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diff --git a/40500-8.txt b/40500-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6bd1f5a..0000000 --- a/40500-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12751 +0,0 @@ - LEATHERFACE - - - - -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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Title: Leatherface - A Tale of Old Flanders - -Author: Baroness Orczy - -Release Date: August 14, 2012 [EBook #40500] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LEATHERFACE *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - -[Illustration: Cover] - - - - - LEATHERFACE - - _A TALE OF OLD FLANDERS_ - - - BY - - BARONESS ORCZY - - AUTHOR OF "THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL" - - - - NEW YORK - GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1916, - BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY - - - - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - - [Transcriber's note: several passages in this book - use "f" for "s" to convey the archaic long "s" as "f".] - - - - -By BARONESS ORCZY - - -THE BRONZE EAGLE -A BRIDE OF THE PLAINS -THE LAUGHING CAVALIER -"UNTO CAESAR" -EL DORADO -MEADOWSWEET -THE NOBLE ROGUE -THE HEART OF A WOMAN -PETTICOAT RULE - - -GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY -NEW YORK - - - - - CONTENTS - - -Prologue: Mons, September, 1572 - - - BOOK ONE; BRUSSELS - -CHAPTER - - I. The Blood Council - II. The Subject Race - III. The Ruling Caste - IV. Justice - V. Vengeance - - - BOOK TWO: DENDERMONDE - - VI. A Stranger in a Strange Land - VII. The Rebels - VIII. The Watcher in the Night - IX. A Divided Duty - X. Enemies - XI. Utter Loneliness - - - BOOK THREE: GHENT - - XII. Reprisals - XIII. My Faithful Watch-dog - XIV. The Tyrants - XV. Two Pictures - XVI. The Right to Die - XVII. Truth and Perfidy - XVIII. The Last Stand - XIX. The Hour of Victory - - -Epilogue - - - - - PROLOGUE: MONS, SEPTEMBER, 1572 - - - - PROLOGUE - - MONS: SEPTEMBER, 1572 - - -It lacked two hours before the dawn on this sultry night early in -September. The crescent moon had long ago sunk behind a bank of clouds -in the west, and not a sound stirred the low-lying land around the -besieged city. - -To the south the bivouac fires of Alva's camp had died out one by one, -and here the measured tread of the sentinels on their beat alone broke -the silence of the night. To the north, where valorous Orange with a -handful of men--undisciplined, unpaid and rebellious--vainly tried to -provoke his powerful foe into a pitched battle, relying on God for the -result, there was greater silence still. The sentinels--wearied and -indifferent--had dropped to sleep at their post: the troops, already -mutinous, only held to their duty by the powerful personality of the -Prince, slept as soundly as total indifference to the cause for which -they were paid to fight could possibly allow. - -In his tent even Orange--tired out with ceaseless watching--had gone to -rest. His guards were in a profound sleep. - -Then it was that from the south there came a stir, and from Alva's -entrenchments waves of something alive that breathed in the darkness of -the night were set in motion, like when the sea rolls inwards to the -shore. - -Whispered words set this living mass on its way, and anon it was -crawling along--swiftly and silently--more silently than incoming waves -on a flat shore--on and on, always northwards in the direction of the -Prince of Orange's camp, like some gigantic snake that creeps with belly -close to the ground. - -"Don Ramon," whispered a voice in the darkness, "let Captain Romero deal -with the sentinels and lead the surprise attack, whilst you yourself -make straight for the Prince's tent; overpower his guard first, then -seize his person. Two hundred ducats will be your reward, remember, if -you bring Orange back here--a prisoner--and a ducat for each of your -men." - -These were the orders and don Ramon de Linea sped forward with six -hundred arquebusiers--all picked men--they wore their shirts over their -armour, so that in the mêlée which was to come they might recognise one -another in the gloom. - -Less than a league of flat pasture land lay between Alva's entrenchments -at St. Florian near the gates of beleaguered Mons, and Orange's camp at -Hermigny. But at St. Florian men stirred and planned and threatened, -whilst at Hermigny even the sentinels slept. Noble-hearted Orange had -raised the standard of revolt against the most execrable oppression of -an entire people which the world has ever known--and he could not get -more than a handful of patriots to fight for their own freedom against -the tyranny and the might of Spain, whilst mercenary troops were left to -guard the precious life of the indomitable champion of religious and -civil liberties. - -The moving mass of de Linea's arquebusiers had covered half a league of -the intervening ground; their white shirts only just distinguishable in -the gloom made them look like ghosts; only another half-league--less -perhaps--separated them from their goal, and still no one stirred in -Orange's camp. Then it was that something roused the sentinels from -their sleep. A rough hand shook first one then the others by the -shoulder, and out of the gloom a peremptory voice whispered hurriedly: - -"Quick! awake! sound the alarm! An _encamisada_ is upon you. You will -all be murdered in your sleep." - -And even before the drowsy sentinels had time to rouse themselves or to -rub their eyes, the same rough hand had shaken the Prince's guard, the -same peremptory voice had called: "Awake! the Spaniards are upon you!" - -In the Prince's tent a faint light was glimmering. He himself was lying -fully dressed and armed upon a couch. At sound of the voice, of his -guards stirring, of the noise and bustle of a wakening camp, he sat up -just in time to see a tall figure in the entrance of his tent. - -The feeble light threw but into a dim relief this tall figure of a man, -clad in dark, shapeless woollen clothes wearing a hood of the same dark -stuff over his head and a leather mask over his face. - -"Leatherface!" exclaimed the Prince as he jumped to his feet. "What is -it?" - -"A night attack," replied a muffled voice behind the mask. "Six hundred -arquebusiers--they are but half a league away!--I would have been here -sooner only the night is so infernally dark, I caught my foot in a -rabbit-hole and nearly broke my ankle--I am as lame as a Jew's horse ... -but still in time," he added as he hastily helped the Prince to adjust -his armour and straighten out his clothes. - -The camp was alive now with call to arms and rattle of steel, horses -snorting and words of command flying to and fro. Don Ramon de Linea, a -quarter of a league away, heard these signs of troops well on the alert -and he knew that the surprise attack had failed. Six hundred -arquebusiers--though they be picked men--were not sufficient for a -formal attack on the Prince of Orange's entire cavalry. Even mercenary -and undisciplined troops will fight valiantly when their lives depend -upon their valour. De Linea thought it best to give the order to return -to camp. - -And the waves of living men which had been set in motion an hour ago, -now swiftly and silently went back the way they came. Don Ramon when he -came once more in the camp at St. Florian and in the presence of Alva's -captain-in-chief, had to report the failure of the night attack which -had been so admirably planned. - -"The whole camp at Hermigny was astir," he said as he chawed the ends of -his heavy moustache, for he was sorely disappointed. "I could not risk -an attack under those conditions. Our only chance of winning was by -surprise." - -"Who gave the alarm?" queried don Frederic de Toledo, who took no pains -to smother the curses that rose to his lips. - -"The devil, I suppose," growled don Ramon de Linea savagely. - -And out at Hermigny--in Orange's tent--the man who was called -Leatherface was preparing to go as quietly and mysteriously as he had -come. - -"They won't be on you, Monseigneur," he said, "now that they know your -troops are astir. But if I were you," he added grimly, "I would have -every one of those sentinels shot at dawn. They were all of them fast -asleep when I arrived." - -He gave the military salute and would have turned to go without another -word but that the Prince caught him peremptorily by the arm: - -"In the meanwhile, Messire, how shall I thank you again?" he asked. - -"By guarding your precious life, Monseigneur," replied the man simply. -"The cause of freedom in the Low Countries would never survive your -loss." - -"Well!" retorted the Prince of Orange with a winning smile, "if that be -so, then the cause of our freedom owes as much to you as it does to me. -Is it the tenth time--or the twelfth--that you have saved my life?" - -"Since you will not let me fight with you..." - -"I'll let you do anything you wish, Messire, for you would be as fine a -soldier as you are a loyal friend. But are you not content with the -splendid services which you are rendering to us now? Putting aside mine -own life--which mayhap is not worthless--how many times has your warning -saved mine and my brother's troops from surprise attacks? How many -times have Noircarmes' or don Frederic's urgent appeals for -reinforcements failed, through your intervention, to reach the Duke of -Alva until our own troops were able to rally? Ah, Messire, believe me! -God Himself has chosen you for this work!" - -"The work of a spy, Monseigneur," said the other not without a touch of -bitterness. - -"Nay! if you call yourself a spy, Messire, then shall the name of 'spy' -be henceforth a name of glory to its wearer, synonymous with the -loftiest patriotism and noblest self-sacrifice." - -He held out his hand to the man with the mask, who bent his tall figure -over it in dutiful respect. - -"You see how well I keep to my share of the compact, Messire. Never -once--even whilst we were alone--hath your name escaped my lips." - -"For which act of graciousness, Monseigneur, I do offer you my humble -thanks. May God guard your Highness through every peril! The cause of -justice and of liberty rests in your hands." - -After another deeply respectful bow he finally turned to go. He had -reached the entrance of the tent when once more the Prince spoke to him. - -"When shall I see you again--Leatherface?" he asked cheerily. - -"When your Highness' precious life or the safety of your army are in -danger," replied the man. - -"God reward you!" murmured Orange fervently as the man with the mask -disappeared into the night. - - - - - BOOK ONE: BRUSSELS - - - - CHAPTER I - - THE BLOOD COUNCIL - - - I - - -Less than a month later, and tyranny is once more triumphant. Mons has -capitulated, Orange has withdrawn his handful of mutinous troops into -Holland, Valenciennes has been destroyed and Mechlin--beautiful, -gracious, august Mechlin--with her cathedrals and her trade-halls, her -ancient monuments of art and civilisation has been given over for three -days to the lust and rapine of Spanish soldiery! - -Three whole days! E'en now we think on those days and shudder--shudder -at what we know, at what the chroniclers have told us, the sacking of -churches, the pillaging of monasteries, the massacre of peaceful, -harmless citizens! - -Three whole days during which the worst demons that infest hell itself, -the worst demons that inspire the hideous passions of men--greed, -revenge and cruelty--were let loose upon the stately city whose sole -offence had been that she had for twenty-four hours harboured Orange and -his troops within her gates and closed them against the tyrant's -soldiery! - -Less than a month and Orange is a fugitive, and all the bright hopes for -the cause of religious and civil freedom are once more dashed to the -ground. It seems as if God Himself hath set His face against the holy -cause! Mons has fallen and Mechlin is reduced to ashes, and over across -the borders the King of France has caused ten thousand of his subjects -to be massacred--one holy day, the feast of St. Bartholomew--ten -thousand of them!--just because their religious beliefs did not coincide -with his own. The appalling news drove Orange and his small army to -flight--he had reckoned on help from the King of France--instead of that -promised help the news of the massacre of ten thousand Protestants! -Catholic Europe was horror-stricken at the crime committed in the name -of religion; but in the Low Countries, Spanish tyranny had scored a -victory--the ignoble Duke of Alva triumphed and the cause of freedom in -Flanders and Hainault and Brabant received a blow from which it did not -again recover for over three hundred years! - - - - II - - -Outwardly the house where the Duke of Alva lodged in Brussels was not -different to many of the same size in the city. It was built of red -brick with stone base and finely-carved cornice, and had a high slate -roof with picturesque dormer windows therein. The windows on the street -level were solidly grilled and were ornamented with richly-carved -pediments, as was the massive doorway too. The door itself was of heavy -oak, and above it there was a beautifully wrought niche which held a -statue of the Virgin. - -On the whole it looked a well-constructed, solid and roomy house, and -Mme. de Jassy, its owner, had placed it at the disposal of the -Lieutenant-Governor when first he arrived in Brussels, and he had -occupied it ever since. The idler as he strolled past the house would -hardly pause to look at it, if he did not happen to know that behind -those brick walls and grilled windows a work of oppression more heinous -than this world had ever known before, was being planned and carried on -by a set of cruel and execrable tyrants against an independent country -and a freedom-loving people. - -Here in the dining-hall the Duke of Alva would preside at the meetings -of the Grand Council--the Council of Blood--sitting in a high-backed -chair which had the arms of Spain emblazoned upon it. Juan de Vargas -and Alberic del Rio usually sat to right and left of him. Del -Rio--indolent and yielding--a mere tool for the carrying out of every -outrage, every infamy which the fiendish brain of those tyrants could -devise wherewith to crush the indomitable spirit of a proud nation -jealous of its honour and of its liberties: and de Vargas--Alva's double -and worthy lieutenant--no tool he, but a terrible reality, active and -resourceful in the invention of new forms of tyranny, new fetters for -the curbing of stiff-necked Flemish and Dutch burghers, new methods for -wringing rivers of gold out of a living stream of tears and blood. - -De Vargas!--the very name stinks in the nostrils of honest men even -after the lapse of centuries!--It conjures up the hideous image of a -human bloodhound--lean and sallow of visage, with drooping, heavy-lidded -eyes and flaccid mouth, a mouth that sneered and jested when men, women -and children were tortured and butchered, eyes that gloated at sight of -stake and scaffold and gibbet--and within the inner man, a mind intent -on the science of murder and rapine and bloodshed. - -Alva the will that commanded! Vargas the brain that devised! Del Rio -the hand that accomplished! - -Men sent by Philip II. of Spain, the most fanatical tyrant the world has -ever known, to establish the abhorrent methods of the Spanish -Inquisition in the Low Countries in order to consolidate Spanish rule -there and wrest from prosperous Flanders and Brabant and Hainault, from -Holland and the Dutch provinces enough gold to irrigate the thirsty soil -of Spain. "The river of gold which will flow from the Netherlands to -Madrid shall be a yard deep!" so had Alva boasted when his infamous -master sent him to quell the revolt which had noble-hearted Orange for -its leader--a revolt born of righteous indignation and an unconquerable -love of freedom and of justice. - -To mould the Netherlands into abject vassals of Spain, to break their -independence of spirit by terrorism and by outrage, to force Spanish -ideas, Spanish culture, Spanish manners, Spanish religion upon these -people of the North who loathed tyranny and worshipped their ancient -charters and privileges, that was the task which the Duke of Alva set -himself to do--a task for which he needed the help of men as tyrannical -and unscrupulous as himself. - -Granvelle had begun the work, Alva was completing it! The stake, the -scaffold, the gibbet for all who had one thought of justice, one desire -for freedom. Mons razed to the ground, Valenciennes a heap of ruins and -ashes, Mechlin a hecatomb. Men, women and children outraged and -murdered! Whole families put to the torture to wring gold from -unwilling givers! churches destroyed! monasteries ransacked! - -That was the work of the Grand Council--the odious Council of Blood, the -members of which have put to shame the very name of religion, for they -dared to pretend that they acted in its name. - -Alva! de Vargas! del Rio! A trinity of fiends whose deeds would shame -the demons in hell! But there were others too, and, O ye gods! were -they not infinitely more vile, since their hands reeked with the blood -of their own kith and kin? Alva and his two bloodhounds were strangers -in a strange land, owing allegiance to Spain alone--but Councillor -Hessels sat on this same infamous board, and he was a patrician of -Brabant. And there was Pierre Arsens, president of Artois, there was de -Berlaymont and Viglius and Hopper--gentlemen (save the mark!) and -burghers of Flanders or Hainault or the Dutch provinces!--and who can -name such creatures without a shudder of loathing? - - - - III - - -As for don Ramon de Linea, he was just the usual type of Spanish -soldier--a grandee of Spain, direct descendant of the Cid, so he -averred, yet disdained to prove it. For in him there was no sense of -chivalry--just personal bravery and no more--the same kind of bravery -you would meet in a tiger or a jaguar. In truth there was much in -common between don Ramon and the wild feline tribes that devastate the -deserts: he had the sinuous movements, the languorous gestures of those -creatures, and his eyes--dark and velvety at times, at others almost of -an orange tint--had all the cruel glitter which comes into the eyes of -the leopard when he is out to kill. Otherwise don Ramon was a -fine-looking man, dark-skinned and dark-eyed, a son of the South, with -all those cajoling ways about him which please and so often deceive the -women. - -He it was who had been in command at Mechlin--entrusted by General de -Noircarmes with the hideous task of destroying the stately city--and he -had done it with a will. Overproud of his achievements he had obtained -leave to make personal report of them to the Lieutenant-Governor, and -thus it was that on this 2nd day of October, 1572, he was present at the -council board, talking with easy grace and no little satisfaction of all -that he had done: of the churches which he had razed to the ground, the -houses which he had sacked, of the men, women and children whom he had -turned out naked and starving into the streets. - -"We laboured hard for three days," he said, "and the troops worked with -a will, for there were heavy arrears of pay due to them and we told them -to make up those arrears in Mechlin, since they wouldn't get any money -from headquarters. Oh! Mechlin got all that she deserved! Her accursed -citizens can now repent at leisure of their haste in harbouring Orange -and his rebel troops!" - -His voice was deep and mellow and even the guttural Spanish consonants -sounded quite soft when he spoke them. Through half-closed lids his -glance swept from time to time over the eager faces around the board, -and his slender hands emphasised the hideous narrative with a few -graceful gestures. He looked just the true type of grand seigneur -telling a tale of mild adventure and of sport, and now and then he -laughed displaying his teeth, sharp and white like the fangs of a -leopard's cub. - -No one interrupted him, and Councillor Hessels fell gradually--as was -his wont--into a gentle doze from which he roused himself now and again -in order to murmur drowsily: "To the gallows with them all!" - -Viglius and Hopper and de Berlaymont tried hard to repress a shudder. -They were slaves of Spain, these gentlemen of the Low Countries, but not -Spanish born, and were not accustomed from earliest childhood to -listen--not only unmoved but with a certain measure of delight--to these -tales of horror. But there was nothing in what don Ramon said of which -they disapproved. They were--all of them--loyal subjects of the King, -and the very thought of rebellion was abhorrent to them. - -But it was passing strange that the Duke of Alva made no comment on the -young captain's report. There he sat, at the head of the table, silent -and moody, with one bony fist clenched above a letter which lay open -beneath his hand, and which bore a large red seal with the royal arms of -Spain impressed upon it. Not a word of praise or blame did he speak. -His heavy brows were contracted in a sullen frown, and his protruding -eyes were veiled beneath the drooping lids. - -De Vargas, too, was silent--de Vargas who loved to gloat over such tales -as don Ramon had to tell, de Vargas who believed that these rebellious -Low Countries could only be brought into subjection by such acts of -demoniacal outrage as the Spanish soldiery had just perpetrated in Mons -and in Mechlin. He, too, appeared moody to-day, and the story of sick -women and young children being dragged out of their beds and driven out -to perish in the streets while their homes were being pillaged and -devastated, left him taciturn and unmoved. - -Don Ramon made vain pretence not to notice the Lieutenant-Governor's -moodiness, nor yet de Vargas' silence, but those who knew him best--and -de Vargas was among these--plainly saw that irritation had seized upon -his nerves. He was talking more volubly, and his voice had lost its -smoothness, whilst the languor of his gestures had given place to sharp, -febrile movements of hands and shoulders which he tried vainly to -disguise. - -"Our soldiers," he was saying loudly, "did not leave a loaf of bread in -the bakeries, or a bushel of wheat in the stores of Mechlin. The rich -citizens we hanged at the rate of twenty a day, and I drew orders for -the confiscation of their estates to the benefit of our Most Gracious -King and suzerain Lord. I tell you we made quick work of all the -rebels: stone no longer stands on stone in Mechlin to-day: its -patricians are beggars, its citizens are scattered. We have put to the -torture and burned at the stake those who refused to give us their all. -A month ago Mechlin was a prosperous city: she gave of her wealth and of -her hospitality to the rebel troops of Orange. To-day she and her -children have ceased to be. Are you not satisfied?" - -He brought his clenched fist crashing down upon the table: surely a very -unusual loss of restraint in a grandee of Spain: but obviously he found -it more and more difficult to keep his temper under control, and those -dark eyes of his were now fixed with a kind of fierce resentment upon -the impassive face of the Duke. - -Councillor Hessels, only half awake, reiterated with drowsy emphasis: -"To the gallows with them! Send them all to the gallows!" - -Still the Duke of Alva was silent and de Vargas did not speak. Yet it -was the Duke himself who had given the order for the destruction of -Mechlin: "as a warning to other cities," he had said. And now he sat at -the head of the table sullen, moody and frowning, and don Ramon felt an -icy pang of fear gripping him by the throat: the thought that censure of -his conduct was brewing in the Lieutenant-Governor's mind caused him to -lose the last vestige of self-control, for he knew that censure could -have but one sequel--quick judgment and the headman's axe. - -"Are you not satisfied?" he cried hoarsely. "What more did you expect? -What more ought we to have done? What other proof of zeal does King -Philip ask of me?" - -Thus directly challenged the Duke raised his head and looked the young -man sternly in the face. - -"What you have done, Messire," he said slowly--and the cold glitter in -his steely eyes held in it more real and calculating cruelty than the -feline savagery of the other man, "what you have done is good, but it is -not enough. What use is there in laying low an entire city, when the one -man whose personality holds the whole of this abominable rebellion -together still remains unscathed? You hanged twenty noted citizens a -day in Mechlin, you say," he added with a cynical shrug of the -shoulders, "I would gladly see every one of them spared, so long as -Orange's head fell on the scaffold." - -"Orange has disbanded his army and has fled almost alone into Holland," -said don Ramon sullenly. "My orders were to punish Mechlin and not to -run after the Prince of Orange." - -"The order to bring the Prince of Orange alive or dead to Brussels and -to me takes precedence of every other order, as you well know, Messire," -retorted Alva roughly. "We decided on that unanimously at the meeting of -the Grand Council on the day that I sent Egmont and Horn to the scaffold -and Orange refused to walk into the trap which I had set for him." - -"He always escapes from the traps which are set for him," now broke in -de Vargas in his calm, even, expressionless voice. "During the siege of -Mons, according to don Frederic's report, no fewer than six surprise -night-attacks--all admirably planned--failed, because Orange appeared to -have received timely warning." - -"Who should know that better than I, señor?" queried don Ramon hotly, -"seeing that I led most of those attacks myself--they were splendidly -planned, our men as silent as ghosts, the night darker than hell. Not a -word of the plan was breathed until I gave the order to start. Yet -someone gave the alarm. We found Orange's camp astir--every time we had -to retire. Who but the devil could have given the warning?" - -"A spy more astute than yourselves," quoth Alva dryly. - -"Nay!" here interposed del Rio blandly, "I am of the same opinion as don -Ramon de Linea; there is a subtle agency at work which appears to guard -the life of the Prince of Orange. I myself was foiled many a time when -I was on his track--with Ribeiras who wields a dagger in the dark more -deftly than any man I know. I also employed Loronzo, who graduated in -Venice in the art of poisons, but invariably the Prince slipped through -our fingers just as if he had been put on his guard by some mysterious -emissary." - -"The loyalists in Flanders," quoth President Viglius under his breath, -"declare that the agency which works for the safety of the Prince of -Orange is a supernatural one. They speak of a tall, manlike figure -whose face is hidden by a mask, and who invariably appears whenever the -Prince of Orange's life is in danger. Some people call this mysterious -being 'Leatherface,' but no one seems actually to have seen him. It -sounds as if he were truly an emissary of the devil." - -And as the President spoke, a strange silence fell around the council -board: every cheek had become pale, every lip quivered. De Vargas made -a quick sign of the Cross over his chest: Alva drew a small medal from -the inside of his doublet and kissed it devoutly. These men who talked -airily of rapine and of violence perpetrated against innocent people, -who gloated over torture and misery which they loved to inflict, were -held in the cold grip of superstitious fear, and their trembling lips -uttered abject prayers for mercy to the God whom they outraged by every -act of their infamous lives. - - - - IV - - -When the Duke of Alva spoke again, his voice was still unsteady: "Devil -or no devil," he said with an attempt at dignified composure, "His -majesty's latest orders are quite peremptory. He desires the death of -Orange. He will have no more cities destroyed, no more wholesale -massacres until that great object is attained. Pressure has been -brought to bear upon him: the Emperor, it seems, has spoken -authoritatively, and with no uncertain voice. It seems that the -destruction of Flemish cities is abhorrent to the rest of Europe." - -"Rebel cities!" ejaculated de Berlaymont hotly. - -"Aye! we know well enough that they are rebel cities," quoth Alva -fiercely, "but what can we do, when a milk-livered weakling wears the -Imperial crown? Our gracious King himself dares not disregard the -Emperor's protests--and in his last letter to me he commands that we -should hold our hand and neither massacre a population nor destroy a -town unless we have proof positive that both are seething with -rebellion." - -"Seething with rebellion!" exclaimed don Ramon, "then what of -Ghent--which is a very nest of rebels?" - -"Ah!" retorted Alva, "Ghent by the Mass! Seigniors, all of you who know -that accursed city, bring me proof that she harbours Orange or his -troops! Bring me proof that she gives him money! Bring me proof that -plots against our Government are hatched within her walls! I have moral -proofs that Orange has been in Ghent lately, that he is levying troops -within her very walls--I know that he has received promises of support -from some of her most influential citizens..." - -"Nay, then, let your Highness but give the order," broke in don Ramon -once more, "my soldiers would spend three fruitful days in Ghent." - -"As I pointed out to His Highness yesterday," rejoined de Vargas in -mellifluous tones, "we should reduce Ghent to ashes before she hatches -further mischief against us. Once a city hath ceased to be, it can no -longer be a source of danger to the State ... and," he added blandly, -"there is more money in Ghent than in any other city of Flanders." - -"And more rebellion in one family there than in the whole of the -population of Brabant," assented Councillor Arsens. "I have lived in -that accursed city all my life," he continued savagely, "and I say that -Ghent ought not to be allowed to exist a day longer than is necessary -for massing together two or three regiments of unpaid soldiery and -turning them loose into the town--just as we did in Mechlin!" - -The others nodded approval - -"And by the Mass..." resumed don Ramon. - -"Enough, Messire," broke in the Duke peremptorily, "who are you, I pray, -who are you all to be thus discussing the orders of His Majesty the -King? I have transmitted to you His Majesty's orders just as I received -them from Madrid yesterday. It is for you--for us all--to show our zeal -and devotion at this critical moment in our nation's history, by obeying -blindly, whole-heartedly, those gracious commands. Do we want our King -to be further embarrassed by a quarrel with the Emperor? And what are -those orders, I ask you? Wise and Christianlike as usual. His Majesty -doth not forbid the punishment of rebel cities--No!--all that he asks is -that we deliver Orange unto him--Orange, the arch-traitor--and that in -future we prove conclusively to Europe and to Maximilian that when we -punish a Flemish city we do so with unquestioned justice." - -He paused, and his prominent, heavy-lidded eyes wandered somewhat -contemptuously on the sullen faces around the board. - -"Proofs, seigniors," he said with a light shrug of the shoulders, -"proofs are not difficult to obtain. All you want is a good friend -inside a city to keep you well informed. The paid spy is not -sufficient--oft-times he is clumsy and himself an object of suspicion. -Orange has been in Ghent, seigniors; he will go again! He has disbanded -his army, but at his call another will spring up ... in Ghent mayhap ... -where he has so many friends ... where money is plentiful and rebellion -rife.... We must strike at Ghent before she becomes an open menace..." - -"You'll never strike at Orange," broke in Councillor Arsens obstinately, -"while that creature Leatherface is at large." - -"He is said to hail from Ghent," added Viglius with conviction. - -"Then by the Mass, seigniors," interposed Alva fiercely, "the matter is -even more simple than I had supposed, and all this talk and these -murmurings savour of treason, meseems. Are you fools and dolts to -imagine that when His Majesty's orders were known to me, I did not at -once set to work to fulfil them? We want to strike at Ghent, seigniors, -and want proofs of her rebellion--His Majesty wants those proofs and he -wants the death of Orange. We all desire to raze Ghent to the ground! -Then will you give me your close attention, and I will e'en tell you my -plans for attaining all these objects and earning the approval of our -gracious King and recognition from the rest of Europe." - -"Then should not don Ramon de Linea retire?" queried President Viglius, -"surely His Highness's decision can only be disclosed to members of his -council." - -"Let don Ramon stay," interposed de Vargas with unanswerable authority, -even as the young man was preparing to take his leave. "The matter is -one that in a measure will concern him, seeing that it involves the -destinies of the city of Ghent and that His Highness is pleased to give -him the command of our troops stationed in that city." - - - - V - - -Don Ramon de Linea glanced up at de Vargas with a look of agreeable -surprise. The command of the troops in Ghent! Of a truth this was news -to him, and happy news indeed. Rumour was current that the Duke of -Alva--Lieutenant-Governor of the Low Countries and Captain-General of -the forces--was about to visit Ghent, and the captain in command there -would thus be in a position of doing useful work, mayhap of rendering -valuable services, and in any case, of being well before the eyes of the -Captain-General. - -All the young man's elegant, languid manner had come back to him. He -had had a fright, but nothing more, and commendation--in the shape of -this important promotion--had allayed all his fears: his being allowed -to be present at a deliberation of the Grand Council was also a signal -mark of favour granted to him, no doubt in recognition of his zeal and -loyalty whilst destroying the noble city of Mechlin for the glory of -King Philip of Spain. - -He now resumed his seat at the board, selecting with becoming modesty a -place at the bottom of the table and feeling not the least disconcerted -by the wrathful, envious looks which President Viglius and one or two -other Netherlanders directed against him. - -"The plan, seigniors, which I have in my mind," resumed the Duke after a -slight pause, "could never have come to maturity but for the loyal -co-operation of señor Juan de Vargas and of his equally loyal daughter. -Let me explain," he continued, seeing the look of astonishment which -spread over most of the faces around the board. "It is necessary, in -view of all that we said just now, that I should have a means--a tool I -might say--for the working out of a project which has both the death of -Orange and the punishment of Ghent for its aim. I have told you that I -am morally certain that Orange is operating in Ghent at the present -moment. Is it likely that he would leave such a storehouse of wealth -and rebellion untouched?--heresy is rampant in Ghent and treachery goes -hand in hand with it. Our spies unfortunately have been unable to -obtain very reliable information: the inhabitants are astute and -wary--they hatch their plots with devilish cunning and secrecy. -Obviously, therefore, what we want is a loyal worker, an efficient and -devoted servant of the King in the very heart of the civic life of the -town: if only we can get to know what goes on in the intimate family -circles of those townsfolk, I feel sure that we shall get all the proofs -that the King desires of the treachery of Ghent." - -He paused a moment in order to draw breath; absolute silence--the -silence of tense expectation--hung around the council-board. The -Netherlanders hung obsequiously on the tyrant's lips, del Rio leaned -back in his chair--seemingly indifferent--and de Vargas was closely -watching don Ramon de Linea; the young man was trying to appear calmly -interested, but the restless look in his eyes and a slight tremor of his -hand betrayed inward agitation. - -"Some of you reverend seigniors," continued the Duke of Alva after -awhile, in powerful, compelling tones, "will perhaps have guessed by -now, what connection there is in my mind between that vast project which -I have just put before you and the daughter of my loyal coadjutor don -Juan de Vargas. I have arranged that she shall marry a man of influence -and position in Ghent, so that she can not only keep me informed of all -the intrigues which are brewing in that city against the Government of -our gracious King, but also become the means whereby we can lure Orange -to his doom, capture that mysterious Leatherface, and then deliver Ghent -over to don Ramon's soldiery." - -He struck the table repeatedly with his fist as he spoke: there was no -doubting the power of the man to accomplish what he wanted, as well as -the cruelty and vindictiveness wherewith he would pursue anyone who -dared to attempt to thwart him in his projects. No one thought of -interrupting him. Don Ramon kept his agitation under control as best he -could, for he felt that de Vargas's eyes still watched him closely. - -"A very admirable idea," now murmured Viglius obsequiously. - -As usual on these occasions, it was obvious that he and the other -Netherlanders were mere figureheads at the council-board. Alva was -directing, planning, commanding, de Vargas had been the confidant, and -del Rio would always be the ready tool when needed: but Viglius, de -Berlaymont, Hessels, and the others, were mere servile listeners, ready -to give the approbation which was expected of them and withholding every -word of criticism. - - - - VI - - -"And doth donna Lenora de Vargas enter into all these far-reaching -schemes?" now asked don Ramon coldly. "Meseems, they are above a woman's -comprehension." - -De Vargas' persistent glance was irritating his nerves; he threw a -challenging look--wholly defiant--across the table at the older man. - -"My daughter, Messire," said the latter loftily, "is above all a true -Spaniard. She has been brought up to obey and not to discuss. She is -old enough now to forget all past youthful follies," he added, answering -don Ramon's defiant glance with one that conveyed a threat. "Her -devotion to her Church, her King and her country, and her hatred of -Orange and all rebels will influence her actions in the way the -Lieutenant-Governor desires." - -Don Ramon was silent. He had understood the threat which de Vargas' -glance had expressed, and he knew what the other meant when he spoke of -"past youthful follies"--it meant the breaking off of a pleasing -romance, a farewell to many an ambitious dream. Don Ramon suppressed a -sigh of anger and of disappointment: donna Lenora de Vargas was -beautiful and wealthy, but it were not wise to let her father see how -hard he--Ramon--had been hit. He took no further part in the -discussion, and after awhile he succeeded in appearing wholly -indifferent to its sentimental side; but he listened attentively to all -that was said, and when he met de Vargas' glance, which now and then was -fixed mockingly upon him, he answered it with a careless shrug of the -shoulders. - -"And," now rejoined Pierre Arsens, who was president of Artois and a -patrician of Hainault, "may we ask if His Highness has already chosen -the happy man who is to become the husband of such a pattern of -womanhood?" - -"My choice has naturally fallen on the son of Mynheer Charles van Rycke, -the High-Bailiff of Ghent," replied Alva curtly. - -"A family of traitors if ever there was one," growled Alberic del Rio -savagely. "I know them. The father is all right, so is the younger son -Mark--younger, I believe, by only a couple of hours--a wastrel and -something of a drunkard, so I understand; but the mother and the other -son are impudent adherents of Orange: they have more than once drawn the -attention of the Chief Inquisitor on themselves, and if I had my way -with such cattle, I would have had the men hanged and the woman burned -long before this." - -"Van Rycke," said Alva coldly, "is High-Bailiff of Ghent. He is a good -Catholic and so is his wife: he is a man of great consideration in the -city and his sons are popular. It has not been thought expedient to -interfere with them up to now. But--bearing my schemes in mind--I have -caused the man to be severely warned once or twice. These warnings have -reduced him to a state of panic, and lately when my scheme had matured I -told him that my desire was that one of his sons should wed don Juan de -Vargas' daughter. He had no thought of refusal. In fact his acceptance -was positively abject." - -"And on what grounds was the marriage suggested to him?" questioned -President Arsens. - -"Grounds, Messire?" retorted the Duke; "we give no grounds or reasons -for our commands to our Flemish subjects. We give an order and they -obey. I told Mynheer van Rycke that I desired the marriage and that was -enough." - -"Then," interposed President Viglius with an attempt at jocularity, "we -shall soon be able to congratulate two young people on a happy event!" - -"You will be able to do that to-morrow, Messire," quoth the Duke. -"Señor de Vargas goes to Ghent for the purpose of affiancing the two -young people together; the marriage ceremony will take place within the -week. His Majesty hath approved of my scheme: he desires that we should -expedite the marriage. Señor de Vargas is willing, Messire van Rycke -would not think of objecting, donna Lenora is heart free. Why should we -delay?" - -"Why, indeed?" murmured don Ramon under his breath. - -"Donna Lenora," resumed Alva sententiously, "is indeed lucky in -that--unlike most women--she will be able to work personally for the -glory of her King and country. If through her instrumentality we can -bring Orange to the block and Ghent to her knees, there is no favour -which her father could not ask of us." - -As he said this, he turned to de Vargas and stretched out his hand to -him. De Vargas took the hand respectfully and bent over it in dutiful -obedience. - -"Now, seigniors," resumed the Duke more gaily, and once more addressing -the full council-board, "you know the full reason of my projected -journey to Ghent. I go ostensibly in order to inaugurate the statue of -our Sovereign King erected by my orders in the market place, but also in -order to ascertain how our loyal worker will have progressed in the -time. Donna Lenora de Vargas will have been the wife of Messire van -Rycke for over a sennight by then: she will--and I mistake not--have -much to tell us. In the meanwhile señor de Vargas will take up his -residence in the city as _vicarius criminalis_: he will begin his -functions to-morrow by presiding over the engagement of his daughter to -the son of the High-Bailiff: there will be much public rejoicing and -many entertainments during the week and on the day of the wedding -ceremony: to these, seigniors, ye are graciously bidden. I pray you go -and mingle as far as you can with that crowd of uncouth and vulgar -burghers whose treachery seems to pierce even through their ill-fitting -doublets. I pray you also to keep your eyes and ears open ... an my -conjectures are correct, much goes on in Ghent of which the Holy -Inquisition should have cognisance. We are out on a special campaign -against cunning traitors, and Ghent is our first objective. When we -turn our soldiery loose into the city, yours, seigniors, will be the -first spoils.... Ghent is rich in treasure and money ... those first -spoils will be worth the winning. Until that happy day, I bid you _au -revoir_, gentle Sirs, and let your toast be at every banquet: 'To the -destruction of Ghent, and to the death of Orange!'" - -After which long peroration the Lieutenant-Governor intimated with a -casual wave of his be-ringed hand that the sitting of the Grand Council -was at an end. The illustrious councillors rose with alacrity: they -were now in rare good humour. The parting speech of His Highness -tickled their cupidity. The first spoils at the sacking of Ghent should -mean a fortune for every member of the board. General de Noircarmes had -made a huge one at the sacking of Mons, and even younger officers like -don Ramon de Linea had vastly enriched themselves when Mechlin was given -over to the soldiers. - -One by one now the grave seigniors withdrew, having taken respectful -leave of His Highness. To the salute of the Netherlanders--of Viglius -and Hessels, of Berlaymont and the others, the Duke responded with a -curt bow--to de Vargas and del Rio, and also to don Ramon, he nodded -with easy familiarity. However obsequious the Netherlanders might -be--however proven their zeal, their Spanish masters never allowed them -to forget that there was a world of social distinction between a grandee -of Spain and the uncouth burghers and even patricians of this -semi-civilised land. - - - - VII - - -Having made his last obeisance before the Duke of Alva and taken leave -of the grave seigniors of the Grand Council, don Ramon de Linea bowed -himself out of the room with all the ceremony which Spanish etiquette -prescribed. As he did so he noticed that at a significant sign from -Alva, de Vargas and Alberic del Rio remained behind in the -council-chamber, even while all the Netherlanders were being dismissed. -He watched these latter gentlemen as one by one they filed quickly out -of the house--loath even to exchange a few friendly words with one -another on the doorstep in this place where every wall had ears and -every nook and cranny concealed a spy. He watched them with an air of -supercilious contempt, oblivious of the fact that he himself had been -not a little scared by the black looks cast on him by the all-powerful -tyrant and merciless autocrat. - -The scare had been unpleasant, but it was all over now: Fate--that ever -fickle jade--seemed inclined to smile on him. The penniless scion of a -noble race, he seemed at last on the high road to fortune--the command -of the troops in Ghent was an unexpected gift of the goddess, whilst the -sacking and looting of Mechlin had amply filled his pockets. - -But it was a pity about donna Lenora! - -Don Ramon paused in the vast panelled hall and instinctively his eyes -wandered to the mirror, framed in rich Flemish carved wood, which hung -upon the wall. By our Lady! he had well-nigh lost his self-control just -now under de Vargas' mocking gaze, and also that air of high-breeding -and sang-froid which became him so well: the thought of donna Lenora -even in connection with her approaching marriage caused him to readjust -the set of his doublet and the stiff folds of his ruffle, and his -well-shaped hand wandered lovingly up to his silky moustache. - -A sound immediately behind him caused him to start and to turn. An -elderly woman wrapped in a dark shawl and wearing a black veil right -over her face and head was standing close to his elbow. - -"Inez?" he exclaimed, "what is it?" - -"Hist! I beg of you, señor," whispered the woman, "I am well-nigh dead -with terror at thought that I might be seen. The señorita knew that you -would be here to-day: she saw you from the gallery above, and sent me -down to ask you to come to her at once." - -"The señorita?" broke in don Ramon impatiently, and with a puzzled -frown, "is she here?" - -"Señor de Vargas won't let her out of his sight now. When he hath -audience of the Lieutenant-Governor or business with the council he -makes the señorita come with him. The Duke of Alva hath given her a -room in this house, where she can sit while her father is at the -Council." - -"But Heavens above, why all this mystery?" - -"The señorita will tell your Graciousness," said the woman, "I beg of -you to come at once. If I stay longer down here I shall die of fright." - -And like a scared hen, old Inez trotted across the hall, without waiting -to see if don Ramon followed her. The young man seemed to hesitate for -a moment: the call was a peremptory one, coming as it did from a -beautiful woman whom he loved: at the same time all that he had heard in -the council-chamber was a warning to him to keep out of de Vargas' way; -the latter--if Inez spoke the truth--was keeping his daughter almost a -prisoner, and it was never good at any time to run counter to señor de -Vargas. - -The house was very still. The Netherlanders had all gone: two serving -men appeared to be asleep in the porch, otherwise there came no sign of -life from any part of the building: the heavy oak doors which gave on -the anteroom of the council-chamber effectually deadened every sound -which might have come from there. - -Don Ramon smiled to himself and shrugged his shoulders. After all he -was a fool to be so easily scared: a beautiful woman beckoned, and he -had not been forbidden to see her--so--after that one brief moment of -hesitation he turned to follow Inez up the stairs. - -The woman led the way round the gallery, then up another flight of -stairs and along a narrow corridor, till she came to a low door, beside -which she stopped. - -"Go in, I pray you, señor," she said, "the señorita expects you." - -The young man walked unannounced into the small room beyond. - -There came a little cry of happy surprise out of the recess of a wide -dormer window, and the next moment don Ramon held Lenora de Vargas in -his arms. - - - - VIII - - -Lenora with the golden hair and the dark velvety eyes! Thus do the -chroniclers of the time speak of her (notably the Sieur de Vaernewyck -who knew her intimately), thus too did Velasquez paint her, a few years -after these notable events--all in white, for she seldom wore coloured -gowns--very stately, with the small head slightly thrown back, the -fringe of dark lashes veiling the lustre of her luminous eyes. - -But just at this moment there was no stateliness about donna Lenora: she -clung to don Ramon, just like a loving child that has been rather scared -and knows where to find protection; and he accepted her caress with an -easy, somewhat supercilious air of condescension--the child was so -pretty and so very much in love! He patted her hair with gentle, -soothing gesture and thanked kind Fate for this pleasing gift of a -beautiful woman's love. - -"I did not know that you were in Brussels," he said after awhile, and -when he had led her to a seat in the window, and sat down beside her. -"All this while I thought you still in Segovia." - -His glance was searching hers and his vanity was pleasantly stirred by -the fact that she was pale and thin, and that those wonderful, luminous -eyes of hers looked as if they had shed many tears of late. - -"Ramon," she whispered, "you know?" - -"The Duke of Alva," he replied dryly, "gave me official information." - -Then seeing that she remained silent and dejected he added peremptorily: -"Lenora! how long is it since you have known of this proposed marriage?" - -"Only three days," she replied tonelessly. "My father sent for me about -a month ago. The Duchess of Medina Coeli was coming over to the -Netherlands on a visit to her lord, and I was told that I must accompany -her. We started from Laredo in the _Esperansa_ on the 10th of last -month and we landed at Flushing a week ago. Oh! at first I was so happy -to come ... it is nine months and more since you left Spain and my heart -was aching for a sight of you." - -"Then ... when did you first hear?" - -"Three days since, when we arrived in Brussels. The Duchess herself -took me to my father's house, and then he told me ... that he had bade -me come because the Lieutenant-Governor had arranged a marriage for me -... with a Netherlander." - -Don Ramon muttered an angry oath. - -"Did he--your father I mean--never hint at it before?" he asked. - -"Never. A month ago he still spoke of you in his letters to me. Had -you no suspicions, Ramon?" - -"None," he replied. - -"It was he of course who obtained for you that command under don -Frederic, which took you out of Spain." - -"It was a fine position and I accepted it gladly ... and -unsuspectingly." - -"It must have been the beginning: he wanted you out of my way already -then, though he went on pretending all this while that he favoured your -attentions to me. He thought that I would soon forget you. How little -he knows me! And now he has forbidden me to think of you again. Since -I am in Brussels he hardly lets me out of his sight. He only leaves the -house in order to attend on the Duke, and when he does, he brings me -here with him. Inez and I are sent up to this room and I am virtually a -prisoner." - -"It all seems like an ugly dream, Lenora," he murmured sullenly. - -"Aye! an ugly dream," she sighed. "Ofttimes, since my father told me -this awful thing, I have thought that it could not be true. God could -not allow anything so monstrous and so wicked. I thought that I must be -dreaming and must presently wake up and find myself in the dear old -convent at Segovia with your farewell letter to me under my pillow." - -She was gazing straight out before her--not at him, for she felt that if -she looked on him, all her fortitude would give way and she would cry -like a child. This she would not do, for her woman's instinct had -already told her that all the courage in this terrible emergency must -come from her. - -He sat there, moody and taciturn, all the while that she longed for him -to take her in his arms and to swear to her that never would he give her -up, never would he allow reasons of State to come between him and his -love. - -"There are political reasons it seems," she continued, and the utter -wretchedness and hopelessness with which she spoke were a pathetic -contrast to his own mere sullen resentment. "My father has not -condescended to say much. He sent for me and I came. As soon as I -arrived in Brussels he told me that I must no longer think of you: that -childish folly, he said, must now come to an end. Then he advised me -that the Lieutenant-Governor had arranged a marriage for me with the son -of Messire van Rycke, High-Bailiff of Ghent ... that we are to be -affianced to-morrow and married within the week. I cried--I implored--I -knelt to my father and begged him not to break my heart, my life.... I -told him that to part me from you was to condemn me to worse than -death...." - -"Well? and--?" he queried. - -"You know my father, Ramon," she said with a slight shudder, "almost as -well as I do. Do you believe that any tears would move him?" - -He made no reply. Indeed, what could he say? He did know Juan de -Vargas, knew that such a man would sacrifice without pity or remorse -everything that stood in the way of his schemes or of his ambition. - -"I was not even told that you would be in Brussels to-day--Inez only -heard of it through the Duke of Alva's serving man--then she and I -watched for you, because I felt that I must at least be the first to -tell you the awful--awful news! Oh!" she exclaimed with sudden -vehemence, "the misery of it all! ... Ramon, cannot you think of -something?--cannot you think? Are we going to be parted like this? as -if our love had never been, as if our love were not sweet and sacred and -holy, the blessing of God which no man should have the power to take -away from us!" - -She was on the point of breaking down, and don Ramon with one ear alert -to every sound outside had much ado to soothe and calm her. This he -tried to do, for selfish as he was, he loved this beautiful woman with -that passionate if shallow ardour which is characteristic in men of his -temperament. - -"Lenora," he said after awhile, "it is impossible for me to say anything -for the moment. Fate and your father's cruelty have dealt me a blow -which has half-stunned me. As you say, I must think--I am not going to -give up hope quite as readily as your father seems to think. By our -Lady! I am not just an old glove that can so lightly be cast aside. I -must think ... I must devise.... But in the meanwhile...." - -He paused and something of that same look of fear came into his eyes -which had been there when in the Council Chamber he had dreaded the Duke -of Alva'a censure. - -"In the meanwhile, my sweet," he added hastily, "you must pretend to -obey. You cannot openly defy your father! ... nor yet the Duke of Alva. -You know them both! They are men who know neither pity nor mercy! Your -father would punish you if you disobeyed him ... he has the means of -compelling you to obey. But the Duke's wrath would fall with deathly -violence upon me. You know as well as I do that he would sacrifice me -ruthlessly if he felt that I was likely to interfere with any of his -projects: and your marriage with the Netherlander is part of one of his -vast schemes." - -The look of terror became more marked upon his face, his dark skin had -become almost livid in hue: and Lenora clung to him, trembling, for she -knew that everything he said was true. They were like two birds caught -in the net of a remorseless fowler: to struggle for freedom were worse -than useless. De Vargas was a man who had attained supreme power beside -the most absolute tyrant the world had ever known. Every human being -around him--even his only child--was a mere pawn in his hands for the -great political game in which the Duke of Alva was the chief player--a -mere tool for the fashioning of that monstrous chain which was destined -to bind the Low Countries to the chariot-wheels of Spain. A useless -tool, a superfluous pawn he would throw away without a pang of remorse: -this don Ramon knew and so did Lenora--but in Ramon that knowledge -reigned supreme and went hand in hand with terror, whilst in the young -girl there was all the desire to defy that knowledge and to make a -supreme fight for love and happiness. - -"I must not stay any longer now, my sweet," he said after awhile, "if -your father has so absolutely forbidden you to see me, then I have -tarried here too long already." - -He rose and gently disengaged himself from the tender hands which clung -so pathetically to him. - -"I can't let you go, Ramon," she implored, "it seems as if you were -going right out of my life--and that my life would go with you if you -went." - -"Sweetheart," he said a little impatiently, "it is dangerous for me to -stay a moment longer. Try and be brave--I'll not say farewell--We'll -meet again...." - -"How?" - -"Let Inez be at the corner of the Broodhuis this evening. I'll give her -a letter for you. In the meanwhile I shall have seen your father. Who -knows his decision may not be irrevocable--after all you are the one -being in the world he has to love and to care for; he cannot wilfully -break your heart and destroy your happiness." - -She shook her head dejectedly. But the next moment she looked up trying -to seem hopeful. She believed that he suffered just as acutely as she -did, and, womanlike, did not want to add to his sorrow by letting him -guess too much of her own. She contrived to keep back her tears; she -had shed so many of late that their well-spring had mayhap run dry: he -folded her in his arms, for she was exquisitely beautiful and he really -loved her. Marriage with her would have been both blissful and -advantageous, and his pride was sorely wounded at the casual treatment -meted out to him by de Vargas: at the same time the thought of defiance -never once entered his head--for defiance could only end in death, and -don Ramon felt quite sure that even if he lost his beautiful fiancée, -life still held many compensations for him in the future. - -Therefore he was able to part from Lenora with a light heart, whilst -hers was overweighted with sorrow. He kissed her eyes, her hair, her -lips, and murmured protestations of deathless love which only enhanced -her grief and enflamed all that selfless ardour of which her passionate -nature was capable. Never had she loved don Ramon de Linea as she loved -him at this hour of parting--never perhaps would she love as fondly -again. - -And he with a last, tender kiss, airily bade her to be brave and -trustful, and finally waved her a cheery farewell. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - THE SUBJECT RACE - - - I - - -"I cannot do it, mother, I cannot! The very shame of it would kill me!" - -Laurence van Rycke sat on a low chair in front of the fire, his elbow -propped on his knee, his chin buried in his hand. His mother gave a -little shiver, and drew her woollen shawl closer round her shoulders. - -"You cannot go against your father's will," she said tonelessly, like -one who has even lost the power to suffer acutely. "God alone knows -what would become of us all if you did." - -"He can only kill me," retorted Laurence, with fierce, passionate -resentment. - -"And how should I survive if he did?" - -"Would you not rather see me dead, mother dear, than wedded to a woman -whose every thought, every aspiration must tend toward the further -destruction of our country--she the daughter of the most hideous tyrant -that has ever defamed this earth--more hideous even than that execrable -Alva himself..." - -He paused abruptly in the midst of this passionate outburst, for the old -house--which had been so solemn and silent awhile ago, suddenly echoed -from end to end with loud and hilarious sounds, laughter and shouts, -heavy footsteps, jingle of spurs and snatches of song, immediately -followed by one or two piteous cries uttered in a woman's piercing -voice. Laurence van Rycke jumped to his feet. - -"What was that?" he cried, and made a dash for the door. His mother's -imploring cry called him back. - -"No, no, Laurence! don't go!" she begged. "It is only the soldiers! -They tease Jeanne, and she gets very cross! ... We have six men and a -sergeant quartered here now, besides the commandant..." - -"Eight Spanish soldiers in the house of the High-Bailiff of Ghent!" -exclaimed Laurence, and a prolonged laugh of intense bitterness came -from his overburdened heart. "Oh God!" he added, as he stretched out his -arms with a gesture of miserable longing and impotence, "to endure all -this outrage and all this infamy!--to know as we do, what has happened -in Mons and Mechlin and to be powerless to do anything--anything against -such hideous, appalling, detestable tyranny--to feel every wrong and -every injustice against the country one loves, against one's own kith -and kin, eating like the plague into one's very bones and to remain -powerless, inert, an insentient log in the face of it all. And all the -while to be fawning--always fawning and cringing, kissing the master's -hand that wields the flail.... Ugh! And now this new tyranny, this -abominable marriage.... Ye Heavens above me! but mine own cowardice in -accepting it would fill me with unspeakable loathing!" - -"Laurence, for pity's sake!" implored the mother. - -At her call he ran to her and knelt at her feet: then burying his head -in his hands he sobbed like a child. - -"I cannot do it, mother!" he reiterated piteously, "I cannot do it. I -would far rather die!" - -With gentle, mechanical touch she stroked his unruly fair hair, and -heavy tears rolled down her wan cheeks upon her thin, white hands. - -"Just think of it, mother dear," resumed Laurence a little more calmly -after a while, "would it not be introducing a spy into our very home? -... and just now ... at the time when we all have so much at stake ... -the Prince..." - -"Hush, Laurence!" implored the mother; and this time she placed an -authoritative hand upon his arm and gave it a warning pressure; but her -wan cheeks had become a shade paler than before, and the look of terror -became more marked in her sunken eyes. - -"Even these walls have ears these days," she added feebly. - -"There is no danger here, mother darling ... nobody can hear," he said -reassuringly. But nevertheless he, too, cast a quick look of terror -into the remote corners of the room and dropped his voice to a whisper -when he spoke again. - -"Juan de Vargas' daughter," he said with passionate earnestness, "what -hath she in common with us? She hates every Netherlander; she despises -us all, as every Spaniard does: she would wish to see our beautiful -country devastated, our cities destroyed, our liberties and ancient -privileges wrested from us, and every one of us made into an abject -vassal of her beloved Spain. Every moment of my life I should feel that -she was watching me, spying on me, making plans for the undoing of our -cause, and betraying our secrets to her abominable father. Mother dear, -such a life would be hell upon earth. I could not do it. I would far -rather die." - -"But what can you do, Laurence?" asked Clémence van Rycke, with a sigh -of infinite misery. - -Laurence rose and dried his tears. He felt that they had been unmanly, -and was half ashamed of them. Fortunately it was only his mother who had -seen them, and ... how well she understood! - -"I must think it all over, mother dear," he said calmly. "It is early -yet. Father will not want me to be at the Town-house before eight -o'clock. Oh! how could he ever have been so mean, so obsequious as to -agree to this selling of his son in such a shameful market." - -"How could he help it?" retorted the mother with a fretful little sigh. -"The Duke of Alva commanded in the name of the King, and threatened us -all with the Inquisition if we disobeyed. You know what that means," -she added, whilst that pitiable look of horror and fear once more crept -into her eyes. - -"Sometimes I think," said Laurence sombrely--he was standing in front of -the fire and staring into the crackling logs with a deep frown right -across his brow--"sometimes I think that the worst tortures which those -devils could inflict on us would be more endurable than this life of -constant misery and humiliation." - -The mother made no reply. Her wan cheeks had become the colour of -ashes, her thin hands which were resting in her lap were seized with a -nervous tremour. From below came still the sound of loud laughter -intermixed now with a bibulous song. A smothered cry of rage escaped -Laurence's lips: it seemed as if he could not stay still, as if he must -run and stop this insult in his mother's house, silence those brawling -soldiers, force their own obscene songs down their throats, regardless -of the terrible reprisals which might ensue. Only his mother's thin, -trembling hand upon his arm forced him to remain, and to swallow his -resentment as best he could. - -"It is no use, Laurence," she murmured, "and I would be the first to -suffer." - -This argument had the effect of forcing Laurence van Rycke to control -his raging temper. Common sense came momentarily to the rescue and told -him that his mother was right. He started pacing up and down the narrow -room with a view to calming his nerves. - - - - II - - -"Have you seen Mark this morning?" asked Clémence van Rycke suddenly. - -"No," he replied, "have you?" - -"Only for a moment." - -"What had he to say?" - -"Oh! you know Mark's way," she replied evasively. "It seems that he -caught sight of donna Lenora de Vargas when she passed through the -Waalpoort yesterday. He made a flippant joke or two about your good -luck and the girl's beauty." - -Laurence suppressed an angry oath. - -"Don't blame Mark," interposed Clémence van Rycke gently, "he is as God -made him--shallow, careless..." - -"Not careless where his own pleasures are concerned," said Laurence, -with a laugh of bitter contempt. "Last night at the 'Three Weavers' a -lot of Spanish officers held carouse. Mark was with them till far into -the night. There was heavy drinking and high play, and Mark..." - -"I know, I know," broke in the mother fretfully, "do not let us speak of -Mark. He is his father's son ... and you are mine," she added, as with -a wistful little gesture she stretched out her arms to the son whom she -loved. Once more he was at her feet kissing her hands. - -"Do not fret, mother dear," he said, "I'll think things out quietly, and -then do what I think is right." - -"You'll do nothing rash, Laurence," she pleaded, "nothing without -consulting me?" - -"I must consult my conscience first, dear," he said firmly, "and then I -must speak with the Prince.... Yes! yes! I know," he added somewhat -impatiently, as once again he felt that warning pressure on his arm. -"Next to God my every thought is for him; nor did he think of himself -when he refused to acknowledge the autocracy of Alva. Our time is at -hand, mother dear, I feel it in my bones. The last response has been -splendid: we have promises of close on two thousand ducats already, and -two hundred men are ready to take up arms in the city at any moment. -Yes! yes! I know! and I am careful--I am as wary as the fox! But how -can I at such a moment think of matrimony? How can I think of bending -the knee to such abominable tyranny? I bend the knee only to the Prince -of Orange, and by him I swear that I will not wed the daughter of Juan -de Vargas! I will not bring to this hearth and to my home one of that -gang of execrable tyrants who have ravaged our country and crushed the -spirit of our people. I have work to do for Orange and for my country. -I will not be hindered by bonds which are abhorrent to me." - -He gave his mother a final kiss and then hurried out of the room. She -would have detained him if she could, for she was terrified of what he -might do; but she called after him in vain, and when presently she went -to his room to look for him, he was not there. But on his desk there -was a letter addressed to his father; Clémence van Rycke took it up: it -was not sealed, only rolled, and tied with ribbon: this she undid and -read the letter. There were only a few words, and when the unfortunate -woman had grasped their full meaning she uttered a moan of pain and sank -half-fainting on her knees. Here Jeanne found her half an hour later, -sobbing and praying. The faithful creature comforted her mistress as -best she could, then she half carried, half led her back to her room. -The letter written to his father by Laurence van Rycke contained the -following brief communication: - -"Find fomeone elfe, My Father, to help you lick our Spanifh tyrants' -boots. I cannot do it. I refufe to wed the Daughter of that Bloodhound -de Vargas, but as I cannot live under Your roof and difobey You, I will -not return until You bid Me come." - - - - III - - -This had occurred early this morning; it was now late in the afternoon, -and Laurence had not returned. The levie at the Town Hall was timed for -eight o'clock, and the High-Bailiff had just come home in order to don -his robes for the solemn occasion. - -Clémence van Rycke had made an excuse not to see him yet: like all weak, -indecisive natures she was hoping against hope that something would -occur even now to break Laurence's obstinacy and induce him to bow to -that will against which it was so useless to rebel. - -But the minutes sped on, and Laurence did not return, and from a room -close by came the sound of Messire van Rycke's heavy footstep and his -gruff voice giving orders to the serving man who was helping him with -his clothes. Another hour, or perhaps two at most, and she would have to -tell her husband what had happened--and the awful catastrophe would have -to be faced. As she sat in the high-backed chair, Clémence van Rycke -felt as if an icy chill had crept into her bones. - -"Put another log on the fire, Jeanne," she said, "this autumn weather -hath chilled me to the marrow." - -Jeanne, capable, buxom and busy, did as she was bid. She did more. She -ran nimbly out of the room and in a trice had returned with Madame's -chaufferette--well filled with glowing charcoal--and had put it to her -mistress' feet: then she lit the candles in the tall candelabra which -stood on a heavy sideboard at the further end of the room, and drew the -heavy curtains across the window. The room certainly looked more cosy -now: Madame only gave one slight, final shiver, and drew her shawl -closer round her shoulders. - -"Is Messire Mark dressed yet, Jeanne?" she asked wistfully. - -"Messire came in about ten minutes ago," replied the woman. - -"Let him know that I wish to speak with him as soon as he can come to -me.' - -"Yes, Madame." - -"You have seen to the soldiers' supper?" - -"They have had one supper, Madame. They are on duty at the Town Hall -till eleven o'clock; then they are coming home for a second supper." - -"Then will don Ramon de Linea sup with us, think you?" - -"He didn't say." - -"In any case lay his place ready in case he wants to sup. He'll be on -duty quite late too, and it will anger him if his supper is not to his -taste." - -"Whatever I do will never be to the commandant's taste: he didn't like -his room and he didn't like the dinner I had cooked for him. When he -heard in whose house he was he swore and blasphemed, as I never heard -any one blaspheme before. I worked my fingers to the bone last night -and this morning to mend his linen and starch his ruff, but even then he -was not satisfied." - -There was a tone of bitter wrath in Jeanne's voice as she spoke. Madame -drew a fretful little sigh, but she made no comment. What was the use? -The Spanish soldiers and officers quartered in the houses of Flemish -burghers had an unpleasant way of enforcing their wishes with regard to -food and drink which it was not wise to combat these days. So Clémence -van Rycke dismissed Jeanne, and remained brooding alone, staring into -the fire, repeating in her mind all that Laurence had said, looking into -the future with that same shiver of horror which was habitual to her, -and into all the awful possibilities which must inevitably follow -Laurence's hot-headed act of rebellion. - - - - IV - - -And as she sat there huddled up in the high-backed chair it would be -difficult to realise that Clémence van Rycke was still on the right side -of fifty. - -She had married when she had only just emerged out of childhood, and had -been in her day one of the brightest, prettiest, gayest of all the -maidens in the city of Ghent. But now her eyes had lost their sparkle, -and her mouth its smile. Her shoulders were bent as if under a -perpetual load of care and anxiety, and in her once so comely face there -was a settled look of anxiety and of fear. Even now, when a firm -footstep resounded along the tiled corridor, she lost nothing of that -attitude of dejection which seemed to have become habitual to her. - -In answer to a timid knock at the door, she called a fretful "Enter!" -but she did not turn her head, as Mark--her younger son--came close up -to her chair. He stooped to kiss the smooth white forehead which was -not even lifted for his caress. - -"Any news?" were the first words which Clémence van Rycke uttered, and -this time she looked up more eagerly and a swift glimmer of hope shot -through her tear-dimmed eyes. - -"Nothing definite," replied Mark van Rycke. "He had food and drink at -the hostelry of St. John just before midday, and at the tavern of 'The -Silver Bell' later in the afternoon. Apparently he has not left the -city as no one saw him pass through any of the gates--but if Laurence -does not mean to be found, mother dear," he added with a light shrug of -the shoulders, "I might as well look for a needle in a haystack as to -seek him in the streets of Ghent." - -The mother sighed dejectedly, and Mark threw himself into a chair and -stretched his long legs out to the blaze: he felt his mother's eyes -scanning his face and gradually a faint smile, half ironical, half -impatient, played round the corners of his mouth. - -To a superficial observer there was a great likeness between the two -brothers, although Mark was the taller and more robust of the two. Most -close observers would, however, assert that Laurence was the -better-looking; Mark had not the same unruly fair hair, nor look of -boyish enthusiasm; his face was more dour and furrowed, despite the -merry twinkle which now and then lit up his grey eyes, and there were -lines around his brow and mouth which in an older man would have -suggested the cares and anxieties of an arduous life, but which to the -mother's searching gaze at this moment only seemed to indicate traces of -dissipation, of nights spent in taverns, and days frittered away in the -pursuit of pleasure. - -Clémence van Rycke sighed as she read these signs and a bitter word of -reproach hovered on her lips; but this she checked and merely -sighed--sighing and weeping were so habitual to her, poor soul! - -"Have you seen your father?" she asked after a while. - -"Not yet," he replied. - -"You will have to tell him, Mark. I couldn't. I haven't the courage. -He has always loved you better than Laurence or me--the blow would come -best from you." - -"Have you told him nothing, then?" - -"Nothing." - -"Good God!" he exclaimed, "and he has to meet señor de Vargas within the -next two hours!" - -"Oh! I hadn't the courage to tell him, Mark!" she moaned piteously, "I -was always hoping that Laurence would think better of it all. I so -dread even to think what he will say ... what he will do...." - -"Laurence should have thought of that," rejoined Mark dryly, "before he -embarked on this mad escapade." - -"Escapade!" she exclaimed with sudden vehemence. "You can talk of -escapade, when..." - -"Easy, easy, mother dear," broke in Mark good-humouredly, "I know I -deserve all your reproaches for taking this adventure so lightly. But -you must confess, dear, that there is a comic side to the tragedy--there -always is. Laurence, the happy bridegroom-elect, takes to his heels -without even a glimpse at the bride offered to him, whilst her beauty, -according to rumour, sets every masculine heart ablaze." - -The mother gave a little sigh of weariness and resignation. - -"You never will understand your brother, Mark," she said with deep -earnestness, "not as long as you live. You never will understand your -mother either. You are your father's son--Laurence is more wholly mine. -You can look on with indifference--God help you! even with levity--on -the awful tyranny which has well-nigh annihilated our beautiful land of -Flanders. On you the weight of Spanish oppression sits over lightly.... -Sometimes I think I ought to thank God that He has given you a shallow -nature, and that I am not doomed to see both my sons suffer as -Laurence--my eldest--does. To him, Mark, his country and her -downtrodden liberties are almost a religion: every act of tyranny -perpetrated by that odious Alva is a wrong which he swears to avenge. -What he suffers in the innermost fibre of his being every time that your -father lends a hand in the abominable work of persecution nobody but -I--his mother--will ever know. Your father's abject submission to Alva -has eaten into his very soul. From a gay, light-hearted lad he has -become a stern and silent man. What schemes for the overthrow of -tyrants go on within his mind, I dare not even think. That awful -bloodhound de Vargas--murderer, desecrator, thief--he loathes with -deadly abomination. When the order came forth from your father that he -should forthwith prepare for his early marriage to the daughter of that -execrable man, he even thought of death as preferable to a union against -which his innermost soul rose in revolt." - -She had spoken thus lengthily, very slowly but with calm and dignified -firmness. Mark was silent. There was a grandeur about the mother's -defence of her beloved son which checked the word of levity upon his -lips. Now Clémence van Rycke sank back in her chair exhausted by her -sustained effort. She closed her eyes for a while, and Mark could not -help but note how much his mother had aged in the past two years, how -wearied she looked and how pathetic and above all how timid, like one on -whom fear is a constant attendant. When he spoke again, it was more -seriously and with great gentleness. - -"I had no thought, mother dear," he said, "of belittling Laurence's -earnestness, nor yet his devotion. I'll even admit, an you wish, that -the present situation is tragic. It is now past six o'clock. Father -must be at the Town Hall within the next two hours.... He must be told, -and at once.... The question is, what can we tell him to ... to..." - -"To soften the blow and to appease his fury," broke in Clémence van -Rycke, and once more the look of terror crept into her eyes--a look -which made her stooping figure look still more wizened and forlorn. -"Mark," she added under her breath, "your father is frightened to death -of the Duke of Alva. I believe that he would sacrifice Laurence and -even me to save himself from the vengeance of those people." - -"Hush, mother dear! now you are talking wildly. Father is perhaps a -little weak. Most of us, I fear me, now are weak. We have been cowed -and brow-beaten and threatened till we have lost all sense of our own -manhood and our own dignity." - -"You perhaps," protested the mother almost roughly, "but not Laurence. -You and your father are ready to lick the dust before all these -Spaniards--but I tell you that what you choose to call loyalty they call -servility; they despise you for your fawning--men like Orange and -Laurence they hate, but they give them grudging respect..." - -"And hang them to the nearest gibbet when they get a chance," broke in -Mark with a dry laugh. - - - - V - - -Before Clémence van Rycke could say another word, the heavy footstep of -the High-Bailiff was heard in the hall below. The poor woman felt as if -her heart stood still with apprehension. - -"Your father has finished dressing: go down to him, Mark," she implored. -"I cannot bear to meet him with the news." - -And Mark without another word went down to meet his father. - -Charles van Rycke--a fine man of dignified presence and somewhat pompous -of manner--was standing in the hall, arrayed ready for the reception, in -the magnificent robes of his office. His first word on seeing Mark was -to ask for Laurence, the bridegroom-elect and hero of the coming feast. - -"He is a fine-looking lad," said the father complacently, "he cannot -fail to find favour in donna Lenora's sight." - -The news had to be told: Mark drew his father into the dining-hall and -served him with wine. - -"This marriage will mean a splendid future for us all, Mark," continued -the High-Bailiff, as he pledged his son in a tankard of wine: "here's to -the happy young people and to the coming prosperity of our house. No -more humiliations, Mark; no more fears of that awful Inquisition. We -shall belong to the ruling class now, tyranny can touch us no longer." - -And the news had to be told. Clémence van Rycke had said nothing to her -husband about Laurence's letter--so it all had to be told, quietly and -without preambles. - -"Laurence has gone out of the house, father, vowing that he would never -marry donna Lenora de Vargas." - -It took some time before the High-Bailiff realised that Mark was not -jesting; the fact had to be dwelt upon, repeated over and over again, -explained and insisted on before the father was made to understand that -his son had played him false and had placed the family fortunes and the -lives of its members in deadly jeopardy thereby. - -"He has gone!" reiterated Mark for the tenth time, "gone with the -intention not to return. At the reception to-night the bride will be -waiting, and the bridegroom will not be there. The Duke of Alva will -ask where is the bride-groom whom he hath chosen for the great honour, -and echo will only answer 'Where?'" - -Charles van Rycke was silent. He pushed away from him the tankard and -bottle of wine. His face was the colour of lead. - -"This means ruin for us all, Mark," he murmured, "black, hideous ruin; -Alva will never forgive; de Vargas will hate us with the hatred born of -humiliation.... A public affront to his daughter! ... O Holy Virgin -protect us!" he continued half-incoherently, "it will mean the scaffold -for me, the stake for your mother..." - -He rose and said curtly, "I must speak with your mother." - -He went to the door but his step was unsteady. Mark forestalled him and -placed himself against the door with his hand on the latch. - -"It means black ruin for us all, Mark," reiterated the High-Bailiff with -sombre despair, "I must go and speak of it with your mother." - -"My mother is sick and anxious," said Mark quietly, "she cannot help -what Laurence has done--you and I, father, can talk things over quietly -without her." - -"There is nothing that you can say, Mark ... there is nothing we can do -... save, perhaps, pack up a few belongings and clear out of the country -as quickly as we can ... that is, if there is time!" - -"Your imagination does not carry you very far, meseems," quoth Mark -dryly. "Laurence's default is not irreparable." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Am I not here to put it right?" - -"What?--you?" - -"By your leave." - -"You, Mark!" - - - - VI - - -The transition from black despair to this sudden ray of hope was too -much for the old man: he tottered and nearly measured his length on the -floor. Mark had barely the time to save him from the fall. Now he -passed his trembling hand across his eyes and forehead: his knees were -shaking under him. - -"You, Mark," he murmured again. - -He managed to pour himself out a fresh mug of wine and drank it -greedily: then he sat down, for his knees still refused him service. - -"It would be salvation indeed," he said, somewhat more steadily. - -Mark shrugged his shoulders with an air of complete indifference. - -"Well! frankly, father dear," he said, "I think that there is not much -salvation for us in introducing a Spaniard into our home. Mother--and -Laurence when he comes back--will have to be very careful in their talk. -But you seem to think the present danger imminent...." - -"Imminent, ye gods!" exclaimed the High-Bailiff, unable to repress a -shudder of terror at the thought. "I tell you, Mark, that de Vargas -would never forgive what he would call a public insult--nor would Alva -forgive what he would call open disobedience. Those two men--who are -all-powerful and as cruel and cunning as fiends--would track us and hunt -us down till they had brought you and me to the scaffold and your mother -to the stake." - -"I know that, father," interposed Mark with some impatience, "else I -would not dream of standing in Laurence's shoes: the bride is very -beautiful, but I have no liking for matrimony. The question is, will de -Vargas guess the truth; he hath eyes like a lynx." - -"No! no! he will not guess. He only saw Laurence twice--a fortnight ago -when I took him up to Brussels and presented him to señor de Vargas and -to the Duke: and then again the next evening: both times the lights were -dim. No! no! I have no fear of that! de Vargas will not guess! You -and your brother are at times so much alike, and donna Lenora hath not -seen Laurence yet." - -"And you did not speak of Laurence by name? I shouldn't care to change -mine." - -"No, I don't think so. I presented my son to the Duke and to señor de -Vargas. It was at His Highness' lodgings: the room was small and dark; -and señor de Vargas paid but little heed to us." - -"We Netherlanders are of so little account in the sight of these -grandees of Spain," quoth Mark with a light laugh, "and in any case, -father, we must take some risk. So will you go and see my mother and -calm her fears, whilst I go and don my best doublet and hose. Poor -little mother! she hath put one foot into her grave through terror and -anxiety on Laurence's account." - -"As for Laurence..." exclaimed the High-Bailiff wrathfully. - -"Don't worry about Laurence, father," broke in Mark quietly. "His -marriage with a Spaniard would have been disastrous. He would have -fallen violently in love with his beautiful wife, and she would have -dragged sufficient information out of him to denounce us all to the -Inquisition. Perhaps," he added with good-humoured indifference, "it is -all for the best." - -The High-Bailiff rose and placed a hand upon his son's shoulder. - -"You are a true son to me, Mark," he said earnestly, "never shall I -forget it. I am a wealthy man--more wealthy than many suppose. In -virtue of your marriage with that Spanish wench you will be more free -from taxation than we Netherlanders are: I'll make over the bulk of my -fortune to you. You shall not regret what you have done for me and for -your mother." - -"It is time I went up to dress," was Mark's only comment on his father's -kindly speech, and he quietly removed the paternal hand from off his -shoulder. - -"Hurry on," said the High-Bailiff cheerfully, "I'll wait until you are -ready. I must just run up to your mother and tell her the good news. -Nay! but I do believe if that hot-headed young rascal were to turn up -now, I would forgive him his senseless escapade. As you say, my dear -son, it is all for the best!" - - - - - CHAPTER III - - THE RULING CASTE - - - I - - -Donna Lenora de Vargas stood beside her father whilst he--as -representing the Lieutenant-Governor--was receiving the homage of the -burghers and patricians of Ghent. This was a great honour for so young a -girl, but every one--even the women--declared that donna Lenora was -worthy of the honour, and many a man--both young and old--after he had -made obeisance before señor de Vargas paused awhile before moving away, -in order to gaze on the perfect picture which she presented. - -She was dressed all in white and with extreme simplicity, but the formal -mode of the time, the stiff corslet and stomacher, the rigid folds of -the brocade and high starched collar set off to perfection the -stateliness of her finely proportioned figure, whilst the masses of her -soft fair hair crowned her as with a casque of gold. - -When the brilliant throng of Flemish notabilities and their wives had -all filed past the Duke of Alva's representative and had all had the -honour--men and women alike--proud patricians of this ancient city, of -kissing his hand, the High-Bailiff respectfully asked for leave to -formally present his son to the high officers of state. - -All necks were immediately craned to see this presentation, for already -the rumour had spread abroad of the coming interesting engagement, and -there were many whispers of astonishment when Mark's tall -figure--dressed in sombre purple silk with fine, starched ruff of -priceless Mechlin lace--came forward out of the crowd. Every one had -expected to see Laurence van Rycke as the happy bridegroom-elect, and it -seemed passing strange that it should be Mark--happy-go-lucky, -easy-going Mark, the wastrel of the family, the ne'er-do-well--who had -been selected for the honour of this alliance with the daughter of -all-powerful de Vargas. - -Well! perhaps Laurence never would have stooped before a Spaniard as -Mark had done quite naturally; perhaps Laurence was too avowedly a -partisan of the Prince of Orange to have found favour in beautiful donna -Lenora's sight. She certainly looked on Mark van Rycke with cool -indifference; those who stood close by vowed that she flashed a glance -of contempt upon him, as he bowed low before señor de Vargas and the -other officers of state. - -"Your eldest son, Messire?" asked one of these seigniors graciously. - -"My sons are twins," replied the High-Bailiff, "and this is my son -Mark." - -"Señor del Rio," said de Vargas turning to his colleague, "I have the -honour to present to you Messire Mark van Rycke, son of a loyal subject -of our King, the High-Bailiff of Ghent." - -After which he turned to speak again with the High-Bailiff, and don -Alberic del Rio drew Mark into a brief conversation. Excitement in the -gaily-dressed throng was then at its height: the vague feeling that -something unusual and even mysterious was occurring caused every one's -nerves to be on tenterhooks. All this while donna Lenora had been quite -silent, which was vastly becoming in a young girl, and now her father -came up to her and he was closely followed by Mark van Rycke. - -The momentous presentation was about to take place: a man and a -woman--of different race, of different upbringing, of the same religion -but of widely different train of thought--were on the point of taking a -solemn engagement to live their future life together. - -Those who stood near declared that at that moment donna Lenora looked up -at her father with those large, dark eyes of hers that had been veiled -by the soft, sweeping lashes up to now, and that they looked wonderfully -beautiful, and were shining with unshed tears and with unspoken passion. -They also say that she was on the point of speaking, that her lips were -parted, and that the word "Father!" came from them as an appealing -murmur. - -But the next moment she had encountered Vargas' stern glance which -swiftly and suddenly shot out on her from beneath his drooping -lids--that cruel, evil glance of his which dying men and women were wont -to encounter when their bodies were racked by torture and which gave -them a last shudder of horror ere they closed their eyes in death. Donna -Lenora too shivered as she turned her head away. Her cheeks were whiter -than her gown, neither had her lips any colour in them, and the kindly -Flemish women who stood by felt that their motherly heart ached for this -beautiful young girl who seemed so forlorn in the midst of all this -pomp. - - - - II - - -The curious formalities demanded by ancient Flemish custom had now to be -complied with, before Messire van Rycke and donna Lenora de Vargas could -be publicly announced as affianced to one another. - -Mark having his father on his right and Messire Jean van Migrode, -chief-sheriff of the Keure, on his left, advanced toward his future -bride. Young Count Mansfeld and Philip de Lannoy seigneur de Beauvoir -walked immediately behind him, and with them were a number of gentlemen -and ladies--relatives and friends of the High-Bailiff of Ghent. - -In like manner a cortège had been formed round the bride-elect: she was -supported on either side by her father and by don Alberic del Rio, his -most intimate friend, and around her were many Spanish seigniors of high -rank, amongst whom the Archbishop of Sorrento, who was on a visit to -Brussels, and don Gonzalo de Bracamonte, commanding the Governor's -bodyguard, were the most noteworthy. - -A tense silence hung over the large and brilliant assembly, only the -frou-frou of brocaded gowns, the flutter of fans, and up above in the -vaulted roof the waving of banners in the breeze broke that impressive -hush which invariably precedes the accomplishment of something momentous -and irrevocable. - -And now the High Bailiff began to speak in accordance with the -time-honoured tradition of his people--wilfully oblivious of the sneers, -the sarcastic smiles, the supercilious glances which were so conspicuous -in the swarthy faces of the Spanish grandees opposite to him. - -"It is my purpose, señor," he began solemnly, and speaking directly to -don Juan de Vargas, "to ask that you do give your daughter in wedlock to -my son." - -And don Juan de Vargas gave answer with equal solemnity: - -"Before acceding to your request, Messire," he said, "I demand to know -whether your son is an honourable man and possessed of goods sufficient -to ensure that my daughter continue to live as she hath done hitherto, -in a manner befitting her rank." - -"My son Mark, señor," thereupon rejoined the High-Bailiff, "is possessed -of ten thousand ducats in gold, of twelve horses and of one half-share -in the fleet of trading vessels belonging to me, which carry the produce -of Flemish farms and of Flemish silk-looms to the ports of France, of -Italy and of England. Moreover, six months after my son's marriage I -will buy him a house in the St. Bavon quarter of this city, and some -furniture to put into it so that he may live independently therein and -in a manner befitting his rank." - -"My daughter, Messire," resumed de Vargas still with the same grave -solemnity, "is possessed of five thousand ducats and of the prestige -attached to her name, which next to that of the Lieutenant-Governor -himself hath more power than any other name in this land." - -The chief sheriff now spoke: - -"And on the day of the marriage of Messire van Rycke," he said, "with -the bride whom he hath chosen, I will give him sixteen goblets of silver -and four silver tankards." - -"And on the day of the marriage of donna Lenora de Vargas with the -bridegroom chosen for her by her father," said don Alberic del Rio, "I -will give her a girdle of gold, a necklace of pearls and three rings set -with diamonds and rubies." - -"I will give the bridegroom two silver dishes and four gold salt -cellars," came in solemn fashion from young Count Mansfeld. - -"To the bride I will give two gold bracelets and a rosary specially -blessed by His Holiness," announced the Archbishop of Sorrento. - -"To the bridegroom I will give two gold dishes and four silver spoons," -said the seigneur de Beauvoir. - -"To the bride I will give a statue of Our Lady wrought in ivory, and two -silken carpets from Persia," said don Gonzalo de Bracamonte. - -Whereupon the High-Bailiff spoke once more: - -"My son Mark hath two hundred and twenty friends and kindred each of -whom will present him with a suitable wedding gift." - -"My daughter will have a gift from our Sovereign Lord the King, from the -Governor of the Provinces and from the Lieutenant-Governor, and from -fifteen Spanish grandees, three of whom are Knights of the Golden -Fleece." - -"Wherefore, O noble seignior," continued the High-Bailiff, "I do ask you -to give your daughter to my son for wife." - -"Which request I do grant you, Messire," said de Vargas, "and herewith -make acceptance on my daughter's behalf, of your son Mark to be her -husband and guardian." - -Don Gonzalo de Bracamonte now handed him a drawn sword, a hat, a ring -and a mantle: de Vargas holding the sword upright, placed the hat on the -tip of the blade and hung the ring upon a projecting ornament of the -hilt. This together with the mantle and a piece of silver he then -handed over to Mark, saying: - -"With these emblems I hereby hand over to you the custody of my -daughter, and as I have been her faithful custodian in the past, so do I -desire you to become her guardian and protector henceforth, taking -charge of her worldly possessions and duly administering them honourably -and loyally." - -In the meanwhile the chief sheriff had in similar manner given Mark -seven gloves: these the young man now handed to señor de Vargas in -exchange for the emblems of his own marital authority, and saying the -while: - -"I accept the trust and guardianship of your daughter Lenora which you -have imposed upon me, and herewith I plight you my troth that I will -henceforth administer her worldly possessions both honourably and -loyally." - -With this the quaint ceremonial came to an end. The Spanish seigniors -very obviously drew deep sighs of relief. The Archbishop and don Gonzalo -as well as de Vargas himself had studied their parts carefully, for the -Lieutenant-Governor had expressly desired that the betrothal should be -done with all the formalities and ceremonies which the custom of the -Netherlands demanded. All three seigniors had chafed at this irksome -task--they found torrents of ridicule to pour upon the loutish -Netherlanders and their vulgar and unseemly habits; but the Duke was -firm, and obedience was obligatory. Lenora had, of course, not been -consulted on the subject; she was just the sad little bundle of goods -which was being bargained for, for the furtherance of political -intrigues, together with her five thousand ducats, her golden girdle and -rosary specially blessed by the Pope. She stood by while the solemn -bargaining was going on, the centre of the group--a pathetic young -figure in her white gown, a curious flush--maybe of shame--upon her -cheeks. But at last it was over and de Vargas now turned to his -daughter. - -"Lenora," he said, "this is Mark, the son of the High-Bailiff of Ghent; -the alliance which you are about to contract with him is a source of -great satisfaction to me." - -Mark in the meanwhile had stood by--quite impassive and seemingly -indifferent--while the ceremony of betrothal was taking place. There -was nothing new to him in the solemn speeches delivered by his father -and his friends, nor in those which the Spanish seigniors had learned so -glibly by heart; he had more than once been present at the betrothal of -one or other of his friends, and these customs and ceremonials were as -familiar, as sacred to him, perhaps, as the divine service of his -Church. Now at de Vargas' last words he advanced, with back bent, -nearer to his beautiful fiancée. He had refrained from looking on her -while his worldly goods and hers were being thus proclaimed in loud -tones by their respective friends, because he felt that she--being a -total stranger--must find his country's custom either ridiculous or -irksome. - -But now when he straightened out his tall figure, he suddenly sought her -eyes, and seemed to compel her glance by the very intentness of his own. - -"Give Messire van Rycke your hand, Lenora," commanded de Vargas. - -And the girl--obediently and mechanically--stretched out her small, -white hand and Mark van Rycke touched her finger tips with his lips. - -Every one noticed how closely señor de Vargas had watched his daughter -all the while that the formal ceremony of betrothal was taking place, -and that, as soon as donna Lenora had extended her hand to Messire van -Rycke a smile of intense satisfaction became apparent round the corners -of his mouth. - -"And now, Messire," he said solemnly, and turning once more to the -bridegroom-elect, "it is my pleasant duty to apprise you that our -Sovereign Lord and King hath himself desired that I should be his -mouthpiece in wishing you lasting happiness. - -"I thank you, Messire," said Mark van Rycke quietly. - -"As you know," continued de Vargas speaking with paternal benevolence, -"it is the Lieutenant-Governor's earnest wish that we should hasten the -wedding. He himself hath graciously fixed this day sennight for the -religious ceremony--the festival day of Our Lady of Victory--a great and -solemn occasion, Messire," he continued unctuously, "which will sanctify -your union with my daughter and confer on it an additional blessing." - -"As His Highness commands," rejoined Mark somewhat impatiently. - -He had made several efforts to meet his beautiful bride's glance again, -but she kept her eyes steadily averted from his now. - -Truly so cold and unemotional a bride was enough to put any bridegroom -out of patience. No doubt had Laurence van Rycke stood there instead of -Mark there might have been enacted a little scene of ill-temper which -would have disturbed don Juan de Vargas' unctuous manner. But Mark took -it all as a matter of course: he looked supremely indifferent and more -than a little bored whilst his prospective father-in-law delivered -himself of all these urbane speeches. He had obviously been deeply -struck at first by donna Lenora's exquisite beauty, but now the effect -of this pleasing surprise had worn off, he looked down on her with cool -indifference, whilst a little smile of irony became more and more -accentuated round his lips. But the High-Bailiff appeared overjoyed; -his flat, Flemish face gradually broadened into a huge, complacent -smile, he leaned on the arm of his son with easy familiarity and every -one felt that--had señor de Vargas demanded such a token of gratitude -and loyalty--Mynheer Charles van Rycke would have laid down on the floor -and licked the dust from Monseigneur's slashed shoes. - - - - III - - -At last the interminable ceremony of betrothal was over and donna Lenora -was given a little breathing time from the formal etiquette which -surrounded her father whenever he represented the Lieutenant-Governor, -and which oppressed this poor young girl physically like the stiff -corslet which she wore. - -She looked around her a little wistfully: her father was busy conversing -with the High-Bailiff, no doubt on matters connected with the respective -marriage-jointures: all around in the magnificent hall, under the high -roof emblazoned and decorated with the arms of the city and the banners -of the city guilds, a noisy throng, gaily dressed, pressed, jostled and -chattered. The ladies of Ghent--somewhat unwieldy of figure and with -none of the highly-trained æsthetic taste of Spanish civilisation--had -decked themselves out in finery which was more remarkable for its -gorgeousness than for harmony of colour. - -The lateness of the season had proved an excuse for wearing the rich -velvets and brocades imported from Italy, cloth of gold heavily -embroidered, stomachers wrought in tinsel threads and pearls, hooped -petticoats and monster farthingales moved before donna Lenora's pensive -eyes like a kaleidoscope of many colours, brilliant and dazzling. The -deep window embrasures each held a living picture grouped against the -rich background of heavy velvet curtains or exquisite carved panelling; -men and women in bright crimson, or yellow or green, the gorgeous -liveries of one or other of the civic corporations, the uniforms of the -guild-militia, the robes of the sheriffs and the wardmasters, all looked -like a crowd of gaily plumaged birds, with here and there the rich -trenchant note of a black velvet tunic worn by a member of one of the -learned bodies, or the purple satin doublet of a Spanish grandee. The -Flemish bourgeoisie and patriciate kept very much to itself--the women -eyeing with some disfavour the stiff demeanour and sombre clothes of the -Spaniards who remained grouped around the person of don Juan de Vargas. -There was also the element of fear, never far distant when the Spanish -officers of State were present. They personified to all these people -the tyranny of Spain--the yoke of slavery which would never again be -lifted from the land. The Netherlanders feared their masters, and many -cringed and fawned before them, but they never mixed with them; they -held themselves entirely aloof. - -There were no Spanish ladies here. The Duchess of Alva was not in -Flanders, the grandees and officers of Alva's army had left their wives -and daughters at home in Arragon or Castile; the stay in these dour and -unsympathetic Low Countries was always something of a punishment to -these sons and daughters of the South, who hated the grey skies, the -north-easterly winds and perpetual rains. - -Thus donna Lenora found herself strangely isolated. The Flemish ladies -banded themselves in groups, they chatted together, whispered and made -merry, but the Spanish girl who had stood in high honour beside the -Lieutenant-Governor's representative was not one of themselves. She was -slim and tall and graceful, she was dressed in simple white; above all, -she belonged to the ruling caste, and though many a kind-hearted Flemish -vrouw pitied her in her loneliness, not one of them thought of going to -speak to her. - -Donna Lenora sighed and her eyes filled with tears--with tears not -altogether of sorrow, but also of self-pity mingled with bitter -resentment. Even the company of her future husband might have been -acceptable at this moment, when she felt so very lonely. - -But Mark van Rycke was no longer nigh. - - - - IV - - -Then suddenly her face lit up with joy, the colour rushed to her cheeks, -and her lips parted in a smile. - -She had just espied in the brilliant throng, one no less brilliant -figure which was slowly pushing its way through the crowd in her -direction. - -"Ramon," she whispered, as soon as the young man was quite close to her, -"I didn't know you were here." - -"His Highness," he replied, "has given me command of the garrison here; -I arrived last night with my regiment." - -"But where are your lodgings?" - -"At the house of those thrice accursed van Ryckes," he muttered with an -oath. "The billeting was arranged without my knowledge, and of course I -and my men leave those quarters to-morrow. Every morsel I eat in that -house seems to choke me." - -"Poor Ramon!" she whispered with tender pity. "I too have been -unutterably wretched since I saw you in Brussels." - -"I couldn't communicate with you again, sweetheart--and this to my great -grief--but I was bundled out of Brussels like a bale of goods, and here -I am! Imagine my joy when I realised that I should see you to-night." - -"Hush!" she murmured quickly, for with a quick impulse he had seized her -hand and was pressing it to his lips. "My father can see us." - -"What matter if he do," retorted don Ramon. "He has taken you from me, -but he cannot kill my love ... our love, Lenora," he added with -passionate ardour--an ardour in which he himself believed for the -moment, since he loved Lenora and she was so exquisite, in her -stateliness, her white gown and that casque of golden hair upon her -head. - -"You must not say that, Ramon," she said with earnestness that was far -more real than his, "you must try and help me ... and not make my -sacrifice altogether unbearable. It has been terrible," she added, and -a curious, haunted look came into her eyes. - -"It has been the most damnable thing that has ever been done on this -earth, Lenora. When I arrived in this accursed city last night and -quartered myself and some of my men in the house of the High-Bailiff, I -would gladly have put the whole accursed family to the sword. There is -no limit to my hatred of them--and of all those who stand between me and -your love. I have hated your father, Lenora, ever since he parted -us.... I have hated Alva! God help me! I have hated even the King!" - -Ramon spoke in a low, hoarse murmur, inaudible to every one save to the -shell-like ear for which it was intended. With irresistible force he -had drawn Lenora's arm through his own, and had led her--much against -her will--into one of the deep window embrasures, where heavy curtains -of Utrecht velvet masked them both from view. He pressed her to sit on -one of the low window seats, and through the soft-toned stained glass -the dim light of the moon came peeping in and threw ghostlike glimmers -upon the tendrils of her hair, even whilst the ruddy lights of the -candles played upon her face and her white gown. For the first time -to-night the young man realised all that he had lost and how infinitely -desirable was the woman whom he had so airily given up without a fight. -He cursed himself for his cowardice, even though he knew that he never -would have the courage to dare defiance for her sake. - -"Lenora," he said, with passionate intensity, "ever since your father -and the Duke of Alva made me understand that they were taking you away -from me, I have been wondering if it was humanly possible for any man -who has known you as I have done, who has loved you as I love you still, -to give you up to another." - -"It has to be, Ramon," she said gently. "Oh! you must not think that I -have not thought and fought--thought of what was my duty--fought for my -happiness. Now," she added with a little sigh of weariness, "I cannot -fight any more. My father, the Duke of Alva, the King himself in a -personal letter to me, have told me where my duty lies. My confessor -would withhold absolution from me if I refused to obey. My King and -country and the Church have need of me it seems: what is my happiness -worth if weighed in the balance of my country's service?" - -"You are so unfitted for that sort of work," he murmured sullenly, "they -will make of you something a little better than a spy in the house of -the High-Bailiff of Ghent." - -"That is the only thing which troubles me," she said. "I feel as if I -were doing something mean and underhand. I shall marry a man whom I can -never love, who belongs to a race that has always been inimical to -Spain. My husband will hate all those whom I love. He will hate -everything that I have always honoured and cherished--my King, my -country, the glory and grandeur of Spain. He will rebel against her -laws which I know to be beneficent even though they seem harsh and even -cruel at times. A Netherlander can never have anything in common with a -Spaniard...." - -"Oh! they'd murder us if they could," the young man rejoined with a -careless shrug of the shoulders, "but only in the dark streets or from -behind a hedge." - -"The King is very angry with them, I know; he declared that he would not -come to the Netherlands until there is not a single rebel or heretic -within its shores." - -"The terms are synonymous," he retorted lightly, "and I fear that His -Majesty will never grace this abominable country with his presence, if -his resolution holds good. They are a stiff-necked crowd, these -Netherlanders--Catholics and heretics, they are all rebels--but the -heretics are the worst." - -Then, as she said nothing, but stared straight out before her at this -crowd of people amongst whom she was doomed to live in the future, he -continued with a tone of sullen wrath: - -"We have burnt a goodly number of these rebels, but still they swarm." - -"It is horrible!" exclaimed the young girl with a shudder. - -"Horrible, my dear love?" he said with a cynical laugh, "it is the only -way to deal with these people. Their arrogance passes belief; their -treachery knows no bounds. The King's sacred person would not be safe -here among them; the Duke's life has often been threatened; the heretics -have pillaged and ransacked the churches! No! you must not waste your -sympathy on the people here. They are rebellious and treacherous to the -core. As for me, I hate them tenfold, for it is one of them who will -take you from me." - -"He cannot take my heart from you, Ramon, for that will be yours -always." - -"Lenora!" he whispered once more with that fierce earnestness which he -seemed unable to control, "you know what is in my mind?--what I have -thought and planned ever since I realised that you were being taken from -me?" - -"What is it, Ramon?" - -"The Duke of Alva--the King himself--want you to work for them--to be -their tool. Well! so be it! You have not the strength to resist--I -have not the power to rebel! If we did we should both be crushed like -miserable worms by the powers which know how to force obedience. Often -have I thought in the past two miserable days that I would kill you, -Lenora, and myself afterwards, but..." - -The words died on his lips, his olive skin became almost livid in hue. -Hastily he drew a tiny image from inside his doublet: with it in his -hand he made the sign of the Cross, then kissed it reverently. - -"You would die unabsolved, my Lenora," he whispered, and the girl's -cheeks became very white, too, as he spoke, "and I should be committing -a crime for which there is no pardon ... and I could not do that," he -added more firmly, "I would sooner face the fires of the Inquisition -than those of hell." - -Superstitious fear held them both in its grip, and that fanatical -enthusiasm which in these times saw in the horrible excesses of that -execrable Inquisition--in its torture-chambers and scaffolds and -stakes--merely the means of killing bodies that were worthless and -saving immortal souls from everlasting torture and fire. Lenora was -trembling from head to foot, and tears of horror and of dread gathered -in her eyes. Don Ramon made a violent effort to regain his composure -and at the same time to comfort her. - -"You must not be afraid, Lenora," he said quietly, "those demons of -blind fury, of homicide and of suicide have been laid low. I fought -with them and conquered them. Their cruel temptations no longer assail -me, and the Holy Saints themselves have shown me the way to be -patient--to wait in silence until you have fulfilled your destiny--until -you have accomplished the work which the King and the Church will demand -of you. After that, I know that the man who now will claim what I would -give my life to possess--you, Lenora--will be removed from your path. -How it will be done, I do not know ... but he will die, Lenora, of that -I am sure. He will die before a year has gone by, and I will then come -back to you and claim you for my wife. You will be free then, and will -no longer owe obedience to your father. I will claim you, Lenora! and -even now, here and at this hour, I do solemnly plight you my troth, in -the very teeth of the man whose wife you are about to be." - -"And of a truth," here broke in a pleasant and good-humoured voice with -a short laugh, "it is lucky that I happened to be present here and now -and at this hour to register this exceedingly amiable vow." - - - - V - - -Don Ramon de Linea had jumped to his feet; his hand was upon his -sword-hilt; instinctively he had placed himself in front of donna Lenora -and facing the intruder who was standing beside the velvet curtain, with -one hand holding back its heavy folds. - -"Messire van Rycke?" he exclaimed, whilst he strove to put into his -attitude all the haughtiness and dignity of which the present situation -had undoubtedly robbed him. - -"At your service, señor," replied Mark. - -"You were spying on donna Lenora and on me, I see." - -"Indeed not, señor. I only happened upon the scene--quite accidentally, -I assure you--at the moment when you were prophesying my early demise -and arranging to be present at my funeral." - -"Are you trying to be insolent, sirrah?" quoth don Ramon roughly. - -"Not I, señor," rejoined Mark, good-humouredly, "I should succeed so -ill. My intention was when I saw señor de Vargas' angry glance -persistently directed against my future wife to save her from the -consequences of his wrath, and incidentally to bear her company for -awhile: a proceeding for which--I think you will admit, señor--I have -the fullest right." - -"You have no rights over this gracious lady, fellow," retorted the -Spaniard with characteristic arrogance. - -"None, I own, save those which she deigns to confer upon me. And if she -bid me begone, I will go." - -"Begone then, you impudent varlet!" cried don Ramon, whose temper was -not proof against the other's calm insolence, "ere I run my sword -through your miserable body...." - -"Hush, Ramon," here interposed donna Lenora with cool authority, "you -forget your own dignity and mine in this unseemly quarrel. Messire van -Rycke is in the right. An he desires to speak with me I am at his -disposal." - -"Not before he has arranged to meet me at the back of his father's house -at daybreak to-morrow. Bring your witnesses, sirrah! I'll condescend -to fight you fairly." - -"You could not do that, señor," replied Mark van Rycke with perfect -equanimity, "I am such a poor swordsman and you so cunning a fighter. I -am good with my fists, but it would be beneath the dignity of a grandee -of Spain to measure fists with a Flemish burgher. Still--if it is your -pleasure..." - -Although this altercation had been carried on within the depth of a vast -window embrasure and with heavy curtains to right and left to deaden the -sound of angry voices, the fact that two men were quarrelling in the -presence of donna Lenora de Vargas had become apparent to not a few. - -De Vargas himself, who for the past quarter of an hour had viewed with -growing wrath his daughter's intimate conversation with don Ramon de -Linea, saw what was happening, and realised that within the next few -moments an exceedingly unpleasant scandal would occur which would place -don Ramon de Linea--a Spanish officer of high rank, commanding the -garrison in Ghent--in a false and humiliating position. - -In these days, however, and with the perfect organisation of which de -Vargas himself was a most conspicuous member, such matters were very -easily put right. A scandal under the present circumstances would be -prejudicial to Spanish prestige, therefore no scandal must occur: a -fight between a Spanish officer and the future husband of donna Lenora -de Vargas might have unpleasant consequences for the latter, therefore -even a provocation must be avoided. - -And it was done quite simply: don Juan de Vargas whispered to a man who -stood not far from him and who was dressed very quietly in a kind of -livery of sombre purple and black--the livery worn by servants of the -Inquisition. The man, without a word, left de Vargas' side and edged -his way along the panelled walls of the great hall till he reached the -window embrasure where the little scene was taking place. He had shoes -with soles of felt and made no noise as he glided unobtrusively along -the polished floor. Neither Mark van Rycke nor don Ramon de Linea saw -him approach, but just as the latter, now wholly beside himself with -rage, was fingering his glove with a view to flinging it in the other's -face, the man in the purple and black livery touched him lightly on the -shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Then he walked away as -silently, as unobtrusively as he had come. - -But don Ramon de Linea's rage fell away from him like a mantle; the -glove fell from his nerveless hand to the floor. He bit his lip till a -tiny drop of blood appeared upon it; then he hastily turned on his heel, -and after a deep bow to donna Lenora but without another word to Mark -van Rycke he walked away, and soon disappeared among the crowd. - - - - VI - - -Donna Lenora was leaning back against the cushioned window-sill, her -hands lay in her lap, slightly quivering and twisting a tiny lace -handkerchief between the fingers: in her eyes, which obviously followed -for some time the movements of don Ramon's retreating figure, there was -a pathetic look as that of a frightened child. She seemed quite unaware -of Mark's presence, and he remained leaning back against the angle of -the embrasure, watching the girl for awhile, then, as she remained quite -silent and apparently desirous of ignoring him altogether, he turned to -look with indifferent gaze on the ever-changing and moving picture -before him. - -One or two of the high officers of State had retired, and the departure -of these pompous Spanish officials was the signal for greater freedom -and merriment among the guests of the High-Bailiff and of the Sheriffs -of the city of Ghent. The orchestra in the gallery up above had struck -up the measure of a lively galliarde the centre of the hall had been -cleared, and the young people were dancing whilst the graver folk made -circle around them, in order to watch the dance. - -As was usual, the moment that dancing began and hilarity held sway, most -of the guests slipped on a velvet mask, which partly hid the face and -was supposed--owing to the certain air of mystery which it conveyed--to -confer greater freedom of speech upon the wearer and greater ease of -manner. There were but few of the rich Spanish doublets to be seen now: -the more garish colours beloved of the worthy burghers of Flanders held -undisputed sway. But here and there a dark figure or two--clad in purple -and black of a severe cut--were seen gliding in and out among the crowd, -and wherever they appeared they seemed to leave a trail of silence -behind them. - -Mark was just about to make a serious effort at conversing with his -fiancée, and racking his brain as to what subject of gossip would -interest her most, when a man in sombre attire, and wearing a mask, came -close up to his elbow. Mark looked him quietly up and down. - -"Laurence!" he said without the slightest show of surprise, and turning -well away from donna Lenora so that she should not hear. - -"Hush!" said the other. "I don't want father to knew that I am here ... -but I couldn't keep away." - -"How did you get through?" - -"Oh! I disclosed myself to the men-at-arms. No one seemed astonished." - -"Why should they be? Your escapade is not known." - -"Has everything gone off well?" queried Laurence. - -"Admirably," replied the other dryly. "I was just about to make myself -agreeable to my fiancée when you interrupted me." - -"I'll not hinder you." - -"Have you been home at all?" - -"Yes. My heart ached for our dear mother, and though my resolution was -just as firm, I wanted to comfort her. I slipped into the house, just -after you had left. I saw our mother, and she told me what you had -done. I am very grateful." - -"And did you speak to father?" - -"Only for a moment. He came up to say 'good-night' to mother when I was -leaving her room. She had told me the news, so I no longer tried to -avoid him. Of course he is full of wrath against me for the fright I -gave him, but, on the whole, meseemed as if his anger was mostly -pretence and he right glad that things turned out as they have done. I -am truly grateful to you, Mark," reiterated Laurence earnestly. - -"Have I not said that all is for the best?" rejoined Mark dryly. "Now -stand aside, man, and let me speak to my bride." - -"She is very beautiful, Mark!" - -"Nay! it is too late to think of that, man!" quoth Mark with his -habitual good-humour; "we cannot play shuttlecock with the lovely -Lenora, and she is no longer for you." - -"I'll not interfere, never fear. It was only curiosity that got the -better of me and the longing to get a glimpse of her." - - - - VII - - -This rapid colloquy between the two brothers had been carried on in -whispers, and both had drawn well away from the window embrasure, -leaving the velvet curtain between them and donna Lenora so as to deaden -the sound of their voices and screen them from her view. - -But now Mark turned back to his fiancée, ready for that _tête-à-tête_ -with her which he felt would be expected of him; he found her still -sitting solitary and silent on the low window seat, with the cold glint -of moonlight on her hair and the red glow of the candles in the ballroom -throwing weird patches of vivid light and blue shadows upon her white -silk gown. - -"Do I intrude upon your meditations, señorita?" he asked, "do you wish -me to go?" - -"I am entirely at your service, Messire," she replied coldly, "as you so -justly remarked to don Ramon de Linea, you have every right to my -company an you so desire." - -"I expressed myself clumsily, I own," he retorted a little impatiently, -"nothing was further from my thoughts than to force my company upon you. -But," he added whimsically, "meseems that--since we are destined to -spend so much of our future together--we might make an early start at -mutual understanding." - -"And you thought that conversation in a ballroom would be a good start -for the desirable purpose?" she asked. - -"Why not?" - -"As you say: why not?" she replied lightly, "there is so little that we -can say to one another that it can just as well be said in a ballroom. -We know so little of one another at present--and so long as my looks -have not displeased you..." - -"Your beauty, señorita, has no doubt been vaunted by more able lips than -mine: I acknowledge it gratefully and without stint as an additional -gift of God." - -"Additional?" she asked with a slight raising of her brows. - -"Aye! additional!" he replied, "because my first glance of you told me -plainly that you are endowed with all the most perfect attributes of -womanhood. Good women," he added quaintly, "are so often plain and -beautiful women so often unpleasant, that to find in one's future wife -goodness allied to beauty is proof that one of singularly blessed." - -"Which compliment, Messire, would be more acceptable if I felt that it -was sincere. Your praise of my looks is flattering; as to my goodness, -you have no proof of it." - -"Nay! there you wrong yourself, señorita. Are you not marrying me -entirely against your will, and because you desire to be obedient to -your father and to the Duke of Alva? Are you not marrying me out of -loyalty to your King, to your country, and to your church? A woman who -is as loyal and submissive as that, will be loyal to her husband too." - -"This will I strive to be, Messire," rejoined Lenora, who either did not -or would not perceive the slight tone of good-humoured mockery which -lurked in Mark van Rycke's amiable speech. "I will strive to be loyal -to you, since my father and the King himself, it seems, have desired -that I should be your wife." - -"But, by the Mass," he retorted gaily, "I shall expect something more -than loyalty and submission from so beautiful a wife, you know." - -"Next to the King and to my faith," she replied coldly, "you will always -be first in my thoughts." - -"And in your heart, I trust, señorita," he said. - -"We are not masters of our heart, Messire." - -"Well, so long as that precious guerdon is not bestowed on another man," -said Mark with a sigh, "I suppose that I shall have to be satisfied." - -"Aye, satisfied," broke in the girl with sudden vehemence. "Satisfied, -did you say, Messire? You are satisfied to take a wife whom till to-day -you had not even seen--who was bargained for on your behalf by your -father because it suited some political scheme of which you have not -even cognizance. Satisfied!" she reiterated bitterly; "more satisfied -apparently with this bargaining than if you were buying a horse, for -there, at least, you would have wished to see the animal ere you closed -with the deal, and know something of its temper.... But a wife! ... -What matters what she thinks and feels? if she be cold or loving, gentle -or shrewish, sensitive to a kind word or callous to cruelty? A wife! -... Well! so long as no other man hath ever kissed her lips--for that -would hurt masculine vanity and wound the pride of possession! I am only -a woman, made to obey my father first, and my husband afterwards.... -But you, a man! ... Who forced you to obey? ... No one! And you did not -care.... This marriage was spoken of a month ago, and Segovia is not at -the end of the world--did you even take the trouble to go a-courting me -there? Did you even care to see me, though I have been close on a week -in this country? ... You spoke of my heart just now ... how do you hope -to win it? ... Well! let me tell you this, Messire, that though I must -abide by the bargain which my father and yours have entered into for my -body, my heart and my soul belong to my cousin, Ramon de Linea!" - -She had thus poured forth the torrent of bitterness and resentment which -had oppressed her heart all this while: she spoke with intense -vehemence, but with it all retained just a sufficiency of presence of -mind not to raise her voice--it came like a hoarse murmur choked at -times with sobs, but never loud enough to be heard above the mingled -sound of music and gaiety which echoed from wall to wall of the -magnificent room. So, too, was she careful of gesture; she kept her -hands pressed close against her heart, save when from time to time she -brushed away impatiently an obtrusive tear, or pushed back the tendrils -of her fair hair from her moist forehead. - -Mark had listened quite quietly to her impassioned tirade: there was no -suspicion now in his grave face of that good-humoured irony and -indifference which sat there so habitually. Of course he could say -nothing to justify himself: he could not explain to this beautiful, -eminently desirable and sensitive woman, whose self-respect had already -been gravely wounded, that he was not to blame for not going to woo her -before; that she had originally been intended for his brother, and that -all the reproaches which she was pouring upon his innocent head were -really well deserved by Laurence but not by him. He felt that he was -cutting a sorry figure at this moment, and the sensation that was -uppermost in him was a strong desire to give his elder brother a kick. - -He did his best with the help of the curtain and his own tall figure, to -screen donna Lenora from the gaze of the crowd. He knew that señor de -Vargas was still somewhere in the room, and on no account did he want a -father's interference at this moment. Whether he was really very sorry -for the girl he could not say; she certainly had given him a moral slap -on the face when she avowed her love for don Ramon, and he did not feel -altogether inclined at this precise moment to soothe and comfort her, or -even to speak perfunctory words of love, which he was far from feeling, -and which, no doubt, she would reject with scorn. - -Thus now, when she appeared more calm, tired, no doubt, by the great -emotional effort, he only spoke quite quietly, but with as much -gentleness as he could: - -"For both our sakes, donna Lenora," he said, "I could wish that you had -not named Ramon de Linea. It grieves me sorely that the bonds which -your father's will are imposing upon you, should prove to be so irksome; -but I should be doing you an ill-turn if I were to offer you at this -moment that freedom for which you so obviously crave. Not only your -father's wrath, but that of the Duke of Alva would fall on you with far -greater weight than it would on me, and your own country hath instituted -methods for dealing with disobedience which I would not like to see used -against you. That being the case, señorita," he continued, with a -return to his usual good-tempered carelessness, "would it not be wiser, -think you, to make the best of this bad bargain, and to try and live, if -not in amity, at least not in open enmity one toward the other?" - -"There is no enmity in my heart against you, Messire," she rejoined -calmly, "and I crave your pardon that I did so far forget myself as to -speak of don Ramon to you. I'll not transgress in that way in future, -that I promise you. You have no love for me--you never can have any, -meseems: you are a Netherlander, I a Spaniard: our every thoughts lie as -asunder as the poles. You obey your father, and I mine; our hands will -be clasped, but our hearts can never meet. Had you not been so callous, -it might have been different: I might have looked upon you as a friend, -and not a mere tool for the accomplishment of my country's destiny.... -And now may I beg of you not to prolong this interview.... Would we had -not tried to understand one another, for meseems we have fallen into -graver misunderstandings than before." - -"When may I see you again?" asked Mark van Rycke, with coolness now -quite equal to hers. - -"Every day until our wedding, Messire, in the presence of my aunt, donna -Inez de Salgado, as the custom of my country allows." - -"I shall look forward to the wild excitement of these daily meetings," -he said, quite unable to suppress the laughter which danced in his grey -eyes. - -She took no notice of the gentle raillery, but dismissed him with a -gracious nod. - -"Shall I tell señor de Vargas," he asked, "that you are alone?" - -"No, no," she replied hastily. "I prefer to be alone for a little -while. I pray you to leave me." - -He bowed before her with all the stiffness and formality which Spanish -etiquette demanded, then he turned away from her, and soon she lost -sight of his broad shoulders in the midst of the gayest groups in the -crowd. - - - - VIII - - -The interview with her future husband had not left donna Lenora any -happier or more contented with her lot. The callousness which he had -shown in accepting a fiancée like a bale of valueless goods was equally -apparent in his attitude after this first introduction to her. The poor -girl's heart was heavy. She had had so little experience of the world, -and none at all of men. Already at an early age she had become -motherless; all the care and the tenderness which she had ever known was -from the father whose pride in her beauty was far greater than his love -for his child. A rigid convent education had restrained the development -of her ideals and of her aspirations; at nineteen years of age the -dominating thought in her was service to her King and country, loyalty -and obedience to her father and to the Church. - -In the crowded ballroom she saw young girls moving freely and gaily, -talking and laughing without apparently a care or sorrow; yet they -belonged to a subject and rebel race; the laws of a powerful alien -government dominated their lives; fear of the Inquisition restrained the -very freedom of their thoughts. They were all of them rebels in the -eyes of their King: the comprehensive death-warrant issued by the Duke -of Alva against every Netherlander--man, woman, and child, irrespective -of rank, irrespective of creed, irrespective of political -convictions--hung over every life here present like the real sword of -Damocles: even this day all these people were dancing in the very -presence of death. The thought of the torture-chamber, the gibbet, or -the stake could never be wholly absent from their minds. And yet they -seemed happy, whilst she, donna Lenora de Vargas, who should have been -envied of them all, was sitting solitary and sad; her lace handkerchief -was soaked through with her tears. - -A sudden movement of the curtain on her left roused her from her gloomy -meditations. The next moment, a young man--with fair unruly hair, eyes -glowing through the holes of the velvet mask which he wore, and -sensitive mouth quivering with emotion--was kneeling beside her: he had -captured one of her hands, and was kissing it with passionate fervour. -Not a little frightened, she could hardly speak, but she did not feel -indignant for she had been very lonely, and this mute adoration of her -on the part of this unknown man acted like soothing balm on her wounded -pride. - -"I pray you, sir," she murmured timorously, "I pray you to leave me...." - -He looked up into her face, and, through the holes of the mask, she -could see that his eyes were--like hers--full of tears. - -"Not," he whispered with soulful earnestness, "till I have told you that -your sorrow and your beauty have made an indelible impression on my -heart, and that I desire to be your humble servitor." - -"But who are you?" she asked. - -"One who anon will stand very near to you--as a brother...." - -"A brother? Then you are...?" - -"Laurence van Rycke," he replied, "henceforth your faithful servant -until death." - -Then as she looked very perplexed and puzzled, he continued more -quietly: "I stood there--behind the curtain--quite close--whilst my -brother spoke with you. I heard every word that you said, and my heart -became filled with admiration and pity for you. I came here to-night -only because I wished to see you. I looked upon you--without knowing -you--as an enemy, perhaps a spy; now that I have seen you I feel as if -my whole life must atone for the immense wrong which I had done you in -my thoughts. You cannot guess--you will never know how infinite that -wrong has been. But there is one thing I would wish you to know: and -that is that I am a man to whom happiness in her most fulsome beauty -stretched out her hands, and who in his blindness turned his back on -her; if you can find it in your heart to pity and to trust me you will -always find beside you a champion to defend you, a friend to protect -you, a man prepared to atone with his life for the desperate wrong which -he hath unwittingly done to you." - -He paused, and she--still a little bewildered--rejoined gently: "Sir, I -thank you for those kind words; the kindest I have heard since I landed -in the Low Countries. I hope that I shall not need a champion, for -surely my husband--your brother, Messire--will know how to protect me -when necessary. But who is there who hath no need of a friend? and it -is a great joy to me in the midst of many disappointments, that in my -husband's brother I shall have a true friend. Still, methinks, that you -speak somewhat wildly. I am not conscious of any wrong that you or your -family have done to me, and if your mother is as kind as you are, why, -Messire, mine own happiness in her house is assured." - -"Heaven reward you for those gentle words, Señorita," said Laurence van -Rycke fervently, as he once more took her hand and kissed it; she -withdrew it quietly, and he had perforce to let it go. It might have -been his for always--her tiny hand and her exquisite person: but for his -hot-headed action he might have stood now boldly beside her--the happy -bridegroom beside this lovely bride. The feeling of gratitude which he -had felt for Mark when the latter chose to unravel the skein of their -family's destiny, which he--Laurence--had hopelessly embroiled, was now -changed to unreasoning bitterness. What Mark had accepted with a -careless shrug of the shoulders he--Laurence--would now give his life to -possess. Fate had indeed made of her threads a tangle, and in this -tangle he knew that his own happiness had become inextricably involved. - -He could not even remain beside donna Lenora now: he was here unbeknown -to his father, a looker-on at the feast, whereat he might have presided. -Even at this moment, señor de Vargas, having espied his daughter in -conversation with an unknown man, was making his way toward the window -embrasure. - -"Señorita," whispered Laurence hurriedly, "that ring upon your middle -finger ... if at any time you require help or protection will you send -it to me? Wherever I may be I would come at once ... whatever you told -me to do I hereby swear that I would accomplish ... will you promise -that if you need me, you will send me that ring?" - -And she, who was lonely, and had no one to love her devotedly, gave the -promise which he asked. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - JUSTICE - - - I - - -Don Ramon de Linea was one of the last to leave the Town House. He was -on duty until all the Spanish officers of State had left the building, -and it was long past midnight before he wended his way through the -narrow streets of the city till he reached the house of the High-Bailiff -in the Nieuwstraate not far from the new bridge. - -The outward appearance of the house suggested that most of its occupants -were abed, although there was a light in one of the windows on the -ground floor, and through the uncurtained casement don Ramon caught -sight of the High-Bailiff and his two sons sitting together over a final -cup of wine. - -All the pent-up wrath against Mark van Rycke, which Ramon had been -forced to keep in check under the eye of señor de Vargas, gave itself -vent now in a comprehensive curse, and forgetting every code of decency -toward his host and hostess he went up to the front door and gave the -heavy oak panels a series of violent kicks with his boot. - -"Hey there!" he shouted roughly, "open, you confounded louts! What -manners are these to close your doors against the soldiers of the King?" - -He had not finished swearing when the serving man's shuffling footsteps -were heard crossing the tiled hall. The next moment there was a great -rattle of bolts being drawn and chains being unhung, whereupon don -Ramon--still impatient and wrathful--gave a final kick to the door, and -since Pierre had already lifted the latch, it flew open and nearly -knocked the poor man down with its weight. - -"Curse you all for a set of lazy louts," shouted don Ramon at the top of -his voice. "Here, fellow," he added flinging himself into a chair, -"take off my boots and cloak." - -He held out his leg, and Pierre, dutiful and obedient, took off the long -boots of untanned leather which protected the slashed shoes and silk -trunk-hose beneath, against the mud of the streets. - -"Where is your master?" queried the Spaniard roughly. - -"In the dining hall, so please you, señor," replied the man. - -"And my men?" - -"They went to the tavern over the way about an hour ago, after they had -their supper--and they have not yet returned. They are making merry -there, señor," added old Pierre somewhat wistfully. - -And--as if in direct confirmation of the man's words--there came from -the tavern on the opposite side of the street a deafening noise of wild -hilarity. The peace of the night was broken and made hideous by hoarse -shouts and laughter, a deafening crash as of broken glass, all -intermixed with a bibulous song, sung out of tune in a chorus of male -voices, and the clapping of empty mugs against wooden tables. - -Don Ramon cursed again, but this time under his breath. The order had -gone forth recently from the Lieutenant-Governor himself that the -Spanish troops quartered in Flemish cities were to behave themselves in -a sober and becoming manner. The tavern of the "Three Weavers" being -situated just opposite the house of the High-Bailiff, it was more than -likely that the latter would take it upon himself to complain of the -ribaldry and uproar which was disturbing his rest, and as the -High-Bailiff was in high favour just now a severe reprimand for don -Ramon might ensue, which prospect did not appeal to him in the least. - -For a moment he hesitated whether he would not go back across the road -and order the men to be silent; but as luck or fate would have it, at -that very moment the High-Bailiff opened the door of the dining-room and -stepped out into the hall. Seeing the young Spaniard standing there, -sullen and irresolute, he bade him courteously to come and join him and -his two sons in a tankard of wine. - -Don Ramon accepted the invitation. The spirit of quarrelsome fury still -brooded within him, and it was that spirit which made him wish to meet -Mark van Rycke again and either provoke him into that quarrel which -señor de Vargas' timely intervention had prevented before, or, at any -rate, to annoy and humiliate him with those airs of masterfulness and -superiority which the Spaniards knew so well how to wield. - - - - II - - -Mark and Laurence greeted their father's guest with utmost politeness. -The former offered him a tankard of wine which don Ramon pushed away so -roughly that the wine was spilled over the floor and over Mark van -Rycke's clothes, whereupon the Spaniard swore as was his wont and -murmured something about "a clumsy lout!" - -Laurence sitting at the opposite side of the table clenched his fists -till the knuckles shone like ivory and the skin was so taut that it -threatened to crack; the blood rushed up to his cheeks and his eyes -glowed with the fire of bitter resentment and of indignation not easily -kept under control. But Mark ignored the insult, his face expressed -nothing but good-humoured indifference, and a careless indulgence for -the vagaries of a guest, like one would feel for those of an -irresponsible child. As for the High-Bailiff, he still beamed with -amiability and the determination to please his Spanish masters in every -way that lay in his power. - -"We would ask you, señor," said Laurence after a slight pause during -which he had made almost superhuman efforts to regain his self-control, -"kindly to admonish the soldiery in the tavern yonder. My mother is an -invalid, the noise that the men make is robbing her of sleep." - -"The men will not stay at the tavern much longer," said don Ramon -haughtily, "they are entitled to a little amusement after their arduous -watch at the Town Hall. An Madame van Rycke will exercise a little -patience, she will get to sleep within the hour and can lie abed a -little longer to-morrow." - -"It is not so much the lateness of the hour, señor," here interposed the -High-Bailiff urbanely, noting with horror that his son was about to lose -his temper, "neither I nor my sons would wish to interfere with the -innocent pleasures of these brave men, but..." - -"Then what is the pother about, sirrah?" queried the Spaniard with -well-studied insolence. - -"Only that..." murmured the unfortunate High-Bailiff diffidently, "only -that..." - -"There are only two women in charge of the tavern at this hour," broke -in Mark quietly, "two young girls, whose father was arrested this -morning for attending a camp-meeting outside the city. The girls are -timid and unprotected, therefore we entreat that you, señor, do put a -stop to the soldiers' brawling and allow the tavern to be closed at this -late hour of the night." - -Don Ramon threw back his head and burst into loud and affected laughter. - -"By the Mass, Messire!" he said, "I find you vastly amusing to be thus -pleading for a pair of heretics. Did you perchance not know that to -attend camp meetings is punishable by death? If people want to hear a -sermon they should go to church where the true doctrine is preached. -Nothing but rebellion and high-treason are preached at those meetings." - -"We were pleading for two defenceless girls," rejoined Laurence, whose -voice shook with suppressed passion. Even he dared not say anything -more on the dangerous subject of religious controversy which Don Ramon -had obviously brought forward with the wish to provoke a -discussion--lest an unguarded word brought disaster upon his house. - -"Pshaw!" retorted don Ramon roughly, "surely you would not begrudge -those fine soldiers a little sport? Two pretty girls--did you not say -they were pretty?--are not to be found in every street of this -confounded city: and by the Mass! I feel the desire to go and have a -look at the wenches myself." - -He rose, yawned and stretched. Laurence was white with passion: there -was a glow of deadly hate in his eyes--of fury that was almost maniacal: -with a mechanical gesture he tore at the ruff at his throat. Don Ramon -looked on him with contempt in his eyes and a malicious smile round his -full lips. He shrugged his shoulders and laughed softly--ironically to -himself. The next moment Laurence, unable to control himself, had -sprung to his feet: he would have been at the other's throat, but that -Mark who had been quietly watching him was just in time to seize him -round the shoulders and thus to prevent murder from being done. - -Don Ramon had not failed to notice Laurence's unreasoning rage, nor the -gesture which for one instant had threatened his own life, but he showed -not the slightest sign of fear. The sarcastic laugh did not wholly die -down on his lips, nor did the look of contempt fade out of his eyes. He -looked on--quite unmoved--whilst Mark succeeded, if not in pacifying his -brother, at least in forcing him back to his seat and regaining some -semblance of control over himself. The High-Bailiff, white as a sheet, -was holding out his hands in a pathetic and futile appeal to his son and -to the Spaniard. Then as Laurence overcome with the shame of his own -impotence threw himself half across the table and buried his face in his -hands, don Ramon said coldly: - -"Your senseless rage has done you no good, my friend. After half a -century, you Netherlanders have, it seems, yet to learn that it is not -wise to threaten a Spanish gentleman either by word or gesture. Perhaps -I would have protected the two females in the tavern yonder from the -brutality of my soldiery--perhaps I wouldn't--I don't know! But now, -since you chose to raise an insolent hand against me I certainly will -not raise a finger to save them from any outrage--I'll even countenance -my men's behaviour by my presence in the tavern. Understand? That is -what you have gained by your impudence--both you and your brother--for -with him too I have a score to settle for impudence that literally -passes belief. If your father were not so well-accredited as a good -Catholic and a loyal subject of the King, I would ... But enough of -this. Let the lesson be a fruitful one: and you Messire -High-Bailiff--an you are wise--will inculcate into your sons a clearer -notion of respect, duty and obedience toward their superiors." - -He nodded curtly to the High-Bailiff, took no further notice of Mark and -Laurence, but turned on his heel and went out of the room slamming the -door behind him. - -After he had gone, the three men remained silent for a while: the -High-Bailiff feeling deeply resentful against his son, would not trust -himself to speak. Mark was leaning against the window sill and staring -moodily out into the darkness. Laurence still held his head buried in -his hands. - -The Spaniard's loud voice was heard giving orders to Pierre, then there -came the sound of bolts being pushed back, of the heavy oaken door -groaning on its hinges, then the reclosing of the door and Pierre's -shuffling footsteps crossing the hall. - -Laurence rose and passed the back of his hand once or twice across his -eyes: "And to think," he murmured dully, "that brutes such as that are -allowed to live. Has God turned the light of His countenance quite away -from us?" He remained standing for a while gazing out blankly before -him, and with trembling fingers he traced intricate patterns upon the -table-top. Then with a heavy sigh he bade father and brother -"good-night" and quietly went out of the room. - -"Mark!" said the High-Bailiff quickly, "keep an eye on that hot-headed -young ruffian. In his present state of mind there's no knowing what he -might do." - -Whereupon Mark, in his usual good-tempered, indolent way also bade his -father good-night, and followed his brother out of the room. - - - - III - - -The scene which met don Ramon's eyes when he entered the tavern of the -"Three Weavers"--which was situate, be it remembered, almost opposite -the house of the High-Bailiff of Ghent--was, alas! not an unusual one -these days. - -For five years now--ever since the arrival of the Duke of Alva in the -Low Countries as Lieutenant-Governor and Captain-General of the -Forces--the Netherlander had protested with all the strength and the -insistence at their command against the quartering of Spanish troops -upon the inhabitants of their free cities. The practice was a flagrant -violation of all the promises made to them by the King himself, and an -outrage against their charters and liberties which the King had sworn to -respect. But it also was a form of petty tyranny which commended itself -specially to Alva, and to the Spanish ministers and councillors of State -who liked above all to humiliate these Dutch and Flemish free men and -cow them into complete submission and silent acquiescence by every means -which their cruel and tortuous minds could invent. - -Don Ramon knew quite well that he could offer no greater insult to the -High-Bailiff of Ghent and to his sons--or, for the matter of that, to -the whole city--than to allow his soldiery to behave in a scandalous and -ribald manner in one of the well-accredited and well-conducted taverns -of the town. And to him this knowledge gave but additional zest to what -otherwise would have been a tame adventure--two women to bully and eight -men to do it was not nearly as exciting as he could wish. But that fool -Laurence van Rycke had to be punished--and incidentally don Ramon hoped -that Mark would feel that the punishment was meted out to him more than -to his brother. - -On the whole don Ramon de Linea felt, as he entered the tap-room of the -"Three Weavers," that the presence of the two van Ryckes was all that he -needed to make his enjoyment complete. - -That the Spanish provost and the six men under his command were already -drunk there was no doubt: some of them were sitting at a long trestle -table, sprawling across it, lolling up against one another, some singing -scraps of bibulous songs, others throwing coarse, obscene jests across -the table. Two men seemed to be on guard at the door, whilst one and -all were clamouring for more wine. - -"Curse you, you..." the provost was shouting at the top of his voice -when don Ramon entered the tap-room, "why don't you bring another bottle -of wine?" - -Two women were standing at the further end of the long low room, close -to the hearth: they stood hand in hand as if in an endeavour to -inculcate moral strength to one another. The eldest of the two women -might have been twenty-five years of age, the other some few years -younger: their white faces and round, dilated eyes showed the deathly -fear which held them both in its grip. Obviously the girls would have -fled out of the tap-room long before this, and equally obviously the two -men had been posted at the door in order to cut off their retreat. - -At sight of their captain, the men staggered to their feet; the provost -passed the word of command, fearful lest the ribald attitude of his men -brought severe censure--and worse--upon himself. He stood up, as -steadily, as uprightly as he could; but don Ramon took little notice of -him; he called peremptorily to the two girls--who more frightened than -ever now, still clung desperately to one another. - -"Here, wench!" he said roughly, "I want wine, the best you have, and a -private room in which to sit." - -"At your service, señor!" murmured the elder of the two girls almost -inaudibly. - -"What's your name?" he asked. - -"Katrine, so please your Magnificence." - -"And yours?" - -"Grete, at your service, Magnificence," whispered the girls one after -the other, clinging one to the other, like two miserable atoms of -humanity tossed about by the hard hand of Fate. - -"At my service then, and quickly too," retorted don Ramon curtly, "go -down into the cellar, Katrine, and get me a fresh bottle of Rhine -wine--the best your heretical father hath left behind. And you, Grete, -show me to another room, and when presently I order you to kiss me, see -that you do not do it with such a sour mouth, or by Our Lady I'll -remember that your father must hang on the morrow, and that you are -nothing better than a pair of heretics too. Now then," he added -harshly, "must I repeat the order?" - -He had undone the buckle of his sword-belt, and was carrying his -sheathed sword in his hand: he found it a splendid weapon for striking -further terror into the hearts of the two girls, whose shrieks of pain -and fear caused great hilarity amongst the soldiers. Don Ramon felt -that if only Mark van Rycke could have been there, all the wounds which -that young malapert had dared to inflict upon the pride of a Spanish -grandee would forthwith be healed. Indeed, don Ramon enjoyed every -incident of this exhilarating spectacle; for instance, when buxom -Katrine had at last toddled down the steps into the cellar, the soldiers -closed the trap-door upon her; whereupon the provost, who had become -very hilarious, shouted lustily: - -"What ho! what are you louts doing there? His Magnificence will be -wanting the wine which he has ordered. If you lock the cellarer into her -cellar, she'll come out presently as drunk as a Spanish lord." - -"All right, provost," retorted one of the men, "we'll let her out -presently. His Magnificence won't have to wait for long. But we can -levy a toll on her--do you understand?--whenever the wench is ready to -come out of prison." - -"Oh! I understand!" quoth the provost with a laugh. - -And don Ramon laughed too. He was enjoying himself even more than he -had hoped. He saw the other girl--Grete--turn almost grey with terror, -and he felt that he was punishing Mark van Rycke for every insolent word -which he had uttered at the Town Hall and Laurence for every threatening -gesture. He gave Grete a sharp prodding with the hilt of his sword: - -"Now then, you Flemish slut," he said harshly, "show me to your best -parlour, and don't stand there gaping." - -Perforce she had to show him the way out of the public _tapperij_ to the -private room reserved for noble guests. - -"Send one of your men to fetch the wench away in about half an hour, -provost," called don Ramon loudly over his shoulder, "I shall have got -tired of her by then." - -Loud laughter greeted this sally and a general clapping of mugs against -the table. Grete more dead than alive nearly fell over the threshold. - - - - IV - - -The private room was on the opposite side of the narrow tiled hall and -was dimly lighted by a small iron lamp that hung from a beam of the -ceiling above. The door was half open and Grete pushed it open still -further and then stood aside to allow the señor captain to pass. - -"Will your Magnificence be pleased to walk in," she whispered. - -Great tears were in her eyes; don Ramon paused under the lintel of the -door, and with a rough gesture pinched her cheek and ear. - -"Not ugly for a Flemish heifer," he said with a laugh. "Come along, -girl! Let's see if your heretical father hath taught you how to pay due -respect to your superiors." - -"My humblest respect I do offer your Magnificence," said Grete, who was -bravely trying to suppress her tears. - -"Come! that's better," he retorted, as he pushed the girl into the room -and swaggered in behind her, closing the door after him. "Now, Grete," -he added, as he threw himself into a chair and stretched his legs out -before him, "come and sit on my knee, and if I like the way you kiss me, -why, my girl, there's no knowing what I might not do to please you. -Come here, Grete!" he reiterated more peremptorily, for the girl had -retreated to a dark corner of the room and was cowering there just like -a frightened dog. - -"Come here, Grete," he called loudly for the third time. But Grete was -much too frightened to move. - -With a savage oath don Ramon jumped to his feet, and kicked the chair on -which he had been sitting so that it flew with a loud clatter half way -across the room. Grete fell on her knees. - -"Good Lord deliver me!" she murmured. - -Don Ramon seized her by her two hands that were clasped together in -prayer, he dragged her up from her knees, and toward the table which -stood in the centre of the small, square room. Then he let her fall -backwards against the table, and laughed because she continued to pray -to God to help her. - -"As if God would take any notice of heretics and rebels and -Netherlanders generally," he said with a sneer. "Stand up, girl, and go -back to my men. I have had enough of you already. Ye gods! what a vile -crowd these Netherlanders are! Go back into the tap-room, do you hear, -girl? and see that you and your ugly sister entertain my men as you -should. For if you don't, and I hear of any psalm-singing or simpering -nonsense I'll hand you over to the Inquisition as avowed heretics -to-morrow." - -But truly Grete was by now almost paralysed with fear; she was no brave -heroine of romance who could stand up before a tyrant and browbeat him -by the very force of her character and personality, she was but a mere -wreckage of humanity whom any rough hand could send hopelessly adrift -upon the sea of life. Her one refuge was her tears, her only armour of -defence her own utter helplessness. - -But this helplessness which would appeal to the most elementary sense of -chivalry, had not the power to stir a single kind instinct in don Ramon -de Linea. It must be admitted that it would not have appealed to a -single Spaniard these days. They were all bred in the one school which -taught them from infancy an utter contempt for this subject race and a -deadly hatred against the heretics and rebels of the Low Countries. -They were taught to look upon these people as little better than cattle, -without any truth, honesty or loyalty in them, as being false and -treacherous, murderous and dishonest. Don Ramon, who at this moment was -behaving as scurrilously as any man, not absolutely born in the gutter, -could possibly do, was only following the traditions of his race, of his -country and its tyrannical government. - -Therefore when Grete wept he laughed, when she murmured the little -prayers which her father had taught her, he felt nothing but irritation -and unmeasured contempt. He tried to silence the girl by loud shouts and -peremptory commands, when these were of no avail he threatened, to call -for assistance from his sergeant. Still the girl made no attempt either -to move or to stem the flood of tears. Then don Ramon called aloud: -"Hallo there, sergeant!" and receiving no answer, he went to the door, -in order to reiterate his call from there. - - - - V - - -His hand was on the latch, when the door was suddenly opened from -without; so violently that don Ramon was nearly thrown off his balance, -and would probably have measured his length on the floor, but that he -fell up against the table and remained there, leaning against it with -one hand in order to steady himself, and turning a wrathful glance on -the intruder. - -"By the Mass!" he said peremptorily, "who is this malapert who..." - -But the words died on his lips; the look of wrath in his eyes gave way -to one of sudden terror. He stared straight out before him at the -sombre figure which had just crossed the threshold. It was the tall -figure of a man dressed in dark tightly-fitting clothes, wearing high -boots to the top of his thighs, a hood over his head and a mask of -untanned leather on his face. He was unarmed. - -Don Ramon, already a prey to that superstitious fear of the unknown and -of the mysterious which characterised even the boldest of his country -and of his race, felt all his arrogance giving way in the presence of -this extraordinary apparition, which by the dim and flickering light of -the lamp appeared to him to be preternaturally tall and strangely -menacing in its grim attitude of silence. Thus a moment or two went by. -The stranger now turned and carefully closed and locked the door behind -him. Key in hand he went up to the girl--Grete--who, no less terrified -than her tormentor, was cowering in a corner of the room. - -"Where is Katrine," he asked quickly; then, as the girl almost paralysed -by fear seemed quite unable to speak, he added more peremptorily: - -"Pull yourself together, wench; your life and Katrine's depend on your -courage now. Where is she?" - -"In ... in ... the cellar ... I think," stammered Grete almost inaudibly -and making a brave effort to conquer her terror. - -"Can you reach her without crossing the tap-room?" - -The girl nodded. - -"Well, then, run to her at once. Don't stop to collect any of your -belongings, except what money you have; then go ... go at once.... Have -you a friend or relative in this city to whom you could go at this late -hour?" - -Again the girl nodded, and looked up more boldly this time: "My father's -sister..." she whispered. - -"Where does she live?" - -"At the sign of the 'Merry Beggars' in Dendermonde." - -"Then go to her at once--you and Katrine. You will be safe there for -awhile. If any further danger threatens you or your kinsfolk, you shall -be advised ... in that case you would have to leave the country." - -"I shouldn't be afraid," murmured the girl. - -"That's good!" he concluded. "Come, Grete!" - -He turned back to the door, unlocked it, and let the girl slip out of -the room. Then he relocked the door. - - - - VI - - -While this brief colloquy had been going on, don Ramon was making great -efforts to recover his scattered wits and to steady his overstrung -nerves. The superstitious fear which had gripped him by the throat, -yielded at first to another equally terrifying thought: the hood and -mask suggested an emissary of the Inquisition, one of those silent, -nameless beings who seemed to have the power of omnipresence, who glided -through closed doors and barred windows, appeared suddenly in tavern, -church or street corner, and were invariably the precursors of arrest, -torture-chamber and death. No man or woman--however high-born, however -highly placed, however influential or however poor and humble, was -immune from the watchful eye of the Inquisition; a thoughtless word, a -careless jest--or the mere denunciation of an enemy--and the accusation -of treason, heresy or rebellion was trumped up and gibbet or fire -claimed yet another victim. Don Ramon--a Spanish grandee--could not of -course be denounced as a heretic, but he knew that the eyes of de Vargas -were upon him, that he might he thought importune or in the way now that -other projects had been formed for donna Lenora--and he also knew that -de Vargas would as ruthlessly sweep him out of the way as he would a -troublesome fly. - -Thus fear of real, concrete danger had succeeded that of the -supernatural; but now that the stranger moved and spoke kindly with -Grete--the daughter of an heretic--it was evident that he was no spy of -the Inquisition: he was either an avowed enemy who chose this theatrical -manner of accomplishing a petty vengeance, or in actual fact that -extraordinary creature who professed to be the special protector of the -Prince of Orange and whom popular superstition among the soldiery had -nicknamed Leatherface. - -The latter was by far the most likely, and as the stranger whoever he -was, was unarmed, don Ramon felt that he had no longer any cause for -fear. Though his sword--in its scabbard--was lying on the table, his -dagger was in his belt. With a quick movement he unsheathed it, and at -the precise moment when the masked man had his back to him in order to -relock the door, don Ramon--dagger in hand--made a swift and sudden dash -for him. But the stranger had felt rather than seen or heard the danger -which threatened him. As quick as any feline creature he turned on his -assailant and gripped his upraised hand by the wrist with such a -vice-like grip that don Ramon uttered a cry of rage and pain: his -fingers opened out nervelessly and the dagger fell with a clatter to the -ground. - -Then the two men closed with one another. It was a fight, each for the -other's throat--a savage, primitive fight--man against man--with no -weapon save sinewy hands, hatred and the primeval instinct to kill. The -masked man was by far the more powerful and the more cool. Within a -very few moments he had don Ramon down on his knees, his own strong -hands gripping the other's throat. The Spaniard felt that he was -doomed: he--of that race which was sending thousands of innocent and -defenceless creatures to a hideous death--he, who had so often and so -mercilessly lent a hand to outrage, to pillage and to murder, who but a -few moments ago was condemning two helpless girls to insults and outrage -worse than death, was in his turn a defenceless atom in the hands of a -justiciary. The breath was being squeezed out of his body, his limbs -felt inert and stiff, his mind became clouded over as by a crimson mist. -He tried to call for help, but the cry died in his throat. And through -the mist which gradually obscured his vision he could still see the -silhouette of that closely-hooded head and a pair of eyes shining down -on him through the holes of the leather mask. - -"Let me go, miscreant," he gasped as for one moment the grip on his -throat seemed to relax. "By heaven you shall suffer for this outrage." - -"'Tis you will suffer," said the other coldly, "even as you would have -made two helpless and innocent women suffer." - -"They shall suffer yet!" cried don Ramon with a blasphemous oath, "they -and their kith and kin--aye! and this accursed city which hath given -_you_ shelter! Assassin!" - -"And it is because you are such an abominable cur," came a voice -relentlessly from behind the leather mask, "because you would hunt two -unfortunates down, them and their kith and kin and the city that gave -them shelter, that you are too vile to live, and that I mean to kill -you, like I would any pestilential beast that befouled God's earth. So -make your peace with your Creator now, for you are about to meet Him -face to face laden with the heavy burden of your infamies." - -In don Ramon now only one instinct remained paramount--the instinct of a -final effort for self-defence. When he fell, his knee came in contact -with the dagger which he had dropped. It cost him a terrible effort, -but nevertheless he succeeded in groping for it with his right hand and -in seizing it: another moment of violent struggle for freedom, another -convulsive movement and he had lifted the dagger. He struck with -ferocious vigour at his powerful opponent and inflicted a gashing wound -upon his left arm--the dagger penetrated to the bone, cutting flesh and -muscle through from wrist to elbow. - -But even as he struck he knew that it was too late; he had not even the -strength to renew the effort. The next moment the vice-like grip -tightened round his throat with merciless power. He could neither cry -for help nor yet for mercy, nor were his struggles heard beyond these -four narrow walls. - -The soldiers whom he himself had bidden to be merry and to carouse, were -singing and shouting at the top of their voice, and heard neither his -struggles nor his cries. The dagger had long since slipped out of his -hand, and at last he fell backwards striking his head against the leg of -the table as he fell. - - - - VII - - -In the tap-room the soldiers had soon got tired of waiting for Katrine. -At first some of them amused themselves by reopening the trap-door, then -sitting on the top step of the ladder that led to the cellar and thence -shouting ribald oaths, coarse jests and blasphemies for the benefit of -the unfortunate girl down below. - -But after a time this entertainment also palled, and a council was held -as to who should go down and fetch the girl. The cellar was vastly -tempting in itself--with no one to guard it save a couple of -wenches--and the captain more than half-inclined to be lenient toward a -real bout of drunkenness. It was an opportunity not to be missed; -strange that the idea had not occurred to seven thirsty men before. - -Now the provost declared that he would go down first, others could -follow him in turn, but two must always remain in the tap-room in case -the captain called, their comrades would supply them with wine from -below. The provost descended--candle in hand--so did four of the men, -but Katrine was no longer in the cellar. They hunted for her for -awhile, and discovered a window, the shaft of which sloped upwards to a -yard at the back of the house. The window was open and there was a -ladder resting against the wall of the shaft. - -The men swore a little, then went back to investigate the casks of wine. -With what happened in the cellar after that this chronicle hath no -concern, but those soldiers who remained up in the tap-room had a -curious experience which their fuddled brains did not at first take in -altogether. What happened was this: the door which gave on the passage -was opened, and a man appeared under the lintel. He was dressed in -sombre, tight-fitting doublet and hose, with high boots reaching well -above his knees; he had a hood over his head and a mask on his face. -The soldiers stared at him with wide-open, somewhat dimmed eyes. - -The masked man only spoke a few words: - -"Tell your provost," he said, "that señor captain don Ramon de Linea -lies dead in the room yonder." - -Then he disappeared, as quietly as he had come. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - VENGEANCE - - - I - - -"Satan! Satan! Assassin!" - -Donna Lenora had stood beside the dead body of her lover and kinsman -wide-eyed and pale with rigid, set mouth and trembling knees while her -father explained to her how don Ramon de Linea had been murdered in the -tavern of the "Three Weavers" by an unknown man who wore a leather mask. -She had listened to the whole garbled version of the sordid affair, -never thinking to doubt a single one of her father's words: don Ramon de -Linea, according to the account given to his daughter by Juan de Vargas, -had--while in the execution of his duty--been attacked in a dark passage -by a mysterious assassin, who had fled directly his nefarious work had -been accomplished. - -The murderer, however, was seen by the provost in command and by two of -the soldiers, and was accurately described by them as wearing doublet -and high-boots of a dark-brown colour, a hood over his head and a mask -of untanned leather on his face. The man had rapidly disappeared in the -darkness, evading all pursuit. - -And donna Lenora--thus face to face for the first time in her sheltered -life with crime, with horror and with grief--had, in the first moment of -despairing misery, not even a prayer to God in her heart, for it was -filled with bitter thoughts of resentment and of possible revenge. - -She had loved her cousin don Ramon de Linea with all the ardour of her -youth, of her warm temperament and of a heart thirsting for the -self-sacrifice which women were so ready to offer these days on the -altar of their Love. She had never thought him shallow or cruel: to her -he had always been just the playmate of childhood's days, the handsome, -masterful boy whom she had looked up to as the embodiment of all that -was strong and noble and chivalrous, the first man who had ever -whispered the magic word "love" in her ear. - -Now an unknown enemy had killed him: not in fair fight, not in the open, -on the field of honour, but--as her father said--in a tavern, in the -dark, surreptitiously, treacherously; and donna Lenora in an agony of -passionate resentment had at last broken the silence which had almost -frightened her father and had suddenly called out with fierce intensity: -"Satan! Satan! Assassin!" Her father had given her an account of the -horrible incident, which was nothing but a tissue of falsehoods from -beginning to end, and Lenora had listened and believed. How could she -doubt her own father? She hardly knew him--and he was all she had in -the world on whom to pour out the wealth of her affection and of her -faith. - - - - II - - -Truth to tell, de Vargas had received the news of don Ramon's death with -unbounded satisfaction. - -Lenora had obeyed him and had been this night publicly affianced to Mark -van Rycke; but between her consent to the marriage and her willingness -to become Alva's tool as a spy among her husband's people there was the -immeasurable abyss of a woman's temperament and a woman's natural pity -for the oppressed. - -But the outrage to-night--the murder of the man whom she still loved -despite paternal prohibitions--was bound to react on the girl's warm and -passionate nature--and react in the manner which her father desired. He -trusted to his own powers of lying, to place the case before his -daughter in its most lurid light. He had at once spoken of "spies" and -"assassins" and his words had been well chosen. Within a few moments -after he had told Lenora the news, he felt that he could play like a -skilled musician upon every string of her overwrought sensibilities. -Her heart had already been very sore at being forced to part from her -first lover; now that the parting had suddenly become irrevocable in -this horrible way, all the pent up passion, fierce resentment and wrath -which she had felt against her future husband and his people could by -clever manipulation be easily merged into an equally fierce desire for -revenge. - -It was a cruel game to play with a young girl who by blood and race was -made to feel every emotion with super-acuteness: but de Vargas was not -the man who would ever allow pity or chivalry to interfere with his -schemes: he saw in his daughter's mental suffering, in the shattering of -her nerves and the horror which had well-nigh paralysed her, nothing but -a guarantee of success for that comprehensive project which had the -death of the Prince of Orange for its ultimate aim. - -"It is strange," murmured the girl after awhile, "that when Ramon talked -with me in the Town House last night, he said that these Netherlanders -had a habit of striking at an enemy in the dark." - -"A presentiment, no doubt," rejoined de Vargas with well-feigned -gentleness. "Now, my child, you begin to understand--do you not?--why -it is that we Spaniards hate these treacherous Netherlanders. They are -vile and corrupt to the heart, every single man, woman or child of them. -They fear us and have not the pluck to fight us in the open. Orange and -his contemptible little army have sought shelter in Holland--they dare -not face the valour and enthusiasm of our troops. But mark you, what -Orange hath done! He hath sown the entire country with a crop of spies! -They are here, there, everywhere--not very cunning and certainly not -brave--their orders are to strike in the dark when and how they can. -They waylay our Spanish officers in the ill-lighted, and intricate -streets of their abominable cities, they dog their footsteps until they -meet them in some lowly tavern or a tenebrous archway: then out comes -their dagger, swift and sure, and they strike in the gloom--and a -gallant Spanish officer's blood stains the cobblestones of one of their -towns. It was don Ramon to-day--it will be Julian Romero perhaps -to-morrow--or don Juan de Vargas--who knows? or mayhap the duke of Alva -one day. Orange and his crowd are out on a campaign of -assassination--an army of assassins has been let loose--and their -captain-general wears a mask of leather and our soldiery have dubbed him -'Leatherface'!" - -"I have heard of this man 'Leatherface,'" said Lenora slowly. "It is -he, you think, who murdered Ramon?" - -"Have we not the soldiers' testimony?" he rejoined blandly, "two men and -the provost saw him quite clearly. As for me, I am not surprised: more -than once our spies have reported that the man undoubtedly hailed from -Ghent, and once he was traced to the very gates of this city. But," he -added insinuatingly, "here he is surrounded by friends: every burgher in -Ghent, no doubt, opens wide his hospitable door to the murderer of -Spanish officers." - -"Think you it is likely that the High-Bailiff of Ghent or ... or ... my -future husband would harbour such an assassin?" she asked. - -"Well!" he replied evasively, "all Netherlanders are treacherous. The -High-Bailiff himself and his son Mark are said to be loyal ... but -there's another son ... and the mother ... one never knows. It would be -strange," he continued unctuously, "if at some future time the murderer -of Ramon should find shelter in your house." - -"I shall pray to the saints," she rejoined with passionate intensity, -"that he and I may meet face to face one day." - -Indeed de Vargas had no cause to fear that henceforth his daughter would -fail in her vigilance. The assassination of her lover had stirred her -soul to its inmost depths. Indifference and light-hearted girlishness -had suddenly given place to all the violent passions of her ardent -nature. For the moment desire for vengeance--for justice she called -it--and hatred of the assassin and his mates had swept every other -thought, every soft aspiration away: all her world--the world as seen -through the rose-coloured windows of a convent window--had tottered and -opened beneath her feet, and through the yawning chasm she now saw evil -and lust and cruelty dancing a triumphant saraband over Ramon's dead -body. - -"There is a means," resumed de Vargas after a slight pause, during which -through half-closed lids he studied the play of every varying emotion -upon his daughter's beautiful face, "there is a means, my child, whereby -you or any faithful servant of our King can henceforth recognise at a -glance the man who killed your cousin Ramon." - -"A means?" - -"Yes. He carries upon his arm the brand of his own infamy." - -"Will you tell me more clearly what you mean?" she asked. - -"Ramon had not breathed his last when the provost found him and -ultimately brought him here to my lodgings. He was able to speak and to -give a fragmentary account of what had taken place: how he was set upon -in the dark and stabbed to death ere he could utter a cry. But at the -last moment he made a supreme effort and wrenching his dagger from his -belt he struck with it at his assailant. It seems that he inflicted a -very severe wound upon the miscreant: the dagger penetrated into the -left forearm close to the elbow and gashed the flesh and muscle as far -as the wrist and right through to the bone. It is not likely that at -this moment there is more than one man in Ghent who hath such a wound in -the left forearm: the wound was deep too, and will take some time to -heal, and even when it is healed it will leave a tell-tale scar which -will last for years. - -"I think," rejoined Lenora coldly, "that I should know the man who -killed Ramon, even if he bore no brand of Cain upon his person." - -Father and daughter looked at one another and for the space of a few -seconds their souls--so different in every ideal, every feeling, every -aspiration--met in one common resolve. He could hardly repress a sigh -of satisfaction. He knew that he held her, closely, firmly, indissolubly -at last. He held her by all the romance which her girlish imagination -had woven round the personality of a worthless man, and by all the deep -sense of injury which she felt as well as all the horror and the -indignation at the dastardly deed. And his own warped and gloomy soul -was at one with her pure and childlike one--pure because even the desire -for revenge which she felt, she ascribed to God, and called it justice. -The Moorish blood in her which mingles even with the bluest Castilian -claimed with savage, primeval instinct that "eye for an eye" and "tooth -for a tooth" which alone can satisfy a hot-headed and passionate race. - -Lenora's eyes as she met those of her father lost their look of dull -despair: something of the fanatical hatred which he felt for the whole -of the despised race communicated itself to her, now that she too had so -much cause for hatred. - -"We understand one another, Lenora," he said. And like a feline -creature sure of its prey, he drew quite close to her and took her hand, -and began gently to stroke it. - -"You will have to teach me what to do, father," she rejoined. - -"Your heart and wits will tell you that. In a few days you will have -entered the van Rycke household. Keep your eyes and ears open, and win -the confidence and love of all those around you. Let not a word, a -sign, a gesture escape you, and come and tell me at once all that you -see and hear. Will you promise to do that, my Lenora?" he added, -forcing his harsh voice to tones of gentleness. - -"I promise," she replied fervently. - -"The Lieutenant-Governor believes that Orange himself has been visiting -Ghent lately! Keep your eyes and ears open, Lenora, you may be the -means of bringing that arch-traitor to his just punishment. Promise me -that you will listen," he urged. - -"I promise," she reiterated firmly. - -"The Lieutenant-Governor comes to Ghent in a few days' time. Wherever -he goes there is always fear for his precious life. If Orange has been -in Ghent then he hath hatched a plot against the Duke--on this I would -stake my life--promise me that you will be on the watch, Lenora!" - -"I promise." - -"Upon your soul, my child?" - -"Upon my soul!" - -"And next to Orange himself, I'd sooner see that masked assassin -Leatherface hang than any man in Europe; remember that, little one!" - -"I'll not forget." - -"The outrage on don Ramon de Linea must not remain unavenged, remember -that." - -"I'll not forget." - -"Then let Orange and his rebels look to themselves!" ejaculated de -Vargas with a note of triumph. - -He took from the breast pocket of his doublet a piece of silk ribbon to -which was attached a flat, yet curiously fashioned and shaped piece of -steel. - -"Take this, my child," he said significantly, as he held the trinket out -to her. "This little bit of metal hath already done more service to our -Lord the King, to our country, and to our faith than a whole army of -spies." - -"What is it, dear?" she asked. - -"It is a little talisman," he replied, "that will turn any lock and open -any secret drawer by whomsoever lock and drawer have been manufactured. -It was made for me by the finest metal-cutter of Toledo--one in fact -whose skill was so paramount that we had reluctantly to ... to put him -out of harm's way. He was getting dangerous. This pass-key was his -masterpiece. I have tested it on the most perfect specimens of the -locksmith's art both in Toledo and in Florence. It hath never failed me -yet. Take it, my child, and guard it carefully. An I mistake not, you -will find use for it in your new home." - -Before she could protest he had thrown the ribbon over her head, and -she--mechanically but with unaccountable reluctance withal--slipped the -trinket into the bosom of her gown. - -"Remember, my dear," concluded de Vargas, "that the day after your -marriage I must return to Brussels. But if you see or hear anything -that may concern the welfare of our Sovereign Lord the King, or of his -government, you must come to me at once--do not hesitate--invent a -pretext--come away in secret--do anything rather than delay. And -remember also that anything you may tell me, I will treat in absolute -confidence. Your name will never appear in connection with any -denunciation ... I mean," he interrupted himself hastily, "with any -service which you may render to the State. Will you remember that also, -my child?" - -"I will remember," she replied. - -It seemed almost as if she were under the potent spell of some wizard. -She spoke and acted just as her father directed--and yet he looked so -evil at this moment, hypocrisy and lust were so apparent in his -jaundiced face, that even Lenora felt a sudden pang of doubt and of -fear--doubt as to the purity of her own motives and fear at the terrible -companionship which would henceforth exist between herself and her -father's friends, men who--like him--were bent on the destruction of a -nation and were actuated by blind hatred to oppress an entire people. - -De Vargas--vaguely guessing what went on in the girl's mind--made an -effort to regain his former bland manner: he strove by gentleness and -soft words to lull her suspicions. After all, he was her father and -she--a motherless child--had no one now in the world to whom she could -cling, on whom she could pour out that wealth of love and tenderness -which filled her young heart to overflowing. So now--very soon--she was -kneeling close beside him, her head resting against his bosom--the dove -nestling near the hawk; and the tears which would not come all the while -that her soul was consumed with bitterness, flowed beneficently at last -and eased her overburdened heart. - -"You will not fail me, little one?" asked de Vargas even in the midst of -tender, endearing words. - -"Never!" she murmured, "if you turned against me, father dear, whither -could I go? I have no one in the world but you." - -As her head was bent and her eyes downcast, she could not see the cold -and cruel glitter that shone in his face as he heard this simple -profession of whole-hearted devotion and faith. - -"Tell me what to do and I'll do it," she whispered again. - -"Then will God Himself reward you," he rejoined unctuously, "for you -will be serving Him and His Church, His anointed and the country of His -chosen people." - -After which he rose, kissed her and finally with a sigh of intense -satisfaction left her to meditate alone, to dream and to pray. - - - - - BOOK TWO: DENDERMONDE - - - - CHAPTER VI - - A STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND - - - I - - -A week later was the marriage solemnised between donna Lenora de Vargas -and Mark van Rycke, son of the High-Bailiff of Ghent. - -The religious ceremony took place in the abbey church of St. Bavon in -the presence of several members of the Grand Council and of all the high -functionaries of the city. Nothing had been spared to make the occasion -a magnificent and imposing one. The union between the two young people -was known to have the warm approval of the King himself: His Holiness -the Pope had sent a special blessing to the bride and bridegroom, whilst -the Captain-General had granted the use of a number of picked troops to -render the display more gorgeous. Seven hundred and fifty arquebusiers, -spearmen and halberdiers lined the route of the bridal procession -between the town-house and the church: they were dressed in the heraldic -colours of the city of Ghent, one leg blue and the other yellow, and -wore enormous hats with huge feathers dyed in the two colours. - -The Regent too had graciously lent his court musicians for the occasion -and they headed the procession with full orchestra playing the newest -motets. The church itself had been magnificently decorated with -tapestries, and a huge concourse of people lined the streets in order to -view all this pomp and magnificence. - -After the religious ceremony a grand banquet was held in the great hall -of the Town House at which eighty-four privileged guests were bidden. -It was served at separate tables each laid for a dozen guests, and -consisted of twenty-five courses--which were both varied and succulent. -There were fowls stewed in milk and dressed with sweetmeats and spices, -there were pickled partridges and pastries, sausages and omelettes of -every kind, whilst huge flagons of iced beer and Rhenish wines added to -the conviviality of the entertainment. - -Señor de Vargas presided at the chief table, and he had the bride on his -right and the bridegroom on his left. The High-Bailiff also sat at this -table as did Madame his wife and Messire Laurence van Rycke, and every -one remarked that señor de Vargas was in high good-humour and that he -bestowed marked evidences of his favour both upon the High-Bailiff and -upon the bridegroom. - -During the banquet the court musicians discoursed sweet music; in fact -everything was done not only with decorum but with liberality: this was -the first union between a noted and highly placed Spanish family and an -equally distinguished patrician house of Flanders, and in a brief toast, -tankard in hand, señor de Vargas expressed the hope that it might prove -the precursor of a great many more. - -Those present at the feast remarked moreover that the bride was -beautiful beyond powers of description, that the bridegroom looked as -usual, as if he had been spending half his nights in the taverns, and -that Messire Laurence van Rycke looked pale and sick. - -But nothing of any grave moment occurred during the length of this -exciting and strenuous day. After the banquet the tables were cleared -and many more guests arrived to take part in a grand reunion and ball -which lasted well into the night. But neither the bride or bridegroom -nor any of the grand Spanish seigniors stayed for that: a small -procession was formed soon after the conclusion of the banquet, -consisting of the parents of bride and bridegroom flanked by a guard of -honour, which conducted the young couple from the Town House to the -residence of the High-Bailiff, which was to remain their home until such -time as a more fitting permanent abode could be provided for them. - - - - II - - -And now the escort had taken leave of the young people: don Juan de -Vargas and the High-Bailiff had to return to their guests at the Town -House and Clémence van Rycke had gone to rest. The arquebusiers had -gone and the serving men and women--with the exception of Pierre and -Jeanne--had gone to watch the illuminations and to listen to the strains -of the orchestra which could be heard quite plainly through the open -windows of the Town House. - -Clémence van Rycke had conducted the bride upstairs to the -nuptial-chamber. With her own hands she had drawn a high-backed chair -close to the fire and made the young girl sit down. Mark then placed a -footstool to her feet and a down cushion to her back. - -Lenora accepted all these little attentions without a word, but with a -grateful smile. She was far too tired to speak, and when Clémence -finally kissed her on the forehead and whispered a motherly: "God bless -you, my child!" she could hardly murmur a feeble "Good-night!" in reply. - -Then Madame van Rycke went away, and the house seemed suddenly to become -very still. Lenora was still in her bridal gown, which was of stiff -white brocade, with very high starched collar and hard stomacher that -cramped her movements and made her sides ache. Her hair had been combed -away from her forehead and only a few unruly curls lay moist against her -brow: her delicate skin rebelled against the conventional white and pink -unguents which the careful fingers of a highly-trained waiting woman had -laid upon her cheeks and lips, and the dark lines of a black pencil -round her lashes could not add lustre to her luminous dark eyes which, -despite fatigue, shone with marvellous brilliancy. - -She sat with hands folded before her, staring into the fire, and the -flames in wanton frolic threw a golden glow upon her face and her gown -and deep blue shadows all around her. Mark van Rycke--unseen by -her--stood at the other end of the monumental hearth, one arm resting -against the ledge, his head against his hand, so that his face was -completely in shadow and she could not know that he was watching her. - -"You are tired, Madonna?" he asked after a little while, and she -replied, pathetically, like a child about to cry: - -"Very tired, Messire." - -"It has been a long and trying day for you," he continued lightly. "I -confess to being very tired myself, and as soon as Jeanne comes to wait -on you, I would beg of you that I might take my leave." - -Then as she said nothing, but continued to stare into the fire in a -listless manner, he added a little impatiently: - -"Jeanne will not be long; she attends upon my mother every night, but -will be at your service directly. Can you put up with my company, -Madonna, till she come?" - -"I am at your service, Messire," she rejoined stiffly, "if there is -aught you wish to say to me." - -"How cold you are, sweetheart," he said good-humouredly. "It would seem -as if we were still in the presence of that awe-inspiring duenna of -yours: what was her name?--I forget--but by the Mass! I tell you, -sweet, that she froze the very marrow in my bones ... and you were so -formal in her presence too--brrrr!--it makes me shiver to think of those -half-hours spent during the past week in such a freezing atmosphere!" - -He laughed--a quaint little laugh--half merry and half shy, and after an -instant's hesitation, he drew a low chair forward and sat down in front -of the fire, close to her. Even then she did not turn to look at him. - -"Had it not been for your eyes, Madonna," he said softly, "I would have -sworn that you were fashioned of marble." - -Now he was leaning a little forward, his elbow resting on his knee, his -hand shading his face from the light of the fire. He was studying her -face closely, and thought that he had never seen any woman quite so -beautiful. "Laurence was a fool!" he was saying to himself as he took in -every detail of the perfect face, the delicate contour of the cheeks, -the pearly whiteness of the skin, the exquisite line of chin and throat, -and above all those dark, glowing, unfathomable eyes which betrayed all -the latent fire and passion which coldness of demeanour strove vainly to -conceal. "Laurence was a fool! He would have fallen madly in love with -this beautiful creature, and would have made her happy and contented -with her lot, whilst the bonds of matrimony would have sat more lightly -on him than on me." - -He sighed, feeling a little sorry for himself, but nevertheless he -stretched out his hand and captured hers--an exquisitely fashioned -little hand it was, delicate to the touch and pulsating with life, like -a prisoned bird. Mark was a young man--and one who had already got out -of life most of the joys which it holds, but just for a moment he felt a -curious thrill of unaccustomed pleasure, in holding this perfect -thing--donna Lenora's hand. His own hands were strong, yet slender, -finely shaped and warm to the touch, but it must be supposed that as he -held hers, he must--quite unconsciously--have hurt her, for suddenly he -saw that she turned even whiter than she had been before, her eyes -closed and quite abruptly she withdrew her hand. - -"Do I anger you, Madonna?" he asked. - -"Nay, Messire," she replied coldly. - -"May I not then hold your hand--for a very little while in mine?" - -"If you wish." - -But she did not voluntarily put her hand out to him, and he made no -second attempt to capture it. - -"We do not seem to be getting along very fast," he said quaintly. - -She smiled. "Seeing how we came to be together, Messire," she said, "we -were not like to have much in common." - -"Yet, we shall have to pass our lives together, Madonna." - -"Alas!" she sighed. - -"I own that the prospect cannot be very alluring for you--it doth not -seem to suggest an interminable vista of happiness...." - -"Oh!" she murmured as if involuntarily, "I was not thinking of -happiness." - -"How strange," he retorted gently, "now, whenever I look at you, -Madonna, I invariably think of happiness." - -"Happiness? With me?" - -"With you, sweetheart, if you will but allow me to work for that object. -After all, my dear," he added with that whimsical smile of his, "we are -both young, you and I; life lies all before us. I own that we have made -a sorry beginning, that the first chapter of our book of life hath been -ill-writ and by clumsy hands. But suppose we turn over a few pages, do -you not think that we might happen on a more romantic passage?" - -He drew nearer still to her, so near that as he bent toward her his knee -touched the ground and his arm instinctively stretched out behind her, -so that at the least movement on her part it would close around her and -hold her--as indeed he longed that it should do. She was so very -beautiful, and that air of settled melancholy, of childlike helplessness -and pathos in her made an irresistible appeal to him. - -"Madonna," he whispered, "an you would let me, I should like to make -love to you now." - -But she, with a quick, impatient jerk suddenly sat bolt upright and -freed herself almost roughly from that arm which was nearly encircling -her shoulders. - -"Love!" she said with cold sarcasm. "You?" - -He bit his lip and in his turn drew back: the dour look in his face -became more marked and the merry twinkle died out of his eyes: his knee -no longer touched the ground, but he remained quite self-possessed and -said, still quite good-humouredly: - -"Yes, I--your husband as it happens, Madonna. Would love from me be so -very distasteful to you then?" - -"I have no love for you, Messire, as you well know," she said coldly. -"I told you what my feelings were toward yon, the first time that we -met--at the Town House, the night of our betrothal." - -"Yes," he owned, "you spoke very plainly then." - -"And since then I have had no cause to change." - -"I am as distasteful to you as I ever was?" he asked with droll -consternation. - -"Oh!--not distasteful, Messire." - -"Come! that's something." - -"Enough, methinks." - -"Not by a long way, but it is a beginning. To-day I am not altogether -distasteful--to-morrow I might e'en be tolerated ... in a week -toleration might turn to liking ... and after that, liking to..." - -"Never," she broke in firmly, "I should have to forget that which is -indelibly writ upon my memory." - -"And what is that?" - -"That you married me without love and without wooing--bought me like a -bundle of goods just because my father is powerful and yours ambitious. -A week ago we were betrothed, Messire. Since then how hath your time -been passed?" - -"In wild, ecstatic half-hours spent in the presence of your duenna and -sitting opposite to the chilliest bride in Christendom," he said -whimsically. - -"And the rest of the time in the taverns of Ghent," she retorted hotly, -"and places of ill-repute." - -"Who told you that?" he asked quietly. - -"Oh! your reputation is well known: how could it fail to reach mine -ears." - -"Evil tongues always make themselves heard, Madonna," he said, still -speaking very quietly, although now he sat quite apart from her, with -his long legs stretched out before him and his hands clasped between his -knees. "I would you had not listened." - -"I would I had not heard," she assented, "for then I should not have -added one more humiliation to all those which I have had to endure." - -"And I another regret," he said with a short sigh. "But even if evil -tongues spoke true, Madonna," he continued more lightly, "the shame of -my conduct would sit on me and not on you. They call me a ne'er-do-well -in the city--and have it seems done so in your hearing! Well! let me -plead guilty for the past and lay my contrition at your feet." - -Once more the more gentle mood overcame him. The house was so still and -there was something quite unaccountably sweet in this sentimental -dalliance with this exquisitely beautiful woman who was his -wife--sentimental indeed, for though she appeared cold and even cruelly -sarcastic, he felt the strength of a fine nature in her. Here was no -mere doll, mere puppet and slave of man content to take her lot as her -family or her husband chose to shape it--content to endure or accept a -husband's love without more return than passive obedience and -meaningless kisses. At the back of his mind he still thought Laurence a -fool, and felt how well suited two such warm natures would have been to -one another, but for the moment a strange desire seized him, to win a -kind look from this beautiful woman on his own account, to see her smile -on him, willingly and confidingly, to win her friendship and her trust, -even though no warmer feeling should ever crop up between him and her. - -"Madonna," he said, and once again he dropped his knee to the ground and -leaned toward her so that her warm breath touched his hand, which he -placed upon hers, "there are many men in the world who ne'er do well -because they have been left to the companionship of those who do equally -badly. Will you deign to believe that all the evil that is in me lies -very much on the surface? They call me wild and extravagant--even my -mother calls me careless and shallow--but if you smiled on me, Madonna, -methinks that something which lies buried deep down in my heart would -stir me to an effort to become worthy of you." - -His voice--habitually somewhat rough and always slightly ironical--was -wonderfully gentle now. Instinctively, perhaps even against her will, -Lenora turned her head slowly round and looked at him. He had never -before looked so straight and closely into her eyes; and, as she bore -his scrutinising glance, the warm blood slowly mounted to her cheeks. -Her face was partly in shadow, only the outline of her small head was -outlined by the ruddy glow of the fire, and the tiny ear shone, -transparent and crimson, like a shell, with the golden tendrils of her -fair hair gently stirring in the draught from the wide, open hearth. - -As she was excited and perhaps a little frightened, her breath came and -went rapidly, and her lips were slightly parted showing a faint glimmer -of pearly teeth beyond. Mark felt a sudden rush of blood to his head; to -be alone with this adorable woman so close to him, to feel her panting -like a young creature full of life and passion, slightly leaning against -his arm, to look into those wonderful, dark eyes and know that she was -his, was indeed more than man could endure in cold blood. - -The next moment he had caught her with irresistible masterfulness in -both his arms and drawn her down to him as he knelt, whilst his eager -lips sought hers with a mad longing for a kiss. But with an agonised -cry of horror, she pushed him away with all her feeble might. For a -moment she struggled in his arms like a wild creature panting for -liberty and murmuring mad, incoherent words: "Let me go! Let me go! I -hate you!"--the next, she was already free, and he had struggled to his -feet. Now he stood at some little distance from her, looking down on -her with a scared gaze and passing his hand mechanically backwards and -forwards across his brow. - -"Your pardon, Madonna," he murmured, "I did not understand that you -could hate me so." - -The fire was burning low, and the two candles in tall sconces at the -further end of the room threw but a fitful light upon that hunched up -young figure in the big, high-backed chair, cowering there half -frightened at her own violence, tired out with emotion, her nerves -quivering after the final, tense moment which had left her exhausted and -almost unconscious. - -Mark could only see her dimly; the stiff folds of her wedding gown and -the high starched collar were alone visible in the gloom; she had hidden -her face in the cushion of the chair. Presently a sob rose to her -throat, and then another, and soon she was crying just like a tired -child. Mark felt that he had been a brute and was seized with an -infinite pity for her. - -"Madonna," he said gently, "I think I can hear Jeanne's footstep in the -corridor. May I call to her to come and attend on you?" - -"I thank you, Messire," murmured Lenora, who was making a great effort -to swallow her tears. - -"Then I pray you dry your eyes," he pleaded, "I would be so ashamed if -Jeanne saw that I had made you cry." - -She looked up and even in the gloom he thought that he could see a swift -smile pass across her face. - -"To-morrow an you desire," he continued more lightly, "your old dragon -Inez shall be here to wait on you, until then I trust that you will not -feel too lonely, away from those you care for. My mother is an angel. -You will love her, I think, and my brother Laurence is learned and -well-read ... my father too is kind. We will all strive, Madonna, to -make you somewhat more contented with your lot." - -"You mistake, Messire," she stammered, "I..." - -But already he had bowed before her and bidden her a formal good-night. -She had meant to give him her hand and to ask his forgiveness, for -indeed she had behaved like an ill-tempered child--a bad beginning for -the role which she had sworn to play--but he had gone, and before she -could call him back he was speeding down the corridor and anon she heard -him loudly calling to Jeanne. - - - - III - - -Lenora did not see her husband during the whole of the next day, and on -the one occasion when she ventured to ask after him--with well-feigned -indifference lest any one guessed that all was not well between -them--Clémence van Rycke sighed, Messire the High-Bailiff gave a forced -laugh and Laurence van Rycke frowned with obvious anger. And in the -evening--when she retired to her room and felt strangely irritable and -hurt at being left in such solitude--she questioned Inez, who had been -allowed to come and wait on her and who had a marvellous faculty for -gleaning all the gossip that was going about the town. - -"They do say, my angel," said the old woman with that complacency which -characterises your true gossip, "that Messire Mark van Rycke hath spent -his whole day in the tavern opposite. It is known as the 'Three -Weavers,' and many Spanish officers are quartered in there now." - -"Heaven protect us!" ejaculated Lenora involuntarily, "I trust they did -not quarrel." - -"Quarrel, my saint?" retorted Inez with a spiteful little laugh, for she -had no liking for these Netherlanders. "Nay! Messire van Rycke would -not dare quarrel with a Spanish officer. No! no! it seems that the -_tapperij_ of the 'Three Weavers' was most convivial all the day. It is -always frequented by Spanish officers, although the inn-keeper is said -to be an abominable heretic: there was much gambling and heavy drinking -there, so they say, and even now..." - -And as if to confirm the old woman's say, there came from the house -opposite and through the open windows loud noise of gay laughter and -hilarious song. A deep flush rose to Lenora's face. - -"Close that window, Inez," she said peremptorily, "the night hath turned -chilly." - -She went to sit by the fire, and curtly dismissed the gossiping old -woman. She knew all that she had wanted to know, and the flush of shame -deepened on her cheek. There had been times during the past week when a -vague hope had stirred in her heart that mayhap life did hold a small -measure of happiness for her. There were times when she did not -altogether dislike Mark van Rycke, when that winning merriment and -good-humour which always lurked in his eyes provoked a response in her -own ... and others, when certain notes of gentleness in his voice caused -a strange thrill in her heart and brought tears into her eyes, which -were not altogether tears of sorrow. She had also felt deeply -remorseful at her conduct last night at the cruel words: "I hate you!" -which she had flung so roughly in his face: indeed she could scarcely -sleep all night, for she was persistently haunted by the dazed look in -those merry, grey eyes of his which had just for one brief moment -flashed tender reproach on her. - -But now she felt nothing but shame--shame that she should ever have -thought tenderly of a man who could so wrong her, who had so little -thought of her that he could spend his whole day in a tavern whilst his -young girl-bride was left to loneliness and boredom in a house where she -was a total stranger. She thought him vindictive and cruel: already she -had thought so last night when he went away hurriedly without waiting -for the apology which was hovering on her lips. Now she was quite sure -that she hated him, and the next time she told him so, she certainly -would not regret it. - -But somehow she felt more forlorn than she had been before that dotard -Inez had filled her ears with gossip. The house as usual was very -still, but Lenora knew that the family had not yet gone to rest. Awhile -ago she thought that she had heard footsteps and a murmur of voices in -the hall below. A desire for company seized the young girl, and she -racked her brain for an excuse to go down to her mother-in-law, who she -knew was kind and who perhaps would cheer and comfort her a little and -give her kind pity in her loneliness. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - THE REBELS - - - I - - -At this same hour in the small withdrawing-room which adjoined the -dining-hall in Messire van Rycke's house, five men were sitting round -the gate-legged table in the centre of the room. At the top of the -table sat Clémence van Rycke, in a tall chair covered with crimson -velvet; opposite to her sat a man who was dressed in rough clothes of -dark-coloured buffle, and whose ruff was of plain, coarse linen; he wore -a leather belt to which was fastened a heavy wallet, and high, tough -boots that reached above his knee. His black hat and mantle lay on a -chair close by. In fact, his clothes--more than ordinarily sombre and -plain--were such as the serving man of a poor burgher might wear; -nevertheless this man had round his neck a crimson ribbon to which was -attached a gold pendant in the shape of a dead wether--which is the -badge worn by the Knights of the Golden Fleece. - -When this man spoke the others listened to him with marked deference, -and Laurence van Rycke stood all the time beside his chair and served -him with wine. In appearance he was spare of build and tall, he wore -full beard and moustache and hair brushed away from an unusually high -forehead. His eyes were prominent and very keen and astute as well as -frank and kindly in expression, and his eyebrows were fully and markedly -arched. - -Clémence van Rycke was the only woman present. The other three men were -all dressed in dark clothes, and their black mantles hung over the backs -of their chairs. The room in which these half-dozen people were -assembled was narrow and oak-panelled; at the end of it there was a low -and very wide window recess, across which heavy curtains of crimson -velvet had been drawn; at the side a door gave on the dining-hall; this -door was open and the hall beyond was in complete darkness. - -The whole room was only dimly lighted by one thick wax candle which -burned in a tall sconce that stood on a bracket in an angle of the room, -and threw a fitful light on the grave faces of the men sitting around -the table. - -"The High-Bailiff hath business at the Town House," Clémence van Rycke -was saying in reply to the stranger who sat opposite to her. "He will -not be home until midnight. My son Mark, too, is from home," she added -more curtly. "Your Highness can discuss your plans with these gentlemen -in all security. And if you wish me to retire..." - -She half rose as if she meant to go, but a word from the stranger kept -her in her place. - -"I entreat you to stay with us, mevrouw," he said; "we would wish you to -hear all that we have to say. Of a truth we have no more loyal -adherents than mevrouw van Rycke and her son, and what we should have -done in this city without their help I do not know." - -He turned at the same time to Laurence and stretched out his hand to -him. The young man at once bent the knee and kissed the gracious hand. - -"The little that we have done, Monseigneur," said Clémence softly, "hath -been done with great gladness seeing that it was in your service." - -"Not only mine, mevrouw," rejoined the stranger. "I am but the -instrument of God's will, an humble follower of His cause. What you -have done was done for Him and for the cause of liberty, of justice and -of right." - -"May God's blessing rest upon your Highness' enterprise," murmured -Clémence fervently. "For God and William of Orange is our cry. Your -cause is the cause of God." - -"Alas!" said the Prince, with a sigh of utter weariness and dejection, -"you know how little success I have had in this city ... promises! -promises! promises I have in plenty, and a couple of thousand young men -from the town have rallied to my standard. A poor result indeed after -all my efforts! So much tyranny!" he exclaimed bitterly, "such wanton -oppression! the dastardly outrages at Mons and at Mechlin! and only two -thousand men among thirty, willing to take up arms to defend their -liberty, their ancient privileges, their very homes!" - -He leaned his elbows on the table and buried his head in his hands. -Clémence van Rycke was silent as were the men; their hearts echoed all -the bitterness which had surged up in William of Orange's heart. - -"Yet your Highness refuses to take me with you," said Laurence with -gentle reproach. - -"Only for the moment, Messire," rejoined the Prince, "only for the -moment. Never fear but I will send for you as soon as I have need of -you. Can I afford to reject so devoted a champion? But for the moment -you can do so much more for me by staying quietly at home than if you -followed me on my recruiting campaign. I have not yet exhausted the -resources and enthusiasm of this city--of that I feel confident, I shall -try again--for another week. There are still several likely houses that -I have not visited, and whose cordial invitation I have received..." - -"Beware of treachery, your Highness!" broke in Clémence van Rycke -suddenly. - -"Nay, Madonna," he said, whilst that same winning smile lit up the -sombre dejection of his face, "but have I not told you that my dragon is -on the watch? Not a step am I allowed to take in this city without his -permission. He allowed me to come to this house to-night, because he -knew that I desired to express my gratitude to you personally. But I can -assure you," he added, laughing softly to himself, "I had to fight for -the permission." - -"Is that not insolence?" exclaimed one of the others hotly. "Were we -not to be trusted with the care of your sacred person?" - -"You all, seigniors, and Messire van Rycke and his mother," rejoined the -Prince; "but there are others in this house. Do not blame my devoted -Leatherface," he continued earnestly; "but for him I should not be here -now. No man could be more watchful, no man more brave or more -resourceful. Countless times did he save me from the assassin's dagger -and the poisoner's cup. If my life is necessary for the cause of -freedom and justice, then have freedom and justice in Leatherface their -truest and most efficient champion." - -"Amen to that," rejoined Clémence van Rycke with fervour. "I only wish -I knew who he was, that I might pray more personally for him." - -"Ah! we none of us know who he is, Madonna," said William of Orange more -lightly. "He is Leatherface, and that is enough for us. And this -reminds me that he begged me to be back at my lodgings by ten o'clock, -so I have not much time to spend in this pleasing gossip. Shall we to -serious business now?" - -"At your Highness' service," replied Laurence, and the others also -murmured a quick assent. - - - - II - - -"Well then, seigniors, having decided on our coup we have only the -details to consider. You have all assured me that the Duke of Alva will -come to Ghent within the next few days, and that our two thousand -recruits are ready to carry out the orders which we have framed for -them." - -"The numbers will be doubled within the next few days," interposed one -of the grave seigniors with conviction. "Your Highness' presence in the -town--though only known to a very few loyalists--hath wrought miracles -already." - -"The wave of enthusiasm is spreading," asserted another. - -"Well! if we had more men," quoth the Prince cheerily, "our plan would, -of a surety, be more certain of success. I cannot say that I altogether -approve of the plan--for as you know, I am a soldier and have no great -mind for plots and conspiracies; but those on whose judgment I place -infinite confidence--men such as Messire Paul Buys, pensionary of -Leyden, Marnix of Tholouse, Marnix of St. Aldegonde and others, all -approve of it, and I have therefore given it mine assent." - -He sank his voice yet lower to a whisper, and he leaned right across the -table as did the other men so that their ears were quite close to his -mouth. - -"The Duke of Alva comes to Ghent in about a week's time," he continued. -"The idea is to seize his person and hold him a prisoner here and an -hostage whilst we demand the withdrawal of all the Spanish troops from -the Netherlands and the abolition of the Spanish Inquisition." - -"To seize the person of the Duke of Alva!" murmured Clémence van Rycke, -and so great was the terror which the tyrant inspired in every Flemish -heart, that even those who already knew of this daring plot were -appalled at the magnitude of such an outrage. - -"Why not?" quoth William of Orange earnestly. "Less than a hundred -years ago the town of Brüges held the Archduke Maximilian King of the -Romans a prisoner within her walls, until he swore to dismiss all -foreign troops from the Netherlands within four days, and gave hostages -for his fidelity. What Brüges did then, cannot Ghent do now? With Alva -a prisoner in our hands, we can dictate our terms to the King. It is a -bold coup, seigniors, I own, but it hath every chance of success." - -A murmur of approval went round the table. Clémence alone was silent. -She was old and feeble, perhaps she had seen more than one bold coup -fail, and terrible reprisals follow such failures; but Laurence was full -of eagerness and enthusiasm. - -"It cannot fail," he asserted vehemently. "Are there not two thousand -men in the city who are devoted to your Highness heart and soul, and who -are ready to give their lives for your cause? Two thousand, and within -three days there will be five! more than enough for such a bold coup. -It will and must succeed! One lucky hazard, and we may win all that we -have fought for, lived for, died for, for over a century." - -"It cannot fail!" came with fervent conviction from every one of the -others. - -"Ghent can do what Brüges hath done!" they affirmed. - -"With the tyrant a prisoner in our hands, we can dictate terms as Brüges -did an hundred years ago." - -"Well said, seigniors," rejoined William of Orange, "and your -approval--you who know this city so much better than I do--hath given me -further encouragement. And now," he added with serious earnestness, -"you will want to know why I convened this meeting, which by Mevrouw van -Rycke's graciousness I have been able to do, and you will wish to hear -what role hath been assigned to each of you in the great event which we -are preparing." - -"Let me but offer my life..." interposed Laurence eagerly. - -"Nay! not your life, I hope, Messire," quoth the Prince with a smile, -"your forethought and prudence and your united co-operation are what we -want. Ye are risking your lives, seigniors, in this enterprise, that -I'll not deny--but ye are men and know which you value most, your life -or the very existence of your nation which is threatened with complete -destruction." - -"For Orange, for faith and for liberty!" said one of the men simply, and -the others merely murmured: "Tell us what we must do." - -"You must be wary and alert above all things, seigniors, for I have -chosen you for a very arduous task in connection with this enterprise, -and you must recognise that however carefully we organise it, there will -always be one weak link in the chain which we are forging for the -capture of that abominable tyrant, the Duke of Alva." - -"One weak link?" - -"Yes. We do not and cannot know for certain on which date Alva proposes -to come to Ghent. The dates of his visits to Flemish towns are always -kept a secret until the very moment of departure." - -"He dreads assassination," interposed one man with a sneer. - -"On the last occasion of the Duke's visit to Ghent," said Clémence van -Rycke, "my husband was only apprised of it by courier two hours before -his arrival. The courier had started from Brussels a bare half-hour -before the Lieutenant-Governor and his cortège left the city." - -"Precisely, and even then the High-Bailiff was in advance of every one -else with the news," nodded the Prince, "and that is where our -difficulty lies. How to collect together a couple of thousand men at -perhaps an hour's notice--men who are scattered in different portions of -this city and probably engaged in their usual avocations." - -"Where will their leaders be?" - -"Each at the different points where our secret stores of arms are kept. -There are four of these points and four captains whom I have appointed -to command five hundred men each. Having distributed the arms, the -captains will lead their respective companies to the Waalpoort, where a -crowd is sure to collect as soon as the rumour has spread to the town -that the Lieutenant-Governor is coming. Our men will mix with the -crowd, and at a given signal--when the Duke's cortège crosses the -bridge--they will rush the bodyguard, scatter confusion among the -escort, and in the mêlée seize the person of Alva. During the -inevitable tumult that will ensue among the soldiers and the populace, -our valuable hostage shall be conveyed in absolute secrecy to Het -Spanjaard's Kasteel, where of course we can easily keep him a close -prisoner whilst we negotiate with the King. But this of course is for -the future, seigniors," he added, "and my concern now is to explain to -you the method which I and my councillors have devised for the calling -together of our stalwarts as soon as the Duke's coming visit is -announced. Have I your close attention, seigniors?" - -He had indeed. The four men round the table bent forward more eagerly -still so as not to lose one word of their noble chief's commands. But -before they could formulate the words of loyalty and of enthusiasm which -hovered on their lips, a soft sound like the beating of a bird's wing -against the window-pane froze those whispered words upon their lips. - -Every head was immediately turned to the window, every face became rigid -and pale, every brow was contracted with the effort to strain the -faculty of hearing to its tensest point. It seemed as if six pairs of -glowing eyes would pierce the folds of the velvet curtain which hung -before the window. - - - - III - - -The Prince was the first to recover himself. - -"It is Leatherface," he whispered, "come to give me warning." - -He rose and would have gone to the window, but Clémence van Rycke caught -him by the arm and clung convulsively to him. "Not you, Monseigneur," -she entreated, "not you--it might be a traitor." - -Then the tapping was repeated and Laurence went cautiously up to the -window, and after an instant's hesitation, he suddenly drew the curtains -aside with a resolute gesture. Then he unfastened the tall casement and -threw it open. - -The night was of an inky blackness, and as the lattice flew open a gust -of wind and heavy driving rain nearly extinguished the light of the -candle, but in the framework of the window a man's head and shoulders -detached themselves from out the gloom. The head and shoulders were -closely enveloped in a hood and cape, and the face was hidden by a mask, -and all were dripping with wet. - -"Leatherface!" murmured the Prince, and Clémence van Rycke gave a sigh -of relief. - -"There is a light in the window above," whispered the man with the mask, -"and a shadow has crossed behind the windows of the corridor. Someone -is astir overhead--and the civic business at the Town House is drawing -to an end." - -"We have nearly finished," murmured the Prince in reply. "And I'll come -away at once. Is the street clear?" - -"Quite--and will be for another ten minutes till the night-watchman -comes round. I saw him just now, he is very drunk and might make -trouble." - -"I come, friend," rejoined the Prince, "and as soon as may be." - -The hooded head disappeared in the gloom; Laurence closed the window and -drew the curtains together again. - -"I envy that man," he said, and Clémence murmured a fervent: "God bless -him!" - - - - IV - - -Then the Prince turned once more to his friends. - -"You see," he said with his grave smile, "how carefully my dragon guards -me. There is evidently no time for lengthy explanations, and I must be -as brief as I can." - -He now opened the wallet at his belt and took out from it a small packet -of papers. - -"I am going to entrust these papers to Messire Laurence van Rycke," he -said, "they contain the names and places of abode and of business of -every one of those two thousand men who have actually tendered me their -oath of allegiance, and have sworn to give me unconditional support. I -propose that Messire van Rycke keep these lists, because it will -undoubtedly be his father, the High-Bailiff, who will learn sooner than -any one else in the town the day and hour of the Duke of Alva's visit to -Ghent. As soon as this is known to him, Messire van Rycke will then go -to each of you, seigniors, and give you each a list of five hundred -names, at the head of which will be noted the rallying point where these -men will have to meet their captain and receive their arms. You in your -turn will then each go and beat up the five hundred men whose names will -have been given you, and order them to go to their respective rallying -points. All this plan," added the Prince, "has been very carefully -thought out, and it seems to me simple and easy of execution. But if -any of you, seigniors, can think of a better one, I am, of course, -always ready to take advice. You know your own city, better than I -do--you might devise something still more practical than what I -propose." - -"Nay!" interposed one of the men, "meseems that nothing could be more -simple, and I for one do vote unconditionally for the acceptance of His -Highness' plan." - -The others all gave their assent--hastily now, for again that gentle -tapping was heard against the window-pane, only rather more firmly, more -urgently this time. But no one went to the window to see what the -tapping meant; obviously the faithful watcher outside scented some still -hidden danger. The Prince at once by rising gave the signal that the -conference was at an end. As he did so he handed the packet of papers -to Laurence van Rycke who received it on bended knee. - -"It is a treasure, Messire," said William of Orange earnestly, "which -involves the lives of many and even, perhaps, the whole existence of -this city. Where will you keep it?" - -It was Clémence van Rycke who replied: - -"This room," she said, "is mine own private withdrawing-room; that -bureau there hath a wonderful lock which defies the cleverest thief; it -contains my most valuable jewels. The papers will be safer there than -anywhere." - -"Let me see you lock them up in there, mevrouw," rejoined the Prince -graciously, "I entrust them to you and to Laurence with utmost -confidence." - -Clémence then handed a key to her son and he locked the packet up in the -tall bureau of carved and inlaid mahogany and satin-wood which stood in -an angle of the narrow room close to the window and opposite to the -door. - -"I am meeting some friends and adherents to-morrow," said William of -Orange finally, "at the house of Messire the Procurator-General whom of -a truth God will bless for his loyalty--and I pray you, seigniors, as -many of you as can do so to meet me there at this same hour. But should -we not meet again, do you understand all that you have to do?" - -The men nodded in silence, whereupon the Prince took formal leave of -them and of his host and hostess. He said kind and grateful words to -Clémence van Rycke, who, with tears in her eyes, kissed the gracious -hand which was held out to her. She then escorted her noble guest out -of the room and across the dining-hall, the others following closely -behind. All were treading as noiselessly as they could. The door which -gave from the dining-room on the hall and staircase beyond was wide -open: the room itself was in absolute darkness, and only a tiny light -flickered in the hall, which made the shadows round corners and in -recesses appear all the more dense. - -"Will your Highness grope your way to the front door," whispered -Clémence van Rycke, "or shall my son bring a lanthorn to guide you?" - -"No, no," said William of Orange hurriedly, "that small light yonder is -quite sufficient. I can see my way, and we must try not to wake your -hall-porter." - -"Oh! nothing will rouse him save a very severe shaking, and the bolts -and bars have been left undone, as my husband will be coming home late -to-night." - -"And, if I am not mistaken," quoth the Prince, "my devoted friend -Leatherface is waiting for me outside to see me safely to my lodgings. -He is always mistrustful of hidden traps or hired assassins for me. -Farewell, seigniors!" he added lightly, "remember my instructions in -case we do not meet again." - -"But to-morrow..." interposed Laurence van Rycke. - -"Aye! to-morrow," said William of Orange, "at this hour at the house of -Messire Deynoot, the Procurator-General: those of you, seigniors, who -care to come will be welcome." - -"Not one of us would care to stay away," rejoined Laurence with earnest -conviction. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - THE WATCHER IN THE NIGHT - - - I - - -Lenora, thinking that Mevrouw van Rycke was still astir, and pining for -motherly comfort and companionship, had crept softly down the stairs -candle in hand, when all of a sudden she paused in the vast hall. -Everything was so still and so weird that any noise, even that of a -mouse skimming over a carpet, would have made itself felt in the -absolute silence which lay over the house, and Lenora's ear had most -certainly heard--or rather felt, a noise--the sound of people moving and -speaking somewhere, not very far from where she stood ... listening ... -every sense on the alert. - -With a sudden instinct, half of fear and half of caution, she blew out -the candle and then groped her way, with hands outstretched, hardly -daring to breathe. The tiny, flickering light which came from an iron -lamp fixed to a bracket at the foot of the stairs made the hall seem yet -more vast and strange; but one small, elvish ray caught the polished -brass handle of the dining-room door, and this glimmer of metal seemed -to attract Lenora toward it. After awhile her eyes became a little more -accustomed to the gloom, she tip-toed up to that door-handle which so -attracted her, and placing both her hands upon it, she crouched -there--beside the door--listening. - -In effect there were people moving and talking not far from where she -crouched--no doubt that they were in the small withdrawing-room beyond, -and that the door of communication between the two rooms was open. -Lenora--motionless, palpitating, her heart beating so that it nearly -choked her, felt that all her faculties must now be merged into those of -hearing, and, if possible, seeing what was going on in this house, and -at this hour of the night when the High-Bailiff was from home. - -Whether any thought of conspiracy or of State secrets had at this time -entered her head it were impossible to say, whether she thought of -Ramon's murderer or of her oath to her father just then, who can tell? -Certainly not the girl herself--she only listened--listened with all her -might, and anon she heard the scraping of a chair against the tiled -floor, then the iron rings of a curtain sliding along the rod, finally -the whistling sound of a gust of wind rushing through an open window. -This moment she chose as her opportunity. She turned the handle of the -door very gently, and quite noiselessly it responded to her touch. Then -she pushed the door wide open and waited--listening. - -The door into the withdrawing-room was wide open just as she had -conjectured, the wind was blowing the feeble light about which flickered -in that room, and there were men in there who moved stealthily and spoke -in whispers. Lenora crept forward--furtive as a mouse. The darkness in -the dining-hall was impenetrable, and she in her house-dress of dark -woollen stuff made no noise as she glided along, keeping well within the -gloom, her hands stretched out before her to feel the objects that might -be in her way. - -At last she came within range of the open door and had a view of the -little room beyond. She saw the table in the centre, the men sitting -around it, and Clémence van Rycke in a high-back chair at its further -end. Just now they all had their faces turned toward the window, where -in the open casement the head and shoulders of a man were dimly visible -to Lenora for one instant and then disappeared. - -After that she heard the men talking together and heard what they said: -she saw that one man appeared to be the recipient of great marks of -respect, and that the others called him "Your Highness." She was now -listening as if her very life depended on what she heard--crouching in -the angle of the dining-room as closely as her unwieldy farthingale -would allow. She heard the man whom the others called "Your Highness," -and who could be none other than the Prince of Orange, explain to the -others a plan for massing together two thousand men in connection with a -forthcoming visit of the Duke of Alva to Ghent, she heard the word -"Leatherface" and a great deal about a packet of papers. She heard the -Prince speak about a meeting to-morrow in the house of the -Procurator-General, and finally she saw Laurence van Rycke take a packet -of papers from the Prince's hand and lock it up in the bureau that stood -close to the window. - -Indeed she could not for a moment be in doubt as to the meaning of what -she saw and heard. - -Here was a living proof of that treachery, that underhand conspiracy of -which her father had so often spoken to her of late! Here were these -Netherlanders, living under the beneficent and just laws of their -Sovereign Lord and Master King Philip of Spain--the man who in every -born Spaniard's eyes was greater, nobler, more just and more merciful -than any other monarch alive, who next to His Holiness himself was -surely anointed by God Himself and placed upon the mightiest throne on -earth so that he might administer God's will upon all his subjects--and -here were these traitors plotting and planning against the Government of -that high and noble monarch, plotting against his representative, the -Lieutenant-Governor whom he had himself put in authority over them. - -To a girl born and bred in the atmosphere of quasi-worship which -surrounded Philip's throne, the revolt of these Netherlanders was the -most heinous outrage any people could commit. She understood now the -hatred and loathing which her father had for them--she hated them too, -since one of these vile conspirators had foully murdered her cousin -Ramon in the dark. - -"Leatherface!"--the man in the room below whom the others called "Your -Highness" spoke of Leatherface as his friend! - -A Prince consorting with a hired assassin! and Lenora felt that her -whole soul was filled with loathing for all these people. Was not the -man who had killed Ramon--foully, surreptitiously and in the dark--was -he not even now just outside this very house--the house which was to be -her home for life--waiting mayhap for some other unsuspecting Spanish -officer whom he could murder in the same cowardly and treacherous -way?--and were not all these people in that room yonder, execrable -assassins too?--had she not heard them speaking of armed -conspirators?--and could she not see even now in her mind's eye the -unsuspecting Duke of Alva falling into their abominable trap? - -But horror-struck as she was, she never stirred. Truth to tell, a -sudden fear held her now--the fear that she might be detected ere she -had done her best to save the Duke from this infamous plot. What she -would do presently, she did not know as yet--for the moment all that she -needed was safety from discovery and the privacy of her own room where -she could pray and think. - -After Laurence had locked the papers in the bureau it was obvious that -the meeting was at an end. She had only just time to flit like a dark -ghost through the dining-hall and to reach the stairs, before she heard -unmistakable signs that the Prince and his friends were taking leave of -their host and hostess. Gathering her wide gown together in her hands, -she crept up the stairs as fast as she could. Fortunately she was well -out of the range of the small light at the foot of the stairs, before -the five men and Clémence van Rycke came out into the hall. She heard -their few words of farewell and heard the Prince arranging for the -meeting the next evening at the house of Messire Deynoot. - -After that she felt that further delay would inevitably spell detection. -Even now someone must have opened the front door, for a gust of wind and -heavy rain driving into the house told the listener quite clearly that -the Prince and his friends were leaving the house: anon Clémence and -Laurence would be going up to their own apartments. - -As swiftly, as furtively as a mouse, Lenora made her way up the stairs: -and now there she sat once more in the vast bedchamber, quivering with -excitement and with horror, listening for footsteps outside her door. -She heard Clémence van Rycke's shuffling footsteps passing down the -corridor, and Laurence's more firm ones following closely in their wake: -a few whispered words were spoken by mother and son, then doors were -closed and all was still once more. - - - - II - - -The fire had burnt low, only the last dying embers of the charred pine -logs threw a wide glowing band across the centre of the room. Lenora -sitting by the fire had scarcely moved for a quarter of an hour or even -more. Anon she heard the opening and shutting of the front door. - -It was the High-Bailiff returning home--not knowing, of a truth, that -his house had just been used as a meeting-place for conspirators. The -hall-porter slept between two doors in the outer lobby. Lenora heard -him scrambling out of bed, and the High-Bailiff's voice bidding him -close everything up for the night. Then came the pushing home of bars -and bolts and the rattle of chains, and finally the sound of the -High-Bailiff's heavy footsteps across the hall and up the stairs. - -After that silence once more. - -Lenora, however, still sat on for awhile staring into the glow. Vaguely -she wondered if Mark would be staying out all night, or whether he had -been home all along, knowing perhaps, and perhaps not caring about, what -was going on in his father's house; keeping aloof from it all: or like -Laurence, up to his neck in all this treachery and abominable rebellion! - -Another quarter-of-an-hour went by: the clock of St. Bavon had chimed -the half after eleven, and now the quarter before midnight. Lenora felt -that at last she might slip downstairs with safety. - -Quickly now she took off her stuff gown and heavy farthingale which had -so impeded her movements awhile ago, and groped in the press for a -clinging robe which would envelop her closely and glide noiselessly upon -the tiled floors. - -There is absolutely no doubt that all through this time Lenora acted -almost unconsciously. She never for one moment paused to think: she was -impelled by a force which she herself could not have defined--a force -which can best be described as a blind instinct. Obedience! She had -been born and bred in obedience and a sense of sacred duty to her King -as Sovereign Lord, to her faith and to her father. - -In the convent at Segovia she had learned the lesson of obedience so -absolutely that it never entered her mind to question the decrees of -those three all-potent arbiters of her destiny. And when--as now--the -hour came when the most sacred oath she had ever spoken had to be -fulfilled, she would have thought it a deadly sin to search her own -heart, to study her feelings, to argue with herself about it. She would -as soon have thought of arguing with God. - -On Ramon's death-bed she had sworn to her father that she would act and -work for her country and for her King in the way that her father would -direct. - -The time had come, and she did what she believed to be her duty without -question and without false shame. - -She knew that the knowledge which she already possessed was of paramount -importance to the Government: the Prince of Orange was in Ghent--who but -he would be called "your Highness"?--and moving about among his friends -surreptitiously and at dead of night? Who but he would speak of the -mysterious Leatherface as being on the watch for him? The Prince of -Orange was in Ghent and was conspiring against the State. There had -been talk of the Duke of Alva's visit to Ghent and of two thousand men -being secretly armed. What other purpose save that of murder and -bloodshed could be served by such secret plottings and the levying of -troops in this illegal manner? The Prince of Orange was in Ghent and -would on the morrow continue his underhand and treasonable machinations -in the house of Messire Deynoot, Procurator-General of Ghent. - -That was the extent of Lenora's knowledge, and what could she do with -such a secret in her possession--she, a helpless girl, a stranger in the -midst of all these enemies of her people and of her race? Could she, -having gleaned so much information, quietly go to bed and sleep and let -events shape their course?--and detach herself, as it were, from the -destinies of her own country which her father had in a measure entrusted -to her stewardship? Could she above all be false to her oath at the -very moment when God gave her an opportunity of fulfilling it and of -working for her country and her King in a manner which was given to very -few women to do? Indeed she did not pause to think. Any thought save -that of obedience would be treason to the King and sinful before God. -The hour for thought would come later, and with it mayhap regret. Then -so be it. Whatever suffering she would have to endure in the future, in -her sentiment and in her feelings, she was ready to accept -unquestioningly, just as she was prepared to fulfil her duty -unquestioningly now. She knew a good deal, but surely not enough. She -had seen Laurence van Rycke lock up a packet of papers in the bureau, -and she had in her possession tied with a ribbon around her neck, the -precious pass-key which her father had given her on the very morning -when he told her how Ramon had come by his death--the -curiously-fashioned piece of steel made by the metal-worker of -Toledo--who had been put out of the way, because his skill had made him -dangerous--and which would turn any lock or open any secret drawer. - -She had no light now and did not know how to use the tinder, but in the -wall of the corridor outside her door there was a little niche wherein -stood a statue of the Virgin, and in front of the statute a tiny light -was kept burning day and night: this would do in lieu of a candle. She -would take it, she thought, and carry it into the withdrawing-room with -her: it would help to guide her to the bureau where the papers were. - -Yes! she was quite prepared for what she had to do, and there was no -reason to wait any longer. And yet for some unaccountable reason she -suddenly felt strangely inert: there were still a few dying embers in -the grate, and she could see quite distinctly the high-backed chair in -which she had sat last night, and the low one wherein Mark had half sat, -half kneeled close beside her: the memory of that brief interview which -she had had with him came upon her with a rush. It had been the only -interview between them since the blessing of the Church had made them -man and wife. It had ended disastrously it is true. Her words: "I hate -you!" had been cruel and untrue, and overwhelming regret suddenly held -her in its grip once again--as it had done all the day. - -Closing her eyes for a moment--for they felt hot and heavy--she could -almost believe that Mark was still there--his merry grey eyes looking -deeply earnest, trying to read her innermost thoughts. His -personality--so strange, so baffling even--seemed still to linger in -this dimly-lighted room, and she almost could hear his voice--rugged, -yet at times so sweet and tender--echoing softly along the rafters. - -And all of a sudden she realised the full horror of what she was -doing--of what she must do now or else become false and perjured--a -traitor to her race and to her King. No longer was she a blind and -unconscious tool of Fate--she was she herself--a woman who lived and -thought and suffered: and before her at this moment there was nothing -but an interminable vista of sorrow and suffering and regret. - -Whether duty ruled her or sentiment, she--the innocent handmaid of -Fate--could reap nothing but remorse in the future; her heart, her very -youth, must inevitably be crushed between those two potent factors which -were struggling even now for mastery over her soul. - -Indeed was there ever a woman--a mere girl--confronted with so -appalling, so intricate a puzzle? The lives of men were in her -hands--the Prince of Orange, the High-Bailiff, Mark, Laurence, Clémence -on the one side, on the other the Duke of Alva, her own father, her -kindred, all those whom she had clung to and loved throughout her life. - -And knowing that she never could solve such an awful problem by herself -Lenora fell on her knees and prayed: she prayed with all the fervour, -but also with all the simplicity of primitive faith--the faith that is -willing and eager to leave everything in God's hands, to trust to -guidance and help from above when life has become a hopeless and -inextricable tangle--the faith which hath for its principle loyalty and -obedience and which accepts suffering in its cause, and glories in it -like in a martyr's crown. - - - - III - - -After a few minutes Lenora felt more calm. Her deep and fervent -religious sentiment had risen triumphant over every doubt. While she -prayed so earnestly, so unquestioningly, it had been made clear to her -that the issue of the mighty problem which was putting her very soul on -the rack must remain in mightier hands than hers. She could not be the -arbiter of men's lives and of the destinies of the State; all that she -could do was to obey her father and fulfil her oath; beyond that, God -must decide; He had shown her the way how to obtain the knowledge which -she now possessed, and since her father was now back in Brussels, she -must find a means of placing that knowledge in his hands. Her father of -a surety was kind and just and God would Himself punish whom He willed. - -With this calmer state of mind her resolution became more firm. She -felt the pass-key safely in her bosom, then stealthily she slipped out -of her room: the tiny light was flickering dimly at the foot of the -Virgin's statue; Lenora lifted it carefully and with it in her hand -prepared to go downstairs. - -Scarce a sound broke the silence of the night: only the patter of the -rain against the leaded panes of the windows and an occasional gust of -wind that came roaring down the huge chimneys and shook the frames of -windows and doors. Before descending the stairs Lenora paused once more -to listen. Down the corridor she could hear Clémence van Rycke in her -bedchamber still moving about, and Laurence's footstep on the tiled -floor of his room. - -And then the girl--shading the tiny light with her hand--began to -descend. - -She paused for a moment upon the landing and peeped into the vast hall -below. It was fortunate that she had the tiny light, as the small lamp -at the foot of the stairs had since been extinguished; but the little -wick she held only threw out a faint glimmer a yard or two in front of -her, and beyond this small circle there was nothing but impenetrable -darkness. - -The house was very still, and Lenora was absolutely without fear. From -the church towers of the city, both near and far, there came the sound -of bells striking the midnight hour. She waited till the last echo of -the chimes had died away, then she continued her way down. - - - - IV - - -Lenora now entered the dining-hall and carefully closed the door behind -her. Light in hand she stood for a moment in the very angle of the room -from whence she had watched the plotters an hour ago. Nothing had been -deranged. - -Then she went into the withdrawing-room, and placed the light upon the -centre table. She looked around her mutely challenging the dumb -objects--the chairs that stood about in disorder, the curtains which -were not closely drawn, the bureau that was in the corner--to tell her -all that she had failed to hear. In this spot a vile conspiracy had -been hatched against the Duke of Alva--two thousand men were implicated -in it--but in what way it threatened the Duke's life she did not -know--nor yet who were all these men who had sat around this table and -hatched treason against the King and State. - -The tiny wick only shed a very feeble glimmer of light on the top of the -table: it made the shadows on the ceiling dance a weird rigadoon and -grow to fantastic proportions. But Lenora's eyes were growing -well-accustomed to the gloom. Quickly now she drew the pass-key from -between the folds of her kerchief and went up to the bureau. The ribbon -round her neck was in the way so she took it off; with trembling, -unerring fingers she groped for the lock and having found it she -inserted the pass-key into it. After a little adjustment, a little -tugging and pulling, she found that the lock yielded quite smoothly to -the pressure. The flap came down and displayed the interior of the -bureau, consisting of a number of wide pigeon-holes, in each of which -there was a small iron box such as the rich matrons of Flanders used for -putting away their pearls and other pieces of jewellery. On the top of -one of these boxes there was a packet of papers, tied round with a piece -of orange-coloured ribbon. Without a moment's hesitation Lenora took -it. She unfolded one of the papers and laid it out flat upon the table, -smoothing it out with her hand. She drew the light a little nearer and -examined the writing carefully: it was just a list of names--fifty in -all--with places of abode all set out in a double column, and at the -bottom was written in a bold hand: - - -"All the above to Afsemble without any delay in the Barn which is -fituated in the North-Weft angle of the Cemetery at the back of the -Chapel of St. Jan ten Dullen." - - -Having satisfied herself that the other papers in the packet also -contained lists of names and brief orders as to place of assembly, she -tied them all up together again with the orange-coloured ribbon. Then -she closed the bureau, turned the pass-key in the lock and slipped it, -together with the packet, into the bosom of her gown. - -Then she turned to go. - - - - V - - -Light in hand she went tip-toeing across the dining-room; but close to -the threshold she paused. She had distinctly heard a furtive footstep -in the hall. At once she extinguished the light. Then she waited. Her -thoughts had flown to Laurence van Rycke. Perhaps he felt anxious about -the papers, and was coming down in order to transfer them to some other -place of safety. The supposition was terrifying. Lenora felt as if an -icy hand had suddenly gripped her heart and was squeezing her very life -out of it. In this deathlike agony a few seconds went by--indeed they -seemed to the unfortunate girl like an eternity of torment. She had -slipped close to the wall right against the door, so that the moment it -was opened from the outside, and someone entered the room, she could -contrive to slip out. All might yet be well, if whoever entered did not -happen to carry a light. - -Then suddenly she heard the steps again, and this time they approached -the dining-room door. Lenora's heart almost ceased to beat: the next -moment the door was opened and someone stood upon the threshold--just -for a second or two ... without moving, whilst Lenora with senses as -alert as those of some feline creature in defence of its life--waited -and watched for her opportunity. - -But that opportunity never came, for the newcomer--whoever he -was--suddenly stepped into the room and immediately closed the door -behind him and turned the key in the lock. Lenora was a prisoner, at -the mercy of a man whose secrets she had stolen, and whose life hung -upon all that she had seen and heard this night. - -The intruder now groped his way across the room and anon Lenora heard -him first draw aside the curtains from before the window, and then -proceed to open two of the casements. The window gave on the -Nieuwstraate, almost opposite the tavern of the "Three Weavers," at the -entrance of which there hung an iron street-lamp. The light of this -came slanting in through the open casements and Lenora suddenly saw that -it was Mark who was standing there. - -Even at this instant he turned and faced her. He showed no sign however -of surprise, but exclaimed quite pleasantly: "By the stars, Madonna! and -who would have thought of meeting you here?" - -The tension on Lenora's nerves had been so acute that her self-control -almost gave way with the intensity of her relief when she recognised -Mark and heard the sound of his voice. Her hands began to shake so -violently that the tiny lamp nearly dropped out of them. - -She had been so startled that she could not as yet either speak or move, -but just stood there close to the wall, like a pale, slim ghost only -faintly illumined by the slanting light of the street-lamp, her soft, -white gown clinging round her trembling limbs. Her face, bosom and arms -were scarce less white than her gown, and in the dim, mysterious light -her luminous, dark eyes shone with a glow of excitement still vaguely -tinged with dread. - -He thought that never in life had he seen anything quite so beautiful, -so pure, so desirable, and yet so pathetic as this young girl, whom but -forty hours ago he had sworn to love, to protect and to cherish. Just -now she looked sadly helpless, despite the fact that gradually a little -air of haughtiness replaced her first look of fear. - -"Madonna," he said gently, "are you indeed yourself, or are you your own -wraith? If not, why are you wandering about alone at this hour of the -night?" - -"I came to fetch my prayer-book," she said, trying to speak lightly and -with a steady voice. "I thought that I had left it here to-day and -missed it when I went to rest." - -"You found the book, I hope," he said, without the slightest trace of -irony. - -"No," she replied coldly. "Inez must have put it away. Will you be so -good as to unlock that door." - -"I will with pleasure, Madonna. I locked it when I came in, because I -didn't want old Pierre to come shuffling in after me, as he so often -does when I go late to bed. But," he added, putting out his hand, "may -I take this lamp from you. Your hand does not appear to be oversteady -and if the oil were to drip it would spoil your gown." - -"The draught blew it out," she retorted, "and I would be glad if you -would relight it. I am going back to my room." - -"Precisely," he rejoined dryly as he took the lamp from her and put it -on the table, "and with your leave I would escort you thither." - -"I thank you," she rejoined coldly, "I can find my way alone." - -"As you please," he said with perfect indifference. - -Now that her eyes were more accustomed to the semi-darkness she could -see him more distinctly, and she stared at him in amazement. His -appearance was certainly very different to what it habitually was--for -he usually dressed himself with great care: but now he had on dark -clothes, made of thick woollen stuff, which clung closely to his tall -figure: he wore no ruff, and had on very high boots which reached high -above his knees. Both his clothes and boots were bespattered with mud, -and strangely enough looked also wet through. Somehow the appearance -appeared unreal. It was Mark--and yet it was not. His face, too, -looked flushed, and the lines round his eyes were more deeply marked -than they had ever seemed to be before. - -The recollection of all the abominable gossip retailed about him by Inez -and others took possession of her mind. She had been told by all and -sundry that Mark van Rycke had spent most of his day at the "Three -Weavers," and now the flush on his face, the curious dilation of the -pupils of his eyes, seemed to bear mute testimony to all that she had -heard. - -Here, then, she already saw the hand of God guiding her future--and -showing her the small glimmer of comfort which He vouchsafed her in the -midst of her perplexities. Life in this house and with this man--who -cared less than nothing for her--would anyhow be intolerable--then -obviously the way was clear for her to go back to her father. She -wished no harm to these people--none to this poor, drunken wretch, who -probably had no thought of rebellion or of heresy, none to Laurence, who -loved her, or to Clémence, who had been kind to her. But she despised -them--aye! and loathed them, and was grateful to God for allowing her to -keep her promise to her father within the first few hours of her married -life. - -How terrible would have been the long and weary watching! the -irresolution, the temptation, mayhap, to be false to her oath through -sheer indolence or superacute sentiment! - -So now all that she had to do was to go straight back to her father, -tell him all that she knew and then go--go back to the dear old convent -at Segovia--having done more than a woman's share in the service of her -country--and then to rest after that--to spend her life in peace and in -prayer--away from all political intrigues--forgetting that she had ever -been young and felt a vague yearning for happiness. - - - - VI - - -Mark had made no sign or movement while Lenora stood there before him, -gathering her strength together for what she felt might prove a -struggle. In some unaccountable way she felt a little afraid of -him--not physically of course, but, despite the fact that she had so -impulsively judged him just now--afraid of that searching glance of his -which seemed to lay her innermost thoughts like an open book before his -eyes. She put this strange timidity of hers down to the knowledge that -he had certain lawful rights over her as her lord and husband and that -she would have to obtain his consent before she could think of going to -Brussels on the morrow. - -"Messire," she said abruptly, "during this day which you have seen fit -to spend among your habitual boon companions, making merry no doubt, I -have been a great deal alone. Solitude begets sober reason--and I have -come to the conclusion that life under present conditions would be a -perpetual martyrdom to me." - -She paused and he rejoined quietly: "I don't think I quite understand, -Madonna. Under what conditions would your life become a martyrdom?" - -"Under those of a neglected wife, Messire," she said. "I have no mind to -sit at home--an object of suspicion to your kinsfolk and of derision to -your servants, while the whole town is alive with the gossip that -Messire Mark van Rycke spent the first day of his marriage in the -taverns of Ghent and left his bride to pine in solitude." - -"But methought, Madonna," he retorted, "that it was solitude that you -craved for. Both last night and even a moment ago you told me very -plainly that you had no desire for my company." - -"Last night I was overwrought and would have made amends to you for my -thoughtlessness at once, only that you left me incontinently without a -further word. As for now, Messire, surely you cannot wonder that I have -no mind for your society after a day's carouse has clouded your brain -and made your glance unsteady." - -She thought herself very brave in saying this, and more than half -expected an angry retort from him. Instead of which he suddenly threw -back his head and burst into an immoderate and merry laughter. She -gazed at him horrified and not a little frightened--thinking indeed that -his brain was overclouded--but he, as soon as he had recovered his -composure, asked her with grave attempt at seriousness: "You think that -I am drunk, Madonna? Ye gods!" he exclaimed not without a touch of -bitterness, "hath such a farce ever been enacted before?" - -"A farce to you perhaps," she said earnestly, "but a tragedy to me. I -have been rendered wretched and unhappy, Messire, and this despite your -protestations of chivalry. I did not seek you, Messire. This marriage -was forced upon me. It is ungenerous and cowardly to make me suffer -because of it." - -"Dastardly and abominable," he assented gravely. "Indeed, Madonna, you -do me far too much honour even to deign to speak with me. I am not -worthy that you should waste a thought on me--but since you have been so -kind thus far, will you extend your generosity to me by allowing me to -give you my most solemn word--to swear to you if need be that I am not -the drunken wretch whom evil tongues have thus described to you. -There," he added more lightly, "will you not deign to sit here a moment? -You are tired and overwrought; let me get you a cup of wine, and see if -some less strenuous talk will chase all those black thoughts from your -mind." - -He took her hand and then with gentle yet forceful pressure led her to -the wide hearth and made her sit in the big chair close beside it. - -"Alas! there are not even embers in the grate," he said, "I fear me, you -must be cold." - -From somewhere out of the darkness--she could not see from where--he -brought a footstool for her feet; then he pulled a low chair forward for -himself and sat down at some little distance from her, in his favourite -attitude, with one elbow on his knee and his face shaded by his hand. -She remained silent for a moment or two, for she suddenly felt an -extraordinary sense of well-being; just the same as she had felt last -night, and once or twice before in his presence. And she felt deeply -sorry for him too. After all, perhaps he had no more desired this -marriage than she had--and no doubt the furrows on his face came from -anxiety and care, and she marvelled what it was that troubled him. - -"There," he asked gaily, "are you better now, Madonna?" - -"Better, I thank you," she replied. - -"Then shall I interpret the thoughts which were coursing behind that -smooth brow of yours, when first I startled you by my presence here?" - -"If you will." - -He waited a moment, then said dryly: "You desired to convey to me your -wish to return to your father.... Oh! only for a little while," he added -hastily, seeing that she had made a quick, protesting gesture, "but that -was in your mind, was it not?" - -She could not deny it, and murmured: "Yes." - -"Such a wish, Madonna," he rejoined, gravely, "is as a command to me. -In the late morning the horses will be at your disposal. I will have -the honour to accompany you to Brussels." - -"You, Messire!" she exclaimed, "you would..." - -"I would do anything to further your wishes, Madonna; this I would have -you believe. And a journey to Brussels is such a small matter...." - -"As you say," she murmured. For such are the contradictions of a -woman's heart that all of a sudden she did not wish to go away. All -thoughts of rebellion and conspiracies were unaccountably thrust into -the background of her mind, and ... she did not wish to go away.... - -"There is no hurry," she continued timidly. "I would not like to put -you to inconvenience." - -"Oh!" he rejoined airily, "there is no inconvenience which I would not -gladly bear in order to gratify your wish." - -"I shall have to pack my effects...." - -"Jeanne will help Inez, and a few things are easily packed. Your -effects shall follow in an ox-wagon; they will be two days on the way; -so I pray you take what is required for your immediate needs and is -easily stowed in your saddle-bow. We shall have to make an early start, -if you desire to be in Brussels by nightfall." - -"Oh! there is no hurry," she protested. - -"Ah? Then in that case I could escort you as far as Alost, and send a -courier thence to your father, to meet you there the next day." - -She bit her lip and could have cried with vexation. At the present -moment she hated him for so obviously wishing to be rid of her. She had -quite forgotten that she had ever wanted to go. - -"I shall be too tired to make an early start in the morning," she said -quite piteously. "Why it is close on early morning now." - -She leaned a little forward in order to listen, for just then the chimes -of St. Bavon rang the half-hour after midnight. She still looked a -small, pale, slim ghost with one side of her exquisite face in shadow, -the other but faintly illumined by the light from without. Her -vexation, her indecision, were so plainly expressed in her eyes, that he -must indeed have been vastly dull or vastly indifferent not to have read -her thoughts. Nevertheless, he said with the same calm airiness as -before: - -"A few hours' rest will revive you, Madonna. And if we only go as far -as Alost to-morrow, we need not start before midday." - -At this her pride was aroused. His indifference now amounted to -insolence. With a vigorous effort she swallowed her tears, for they -were very near the surface, and then she rose abruptly, with the air and -manners of a queen, looking down in her turn with haughty indifference -on that abominable Netherlander whom she had never hated so thoroughly -as she did at this moment. - -"I thank you, Messire," she said coldly, "I pray you then to see that -all arrangements be complete for my journey as early as may be. I would -wish to be in Brussels by nightfall, and half a dozen leagues or so does -not frighten me." - -She rose with all that stateliness which was a part of herself and -suited her tall, graceful figure so admirably; as she did so she gave -him a curt nod such as she would have bestowed on a serving man. He too -rose to his feet but he made no attempt to detain her. On the contrary, -he at once busied himself with his tinder box, and relighted the little -lamp. Then he went to the door, unlocked it and held it open for her to -pass through. - -As she did so she took the lamp from him, and for one moment their hands -met. His were burning hot and hers quite cold--his fingers lingered -upon the satiny softness of hers. - -But she sailed past him without bestowing another glance upon him, with -little head erect and eyes looking straight out before her. In one hand -she held the lamp, with the other she was holding up the heavy folds of -her trailing gown, her tiny feet in velvet shoes made no sound as she -glided across the hall. Soon she was a mere silhouette with the light -just playing faintly with the loose curls round her head and touching -the lines of her shoulders and arms and one or two folds of her gown. -She mounted the stairs slowly as if she was infinitely weary; Mark -watched the graceful, ghostlike form gliding upwards until the gloom had -swallowed it up. - -Then he turned back into the room. - - - - VII - - -The first thing that Mark did when he was alone was to close the door; -then he struck a light and lit a candle. With it in his hand he went -into the withdrawing-room and--having peered closely into the four -corners of the room, as if he half-expected to see some night-prowler -there--he placed the candle on the table, drew a bunch of keys from the -inner pocket of his doublet, and going up to the bureau proceeded to -unlock it just as Lenora had done. - -He gave one quick glance at the interior of the bureau, then he put up -the flap and once more turned the key in the lock. - -Having done this he stood for awhile quite still, his chin buried in his -hand, his broad shoulders bent, a deep, double furrow between his brows. -From time to time a deep sigh escaped his lips, and his merry grey eyes -almost disappeared beneath the heavy frown. Then he seemed to shake -himself free from his obsession, he straightened out his tall figure and -threw back his head with a movement of pride and of defiance. - -He took up the candle and started to go out of the room, but on the -threshold he paused again and looked behind him. The table, the chairs, -the bureau seemed in a strange weird way to be mocking him--they looked -so placid and so immovable--so stolid in the face of the terrible -calamity which had just fallen on this house. - -And suddenly Mark with a violent gesture threw the heavy candlestick to -the ground. The flame flickered as it fell and the taper rolled about -gently for a while from side to side until it landed close to his feet. -He smothered a curse and put his heel upon the taper, crushing the wax -into a shapeless mass; then with a curious groan, half of pain half of -bitter irony, he passed his hand once or twice across his brow. - -Slowly the glow of wrath faded from his eyes, a look of wonderful -tenderness, coupled with gentle good-humour and kindliness softened the -rugged lines of his face. A whimsical smile played round the corners of -his lips. - -"She must be wooed and she must be won," he murmured. "Mark, you -lumbering fool, can you do it? You have less than twenty-four hours in -which..." - -He sighed again and laughed softly to himself, shaking his head -dubiously the while. Then he went out of the room and closed the door -softly behind him. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - A DIVIDED DUTY - - - I - - -Strange and conflicting were the feelings which ran riot through -Lenora's soul when she once more found herself alone in her own room. -Mortification held for a time undisputed sway--a sense of injury--of -having gone half-way to meet she knew not what and having been repulsed. -She was quite sure that she hated her husband now, far more bitterly -than she had ever hated any one before--at the same time she felt -relieved that he at any rate had no part in the treachery which was -being hatched under his father's roof. - -One thing, however, gave her an infinite sense of relief. She was going -back to her father on the morrow. She would leave this house where she -had known nothing but sorrow and humiliation since first she entered it; -above all she would never see those people again on whom she had been -spying! - -Yes! Spying! - -There was no other word for it; hideous as it was it expressed what -Lenora had done. Oh! there was no sophistry about the girl. She was -too proud, too pure to try and palliate what she had done, by shirking -to call it by its name. She had done a task which had been imposed on -her by her King, her country, and her father. She had sworn to do -it--sworn it on the deathbed of the only man who had ever loved her, the -only man whose voice and touch had thrilled her, the companion of her -childhood, her accepted lover and her kinsman. - -She had done it because God Himself through her father's and her King's -own mouth had ordered her to do it; and it was not for her--ignorant, -unsophisticated, sinful mayhap--to question God's decrees. But when she -thought back on the events of the past hour, she felt a shudder of -horror slowly creeping along her spine. - -And she thanked God that He would allow her to leave this house for -ever, and for ever to turn her back on those whom she--so -unwillingly--had betrayed. - -But she would not allow her mind to dwell on such morbid fancies. There -was a great deal to be done ere the morning broke. Her task--if it was -to be fruitful--was not completed yet. - -She began by taking down a pair of metal candlesticks which stood on a -shelf above the hearth and lighting the candles at a small lamp which -she had brought up with her. These she placed upon the table; then she -went to the press where only a few hours ago Inez had ranged all her -clothes and effects, her new gowns and linen. From among these things, -she took a flat wallet in which were some sheets of paper, a quill and -small inkhorn, also some wax for sealing letters down. - -She went to her task slowly and methodically, for she was unaccustomed -to writing letters. In the convent they had taught her how to do it, -and twice a year she had written to her father--once on New Year's Day, -and once on the feast of San Juan--but the task before her was a far -more laborious one than she had ever undertaken with pen and paper. - -But she sat down, courageously, to write. - -She wrote an account of everything that she had seen, heard and -experienced in this house, from the moment when first she left her room -in the evening in order to seek companionship, until the moment when, -having secured the packet of papers, she had relocked the bureau with -her pass-key and started to go back to her room. What she did not set -down in writing was her subsequent meeting with her husband, for that -had no connection with the Prince of Orange or with conspiracies, and -was merely a humiliating episode in the life of a neglected bride. - -The grey dawn slowly creeping in through the leaded glass of her window -still found her at her task. The candles had burned down low in their -sockets, their light--of a dim yellow colour--fought feebly against the -incoming dawn. But Lenora felt no fatigue. - -She wrote in a small, cramped hand and covered four sheets of paper with -close writing. When she had finished, she read all that she had written -down carefully through, made several corrections in the text and folded -the sheets neatly together. Then she took from the bosom of her gown -the packet of papers which she had found in the bureau, put it together -with her own writing and enclosed everything in a clean sheet of paper -carefully folded over. Round this she tied a piece of white ribbon, such -as she used for doing up her hair, and sealed it all down with wax. - -Finally, on the outside of this packet she wrote with a clear hand: - - -"To don Juan de Vargas at his refidence in Brufsels. To be given unto -Him with the Seal unbroken in the eyent of My death." - - - - II - - -Lenora tired out with emotion and bodily exertion slept soundly for a -few hours. When Inez came in, in the late morning to wait on her, she -ordered the old woman to put up a few necessary effects in a small -leather valise, and to pack up all her things and all her clothes. - -"My father hath need of me for a few days," she said in response to -Inez' exclamation of astonishment. "We start this morning for -Brussels." - -"For which the Lord be praised," ejaculated Inez piously, "for of all -the dull, miserable, uncomfortable houses that I ever was in in my -life..." - -"Hold your tongue, woman," broke in Lenora sharply, "and see to your -work. You will never be done, if you talk so much." - -And Inez--more than ever astonished at this display of temper on the -part of a young mistress who had always been kind and gentle--had -perforce to continue her mutterings and her grumblings under her breath. - -Whilst the old woman laid out carefully upon the bed all the pretty -things which she had stowed away in the presses only twenty-four hours -ago, Lenora busied herself with yet another task which she had set -herself, but which she had been too tired to accomplish in the night. - -She wrote a short letter to Laurence. - - -"My DEVOTED FRIEND," she wrote, "You promifed Me a very little while ago -that if ever I wanted You to do fomething for Me, I was only to fend You -this ring and You would do whatever I afked. Now, in the name of Our -Lady, I adjure You to leave Ghent at once taking Your Mother with You. -A grave danger threatens You both. I know that You have relatives in -Haarlem. I entreat You--nay! I afk it of You as a fulfilment of Your -promife to go to them at once with Your Mother. Your Father is in no -danger, and Mark will be efcorting Me to Brufsels, and I fhall try and -keep Him there until all danger is paft...." - - -Having written thus far, she paused a moment, pen in hand, a frown of -deep puzzlement and of indecision upon her brow. Then she continued in -a firm hand: - - -"It is Your Mother's and Your own complicity in the plot which is being -hatched in Ghent again ft the Duke of Alva which has brought Your lives -in danger." - - -She strewed the sand over her writing, then read the letter carefully -through. After which she took a ring from off her finger, enclosed it -in the letter and sealed the latter down. - -"Inez!" she said. - -"Yes, my saint." - -"I shall be starting for Brussels within the hour." - -"Holy Virgin!" exclaimed the old woman. "I shall not be ready with the -packing. Why this hurry, my angel?" - -"Your not being ready, Inez, is of no consequence. I shall start with -Messire van Rycke. You will follow on in the wagon." - -"But, my saint..." - -"Now do not talk so much, Inez," broke in Lenora impatiently; "if you -add to my anxieties by being quarrelsome and disobedient I shall surely -fall sick and die." - -Evidently the young girl knew exactly how to work on her faithful old -servant's temperament. Inez reduced to abject contrition by the thought -that she was rendering her darling anxious and sick, swore by every -saint in the calendar that she would bite off her tongue, toil like a -slave and be as obedient as a cur, if only her darling angel would keep -well and cheerful and tell her what to do. - -"You must not fret about me, Inez," resumed Lenora as soon as the old -woman's voluble apologies and protestations had somewhat subsided. "My -husband will escort me as far as Brussels, and in my father's house -little Pepita will wait on me till you come." - -"And if that flighty wench doesn't look after you properly..." began -Inez menacingly. - -"You will make her suffer, I've no doubt," quoth Lenora dryly. "In the -meanwhile, listen carefully, Inez, for there is something that I want -you to do for me, which no one else but you can do." - -"For which the Lord be thanked!" said Inez fervently. "What is it, my -dear?" - -"This letter," she said. - -"Yes?" - -"I want Messire Laurence van Rycke to have it, after I have gone." - -"He shall have it, my saint." - -"He may be from home." - -"I shall find him." - -"He must have it before midday." - -"He shall have it." - -"Promise!" - -"I'll swear it." - -The old woman took the letter with the ring which her mistress held out -to her, and then only did Lenora feel that she had done all that lay in -her power to reconcile her duty to her King with her sentiment for those -who had been kind to her. - - - - III - - -How Lenora spent the rest of the long, wearisome, interminable morning -she never afterwards could have told you. The very atmosphere around -her oppressed her well-nigh unbearably. There were the farewells to be -said to the family--to the High-Bailiff who was apologetic and -obsequious, to Clémence who cried, and to Laurence who looked sadly -enquiring and reproachful. - -Fortunately Mark had paved the way for these farewells in his usual airy -and irresponsible manner. It was the Spanish custom--so he had assured -his mother--that brides, after spending twenty-four hours under their -husband's roof, returned to their parents or guardians for a few weeks. -Clémence had smiled incredulously when she had heard this--but had -allowed herself anon to be persuaded. There were such queer marriage -customs in different parts of the world these days. (Why! in many parts -of Germany the bridegroom was, according to tradition, soundly thrashed -by his friends directly after the religious ceremony--it was in order -that he should be prepared for the many vicissitudes of connubial life. -And there were other equally strange customs in foreign lands.) Spain -was a curious country--Clémence was prepared to admit, and ... ah, well! -perhaps it was all for the best! She had been attracted by the -beautiful girl whom indeed a cruel fate seemed to have tossed into the -very midst of a family with whom she had absolutely nothing in common. -Clémence had been sorry for her in her gentle, motherly way but she had -mistrusted her ... and just now all Clémence's thoughts were centred on -her country's wrongs, on the great fight for political and religious -liberty which had received so severe a blow, and which the noble Prince -of Orange was still determined to carry on with the help of God. - -And so--though Clémence cried a little, and though her kind heart ached -for the young girl who looked so pathetic and so forlorn when she bade -her good-bye--she nevertheless felt a sense of relief when she -remembered all that had been talked of and planned in this house last -night, and thought of the packet of papers which were locked away with -her most precious jewels. She kissed the girl tenderly, and spoke of -the happy day when she would come back to her new home never to leave it -again. Lenora, pale, like a young ghost, with dark rings under her -eyes, and lips that quivered with the sobs she was vainly trying to -suppress, made an effort to respond, and then hurried out of the room. -But when she saw Laurence he was alone in the hall and she contrived to -whisper to him: "You remember the ring?" - -He nodded eagerly. - -"I shall soon send it you," she said, "and ask you to do something for -my sake." - -"Command me," he implored, "and it shall be done." - - - - IV - - -Then at last the farewells were all spoken and Lenora and her husband -started on their way. It had rained in torrents all the -morning--therefore departure was delayed until long past midday. The -wagons for the effects were to be round almost immediately, but their -progress would be very slow owing to the bad state of the roads. - -The road between Ghent and Brussels runs parallel with the Schelde for -the first two or three leagues. The river had overflowed its banks, and -in places the road was so deep under water that the horses sank in it -almost up to their bellies. Everywhere it was fetlock-deep in mud, and -more like a ploughed field than a chaussée owing to the continual -passage recently of cavalry and artillery. - -Mark and Lenora were travelling alone, which was distinctly unseemly in -a lady of her rank, but the distance was not great, and Inez had to be -left behind to finish up the packing, whilst Mark refused to take a -serving man with him, declaring that the roads were perfectly safe now -and free from footpads, and that they would surely be in Brussels before -nightfall. Lenora, who was an absolute stranger in the country and did -not know one Flemish town from another--and who moreover had done the -journey from Brussels to Ghent ten days ago in a covered coach drawn by -four horses--was ready to accept any suggestion or any itinerary with -the blindness of ignorance. - -She hardly noticed that they seemed to be making very slow progress, nor -that the sky which had cleared up brilliantly in the early part of the -afternoon was once more heavily overcast. Mark at first had made one or -two attempts at cheerful conversation, but since Lenora only answered in -monosyllables he too relapsed into silence after awhile. - -The flat, monotonous country--sodden with rain--looked unspeakably -dreary to the girl accustomed to the snow-clad vistas of the Sierras and -the blue skies of Castille. As they left Ghent further and further -behind them, the country bore traces of the terrible ravages of Alva's -relentless occupation. Poverty and wretchedness were writ largely upon -every tiny village or hamlet which they passed: everywhere the houses -bore a miserable and forlorn aspect, with broken chimneys and shattered -roofs, trees cut down to make way for the passage of cavalry or merely -for the supplying of firewood for Alva's army. In the little town of -Wetteren through which they passed, the houses looked deserted and -dilapidated: the people looked ill-clad and sullen, and as they crossed -the market-place a crowd of beggars--men, women and children in -miserable rags--flocked around their horses' heels begging for alms. - -So much had Spanish occupation done for this proud country which only a -very few years ago had boasted that not one of its children ever lacked -clothing or food. Tears of pity gathered in Lenora's eyes: she, of -course, did not know that the misery which she witnessed was due to her -people, to her country and to her King ... and in no small measure to -her father. She gave the poor folk money and said kindly words of -compassion to them. Then she turned to Mark. - -"It is dreadful," she said naïvely, "to see so much misery in the land, -when our Sovereign Lord the King does so much for its welfare. It is -these wretched internal dissensions, I suppose, that are ruining the -country. Surely all those abominable rebels must see that their -obstinacy and treachery redounds upon their own kith and kin." - -"They ought to see that, oughtn't they?" was Mark's dry and curt -comment. And Lenora, chilled by such strange indifference, once more -relapsed into her former silence. - - - - V - - -When they neared the walls of Dendermonde, Mark announced that his horse -had cast a shoe. He dismounted, and leading his horse by the bridle he -advanced to the city gate. Here, however, both he and Lenora were -summarily stopped by a young provost who demanded to see their papers of -identification, their travelling permits, and their permit to enter this -fortified city. - -To Lenora's astonishment Mark, who was always so good-humoured and -placid, became violent and abusive at this formality imposed upon him. -It was in no way different to those which the municipality of Ghent -would have enjoined on any stranger who desired to enter the city. -These had been rendered necessary by the many stringent edicts -formulated by the Lieutenant-Governor against the harbouring of rebels -in fortified towns, and all law-abiding citizens were in consequence -obliged to provide themselves with the necessary passes and permits -whenever they desired to travel. - -Lenora--whose ignorance of every law, every formality, every duty -imposed upon this once free and proud country by its Spanish masters was -unbounded--could not quite understand why her husband, who was the son -of a high civic dignitary, had not taken care that all his papers were -in order, before he embarked upon this journey. It surely had been his -duty to do that, in order to save himself and his wife from the -humiliation of being thus held up at a city gate by an insolent provost, -who had the power to make his authority felt, and was not sparing of -abuse of loutish Netherlanders who were wilfully ignorant of the law, or -else impudent enough to flout it. An unpleasant quarrel between the two -men would undoubtedly have ensued and would inevitably have ended in -disaster for Mark, but for the intervention of Lenora who spoke to the -provost in Spanish. - -"I am this noble gentleman's wife," she said haughtily in response to an -insolent look from the young soldier, "and the daughter of señor Juan de -Vargas, who will make you responsible, sirrah, for any inconvenience you -may cause me." - -At mention of the all-powerful and dreaded name, the provost's manner -immediately underwent a change. At the same time he was not prepared to -accept the statement quite so unconditionally as Lenora had supposed. - -"This noble gentleman," he retorted half-sullenly, "hath no papers -whereby I can verify the truth of what he asserts. He has none whereby -he can prove to me that he is the son of the High-Bailiff of Ghent, and -that you are his wife and the daughter of don Juan de Vargas." - -"You have my word for both these assertions, you accursed fool," -exclaimed Mark hotly. - -"And I'll make you rue your insolence, you dog of a Netherlander," -retorted the provost, "and teach you how to treat a soldier of the -King...." - -"Mark, I entreat you, not in my presence," broke in Lenora hastily, for -she saw that her husband--apparently beside himself with rage--was about -to commit one of those foolish and purposeless acts of violence which -would have resulted for them both in a veritable chaplet of -unpleasantness: imprisonment in a guard-room, bringing up before a -sheriff, interrogations, abuse and insults, until the High-Bailiff or -her father could be communicated with--a matter probably of two or three -days, dependent on the good will of the very sheriff before whom they -would appear. - -It was positively unthinkable. Lenora could not understand how Mark -could be so foolish as to lose his temper, when he was so obviously in -the wrong, nor how he could have been so thoughtless in the matter of -the papers. - -She managed by dint of tactful speech and the power of her beautiful -personality to pacify the wrath of the provost, and to half-persuade him -to believe her assertion that she was indeed the daughter of don Juan de -Vargas. At any rate the young soldier was by now sufficiently impressed -by the sound of that dreaded name to decline any further responsibility -in this difficult matter. - -He allowed the travellers to pass through the city gates: "And to remain -within the city for two hours," he added significantly; "if you wish to -stay the night, you must obtain permission from the Schout." - -Mark eased his temper by muttering a few more imprecations under his -breath, then he seemed content and somewhat pacified, and finally led -Lenora's horse and his own quietly through the inner fortifications, and -thence across the Flax Market to the Grand' Place. - - - - VI - - -Mark established his young wife in the ingle-nook of the _tapperij_ in -the highly-respectable tavern of the "Merry Beggars," opposite the Cloth -Hall. - -He enjoined the host and hostess to take every care of the noble lady, -and then he went off himself in search of a farrier. - -Fortunately at this hour--it was just three o'clock in the -afternoon--the _tapperij_ was practically deserted. In one corner by -the window, two middle-aged burghers were playing hazard, in another a -soldier was fast asleep. Mine host was passing kind; he brought a roomy -armchair up to the hearth for the pretty lady, threw a fresh log upon -the fire, kicked it into a blaze and placed a footstool at Lenora's -feet. His wife--a buxom though sad-eyed Flemish vrouw--brought her some -warm milk and a piece of wheaten bread. Lenora ate and drank with -relish for she was both hungry and tired, and when she had finished -eating, she leaned back in the big armchair and soon fell comfortably -asleep. She had had practically no rest the night before: her nerves -were overstrung, and her eyes hot with weeping. There was also a heavy -load on her heart--a load chiefly weighted by the packet which was -destined for her father and which she still carried carefully hidden in -the bosom of her gown. - -So strange are the contradictions of the human heart--of a woman's heart -above all--that ofttimes to-day as her horse ambled slowly along beside -Mark's she had caught herself wishing--hoping--that something unforeseen -would occur which would make it impossible for her to go to -Brussels--something which would force her to go back to Ghent with the -contents of that packet still a close secret within her heart. In the -morning she had watched the skies anxiously, hardly aware that within -her innermost soul she was hoping that the continuous rains had made the -roads impassable--broken down a bridge--that some sign in fact would -come to her from God that she was absolved from that awful oath, the -fulfilment of which seemed indeed an impossible task. - -Then would come a terrible revulsion of feeling: she would remember that -the Prince of Orange was even now in Ghent, with two thousand men who -were to be armed by him so that they might fight against their King and -threaten the life of the Lieutenant-Governor, the King's own chosen -representative. And she would hate and despise herself for her cowardly -irresolution--her very prayer to God appeared like blasphemy--and she -wanted to urge the horses forward, she fretted at every delay, for delay -might mean the murder of the Duke of Alva, and the standard of rebellion -hoisted up in triumph above the Town House of Ghent. - -Women will understand and pity her--those at least who once in their -life have been torn 'twixt duty and sentiment. Lenora was not one of -the strong-minded of her sex: she was very young--a mere girl reared in -the tranquillity of convent life, and then suddenly thrown into the -vortex of political intrigue, of cruel reprisals and bitter revolt; and -heart and mind within her fought a terrible battle which threatened to -ruin her entire life. - -But in the meanwhile she was sorely in need of rest. The _tapperij_ was -so quiet and the ingle-nook was rendered quite private by a tall screen -between it and the rest of the room. The soldier in the corner was -snoring with insistent monotony, a big blue-bottle droned against the -window, and a pleasing glow and cheerful crackling came from the fire in -the hearth. - -Lenora slept peacefully. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - ENEMIES - - - I - - -When she woke, Mark was sitting as he was so fond of doing on a low -stool close to the hearth, with one long leg stretched out to the blaze, -his elbow resting on his knee, his face overshadowed by his hand. -Lenora--even as she first opened her eyes--saw that he was looking at -her. A quick blush rose to her cheeks. - -"Is it time to go?" she asked quickly. - -"Not yet," he replied. - -She was a little startled and looked around her, puzzled and anxious. -The room had looked so light and cheerful when she had entered it--two -large bow windows gave on the Grand' Place--and the weather had remained -clear and bright. But now it seemed so dark, almost as if twilight was -fading fast. - -"What hour is it?" she questioned, and looked about her anxiously for a -clock. - -"I do not know," he replied airily. - -"But your horse?" - -"Still at the farrier's: he was busy and could not shoe her at once." - -"But I am sure that it must be getting late," she said with a sudden -note of anxiety in her voice. - -"Very late, I am afraid," he said lightly. - -"Then should we not be starting for Brussels?" - -"We cannot. I have no horse." - -"You can hire one, surely?" - -"Not in this town." - -"But I must be in Brussels by nightfall," she urged. - -"I am afraid that this is impossible in any case. The powers that reign -supreme in this town would not--if you remember--allow us into it, and -now they will not allow us out." - -"But that is impossible," she exclaimed, "monstrous!..." - -"Monstrous, as you say, Madonna," he rejoined with a smile. "But do you -feel equal to scaling the city walls?" - -"Oh!" - -"I fear me that that would be the only thing to do, if indeed you desire -to be in Brussels this night ... and even then, I doubt but that they -would bring us back." - -"Then, Messire," she asked, trying to appear as calm, as detached, as he -seemed to be, "do you mean to tell me that we must spend the -night--here?" - -"It is a pretty city..." he suggested. - -"That we cannot now start for Brussels?" - -"Impossible. The Schout of Dendermonde hath refused to allow us out of -this city until we have proved to his satisfaction that we are neither -spies of the Prince of Orange, nor emissaries of the Queen of England." - -"You should have seen to it, Messire," she said haughtily, "that all our -papers were in order. This is an exceedingly mortifying and unpleasant -contretemps." - -"I did not know the French word for it, Madonna," he rejoined with -exasperating good-humour, "but I know that it must be somewhat -unpleasant ... for you." - -She tried to meet his glance, without that tell-tale blush spreading -immediately over her cheeks: and she could have cried with vexation when -she saw that the merry twinkle was more apparent in his grey eyes than -it had been since their wedding day. - -"I believe," she said slowly, "that you, Messire, have devised this -scheme from beginning to end. You neglected your papers -purposely--purposely you quarrelled with the provost at the -gate--purposely you have caused me to be detained in this miserable -city...." - -"A pretty city, Madonna," he interposed imperturbably, "the church was -built three hundred years ago ... the Cloth Hall..." - -"And now you are impertinent," she declared hotly. - -"Impertinent," he said quietly, even though the merry, gently mocking -glance still lingered in his eyes, "impertinent because I decline to -look on the present situation as a tragedy? How can I do that, Madonna, -since it gives me the opportunity of spending an evening alone with -you?" - -"You might have done that yesterday and saved me much humiliation," she -retorted. - -"Yesterday I was a fool, Madonna," he said. "To-day I have become a -wise man." - -"What hath changed you?" - -"Ten minutes of your company in the dining-hall last night." - -She made no reply, glad enough that at this moment twilight was already -fading into dusk. In the ingle-nook where they sat, there was hardly -any light now save the glow of the fire. Anon the buxom, sad-eyed -hostess came in carrying a lamp which she placed on one of the tables in -the _tapperij_. She seemed to know--by that subtle instinct which -pertains to every woman's heart--that the seignior and his noble lady -did not wish to be disturbed. This was not the busy hour at the hostel: -in about an hour's time, the soldiers off duty would be coming in, and -the shopkeepers from their shops after their day's work; but just now -there was no one, so the kindly old soul having so placed the lamp that -a beneficent shadow still enveloped the ingle-nook, quietly tip-toed out -of the room. - - - - II - - -Several minutes went by before Lenora was able to shake off the curious -torpor which had fallen over her senses: nor could she in any way -account for the sweet feeling of well-being which accompanied it. She -had made no reply to Mark's last words, nor did she make any now. She -lay back in her chair with eyes half closed, feeling, knowing that he -was looking at her unceasingly, with that intent, searching gaze of his -which she had encountered once or twice before. She felt as if he were -trying to reach her very soul--he, the careless ne'er-do-well, the -dissolute frequenter of taverns--what did he care for a woman's soul? - -And yet it seemed impossible for Lenora at this moment to disguise from -that searching gaze all those terrible conflicts which had literally -been tearing her heart asunder in the past few hours--nay, more! it -seemed as if the very letter which lay inside the folds of her kerchief -addressed to her father must be lying open before her husband's eyes and -that he was reading it even now. - -The feeling became akin to a sweet obsession, and gradually she allowed -her senses to yield themselves to its soothing influence. After all had -she not been sure that sooner or later God would make His will manifest -to her? had she not prayed for guidance? had she not hoped all the -morning that something would prevent her journey to Brussels? Content -to leave everything in God's hands she had yet hoped that God would -point the way to which her own heart was tending. - -And now, circumstances had suddenly occurred which did impede the -journey--the horse had cast a shoe, the provost at the gate had proved -officious, the hour had slipped by and no horse was forthcoming. - -Given the absolute simplicity of the girl's religious thoughts, her -upbringing, the superstition which underlay all beliefs in the old -tenets of the Church during this period of stress and struggle through -which she was groping her way through darkness into light: given -Lenora's pure nature and the proud humility which accepted -unquestioningly all the commands of those whom she had been taught to -reverence, was it to be wondered at that while she was quite ready to do -her duty, she should nevertheless hope and think that she had at last -received a distinct, supernatural sign that her journey to Brussels was -not one of those decrees of God before which everything on earth must -bow and every obstacle be removed? - -But even then--in spite of her wishes and her hopes--she fought on to -the last and refused to yield to the sweet, insistent call of peace and -of sentiment. What she took to be a sign from God might easily be an -insidious machination of the devil. There was a quaint look of gentle -amusement in Mark's eyes, which was certainly disquieting, and it was -just possible that it was he who had--wittingly or unwittingly--assumed -the role of a guiding Providence in the matter. - -Therefore she steeled her heart against those subtle whisperings which -seemed to lure her on every side to give up the fight, to allow herself -to drift on the soothing wave which even now was carrying her to a -haven, where all was peace and quietude and where there was neither -strife nor intrigue. - -"Messire," she said abruptly and as repellently as she could, "I pray -you enlighten mine ignorance. How many cowardly deeds of this sort -stand to your discredit?" - -He smiled quite unperturbed: "You think me an adept?" he asked quietly. - -"You are not ashamed?" she retorted. - -"Not in the least. What have I done?" - -"Insulted me at every turn," she said very calmly. "What is this -detention---here, alone with you, in this strange town, away even from -the protection of my own serving wench--what is it but an insult? You -have shown me plainly enough, by every means in your power, that you had -no liking for me. Even last night..." - -She paused because tears of humiliation--which she would have given -worlds not to shed--would come to her eyes, and her voice shook in spite -of every effort which she made at self-control. - -"Madonna," he entreated, and suddenly he was quite close to her, with -one knee almost touching the ground, "as you are beautiful, so will you -not be merciful to a miserable wretch, who hath been sorely perplexed by -all the disdain which you have so generously lavished upon him?" - -"Disdain, Messire ... surely I..." - -"Surely," he broke in gently, "you have every right to despise a -worthless fellow whom an evil Chance hath given you for husband, but -have I not been punished enough for daring to accept what the kind -goddess did offer me?" - -"I had no thought of punishing you, Messire," she said earnestly. "When -I stood beside you at the altar, I was a broken-hearted woman to whom -Fate in the person of a miserable assassin had dealt a cruel blow. I -loved my cousin, Messire ... oh! I know," she broke in quietly, "I -ought not to speak of this ... it is unseemly and perhaps unkind ... but -I did love him and he was murdered ... foully, abominably, wickedly -murdered ... not killed in fair fight--not openly--but in a dark -passage--waylaid by a brigand ... killed! he! the only man who had ever -spoken tenderly to me! ... and killed by one of your own people ... a -friend of the Prince of Orange ... a man whom popular talk hath -nicknamed Leatherface.... Oh! I know," she added hastily, seeing that -instinctively he had drawn away from her and was now staring straight -into the fire, with a hard expression on his face which she could not -fathom, "I know that you have no hand in these conspiracies ... that -from indifference rather than loyalty, I believe you have never taken up -the cause of rebellion against our Sovereign Lord; but tell me, Messire, -could I--a young, inexperienced girl--could I dissociate you and yours -in my mind from that faction who had sent my kinsman to his death? could -I come to you with a whole heart, and a soul freed from all thoughts of -hatred and revenge? I meant to do my duty by you and had you but helped -me I might have succeeded--instead of which your coldness repelled me. -I am of the south, Messire, I am not one of your cold, unemotional -Netherlanders who can go through life without one thrill of the heart -brought on by a tender word or a caress. I was in your house but a few -hours and already my soul was starving--my heart craved for that which -you were not able to give." - -"God forgive me, Madonna," he murmured, "for a blind, insensate fool!" -But he did not look at her as he said this, and there was a curious -dreary tone in his voice so unlike his usual light-hearted gaiety. "How -you must hate us all!" he added with a sigh. - -"I would not hate you, Messire," she said so softly that he scarcely -could hear; "your brother Laurence hath been kind to me and I know that -you take no part in those miserable plots that have treachery and -assassination for their ultimate goal. As for the Prince of Orange and -his friends! Yes! I do hate them as I do all pestilential creatures -that turn on the hand that feeds them!" - -"Madonna," he exclaimed hotly--and suddenly he was quite close to her -once again, both her little hands held tightly in his own: his eyes had -lost all their merriment: they were full of a glowing ardour which -seemed to penetrate into her very soul. "Madonna," he continued, "may -God forgive you, for indeed you know not what you say. Child! child! -will you think a moment--are we not human creatures like yourself? do we -not live and breathe, and eat and love just like you do in Spain? Have -we no hearts to feel, no eyes to see the misery which our people suffer -through the presence of a stranger in our land? Would you see a Teuton -place his iron heel on Spain and on her people? Would you see the -Emperor enforce his laws, his faith, his ideals upon your kith and kin? -Would you stand by whilst foreign soldiery swaggered about your cities, -outraged your women and plundered your homes? Would you rest content if -the faith which God hath given you was made akin to treachery and to -rebellion? The hand that feeds the Netherlands, Madonna!" he added -whilst a bitter, mirthless laugh escaped his lips, "nay! the hand -against which the valiant Prince of Orange hath raised his in vengeance, -is the hand that hath devastated our land, pillaged our cities and sent -our people naked and starving out into the world!" - -Gradually while he spoke she had drawn herself away from him, and she -would have disengaged her hands too, only that he held them so tightly -imprisoned. - -"But Ramon was murdered, Messire," she said slowly, "can you expect me -to forget that?--and even now--I would dare swear--there are men who -would murder the Duke of Alva if they could ... or my father." - -He made no answer to that--perhaps had she not mentioned her father he -might have tried to tell her that killing was not always murder, but, at -times, the work of a justiciary. Ramon--like the noisome brute that he -was--deserved death as no mere ordinary criminal ever had deserved it. -But how could he tell her that, when in her heart she had evidently kept -a picture of the man so totally unlike the vile and execrable reality? -So now he only sighed and remained silent. - -The time had not yet come when this exquisite, tender-hearted girl must -see the riddles of life solved before her one by one--when she would -realise that there is a wider horizon in this world than that which she -perceived above a convent wall. She had been brought up with ideals, -thoughts and aspirations that had nothing to do with the great and -bitter truths which were proclaimed in every corner of this downtrodden -land. Her ideas of King and country, of duty, of loyalty, must all be -shattered by the crude realities of life ere upon their ruins she built -for herself a purer, holier edifice of faith and hope and infinite -charity. - -A tender pity for her innocence and her ignorance filled Mark's heart -and soul, A maddening desire seized him to fold her in his arms and -carry her away somewhere into a dream-world far away where there were no -intrigues and no cruelties, no oppression and misery: and yet again he -would have loved to go with her there where sorrow and poverty were -keenest, for he knew that her soul--unbeknown even to herself--was full -of that gentle compassion which knows how to alleviate pain just by a -look from tear-dimmed eyes, or a touch from a gentle hand. - -All that and more his look conveyed to her although he remained silent, -and she--by a curious intuition--knew just what was in his mind. The -impassioned appeal which he had made to her just now, told her that he -was not the indifferent ne'er-do-well that every one supposed. He felt -deeply and keenly--more deeply and keenly mayhap than those men who -plotted murders at dead of night. He was not a blind follower of the -Lieutenant-Governor or of her father: he saw the misery under which his -people groaned, and his careless, detached air obviously hid intense -bitterness and resentment. - -But strangely enough, she did not blame him for this. Suddenly she -seemed to see the whole aspect of this strange country under a new -light: the cause of the Netherlanders had--in one instant--appeared to -her from a wholly different point of view. Because Mark was their -defender and their champion she felt that they could not be wholly vile. -This, mayhap, was not logic, but it was something more potent, more real -than logic--the soft insinuating voice of Sentiment which whispered: -"Would he champion that cause if it were base? Would that fiery ardour -fill his soul for a cause that was unworthy?" - -And Lenora suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to confide in this one -man; to place before him all the perplexities which were tearing her -soul. Somehow she felt that he would help her out of that tangled -labyrinth wherein she had been groping all night and all day; but -shyness held her back. She did not know how to broach the subject, how -to tell him all about her oath, her obedience to her father, what she -had done last night, what she thought it her duty to do in the future. - -It was all very difficult and Lenora sighed wearily: - -"There is so much in what you said just now, Messire," she began -timidly, "that I would like to understand more clearly. I am so -ignorant ... my life has been so restricted ... I know so little of the -world...." - -"Will you let me give you a few lessons?" he queried softly. "There are -so many mazes in life through which it is only possible to find the way -by going hand in hand." - -"Hand in hand?" she sighed. "I am a stranger in this strange land, -Messire ... all that I know of it hath been taught me by those who have -no love for it...." - -"You are a stranger in this whole world, dear heart," he said with a -smile. "This little bit of Netherlands is but a tiny corner of it: its -sorrows, its joys, its pain and happiness are but the sorrows and -happiness of the rest of the world. One day perhaps you will let me -take your little hand in mine, and then we would go and explore the -whole of this strange world together." - -"I wonder what we would find?" she mused. - -"We would find that despite intrigues and cruelty and hatred there is -much in it that is still beautiful and pure. If we went hand in hand, -you and I, we would not wander with eyes downcast and seeking in the mud -for the noxious things which foul God's creation by their presence--we -would look upwards, sweet, and see the soft blue of our northern skies, -veiled as it so often is with silvery mists that hold the entire gamut -of exquisite colours in their fairy bosoms; we would see the green -leaves of the trees turn to russet and gold in the autumn, we would see -the linnets nesting in the bay trees in the spring. There are many -beautiful things in this dreary world of ours, dear heart, but they can -only be seen if two pairs of eyes look on them at one and the same time -and two pairs of lips whisper together in thankfulness to God." - -How strange it was to hear him talking like this--Mark van Rycke, the -haunter of taverns and careless profligate. Lenora's eyes, dark, -luminous, enquiring, were fixed upon him--and gradually as he spoke his -arm stole closer and closer round her shoulders as it had done two -nights ago in Ghent when she had so wantonly turned on him in hatred. -Now she felt as if she could go on listening to him for hours and -hours--thus alone in this semi-darkness with the glow of dying embers -upon his face, showing the strong outline of cheek and jaw, and the fine -sweep of the forehead with the straight brows above those kind, grey -eyes. She could have listened because she loved the sound of his voice, -and the quaint, foreign intonation wherewith he spoke the Spanish -tongue. - -No! of a truth she did not dislike him: certainly she had no cause for -hatred against him, for what had he to do with traitors or with -assassins, he who spoke so gently of birds and skies and trees? - -"If you will still let me hold this little hand, dear heart," he -whispered now, speaking so low that in order to hear she had to lower -her head until his lips were quite close to her ear, "we could learn one -lesson together which God only teaches to His elect." - -"And what lesson is that?" she asked, feigning not to understand, though -she knew quite well what the answer would be. - -"That which the nightingale teaches its mate when in May the hawthorn is -in bloom and the west wind whispers among its leaves. The lesson of -love." - -"Love?" she said with a strange tremour in her voice, "the world no -longer contains love for me...." - -"The world perhaps not, dear sweet," he said more gaily, "but there is a -heart beating close to yours now which holds I swear an infinity of love -for you." - -And once more as he spoke, the same magic spell of a while ago descended -upon Lenora. It seemed as if for the moment life--the dreary, wretched -life of the past few days--had ceased, and a kind of dream-existence had -begun. And in this dream-existence she--Lenora--was all alone with this -stranger--this man whom but a few days ago she had not even seen--who -had had no part in her life in the peaceful past when she knew nothing -of the world beyond the old convent walls at Segovia; yet now--in the -dream-existence--she was alone with him and she was content. Ramon was -not there--he had become the past--all the future for her seemed -suddenly to be bound up with Mark, and she was content. He had spoken -of beauty, of skies, of birds and of the gifts of God, and he still held -her hand, and his arm now was right round her, so that she could feel -him drawing her closer and closer to him, the while the magic spell -worked upon her senses and she felt a delicious languor pervading her -entire being. - -"Give me your lips, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear, "and I'll give -you your first lesson even now." - -And verily I do believe that Lenora would have yielded here and -now--content to leave the great solution of her life's riddle in the -omnipotent hands of love--forgetting her oath to her father, the death -of Ramon, the danger which threatened the Duke of Alva, conspiracies, -treacheries, rebellion ... everything! What did it all matter? what did -the world and its intrigues and its politics count beside the insistent, -the wonderful call of Love?--the call of man to woman, of bird to bird, -to mate and to nest and to be happy, to forget the universe in one -embrace, to renounce the kingdoms of the world in the first blissful -kiss. - -For a few seconds Lenora remained quite still, while Happiness--the -strange and mysterious elf--fluttered softly about the room. It hovered -for awhile above that ingle-nook where two young hearts were mutely -calling one to another, and it looked down on the beautiful girl with -the glowing eyes and parted lips who with every fibre of her ardent -being and the insistence of her youth was ready to capture it.... - -And Chance, Fate or its own elusive nature drove it relentlessly away. - - - - III - - -How peaceful was the sleepy little town at this moment when dusk finally -faded into night! - -The tower bells of the Cloth Hall chimed the sixth hour: outside on the -Grand' Place all had been still save for the occasional footstep of a -passer-by or the measured tramp of a company of halberdiers on duty. - -And now suddenly that peace was broken, the quietude of the town -disturbed by piercing woman's shrieks, followed by shouts and curses -uttered loudly by a rough, masculine voice. - -Mark instinctively jumped to his feet; the cries had become pitiable and -were multiplied by others which seemed to come from children's throats, -and the shouts and curses became more peremptory and more rough. - -"What is it?" asked Lenora, not a little frightened. - -"Oh! the usual thing," replied Mark hastily, "a woman insulted in the -streets, vain protests, rough usage, outrage and probably murder. We -are used to such incidents in Flanders," he added quietly. - -Already he was half way across the _tapperij_. - -"You are going?" she queried anxiously, "whither?" - -"Out into the street," he said, "can you not hear that a woman is in -distress?" - -"But what can you do?" she urged, "the soldiers are there ... you cannot -interfere ... you, a Netherlander...." - -"Yes! I, a Netherlander," he said. "It is a Flemish woman who is -calling for help now." - -He turned to go, and she--with the same instinct that was moving -him--rose too and followed him:--the same instinct of protection: -his--the man's for the woman who was in distress: hers--the woman's for -the man who would pit his strength alone against superior numbers. She -overtook him just as he reached the threshold of the _tapperij_. Beyond -it was only the porch, the door of which stood wide open, and beyond -that the Grand' Place; the shrieks and the ever-increasing noise of a -scuffle came from an adjacent street close by. - -"You must not go, Messire," she said insistently, as with both hands she -clung to his arms, "what can you do? there is a crowd there ... and the -soldiers...." - -He smiled and tried very gently to disengage his arm from her clinging, -insistent grasp. - -"It will not be the first time, Madonna," he said with a light laugh, -"that I have had a scuffle with a posse of soldiery ... they sometimes -mean no harm," he added reassuringly seeing the look of anxious terror -in her eyes, "many a time has a scuffle ended in jollity at a few words -of common sense." - -"Yes, yes, in Ghent," she urged, "where you are known. But here! ... -where no one knows you ... spies of the Inquisition might be about ... -if they see you interfering in favour of a heretic or a rebel ... or ... -Oh! men have been hanged and burned for lesser crimes than that." - -"Ah!" he said looking down with a whimsical smile into her flushed and -eager face, "that is part of the benevolent rule which our Sovereign -Lord the King exercises over the Low Countries!" - -Then seeing that at his flippant words--through which there rang a note -of intense bitterness--her eyes had suddenly filled with tears, he -murmured tenderly: - -"God bless you, Madonna, for your sweet thoughts of me! I pray you let -me go! I'll come back soon," he added while a look of triumph flashed -up in his eyes, "never fear!" - -He ran out quickly into the street. - -She hesitated, but only for a second: the next she had followed him, -without thought that she had neither hood nor mantle, nor that the -unseemliness of her conduct would surely have shocked all the great -ladies of Spain. - - - - IV - - -The Grand' Place was deserted and dark, only here and there in the -windows of the Cloth Hall there was a glimmer of light. For a moment -Lenora paused in the porch peering out into the gloom, trying to trace -whence came the noise of the scuffle, for Mark had already disappeared: -then she ran out swiftly, turning to her right from the porch till she -reached the corner of a narrow street. Here an oil lamp fixed into a -wall by an iron bracket threw a dim circle of light, beyond which the -shadows appeared almost impenetrable. It was somewhere in amongst those -shadows that a mêlée between shouting soldiers and shrieking women was -taking place. - -Up to this moment Lenora had never stopped to reflect as to what she -meant or wanted to do. Blind instinct had driven her in the wake of -Mark, feeling that he was in danger--as indeed he was: a Netherlander -these days was in himself always an object of suspicion, and -interference with Spanish soldiery under any circumstances was indeed -likely to lead him into very grave trouble. If the soldiers were -arresting or merely molesting a heretic or a rebel, any one who -interfered with them would at once fall under the searching eye of the -Inquisition--and there was never a lack of spies on such occasions: the -_seven stiver people_--who for that paltry daily sum spent their lives -in reporting treason, listening for it in every tavern, and in every -back street of every city. - -But now that she stood here at the street corner, hearing the -ever-increasing noise of the scuffle close by, hearing the shouts, the -cries, the pitiable appeals followed by peremptory commands, she -realised how miserably impotent and helpless she was. Yet she could -hear Mark's voice--speaking now in Spanish and now in Flemish, as he -tried--obviously--to understand the situation and to plead for those who -were in distress. At first his voice had sounded rough and peremptory: -indeed Lenora could not help but marvel at its commanding quality, then -gradually it became cheerful, and its tone turned to one of merry -banter. The incident indeed was evidently one of those which, alas! -were so usual in the cities and villages of the Low Countries these -days: two young women coming home down the dark, back streets from some -farm or silk-weaving shop where they had been at work, and a posse of -half-drunken soldiers to whom a Flemish peasant was an acknowledged prey -for ribald sport. - -The women had resisted and tried to flee: they were pursued and rough -horse-play had ensued: then they had screamed and the men had sworn, and -presently other women and children joined in the scuffle while those who -were wise stayed quietly indoors. - -Horse-play had become a matter of blows followed by threats of arrest -and dark hints at heresy, rebellion and the Inquisition: the mêlée was -at its height when Mark interfered. Several blows were still exchanged -after that, and there was a good deal of swearing and mutual -objurgation. Lenora, listening, wondered with what skill Mark gradually -made those curses turn to facetious remarks--ill-natured at first and -uncouth--then more light-hearted, and finally grudgingly pleasant. -Within five minutes the tumult began to subside: Lenora could hear the -women weeping and the soldiers laughing quite good-humouredly. How it -had all been done she did not know: presently from the tramping of feet -she gathered that the mêlée had broken up: a woman's voice said loudly: -"_Gott vergelte!_" and Lenora thought that indeed God would repay the -light-hearted man of the world who had by sheer good-humour and -compelling personality turned a drama into pleasing farce. - -"Well, friend!" she heard a man's voice saying in Spanish, "I don't know -who you are, but a right good fellow; an I'm not mistaken. Perhaps it -was wisest to leave those women alone." - -"I am sure of it, friend," quoth Mark gaily, "the commandant oft makes a -to-do about street-brawling, and you might have been blamed and got two -days' guard-room arrest just for kissing a pair of Flemish wenches. The -game was not worth the candle. Even the devil would have no profit in -it." - -"Well said, mate," retorted the other lustily, "come and have a mug of -ale on it with me and my men at the 'Duke's Head' down yonder." - -"Thank you, friend, but I put up at the 'Merry Beggars' and must return -thither now. A little later perhaps." - -"At your service, comrade." - -There was a pause during which Lenora made up her mind--since all tumult -and all danger had passed--to go back to that ingle-nook beside the fire -and there to wait till Mark returned ... to wait so that she might -resume with him that conversation of awhile ago which had interested her -so much. But on the point of turning she halted. Three words--spoken by -one of the soldiers--had come to her out of the gloom, and caused her -heart to stop its beating. - -"You are hurt?" one man had said--in a kind, gruff way--evidently in -deep concern. - -"No! no! it's nothing," Mark replied, "a small scratch ... in the -scuffle just now...." - -"But you are bleeding...." - -"And if I am, friend, it won't be the first time in my life. I tell you -it's nothing," added Mark with obvious impatience. "Good-night!" - -"Good-night!" came in chorus from the men. - - - - V - - -The measured tramp of booted feet slowly dying away in the distance down -the narrow street, told Lenora that at last the men had gone. - -But Mark was hurt and she stood waiting at the street corner for she -heard his step coming slowly toward her. - -He was hurt and had made light of it, but one of the soldiers had -remarked that he was bleeding and she waited now for him, dreading yet -vaguely hoping that he was really wounded--oh! only slightly!--but still -wounded so that she might wait on him. - -So strange is a woman's heart when first it wakes from the dreams, the -unrealities, the fairy-worlds of childhood! With beating heart Lenora -listened to that slowly-advancing footstep--how slow it seemed! as if it -had lost that elasticity which but a few moments ago had carried Mark -bounding down this same street. Now it dragged and finally came to a -halt, just as Mark's figure emerged into the shaft of light thrown along -the wall by the street lamp close to which Lenora was standing. - -She smothered a little cry and ran forward to meet him, for she had seen -his figure sway, and halt, then lean heavily against the wall. - -"You are hurt!" she exclaimed, even before she reached him. - -At sound of her voice, he pulled himself together, and in a moment had -straightened out his shoulders and was walking quite steadily toward -her. - -"Madonna!" he cried in astonishment, "what are you doing here?" - -"Oh! I ... I..." she murmured, a little ashamed now that she met his -pleasant, grey eyes fixed so kindly upon her, "I heard the noise ... I -became anxious...." - -"It was only a street-brawl," he said, "not fit for you to witness." - -Even now, though he spoke quite firmly, his voice sounded weary and -weak. - -"You are hurt!" she reiterated. - -"Hurt? No!" He laughed, but the laughter died on his lips: he had to -steady himself against the wall, for a sudden dizziness had seized him. - -"I pray you take my arm," she insisted. "Can you walk as far as the -tavern?" - -"Indeed I can," he retorted, "on my honour 'tis a mere scratch." - -"An you'll not take my arm," she said peremptorily, "I'll call for -help." - -"Heaven forbid!" he exclaimed gaily. "I should be laughed at for a -malingerer. Shall we return to the tavern, Madonna? and will you not -take mine arm?" - -He held his right arm out to her, but as he did so she noticed that he -kept the other behind his back. - -She did take his arm, however. It was obviously best--since he was more -severely hurt than he cared to admit--to go at once back to the tavern, -and dress the wound there with water and clean linen. - -They walked in silence side by side. It was only a matter of an hundred -yards or so, and after a very few moments they reached the porch of the -"Merry Beggars," and as the buxom hostess was standing there, vaguely -wondering what had happened to her guests, Lenora at once despatched her -off for a basin of clean warm water and her very softest linen towels. - -Then she went into the _tapperij_, and Mark followed her. - -The room was as peaceful, as deserted as it had been awhile ago. The -host himself had in the interval made up the fire, and it was blazing -brightly, lighting up the little ingle-nook, with the high-backed chair -wherein Lenora had sat and the low one drawn so close to it. - -Turning to Mark, she noticed that he still kept his left arm resolutely -behind his back. - -"Our good hostess won't be long with the water," she said, "in the -meanwhile, I pray you let me tend to your wound." - -"It was nothing, Madonna, I entreat you," he said with marked -impatience, "a blow from a halberd caught me on the arm. I scarcely -feel it now." - -"Let me see," she commanded. - -Then as he made no movement to obey, she--half crying with anxiety, and -half-laughing with excitement--ran swiftly round him, and in an instant -she had hold, of his left hand, and with gentle pressure compelled him -to yield it to her. He tried to struggle, but the pain in his arm -rendered it somewhat helpless. - -"I insist!" she said gently, and clung to his hand supporting the -fore-arm as she did so. - -"Your sleeve is covered with blood!" she exclaimed. - -"It is nothing!" he persisted obstinately. - -But for the moment she was the stronger of the two. Short of doing her -violence he could not prevent her from holding his hand with one of -hers, and with the other undoing the buttons at his wrist; then with -utmost gentleness she detached the shirt which was sticking to a deep, -gaping wound, that stretched from the wrist right up to the elbow. - -"Oh! but this is terrible!" she cried. "No blow from a halberd could -have inflicted such a wound! ... Oh! why does not that woman hurry?" she -added, whilst tears of vexation and impatience rose to her eyes. There -was nothing to hand wherewith she could staunch the wound, even -momentarily--every second was precious!... - -"I have a knowledge of such matters," she said gently. "At the convent -we tended on many wounded soldiers, when they came to us hurt from the -wars. This is no fresh wound, Messire," she added slowly, "but an old -and very severe one, dealt not so very long ago ... by a dagger -probably, which tore the flesh and muscle right deeply to the bone ... -it had not healed completely ... the blow from the halberd caused it to -reopen ... and..." - -But the next words remained frozen on her lips: even whilst she spoke -she had gradually felt a deathlike feeling--like an icy hand gripping -her heart and tearing at its strings. An awful dizziness seized her. -She looked up--still holding Mark's hand--and gazed straight into his -face. He too was as pale as the dead ashes in the grate--his whole face -had become wax-like in its rigidity, only his eyes remained alive and -glowing, fixed into her own now with a look which held a world of -emotion in its depths: passionate tenderness and mute appeal, an avowal -and a yearning and with it all an infinity of despair. - -And she, thus looking into that face which only lived through the eyes, -saw all around her the narrow white-washed walls of the _tapperij_ -fading away into darkness. In their stead she saw a narrow passage, dark -and gloomy, and in its remotest and darkest corner a figure cowered, -clad in dark clothes from head to foot and wearing a mask of leather -upon its face--the assassin waiting for his prey. And she saw -Ramon--handsome, light-hearted, debonnaire Ramon--her kinsman and her -lover, standing unsuspecting by. She saw it all--the picture as her -father had painted it for her edification. The assassin lying in -wait--Ramon unsuspecting. She saw the murder committed there in the -dark, the stealthy, surreptitious blow. She saw Ramon totter and -fall--but before falling turn on the dastardly murderer, and with hand -already half paralysed by oncoming death, deal him a deep and gashing -wound ... in the left fore-arm ... with his dagger which tore flesh and -muscle between elbow and wrist right through to the bone. - -And while she looked straight into his eyes and yet saw nothing but the -vision of that awful deed, her lips murmured automatically the four -accusing words: - -"Then it was you!" - -He had not for one second lost his hold upon himself, since that awful -moment when he realised that she guessed. He had no idea that don Ramon, -at the point of death, had spoken of the wound which he had inflicted on -the man who had meted out summary justice to him for his crimes. But now -he knew that the secret which he would have buried with him in a -bottomless grave was known to her--to the woman whom he had learned to -love with his whole soul. She knew now, and henceforth they must be not -only strangers but bitter enemies. Nothing--not even perhaps his own -death--would ever wipe away the sense of utter abhorrence wherewith she -regarded him now. He took his last look of her as one does of one -infinitely dear, who sinks into the arms of Death. - -He drank in every line of her exquisite face, the child-like contour of -chin and throat, her alabaster-like skin, the exquisite mouth which he -was destined now never to touch with his yearning lips. In this supreme -moment, his love for her--only just in its infancy--rose to its full -effulgence; he knew now that he worshipped her, and knew that never -while the shadow of her dead kinsman stood between them would he hold -her in his arms. - -"Then it was you!" she murmured again, and with those fateful words -pronounced his condemnation and her own indomitable hate. - -"Madonna," he entreated, speaking with the infinite tenderness and pity -which filled his heart, "will you deign to listen, if I try to plead -mine own cause?" - -But no look of softness came into her eyes: they were glowing and dry -and unseeing: she did not see him--not Mark, her husband as he stood -there now before her--she saw him cowering in a dark corner, clad in -sombre clothes and wearing a leather mask--she saw him with an -assassin's dagger in his hand and she saw Ramon lying dead at his feet. - -"Then it was you!" she said for the third time. - -And he bent his head in mute avowal. - -For a few seconds longer she stood there, rigid and silent: slowly her -fingers opened and his hand which she had held dropped away to his side. -A shudder went right through her, she tottered and nearly fell, only -saving herself by holding on to the corner of the table. He made a -movement as if he would try and support her, as if he would put his arms -around her and pillow her against his breast, but with an exclamation of -supreme loathing, she drew away from him, and with a pitiable cry half -of hatred and wholly of misery, she turned and fled from the room. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - UTTER LONELINESS - - - I - - -What happened directly after that, Lenora did not know. Consciousness -mercifully left her, and when she woke once more she found herself -sitting in a small room which smelt of lavender and warm linen, beside a -fire which burned low in a wide-open hearth. - -She opened her eyes and looked enquiringly around her. The room was -dark--only faintly lighted by the lamp which hung from a beam in the -ceiling. A young girl was busy in a corner of the room bending over an -ironing board. - -"Does the noble lady feel better?" she asked kindly but with all the -deference which those of the subject race were expected to show to their -superiors. - -She spoke in broken French--most women and men who served in the inns -and taverns in the cities of the Low Countries were obliged to know some -other language besides their own, seeing that the _tapperijen_ were -frequented by Spanish, French and German soldiery. - -"I am quite well, I thank thee," replied Lenora gently, "but wilt thou -tell me where I am and how I came to be sitting here when..." - -She paused; for with a rush the recollection of the past terrible -moments came sweeping back upon her, and it seemed as if consciousness -would flee from her once again. - -"The noble lady must have felt dizzy," said the girl quietly. "Aunt -sent me in with the warm water for the noble seigneur's wound, and I saw -the noble lady just running out of the _tapperij_ to the porch and then -fall--in a swoon. I was frightened, but the noble seigneur ordered me -quickly to tie a towel around his wounded arm and then he carried the -noble lady up here to a nice warm room, where he told me that mayhap she -should deign to pass the night. Oh! the noble seigneur is grievously -wounded, he..." - -"Silence, girl," cried Lenora suddenly, for indeed with every word the -child seemed to be touching an aching place in her heart. "No, no," she -added more gently, seeing that the girl, abashed and not a little -frightened, had gone back in silence to her ironing-board, "I did not -mean to be unkind ... but ... as thou seest, I am not well. Come! tell -me what happened after ... after the noble seigneur carried me up here." - -"Aunt waited on him, noble lady," said the girl, "for the wound in his -arm bled grievously ... but he was impatient and soon ordered her to -leave him alone ... then I came up here, and did all I could to bring -the noble lady round.... I tried vinegar and burned feathers under the -noble lady's nose ... but I was not frightened ... I knew the noble lady -would revive ... and the leech lives but two doors off.... We were all -of us anxious about the noble seigneur ... because of his wound ... and -he looked so pale and haggard ... so aunt and I soon ran down to him -again.... We found him sitting by the table ... just sealing down a -letter which he had been writing. 'I am going, mevrouw,' he says to -aunt quite curtly. 'Take thine orders from the noble lady. She will -tell thee her own wishes.' He gave her some money and a letter which he -ordered her to give to the noble lady as soon as she deigned to wake. -And then he took his hat and mantle and went out by the porch ... just -like that ... all alone ... into the darkness ... whither he did not -deign to say.... We are just poor people and we did not dare to ask, -but the wind has sprung up and it hath begun to rain ... the night will -be rough ... and the noble seigneur is not fit to hold a horse with his -arm in such a grievous state." - -"Where is the letter?" asked Lenora curtly. - -From the pocket of her apron the girl produced a letter folded into four -and sealed down with wax which she handed to the noble Spanish lady with -a respectful curtsey. - -"Aunt told me to give it to the noble lady," she said, "as soon as she -deigned to wake." - -"Is thine aunt the hostess of this inn?" queried Lenora. She was -fingering the letter, feeling a curious hesitancy and reluctance to read -its contents, and asked a few idle questions whilst she made an effort -to control her nerves. - -"Yes! at the noble lady's service," replied the girl. - -"Art of this city, then?" - -"No, so please you. I come from Ghent." - -"From Ghent? What is thy name, then?" - -"Grete, so please the noble lady," whispered the girl. - -Then, as the noble lady said nothing more, but sat just quite still with -the unopened letter in her hand, Grete went back to her ironing-board. -Lenora watched her mechanical movements for awhile--a mist was before -her eyes, and she could not see very clearly, but somehow she liked the -look of Grete--Grete who was from Ghent--whom she would have liked to -question further, only that when she tried to speak, the words seemed to -get choked in her throat. - -All of a sudden, she broke the seal upon the letter and swept away the -mist before her eyes with an impatient movement of the hand. - - -"Madonna," he had written, "I would not leave You thus all alone in this -ftrange place, to which an act of folly on My part did bring You, but -that I read My difmifsal in Your eyes. The fight of me is hateful to -You--alas! this I can underftand! By the time You read this, I fhall be -far away. But anon upon the road I fhall meet the ox-wagon with Your -effects and Your ferving-woman; it cannot be far from here, as the -driver had orders to put up in this town for the night. I will fpeed -him on as faft as He can, and then to-morrow You can continue Your -journey in peace, for the driver will arrange for an efcort to accompany -You as far as Brufsels. He will have His orders. In the meanwhile I -have ventured to flip a sealed packet containing money into the pocket -of Your gown: (it was done while you lay unconfcious in My arms.) I -pray You do not fcruple to take it. The money is Yours: a part of Your -dowry, an account of which My Father will render unto Yours as foon as -may be. In the meanwhile You are free to come and go or ftay in this -town, juft as You were in Brufsels or in Ghent. Your pafs and permit as -well as Mine were in perfect order; the difpute with the Provoft at the -gate, the difficulty about the permits, was but a rufe on My part fo -that I might fpend a time in Your company, under the pretence that We -were not allowed to continue Our journey to Brufsels. To afk Your -forgivenefs for this as well as for other graver matters were ufelefs, I -know. To afk You to erafe the events of the paft two weeks from Your -memory were perhaps an infult. As for Me I fhall look upon it as a -facred duty never to offend You with My prefence as long as I live. But -I lay Mine undying homage at Your feet. - -"MARK VAN RYCKE." - - -The letter dropped into her lap, for awhile she sat, staring straight -into the fire. - -The girl was putting away her ironing-board and folding away the linen, -ranging it carefully in the press. Having made the room quite tidy, she -asked timidly: - -"Will the noble lady deign to take supper?" - -But she had to repeat her question three times at intervals before -Lenora gave answer. - -"What?" she said vaguely, like one waking from a dream. -"Yes!--No!--What didst say, girl?" - -"Will the noble lady deign to take supper?" - -"Bring me some milk and bread," replied Lenora, "and ... can I sleep -here to-night?" - -"In this bed," said the girl: and she pointed to the recess in the wall, -where snow-white sheets and pillows seemed literally to invite repose, -"if the noble lady will deign to be satisfied." - -"I shall be glad to rest here," said Lenora with a woe-begone little -sigh, "for I am very tired. Anon a wagon will be here with my effects -and my serving woman. Send her to me directly she arrives." - -Her voice was absolutely toneless and dull: she spoke like one who is -infinitely weary, or in utter hopelessness: but the girl, whose kind -heart ached for the beautiful lady, did not dare to offer comfort. She -prepared to leave the room in order to fetch the frugal supper. Lenora -turned her head once more toward the fire: her eyes caught sight of the -letter which still lay in her lap. With a sudden fierce gesture she -picked it up, crushed it between her fingers and threw it into the -flames. - - - - II - - -A few minutes later Grete came back carrying a tray with fine wheaten -bread, a jar of milk, and some fresh cheese, her round young face -beaming with benevolence and compassion. - -"If the noble lady will deign to eat," she said, as she put the tray -down upon the table, "the noble lady will feel less weary ... and then, -as soon as the ox-wagon arrives with the serving woman, the noble lady -could go to bed." - -"Wait one moment," said Lenora, as the girl once more prepared to go, "I -want a courier--now at once--to take an urgent message as far as -Brussels. Can you find me one?" - -"There are four butchers in the town, noble lady, who deliver all the -messages for three or four leagues round. Uncle can go and see if one of -them is inclined to go.... But the night is very rough...." - -"I will give the man who will take my message to Brussels this night -five golden ducats," said Lenora peremptorily. - -Grete opened her eyes wide with astonishment. - -"Five golden ducats!" she exclaimed ecstatically. Of a truth the poor -trading folk of Dendermonde had never seen quite so much money all at -once and in the same hand. - -"I doubt not but that Michel Daens, the butcher, at the sign of the -'Calf's Head' in the Meerhem, will be glad to earn the money. And he -hath a very strong horse." - -"Then tell your uncle, child, to go at once to him: and to give him this -letter, which he is to deliver without fail before ten o'clock this -night." From the bosom of her gown she drew the letter which she had -written during the previous night, and handed it to the young girl. - -"The letter," she added slowly, "is for Messire don Juan de Vargas, -chief of the Council of His Highness the Lieutenant-Governor. He lodges -in Brussels at the sign of the 'Blue Firmament,' over against the -Broodhuis. Let your uncle explain to Michel Daens, the butcher, that if -this letter is not delivered before ten o'clock this evening, he will be -made to suffer the severe penalty imposed by the law on all those who -neglect to do their duty to the State. Take the letter, child!" - -Indeed, this last peremptory order was necessary, for Grete, hearing to -whom the letter was addressed, hardly dared to touch it. Indeed there -would be no fear that Michel Daens would fail to execute the noble -lady's commands with punctuality and utmost speed. The name of don Juan -de Vargas was one that would make any man fly to the ends of the earth -if ordered so to do. A message or letter to or from him would of a -surety be delivered punctually, even if the heavens were on the point of -falling or the earth about to open. - -To Grete the name meant something more than that: it was the dreaded -symbol of an awful reality--a reality which for her had meant the -terrors of that awful night, when the Spanish officer threatened and -insulted her and Katrine, when death or outrage stared them both in the -face, and the awful catastrophe was only averted by the interference of -the mysterious Leatherface. - -So she took the letter which was addressed to one who was even greater, -even more to be feared than the Spanish officer; she took it with a -trembling hand as she would some sacred symbol: then she curtseyed and -went out of the room. - -Lenora rose and followed her into the passage, where she stood listening -until she heard Grete calling to her uncle and aunt. The three of them -then spoke together in Flemish which Lenora hardly understood; but she -caught the names Michel Daens and Messire don Juan de Vargas, and then -the words spoken very emphatically by Grete: "Before ten o'clock this -night." Then she went back to her room, and closed the door softly -behind her. - - - - III - - -So, then, the die was cast. There was an end to all the irresolution, -the heart-achings, the tearing of soul and nerves upon the rack of doubt -and indecision. Hopeless misery and deathly bitterness filled Lenora's -heart now. - -She had been fooled and deceived! Fooled by soft words and cajoling -ways, by lies and treachery: and she had very nearly succumbed to the -monstrous deceit. - -Fool! fool! that she was! She reiterated the word aloud over and over -again, for there was a weird pleasure in lashing her pride with the -searing thongs of that humiliating memory. Had not God Himself -intervened and torn the mask from the traitor's face she might even now -be lying in his arms, with the kiss of an assassin upon her lips! A -shudder of loathing went right through her. She shivered as if stricken -with ague, and all the while a blush of intense shame was scorching her -cheeks. - -Fool! Fool! - -She had stood with her father beside the dead body of her lover--her -lover and kinsman--and there she had registered an oath which a few -cajoling words had well-nigh caused her to break. Surely the dull, -aching misery which she was enduring at this moment was but a very mild -punishment for her perjury. - -She had allowed Ramon's murderer to cajole her with gentle words, to -lull her into apathy in the face of her obvious duty to her King and to -the State. He had played the part of indifference when all the while -he--above all others--was steeped to the neck in treason and in -rebellion! He! the spy of the Prince of Orange! the hired assassin! the -miserable cowardly criminal! And she had listened to him, had sat close -beside him by the hearth and allowed his arm to creep around her -shoulders ... the arm which had struck Ramon down in the dark ... the -arm--she no longer doubted it now--which would be hired to strike the -Duke of Alva, or her own father with the same abominable treachery. - -Oh! the shame of it! the hideous, abominable shame! He had guessed last -night that she was on the watch, that she had seen and heard the odious -plotting against the life of the Lieutenant-Governor: he had guessed, -and then--by tortuous means and lying tongue--had sought to circumvent -her--had lured her into this city--and then, by dint of lies and more -lies and lies again, had hoped to subdue her to his will by false kisses -and sacrilegious love. - -And she had been on the point of sacrificing her country's needs and the -life of the Duke of Alva to the blandishments of a traitor! - -Oh! the shame of it! The terrible, burning shame! - -But God had intervened! ... At least of this she could have no doubt. -All day she had prayed for an indication from above--she had prayed for -guidance, she had prayed for a sign, and it had come! Awesome, terrible -and absolutely convincing. God, in unmasking the one traitor who had -well-nigh touched her heart, had shown her plainly that her duty lay in -unmasking them all! Traitors! traitors! every one of them! and God had -given her an unmistakable sign that He desired to punish them all. - -Did she neglect those signs now she would be the vilest traitor that -ever defiled the earth.... It had all been so clear.... The mêlée in -the streets ... Mark's interference--the blow from the halberd which had -reopened the half-healed wound ... his momentary weakness and her sudden -vision of the truth! ... Thank God it was not too late! The meeting was -to be held this night at the house of Messire Deynoot the -Procurator-General ... the Prince of Orange and all the other rebels -would make the final arrangements for taking up arms against the King -and murdering or capturing the Lieutenant-Governor. - -This meeting, at any rate, she--Lenora--had frustrated. Mark of a surety -had already warned the conspirators, before he started on the -journey--and Laurence too after he received her letter.... The meeting -of a certainty would be postponed. But even so, and despite all -warnings, the band of assassins could not escape justice. Her letter -would be in her father's hands this night: in a few hours he--and -through him the Lieutenant-Governor--would know every phase of the -infamous plot which had the murder of His Highness for its first -aim--they would know the names of the two thousand traitors who were -waiting to take up arms against the King--they would know of William of -Orange's presence in Ghent, of his recruiting campaign there, of the -places where he kept stores of arms and ammunition. - -All that she had set forth clearly and succinctly--omitting nothing. -Oh! her father would know how to act! He would know how to crush the -conspiracy and punish the traitors! - -Would he also know how to lay his powerful hand on the mysterious -Leatherface ... the man of dark deeds and cruel, treacherous blows ... -the murderer of Ramon de Linea--the one whom others paid to do the foul -deeds which shunned the light of day...? - -Lenora leaned back against the cushions of her chair. Physical nausea -had overcome her at the thought of all that she had done. She had -served the King and had served the State! She had undoubtedly saved the -life of the Duke of Alva, and therefore rendered incalculable service to -her country ... she was the means whereby a band of pestilential -traitors and rebels would be unmasked ... and punished ... and among -these she must reckon Mark van Rycke ... her husband.... Oh! him she -hated with a real, personal hatred far stronger and more implacable than -that wherewith she regarded--impersonally--all the enemies of the King. -He seemed to her more cruel, more cowardly, more despicable than any man -could be! ... Yes! she had done all that, and now her one hope was that -she might die this night--having done her duty and kept her oath, and -then been left unutterably lonely and wretched--in hopeless desolation. - - - - IV - - -The night was rough, as Grete had foretold. Gusts of wind blew against -the window-frames and made them rattle and creak with a weird and eerie -sound. The rain beat against the panes and down the chimney making the -fire sizzle and splutter, and putting out the merry little tongues of -flame. Lenora drank some milk and tried to eat the bread, but every -morsel seemed to choke her. She went to the window and drew aside the -thick curtains and sat in the seat in the embrasure--for she felt -restless and stifled. Anon she threw open one of the casements. - -The rain beat in against her face and bare neck, but this she did not -mind; she was glad to cool her head and face a little. The Grand' Place -looked gloomy and dark; most of the lights in the Cloth Hall opposite -were extinguished--only in a few windows they still glimmered feebly. -Lenora caught herself counting those lights: there were two small ones -in the dormer windows at the top, and one in a tall window in the floor -below, and right down on a level with the street the main door stood -wide open and showed a long, shallow streak of light. One! two! up -above! they looked like eyes! Then one in the middle that was the -nose--all awry and out of the centre!--and below the long mouth--like a -huge grin! And the roof looked like a huge hat with the tower like a -feather! The more Lenora looked into those lights opposite, the more -like a grinning face did they seem, until the whole thing got on her -nerves, and she started laughing! laughing! ... She laughed until her -sides ached, and her eyes were full of tears! she laughed though her -head was splitting with pain, and the nerves of her face ached with -intolerable agony. She laughed until her laughter broke into a sob, and -she fell forward with her hands upon the window sill, her burning -forehead upon her hands, the rain and wind beating upon her head, her -neck, her back; her hair was soon wet through; its heavy strands fell -away from the pins and combs that confined them and streamed down like a -golden cascade all about her shoulders, the while she sobbed out her -heart in misery and wretchedness. - - - - V - - -The clock of the Cloth-Hall tower chimed the ninth hour. Lenora raised -her head and once more peered out into the night. - -Nine o'clock! If Michel Daens had done his duty, he must be more than -half-way to Brussels by now. It almost seemed to Lenora's -supersensitive nerves at this moment that she could hear the tramp of -his horse's hoofs upon the muddy road--Hammer! Hammer! Hammer! Surely, -surely she could hear it, or was it her own heart-beats that she was -counting? - -Hammer! Hammer! Hammer! Two horses, each with a rider, were speeding -along the road: one to Brussels--Michel Daens the butcher-messenger, -bearing the letter for don Juan de Vargas which would raise in its trail -a harvest of death for traitors ... and along the road to Ghent Mark -speeding too, to warn those traitors to remain in hiding--or to flee -while there was yet time--for justice Was on their track. Mark had gone -to Ghent, of this Lenora was sure; she had burned his letter, but she -remembered its every word. He spoke of meeting the ox-wagon which was -on its way from Ghent! besides which, of course, he was bound to go -back. Was he not the paid spy of the Prince of Orange--his mentor and -his friend? - -And mentally Lenora strained her ears to listen ... to hear which of -those two riders would first reach his destination. And as she listened -it seemed as if that monotonous hammer! hammer! was beating against her -heart, and with every blow was crushing to death more of her life, more -of her youth ... and all her hopes of happiness. - - - - VI - - -Inez--tired out with the jolting of the wagon, wet to the skin, fagged -and cold--found her mistress still sitting by the open window, with -streaming hair and eyes glowing as with inward fever. The devoted soul -very quickly forgot her own discomfort in view of her young mistress' -sorry plight. She chafed the ice-cold hands and combed the dripping -hair; she took off the heavy gown, and the leather shoes and silk -stockings. She bathed the hot brow and little cold feet, and finally -got Lenora into bed and had the satisfaction of seeing her smile. - -"There now, my saint," she said cheerily, "you feel better, do you not? -I tell you when I met Messire van Rycke and he told me that you were -here and that we were to get to you at once, I nearly swooned with -fright ... I wanted to ask him a dozen questions ... but he had ridden -away out into the darkness before I could speak a single word...." - -The pillow was fresh and smelt sweetly of lavender. Lenora had closed -her eyes and a sense of physical well-being was--despite heart-ache and -mental agony--gradually creeping into her bones. - -"Where did you meet Messire van Rycke, Inez?" she asked quietly. - -"Oh! a long way from here, my saint. We did not start from Ghent till -four o'clock in the afternoon, and have been jogging along at foot-pace -ever since. Oh! these interminable roads, and horrible, jolting wagons! -It was about two hours ago that we came on Messire van Rycke riding like -one possessed." - -"He was riding toward Ghent?" - -"Toward Ghent, my saint. And as I told you--as soon as he had given Jan -his orders, he flew by like the wind. The roads were quite lonely after -that. I tell you, my saint, I was passing glad that we had a good -escort--two mounted men you know rode beside the wagon--or I should have -been mightily afraid of malefactors." - -"You gave the sealed packet to Messire Laurence van Rycke," asked -Lenora, "as I had directed?" - -"I gave him the packet two hours after you had started." - -"And what did he say?" - -"He said nothing, my saint." - -With a weary sigh, Lenora turned her head away. She kept her eyes -closed resolutely, and after a while Inez thought that she slept. So -she tip-toed quietly out of the room, having drawn the coverlet well -over her mistress' form. She left the lamp in the room, for she had -enough understanding to know that Lenora was perturbed and anxious, and -in times of anxiety darkness is oft an evil counsellor. - - - - - BOOK THREE: GHENT - - - - CHAPTER XII - - REPRISALS - - - I - - -It is to the seigneur de Vaernewyck--that excellent and faithful -chronicler--that we are indebted for the most detailed account of all -the events which occurred in the city of Ghent during those few -memorable days in October. - -The weather, he tells us, had been perpetually rainy, and the days were -drawing in rapidly, for it was then the 19th of the month, and what with -the sky so perpetually overcast it was nearly dark when close upon five -o'clock in the afternoon the ensigns of the companies of Walloon -soldiery first entered the city by the Waalpoort. They demanded -admittance in the name of the King, the Regent and the -Lieutenant-Governor, and the guard at the gate would certes never have -ventured to refuse what they asked. - -At first the townsfolk were vastly entertained at seeing so many troops; -nothing was further from their mind than the thought that these had been -sent into the city with evil intent. So the gaffers and gossips stood -about in the streets and open places staring at the fine pageant, and -the women and children gaped at the soldiers from the windows of their -houses, all in perfect good humour and little dreaming of the terrible -misery which these soldiers were bringing in their train into the -beautiful city of Ghent. - -No one thought of civil strife then. - -In the forefront marched men and young boys who carried javelins in -their hands and had round shields swung upon their arm; these shields -were bordered with a rich fringe of crimson silk and they glittered like -steel in the damp atmosphere. After these men came a company of -halberdiers from the garrisons of Mechlin and Alost, and they looked -splendid in their striped doublets, their plumed bonnets slung behind -their backs, their enormous boots reaching half-way up their thighs. In -the midst of them rode the Master of the Camp on his cream charger; the -ends of his crimson and yellow scarf, soaked through with the rain and -driven by the wind, flapped unremittingly against his steel cuirass, -whilst the plumes on his felt hat hung--bedraggled--into his face. - -Then came the arquebusiers, marching five abreast, and there were -several thousands of them, for it took half an hour for them all to -cross the bridge. These were followed by a vast number of elegant -foot-soldiers carrying their huge lances upon their shoulders, -well-armed, magnificently accoutred, their armour highly polished and -richly engraved and wearing gauntlets and steel bonnets. Finally came -three companies of artillery with culverines and falconets and with five -wagons, and behind them the massed drummers and fifers who brought up -the rear playing gay music as they marched. - -The troops assembled on the Kouter which was thronged to overflowing -with gaffers and idlers. Everyone was talking and jesting then, no one -had a thought of what was to come, no one looked upon these gaily-decked -troops with any sinister prescience of coming evil. They were nearly -all Walloons, from the provinces of Antwerp and Brabant, and many of -them spoke the Flemish tongue in addition to their own--and when after -inspection they stood or walked at ease on the Kouter, the girls -exchanged jests and merry sallies with them. - - - - II - - -Two hours later the Duke of Alva entered the city. It was a very dark -night, but the rain had left off. The Lieutenant-Governor had a company -of lancers with him, and these were Spanish, every man of them. One -hundred torch-bearers accompanied the Duke and his escort and they had -much difficulty in keeping their torches alight in the damp night air; -the flames spluttered and sizzled and the men waved the torches about so -that sparks flew about in every direction to the grave danger of the -peaceable citizens who were in the foremost ranks of the crowd. - -It was to be supposed that the High-Bailiff and Sheriffs of the city had -been warned of the arrival of His Highness, for they met him at the -Waalpoort, attired despite the threatening weather in their magnificent -civic robes. The Duke who rode a black charger paused just inside the -gates and listened in silence to the loyal address which these -dignitaries presented to him. The sizzling torches threw a weird, -unsteady light upon the scene, distorting every form into a grotesque -shape, half-concealing, half-illumining the stern face of the -Lieutenant-Governor draped in his velvet robe. - -When the loyal address had been duly presented, and further speeches of -welcome delivered by the senior sheriff and by the Schout, the -Lieutenant-Governor demanded that the keys of the city be within the -hour brought to him on the Kouter where he would be inspecting the -troops. This demand greatly astonished the sheriffs and aldermen, but -they did not dare to raise any objections and promised that they would -most dutifully comply with His Highness' request. - -"With my commands," the Duke corrected them curtly. - -Nor would he dismiss the grave seigneurs, but kept them kneeling there -before him in the mud, until they had humbly assured him that they would -execute his commands. - -Whereupon the Duke proceeded to the Kouter. - -The troops had been aligned for his inspection, and a very gay and gaudy -throng they looked in the flickering torch-light. All the houses round -the Place were lighted up from within by now, and crowds thronged in -from all the side streets. It was many years since Ghent had seen so -gay a sight. There were three hundred torch-bearers on the parade -ground by now, each with huge resin torches, and so brightly illumined -was the Place that you could have deciphered a letter out in the open -just as easily as you would in daylight. Lances and halberds held erect -formed a shimmering background to the picture like a forest of straight -tall stems, and their metal heads glimmered like little tongues of fire, -throwing out strange and unexpected flashes of light as the men moved -who held them. - -In the centre of the picture the Duke of Alva on horseback. The -endurance of the man was absolutely wonderful! He had ridden all the -way from Brussels that day--starting at daybreak--a matter of nine -leagues and more. He had tired two horses out, but not himself--and he -was a man of sixty. The chronicler goes on to tell us that the Duke's -face looked grim and determined, but not fatigued, and in his prominent -eyes under their drooping lids was a glitter like steel--hard and cruel -and triumphant too. - -He held the reins of his charger with one hand, the other was on his -hip. He wore a felt hat which he had pulled down upon his brow, and a -huge cape of dark woollen stuff lined with purple silk which covered his -shoulders and fell right round him over his saddle-bow. A group of -cavaliers surrounded him in fantastic multi-coloured doublets and hose, -all slashed and pinked, and enormous bonnets covered with gigantic -plumes, and behind these stood the standard bearers. The autumn wind -had caught the folds of the huge ensigns which were grouped in half -dozens close together, so that the great folds interlocked from time to -time and spread themselves out like a monster moving, waving mass of -crimson and yellow with the devices of the companies embroidered thereon -in black and silver. - -It was indeed a fine and picturesque spectacle, arranged with a view to -making it impressive and to strike awe into the hearts of the citizens. -The civic dignitaries had returned by now, and the High-Bailiff had -brought the keys of the town upon a velvet cushion. He and the ten -sheriffs and the Schout, the fifteen Vroedschappen who were the city -councillors and the Schepens who were the aldermen all approached the -Lieutenant-Governor with back nearly bent double in their loyalty and -humility. - -But when they were within speaking distance of the Duke they all had to -kneel--just as before--in the mud and the dirt. The Master of the Camp -was there to direct them and they had not the pluck to resist. Then the -High-Bailiff was made to advance alone with the cushion in both his -hands and upon the cushion the keys of the city, and he was made to -kneel close to the Duke's stirrup and humbly present him with the keys. - -The Lieutenant-Governor said curtly: "'Tis well!" and ordered the chief -gentleman of his body-guard to take possession of the keys. Then he -said in a loud voice so that every one could hear: - -"The gates of this city shall be closed this night, and will so remain -until such time as the order which I am about to give to the inhabitants -is complied with." - -There was a prolonged roll of drums; and the gentleman of the bodyguard -rode away from the Place with a company of halberdiers, and he carried -the keys of the city with him. He was going to close the gates of the -city as the Lieutenant-Governor directed. - -When the roll of the drums had died away there was a moment's silence on -the huge overcrowded Kouter through which you might have heard a -thousand hearts beating in sudden deathly anxiety. Here then was no -ordinary pageant, no mere display of soldiery and of arms such as the -Spaniards were overfond of. Something momentous was about to happen -which in these days of perpetual strife and continuous oppression could -but mean sorrow and humiliation to this proud city and to her -freedom-loving children. The High-Bailiff and the Schout and the town -councillors were all kept kneeling, though they were elderly men most of -them, and the ground was very damp; and the people crowded in all round -the soldiers, as near as they could, in order to hear what His Highness -wished to say. - -"Citizens of Ghent," he began in his harsh and strident voice which -could be heard from end to end of the Kouter. "It has come to my -knowledge that William of Nassau Prince of Orange is dwelling in this -city, and that, contrary to the ordinance of our Sovereign Lord the -King, he hath attempted to levy troops within these gates for an -unlawful purpose. Those who have thus in defiance of all law and order -enrolled themselves under a standard of rebellion and have taken up arms -against our Sovereign Lord and King will be dealt with summarily. But -in the meanwhile understand that any one who henceforth harbours under -his roof the said William of Nassau Prince of Orange, or assists or aids -him to leave this city, is guilty of rebellion, and will be punished -with death. Understand also that it is my desire that the person of the -Prince of Orange be delivered unto me within forty-eight hours at the -Kasteel where I shall be lodging, and that I have ordered that the gates -of the city be closed until the expiration of that time. And finally -understand that if within forty-eight hours the person of William of -Nassau Prince of Orange is not delivered unto me, then will the whole -city of Ghent be guilty of treason and rebellion, and every man, woman -and child in it will be punishable with death; and the town itself will -be dealt with as summarily as were Mons and Valenciennes and Mechlin. -God bless our gracious and merciful King!" - -He raised his hat and lifted his face up to heaven, and his lips were -seen to move as if in prayer. The Master of the Camp gave the signal -for a huge and prolonged roll of drums which echoed from end to end of -the Kouter and into every corner of the city, and all the soldiers set -up a lusty shout of "God bless our Sovereign Lord and King!" But the -people were silent. No one uttered a word, no one joined in the -shouting. Men looked at one another with scared, wide-open eyes; the -boldest had become as pale as death. Some of the women swooned with -terror, others broke into terrified sobs; even the children realised -that something very terrible had occurred; they clung weeping to their -mothers' skirts. - -The Lieutenant-Governor, having spoken, wheeled round his horse and rode -slowly across the Kouter closely surrounded by his bodyguard and his -torch-bearers. Just then, so Messire de Vaernewyck assures us, the -wind, which had been very boisterous all the evening, suddenly dropped, -and the air became very still and strangely oppressive. A few huge -drops of rain fell making a loud patter upon the steel bonnets and -cuirasses of the soldiers, and then a streak of vivid lightning rent the -black clouds right out over the Leye and a terrific clap of thunder -shook the very houses of the city upon their foundation. The Duke of -Alva's horse reared and nearly threw him; there was momentary confusion, -too, among the bodyguard. Those who were devout Catholics promptly -crossed themselves; those who were superstitious at once saw in that -curious and unexpected phenomenon a warning from God Himself. - -Then the rain came down in torrents and speedily dispersed the crowd. -The civic magistrates and councillors were at last able to struggle to -their feet--most of them felt cramped from the lengthy kneeling. They -assembled in groups and whispered with one another; the townsfolk looked -on them with eyes full of anxiety; it was to them that the poorer people -must look for help in this awful calamity which threatened them all. - - - - III - - -After the Lieutenant-Governor and his cortège had left the Kouter the -soldiers broke ground and ran wild throughout the city. No special -lodgings had been allotted to them, but apparently they had been told -that they could quarter themselves where they listed. They began by -taking possession of the covered markets--and this could easily have -been tolerated; but many of them raided the houses of peaceful citizens -in a manner most unseemly and often brutal, making terrible noise and -confusion throughout the city. They treated the owners of the houses as -if the latter were nought but menials and they themselves the masters of -the place; so much so indeed that several families left their homes in -the possession of these soldiery, and took refuge with relations who had -not been thus inflicted. - -Terror and misery had rapidly spread throughout the city. There were -many who had not heard the proclamation of the Lieutenant-Governor, and -when the rumour reached them that numbers of soldiers were billeted in -the town they made preparations for immediate flight. Some even went so -far as to load all their furniture and effects upon wagons, ready to go -out of the city this very night--for they remembered how five years ago -when first the Duke of Alva's troops were quartered in Ghent, how -abominably they had behaved toward all the citizens--robbing, looting, -and pillaging, for all the world as if they were bands of brigands, -rather than disciplined soldiers. - -Great was the terror and consternation of those who wanted to flee now -when they understood that all the city gates were closed and that no one -would be allowed to go through them until the Prince of Orange, who was -said to be in Ghent, was delivered over to the Lieutenant-Governor. - -This was indeed a terrible state of things and one destined to strike -hopeless terror in the hearts of most, seeing that hardly any one inside -the city knew aught of the Prince of Orange or of his comings and -goings, and yet they were liable to be punished for treason in which -they had had no share. - -And in the meanwhile the soldiers ran riot throughout the city--even -though, with much ostentation, a great deal of to-do and much beating of -drums, their provosts read out at the four corners of the city a -proclamation forbidding all looting and marauding, and enjoining the men -under pain of hanging to take anything from the citizens without paying -for it. - -This proclamation was of course a mere farce, for the soldiers, despite -the lateness of the hour, had at once raided the butchers', bakers', and -other provision shops, and though they professed to pay for everything -they took, they refused to give more than one sou for a pound of meat, -and then they cut out all the bone, and threw it back in the face of the -wretched butcher who tried to argue with them. - -And all the while remember that these men were not Spaniards; they were -Walloons of the provinces immediately adjacent to the two Flanders, and -their kith and kin had also grievously suffered from Spanish arrogance -and oppression. But what will men not do for money or under -compulsion--or mayhap under that abject fear which the very name of Alva -had brought forth into the heart of people who had once been so proud -and so independent? The Seigneur de Vaernewyck puts it on record that -in his opinion the employing of Walloon troops to check the so-called -revolt of Ghent was an act of refined cruelty on the part of the Duke. -He liked to pit brother against brother, kinsman against his own kind. -He had cowed the Flemings and the Walloons to such an extent that now at -last he could use one against the other, and could rely on each side -being more cruel and relentless through that extraordinary perversion of -human nature which makes civil strife so much more brutal and horrible -than any war between the nations. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - MY FAITHFUL WATCH-DOG - - - I - - -Some two hours later--in a long, low, vaulted room which was the -refectory of the convent of the Sisters of St. Agneten--some two -thousand men were assembled. They sat on wooden benches all round the -two huge, horseshoe-shaped tables at which the Sisters were wont to take -their meals. The room was situate on the ground floor of the convent -building, and a row of low, groined windows ran the whole length of one -of the walls; heavy curtains hung before all the windows, and portières -were drawn over the doors at either end, both in order to deaden all -sound and to prevent all light from showing without. Tallow candles -burned in tall pewter candelabra at intervals upon the tables. - -The bulk of the men who were there were young--or at any rate still in -the prime of life, strong and well-knit in figure--the sort of men whom -any leader would be glad to enrol as soldiers under his banner; but -there were others among them who were grave and elderly--like Messire -Deynoot, the Procurator-General, and the Baron van Grobbendock, chief -financial adviser on the Town Council. Messire Pierre van Overbeque, -Vice-Bailiff of Ghent, was also there, as well as Messires Lievin van -Deynse, the wealthy brewer at the sign of the "Star of the North" in the -Nieuwpoort, Laurence van Rycke, son of the High-Bailiff, and Frédéric -van Beveren, wardmaster of the Guild of Armourers; and there were a good -many others--gentlemen of substance and consideration in the town. - -At this moment every one of those two thousand men were keeping their -eyes fixed upon one who alone was standing under the dais at the end of -the refectory where the abbess of the convent usually had her place. -This portion of the room was raised two steps above the rest, and -standing there, the man who thus held the attention of all the others -looked abnormally tall, for he was dressed in doublet and hose of some -dark stuff which clung to him like a skin. His high boots reached well -over his thighs, his head was closely shrouded in a hood, and his face -was hidden by a mask, made of untanned leather--which left the mouth -only quite free. - -"His Highness the Prince of Orange, whom may God protect," he was saying -in a loud, clear voice which rang out from end to end of the room, "was -fortunately able to furnish me with all your names and places of abode. -With the help of Messire van Deynse, who lent us his horses, and Messire -Laurence van Rycke and Frédéric van Beveren, who gave me their -assistance, we were able to communicate with you all during the night -and warn you of the imminent danger which hung over your heads." - -"It was well done, friend Leatherface," said Messire Deynoot, "so well, -indeed, that we are all ready and willing to place ourselves under your -guidance and to accept you as our leader, for of a truth we know not -what we must do." - -"Would to God," said the man whom they called Leatherface, "that I could -do more for you than the little which I have done. To each of you last -night I gave the same warning: 'Danger is nigh! terrible! imminent! for -our plans are discovered and the presence of the Prince of Orange in -Ghent known to the Duke of Alva! Let all those who wish to do so leave -the city at once with their wives and children, for death and torture -threatens those who remain!'" - -"As you see, my dear friend," said Lievin van Deynse, the wealthy -brewer, quietly, "not one of us hath followed this portion of your -advice." - -"You are all brave men and noble sons of Flanders," quoth Leatherface -earnestly. "His Highness is proud of you, he believes in you, he trusts -you. A cause which has such men as you for its champions and defenders -is assured of victory." - -A murmur of satisfaction went round the room, and Leatherface resumed -after a little while: - -"In the meanwhile, with the help of God, the precious person of the -Prince of Orange is safe." - -A hearty cheer--quickly suppressed--greeted this announcement from every -side. "Unfortunately," continued Leatherface, "I could not persuade His -Highness to leave the city early this morning. He would not believe in -the danger which was threatening him.... He would not believe that his -plans and his presence here had been betrayed." - -"Yes! betrayed!" now said one of the younger men vehemently, "and by -whom? Dost know by whom, friend Leatherface?" - -And all around the tables, grimly set lips murmured: - -"By whom? My God! by whom were we betrayed?" - -And Laurence van Rycke's glowing eyes were fixed upon the man under the -canopy as if he would have torn the mask from off his face and read in -those mysterious eyes the confirmation of his own horrible fears. - -And Leatherface, looking straight into Laurence's pale and haggard face, -said slowly: - -"By one who hath already paid the full price for all the misery which -that betrayal will bring in its wake." - -"Dead?" came in awed yet eager query from most of them there. - -Leatherface bent his head, but gave no direct reply, and all of them -there were satisfied, for they believed that the faithful and wary -watch-dog--justiciary as well as guardian angel--had discovered the -betrayer, and had killed him, making him pay the "full price" for all -the misery which he had brought about. Only Laurence hung his head and -dared not ask any more. - - - - II - - -"And now tell us about the Prince," urged Messire van Overbeque, the -Vice-Bailiff. "Where is he now?" - -"Well on his way to Brügge, please God," replied the man with the -leather mask. "All day I had entreated him to go, but he refused to -listen. 'You dream of treachery,' he said to me, 'and see it where none -exists!' I spent the day scouting as far as Melle and Wetteren, for I -felt that nothing would convince him but actual facts. At four o'clock -in the afternoon the advance courier arrived from Alost. Luckily, his -horse was less swift than mine. I managed to gain on him and brought in -the news of the Duke of Alva's arrival to His Highness half an hour -before the commandant of the garrison knew of it." - -"Even then it might have been too late," quoth one of the listeners. - -"It very nearly was," retorted Leatherface light-heartedly. "Had the -Lieutenant-Governor sent advance orders that his arrival be kept a -secret until his troops passed through the city gates, the Prince of -Orange would still be in Ghent at this hour." - -"Holy Virgin!" exclaimed Laurence van Rycke, "and what did you do?" - -"His Highness donned doublet and hose of common buffle and pulled a -tattered felt hat well over his eyes, as did also the Count of -Hoogstraaten and young Count Mansfeld. I made myself look as like a -draper's assistant as I could, and then the four of us joined the crowd. -The rumour of the Duke's coming had spread all over the city; there were -plenty of gaffers about. All round by the Waalpoort they abounded, and -as the twilight slowly faded into dusk the approaches to the gate were -densely packed. No one was allowed to loiter round the guard-house or -upon the bridge, but there were many who, with overwhelming loyalty, -desired to greet the Duke of Alva even before he reached the confines of -the city. That was our opportunity. The commandant at the Waalpoort -happened to be in rare good humour; he thought the idea of meeting the -Lieutenant-Governor and his troops some way outside the city an -excellent one. He allowed those who wished, to go across the bridge. -The Prince of Orange, his two friends and I were merged in that crowd, -and no one took notice of us. Directly we reached Meirelbeke we struck -across the fields. In ten minutes we left the crowd a long way behind -us, and had skirted the town as far as Wondelghem. We were in no danger -then, but His Highness was greatly fatigued. There was a difficulty too -about getting horses; young Count Mansfeld was footsore and the Count of -Hoogstraaten perished with thirst. In short, it was six o'clock before -we had the horses ready, and I had the satisfaction of seeing the Prince -safely started on his way. When I returned it was close on eight, and -the city gates had all been locked." - -He gave a light, good-humoured laugh, and one of the men asked: "Then -how did you get in?" - -"I swam and I scaled the walls," he replied simply. - -"But ... how?" asked another. - -"Oh! I swim like a fish and climb like an ape...." - -"But were you not seen?" - -"Oh, yes! and shot at ... but the Spaniards are bad shots and ... I am -here." - -Again he laughed gaily, light-heartedly like a 'prentice after an -escapade, and the two men who sat nearest him--the Procurator-General -and the Baron van Groobendock--surreptitiously took hold of his hand and -pressed it warmly. - - - - III - - -"So much for the past, seigniors," resumed Leatherface, after awhile: -"my duty is done. I leave the planning of the future to wiser heads -than mine." - -"No! no!" quoth the Vice-Bailiff emphatically. "Have we not said that -we want you to lead us?" - -"I?" retorted the other gaily. "What do I know of leadership? I am -only His Highness' watch-dog. Let me follow a leader and bear my share -in the present trouble. I am not fit to command...." - -A murmur went round the room, and the Procurator-General rejoined -earnestly: "The men will obey no one but you. Take off your mask, -friend, and let us all look upon the face of a man." - -"You have all despised me too much in the past to heed my counsels now." - -"There you spoke a lie, man," said Messire van Deynse, the brewer. "We -have all honoured the man whom we called Leatherface, as the bravest -amongst us all. We do not know who you are--we only know you as a -gallant gentleman to whom next to William of Orange himself we owe every -triumph which our cause hath gained over our execrated tyrants. -Therefore I pray you to unmask and let us know at least to whom--next to -God Himself--we owe the life of the noble Prince of Orange, and also to -whom we must look in future for guidance and leadership." - -Once more the murmur went round the room: words of warm approval came -from every side, whilst among the younger men the cry was raised and -repeated insistently: "Unmask!" - -"Unmask!" cried Laurence van Rycke. "Be you criminal or ne'er-do-well -in the eyes of others, you are a hero in our sight." - -"Unmask! unmask!" they reiterated unanimously. - -The man with the leather mask then advanced to the very edge of the -platform, and, putting up his hand, he asked for silence. - -"Seigniors," he began, "I am your servant and will do as you wish. I -have told you that I am no leader and am not fit to command ... yet you -choose to honour me, and this is no time for false humility and the -diffidence which is the attribute of cowards. But--despite your -gracious choice of me as your leader in this terrible emergency--will -you ere you finally decide to follow me hear from me what plan I should -pursue, and to what heights of self-sacrifice I would ask you to rise in -the face of the awful calamity which threatens our city. Seigniors," he -continued, and indeed now save for the ring of that deep-toned voice, so -great was the silence in the vast refectory that every heart-beat might -have been heard, "you have heard the decree of our tyrant. Unless we -deliver to him the precious person of our noble Prince, the whole city -will be delivered over to the brutal soldiery, who will pillage our -houses, desecrate our churches, murder and outrage our wives, our -mothers and our children--just as they did in Mons, in Valenciennes and -in Mechlin. Seigniors, we are men--all of us here--and at thought of -what awaits us and our fellow-citizens our very heart blood seems to -freeze with horror. It is of our women that we must think and of our -children! Thank God that the Prince knows nothing of this decree--which -hath been framed by the most inhuman monster the world hath ever -known--or of a certainty he would have gone straight to the Kasteel and -given up his precious life to save our fellow-citizens. Seigniors, what -the Prince would have done, we know; and as he would have acted, so must -we be prepared to act. But before I parted from him, I had his advice -on the plan which I now beg leave to place before you. On my word of -honour, seigniors, he approved of it in its entirety, and much that I -will submit to you anon hath been framed under his guidance." - -He paused awhile and through the holes in the mask his glowing eyes -searched the faces of his listeners with a masterful glance that was -both challenging and appealing. - -"Every one of us here," he said abruptly, "is, I know, ready to -sacrifice his life for faith, for freedom and country, and ere we give -in to the monstrous tyranny which hath planned the destruction of our -city we must fight, seigniors, fight to the death, fight for every inch -of our ground, fight for every homestead which we would save from -outrage. Death awaits us all anyhow, then at any rate with God's help -let us die fighting to the end." - -Once more he paused in order to draw breath, even whilst from every side -there came emphatic words of enthusiasm and of approval. He held his -hearers now in the hollow of his hand; they were unemotional, stolid men -for the most part, these Flemish burghers and patricians--men who -throughout the terrible oppression under which they had groaned for over -fifty years had grimly set their teeth and endured where others had -fought--because reason and common sense had shown the futility, the -irreparableness of the conflict--but they were men, too, who, once -roused to action, would never give in until they had won their fight or -had been destroyed to the last man of them; and with that inspiring -prophet standing there before them, stirring their sluggish blood with -his ringing voice, some of that same determination began to creep into -their bones which had animated valiant Orange and his brothers and his -Dutch followers to carry on the struggle for freedom at all costs and -with the last drop of their blood. - -"We'll fight with you and under your standard, friend," said the -Procurator-General who was the spokesman of the others. "We are well -armed...." - -"Aye! ye are well armed," rejoined Leatherface triumphantly. "The guild -of armourers are with us to a man; and we have been able to supplement -our secret stores with all the treasure in the magnificent armoury which -Messire van Beveren has placed at our disposal in the name of his guild. -Aye! we are well armed and well manned! There are two thousand of us, -seigniors, and our numbers will be doubled before noon to-morrow. The -Duke hath brought ten thousand soldiers with him! well! it will be a -three-to-one fight; but if we were still more completely outnumbered we -would still carry on the struggle, seeing that the lives of our children -and the honour of our women are at stake." - -"We can fight," murmured one of the older men, "but we cannot conquer." - -"No! we cannot conquer," said Leatherface earnestly. "We must perish, -because might is greater than right, unless God chooseth to perform a -miracle--and I, for one, still believe that He will. But we must not -weaken our determination by reckoning childishly on divine interference. -If we fight, we fight because we refuse to die like cowards, because we -refuse to go before our Maker shamed at having allowed our homes to be -devastated, our women outraged, our children massacred without striking -a blow--however futile--in their defence. We fight then, seigniors?" he -added exultantly. "Is that your decision?" - -There was not one dissentient voice. Old and young, grave and gay, -prudent and hot-headed, every man there was ready to follow the leader -of their choice. - -"For freedom, faith and country!" cried Leatherface loudly. - -"For freedom, faith and country," came from two thousand panting -throats. - -"As to our plan of campaign," now resumed the man with the mask as soon -as silence and calm was restored once more, "I have not yet had the time -to think on all the details soberly. But the main outline of it was -dictated to me by the Prince of Orange even whilst we halted at -Wondelghem, waiting for horses. He is the finest military strategist -the world hath ever known, misfortune hath pursued him, but hath not -impaired his marvellous powers of command. I will ask some of you, -seigniors, to aid me with your counsels, and with the directions which -His Highness hath given me we may yet give such a fine account of -ourselves as will force our tyrants to treat with us for peace. There -are only two thousand of us now; by to-morrow we can reckon on several -thousands more; but of a certainty at the first clash of arms all our -young and able-bodied fellow-citizens will take heart and join us in our -desperate struggle, and may God help us all!" - -There is no doubt that he had enflamed the blood of his hearers; by the -dim light of the tallow candles every face now looked flushed, every -pair of eyes glowed with the noble fire of patriotism and of courage. -Leatherface waited for a time in silence while whispered conversation -and discussion became general. He did not join in it himself, but stood -somewhat apart from the others, the cynosure of all eyes, a strange, -almost mysterious figure in his tightly-fitting clothes which gave full -play to the powerful muscles of arms and thighs and displayed the great -breadth of shoulder and depth of chest. Many there were who still eyed -him curiously; Laurence van Rycke in particular did not take his eyes -off him, but no one thought of challenging him again to unmask. What -mattered what the face was like, when the heart was so great and fine? - - - - IV - - -After a few minutes the man with the mask once more advanced to the edge -of the platform. There was still something that he wished to say. - -"We must not forget, seigniors," he began very quietly, "that the tyrant -hath given us a respite of forty-eight hours before he will embark on -his hellish work of destruction. He hath demanded the person of the -Prince of Orange as the price of his mercy. Well, seigniors, the -Prince, thank God, is no longer here; but it is just possible that we -may bribe the wild beast yet into satisfaction by giving him some of the -blood for which he thirsts, and thus save our beautiful city from all -the horrors which he hath in contemplation against her." - -"And how wilt do that, friend?" sighed, Messire van Overbeque -despondently. - -"With your permission I will explain," rejoined the other. "I propose -that anon in the early morning a certain number of you seek out the Duke -of Alva in Het Spanjaard's Kasteel and tell him that the Prince of -Orange--aided by his humble watchdog--did succeed in evading once again -the trap which had been set for him; but," he continued with slow and -deliberate emphasis, "that you are prepared to deliver into his hands -the person of the man Leatherface, since you happen to know his -whereabouts in the city." - -For a moment he could not continue, loud and vehement protestations -against this monstrous proposal arose from every side. - -"I entreat you, seigniors, to remember," he continued with deep -earnestness as soon as the tumult had subsided, "that a certain amount -of mystery hath hung--not through mine own seeking, believe me--around -my person. Next to our Prince himself, there are few in this -unfortunate country whose death would be more welcome to our Spanish -tyrants than that of the miscreant Leatherface; and my belief is that if -you offered to give him up to the Lieutenant-Governor you might obtain -from that cruel despot a small measure of mercy for our city." - -He had long since finished speaking, but now there were no longer any -protestations or murmurs; an awesome silence hung about the vaulted -room. No one had stirred; no one spoke; not one man dared to look his -neighbour in the face. Every man stared straight before him at that -slim figure, which suddenly appeared to them all, to be unearthly as it -stood there, beneath the canopy, like the very personification of simple -self-sacrifice, offering up his life so willingly, and above all, so -cheerfully to save his fellow-men. - -In these days of cruel oppression and of sublime virtues, such an act of -abnegation was probably not rare; men were accustomed to suffer death -and worse for an ideal, and for the sake of others who were weaker than -themselves; but there was something so engaging, so light-hearted in -that stranger there that every man who heard him felt that by -sacrificing such a man he would be sending a brother, a son, or dear -friend to the gallows. - -"Well, seigniors," said Leatherface, "I still await your decision." - -"You speak glibly, friend," murmured the Procurator-General sombrely, -"but if the tyrant hath you in his power, it will not only mean death -for you, remember, it will not mean the axe or the gallows, it will mean -the torture-chamber of the Inquisition first and the stake afterwards." - -"I know that," retorted the other simply. "Better men than I have gone -through it all for faith and freedom. I am young, 'tis true--but I have -no ties of interest or affection that bind me to this earth. Few men -will go to their Maker so little regretted by kith or kin as I shall be. -So I pray you do not think of me. Rather turn your thoughts, I entreat, -to the details of the plan, the composition of the deputation that would -be prepared to meet the Duke of Alva to-morrow. Those posts, too, will -be full of danger, and the negotiations, too, might fail--what is the -life of one man worth when weighed in the balance with an entire city?" - -"And which of us would you entrust with the abominable errand?" queried -Laurence van Rycke abruptly. - -"Not you, of a certainty," said the other. "Your mother will have need -of comfort and protection, since she refused to place herself in safety. -Messire the Procurator-General should, I think, lead the deputation, he -hath never been suspected of heresy or rebellion, and the proposal would -thus come quite naturally from him; if Messire van Overbeque will join -him and you, Seigneur van Groobendock, meseems that we could not choose -better." - -"Nay! I cannot do it," interposed the Vice-Bailiff vehemently. "I -would sooner cut off my right hand now." - -"Would you sooner sacrifice this city, all the women and children, your -own wife, Messire, and daughters, rather than one man whose identity you -need never know?" - -It was indeed a terrible puzzle, one which even these brave men found it -hard to solve. - -"I entreat you, seigniors," continued Leatherface earnestly, "to do what -I ask. Nay!" he added resolutely, "I'll do more. Just now you chose me -as your leader. Then I command you to act in accordance with my will." - -"You are quite determined, then?" asked the Vice-Bailiff. - -"Would you counsel me to waver?" retorted the other. "Ah, seigniors!" he -added, with that ringing note in his voice which was so inspiring to -them all, "I entreat you do not grieve for me. Rather grieve for -yourselves and gather courage for your errand. So help me God, yours -will be no easy task. You will have to fawn and to cringe before the -tyrant whom you hate. You will have to bear his arrogance and the -insolence of his menials. You will have to swallow your wrath and to -bend your pride. Your sacrifice indeed will be far harder to make than -mine. I only offer mine own unworthy life; you will offer up to-morrow -your dignity, your manhood, all that you and your fathers hold so dear. -Nay! I would not change places with you for ten such worthless lives as -mine. See, what a coward I am--I send you to do this abominable errand, -while I sit at home in comfort and dream of the happiness of giving my -life for Ghent and for her children!" - -"God help us all!" murmured Messire Deynoot, the Procurator-General. - -"Indeed, He alone can do that," rejoined Leatherface, "for grave fears -assail me that our proposal will be rejected; is it likely that it would -appeal to such a blood-thirsty tyrant as the Duke of Alva? My one -hope--and that alas! is a slender one--is that he hath it not in his -mind to destroy our beautiful city, and might be glad of an excuse of -exercising mercy." - -A groan of execration greeted this suggestion. Was it likely that any -thought of mercy could ever enter the mind of such a man?--more cruel -than any beast of prey, for he killed for the mere sake of killing, -inflicted inhuman tortures on innocent victims for the sake of gloating -over their sufferings, and rejoiced in bloodshed and outrage and -desecration for their own sakes, without any thought of benefiting -himself. - -"Then if these negotiations fail, seigniors," concluded Leatherface -finally, "nothing will be left for us but a bitter struggle which may -end in defeat, but which will leave us proud and unconquered still." - -"Amen to that," said the Procurator-General fervently. - -"Then let us go quietly to our homes to-night. Let us keep from those -who are weak and anxious all knowledge of that which we have resolved; -let our women pray while we prepare to act. Flemish women have hearts -of steel; they will not waver when the hour comes. They will help us -with their prayers now, and load our arquebuses for us when we need -them. For them we will fight and for our children, and if defeat stares -us in the face at the last, then will we save them by one supreme act -from falling into the hands of the tyrant. Until then and after, -seigniors, allow me to keep this mask upon my face. When you go to meet -the Duke of Alva to-morrow, you will offer him a paltry chattel, a man -whom you do not know, who hath no name, no identity, the spy of the -Prince of Orange--just him whom you call Leatherface." - -"God reward you," they murmured fervently. - -"Perhaps He will," whispered the man with the mask, under his breath, -"and with a speedy death!" - -"And now," he added, "as the hour is late, let us disperse. To-morrow, -here, and at this hour, we meet again. Messire Deynoot will give you a -report of his audience with the tyrant, and I may be lucky enough to be -allowed to give my life for this city which I love. Farewell, -seigniors, may God guard you until then. If Alva will have none of me, -then I will have the honour of leading you--to victory, I hope--to death -if God wills!" - -One by one they rose from the benches where they had been sitting, and -all took what they believed to be a last farewell of that strange man -whose identity was still unknown to them, yet whom they had all learned -to love as a leader and as a friend. Indeed, their noble hearts were -torn asunder by the awful alternative which he himself had placed for -them. It was a case of grim determination, of smothering every call of -Sentiment which might prove insistent against thus sacrificing a brave -man to the cruel lust of an abominable tyrant. It had to be, and these -men were fine and great enough in themselves to understand that in -offering up his life to save his fellow-citizens, Leatherface had -certainly chosen the better part. - -And having looked their last on him, they went out through the postern -gate of the convent of St. Agneten in groups of twos and threes. They -crossed the two bridges that span the Leye at this point. The night was -dark, and this was an isolated part of the city, situate far from the -Stadthuis and the Kouter. From the St. Baafs and St. Nikolas quarters -of the city came faintly echoing across the river the sound of riotous -merriment proceeding from those buildings and houses wherein the Walloon -soldiery had installed themselves. But the men who had just pledged -themselves to fight a losing battle against overwhelming odds paid no -heed to what went on around them. They glided noiselessly through the -dark and narrow streets; some went to right, some to left, some to north -and others to south, and quietly regained their homes. - - - - V - - -But in the vast refectory two men had remained behind after every one -else had gone: they were the man with the mask, and Laurence van Rycke. - -The latter had waited in silence whilst the whole of the assembly filed -out by the door, but when Leatherface in his turn prepared to go, -Laurence threw him such a look of appeal, that after an instant's -hesitation, he too decided to wait. - -Then when the last of the assembly had gone, Laurence tried to speak, -but the words died in his throat ere they reached his quivering lips. -There was still that look of mute appeal in his eyes, and of well-nigh -unendurable mental torment in every line of his haggard face, and -suddenly he gave a cry like some wounded creature in mortal pain; he -fell on his knees against the table, and burying his face in his hands, -he sobbed like a child. The other waited patiently and silently until -the paroxysm was over: his mouth beneath the mask looked set but kindly, -and his eyes through the holes in the leather were fixed upon the -stricken man. - -"She is safe from the vengeance of our people," he said, as soon as he -saw that Laurence had momentarily regained his self-control. "Is that -what troubles you, Messire?" - -Laurence--already ashamed of his tears--had struggled to his feet. He -passed his hand across his moist forehead and through his unruly hair, -and tried to look Leatherface valiantly between the eyes. - -"Partly that," he said resolutely. "But I'll not speak of her. It was -she then who betrayed us all?" he added with another heartbroken cry. - -To this Leatherface made no answer, and Laurence continued more calmly: - -"It was of the lists I wish to speak. The papers which His Highness -entrusted to my care." - -"Yes?" - -"I went to look for them after ... after she left the house, and found -that they had gone." - -"Then what did you do?" - -"I knew that we were betrayed ... then ... there ... at once ... and by -her ... an exquisite woman, Messire, whom I ... Oh! it was horrible!" he -exclaimed, and even now a look that was almost like death came over his -wan cheeks and hollow eyes. - -Then once more he resumed quietly: "For a few moments the blow of this -awful discovery completely stunned me. I could neither think nor act. -My first coherent thought was to consult with my mother as to what had -best be done. How to find His Highness until evening I knew not, or how -to obtain duplicate lists, so that I could run round the town and warn -all our followers of the terrible danger that threatened them." - -"You did not think of flight? ... for your mother, I mean?..." - -"I entreated my mother to leave the city at once, but she refused to go, -and we were standing face to face with one another and the terrible -calamity that had befallen us all when Pierre came in with a letter, -which--he said--was given to him in the open street by a man whom he did -not know. The letter, I take it, came from you." - -"Yes," replied the other, "I was afraid that you might do something -rash, and raise the alarm before it was necessary. The lists," he -added, "are quite safe. I was able after His Highness left the -High-Bailiff's house last night to extract them from the bureau, where I -did not feel that they were over safe; in their place I put a packet -containing fictitious lists of men who do not exist, and places of abode -which are not to be found in this city. It is these which have been -sent to señor de Vargas. I had just time to scribble these and to place -them in a conspicuous place in the bureau." - -"You used a false key then?" queried Laurence in bewilderment. - -"Am I not a spy of the Prince of Orange?" retorted the other with a -quaint little laugh, "and are not all spies provided with means of -forcing secret locks? Here are the lists," he added, as from inside his -doublet he half drew the packets of papers. "When you are called to -account for them, you can return them without fear. No one will know -that they ever left your care ... that is, if you have not spoken of it -before now...." - -"No. I had not the heart. We all knew that we were betrayed. You -warned us all and took measures to convene us here to-night; but until -the hour when your letter warned me that for the moment all was well, I -endured mental torments such as surely the lost souls in hell have never -suffered. I saw those lists in the hands of our tyrants--placed there -by the instrumentality of a woman who is to me the embodiment of all -that is pure and good; I saw--in my mind--the spies of Alva going the -round, this very night, and arresting our brave followers one by one ... -Oh God! you do not know what I suffered...." - -"Do not think of that any more, Messire," rejoined Leatherface quietly. -"As you see, the lists are now safe in my care. Alas! it is too late to -beg you to take your mother out of the city. Guard and protect her well -and God help us all." - -He once more now prepared to go, and Laurence was ready to follow him, -but just at the last an impulse caused the latter to detain the -mysterious stranger once more. There was still one question which -hovered on his lips, the answer to which would perhaps ease that awful -burden of sorrow which Lenora's betrayal had placed upon his soul: - -"Messire," he said appealingly, "what of her?" - -"Pray for her, Messire," replied Leatherface quietly, "she suffers more -than you do." - -"Must we all curse her then? or else be traitors to our own people." - -"Nay! you can pity her! What she did, she did from her own sense of -patriotism and of justice. She hates us all, Messire, as the enemies of -her people. She hates and despises me as the assassin of the man she -loved. Pray for her, Messire, but in pity pray also for the man who -whilst striving to win her heart, only succeeded in breaking his own." - - - - VI - - -An hour later in the house in the Nieuwstraat, Clémence van Rycke was -still awake. She sat in her favourite tall chair beside the hearth, and -Laurence her son was kneeling beside her. - -"It is too late now, mother," he was saying gloomily. "No power on earth -can save you. Would to God you had let me take you to Brügge this -afternoon." - -"And desert my post like a coward," retorted Clémence hotly. "I can do -little, 'tis true; but when the hour comes I can tend the sick and the -dying, and pray for the dead; and if you are taken from me, Laurence, I -can be laid beside you.... But," she added, with such an intensity of -bitterness and hatred that her voice nearly choked her as she spoke, "I -would not owe my safety to that execrable traitress..." - -"Hush, mother, in the name of Heaven..." broke in Laurence with a -heart-broken sob. - -"Are you, too, going to defend her?" retorted the mother fiercely. - -"She was compelled to act as she did," murmured Laurence; "she acted in -ignorance and innocence. I'd stake my life that she is pure and good." - -"Pure and good!" exclaimed Clémence with a strident laugh. "A spawn of -the devil, without virtue and without mercy. Oh! that my lips should -ever have touched her lying face--that white forehead which concealed -thoughts of falsehood and treachery! Do not defend her, Laurence, or -you will break my heart. Leave her defence to your brother Mark, who -cares nothing for his country and for his kindred, who will smile and -drink whilst the walls of Ghent fall about his ears, who hath allowed -his weak and cowardly heart to be captured by that murderess! Leave him -to defend her, I say. Lenora de Vargas is worthy of Mark van Rycke!" - -"Mother!" cried Laurence with uncontrolled vehemence as he threw his -arms round his mother's shoulders. "In the name of God stop, for you -almost blaspheme. Speak not of Mark save with a blessing on your lips. -Pray for him this night, as you have never prayed before." - -"Laurence," cried the mother, "are you mad? What do you mean? What has -happened to Mark? Where is he?" - -"In his bed, no doubt, at this moment, mother." - -"Sleeping whilst we all weep and pray!" - -"Sleeping in peace whilst giving up life, and more than life, to try and -save us all!" retorted Laurence, as he slowly rose to his feet. - -"Laurence! you are mad! Mark is..." - -"Mark is the friend and saviour of the Prince of Orange, mother dear," -said the young man quietly, "and we have all known him hitherto as -Leatherface." - -"It is false!" cried Clémence vehemently. - -"I swear by God that it is true," proclaimed Laurence, fervently. - -The exclamation which she would have uttered froze upon Clémence van -Rycke's lips; for a moment she remained quite still, leaning slightly -forward with hands resting upon the arms of the chair. Then a pitiable -moan escaped her, and slowly she rose and then fell upon her knees. - -"Oh God! forgive me," she cried, "if this be true." - -"It is true, mother," said Laurence firmly. "For close on two hours -to-night I sat close to him whilst he spoke. In the absence of the -Prince of Orange we have chosen him as our leader; if the Duke of Alva -refuses the proposals which we are going to put before him, Mark will -lead us to fight or to death." - -"The proposal! What proposal?" - -"That Leatherface be given up to the tyrant as the price of the safety -of the city." - -"And you--his brother--agreed to this infamous suggestion?" murmured -Clémence hoarsely. - -"We must not leave a stone unturned or a man alive to save the women and -children," replied Laurence sombrely. - -"Then may God have mercy on us all!" cried Clémence, and she fell back -heart-broken against the cushions of her chair. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - THE TYRANTS - - - I - - -The next morning, at the tenth hour, five reverend seigniors presented -themselves before the Duke of Alva, Lieutenant-Governor of the Low -Countries and Captain-General of the Forces, in the apartments which he -occupied in Het Spanjaards Kasteel. - -They were Messire Pierre van Overbeque, Vice-Bailiff of Ghent; Messire -Deynoot, Procurator-General, and Messire Jan van Migrode, Chief Sheriff -of the Keure; then there was Messire Lievin van Deynse, the brewer at -the sign of the "Star of the North," and Baron van Groobendock, chief -financial adviser on the Town Council. - -They had waited on His Highness at a very early hour, but had been kept -waiting in the guard-room for two hours, without a chair to sit on, and -with a crowd of rough soldiers around them, some of whom were lounging -about on the benches, others playing at cards or dice, whilst all of -them improved the occasion and whiled away the time by indulging in -insolent jests at the expense of the reverend burghers, who--humiliated -beyond forbearance and vainly endeavouring to swallow their wrath--did -not dare to complain to the officer in command, lest worse insults be -heaped upon them. - -At one hour before noon the seigniors were at last told very -peremptorily that they might present themselves before His Highness. -They were marched between a detachment of soldiers through the castle -yard to the magnificent apartments in the Meeste-Toren, which at one -time were occupied by the Counts of Flanders. Now the Duke of Alva's -soldiery and his attendants were in every corridor and every ante-room. -They stared with undisguised insolence at the grave seigniors who -belonged to the despised race. - -The Lieutenant-Governor was graciously pleased to receive the burghers -in his council-chamber where, seated upon a velvet-covered chair upon an -elevated platform and beneath a crimson dais, he looked down upon these -free citizens of an independent State as if he were indeed possessed of -divine rights over them all. The officer in command of the small -detachment which had escorted the deputation into the dreaded presence, -now ordered the five seigniors to kneel, and they, who had a petition to -present and an act of mercy to entreat, obeyed with that proud humility -wherewith their fathers had knelt thirty-two years ago in sackcloth and -ashes before the throne of the Emperor Charles. - -"Your desire, seigniors?" queried the Duke curtly. - -Some of the members of his abominable Grand Council sat around him, on -benches placed well below the level of the platform. Alberic del Rio -was there--bland and submissive; President Viglius, General de -Noircarmes, and President Hessels--men who were as bitter against Orange -and his followers as was Alva himself--and, sitting a little apart from -the others, don Juan de Vargas, but recently arrived from Brussels. - -"Your desire, seigniors?" the Duke had questioned peremptorily, and -after a few moments Messire Deynoot, the Procurator-General, who was -spokesman of the deputation, began timidly at first--then gradually more -resolutely. - -"It is with profound grief," he said, "that we became aware last night -that your Highness' visit to our city was not one of goodwill and amity. -Your Highness' severe restrictions upon our citizens and stern measures -taken against them hath filled our hearts with sorrow." - -"Your abominable treachery hath filled our heart with wrath," retorted -the Duke roughly, "and nothing but the clemency enjoined upon us by our -suzerain Lord and King prevented us from reducing this accursed city to -ashes and putting every one of her citizens to the sword, without giving -them a single chance of retrieving their hellish conduct by surrendering -themselves unconditionally to our will." - -"It is with the utmost confidence," rejoined the Procurator-General -humbly, "that we rely upon the well-known clemency of our suzerain Lord -the King, and place the future of our beautiful city unconditionally in -your Highness' hands." - -"The future of the city is in my hands, Messire," said the Duke dryly, -"by the power of our suzerain Lord and with the help of the troops at my -command. I told you last night under what condition I will spare your -town from total destruction. I am not in the habit of changing my mind -during the course of one night." - -"Alas, your Highness! but the city is quite unable to fulfil the one -condition which would appease the wrath of our suzerain Lord and your -own." - -"Then," retorted Alva haughtily, "why waste my time and your own in -bandying words which must remain purposeless? Either William of Orange -is delivered into my hands, or my soldiers burn your city down at sunset -to-morrow. By our Lady! is that not clear enough?" - -"Clear enough, alas!" rejoined the Procurator-General, and suddenly in -his mind there rose a picture of the tall man last night beneath the -dais, of his inspiring words, his whole-hearted sacrifice: his ringing -voice seemed to echo through this narrow room, and some of the words -which he spoke knocked at the gates of the grave seignior's memory. - -"Yours will be the harder task," he had said gaily; "you will have to -fawn and to cringe, to swallow your wrath and to bend your pride!" -Well! God knew that they had done all that: they had swallowed their -wrath and bent their pride before an insolent soldiery, and now they -were fawning and cringing to a tyrant whom they abhorred. - -Ghent! beloved city! once the home of the free! what must thy citizens -endure for thy sake? - -And the Procurator-General--the descendant of an hundred free men--had -to lick the dust before Alva's throne. He forced his voice to tones of -humility, he looked up at the tyrant with eyes full of unspoken -devotion. - -"What can we do?" he said timidly, "to prove our loyalty? I entreat -your Magnificence to look down on our helplessness. Orange is no longer -in Ghent, and we do not know where to find him." - -"A pretty tale, indeed," interposed de Vargas suddenly, with a strident -laugh which was echoed obsequiously by the other members round the -council board, "a pretty, likely tale, which I trust your Highness will -not think to believe." - -"I neither believe nor disbelieve any tale which these grave seigniors -choose to tell me," rejoined the Duke. "I want Orange--or we burn this -city down till not a stone in it be left upon stone." - -And Messire Deynoot, whose entire soul rose in revolt against that rough -dictate of a hellish tyrant, had perforce to subdue his passionate wrath -and to speak with affected humility and unconcern. - -"We had hoped," he said quietly, "that we might offer to your Highness -such a proof of our loyalty that you would no longer wish to cast aside -a city that hath always hitherto proved staunch and true." - -"What mean you, sirrah? What proofs can you give me now of this -accursed city's loyalty, when you harbour a veritable army of traitors -within your walls?" - -"We would wish to prove to your Magnificence that the city itself takes -no part in the vagaries and plottings of a few hot-headed malcontents." - -"Hot-headed malcontents, forsooth!" exclaimed the Duke fiercely. "Two -thousand men prepared to take up arms against our Suzerain Lord the -King! ... arms concealed in churches and cemeteries! money poured into -the lap of Orange and all his rebels!" - -"There are more than two thousand men who are prepared to fight and die -for their country and their King," said the Fleming suavely, "and who -are equally ready to pour money into the coffers of their Liege Lord, as -represented by His Highness Ferdinand Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, -and by the reverend members of his Council." - -This he had said very slowly and with marked emphasis, and even while he -spoke he had the satisfaction of seeing more than one pair of eyes round -that Council board gloating with delight at the vision of treasure and -wealth which his words had called forth. He and his colleagues had long -after the assembly of last night discussed between them this one -proposal, which might, they hoped, tempt the cupidity of the Spaniards, -which they knew to be boundless. They were wealthy men all of them--the -town was wealthy beyond the dreams of Alva's avarice, and the five men -who had been deputed to offer up a brave man's life as the price of a -city's safety, had resolved to sacrifice their last stiver, and keep the -hero in their midst. - -But Alva, with a sneer, had already destroyed all the fond hopes which -had been built upon that resolve. - -"If you offered me every treasure--to the last gulden--contained in your -city," he said, with emphasis no less strongly marked than had been the -other man's offer, "I would not deny myself the pleasure of razing this -abominable nest of rebels to the ground. Why should I," he added with a -cynical shrug of the shoulders, "take from you as a bribe what my -soldiers can get for me by the might of fire and sword? Orange alone -would tempt me, for I would wish to have him alive--we might kill him by -accident when we destroy the town." - -"We can collect two million gulden in gold," said Messire Deynoot -insinuatingly, "and lay that sum at the feet of your Magnificence -to-morrow." - -"Ah?" said the Duke blandly, "then I am greatly relieved that so much -money can be got voluntarily out of this city. Your words, Messire, are -honey to mine ears; they prove, beyond a doubt, that if you can raise -two million gulden in forty-eight hours my soldiers can put up ten times -that amount in a two days' sacking of this town." - -"The money voluntarily offered, Monseigneur," here interposed the -Vice-Bailiff, "would shame neither the giver nor the receiver. The -destruction of a free and loyal city would be an eternal disgrace upon -the might of Spain." - -"Spare me thy heroics, sirrah!" quoth Alva fiercely, "or I'll have that -impudent tongue of thine cut out before nightfall." - -And once more the burghers had to bend their pride before the appalling -arrogance of their tyrant. - -"Begone now!" added the Lieutenant-Governor peremptorily, seeing that -the Flemings were silent for the moment. "The business of the State -cannot be held up by such profitless talk. And if you have nothing -better to offer to our Gracious King than money which is already his, -why, then, you are wasting my time, and had best go back to those who -sent you." - -"No one sent us, Monseigneur," resumed the Procurator-General, with as -much dignity as he could command, even though his back ached and his -knees were painfully cramped. "We are free burghers of the city of -Ghent, which, alas! hath earned your Highness' displeasure. We have -offered of our treasure so as to testify to our loyalty ... but this -offer your Magnificence hath thought fit to refuse. At the same time we -are not at the end of our resources or of our protestations of loyalty. -We have yet another offer to place before your Highness which, perhaps, -may be more agreeable in your sight." - -"And what is that offer, sirrah? Be quick about it, as my patience, of -a truth, is at the end of its resources." - -The Procurator-General did not make immediate reply. Truly he was -screwing up his determination for the terrible ordeal which was before -him. He hung his head, and, despite his fortitude--probably because of -weakness following on fatigue--he felt that tears gathered in his eyes, -and he feared that his voice now as he spoke would become unsteady. The -others, too, kept their eyes fixed to the ground. They could not bear -to look on one another, at this moment when they were about to offer up -so brave and gallant a life in sacrifice for their city and for all the -townsfolk. Indeed, Messire Deynoot ere he spoke forced his mind to -dwell upon all the horrors of Mons and Valenciennes and Mechlin, upon -all the women and children, the feeble and the old, his own wife, his -daughters and his mother, so as to gather courage for the task which had -been imposed upon him. - -Thus there was silence for a minute or so in this narrow room, wherein -the close velvet draperies made the air heavy, so that the number of men -here assembled--Spaniards and Flemings and soldiers--felt as if an awful -load was weighing their senses down. Councillor Hessels, as was his -wont, had fallen asleep. He woke up in the oppressive silence in order -to murmur drowsily: "To the gallows with them all!" Alva sat sullen and -wrathful, looking down with contempt and scorn on the kneeling burghers -before him. De Vargas, now and again, turned anxious, furtive eyes to -where a rich portière of damask-velvet hid a door in the panelling of -the wall. Even now it seemed as if that portiere stirred--as if an -unseen hand was grasping it with a febrile nervous clutch--it seemed, in -fact, as if some one lived and breathed there behind the curtain, and as -if all that was said and would be said in the room would find its echo -in a palpitating heart. - - - - II - - -Anon the Duke of Alva's impatience broke its bounds: "An you'll not -speak, sirrah," he cried, "get you gone! Get you gone, I say, ere I -order my lacqueys to throw you out of my house." - -"Your pardon, Monseigneur," said Messire Deynoot with sudden resolution, -"I but paused in order to choose the words which might best please your -ears. The offer which I am about to make to your Highness is in the -name of all the citizens of Ghent, and I feel confident that your -Highness will gladly acknowledge that no greater mark of loyalty could -be offered by any town to our suzerain Lord the King." - -"Speak!" commanded Alva. - -"Next to the Prince of Orange himself," said the Procurator-General -timidly, "is there not a man who hath gravely incurred your Highness' -displeasure, but who hath hitherto evaded the punishment which your -Highness would no doubt mete out to him?" - -"Yes; there is!" replied the Duke curtly. "A man who chooses to wrap -himself up in a mantle of mystery; a spy of Orange--a rebel and traitor -to the King. There is such a man, sirrah! He hath several times -thwarted my projects with regard to Orange. If, as you say, Orange is -not in Ghent then hath that man had a hand in helping him to get away. -Well! what of that man, sirrah? I want him. He is called Leatherface -by my soldiers. What of him, I say?" - -"Leatherface is in Ghent, Monseigneur," murmured Deynoot, scarce above -his breath. - -"Come! that's good! Then will our booty be even richer than we -thought." - -"Leatherface is in Ghent, Monseigneur," continued Deynoot, more -steadily. "But he is an elusive creature. Mysterious agencies are at -work, so they say, to enable him to escape the many traps that are set -for him. He swims like a fish, and climbs like an ape. He entered the -city last night, an hour after all the gates had been closed. In the -terrible confusion which will attend the destruction of our city, he -would escape again.... But just now he is in Ghent, and..." - -"And you will deliver him over to me," broke in Alva with a harsh laugh, -"if I will spare your city?" - -The Procurator-General nodded his head in reply. His lips refused him -service for that awful, that irreparable "Yes!" The five men now no -longer hung their heads. White as the linen ruffles round their throats, -they were gazing straight into the face of the tyrant, trying to read -the innermost thoughts of that inhuman devil, who held the destiny of -their city--or of a brave man--in the hollow of his claw-like hands. - -Alva pondered; and while he did so his prominent, heavy-lidded eyes -sought those of his colleagues no less inhuman, more devilish mayhap, -than himself. And from behind the heavy portière there seemed to come a -long drawn-out sigh, like some poor creature in pain. De Vargas -frowned, and a muttered curse escaped his lips. - -"How long has she been there?" asked Alva quickly, in a whisper. - -"All the time," replied de Vargas, also under his breath. - -"But this is not for women's ears." - -"Nay! your Highness does not know my daughter. It was the man -Leatherface who killed her first lover. She would be happy to see him -hang." - -"And she shall, too. She hath deserved well of us. We owe our present -triumph to her." - -Then he turned once more to the burghers. - -"I like your offer," he said coldly, "and, in a measure, I accept it.... -Nay!" he added with that cruel and strident laugh of his, seeing that at -his words a certain look of relief overspread the five pale faces before -him, "do not rejoice too soon. I would not give up the delight of -punishing an entire city for the mere pleasure of seeing one man hang. -True! I would like to hold him. Next to Orange himself, I would sooner -see that mysterious Leatherface dangling on a gibbet than any other -heretic or rebel in this abominable country. But to give up my purpose -over Ghent, that is another matter! Once and for all, seigniors," he -added with fierce and irrevocable determination, "Ghent shall burn, -since Orange has escaped again. But I have said that I accept your -offer, and I do. I take it as an expression of tardy loyalty, and will -reward you in accordance with its value. We will burn your city, -seigniors; but if when your flaming walls begin to crumble about your -ears; when my soldiery have taken their fill of your money and your -treasures, and human lives begin to pay the toll of your rebellion and -treachery, then, if you deliver to me the person of Leatherface alive, I -will, in return, stay my soldiers' hands, and order that in every -homestead one son and one daughter, aye, and the head of the house, too, -be spared. Otherwise--and remember that this is my last word--not one -stone shall remain upon stone within the city--not one inhabitant, man, -woman, or child, shall be left to perpetuate rebellion inside these -walls. I have spoken, and now go--go and tell Leatherface that I await -him. He hath not aided Orange's escape in vain." - -He rose, and with a peremptory gesture pointed to the door. The five -burghers were silent. What could they say? To beg, to implore, to -remonstrate would, indeed, have been in vain. As well implore the -fierce torrent not to uproot the tree that impedes its course, or beg -the wolf not to devour its prey. Painfully they struggled to their -feet, roughly urged along by the soldiers. They were indeed cramped and -stiff, as well mentally as physically; they had done their -heart-breaking errand--they had swallowed their wrath and humbled their -pride--they had cringed, and they had fawned and licked the dust beneath -the feet of the tyrant who was in sheer, lustful wantonness sending them -and their kith and kin--guilty and innocent alike--to an abominable -death.... And they had failed--miserably failed either to bribe, to -cajole, or to shame that human fiend into some semblance of mercy. Now -a deathlike sorrow weighed upon their souls. They were like five very -old men sent tottering to their own graves. - -Some could hardly see because of the veil of tears before their eyes. - -But, even as one by one they filed out of the presence of the tyrant, -they still prayed ... prayed to God to help them and their -fellow-citizens in this the darkest hour of their lives. Truly, if -these valiant people of Flanders had lost their faith and trust in God -then they would have gone absolutely and irretrievably under into the -awful vortex of oppression which threatened to crush the very existence -of their nation, and would have hurled them into the bottomless abyss of -self-destruction. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - TWO PICTURES - - - I - - -These stand out clearly among the mass of documents, details, -dissertations and chronicles of the time--so clearly indeed that only a -brief mention of them will suffice here. - -First: Lenora in the small room which adjoined the council chamber -within Het Spanjaard's Kasteel in Ghent. She had stood for close upon an -hour under the lintel of the open door, her hand clinging to the heavy -velvet portière; not one sound which came from the council chamber -failed to strike her ear: every phase of that awesome interview between -the supplicants and their vengeful tyrant struck at her heart, until at -last unable to keep still, she uttered a moan of pain. - -All this was his work! Not hers! Before God and her own conscience she -felt that she could not have acted differently; that if it had all to be -done again, she would again obey the still, insistent voice which had -prompted her to keep her oath and to serve her King and country in the -only way that lay in her power. - -It was his work! not hers! His, whose whole life seemed to be given -over to murder, to rebellion and to secret plottings, and who had tried -to throw dust in her eyes and to cajole her into becoming a traitor too -to all that she held dear. - -It was his work, and the terrible reprisals which the Duke of Alva's -retributive justice would mete out to this rebellious city lay at the -door of those who had conspired against the State, and not at hers who -had only been an humble tool in Almighty hands. - -But in spite of her inner conviction that she had done right, in spite -of her father's praise and approval which he had lavished on her all the -way from Dendermonde to Ghent, she could not rid herself of a terrible -sense of utter desolation and utter misery, and of a feeling of pity for -all these poor people which caused her unendurable--almost physically -unendurable--agony. - -When anon the Lieutenant-Governor dismissed the burghers and after a few -words with her father and señor del Rio left the council chamber, Lenora -had a feeling as if the ground was opening before her, as if an awful -chasm yawned at her feet into which she must inevitably fall if she -dared look into it. And yet she looked and looked, as if fascinated by -the hideousness of what she saw--pictures of cruelty and of evil far -more horrible than any which had ever been limned of hell. And in the -overwhelming horror which faced her now, she felt herself screaming -aloud, with appealing defiance: "It is his work! not mine! Let the -blood of his kinsfolk fall upon him--not me!" ere she tottered and fell -back. - -When full consciousness returned to her, her father was by her side. He -looked pale and sullen and instinctively she drew away from him, whereat -he smiled, showing his large teeth which looked like the fangs of a -wolf. - -"I ought never to have allowed you to come here, Lenora," he said -roughly. "As His Highness said, it was not at all fit for women's -ears." - -"His Highness," she retorted coldly, "also said that to be here was my -right ... your triumph to-day being all due to me." - -"Well!" he added lightly, "'tis you wanted to come, remember." - -"Yes," she said, "I wanted to come." - -"I would have sent you to Brussels with Inez and a good escort. It is -not too late. You can still go. Ghent will not be a fitting place for -women during the next few days," he added, whilst a glow of evil -satisfaction suddenly lit up his sallow face. "Would you prefer to go?" - -"No, father, I thank you," she replied. "I would wish to stay." - -"Ah! that's a brave daughter, and a true Spaniard," he cried, "and I -promise you that you shall be satisfied with what you see. Ramon, your -cousin, will be avenged more completely than even you could have dared -to hope, and that assassin Leatherface will suffer: you shall see him -dangling on a gibbet, never fear." - -A slight shudder went right through her. Her face was as white as her -gown; and as she made no reply, her father continued blandly: - -"You little thought that your marriage would bring such a magnificent -harvest of reprisals quite so soon! The city of Ghent and the man -Leatherface! The destruction of the one and the death of the other are -your work, my daughter." - -She closed her eyes; for she saw that awful chasm once more yawning at -her feet, and once more she felt herself falling ... falling ... with no -one to cling to but her father who kept asking her whether she was -satisfied with what she had done.... His voice came to her as through a -shroud ... he talked and talked incessantly ... of Ghent ... of rebels -... of murder and pillage and gibbets and torture-chambers ... of women -and children and fathers of families ... of sons and of daughters ... -and of one--Leatherface ... of the High-Bailiff of Ghent ... of Laurence -and of Mark ... her husband. - -"I wonder where that fool is now," she could hear her father saying -through a muffler which seemed to envelop his mouth. "On the high road -to Brussels mayhap with a message from you to me ... did you say you had -sent him on from Dendermonde or straight away from Ghent? I am half -sorry I gave in to your whim and brought you here with me ... but 'tis -you wanted to come ... eh, my girl? ... you were so obstinate ... I was -weak enough to give in ... but I ought not to have let you listen to -those mealy-mouthed Flemings! ... ah! you are my true daughter ... you -wanted to see these traitors punished, what? and Ramon's murder avenged! -Well! you shall see it all, my dear, I promise you.... But I wish you -could tell me what has become of that fool of a husband of yours ... we -shall have to know presently if you are still wife or widow...." - -He said this quite gaily and laughed at his own jest, and Lenora, pale -and wild-eyed, echoed his laugh. She laughed as she had done two nights -ago at Dendermonde when a face made up of lighted windows grinned at and -mocked her across the Grand' Place. She laughed until the whole room -began to dance a wild galliarde around her, until her father's face -appeared like one huge, mocking grin. - -Then she just glided from the couch down on to the floor. And there she -lay, white and inert, whilst señor de Vargas, cursing the megrims of -women, went calmly in search of help. - - - - II - - -The second picture has for background the refectory in the convent of -St. Agneten at the same hour as when last night the newly chosen, -mysterious leader had roused boundless enthusiasm in the hearts of all -his hearers. There is no lack of enthusiasm now either, but tempers are -more subdued--gloom hangs over the assembly, for Messire the -Procurator-General has just given a graphic account of his mission to -the Lieutenant-Governor. - -When he has finished speaking, the man with the mask who sits at the -head of the table at the top of the long, low room, asks quietly: - -"Then he refused?" - -All the five men who this morning had knelt humbly before the tyrant, -exchange silent glances, after which Messire Deynoot says firmly: - -"He refused." - -"Nothing will save our city," insisted Leatherface solemnly, "except if -we track the Prince of Orange and bring him bound and a prisoner to the -feet of Alva?" - -"Nothing! save Orange's person will move Alva from his resolve." - -Leatherface sits for a moment quite still, with his head buried in his -hands: and the vast crowd now assembled in the room waits in breathless -silence for his next word. There are far more than two thousand men here -this night; the number has indeed been more than doubled. The deadly -danger which threatens the city has already brought over three thousand -new recruits to the standard. - -Suddenly with a resolute gesture Leatherface draws his mask away and -rises to his feet in full view of all the crowd. - -"Mark van Rycke!" comes as one cry from several hundred throats. - -"Aye!" he says with a light laugh, "your ne'er-do-well and frequenter of -taverns was just the watch-dog of our noble Prince. Unknown I was able -to render him some small service. Now that you are no longer called -upon to throw me as a bait to the snarling lion, I'll resume mine own -identity, and hereby ask you, if--knowing me for what I am--you still -trust me to lead you to victory or to death?" - -"To victory!" shout the younger men enthusiastically. - -"To die like men," murmur the older ones. - -"To-morrow we fight, seigniors!" says Mark earnestly, "to-morrow we -defend our homes, our wives, our daughters, with scarce a hope of -success. To-morrow we show to the rulers of the world how those of the -down-trodden race can die whilst fighting for God and liberty." - -"To-morrow!" they all assent with unbounded enthusiasm. - -The ardour of a noble cause is in their veins. Not one of them here -hesitates for one second in order to count the cost. And yet every one -of them know that theirs is a forlorn cause. How can a handful of -burghers and apprentices stand up before the might of Spain? But they -are men at bay! they--the sober burghers of a fog-ridden land, steady, -wise of counsel, without an ounce of impetuosity or hot-headedness in -their blood; and yet they are ready to go into this desperate adventure -without another thought save that of selling their lives and the honour -of their women folk as dearly as they can. - -For leader they have a man! for help they have only God! For incentive -they have their own dignity, their pride, their valour ... for weapon -they have the justice of their cause, and the right to die like men. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - THE RIGHT TO DIE - - - I - - -And after the lapse of three hundred and more years the imagination -projects itself into that past so full of heroic deeds, so full of -valour and of glory, and stands still wondering before the glowing -pictures which the insurrection of Ghent reveals. - -Memory--the stern handmaiden of unruly imagination--goes back to that -21st day in October 1572 and recalls the sounds and sights which from -early dawn filled the beautiful city with a presage of desolation to -come; the church bells' melancholy appeal, the deserted streets, the -barred and shuttered houses, the crowds of women and children and old -men sitting at prayer in their own halls, the peaceful folk of a -prosperous city quietly preparing for death. - -At four o'clock in the afternoon the Duke of Alva rides out of the -Kasteel with his staff and his bodyguard, which consists of three -squadrons of cavalry, one bandera of Spanish infantry--halberdiers and -pikemen--and five companies of harquebusiers, The Bandes -d'Ordonnance--the local mounted gendarmerie--are on duty in the -Vridachmart, and thither the Duke repairs in slow and stately majesty -through silent streets, in which every window is shuttered, and where -not one idler or gaffer stands to see him pass by. A cruel, ironical -smile curls his thin lips beneath the drooping moustache as he notes the -deserted aspect of the place. - -"Terror," he mutters to himself, "or sulkiness. But they cannot eat -their money or their treasures: and there must be a vast deal of it -behind those walls!" - -On the Vridachmart he halts with his armed escort grouped around him, -the Bandes d'Ordonnance lining the market place, his standard unfurled -behind him, his drummers in the front. Not a soul out upon the -mart--not a head at any of the windows in the houses round! It seems as -if Don Frederic Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, Lieutenant-Governor of -the Netherlands and Captain-General of the Forces, was about to read a -proclamation to a city of the dead. - -A prolonged roll of drums commands silence for His Highness--silence -which already is absolute--and then the Duke, in his usual loud and -peremptory voice, demands the immediate surrender of the Prince of -Orange now an outlaw in the town. And suddenly from every house around -the huge market comes the answering cry: "Come and take him!" And from -every doorway, from every adjoining street men come rushing along--with -pikes and halberds and muskets, and from end to end of the town the -defiant cry arises: "Come and take him!" - -The Bandes d'Ordonnance, hastily summoned by the Duke to keep back the -rabble, turn their arms against the Spanish halberdiers. Taking up the -cry of "Come and take him!" they go over in a body to the side of the -insurgents. - -At once the Walloon arquebusiers are ordered to fire. The rebels respond -this time with their own battle cry of "Orange and Liberty!" and a -death-dealing volley of musketry. Whereupon the mêlée becomes general; -the cavalry charges into the now serried ranks of the Orangists who are -forced momentarily to retreat. They are pushed back across the mart as -far as the cemetery of St. Jakab. Here they unfurl their standard, and -their musketeers hold their ground with unshakable valour, firing from -behind the low encircling wall with marvellous precision and quickness -whilst two bodies of halbertmen and pikemen pour out in numbers from -inside the church, and their artillerymen with five culverins and three -falconets emerge out of the Guild House of the Tanners which is close -by, and take up a position in front of the cemetery. - -Alva's troops soon begin to lose their nerve. They were wholly -unprepared for attack, and suddenly they feel themselves both -outnumbered and hard-pressed. The Duke himself had been unprepared and -had appeared upon the Vridachmart with less than two thousand men, -whilst the other companies stationed in different portions of the city -had not even been warned to hold themselves in readiness. - -And just when the Spanish cavalry upon the Market Square is beginning to -give ground the cry of "_Sauve qui peut_" is raised somewhere in the -distance. - -The Spanish and Walloon soldiery quartered in the various guild-houses, -the open markets or private homesteads were just as unprepared for -attack as was the garrison of the Kasteel. They had been promised that -as soon as the evening Angelus had ceased to ring they could run wild -throughout the city, loot and pillage as much as they desired, and that -until that hour they could do no better than fill their heads with ale -so as to be ready for the glorious sacking and destruction of the -richest town in the Netherlands. Therefore, a goodly number of -them--fresh from Mechlin--have spent the afternoon in recalling some of -the pleasurable adventures there--the trophies gained, the treasure, the -money, the jewels all lying ready to their hand. Others have listened -open-mouthed and agape, longing to get to work on the rich city and its -wealthy burghers, and all have imbibed a great quantity of very heady -ale which has fuddled their brain and made them more and more drowsy as -the afternoon wears on. Their captains too have spent most of the day -in the taverns, drinking and playing hazard in anticipation of loot, and -thus the men are not at the moment in touch with their commanders or -with their comrades, and all have laid aside their arms. - -And simultaneously with the mêlée in the Vridachmart, the insurgents -have made a general attack upon every guild-house, every market, every -tavern where soldiers are quartered and congregated. With much shouting -and to-do so as to give an exaggerated idea of their numbers they fall -upon the unsuspecting soldiers--Walloons for the most part--and -overpower and capture them before these have fully roused themselves -from their afternoon torpor; their provosts and captains oft surrender -without striking a blow. In almost every instance--so the chroniclers of -the time aver--fifty and sixty men were captured by a dozen or twenty, -and within half an hour all the guild-houses are in the hands of the -Orangists, and close on fifteen hundred Walloons are prisoners in the -cellars below; whilst all the arms stowed in the open markets go to -swell the stores of the brave Orange men. - -But some of the Walloons and Spaniards contrive to escape this general -rounding up and it was they who first raised the cry of "_Sauve qui -peut!_" - -Now it is repeated and repeated again and again: it echoes from street -to street; it gains in volume and in power until from end to end of the -city it seems to converge toward the Vridachmart in one huge, all -dominating wave of sound: "_Sauve qui peut!_" and the tramp of running -feet, the calls and cries drown the clash of lance and pike. - -Suddenly the bowmen of the Orangists scale the low cemetery wall as one -man and their defence is turned into a vigorous onslaught: the cavalry -is forced back upon the market square, they catch up the cry: "_Sauve -qui peut_! They are on us! _Sauve qui peut!_" They break their -ranks--a panic hath seized them--their retreat becomes a rout. The -Orangists are all over the cemetery wall now: they charge with halberd -and pike and force the Spaniards and Walloons back and back into the -narrow streets which debouch upon the Schelde. Some are able to escape -over the Ketel Brüghe, but two entire companies of Spanish infantry and -a whole squadron of cavalry are--so Messire Vaernewyck avers--pushed -into the river where they perish to the last man. - - - - II - - -At this hour all is confusion. The picture which the mind conjures up -of the stricken city is a blurred mass of pikes and lances, of muskets -and crossbows, of Spaniards and Walloons and Flemings, of ragged -doublets and plumed hats--a medley of sounds: of arrows whizzing with a -long whistling sound through the air, of the crash of muskets and clash -of lance against lance, the appeal of those who are afraid and the -groans of those who are dying--of falling timber and sizzling woodwork, -and crumbling masonry, and through it all the awful cry of "_Sauve qui -peut!_" and the sound of the tocsin weirdly calling through the fast -gathering night. - -And amidst this helter-skelter and confusion, the Duke of Alva upon his -black charger--untiring, grim, terrible--tries by commands, cajoleries, -threats, to rally those who flee. But the voice which erstwhile had the -power to make the stoutest heart quake had none over the poltroon. He -shouts and admonishes and threatens in vain. They run and run--cavalry, -infantry, halbertmen and lancers--the flower of the Spanish force sent -to subdue the Netherlands--they run; and in the general vortex of -fleeing cavalry the Duke is engulfed too, and he is carried along as far -as the Ketel Brüghe, where he tries to make a stand. - -His doublet and hose are covered with mud and grime; his mantle is torn, -his hat has fallen off his head and his white hair floats around his -face which is as pale as death. - -"Cowards!" he cries with fierce and maddened rage: "would you fly before -such rabble?" But his voice has lost its magic; they do not heed -him--they fly--past him and over the bridge to the safety of Het -Spanjaard's Kasteel. - -Then prudence dictates the only possible course, or capture might become -inevitable. Cursing savagely and vowing more bitter revenge than ever -before, the Duke at last wheels his horse round and he too hastens back -to the stronghold--there to work out a plan of campaign against the -desperate resistance of that handful of Flemish louts whom His Highness -and all Spanish grandees and officials so heartily despise. - - - - III - - -Half an hour later, and we see courier after courier sent flying from -Het Spanjaard's Kasteel to every corner of the city. - -The city gates--thank the God of the Spaniards!--have been well -garrisoned and well supplied with culverins and balls, it is from there -that help must come, for--strange to tell--those louts have actually -invested the Kasteel and have the pretension to lay a regular siege to -the stronghold. - -Was there ever such a farce? A couple of thousand of an undisciplined -rabble--they surely cannot be more--daring to pit themselves against a -picked guard! Courier to the Waalpoort where Lodrono is in command! -courier to the Braepoort!--Serbelloni is there with two culverins of the -newest pattern and two hundred musketeers, the like of whom are not -known outside the Spanish army! - -The only pity is that the bulk of the forces inside the city are -Walloons! such poltroons as they have already proved themselves, -surrendering in their hundreds to those confounded rebels! they have -been scattered like flies out of a honey-pot, and the entire centre of -the city is in the hands of the Orangists. But, anyway, the whole -affair is only a question of time; for the moment the evening is closing -in fast and the position cannot therefore be improved before nightfall; -but in the morning a general closing-in movement, from the gates toward -the centre would hold the rebels as in a claw and break their resistance -within an hour. In the meanwhile the morale of the troops must be -restored. Attend to that, ye captains at the city gates! - -Courier follows courier out of the gate-house of the Kasteel: naked men, -ready to crawl, to swim, or to dive, to escape the vigilance of the -Orangist lines. Impossible! Not one is able to cross the open ground -beyond the castle moat; the houses on the further bank of the Schelde -are filled with Orangists; bows and muskets are levelled from every -window. The culverins are down below, covered by the angles of the -cross-streets; the messengers either fall ere they reach the Schelde or -are sent back the way they came. - -Attend to the morale of your men, ye captains at the city gates! The -Duke of Alva, with some three or four thousand men, is inside the -Kasteel, and no orders or communication can be got from him now before -morning. And just like the flies when driven out of the honey, fly, -scared, to the edges of the pot, so the Walloon soldiers, those who have -escaped from the guild-houses, go and seek refuge in the shadow of the -guard-houses at the gates. But the tactics of the Orangists have worked -upon their nerves. At first there had appeared but a rabble upon the -Vridachmart, but since then the numbers are swelling visibly; insurgents -seem to be issuing out of every doorway, from under every arch in the -city ... they rush out with muskets and crossbows, with pikes and -halberds; and to the Walloons--already unnerved and fatigued--their -numbers appear to be endless and their arms of a wonderful precision. -Their muskets are of the newest pattern such as are made in Germany, and -these they use with marvellous skill, discharging as many as ten shots -in one quarter of an hour, and none but the picked French musketeers -have ever been known to do that. - -And they are led by a man who seems to know neither fatigue nor fear. -Here, there and everywhere he appears to the Walloon and Spanish -soldiers like a mysterious being from another world. He wears no -armour, but just a suit of leather which envelopes him from head to -foot, and his face is hidden by a leather mask. His voice rings from -end to end of the market place one moment; the next he appears inside -the enclosure of the cemetery. Now he is at St. Pharaïlde and anon back -at St. Jakab. Three of Alva's couriers hastily despatched to the -commandants at the various gate-houses fall to his pistol, which is the -only weapon he carries, and it is he who leads the last attack on the -Ketel Brüghe which results in the flight of Alva and all his cavalry to -the safe precincts of the Kasteel. - -Before the evening Angelus has ceased to ring, the whole of the centre -of the city is swept clear of Alva's troops, and the insurgents have -completely surrounded the Kasteel. Darkness finds the Orangists -bivouacking in the open markets and along the banks of the Schelde and -the Leye with their artillery still thundering against Alva's stronghold -and the gate-houses of the city, like bursts of thunder-clouds in a -storm. The mantle of night has fallen over a vast hecatomb of dead and -dying, of Walloons and Flemings and Spaniards, of brothers who have died -side by side, with muskets raised in fratricide one against the other, -and of women and children who have died of terror and of grief. - - - - IV - - -And memory conjures up the vision of the tyrant, the author of all this -desolation, riding slowly through the portal of the gate-house into the -yard of Het Spanjaard's Kasteel a quarter of an hour or so ere the -darkness of the night will finally cover all the abomination and the -crimes, the murder, the misery and the bloodshed which the insatiable -tyranny of this one man has called down upon a peaceable and -liberty-loving people. - -He rides with head erect, although fatigue and care are writ plainly on -his ashen cheeks and the wearied stoop of his shoulders. His horse has -received a wound in the flank from which the blood oozes and stains its -rider's boots. Here in the castle-yard, some semblance of order has -been brought about through the activity of the captains. The horses have -been stabled in the vaulted cellars, the men have found quarters in -different parts of the Kasteel; the musketeers and arquebusiers are up -on the walls, the artillery well-screened behind the parapets. - -The night has called a halt to men, even in the midst of barren -victories and of unlooked-for defeat, and their sorrow and their hurts, -their last sigh of agony or cry of triumph have all been equally -silenced in her embrace; but over the city the sky is lurid and glowing -crimson through a veil of smoke; the artillery and musketry have ceased -their thundering; but still from out the gloom there come weird and -hideous noises of hoarse shouts and cries of "Mercy" and of "Help," and -from time to time the sudden crash of crumbling masonry or of charred -beams falling in. - -But Alva pays no heed to what goes on around him. He swings himself -wearily out of the saddle and gives a few brief orders to the captains -who press close beside his stirrup, anxious for a word or a look of -encouragement or of praise. Then he curtly asks for water. - -Don Sancho de Avila, captain of the castle guard, hands him the leather -bottle and he drinks greedily. - -"We are in a tight corner, Monseigneur," whispers de Avila under his -breath. - -"Hold thy tongue, fool!" is Alva's rough retort. - -Whereupon the captain stands aside more convinced than before that -disaster is in the air. - -The Duke had been the last to turn his back on the Ketel Brüghe and to -retire into the stronghold of the Kasteel. The banks of the Schelde by -now are lined with the ranks of the insurgents, and it was a musket shot -fired from the Vleeshhuis that wounded his horse--close to the -saddle-bow. His quivering lips, and the ashen hue of his face testify -to his consciousness of danger. - -But his brow clears perceptibly when he sees Juan de Vargas coming out -to meet him. - -"Where is thy daughter?" he asks as soon as the other is within earshot. - -"In chapel, I imagine," replies de Vargas. - -"No woman should be abroad this night," says Alva dryly. "Send for her -and order her to remain within her apartments." - -"She has been tending the wounded, and will wish to do so again." - -"Well! let her keep to the castle-yard then." - -"You are not anxious, Monseigneur?" - -"No. Not anxious," replies Alva with a fierce oath, "we can subdue -these rebels of course. But I would I had brought Spanish soldiers with -me, rather than these Walloon louts. They let themselves be massacred -like sheep or else run like poltroons. Vitelli declares he has lost -over a thousand men and at least a thousand more are prisoners in the -various guild-houses--probably more. We ought never to have lost ground -as we did," he adds sullenly, "but who would have thought that these -louts meant to fight?" - -"Who, indeed?" retorts de Vargas with a sneer, "and yet here we are -besieged in our own citadel, and by a handful of undisciplined -peasants." - -"Nay! their triumph will be short-lived," exclaims Alva savagely. "We -have over two thousand men inside the Kasteel and surely they cannot be -more than three thousand all told unless..." He broke off abruptly, -then continued more calmly: "Darkness closed in on us ere reprisals -could commence ... if I had more Spaniards with me, I would try a sortie -in the night and catch these oafs in their sleep ... but these Walloons -are such damnable fools and such abominable cowards.... But we'll fight -our way through in the morning, never fear!" - -"In the meanwhile cannot we send to Dendermonde for reinforcements? The -garrison there is all Spanish and..." - -"How can we send?" Alva breaks in savagely. "The way is barred by the -artillery of those bandits--save upon the north and north-east, where -that awful morass nearly half a league in length and width is quite -impassable in autumn. No! we cannot get reinforcements unless we fight -our way through first--unless one of the commandants at the gates has -realised the gravity of the situation. Lodrono at the Waalpoort has -intelligence," he continues more calmly, "and Serbelloni hath -initiative--and by the Mass! if one of them doth not get us quickly out -of this sorry place, I will have them all hanged at dawn upon their -gates!" - -The Duke of Alva's fierce wrath is but a result of his anxiety. He -holds the Netherlanders in bitter contempt 'tis true! He knows that -to-morrow perhaps he can send to Dendermonde for reinforcements and can -then crush that handful of rebels as he would a fly beneath his iron -heel. He would have his revenge--he knew that--but he also knew that -that revenge would cost him dear. He has fought those Flemish louts, as -he calls them, too often and too long not to know that when the day -breaks once more he will have to encounter stubborn resistance, dogged -determination and incalculable losses ere he can subdue and punish these -men who have nothing now to lose but their lives--and those lives his -own tyranny has anyhow made forfeit. - - - - V - - -De Vargas makes no further comment on his chief's last tirade: -remembering his daughter, he goes to transmit to her the order -formulated by the Duke. Lenora is in the chapel, and, obedient to her -father's commands, she rises from her knees and returns, silent and -heavy-footed, to her apartments. - -The hours drag on like unto centuries; she has even lost count of time; -it is forty-eight hours now since she held Mark's wounded arm in her -hand and discovered the awful, the hideous truth. Since then she has -not really lived, she has just glided through the utter desolation of -life, hoping and praying that it might finish soon and put an end to her -misery. - -She had acted, as she believed, in accordance with God's will! but she -felt that her heart within her was broken, that nothing ever again would -bring solace to her soul. That long, miserable day yesterday in -Dendermonde whilst she was waiting for a reply from her father had been -like an eternity of torment, and she had then thought that nothing on -earth or in hell could be more terrible to bear. And then to-day she -realised that there was yet more misery to endure, and more and more -each day until the end of time, for of a truth there would be no rest or -surcease from sorrow for her, even in her grave. - -The one little crumb of comfort in her misery has been the companionship -of Grete; the child was silent and self-contained, and had obviously -suffered much in her young life, and therefore understood the sorrows of -others--knew how to sympathise, when to offer words of comfort, and when -to be silent. - -Though Inez was a pattern of devotion, her chattering soon grated on -Lenora's nerves; and anon when don Juan de Vargas agreed to allow his -daughter to come with him to Ghent, Lenora arranged that Grete be made -to accompany her and that Inez be sent straight on to Brussels. The -girl--with the blind submission peculiar to the ignorant and the -down-trodden--had consented; she had already learned to love the -beautiful and noble lady, whose pale face bore such terrible lines of -sorrow, and her sister Katrine and her aunt both believed that the child -would be quite safe under the immediate protection of don Juan de -Vargas. Inez was sent off to Brussels, and Lenora and Grete are now the -only two women inside the Kasteel. - -Together they flit like sweet, pale ghosts amongst the litters of straw -whereon men lie groaning, wounded, often cursing--they bandage the -wounds, bring water to parched lips, pass tender, soothing hands across -feverish foreheads. Then, at times, Lenora takes Grete's rough little -hand in hers, and together the women wander out upon the ramparts. The -sentries and the guard know them and they are not challenged, and they -go slowly along the edge of the walls, close to the parapets and look -down upon the waters of the moat. Here the dead lie in their hundreds, -cradled upon the turgid waters, washed hither through the narrow canals -by the more turbulent Schelde--their pale, still faces turned upwards to -the grey evening light. And Lenora wonders if anon she will perceive a -pair of grey eyes--that were wont to be so merry--turning sightless orbs -to the dull, bleak sky. She scans each pale face, with eyes seared and -tearless, and not finding him whom she seeks, she goes back with Grete -to her work of mercy among the wounded only to return again and seek -again with her heart torn between the desire to know whether the one man -whom she hates with a bitter passion that fills her entire soul hath -indeed paid the blood-toll for the dastardly murder of Ramon, or whether -God will punish her for that irresistible longing which possesses her to -hold that same cowardly enemy--wounded or dying--assassin though he -be--for one unforgettable moment in her arms. - - - - VI - - -But it is not desolation that reigns in the refectory of the convent of -St. Agneten, for here the leaders of the rebellion have assembled, as -soon as the guns have ceased to roar. The numbers of their followers -since last night have increased by hundreds, and still the recruits come -pouring in. Those men who but four days ago had received the Prince of -Orange's overtures with vague promises and obvious indifference, rushed -to arms after the first musket shot had been fired. Ever since the -attack in the Vridachmart men have loudly clamoured for halberts or -pikes or muskets, and the captains at the various secret depots, as well -as the guild of armourers, had much ado to satisfy all those who longed -to shed their blood with glory rather than be massacred like insentient -cattle. They are men who have fought at Gravelines and St. Quentin, and -have not forgotten how to shoulder musket or crossbow or how to handle a -culverin. Since then, fifteen years of oppression, of brow-beating, of -terrorising, fifteen years under the yoke of the Inquisition and of -Spanish tyranny have worn down the edge of their enthusiasm. - -When Orange begged for money and men that he might continue the fight -for liberty, the goodly burghers of Ghent forgot their glorious -traditions and preferred to bend their neck to the yoke rather than risk -the fate of Mons and of Mechlin. But now that danger is within their -doors, now that they and their wives and daughters are at the mercy of -the same brutal soldiery whom Alva and de Vargas take pleasure in -driving to bestial excesses and inhuman cruelties, now that they realise -that the fate of Mechlin is already inevitably theirs--their dormant -courage rises once more to its most sublime altitude. Die they -must--that they know!--how can they, within the enclosure of their own -city walls, stand up against the armies of Spain, which can at any -moment be brought up in their thousands to reinforce the tyrant's -troops? But at least they will die with muskets or pikes in their -hands, and their wives and daughters will be spared the supreme outrage -which they count worse than death. - -Thus close on five thousand volunteers file past their leaders this -night in the refectory of St. Agneten and tender their oath of -allegiance to fight to the last man for Orange and liberty. On the -faces of those leaders--of Messire van Beveren, of Lievin van Deynse, of -Laurence van Rycke and Jan van Migrode, there is plainly writ the -determination to keep up the fight to the end, and the knowledge that -the end can only be death for them all. - -But in Mark van Rycke's deep-set eyes there is something more than mere -determination. There is a latent belief that God will intervene--there -is a curious exultation in their merry depths--a kind of triumphant -hope: and those who stand before him and swear that they will fight for -Orange and liberty with the last drop of their blood look him straight -in the face for a moment and then turn away feeling less grim and more -courageous with a courage not altogether born of despair. - -The angel of liberty has unsheathed his sword and infused his holy -breath into these men--easy-going burghers for the most part, untrained -soldiers or even undisciplined rabble--who have dared to defy the might -of Alva. - - - - VII - - -And when the first streak of dawn folds the night in its embrace and -lifts from off the stricken city the veil of oblivion and of sleep, we -see some five thousand Orangists prepared to stand up before Alva's -forces which still number close on eight. The streets are littered with -dead, with pikes and lances hastily cast aside, with muskets and plumed -bonnets, with broken rubbish and wheelless wagons, and scraps of cloth -or shoes or leather belts. - -And in the cemetery of St. Jakab the flag of liberty still flaunts its -blazing orange in the pale morning light and around it men still rally, -defiant and unconquered. The Guild House of the Tanners close by is in -flames, and the tower of St. Jakab a crumbling ruin; the hostel of St. -Juan ten Dullen is a charred mass of debris, and the houses that front -on the Vridachmart a fast crumbling heap of masonry and glass. - -The situation of the insurgents is more desperate than even Alva knows. -Of their three captains, Pierre van Overbeque is dead, Jan van Migrode -severely wounded, and Laurence van Rycke exhausted. Of their company of -halberdiers, all the provosts except two have fallen. The investing -lines around the Kasteel have five officers killed and twenty of their -artillerymen have fallen. Six hundred of their wounded encumber the -Vridachmart. The narrow streets which debouch upon the gates are -deserted save by the dead. - -But as soon as the rising day hath touched the ruined tower of St. Jakab -with its pale silvery light, Mark van Rycke, their commander, intrepid -and undaunted, wakes the sleeping echoes with his cry: "Burghers of -Ghent! to arms! we are not vanquished yet!" - -A volley of arrows from the crossbowmen upon the Waalpoort answers the -defiant cry: one arrow pierces a loose corner of Mark's doublet. - -"Van Rycke!" cries the provost who stands nearest to him, "spare thyself -in the name of God! What shall we do if you fall?" - -And Mark, unmoved, the fire of enthusiasm unquenched in his eyes, cries -loudly in response: - -"Do? What alone can burghers of Ghent do in face of what lies before -them if they give in? Do? Why, die like heroes--to the last man." - -His doublet hangs from him in rags, his hose is torn, his head bare, his -face black with powder. He grasps musket or crossbow, halberd, lance or -pike, whichever is readiest to his hand, whichever company hath need of -a leader; a beam from the burning building has fallen within a yard of -him and singed his hair: "Heroes of Ghent!" he cries, "which of you will -think of giving in?" - -The morning Angelus begins to ring. For a few minutes while the pure -clear tones of the church bells reverberate above the din of waking men -and clash of arms, Spaniards and Walloons and Flemings pause in their -hate and their fight in order to pray. - -Up in the council chamber of the Kasteel, Alva and de Vargas and del Rio -on their knees mock the very God whom they invoke, and when the last -"Amen!" has left their lips, Alva struggles to his feet and murmurs -fiercely: - -"And now for revenge!" - -Through the wide open windows, he gazes upon the spires and roofs of the -beautiful city which he hath sworn to destroy. Already many of these -are crumbling ruins, and from far away near the church of St. Jakab a -column of black smoke rises upwards to the sky. The windows give upon -an iron balcony which runs along the entire width of the Meeste-Toren: -from this balcony an open staircase leads down into the castle-yard. -The yard and vaulted cellars opposite are filled with horses, and the -corridors of the palace swarm with men. And as the Duke, anon, steps -out upon the balcony he sees before him the five breaches in the -castle-walls which testify to the power of the insurgents' culverins. -He hears the groans of the wounded who lie all round the walls upon the -litters of straw, he sees the faces of innumerable dead, floating -wide-eyed upon the waters of the moat, and the carcasses of horses in -the yard which add to the horror of the scene by their pathetic -hideousness. - -And seeing all this, he hath not a thought of pity for all the innocent -whom he vows to punish along with the guilty. - -"Now for revenge!" he reiterates fiercely and shakes a clenched fist -toward the tower of St. Jakab, "and if only I had my Spaniards with me, -we would have burned the town down before now." - - - - VIII - - -The day drags on in the weary monotony of incessant firing, incessant -fighting--constant attacks to be repulsed, numbers of wounded to be -added to those who already encumber the yard--numbers of dead to be -added to those who encumber the waters of the moat. - -The finest general the victorious Spanish armies have ever known is -besieged in his stronghold by a few hundred undisciplined, untaught, -unseasoned rebel troops. What is happening beyond the wide tract of -open ground which lies all round the Kasteel the Duke cannot get to -know. The Orangist lines are all round him screened by the buildings -which face the further bank of the Schelde; and though his culverins -have turned the magnificent Vleeshhuis into a smoking ruin, those of the -Orangists have made serious havoc in the castle walls. - -The last onslaught delivered a couple of hours after noonday resulted in -the crumbling together of three of the widest breaches already existing, -making one huge yawning cavity, which has to be strongly and -persistently defended--a defence which exacts an enormous toll of -wounded and dead every time the Orangist artillery and musketry return -to the attack. - -"We cannot hold out till nightfall!" Captain de Avila cries -despairingly. "We have lost two hundred men in less than two hundred -minutes. If we get no help we are undone!" - -"Help!" cries Alva fiercely, "where are we to get help from if those -oafs at the city gates do not find us some?" - -On the north-east side of the Kasteel lies the open way to -Dendermonde--where Captain Gonzalo de Bracamonte is quartered with a -garrison of five thousand men, and between that open way of salvation, -and those who hold the Kasteel, there lies a league of spongy morass. -The way through it is free from the Orangist musketry. Nature alone -bars it, and does so effectually. - -Three times to-day has Alva tried to send runners through that way. -Stripped to the skin they are lowered by ropes from the parapet, and at -first find firm foothold at the base of the walls. From up above Alva -and his captains watch the naked men who walk on boldly, proud of their -achievement; their skins shine like metal beneath the grey, autumnal sky -on which the smouldering ruins of a devastated city have painted a -crimson tint. Alva watches them until they appear as mere black dots -upon the low horizon--tiny black specks that move for a while, slowly -along, with arms swinging as the mud gets deeper and walking heavier. -Then suddenly the speck ceases to move ... the arms are thrown up with -frantic wheelings and beatings of the air ... sometimes the speck will -turn and move back slowly toward the castle, but more often than not it -grows shorter and shorter still, till even the tall arms -disappear--engulfed in the morass. - -Three times have men been sent out on this errand of death ... three or -four at a time ... twice has one man come back from those hideous, -yawning jaws of a loathsome death--livid, covered with green slime, -trembling in every limb as if stricken with ague. After that, men -refuse to go ... Alva commands and threatens ... another batch go off -... another spectre returns from the shores of another world.... Then -the men are obstinate ... to insist, to command, to threaten further -would provoke mutiny, and the stronghold once more lapses into utter -isolation. - -The din of musketry from end to end of the city drowns every other -sound, smoke from smouldering ruins obscures the view beyond the -Schelde. What has happened in the centre of the city during all these -hours, whilst the high and mighty Lieutenant-Governor and -Captain-General of the Force of Occupation is a virtual prisoner in the -hands of the rebels, he himself cannot possibly tell. - -"The rebels have lost more heavily than we have," says de Avila, whilst -he snatches a brief rest during the afternoon, "and they must be getting -short of powder." - -"So are we," says Alva grimly. - -"Surely Captain Lodrono has come in touch with Captain Serbelloni by -now. It is inconceivable that the garrisons at the gate-houses can do -nothing." - -"Those Netherlanders are fighting like devils," says de Vargas with his -evil sneer, "they have nothing to lose ... they know that they are -doomed, every man, woman and child of them ... aye! if I had my way, -every man who speaks the Flemish tongue." - -"Aye!" retorts Alva with a curse, "but in the meanwhile, if Serbelloni -or Lodrono have not sent a runner to Dendermonde, those Flemish louts -will carry this castle by storm, and when I am a prisoner in their -hands, they'll either slaughter us all or dictate their own terms." - -"Ah!" says Avila quietly, "they have not got the Kasteel yet." - -"How long can we hold out?" queries de Vargas, who at Alva's grimly -prophetic words, had become livid with fear. - -"Unless those rebels have lost more heavily than we hope, we cannot hold -out more than another few hours. We still have three thousand men and a -goodly stock of powder.... The breach we can defend with stones of -which there is a large store; we killed or wounded over a hundred of -those louts at their last assault ... we can go on like this until -nightfall. But if at dawn they attack us again in full force--and we -lose many more men to-day ... why..." - -"Hold thy tongue," cried Alva fiercely, for at the senior captain's -words, many of the younger ones have exchanged quick, significant -glances. "Shall I have to hang some of my captains so as to discourage -the men from playing the coward too?" - - - - IX - - -The evening Angelus has just ceased to ring, and a man is ushered into -the presence of the Captain-General; he is naked, and his body is -covered with sticky mud and dripping with slime; his face is hardly -recognisable through a thick mask of sweat and grime. - -"I come from Braepoort, Magnificence," he says in a low, quaking voice, -for obviously he is all but exhausted. "I ran round the town, and struck -into the morass ... I am a man of Ghent ... I know a track ... that's -why Captain Serbelloni sent me." - -"With what news?" queries Alva impatiently. - -"None too good, Magnificence," replies the man. "The commandants at the -gates are sorely pressed ... I hailed the guard at the Brügge and -Waalpoorts as I passed ... they are isolated ... every one of them ... -and each separately attacked by bands of rebels who fight -desperately.... The Braepoort cannot hold out much longer ... Captain -Serbelloni asks for help even before nightfall." - -"Help?" vociferates Alva savagely, "how can I send them help? We are -besieged in this accursed place; we cannot fight our way through the -rabble, unless some of those oafs at the city gates come to our -assistance. Help? 'Tis I want help here." - -"The gates are being bravely defended, Magnificence. But the rebels -still hold the centre of the city. They have seized 'Sgravensteen. Two -thousand Walloons have surrendered to them..." - -"Two thousand!" exclaims Alva with a fierce oath, "the miserable -poltroons." - -"At least three thousand rebels threaten the Kasteel." - -"I know that well enough," retorts Alva roughly. "They have made five -breaches in our wall! ... the bandits! Help! 'tis I want help!" he -reiterates with a loud curse. - -"Captain Serbelloni bade me tell your Highness that he hath sent to -Dendermonde for immediate reinforcements. He hoped your Highness would -forgive him if he hath done wrong." - -Alva's eyes flash a look of satisfaction, but he makes no immediate -comment. Not even his colleagues--not even de Vargas his -intimate--should see how immense is his relief. - -"Did he send a mounted man," he asks after a while, "or two? Two would -be better in case a man gets hurt on the way." - -"The Captain sent three men, Magnificence. But they had to go on foot. -We have no horses at the gates. The insurgents rounded them all in long -before nightfall. But the men hope to pick up one or more on their -way." - -Alva, as is his wont, smothers a savage curse. The small body of -Spanish cavalry which he had with him in the town had been the first to -run helter-skelter over the Ketel Brüghe into the Kasteel, whilst a -whole squadron perished in the Schelde. One of those horses down there -in the yard would mean reinforcements within a few hours. - -"When did the messenger start for Dendermonde?" he asks again. - -"When the Angelus began to ring at noon, Magnificence." - -"Why not before?" - -"The captain was undecided. He thought that every moment would bring -help or orders from your Highness. He also tried to send messengers to -Captain Lodrono at the Waalpoort, but the messengers must all have been -intercepted and killed, for no help came from anywhere." - -"Dost know if the message which thy captain sent to Dendermonde was -couched in urgent terms?" - -"I believe so, Magnificence. The señor captain was growing very -anxious." - -Once more the Duke is silent; his brows contract in an anxious frown. -His active brain is busy in making a mental calculation as to how soon -those reinforcements can arrive. "The men will have to walk to -Dendermonde," he muses, "and cannot get there before nightfall.... the -commandant may start at night ... but he may tarry till the morrow.... -It will be the end of the day before he and his men are here ... and in -the meanwhile..." - -"At the Braepoort?" he queries curtly, "how many of the guard have been -killed?" - -"We had a hundred and twenty killed when I left, Magnificence, and over -three hundred lay wounded on the bridge. We have suffered heavily," -adds the man after a slight moment of hesitation--the hesitation of the -bearer of evil tidings who dreads his listener's wrath. - -Alva remains silent for a moment or two, then he says abruptly: "Dost -know that I have half a mind to kill thee, for all the evil news which -thou hast brought?" - -Then he laughs loudly and long because the man, with a quick cry of -terror has made a sudden dash for the open window, and is brought back -by the lance of the provost on guard upon the balcony. The pleasure of -striking terror into the hearts of people has not yet palled upon his -Magnificence. - -"If I had a whole mind to kill thee," he continues, "thou wouldst have -no chance of escape. So cease thy trembling and ask the provost there -to give thee water to cleanse thyself, food to put inside thy belly and -clothing wherewith to hide thy nakedness. Then come back before me. -I'll give thee a chance to save thy life by doing a service to thy -King." - -He makes a sign to one of the provosts, who seizes the man roughly by -the shoulders and incontinently bundles him out of the room. - -In the council chamber no one dares to speak. His Highness has become -moody, and has sunk upon his high-backed chair where he remains inert -and silent, wrapped in gloomy meditations, and when he is in one of -those sullen moods no one dares to break in on his thoughts--no one -except señor de Vargas, and he too is as preoccupied as his chief. - - - - X - - -"De Vargas!" says Alva abruptly after a while, "dost mind that to-morrow -is not only Sunday, but the feast of the Blessed Redeemer and a holy day -of obligation?" - -"Aye, Monseigneur," replied de Vargas unctuously, "I am minded that if -we do not go to Mass to-morrow, those of us who die unabsolved of the -sin will go to hell." - -"The men are grumbling already," breaks in don Sancho de Avila, captain -of the bodyguard. "They say they will not fight to-morrow if they -cannot go to Mass." - -"Those Walloons..." - -"Not only the Walloons, Monseigneur," rejoins de Avila, "the Spaniards -are better Catholics than all these Netherlanders. They fear to die -with a mortal sin upon their soul." - -Nothing more is said just then; the grey day is already yielding to -dusk; the fire of artillery and musketry is less incessant, the clash of -pike and halberd can be heard more distinctly, and also the cries of the -women and the groans of the wounded and the dying. - -A few moments later a tall, lean man in the borrowed dress of a Spanish -halberdier is ushered into the presence of the council. Water, food and -clothes have effected a transformation which Alva surveys critically, -and not without approval. The man--lean of visage and clean of -limb--looks intelligent and capable; the Duke orders him to advance. - -"'Tis good for thee," he says dryly, "that thy death is more -unprofitable to me than thy life. I want a messenger ... art afraid to -go to the miserable wretch who dares to lead a rebel horde against our -Sovereign King?" - -"I am afraid of nothing, Magnificence," replies the man quietly, "save -your Highness's wrath." - -"Dost know where to find the rebel?" - -"Where musket-balls fly thickest, your Highness." - -"Then tell him," says Alva curtly, "that as soon as the night has fallen -and the fire of culverins and muskets has ceased, I will have the -drawbridge at the south-east of this castle lowered, and I will come -forward to meet him, accompanied by my captains and the members of my -council. Tell him to walk forward and meet me until we are within -earshot of one another: and to order his torch-bearers to throw the -light of their torches upon his face: then will I put forward a proposal -which hath regard to the eternal salvation of every man, woman and child -inside this city. Tell him to guard his person as he thinks fit, but -tell him also that from the ramparts of this Kasteel three hundred -muskets will be aimed at his head, and at the slightest suspicion of -treachery the order will be given to fire. Dost understand?" - -"Every word, your Highness," says the man simply. - -"Then go in peace," concludes Alva, and the man is dismissed. - - - - XI - - -An hour later the drawbridge at the south-east gate of the Kasteel was -lowered. Twilight had now faded into night; the dull, grey day had -yielded to black, impenetrable night. Here and there far away in the -heart of the city lurid lights shot through the darkness, and every now -and then a column of vivid flame would strike up to the dense black sky, -and for a while illumine the ruined towers, the shattered roofs and -broken chimneys around ere it fell again, sizzling in the damp -atmosphere. - -The Duke of Alva rode out in the gloom; he was seated upon his black -charger, and was preceded by his torch-bearers and by his bodyguard of -archers. Behind him walked his captains and the members of his council. -The procession slowly wended its way under the portal of the gate-house -and then over the bridge. At the farthest end of the bridge the Duke -reined in his horse, and his bodyguard, his captains and the members of -his council all stood behind him so that he immediately faced the tract -of open ground beyond which were the Orangist lines. - -The flickering light of resin torches illumined the commanding figure of -the Duke, dressed in sombre clothes and silk-lined mantle, and wearing -breast and back plates of armour, with huge tassets over his wide -breeches and open steel morion on his head. To right and left far away, -toward the open country, the bivouac fires of the insurgents gleamed -weirdly in the night. - -All noise of fighting had ceased, and a strange silence had fallen over -the city--a silence which hid many secrets of horror and of despair. - -Suddenly something began to move, something that at first appeared -darker than the darkness of the night; a few moments later it appeared -as a speck of ruddy light which moved quickly--now toward the castle -bridge; anon it was distinguishable as a group of men--a dozen or -so--with a couple of torchbearers on in front, the light from whose -torches fell full upon a tall figure which stood out boldly amongst the -others. Now the group came to a halt less than fifty paces away, and -those upon the bridge could see that tall figure quite clearly; a man in -ragged doublet and hose, with grimy hands and face blackened with -powder; he held his head very erect and wore neither helmet nor armour. - -At sight of him, de Vargas gave a cry of rage and surprise. - -"Mark van Rycke!" he exclaimed. "What hath he to do with it all?" - -"Thy daughter's husband," said Alva coolly. "Nay, then we'll soon make -her a widow." - -But to the Orangists he called peremptorily: "'Tis with the rebel whom -ye call Leatherface that I wish to speak." - -"I have been known as Leatherface hitherto," retorts Mark van Rycke -coolly. "Speak without fear. I listen." - -Vargas' cry of rage was echoed by more than one Spanish captain present. -They remembered Mark van Rycke, the ne'er-do-well with whom they had oft -drunk and jested in the taverns of Ghent and Brussels, aye! and before -whom they had oft talked openly of their plans. - -"Spy as well as rebel!" they cried out to him wrathfully. - -"Pity he cannot hang more than once," added de Vargas with bitter spite. - -But to Alva the personality of the rebel was of no consequence. What -cared he if the man was called van Rycke and was the husband of his -friend's daughter? There stood an abominable rebel who had gained by -treachery and stealth a momentary advantage over the forces of his -suzerain Lord the King, and who would presently suffer along with the -whole of this insurgent city the utmost rigour of Alva's laws! In the -meanwhile he deigned to parley with the lout, for he was sore pressed -inside the Kasteel, and the messengers who were speeding to Dendermonde -for reinforcements could not possibly bring help for at least another -four-and-twenty hours. - -Therefore, now he--the Lieutenant-Governor of the Netherlands and -Captain-General of His Majesty's forces--demanded attention in the name -of the King. - -"Do ye come as traitors?" he asked in a loud voice, "or as loyal men? -If as traitors ye shall die ere ye advance another step. But if ye are -loyal men, then listen, for I will speak with you in amity and peace." - -"Thou knowest best, Magnificence," came Mark's clear voice out of the -group, "if we are loyal men or no. Thou didst send an emissary to us; -he goeth back to thee unhurt: thou standest before our bowmen even now -and not an arrow hath touched thine armour. We are loyal men and are -prepared to listen to what ye have to say." - -"Listen then," resumed the Duke curtly, "but let no false hopes lure ye -the while. Ye are rebels and are under the ban of the law. Nothing but -unconditional surrender can win mercy for your city." - -"Nothing but humility can save thee from the wrath of God," retorted -Mark boldly. "We are unconquered, Magnificence! and 'tis thou who -askest to parley--not we." - -"I do not ask," retorted Alva loudly, "I demand." - -"Then since 'tis the vanquished who demand, let us hear what they wish -to say." - -"To-morrow is Sunday, rebel, hadst forgotten that?" - -"No, tyrant, I had not. God hath forbidden us to work on that day, but -not to fight against oppression." - -"He hath also enjoined us to attend Mass on His day. Are ye heretics -that ye care naught for that?" - -"We care for the Lord's Day as much as Spaniards do." - -"Yet will ye prevent His people from praying in peace!" - -"We'll pray for those whom thy tyranny keeps locked up within thy castle -walls." - -"Not so," exclaims Alva, "my men are free to go: they will attend Mass -in the churches of this city. Will you butcher them whilst they are at -prayer?" - -There was no immediate reply to this taunt, but from the insurgents' -ranks there came a loud, warning call: - -"Do not heed him, van Rycke! Remember Egmont and Horne! Do not fall -into the tyrant's trap! There's treachery in every word he says." - -Alva waited in silence until the tumult had subsided. He knew what he -wanted and why he wanted it. A few hours' respite would mean salvation -for him ... a few hours! ... and the garrison of Dendermonde would be on -its way to Ghent. He wanted to stay the hand of time for those few -hours and had invented this treacherous means to gain that end. - -"'Tis no wonder," he said quietly as soon as the clamour on the Orangist -side was stilled, "that ye who are traitors should seek treachery -everywhere. What I propose is loyal and just and in accordance with -God's own decrees. If ye refuse, ye do so at the peril of thousands of -immortal souls." - -"We know not yet what it is ye ask," said van Rycke quietly. - -"We demand a truce until the evening Angelus to-morrow--the Lord's Day -which is also the feast of the Holy Redeemer. We demand the right to -attend Mass in peace ... and in exchange we'll agree not to molest you -whilst ye pray and whilst ye bury your dead." - -"A truce until the evening Angelus," broke in Mark hotly, "so that ye -may send for reinforcements to the nearest garrison town. We refuse!" - -"You refuse?" retorted Alva. "For two days and a night ye have raised -your arms against your lawful King. If you fight to-morrow you will add -sacrilege to your other crimes." - -"And thou, treachery to thine!" said van Rycke boldly. "Whence this -desire to keep holy the Sabbath day, tyrant? Wouldst thou have ceased to -destroy, to pillage or to outrage this day if we had not raised our arms -in our own defence?" - -"Well said, van Rycke!" cried the Orangists. - -"The immortal souls which your obstinacy would send to hell," said the -Duke of Alva, "will return and haunt you till they drag you back with -them." - -"Can you not pray in your Kasteel?" retorted Mark. - -"We have no priest to say Mass for us." - -"We will send you one." - -"We have no consecrated chapel." - -"The priest will say Mass in your castle-yard, beneath the consecrated -dome of heaven. The Walloon prisoners whom we have taken are receiving -the ministry of our priests in the guild-houses where they are held." - -"Nay! but such makeshift would not satisfy the children of Spain who are -also the chosen children of the Church. But," continued Alva with a -sudden assumption of indifference, "I have made my proposal. Take it or -not as ye list. But remember this: the dead who lie unburied in your -streets will have their revenge. Pestilence and disease will sweep your -city of your children, as soon as we have vanquished your men." - -"Treachery!" cried some of the Orangists, "do not heed him, van Rycke." - -But of a truth the cry was not repeated quite so insistently this time. -Alva's last argument was an unanswerable one. Pestilence these days was -a more formidable foe than the finest artillery wielded by a powerful -enemy: there were over two thousand dead lying unburied in the city at -this hour: as the tyrant said very truly, these would take a terrible -revenge. And there was something too in the sanctity of the Lord's Day -which touched the hearts of these men who were deeply religious and -devout and had a profound respect for the dictates of the Church. Most -of them were Catholics--the importance of attending Mass on the Lord's -Day on pain of committing a deadly sin weighed hard upon their -conscience. Alva was quick to note the advantage which he had already -gained, and when the first dissentient voice among the Orangists was -heard to say: "A truce can do no harm and 'twere sacrilege to fight on -the Lord's Day," he broke in quickly: - -"Nay! 'tis not fighting ye would do, but murder. Aye! murder on the Day -of the Holy Redeemer who died that ye should live.... My men are -Catholic to a man! not one of them but would far rather let himself be -butchered than commit a deadly sin. Rebels, who have outraged your -King, to-morrow morning the church bells will be calling the faithful to -the Holy Sacrifice: the truce which you refuse to hold with us we will -grant you of our own free will. We will not fight you on the day of the -feast of the Holy Redeemer. But to-morrow every Spaniard and every -Walloon in our armies will go unarmed and present himself at your church -doors. I--even I--with my captains and the members of the King's -Council will attend Mass at the church of St. Baafs and we will be -unarmed, for we shall have placed ourselves under the care of the Holy -Redeemer Himself. And now tell thy soldiers, rebel, tell them that -Spaniards and Walloons will be in the churches of Ghent in their -thousands and that they will be defenceless save for the armour of -prayer which will encompass them as they kneel before the altar of God!" - -"And in the meanwhile," retorted van Rycke, "ye will be sending to -Dendermonde and Alost and Antwerpen: and when after the evening Angelus -we take up arms once more against your tyranny, there will be five -thousand more Spaniards at our gates." - -"By the Holy Redeemer whom I herewith invoke," said Alva solemnly and -raised his hand above his head with a gesture of invocation, "I swear -that no messenger of mine shall leave the city before ye once more take -up arms against your King. I swear that no messenger of mine hath left -this city for the purpose of getting help from any garrison town, and -may my soul be eternally damned if I do not speak the truth." - -Those who were present at this memorable interview declare that when -Alva registered this false and blasphemous oath a curious crimson light -suddenly appeared in the East--so strong and lurid was it that the -perjurer himself put up his hand for a second or two as if blinded by -the light. Philip de Lannoy, seigneur de Beauvoir, assures us that the -light was absolutely dazzling and of the colour of blood, but that he -took it as a warning from God against the sacrilege of fighting on this -holy day, and that it caused him to add the weight of his influence with -Mark van Rycke to grant the truce which the Spaniards desired. - -Undoubtedly, the solemn oath spoken by the tyrant who was such a devout -and bigoted Catholic greatly worked upon the feelings of the Orangists: -never for a moment did the suspicion of the oath being a false one enter -their loyal heads: nor must they be blamed for their childish confidence -in a man who had lied to them and deceived them so continuously for the -past five years. They were so loyal themselves, such a trap as Alva was -setting for them now was so far from their ken, that it was impossible -for them to imagine such appalling treachery: as for the sanctity of an -oath, they would as soon have thought of doubting the evidence of their -own eyes. - -Mark van Rycke, it is true, held out to the last. He knew these -Spaniards better than those simple burghers did: not in vain had he -spent his best years in the uncongenial task of worming out their secret -plans--their treacherous devices--over tankards of ale and games of -hazard in Flemish taverns. He mistrusted them all, he mistrusted Alva -above all! he had no belief in that execrable monster's oath. - -"God is on our side!" he said quietly, "we'll bury our dead when we can, -and pray when God wills. He'll forgive the breaking of His Sabbath for -the justice of our cause. - -"They are weary of the fight," he added obstinately, "we are not." - -But already every one of his friends was urging him to grant the truce: - -"For the sake of our women and children," said van Deynse who voiced the -majority, "let there be no fighting to-morrow. The tyrant has pledged -his immortal soul that he will not play us false. No man would dare to -do that unless he meant to be true." - -"Rebel!" now shouted Alva impatiently, "I await thine answer." - -"Accept, van Rycke, accept," cried the Orangists unanimously now, "it is -God's will that we accept." - -"I await thine answer, rebel," reiterated Alva. - -"What answer can I give?" retorted van Rycke. "You say your men will go -to our churches unarmed. We are not butchers as ye would have been." - -"You will let them pray in peace?" - -"As thou desirest. You who were prepared to destroy our city and to -murder our women and our children will have nothing to fear from us -while ye are unarmed and at prayer." - -"Until the evening Angelus ceases to ring?" - -"Until then." - -"And until that hour we remain as we are. Our guard at the gates...." - -"Our prisoners in our hands." - -"And may God guard thee," concluded Alva unctuously. - -"May God have mercy on thy soul if thou hast lied to us," said Mark van -Rycke quietly. - -To this Alva made no reply, but his grim face looked in no way troubled. -Special absolution even for speaking a false oath could easily be -obtained, alas! these days by any Duke of Alva or other tyrant powerful -enough to demand it; and no doubt the Lieutenant-Governor, sent to -subdue the rebellious Low Countries, was well provided with every kind -of dispensation which embodied the principle that "the end justifies the -means!" - -He wheeled his horse round and, wholly callous and unconcerned, he rode -back slowly over the bridge. - -As soon as the last of the Spaniards had filed under the gate-house of -the Kasteel and the drawbridge was once more raised, Mark van Rycke -turned with unwonted peremptoriness to his friends who were crowding -round him, eagerly approving of what he had done. - -"Van Deynse," he said curtly, "to-morrow at dawn, see that your -musketeers are massed inside the ruins of the Tanners' Guild House, and -you, Laurence, place three hundred of your picked archers under the -cover of the Vish Mart. Lannoy, your pikemen beneath the arcades of the -Abbey opposite St. Baafs, and you, Groobendock, yours in the doorways of -the houses opposite St. Pharaïlde, and every one of you under arms. Let -the Spaniards pray in peace if they have not lied. But at the first -sign of treachery, remember your wives and your daughters and do not -spare the murderers of your children or the desecrators of your homes." - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - TRUTH AND PERFIDY - - - I - - -The cathedral bells of St. Baafs were the first to ring on that -unforgettable 23rd day of October which was the feast of the Holy -Redeemer: the appealing, sweet, melancholy sound came clearly through -the humid air. Lenora, who was in her room with Grete, stood quite -still for a moment and listened. The bells of St. Pharaïlde took up the -call, then those of St. Jakab and St. Agneten until the clang of bells -echoed from end to end of the city and drowned every other sound--of -strife or of misery. The roar of the artillery now was mute, the clash -of pikes and lances was no longer heard--only that curious medley of -weird and terrible sounds still lingered in the air--a medley made up of -sighs and groans, of men falling down exhausted with pain, of masonry -still crumbling and woodwork still sizzling--a medley to which now was -added the roll of drums which on either side called to the men to lay -aside their strife and to go and pray in peace. - -On the walls of the castle-yard the Duke's proclamation of the Lord's -Day truce was posted up and he himself was giving a few brief orders to -his captains: - -"Let the men understand," he said, "that they are free to go to Mass in -the various churches of the city, and that they can do so without the -slightest fear. But they must all be back inside the Kasteel precincts -by two hours after noon. Let the couriers go to the gate-houses at the -six Poorts and issue the same orders there, and have the proclamation -posted up. Make it known here as well as at the Poorts that if any man -fails to respect the truce, if there is any brawling in the streets or -in the taverns, I shall proceed with merciless severity against the -culprits." - -Then he turned to the captain of the castle-guard, don Sancho de Avila: -"Yours will be the duty to see that runners are sent out in secret on -the Dendermonde road with orders that any troops which may be on the -way, make all possible speed. You had best remain in command here while -I go to Mass: keep your picked guard and the musketeers under arms, for, -the moment that the Dendermonde banderas are in sight, we must be ready -to co-operate with them by a sortie _en masse_." - -"I quite understand, Magnificence," replied the captain. - -A few moments later the bridge was lowered and some three thousand men -filed out across it in orderly lines as for parade--but unarmed. The -Spanish halberdiers formed the van and the rear-guard, the Walloon -pikemen and archers were massed in the centre, and in the midst of them -walked the Duke of Alva with his immediate cortège: de Vargas who had -his daughter on his arm and Grete close beside her, don Alberic del Rio, -Councillor Hessels and two or three other members of the Council. -Behind them came the standard-bearers with standards unfurled and the -drummers. - -In silence they reached the lines of the Orangists, which they had to -cross in a double file, each man holding up his hands to show that he -was unarmed. The Orangist leaders stood by in a group, and when the -Duke and the members of the Council had to file through the lines in -their turn, they stepped forward in order to greet them in amity. - -"God guard ye!" they said as the Duke walked by. - -"We'll aid Him in that," retorted the Spaniards cynically. - -Mark van Rycke was in the forefront of the group at the moment that -Lenora went by leaning on her father's arm. She looked up just then and -saw him. He held his head erect as he always did, but she could not -fail to see how completely he had changed in those few hours since last -she saw him at Dendermonde. The hours seemed to have gone over him like -years: gone was that quaint, gentle, appealing way to which she had so -nearly yielded. His attitude now was one of lofty defiance, sublime in -its unshakable determination and in its pride. Well! perhaps it was -better so! Was he not the embodiment of everything that Lenora had been -taught to hate and despise since her tenderest childhood--the despised -race that dared to assert itself, the beneficiary who turned on the hand -that loaded him with gifts and, above all, the assassin who cowered in -the dark, the slave who struck his master whom he dared not defy? Yes! -Mark van Rycke, her husband, the murderer of Ramon, stood for all that, -and Lenora despised herself for every tender feeling which had gripped -her soul in the past two days whenever she thought of him as wounded, -helpless, or mayhap dead. - -And yet now when his eyes met hers, they suddenly took on a wonderful -softness, that quaint look--half-whimsical, half appealing--came back to -them and with it too a look of infinite pity and of unswerving love; and -as she caught the glance--she who felt so lonely and so desolate--there -came to her mind the remembrance of the sweet and pathetic story of the -primeval woman who was driven forth by God's angel from the gates of -Paradise. Somehow she felt that once--not so very long ago--she too had -wandered for a brief while within the peaceful glades of a Paradise of -her own, and that now an angel with a flaming sword stood at its gates -and would not allow her to return, but forced her to wander out through -life in utter loneliness and with the unbearable load of agonising -remorse. - - - - II - - -Of all the episodes which the historical records of the time present to -the imagination, not one perhaps is quite so moving and so inspiring as -that of the solemn Mass which was offered up in every church of the -stricken city on this Sunday morning--the feast of the Holy -Redeemer--when the Duke of Alva and the members of his odious Blood -Council knelt side by side with the heroic men who were making their -last desperate stand for justice, for liberty and the sanctity of their -homes. - -The Lieutenant-Governor and the Spanish high dignitaries, both civil and -military, are present in the Cathedral of St. Baafs, as are also the -Orangist leaders. The Spaniards occupy one side of the aisle, the -Flemings, with the women and children, are on the other, and crowd every -corner of the stately edifice. Up at the high altar, Father van der -Schlicht is officiating with others of the cathedral clergy, and the -pure voices of the choir boys resound through the building like the call -of the angels of peace. - -The fabric of the exquisite building bears traces of that awful fate -which an abominable tyranny was reserving for the entire city. The -walls themselves stand, but in places they are torn by large fissures, -which look like gaping wounds in the flesh of a giant. Reverend hands -have hastily swept aside the debris of glass and masonry, the fragments -of stone statues and scraps of iron and wood; but here and there the -head of an angel, the clasped hands of a saint or palm of a martyr, -still litter the floor; the slender columns of the aisle have taken on a -curious rusty tint, and over the screen the apostles of carved wood are -black with smoke. - -There are two large holes in the roof, through which the bleak October -breeze comes sighing in, and the sweet smell of stale incense which -usually hangs about the place of worship has yielded to the pungent -odour of charred wood and of singed draperies. - -On the Flemish side a dull tone of colour prevails, browns and russets -and dull reds--many women have wrapped black hoods over their heads, and -long, black mantles hang from their shoulders; but on the other side the -fantastic garb of the Spanish halberdiers throws a note of trenchant -yellow right through the sombre tint of the picture: and the white ruffs -round the men's necks gleam like pale stars upon the canvas. And over -it all the light through the broken window falls crude and grey. Only -the chancel glows with a warm light, and Father van der Schlicht's -vestments of crimson silk, the gilt candlesticks upon the high altar, -the flickering yellow flames of the candles, the red cassocks of the -young servers, all form a kaleidoscope of brilliant colours which is -almost dazzling, whilst up above, the banners and coats-of-arms of the -Knights of the Golden Fleece still flaunt their rich heraldic tints -against the dark vaulting of the roof, and above the high altar the -figure of the Redeemer with arms stretched out to bless, seems to mock -by its exquisite pathos and peace the hideous strifes of men. - -The church is crowded from end to end: Flemings and Walloons and -Spaniards, the tyrants and the oppressed, all kneel together, while -Father van der Schlicht up at the altar softly murmurs the Confiteor: -some have rough linen bandages round their head or arm; some have ugly -stains upon their doublet or hose; others--unable to stand or lean--lie -half prone upon the ground, supported by their comrades. The Duke of -Alva holds his head erect, and señor de Vargas bows his down until it -well-nigh touches the ground: most of the women are crying, some of them -faint and have to be carried away. The Spaniards are more demonstrative -in their devotions than are the Netherlanders, they strike their breasts -at the Confiteor, with wide, ostentatious gestures, and need much elbow -room when they make the sign of the Cross. - -At the reading of the Gospel every one stands, and men, women and -children solemnly make profession of that Faith of Love and Goodwill -which the events of the past two days have so wantonly outraged. - -Lenora from where she stands can see her husband's head--with its -closely-cropped brown hair--towering above the rest of the crowd. He -does not look to right or left of him, but gazes fixedly upon the altar; -Lenora can see his lips moving as he recites the Creed, and to her -straining senses it seems as if right through the murmurings of all -these people she can distinguish his voice amongst all the others, and -that it strikes against her heart with sweet persistence of -unforgettable memories. - -And suddenly the high altar with the figure of the Redeemer fades from -her sight; the crowds vanish, the priest disappears, the voices of the -choir boys are stilled. She is back once more in the small _tapperij_ -of the inn at Dendermonde, sitting beside the hearth with Mark--her -husband--half kneeling, half sitting close to her--she lives again those -few moments of dreamlike peace and joy when he lulled her with gentle -words and tender glances which had shown her the first glimpse of what -human happiness might be--and she lives again the moment when she stood -in that same room with his wounded arm in her hand, and realised that he -was the cowardly assassin who had struck Ramon down in the dark. - -God in Heaven! was not her hatred of him justified? Even at the foot of -this altar, where all should be peace and goodwill, had she not the -right to hate this one man who had murdered Ramon, who had fooled and -cajoled her, and used her as an insentient tool for his own ends, his -own amusement? Her father had told her that she would see him hanged, -and that his death would be her work under the guidance of God. Not one -moment of the past would she undo, and she regretted nothing save the -moments of weakness which came over her whenever she met his glance. He -was the leader of these abominable rebels--a leader every inch of him, -that she could see--but yet a murderer for all that, and the deadly -enemy of her country and her King. - -God had had His will with her, and now He was dealing punishment with -equal justice to all; and Lenora standing there, shivering under the -cold draught which came on her from the shattered roof, yet inwardly -burning with a fever of regret and of longing, marvelled, if among the -thousands that would suffer through God's retributive justice, any one -would endure the martyrdom which she was suffering now. - - - - III - - -Later on, during the noonday rest, Lenora sat in her room in the -Meeste-Toren and tried to visualise once more all that she had lived -through in the past hour--her meeting with Mark when she went through -the Orangist lines with her father--the crowded church, the sombre -colours, the pathetic aspect of broken statuary and holy images charred -and shattered--the return to the Kasteel in silence--the outline of -Mark's profile above the crowd--Mark! always Mark! If only she could -forget! - -The air in the narrow room felt stuffy and oppressive: she ordered Grete -to open the window. It gave on the same iron balcony to which the -council chamber and the apartments of the Duke of Alva had access; but -as it was high up in the wall and very small, she could sit quite close -beside it and yet not be seen by any one who might be walking on the -balcony. Lenora's head ached intolerably, and Grete, always kind and -anxious, took down the wavy masses of fair hair and brushed them gently, -so as to soothe the quivering nerves. - -A strange hush hung in the air--the hush of a Sunday afternoon when a -big and peaceful city is at rest--a hush in strange and almost weird -contrast to the din which had shaken up the very atmosphere during the -past two days. Only from the castle-yard down below there comes the sad -sound of groans and sighs of pain, and an occasional call for "donna -Lenora!" with the cool, soft hands and the gentle voice, the ministering -angel of goodness and consolation. - -"Grete," queried Lenora abruptly, "dost love me truly?" - -"With my whole heart, noble lady," replied the child simply. - -"Then, if thou lovest me, didst pray at Mass this morning for the -success of our cause and the confusion of those abominable rebels?" - -Grete made no reply, and anon a low, suppressed sob caused Lenora to -say, not unkindly: - -"Thy heart is with the rebels, Grete." - -"I know most of their leaders, noble lady," murmured the girl, through -her tears. "They are brave, fine men. When I think of those who surely -must die after this, I feel as if my heart must break with sorrow and -with pity." - -"Didst know them well?" - -"Aye, noble lady. They used to come to the 'Three Weavers.'" - -"The 'Three Weavers,' Grete?" - -"Aye! my father kept the tavern, here in Ghent.... The noble seigniors -of the city and the Spanish officers of the garrison all used to come to -us in the afternoons.... Messire Jan van Migrode, the Chief Sheriff, -Messire Lievin van Deynse and the seigneur de Beauvoir, they all came -regularly. And ... and Messire Mark van Rycke," she added under her -breath, "him they call Leatherface." - -"My husband, Grete," murmured Lenora. - -"I know it, noble lady." - -"Didst know then that Messire Mark van Rycke was Leatherface?" - -"Not till yesterday, noble lady ... not till the men spoke of it and -said that the mysterious Leatherface was the leader of the rebels ... -and that he was the son of the High-Bailiff of Ghent, Messire Mark van -Rycke...." - -"Thou didst know him, too, then as Leatherface?" - -"Aye, noble lady," said Grete quietly, "he saved my life and my -sister's. I would give mine to save him now." - -"Saved thy life? How? When?" - -"Only a few days ago, noble lady," murmured the child, speaking with a -great effort at self-control. The recollection of that awful night -brought fresh terror to her heart. - -But Lenora's brows contracted now in puzzlement. A few days ago? Mark -was courting her then.... - -"I do not understand," she said impatiently, "a few days ago Leatherface -... Messire Mark van Rycke ... was in Ghent ... I was betrothed to him -on the seventh day of this month...." - -"And 'tis on that night he saved my life ... and Katrine's ... aye! and -saved us from worse than death...." - -She paused abruptly; her round, young cheeks lost their last vestige of -colour, her eyes their clear, childlike look. She cast a quick, furtive -glance on Lenora as if she were, afraid. But Lenora was unconscious of -this change in the girl's manner, her very senses seemed to be on the -alert, hanging upon the peasant girl's lips.... The night of her -betrothal was the night on which Ramon was murdered ... the tavern of -the "Three Weavers" was the place where he was found. This girl then -knew something of that awesome occurrence, which, despite outside -assurances, had remained vaguely puzzling to Lenora's mind. Now she -would hear and know, and her very heart seemed to stand still as her -mind appeared to be waiting upon the threshold of a mystery which was -interwoven with her whole life, and with her every hope of peace. - -"But what?" she queried with agonised impatience. "Speak, girl! Canst -not see that I only live to hear?" - -"Our father was taken," said Grete quietly, "he was hanged eight days -ago." - -"Hanged?" exclaimed Lenora, horror-struck. "Why? What had he done?" - -"He was of the Protestant faith ... and..." - -Lenora made no comment, and the girl wiped her eyes, which had filled -with tears. - -"Thou and Katrine were spared?" asked Lenora, after awhile. - -"We were spared at the time," said Grete, "but I suppose," she added -with quaint philosophy, "we remained objects of suspicion. The soldiers -would often be very rough with us, and upon the seventh day of October -the commanding Spanish officer in Ghent..." - -Once more she paused timidly, fear of having said too much, fighting -with the childish love to retail her woes, and pour her interesting -story into sympathetic ears. - -"Well?" queried Lenora, more impatiently, "go on, child. What did the -commanding Spanish officer in Ghent do to thee on the seventh day of -October?" - -But at this Grete burst into a flood of tears. The events were so -recent, and the shock of horror and of fear had been so terrible at the -time, that the recollection of it all still had the power to unnerve -her. Lenora, whose own nerves were cruelly on the rack at this moment, -had much ado to keep her impatience in check. After a few moments Grete -became more calm, and dried her eyes. - -"There was a big to-do at the Town House," she said more quietly, "and -the whole city was gaily decorated. The apprentices had a holiday in the -evening. They were very hilarious, and so were the soldiers." - -"Well? And--" - -"The soldiers came to the 'Three Weavers.' They had been drinking -heavily, and were very rough. The commanding Spanish officer came in -late in the evening.... He encouraged the soldiers to drink, and to ... -to make fun of us ... of Katrine and of me.... We were all alone in the -house, and we were very frightened. The Spanish officer ordered Katrine -to wait on the soldiers, then he made me go with him to a private -room...." - -The tears were once more very near the surface, and a hot blush of shame -for all that she had had to endure overspread Grete's face and neck. - -"Go on, child," queried Lenora. "What happened after that?" - -"The Spanish officer was very cruel to me, noble lady. I think he would -have killed me, and I am sure the soldiers were very cruel to -Katrine.... Oh! it was horrible! horrible!" she cried, "and we were -quite alone and helpless...." - -"Yes. I know that," said Lenora, and even to herself her own voice -sounded curiously dull and toneless; "but tell me what happened." - -"I was crouching in a corner of the room, noble lady. My back ached -terribly, for I had been thrown across the table, and I thought my spine -must be broken--my wrists, too, were very painful where the noble -officer had held them so tightly. I was half wild with terror, for I -did not know what would become of me. Then the door opened, and a man -came in. Oh! I was dreadfully frightened. He was very tall and very -thin, like a dark wraith, and over his face he had a mask. And he spoke -kindly to me--and after awhile I was less frightened--and then he told -me just what to do, how to find Katrine, to take some money and run away -to our kinswoman who lives in Dendermonde. I thought then that he was no -wraith..." continued Grete in an awestruck whisper, "but just one of the -archangels. For they do appear in curious disguises sometimes ... he -saved my life and Katrine's, and more than life, noble lady," added the -girl with a note of dignity in her tone, which sat quaintly upon her -timid little person, "do you not think that it was God who sent him to -protect two innocent girls from the cruelty of those wicked men?" - -"Yes; I think so, child," said Lenora quietly. "But, tell me, dost know -what happened after that?" - -"No, lady, I do not. I went to look for Katrine, just as the stranger -ordered me to do. But," she added under her breath, and still under the -spell of past terrors, "we heard afterwards through Pierre Beauters, the -butcher, that the noble seignior commandant was found killed that same -night in the tavern of the 'Three Weavers.' The provost found him lying -dead in the same room where the archangel had appeared." - -"Stabbed, child, didst thou say?" - -"No, noble lady. The provost told Pierre Beauters that the noble -Spanish commandant had been felled by mighty hands in a hand-to-hand -fight; he had no wound on him, only the marks of powerful fingers round -his throat. But his own dagger, they say, was covered in blood. Pierre -Beauters helped to place the body in the coffin, and he said that the -noble Spanish commandant had been killed in fair fight--a fight with -fists, and not with swords. He also said that the stranger who killed -him was the mysterious Leatherface, of whom we hear so much, and that, -mayhap, we should never hear of him again, for the Spanish commandant -must have wounded him to death ... the dagger was covered with blood -almost to the hilt. But," concluded Grete, with a knowing little nod of -the head, "this I did not believe at the time, and now I know that it -was not so; the stranger may not have been one of the archangels, but -truly he was a messenger of God. When the noble lady brought me back -with her to Ghent I heard the men talking about the mysterious -Leatherface. Then the day before yesterday when the cavalrymen flew -helter-skelter into the castle-yard, they still talked loudly of -Leatherface; but I guessed then that he was not a real archangel, but -just a brave man who protects the weak, and fights for justice, and..." - -She paused, terrified at what she had said. Ignorant as she was, she -knew well enough that the few last words which she had uttered had -caused men and women to be burned at the stake before now. Wide-eyed -and full of fear she looked on the noble Spanish lady, expecting every -moment to see a commanding finger pointed on her, and orders given for -her immediate arrest. - -Instead of which she saw before her a pale, slim girl scarce older than -herself, and infinitely more pathetic, just a young and beautiful woman -with pale face and eyes swimming in tears, whose whole attitude just -expressed an immense and overwhelming grief. - -The veil of mystery which had hung over Ramon's death had indeed been -lifted at last by the rough, uncouth hands of the innkeeper's daughter. -Lenora as yet hardly dared to look into the vista which it opened up -before her: boundless remorse, utter hopelessness, the dreary sense of -the irreparable--all that lay beyond the present stunning blow of this -terrible revelation. - -God in Heaven! she cried out mutely in her misery, how could she ever -have thought--even for a moment--that those grey eyes, so merry and yet -so tender--could mask a treacherous and cowardly soul? How could she -think that those lips which so earnestly pleaded for a kiss could ever -have been framed to hide a lying tongue? Would to God that she could -still persuade herself that all this new revelation was a dream; that -Grete--the unsophisticated child--had lied and concocted the whole story -to further some hidden schemes of her own! Would to God she could still -believe that Mark was vile and false--an assassin and a perjurer--and -that she could hate him still! - -She met Grete's eyes fixed so fearfully upon hers--she met them at the -moment when she was about to give herself over to the transient -happiness of a brief day-dream ... dreams of two unforgettable hours -when he sat beside her with his hand shading his face ... his eyes -resting upon her ... dreams of his voice when he said: "When I look at -you, Madonna, I invariably think of happiness." - - - - IV - - -But Grete recalled her to herself, and to the awful present. Despite -her great respect for the noble Spanish lady, she suddenly put her arms -round her shoulders, and tried to draw her away from the open window. - -"His Highness!" she whispered hurriedly, "he will see us." - -"What matters, child," murmured Lenora, "he will not harm us." - -Instinctively, however, she did yield to Grete's insistence and drew -back slightly from the window. From the balcony down below there came -the sound of measured tramping. Two or three men were walking there -slowly up and down and talking confidentially together while they -walked. Whenever they were close to the window their voices came up -quite distinctly, but it was impossible to hear all that they said, but -one or two disjointed sentences gave a faint clue to the subject of -their conversation. Lenora now leaned closer to the window-frame trying -to hear, for she had recognised her father's voice as well as that of -the Duke of Alva, and they were speaking of their future plans against -the rebels and against the city, and Lenora felt that she would give her -life to know what those plans were. - -After a moment or two she heard the voice of Captain de Avila; he was -apparently coming up the iron stairs from the yard and was speaking -hurriedly: - -"A runner, your Highness," he said, "straight from Dendermonde." - -"What news?" queried the Duke, and his voice sounded almost choked as if -with fierce impatience. - -"One of Captain Lodrono's messengers reached Dendermonde last night," -replied de Avila, "he was lucky enough to get a horse almost at once." - -"Well...? and...?" - -"This man came running straight back to bring us the news! Captain -Bracamonte started at break of day: he should be well on his way with -the reinforcements by now." - -There was a hoarse exclamation of satisfaction and a confused murmur of -voices for a moment or two. Then de Vargas spoke: - -"It was a bold venture, Monseigneur," he said. - -"This truce, you mean?" retorted Alva. "Well! not quite so bold as it -appeared. Those Netherlanders are such mighty fools that it is always -easy to make them believe anything that we choose to tell them: do they -not always fall into our traps? I had only to swear by my immortal soul -that we had not sent for reinforcements and the last of their resistance -was overcome." - -Lenora could hear her father's harsh laugh after this and then del Rio -said blandly: - -"Van Rycke did not believe in that oath." - -"Perhaps not at first," Alva said, "but it was so finely worded and -spoken with such solemnity, it was bound to carry conviction in the -end." - -"You were not afraid, Monseigneur," queried de Vargas, "this morning ... -in the crowd ... after Mass ... that the rebels would break the truce -and fall upon our men?" - -"No," replied the Duke curtly, "were you?" - -There came no answer from de Vargas, and to the listeners it seemed as -if by his silence he was admitting that he did not believe the Orangists -capable of such abominable treachery. A fine tribute that--Lenora -thought--from her father who hated and despised the Netherlanders! But -he and Alva would even now call such loyalty and truth the mere -stupidity of uncultured clowns. - -"Anyhow it was worth the risk," de Vargas resumed after awhile, with -that cold cynicism which will sacrifice friends, adherents, kindred for -the furtherance of political aims. - -"Well worth the risk," asserted Alva, "we have gained the whole of -to-day. If these rebels had rushed the Kasteel this morning, I verily -believe that we could not have held it: I might have fallen into their -hands and--with me as their hostage--they would by now have been in a -position to dictate their own terms before reinforcements reached -us--always supposing that they did not murder us all. Yes," he -reiterated with obvious satisfaction, "even if treachery had been in the -air it was still well worth the risk." - -"And in the meanwhile..." suggested del Rio. - -"In the meanwhile Bracamonte is on his way here.... He must have started -well before noon ... he might be here before nightfall...." - -"With at least five thousand men, I hope," added de Vargas. - -"Night may see us masters of this city once more, seigniors," rejoined -Alva, "and by God we'll punish those rebels for the fright they have -given us. Ghent will be envying Mons and Mechlin...." - -The three men walked slowly away after that, and their voices were lost -in the distance. The listeners could no longer distinguish what was -said, but anon a harsh laugh struck their ear, and leaning out of the -window Lenora could see the Duke and her father standing just outside -the council-chamber. The Duke had thrown back his head and was laughing -heartily, de Vargas too looked highly amused. Not one single word of -remorse or regret had been spoken by either of them for the blasphemous -oath which had finally overcome the resistance of the Orangists: of a -truth it did not weigh on the conscience of the man who had so wantonly -outraged his Maker less than an hour before he knelt at the foot of His -Altar, and de Vargas and his kind were only too ready to benefit by the -perjury. - -The sack of Ghent--jeopardised for a few hours--was once more looming -ahead as a coveted prize. What was a false oath or so--one crime the -more--when weighed in the balance with all the money and treasure which -the unexpected resistance of a few Flemish clowns had so nearly wrenched -from these noble Spaniards' grasp? - - - - V - - -"Didst hear?" came in a smothered whisper from Lenora. She had turned -suddenly and now faced Grete, who stood wide-eyed and terrified in the -centre of the room. Her arms were behind her, and she clung to the -window-ledge: her fair hair--all loose--streamed round her shoulders; -pale, with glowing eyes and quivering lips, she looked like some -beautiful feline creature at bay. - -"Didst hear?" she reiterated hoarsely. - -"Every word, most noble lady," came the whispered response. - -"What didst make of it?" - -"That His Highness sent to Dendermonde for help, and that troops are on -their way." - -"But His Highness swore most solemnly that he would respect the truce -which he himself asked for, and that both sides would resume the fight -... this evening ... just as they were before ... without fresh help or -reinforcements." - -"I heard the men say last night, noble lady, that reinforcements had -already been sent for from Dendermonde ... the Duke feared that the -Netherlanders were getting the upper hand ... he asked for the truce -only to gain time...." - -"Then ... if Captain Bracamonte arrives from Dendermonde with fresh -troops the Netherlanders are lost!" - -"God guard them," said Grete fervently. "He alone can save them now." - -"Oh!" cried Lenora with sudden passionate bitterness, "how can men -conceive such abominable treachery? How can God allow them to triumph?" - -Grete said nothing. Her eyes were full of tears. Lenora stared -straight out before her into the dark corner of the room: there was a -frown of deep thought between her brows, and her fresh young mouth -became hard and set. - -"Grete," she said abruptly, "is it not horrible to think that those we -care for are liars and traitors?" - -Then, as Grete made no reply, she continued with the same passionate -vehemence: "Is it not horrible to think that brave men must be butchered -like cattle, because they trusted in the oath of a perjurer? ... Oh! -that all the baseness, all the lying should be on one side and all the -heroism on the other! and that God should allow those monsters to -triumph!..." - -She paused and suddenly her whole expression changed--the vehemence, the -passion went out of it ... her lips ceased to quiver, a curious pallor -overspread her cheeks and the lines of her mouth became hard and set. - -"Grete," she said abruptly, "art afraid?" - -"Of what, noble lady?" asked the child. - -"Oh! of everything ... of insults and violence and death?" - -"No, noble lady," said Grete simply. "I trust to God to protect me." - -"Then wilt come with me?" - -"Whither, noble lady?" - -"Into the city ... alone with me ... we'll pretend that we go to -Benediction...." - -"Into the city...?" exclaimed the girl. "Alone?" - -"Art afraid?" - -"No." - -"Then put up my hair and get hood and cloak and give me mine...." - -Grete did as she was ordered. She pinned up Lenora's fair hair and -brought her a mantle and hood and wrapped them round her: then she -fastened on her own. - -"Come!" said Lenora curtly. - -She took the girl by the hand and together the two women went out of the -room. Their way led them through endless corridors and down a long, -winding staircase; hand in hand they ran like furtive little animals on -the watch for the human enemy. Down below the big flagged hall was full -of soldiers: the two women only realised this when they reached the last -landing. - -"Will they let us pass?" murmured Grete. - -"Walk beside me and hold thy head boldly," said Lenora, "they must not -think that we are afraid of being challenged." - -She walked down the last flight of the stairs with slow majestic steps: -her arms folded beneath her cloak, looking straight ahead of her with -that air of calm detachment and contempt of others which the Spanish -_noblesse_ knew so well how to assume. - -Captain de Avila was below: at sight of donna Lenora he came forward and -said with absolute respect: - -"La señora desires to go out?" - -"As you see," she replied haughtily. - -"Not further than the precincts of the Kasteel, I hope." - -"What is that to you, whither I go?" she queried. - -"My orders..." he stammered, somewhat taken aback by this grand manner -on the part of the señora who had always been so meek and silent -hitherto. - -"What orders have you had, seigneur capitaine?" she queried, "which -warrant your interference with my movements?" - -"I ... truly..." he murmured, "señor de Vargas..." - -"My father, I presume, has not given you the right to question my -freedom to go and come as I please," she retorted, still with the same -uncompromising hauteur. - -"No ... but..." - -"Then I pray you let me pass.... I hear the bells of St. Pharaïlde ... -I shall be late for Benediction...." - -She swept past him, leaving him not a little bewildered and completely -abashed. He watched her tall, graceful figure as she sailed through the -portico and thence across the castle-yard, then he shrugged his -shoulders as if to cast aside any feeling of responsibility which -threatened to worry him, and returned to the guard-room and to his game -of hazard. It was only then that he recollected that it lacked another -two hours to Benediction yet. - -In the yard Lenora had more serious misgivings. - -"There's the guard at the gate-house," she murmured. "Keep up thy look -of unconcern, Grete. We can only win if we are bold." - -As she anticipated the provost at the gate-house challenged her. - -"I go to St. Pharaïlde," she said calmly, "my father is with me. He -hath stopped to speak with Captain de Avila. Lower the bridge, provost, -and let us pass. We are late enough for Benediction as it is." - -The provost hesitated for a moment. - -"The seigneur capitaine sent me orders just now that no one was to leave -the Kasteel," he said. - -"Am I under the seigneur capitaine's orders," she retorted, "or the -daughter of señor de Vargas, who will punish thee, sirrah, for thine -insolence?" - -The provost, much disturbed in his mind, had not the courage to run -counter to the noble lady's wish. He had had no orders with regard to -her, and as she very rightly said, she was not under the orders of the -seigneur capitaine. - -He ordered the bridge to be lowered for her, vaguely intending not to -let her pass until he assured himself that señor de Vargas was nigh: but -Lenora gave him no time for reflection: she waited until the bridge was -down, then suddenly she seized Grete's hand and quick as a young hare -she darted past the provost and the guard before they thought of laying -hands on her, and she was across the bridge before they had recovered -from their surprise. - -Once on the open ground Lenora drew breath. The provost and the guard -could not very well run after her, and for the moment she was safe from -pursuit. On ahead lay the sharp bend of the Lower Schelde, beyond it -the ruined mass of the Vleeshhuis, and the row of houses, now all -shattered to pieces, where the Orangists held their watch. Her heart was -beating furiously, and she felt Grete's rough little hand quivering in -hers. She felt such a tiny atom, a mere speck in this wide open space. -In front of her was the city, which seemed even in the silence of this -Sunday afternoon to be quivering in the throes of oncoming death: to -right and left of her the great tract of flat country, this land of -Belgium which she had not yet learned to love but for which she now felt -a wonderful pity. - -It was a rude lesson which she had been made to learn within the last -hour: the lesson that the idols of her childhood and girlhood had not -only feet of clay but that they were steeped to the neck in the mire of -falsehoods and treachery: she had also learned that the man whom she had -once hated with such passionate bitterness was worthy of a pure woman's -love: that happiness had knocked at the gateway of her own heart and -been refused admittance: and that God was not wont to give very obvious -guidance in the terrible perplexities which at times beset His -creatures. - -Therefore now she no longer lured herself with the belief that she was -acting at this moment under the direct will of God, she knew that she -was guided by an overmastering and blind instinct which told her that -she must see Mark--at once--and warn him that the perfidy of the Duke of -Alva had set a deathly trap for him and for his friends. - -A few more minutes and she and Grete were over the Ketel Brüghe and -under the shadow of the tall houses on the river embankment beyond. - -"Take me!" she said to Grete peremptorily, "to the house of the -High-Bailiff of Ghent." - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - THE LAST STAND - - - - I - - -The word has gone round, we must all assemble in the cathedral -church--every burgher, every artisan, every apprentice who belongs by -blood to Ghent must for the nonce cast aside pick and shovel: the dead -can wait! the living claim attention. - -Quite a different crowd from that which knelt at prayer this morning! -It is just two o'clock and the sacred edifice is thronged: up in the -galleries, the aisles, the chancel, the organ loft, the pulpit, -everywhere there are men--young and old--men who for two days now have -been face to face with death and who wear on their grim faces the traces -of the past fierce struggle and of the coming cataclysm. There are no -women present. They have nobly taken on the task of the men, and the -dainty burghers' wives who used to spend their time at music or -needlework, wield the spade to-day with as much power as their strength -allows. - -Perfect order reigns despite the magnitude of the crowd: those who found -no place inside the building, throng the cemetery and the precincts. -Behind the high altar the Orangist standard is unfurled, and in front of -the altar rails stand the men who have fought in the forefront of the -insurgents' ranks, who have led every assault, affronted every danger, -braved musket fire and arrow-shot and burning buildings and crumbling -ruins, the men who have endured and encouraged and cheered: Mark van -Rycke the popular leader, Laurence his brother, Pierre Deynoot, Lievin -van Deynse, Frédéric van Beveren and Jan van Migrode, who is seriously -wounded but who has risen from his sick bed and crawled hither in order -to add the weight of his counsel and of his enthusiasm to what he knows -van Rycke will propose. - -Yes! they are there, all those that are left! and with them are the -older burghers, the civic dignitaries of their city, the Sheriffs of the -Keure, the aldermen, the vroedschappen, the magistrates, and the -High-Bailiff himself--he who is known to be such a hot adherent of Alva. - -It is he who has convened this meeting--a general rally of the citizens -of Ghent. He called them together by roll of drums and by word of mouth -transmitted by volunteer messengers who have flown all over the town. -This morning we spent in prayer--to-day is a day of peace--let us meet -and talk things over, for if wisdom waits upon enthusiasm, all is not -lost yet. The proposal has come from the High-Bailiff, at the hour of -noon when men only thought of the grim work of burying the dead, and -women wandered through the streets to search for the loved one who has -been missing since yesterday. - -But at the word of the High-Bailiff the men laid aside their picks and -spades. If all is not lost, why then there's something still to do -and--the dead must wait. - -And every man goes to the cathedral church to hear what the High-Bailiff -has to say: the church and precincts are crowded. In silence every one -listens whilst he speaks. He has always been a faithful subject of King -Philip, an obedient servant of the Regent and the Lieutenant-Governor: -his influence and well-known adherence to the King has saved the city -many a time from serious reprisals against incipient revolt and from -many of the horrors of the Inquisition. Now, while up there in the -Kasteel Alva impatiently awaits the arrival of fresh troops which will -help to crush the rebellious city, the High-Bailiff pleads for -submission. - -He has faith in the human tiger. - -"Let us throw ourselves at his feet," he urges, "he is a brave soldier, -a great warrior. He will respect your valorous resistance if he sees -that in the hour when you have the advantage over him you are prepared -to give in, and to throw yourselves upon his mercy. Let us go--we who -are older and wiser--let those who have led this unfortunate revolt keep -out of the way--I will find the right words I know to melt the heart of -our Lieutenant-Governor now turned in wrath against us--let us go and -cry for mercy and, by God, I believe that we shall get it." - -Like the waves upon the sea, the crowd in the church moves and -oscillates: murmurs of assent and dissent mingle from end to end, from -side to side: "No!--Yes!--'Twere shameful!--'Twere wise!--There are the -women to think of!--And the children!--He will not listen!--Why this -purposeless abasement?" - -Van Rycke and the other leaders make no comment upon the High-Bailiff's -appeal--even though their whole soul revolts at the thought of this -fresh humiliation to be endured by the burghers of Ghent, once so proud -and so independent! But they won't speak! Mark knows that with one -word he can sway the whole of this crowd. They are heroes all--every -one of these men. At one word from him they will cast aside every -thought save that of the renewed fight--the final fight to the -death--they are seething with enthusiasm, their blood is up and prudence -and wisdom have to be drilled into them now that they have tasted of the -martyr's cup. - -You can hear Father van der Schlicht's voice now. He too is for -humility and an appeal for mercy on this the festival day of the Holy -Redeemer. The Lieutenant-Governor is a pious man and a good Catholic. -The appeal is sure to please his ears. Oh! the virtues that adorn the -Duke of Alva in the estimation of his adherents! He is pious and he is -brave! a good Catholic and a fine soldier! mercy in him is allied to -wisdom! he will easily perceive that to gain the gratitude of the -citizens of Ghent would be more profitable to him than the destruction -of a prosperous city. See this truce which he himself suggested: was it -not the product of a merciful and a religious mind? To pray in peace, -to obey the dictates of the Church, to give the enemy the chance of -burying the dead!--were these not the sentiments of a good and pious -man? - -Messire Henri de Buck, senior Schepen and Judge of the High Court, has -many tales to tell of the kindness and generosity of the Duke. Oh! they -are very eloquent, these wealthy burghers who have so much more to lose -by this revolt than mere honour and mere life! - -And the others listen! Oh yes! they listen! need a stone be left -unturned? and since Messire the High-Bailiff hath belief in his own -eloquence, why! let him exercise it of course. Not that there is one -whit less determination in any single man in the crowd! If the -High-Bailiff fails in his mission, they will fight to the last man -still, but ... oh! who can shut his heart altogether against hope? And -there are the women and the children ... and all those who are old and -feeble. - -God speed to you then, my Lord High-Bailiff--Charles van Rycke, the -pusillanimous father of a gallant son! God speed to all of you who go -to plead with a tiger to spare the prey which he already holds between -his claws! The High-Bailiff will go and with him Father van der -Schlicht and Father Laurent Toch from St. Agneten, and Messire de Buck -and François de Wetteren: all the men who two days ago were kneeling in -the mud at the tyrant's feet, and presented him so humbly with the gates -of the city which he had sworn to destroy. There is no cheering as they -detach themselves from the group of the rebel leaders who still stand -somewhat apart, leaving the crowd to have its will. - -No cheering, it is all done in silence! Men do not cheer on the eve of -being butchered; they only look on their standard up above the high -altar behind the carved figure of the Redeemer, and though they have -given silent consent for this deputation to the tyrant they still murmur -in their hearts: "For Orange and Liberty!" - -Jan van Migrode, weak and ill from his wound, has had the last word. He -begs that every one should wait--here--just as they are ... in silence -and patience ... until the High-Bailiff and his friends come back with -the news ... good or bad! peace or renewed fighting--life or -death!--whichever it is they must all be together in order to decide. - -Just at the last the High-Bailiff turns to his son. - -"You do not approve of our going, Mark?" he asks with some diffidence. - -"I think that it is purposeless," replies Mark; "you cannot extract -blood out of a stone, or mercy out of the heart of a brute!" - - - - II - - -They go, the once proud burghers of the city of Ghent, they go to throw -themselves for the last time at the feet of that monster of tyranny and -cruelty who even at this hour is gloating over the thought of the most -deadly reprisals he hath ever dealt to these down-trodden people. - -They go with grave yet hopeful faces, in their dark robes which are the -outward sign of the humility, the loyalty which dwell in their hearts. -The crowd have wished them God speed! and as they file out of the -stately cathedral and through the close, the men stand respectfully -aside and eye them with a trustful regard which is infinitely pathetic. -Their leaders have remained beside the altar rails, grouped together, -talking quietly among themselves: Mark van Rycke, however, goes to -mingle with the crowd, to speak with all those who desire a word with -him, with the men whose heart is sore at the humiliation which they are -forced to swallow, who would sooner have died than see the dignitaries -of their city go once again as suppliants before that execrable tyrant -whom they loathe. - -"What is thine idea, van Rycke?" most of the men ask him as they crowd -around him, anxious to hear one word of encouragement or of hope. "Dost -think the tyrant will relent?" - -"Not unless we hold him as he holds us--not unless we have him at our -mercy." - -"Then what can we do? what can we do?" - -"Do?" he reiterates for the hundredth time to-day, "do? Fight to the -last man, die to the last man, until God, wearied of the tyrant's -obstinacy, will crush him and give us grace." - -"But we cannot win in the end." - -"No! but we can die as we have lived, clean, undaunted, unconquered." - -"But our wives, our daughters?" - -"Ask them," he retorts boldly. "It is not the women who would lick the -tyrant's shoes." - -The hour drags wearily on. In imagination every one inside and around -the cathedral follows the burghers on their weary pilgrimage. Half an -hour to walk to the Kasteel, half an hour for the audience with the -Duke, half an hour to return ... unforeseen delay in obtaining -admittance ... it may be two hours before they return. Great many of -the men have returned to the gloomy task of burying the dead, others to -that of clearing the streets from the litter which encumbers them: but -even those who work the hardest keep their attention fixed upon the -cathedral and its approach. - -Van Rycke had suggested that the great bell be rung when the burghers -came back with the Duke's answer, so that all who wished could come and -hear. - - - - III - - -And now the answer has come. - -The High-Bailiff has returned with Fathers van der Schlicht and Laurent -Toch, with Aldermen de Buck and de Wetteren and with the others. They -have walked back from the Kasteel bareheaded and shoeless with their -hands tied behind their back, and a rope around their neck. - -That was the Duke of Alva's answer to the deputation of Flemish -patricians and burghers who had presented themselves before him in order -to sue for his mercy. They had not even been admitted into his -presence. The provost at the gate-house had curtly demanded their -business, had then taken their message to the Duke, and returned five -minutes later with orders to "send back the beggars whence they came, -bareheaded and shoeless and with a rope around their necks in token of -the only mercy which they might expect from him!" - -The bridge had been lowered for them when they arrived, but they were -kept parleying with a provost at the gate-house: not a single -officer--even of lower rank--deigned to come out to speak with them; the -yard was filled with soldiers who insulted and jeered at them: the -High-Bailiff was hit on the cheek by a stone which had been aimed at -him, and Father Laurent Toch's soutane was almost torn off his back. -Every one of them had suffered violence at the hands of the soldiery -whilst the Duke's abominable orders were being carried out with -appalling brutality: every one of them was bleeding from a cut or a blow -dealt by that infamous crowd who were not ashamed thus to maltreat -defenceless and elderly men. - -When they crossed the open tract of country between the castle moat and -the Schelde a shower of caked mud was hurled after them from the -ramparts; not a single insult was spared them, not a sting to their -pride, not a crown to their humiliation. It was only when they reached -the shelter of the streets that they found some peace. In silence they -made their way toward the cathedral. The crowds of men and women at -work amongst the dead and the wounded made way for them to allow them to -pass, but no one questioned them: the abject condition in which they -returned told its own pitiable tale. - -The cathedral bell had tolled, and from everywhere the men came back to -hear the full account of the miserable mission. The crowd was dense and -not every one had a view of the burghers as they stood beside the altar -rail in all their humiliation, but those who were nearest told their -neighbours and soon every one knew what had happened. - -The younger leaders ground their heels into the floor, and Jan van -Migrode, sick and weak as he was, was the first to stand up and to ask -the citizens of Ghent if the events of to-day had shaken them in their -resolve. - -"You know now what to expect from that fiend. Will you still die like -heroes, or be slaughtered like cattle?" he called out loudly ere he fell -back exhausted and faint. - -Horror had kept every one dumb until then, and grim resolve did not -break into loud enthusiasm now, but on the fringe of the crowd there -were a number of young men--artisans and apprentices--who at first sight -of the returned messengers had loudly murmured and cursed. Now one of -them lifted up his voice. It raised strange echoes in the mutilated -church. - -"We are ready enough to die," he said, "and we'll fight to the end, -never fear. But before the last of us is killed, before that execrable -tyrant has his triumph over us, lads of Ghent, I ask you are we not to -have our revenge?" - -"Yes! yes!" came from a number of voices, still from the fringe of the -crowd where the young artisans were massed together, "well spoken, Peter -Balde! let us have revenge first!" - -"Revenge! Revenge!" echoed from those same ranks. - -Every word echoed from pillar to pillar in the great, bare, crowded -church; and now it was from the altar rails that Mark van Rycke's voice -rang out clear and firm: - -"What revenge dost propose to take, Peter Balde?" he asked. - -The other, thus directly challenged by the man whose influence was -paramount in Ghent just now, looked round at his friends for approval. -Seeing nothing but eager, flushed faces and eyes that glowed in response -to his suggestion, the pride of leadership entered his soul. He was a -fine, tall lad who yesterday had done prodigies of valour against the -Spanish cavalry. Now he had been gesticulating with both arms above his -head so that he was easily distinguishable in the crowd by those who had -a clear view, and in order to emphasize his spokesmanship his friends -hoisted him upon their shoulders and bearing him aloft they forged their -way through the throng until they reached the centre of the main aisle. -Here they paused, and Peter Balde could sweep the entire crowd with his -enthusiastic glance. - -"What I revenge would take?" he said boldly. "Nay! let me rather ask: -what revenge must we take, citizens of Ghent? The tyrant even now has -abused the most sacred laws of humanity which bid every man to respect -the messengers of peace. He is disloyal and ignoble and false. Why -should we be honourable and just? He neither appreciates our loyalty -nor respects our valour--let us then act in the only way which he can -understand. Citizens, we have two thousand prisoners in the cellars of -our guildhouses---two thousand Walloons who under the banner of our -common tyrant have fought against us ... their nearest kindred. I -propose that we kill those two thousand prisoners and send their heads -to the tyrant as a direct answer to this last outrage." - -"Yes! yes! Well said!" came from every side, from the younger artisans -and the apprentices, the hot-headed faction amongst all these brave -men--brave themselves but writhing under the terrible humiliation which -they had just endured and thirsting for anything that savoured of -revenge. - -"Yes! yes! the axe for them! send their heads to the tyrant! Well -spoken, Peter Balde," they cried. - -The others remained silent. Many even amongst the older men perhaps -would have echoed the younger ones' call: cruelty breeds cruelty and -oppression breeds callous thoughts of revenge. Individually there was -hardly a man there who was capable of such an act of atrocious barbarism -as the murder of a defenceless prisoner, but for years now these people -had groaned under such abominable tyranny, had seen such acts of wanton -outrage perpetrated against them and all those they held dear, -that--collectively--their sense of rightful retribution had been warped -and they had imbibed some of the lessons of reprisals from their -execrable masters. - -At the foot of the altar rails the group of leaders who stood as a -phalanx around Mark van Rycke their chief, waited quietly whilst the -wave of enthusiasm for Balde's proposal rose and swelled and mounted -higher and higher until it seemed to pervade the whole of the sacred -edifice, and then gradually subsided into more restrained if not less -enthusiastic determination. - -"We will do it," said one of Balde's most fervent adherents. "It is only -justice, and it is the only law which the tyrant understands--the law of -might." - -"It is the law which he himself has taught us," said another, "the law -of retributive justice." - -"The law of treachery, of rapine, and of outrage," now broke in Mark's -firm, clear voice once more; it rose above the tumult, above the hubbub -which centred round the person of Peter Balde; it rang against the -pillars and echoed from end to end of the aisle. "Are we miserable -rabble that we even dream of murder?" - -"Not of murder," cried Balde in challenge, "only of vengeance!" - -"Your vengeance!" thundered Mark, "do you dare speak of it in the house -of Him who says 'I will repay!'" - -"God is on our side, He will forgive!" cried some of them. - -"Everything, except outrage! ... what you propose is a deed worthy only -of hell!" - -"No! no! Balde is right! Magnanimity has had its day! But for this -truce to-day who knows? we might have been masters of the Kasteel!" - -"Will the murdering of helpless prisoners aid your cause, then?" - -"It will at least satisfy our craving for revenge!" - -"Right, right, Balde!" they all exclaimed, "do not heed what van Rycke -says." - -"We will fight to-morrow!" - -"Die to-morrow!" they cried. - -"And blacken your souls to-day!" retorted Mark. - -The tumult grew more wild. Dissension had begun to sow its ugly seed -among these men whom a common danger, united heroism, and courage had -knit so closely together. The grim, silent, majestic determination of a -while ago was giving place slowly to rabid, frenzied calls of hatred, to -ugly oaths, glowing eyes and faces heated with passion. The presence of -the dozen elderly patricians and burghers still bare-headed and -shoeless, still with the rope around their necks, helped to fan up the -passions which their misfortunes had aroused. For the moment, however, -the hot-headed malcontents were still greatly in the minority, but the -danger of dissent, of mutiny was there, and the set expression on the -faces of the leaders, the stern look in Mark van Rycke's eyes testified -that they were conscious of its presence. - - - - IV - - -Then it was that right through this tumult which had spread from the -building itself to the precincts and even beyond, a woman's cry rang out -with appalling clearness. It was not a cry of terror, rather one of -command, but so piercing was it that for the moment every other cry was -stilled: Peter Balde's adherents were silenced, and suddenly over this -vast assembly, wherein but a few seconds ago passions ran riot, there -fell a hush--a tension of every nerve, a momentary lull of every -heart-beat as with the prescience of something momentous to which that -woman's cry was only the presage. - -And in the midst of that sudden hush the cry was heard again--more -clearly this time and closer to the cathedral porch, so that the words -came quite distinctly: - -"Let me get to him ... take me to your leader ... I must speak with him -at once!" - -And like distant thunder, the clamour rose again: men and women shouted -and called; the words: "Spaniard!" and "Spy!" were easily -distinguishable: the crowd could be seen to sway, to be moving like a -huge wave, all in one direction toward the porch: hundreds of faces -showed plainly in the dull grey light as necks were craned to catch a -glimpse of the woman who had screamed. - -But evidently with but rare exceptions the crowd was not hostile: those -who had cried out the word "Spy!" were obviously in the minority. With -death looming so near, with deadly danger to every woman in the city -within sight, every instinct of chivalry toward the weak was at its -greatest height. Those inside the cathedral could see that the crowd -was parting in order to let two women move along, and that the men in -the forefront elbowed a way for them so that they should not be hindered -on their way. It was the taller of the two women who had uttered the -piteous yet commanding appeal: "Let me go to him!--take me to your -leader!--I must speak with him!" - -She reiterated that appeal now--at the south porch to which she had been -literally carried by the crowd outside: and here suddenly three stalwart -men belonging to one of the city guilds took, as it were, possession of -her and her companion and with vigorous play of elbows and of staves -forged a way for them both right up to the altar rails. Even whilst in -the west end of the church the enthusiastic tumult around Peter Balde -which this fresh incident had momentarily stilled, arose with renewed -vigour, and the young artisans and apprentices once more took up their -cry: "Revenge! Death to all the prisoners!" the woman, who was wrapped -up in a long black mantle and hood, fell--panting, exhausted, -breathless--almost at Mark van Rycke's feet and murmured hoarsely: - -"Five thousand troops are on their way to Ghent ... they will be here -within two hours ... save yourselves if you can." - -Her voice hardly rose above a whisper. Mark alone heard every word she -said; he stooped and placing two fingers under her chin, with a quick -and firm gesture he lifted up the woman's head, so that her hood fell -back and the light from the east window struck full upon her face and -her golden hair. - -"I come straight from the Kasteel," she said, more clearly now, for she -was gradually recovering her breath, "let your friends kill me if they -will ... the Duke of Alva swore a false oath ... a messenger left even -last night for Dendermonde...." - -"How do you know this?" queried Mark quietly. - -"Grete and I heard the Duke speak of it all with my father just now," -she replied. "He asked for the truce in order to gain time.... He -hopes that the troops from Dendermonde will be here before nightfall ... -the guards at the gate-houses are under arms, and three thousand men are -inside the Kasteel ready to rush out the moment the troops are in -sight." - -It was impossible to doubt her story. Those who stood nearest to her -passed it on to their neighbours, and the news travelled like wild-fire -from end to end of the church: "They are on us! Five thousand Spaniards -from Dendermonde to annihilate us all!" - -"God have mercy on our souls!" - -"God have mercy on our women and children!" - -Panic seized a great many there; they pushed and scrambled out of the -building, running blindly like sheep, and spread the terrible news -through the streets, calling loudly to God to save them all: the panic -very naturally spread to the women and children who thronged the streets -at this hour, and to the silent workers who had quietly continued their -work of burial. Soon all the market squares were filled with shrieking -men, women and children who ran about aimlessly with wild gestures and -cries of lamentation. Those who had kept indoors all to-day--either -fearing the crowds or piously preparing for death--came rushing out to -see what new calamity was threatening them, or whether the supreme hour -had indeed struck for them all. - -Inside the cathedral the cries of revenge were stilled; dulled was the -lust to kill. The immense danger which had been forgotten for a moment -in that frantic thirst for revenge made its deathly presence felt once -more. Pallid faces and wide-open, terror-filled eyes were turned toward -the one man whose personality seemed still to radiate the one great ray -of hope. - -But just for a moment Mark van Rycke seemed quite oblivious of that wave -of sighs and fears which tended toward him now and swept all thought of -mutiny away. - -He was supporting Lenora who was gradually regaining strength and -consciousness: just for a few seconds he allowed tumult and terror to -seethe unheeded around him: just for those few seconds he forgot death -and danger, his friends, the world, everything save that Lenora had come -to him at the hour when his heart yearned for her more passionately than -ever before, and that she was looking up into his face with eyes that -told so plainly the whole extent of her love for him. - -Only a few seconds, then he handed her over to the gentle care of Father -van der Schlicht, but as with infinite gentleness he finally released -himself from her clinging arms he murmured in her ear: "God reward you, -Madonna! With your love as my shield, I feel that I could conquer the -universe." - -Then he faced the terror-stricken crowd once more. - - - - V - - -"Burghers and artisans of Ghent," he called loudly, "we have two hours -before us. The perjured tyrant is bringing five thousand fresh troops -against us. If by nightfall we have not conquered, our city is doomed -and all of us who have survived, and all our women and children will be -slaughtered like sheep." - -"To arms!" cried the leaders: Jan van Migrode and Lievin van Deynse, -Pierre Deynoot and the others. - -"To arms!" was echoed by a goodly number of the crowd. - -But a great many were silent--despair had gripped them with its icy -talon--the hopelessness of it all had damped their enthusiasm. - -"Five thousand fresh troops," they murmured, "and there are less than -four thousand of us all told." - -"We cannot conquer," came from Peter Balde's friends at the west end of -the church, "let us at least take our revenge!" - -"Yes! Revenge! Death to the Walloons!" they cried. - -"Revenge! yes!" exclaimed Mark van Rycke. "Let us be revenged on the -liar, the tyrant, the perjurer, let us show him no mercy and extort from -him by brute force that which he has refused us all these years--civil -and religious freedom." - -"Van Rycke, thou art raving!" broke in the men who stood nearest to -him--some of them his most ardent supporters. "Alva by nightfall will -have three times the numbers we have. The gates will be opened to his -fresh troops." - -"We must seize the Kasteel and the gates before then!" he retorted. - -"How can we? We made several assaults yesterday. We have not enough -men." - -"We have half an hour wherein to increase their numbers." - -"Thou art raving," they cried. - -"Not one able-bodied man but was fighting yesterday--not half their -number knew how to handle pike or lance, musket or crossbow." - -"Then we must find two thousand men who are trained soldiers and know -all that there is to know about fighting. That would make it a two to -one fight. Burghers of Ghent, which one of you cannot account for two -Spaniards when the lives of your women and your children depend on the -strength of your arm?" - -"Two thousand men?" The cry came from everywhere--cry of doubt, of -hope, of irony or of defiance. - -"How are we to get them? Where can we get them from?" - -"Come with me and I'll show you!" retorts Mark and he immediately makes -for the door. - -The other leaders stick close to him as one man, as do all those who -have been standing near the altar rails and those who saw him even when -first he turned to them all, with eyes glowing with the fire of the most -ardent patriotism, with the determination to die if need be, but by God! -to try and conquer first! - -It was only those who were in the rear of the crowd or in the side -aisles who did not come immediately under the spell of that magnetic -personality, of that burning enthusiasm which from its lexicon had -erased the word "Failure!" but even they were carried off their feet by -the human wave which now swept out of the cathedral--by the south -door--bearing upon it the group of rebel leaders with Mark's broad -shoulders and closely cropped head towering above the others. - -The throng was soon swelled to huge proportions by all those who had -been hanging about in the precincts all the afternoon unable to push -their way into the crowded edifice. The tumult and the clamour which -they made--added to the cries of those who were running in terror -through the streets--made a pandemonium of sounds which was almost -hellish in its awful suggestion of terror, of confusion and of misery. - -But those who still believed in the help of God, those in whom faith in -the justice of their cause was allied with the sublime determination of -martyrs were content to follow their hero blindly--vaguely marvelling -what his purpose could be--whilst the malcontents in the rear, rallying -round Peter Balde once more began to murmur of death and of revenge! - -Mark led the crowd across the wide cathedral square to the guild-house -of the armourers--the fine building with the tall, crow-step gables and -the magnificent carved portico to which a double flight of fifteen stone -steps and wrought-iron balustrade gave access. He ran up the steps and -stood with his back to the portico fronting the crowd. Every one could -see him now, from the remotest corners of the square--many had invaded -the houses round, and heads appeared at all the windows. - -"Burghers of Ghent," he called aloud, "we have to conquer or we must -die. There are less than four thousand of us at this moment fit to bear -arms against Alva's hordes which still number seven. Five thousand more -of them are on their way to complete the destruction of our city, to -murder our wives and our children, and to desecrate our homes. We want -two thousand well-trained soldiers to oppose them and inflict on the -tyrant such a defeat as will force him to grant us all that we fight -for: Liberty!" - -"How wilt do that, friend of the leather mask?" queried some of the men -ironically. - -"How wilt find two thousand well-trained soldiers?" - -"Follow me, and I will show you." - -He turned and went into the building, the whole crowd following him as -one man. The huge vaulted hall of the guild-house was filled in every -corner with Walloon prisoners--the fruit of the first day's victory. -They were lying or sitting about the floor, some of them playing hazard -with scraps of leather cut from their belts; others watched them, or -merely stared straight in front of them, with a sullen look of -hopelessness: they were the ones who had wives and children at home, or -merely who had served some time under Alva's banner and had learned from -him how prisoners should be treated. When the leaders of the -insurrection with Mark van Rycke at their head made irruption into the -hall followed by a tumultuous throng, the Walloons, as if moved by a -blind instinct, threw aside their games and all retreated to the -furthest end of the hall, like a phalanx of frightened men who have not -even the power to sell their lives. Many of those who had rushed in, in -Mark's wake, were the malcontents whose temper Peter Balde's hot-headed -words had inflamed. Awed by the presence of their leaders they still -held themselves in check, but the Walloons, from their place of retreat, -crowded together and terrified, saw many a glowing face, distorted by -the passion to kill, many an eye fixed upon them with glowering hatred -and an obvious longing for revenge. - -Then Mark called out: - -"Now then, friends: in two hours' time the tyrant will have twelve -thousand troops massed against us. We have two thousand well-trained -soldiers within our guild-houses who are idle at this moment. Here are -five hundred of them--the others are close by! with their help we can -crush the tyrant--fight him till we conquer, and treat him as he would -have treated us. Here is your revenge for his insults! Get your -brothers to forswear their allegiance and to fight by your side!" - -A gasp went right through the hall which now was packed closely with -men--the five hundred Walloon prisoners huddled together at one end, and -some four thousand men of Ghent filling every corner of the vast arcaded -hall. In the very midst of them all Mark van Rycke hoisted up on the -shoulders of his friends--with gleaming eyes and quivering -voice--awaited their reply. - -The malcontents were the first to make their voices heard: - -"These traitors," they shouted, "the paid mercenaries of Alva! Art -crazy, van Rycke?" - -"The Spanish woman hath cajoled thee!" some of them exclaimed with a -curse. - -"Or offered thee a bribe from the tyrant," cried others. - -"We'll hang thee along with the prisoners if thou darest to turn against -us," added Peter Balde spitefully. - -"Hang me then, friends, an ye list," he said with a loud laugh, "but let -me speak while ye get the gallows ready. Walloons," he added, turning to -the prisoners who were regarding him with utter bewilderment, in which -past terror still held sway, "ye are our kith and kin. Together we have -groaned under the most execrable tyrant the world has even known. -To-day I offer you the power to strike one blow at the tyrant--a blow -from which he will never recover--a blow which will help you to win that -which every Netherlander craves for: Liberty! Will ye help us to strike -that blow and cover yourselves with glory?" - -"Aye! aye!" came from the Walloons with one stupendous cry of hope and -of relief. - -"Will you fight with us?" - -"Yes!" - -"Die with us?" - -"Yes!" - -"For the freedom of the Netherlands?" - -"For Liberty!" they cried. - -But all the while murmurings were going on among the Flemings. Their -hatred of the Walloons who had borne arms against their own native land -and for its subjugation under the heel of an alien master was greater -almost than their hatred against the Spaniards. - -"The Walloons? Horror!" they shouted, even whilst Mark was infusing -some of his own ardent enthusiasm into the veins of those five hundred -prisoners. "Shame on thee, van Rycke!" whilst one man who has remained -nameless to history cried out loudly: "Traitor!" - -"Aye! traitor thou!" retorted van Rycke, "who wouldst prefer the lust of -killing to that of victory!" - -"Burghers of Ghent," he continued, "in the name of our sacred -Motherland, I entreat you release these men; let me have them as -soldiers under our banner ... let me have them as brothers to fight by -our side ... you would shed their blood and steep your souls in crime, -let them shed theirs for Liberty, and cover themselves with glory!" - -"Yes! yes!" came from the leaders and from the phalanx of fighting men -who stood closest to their hero. - -"Yes! yes! release them! Let them fight for us!" - -The call was taken back and echoed and re-echoed until the high-vaulted -roof rang with the enthusiastic shouts. - -"Walloons, will you fight with us?" they asked. - -"To the death!" replied the prisoners. - -"One country, one people, one kindred," rejoined Mark with solemn -earnestness, "henceforth there will be neither Flemings nor Walloons, -just Netherlanders standing shoulder to shoulder to crush the tyrant of -us all!" - -"Netherlanders! Orange and Liberty!" cried Walloons and Flemings in -unison. - -"Give them back their own arms, provosts," commanded Mark, "our -untrained men have not known how to use them! and follow me, friends! -We have not gathered our reinforcements together yet. In half an hour -we shall have two thousand brothers under our flag!" - -"Long live Leatherface! To arms, brothers!" were the last shouts which -rang through the hall, ere Mark van Rycke led his followers away to the -nearest guild-house and then to the next, where two thousand Walloon -prisoners were by the magic of his patriotism and his enthusiasm -transformed into two thousand friends. - - - - VI - - -Once more the roar of artillery and of musketry fills the air. It is -long before the evening Angelus has begun to ring, but from far away the -news has come to every captain at the city gates that reinforcements are -on the way from Dendermonde. No one can respect a truce which hid the -blackest perfidy ever perpetrated by a tyrannical master against a brave -people. As soon as the news has filtrated into the heart of the city -the Orangists rush to their arms, reinforced by two thousand trained -troops; their battle cry becomes triumphant. - -"Netherlands! Orange! and Liberty!" resounds defiantly from end to end -of the city. - -The besieging force rush the Kasteel! they sow the open tract of ground -around the moat with their heroic dead; again and again they rush for -the breach: culverins and falconets upon the ramparts are useless after -a while: and a shower of heavy stones falls upon the plucky assailants. -There are five hundred Walloon bowmen now who know how to shoot -straight, and some musketeers who vie with the Spaniards for precision. -They cover the advance of the halberdiers and the pikemen, who return to -the charge with the enthusiasm born of renewed hope. - -The Brügge gate has fallen, the Waalpoort is in the insurgents' hands: -Captain Serbelloni at the Braepoort is hard pressed, and up in the -Meeste Toren of the Kasteel Alva paces up and down like a caged tiger. - -"Bracamonte or nightfall!" he cries with desperate rage, for he cannot -understand why the Dendermonde troops are detained. - -"Surely that rabble has not seized all the gates!" Twice he has ordered -a sortie! twice the moat has received a fresh shower of dead. The -breach has become wider: the Orangist halberdiers are fighting foot by -foot up the walls. They have succeeded in throwing their bridge made of -pikes and lances across the moat, and soon they are crossing in their -hundreds. - -"Heavens above, how come they to be so numerous?" - -Captain de Avila has been severely wounded: three younger captains have -been killed. The Orangist falconets--a light piece of artillery and not -easy to use--works incessantly upon the breach. Alva himself is -everywhere. His doublet and hose are torn, too, his breast-plate and -tassets are riddled with arrow-shot; he bleeds profusely from the hand. -His face is unrecognisable beneath a covering of smoke and grime. Rage -and fear have made him hideous--not fear of personal danger, for to this -he is wholly indifferent, but fear of defeat, of humiliation, of the -heavy reprisals which that contemptible rabble will exact. - -He insults his soldiers and threatens them in turn; he snatches musket -or crossbow, directs, leads, commands ... and sees his wildest hopes -shattered one by one. - -The din and confusion from the city itself is hardly heard above the -awful pandemonium which reigns in and around the besieged Kasteel. The -Vleeshhuis on the Schelde is a mass of flames; the roof suddenly falls -in with a terrific crash which seems to shake the very earth to its -depths: there is not a single window left in the Meeste-Toren, and the -rooms, as well as the yard below, are littered with broken glass. - -"We have no more balls left, Magnificence," reports the captain in -charge of the artillery. "What must we do?" - -"Do?" cries the Duke of Alva fiercely. "Throw yourselves into the moat -or get the musketeers to turn their muskets against you; for of a -certainty you will be massacred within the hour." - -Inside the city it is hell let loose. Fighting--hand to hand, pike to -pike--goes on in every street, on every bridge, under every doorway, -aye! even beneath the cathedral porch. The doors of the houses have all -been broken open and men who are wounded and exhausted crawl under them -for shelter and safety. The women and children had all been ordered to -go inside their own homes before the first battle cry of the Orangists -rang out; a goodly number of them, however, took refuge in the churches, -and there were defended by companies of Walloons posted at the doors. - -The bridges are fought for inch by inch; when at last they fell into the -hands of the Orangists they are destroyed one by one. - -Hell let loose indeed! Desperate men fighting for freedom against a -tyrant who has never known defeat. The evening Angelus was never rung -on that Lord's Day--the feast of the Holy Redeemer--but at the hour when -day first fades into evening Mark van Rycke--superb, undaunted and -glowing now with the ardour of victory--leads the final assault on the -Kasteel. - -"Netherlanders! For Liberty!" he cries. - -A stone has hit his shoulder, there is a huge cut across his face, the -sleeve has been torn right out of his doublet, his bare arm and the hand -which wields an unconquered sword gleam like metal in the fast gathering -twilight. - -"To the breach!" he calls, and is the first to scramble down the -declivity of the moat and on to the heap of masonry which fills the moat -here to the top of the bank. - -An arrow aimed at his head pierces his right arm, a stone hurled from -above falls at his feet and raises a cloud of dust which blinds him, a -heavy fragment hits him on the head; he stumbles and falls backwards, -down to the brink of the moat. - -"Never mind me," he calls, "for Liberty, Netherlanders! The Kasteel is -yours! hold on!" - -He has managed to hold on for dear life to the rough stones on the -declivity, crawling along the top of the bank to escape being trampled -on by the pikemen. The latter have a hot time at the breach: the -Spanish musketeers, under the Duke of Alva's own eyes, are firing with -remarkable accuracy and extraordinary rapidity, whilst from the ramparts -the shower of heavy stones makes deadly havoc: twice the Walloons have -given ground--they are led by Laurence van Rycke now--who twice returns -to the charge. - -Mark struggles to his feet: "Hold on, Walloons! the Kasteel is ours," he -cries. - -And while the Walloons continue the desperate fighting at the breach, he -gathers together a company of Flemish swordsmen, the pick of his little -army, those who have stuck closely to him throughout the past two days, -who have fought every minute, who have been decimated, lost their -provosts and their captains, but have never once cried "Halt!" and never -thought of giving in. - -A hundred or so of them are all that is left: they carry their sword in -their right hand and a pistol in their left. They follow Mark round the -walls to where the moat melts into the wide tract of morass which -surrounds the north-east side of the Kasteel. - -The shadow from the high walls falls across the marshy ground, the men -move round silently whilst behind them at the breach and on the bridge -the noise of musketry and falling masonry drowns every other sound. - -Now the men halt, and still in silence they strip to their skins; then -with their pistols in their right hand and their sword between their -teeth they plunge ankle deep into the mud. They are men of Ghent every -one of them--men of the Low Countries who know their morasses as -mariners know the sea: they know how to keep their foothold in these -slimy tracks, where strangers would inevitably be sucked into a hideous -grave. - -They make their way to the foot of the wall, they move like ghosts now, -and are well-nigh waist deep in the mud. Night closes in rapidly round -them: behind them the sky is suffused with the crimson reflection of an -autumnal sunset. Their arms, chests and backs are shiny with sweat, -their hot breath comes and goes rapidly with excitement and the scent of -danger which hovers behind them in that yawning morass and ahead of them -on the parapet of those walls. - -"Victory waits for you, my men," says Mark in a commanding voice, "up on -yonder wall. Whoever is for Orange and for Liberty, follow me!" - -Then he starts to climb, and one by one the men follow. What atoms they -look up on those high walls, crawling, creeping, scrambling, with hands -and knees and feet clinging to the unevenness in the masonry, or scraps -of coarse grass that give them foothold: like ants crawling up a -heap--on they go--their bare backs reflect the crimson glow of the sun. -Mark, their hero, leads the way, his torn arm and lacerated shoulder -leave a trail of blood upon the stones. - -At the breach the Walloons must be hard pressed, for cries of triumph -follow each volley from the Spanish musketry. - -"On, on, Netherlanders! for Orange and Liberty!" - -Now Mark has reached the top: his arm is over the parapet, then his -knee. The look-out man has seen him: he shoulders his musket to give -the alarm, but before he can fire Mark is on him, and three more -Flemings now have scrambled over the wall. This portion of the Kasteel -is never seriously guarded: the morass is thought to be impassable, and -forms the only guard on the northeast wall; but these men of Ghent have -conquered the morass and they are on the walls, and have overpowered the -look-out men ere these have had time to scream. - -Naked, sweating, bleeding at hands and knees, they look like wraiths -from some inferno down below. They rush down helter-skelter into the -castle yard. The Spanish musketeers caught in their rear whence they -never expected attack, down their weapons and run with a mad _Sauve qui -peut_ to the shelter of the Meeste-Toren. The Walloons--not -understanding what has happened--see the Spaniards running and seize the -lucky moment. Laurence van Rycke leads them through the breach, and -they rush into the yard with pikes and halberds fixed and fill it -suddenly with their cry of triumph: then they fight their way round to -the gatehouse and lower the bridge, and the Flemings in their turn come -pouring into the Kasteel. - -Within ten minutes every Spaniard inside the Kasteel has laid down his -arms: the stronghold is in the hands of the Orangists, and Mark van -Rycke up on the iron balcony outside the Duke of Alva's council chamber, -surrounded by his naked stalwarts, demands the surrender of the -Lieutenant-Governor of the Netherlands in the name of Orange and of -Liberty. - -Then without a sigh or a groan he throws up his arms, and those who are -nearest to him are only just in time to catch him ere he falls. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - THE HOUR OF VICTORY - - - I - - -To the women and children shut up in the different churches and in the -houses throughout the city, during those terrible hours whilst their -husbands, brothers, sons were making their last desperate stand, it was -indeed hell let loose; for while the men were doing, they could only -wait and pray. It was impossible for them even to wander out to try and -help the wounded or to seek amongst the dead for the one dear face, the -mirror of all joy and happiness. They all sat or knelt huddled up -together, their children closely held in their arms, murmuring those -vague words of comfort, of surmise, of hope and of fear which come -mechanically to the lips when every sense is lulled into a kind of -torpor with the terrible imminence of the danger and the overwhelming -power of grief. - -The danger in the houses was greater than in the churches, for -everywhere the horrible concussion of artillery and the crash of falling -masonry broke the windows and shook the floors. But many women have -that same instinct which causes the beasts of the forests to hide within -their lair; they feel that they would rather see their home fall in -about their heads, than watch its destruction from a safer distance. -Clémence van Rycke refused to leave her house when first Laurence -received Lenora's warning of the impending catastrophe; she refused to -leave it now when her sons were face to face with death and any moment a -stray cannon ball might bring the walls down with a crash. - -She sat in the high-backed chair in the small withdrawing-room where, -less than a week ago, the first card was played in that desperate game -for human lives which was finding its climax at this hour; she sat quite -still--staring into the empty hearth with that stolidity peculiar to -these women of the North--and which is only another, calmer, form of -courage. The High-Bailiff, sullen and silent, sat close to the table -with his head buried in his hands. Since his return from his -humiliating errand this afternoon he had not spoken a word to anyone--he -believed that the Orangist cause was doomed, and both his sons certain -of death. What happened to him after that he really did not care. - -Pierre and Jeanne sat in the hall together, quietly telling their beads. -The din outside was deafening, and the evening hour was slowly creeping -on--day yielded to twilight; a brilliant sunset lit up for a while the -desolation of an entire city, then sank into a blood-hued horizon, -adding its own lurid light to the crimson glow of burning buildings. - -And as the veils of night fell more heavily over the city, gradually the -dismal sounds of cannon and musketry were stilled. Pierre came in after -a while carrying a lamp. - -"Firing has ceased," he said, "men are running down the streets shouting -that the Kasteel is in our hands and that the Duke of Alva has -surrendered to Leatherface!" - -He put the lamp down and prepared to go, for Clémence and the -High-Bailiff have made no comment on the joyful news--perhaps it has -failed to reach their dulled senses, perhaps they do not believe it. At -any rate, what is victory to them if two brave sons have fallen for its -sake? - -But already the cries through the streets become more insistent and more -sure; men and women run hither and thither up and down the Nieuwe -Straat, and as Pierre stands by the open door, peering curiously out -into the gloom, people shout to him as they rush by: - -"Van Rycke has seized the Kasteel! The Duke of Alva is a prisoner in -our hands." - -Clémence hears the cries. She can no longer doubt her ears. "Mark? -Laurence?" she calls out. "Where are they?" - -The High-Bailiff rouses himself from his apathy. "I will go to the Town -House," he says, "and will be back with news." - -"News of Mark--and of Laurence," cries the mother. - -The High-Bailiff goes, and she remains alone in the narrow room, with -just the feeble light of the lamp upon her pale face and trembling -hands. Now and then still, right through the night, a terrific crash -shakes the house to its foundations, or a sudden lurid light flares -upwards to the sky--roofs are still falling in, crumbling ruins still -burst into flames, but firing and clash of steel have ceased, and from -the various churches the peals of bells send their triumphant call -through the night. - -The hours go by. It is nigh on ten o'clock now. The High-Bailiff has -not yet returned, but Laurence has just come back--wounded and exhausted -but full of the glorious victory. - -"Where is Mark?" queries the mother. - -"Mark is hurt ... but he will be here anon," says the boy, "the men have -made a stretcher for him--he would not be tended at the Kasteel--he -begged to be brought home--oh! mother dear, how we must love him after -this!" - -Clémence hastily gives orders that Messire Mark's room be made ready for -him at once. Jeanne, buxom and capable, is rendered supremely happy by -this task. - -"Mother dear," whispers Laurence, "next to Mark himself, we all owe our -salvation to Lenora." - -He has no time to say more, even though Clémence's face has hardened at -mention of that name which she abhors; for Pierre has just come running -in breathless and trembling with excitement. - -"Mevrouw," he stammers, "it is the noble lady ... the Spanish lady ... -it is..." - -Before Laurence could further question him, he has uttered a cry of -surprise, which is echoed by one of horror from Clémence. Lenora was -standing under the lintel of the door. Clémence rose from her chair as -if moved by a spring and stood up, rigid, and with arm raised, pointing -straight to the door: - -"Go!" she commanded sternly. - -But Lenora advanced slowly into the room. She was whiter than the ruff -at her throat, her black mantle hung round her in heavy folds, but the -hood had fallen back from her head, and her golden hair with the yellow -light of the lamp falling full upon it looked like a gleaming aureole -which made her eyes appear wonderfully dark by contrast and her beauty -more ethereal than it had been before. Laurence gazed on her in -speechless wonder, but Clémence, full of hatred for the woman whom she -believed to be the author of all the misery of the past few days, still -pointed to the door, and sternly, relentlessly, in a voice which -quivered with the passion of intense hatred, she reiterated her command: - -"Go!" - -"They are bringing Mark home," said Lenora quietly; "he is wounded ... -perhaps to death ... I could not get to hear ... but when he opens his -eyes he will ask for me. I cannot go unless he sends me away." - -"They are bringing Mark home," assented the mother, "and 'tis I who will -tend him. Never shall thy treacherous hand touch my son..." - -"Mother," broke in Laurence firmly, "she is Mark's wife and she has -saved us all." - -Clémence gave a loud sob and fell back in her chair. Laurence tried in -vain to comfort her. But Lenora waited quietly until the worst of -Clémence's paroxysm of tears had passed away, then she said with the -same patience and gentleness: - -"I know, mevrouw, that from the first I was an intruder in your house. -I, too, have oft in the last few miserable days longed in vain that Mark -and I had never met. But do you not think, mevrouw, that our destinies -are beyond our ken? that God ordains our Fate, and merely chooses His -tools where He desires?" - -"And Satan, too, chooses his tools," murmured Clémence through her -tears. "Oh go! go! I beg of you to go," she added with sudden -passionate appeal; "cannot you see that the sight of you must be torture -to us all?" - -"Will you let me stay until I have seen Mark?" said Lenora calmly, "and -then I will go." - -"I will not let you see him," protested Clémence with the obstinacy of -the weak. "I would not allow a spy like you to come near him ... aye! a -spy ... an assassin mayhap ... how do I know that you are not an -emissary of our tyrants? how do I know that beneath your cloak you do -not hold a dagger?..." - -Laurence was trying his best to pacify his mother and throwing pathetic -looks of appeal to Lenora the while, whilst the girl herself was bravely -trying to hold herself in check. But at this last cruel taunt she -uttered a cry of pain, like a poor wild creature that has been hurt to -death. In a moment she was across the room, down on her knees beside the -old woman and holding Clémence's trembling hands imprisoned in her own. - -"Hush! Hush!" she implored wildly, "you must not say that ... you must -not ... Heavens above, have you not realised that when I acted as I did, -I did so because I believed God Himself had shown me the way? You call -me base and vile ... I swear to you by all that I hold most sacred that -I would gladly die a thousand deaths to undo the work of the past few -days ... you speak of an assassin's dagger ... I believed that my cousin -Ramon was murdered ... foully and in the dark ... by the man who was -known as Leatherface ... my father made me swear that I would avenge -Ramon's death ... what could I do? what could I do? I believed that God -was guiding me ... I spied upon you, I know ... I found out your secrets -and gave them to my father ... but he had commanded me and I had no one -else in the world ... no one ... only my father ... and I believed in -him as I believe in God...." - -Her voice broke in a sob, her head fell forward upon her hands and those -of the older woman, and a pitiable moan of pain came from her -overburdened heart. Laurence, with his head buried in his hands, would -have given his life to spare her all this misery. But Clémence said -nothing--she did not repulse the girl nor did she draw her to her heart; -whether she still mistrusted her or not it were impossible to say, -certain it is that she listened, and that words of hatred no longer rose -to her lips. - -"You will not let me see Mark," continued Lenora, trying to speak more -calmly, "you are afraid that I would go to him as an enemy ... a spy ... -an assassin.... Ah! you have chosen the weapon well wherewith to punish -me! An enemy, ye gods!--I who would give the last drop of blood in my -veins to help him at this hour, I who love him with every fibre of my -heart, with every aspiration of my soul! ... Don't you understand? -cannot you understand that he has forced his way right into my very -being, that I have left my people, my father, to come to him ... to warn -him, to help him ... to be with him in the hour of danger.... Let me -stay.... Let me be with him! ... Cannot you see that Love for him is -all that I live for now?..." - -She had ceased speaking, and over the high, oak-panelled room there fell -a silence which soon became oppressive. A few moments ago while Lenora -was pouring out her heart in wild words of passionate longing, Clémence -and Laurence had suddenly uttered a cry--half of horror and half of -joy--a cry which was quickly suppressed and which the girl did not hear. -Now the tension on her nerves was suddenly relaxed and she broke down -utterly--physically and mentally she felt like one who has received a -blow with a pole-axe and is only just alive--no longer sentient, hardly -suffering. She was crouching on the ground with her head on the older -woman's knee, a pathetic picture of hopelessness. She felt indeed as if -this earth could hold no greater suffering than what she endured now--to -have dreamed for one brief while that she had helped the man she loved -in the hour of his greatest danger, and then to be made to feel that she -was still an enemy in the sight of all his people. - -She lost count of time, it might have been but a few seconds that she -knelt there broken-hearted; it might have been a cycle of years; the din -from the streets outside, the bustle inside the house only reached her -ears like sounds that come in a dream. A kind of torpor had fallen over -the broken-hearted girl's senses and mercifully saved her from further -pain. She closed her eyes and semi-consciousness wrapped her in a -kindly embrace. Semi-consciousness or a happy dream. She could not -tell. All that she knew was that suddenly all misery and all suffering -fell away from her; that an invisible presence was in the room which was -like that of the angel of peace, and that strong, kind arms held her -closely, so that she no longer felt that an awful chasm yawned before -her and that she was falling into a hideous abyss where there was -neither hope nor pardon. Of course it must have been a dream--such -dreams as come to the dying who have suffered much and see the end of -all their woe in a prescient glimpse of heaven--for it seemed to her -that the kind grey eyes which she loved were looking on her now, that -they smiled on her with infinite tenderness and infinite understanding, -and that the lips which she had longed to kiss whispered gentle, -endearing words in her ear. - -"It is your love, Madonna, which led me to victory. Did I not say that -with it as my shield I could conquer the universe?" - -"Mark," she murmured, "you are hurt?" - -"Not much, dear heart," he replied with that quaint laugh of his which -suddenly turned this delicious dream into exquisite reality, "kind hands -have tended me and gave me some clean clothing. I would have had you in -my arms ere now, but was too dirty an object to appear before you." - -Then the laughter died out from his eyes, they became intent, searching, -desperately anxious. - -"Madonna," he whispered--and he who for three days had faced every kind -of danger, trembled now with apprehension--"what you said to my -mother--a moment ago--did you mean it?" - -"Your love, Mark," she murmured in reply, "is all that I live for now." - -Then he folded her in his arms once more. - -"Mother, dear," he said, "you must love her too. My whole happiness -hangs upon her kiss." - - - - - EPILOGUE - - -Many there are who hold to the belief that the death of Alva would have -saved the unfortunate Netherlanders many more months of woe and -oppression at his hands, and that mayhap it would have deterred the -royal despot over in Madrid from further acts of perfidious tyranny. - -Therefore Mark van Rycke--the responsible leader of the successful -insurrection of Ghent--has often been blamed for his leniency to a man -who--if he had been victorious--would not have spared a single woman or -child in the city. - -With the right and wrongs of that contention this chronicle hath no -concern. Mark van Rycke led the men of Ghent to victory, and having -done that he fell sick from wounds and exhaustion, and after being -hastily tended by his friends, he was taken home where for many days he -hovered between life and death. - -It was the civic dignitaries--the High-Bailiff, the Aldermen and -Sheriffs of the Keure who assumed the responsibility of dealing with the -tyrant, and they remained true apparently to their principles of -conciliation and of loyalty, for within two days of their heroic and -desperate stand for liberty and while the ruins of their beautiful city -were still smouldering, the men of Ghent had the mortification of seeing -the Duke of Alva ride--humiliated but unscathed--out of the town. - -Just as fifty years ago the town of Brüges held the Archduke Maximilian, -King of the Romans, a prisoner till he ordered the withdrawal of all -foreign troops from their gates, so did the men of Ghent now exact the -same undertaking from the Duke of Alva. - -For the moment Ghent was freed from the immediate danger of -annihilation, and the departure of Alva from Belgium less than a year -later saved her perhaps altogether from the fate of many of her sister -cities; certain it is that the High-Bailiff and the older burghers -extracted from their prisoners--among whom was señor de Vargas and -several members of the Blood Council--concessions and privileges for -which they had clamoured in vain for half a century; but beyond that the -tyrant was allowed to go free, and against this decision of their -magistrates and their Griet Mannen the heroes of the insurrection did -not raise a protest. Perhaps they had suffered too much to thirst for -active revenge. - - - - - END - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LEATHERFACE *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40500 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a -registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, -unless you receive specific permission. 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