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- float: left; - margin-right: 1em } - -.align-right { clear: right; - float: right; - margin-left: 1em } - -.align-center { margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto } - -div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } - -/* compact list items containing just one p */ -li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } - -.first { margin-top: 0 !important; - text-indent: 0 !important } -.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } - -span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } -img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } -span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } - -.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -@media screen { - .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage - { margin: 10% 0; } - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -</style> -<title>LEATHERFACE</title> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="Leatherface" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Baroness Orczy" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1916" /> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="40500" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2012-08-14" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="Leatherface A Tale of Old Flanders" /> - -<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS" /> -<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators" rel="schema.MARCREL" /> -<meta content="Leatherface A Tale of Old Flanders" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="leather.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta content="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language" /> -<meta content="2012-08-14T17:17:03.218166+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40500" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" /> -<meta content="Baroness Orczy" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta content="2012-08-14" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="EpubMaker 0.3.19b4 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -<style type="text/css"> -.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.toc-pageref { float: right } -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } -</style> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="leatherface"> -<h1 class="document-title level-1 pfirst title">LEATHERFACE</h1> - -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="align-None container language-en noindent pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst">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 <a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a> -included with this eBook or online at -<a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a>.</p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="noindent vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container noindent white-space-pre-line" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst white-space-pre-line"><span class="white-space-pre-line">Title: Leatherface<br /> - A Tale of Old Flanders<br /> -<br /> -Author: Baroness Orczy<br /> -<br /> -Release Date: August 14, 2012 [EBook #40500]<br /> -<br /> -Language: English<br /> -<br /> -Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="noindent vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line">*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK <span>LEATHERFACE</span> ***</p> -<div class="noindent vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> -<div class="noindent vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="align-None container coverpage"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure" style="width: 49%" id="figure-6"> -<span id="cover"></span><img class="align-center" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt=" " src="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<div class="caption figure"> -Cover</div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None center container titlepage white-space-pre-line"> -<p class="pfirst white-space-pre-line x-large">LEATHERFACE</p> -<p class="large pnext white-space-pre-line"><em class="italics white-space-pre-line">A TALE OF OLD FLANDERS</em></p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="medium pfirst white-space-pre-line">BY</p> -<p class="large pnext white-space-pre-line">BARONESS ORCZY</p> -<p class="pnext small white-space-pre-line">AUTHOR OF "THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL"</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst white-space-pre-line">NEW YORK<br /> -GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None center container verso white-space-pre-line"> -<p class="center pfirst small white-space-pre-line">COPYRIGHT, 1916,<br /> -BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst small white-space-pre-line">PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container plainpage white-space-pre-line"> -<p class="center pfirst small white-space-pre-line">[Transcriber's note: several passages in this book<br /> -use "f" for "s" to convey the archaic long "s" as "f".]</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container plainpage white-space-pre-line"> -<p class="left medium pfirst white-space-pre-line">By BARONESS ORCZY</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="left medium pfirst white-space-pre-line">THE BRONZE EAGLE<br /> -A BRIDE OF THE PLAINS<br /> -THE LAUGHING CAVALIER<br /> -"UNTO CAESAR"<br /> -EL DORADO<br /> -MEADOWSWEET<br /> -THE NOBLE ROGUE<br /> -THE HEART OF A WOMAN<br /> -PETTICOAT RULE</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="left medium pfirst white-space-pre-line">GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY<br /> -NEW YORK</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container plainpage white-space-pre-line"> -<p class="center large pfirst white-space-pre-line">CONTENTS</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="left medium pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#prologue-mons-september-1572">Prologue: Mons, September, 1572</a></p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst white-space-pre-line">BOOK ONE; BRUSSELS</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left medium pfirst white-space-pre-line">CHAPTER</p> -<ol class="left medium upperroman simple white-space-pre-line"> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#the-blood-council">The Blood Council</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#the-subject-race">The Subject Race</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#the-ruling-caste">The Ruling Caste</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#justice">Justice</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#vengeance">Vengeance</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst white-space-pre-line">BOOK TWO: DENDERMONDE</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<ol class="left medium upperroman simple white-space-pre-line" start="6"> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#a-stranger-in-a-strange-land">A Stranger in a Strange Land</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#the-rebels">The Rebels</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#the-watcher-in-the-night">The Watcher in the Night</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#a-divided-duty">A Divided Duty</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#enemies">Enemies</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#utter-loneliness">Utter Loneliness</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst white-space-pre-line">BOOK THREE: GHENT</p> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<ol class="left medium upperroman simple white-space-pre-line" start="12"> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#reprisals">Reprisals</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#my-faithful-watch-dog">My Faithful Watch-dog</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#the-tyrants">The Tyrants</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#two-pictures">Two Pictures</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#the-right-to-die">The Right to Die</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#truth-and-perfidy">Truth and Perfidy</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#the-last-stand">The Last Stand</a></p> -</li> -<li class="white-space-pre-line"><p class="first pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#the-hour-of-victory">The Hour of Victory</a></p> -</li> -</ol> -<div class="vspace white-space-pre-line" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="left medium pfirst white-space-pre-line"><a class="reference internal white-space-pre-line" href="#epilogue">Epilogue</a></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="prologue-mons-september-1572">PROLOGUE: MONS, SEPTEMBER, 1572</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst">PROLOGUE</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">MONS: SEPTEMBER, 1572</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">In his tent even Orange--tired out with ceaseless -watching--had gone to rest. His guards were in a profound -sleep.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Quick! awake! sound the alarm! An <em class="italics">encamisada</em> is -upon you. You will all be murdered in your sleep."</p> -<p class="pnext">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Leatherface!" exclaimed the Prince as he jumped to -his feet. "What is it?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Who gave the alarm?" queried don Frederic de -Toledo, who took no pains to smother the curses that rose -to his lips.</p> -<p class="pnext">"The devil, I suppose," growled don Ramon de Linea -savagely.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">He gave the military salute and would have turned to -go without another word but that the Prince caught him -peremptorily by the arm:</p> -<p class="pnext">"In the meanwhile, Messire, how shall I thank you -again?" he asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">"By guarding your precious life, Monseigneur," replied -the man simply. "The cause of freedom in the Low -Countries would never survive your loss."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Since you will not let me fight with you..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"The work of a spy, Monseigneur," said the other not -without a touch of bitterness.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">He held out his hand to the man with the mask, who -bent his tall figure over it in dutiful respect.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"When shall I see you again--Leatherface?" he asked -cheerily.</p> -<p class="pnext">"When your Highness' precious life or the safety of your -army are in danger," replied the man.</p> -<p class="pnext">"God reward you!" murmured Orange fervently as the -man with the mask disappeared into the night.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="the-blood-council">BOOK ONE: BRUSSELS</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst">CHAPTER I</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">THE BLOOD COUNCIL</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Alva the will that commanded! Vargas the brain that -devised! Del Rio the hand that accomplished!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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?</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Councillor Hessels, only half awake, reiterated with -drowsy emphasis: "To the gallows with them! Send -them all to the gallows!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">Thus directly challenged the Duke raised his head and -looked the young man sternly in the face.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"A spy more astute than yourselves," quoth Alva dryly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Rebel cities!" ejaculated de Berlaymont hotly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Seething with rebellion!" exclaimed don Ramon, "then -what of Ghent--which is a very nest of rebels?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Nay, then, let your Highness but give the order," broke -in don Ramon once more, "my soldiers would spend three -fruitful days in Ghent."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">The others nodded approval</p> -<p class="pnext">"And by the Mass..." resumed don Ramon.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">He paused, and his prominent, heavy-lidded eyes -wandered somewhat contemptuously on the sullen faces around -the board.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You'll never strike at Orange," broke in Councillor -Arsens obstinately, "while that creature Leatherface is at -large."</p> -<p class="pnext">"He is said to hail from Ghent," added Viglius with -conviction.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"A very admirable idea," now murmured Viglius obsequiously.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">De Vargas' persistent glance was irritating his nerves; -he threw a challenging look--wholly defiant--across the -table at the older man.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"My choice has naturally fallen on the son of Mynheer -Charles van Rycke, the High-Bailiff of Ghent," replied -Alva curtly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And on what grounds was the marriage suggested to -him?" questioned President Arsens.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then," interposed President Viglius with an attempt -at jocularity, "we shall soon be able to congratulate two -young people on a happy event!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Why, indeed?" murmured don Ramon under his breath.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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 <em class="italics">vicarius criminalis</em>: 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 <em class="italics">au revoir</em>, gentle Sirs, and let your toast be at every -banquet: 'To the destruction of Ghent, and to the death -of Orange!'"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VII</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">But it was a pity about donna Lenora!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Inez?" he exclaimed, "what is it?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"The señorita?" broke in don Ramon impatiently, and -with a puzzled frown, "is she here?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But Heavens above, why all this mystery?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Go in, I pray you, señor," she said, "the señorita -expects you."</p> -<p class="pnext">The young man walked unannounced into the small room -beyond.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VIII</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Ramon," she whispered, "you know?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"The Duke of Alva," he replied dryly, "gave me -official information."</p> -<p class="pnext">Then seeing that she remained silent and dejected he -added peremptorily: "Lenora! how long is it since you -have known of this proposed marriage?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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 <em class="italics">Esperansa</em> 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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then ... when did you first hear?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">Don Ramon muttered an angry oath.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Did he--your father I mean--never hint at it before?" -he asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Never. A month ago he still spoke of you in his -letters to me. Had you no suspicions, Ramon?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"None," he replied.</p> -<p class="pnext">"It was he of course who obtained for you that -command under don Frederic, which took you out of Spain."</p> -<p class="pnext">"It was a fine position and I accepted it gladly -... and unsuspectingly."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"It all seems like an ugly dream, Lenora," he murmured -sullenly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Well? and--?" he queried.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">He rose and gently disengaged himself from the tender -hands which clung so pathetically to him.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"How?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">And he with a last, tender kiss, airily bade her to be -brave and trustful, and finally waved her a cheery farewell.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="the-subject-race">CHAPTER II</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">THE SUBJECT RACE</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"I cannot do it, mother, I cannot! The very shame of -it would kill me!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"He can only kill me," retorted Laurence, with fierce, -passionate resentment.</p> -<p class="pnext">"And how should I survive if he did?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"What was that?" he cried, and made a dash for the -door. His mother's imploring cry called him back.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Laurence, for pity's sake!" implored the mother.</p> -<p class="pnext">At her call he ran to her and knelt at her feet: then -burying his head in his hands he sobbed like a child.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I cannot do it, mother!" he reiterated piteously, "I -cannot do it. I would far rather die!"</p> -<p class="pnext">With gentle, mechanical touch she stroked his unruly -fair hair, and heavy tears rolled down her wan cheeks -upon her thin, white hands.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Even these walls have ears these days," she added -feebly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But what can you do, Laurence?" asked Clémence van -Rycke, with a sigh of infinite misery.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"It is no use, Laurence," she murmured, "and I would -be the first to suffer."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"Have you seen Mark this morning?" asked Clémence -van Rycke suddenly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"No," he replied, "have you?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Only for a moment."</p> -<p class="pnext">"What had he to say?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">Laurence suppressed an angry oath.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Don't blame Mark," interposed Clémence van Rycke -gently, "he is as God made him--shallow, careless..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Do not fret, mother dear," he said, "I'll think things -out quietly, and then do what I think is right."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You'll do nothing rash, Laurence," she pleaded, "nothing -without consulting me?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Put another log on the fire, Jeanne," she said, "this -autumn weather hath chilled me to the marrow."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Is Messire Mark dressed yet, Jeanne?" she asked wistfully.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Messire came in about ten minutes ago," replied the -woman.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Let him know that I wish to speak with him as soon -as he can come to me.'</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes, Madame."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You have seen to the soldiers' supper?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then will don Ramon de Linea sup with us, think you?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"He didn't say."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">"Have you seen your father?" she asked after a while.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Not yet," he replied.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Have you told him nothing, then?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Nothing."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Good God!" he exclaimed, "and he has to meet señor -de Vargas within the next two hours!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Laurence should have thought of that," rejoined Mark -dryly, "before he embarked on this mad escapade."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Escapade!" she exclaimed with sudden vehemence. -"You can talk of escapade, when..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">The mother gave a little sigh of weariness and resignation.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And hang them to the nearest gibbet when they get -a chance," broke in Mark with a dry laugh.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Your father has finished dressing: go down to him, -Mark," she implored. "I cannot bear to meet him with -the news."</p> -<p class="pnext">And Mark without another word went down to meet -his father.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"He is a fine-looking lad," said the father complacently, -"he cannot fail to find favour in donna Lenora's sight."</p> -<p class="pnext">The news had to be told: Mark drew his father into -the dining-hall and served him with wine.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Laurence has gone out of the house, father, vowing -that he would never marry donna Lenora de Vargas."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?'"</p> -<p class="pnext">Charles van Rycke was silent. He pushed away from -him the tankard and bottle of wine. His face was the -colour of lead.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">He rose and said curtly, "I must speak with your mother."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Your imagination does not carry you very far, -meseems," quoth Mark dryly. "Laurence's default is not -irreparable."</p> -<p class="pnext">"What do you mean?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Am I not here to put it right?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"What?--you?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"By your leave."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You, Mark!"</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You, Mark," he murmured again.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"It would be salvation indeed," he said, somewhat more -steadily.</p> -<p class="pnext">Mark shrugged his shoulders with an air of complete -indifference.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And you did not speak of Laurence by name? I -shouldn't care to change mine."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"As for Laurence..." exclaimed the High-Bailiff -wrathfully.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">The High-Bailiff rose and placed a hand upon his son's -shoulder.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="the-ruling-caste">CHAPTER III</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">THE RULING CASTE</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Your eldest son, Messire?" asked one of these seigniors -graciously.</p> -<p class="pnext">"My sons are twins," replied the High-Bailiff, "and this -is my son Mark."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">And don Juan de Vargas gave answer with equal solemnity:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">The chief sheriff now spoke:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I will give the bridegroom two silver dishes and four -gold salt cellars," came in solemn fashion from young -Count Mansfeld.</p> -<p class="pnext">"To the bride I will give two gold bracelets and a rosary -specially blessed by His Holiness," announced the -Archbishop of Sorrento.</p> -<p class="pnext">"To the bridegroom I will give two gold dishes and four -silver spoons," said the seigneur de Beauvoir.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Whereupon the High-Bailiff spoke once more:</p> -<p class="pnext">"My son Mark hath two hundred and twenty friends and -kindred each of whom will present him with a suitable -wedding gift."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Wherefore, O noble seignior," continued the High-Bailiff, -"I do ask you to give your daughter to my son for -wife."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Give Messire van Rycke your hand, Lenora," commanded de Vargas.</p> -<p class="pnext">And the girl--obediently and mechanically--stretched out -her small, white hand and Mark van Rycke touched her -finger tips with his lips.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I thank you, Messire," said Mark van Rycke quietly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"As His Highness commands," rejoined Mark somewhat -impatiently.</p> -<p class="pnext">He had made several efforts to meet his beautiful bride's -glance again, but she kept her eyes steadily averted from -his now.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">But Mark van Rycke was no longer nigh.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">Then suddenly her face lit up with joy, the colour -rushed to her cheeks, and her lips parted in a smile.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Ramon," she whispered, as soon as the young man was -quite close to her, "I didn't know you were here."</p> -<p class="pnext">"His Highness," he replied, "has given me command of -the garrison here; I arrived last night with my regiment."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But where are your lodgings?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Poor Ramon!" she whispered with tender pity. "I too -have been unutterably wretched since I saw you in Brussels."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"We have burnt a goodly number of these rebels, but -still they swarm."</p> -<p class="pnext">"It is horrible!" exclaimed the young girl with a shudder.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"He cannot take my heart from you, Ramon, for that -will be yours always."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"What is it, Ramon?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"At your service, señor," replied Mark.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You were spying on donna Lenora and on me, I see."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Are you trying to be insolent, sirrah?" quoth don Ramon -roughly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You have no rights over this gracious lady, fellow," -retorted the Spaniard with characteristic arrogance.</p> -<p class="pnext">"None, I own, save those which she deigns to confer -upon me. And if she bid me begone, I will go."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Laurence!" he said without the slightest show of -surprise, and turning well away from donna Lenora so that -she should not hear.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Hush!" said the other. "I don't want father to knew -that I am here ... but I couldn't keep away."</p> -<p class="pnext">"How did you get through?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh! I disclosed myself to the men-at-arms. No one -seemed astonished."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Why should they be? Your escapade is not known."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Has everything gone off well?" queried Laurence.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Admirably," replied the other dryly. "I was just about -to make myself agreeable to my fiancée when you -interrupted me."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I'll not hinder you."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Have you been home at all?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And did you speak to father?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Have I not said that all is for the best?" rejoined Mark -dryly. "Now stand aside, man, and let me speak to my -bride."</p> -<p class="pnext">"She is very beautiful, Mark!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VII</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">But now Mark turned back to his fiancée, ready for that -<em class="italics">tête-à-tête</em> 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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Do I intrude upon your meditations, señorita?" he -asked, "do you wish me to go?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And you thought that conversation in a ballroom would -be a good start for the desirable purpose?" she asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Why not?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Additional?" she asked with a slight raising of her -brows.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But, by the Mass," he retorted gaily, "I shall expect -something more than loyalty and submission from so -beautiful a wife, you know."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Next to the King and to my faith," she replied coldly, -"you will always be first in my thoughts."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And in your heart, I trust, señorita," he said.</p> -<p class="pnext">"We are not masters of our heart, Messire."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"When may I see you again?" asked Mark van Rycke, -with coolness now quite equal to hers.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Every day until our wedding, Messire, in the presence -of my aunt, donna Inez de Salgado, as the custom of my -country allows."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">She took no notice of the gentle raillery, but dismissed -him with a gracious nod.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Shall I tell señor de Vargas," he asked, "that you are -alone?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"No, no," she replied hastily. "I prefer to be alone for -a little while. I pray you to leave me."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VIII</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I pray you, sir," she murmured timorously, "I pray -you to leave me...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But who are you?" she asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">"One who anon will stand very near to you--as a -brother...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"A brother? Then you are...?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Laurence van Rycke," he replied, "henceforth your -faithful servant until death."</p> -<p class="pnext">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">And she, who was lonely, and had no one to love her -devotedly, gave the promise which he asked.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="justice">CHAPTER IV</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">JUSTICE</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Hey there!" he shouted roughly, "open, you confounded -louts! What manners are these to close your doors against -the soldiers of the King?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Where is your master?" queried the Spaniard roughly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"In the dining hall, so please you, señor," replied the -man.</p> -<p class="pnext">"And my men?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then what is the pother about, sirrah?" queried the -Spaniard with well-studied insolence.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Only that..." murmured the unfortunate High-Bailiff -diffidently, "only that..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">Don Ramon threw back his head and burst into loud -and affected laughter.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">Whereupon Mark, in his usual good-tempered, indolent -way also bade his father good-night, and followed his -brother out of the room.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Here, wench!" he said roughly, "I want wine, the best -you have, and a private room in which to sit."</p> -<p class="pnext">"At your service, señor!" murmured the elder of the -two girls almost inaudibly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"What's your name?" he asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Katrine, so please your Magnificence."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And yours?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh! I understand!" quoth the provost with a laugh.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Now then, you Flemish slut," he said harshly, "show -me to your best parlour, and don't stand there gaping."</p> -<p class="pnext">Perforce she had to show him the way out of the public -<em class="italics">tapperij</em> to the private room reserved for noble guests.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">Loud laughter greeted this sally and a general clapping -of mugs against the table. Grete more dead than alive -nearly fell over the threshold.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Will your Magnificence be pleased to walk in," she -whispered.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"My humblest respect I do offer your Magnificence," -said Grete, who was bravely trying to suppress her tears.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Come here, Grete," he called loudly for the third time. -But Grete was much too frightened to move.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Good Lord deliver me!" she murmured.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"By the Mass!" he said peremptorily, "who is this -malapert who..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Where is Katrine," he asked quickly; then, as the girl -almost paralysed by fear seemed quite unable to speak, he -added more peremptorily:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Pull yourself together, wench; your life and Katrine's -depend on your courage now. Where is she?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"In ... in ... the cellar ... I think," -stammered Grete almost inaudibly and making a brave -effort to conquer her terror.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Can you reach her without crossing the tap-room?"</p> -<p class="pnext">The girl nodded.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">Again the girl nodded, and looked up more boldly this -time: "My father's sister..." she whispered.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Where does she live?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"At the sign of the 'Merry Beggars' in Dendermonde."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I shouldn't be afraid," murmured the girl.</p> -<p class="pnext">"That's good!" he concluded. "Come, Grete!"</p> -<p class="pnext">He turned back to the door, unlocked it, and let the girl -slip out of the room. Then he relocked the door.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"'Tis you will suffer," said the other coldly, "even as -you would have made two helpless and innocent women -suffer."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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 <em class="italics">you</em> shelter! Assassin!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VII</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">The masked man only spoke a few words:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Tell your provost," he said, "that señor captain don -Ramon de Linea lies dead in the room yonder."</p> -<p class="pnext">Then he disappeared, as quietly as he had come.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="vengeance">CHAPTER V</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">VENGEANCE</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"Satan! Satan! Assassin!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">Truth to tell, de Vargas had received the news of don -Ramon's death with unbounded satisfaction.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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'!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I have heard of this man 'Leatherface,'" said Lenora -slowly. "It is he, you think, who murdered Ramon?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Think you it is likely that the High-Bailiff of Ghent -or ... or ... my future husband would harbour -such an assassin?" she asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I shall pray to the saints," she rejoined with passionate -intensity, "that he and I may meet face to face one day."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"A means?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes. He carries upon his arm the brand of his own infamy."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Will you tell me more clearly what you mean?" she asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You will have to teach me what to do, father," she -rejoined.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I promise," she replied fervently.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I promise," she reiterated firmly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I promise."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Upon your soul, my child?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Upon my soul!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"And next to Orange himself, I'd sooner see that masked -assassin Leatherface hang than any man in Europe; -remember that, little one!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I'll not forget."</p> -<p class="pnext">"The outrage on don Ramon de Linea must not remain -unavenged, remember that."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I'll not forget."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then let Orange and his rebels look to themselves!" -ejaculated de Vargas with a note of triumph.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"What is it, dear?" she asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I will remember," she replied.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You will not fail me, little one?" asked de Vargas -even in the midst of tender, endearing words.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Never!" she murmured, "if you turned against me, -father dear, whither could I go? I have no one in the -world but you."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Tell me what to do and I'll do it," she whispered again.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">After which he rose, kissed her and finally with a sigh -of intense satisfaction left her to meditate alone, to dream -and to pray.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="a-stranger-in-a-strange-land">BOOK TWO: DENDERMONDE</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst">CHAPTER VI</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">A STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">A week later was the marriage solemnised between -donna Lenora de Vargas and Mark van Rycke, son of the -High-Bailiff of Ghent.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You are tired, Madonna?" he asked after a little while, -and she replied, pathetically, like a child about to cry:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Very tired, Messire."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">Then as she said nothing, but continued to stare into -the fire in a listless manner, he added a little impatiently:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I am at your service, Messire," she rejoined stiffly, "if -there is aught you wish to say to me."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Had it not been for your eyes, Madonna," he said softly, -"I would have sworn that you were fashioned of marble."</p> -<p class="pnext">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Do I anger you, Madonna?" he asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Nay, Messire," she replied coldly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"May I not then hold your hand--for a very little while -in mine?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"If you wish."</p> -<p class="pnext">But she did not voluntarily put her hand out to him, and -he made no second attempt to capture it.</p> -<p class="pnext">"We do not seem to be getting along very fast," he said -quaintly.</p> -<p class="pnext">She smiled. "Seeing how we came to be together, Messire," -she said, "we were not like to have much in common."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yet, we shall have to pass our lives together, Madonna."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Alas!" she sighed.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I own that the prospect cannot be very alluring for you--it -doth not seem to suggest an interminable vista of happiness...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh!" she murmured as if involuntarily, "I was not -thinking of happiness."</p> -<p class="pnext">"How strange," he retorted gently, "now, whenever I -look at you, Madonna, I invariably think of happiness."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Happiness? With me?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Madonna," he whispered, "an you would let me, I -should like to make love to you now."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Love!" she said with cold sarcasm. "You?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes, I--your husband as it happens, Madonna. Would -love from me be so very distasteful to you then?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes," he owned, "you spoke very plainly then."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And since then I have had no cause to change."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I am as distasteful to you as I ever was?" he asked -with droll consternation.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh!--not distasteful, Messire."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Come! that's something."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Enough, methinks."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Never," she broke in firmly, "I should have to forget -that which is indelibly writ upon my memory."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And what is that?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"In wild, ecstatic half-hours spent in the presence of -your duenna and sitting opposite to the chilliest bride in -Christendom," he said whimsically.</p> -<p class="pnext">"And the rest of the time in the taverns of Ghent," she -retorted hotly, "and places of ill-repute."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Who told you that?" he asked quietly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh! your reputation is well known: how could it fail -to reach mine ears."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Your pardon, Madonna," he murmured, "I did not -understand that you could hate me so."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I thank you, Messire," murmured Lenora, who was -making a great effort to swallow her tears.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then I pray you dry your eyes," he pleaded, "I would -be so ashamed if Jeanne saw that I had made you cry."</p> -<p class="pnext">She looked up and even in the gloom he thought that -he could see a swift smile pass across her face.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You mistake, Messire," she stammered, "I..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Heaven protect us!" ejaculated Lenora involuntarily, -"I trust they did not quarrel."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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 <em class="italics">tapperij</em> 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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Close that window, Inez," she said peremptorily, "the -night hath turned chilly."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="the-rebels">CHAPTER VII</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">THE REBELS</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">She half rose as if she meant to go, but a word from the -stranger kept her in her place.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"The little that we have done, Monseigneur," said Clémence -softly, "hath been done with great gladness seeing that -it was in your service."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yet your Highness refuses to take me with you," said -Laurence with gentle reproach.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Beware of treachery, your Highness!" broke in Clémence -van Rycke suddenly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Is that not insolence?" exclaimed one of the others -hotly. "Were we not to be trusted with the care of your -sacred person?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"At your Highness' service," replied Laurence, and the -others also murmured a quick assent.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"The wave of enthusiasm is spreading," asserted another.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"It cannot fail!" came with fervent conviction from every -one of the others.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Ghent can do what Brüges hath done!" they affirmed.</p> -<p class="pnext">"With the tyrant a prisoner in our hands, we can dictate -terms as Brüges did an hundred years ago."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Let me but offer my life..." interposed Laurence -eagerly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"For Orange, for faith and for liberty!" said one of -the men simply, and the others merely murmured: "Tell -us what we must do."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"One weak link?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"He dreads assassination," interposed one man with a sneer.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Where will their leaders be?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">The Prince was the first to recover himself.</p> -<p class="pnext">"It is Leatherface," he whispered, "come to give me -warning."</p> -<p class="pnext">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Leatherface!" murmured the Prince, and Clémence van -Rycke gave a sigh of relief.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"We have nearly finished," murmured the Prince in reply. -"And I'll come away at once. Is the street clear?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I come, friend," rejoined the Prince, "and as soon as -may be."</p> -<p class="pnext">The hooded head disappeared in the gloom; Laurence -closed the window and drew the curtains together again.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I envy that man," he said, and Clémence murmured a -fervent: "God bless him!"</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">Then the Prince turned once more to his friends.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">He now opened the wallet at his belt and took out from -it a small packet of papers.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">It was Clémence van Rycke who replied:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Will your Highness grope your way to the front door," -whispered Clémence van Rycke, "or shall my son bring -a lanthorn to guide you?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But to-morrow..." interposed Laurence van Rycke.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Not one of us would care to stay away," rejoined Laurence -with earnest conviction.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="the-watcher-in-the-night">CHAPTER VIII</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">THE WATCHER IN THE NIGHT</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Indeed she could not for a moment be in doubt as to the -meaning of what she saw and heard.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Leatherface!"--the man in the room below whom the -others called "Your Highness" spoke of Leatherface as -his friend!</p> -<p class="pnext">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?</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">After that silence once more.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">The time had come, and she did what she believed to be -her duty without question and without false shame.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">And then the girl--shading the tiny light with her -hand--began to descend.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Then she turned to go.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You found the book, I hope," he said, without the -slightest trace of irony.</p> -<p class="pnext">"No," she replied coldly. "Inez must have put it away. -Will you be so good as to unlock that door."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"The draught blew it out," she retorted, "and I would -be glad if you would relight it. I am going back to my -room."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I thank you," she rejoined coldly, "I can find my way -alone."</p> -<p class="pnext">"As you please," he said with perfect indifference.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">She paused and he rejoined quietly: "I don't think I -quite understand, Madonna. Under what conditions would -your life become a martyrdom?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Alas! there are not even embers in the grate," he said, -"I fear me, you must be cold."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"There," he asked gaily, "are you better now, Madonna?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Better, I thank you," she replied.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then shall I interpret the thoughts which were coursing -behind that smooth brow of yours, when first I startled you -by my presence here?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"If you will."</p> -<p class="pnext">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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">She could not deny it, and murmured: "Yes."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You, Messire!" she exclaimed, "you would..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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....</p> -<p class="pnext">"There is no hurry," she continued timidly. "I would -not like to put you to inconvenience."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh!" he rejoined airily, "there is no inconvenience -which I would not gladly bear in order to gratify your -wish."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I shall have to pack my effects...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh! there is no hurry," she protested.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Then he turned back into the room.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VII</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="a-divided-duty">CHAPTER IX</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">A DIVIDED DUTY</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">Yes! Spying!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">But she sat down, courageously, to write.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Finally, on the outside of this packet she wrote with a -clear hand:</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Hold your tongue, woman," broke in Lenora sharply, -"and see to your work. You will never be done, if you -talk so much."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">She wrote a short letter to Laurence.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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...."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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:</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Inez!" she said.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes, my saint."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I shall be starting for Brussels within the hour."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Holy Virgin!" exclaimed the old woman. "I shall -not be ready with the packing. Why this hurry, my angel?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Your not being ready, Inez, is of no consequence. I -shall start with Messire van Rycke. You will follow on in -the wagon."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But, my saint..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And if that flighty wench doesn't look after you -properly..." began Inez menacingly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"For which the Lord be thanked!" said Inez fervently. -"What is it, my dear?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"This letter," she said.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I want Messire Laurence van Rycke to have it, after I -have gone."</p> -<p class="pnext">"He shall have it, my saint."</p> -<p class="pnext">"He may be from home."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I shall find him."</p> -<p class="pnext">"He must have it before midday."</p> -<p class="pnext">"He shall have it."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Promise!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I'll swear it."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">He nodded eagerly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I shall soon send it you," she said, "and ask you to do -something for my sake."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Command me," he implored, "and it shall be done."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You have my word for both these assertions, you -accursed fool," exclaimed Mark hotly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">Mark established his young wife in the ingle-nook of -the <em class="italics">tapperij</em> in the highly-respectable tavern of the "Merry -Beggars," opposite the Cloth Hall.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Fortunately at this hour--it was just three o'clock in -the afternoon--the <em class="italics">tapperij</em> 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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">But in the meanwhile she was sorely in need of rest. -The <em class="italics">tapperij</em> 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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Lenora slept peacefully.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="enemies">CHAPTER X</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">ENEMIES</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Is it time to go?" she asked quickly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Not yet," he replied.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"What hour is it?" she questioned, and looked about -her anxiously for a clock.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I do not know," he replied airily.</p> -<p class="pnext">"But your horse?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Still at the farrier's: he was busy and could not shoe -her at once."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But I am sure that it must be getting late," she said -with a sudden note of anxiety in her voice.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Very late, I am afraid," he said lightly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then should we not be starting for Brussels?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"We cannot. I have no horse."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You can hire one, surely?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Not in this town."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But I must be in Brussels by nightfall," she urged.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But that is impossible," she exclaimed, "monstrous!..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Monstrous, as you say, Madonna," he rejoined with -a smile. "But do you feel equal to scaling the city -walls?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"It is a pretty city..." he suggested.</p> -<p class="pnext">"That we cannot now start for Brussels?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"A pretty city, Madonna," he interposed imperturbably, -"the church was built three hundred years ago ... the -Cloth Hall..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And now you are impertinent," she declared hotly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"You might have done that yesterday and saved me -much humiliation," she retorted.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yesterday I was a fool, Madonna," he said. "To-day -I have become a wise man."</p> -<p class="pnext">"What hath changed you?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Ten minutes of your company in the dining-hall last night."</p> -<p class="pnext">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 <em class="italics">tapperij</em>. 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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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?</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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?</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">He smiled quite unperturbed: "You think me an adept?" -he asked quietly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You are not ashamed?" she retorted.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Not in the least. What have I done?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Disdain, Messire ... surely I..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">It was all very difficult and Lenora sighed wearily:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I wonder what we would find?" she mused.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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?</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And what lesson is that?" she asked, feigning not to -understand, though she knew quite well what the answer -would be.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Love?" she said with a strange tremour in her voice, -"the world no longer contains love for me...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Give me your lips, sweetheart," he whispered in her -ear, "and I'll give you your first lesson even now."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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....</p> -<p class="pnext">And Chance, Fate or its own elusive nature drove it -relentlessly away.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">How peaceful was the sleepy little town at this moment -when dusk finally faded into night!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"What is it?" asked Lenora, not a little frightened.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Already he was half way across the <em class="italics">tapperij</em>.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You are going?" she queried anxiously, "whither?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Out into the street," he said, "can you not hear that -a woman is in distress?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"But what can you do?" she urged, "the soldiers are -there ... you cannot interfere ... you, a Netherlander...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes! I, a Netherlander," he said. "It is a Flemish -woman who is calling for help now."</p> -<p class="pnext">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 <em class="italics">tapperij</em>. -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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">He smiled and tried very gently to disengage his arm -from her clinging, insistent grasp.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">He ran out quickly into the street.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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 <em class="italics">seven stiver people</em>--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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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: "<em class="italics">Gott vergelte!</em>" 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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Thank you, friend, but I put up at the 'Merry Beggars' -and must return thither now. A little later perhaps."</p> -<p class="pnext">"At your service, comrade."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You are hurt?" one man had said--in a kind, gruff -way--evidently in deep concern.</p> -<p class="pnext">"No! no! it's nothing," Mark replied, "a small scratch -... in the scuffle just now...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But you are bleeding...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Good-night!" came in chorus from the men.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">But Mark was hurt and she stood waiting at the street -corner for she heard his step coming slowly toward her.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You are hurt!" she exclaimed, even before she reached him.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Madonna!" he cried in astonishment, "what are you -doing here?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"It was only a street-brawl," he said, "not fit for you to -witness."</p> -<p class="pnext">Even now, though he spoke quite firmly, his voice -sounded weary and weak.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You are hurt!" she reiterated.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I pray you take my arm," she insisted. "Can you -walk as far as the tavern?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Indeed I can," he retorted, "on my honour 'tis a mere -scratch."</p> -<p class="pnext">"An you'll not take my arm," she said peremptorily, -"I'll call for help."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">He held his right arm out to her, but as he did so she -noticed that he kept the other behind his back.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Then she went into the <em class="italics">tapperij</em>, and Mark followed her.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Turning to Mark, she noticed that he still kept his left -arm resolutely behind his back.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Our good hostess won't be long with the water," she -said, "in the meanwhile, I pray you let me tend to your -wound."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Let me see," she commanded.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I insist!" she said gently, and clung to his hand -supporting the fore-arm as she did so.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Your sleeve is covered with blood!" she exclaimed.</p> -<p class="pnext">"It is nothing!" he persisted obstinately.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!...</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">And she, thus looking into that face which only lived -through the eyes, saw all around her the narrow white-washed -walls of the <em class="italics">tapperij</em> 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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then it was you!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then it was you!" she murmured again, and with those -fateful words pronounced his condemnation and her own -indomitable hate.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then it was you!" she said for the third time.</p> -<p class="pnext">And he bent his head in mute avowal.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="utter-loneliness">CHAPTER XI</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">UTTER LONELINESS</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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 <em class="italics">tapperijen</em> were frequented -by Spanish, French and German soldiery.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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 <em class="italics">tapperij</em> 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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Where is the letter?" asked Lenora curtly.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Aunt told me to give it to the noble lady," she said, -"as soon as she deigned to wake."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes! at the noble lady's service," replied the girl.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Art of this city, then?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"No, so please you. I come from Ghent."</p> -<p class="pnext">"From Ghent? What is thy name, then?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Grete, so please the noble lady," whispered the girl.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="left medium pfirst">"MARK VAN RYCKE."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">The letter dropped into her lap, for awhile she sat, -staring straight into the fire.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Will the noble lady deign to take supper?"</p> -<p class="pnext">But she had to repeat her question three times at intervals -before Lenora gave answer.</p> -<p class="pnext">"What?" she said vaguely, like one waking from a -dream. "Yes!--No!--What didst say, girl?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Will the noble lady deign to take supper?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Bring me some milk and bread," replied Lenora, "and -... can I sleep here to-night?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I will give the man who will take my message to -Brussels this night five golden ducats," said Lenora -peremptorily.</p> -<p class="pnext">Grete opened her eyes wide with astonishment.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Fool! Fool!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">Oh! the shame of it! The terrible, burning shame!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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...?</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">The clock of the Cloth-Hall tower chimed the ninth hour. -Lenora raised her head and once more peered out into -the night.</p> -<p class="pnext">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?</p> -<p class="pnext">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?</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Where did you meet Messire van Rycke, Inez?" she -asked quietly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"He was riding toward Ghent?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You gave the sealed packet to Messire Laurence van -Rycke," asked Lenora, "as I had directed?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I gave him the packet two hours after you had started."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And what did he say?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"He said nothing, my saint."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="reprisals">BOOK THREE: GHENT</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst">CHAPTER XII</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">REPRISALS</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">No one thought of civil strife then.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"With my commands," the Duke corrected them curtly.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Whereupon the Duke proceeded to the Kouter.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="my-faithful-watch-dog">CHAPTER XIII</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">MY FAITHFUL WATCH-DOG</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!'"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">A murmur of satisfaction went round the room, and -Leatherface resumed after a little while:</p> -<p class="pnext">"In the meanwhile, with the help of God, the precious -person of the Prince of Orange is safe."</p> -<p class="pnext">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes! betrayed!" now said one of the younger men -vehemently, "and by whom? Dost know by whom, friend -Leatherface?"</p> -<p class="pnext">And all around the tables, grimly set lips murmured:</p> -<p class="pnext">"By whom? My God! by whom were we betrayed?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">And Leatherface, looking straight into Laurence's pale -and haggard face, said slowly:</p> -<p class="pnext">"By one who hath already paid the full price for all -the misery which that betrayal will bring in its wake."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Dead?" came in awed yet eager query from most of -them there.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"And now tell us about the Prince," urged Messire -van Overbeque, the Vice-Bailiff. "Where is he now?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Even then it might have been too late," quoth one of -the listeners.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Holy Virgin!" exclaimed Laurence van Rycke, "and -what did you do?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">He gave a light, good-humoured laugh, and one of the -men asked: "Then how did you get in?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I swam and I scaled the walls," he replied simply.</p> -<p class="pnext">"But ... how?" asked another.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh! I swim like a fish and climb like an ape...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But were you not seen?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh, yes! and shot at ... but the Spaniards are bad -shots and ... I am here."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"No! no!" quoth the Vice-Bailiff emphatically. "Have -we not said that we want you to lead us?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You have all despised me too much in the past to heed -my counsels now."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Unmask! unmask!" they reiterated unanimously.</p> -<p class="pnext">The man with the leather mask then advanced to the -very edge of the platform, and, putting up his hand, he -asked for silence.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"We can fight," murmured one of the older men, "but -we cannot conquer."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"For freedom, faith and country!" cried Leatherface -loudly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"For freedom, faith and country," came from two -thousand panting throats.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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?</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And how wilt do that, friend?" sighed, Messire van -Overbeque despondently.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">For a moment he could not continue, loud and vehement -protestations against this monstrous proposal arose from -every side.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Well, seigniors," said Leatherface, "I still await your -decision."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"And which of us would you entrust with the -abominable errand?" queried Laurence van Rycke abruptly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Nay! I cannot do it," interposed the Vice-Bailiff -vehemently. "I would sooner cut off my right hand now."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">It was indeed a terrible puzzle, one which even these -brave men found it hard to solve.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You are quite determined, then?" asked the Vice-Bailiff.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"God help us all!" murmured Messire Deynoot, the -Procurator-General.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Amen to that," said the Procurator-General fervently.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"God reward you," they murmured fervently.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Perhaps He will," whispered the man with the mask, -under his breath, "and with a speedy death!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">To this Leatherface made no answer, and Laurence -continued more calmly:</p> -<p class="pnext">"It was of the lists I wish to speak. The papers which -His Highness entrusted to my care."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I went to look for them after ... after she left the -house, and found that they had gone."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then what did you do?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You did not think of flight? ... for your mother, -I mean?..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You used a false key then?" queried Laurence in -bewilderment.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Messire," he said appealingly, "what of her?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Pray for her, Messire," replied Leatherface quietly, -"she suffers more than you do."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Must we all curse her then? or else be traitors to our -own people."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Hush, mother, in the name of Heaven..." broke in -Laurence with a heart-broken sob.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Are you, too, going to defend her?" retorted the mother -fiercely.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Laurence," cried the mother, "are you mad? What -do you mean? What has happened to Mark? Where is he?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"In his bed, no doubt, at this moment, mother."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Sleeping whilst we all weep and pray!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Laurence! you are mad! Mark is..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"It is false!" cried Clémence vehemently.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I swear by God that it is true," proclaimed Laurence, -fervently.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh God! forgive me," she cried, "if this be true."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"The proposal! What proposal?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"That Leatherface be given up to the tyrant as the -price of the safety of the city."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And you--his brother--agreed to this infamous -suggestion?" murmured Clémence hoarsely.</p> -<p class="pnext">"We must not leave a stone unturned or a man alive -to save the women and children," replied Laurence -sombrely.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then may God have mercy on us all!" cried Clémence, -and she fell back heart-broken against the cushions of -her chair.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="the-tyrants">CHAPTER XIV</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">THE TYRANTS</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Your desire, seigniors?" queried the Duke curtly.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Ghent! beloved city! once the home of the free! what -must thy citizens endure for thy sake?</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">But Alva, with a sneer, had already destroyed all the -fond hopes which had been built upon that resolve.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"We can collect two million gulden in gold," said -Messire Deynoot insinuatingly, "and lay that sum at the -feet of your Magnificence to-morrow."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Spare me thy heroics, sirrah!" quoth Alva fiercely, -"or I'll have that impudent tongue of thine cut out before -nightfall."</p> -<p class="pnext">And once more the burghers had to bend their pride -before the appalling arrogance of their tyrant.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And what is that offer, sirrah? Be quick about it, as -my patience, of a truth, is at the end of its resources."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Speak!" commanded Alva.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Leatherface is in Ghent, Monseigneur," murmured -Deynoot, scarce above his breath.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Come! that's good! Then will our booty be even -richer than we thought."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And you will deliver him over to me," broke in Alva -with a harsh laugh, "if I will spare your city?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"How long has she been there?" asked Alva quickly, -in a whisper.</p> -<p class="pnext">"All the time," replied de Vargas, also under his -breath.</p> -<p class="pnext">"But this is not for women's ears."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And she shall, too. She hath deserved well of us. -We owe our present triumph to her."</p> -<p class="pnext">Then he turned once more to the burghers.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Some could hardly see because of the veil of tears -before their eyes.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="two-pictures">CHAPTER XV</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">TWO PICTURES</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"His Highness," she retorted coldly, "also said that to be -here was my right ... your triumph to-day being all due -to me."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Well!" he added lightly, "'tis you wanted to come, -remember."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes," she said, "I wanted to come."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"No, father, I thank you," she replied. "I would wish -to stay."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then he refused?"</p> -<p class="pnext">All the five men who this morning had knelt humbly -before the tyrant, exchange silent glances, after which -Messire Deynoot says firmly:</p> -<p class="pnext">"He refused."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Nothing! save Orange's person will move Alva from -his resolve."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Suddenly with a resolute gesture Leatherface draws -his mask away and rises to his feet in full view of all the -crowd.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Mark van Rycke!" comes as one cry from several -hundred throats.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"To victory!" shout the younger men enthusiastically.</p> -<p class="pnext">"To die like men," murmur the older ones.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"To-morrow!" they all assent with unbounded enthusiasm.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="the-right-to-die">CHAPTER XVI</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">THE RIGHT TO DIE</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">And just when the Spanish cavalry upon the Market -Square is beginning to give ground the cry of "<em class="italics">Sauve qui -peut</em>" is raised somewhere in the distance.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">But some of the Walloons and Spaniards contrive to -escape this general rounding up and it was they who first -raised the cry of "<em class="italics">Sauve qui peut!</em>"</p> -<p class="pnext">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: "<em class="italics">Sauve qui peut!</em>" and the tramp of running -feet, the calls and cries drown the clash of lance and pike.</p> -<p class="pnext">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: "<em class="italics">Sauve qui peut</em>! -They are on us! <em class="italics">Sauve qui peut!</em>" 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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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 "<em class="italics">Sauve qui peut!</em>" and -the sound of the tocsin weirdly calling through the fast -gathering night.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">Half an hour later, and we see courier after courier -sent flying from Het Spanjaard's Kasteel to every corner -of the city.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Don Sancho de Avila, captain of the castle guard, hands -him the leather bottle and he drinks greedily.</p> -<p class="pnext">"We are in a tight corner, Monseigneur," whispers de -Avila under his breath.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Hold thy tongue, fool!" is Alva's rough retort.</p> -<p class="pnext">Whereupon the captain stands aside more convinced than -before that disaster is in the air.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">But his brow clears perceptibly when he sees Juan de -Vargas coming out to meet him.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Where is thy daughter?" he asks as soon as the other is -within earshot.</p> -<p class="pnext">"In chapel, I imagine," replies de Vargas.</p> -<p class="pnext">"No woman should be abroad this night," says Alva -dryly. "Send for her and order her to remain within her -apartments."</p> -<p class="pnext">"She has been tending the wounded, and will wish to do -so again."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Well! let her keep to the castle-yard then."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You are not anxious, Monseigneur?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"In the meanwhile cannot we send to Dendermonde for -reinforcements? The garrison there is all Spanish and..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VII</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">A volley of arrows from the crossbowmen upon the -Waalpoort answers the defiant cry: one arrow pierces a -loose corner of Mark's doublet.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Van Rycke!" cries the provost who stands nearest to -him, "spare thyself in the name of God! What shall we -do if you fall?"</p> -<p class="pnext">And Mark, unmoved, the fire of enthusiasm unquenched -in his eyes, cries loudly in response:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"And now for revenge!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">And seeing all this, he hath not a thought of pity for -all the innocent whom he vows to punish along with the -guilty.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VIII</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Help!" cries Alva fiercely, "where are we to get help -from if those oafs at the city gates do not find us some?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"So are we," says Alva grimly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Ah!" says Avila quietly, "they have not got the Kasteel -yet."</p> -<p class="pnext">"How long can we hold out?" queries de Vargas, who -at Alva's grimly prophetic words, had become livid with -fear.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IX</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"With what news?" queries Alva impatiently.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Two thousand!" exclaims Alva with a fierce oath, "the -miserable poltroons."</p> -<p class="pnext">"At least three thousand rebels threaten the Kasteel."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"When did the messenger start for Dendermonde?" he -asks again.</p> -<p class="pnext">"When the Angelus began to ring at noon, Magnificence."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Why not before?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Dost know if the message which thy captain sent to -Dendermonde was couched in urgent terms?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I believe so, Magnificence. The señor captain was -growing very anxious."</p> -<p class="pnext">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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"At the Braepoort?" he queries curtly, "how many of -the guard have been killed?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">X</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Those Walloons..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"'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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I am afraid of nothing, Magnificence," replies the man -quietly, "save your Highness's wrath."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Dost know where to find the rebel?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Where musket-balls fly thickest, your Highness."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Every word, your Highness," says the man simply.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then go in peace," concludes Alva, and the man is dismissed.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">XI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">At sight of him, de Vargas gave a cry of rage and surprise.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Mark van Rycke!" he exclaimed. "What hath he to do -with it all?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Thy daughter's husband," said Alva coolly. "Nay, then -we'll soon make her a widow."</p> -<p class="pnext">But to the Orangists he called peremptorily: "'Tis with -the rebel whom ye call Leatherface that I wish to speak."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I have been known as Leatherface hitherto," retorts -Mark van Rycke coolly. "Speak without fear. I listen."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Spy as well as rebel!" they cried out to him wrathfully.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Pity he cannot hang more than once," added de Vargas -with bitter spite.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I do not ask," retorted Alva loudly, "I demand."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then since 'tis the vanquished who demand, let us hear -what they wish to say."</p> -<p class="pnext">"To-morrow is Sunday, rebel, hadst forgotten that?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"No, tyrant, I had not. God hath forbidden us to work -on that day, but not to fight against oppression."</p> -<p class="pnext">"He hath also enjoined us to attend Mass on His day. -Are ye heretics that ye care naught for that?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"We care for the Lord's Day as much as Spaniards do."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yet will ye prevent His people from praying in peace!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"We'll pray for those whom thy tyranny keeps locked up -within thy castle walls."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">There was no immediate reply to this taunt, but from -the insurgents' ranks there came a loud, warning call:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"'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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"We know not yet what it is ye ask," said van Rycke -quietly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"A truce until the evening Angelus," broke in Mark -hotly, "so that ye may send for reinforcements to the -nearest garrison town. We refuse!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Well said, van Rycke!" cried the Orangists.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Can you not pray in your Kasteel?" retorted Mark.</p> -<p class="pnext">"We have no priest to say Mass for us."</p> -<p class="pnext">"We will send you one."</p> -<p class="pnext">"We have no consecrated chapel."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Treachery!" cried some of the Orangists, "do not heed -him, van Rycke."</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"They are weary of the fight," he added obstinately, "we -are not."</p> -<p class="pnext">But already every one of his friends was urging him to -grant the truce:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Rebel!" now shouted Alva impatiently, "I await thine -answer."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Accept, van Rycke, accept," cried the Orangists unanimously -now, "it is God's will that we accept."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I await thine answer, rebel," reiterated Alva.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"You will let them pray in peace?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Until the evening Angelus ceases to ring?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Until then."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And until that hour we remain as we are. Our guard -at the gates...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Our prisoners in our hands."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And may God guard thee," concluded Alva unctuously.</p> -<p class="pnext">"May God have mercy on thy soul if thou hast lied to -us," said Mark van Rycke quietly.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">He wheeled his horse round and, wholly callous and -unconcerned, he rode back slowly over the bridge.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="truth-and-perfidy">CHAPTER XVII</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">TRUTH AND PERFIDY</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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 <em class="italics">en masse</em>."</p> -<p class="pnext">"I quite understand, Magnificence," replied the captain.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"God guard ye!" they said as the Duke walked by.</p> -<p class="pnext">"We'll aid Him in that," retorted the Spaniards cynically.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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 <em class="italics">tapperij</em> 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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Grete," queried Lenora abruptly, "dost love me truly?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"With my whole heart, noble lady," replied the child -simply.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then, if thou lovest me, didst pray at Mass this morning -for the success of our cause and the confusion of those -abominable rebels?"</p> -<p class="pnext">Grete made no reply, and anon a low, suppressed sob -caused Lenora to say, not unkindly:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Thy heart is with the rebels, Grete."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Didst know them well?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Aye, noble lady. They used to come to the 'Three -Weavers.'"</p> -<p class="pnext">"The 'Three Weavers,' Grete?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"My husband, Grete," murmured Lenora.</p> -<p class="pnext">"I know it, noble lady."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Didst know then that Messire Mark van Rycke was -Leatherface?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Thou didst know him, too, then as Leatherface?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Aye, noble lady," said Grete quietly, "he saved my life -and my sister's. I would give mine to save him now."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Saved thy life? How? When?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">But Lenora's brows contracted now in puzzlement. A -few days ago? Mark was courting her then....</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And 'tis on that night he saved my life ... and -Katrine's ... aye! and saved us from worse than death...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"But what?" she queried with agonised impatience. -"Speak, girl! Canst not see that I only live to hear?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Our father was taken," said Grete quietly, "he was -hanged eight days ago."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Hanged?" exclaimed Lenora, horror-struck. "Why? -What had he done?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"He was of the Protestant faith ... and..."</p> -<p class="pnext">Lenora made no comment, and the girl wiped her eyes, -which had filled with tears.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Thou and Katrine were spared?" asked Lenora, after -awhile.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Well? And--"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Go on, child," queried Lenora. "What happened after that?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes. I know that," said Lenora, and even to herself her -own voice sounded curiously dull and toneless; "but tell -me what happened."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes; I think so, child," said Lenora quietly. "But, tell -me, dost know what happened after that?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Stabbed, child, didst thou say?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"His Highness!" she whispered hurriedly, "he will see us."</p> -<p class="pnext">"What matters, child," murmured Lenora, "he will not -harm us."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"A runner, your Highness," he said, "straight from Dendermonde."</p> -<p class="pnext">"What news?" queried the Duke, and his voice sounded -almost choked as if with fierce impatience.</p> -<p class="pnext">"One of Captain Lodrono's messengers reached Dendermonde -last night," replied de Avila, "he was lucky enough -to get a horse almost at once."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Well...? and...?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">There was a hoarse exclamation of satisfaction and a -confused murmur of voices for a moment or two. Then -de Vargas spoke:</p> -<p class="pnext">"It was a bold venture, Monseigneur," he said.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">Lenora could hear her father's harsh laugh after this and -then del Rio said blandly:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Van Rycke did not believe in that oath."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"No," replied the Duke curtly, "were you?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"And in the meanwhile..." suggested del Rio.</p> -<p class="pnext">"In the meanwhile Bracamonte is on his way here.... -He must have started well before noon ... he might be -here before nightfall...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"With at least five thousand men, I hope," added de -Vargas.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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?</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Didst hear?" she reiterated hoarsely.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Every word, most noble lady," came the whispered response.</p> -<p class="pnext">"What didst make of it?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"That His Highness sent to Dendermonde for help, and -that troops are on their way."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then ... if Captain Bracamonte arrives from Dendermonde -with fresh troops the Netherlanders are lost!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"God guard them," said Grete fervently. "He alone can -save them now."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh!" cried Lenora with sudden passionate bitterness, -"how can men conceive such abominable treachery? How -can God allow them to triumph?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Grete," she said abruptly, "is it not horrible to think -that those we care for are liars and traitors?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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!..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Grete," she said abruptly, "art afraid?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Of what, noble lady?" asked the child.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Oh! of everything ... of insults and violence and death?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"No, noble lady," said Grete simply. "I trust to God to -protect me."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then wilt come with me?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Whither, noble lady?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Into the city ... alone with me ... we'll pretend -that we go to Benediction...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Into the city...?" exclaimed the girl. "Alone?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Art afraid?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"No."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then put up my hair and get hood and cloak and give -me mine...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Come!" said Lenora curtly.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Will they let us pass?" murmured Grete.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Walk beside me and hold thy head boldly," said Lenora, -"they must not think that we are afraid of being challenged."</p> -<p class="pnext">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 <em class="italics">noblesse</em> knew so -well how to assume.</p> -<p class="pnext">Captain de Avila was below: at sight of donna Lenora -he came forward and said with absolute respect:</p> -<p class="pnext">"La señora desires to go out?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"As you see," she replied haughtily.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Not further than the precincts of the Kasteel, I hope."</p> -<p class="pnext">"What is that to you, whither I go?" she queried.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"What orders have you had, seigneur capitaine?" she -queried, "which warrant your interference with my movements?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"I ... truly..." he murmured, "señor de Vargas..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"No ... but..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then I pray you let me pass.... I hear the bells of -St. Pharaïlde ... I shall be late for Benediction...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">In the yard Lenora had more serious misgivings.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">As she anticipated the provost at the gate-house -challenged her.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">The provost hesitated for a moment.</p> -<p class="pnext">"The seigneur capitaine sent me orders just now that no -one was to leave the Kasteel," he said.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Take me!" she said to Grete peremptorily, "to the house -of the High-Bailiff of Ghent."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="the-last-stand">CHAPTER XVIII</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">THE LAST STAND</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">He has faith in the human tiger.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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?</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Just at the last the High-Bailiff turns to his son.</p> -<p class="pnext">"You do not approve of our going, Mark?" he asks with -some diffidence.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">II</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Not unless we hold him as he holds us--not unless we -have him at our mercy."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Then what can we do? what can we do?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But we cannot win in the end."</p> -<p class="pnext">"No! but we can die as we have lived, clean, undaunted, -unconquered."</p> -<p class="pnext">"But our wives, our daughters?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Ask them," he retorts boldly. "It is not the women -who would lick the tyrant's shoes."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">III</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">And now the answer has come.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Revenge! Revenge!" echoed from those same ranks.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"What revenge dost propose to take, Peter Balde?" he asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes! yes! the axe for them! send their heads to the -tyrant! Well spoken, Peter Balde," they cried.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"It is the law which he himself has taught us," said -another, "the law of retributive justice."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Not of murder," cried Balde in challenge, "only of -vengeance!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Your vengeance!" thundered Mark, "do you dare speak -of it in the house of Him who says 'I will repay!'"</p> -<p class="pnext">"God is on our side, He will forgive!" cried some of -them.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Everything, except outrage! ... what you propose is -a deed worthy only of hell!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Will the murdering of helpless prisoners aid your cause, -then?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"It will at least satisfy our craving for revenge!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Right, right, Balde!" they all exclaimed, "do not heed -what van Rycke says."</p> -<p class="pnext">"We will fight to-morrow!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Die to-morrow!" they cried.</p> -<p class="pnext">"And blacken your souls to-day!" retorted Mark.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">IV</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Let me get to him ... take me to your leader ... I -must speak with him at once!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Five thousand troops are on their way to Ghent ... they -will be here within two hours ... save yourselves if -you can."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">"How do you know this?" queried Mark quietly.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"God have mercy on our souls!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"God have mercy on our women and children!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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."</p> -<p class="pnext">Then he faced the terror-stricken crowd once more.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">V</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"To arms!" cried the leaders: Jan van Migrode and -Lievin van Deynse, Pierre Deynoot and the others.</p> -<p class="pnext">"To arms!" was echoed by a goodly number of the crowd.</p> -<p class="pnext">But a great many were silent--despair had gripped them -with its icy talon--the hopelessness of it all had damped -their enthusiasm.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Five thousand fresh troops," they murmured, "and there -are less than four thousand of us all told."</p> -<p class="pnext">"We cannot conquer," came from Peter Balde's friends -at the west end of the church, "let us at least take our revenge!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes! Revenge! Death to the Walloons!" they cried.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"We must seize the Kasteel and the gates before then!" -he retorted.</p> -<p class="pnext">"How can we? We made several assaults yesterday. -We have not enough men."</p> -<p class="pnext">"We have half an hour wherein to increase their numbers."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Thou art raving," they cried.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Not one able-bodied man but was fighting yesterday--not -half their number knew how to handle pike or lance, -musket or crossbow."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Two thousand men?" The cry came from everywhere--cry -of doubt, of hope, of irony or of defiance.</p> -<p class="pnext">"How are we to get them? Where can we get them from?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Come with me and I'll show you!" retorts Mark and -he immediately makes for the door.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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!</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"How wilt do that, friend of the leather mask?" queried -some of the men ironically.</p> -<p class="pnext">"How wilt find two thousand well-trained soldiers?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Follow me, and I will show you."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Then Mark called out:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">The malcontents were the first to make their voices heard:</p> -<p class="pnext">"These traitors," they shouted, "the paid mercenaries of -Alva! Art crazy, van Rycke?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"The Spanish woman hath cajoled thee!" some of them -exclaimed with a curse.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Or offered thee a bribe from the tyrant," cried others.</p> -<p class="pnext">"We'll hang thee along with the prisoners if thou darest -to turn against us," added Peter Balde spitefully.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Aye! aye!" came from the Walloons with one -stupendous cry of hope and of relief.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Will you fight with us?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Die with us?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"For the freedom of the Netherlands?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"For Liberty!" they cried.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Aye! traitor thou!" retorted van Rycke, "who wouldst -prefer the lust of killing to that of victory!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes! yes!" came from the leaders and from the phalanx -of fighting men who stood closest to their hero.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Yes! yes! release them! Let them fight for us!"</p> -<p class="pnext">The call was taken back and echoed and re-echoed until -the high-vaulted roof rang with the enthusiastic shouts.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Walloons, will you fight with us?" they asked.</p> -<p class="pnext">"To the death!" replied the prisoners.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Netherlanders! Orange and Liberty!" cried Walloons -and Flemings in unison.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">VI</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Netherlands! Orange! and Liberty!" resounds defiantly -from end to end of the city.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Bracamonte or nightfall!" he cries with desperate rage, -for he cannot understand why the Dendermonde troops are -detained.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Heavens above, how come they to be so numerous?"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"We have no more balls left, Magnificence," reports the -captain in charge of the artillery. "What must we do?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Netherlanders! For Liberty!" he cries.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Never mind me," he calls, "for Liberty, Netherlanders! -The Kasteel is yours! hold on!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">Mark struggles to his feet: "Hold on, Walloons! the -Kasteel is ours," he cries.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">At the breach the Walloons must be hard pressed, for -cries of triumph follow each volley from the Spanish musketry.</p> -<p class="pnext">"On, on, Netherlanders! for Orange and Liberty!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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 <em class="italics">Sauve qui peut</em> -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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="the-hour-of-victory">CHAPTER XIX</p> -<p class="center medium pnext">THE HOUR OF VICTORY</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center medium pfirst">I</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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?</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Van Rycke has seized the Kasteel! The Duke of Alva -is a prisoner in our hands."</p> -<p class="pnext">Clémence hears the cries. She can no longer doubt her -ears. "Mark? Laurence?" she calls out. "Where are they?"</p> -<p class="pnext">The High-Bailiff rouses himself from his apathy. "I will -go to the Town House," he says, "and will be back with -news."</p> -<p class="pnext">"News of Mark--and of Laurence," cries the mother.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Where is Mark?" queries the mother.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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!"</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Mother dear," whispers Laurence, "next to Mark -himself, we all owe our salvation to Lenora."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Mevrouw," he stammers, "it is the noble lady ... the -Spanish lady ... it is..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Go!" she commanded sternly.</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"Go!"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">"They are bringing Mark home," assented the mother, -"and 'tis I who will tend him. Never shall thy treacherous -hand touch my son..."</p> -<p class="pnext">"Mother," broke in Laurence firmly, "she is Mark's wife -and she has saved us all."</p> -<p class="pnext">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:</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Will you let me stay until I have seen Mark?" said -Lenora calmly, "and then I will go."</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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...."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?..."</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Mark," she murmured, "you are hurt?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"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."</p> -<p class="pnext">Then the laughter died out from his eyes, they became -intent, searching, desperately anxious.</p> -<p class="pnext">"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?"</p> -<p class="pnext">"Your love, Mark," she murmured in reply, "is all that I -live for now."</p> -<p class="pnext">Then he folded her in his arms once more.</p> -<p class="pnext">"Mother, dear," he said, "you must love her too. My -whole happiness hangs upon her kiss."</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center large pfirst" id="epilogue">EPILOGUE</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<p class="pnext">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.</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst small">END</p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="backmatter"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line">*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK <span>LEATHERFACE</span> ***</p> -<div class="cleardoublepage"> -</div> -<div class="language-en level-2 pgfooter section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<span id="pg-footer"></span><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title">A Word from Project Gutenberg</h2> -<p class="pfirst">We will update this book if we find any errors.</p> -<p class="pnext">This book can be found under: <a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40500"><span>http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40500</span></a></p> -<p class="pnext">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. 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