pacing the deck
+      in a masterly manner, impatient to be off. For once the combatants, with
+      an effort, were refraining from drink.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will open a cask,&rdquo; said Kurzbold, &ldquo;as soon as we
+      have passed the Schloss.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He ordered the captain to follow the shore as closely as was safe, and
+      take care that they did not come within sight of Furstenberg&rsquo;s tall,
+      round tower. All sat or reclined on the dark deck, saying no word as the
+      barge slid silently down the swift Rhine. Suddenly the speed of the boat
+      was checked so abruptly that one or two of the standing men were flung off
+      their feet. From up on the hillside there tolled out the deep note of a
+      bell. The barge swung round broadside on the current, and lay there with
+      the water rushing like hissing serpents along its side, the bell pealing
+      out a loud alarm that seemed to keep time with the shuddering of the
+      helpless boat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What&rsquo;s wrong, captain?&rdquo; cried Kurzbold, getting on his
+      feet again and running aft.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear, sir, &lsquo;tis an anchored chain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can&rsquo;t you cut it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is impossible, mein Herr.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then get out your sweeps, and turn back. Where are we, do you
+      think?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Under the battlements of Furstenberg Castle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Damnation! Put some speed into your men, and let us get away from
+      here.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain ordered his crew to hurry, but all their efforts could not
+      release the boat from the chain, against which it ground up and down with
+      a tearing noise, and even the un-nautical swordsmen saw that the current
+      was impelling it diagonally toward the shore, and all the while the deep
+      bell tolled on.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What in the fiend&rsquo;s name is the meaning of that bell?&rdquo;
+      demanded Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is the Castle bell, mein Herr,&rdquo; replied the captain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before Kurzbold could say anything more the air quivered with shout after
+      shout of laughter. Torches began to glisten among the trees, and there was
+      a clatter of horses&rsquo; hoofs on the echoing rock. A more magnificent
+      sight was never before presented to the startled eyes of so unappreciative
+      a crowd. Along the zigzag road, and among the trees, spluttered the
+      torches, each with a trail of sparks like the tail of a comet. The bearers
+      were rushing headlong down the slope, for woe to the man who did not
+      arrive at the water&rsquo;s edge sooner than his master.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The torchlight gleamed on flashing swords and glittering points of spears,
+      but chief sight of all was the Margrave Hermann von
+      Katznellenbogenstahleck, a giant in stature, mounted on a magnificent
+      stallion, as black as the night, and of a size that corresponded with its
+      prodigious rider. The Margrave&rsquo;s long beard and flowing hair were
+      red; scarlet, one may say, but perhaps that was the fiery reflection from
+      the torches. Servants, scullions, stablemen carried the lights; the
+      men-at-arms had no encumbrance but their weapons, and the business-like
+      way in which they lined up along the shore was a study in discipline, and
+      a terror to any one unused to war. Above all the din and clash of arms
+      rang the hearty, stentorian laughter of the Red Margrave actually echoing
+      back in gusts of fiendish merriment from the hills on the other side of
+      the Rhine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now the boat&rsquo;s nose came dully against the ledge of rock, to whose
+      surface the swaying chain rose dripping from the water, sparkling like a
+      jointed snake under the torchlight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God save us all!&rdquo; cried the Margrave, &ldquo;what rare show
+      have we here? By my sainted patron, the Archbishop, merchants under arms!
+      Whoever saw the like? Ha! stout Captain Blumenfels, do I recognize you?
+      Once more my chain has caught you. This makes the third time, does it not,
+      Blumenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your Majesty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may as well call me &lsquo;your Holiness&rsquo; as &lsquo;your
+      Majesty.&rsquo; I&rsquo;m contented with my title, the &lsquo;Laughing
+      Baron,&rsquo; Haw-haw-haw-haw! And so your merchants have taken to arms
+      again? The lesson at the Lorely taught them nothing! Are there any ropes
+      aboard, captain?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Plenty, my lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then fling a coil ashore. Now, my tigers,&rdquo; he roared to his
+      men-at-arms, &ldquo;hale me to land those damned shopkeepers.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With a clash of armor and weapons the brigands threw themselves on the
+      boat, and in less time than is taken to tell it, every man of the guild
+      was disarmed and flung ashore. Here another command of the Red Margrave
+      gave them the outlaw&rsquo;s knot, as he termed it, a most painful
+      tying-up of the body and the limbs until each victim was rigid as a red of
+      iron. They were flung face downwards in a row, and beaten black and blue
+      with cudgels, despite their screams of agony and appeals for mercy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now turn them over on their backs,&rdquo; commanded the Margrave,
+      and it was done. The glare of the pitiless torches fell upon contorted
+      faces. The Baron turned his horse athwart the line of helpless men, and
+      spurred that animal over it from end to end, but the intelligent horse,
+      more merciful than its rider, stepped with great daintiness, despite its
+      unusual size, and never trod on one of the prostrate bodies. During what
+      followed, the Red Baron, shaking with laughter, marched his horse up and
+      down over the stricken men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, unload the boat, but do not injure any of the sailors! I hope
+      to see them often again. You cannot tell how we have missed you, captain.
+      What are you loaded with this time? Sound Frankfort cloth?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your Majesty&mdash;I mean, my lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, you mean my Holiness, for I expect to be an Archbishop yet, if
+      all goes well,&rdquo; and his laughter echoed across the Rhine. &ldquo;Uplift
+      your hatches, Blumenfels, and tell your men to help fling the goods
+      ashore.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Delicately paced the fearful horse over the prone men, snorting, perhaps
+      in sympathy, from his red nostrils, his jet-black coat a-quiver with the
+      excitement of the scene. The captain obeyed the Margrave with promptness
+      and celerity. The hatches were lifted, and his sailors, two and two, flung
+      on the ledge of rock the merchant&rsquo;s bales. The men-at-arms, who
+      proved to be men-of-all-work, had piled their weapons in a heap, and were
+      carrying the bales a few yards inland. Through it all the Baron roared
+      with laughter, and rode his horse along its living pavement, turning now
+      at this end and now at the other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do not be impatient,&rdquo; he cried down to them, &ldquo;&lsquo;twill
+      not take long to strip the boat of every bale, then I shall hang you on
+      these trees, and send back your bodies in the barge, as a lesson to
+      Frankfort. You must return, captain,&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;for you
+      cannot sell dead bodies to my liege of Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As he spoke a ruddy flush spread over the Rhine, as if some one had
+      flashed a red lantern upon the waters. The glow died out upon the instant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What!&rdquo; thundered the Margrave, &ldquo;is that the reflection
+      of my beard, or are Beelzebub and his fiends coming up from below for a
+      portion of the Frankfort cloth? I will share with good brother Satan, but
+      with no one else. Boil me if I ever saw a sight like that before! What was
+      it, captain?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I saw nothing unusual, my lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, there!&rdquo; exclaimed the Margrave, and as he spoke it
+      seemed that a crimson film had fallen on the river, growing brighter and
+      brighter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my lord,&rdquo; cried the captain, &ldquo;the Castle is on
+      fire!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Saints protect us!&rdquo; shouted the Red Margrave, crossing
+      himself, and turning to the west, where now both hearing and sight
+      indicated that a furnace was roaring. The whole western sky was aglow, and
+      although the flames could not be seen for the intervening cliff, every one
+      knew there was no other dwelling that could cause such an illumination.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Spurring his horse, and calling his men to come on, the nobleman dashed up
+      the steep acclivity, and when the last man had departed, Roland, followed
+      by his two lieutenants, stepped from the forest to the right down upon the
+      rocky plateau.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XIII. &ldquo;A SENTENCE; COME, PREPARE!&rdquo;
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain,&rdquo; said Roland quietly, &ldquo;bring your crew ashore,
+      and fling these bales on board again as quickly as you can.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An instant later the sailors were at work, undoing their former efforts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In mercy&rsquo;s name, Roland,&rdquo; wailed one of the stricken,
+      &ldquo;get a sword and cut our bonds.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All in good time,&rdquo; replied Roland. &ldquo;The bales are more
+      valuable to me than you are, and we have two barrels of gold at the foot
+      of the cliff to bring in, if they haven&rsquo;t sunk in the Rhine.
+      Greusel, do you and Ebearhard take two of the crew, launch the small boat,
+      and rescue the barrels if you can find them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mercy on us, Roland! Mercy!&rdquo; moaned his former comrades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have already wasted too much mercy upon you,&rdquo; he said.
+      &ldquo;If I rescue you now, I shall be compelled to hang you in the
+      morning as breakers of law, so I may as well leave you where you are, and
+      allow the Red Margrave to save me the trouble. The loss of his castle will
+      not make him more compassionate, especially if he learns you were the
+      cause of it. You will then experience some refined tortures, I imagine;
+      for, like myself, he may think hanging too good for you. I should never
+      have fired his castle had it not been for your rebellion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men on the ground groaned but made no further appeal. Some of them
+      were far-seeing enough to realize that an important change had come over
+      the young man they thought so well known to them, who stood there with an
+      air of indifference, throwing out a suggestion now and then for the more
+      effective handling of the bales; suggestions carrying an impalpable force
+      of authority that caused them to be very promptly obeyed. They did not
+      know that this person whom they had regarded as one of themselves, the
+      youngest at that, treating him accordingly, had but a day or two before
+      received a tremendous assurance, which would have turned the head of
+      almost any individual in the realm, old or young; the assurance that he
+      was to be supreme ruler over millions of creatures like themselves; a
+      ruler whose lightest word might carry their extinction with it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet such is the strange littleness of human nature that, although this
+      potent knowledge had been gradually exercising its effect on Roland&rsquo;s
+      character, it was not the rebellion of the eighteen or their mutinous
+      words that now made him hard as granite towards them. It was the trivial
+      fact that four of them had dared to manhandle him; had made a personal
+      assault upon him; had pinioned his helpless arms, and flung his sword,
+      that insignia of honor, to the feet of Kurzbold, leader of the revolt.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lord&rsquo;s Anointed, he was coming to consider himself, although not
+      yet had the sacred ointment been placed upon his head. A temporal Emperor
+      and a vice-regent of Heaven upon earth, his hand was destined to hold the
+      invisible hilt of the Almighty&rsquo;s sword of vengeance. The words
+      &ldquo;I will repay&rdquo; were to reach their fulfillment through his
+      action. Notwithstanding his youth, or perhaps because of it, he was
+      animated by deep religious feeling, and this, rather than ambition,
+      explained the celerity with which he agreed to the proposals of the
+      Archbishops.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The personage the prisoners saw standing on the rock-ledge of Furstenberg
+      was vastly different from the young man who, a comrade of comrades, had
+      departed from Frankfort in their company. They beheld him plainly enough,
+      for there was now no need of torches along the foreshore; the night was
+      crimson in its brilliancy, and down the hill came a continuous roar, like
+      that of the Rhine Fall seventy leagues away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Into this red glare the small boat and its four occupants entered, and
+      Roland saw with a smile that two well-filled casks formed its freight. The
+      bales were now aboard the barge again, and the Commander ordered the crew
+      to help the quartette in the small boat with the lifting of the heavy
+      barrels. Greusel and Ebearhard clambered over the side, and came thus to
+      the ledge where Roland stood, as the crew rolled the barrels down into the
+      cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lieutenants,&rdquo; said the Commander, &ldquo;select two stout
+      battle-axes from that heap. Follow the chain up the hill until you reach
+      that point where it is attached to the thick rope. Cut the rope with your
+      axes, and draw down the chain with you, thus clearing a passage for the
+      barge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two men chose battle-axes, then turned to their leader.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Should we not get our men aboard,&rdquo; they said, &ldquo;before
+      the barge is free?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;These rebels are prisoners of the Red Margrave. They belong to him,
+      and not to me. Where they are, there they remain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lieutenants, with one impulse, advanced to their Commander, who
+      frowned as they did so. A cry of despair went up from the pinioned men,
+      but Kurzbold shouted:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cut him down, Ebearhard, and then release us. In the name of the
+      guild I call on you to act! He is unarmed; cut him down! &lsquo;Tis foul
+      murder to desert us thus.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cutting down could easily have been accomplished, for Roland stood at
+      their mercy, weaponless since the <i>émeute</i> on the barge.
+      Notwithstanding the seriousness of the occasion, the optimistic Ebearhard
+      laughed, although every one else was grave enough.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you, Kurzbold, for your suggestion. We have come forward, not
+      to use force, but to try persuasion. Roland, you cannot desert to death
+      the men whom you conducted out of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why can I not?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should have said a moment ago that you will not, but now I say
+      you cannot. Kurzbold has just shown what an irreclaimable beast he is, and
+      on that account, because birth, or training, or something has made you one
+      of different caliber, you cannot thus desert him to the reprisal of that
+      red fiend up the hill.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I save him now, &lsquo;twill be but to hang him an hour later. I
+      am no hangman, while the Margrave is. I prefer that he should attend to my
+      executions.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again Ebearhard laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis no use, Roland, pretending abandonment, for you will not
+      abandon. I thoroughly favor choking the life out of Kurzbold, and one or
+      two of the others, and will myself volunteer for the office of headsman,
+      carrying, as I do, the ax, but let everything be done decently and in
+      order, that a dignified execution may follow on a fair trial.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Commander,&rdquo; shouted the captain from the deck of the barge,
+      &ldquo;make haste, I beg of you. The rope connecting with the Castle has
+      been burnt, and the chain is dragging free. The current is swift, and this
+      barge heavy. We shall be away within the minute.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Get your crew ashore on the instant,&rdquo; cried Roland, &ldquo;and
+      fling me these despicable burdens aboard. A man at the head, another at
+      the heels, and toss each into the barge. Is there time, captain, to take
+      this heap of cutlery with us as trophies of the fray?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied the captain, &ldquo;if we are quick about it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The howling human packages were hurled from ledge to barge; the strong,
+      unerring sailors, accustomed to the task, heaved no man into the water.
+      Others as speedily fell upon the heap of weapons, and threw them,
+      clattering, on the deck. All then leaped aboard, and Roland, motioning his
+      lieutenants to precede him, was the last to climb over the prow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The chain came down over the stones with a clattering run, and fell with a
+      great splash into the river. The barge, now clear, swung with the current
+      stern foremost; the sailors got to their oars, and gradually drew their
+      craft away from the shore. A little farther from the landing, those on
+      deck, looking upstream, enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the magnificent
+      conflagration. The huge stone Castle seemed to glow white hot. The roof
+      had fallen in, and a seething furnace reddened the midnight sky. Like a
+      flaming torch the great tower roared to the heavens. The whole hilltop
+      resembled the crater of an active volcano. Timber floors and wooden
+      partitions, long seasoned, proved excellent material for the incendiaries,
+      and even the stones were crumbling away, falling into the gulf of fire,
+      sending up a dazzling eruption of sparks, as section after section tumbled
+      into this earthly Hades.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The long barge floated placidly down a river resembling molten gold. The
+      boat was in disarray, covered with bales of cloth not yet lowered into the
+      hold, cluttered here and there with swords, battle-axes, and spears. In
+      the various positions where they had been flung lay the helpless men, some
+      on their faces, some on their backs. The deck was as light as if the red
+      setting sun were casting his rays upon it. Roland seated himself on a
+      bale, and said to the captain:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Turn all these men face upward,&rdquo; and the captain did so.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ebearhard, you said execution should take place after a fair trial.
+      There is no necessity to call witnesses, or to go through any court of law
+      formalities. You two are perfectly cognizant of everything that has taken
+      place, and no testimony will either strengthen or weaken that knowledge.
+      As a preliminary, take Kurzbold, the new president, and Gensbein, his
+      lieutenant, from among that group, and set them apart. Two members of the
+      crew will carry out this order,&rdquo; which was carried out accordingly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland rose, walked along the prostrate row, and selected, apparently at
+      haphazard, four others, then said to the members of his crew:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Place these four men beside their leader. Left to myself,&rdquo; he
+      continued to his lieutenants, &ldquo;I should hang the six. However, I
+      shall take no hand in the matter. I appoint you, Joseph Greusel, and you,
+      Gottlieb Ebearhard, as judges, with power of life and death. If your
+      verdict on any or all of the accused is death, I shall use neither the ax
+      nor the cord, but propose flinging them into the river, and if God wills
+      them to reach the shore alive, their binding will be no hindrance to
+      escape.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold and his lieutenant broke out into alternate curses and appeals,
+      protesting that Greusel and Ebearhard had not been expelled from the
+      guild, and calling upon them by their solemn oath of brotherhood to
+      release them now that they possessed the power. To these appeals the
+      newly-appointed judges made no reply, and for once Ebearhard did not
+      laugh.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The other four directed their supplications to Roland himself. They had
+      been misled, they cried, and deeply regretted it. Already they suffered
+      punishment of a severity almost beyond power of human endurance, and they
+      feared their bones were broken with the cudgeling, since which assault
+      their bonds grievously tortured them. All swore amendment, and their grim
+      commander still remaining silent, they asked him in what respect they were
+      more guilty than the dozen others whom seemingly he intended to spare. At
+      last Roland replied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You four,&rdquo; he said sternly, &ldquo;dared to lay hands upon
+      me, and for that I demand from the judges a sentence of death.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Even his two lieutenants gazed at him in amazement, that he should make so
+      much of an action which they themselves had endured and nothing said of
+      it. Surely the laying-on of hands, even in rudeness, was not a capital
+      crime, yet they saw to their astonishment that Roland was in deadly
+      earnest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The leader turned a calm face toward their scrutiny, but there was a frown
+      upon his brow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Work while ye have the light,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Judges,
+      consider your decision, and deliver your verdict.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel and Ebearhard turned their backs on every one, walked slowly aft,
+      and down into the cabin. Roland resumed his seat on the bale of cloth,
+      elbows on his knees, and face in his hands. All appeals had ceased, and
+      deep silence reigned, every man aboard the boat in a state of painful
+      tension. The fire in the distant castle lowered and lowered, and darkness
+      was returning to the deck of the barge. At last the judges emerged from
+      the cabin, and came slowly forward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Greusel who spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We wish to know if only these six are on trial?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only these six,&rdquo; replied Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Our verdict is death,&rdquo; said Greusel. &ldquo;Kurzbold and
+      Gensbein are to be thrown into the Rhine bound as they lie, but the other
+      four receive one chance for life, in that the cords shall be cut, leaving
+      their limbs free.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This seeming mercy brought no consolation to the quartette, for each
+      plaintively proclaimed that he could not swim.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you for your judgment,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;which I
+      am sure you must have formed with great reluctance. Having proven yourself
+      such excellent judges, I doubt not you will now act with equal wisdom as
+      advisers. A phrase of yours, Ebearhard, persists in my mind, despite all
+      efforts to dislodge it. You uttered on the ledge of rock yonder something
+      to the effect that we left Frankfort as comrades together. That is very
+      true, and unless you override my resolution, I have come to the conclusion
+      that if any of us are fated to die, the penalty shall be dealt by some
+      other hand than mine. The twelve who lie here are scarcely less guilty
+      than the six now under sentence, and I propose, therefore, to put ashore
+      on the east bank Kurzbold and Gensbein, one a rogue, the other a fool. The
+      sixteen who remain have so definitely proven themselves to be simpletons
+      that I trust they will not resent my calling them such. If however, they
+      abandon all claim to the comradeship that has been so much prated about,
+      swearing by the Three Kings of Cologne faithfully to follow me, and obey
+      my every word without cavil or argument, I will pardon them, but the first
+      man who rebels will show that my clemency has been misplaced, and I can
+      assure them that it shall not be exercised again. Captain, your sailors
+      are familiar with knotted ropes. Bid them release all these men except the
+      six condemned.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The boatmen, with great celerity, freed the prostrate captives from their
+      bonds, but some of the mutineers had been so cruelly used in the cudgeling
+      that it was necessary to assist them to their feet. The early summer
+      daybreak was at hand, its approach heralded by the perceptible diluting of
+      the darkness that surrounded them, and a ghastly, pallid grayness began to
+      overspread the surface of the broad river. Down the stream to the west the
+      towers of Bacharach could be faintly distinguished, looking like a dream
+      city, the lower gloom of which was picked out here and there by points of
+      light, each betokening an early riser.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a deeply dejected, silent group that stood in this weird
+      half-light, awaiting the development of Roland&rsquo;s mind regarding
+      them; he, the youngest of their company, quiet, unemotional, whose
+      dominion no one now thought of disputing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;steer for the eastern shore. I
+      know that Bacharach is the greatest wine mart on the Rhine, and well
+      sustains the reputation of the drunken god for whom it is named, but we
+      will nevertheless avoid it. There is a long island opposite the town, but
+      a little farther down. I dare say you know it well. Place that island
+      between us and Bacharach, and tie up to the mainland, out of view from the
+      stronghold of Bacchus. He is a misleading god, with whom we shall hold no
+      further commerce.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Joseph Greusel, and Gottlieb Ebearhard, do you two administer
+      the oath of the Three Kings to these twelve men; but before doing so, give
+      each one his choice, permitting him to say whether he will follow Kurzbold
+      on the land or obey me on the water.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here Kurzbold broke out again in trembling anger:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your pretended fairness is a sham, and your bogus option a piece of
+      your own sneaking dishonesty. What chance have we townsmen, put ashore,
+      penniless, in an unknown wilderness, far from any human habitation,
+      knowing nothing of the way back to Frankfort? Your fraudulent clemency
+      rescues us from drowning merely to doom us to starvation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The daylight had so increased that all might see the gentle smile coming
+      to Roland&rsquo;s lips, and the twinkle in his eye as he looked at the
+      wrathful Kurzbold.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A most intelligent leader of men are you, Herr Conrad. I suppose
+      this dozen will stampede to join your leadership. They must indeed be
+      proud of you when they learn the truth. I shall present to each of you,
+      out of my own store of gold that came from the castle you so bravely
+      attacked last night, one half the amount that is your due. This will be
+      more money than any of you ever possessed before; each portion, indeed,
+      excelling the total that you eighteen accumulated during your whole lives.
+      I could easily bestow your share without perceptible diminution of the
+      fund we three, unaided, extracted from the coffers of the Red Margrave.
+      The reason I do not pay in full is this. When you reach Frankfort, I must
+      be assured that you will keep your foolish tongues silent. If any man
+      speaks of our labors, I shall hear of it on my return, and will fine that
+      man his remaining half-share.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It distresses me to expose your ignorance, Kurzbold, but I put you
+      ashore amply provided with money, barely two-thirds of a league from
+      Lorch, where you spent so jovial an evening, and where a man with gold in
+      his pouch need fear neither hunger nor thirst. Lorch may be attained by a
+      leisurely walker in less than half an hour; indeed, it is barely two
+      leagues from this spot to Assmannshausen, and surely you know the road
+      from that storehouse of red wine to the capital city of Frankfort, having
+      once traversed it. A child of six, Kurzbold, might be safely put ashore
+      where you shall set foot on land. Therefore, lieutenants, let each man
+      know he will receive a bag of coin, and may land unmolested to accompany
+      the brave and intelligent Kurzbold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As he finished this declamation, that caused even some of the beaten
+      warriors to laugh at their leader, the barge came gently alongside the
+      strand, well out of sight of Bacharach. Each of the dozen swore the
+      terrible, unbreakable oath of the Three Kings to be an obedient henchman
+      to Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;depart to the cabin, where a
+      flagon of wine will be served to every man, and also an early breakfast.
+      After that you are permitted to lie down and relax your swollen limbs,
+      meditating on the extract from Holy Writ which relates the fate of the
+      blind when led by the blind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the dozen limped away, the chief turned to his prisoners.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Against you four I bear resentment that I thought could not be
+      appeased except by your expulsion, but reflection shows me that you acted
+      under instruction from the foolish leader you selected, and therefore the
+      principal, not the agent, is most to blame. I give you the same choice I
+      have accorded to the rest. Unloose them, captain; and while this is being
+      done, Greusel, get two empty bags from the locker, open one of the casks,
+      and place in each bag an amount which you estimate to be one half the
+      share which is Kurzbold&rsquo;s due.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The four men standing up took the oath, and thanked Roland for his mercy,
+      hurrying away at a sign from him to their bread and wine.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Send hither,&rdquo; cried Roland after them, &ldquo;two of the men
+      who have already refreshed themselves, each with a loaf of bread and a
+      full flagon of wine. And now, captain, release Kurzbold and Gensbein.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When these two stood up and stretched themselves, the bearers of bread and
+      wine presented them with this refreshment, and after they had partaken of
+      it, Greusel gave them each a bag of gold, which they tied to their belts
+      without a word, while Greusel and Ebearhard waited to escort them to land.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We want our swords,&rdquo; said Kurzbold sullenly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard looked at his chief, but he shook his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They have disgraced their swords,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;which now
+      by right belong to the Margrave Hermann von Katznellenbogenstahleck. Put
+      them ashore, lieutenant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was broad daylight, and the men had all come up from the cabin,
+      standing in a silent group at the stern. Kurzbold, on the bank, foaming at
+      the mouth with fury, shook his fist at them, roaring:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cowards! Pigs! Dolts! Asses! Poltroons!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men made no reply, but Ebearhard&rsquo;s hearty laugh rang through the
+      forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have given us your titles, Kurzbold,&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;Send
+      us your address whenever you get one!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;cast off. Cross to this side of
+      that island, and tie up there for the day. Set a man on watch, relieving
+      the sentinel every two hours. We have spent an exciting night, and will
+      sleep till evening.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your honor, may I first stow away these bales, and dispose of the
+      battle-axes, spears, and broadswords, so to clear the deck?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may do that, captain, at sunset. As for the bales, they make a
+      very comfortable couch upon which I intend to rest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XIV. THE PRISONER OF EHRENFELS
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      There is inspiration in the sight of armed men marching steadily together;
+      men well disciplined, keeping step to the measured clank of their armor.
+      Like a great serpent the soldiers of Cologne issued from the forest,
+      coming down two and two, for the path was narrow. They would march four
+      abreast when they reached the river road, and the evolutions which
+      accomplished this doubling of the columns, without changing step or
+      causing confusion, called forth praise from the two southern Archbishops.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A beautiful tableau of amity and brotherly love was presented to the
+      troops as they looked up at the three Archbishops standing together on the
+      balcony in relief against the gray walls of the Castle. The officers, who
+      were on horseback, raised their swords sky-pointing from their helmets,
+      for they recognized their overlord and his two notable confrères. With the
+      motion of one man the three Archbishops acknowledged the salute. The
+      troops cheered and cheered as the anaconda made its sinuous way down the
+      mountain-side, and company after company came abreast the Castle. The
+      Archbishops stood there until the last man disappeared down the river road
+      on his way to Coblentz.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I ask you,&rdquo; said Mayence, addressing Treves, &ldquo;to
+      conduct me to the flat roof of your Castle? Will you accompany us?&rdquo;
+      he inquired of Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cologne and Treves being for once in agreement, the latter led the way,
+      and presently the three stood on the broad stone plateau which afforded a
+      truly striking panorama of the Rhine. The July sun sinking in the west
+      transformed the river into a crimson flood, and at that height the cool
+      evening breeze was delicious. Cologne stood with one hand on the parapet,
+      and gazed entranced at the scene, but the practical Mayence paid no
+      attention whatever to it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your troublesome guest, Treves, has one more request to make, which
+      is that you order his flag hoisted to the top of that pole.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves at once departed to give this command, while Cologne, with clouded
+      brow, turned from his appreciation of the view.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;you have requested the raising of a
+      signal.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A signal which calls your men from the Lahn to the landing at
+      Stolzenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; repeated Mayence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, I have kept my promise not only to the letter, but in the
+      spirit as well. My troops are marching peaceably away, and will reach
+      their barracks some time to-morrow. Although I exacted no promise from
+      you, you implied there was a truce between us, and that your army, like my
+      company, was not to be called into action of any kind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your understanding of our pact is concisely stated, even though my
+      share in that pact remained unspoken. A truce, did you say? Is it not more
+      than that? I hoped that my seconding of the nomination you proposed proved
+      me in complete accord with your views.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not in effect your prisoner, then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely not; so contrary to the fact is such an assumption that I
+      implore you to accept my hospitality. The signal, which I see is now at
+      the mast-head, calls for one barge only, and that contains no soldier,
+      merely a captain and his ten stout rowers, whom you may at this moment, if
+      you turn round, see emerging from the mouth of the Lahn. I present to you,
+      and to the Countess von Sayn, my Schloss of Martinsburg for as long as you
+      may require it. It is well furnished, well provisioned, and attended to by
+      a group of capable servants, who are at your command. I suggest that you
+      cross in my barge, in company with the Countess and her kinsman, the
+      Reverend Father. You agree, I take it, to convoy the lady safely to her
+      temporary restraint in Pfalz. It was her own request, you remember.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall convoy her thither.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am trusting to you entirely. The distance is but thirteen
+      leagues, and can be accomplished easily in a day. Once on the other side
+      of the river she may despatch her kinsman, or some more trustworthy
+      messenger, to her own Castle, and thus summon the two waiting-women who
+      will share her seclusion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it your intention, my Lord, that her imprisonment shall&mdash;?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop of Mayence held up his thin hand with a gesture of
+      deprecation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I use no word so harsh as &lsquo;imprisonment.&rsquo; The penance,
+      if you wish so to characterize it, is rather in the nature of a retreat,
+      giving her needed opportunity for reflection, and, I hope, for regret.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nevertheless, my Lord, your action seems to me unnecessarily
+      severe. How long do you propose to detain her?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am pained to hear you term it severity, for her treatment will be
+      of the mildest description. I thought you would understand that no other
+      course was open to me. So far as I am personally concerned, she might have
+      said what pleased her, with no adverse consequences, but she flouted the
+      highest Court of the realm, and such contempt cannot be overlooked. As for
+      the duration of her discipline, it will continue until the new Emperor is
+      married, after which celebration the Countess is free to go whither she
+      pleases. I shall myself call at Pfalz four days from now, that I may be
+      satisfied the lady enjoys every comfort the Castle affords.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And also, perhaps, to be certain she is there immured.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence&rsquo;s thin lips indulged in a wry smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I need no such assurance,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;since my Lord of
+      Cologne has pledged his word to see that the order of the Court is carried
+      out.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The conversation was here interrupted by the return of Treves. Already the
+      great barge was half-way across the river. The surging, swift current
+      swept it some distance below Stolzenfels, and the rowers, five a side,
+      were working strenuously to force it into slower waters. Lord, lady, and
+      monk crossed over to the mouth of the Lahn, and the barge returned
+      immediately to convey across horses and escort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the valley of the Lahn opened out it presented a picture of quiet
+      sylvan beauty, apparently uninhabited by any living thing. The Archbishop
+      of Cologne rose, and, shading his eyes from the still radiant sun, gazed
+      intently up the little river. No floating craft was anywhere in sight. He
+      turned to the captain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is the flotilla from Mayence?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Flotilla, my Lord?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; a hundred barges sailed down from Mayence in the darkness
+      either last night or the night before, taking harbor here in the Lahn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, even one barge, manned as this is, could not have
+      journeyed such a distance in so short a time, and, indeed, for a flotilla
+      to attempt the voyage, except in daylight, would have been impossible. No
+      barges have come down the Rhine for months, and had they ventured the
+      little Lahn is too shallow to harbor them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you, captain. I appear to be ignorant both of the history and
+      the geography of this district. If I were to ask you and your stout rowers
+      to take me down through the swiftest part of the river to Coblentz, how
+      soon would we reach that town?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very speedily, my Lord, but I could undertake no such voyage except
+      at the command of my master. He is not one to be disobeyed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I quite credit that,&rdquo; said Cologne, sitting down again, the
+      momentary desire to recall his marching troops, that had arisen when he
+      saw the empty Lahn, dying down when he realized how effectually he had
+      been outwitted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When the horses were brought across, Father Ambrose, at the request of the
+      Countess, rode back to Sayn, and sent forward the two waiting-women whom
+      she required, and so well did he accomplish his task that they arrived at
+      Schloss Martinsburg before ten of the clock that night. At an early hour
+      next morning the little procession began its journey up the Rhine, his
+      Lordship and the Countess in front; the six horsemen bringing up the rear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The lady was in a mood of deep dejection; the regret which Mayence had
+      anticipated as result of imprisonment already enveloped her. It was only
+      too evident that the Archbishop of Cologne was bitterly disappointed, for
+      he rode silently by her side making no attempt at conversation. They
+      rested for several hours during midday, arriving at Caub before the red
+      sun set, and now the Countess saw her pinnacled prison lying like an
+      anchored ship in midstream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At Caub they were met by a bearded, truculent-looking ruffian, who
+      introduced himself to the Archbishop as the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You take us rather by surprise, Prince of Cologne,&rdquo; he said.
+      &ldquo;It is true that my overlord, the Archbishop of Mayence, called upon
+      me several days ago while descending the Rhine in his ten-oared barge, and
+      said there was a remote chance that a prisoner might shortly be given into
+      my care. This had often happened before, for my Castle covers some
+      gruesome cells that extend under the river,&mdash;cells with secret
+      entrances not easily come by should any one search the Castle. It is
+      sometimes convenient that a prisoner of State should be immured in one of
+      them when the Archbishop has no room in his own Schloss Ehrenfels, so I
+      paid little attention, and merely said the prisoner would receive a
+      welcome on arrival. This morning there came one of the Archbishop&rsquo;s
+      men from Stolzenfels, and both my wife and myself were astonished to learn
+      that the prisoner would be here this evening under your escort, my Lord,
+      and that it was a woman we were to harbor. Further, she was to be given
+      the best suite of rooms we had in the Castle, and to be treated with all
+      respect as a person of rank. Now, this apartment is in no state of
+      readiness to receive such a lady, much less to house one of the dignity of
+      your Lordship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It does not matter for me,&rdquo; replied the Archbishop. &ldquo;Being,
+      as I may say, part soldier, the bed and board of an inn is quite
+      acceptable upon occasion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh no, your Highness, such a hardship is not to be thought of. The
+      Castle of Gutenfels, standing above us, is comfortable as any on the
+      Rhine. Its owner, the Count Palatine, is fellow-Elector of yours, and a
+      very close friend of my overlord of Mayence, and I am told they vote
+      together whenever my overlord needs his assistance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is true,&rdquo; commented Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My overlord sent word that anything I needed for the accommodation
+      of her ladyship, he recognizing that my warning had been short, I should
+      requisition from the Count Palatine, so at midday I went up to call upon
+      him, not saying anything, of course, about State prisoners, male or
+      female. The moment he heard that you, my Lord, were visiting this
+      neighborhood, he begged me to tender to you, and to all your companions or
+      following, the hospitality of his Castle for so long as you might honor
+      him with your presence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Count Palatine is very gracious, and I shall be glad to accept
+      shelter and refreshment.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He would have been here to greet your Highness, but I was unable to
+      inform him at what hour you would arrive, so I waited for you myself, and
+      will be pleased to guide you to the gates of Gutenfels.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The conversation was interrupted by a great clatter of galloping horses,
+      descending the hill with reckless speed, and at its foot swinging round
+      into the main street of the town.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ha!&rdquo; cried the amateur jailer, &ldquo;here is the Count
+      Palatine himself;&rdquo; and thus it is our fate to meet the fourth
+      Elector of the Empire, who, added to the three Archbishops, formed a
+      quorum so potent that it could elect or depose an Emperor at will.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The cavalry of the Count Palatine was composed of fifty fully-armed men,
+      and their gallop through the town roused the echoes of that ancient
+      bailiwick, which, together with the Castle, belonged to the Palatinate.
+      The powerful noble extended a cordial welcome to his fellow-Elector, and
+      together they mounted to the Castle of Gutenfels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At dinner that night the Count Palatine proved an amiable host. Under his
+      geniality the charming Countess von Sayn gradually recovered her lost good
+      spirits, and forgot she was on her way to prison. After all, she was
+      young, naturally joyous, and loved interesting company, especially that of
+      the two Electors, who were well informed, and had seen much of the world.
+      The Archbishop also shook off some of his somberness; indeed, all of it as
+      the flagons flowed. Being asked his preference in wine, he replied that
+      yesterday he had been regaled with a very excellent sample of Oberweseler.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is from this neighborhood,&rdquo; replied the Count. &ldquo;Oberwesel
+      lies but a very short distance below, on the opposite side of the river,
+      but we contend that our beverage of Caub is at least equal, and sometimes
+      superior. You shall try a good vintage of both. How did you come by
+      Oberweseler so far north as Stolzenfels?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Simply because I was so forward, counting on the good nature of my
+      friend of Treves, that I stipulated for Oberweseler.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah! I am anxious to know why.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For reasons of history, not of the palate. A fair English Princess
+      was guest of Stolzenfels long ago, and this wine was served to her.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case,&rdquo; returned the Count, &ldquo;I also shall fall
+      back on history, and first order brimming tankards of old Caub. Really,
+      Madam,&rdquo; he said, turning to Hildegunde, &ldquo;we should have had
+      Royalty here to meet you, instead of two old wine-bibbers like his
+      Highness and myself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl looked startled at this mention of Royalty, bringing to her mind
+      the turbulent events of yesterday. Nevertheless, with great composure, she
+      smiled at her enthusiastic host.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Still,&rdquo; went on the Count, &ldquo;if we are not royal
+      ourselves, &lsquo;tis a degree we are empowered to confer, and, indeed,
+      may be very shortly called upon to bestow. That is true from what I hear,
+      is it not, your Highness?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied the Archbishop gravely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, as I was about to say, this Castle belonged to the
+      Falkensteins, and was sold by them to the Palatinate. Rumor, legend,
+      history, call it what you like, asserts that the most beautiful woman ever
+      born on the Rhine was Countess Beatrice of Falkenstein. But when I drink
+      to the toast I am about to offer I shall, Madam,&rdquo; he smiled at
+      Hildegunde, &ldquo;assert that the legend no longer holds, a contention I
+      am prepared to maintain by mortal combat. Know then that the Earl of
+      Cornwall, who was elected King of Germany in 1257, met Beatrice of
+      Falkenstein in this Castle. The meeting was brought about by the Electors
+      themselves, who, stupid matchmakers, attempted to coerce each into a
+      marriage with the other. Beatrice refused to marry a foreigner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Chronicles are a little vague about the most interesting part
+      of the negotiations, but minutely plain about the outcome. In some manner
+      the Earl and Beatrice met, and he became instantly enamored of her. This
+      is the portion so deplorably slurred by these old monkish writers. I need
+      hardly tell you that the Earl himself succeeded where the seven Electors
+      failed. Beatrice became Cornwall&rsquo;s wife and Queen of Germany, and
+      they lived happily ever afterwards.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I give you the toast!&rdquo; cried the chivalrous Count Palatine,
+      rising. &ldquo;To the cherished memory of the Royal lovers of Gutenfels!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop&rsquo;s eyes twinkled as he looked across the table at
+      Hildegunde.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This seems to be a time of Royal betrothals,&rdquo; he said,
+      raising his flagon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Seems&rsquo; is the right word, Guardian,&rdquo; replied the
+      Countess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then she sipped the ancient wine of Caub.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next morning Hildegunde was early afoot. Notwithstanding her trouble of
+      mind, she had slept well, and awakened with the birds, so great is the
+      influence of youth and health. During her last conscious moments the night
+      before, as she lay in the stately bed of the most noble room the Castle
+      contained, she bitterly accused herself for the disastrous failure of the
+      previous day. The Archbishop of Cologne had given her good counsel that
+      was not followed, and his disappointment with the result, generously as he
+      endeavored to conceal it, was doubtless the deeper because undiscussed.
+      Thinking of coming captivity, a dream of grim Pfalz was expected, but
+      instead the girl&rsquo;s spirit wandered through the sweet seclusion of
+      Nonnenwerth, living again that happy, earlier time, free from politics and
+      the tramp of armed men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the morning the porter, at her behest, withdrew bolt, bar, and chain,
+      allowing exit into the fresh, cool air, and skirting the Castle, she
+      arrived at a broad terrace which fronted it. A fleecy mist extending from
+      shore to shore concealed the waters of the Rhine, and partially
+      obliterated the little village of Caub at the foot of the hill. Where she
+      stood the air was crystal clear, and she seemed to be looking out on a
+      broad snow-field of purest white. Beyond Caub its surface was pierced by
+      the dozen sharp pinnacles of her future prison, looking like a bed of
+      spikes, upon which one might imagine a giant martyr impaled by the verdict
+      of a cruel Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Gazing upon this nightmare Castle, whose tusks alone were revealed, the
+      girl formulated the resolution but faintly suggested the night before. On
+      her release should ensue an abandonment of the world, and the adoption of
+      a nun&rsquo;s veil in the convent opposite Drachenfels, an island
+      exchanged for an island; turmoil for peace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At breakfast she met again the jovial Count Palatine, and her more sober
+      guardian, who both complimented her on the results of her beauty rest, the
+      one with great gallantry, the other with more reserve, as befitted a
+      Churchman. The Archbishop seemed old and haggard in the morning light, and
+      it was not difficult to guess that no beauty sleep had soothed his pillow.
+      It wrung the girl&rsquo;s heart to look at him, and again she accused
+      herself for lack of all tact and discretion, wishing that her guardian
+      took his disappointment more vengefully, setting her to some detested task
+      that she might willingly perform.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hospitable Count, eager that they should stop at least another night
+      under his roof, pressed his invitation upon them, and the Archbishop gave
+      a tacit consent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If the Countess is not too tired,&rdquo; said Cologne, &ldquo;I
+      propose that she accompany me on a little journey I have in view farther
+      up the river. We will return here in the evening.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should be delighted,&rdquo; cried Hildegunde, &ldquo;for all
+      sense of fatigue has been swept away by a most restful night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The good-natured Count left them to their own devices, and shortly
+      afterwards guardian and ward rode together down the steep declivity to the
+      river. The mist was already driven away, except a wisp here and there
+      clinging to the gray surface of the water, trailing along as if drawn by
+      the current, for the air was motionless, and there was promise of a sultry
+      day. They proceeded in silence until a bend in the Rhine shut Caub and its
+      sinister water-prison out of sight, and then it was the girl who spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Guardian,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;have I offended you beyond
+      forgiveness?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A gentle smile came to his lips as he gazed upon her with affection.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have not offended me at all, my dear,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but
+      I am grieved at thwarting circumstance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have been thinking over circumstances too, and hold myself solely
+      to blame for their baffling opposition. I will submit without demur to
+      whatever length of imprisonment may please, and, if possible, soften the
+      Archbishop of Mayence. After my release I shall ask your consent that I
+      may forthwith join the Sisterhood at Nonnenwerth. I wish to divide my
+      wealth equally between yourself and the convent.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop shook his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could not accept such donation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not? The former Archbishop of Cologne accepted Linz from my
+      ancestress Matilda.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was intended to be but a temporary loan.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well; call my benefaction temporary if you like, to be kept until I
+      call for it, but meanwhile to be used at your discretion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is quite impossible,&rdquo; said the Archbishop firmly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Does that mean you will not allow me to adopt the religious life?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It means, my child, that I should not feel justified in permitting
+      this renunciation of the world until you knew more of what you were giving
+      up.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know enough already.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think so, but your experience of it is too recent for us to
+      expect unbiased judgment this morning. I should insist on a year, at
+      least, and preferably two years, part of that time to be spent in
+      Frankfort and in Cologne. I anticipate a great improvement in Frankfort
+      when the new Emperor comes to the throne. If at the end of two years you
+      are still of the same mind, I shall offer no further opposition.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall never change my intention.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps not. I am told that the determination of a woman is
+      irrevocable, so a little delay does not much matter. Meanwhile, another
+      problem passes my comprehension. I have thought and thought about it, and
+      am convinced there is a misunderstanding somewhere, which possibly will be
+      cleared away too late. I am quite certain that Father Ambrose did not meet
+      Prince Roland in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you, then, dispute the word of Father Ambrose?&rdquo; asked the
+      girl, quickly checking the accent of indignation that arose in her voice,
+      for humility was to be her rôle ever after.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Father Ambrose is at once both the gentlest and most truthful of
+      men. He has undoubtedly seen somebody rob a merchant in Frankfort. He has
+      undoubtedly been imprisoned among wine-casks; but that this thief and this
+      jailer was Roland is incredible to me who know the young man, and
+      physically impossible, for Prince Roland at that time was himself a
+      prisoner, as, indeed, he is to-day. Prince Roland cannot be liberated from
+      Ehrenfels without an order signed by Mayence, Treves, and myself. I alone
+      have not the power to encompass his freedom, and Mayence is equally
+      powerless although he is owner of the Castle. Some scoundrel is walking
+      the streets of Frankfort pretending to be Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case, my Lord, he would not deny his identity when accosted
+      on the bridge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A very clever point, my dear, but it does not overcome my
+      difficulty. There might be a dozen reasons why the rascal would not
+      incriminate himself to any stranger who thus took him by surprise.
+      However, it is useless to argue the question, for I persuade you as little
+      as you persuade me. The practical thing is to fathom the misunderstanding,
+      and remove it. Will you assist me in this?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Willingly, if I can, Guardian.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. I must first inform you that your imprisonment is likely
+      to be very short. You are to know that the harmony supposed to exist in
+      Stolzenfels is largely mythical: I left behind me the seeds of discord. I
+      proposed that the glum niece of Treves, whom you met at our historic
+      lunch, should be the future Empress. This nomination was seconded by
+      Mayence himself, and received with unconcealed joy by my brother of
+      Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then for once the Court was unanimous? I think your choice an
+      admirable one.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Archbishop of Mayence does not agree with you, my dear.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then why did he second your nomination?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because he is so much more clever than Treves, who a few minutes
+      later would have been the seconder.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why should his Lordship of Mayence think one thing and act another?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why is he always doing it? No one can guess what Mayence really
+      thinks, if he is judged by what he says. Were Treves&rsquo; niece to
+      become Empress, her uncle would speedily realize his power, and Mayence
+      would lose his leadership. Could Mayence to-day secretly promote you to
+      the position of Empress, he would gladly do so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But won&rsquo;t he at once look for some one else?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly. That choice is now occupying his mind. His seconding of
+      the nomination was merely a ruse to gain time, but if he proposes any one
+      else he will find both Treves and myself against him. His only hope of
+      circumventing the ambition of Treves is that something may happen, causing
+      you to change your mind concerning Prince Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You forget, Guardian,&rdquo; protested the girl, &ldquo;that his
+      Lordship of Mayence said he would not permit me to marry Prince Roland
+      after the way I had spoken and acted.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He said that, my dear, under the influence of great resentment
+      against you, but Mayence never allows resentment or any other feeling to
+      stand in the way of his own interests. If you wrote him a contrite letter
+      regretting your defiance of him, and expressing your willingness to bow to
+      his wishes, I am very sure he would welcome the communication as a happy
+      solution of the quandary in which he finds himself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You wish me to do this, Guardian?&rdquo; she asked wistfully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not until you are satisfied that Prince Roland is innocent of the
+      charges you make against him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can I receive such assurance?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, now you come to the object of this apparently purposeless
+      journey. I have had much experience in the world you are so anxious to
+      renounce, and although I have seen the wicked prosper for a time, yet my
+      faith has never been shaken in an overruling Providence, and what happened
+      last night set me thinking so deeply that daylight stole in upon my
+      meditations.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my poor Guardian, I knew you had not slept, and all because of
+      a worthless creature like myself, and a wicked creature, too, for I did
+      not see the hand of Providence so visible to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely, my dear, a moment&rsquo;s thought would reveal it to you.
+      Remember how we came almost to the door of the prison, when a temporary
+      reprieve was handed to us by that coarse reprobate, the Pfalzgraf. Your
+      suite of rooms was not yet ready, and thus we found bestowed upon us
+      another free day; a day of untrammeled liberty, quite unlooked for. Now,
+      much may be done in a day. An Empire has been lost and won within a few
+      hours. With this gift came a revelation. That wine-blotched Pfalzgraf
+      would have shown no consideration for you: to him a prisoner is a
+      prisoner, to be cast anywhere, lock the door, and have done, but a
+      wholesome fear had been instilled into him by his overlord. The Archbishop
+      of Mayence had taken thought for your comfort, ordering that the best
+      rooms in the Castle should be placed at your disposal. Hence, after all
+      that had passed, his Lordship felt no malignancy against you, and I dare
+      say would have been glad to rescind the order for your imprisonment, were
+      it not that he would never admit defeat.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Guardian, what an imagination is yours! I am sure his Lordship
+      of Mayence will never forgive me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His Lordship of Mayence, my dear, is in a dilemma from which no one
+      except yourself can extricate him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His own cleverness will extricate him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps. Still, I&rsquo;m not troubling about him. My thoughts are
+      much too selfish for that. I wish you to lift me from <i>my</i>
+      uncertainty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean about Prince Roland? I shall do whatever you ask of me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I place no command, but I proffer a suggestion.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It shall be a command, nevertheless.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We have left your own prison far behind, and are approaching that
+      of Prince Roland. To the door of that detaining Castle I propose to lead
+      you. I am forbidden by my compact with the other Electors to see Prince
+      Roland or to hold any communication with him. The custodian of the Castle,
+      who knows me well, will not refuse any request I make, even if I ask to
+      see the young man himself. He will therefore not hesitate to admit you
+      when I require him to do so. To take away any taint of surreptitiousness
+      about my action, interfering, as one might say, with another man&rsquo;s
+      house, I shall this evening write to the Archbishop of Mayence, tell him
+      exactly what I have done, and why.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you intend, then, that I should see Prince Roland and talk with
+      him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Guardian!&rdquo; cried the girl, her face flushing red,
+      &ldquo;what on earth can I say to him? How am I to excuse my intrusion?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A prisoner, I fancy, does not resent intrusion, especially if the
+      intruder is&mdash;&rdquo; The old man smiled as he looked at the girl,
+      whose blush grew deeper and deeper; then, seeing her confusion, he added:
+      &ldquo;There are many things to say. Introduce yourself as the ward of his
+      Lordship of Cologne; reveal that your guardian has confided to you that
+      Prince Roland is to be the future Emperor; ask for some assurance from him
+      that the property descending to you from your ancestors shall not be
+      molested; or perhaps, better still, with the same introduction, tell him
+      the story of Father Ambrose. Add that this has disquieted you: demand the
+      truth, hearken to what the youth says for himself, thank him, and
+      withdraw. It needs no long conversation, though I am prepared to hear that
+      he wished to lengthen your stay. I am certain that five minutes face to
+      face with him will completely overturn all Father Ambrose has said to his
+      disparagement, and a few simple words from him will probably dispel the
+      whole mystery. If someone is personating him in Frankfort it is more than
+      likely he knows who it is.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They traveled a generous furlong together in silence, the girl&rsquo;s
+      head bowed and her brow troubled. At last, as if with an effort, she
+      cleared doubt away, and raised her head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will do it,&rdquo; she said decisively.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop heaved a deep sigh of relief. He knew now he was out of the
+      wood.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is this Assmannshausen we are coming to?&rdquo; she asked, as if to
+      hint that the subject on which they had talked so earnestly was finally
+      done with.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; this is Lorch, and that is the Castle of Nollich standing above
+      it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope,&rdquo; said the girl, with a sigh of weariness, &ldquo;that
+      no English Princess about to marry an Emperor lodged there, or no
+      Englishman who was to become an Emperor&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop interrupted the plaint with a hearty laugh, the first he
+      had enjoyed for several days.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The English seem an interfering race,&rdquo; she went on. &ldquo;I
+      wish they would attend to their own affairs.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nollich is uncontaminated,&rdquo; said the Archbishop, &ldquo;though
+      in olden days a reckless knight on horseback rode up to secure his
+      lady-love, and I believe rode down again with her, and his route is still
+      called the Devil&rsquo;s Ladder.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did the marriage turn out so badly?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; I believe they lived happily ever after; but the ascent was so
+      cliff-like that mountain sprites are supposed to have given their
+      assistance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How much farther is Assmannshausen?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Less than two leagues. We will stop there and refresh ourselves.
+      Are you tired?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh no; not in the least. I merely wish the ordeal was past.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are a brave girl, Hildegunde.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am anything but that, Guardian. Still, do not fear I shall
+      flinch.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After partaking of the midday meal at Assmannshausen, the Countess
+      proposed that they should leave their horses in the stable, and walk the
+      short third of a league to Ehrenfels, and to this her guardian agreed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He found more difficulty with the custodian than had been expected. The
+      man objected, trembling. Without a written order from his master he dare
+      not allow any one to visit the prisoner. He would be delighted to oblige
+      his Lordship of Cologne, but he was merely a poor wretch who had no option
+      in the matter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; said Cologne. &ldquo;I have just come from your
+      master, who is stopping with my brother Treves at Stolzenfels. If you
+      persist I must then request lodgings from you until such time as a speedy
+      messenger can bring your master hither. This journey may cause him great
+      inconvenience, and should such be the case, I fear you will fare ill with
+      him.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That may be, my Lord, but I must do my duty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you sure you have already done it on all occasions?&rdquo;
+      asked the Archbishop severely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man&rsquo;s face became ghastly in its pallor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what you mean, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I will quickly tell you what I mean. It is rumored that Prince
+      Roland has been seen on the streets of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How&mdash;how could that be, my Lord?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is exactly what I wish to know. I believe the Prince is not in
+      your custody.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I assure you, my Lord,&rdquo; said the now thoroughly frightened
+      man, &ldquo;that his Highness is in his room.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well; then conduct this lady thither. Although she does not
+      know the Prince, a relative of hers who does asserts that he met his
+      Highness in Frankfort. I said this was impossible if you had done that
+      duty you prate so much about. The lady merely wishes to ask him for some
+      explanation of this affair, so make your choice. Shall she go up with you
+      now, or must I send for the other two Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was but one comforting phrase in this remark, namely, that the lady
+      did not know the Prince. Still, it was a dreadful risk, yet the custodian
+      hesitated no longer. He took down a bunch of keys, and asked the Countess
+      to follow him. Ascending the stair, he unlocked the door, and stood aside
+      for the Countess to pass through.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some one with wildly tousled hair sat sprawling in a chair; arms on the
+      table, and head sunk forward down upon them. A full tankard of wine within
+      his reach, and a flagon had been overset, sluicing the table with its
+      contents, which still fell drip, drip, drip, to the floor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man raised his head, aroused by the harsh unlocking of the door,
+      and with the crash it made as his father flung it hard against the stone
+      wall for the purpose of giving him warning, but the youth was in no
+      condition to profit by this thoughtfulness, nor to understand the signals
+      his father made from behind the frightened girl. He clutched wildly at the
+      overturned flagon, and with an oath cried:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bring me more wine, you old&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Staggering to his feet, he threw the flagon wide, then slipped on the
+      spilled wine and fell heavily to the floor, roaring defiance at the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The panic-stricken girl shrank back, crying to the jailer:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let me out! Close the door quickly, and lock it!&rdquo; an order
+      obeyed with alacrity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Hildegunde emerged to the court her guardian asked no question. The
+      horror in her face told all.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry, my Lord,&rdquo; said the cringing custodian, &ldquo;but
+      his Highness is drunk.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Does this&mdash;does this happen often?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alas! yes, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Poor lad, poor lad! The sins of the fathers shall be visited on the
+      children to the third and fourth generation. Hildegunde, forgive me. Let
+      us away and forget it all.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The next morning the Countess began her imprisonment in Pfalz.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XV. JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS&rsquo; MEETING
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Roland slept until the sun was about an hour high over the western hills.
+      He found the captain waiting patiently for him to awake, and then that
+      useful martinet instantly set his crew at tying up the bales which had
+      been torn open, placing them once more in the hold. He was about to do the
+      same with the weapons captured from Furstenberg, but Greusel stepped
+      forward, and asked him to put pikes, battle-axes, and the long swords into
+      the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland nodded his approval, saying:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They may prove useful instruments in case of an attack on the
+      barge. Our own swords are just a trifle short for adding interest to an
+      assault.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When once more the hatches were down, and the deck clear, supper was
+      served. Shortly after sunset, Roland told the captain to cast off,
+      directing him to keep to the eastern shore, passing between what might be
+      called the marine Castle of Pfalz and the village of Caub, with the
+      strictest silence he could enjoin upon his crew. Pfalz stands upon a rock
+      in the Rhine, a short distance up the river from Caub, while above that
+      village on the hill behind are situated the strong, square towers of
+      Gutenfels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you intend to pay a call upon Pfalzgrafenstein?&rdquo;
+      asked Ebearhard. &ldquo;It is notoriously the most pestilent robber&rsquo;s
+      nest between Mayence and Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said Roland. &ldquo;On this occasion Pfalz shall escape.
+      You see, Ebearhard, on our first trip down the Rhine it is not my
+      intention to fight if I can avoid conflict. The plan which proved
+      successful with the four castles we have visited is impossible so far as
+      Pfalz is concerned. If we attempted to enter this waterschloss by stealth,
+      we would be discovered by those levying contributions on the barge. There
+      is no cover to conceal us, so I shall give Pfalz the go-by, and also
+      Gutenfels, because the latter is not a robber castle, but is owned by the
+      Count Palatine, a true gentleman and no thief. The next object of our
+      attentions will be Schonburg, on the western side of the river, near
+      Oberwesel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the grotesque, hexagonal bulk of the Pfalz, with its numerous jutting
+      corners and turrets, and over all the pentagonal tower, appeared dimly in
+      the center of the Rhine, under the clear stars, the captain ordered his
+      men to lie flat on the deck, himself following their example. Roland and
+      his company were already seated in the cabin, and the great barge, lying
+      so low in the water as to be almost invisible with its black paint,
+      floated noiseless as a dream down the swift current.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without the slightest warning came a shock, and every man on the lockers
+      was flung to the floor of the cabin, with cries of dismay, for too well
+      they recognized the preliminary to their disasters of the night before.
+      Roland sprang up on deck, and found the boat swinging round broadside to
+      the current, which had swept it so near to the Castle that at first it
+      seemed to have struck against one of the outlying rocks. The fantastic
+      form of the Pfalz hung over them, looking like some weird building seen in
+      a nightmare, its sharp, pointed pinnacles outlined against the starlit
+      sky.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain, muttering sonorous German oaths, ordered his men to the
+      sweeps, but Roland saw at once that they were too close to the ledge of
+      rock for any chance of escape. He hurried down into the cabin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Every man his sword, and follow me as silently as possible!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Up on deck again, Roland said to the captain:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let your rowers help the chain to bring the barge alongside, but
+      when the robbers appear, pretend to be getting away, although you must
+      instantly obey them when ordered to cease your efforts.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The prow of the boat ground against the solid rock, jammed in between the
+      stout chain and the low cliff. Roland was the first to spring ashore, and
+      the rest nimbly followed him. With every motion of the barge the bell
+      inside the Castle rang, and now they could hear the bestirring of the
+      garrison, and clashing of metal, although the single door of the Pfalz had
+      not yet been opened. This door stood six feet above the plateau of rock,
+      and could be entered or quitted only by means of a ladder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland led his men to a place of effective concealment along the western
+      wall of the Pfalz, only just in time, for as he peered round the corner,
+      his men standing back against the wall to the rear, he saw the flash of
+      torches from the now-open door, and the placing of a stout ladder at a
+      steep angle between the threshold and the floor of rock below. Most of the
+      garrison, however, did not wait for this convenience, but leaped
+      impetuously from doorway to rock. Others slid down the ladder, and all
+      rushed headlong towards the barge, which made its presence known by the
+      grinding of its side against the rock, and also by the despairing orders
+      of the captain, and the hurrying footsteps of his men on deck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      More leisurely down the ladder came two officers, followed by one whom
+      Roland recognized as lord of the Castle, Pfalzgraf Hermann von Stahleck, a
+      namesake and relative of the Laughing Baron of Furstenberg, and quite as
+      ruthless a robber as he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cease your efforts at the prow,&rdquo; shouted the Pfalzgraf to the
+      captain when he had descended the ladder, &ldquo;and concentrate your
+      force at the stern, swinging your boat round broadside on to the landing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The captain obeyed, and presently the boat lay in such position as the
+      nobleman desired. Now there was a great commotion as, at a word from the
+      Pfalzgraf, the garrison fell on the barge, and began to wrench off the
+      hatches, a task which they well knew how to perform.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Follow as quietly as possible,&rdquo; whispered Roland to the two
+      lieutenants behind him, who, under their breath, passed on word to the
+      men. Roland ran nimbly up the ladder. No guard was set where none had ever
+      been needed before. Greusel was the last to ascend, then the ladder was
+      pulled up, and the massive door swung shut, bolted and chained.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The invaders found torches stuck here and there along the wall, and the
+      picturesque courtyard, with its irregular balconies and stairways, seemed,
+      in the flickering light, more spacious than was actually the case.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Although for the moment in safety, Roland experienced a sense of
+      imprisonment as he gazed round the narrow limits of this enclosure. He had
+      endeavored to count the number of men who followed the Pfalzgraf, but
+      their impetuosity in seeking the barge prevented an accurate estimate,
+      although he knew there were more than double the force that obeyed him,
+      and therefore it would be suicidal to lead his untrained coterie against
+      the seasoned warriors of Stahleck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He ordered Greusel to take with him six men, and search the Castle,
+      bringing into the courtyard whomsoever they might find; also to discover
+      whether any window existed that looked out upon the eastern landing-place.
+      The remainder of his men he grouped at the door, under command of
+      Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear, Ebearhard,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that I boasted
+      prematurely in thinking good luck would attend me now that I lead what
+      appears to be an obedient following. Here we are in a trap, and unless we
+      can escape through rat-holes, I admit that I fail to see for the moment
+      how we are to get safely afloat again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are in better fettle than the Pfalzgraf and his men outside,&rdquo;
+      returned Ebearhard, &ldquo;because this fortress is doubtless well
+      supplied with provisions, and is considered impregnable, while the
+      Pfalzgraf&rsquo;s impetuous chaps, who did not know enough to stay in
+      comfortable quarters when they had them, are without shelter and without
+      food. You have certainly done the best you could in the circumstances, and
+      for those circumstances you are free of blame, since, not being a wizard,
+      you could scarcely know of the chain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, Ebearhard, it is just in that respect I blame myself,
+      neglecting your own good example, who discovered the chain at Furstenberg.
+      This trap is a new invention, and, so far as I know, has never before been
+      attempted on the Rhine. I might have remembered that Stahleck here is
+      cousin to the Red Margrave, who likely has told him of the device. Indeed,
+      the chances are that Stahleck himself was the contriver of the chain, for
+      he seems a man of much more craft and intelligence than that huge,
+      laughing animal farther up the river. I should have ordered the captain to
+      tie up against the eastern bank, and then sent some men in a small boat to
+      learn if the way was clear. No, Ebearhard, I blame myself for this muddle,
+      and, through anxiety to pass the Pfalz, I have landed myself and my men
+      within its walls. I must pace this courtyard for a time, and ponder what
+      next to do. Go you, Ebearhard, with the men to the door. Allow no talking
+      or noise. Listen intently, and report to me if you hear anything. You see,
+      Ebearhard, the devil of it is that Stahleck, like his cousin with Cologne,
+      swears allegiance to the Archbishop of Mayence, and here am I, after
+      destroying the fief of one Archbishop, securely snared in the fief of
+      another. I fear their Lordships&rsquo; next meeting with me will not pass
+      off so amicably as did the last.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>Next</i> meeting?&rdquo; cried Ebearhard in astonishment;
+      &ldquo;have you ever met the Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland gasped, realizing that his absorption in one subject had nearly
+      caused him to betray his momentous secret.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, I remember,&rdquo; continued Ebearhard. &ldquo;It was on
+      account of the Archbishop&rsquo;s presence in Bonn that you returned from
+      that town when first you journeyed up the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Roland, with relief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It seems to me,&rdquo; went on Ebearhard consolingly, &ldquo;that
+      even if we may not leave the Castle, at least the Pfalzgraf cannot
+      penetrate into the stronghold, therefore we are safe enough.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not so, Ebearhard,&rdquo; replied his chief. &ldquo;The Pfalzgraf
+      has the barge, remember, and it can carry his whole force to Caub or
+      elsewhere, returning with ample provisions and siege instruments that will
+      batter in the door despite all we can do. Nevertheless, let us keep up our
+      hearts. Get you to the gate, Ebearhard. I must have time to think before
+      Greusel returns.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Alone, with bent head, he paced back and forwards across the courtyard
+      under the wavering light of the torches. Very speedily he concluded that
+      no plan could be formed until Greusel made his report regarding the
+      intricacies of the Castle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My luck is against me! My luck is against me!&rdquo; he said aloud
+      to himself, as if the sound of his own voice might suggest some way out of
+      the difficulty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Luck always turns against a thief and a marauder,&rdquo; said a
+      sweet and clear voice behind him; &ldquo;and how can it be otherwise, when
+      the gallows-tree stands at the end of his journey.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland stopped in his walk, and turned abruptly towards the sound. He saw
+      standing there, just descended from the stairway at her back, one quite
+      evidently a lady; not more than eighteen, perhaps, but nevertheless with a
+      flash of defiance in her somber eyes, which were bent fearlessly upon him.
+      The two tirewomen accompanying her shrank timorously to the background,
+      palpably panic-stricken, and ready to faint with fright.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Madam, how came you here?&rdquo; cried Roland, ignoring her
+      insulting words, too much surprised by her beauty of face and form to
+      think of aught else.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I came here, because your bully upstairs hammered at my door and
+      bade me open, which I would not do, defying him to break it down if he had
+      the power. It so happened that he possessed the power, and used it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I deeply regret that you should have been disturbed, Madam. My
+      lieutenant erred through over-zeal, and I ask your pardon for the offense.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, sir, you are the politest of pirates, but, indeed, your
+      lieutenant seems a harsh man. Without even removing his bonnet, he
+      commanded me to betake myself to the courtyard and report to his chief,
+      which obediently I have done.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not guess that women inhabited this robber&rsquo;s nest. My
+      lieutenant is searching for men in hiding, so please accept my assurance
+      that you will suffer no further annoyance. You are surely not alone in
+      this house?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh no. Her ladyship the Pfalzgraf&rsquo;s wife, and her entourage,
+      have sought shelter in another part of the Castle, and presently they will
+      all troop down here, prisoners to your most ungallant subordinate; that
+      is, should their doors prove no stouter than mine, or if your furious men
+      have not dislocated their shoulders.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How came you to be absent from her ladyship&rsquo;s party?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because, urbane pirate captain, I am an unwilling prisoner in this
+      stronghold, being an obstreperous person, who refused to obey my
+      superiors; those set in authority over me. Consequently am I immured in
+      this dismal dungeon of the water-rats, and thus, youthful pirate, I
+      welcome even so red-handed an outlaw as yourself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then are we in like case, my lady of midnight beauty, for I, too,
+      am a prisoner in Pfalzgrafenstein, and, when you came, was cogitating some
+      plan of escape. Therefore, rebellious maiden, the sword of this red-handed
+      freebooter is most completely at your service,&rdquo; and the speaker once
+      more doffed his bonnet with a gallant sweep that caused the plume to kiss
+      the flagstones at his feet, and he bowed low to the brave girl who had
+      shown no fear of him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XVI. MY LADY SCATTERS THE FREEBOOTERS AND CAPTURES THEIR CHIEF
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Greusel appeared on one of the balconies, and called down to his leader.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;a number of women in the western
+      rooms of the Castle. They have bolted their doors, but tell me that the
+      rooms contain the Pfalzgravine von Stahleck and other noble ladies, with
+      their tirewomen. What am I to do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Place a guard in the corridor, Greusel, to make sure that these
+      ladies communicate with no one outside the fortress.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought it well,&rdquo; explained Greusel, &ldquo;not to break in
+      the doors without definite instructions from you to that effect.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite right. Tell the ladies we will not molest them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You molested me!&rdquo; cried the handsome girl in the courtyard,
+      her dark eyes flashing in the glow of the torches.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This person,&rdquo; said the unemotional Greusel, betraying no eye
+      for beauty, &ldquo;called us every uncomplimentary name she could think
+      of. We were the scum of the earth, according to her account.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl laughed scornfully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I would not have dislodged her,&rdquo; continued Greusel,
+      unperturbed, &ldquo;had she not said there was a window in her room, which
+      is on the eastern side of the Castle, overlooking the operations of the
+      Pfalzgraf on the barge, and she proclaimed her determination to warn
+      Stahleck that his Castle was filled with freebooters, as soon as she could
+      make her voice heard above the din at the landing. Therefore I broke in
+      the door, ordering her and the tirewomen to descend to the courtyard. On
+      examining her room I find there is no such window as she described, and
+      she could not communicate with the Count, so I advise that you send her
+      back again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Once more the young lady laughed, and exclaimed:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I could not break down the door for myself, so compelled you and
+      your clods to do it. I am immured here; a reluctant captive. You will not
+      have me sent back to my cell, I hope, Commander?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; if you are really my fellow-prisoner, and not one of the enemy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She may be deluding you also,&rdquo; warned Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will take the risk of that,&rdquo; replied Roland, smiling at the
+      girl, who smiled back at him. She had a will of her own, but seemed
+      sensitively responsive to fair treatment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are there any men-servants?&rdquo; asked Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only three, and they are tottering with age,&rdquo; replied
+      Greusel, &ldquo;more frightened than the women themselves. Nevertheless,
+      one of the retainers is important, being, as he told me, keeper of the
+      treasure-house. I relieved him of his keys, and find that the strong-room
+      is well supplied with bags of gold. &lsquo;Twill be the richest haul yet,
+      excepting our two barrels of coin from&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hush, hush!&rdquo; cried Roland. &ldquo;Mention no names. Did you
+      discover any other exit excepting the door by which we entered?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but at the northern end there is a window through which a man
+      of ordinary size might pass. It is, however, high above the rocks, and I
+      discern floating in the tide a fleet of small boats.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;that is important.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Taken in conjunction with the gold, most amiable robber,&rdquo;
+      suggested the girl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Taken in conjunction with the gold,&rdquo; repeated Roland, smiling
+      again; and adding, &ldquo;Taken also in conjunction with a lady who, if I
+      understand her, wishes to escape from the Pfalz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are right,&rdquo; agreed the young girl archly. &ldquo;Do I
+      receive a share of the money?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; if you join our band.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; she cried, with a pout of feigned disappointment,
+      &ldquo;I thought you had already accepted me as a member. And what am I to
+      call my new overlord, who acquires wealth so successfully that he does not
+      wish the amount mentioned, or the place from which it was taken specified?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My name is Roland. Will you consent to a fair exchange?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am called Hilda by my friends.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, Hilda,&rdquo; said the young man, looking at her with
+      admiration, &ldquo;I welcome you as one of my lieutenants.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One, indeed!&rdquo; she exclaimed, with affected indignation.
+      &ldquo;I shall be first lieutenant or nothing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Up to this moment Herr Joseph Greusel, who so unceremoniously made
+      your acquaintance, has been my chief lieutenant, but I willingly depose
+      him, and give you his place.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you hear that, Joseph?&rdquo; Hilda called up to the man leaning
+      over the balcony.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The deposed one made a grimace, but no reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Set your guard, and come down, Greusel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently Greusel appeared in the courtyard, followed by four men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have left two on guard,&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right. What have you done with the servants?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Tied them up in a hard knot. I found a loft full of ropes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right again. Take your four men, and stand guard at the door. Send
+      Ebearhard to me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before Ebearhard arrived, Roland turned to the girl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Retire to your room,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and bid your women
+      gather together whatever you wish to carry with you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather stay where I am,&rdquo; protested Hilda, &ldquo;being
+      anxious to hear what your plans are. I confess I don&rsquo;t know how you
+      can emerge from this Castle in safety.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Fräulein Hilda, the first duty of a chief lieutenant is obedience.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Refusing that, what will you do?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall call two of my men, cause you to be transported to your
+      room, and order them to see that you do not leave it again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Remaining here when you have departed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That, of course.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will take the gold, however.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly; the gold obeys me; doing what I ask of it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a few moments the girl stood there, gazing defiance at him, but
+      although a slight smile hovered about his lips, she realized in some
+      subtle way&mdash;woman&rsquo;s intuition, perhaps&mdash;that he meant what
+      he said. Her eyes lowered, and an expression of pique came into her pretty
+      face; then she breathed a long sigh.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall go to my room,&rdquo; she said very quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will call upon you the moment I have given some instructions to
+      my third lieutenant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You need not trouble,&rdquo; she replied haughtily, speaking,
+      however, as mildly as himself. &ldquo;I remain a prisoner of the Pfalzgraf
+      von Stahleck, who, though a distinguished pillager like yourself,
+      nevertheless possesses some instincts of a gentleman.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With that, the young woman retired slowly up the stairway, and
+      disappeared, followed by her two servants.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ebearhard,&rdquo; said Roland, when that official appeared, &ldquo;Greusel
+      has discovered a window to the north through which yourself and a number
+      of your men can get down to the rocks with the aid of a cord, and he tells
+      me there is a loft full of ropes. A flotilla of boats is tied up at the
+      lower end of the Castle. He has visited the treasury, and finds it well
+      supplied with bags of coin. I intend to effect a junction between those
+      bags and that flotilla. Our position here is quite untenable, for there is
+      probably some secret entrance to this Castle that we know nothing of.
+      There are also a number of women within whom we cannot coerce, and must
+      not starve. Truth to tell, I fear them more than I do the ruffians
+      outside. Have any of the men-at-arms discovered that we pulled up the
+      ladder and closed the door?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think not, for in such case they would return from their pillages
+      as quickly as did the Red Margrave when he found his house was ablaze. My
+      opinion is that they are making a clean job of looting the barge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If that is so, our barrels of gold are gone, rendering it the more
+      necessary that we should carry away every kreuzer our friend Stahleck
+      possesses. Call, therefore, every man except one from the door. Greusel
+      has the keys, and will lead you to the treasury. Hoist the bags to the
+      north window. While your men are doing this, rive a stout rope so that you
+      may all speedily descend to the rocks, except as many as are necessary to
+      lower the bags. When this is accomplished, Greusel is to report to me from
+      the balcony, and then descend, taking with him the man on guard at the
+      door. Apportion men and bags in all the boats but one. That one I shall
+      take charge of. Put Greusel in command of the flotilla, and tell him to
+      convey his fleet as quietly as possible to the eastern shore; then paddle
+      up in slack water until he is, say, a third of a league above Pfalz. There
+      he must await my skiff. You will stand by that skiff until I join you. I
+      shall likely be accompanied by three women, so retain the largest and most
+      comfortable of the small boats.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ebearhard raised his eyebrows at the mention of the women, but said
+      nothing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland went in person to the room occupied by the young woman, and knocked
+      at her door, whereupon it was opened very promptly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;there is opportunity for escape if
+      you care to avail yourself of it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl had been seated when he entered, but now she rose, speaking in a
+      voice that was rather tremulous.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, I was wrong to disobey you when you had treated me so kindly.
+      I shall therefore punish myself by remaining where I am.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case, Madam, you will punish me as well; and, indeed, I
+      deserve it, forgetting as I did for the moment that I addressed a lady. If
+      you will give me the pleasure of escorting you, I shall conduct you in
+      safety to whatever place of refuge you wish to reach.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir, you are most courteous, but I fear my intended destination
+      might take you farther afield than would be convenient for you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My time is my own, and nothing could afford me greater
+      gratification than the assurance of your security. Tell me your
+      destination.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is the Convent of Nonnenwerth, situated on an island larger than
+      this, near Rolandseck.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall be happy to convoy you thither.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again I thank you. It is my desire to join the Sisterhood there.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not to become a nun?&rdquo; cried Roland, an intonation of
+      disappointment in his voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; although to this determination my guardian is opposed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Alas,&rdquo; said Roland, with a sigh, &ldquo;I confess myself in
+      agreement with him so far as your taking the veil is concerned. Still,
+      imprisonment seems an unduly harsh alternative.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl&rsquo;s seriousness fled, and she smiled at him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As you have had some experience of my obstinacy, and proposed an
+      even harsher remedy than that&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, you forget,&rdquo; interrupted Roland, &ldquo;that I apologized
+      for my lack of manners. I hope during our journey to Nonnenwerth I may
+      earn complete forgiveness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you are forgiven already, which is magnanimous of me, when you
+      recollect that the fault was wholly my own. I will join you in the
+      courtyard at once if I may.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. I shall be down there after I have given final
+      instructions to my men.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland arrived at the north window, and saw that the flotilla had already
+      departed. He could discern Ebearhard standing with his hand on the prow of
+      the remaining boat, so pulled up the rope, untied it from the ring to
+      which it was fastened, and threw it down to his lieutenant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A rope is always useful,&rdquo; he whispered, &ldquo;and we will
+      puzzle the good Pfalzgraf regarding our exit.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the courtyard he found the three women awaiting him. Quietly he drew
+      back the heavy bolts, and undid the stout chains. Holding the door
+      slightly ajar, he peered out at the scene on the landing, brightly
+      illuminated by numerous torches which the servants held aloft.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The men-at-arms were enjoying themselves hugely, and the great heap of
+      bales already on the rocks showed that they resolved not to leave even one
+      package on the barge. The fact that they stood in the light prevented
+      their seeing the exit of the quartette from the Castle, even had any been
+      on the outlook.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland swung the door wide, placed the ladder in exactly the same position
+      it had formerly occupied, assisted the three women to the ground, and then
+      led them round the western side of the Castle through the darkness to
+      Ebearhard and his skiff. Dipping their paddles with great caution, they
+      kept well out of the torchlight radius.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As they left the shadow of the Castle, and came within sight of the party
+      on the landing, they were somewhat startled by a lusty cheer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; said Ebearhard, &ldquo;they have discovered our barrels
+      of gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis very likely,&rdquo; replied Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Still,&rdquo; added Ebearhard consolingly, &ldquo;I think we have
+      made a good exchange. There appears to be more money in Stahleck&rsquo;s
+      bags than in our two barrels.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By the Three Kings!&rdquo; cried Roland, staring upstream, &ldquo;the
+      barge is getting away. They have looted her completely, and are giving her
+      a parting salute. The robbers evidently bear no malice against our popular
+      captain. Hear them inviting him to call again!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They listened to the rattle of the big chain. It was more amenable than
+      that at Furstenberg, confirming Roland in his belief that Stahleck was the
+      inventor of the device. They saw half a dozen men paying out a rope, while
+      the first section of the chain sank, leaving a passage-way for the barge.
+      Silhouetted against the torchlight, the boatmen were getting ready with
+      their sweeps, prepared to dip them into the water as soon as the vessel
+      got clear of the rocky island.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will paddle alongside before they begin to row,&rdquo; said
+      Roland; and Captain Blumenfels was gently hailed from the river, much to
+      his astonishment.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Make for the eastern bank, captain,&rdquo; whispered Roland,
+      &ldquo;and keep a lookout ahead for a number of small boats like this.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presently, rowing up the river strenuously, close to the shore, the barge
+      came upon the flotilla. Here Roland bade Hilda remain where she was, and
+      leaving Ebearhard in charge of the skiff, he clambered up on the barge,
+      ordering Greusel to range his boats alongside and fling aboard the
+      treasure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, captain, did his Excellency of Pfalz leave you anything at
+      all?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not a rag,&rdquo; replied the captain. &ldquo;The barge is empty as
+      a drum.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case there is nothing for it but a speedy return to
+      Frankfort. I do not regret the cloth, which has been paid for over and
+      over again, but I am mercenary enough to grudge Stahleck our two barrels
+      of gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, as to the gold,&rdquo; replied the captain gravely, &ldquo;I
+      took the liberty of reversing your plan at Lorch.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What plan?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your honor poured gold into wine barrels, but I poured the red wine
+      of Lorch into the gold barrels, and threw the empty cask overboard.
+      Perhaps you know that the Pfalzgraf grows excellent white wine round his
+      Castle of Stahleck, and despises the red wine of Lorch and Assmannshausen.
+      He tasted the wine, which had not been improved by being poured into the
+      dirty gold barrels, spat it out with an oath, and said we were welcome to
+      keep it. He has also promised to send me a cask of good white wine to
+      Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain, despite your quiet, unassuming manner, you are the most
+      ingenious of men.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, I but copied your honor&rsquo;s ingenuity.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;However it happened, you saved the gold, and that action alone will
+      make a rich man of you, for you must accept my third share of the money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By this time the bags had been heaved aboard. Greusel followed them, and
+      stood ready to receive further orders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will all make for Frankfort,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;keeping
+      close as possible to this side of the river. No man is to be allowed
+      ashore until you reach the capital. Captain, are there provisions enough
+      aboard for the voyage?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your honor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. Put every available person at the oars, and get past
+      Furstenberg before daybreak. My men, who have not had an opportunity to
+      distinguish themselves as warriors, will take their turn at the sweeps.
+      You and Ebearhard,&rdquo; he continued, turning to Greusel, &ldquo;will
+      employ the time in counting the money and making a fair division. With
+      regard to the two barrels, the captain will receive my third share, and
+      also be one of us in the apportionment of the gold we secured to-night. It
+      was through his thoughtfulness that the barrels were saved. Whatever
+      portion you find me entitled to, place in the keeping of the merchant,
+      Herr Goebel. And now I shall tie four bags to my belt for emergencies.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you not coming with us, Roland?&rdquo; asked Greusel anxiously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. Urgent business requires my presence in the neighborhood of
+      Bonn, but I shall meet you in the Kaiser cellar before a month is out.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Saying this, he shook hands with the captain and Greusel, and descended
+      into the small boat, bidding farewell to Ebearhard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Urge them,&rdquo; were his last words, &ldquo;to get well out of
+      sight of Pfalz and Furstenberg before the day breaks, and as for the small
+      boats, turn them loose; present them as a peace-offering to the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the darkness Prince Roland allowed his frail barque to float down the
+      stream, using his paddle merely to keep it toward the east, so to avoid
+      the chain. He found himself accompanied by a silent, spectral fleet; the
+      empty boats that his men had sent adrift. To all appearance the little
+      squadron lay motionless, while the dim Castle of Pfalz, with its score of
+      pointed turrets piercing a less dark sky, seemed like a great ship moving
+      slowly up the Rhine. When it had disappeared to the south, Roland ventured
+      to speak, in a low voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;tell your women so to arrange what
+      extra apparel you have brought to form a couch, where you may recline, and
+      sleep for the rest of the night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Captain Roland,&rdquo; she replied, her gentle little laugh
+      floating with so musical a cadence athwart the waters that he found
+      himself regretting such a sweet voice should be kept from the world by the
+      unappreciative walls of a convent,&mdash;&ldquo;Captain Roland, I was
+      never more awake than I am at this moment. Life has somehow become
+      unexpectedly interesting. I experience the deliciously guilty feeling of
+      belonging to a stealthy society of banditti. Do not, I beg of you, deprive
+      me of that pleasure by asking me to sleep.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In the morning, Madam, there will be little opportunity for rest.
+      We must put all the distance we can between ourselves and the Pfalzgraf
+      von Stahleck. I expect you to ride far and fast to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you intend, then, to abandon this boat?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I must, Madam. The river has been long so empty that this flotilla,
+      which I cannot shake off, being unaccustomed to oars or paddle, will
+      attract attention from both sides of the Rhine, and when the darkness
+      lifts we are almost certain to be stopped. The boats will be recognized as
+      belonging to the Pfalzgraf, and I wish to sever all connection between
+      this night&rsquo;s work and my own future.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What, then, do you propose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As soon as day breaks we will come to land, and allow our boat to
+      float away with the rest. Can you walk?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I love walking,&rdquo; cried the girl with enthusiasm. &ldquo;I ask
+      your pity for myself, immured in that windowless dungeon, situated on a
+      tiny point of rock; I, who have roamed the hills and explored the valleys
+      of my own land on foot, breathing the air of freedom with delight. Let me,
+      therefore, I beg of you, remain awake that I may taste the pleasure of
+      anticipation in my thoughts; or is such a wish disobedience on the part of
+      your first lieutenant? I do not mean it so, and will quietly cry myself to
+      sleep if you insist.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, Hilda,&rdquo; said Roland, laughing, and abandoning the
+      more formal title of &ldquo;madam,&rdquo; &ldquo;I am no such tyrant as
+      you suppose. Besides, your office of first lieutenant has lapsed, because
+      our men have all gone south, while we travel north.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then may I talk with you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing would please me better. I was thinking of your own welfare,
+      and not of my desire, when I counseled slumber.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I assure you I slept very well during the first part of the
+      night, for, there being nothing else to do, I went to bed early, and was
+      quite unconscious until the dreadful ringing of that alarm bell, which set
+      the whole Castle astir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why were you imprisoned?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because&mdash;because,&rdquo; she replied haltingly, &ldquo;I had
+      chosen the religious life, the which my guardian opposed. He appeared to
+      think that some experience of the rigors of the convent might make me less
+      eager to immure myself in a nunnery, which, like Pfalz Castle, is also on
+      a restricted island.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then his remedy has proved unavailing?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite. The Sisters will be very good to me, for I shall enrich
+      their convent with my wealth. &lsquo;Twill be vastly different from
+      incarceration in Pfalz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hilda, I doubt that. Captivity is captivity, under whatever name
+      you term it. I cannot understand why one who spoke so enthusiastically
+      just now of hills and valleys and liberty should take the irrevocable step
+      which you propose; a step that will rob you forever of those joys.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl remained silent, and he went on, speaking earnestly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think in one respect you are like myself. You love the murmur of
+      the trees, and the song of the running stream.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do, I do,&rdquo; she whispered, as if to herself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The air that blows around the mountain-top inspires you, and you
+      cannot view the hills on the horizon without wishing to explore them, and
+      learn what is on the other side.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was light enough for him to see that the girl&rsquo;s head sank into
+      her open hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You, I take it, have never been restricted by discipline.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Her head came up quickly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You think that because of what I said in the courtyard?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; my mind was running towards the future rather than to the past.
+      The rigor of strict rules would prove as irksome to you as would a cage to
+      a free bird of the forest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear you are in the right,&rdquo; she said with a sigh; and then,
+      impatiently, &ldquo;Oh, you do not understand the situation, and I cannot
+      explain! The convent is merely a retreat for me; the lesser of two evils
+      presented.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You spoke of your land. Where is that land?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you know Schloss Sayn?&rdquo; she asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sayn? Sayn?&rdquo; he repeated. &ldquo;Where have I heard that name
+      before, and recently too? I thought I knew every castle on the Rhine, but
+      I do not remember Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will find no fellow-craftsman there, Pirate Roland, if ever you
+      visit it. The Schloss is not on the Rhine, and, perhaps on that account,
+      rather than because of its owner&rsquo;s honesty, is free from the taint
+      you suggest. It stands high in the valley of the Saynbach, more than half
+      a league from this river.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, that accounts for my ignorance. I never saw Sayn Castle,
+      although I seem to have heard of it. Are you its owner?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I told you I was wealthy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is the Schloss situated?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Below Coblentz, on the eastern side of the river.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then why not let me take you there instead of to the convent?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Willingly, if you had brought your barge-load of armed men, but in
+      Sayn Castle I am helpless, commanding a peaceful retinue of servants who,
+      although devoted to me, are useless when it comes to defense.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot account for it,&rdquo; said Roland in meditative tone,
+      &ldquo;but the thought of that convent becomes more and more distasteful.
+      You will be free of your guardian, no doubt, but you merely exchange one
+      whom you know for another whom you don&rsquo;t, and that other a member of
+      your own sex.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you disparage my sex, then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; but I cannot imagine any man being discourteous to you. Surely
+      every gentleman with a sword by his side should spring at once to your
+      defense.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Captain Roland, you are very young, and, I fear, inexperienced,
+      despite your filibustering. However, this lovely, still, summer night,
+      with its warm, velvety darkness, was made for pleasant thoughts. Enough
+      about myself. Let me hear something of you. Did you come up the river or
+      down, with your barge?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We came down.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How long since you adopted a career of crime? You do not seem to be
+      a hardened villain.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Believe me,&rdquo; protested Roland earnestly, &ldquo;I am not, and
+      I do not admit that my career is one of crime.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed,&rdquo; said the girl, laughing again, &ldquo;I am not so
+      gullible as you think. I could almost fancy that you were the incendiary
+      of Furstenberg Castle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What!&rdquo; exclaimed Roland in consternation. &ldquo;How came you
+      to learn of its destruction?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There!&rdquo; cried the girl gleefully, &ldquo;you have all but
+      confessed. You are as startled as if I had said: &lsquo;I arrest you in
+      the name of the Emperor!&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who told you that Furstenberg Castle was burned?&rdquo; demanded
+      the young man sternly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yesterday morning there came swiftly down the river, with no less
+      than twelve oarsmen, a long, thin boat, traveling like the wind. It did
+      not pause at Pfalz, but the man standing in the stern hailed the Castle,
+      and shouted to the Pfalzgraf that Furstenberg had been burned by the
+      outlaws of the Hunsruck. He was on his way to Bonn to inform the
+      Archbishop of Cologne, and he carried also Imperial news for his Lordship:
+      tidings that the Emperor is dead.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dead!&rdquo; breathed Roland in horror, scarcely above his breath.
+      &ldquo;The Emperor dead! I wonder if that can be true.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Little matter whether it is true or no,&rdquo; said the girl
+      indifferently. &ldquo;He doubtless passed away in a drunken sleep, and I
+      am told his drunken son will be elected in his place.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam!&rdquo; said Roland harshly, awakened from his stupor by her
+      words, &ldquo;I must inform your ignorance that the Emperor&rsquo;s son is
+      not a drunkard, and, indeed, scarcely touches wine at all, being a most
+      strenuous opposer to its misuse. How can one so fair, and, as I believed,
+      so honest, repeat such unfounded slander?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you a partisan of his?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I come from Frankfort; have seen the Prince, and know I speak the
+      truth.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, well,&rdquo; replied the girl lightly, &ldquo;you and I will
+      not quarrel over his Highness. I accept your amendment, and will never
+      more bear false witness against him. After all, it makes slight difference
+      one way or the other. An Emperor goes, and an Emperor is elected in his
+      place as powerless as his predecessor. &lsquo;Tis the Archbishops who
+      rule.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You seem well versed in politics, Madam.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl leaned forward to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do not &lsquo;madam&rsquo; me, I beg of you, Roland. I dare say
+      rumor has prejudiced me against the young man, but I have promised not to
+      speak slightingly of him again. I wish this veil of darkness was lifted,
+      that I might see your face, to note the effect of anger. Do you know, I am
+      disappointed in you, Roland? You spoke in such level tones in the
+      courtyard that I thought anger was foreign to your nature.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not angry,&rdquo; said Roland gruffly, &ldquo;but I detest
+      malicious gossip.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, so do I, so do I! I spoke thoughtlessly. I will kneel to the
+      new Emperor and beg his pardon, if you insist.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland remained silent, and for a time they floated thus down the river,
+      she trailing her fingers in the water, which made a pleasant ripple
+      against them, looking up at him now and then. Perceptibly the darkness was
+      thinning. One seemed to smell morning in the air. A bird piped dreamily in
+      the forest at intervals, as if only half-awakened. The two women reclining
+      in the prow were sound asleep.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland picked up the paddle, and with a strong, sweeping stroke turned the
+      head of the boat towards the land. Now she could see his lowering brow,
+      and if the sight pleased her, &lsquo;twas not manifested in her next
+      remark.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She took her hand from the water, drew herself up proudly, and said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall not apologize to you again, and I hate your blameless
+      Prince!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam, I ask for no apology, and whether you hate or like the
+      Prince matters nothing to me, or, I dare say, to him, either.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cannot you even allow a woman her privilege of the last word?&rdquo;
+      she cried indignantly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland&rsquo;s brow cleared, and a smile came to his lips, as he remained
+      silent, thus bestowing upon her the prerogative she seemed to crave. Hilda
+      lay back in the prow of the boat between her sleeping women, with hands
+      clasped behind her head, and her eyes closed. More and more the light
+      increased, and sturdily with his paddle Roland propelled the boat towards
+      the shore, bringing it alongside the low bank at last. He sprang out on
+      the turf, and with the paddle in one hand held the boat to land with the
+      other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We are now,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;a short distance above St.
+      Goarhausen, where I hope to purchase horses. Will you kindly disembark?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl, without moving, or opening her eyes, said quietly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please throw the paddle into the boat again. I shall make for
+      Nonnenwerth in this craft, which is more comfortable than a saddle.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The paddle came rattling down upon the bottom of the skiff. Roland
+      stooped, and before she knew what he was about, took Hilda in his arms,
+      lifted her ashore, and laid her carefully on the grass.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come,&rdquo; he cried to the newly-awakened serving-women, &ldquo;tumble
+      out of that without further delay,&rdquo; and they obeyed him in haste.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He stepped into the skiff, flung their belongings on the sward, turned the
+      prow to the west, and, leaping ashore, bestowed a kick upon the boat that
+      impelled it like an arrow far out into the stream.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hilda was standing on her feet now, speechless with indignation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come along,&rdquo; urged Roland cheerfully, &ldquo;breakfast awaits
+      us when we earn it;&rdquo; but seeing that she made no move, the frown
+      furrowed his brow again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I tell you frankly that to be
+      thwarted by petulance annoys me. It happens that time is of the utmost
+      importance until we are much farther from Pfalz. If you think that the
+      ownership of wealth and a castle gives you the right to flout a plain,
+      ordinary man, you take a mistaken view of things. I care nothing for your
+      castle, or for your wealth. You may be a lady of title for aught I know,
+      but even that does not impress me. We must not stand here like two
+      quarrelsome children. I will conduct you to the Adler Inn at St.
+      Goarhausen, where I know from experience you will be taken care of. I
+      shall then purchase four horses, and return to the inn after you have
+      breakfasted. Three of these horses are at your disposal, also the fourth
+      and myself, if you will condescend to make use of us. If not, I shall ask
+      you to accept what money you need for your journey, so that you may travel
+      north unmolested, while I take my way in the other direction.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can I repay the money,&rdquo; she demanded, &ldquo;if I do not
+      know who and what you are?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall send for it, either to your Castle of Sayn, or the Convent
+      of Nonnenwerth. You need be under no obligation to me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; cried the girl with a sob, &ldquo;I am already under
+      obligation to you; an obligation which I cannot repay.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh yes, you can.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By coming with me, who will persuade you, as readily as you did
+      with your guardian, who coerced you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am an ungrateful simpleton,&rdquo; she murmured. &ldquo;Of course
+      your way is the right one, and I am quite helpless if you desert me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There,&rdquo; cried Roland, with enthusiasm, &ldquo;you have more
+      than repaid whatever you may owe.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After breakfasting at St. Goarhausen and purchasing the horses, they
+      journeyed down the rough road that extended along the right bank of the
+      Rhine. Roland and Hilda rode side by side, the other two following some
+      distance to the rear. The young man maintained a gloomy silence, and the
+      girl, misapprehending his thoughts, remained silent also, with downcast
+      eyes, seeing nothing of the beautiful scenery they were passing. Every now
+      and then Roland cast a sidelong glance at her, and his melancholy deepened
+      as he remembered how heedlessly he had pledged his word to the three
+      Archbishops regarding his marriage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see,&rdquo; she said at last, &ldquo;that I have offended you
+      more seriously than I feared.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no,&rdquo; he assured her. &ldquo;There is a burden that I
+      cannot cast from my mind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;May I know what it is?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dare not tell you, Hilda. I have been a fool. I am in the
+      position of a man who must break his oath and live dishonored, or keep it,
+      and remain for ever unhappy. Which would you do were you in my place?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Once given, I should keep my oath,&rdquo; she replied promptly,
+      &ldquo;unless those who accepted it would release me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland shook his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They will not release me,&rdquo; he said dolefully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again they rode together in silence, content to be near each other,
+      despite the young man&rsquo;s alternations of elation and despair. &lsquo;Twas,
+      all in all, a long summer&rsquo;s day of sweet unhappiness for each.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of Roland&rsquo;s reasons for choosing the right bank of the Rhine was
+      to avoid the important city of Coblentz, with its inevitable questioning,
+      and it was late afternoon when they saw this town on the farther shore,
+      passing it without hindrance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will rest this night,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;in my Castle of
+      Sayn, and then, as time is pressing, to-morrow you must return. We have
+      met no interference even by this dangerous route, and I shall make my way
+      alone without fear to Nonnenwerth, for I know you are anxious to be in
+      Frankfort once more.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I swear to you, Hilda, that if, without breaking my oath, I should
+      never see Frankfort again, I would be the most joyous of men.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Does your oath relate to Frankfort?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My oath relates to a woman,&rdquo; he said shortly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; she breathed, &ldquo;then you must keep it,&rdquo; and
+      so they fell into silence and unhappiness again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had talked of security on the road they traversed, but turning a
+      corner north of Vallandar they speedily found that a Rhine road is never
+      safe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Both reined in their horses as if moved by the same impulse, but to
+      retreat now would simply draw pursuit upon them. Mounted on a splendid
+      white charger, gorgeous with trappings, glittering with silver and gold,
+      rode a dignified man in the outdoor habit of a general in times of peace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Following him came an escort of twoscore horsemen; they in the full
+      panoply of war; and behind them, on foot, in procession extending like a
+      gigantic snake down the Rhine road, an army of at least three thousand
+      men, the setting sun flashing fire from the points of their spears. Here
+      and there, down the line, floated above them silken flags, and Roland
+      recognized the device on the foremost one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;God!&rdquo; he shouted in dismay. &ldquo;The Archbishop of Cologne!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl uttered a little frightened cry, and edged her horse nearer to
+      that of her escort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My guardian! My guardian!&rdquo; she breathed. &ldquo;I shall be
+      rearrested!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Seeing them standing as if stricken to stone, two horsemen detached
+      themselves from the cavalry and galloped forward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Make way there, you fools!&rdquo; cried the leader. &ldquo;Get ye
+      to the side; into the river; where you like; out of the path of my Lord
+      the Archbishop.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nevertheless Roland stood his ground, and dared even to frown at the
+      officers of his Lordship.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stand aside <i>you</i>,&rdquo; he commanded in a tone of mastery,
+      &ldquo;and do not venture to intrude between the Archbishop and me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The rider knew that no man who valued his head would dare use such
+      language in the very presence of the Archbishop, unless he were the
+      highest in the land. His dignified Lordship looked up to see the cause of
+      this interruption, and of these angry words.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First came into his face an expression of amazement, then a smile melted
+      the stern lips as he looked on Roland and recognized him. The impetuous
+      horsemen faded away to the background. There was no answering smile on
+      Roland&rsquo;s face. He reached out and clasped the hand of the girl.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, by the Three Kings!&rdquo; he whispered, &ldquo;I shall break
+      my oath.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hilda glanced up at him, frightened by his vehemence, wincing under his
+      iron grasp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An unexpected sound interrupted the tension. The Archbishop had come to a
+      stand, and &ldquo;Halt! Halt! Halt!&rdquo; rang out the word along the
+      line of men, whose feet ceased to stir the dust of the road. The
+      unexpected sound was that of hearty laughter from the dignified and mighty
+      Prince of the Church.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Forgive me, your Highness!&rdquo; he cried, &ldquo;but I laugh to
+      think of the countenances of my somber brothers, Treves and Mayence, when
+      they learn how sturdily you have kept your word with them. By the true
+      Cross, Prince Roland, although we wished you to marry her, we had no
+      thought that you would break into the Castle of Pfalz to win her hand. Ah,
+      dear, what a pity &lsquo;tis we grow old! The impetuousness of youth
+      outweighs the calculated wisdom of the three greatest prelates outside
+      Rome. Judging by your fair face (and I have always held it to be
+      beautiful, remember), you, Hildegunde Lauretta Priscilla Agnes, Countess
+      of Sayn, are not moving northward to Nonnenwerth. I always insisted that
+      the Saalhof at Frankfort was a more cheerful edifice than any nunnery on
+      the Rhine, yet you never turned upon me such a glance of confidence as I
+      see you bestow on your future Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope, my Lord and Guardian,&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;that I
+      have met you in time to deflect your course to my Castle of Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sweet Countess, I thank you for the invitation. My men can go on to
+      their camp in the stronghold of my brother of Mayence, Schloss
+      Martinsburg, and I shall gladly return with you to the hospitable hearth
+      of Sayn. Indeed,&rdquo; said the Archbishop, lowering his voice, &ldquo;I
+      shall feel safer there than in enjoying the hospitality I had intended to
+      accept.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you not surprised to meet me?&rdquo; asked the lady, with a
+      laugh, adjusting words and manner to the new situation, which she more
+      quickly comprehended than did her companion, who glanced with bewilderment
+      from Countess to prelate, and back again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop waved his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing you could do would surprise me, since your interview with
+      the Court of Archbishops. I am on my way to Frankfort.&rdquo; Then, more
+      seriously, to Prince Roland: &ldquo;You heard of your father&rsquo;s
+      death?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I learned it only this morning, my Lord. I shall return to
+      Frankfort when I am assured that this gentlewoman is in a place of safety.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Countess, there will be no lack of safety now! But will you not
+      ease an old man&rsquo;s conscience by admitting he was in the right?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess looked up at Roland with a smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, dear Guardian,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;You were in the right.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XVII. &ldquo;FOR THE EMPRESS, AND NOT FOR THE EMPIRE&rdquo;
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      While the long line of troops stood at salute in single file, the
+      Archbishop turned his horse to the north and rode past his regiments,
+      followed by the Countess and Roland. His Lordship was accompanied to the
+      end of the ranks by his general, who received final instructions regarding
+      the march.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will encamp for the night not at Schloss Martinsburg, as I had
+      intended, but a league or two up the Lahn. To-morrow morning continue your
+      march along the Lahn as far as Limburg, and there await my arrival. We
+      will enter Frankfort by the north gate instead of from the west.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop sat on his horse for some minutes, watching the departing
+      force, then called Roland to his right hand, and Hildegunde to his left,
+      and thus the three set out on the short journey to Sayn.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness,&rdquo; began the Archbishop, &ldquo;I find myself in
+      a position of some embarrassment. I think explanations are due to me from
+      you both. Here I ride between two escaped prisoners, and I travel away
+      from, instead of towards, their respective dungeons. My plain duty, on
+      encountering you, was to place you in custody of a sufficient guard,
+      marching you separately the one to Pfalz and the other to Ehrenfels.
+      Having accomplished this I should report the case to my two colleagues,
+      yet here am I actually compounding a misdemeanor, and assisting prisoners
+      to escape.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord,&rdquo; spoke up Roland, &ldquo;I am quite satisfied that
+      my own imprisonment has been illegal, therefore I make no apology for
+      circumventing it. Before entering upon any explanation, I ask
+      enlightenment regarding the detention of my lady of Sayn. Am I right in
+      surmising that she, like myself, was placed under arrest by the three
+      Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your Highness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On what charge?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;High treason.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Against whom?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a pause, during which the Archbishop did not reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I need not have asked such a question,&rdquo; resumed the Prince,
+      &ldquo;for high treason can relate only to the monarch. In what measure
+      has her ladyship encroached upon the prerogative of the Emperor?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness forgets that there is such a thing as treason against
+      the State.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are not members of the nobility privileged in this matter?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They cannot be, for the State is greater than any individual.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall make a note of that, my Lord of Cologne. I believe you are
+      in the right, and I hope so. During my lonely incarceration,&rdquo; the
+      Prince laughed a little, &ldquo;I have studied the condition of the State,
+      arriving at the conclusion that the greatest traitors in our land are the
+      three Archbishops, who, arrogating to themselves power that should belong
+      to the Crown, did not use that power for suppressing those other
+      treason-mongers, the Barons of the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What would you have us do with them?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You should disarm them. You should exact restitution of their
+      illegally-won wealth. You should open the Rhine to honest commerce.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is easy to enunciate, and difficult to perform. If the Castles
+      were disarmed, especially those on the left bank, a great injustice would
+      be done that might lead to the extinction of many noble families. Why, the
+      forests of Germany are filled with desperate outlaws, who respect neither
+      life nor property. I myself have suffered but recently from their
+      depredations. In broad daylight an irresistible band of these ruffians
+      descended upon and captured the supposed impregnable Castle of Rheinstein,
+      shamefully maltreating Baron Hugo von Hohenfels, tying him motionless, and
+      nearly strangling him with stout ropes, after which the scoundrels robbed
+      him of every stiver he possessed. The following midnight but one they
+      descended on Furstenberg, a fief of my own, and not contenting themselves
+      with robbery, brought red ruin on the Margrave by burning his Castle to
+      the ground.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, red ruin and the Red Margrave were made for each other. It
+      was the justice of God that they should meet.&rdquo; The young man raised
+      aloft his swordarm, shaking his clenched fist at the sky. &ldquo;That hand
+      held the torch that fired Furstenberg. The Castle was taken and burned by
+      three sword makers from Frankfort, who never saw the Hunsruck or the
+      outlaws thereof.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop reined in his horse, and looked at the excited young man
+      with amazement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;<i>You</i> fired Furstenberg?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; and effectively, my Lord. I shall rebuild it for you, but the
+      Red Margrave I shall hang, as my predecessor Rudolph did his ancestor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An expression of sternness hardened the Archbishop&rsquo;s face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sir,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I regret to hear you speak like this,
+      and your safety lies in the fact that I do not believe a word of it. Even
+      so, such wild words fill me with displeasure. I beg to remind you that the
+      Election of an Emperor has not yet taken place, and I, for one, am likely
+      to reconsider my decision. Still, as I said, I do not believe a word of
+      your absurd tale.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I believe every syllable of it!&rdquo; cried the Countess with
+      enthusiasm, &ldquo;and glory that there is a mind brave enough, and a hand
+      obedient to it, to smoke out a robber and a murderer.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The tension this astonishing revelation caused was relieved by a laugh
+      from the Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Hildegunde, you are forgetting your own ancestors. I
+      venture that no woman of the House of Sayn talked thus when the Emperor
+      Rudolph marched Count von Sayn to the scaffold. You would probably sing
+      another song if asked to restore the millions amassed by Henry III. of
+      Sayn and his successors; all accumulated by robbery as cruel as any that
+      the Red Margrave has perpetrated.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord,&rdquo; said the Countess proudly, &ldquo;you had no need
+      to ask that question, for you knew the answer to it before you spoke.
+      Every thaler I control shall be handed over to Prince Roland, to be used
+      for the regeneration of his country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the Archbishop laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely I knew that, my dear, and I should not have said what I did.
+      I suppose you will not allow me to vote against his Highness at the coming
+      Election.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, you shall vote enthusiastically for him, because you know
+      in your own heart he is the man Germany needs.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was there ever such a change of front?&rdquo; cried the Archbishop.
+      &ldquo;Why, my dear, the charges you so hotly made against his Highness
+      are as nothing to what he has himself confessed; yet now he is the savior
+      of Germany, when previously&mdash;Ah, well, I must not play the
+      tale-bearer.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; cried the girl, &ldquo;my kinsman, Father
+      Ambrose, said he met you in Frankfort, although now I believe him to have
+      been mistaken.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh no; I encountered the good Father on the bridge.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There now!&rdquo; exclaimed the Archbishop, &ldquo;what do you say
+      to that, my lady?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She seemed perplexed by the admission, but quickly replied to his
+      Lordship:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Twas you said that could not be, as he was a close prisoner
+      in Ehrenfels.&rdquo; She continued, addressing the Prince: &ldquo;Father
+      Ambrose asserted that you were a companion of drinkers and brawlers in a
+      low wine cellar of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite true; a score of them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl became more and more perplexed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you imprison Father Ambrose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; in the lowest wine cellar, but only for a day or two. I am
+      very sorry, Madam, but it was a stern necessity of war. He was meddling
+      with affairs he knew nothing of, and there was no time for explanations.
+      He, a man of peace, would not have sanctioned what there was to do even if
+      I had explained.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He says,&rdquo; continued the girl, &ldquo;that he saw you rob a
+      merchant of a bag of gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is untrue!&rdquo; cried the Prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Hildegunde, what is the robbing of a bag of gold from a
+      merchant when he admits having stolen gold by the castle full?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I robbed no merchant,&rdquo; protested the Prince. &ldquo;How could
+      Father Ambrose make such a statement?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He mounted an outside stairway on the Fahrgasse, and through
+      lighted windows on the opposite side saw you place the point of your sword
+      at the throat of an unarmed merchant, and take from him a bag of gold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland, whose brow had been knitted into an angry frown, now threw back
+      his head and laughed joyously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, that was a mere frolic,&rdquo; he alleged.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was the girl&rsquo;s turn to frown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When you took stolen treasure from thievish Barons and Margraves
+      protected by scores of armed men, with the object of breaking their power,
+      for the relief of commerce, I admired you, but to say that the despoiling
+      of a helpless merchant is a frolic&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, my dear, you do not understand,&rdquo; eagerly corrected
+      the Prince, unconscious of the affectionate phrase that caused a flush to
+      rise in the cheeks of his listener. &ldquo;The merchant was, and is, my
+      partner; a blameless man, Herr Goebel, who came near to being hanged on my
+      behalf when these Archbishops took me captive. I sought from him a
+      thousand thalers; he insisted on learning my plans for opening the Rhine,
+      and still would not give the money until, reluctantly, I was obliged to
+      confess myself son of the Emperor. This he could not credit, stipulating
+      that before giving the money I must produce for him a safe-conduct, signed
+      by the Emperor, and verified by the Great Seal of the Empire. This
+      document I obtained at dire personal risk, through the aid of my mother.
+      Here it is.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He thrust his hand into his doublet, and produced the parchment in
+      question, delivering it to the lady, who, however, did not unfold it, but
+      kept her eyes fixed upon him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This distrust annoyed me; it should not have done so, for he was
+      merely acting in the cautious manner natural to a merchant. With a
+      boyishness I now regret, I put my sword to his throat, demanding the
+      money, which I received. I took only half of it, for my mother had given
+      me five hundred thalers. Oh, no; I did not rob my friend Goebel, but
+      merely tried to teach him that lack of faith is a dangerous thing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If the old man who listened could have exchanged confidences with the
+      young woman who listened, he would have learned they shared the same
+      thought, which was that the young Prince spoke so straight-forwardly
+      neither doubted him for a moment. The old man, it is true, felt that his
+      talk was rather reckless of consequences, but, on the other hand, this in
+      itself was complimentary, for, as he remembered, the Prince had been
+      cautious enough when catechized by the three Archbishops together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have often read,&rdquo; said Cologne, with a smile, &ldquo;pathetic
+      accounts of prisoners, who in extreme loneliness carved their names over
+      and over again on stone as hard as the jailer&rsquo;s heart, but your
+      Highness seems rather to have enjoyed yourself while so cruelly interned.
+      May I further beg of you to enlighten us concerning a somewhat bibulous
+      youth who at the present moment is enjoying, in every sense of the word,
+      the hospitality of Ehrenfels Castle?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was now the Archbishop&rsquo;s turn to astonish the Prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You knew of my device, then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Knew&rsquo; is a little too strong. &lsquo;Suspect&rsquo;
+      more nearly fits the case. You won over your jailer, and some one else
+      took your place as prisoner.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; a young man to whom I owe small thanks, and with whom I have
+      an account to settle. He is son of the custodian, and thinks he has us
+      both under his thumb, Heinrich drinks as if he were a fish or a Baron, but
+      I shall cure him of that habit before it becomes firmly established.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Am I correct in assuming that you found your liberty only after
+      your interview with the three Electors?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, bless you, no! I was free months before that time. Indeed, it
+      is only since then that my substitute is practically useless. Heinrich
+      might have passed for me at a pinch, but only because neither you nor your
+      colleagues had seen me. I have kept him under lock and key ever since,
+      because I dare not allow him abroad until the Election has taken place.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see. A very wise precaution. Well, your Highness, I shall say
+      nothing of what you tell me; furthermore, I still promise you my vote;
+      that is, if you will obey my orders until you are elected Emperor. I
+      foresee we are not going to have the easy time with you that was
+      anticipated, but this concerns Mayence and Treves, rather than myself, for
+      I have no ambition to rule by proxy. And now, my lady of Sayn, when we
+      journeyed southward that day from Gutenfels Castle I gave you some
+      information regarding the mind of Mayence. You remember, perhaps, what I
+      said about his quandary. I rather suspect that he admires you,
+      notwithstanding your defiance of him; but there is nothing remarkable in
+      that, for we all appreciate you, old and young. I, too, carry a document
+      of safe-conduct, like Prince Roland here, although I see that his Highness
+      has placed his safety in your hands.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The old man smiled, and Hildegunde found herself still carrying the
+      parchment Roland had given her. For a moment she was confused, then smiled
+      also, and offered it back; but the Prince shook his head. The Archbishop
+      went on:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mayence sent down to me your written release, signed by himself and
+      Treves. He asked me to attach a signature, and liberate you on my way to
+      Frankfort, which I intended to do had this impetuous young man not
+      forestalled me. By the way, Highness, how did you happen to meet Countess
+      von Sayn in Pfalz?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will tell you about that later, Guardian,&rdquo; said
+      Hildegunde, before Roland could speak. &ldquo;What instructions did his
+      Lordship of Mayence give concerning me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He asked me to bring you to my palace in Frankfort, and subtly
+      expressed the hope you had changed your mind.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may assure him I have,&rdquo; said the Countess, again speaking
+      rapidly; &ldquo;but let us leave all details of that for the moment. I am
+      then to go with you to the capital?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; to-morrow morning.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To remain until the coronation?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Certainly; if such is your wish. But do you not see something very
+      significant in my brother Mayence&rsquo;s change of plan, for you know he
+      did not intend to release you until after that event?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, yes,&rdquo; replied the Countess breathlessly. &ldquo;I see it
+      quite clearly, but do not wish to discuss the matter at the present
+      moment.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. I intended to enter Frankfort from the west, but meeting
+      you so unexpectedly, I have deflected my troops up the Lahn to Limburg, at
+      which town we will join them to-morrow night, thus following Father
+      Ambrose&rsquo;s route to the capital.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, that will be very interesting. Prince Roland, you accompany us,
+      I hope?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of a surety,&rdquo; replied the young man confidently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; quietly said the Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because I say no.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man almost an Emperor drew himself up proudly, and his lips
+      pressed together into a firm line of determination.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Does your Highness so quickly forget your promise?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What promise?&rdquo; asked the Prince, scowling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In consideration of my keeping silence touching your recent
+      outrageous career of fire and slaughter, and the enslavement of Heinrich,
+      you promised to obey me until you became Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I intend to obey all reasonable requests, but I very much desire to
+      accompany the Countess from her Castle to the capital, I have never seen
+      Limburg, or taken that route to Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is a charming old city,&rdquo; replied the Archbishop dryly,
+      &ldquo;which you can visit any time at the expense of a day&rsquo;s ride.
+      Meanwhile, I shall escort the Countess thither, and endeavor to entertain
+      her with pleasing and instructive conversation during the journey.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince continued to frown, yet bit his lip and repressed an angry
+      retort.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But,&rdquo; protested the girl, &ldquo;would it not be much safer
+      for his Highness to enter the city of Frankfort protected by your army?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop laughed a little.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Hildegunde, the presence of Prince Roland causes you to
+      overlook a vast difference in the status of you both, but surely the
+      exercise of a little imagination should present to you the true aspect of
+      affairs. You are a free woman, and I hold the document by which you
+      regained your liberty. Do not be deluded, therefore, by the apparent fact
+      that his Highness can raise a clenched fist aloft and defy the heavens. It
+      is not so. He wears fetters on his ankles, and manacles round his wrists.
+      Roland is a prisoner, and must straightway immure himself. Your Highness,
+      before us stands the stately Castle of Sayn, where presently you shall
+      refresh yourself, and be furnished with an untired charger, on which to
+      ride all night, that you may reach the gates of Ehrenfels early to-morrow
+      morning. Once there, place the wine-loving Heinrich out of harm in the
+      deepest dungeon, and take his place as prisoner. It is arranged that the
+      three Archbishops personally escort you to Frankfort in the barge of
+      Mayence, which will land you at the water-steps of the Royal Palace. If it
+      were known that I had been even an hour in your company your chances of
+      reaching the throne would be seriously jeopardized.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely such haste is unnecessary,&rdquo; cried the girl. &ldquo;He
+      can set out to-morrow in one direction while we go in another. He traveled
+      all last night, and for most part of it was paddling a boat containing
+      four people; has ridden almost since daylight, and now to journey on
+      horseback throughout the night is too much for human endurance.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The grave smile of the Archbishop shone upon her anxiety.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For lack of a nail the shoe was lost,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and
+      you know the remainder of the warning. If Prince Roland cares to risk an
+      Empire for a night&rsquo;s rest, I withdraw my objection.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince suddenly wheeled his horse, and coming briskly round to the
+      side of the girl, placed a hand on hers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A decision, Countess!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;Give me your
+      decision. I shall always obey you!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, the rashness of youth!&rdquo; murmured the Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl looked up at the young man, and he caught his breath and clasped
+      her hand more tightly as he gazed into the depths of her glorious eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must go,&rdquo; she sighed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, alas!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He raised her unresisting hand to his lips, and again turned his horse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will obey?&rdquo; asked the Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will obey, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He flashed from its scabbard, into the rays of the setting sun, the sword
+      he had made, and elevating the hilt to his forehead, saluted the
+      Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall see you at Ehrenfels, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, do not go thus. Come to the Castle for an hour&rsquo;s rest at
+      least.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man whirled his sword around, and caught it by the blade,
+      touching the hilt with his lips as if it were a cross.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank God,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;that I can willingly keep my
+      oath.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, looking at the girl&mdash;&ldquo;For the Empress, and not for the
+      Empire!&rdquo; he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sword seemed to drop into the scabbard of its own accord, as Roland
+      set spurs to his steed and away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XVIII. THE SWORD MAKER AT BAY
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The heir-presumptive to the throne reached Frankfort very quietly in the
+      Archbishop&rsquo;s barge, and was landed after nightfall at the
+      water-steps of the Imperial Palace. The funeral of the Emperor took place
+      almost as if it were a private ceremonial. Grave trouble had been
+      anticipated, and the route of the procession for the short distance
+      between Palace and Cathedral was thickly lined on either side by the
+      troops of the three Archbishops. This precaution proved unnecessary. The
+      dispirited citizens cared nothing for their late nominal ruler, and they
+      manifested their undisguised hatred of the real rulers, the Archbishops,
+      by keeping indoors while their soldiers marched the streets.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The condition of the capital was unique. It suffered from a famine of
+      money rather than a famine of food. Frankfort starved in the midst of
+      plenty. Never had the earth been more fruitful than during this year, and
+      the coming autumn promised a harvest that would fill the granaries to
+      overflowing, yet no one brought in food to Frankfort, for the common
+      people had not the money to buy. The working population depended entirely
+      upon the merchants and manufacturers, and with the collapse of mercantile
+      business thousands were thrown out of employment, and this penniless mob
+      was augmented by the speedy cessation of all manufacturing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After the futile bread riots earlier in the year, put down so drastically
+      by the Archbishops, the population of the city greatly diminished, and the
+      country round about swarmed with homeless wanderers, who at least were
+      sure of something to eat, but being city-bred, and consequently useless
+      for agricultural employment, they gradually joined into groups and
+      marauding bands, greatly to the menace of the provinces they traversed.
+      Indeed, rumor had it that the robberies from certain castles on the Rhine,
+      and the burning of Furstenberg, were the work of these free companies,
+      consequently a sense of uneasiness permeated the Empire, whose rulers,
+      great and small, began to foresee that a continuance of this state of
+      things meant disaster to the rich as well as misery to the poor. Charity,
+      spasmodic and unorganized, proved wholly unable to cope with the disaster
+      that had befallen the capital city.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When darkness set in on the third night after Roland&rsquo;s return to
+      Frankfort, he made his way out into the unlighted streets, acting with
+      caution until certain he was not followed, then betook himself to the
+      Palace belonging to the Archbishop of Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The porter at first refused him entrance, and Roland, not wishing to make
+      himself known, declared he had an appointment with his Lordship. Trusting
+      that the underling could not read, he presented his parchment
+      safe-conduct, asking him to give that to his Lordship, with a message that
+      the bearer awaited his pleasure. The suspicious servant, seeing the Grand
+      Seal of the Empire upon the document, at once conducted Roland to a room
+      on the ground floor, then departed with the manuscript to find his master.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop returned with him, the Imperial scroll in his hand, and a
+      distinctly perceptible frown on his brow. When the servant withdrew,
+      closing the door, the prelate said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Highness, this is a very dangerous procedure on your part.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, my Lord?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Because you are certain to have been followed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What matter for that?&rdquo; asked the young man. &ldquo;I am quite
+      unknown in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; said the Archbishop gravely, &ldquo;until
+      your Election is actually accomplished, you would be wise to do nothing
+      that might arouse the suspicion of Mayence. This house is watched night
+      and day, and all who come and go are noted. I dare say that within fifteen
+      minutes Mayence will know you have visited me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Archbishop, they cannot note an unknown man. The uneasiness
+      of Frankfort has already taken hold of me, and therefore I saw to it that
+      I was not followed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you were not followed when you came, you will certainly be
+      followed as you return.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case, my Lord, the spies will track me to the innocent home
+      of Herr Goebel, the merchant, in the Fahrgasse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They will shadow you when you leave his house.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then their industry will be rewarded by an enjoyable terminus; in
+      other words, the drinking cellar of the Rheingold.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be assured, your Highness, that ultimately you will be traced to
+      the Royal Palace.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again not so, my Lord. They will be led across the bridge into the
+      mechanics&rsquo; quarter of Sachsenhausen, and if the watch continues,
+      they must make a night of it, for I shall enter my humble room there and
+      go to bed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see you have it all planned out,&rdquo; commented the discomfited
+      Archbishop.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I anticipate an interesting life, my Lord, because it is my habit
+      to think before I act, and I notice that this apparently baffles the
+      Electors. The truth is that you three are so subtle, and so much afraid of
+      one another, so on the alert lest you be taken by surprise, that a
+      straightforward action on my part throws all intrigue out of gear. Now, I&rsquo;ll
+      warrant you cannot guess why I came here to-night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I know the reason very well.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you? That astonishes me. What is the reason?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You came to see the Countess von Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, is the lady within? Why, of course, she must be. I remember
+      now, she was to accompany you to Frankfort, and it naturally follows she
+      is your guest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She is my guest, your Highness, and one reason why you cannot see
+      her is because at this moment the lady converses with the Count Palatine,
+      who has just arrived from Gutenfels. As the Countess and myself enjoyed
+      his hospitality not long ago in that stronghold, I have invited him to be
+      my guest until the coronation ceremonies are completed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, I regret that your hospitality halts when it reaches your
+      future Emperor. Why may I not be introduced to the Count Palatine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Such introduction must not take place except in the presence of the
+      other Electors. I am very anxious, as you may perceive, that nothing shall
+      be done to jeopardize your own prospects. We have arrived, your Highness,
+      at a critical moment. History relates that more than one candidate has
+      come to the very steps of the throne, only to be rejected at the last
+      moment. I am too sincere a friend to risk such an outcome in your own
+      case.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then you think it injudicious of me to see the Countess until after
+      the Election?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I not only think it injudicious, your Highness, but I intend to
+      prevent a meeting.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the young man laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis blessed then that I came for no such purpose; otherwise
+      I might be deeply disappointed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For what purpose did you come, Highness?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Imperial Palace, my Lord, belongs no more to my mother. If she
+      or I continue there to reside, we seem to be taking for granted that I
+      shall be elected Emperor; an assumption unfair to the seven Electors,
+      whose choice should be untrammeled by even a hint of influence. I beg of
+      you, therefore, my Lord, to extend your hospitality to my mother. I have
+      spoken to her on this subject, and she will gladly be your guest, happy, I
+      am sure, to forsake that gloomy abode.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am honored, your Highness, by the opportunity you give me. I
+      shall wait upon the Empress to-morrow at whatever hour it is convenient
+      for her Majesty to receive me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are most kind. I suggested that she should name an hour, and
+      midday was chosen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop bowed profoundly. The young man rose, and held out his
+      hand, which the Archbishop took with cordiality. The Prince looked very
+      straight-forwardly at his host, and the latter thought he detected a
+      twinkle in his eye, as he said with decision:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To-morrow I shall formally notify my Lord of Mayence that the
+      Empress has chosen your Palace as her place of residence until after the
+      coronation, and I shall request his Lordship to crave your permission that
+      I may call here every day to see my mother.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again Cologne bowed, and made no further protest, although Roland
+      seemingly expected one, but as it did not come, the Prince continued:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here is my address in Sachsenhausen, should you wish a
+      communication to reach me in haste; and kindly command your porter not to
+      parley when I again demand speech with your Lordship. Good-night. I thank
+      you, my Lord, for your courtesy,&rdquo; and the energetic youth
+      disappeared before the slow-thinking Archbishop could call up words with
+      which to reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cologne did not immediately rejoin his guests, but stood a very figure of
+      perplexity, muttering to himself:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If our friend Mayence thinks that youngster is to be molded like
+      soft clay, he is very much mistaken. I hope Roland will not cause him to
+      feel the iron hand too soon. I wonder why Mayence is delaying the
+      Election? Can it be that already he distrusts his choice, or is it the
+      question of a wife?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile the front door of the Archbishop&rsquo;s Palace had clanged
+      shut, and Roland strode across the square careless or unconscious of
+      spies, looking neither to the right nor to the left. He made his way
+      speedily to the Fahrgasse, walking down that thoroughfare until he came to
+      Herr Goebel&rsquo;s door, where he knocked, and was admitted. Ushered into
+      the room where he had parted from the merchant, he found Herr Goebel
+      seated at his table as if he had never left it. The merchant, with a cry
+      of delight, greeted the young man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Herr Goebel, you see I have been a successful trafficker.
+      Your bales of goods are all in Castle Pfalz, and I trust the barge
+      returned safely to you with the money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It did indeed, your Highness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Has the coin been counted?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; and it totals an enormous, almost unbelievable, sum, which I
+      have set down here to the last stiver.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is brave news. Have any demands been made on you for its
+      partition?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, your Highness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, Herr Goebel, I have determined that all that money, which is
+      in effect stolen property, shall go to the feeding of Frankfort&rsquo;s
+      poor. Buying provender shrewdly, how long would this treasure keep hunger
+      away from the gates of Frankfort?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That requires some calculation, your Highness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A month?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Surely so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Two months, perhaps?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis likely; but I deal in cloth, not in food, and therefore
+      cannot speak definitely without computation and the advice of those expert
+      in the matter.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well, Herr Goebel; get your computations made as soon as
+      possible. Call together your merchants&rsquo; guild, and ask its members&mdash;By
+      the way,&rdquo; said Roland, suddenly checking himself, &ldquo;give to me
+      in writing the amount of gold I have sent you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The unsuspecting merchant did so, and Roland&rsquo;s eyes opened with
+      astonishment when he glanced at the total. He then placed the paper in the
+      wallet he carried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You were perhaps about to suggest that a committee be appointed,&rdquo;
+      ventured the merchant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; a small but capable committee, of which you shall be chairman
+      and treasurer. But first you will ask the merchants to subscribe, out of
+      their known wealth, a sum equaling the gold I filched from the Barons.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The merchant&rsquo;s face fell, and took on a doleful expression.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The times, your Highness, have long been very bad, none of us
+      making money&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince held up his hand, and the merchant ceased his plaint.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I can strip a Baron of his wealth,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I will
+      not waste words over the fleecing of merchants. This contribution is to be
+      given in the name of the three Archbishops, whose heavy hands came down on
+      you after the late insurrection. The Archbishops have now nine thousand
+      troops in Frankfort. If given leave, they will collect the sum three times
+      over within a very few hours; so you, as chairman of the committee, may
+      decide whether the fund shall be a voluntary contribution or an impost
+      gathered by soldiery: it matters nothing to me. Have it proclaimed
+      throughout the city that owing to the graciousness of the three
+      Archbishops starvation is now at an end in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Highness, with your permission, and all due deference, it seems
+      rather unjust that we should contribute the cash and lose the credit.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Herr Goebel; this is a very unjust world, as doubtless many of
+      the starving people thought when they recollected that a few hundred of
+      you possessed vast wealth while they were penniless. Nevertheless, there
+      are good times ahead for all of us. Let me suggest that this money which I
+      sent to you may prove sufficient and so the subscriptions of the merchants
+      can be returned to them; that is, if the relief fund is honestly
+      administered. So set to work early to-morrow with energy. You merchants
+      have had a long vacation. I think the Rhine will be open before many weeks
+      are past, and then you can turn to your money-making, but our first duty
+      is to feed the hungry. Good-night, Herr Goebel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He left the merchant as dazed as was the Archbishop. Once again outside he
+      made directly for the wine cellar of the Rheingold. On reaching the steps
+      he heard a roar of talk, lightened now and then by the sound of laughter.
+      He paused a moment before descending. It was evident that the company was
+      enjoying itself, and Roland soliloquized somewhat sadly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am the disturbing element in that group. They seem to agree
+      famously when by themselves. Ah, well, no matter. They will soon be rid of
+      me!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When Roland descended the stair, the proprietor greeted him with joy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have missed you, Herr Roland,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;so you may
+      imagine how much the guild has regretted your absence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; I hear them bemoaning their fate.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The inn-keeper laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many are here to-night?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is a full house, Sir Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Really? Are Kurzbold and Gensbein within?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes; and there is no scarcity of money, thanks to you, I
+      understand.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Rather, our thanks are for ever due to you, Herr Host, for
+      sustaining us so long when we were penniless. We shall never forget that,&rdquo;
+      and so with a semi-military salute to the gratified cellar-man, Roland
+      pushed open the door and entered the banqueting room of the iron-workers&rsquo;
+      guild. An instant silence fell on the group.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good evening to you, gentlemen,&rdquo; said the Prince, taking off
+      his hat, and with a twist of his shoulders flinging the cloak from them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Instantly arose a great cheer, and Greusel, who occupied the chair at the
+      head of the table, strode forward, took Roland&rsquo;s hat and cloak, and
+      hung them up. After that he attempted to lead their Captain to the seat of
+      honor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, my dear lieutenant,&rdquo; said Roland, placing his hand
+      affectionately on the other&rsquo;s shoulder, &ldquo;a better man than I
+      occupies the chair, and shall never be displaced by me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The others, now on their feet, with the exception of Kurzbold and
+      Gensbein, vociferously demanded that Roland take the chair. Smilingly he
+      shook his head, and holding up his hand for silence, addressed them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take your seats, comrades; and, Greusel, if you force me to give a
+      command, I order you into that chair without further protest.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel, with evident reluctance, obeyed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Truth to tell, brothers, I have but a few moments to stop. I merely
+      dropped in to enjoy a sip of wine with you, and to offer a proposal that,
+      within five minutes, will make me the most unpopular man in this room,
+      therefore you see my wisdom in refusing a chair from which I should be
+      very promptly ejected.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One of the members poured a tankard full of wine from a flagon, and handed
+      it to Roland, who, saluting the company, drank.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You did not divide the money, Greusel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Roland. We gave each man five hundred thalers, to keep as best
+      he might. We then concealed the rest of the gold between the bottom of the
+      boat and its inner planking. Ebearhard and I construed your orders
+      somewhat liberally, conceiving it was your desire to get our treasure and
+      ourselves safely into Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite right,&rdquo; corroborated Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When morning came upon us, we soon discovered that the whole
+      country was aroused, because of the destruction of Furstenberg and the
+      looting of Sonneck. No one knew where the next raid would strike, and
+      therefore the whole country-side was in a turmoil. Now, the only fact
+      known to the despoiled was that a long black barge had appeared in front
+      of the Castle while the attack was made from behind. We realized that it
+      would be impossible for us to go up the river except in darkness, so in
+      case of a search we concealed the treasure where it was not likely to be
+      come at, and each day lay quiet at an unfrequented part of the river,
+      rowing all night. Not until we reached the Main did we venture on a
+      daylight voyage. It was agreed among us unanimously that the money should
+      be placed in Herr Goebel&rsquo;s keeping until you returned.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was all excellently done,&rdquo; commented Roland. &ldquo;I
+      have just been to see Herr Goebel, and was surprised to learn how much we
+      had actually taken. And now I ask you to make a great sacrifice. This city
+      is starving. If we give that gold to its relief, the merchants of
+      Frankfort will contribute an equal amount. I do not know how long such a
+      total will keep the wolves from the doors of Frankfort; probably for six
+      months. I shall learn definitely to-morrow.&rdquo; Here Roland outlined
+      his plan of relief, which was received in silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold spoke up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should like to know how much the total is?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is a matter with which you have nothing to do,&rdquo; growled
+      Greusel; then, turning to Roland, who had not yet taken a seat, he said:
+      &ldquo;So far as my share is concerned, I agree.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I agree,&rdquo; added Ebearhard; and so it went down along each
+      side of the table until eighteen had spoken.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kurzbold rose with a smile on his face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how it is, ex-Captain, that the moment you come
+      among us there seems to arise a spirit of disputation.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Curiously enough, Herr Kurzbold, that same thought arose in my mind
+      as I listened to your hilarity before I entered. I beg to add, for your
+      satisfaction, that this is my last visit to the guild, and never again
+      shall I disturb its harmony.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is no lack of harmony,&rdquo; cried Ebearhard, laughing, as
+      he rose. &ldquo;The agreement has been practically unanimous&mdash;quite
+      unanimous in fact, among those entitled to share in the great treasure. I
+      believe Herr Kurzbold has a claim, if it has not been forfeited, to the
+      loot of Rheinstein.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, even the genial Ebearhard,&rdquo; continued Kurzbold, &ldquo;although
+      his words are blameless, speaks with a certain tone of acerbity, while my
+      friend Greusel has become gruff as a bear.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You need not labor that point, Herr Kurzbold,&rdquo; said Roland.
+      &ldquo;I have resigned.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I just wished to remark,&rdquo; Kurzbold went on, &ldquo;that I
+      rose for the purpose of stating I had some slight share in something;
+      stolen property; honor among thieves, you know. Are my rights to this
+      share disputed?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said the chairman shortly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; concluded Kurzbold, &ldquo;as I am graciously
+      permitted to speak in the august presence of our ex-Captain, I desire to
+      say that whatever my share happens to be, I bestow it gladly, nay,
+      exultantly, upon the poor of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With that Kurzbold sat down, and there was first a roar of laughter,
+      followed by a clapping of hands. Gensbein rose, and said briefly:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do as Kurzbold does.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I want a number of volunteers to
+      start out into the country early to-morrow morning, Greusel, you, as
+      chairman, will designate the routes. Each man is to penetrate as far as he
+      can along the main roads, asking the farmers to bring everything in the
+      shape of food they have to sell. Tell them a vast sum has been collected,
+      and that their cartloads will be bought entire the moment they enter the
+      city. There will be no waiting for their money. Prompt payment, and
+      everything eatable purchased immediately. Greusel, I put on you the
+      hardest task. Penetrate into the forest south of the Main, and tell the
+      charcoal-burners and woodmen to bring in material for kitchen fires. How
+      many will volunteer?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Every man rose. Roland thanked them. &ldquo;I shall now divulge a secret,
+      and you will see that when it was told to me I remembered your interests.
+      It has been my privilege to meet, since I saw you, more than one man who
+      is a ruler in this Empire.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did they tell you who is to be the new Emperor?&rdquo; cried one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is known only to the Electors. But what I was about to say is
+      this. There are to be established by the Government ironworks on a scale
+      hitherto unknown in any land. I believe, and did my best to inculcate that
+      belief in others, that we are on the verge of an age of iron, and, knowing
+      your skill, I am privileged to offer each of you the superintendency of a
+      department, with compensation never before given so lavishly in Germany. I
+      am also induced to believe that the new Emperor will bestow a title on
+      each of you who desire such honor, so that there can be no question of
+      your right to wear a sword. Greusel, you must receive reports from each of
+      our food scouts, and I shall be glad to know the outcome, if you take the
+      trouble to call upon me any hour after nine o&rsquo;clock at night, at my
+      old room in Sachsenhausen. And now, good-night, and good-luck to you all.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland went over the bridge, and so reached his room on the other side. He
+      glanced around several times to satisfy himself he was not spied upon, and
+      laughed at the apprehension of the Archbishop. Entering his room, he lit a
+      lamp, took off his cloak and flung it on the bed, then unbuckled his
+      sword-belt and hung it and the weapon on a peg, placing his cloak above
+      them. He was startled by a loud knock at the door, and stood for a moment
+      astonished, until it was repeated with the stern warning:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Open in the name of the Archbishop!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man strode forward, drew back the bolt, and flung open the door.
+      An officer, with two soldiers behind him, came across the threshold, and
+      at the side-motion of the officer&rsquo;s head a soldier closed and bolted
+      the door. Roland experienced a momentary thrill of indignation at this
+      rude intrusion, then he remembered he was a mechanic, and that his line
+      must be the humble and deferential.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You came to-night from the Imperial Palace. What were you doing
+      there?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was trying to gain admission, sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For what purpose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wished,&rdquo; said Roland, rapidly outlining his defense in his
+      own mind, &ldquo;I wished to see some high officer; some one of your own
+      position, sir, but was not so fortunate as to succeed. I could not pass
+      the sentries without a permit, which I did not then possess, but hope to
+      acquire to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again I ask, for what purpose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For a purpose which causes me delight in meeting your excellency.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am no excellency. Come to the point! For what purpose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To show the officer a sword of such superior quality that a man
+      armed with it, and given a certain amount of skill, stands impregnable.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you mean to tell me you went to the Royal Palace for the purpose
+      of selling a second-hand sword?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no, my lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do not be so free with your titles. Call me Lieutenant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Lieutenant, sir; I hope to get orders for a hundred, or
+      perhaps a thousand of these weapons.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where did you go after leaving the Palace?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I went to the residence of that great Prince of the Church, the
+      Archbishop of Cologne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah! You did not succeed in seeing his Lordship, I suppose?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me, Lieutenant, but I did. His Lordship is keenly interested
+      in both weapons and armor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did he give you an order for swords?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Lieutenant; he seems to be a very cautious man. He asked me to
+      visit him in Cologne, or if I could not do that, to see his general, now
+      in Frankfort. You understand, Lieutenant, the presence of the three
+      Archbishops with their armies offers me a great opportunity, by which I
+      hope to profit.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The officer looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where next did you go?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I went to the house of a merchant in the Fahrgasse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, that tale doesn&rsquo;t hold! Merchants are not allowed to wear
+      swords.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Lieutenant, but a merchant on occasion can supply capital that
+      will enable a skilled workman to accept a large contract. If I should see
+      the general of his Lordship to-morrow, and he gave me an order for, say,
+      two thousand swords, I have not enough money to buy the metal, and I could
+      not ask for payment until I delivered the weapons.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did the merchant agree to capitalize you?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He, too, was a cautious man, Lieutenant. He wished first to see the
+      contract, and know who stood responsible for payment.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Wise man,&rdquo; commented the officer; &ldquo;and so,
+      disheartened, I suppose, you returned here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Lieutenant; the day has been warm, and I have traveled a good
+      deal. I went from the merchant&rsquo;s house to the Rheingold tavern,
+      there to drink a tankard of wine with my comrades, a score of men who have
+      formed what they call the ironworkers&rsquo; guild. I drank a tankard with
+      them, and then came direct here, where I arrived but a few moments ago.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The officer was more and more puzzled. Despite this young man&rsquo;s
+      deferential manner, his language was scarcely that of a mechanic, yet this
+      certainly was his own room, and he had told the absolute truth about his
+      wanderings, as one who has nothing to fear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lieutenant stood for a space of time with eyes to the floor, as silent
+      as the soldiers behind him. Suddenly he looked up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Show me the sword. I&rsquo;ll tell you where it&rsquo;s made!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      If he expected hesitation he was mistaken. Roland gave a joyful cry, swept
+      aside the cloak, whisked forth the sword, flung it up, and caught it by
+      the blade, then with a low bow handed it to the officer, who flashed it
+      through the air, bent the blade between finger and thumb, then took it
+      near the lamp and scrutinized it with the eye of an expert.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A good weapon, my friend. Where was it made? I have never seen one
+      like it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was made by my own hands here in Frankfort. Of course I go first
+      to those who know least about the matter, but if I can get an introduction
+      to his Lordship of Mayence, his officers will know a sword when they see
+      it; and I hope to-night fortune, in leading you to my door, has brought me
+      an officer of Mayence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lieutenant looked at him, and for the first time smiled. He handed
+      back the weapon, signed to his men to unbolt the door, which they did,
+      stepping out; then he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I bid you good-night. Your answers have been satisfactory, but I
+      set you down not as a mechanic, but a very excellent merchant of swords.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lieutenant,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;you do not flatter me.&rdquo;
+      He raised his weapon in military salute. &ldquo;I am no merchant, but a
+      sword maker.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XIX. THE BETROTHAL IN THE GARDEN
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Next morning Prince Roland sent a letter to the Archbishop of Mayence
+      informing him that the Empress had taken up her abode in the Palace of her
+      old friend, the Lord of Cologne, giving the reasons for this move and his
+      own desertion of the Imperial Palace, and asking permission to call upon
+      his mother each day. The messenger brought back a prompt reply, which
+      commended the delicacy of his motives in leaving the Royal Palace, but
+      added that, so far as the three Archbishops were concerned, the Saalhof
+      was still at their disposal: of course Prince Roland&rsquo;s movements
+      were quite untrammeled, and again, so far as concerned the three
+      Archbishops, he was at liberty to visit whom he pleased, as often as he
+      liked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While waiting for the return of his messenger, Roland called upon Herr
+      Goebel, and told him that twenty emissaries had gone forth in every
+      direction from Frankfort to inform the farming community that a market had
+      been opened in the city, and in exchange learned what the merchant had
+      already done towards furthering the necessary organization.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, by the way, Herr Goebel,&rdquo; he cried, suddenly
+      recollecting, &ldquo;just write out and sign a document to this effect:
+      &lsquo;I promise Herr Roland, sword maker of Sachsenhausen, to supply him
+      with the capital necessary for carrying out his contract with his Lordship
+      the Archbishop of Cologne.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Without demur the merchant indited the document, signed it, and gave it to
+      the Prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If any emissary of Mayence pays you a domiciliary visit, Herr
+      Goebel, asking questions about me, carefully conceal my real status, and
+      reply that I am an honest, skillful sword maker, anxious to revive the
+      iron-working industry, and for this reason, being yourself solicitous for
+      the welfare of Frankfort, you are risking some money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In the afternoon Roland walked to the Palace of Cologne and boldly
+      entered, with no attempt at secrecy, the doorkeeper on this occasion
+      offering no impediment to his progress. He learned that the Empress, much
+      fatigued, had retired to her room and must not be disturbed; that the
+      Archbishop was consulting with the Count Palatine, while the Countess von
+      Sayn was walking in the garden. Roland passed with some haste through the
+      Palace, and emerged into the grounds behind it: grounds delightfully
+      umbrageous, and of an extent surprisingly large, surrounded by a very high
+      wall of stone, so solidly built that it might successfully stand a siege.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland found the girl sauntering very slowly along one of the most
+      secluded alleys, whose gravel-path lay deeply in the shade caused by the
+      thick foliage of over-hanging trees, which made a cool, green tunnel of
+      the walk. Her head was slightly bowed in thought, her beautiful face
+      pathetic in its weariness, and the young man realized, with a pang of
+      sympathy, that she was still to all intents and purposes a prisoner, with
+      no companions but venerable people. She could not, and indeed did not
+      attempt to suppress an exclamation of delight at seeing him, stretching
+      out both hands in greeting, and her countenance cleared as if by magic.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was thinking of you!&rdquo; she cried, without a trace of
+      coquetry.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I judged your thoughts to be rather gloomy,&rdquo; he said, with a
+      laugh, in which she joined.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Gloomy only because I could see or hear nothing of you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you know I came yesterday?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No. Why did you not ask to see me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was informed you were entertaining the Count Palatine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, yes. He is a delightful old man. I like him better and better
+      as time goes on. My guardian and I were guests of his at Gutenfels just
+      before I occupied the marine prison of Pfalz.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So your guardian told me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They were now walking side by side in this secluded, thickly-wooded
+      avenue, just wide enough for two, running in a straight line from wall to
+      wall the whole length of the property, in the part most remote from the
+      house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing disastrous has happened to you?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;I
+      have had miserable forebodings.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; I am living a most commonplace life, quite uneventful.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But why, why does the Archbishop of Mayence delay the Election?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I did not know he was doing so.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my guardian is very anxious about it. Such postponement, I
+      understand, never happened before. The State is without a head.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Has your guardian spoken to Mayence about it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; and has been met by the most icy politeness. Mayence wishes
+      this Election to take place with a full conclave of the seven Electors,
+      three of whom have not yet arrived. But my guardian says they never
+      arrive, and take no interest in Imperial matters. He pointed out to
+      Mayence that a quorum of the Court is already in Frankfort, but his
+      Lordship of the Upper Rhine merely protests that they must not force an
+      Election, all of which my guardian thinks is a mere hiding of some design
+      on the part of Mayence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Prince Roland meditated on this for a few moments, then, as if shaking off
+      his doubts, he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It never occurs to one Archbishop that either of the others may be
+      speaking the truth. There is so much mistrust among them that they nullify
+      all united action, which accounts for the prostrate state of this city,
+      the capital of one of the most prosperous countries under the sun. So far
+      as I can see, taken individually, they are upright, trustworthy men. Now,
+      to give you an instance. Your guardian last night was simply
+      panic-stricken at my audacity in visiting him. He said I must not come
+      again, refusing me permission to see you; he told you nothing of my
+      conference with him: he felt certain I was being tracked by spies, and
+      could not be made to understand that my presence here was of no
+      consequence one way or another.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then why are you here now?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am just coming to that. I asked your guardian to invite my mother
+      as his guest. Have you met her yet?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; they told me the Empress was too tired to receive any one. I am
+      to be introduced at dinner to-night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, this morning I wrote to the Archbishop of Mayence, telling
+      him of my interview with your guardian, the reason for it, and the
+      results. His reply came promptly by return.&rdquo; Roland produced the
+      document. &ldquo;Just read that, and see whether you detect anything
+      sinister in it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She read the letter thoughtfully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is honest enough on the surface.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On the surface, yes; but why not below the surface as well? That is
+      a frank assent to a frank request. I think that if the Archbishops would
+      treat each other with open candor they would save themselves a good deal
+      of anxiety.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps,&rdquo; said the girl, very quietly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are not convinced?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what to think.&rdquo; Then she looked up at him
+      quickly. &ldquo;Were you followed last night?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; ejaculated Roland, laughing a little &ldquo;apparently
+      not, so far as I could see, but the night was very dark.&rdquo; Then he
+      related to her the incidents succeeding the return to his room, while she
+      listened with breathless eagerness. &ldquo;The Lieutenant,&rdquo; he
+      concluded, &ldquo;did not deny that he was in the service of Mayence when
+      I hinted as much, but, on the other hand, he did not admit it. Of course,
+      I knew by his uniform to whom he belonged. He conducted my examination
+      with military abruptness, but skillfully and with increasing courtesy,
+      although I proclaimed myself a mechanic.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You a mechanic!&rdquo; she said incredulously. &ldquo;Do you think
+      he believed it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see you doubt my histrionic ability, but when next he waits upon
+      me I shall produce documentary evidence of my status, and, what is more, I&rsquo;ll
+      take to my workshop.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you possess a workshop?&rdquo; cried the girl in amazement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do I? Why, I am partner with a man named Greusel, and we own a
+      workshop together. A gruff, clumsy individual, as you would think, but
+      who, nevertheless, with his delicate hammer, would beat you out in metal a
+      brooch finer than that you are wearing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you mean Joseph?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Roland, astonished. &ldquo;What do you know of
+      him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you forgotten so soon? It was his stalwart shoulders that
+      burst in my door at Pfalz, and you yourself told me his name was Joseph
+      Greusel. Were all those marauders you commanded honest mechanics?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Every man of them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then you must be the villain of the piece who led those worthy
+      ironworkers astray?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland laughed heartily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is quite true,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Have I fallen in your
+      estimation?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; to me you appeared as a rescuer. Besides, I come of a race of
+      ruffians, and doubtless on that account take a more lenient view of your
+      villainy than may be the case with others.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man stopped in his walk, and seized her hands again, which she
+      allowed him to possess unresisting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hilda,&rdquo; he said solemnly, &ldquo;your guardian thought the
+      Archbishop of Mayence had relented, and would withdraw his opposition to
+      our marriage. Has Mayence said anything to corroborate that estimate?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Has your guardian broached the subject to him?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; but the attitude of my Lord of Mayence was quite inscrutable.
+      Personally I think my guardian wrong in his surmise. The Archbishop of
+      Treves murmured that Mayence never forgives. I am certain I offended him
+      too deeply for pardon. He wishes the future Empress to be a pliable
+      creature who will influence her husband according to his Lordship&rsquo;s
+      desires, but, as I have boasted several times, I belong to the House of
+      Sayn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hilda, will you marry me in spite of the Archbishops?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Roland, will you forego kingship for my sake?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; a thousand times yes!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You said &lsquo;For the Empress; not for the Empire,&rsquo; but if
+      I am no Empress, you will as cheerfully wed me?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then <i>I</i> say yes!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He caught her in his arms, and they floated into the heaven of their first
+      kiss, an ecstatic melting together. Suddenly she drew away from him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is some one coming,&rdquo; she whispered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing matters now,&rdquo; said Roland breathlessly. &ldquo;There
+      is no one in the world to-day but you and me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hildegunde drew her hands down her cheeks, as if to brush away their
+      tell-tale color and their warmth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis like,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;that you marry a poor
+      man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nothing matters now,&rdquo; she repeated, laughing tremulously.
+      &ldquo;I am said to be the richest woman in Germany. I shall build you a
+      forge and enlist myself your apprentice. We will paint over the door
+      &lsquo;Herr Roland and wife; sword makers.&rsquo;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Two men appeared at the end of the alley, and stood still; the one with a
+      frown on his brow, the other with a smile on his lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; whispered the Countess, panic striking from her face the
+      color that her palms had failed to remove, &ldquo;the Archbishop and the
+      Count Palatine!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Lordship strode forward, followed more leisurely by the smiling Count.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; said Cologne, &ldquo;I had not expected this
+      after our conference of last night.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fail to understand why, my Lord, when my parting words were
+      &lsquo;Tell your porter to let me in without parley.&rsquo; That surely
+      indicated an intention on my part to visit the Palace.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness knows that so far as I am concerned you are very
+      welcome, and always shall be so, but at this juncture there are others to
+      consider.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland interrupted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Read this letter, my Lord, and you will learn that I am here with
+      the full concurrence of that generous Prince of the Church, Mayence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cologne, with knitted brow, scrutinized the communication.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness is most courageous, but, if I may be permitted, just
+      a trifle too clever.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Highness is not clever at all, but merely meets a situation as
+      it arises.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; said the Countess, her head raised proudly,
+      &ldquo;may I introduce to you my friend, and almost my neighbor, the Count
+      Palatine of the Rhine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, pardon me,&rdquo; murmured the Archbishop, covered with
+      confusion, but the jovial Count swept away all embarrassment by his hearty
+      greeting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, I am delighted with the honor her ladyship accords
+      me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And I, my Lord, am exceedingly gratified to meet the Count Palatine
+      again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again?&rdquo; cried the Count in astonishment, &ldquo;If ever we
+      had encountered one another, your Highness, I certainly should not have
+      been the one to forget the privilege.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince laughed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is true, nevertheless. My Lord Count, there is a namesake of
+      mine in the precincts of your strong Castle of Gutenfels; a namesake who
+      does more honor to the title than I do myself.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Count Palatine threw back his head, and the forest garden echoed with
+      boisterous laughter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean my black charger, Prince Roland!&rdquo; he shouted.
+      &ldquo;A noble horse indeed. How knew you of him? If your Highness cares
+      for horses allow me to present him to you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never, my Lord Count. You are too fond of him yourself, and I have
+      always had an affectionate feeling towards you for your love of that
+      animal, which, indeed, hardly exceeds my own. I grasped his bridle-rein,
+      and held the stirrup while you mounted.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How is that possible?&rdquo; asked the astonished Count.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cared for Prince Roland nearly a month, receiving generous wages,
+      and, what I valued more, your own commendation, for you saw I was as fond
+      of horses as you were.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good heavens! Were you that youth who came so mysteriously, and
+      disappeared without warning?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; laughed the Prince. &ldquo;I know Gutenfels nearly as
+      well as you do. I was a spy, studying the art of war and methods of
+      fortification. I stopped in various capacities at nearly all the famous
+      Castles of the Rhine, and this knowledge recently came in&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness, your Highness!&rdquo; pleaded the Archbishop.
+      &ldquo;I implore you to remember that the Count Palatine is an Elector of
+      the Empire, and, as I told last night, we are facing a crisis. Until that
+      crisis is passed you will add to my already great anxiety by any lack of
+      reticence on your part.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By the Three Kings!&rdquo; cried the Count, &ldquo;this youth, if I
+      may venture to call him so, has bound me to him with bands stronger than
+      chain armor. I shall vote for him whoever falters.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;His Highness,&rdquo; said the Archbishop, with a propitiatory
+      smile, &ldquo;has been listening to the Eastern tales which our ancestors
+      brought from the Crusades, and I fear has filled his head with fancies.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Really, Archbishop, you misjudge me,&rdquo; said the young man;
+      &ldquo;I am the most practical person in the Empire. You interrupted my
+      boasting to her ladyship of my handiwork. I would have you know I am a
+      capable mechanic and a sword maker. What think you of that, my Lord?&rdquo;
+      he asked, drawing forth his weapon, and handing it to Cologne.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An excellent blade indeed,&rdquo; said the latter, balancing it in
+      his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well, my Lord, I made it and tempered it unassisted. I beg you
+      to re-enter your palace, and write me out an order for a thousand of these
+      weapons.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If your Highness really wishes me to do this, and there is no
+      concealed humorism in your request which I am too dull to fathom, you must
+      accompany me to my study and dictate the document I am to indite. I shall
+      wait till you bid farewell to the Countess.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A glance of mutual understanding flashed between the girl and himself,
+      then Roland raised her hand to his lips, and although the onlookers saw
+      the gallant salutation, they knew nothing of the gentle pressure with
+      which the fingers exchanged their confidences.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Madam,&rdquo; said the Prince, &ldquo;it will be my pleasure and
+      duty to wait upon my mother to-morrow. May I look forward to the happiness
+      of presenting you to her?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you,&rdquo; said the Countess simply, with a glance of
+      appeal at her guardian. That good man sighed, then led the way into the
+      house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XX. THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Roland left the palace with a sense of elation he had never before
+      experienced, but this received a check as he saw standing in the middle of
+      the square the Lieutenant of the night before. His first impulse was to
+      avoid the officer, yet almost instinctively he turned and walked directly
+      to him, which apparently nonplussed the brave emissary of Mayence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good afternoon to you, sir,&rdquo; began Roland, as if overjoyed to
+      see him. &ldquo;Will you permit me to speak to you, sir?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well?&rdquo; said the Lieutenant curtly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My forge, which has been black and cold for many a long day, will
+      soon be alight and warm again. What think you of this?&rdquo; He handed to
+      the Lieutenant his order for a thousand swords, and the officer made a
+      mental note of the commission as an interesting point in armament that
+      would be appreciated by his chief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You did not inform me last night who was the merchant you hoped
+      would finance your enterprise.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hoped?&rdquo; echoed Roland, his eyes sparkling. &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis
+      more than hope, Herr Lieutenant. His name is Goebel, and he is one of the
+      richest and chiefest traffickers of Frankfort. Why, my fortune is made!
+      Read this, written in his own hand. I got it from him before midday, on my
+      mere word that I was certain of an order from his Lordship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are indeed much to be envied,&rdquo; said the Lieutenant
+      coldly, returning the two documents.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, but I am just at the beginning. If <i>you</i> would favor me by
+      smoothing the way to his Lordship, the Archbishop of Mayence, I in return&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Out upon you for a base-born, profit-mongering churl! Do you think
+      that I, an officer, would demean myself by partnering a bagman!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lieutenant turned on his heel, strode away and left him. Roland
+      pursued his way with bowed head, as though stricken by the rebuff. Nearing
+      the bridge, he saw a crowd around an empty cart, standing by which a man
+      in rough clothing was cursing most vociferously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At first he thought there had been an accident, but most of the people
+      were laughing loudly; so, halting in the outskirts, he asked the cause of
+      the commotion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis but a fool farmer,&rdquo; said a man, &ldquo;who came
+      from the country with his load of vegetables. &lsquo;Tis safer to enter a
+      lion&rsquo;s den unarmed than to come into Frankfort with food while
+      people are starving. He has been plundered to the last leaf.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland shouldered his way through the crowd, and touched the frantic man
+      on the shoulder.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What was the value of your load?&rdquo; he said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A misbegotten liar told me this morning that a market had opened in
+      Frankfort, and that there was money to be had. No sooner am I in the town
+      than everything I brought in is stolen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, yes; I know all about that. My question is, How much is your
+      merchandise worth?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Worth? Thirty thalers I expected to get, and now&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thirty thalers,&rdquo; interrupted the Prince. &ldquo;Here is your
+      money. Get you gone, and tell your neighbors there is prompt payment for
+      all the provender they can bring in.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The man calmed down as if a bucket of water had been thrown on him. He
+      counted the payment with miserly care, testing each coin between his
+      teeth, then mounted his cart without a word of thanks, and, to the
+      disappointment of the gathering mob, drove away. Roland, seething with
+      anger, walked directly to the house of Herr Goebel, and found that placid
+      old burgher seated at his table.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ten thousand curses on your indolence!&rdquo; he cried. &ldquo;Where
+      are your committee, and the emissaries empowered to carry out this scheme
+      of relief I have ordered?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Committee? Emissaries?&rdquo; cried the astonished man. &ldquo;There
+      has been no time!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Time, you thick-headed fool! I&rsquo;ll time you by hanging you to
+      your own front door. There has been time for me to send my men out into
+      the country; time for a farmer to come in with a cartload of produce, and
+      be robbed here under your very nose! Maledictions on you, you sit here,
+      well fed, and cry there is no time! If I had not paid the yeoman he would
+      have gone back into the country crying we were all thieves here in
+      Frankfort. Now listen to me. I drew my sword once upon you in jest. Should
+      I draw it a second time it will be to penetrate your lazy carcass by
+      running you through. If within two hours there is not a paymaster at every
+      gate in Frankfort to buy and pay for each cartload of produce as it comes,
+      and also a number of guides to tell that farmer where to deliver his
+      goods, I&rsquo;ll give your town over to the military, and order the
+      sacking of every merchant&rsquo;s house within its walls.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It shall be done; it shall be done; it shall be done!&rdquo;
+      breathed the merchant, trembling as he rose, and he kept repeating the
+      phrase with the iteration of a parrot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You owe me thirty thalers,&rdquo; said the Prince calming down;
+      &ldquo;the first payment out of the relief fund. Give me the money.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With quivering hands Herr Goebel, seeing no humor in the application,
+      handed over the money, which the Prince slipped into his wallet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Dusk had fallen when at last he reached his room in Sachsenhausen, and
+      there he found awaiting him Joseph Greusel, in semi-darkness and in total
+      gloom.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your housekeeper let me in,&rdquo; said the visitor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good! I did not expect you back so soon. Have the others returned?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not know. I came direct here. I carry very ominous news,
+      Roland, of impending disaster in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Greater than at present oppresses it?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Civil war, fire, and bloodshed. Close the door, Roland; I am tired
+      out, and I do not wish to be overheard.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince obeyed the request, locking the door. Going to a cupboard, he
+      produced a generous flagon of wine and a tankard, setting the same on a
+      small table before Greusel, then he threw himself down in the one armchair
+      the room possessed. Greusel filled the tankard, and emptied it without
+      drawing breath. He plunged directly into his narrative.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I had penetrated less than half a league into the forest when I was
+      stopped by an armed man who stepped out from behind a tree. He wore the
+      uniform of Mayence, and proclaimed me a prisoner. I explained my mission,
+      but this had no effect upon him. He asked if I would go with him quietly,
+      or compel him to call assistance. Being helpless, I said I would go
+      quietly. Notwithstanding this, he bound my wrists behind me, then with a
+      strip of cloth blindfolded me. Taking me by the arm, he led me through the
+      forest for a distance impossible to calculate. I think, however, we walked
+      not more than ten minutes. There was a stop and a whispered parley; a
+      pause of a few minutes, and a further conference, which I partially heard.
+      The commander before whom I must be taken was not ready to receive me. I
+      should be placed in a tent, and a guard set over me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This was done. I asked that the cord, which hurt my wrists, might
+      be removed, but instead, my ankles were tied together, and I sat there on
+      the ground, leaning against a pole at the back of the tent. Here my
+      conductor left me, and I heard him give orders to those without to
+      maintain a strict watch, but to hold no communication with me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I imagine that the tent I occupied stood back to back with the tent
+      of the commander, for after some time I heard the sound of voices, and it
+      seemed to me voices of two men in authority. They had come to the back
+      part of their tent, as if to speak confidentially, and their voices were
+      low, yet I could hear them quite distinctly, being separated from them
+      merely by two thicknesses of cloth. What I learned was this. There is
+      concealed in the forest, within half an hour&rsquo;s quick march of the
+      southern gate, a force of seven thousand soldiers. These soldiers belong
+      to the Archbishop of Mayence, who commands an additional three thousand
+      within the walls of Frankfort. Mayence holds the southern gate, as Treves
+      holds the western and Cologne the northern. You see at once what that
+      implies. Mayence can pour his troops into Frankfort, say, at midnight, and
+      in the morning he has ten thousand soldiers as compared with the three
+      thousand each commanded by the Archbishops of Treves and Cologne. That
+      means civil war, and the complete crushing of the two northern
+      Archbishops.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think you take too serious a view of the matter,&rdquo; commented
+      Roland. &ldquo;Mayence is undoubtedly a subtle man, who takes every
+      precaution that he shall have his own way. The reason that there will be
+      no civil war is this. I happen to know on very excellent authority that so
+      far as the Electoral Court goes, Mayence is paramount. He does not need to
+      conquer Cologne and Treves by force, because he is already supreme by his
+      genius for intrigue. He is a born ruler, and his methods are all those of
+      diplomacy as against those of arms. I dare say if occasion demanded it he
+      would strike quick and strike effectually, but occasion does not demand. I
+      am rather sure of my facts, and I know that the three Archbishops,
+      together with the Count Palatine of the Rhine, are in agreement to elect
+      my namesake, Prince Roland, Emperor of Germany.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said Greusel, &ldquo;I heard that rumor, and it is
+      generally believed in Frankfort. Rumor, however, as usual, speaks falsely.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince smiled at his pessimistic colleague, for that colleague was
+      talking to the man who knew; nevertheless, he listened patiently, for of
+      course he could not yet reveal himself to his somber lieutenant, who
+      continued his narrative:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The two men spoke of the unfortunate Prince, who is, I understand,
+      still a prisoner in Ehrenfels.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here Roland laughed outright.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear Greusel, you are entirely mistaken. The Prince was never
+      really a prisoner, and is at this moment in Frankfort, as free to do what
+      he likes as I am.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry,&rdquo; said Greusel, &ldquo;that you do not grasp the
+      seriousness of the situation, but I have not yet come to the vital part of
+      it, although I thought the very fact that seven thousand men threatened
+      Frankfort would impress you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It does, Greusel,&rdquo; said Roland, remembering the distrust in
+      which both the Countess and her guardian held Mayence, and also the close
+      watch his Lordship was keeping over Frankfort, as evidenced by the
+      domiciliary visit paid to himself by an officer of that potentate. &ldquo;Go
+      on, Greusel,&rdquo; he said more soberly, &ldquo;I shall not interrupt you
+      again.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I gathered that Prince Roland actually had been chosen, but
+      complications arose which I do not altogether understand. These
+      complications relate to a woman, or two women; both of them equally
+      objectionable to the Archbishop of Mayence. One of these two women was to
+      marry the new Emperor, but rather than have this happen, Mayence
+      determined that another than Prince Roland should be elected, the reason
+      being that Mayence feared one Empress would be entirely under the
+      influence of Cologne, if chosen, and the other under the influence of
+      Treves. So his subtle Lordship is deluding both of these Electors. Cologne
+      has been asked to bring to Frankfort the woman he controls, therefore he
+      harbors the illusion that Mayence is reconciled to her. Treves also has
+      been requested to bring the lady who is his relative; thus she, too, is in
+      Frankfort, and Treves blindly believes Mayence is favorable to her cause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As a matter of fact Mayence will have neither, but has resolved to
+      spring upon the Electoral Court at the last moment the name of the Grand
+      Duke Karl of Hesse, a middle-aged man already married, and entirely under
+      the dominance of his Lordship of Mayence.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me, Greusel, I must interrupt, in spite of my disclaimer.
+      What you say sounds very ingenious, but it cannot be carried out. Treves,
+      Cologne, and the Count Palatine are already pledged to vote for Prince
+      Roland, so is Mayence himself, and to change front at the last moment
+      would be to forswear himself, and act as traitor to his colleagues. Now,
+      he cannot afford to lose even one vote, and I believe that the Archbishop
+      of Cologne will vote for Prince Roland through thick and thin. I think the
+      same of the Count Palatine. Treves, of course, is always doubtful and
+      wavering, but you see that the negative vote of the Archbishop of Cologne
+      would render Mayence powerless and an Election impossible.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Doubtless what you say is true, and now you have put your finger on
+      the danger spot. Why has the Election been delayed beyond all precedent?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That I do not know,&rdquo; replied Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I will tell you. The Archbishop of Mayence has sent peremptory
+      orders to the other three Electors, who are reported to be careless so far
+      as Imperial affairs are concerned, and quite indifferent regarding the
+      personality of the future Emperor. No one of these three Electors,
+      however, dares offend so powerful a man as Mayence. If the Archbishop can
+      overawe his colleagues nominally equal to him in position, each commanding
+      an army, how think you can three small nobles, with no soldiers at their
+      beck, withstand his requests, suavely given, no doubt, but with an iron
+      menace behind them?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;True, true,&rdquo; muttered Roland.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Two of these nobles have already arrived, and are housed with the
+      Archbishop of Mayence. The third is expected here within three days; four
+      days at the farthest. Mayence will immediately convene the Electoral
+      Court, when the Count Palatine, with the two Archbishops, may be
+      astonished to find that for the first time in history, the whole seven are
+      present in the Wahlzimmer. Mayence will ask Cologne to make the
+      nomination, and he will put forward the name of Prince Roland. On a vote
+      being taken the Prince will be in a minority of one. Mayence then shows
+      his hand, nominating the Grand Duke Karl, who will be elected by a
+      majority of one. Then may ensue a commotion in the Wahlzimmer, and
+      accusations of bad faith, but remember that Cologne and Treves are taken
+      completely by surprise. They cannot communicate with their commanders, for
+      the three thousand troops which Mayence already has within Frankfort will
+      have quietly surrounded the Town Hall that contains the Election Chamber,
+      and Mayence&rsquo;s seven thousand men from the forest are pouring through
+      the southern gate into the city, making straight for the Romer. Meanwhile
+      the Grand Duke Karl, a man well known to the populace of Frankfort,
+      appears on the balcony of the Kaisersaal, and is loudly acclaimed the new
+      Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Greusel, forgive my attitude of doubt. It is all as plain now
+      as the Cathedral tower. Still, there will be no civil war. Treves and
+      Cologne will gather up their troops and go home, once more defeated by a
+      man cleverer and more unscrupulous than both of them put together. They
+      are but infants in his hands.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you any suggestion to make?&rdquo; asked Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; there is nothing to be done. You see, the young Prince has no
+      following. He is quite unknown in Frankfort. His name can arouse no
+      enthusiasm, and, all in all, that strikes me as a very good thing. The
+      Grand Duke Karl is popular, and I believe he will make a very good
+      Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean, Roland, that the Archbishop of Mayence will make a very
+      good ruler, for he will be the real king.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, after all, Joseph, there is much to be said in favor of
+      Mayence. He is a man who knows what he wants, and, what is more, gets it,
+      and that, after all is the main thing in life. If any one could sway the
+      Archbishop so that he put his great talents to the benefit of his country,
+      instead of thinking only of himself, what a triumph of influence that
+      would be! By the Three Kings, I&rsquo;d like to do it! I admire him. If I
+      found opportunity and could persuade him to join us in the relief of
+      Frankfort, and in opening the Rhine to commerce, we would give these inane
+      merchants a lesson in organization.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Greusel rose from his chair, poured out another tankard full from the
+      flagon, and drank it off.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I must go down now and meet the guild,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I
+      have eaten nothing all day, and am as hungry as a wolf from the Taunus.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, how did you escape, by the way?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t escape. I was led blindfolded into a tent, where my
+      bandage was removed, and here a man in ordinary dress questioned me
+      concerning my object in entering the forest. I told him exactly the truth,
+      and explained what we were trying to do in Frankfort. I dare say I looked
+      honest and rather stupid. He asked when I set out; in what direction I
+      came; questioning me with a great affectation of indifference; wanted to
+      know if I had met many persons, and I told him quite truthfully I met no
+      one but the man I understood was a forester; a keeper, I supposed.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;There are a number of us,&rsquo; he said, &lsquo;hunting the
+      wild boar, and we do not wish the animal life of these woods to be
+      disturbed. We shall not be here longer than a week, but I advise you to
+      seek another spot for what timber you require.&rsquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He asked me, finally, if any one in Frankfort knew I had come to
+      the forest, and I answered that the guild of twenty knew, and that we were
+      all to meet to-night at the Rheingold tavern to report. He pondered for a
+      while on this statement, and I suppose reached the conclusion that if I
+      did not return to Frankfort, this score of men might set out in the
+      morning to search for me, it being well known that the forest is dangerous
+      on account of wild boars. So, as if it were of no consequence, he
+      blindfolded me again, apologizing privately for doing so, saying it was
+      quite unnecessary in the first instance, but as the guard had done so, he
+      did not wish to censure him by implication.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I answered that it did not matter at all, but desired him to order
+      my wrists released, which was done.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I must say,&rdquo; commented Roland, &ldquo;that the Archbishop of
+      Mayence is well served by his officers. Your examiner was a wise man.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Greusel, &ldquo;but nevertheless, I am telling
+      my story here in Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No difference for that, because, as I have said, we can do nothing.
+      Still, it is a blessing your examiner could not guess what you overheard
+      in the other tent. He let you go thinking you had seen and learned
+      nothing, and in doing so warded off a search party to-morrow.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XXI. A SECRET MARRIAGE
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Blessed is he that expects nothing, for he shall not be disappointed.
+      Roland walked with Greusel across the bridge and through the streets to
+      the entrance of the Rheingold, and there stopped.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall not go down with you,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You have given
+      me much to think of, and I am in no mood for a hilarious meeting. Indeed,
+      I fear I should but damp the enthusiasm of the lads. Continue your good
+      work to-morrow, and report to me at my room.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this Roland bade Greusel good-night and turned away. He walked very
+      slowly as far as the bridge, and there, resting his arms on the parapet,
+      looked down at the dark water. He was astonished to realize how little he
+      cared about giving up the Emperorship, and he recalled, with a glow of
+      delight, his recent talk in the garden with Hildegunde, and her assurance
+      that she lacked all ambition to become the first lady in the land so long
+      as they two spent their lives together.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The bells of Frankfort tolling the hour of ten aroused him from his
+      reverie, and brought down his thoughts from delicious dreams of romance to
+      realms of reality. The precious minutes were passing over his head swiftly
+      as the drops of water beneath his feet. There was little use of feeding
+      Frankfort if it must be given over to fire and slaughter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With a chill of apprehension he reviewed the cold treachery of Mayence,
+      willing to levy the horrors of civil war upon an already stricken city so
+      long as his own selfish purposes were attained.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And yet,&rdquo; he said to himself, &ldquo;there must be good in
+      the man. I wish I knew his history. Perhaps he had to fight for every step
+      he has risen in the world. Perhaps he has been baffled and defeated by
+      deception; overcome by chicanery until his faith died within him. My faith
+      would die within me were it not that when I meet a Mayence I encounter
+      also the virtue of a Cologne, and the bluff honesty of a Count Palatine.
+      How marvelous is this world, where the trickery of a Kurzbold and a
+      Gensbein is canceled by the faithfulness unto death of a Greusel and an
+      Ebearhard! Thus doth good balance evil, and then&mdash;and then, how
+      Heaven beams upon earth in the angel glance of a good woman. God guide me
+      aright! God guide me aright!&rdquo; he repeated fervently, &ldquo;and
+      suppress in me all anger and uncharitableness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He walked rapidly across the bridge into Sachsenhausen, past his room at
+      the street corner, and on to the monastery of the Benedictines, whose
+      little chapel stood open night and day for the prayers of those in trouble
+      or in sadness, habited only by one of the elder brothers, who gave, if it
+      were needed, advice, encouragement, or spiritual comfort. Removing his
+      hat, the Prince entered into the silence on tiptoe, and kneeling before
+      the altar, prayed devoutly for direction, asking the Almighty to turn the
+      thoughts of His servant, Mayence, into channels that flowed towards peace
+      and the relief of this unhappy city.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As he rose to his feet a weight lifted from his shoulders, and the
+      buoyancy of youth drove away the depression that temporarily overcame him
+      on hearing of the army threatening Frankfort. His plans were honest, his
+      methods conciliatory, and the path now seemed clear before him. The monk
+      in charge, who had been kneeling in a dark corner near the door, now came
+      forward to intercept him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will your Highness deny me in the chapel as you did upon the
+      bridge?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland stopped. In the gloom he had not recognized the ghostly Father.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, Father Ambrose, and I do now what I should have done then. I
+      pray your blessing on the enterprise before me.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My son, it is willingly given, the more willingly that I may atone
+      in part my forgetting of the Holy Words: &lsquo;Judge not, that ye be not
+      judged.&rsquo; I grievously misjudged you, as I learn from both the
+      Archbishop and my kinswoman. I ask your forgiveness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall forgive you, Father Ambrose, if you make full, not partial
+      atonement. The consequences of your mistake have proved drastic and
+      far-reaching. The least of these consequences is that it has cost me the
+      Emperorship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; moaned the good man, &ldquo;<i>mea culpa, mea culpa!</i>
+      No penance put upon me can compensate for that disaster.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You blame yourself overmuch, good Father. The penance I have to
+      impose will leave me deeply in your debt. Now, to come from the least to
+      the greatest of these results, so far as I am concerned, my marriage with
+      your kinswoman, whom I love devotedly, is in jeopardy. Through her
+      conviction that I was a thief, she braved the Archbishop of Mayence, who
+      imprisoned her, and now his Lordship has determined that the Grand Duke
+      Karl of Hesse shall be Emperor. Thus we arrive at the most important
+      outcome of your error. Between the overwhelming forces of Mayence and the
+      insufficient troops of Cologne and Treves there may ensue a conflict
+      causing the streets of Frankfort to flow with blood.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The pious man groaned dismally.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have a plan which will prevent this. The day after to-morrow I
+      shall renounce all claim to the throne; but being selfish, like the rest,
+      I refuse to renounce all claim to the woman the Archbishops themselves
+      chose as my wife, neither shall I allow the case to be made further the
+      plaything of circumstance. Your kinswoman, no later ago than this
+      afternoon, confessed her love for me and her complete disregard of any
+      position I may hold in this realm. Now, Father Ambrose, I ask you several
+      questions. Is it in consonance with the rules of the Church that a
+      marriage be solemnized in this chapel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are you entitled to perform the ceremony?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it possible this ceremony can be performed to-morrow?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Will you therefore attend to the necessary preliminaries, of which
+      I am vastly ignorant, and say at what hour the Countess and I may present
+      ourselves in this chapel?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Archbishop of Cologne is guardian to her ladyship. Will you
+      bring me his sanction?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Father Ambrose, there is just the point. So far as concerns
+      himself I doubt not that the Archbishop is the most unambitious of men,
+      but to the marriage of his ward with a sword maker I fear he would refuse
+      consent which he would gladly give to a marriage with an Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The monk hung his head, and pondered on the proposition. At last he said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why not ask my Lord the Archbishop?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I dare not venture. Too much is at stake. She might be carried away
+      to any castle in Germany. Remember that Cologne has already acquiesced in
+      her imprisonment, and but that the iron chain of the Pfalzgraf brought me
+      to her prison door&mdash;The iron chain, do I say? &lsquo;Twas the hand of
+      God that directed me to her, and now, with the help of Him who guided me,
+      not all the Archbishops in Christendom shall prevent our marriage. No,
+      Father Ambrose, pile on yourself all the futile penances you can adopt.
+      They are useless, for they do not remedy the wrong you have committed. And
+      now, good-night to your Reverence!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man strode towards the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My son,&rdquo; said the quiet voice of the priest, &ldquo;when you
+      were on your knees just now did you pray for remission from anger?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland whirled round.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <i>&ldquo;Mea culpa,</i> as you said just now. Father Ambrose, I ask your
+      pardon. I made an unfair use of your mistake to coerce you. You were quite
+      right in relating what your own eyes saw here in Frankfort, and although
+      the inference drawn was wrong, you were not to blame for that. I recognize
+      your scruples, but nevertheless protest that already I possess the
+      sanction of the Archbishop, which has never been withdrawn.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland, if you bring hither the Countess von Sayn to-morrow
+      afternoon, when the bells strike three, I will marry you, and gladly
+      accept whatever penances ensue. I fear the monk&rsquo;s robe has not
+      crushed out all the impulses of the Sayn blood. In my case, perhaps, it
+      has only covered them. And now, good-night, and God&rsquo;s blessing fall
+      upon you and her you are to marry.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland went directly from the chapel to his own room, where he slept the
+      sleep of one who has made up his mind. Nevertheless, it was not a
+      dreamless sleep, for throughout the night he seemed to hear the tramp of
+      armed men marching upon unconscious Frankfort, and this sound was so
+      persistent, that at last he woke, yet still it continued. Springing up in
+      alarm, and flinging wide the wooden shutters of his window, he was amazed
+      to see that the sun was already high, while the sound that disturbed him
+      was caused by a procession of heavy-footed horses, dragging over the
+      cobble-stones carts well-laden with farm produce.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having dressed and finished breakfast, he wrote a letter to the Archbishop
+      of Mayence:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     &ldquo;My LORD ARCHBISHOP,&mdash;There are some important proposals which I
+     wish to make to the Electors, and as it is an unwritten rule that I
+     should not communicate with them separately, I beg of you to
+     convene a meeting to-morrow, in the Wahlzimmer, at the hour of
+     midday. Perhaps it is permissible to add, for your own information,
+     that while my major proposition has to do with the relief of
+     Frankfort, the minor suggestions I shall make will have the effect
+     of clearing away obstacles that at present obstruct your path, and
+     I venture to think that what I say will meet with your warmest
+     approval.&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      It was so necessary that this communication should reach the Archbishop as
+      soon as possible that Roland became his own messenger, and himself
+      delivered the document at the Archbishop&rsquo;s Palace. As he turned away
+      he was startled by a hand being placed on his shoulder with a weight
+      suggesting an action of arrest rather than a greeting of friendship. He
+      turned quickly, and saw the Lieutenant who had so discourteously used him
+      in the square. There was, however, no menace in the officer&rsquo;s
+      countenance.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Still thrusting your sword at people?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Lieutenant, and very harmlessly. &lsquo;Tis a bloodless combat
+      I wage with the sword. I praise its construction, and leave to superiors
+      like yourself, sir, the proving of its quality.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are an energetic young man, and we of Mayence admire competence
+      whether shown by mechanic or noble. Was the letter you handed in just now
+      addressed to his Lordship?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Lieutenant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Twill be quite without effect.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It grieves me to hear you say so, sir.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Take my advice, and make no effort to see the Archbishop until
+      after the Election. I judge you to be a sane young fellow, for whom I
+      confess a liking. You are the only man in Frankfort who has unhesitatingly
+      told me the exact truth, and I have not yet recovered from my amazement.
+      Now, when you return to your frugal room in Sachsenhausen you do not
+      attempt to reach it by mounting the stairs with one step?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Naturally not, Lieutenant.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Very well. When the Emperor is proclaimed, come you to me. I&rsquo;ll
+      introduce you to my superior, and he, if impressed with your weapon, will
+      take you a step higher, and thus you will mount until you come to an
+      officer who may give you an astonishing order.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you, Lieutenant, and hope later to avail myself of your
+      kindness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Lieutenant slapped him on the shoulder, and wished him good-luck. As
+      Roland pushed his way through the crowd, he said to himself, with a sigh:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I regret not being Emperor, if only for the sake of young fellows
+      like that.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Frankfort was transformed as if a magician had waved his wand over it. The
+      streets swarmed with people. Farmers&rsquo; vehicles of every description
+      added to the confusion, and Roland frowned as he noticed how badly
+      organized had been the preparations for coping with this sudden influx of
+      food, but he also saw that the men of Mayence had taken a hand in the
+      matter, and were rapidly bringing method out of chaos. The uniforms of
+      Cologne or Treves were seldom seen, while the quiet but firm soldiers of
+      Mayence were everywhere ordering to their homes those already served, and
+      clearing the way for the empty-handed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last Roland reached the Palace of Cologne, through a square thronged
+      with people. Within he found his mother and the Countess, seated in a room
+      whose windows overlooked the square, watching the stirring scene presented
+      to them. Having saluted his mother, he greeted the girl with a quiet
+      pressure of the hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is the cause of all this commotion?&rdquo; asked the Empress.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland tapped his breast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am the cause, mother,&rdquo; and he related the history of the
+      relief committee, and if appreciation carries with it gratification, his
+      was the advantage of knowing that the two women agreed he was the most
+      wonderful of men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But indeed, mother,&rdquo; continued Roland, &ldquo;I selfishly rob
+      you of the credit. The beginning of all this was really your gift to me of
+      five hundred thalers, that time I came to crave your assistance in
+      procuring me this document I still carry, and without your thalers and the
+      parchment, this never could have happened. So you see they have increased
+      like the loaves and fishes of Holy Writ, and thus feed the multitude.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Her Majesty arose, smiling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, Roland,&rdquo; she said, kissing him, &ldquo;you always gave
+      your mother more credit than she deserved. It wrung my heart at the time
+      that I was so scant of money.&rdquo; Then, pleading fatigue, the Empress
+      left the room.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hilda!&rdquo; cried the young man, &ldquo;when you and I discuss
+      things, those things become true. Yesterday we agreed that the Imperial
+      throne was not so enviable a seat as a chair by the domestic hearth.
+      To-day I propose to secure the chair at the hearth, and to-morrow I shall
+      freely give up the Imperial throne.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl uttered an exclamation that seemed partly concurrence and partly
+      dismay, but she spoke no word, gazing at him intently as he strode up and
+      down the room, and listening with eagerness. Walking backwards and
+      forwards, looking like an enthusiastic boy, he very graphically detailed
+      the situation as he had learned it from Greusel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now you see, my dear, any opposition to the Archbishop of Mayence
+      means a conflict, and supposing in that conflict our friends were to win,
+      the victory would be scarcely less disastrous than defeat. I at once made
+      up my mind, fortified by my knowledge of your opinion on the subject, that
+      for all the kingships in the world I could not be the cause of civil
+      dissension.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is a just and noble decision,&rdquo; she said, speaking for
+      the first time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, standing before her, the young man in more moderate tone related
+      what had happened and what had been said in the chapel of the Benedictine
+      Fathers. She looked up at him, earnest face aglow, during the first part
+      of his recital, and now and then the sunshine of a smile flickered at the
+      corners of her mouth as she recognized her kinsman in her lover&rsquo;s
+      repetition of his words, but when it came to the question of a marriage,
+      her eyes sank to the floor, and remained there.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, Hilda,&rdquo; he said at last, &ldquo;have you the courage to
+      go with me, all unadvised, all unchaperoned, to the chapel this afternoon
+      at three o&rsquo;clock?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She rose slowly, still without looking at him, placed her hands on his
+      shoulders, then slipped them round his neck, laying her cheek beside his.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It requires no courage, Roland,&rdquo; she whispered, &ldquo;to go
+      anywhere if you are with me. I need to call up my courage only when I
+      think with a shudder of our being separated.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some minutes elapsed before conversation was resumed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is the Archbishop?&rdquo; asked Roland, in belated manner
+      remembering his host.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He and the Count Palatine went out together about an hour since. I
+      think they were somewhat disturbed at the unusual commotion, and desired
+      to know what it meant. Do you want to consult my guardian after all?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not unless you desire me to do so?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish only what you wish, Roland.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am glad his Lordship is absent. Let us to the garden, Hilda, and
+      discover a quiet exit if we can.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A stout door was found in the wall to the rear, almost concealed with
+      shrubbery. The bolts were strong, and rusted in, but the prowess of Roland
+      overcame them, and he drew the door partially open. It looked out upon a
+      narrow alley with another high wall opposite. Roland looked up and down
+      the lane, and saw it was completely deserted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This will do excellently,&rdquo; he said, shoving the door shut
+      again, but without thrusting the bolts into position. He took her two
+      hands in his.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Dearest, noblest, sweetest of girls! I must now leave you. Await me
+      here at half-past one. I go out by this door, for it is necessary I should
+      know exactly where the alley joins a main street. It would be rather
+      embarrassing if you were standing here, and Father Ambrose looking for us
+      in the chapel, while I was frantically searching for and not finding the
+      lane.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Some time in advance of the hour set, the impatient young man kept the
+      appointment he had made, and when the Countess appeared exactly on the
+      minute, he held open the door for her, then, drawing it shut behind him,
+      they were both out in the city of Frankfort together. Roland&rsquo;s high
+      spirits were such that he could scarcely refrain from dancing along at her
+      side.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to take your hand,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and swing
+      it, and show you the sights of the city, as if we were two young people in
+      from the country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am a country girl, please to remember,&rdquo; said the Countess.
+      &ldquo;I know nothing of Frankfort, or, indeed, of any other large town.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am glad of that, for there is much to see in Frankfort. We will
+      make for the Cathedral, that beautiful red building, splendid and grand,
+      where we should have been married with great and useless ceremony if I had
+      been crowned Emperor. But I am sure the simple chapel in the working town
+      of Sachsenhausen better suits a sword maker and his bride.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now they came out into the busy street, which seemed more thronged than
+      ever. In making their way to the Cathedral, the mob became so dense that
+      progression was difficult. The current seemed setting in one direction,
+      and it carried them along with it. Hildegunde took the young man&rsquo;s
+      arm, and clung close to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They are driving us, whether we will or no, towards our old enemy,
+      the Archbishop of Mayence. That is his Palace facing the square. There is
+      some sort of demonstration going on,&rdquo; cried Roland, as cheer after
+      cheer ascended to the heavens. &ldquo;How grim and silent the Palace
+      appears, all shuttered as if it were a house of the dead! Somehow it
+      reminds me of Mayence himself. I had pictured him occupying a house of
+      gloom like that.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you think we are in any danger?&rdquo; asked the girl. &ldquo;The
+      people seem very boisterous.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no danger at all. This mob is in the greatest good-humor.
+      Listen to their heart-stirring cheers! The people have been fed; that is
+      the reason of it.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that why they cheer? It sounds to me like an ovation to the
+      Archbishop! Listen to them: &lsquo;Long live Mayence! God bless the
+      Archbishop!&rsquo; There is no terror in those shouts.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nevertheless his Lordship of Mayence had taken every precaution. The
+      shutters of his Palace were tightly closed, and along the whole front of
+      the edifice a double line of soldiers was ranged under the silent command
+      of their officers. They stood still and stiffly as stone-graven statues in
+      front of a Cathedral. The cheers rang unceasingly. Then, suddenly, as if
+      the sinister Palace opened one eye, shutters were turned away from a great
+      window giving upon the portico above the door. The window itself was then
+      thrown wide. Cheering ceased, and in the new silence, from out the
+      darkness there stepped with great dignity an old man, gorgeous in his long
+      robes of office, and surmounting that splendid intellectual head rested
+      the mitered hat of an Archbishop. After the momentary silence the cheers
+      seemed to storm the very door of the sky itself, but the old man moved no
+      muscle, and no color tinged his wan face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By the Kings,&rdquo; whispered Roland, during a temporary lull,
+      &ldquo;what a man! There stands power embodied, and yet I venture &lsquo;tis
+      his first taste of popularity. I am glad we have seen this sight, both mob
+      and master. How quick are the people to understand who is the real ruler
+      of Germany! I wish he were my friend!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Slowly the Archbishop raised his open hands, holding them for a moment in
+      benediction over the vast assemblage. Once more the cheers died away, and
+      every head was bowed, then the Archbishop was in his place no longer.
+      Unseen hands closed the windows, and a moment later the shutters blinded
+      it. The multitude began to dissolve, and the two wanderers found their way
+      become clearer and clearer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Together they entered the empty, red Cathedral, and together knelt down in
+      a secluded corner. After some minutes passed thus Roland remembered that
+      the hour of two had struck while they were gazing at the Archbishop.
+      Gently he touched the hand of his companion. They rose, and walked slowly
+      through the great church.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There,&rdquo; he whispered, &ldquo;is where the Emperor is crowned.
+      The Archbishop of Mayence always performs that ceremony, so, after all,
+      there is some justification for his self-assumed leadership.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Again out into the sunshine they walked to the Fahrgasse, and then to the
+      bridge, where the Countess paused with an expression of delight at the
+      beauty of the waterside city, glorified by the westering sun. Crossing the
+      river, and going down the Bruckenstrasse of Sachsenhausen, Roland said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Referring to people who are not Emperors, that is my room at the
+      corner, where I lived when supposed to be in prison.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that where you made your swords?&rdquo; she asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; Greusel&rsquo;s workshop and mine is farther along that side
+      street. It is a grimy shop of no importance, but here, on the other side,
+      we have an edifice that counts. That low building is the Benedictine
+      monastery, and this is its little chapel.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Countess made no comment, but stood looking at it for a few moments
+      until her thoughts were interrupted by the solemn tones of a bell striking
+      three. Roland went up the steps, and held open the door while she passed
+      in, then, removing his hat, he followed her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XXII. LONG LIVE THEIR MAJESTIES
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The most anxious man in all Frankfort was not to be found among the mighty
+      who ruled the Empire, or among the merchants who trafficked therein, or
+      among the people who starved when there was no traffic. The most anxious
+      man was a small, fussy individual of great importance in his own
+      estimation, cringing to those above him, denouncing those beneath; Herr
+      Durnberg, Master of the Romer, in other words, the Keeper of the Town
+      Hall. The great masters whom this little master served were imperious and
+      unreasonable. They gave him too little information regarding their
+      intentions, yet if he failed in his strict duty towards them, they would
+      crush him as ruthlessly as if he were a wasp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Unhappy Durnberg! Every morning he expected the Electoral Court to be
+      convened that day, and every evening he was disappointed. It was his first
+      duty to lay out upon the table in that great room, the Kaisersaal, a
+      banquet, to be partaken of by the newly-made Emperor, and by the seven
+      potentates who elected him. It was also his duty to provide two huge tanks
+      of wine, one containing the ruby liquor pressed out at Assmannshausen; the
+      other the straw-colored beverage that had made Hochheim famous. These
+      tanks were connected by pipes with the plain, unassuming fountain standing
+      opposite the Town Hall in that square called the Romerberg. The moment an
+      election took place Herr Durnberg turned off the flow of water from the
+      fountain, and turned on the flow of wine, thus for an hour and a half
+      there poured from the northward pointing spout of the fountain the rich
+      red wine of Assmannshausen, and from the southern spout the delicate white
+      wine of Hochheim. Now, wine will keep for a long time, but a dinner will
+      not, so the distracted Durnberg prepared banquet after banquet for which
+      there were no consumers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, thought Herr Durnberg, his vigilance was about to be rewarded.
+      There came up the broad, winding stair, to the landing on which opened the
+      great doors of the Kaisersaal, two joyous-looking young people, evidently
+      lovers, and with the hilt of his sword the youth knocked against the stout
+      panels of the door. It was Herr Durnberg himself who opened, and he said
+      haughtily&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Romer is closed, and will not be free to strangers until after
+      the Election.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We enter, nevertheless. I am Prince Roland, here to meet the Court
+      of Electors, who convene at midday in the adjoining Wahlzimmer. You,
+      Romer-meister, will announce to their august Lordships that I am here,
+      and, when their will is expressed, summon me to audience with them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Herr Durnberg bowed almost to the polished floor, and flinging open both
+      doors, retreated backwards, still bent double as he implored them to
+      enter. Locking the doors, for the Electors would reach the Wahlzimmer
+      through a private way, to be used by none but themselves, the bustling
+      Durnberg produced two chairs, which he set by the windows in the front,
+      and again running the risk of falling on his nose, bowed his distinguished
+      visitors to seats where they might entertain themselves by watching the
+      enormous crowd that filled the Romerberg from end to end, for every man in
+      Frankfort knew an Election was impending, and it was after the banquet,
+      when the wine began to flow in the fountain, that the new Emperor
+      exhibited himself to his people by stepping from the Kaisersaal out upon
+      the balcony in front of it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you feel any shyness about meeting this formidable conclave?
+      Remember you have at least two good friends among them.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl placed her hand in his, and looked affectionately upon him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When you are with me, Roland, I am afraid of nothing.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should not ask you to pass through this ordeal were it not for
+      your guardian. His astonishment at the announcement of our marriage will
+      be so honest and unacted that even the suspicious Mayence cannot accuse
+      him of connivance in what we have done. Of course, the strength of my
+      position is that I have but carried out the formal request of their three
+      Lordships; a request which has never been rescinded.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before she could reply the hour of twelve rang forth. The deferential Herr
+      Durnberg entered from the Wahlzimmer, and softly approached them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;my Lords, the Electors,
+      request your presence in the Wahlzimmer.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many are there, Romer-meister?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are four, your Highness; the three Archbishops and the Count
+      Palatine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah,&rdquo; breathed Roland, relieved that Mayence had not called up
+      his reserve, and assured now that the seventh Elector had not arrived.
+      With a glance of encouragement at his wife, Roland passed into the
+      presence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Herr Durnberg, anxious about the outcome, showed an inclination to close
+      the door and remain inside, but a very definite gesture from Mayence
+      wafted the good man to outer regions.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence opened the proceedings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yesterday I received a communication from your Highness, requesting
+      me to convene this Court. I am as ignorant as my colleagues regarding the
+      subjects to be placed before us. I therefore announce to you that we are
+      prepared to listen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank you, my Lord of Mayence,&rdquo; began the Prince very
+      quietly. &ldquo;When first I had the honor of meeting your three Lordships
+      in the Castle of Ehrenfels, I signed certain documents, and came to an
+      agreement with you upon other verbal requests. I am not yet a man of large
+      experience, but at that time, although comparatively few days have
+      elapsed, I was a mere boy, trusting in the good faith of the whole world,
+      knowing nothing of its chicanery. Since then I have been through a bitter
+      school, learning bitter lessons, but I am nevertheless encouraged, in that
+      for every man of treachery and deceit I meet two who are trustworthy.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pardon me,&rdquo; said Mayence suavely, &ldquo;I did not understand
+      that the discourse you proposed was to be a sermon. If your theme is a
+      lecture on morality, I beg to remind you that this Wahlzimmer is a place
+      of business, and what you say is better suited to a chapel or even a
+      church, than to the Election Chamber of the Empire.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry, my Lord,&rdquo; said Roland humbly, &ldquo;if my
+      introduction does not meet your approval. I assure you that the very
+      opposite was my intention. My purpose is to show you why a change has come
+      over me, and in order&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Once more I regret interrupting, but the reason for whatever change
+      has occurred can be of little interest to any one but yourself. You begin
+      by making vague charges of dishonesty, treachery, and what-not, against
+      some person or persons unknown. May I ask you to be definite?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it your Lordship&rsquo;s wish that I should mention names?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cologne showed signs of uneasiness; Treves looked in bewilderment from one
+      to another of his colleagues; the Count Palatine sat deeply interested,
+      his elbows on the table, massive chin supported by huge hands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Highness is the best judge whether names should be mentioned
+      or not,&rdquo; said Mayence, quite calmly, as if his withers were unwrung.
+      &ldquo;But you must see that if you hint at conspiracy and bafflement,
+      certain inferences are likely to be drawn. Since the time you speak of
+      there has been no opportunity for you to meet your fellow-men, therefore
+      these inferences are apt to take the color that reference is made to one
+      or the other of the three personages you did meet. I therefore counsel you
+      either to abstain from innuendo or explain explicitly what you mean.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I the more willingly bow to your Lordship&rsquo;s decision because
+      it is characterized by that wisdom which accompanies every word your
+      Lordship utters. I shall therefore designate good men and bad.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence gazed at the young man in amazement, but merely said:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Proceed, sir, on your perilous road.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am the head of a gang of freebooters. When this company left
+      Frankfort under my command we appeared to be all of one mind. My gang
+      consisted entirely of ironworkers, well-set-up young fellows in splendid
+      physical condition, yet before I was gone a day on our journey I found
+      myself confronted by mutiny. A man named Kurzbold was the leader of this
+      rebellion; a treacherous hound, whom I sentenced to death. The two who
+      stood by me were Greusel and Ebearhard, therefore I told you that when I
+      met one villain I encountered two trustworthy men.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When did this happen?&rdquo; asked Mayence. &ldquo;And what was the
+      object of your freebooting expedition?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;High Heaven!&rdquo; cried the Archbishop of Cologne, unable longer
+      to restrain his impatience when he saw the fatal trend of the Prince&rsquo;s
+      confession, &ldquo;what madness has overcome you? Can you not see the
+      effect of these disturbing disclosures?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Prince smiled, and answered first the last question.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;&lsquo;Tis an honest confession, my Lord, of what may be considered
+      a dishonest practice. It is information that should be within your
+      knowledge before you sit down to elect an Emperor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When did this happen, my Lord of Mayence?&rdquo; he continued,
+      turning to the chairman. &ldquo;It happened when you thought I was your
+      prisoner in Ehrenfels. Never for a day did you hold me there. I roamed the
+      country at my pleasure. I examined leisurely and effectively the defenses
+      of nearly every castle on the Rhine from the town of Bonn to your own city
+      of Mayence. The object of our expedition, you ask? It was to loot the
+      stolen treasure of the robber castles, and incidentally it resulted in the
+      destruction by fire of Furstenberg. The marauding excursion ended at
+      Pfalz, where I lightened the Pfalzgraf of his wealth, and liberated the
+      Countess von Sayn, unlawfully imprisoned within that fortress.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;By the Three Kings!&rdquo; cried the Count Palatine, bringing his
+      huge fist down on the table like the blow of a sledge hammer, &ldquo;you
+      are a man, and I glory that it is my privilege to vote for you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I agree with my brother of Cologne,&rdquo; said Treves, speaking
+      for the first time, &ldquo;that this young man does not properly weigh the
+      inevitable result of his terrible words. I vote, of course, with my Lord
+      of Mayence, but such a vote will be most reluctantly given for a
+      self-confessed burglar and incendiary.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Be not too hasty, gentlemen,&rdquo; counseled Mayence. &ldquo;We
+      are not met here to cast votes. Your Highness, I complained a moment ago
+      of lack of interest in your recital; I beg to withdraw that plea. After
+      having heard you I agree that the Countess was unjustly imprisoned. She
+      was accurate in her estimate of your character.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think not, my Lord, I do not regard myself as burglar,
+      incendiary, thief, or robber. I call myself rather a restorer of stolen
+      property. I shed no blood, which in itself is a remarkable feature of
+      action so drastic as mine. The incendiarism was merely incidental, forced
+      upon me by the fact that the Red Margrave tied up eighteen of my men, whom
+      he proposed presently to hang. I diverted his attention from this
+      execution by the first method that occurred to me, namely, the firing of
+      his Castle. In my letter to you yesterday, my Lord, I promised to clear
+      away certain obstacles from your path. I therefore remove one, by saying
+      that an object of this conference is my own renunciation of the
+      Emperorship, thus while I thank my Lord Count for his proffered franchise,
+      I quiet the mind of my Lord of Treves by assuring him his defection has no
+      terror for me. And now, my Lord of Mayence, will you listen carefully to
+      my suggestion?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; replied his Lordship, almost with geniality,
+      &ldquo;I have never heard so graphic a narrator in my life. Proceed, I beg
+      of you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When our band of cut-purses set out from Frankfort, they supposed
+      the gold was to be shared equally among us. Mutiny taught me to use the
+      arts of diplomacy, which I despise. I hoped to attain such influence over
+      them that they would agree to abjure wealth for the benefit of Frankfort.
+      I am happy to say that I accomplished my object, so that yesterday and
+      to-day you have witnessed the results of my efforts; the relief of a
+      starving city. I merely removed the wealth of robbers to benefit those
+      whom they robbed. Knowing the dangerous feeling actuating this town
+      against your Lordships, I caused proclamation to be made crediting this
+      relief to the Archbishops.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord of Mayence, when yesterday I saw you appear on your own
+      balcony, the most stern, the most dignified figure I ever beheld; when I
+      heard the ringing cheers that greeted you; when I realized, as never
+      before, the majesty of your genius, I cursed the stupid decree of Fate
+      that denied me your friendship. What could we not have accomplished
+      together for the Fatherland? I, with my youth and energy, under the
+      tutelage of your wisdom and experience. You tasted there, probably for the
+      first time in your life, the intoxicating cup of popularity, yet it
+      affected you no more than if you had drunk of the fountain in the
+      Romerberg.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, my Lords, here is what I ask of you, and it will show how much
+      I would have depended upon you had I been chosen to the position at first
+      proposed to me. I request you, my Lord of Treves, to remove your three
+      thousand troops to the other side of the Rhine.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall do nothing of the sort,&rdquo; blurted Treves, amazed at
+      the absurd proposal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Roland went on, unheeding:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I ask you, my Lord of Cologne, to march your troops to
+      Assmannshausen.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You indeed babble like the boy you said you were!&rdquo; cried the
+      indignant Cologne. &ldquo;You show no grasp of statesmanship.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A faint smile quivered on the thin lips of Mayence at his colleagues&rsquo;
+      ill-disguised fear at leaving him the man in possession so far as
+      Frankfort was concerned. The naive proposal which angered his two brethren
+      merely amused Mayence. This young man&rsquo;s absurdity was an
+      intellectual treat. Roland smiled in sympathy as he turned towards him,
+      but his next words banished all expression of pleasure from the face of
+      Mayence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope to succeed better with you, my Lord. Of course I recognize I
+      have no standing with this Court since my refusal of the gift you intended
+      to bestow. I ask you to draft into this city seven thousand men;&rdquo;
+      then after a pause: &ldquo;<i>the seven thousand will not have far to
+      march, my Lord.</i>&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He caught an expression almost of fear in the Archbishop&rsquo;s eyes,
+      which were quickly veiled, but his Lordship&rsquo;s tone was as unwavering
+      as ever when he asked:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you mean by that?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I mean that the city of Mayence is nearer to Frankfort than either
+      Cologne or Treves.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your geographical point is undeniable. What am I to do with my ten
+      thousand once they are here?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, I admire the rigid discipline of your men, and estimate
+      from that the genius of organization possessed by your officers; a genius
+      imparted, I believe, by you. No one knows better than I the state of
+      confusion which this effort at relief has brought upon the city. I suggest
+      that your capable officers divide this city into cantons, proclaim martial
+      law, and deliver to every inhabitant rations of food as if each man,
+      woman, and child were a member of your army. Meanwhile the merchants
+      should be relieved of a task for which they have proved their incapacity,
+      and turn their attention to commerce. This relief at best must be
+      temporary. The vital task is to open the Rhine. The merchants will load
+      every barge on the river with goods, and this flotilla the armies of
+      Treves and Cologne will escort in safety to the latter city. In passing
+      they will deliver an ultimatum to every castle, demanding a contribution
+      in gold towards the further relief of Frankfort, until commerce readjusts
+      itself, and assuring each nobleman that if this commerce is molested, his
+      castle shall be forfeited, and himself imprisoned or hanged.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Quite an effective plan, I think, your Highness, to which I
+      willingly agree, if you can assure me of the support of my two colleagues,
+      which I regret to say has already been refused.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Lordship looked from one to another, but neither withdrew his
+      declaration.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Prince Roland,&rdquo; continued Mayence, &ldquo;we seem to have
+      reached a deadlock, and I fear its cause is that distrust of one human
+      being toward another that you deplored a while ago. I confess myself,
+      however, so pleased with the trend of your mind as exhibited in your
+      conversation with us, that I am desirous to know what further proposals
+      you care to make, now that our mutual good intentions have led us into an
+      impasse.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Willingly, my Lord. I propose that you at once proceed to the
+      Election of an Emperor, for the delay in his choosing has already caused
+      an anxiety and a tension dangerous to the peace of this country.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, that is easier said than done, your Highness. Having yourself
+      eliminated the one on whom we were agreed, it seems to me you should at
+      least suggest a substitute.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Again willingly, my Lord. You should choose some quiet,
+      conservative man, and, if possible, one well known to the citizens of
+      Frankfort, and held in good esteem by the people everywhere. He should be
+      a man of middle age&mdash;&rdquo; Mayence&rsquo;s eyes began to close
+      again, and his lips to tighten&mdash;&ldquo;and if he had some experience
+      in government, that would be all to the good. One already married is
+      preferable to a bachelor, for then no delicate considerations regarding a
+      woman can arise, as, I need not remind your Lordship, have arisen in my
+      own case. A man of common sense should be selected, who would not make
+      rash experiments with the ideals of the German people, as a younger and
+      less balanced person might be tempted to do. That he should be a good
+      Churchman goes without saying&mdash;&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A truce, a truce!&rdquo; cried Mayence sternly. &ldquo;Again we are
+      running into a moral catalogue impossible of embodiment. Is there any such
+      man in your mind, or are you merely treating us to a counsel of
+      perfection?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Notwithstanding my pessimism,&rdquo; said Roland, &ldquo;I still
+      think so well of my countrymen as to believe there are many such. Not to
+      make any recommendation to those so much better qualified to judge than I,
+      but merely to give a sample, I mention the Grand Duke Karl of Hesse, who
+      fulfills every requirement I have named.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For what seemed to the onlookers a tense period of suspense, the old man
+      seated and the young man standing gazed intently at one another. Mayence
+      knew at once that in some manner unknown to him the Prince had fathomed
+      his intentions; that his Highness alone knew why the Election had been
+      delayed, yet the Prince conveyed this knowledge directly to the person
+      most concerned, in the very presence of those whom Mayence desired to keep
+      ignorant, without giving them the slightest hint anent the actual state of
+      affairs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The favorable opinion which the Archbishop had originally formed of Roland
+      in Ehrenfels during this conference became greatly augmented. Even the
+      most austere of men is more or less susceptible to flattery, and yet in
+      flattering him Roland had managed to convey his own sincerity in this
+      laudation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We will suppose the Grand Duke Karl elected,&rdquo; Mayence said at
+      last. &ldquo;What then?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why then, my Lord, the three differing bodies of troops at present
+      occupying Frankfort would be withdrawn, and the danger line crossed over
+      to the right side.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mayence now asked a question that in his own mind was crucial. Once more
+      he would tempt the young man to state plainly what he actually knew.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can your Highness give us any reason why you fear danger from the
+      presence of troops commanded by three friendly men like my colleagues and
+      myself?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My fear is that the hands of one or the other of you may be forced,
+      and I can perhaps explain my apprehension better by citing an incident to
+      which I have already alluded. I had not the slightest intention of burning
+      Castle Furstenberg, but suddenly my hand was forced. I was responsible for
+      the safety of my men. I hesitated not for one instant to fire the Castle.
+      Of the peaceful intentions of my Lords the Archbishops there can be no
+      question, but at any moment a street brawl between the soldiers, say, of
+      Cologne and Treves, may bring on a crisis that can only be quelled by
+      bloodshed. Do you see my point?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, your Highness, I do, and your point is well taken. I repose
+      such confidence in our future Emperor that voluntarily I shall withdraw my
+      troops from Frankfort at once. Furthermore, I shall open the Rhine, by
+      sending along its banks the ultimatum you propose, not supported by my
+      army, but supported by the name of the Archbishop of Mayence, and I shall
+      be interested to know what Baron on the Rhine dare flout that title. Will
+      you accept my aid, Prince Roland?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I accept it, my Lord, with deep gratitude, knowing that it will
+      prove effective.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His Lordship rose in his place.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I said this was not an Electoral Court. I rise to announce my
+      mistake. We Electors here gathered together form a majority. I propose to
+      you the name of Prince Roland, son of our late Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord, my Lord!&rdquo; cried Roland, raising his hand, &ldquo;you
+      do not know all.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Patient Heaven!&rdquo; cried the irritated Archbishop, &ldquo;you
+      make too much of us as father confessors. Do not tell us now you have been
+      guilty of assassination!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, my Lord, but you should know that I have married the Lady
+      Hildegunde, Countess von Sayn, whom you have already rejected as Empress.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, if you have accepted the dame, the balance is redressed. I am
+      not sure but you made an excellent choice.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was now the turn of the amazed Archbishop of Cologne to rise to his
+      feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What his Highness says is impossible. The Lady von Sayn has been in
+      my care ever since she entered Frankfort, and I pledge my word she has
+      never left my Palace!&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We were married yesterday at three o&rsquo;clock, in the chapel of
+      the Benedictine Fathers, and in the presence of four of them. We left your
+      Palace, my Lord, by a door which you may discover in the wall of your
+      garden, near the summer-house, and my wife is present in the adjoining
+      room to implore your forgiveness.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Cologne collapsed into his chair, and drew a hand across his bewildered
+      brow. The situation appeared to amuse Mayence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish your Highness had withheld this information until I was sure
+      that my brother of Treves will vote with me, as he promised. My Lord of
+      Treves, you heard my proposition. May I count on your concurrence?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Treves&rsquo; house of cards fell so suddenly to the ground that under the
+      compelling eyes of Mayence he could do no more than stammer his
+      acquiescence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I vote for the Prince,&rdquo; he said in tones barely audible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you, my Lord of Cologne?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aye,&rdquo; said Cologne gruffly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Count Palatine?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; thundered the latter. &ldquo;A choice that meets my
+      full approval, and I speak now for the Empress as well as the Emperor.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Durnberg!&rdquo; cried Mayence, raising his voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The doors were instantly opened, and the cringing Romer-meister appeared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is the banquet prepared?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ready to lay on the table, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The wine for the fountains?&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Needs but the turning of the tap, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Order up the banquet, turn the tap; and as the new Emperor is
+      unknown to the people, cause heralds with trumpets to set out and proclaim
+      the Election of Prince Roland of Frankfort.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, my Lord.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Archbishop of Mayence led the way out into the grand Kaisersaal, and
+      the new Empress rose from her chair, standing there, her face white as the
+      costume she wore. Mayence advanced to her, bending his gray head over the
+      hand he took in his own.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Majesty,&rdquo; he said gravely, and this was her first hint
+      of the outcome, &ldquo;I congratulate you upon your marriage, as I have
+      already congratulated your husband.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My Lord Archbishop,&rdquo; she said in uncertain voice, &ldquo;you
+      cannot blame me for obeying you.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think my poor commands would have been futile were it not for the
+      assistance lent me by his Majesty.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The salutations of the others were drowned by the cheers of the great
+      assemblage in the Romerberg. The red wine and white had begun to flow, and
+      the people knew what had happened. In the intervals between the clangor of
+      the trumpets, they heard that a Prince of their own town had been elected,
+      so all eyes turned to the Romer, and cries of &ldquo;The Emperor! The
+      Emperor!&rdquo; issued from every throat. The multitude felt that a new
+      day was dawning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I believe,&rdquo; said Mayence, &ldquo;that hitherto only the
+      Emperor has appeared on the balcony, but to-day I suggest a precedent. Let
+      Emperor and Empress appear before the people.&rdquo;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He motioned to Herr Durnberg, and the latter flung open the tall windows;
+      then Roland taking his wife&rsquo;s hand, stepped out upon the balcony.
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      THE END
+    </h3>
+    <div style="height: 6em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+
+    <pre>
+
+
+
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+</pre>
+
+
+  </body>
+</html>