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THE
SWORD MAKER
BY
ROBERT BARR
AUTHOR OF
"TEKLA" "CARDILLAC" "THE VICTORS"
"IN THE MIDST OF ALARMS"
ETC.
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
June, 1910
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. AN OFFER TO OPEN THE RIVER
II. THE BARGAIN IS STRUCK
III. DISSENSION IN THE IRONWORKERS' GUILD
IV. THE DISTURBING JOURNEY OF FATHER AMBROSE
V. THE COUNTESS VON SAYN AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE
VI. TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM THE COUNTESS
VII. MUTINY IN THE WILDERNESS
VIII. THE MISSING LEADER AND THE MISSING GOLD
IX. A SOLEMN PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE
X. A CALAMITOUS CONFERENCE
XI. GOLD GALORE THAT TAKES TO ITSELF WINGS
XII. THE LAUGHING RED MARGRAVE OF FURSTENBERG
XIII. "A SENTENCE; COME, PREPARE!"
XIV. THE PRISONER OF EHRENFELS
XV. JOURNEYS END IN LOVERS' MEETING
XVI. MY LADY SCATTERS THE FREEBOOTERS AND CAPTURES THEIR CHIEF
XVII. "FOR THE EMPRESS, AND NOT FOR THE EMPIRE"
XVIII. THE SWORD MAKER AT BAY
XIX. THE BETROTHAL IN THE GARDEN
XX. THE MYSTERY OF THE FOREST
XXI. A SECRET MARRIAGE
XXII. LONG LIVE THEIR MAJESTIES
THE SWORD MAKER
I
AN OFFER TO OPEN THE RIVER
Considering the state of the imperial city of Frankfort, one would not
expect to find such a gathering as was assembled in the Kaiser cellar of
the Rheingold drinking tavern. Outside in the streets all was turbulence
and disorder; a frenzy on the part of the populace taxing to the utmost
the efforts of the city authorities to keep it within bounds, and
prevent the development of a riot that might result in the partial
destruction at least of this once prosperous city. And indeed, the
inhabitants of Frankfort could plead some excuse for their
boisterousness. Temporarily, at any rate, all business was at a
standstill. The skillful mechanics of the town had long been out of
work, and now to the ranks of the unemployed were added, from time to
time, clerks and such-like clerical people, expert accountants,
persuasive salesmen, and small shopkeepers, for no one now possessed the
money to buy more than the bare necessities of life. Yet the warehouses
of Frankfort were full to overflowing, with every kind of store that
might have supplied the needs of the people, and to the unlearned man it
seemed unjust that he and his family should starve while granaries were
packed with the agricultural produce of the South, and huge warehouses
were glutted with enough cloth from Frankfort and the surrounding
districts to clothe ten times the number of tatterdemalions who clamored
through the streets.
The wrath of the people was concentrated against one man, and he the
highest in the land; to blame, of course, in a secondary degree, but not
the one primarily at fault for this deplorable state of things. The
Emperor, always indolent from the time he came to the throne, had grown
old and crabbed and fat, caring for nothing but his flagon of wine that
stood continually at his elbow. Laxity of rule in the beginning allowed
his nobles to get the upper hand, and now it would require a civil war
to bring them into subjection again. They, sitting snug in their
strongholds, with plenty of wine in their cellars and corn in their
bins, cared nothing for the troubles of the city. Indeed, those who
inhabited either bank of the Rhine, watching from their elevated castles
the main avenue of traffic between Frankfort and Cologne, her chief
market, had throughout that long reign severely taxed the merchants
conveying goods downstream. During the last five years, their exactions
became so piratical that finally they killed the goose that laid the
golden eggs, so now the Rhine was without a boat, and Frankfort without
a buyer.
For too long Frankfort had looked to the Emperor, whose business it was
to keep order in his domain, and when at last the merchants, combining
to help themselves, made an effort towards freedom, it was too late. The
result of their combination was a flotilla of nearly a hundred boats,
which, gathering at Frankfort and Mayence, proceeded together down the
river, convoyed by a fleet containing armed men, and thus they thought
to win through to Cologne, and so dispose of their goods. But the robber
Barons combined also, hung chains across the river at the Lorely rocks,
its narrowest part, and realizing that this fleet could defeat any
single one of them, they for once acted in concert, falling upon the
boats when their running against the chains threw them into confusion.
The nobles and their brigands were seasoned fighters all, while the
armed men secured by the merchants were mere hirelings, who fled in
panic; and those not cut to pieces by their savage adversaries became
themselves marauders on a small scale, scattered throughout the land,
for there was little use of tramping back to the capital, where already
a large portion of the population suffered the direst straits.
Not a single bale of goods reached Cologne, for the robbers divided
everything amongst themselves, with some pretty quarrels, and then they
sank the boats in the deepest part of the river as a warning, lest the
merchants of Frankfort and Mayence should imagine the Rhine belonged to
them. Meantime, all petitions to the Emperor being in vain, the
merchants gave up the fight. They were a commercial, not a warlike
people. They discharged their servants and underlings, and starvation
slowly settled down upon the distressed city.
After the maritime disaster on the Rhine, some of the merchants made a
futile attempt to amend matters, for which their leaders paid dearly.
They appealed to the seven Electors, finding their petitions to the
Emperor were in vain, asking these seven noblemen, including the three
warlike Archbishops of Cologne, Treves, and Mayence, to depose the
Emperor, which they had power to do, and elect his son in his stead. But
they overlooked the fact that a majority of the Electors themselves, and
probably the Archbishops also, benefited directly or indirectly by the
piracies on the Rhine. The answer to this request was the prompt hanging
of three leading merchants, the imprisonment of a score of others, and a
warning to the rest that the shoemaker should stick to his last, leaving
high politics to those born to rule. This misguided effort caused the
three Archbishops to arrest Prince Roland, the Emperor's only son, and
incarcerate him in Ehrenfels, a strong castle on the Rhine belonging to
the Archbishop of Mayence, who was thus made custodian of the young man,
and responsible to his brother prelates of Cologne and Treves for the
safe-keeping of the Prince. The Archbishops, as has been said, were too
well satisfied with the weak administration then established at
Frankfort to wish a change, so the lad was removed from the capital,
that the citizens of Frankfort might be under no temptation to place him
at their head, and endeavor to overturn the existing order of things.
This being the state of affairs in Frankfort, with every one gloomy, and
a majority starving, it was little wonder that the main cellar of the
Rheingold tavern should be empty, although when times were good it was
difficult to find a seat there after the sun went down. But in the
smaller Kaiser cellar, along each side of the single long table, sat
young men numbering a score, who ate black bread and drank Rhine wine,
to the roaring of song and the telling of story. They formed a close
coterie, admitting no stranger to their circle if one dissenting voice
was raised against his acceptance, yet in spite of this exclusiveness
there was not a drop of noble blood in the company. They belonged,
however, to the aristocracy of craftsmen; metal-workers for the most
part, ingenious artificers in iron, beaters of copper, fashioners of
gold and silver. Glorious blacksmiths, they called themselves; but now,
like every one else, with nothing to do. In spite of their city
up-bringing all were stalwart, well-set-up young men; and, indeed, the
swinging of hammers is good exercise for the muscles of the arm, and in
those turbulent days a youth who could not take care of himself with his
stick or his fists was like to fare ill if he ventured forth after
nightfall.
This, indeed, had been the chief reason for the forming of their guild,
and if one of their number was set upon, the secret call of the
organization shouted aloud brought instant help were any of the members
within hearing. Belonging neither to the military nor the aristocracy,
they were not allowed to wear swords, and to obtain this privilege was
one of the objects of their organization. Indeed, each member of the
guild secretly possessed a weapon of the best, although he risked his
neck if ever he carried it abroad with him. Among their number were
three of the most expert sword makers in all Germany.
These three sword makers had been instrumental in introducing to their
order the man who was now its leader. This youth came to one of them
with ideas concerning the proper construction of a sword, and the
balancing of it, so that it hung easily in the hand as though part of
the fore-arm. Usually, the expert has small patience with the theories
of an amateur; but this young fellow, whose ambition it was to invent a
sword, possessed such intimate knowledge of the weapon as it was used,
not only in Germany, but also in France and Italy, that the sword maker
introduced him to fellow-craftsmen at other shops, and they taught him
how to construct a sword. These instructors, learning that although, as
Roland laughingly said, he was not allowed to wear a sword, he could
wield it with a precision little short of marvelous, the guild gave
permission for this stranger to be a guest at one of their weekly
meetings at the Kaiser cellar, where he exhibited his wonderful skill.
Not one of them, nor, indeed, all of them together, stood any chance
when confronting him. They clamored to be taught, offering good money
for the lessons, believing that if they acquired but a tithe of his
excellence with the blade they might venture to wear it at night, and
let their skill save them from capture. But the young fellow refused
their money, and somewhat haughtily declined the role of fencing-master,
whereupon they unanimously elected him a member of the coterie, waiving
for this one occasion the rule which forbade the choice of any but a
metal-worker. When the stranger accepted the election, he was informed
that it was the duty of each member to come to the aid of his brethren
when required, and they therefore requested him to teach them
swordsmanship. Roland, laughing, seeing how he had been trapped, as it
were, with his own consent, acceded to the universal wish, and before a
year had passed his twenty comrades were probably the leading swordsmen
in the city of Frankfort.
Shortly after the disaster to the merchants' fleet at the Lorely, Roland
disappeared without a word of farewell to those who had come to think so
much of him. He had been extremely reticent regarding his profession, if
he had one, and no one knew where he lodged. It was feared that the
authorities had arrested him with the sword in his possession, for he
grew more reckless than any of the others in carrying the weapon. One
night, however, he reappeared, and took his seat at the head of the
table as if nothing had happened. Evidently he had traveled far and on
foot, for his clothes were dusty and the worse for wear. He refused to
give any account of himself, but admitted that he was hungry, thirsty,
and in need of money.
His hunger and thirst were speedily satisfied, but the money scarcity
was not so easily remedied. All the score were out of employment, with
the exception of the three sword makers, whose trade the uncertainty of
the times augmented rather than diminished. To cheer up Roland, who was
a young fellow of unquenchable geniality, they elected him to the empty
honor of being their leader, Kurzbold's term of office having ended.
The guild met every night now, instead of once a week, and it may be
shrewdly suspected that the collation of black bread and sausage formed
the sole meal of the day for many of them. Nevertheless, their hilarity
was undiminished, and the rafters rang with song and laugh, and echoed
also maledictions upon a supine Government, and on the rapacious Rhine
lords. But the bestowal of even black bread and the least expensive of
wine could not continue indefinitely. They owed a bill to the landlord
upon which that worthy, patient as he had proved himself, always hoping
for better times, wished for at least something on account. All his
other customers had deserted him, and if they drank at all, chose some
place where the wine was thin and cheap. The landlord held out bravely
for three months after Roland was elected president, then, bemoaning his
fate, informed the guild that he would be compelled to close the
Rheingold tavern.
"Give me a week!" cried Roland, rising in his place at the head of the
table, "and I will make an effort to get enough gold to settle the bill
at least, with perhaps something over for each of our pockets."
This promise brought forth applause and a rattle of flagons on the
table, so palpably empty that the ever-hopeful landlord proceeded
forthwith to fill them.
"There is one proviso," said Roland, as they drank his health in the
wine his offer produced. "To get this money I must do something in
return. I have a plan in mind which it would be premature to disclose.
If it succeeds, none of us will ever need to bend back over a workman's
bench again, or hammer metal except for our own pleasure. But acting
alone I am powerless, so I must receive your promise that you will stand
by any pledge I make on your behalf, and follow me into whatever danger
I choose to lead you."
There was a great uproar at this, and a boisterous consent.
"This day week, then," said Roland, as he strapped sword to side, threw
cloak over shoulders, so that it completely concealed the forbidden
weapon, waved a hand to his cheering comrades, and went out into the
night.
Once ascended the cellar steps, the young man stood in the narrow street
as though hesitating what to do. Faintly there came to him the sound of
singing from the cellar he had quitted, and he smiled slightly as he
listened to the rousing chorus he knew so well. From the direction of
the Palace a more sinister echo floated on the night air; the
unmistakable howl of anger, pain, and terror; the noise that a pursued
and stricken mob makes when driven by soldiers. The populace had
evidently been engaged in its futile and dangerous task of
demonstrating, and proclaiming its hunger, and the authorities were
scattering it; keeping it ever on the move.
It was still early; not yet ten o'clock, and a full moon shone over the
city, unlighted otherwise. Drawing his cloak closer about him, Roland
walked rapidly in an opposite direction to that from which the tumult of
the rabble came, until he arrived at the wide Fahrgasse, a street
running north and south, its southern end terminating at the old bridge.
Along this thoroughfare lived the wealthiest merchants of Frankfort.
Roland turned, and proceeded slowly towards the river, critically
examining the tall, picturesque buildings on either hand, cogitating the
question which of them would best answer his purpose. They all seemed
uninviting enough, for their windows were dark, most of them tightly
shuttered; and, indeed, the thoroughfare looked like a street of the
dead, the deserted appearance enhanced, rather than relieved, by the
white moonlight lying on its cobble-stones.
Nearing the bridge, he discovered one stout door ajar, and behind it
shone the yellow glow of a lamp. He paused, and examined critically the
facade of the house, which, with its quiet, dignified architectural
beauty, seemed the abode of wealth. Although the shutters were closed,
his intent inspection showed him thin shafts of light from the chinks,
and he surmised that an assemblage of some sort was in progress,
probably a secret convention, the members of which entered unannounced,
and left the door ajar ready for the next comer.
For a moment he thought of venturing in, but remembering his mission
required the convincing of one man rather than the persuasion of a
group, he forbore, but noted in his mind the position and designation of
the house, resolving to select this building as the theater of his first
effort, and return to it next morning. It would serve his purpose as
well as another.
Roland's attention was then suddenly directed to his own position,
standing in the bright moonlight, for there swung round from the river
road, into the Fahrgasse, a small and silent company, who marched as one
man. The moon was shining almost directly up the street, but the houses
to the west stood in its radiance, while those in the east were still in
shadow. Roland pressed himself back against the darkened wall to his
left, near the partially opened door; between it and the river. The
silent procession advanced to the door ajar, and there paused, forming
their ranks into two lines, thus making a passage for a tall,
fine-looking, bearded man, who walked to the threshold, then turned and
raised his bonnet in salute.
"My friends," he said, "this is kind of you, and although I have been
silent, I ask you to believe that deeply I appreciate your welcome
escort. And now, enter with me, and we will drink a stoup of wine
together, to the somber toast, 'God save our stricken city!'"
"No, no, Herr Goebel. To-night is sacred. We have seen you safely to
your waiting family, and at that reunion there should be no intruders.
But to-morrow night, if you will have us, we will drink to the city, and
to your own good health, Herr Goebel."
This sentiment was applauded by all, and the merchant, seeing that they
would not accept his present invitation, bowed in acquiescence, and bade
them good-by. When the door closed the delegation separated into units,
and each went his own way. Roland, stepping out of the shadow, accosted
the rearmost man.
"Pardon me, mein Herr," he said, "but may I ask what ceremony is this in
which you have been taking part?"
The person accosted looked with some alarm at his questioner, but the
moonlight revealed a face singularly gentle and winning; a face that in
spite of its youth inspired instinctive confidence. The tone, too, was
very persuasive, and seemed devoid even of the offense of curiosity.
"'Tis no ceremony," said the delegate, "but merely the return home of
our friend, Herr Goebel."
"Has he, then, been on a journey?"
"Sir, you are very young, and probably unacquainted with Frankfort."
"I have lived here all my life," said Roland. "I am a native of
Frankfort."
"In that case," replied the other, "you show yourself amazingly ignorant
of its concerns; otherwise you would know that Herr Goebel is one of the
leading merchants of the city, a man honorable, enlightened, and
energetic--an example to us all, and one esteemed alike by noble or
peasant. We honor ourselves in honoring him."
"Herr Goebel should be proud of such commendation, mein Herr, coming I
judge, from one to whom the words you use might also be applied."
The merchant bowed gravely at this compliment, but made no remark upon
it.
"Pardon my further curiosity," continued the young man, "but from whence
does Herr Goebel return?"
"He comes from prison," said the other. "He made the mistake of thinking
that our young Prince would prove a better ruler than his father, our
Emperor, and but that the Archbishops feared a riot if they went to
extremes, Herr Goebel ran great danger of losing his life rather than
his liberty."
"What you say, mein Herr, interests me very much, and I thank you for
your courtesy. My excuse for questioning you is this. I am moved by a
desire to enter the employ of such a man as Herr Goebel, and I purpose
calling upon him to-morrow, if you think he would be good enough to
receive me."
"He will doubtless receive you," replied the other, "but I am quite
certain your mission will fail. At the present moment none of us are
engaging clerks, however competent. Ignorant though you are of civic
affairs, you must be aware that all business is at a standstill in
Frankfort. Although Herr Goebel has said nothing about it, I learn from
an unquestionable source that he himself is keeping from starvation all
his former employees, so I am sure he would not take on, for a stranger,
any further obligation."
"Sir, I am well acquainted with the position of affairs, and it is to
suggest a remedy that I desire speech with Herr Goebel. I do not possess
the privilege of acquaintance with any merchant in this city, so one
object of my accosting you was to learn, if possible, how I might secure
some note of introduction to the merchant that would ensure his
receiving me, and obtain for me a hearing when once I had been admitted
to his house."
If Roland expected the stranger to volunteer such a note, he quite
underestimated the caution of a Frankfort merchant.
"As I said before, you will meet with no difficulty so far as entrance
to the house is concerned. May I take it that you yourself understand
the art of writing?"
"Oh yes," replied Roland.
"Then indite your own letter of introduction. Say that you have evolved
a plan for the redemption of Frankfort, and Herr Goebel will receive you
without demur. He will listen patiently, and give a definite decision
regarding the feasibility of your project. And now, good sir, my way
lies to the left. I wish you success, and bid you good-night."
The stranger left Roland standing at the intersection of two streets,
one of which led to the Saalhof. They had been approaching the
Romerberg, or market-place, the center of Frankfort, when the merchant
so suddenly ended the conversation and turned aside. Roland remembered
that no Jew was allowed to set foot in the Romerberg, and now surmised
the nationality of his late companion. The youth proceeded alone through
the Romerberg, and down directly to the river, reaching the spot where
the huge Saalhof faced its flood. Roland saw that triple guards
surrounded the Emperor's Palace. The mob had been cleared away, but no
one was allowed to linger in its precincts, and the youth was gruffly
ordered to take himself elsewhere, which he promptly did, walking up the
Saalgasse, and past the Cathedral, until he came once more into the
Fahrgasse, down which he proceeded, pausing for another glance at
Goebel's house, until he came to the bridge, where he stood with arms
resting on the parapet, thoughtfully shaping in his mind what he would
say to Herr Goebel in the morning.
Along the opposite side of the river lay a compact mass of barges; ugly,
somber, black in the moonlight, silent witnesses to the ruin of
Frankfort. The young man gazed at this melancholy accumulation of
useless floating stock, and breathed the deeper when he reflected that
whoever could set these boats in motion again would prove himself,
temporarily at least, the savior of the city.
When the bells began to toll eleven, Roland roused himself, walked
across the bridge to Sachsenhausen, and so to his squalid lodging,
consoling himself with the remembrance that the great King Charlemagne
had made this his own place of residence. Here, before retiring to bed,
he wrote the letter which he was to send in next day to Herr Goebel,
composing it with some care, so that it aroused curiosity without
satisfying it.
It was half-past ten next morning when Roland presented himself at the
door of the leading merchant in the Fahrgasse, and sent in to that
worthy his judiciously worded epistle. He was kept waiting in the hall
longer than he expected, but at last the venerable porter appeared, and
said Herr Goebel would be pleased to receive him. He was conducted up
the stair to the first floor, and into a front room which seemed to be
partly library and partly business office. Here seated at a stout table,
he recognized the grave burgher whose home-coming he had witnessed the
night before.
The keen eyes of the merchant seemed to penetrate to his inmost thought,
and it struck Roland that there came into them an expression of
disappointment, for he probably did not expect so youthful a visitor.
"Will you be seated, mein Herr," said his host; and Roland, with an
inclination of the head, accepted the invitation. "My time is very
completely occupied to-day," continued the elder man, "for although
there is little business afoot in Frankfort, my own affairs have been
rather neglected of late, and I am endeavoring to overtake the arrears."
"I know that," said Roland. "I stood by your doorcheek last night when
you returned home."
"Did you so? May I ask why?"
"There was no particular reason. It happened that I walked down the
Fahrgasse, endeavoring to make up my mind upon whom I should call
to-day."
"And why have I received the preference?"
"Perhaps, sir, it would be more accurate to say your house received the
preference, if it is such. I was struck by its appearance of solidity
and wealth, and, differing from all others in the door being ajar, I
lingered before it last night with some inclination to enter. Then the
procession which accompanied you came along. I heard your address to
your friends, and wondered what the formality was about. After the door
was closed I accosted one of those who escorted you, and learned your
name, business, and reputation."
"You must be a stranger in Frankfort when you needed to make such
inquiry."
"Those are almost the same words that my acquaintance of last night
used, and he seemed astonished when I replied that I was born in
Frankfort, and had lived here all my life."
"Ah, I suppose no man is so well known as he thinks he is, but I venture
to assert that you are not engaged in business here."
"Sir, you are in the right. I fear I have hitherto led a somewhat
useless existence."
"On money earned by some one else, perhaps."
"Again you hit the nail on the head, Herr Goebel. I lodge on the other
side of the river, and coming to and fro each day, the sight of all
those useless barges depresses me, and I have formulated a plan for
putting them in motion again."
"I fear, sir, that wiser heads than yours have been meditating upon that
project without avail."
"I should have been more gratified, Herr Goebel, if you had said 'older
heads.'"
The suspicion of a smile hovered for a brief instant round the shrewd,
firm lips of the merchant.
"Young sir, your gentle reproof is deserved. I know nothing of your
wisdom, and so should have referred to the age, and not to the equipment
of your head. It occurs to me, as I study you more closely, that I have
met you before. Your face seems familiar."
"'Tis but a chance resemblance, I suspect. Until very recently I have
been absorbed in my studies, and rarely left my father's house."
"I am doubtless mistaken. But to return to our theme. As you are
ignorant of my name and standing in this city, you are probably unaware
of the efforts already made to remove the deadlock on the Rhine."
"In that, Herr Goebel, you are at fault. I know an expedition of folly
was promoted at enormous expense, and that the empty barges, numbering
something like fivescore, now rest in the deepest part of the Rhine."
"Why do you call it an expedition of folly?"
"Surely the result shows it to be such."
"A plan may meet with disaster, even where every precaution has been
taken. We did the best we could, and if the men we had paid for the
protection of the flotilla had not, with base cowardice, deserted their
posts, these barges would have reached Cologne."
"Never! The defenders you chose were riff-raff, picked up in the gutters
of Frankfort, and you actually supposed such cattle, undisciplined and
untrained, would stand up against the fearless fighters of the Barons,
swashbucklers, hardened to the use of sword and pike. What else was to
be expected? The goods were not theirs, but yours. They had received
their pay, and so speedily took themselves out of danger."
"You forget, sir, or you do not know, that several hundred of them were
cut to pieces."
"I know that, also, but the knowledge does not in the least nullify my
contention. I am merely endeavoring to show you that the heads you spoke
of a moment ago were only older, but not necessarily wiser than mine. It
would be impossible for me to devise an expedition so preposterous."
"What should we have done?"
"For one thing, you should have gone yourselves, and defended your own
bales."
The merchant showed visible signs of a slowly rising anger, and had the
young man's head contained the wisdom he appeared to claim for it, he
would have known that his remarks were entirely lacking in tact, and
that he was making no progress, but rather the reverse. "You speak like
a heedless, untutored youth. How could we defend our bales, when no
merchant is allowed to wear a sword?"
Roland rose and put his hands to the throat of his cloak.
"I am not allowed to wear a sword;" and saying this, he dramatically
flung wide his cloak, displaying the prohibited weapon hanging from his
belt. The merchant sat back in his chair, visibly impressed.
"You seem to repose great confidence in me," he said. "What if I were to
inform the authorities?"
The youth smiled.
"You forget, Herr Goebel, that I learned much about you from your friend
last night. I feel quite safe in your house."
He flung his cloak once more over the weapon, and sat down again.
"What is your occupation, sir?" asked the merchant.
"I am a teacher of swordsmanship. I practice the art of a
fencing-master."
"Your clients are aristocrats, then?"
"Not so. The class with which I am now engaged contains twenty skilled
artisans of about my own age."
"If they do not belong to the aristocracy, your instruction must be
surreptitious, because it is against the law."
"It is both surreptitious and against the law, but in spite of these
disadvantages, my twenty pupils are the best swordsmen in Frankfort, and
I would willingly pit them against any twenty nobles with whom I am
acquainted."
"So!" cried the merchant. "You are acquainted with twenty nobles, are
you?"
"Well, you see," explained the young man, flushing slightly, "these
metal-workers whom I drill, being out of employment, cannot afford to
pay for their lessons, and naturally, as you indicated, a fencing-master
must look to the nobles for his bread. I used the word acquaintance
hastily. I am acquainted with the nobles in the same way that a clerk in
the woolen trade might say he was acquainted with a score of merchants,
to none of whom he had ever spoken."
"I see. Am I to take it that your project for opening the Rhine depends
for its success on those twenty metal-workers, who quite lawlessly know
how to handle their swords?"
"Yes."
"Tell me what your plan is."
"I do not care to disclose my plan, even to you."
"I thought you came here hoping I should further your project, and
perhaps finance it. Am I wrong in such a surmise?"
"Sir, you are not. The very first proviso is that you pay to me across
this table a thousand thalers in gold."
The smile came again to the lips of the merchant.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"Yes. You will select one of your largest barges, and fill it with
whatever class of goods you deal in."
"Don't you know what class of goods I deal in?"
"No! I do not."
Goebel's smile broadened. That a youth so ignorant of everything
pertaining to the commerce of Frankfort, should come in thus boldly and
demand a thousand thalers in gold from a man whose occupation he did not
know, seemed to the merchant one of the greatest pieces of impudence he
had encountered in his long experience of men.
"After all, my merchandise," he said, "matters little one way or another
when I am engaged with such a customer as you. What next?"
"You will next place a price upon the shipload; a price such as you
would accept if the boat reached Cologne intact. I agree to pay you that
money, together with the thousand thalers, when I return to Frankfort."
"And when will that be, young sir?"
"You are better able to estimate the length of time than I. I do not
know, for instance, how long it takes a barge to voyage from Frankfort
to Cologne."
"Given fair weather, which we may expect in July, and premising that
there are no interruptions, let us say a week."
"Would a man journeying on horseback from Cologne to Frankfort reach
here sooner than the boat?"
"The barge having to make headway against a strong current, I should say
the horseman would accomplish the trip in a third of the time."
"Very well. To allow for all contingencies, I promise to pay the money
one month from the day we leave the wharf at Frankfort."
"That would be eminently satisfactory."
"I forgot to mention that I expect you, knowing more about navigation
than I, to supply a trustworthy captain and an efficient crew for the
manning of the barge. I should like men who understand the currents of
the river, and who, if questioned by the Barons, would not be likely to
tell more than they were asked."
"I can easily provide such a set of sailors."
"Very well, Herr Goebel. Those are my requirements. Will you agree to
supply them?"
"With great pleasure, my young and enthusiastic friend, provided that
you comply with one of the most common of our commercial rules."
"And what is that, mein Herr?"
"Before you depart you will leave with me ample security that if I never
see you again, the value of the goods, plus the thousand thalers, will
be repaid to me when the month is past."
"Ah," said the young man, "you impose an impossible condition."
"Give me a bond, then, signed by three responsible merchants."
"Sir, as I am acquainted with no merchant in this city except yourself,
how could I hope to obtain the signature of even one responsible man?"
"How, then, do you expect to obtain my consent to a project which I know
cannot succeed, while I bear all the risk?"
"Pardon me, Herr Goebel. I and my comrades risk our lives. You risk
merely your money and your goods."
"You intend, then, to fight your way down the Rhine?"
"Surely. How else?"
"Supported by only twenty followers?"
"Yes."
"And you hope to succeed where a thousand of our men failed?"
"Yes; they were hirelings, as I told you. With my twenty I could put
them all to flight. Aside from this, I should like to point out to you
that the merchants of Frankfort formed their combination at public
meetings, called together by the burgomaster. There was no secrecy about
their deliberations. Every robber Baron along the Rhine knew what you
were going to attempt, and was prepared for your coming. I intend that
your barge shall leave Frankfort at midnight. My company will proceed
across country, and join her at some agreed spot, probably below
Bingen."
"I see. Well, my young friend, you have placed before me a very
interesting proposal, but I am a business man, and not an adventurer.
Unless you can furnish me with security, I decline to advance a single
thaler, not to mention a thousand."
The young man rose to his feet, and the merchant, with a sigh, seemed
glad that the conference was ended.
"Herr Goebel, you deeply disappoint me."
"I am sorry for that, and regret the forfeiting of your good opinion,
but despite that disadvantage I must persist in my obstinacy."
"I do not wonder that this fair city lies desolate if her prosperity
depends upon her merchants, and if you are chief among them; yet I
cannot forget that you risked life and liberty on my behalf, though now
you will not venture a miserable thousand thalers on my word of honor."
"On _your_ behalf? What do you mean?"
"I mean, Herr Goebel, that I am Prince Roland, only son of the Emperor,
and that you placed your neck in jeopardy to elevate me to the throne."
II
THE BARGAIN IS STRUCK
Every epoch seems to have possessed a two-word phrase that contained, as
it were, the condensed wisdom of the age, and was universally believed
by the people. For instance, the aphorism "Know thyself" rose to
popularity when cultured minds turned towards science. In the period to
which this recital belongs the adage "Blood tells" enjoyed universal
acceptance. It was, in fact, that erroneous statement "The King can do
no wrong" done up into tabloid form. From it, too, sprang that
double-worded maxim of the days of chivalry, "_Noblesse oblige_."
In our own time, the two-worded phrase is "Money talks," and if diligent
inquirers probe deeply into the matter, they will find that the
aspirations of the people always correspond with reasonable accuracy to
the meaning of the phrase then in use. Nothing could be more excellent,
for instance, than the proverb "Money talks" as representing two
commercial countries like America and England. In that short sentence is
packed the essence of many other wise and drastic sayings, as, for
instance, "The devil take the hindmost;" for, of course, if money talks,
then the man without it must remain silent, and his place is at the tail
of the procession, where the devil prowls about like a Cossack at the
rear of Napoleon's army.
Confronting each other in that ancient house on the Fahrgasse, we
witness, then, the personification of the two phrases, ancient and
modern: blood represented by the standing lad, and money by the seated
merchant.
"I am Prince Roland, only son of the Emperor," the young man had said,
and he saw at once by the expression on the face of his host that, could
he be convinced of the truth of the assertion, the thousand thalers that
the Prince had demanded would be his on the instant.
For a full minute Roland thought he had succeeded, but as the surprise
died out of the merchant's countenance, there replaced it that mask of
caution which had had so much to do with the building of his fortune.
During their conference Herr Goebel cudgeled his brain, trying to
remember where he had seen this young man before, but memory had roamed
among clerks, salesmen, and industrious people of that sort where,
somehow, this young fellow did not fit in. When Roland suddenly sprung
on him the incredible statement that he was a member of the Imperial
family, the merchant's recollection then turned towards pageants he had
seen, in one of which this young stranger might very well have borne a
part. Blood was beginning to tell.
But now experience came to the merchant's aid. Only in romances did
princes of the blood royal wander about like troubadours. Even a member
of the lesser nobility did not call unheralded at the house of a
merchant. The aristocracy always wanted money, it is true, "but what
they thought they might require, they went and took," as witness the
piratical Barons of the Rhine, whose exactions brought misery on the
great city of Frankfort.
Then all at once came the clinching remembrance that when the Electors
were appealed to on behalf of the young Prince, the three Archbishops
had promptly seized his Royal Highness, and, in spite of the pleadings
of the Empress (the Emperor was drunk and indifferent) placed him in the
custody of the Archbishop nearest to Frankfort, the warrior prelate of
Mayence, who imprisoned him in the strong fortress of Ehrenfels, from
which, well guarded and isolated as it was upon a crag over-hanging the
Rhine, no man could escape.
"Will you kindly be seated again, sir," requested the merchant, and if
he had spoken a short time before, he would have put the phrase "your
Royal Highness" in the place of the word "sir."
Roland, after a moment's hesitation, sat down. He saw that his coup had
failed, because he was unable to back it up by proofs. His dramatic
action had been like a brilliant cavalry charge, for a moment
successful, but coming to naught because there was no solid infantry to
turn the temporary confusion of the enemy into complete rout. Realizing
that the battle must be fought over again, the Prince sat back with a
sigh of disappointment, a shade of discontent on his handsome face.
"I find myself in rather a quandary," proceeded the merchant. "If indeed
you are the Emperor's son, it is not for such as I to cross-examine
you."
"Ask me any questions you like, sir. I shall answer them promptly
enough."
"If I beg you to supply proof of the statement you make, you would be
likely to reply that as you dared not enter your father's Palace, you
are unable to furnish me with corroboration."
"Sir, you put the case in better language than I could employ. In more
halting terms that is what I should have said."
"When were you last in the Palace?"
"About the same time, sir, that you took up your residence in prison."
"Ah, yes; that naturally would be your answer. Now, my young friend, you
have shown me that you know nothing of mercantile practice; therefore it
may perhaps interest you if I explain some of our methods."
"Herr Goebel, you may save your breath. Such a recital must not only
fail to interest me, but will bore me extremely. I care nothing for your
mercantile procedure, and, to be quite plain with you, I despise your
trade, and find some difficulty in repressing my contempt for those who
practice it."
"If an emissary of mine," returned Goebel, unperturbed, "approached a
client or customer for the purpose of obtaining a favor, and used as
little tact as you do, I should dismiss him."
"I'm not asking any favors from you."
"You wish me to hand over to you a thousand thalers, otherwise why came
you here?"
"I desire to bestow upon you the greatest of boons, namely to open up
the Rhine, and bring back prosperity to Frankfort, which you brainless,
cowardly merchants have allowed to slip through your fingers, blaming
now the Barons, now the Emperor, now the Electors; censuring everybody,
in fact, except the real culprits ... yourselves. You speak of the money
as a favor, but it is merely an advance for a few weeks, and will be
returned to you; yet because I desire to confer this inestimable gift
upon you and your city, you expect me to cringe to you, and flatter you,
as if I were a member of your own sycophantic league. I refuse to do
anything of the kind, and yet, by God, I'll have the money!"
The merchant, for the first time during their conference, laughed
heartily. The young man's face was aflame with anger, yet the truculent
words he used did more to convince Herr Goebel that he belonged to the
aristocracy than if he had spoken with the most exemplary humility.
Goebel felt convinced he was not the Prince, but some young noble, who,
intimate with the Royal Family, and knowing the Emperor's son to be out
of the way, thought it safe to assume his name, the better to carry
forward his purpose, whatever that purpose might actually be. That it
was to open the Rhine he did not for a moment credit, and that he would
ever see his cash again, if once he parted with it, he could not
believe.
"At the risk of tiring you, I shall nevertheless proceed with what I was
about to say. We merchants, for our own protection, contribute to a fund
which might be entitled one for secret service. This fund enables us to
procure private information that may be of value in our business. Among
other things we need to know are accurate details pertaining to the
intentions and doings of our rulers, for whatever our own short-comings
may be, the actions of those above us affect business one way or the
other. May I read you a short report that came in while I was serving my
term of imprisonment?"
"Oh, read what you like," said Roland indifferently, throwing back his
head, and partially closing his eyes, with an air of _ennui_.
The merchant drew towards him a file of papers, and going through them
carefully, selected a document, and drew it forth, then, clearing his
throat, he read aloud--
"'At an hour after midnight, on St. Stanislas' Day, three nobles, one
representing the Archbishop of Mayence, the second the Archbishop of
Treves, and the third the Archbishop of Cologne, armed with authority
from these three Electors and Princes of the Church, entered the Saalhof
from the side facing the river, and arrested in his bed the young Prince
Roland. They assured the Empress, who protested, that the Prince would
be well cared for, and that, as an insurrection was feared in Frankfort,
it was considered safer that the person whom they intended to elevate to
the throne on the event of the Emperor's death, should be out of harm's
way, being placed under the direct care of the Archbishop of Mayence.
They informed the Empress that the Archbishops would not remove the
Prince from the Palace in opposition to the wishes of either the Emperor
or herself, but if this permission was not given, a meeting of the
Electors would at once be called, and some one else selected to succeed
the present ruler.
"'This consideration exerted a great influence upon the Empress, who
counseled her son to acquiesce. The young man was led to a boat then in
waiting by the river steps of the Palace, and so conveyed down the Main
to the Rhine, which was reached just after daybreak. Without landing,
and keeping as much as possible to the middle of the river, the party
proceeded down the Rhine, past Bingen, to the foot of the crag on which
stands the castle of Ehrenfels. The Prince was taken up to the Castle,
where he now remains.
"'The Archbishops from their revenues allot to him seven hundred thalers
a month, in addition to his maintenance. It is impossible for him to
escape from this stronghold unaided, and as the Emperor takes no
interest in the matter, and the Empress has given her consent, he is
like to be an inmate of Ehrenfels during the pleasure of the
Archbishops, who doubtless will not elect him to the throne in
succession unless he proves compliant to their wishes. The Prince being
a young man of no particular force of character'" (the merchant paused
in his reading, and looked across at his _vis-a-vis_ with a smile, but
the latter appeared to be asleep), "'he will probably succumb to the
Archbishops, therefore merchants are advised to base no hopes upon an
improvement in affairs, even though the son should succeed the father.
Despite the precautions taken, the arrest and imprisonment of the
Prince, and even the place of his detention, became rather generally
known in Frankfort, but the news is in the form of rumor only, and
excites little interest throughout the city.'
"There, Sir Roland, what do you say to that?"
"Oh, nothing much," replied Roland. "The account might have stated that
in the boat were five rowers, who worked lustily until we reached the
Rhine, when, the wind being favorable, a sail was hoisted, and with the
current assisting the wind, we made excellent time to Ehrenfels. I
observe, further, that your secret service keeps you very well informed,
and therefore withdraw a tithe of the harsh things I said regarding the
stupidity of the merchants."
"Many thanks for the concession," said Goebel, replacing the document
with its fellows. "Now, as a plain and practical man, what strikes me is
this: you need only return to Ehrenfels for two months, and as there is
little use for money in that fortress, your maintenance being
guaranteed, and seven hundred thalers allowed, you can come away with
four hundred thalers more than the sum you demand from me, and thus put
your project into force without being under obligations to any despised
merchant."
"True, Herr Goebel, but can you predict what will happen in Frankfort
before two months are past? You learn from that document that the shrewd
Archbishops anticipate an insurrection, and doubtless they command the
force at hand ready to crush it, but during this conflict, which you
seem to regard so lightly, does it ever occur to you that the merchants'
palaces along the Fahrgasse may be sacked and burnt?"
"That, of course, is possible," commented the merchant.
"Nay, it is absolutely certain. Civil war means ruin, to innocent and
guilty alike."
"You are in the right. Now, will you tell me how you escaped from
Ehrenfels?"
"Yes; if you agree to my terms without further haggling."
"I shall agree to your terms if I believe your story."
"It seems impossible, sir, to pin you down to any definite bargain. Is
this the way you conduct your business?"
"Yes; unless I am well assured of the good faith of my customer. I
offered you ordinary business terms when I asked for security, or for
the signature of three responsible merchants to your bond. It is because
I am a merchant, and not a speculator, that I haggle, as you term it."
"Very well, then, I will tell you how I got away, but I begin my recital
rather hopelessly, for you always leave yourself a loophole of escape.
If you believe my story, you say! Yes: could I weave a romance about
tearing my sheets into ropes; of lowering myself in the dark from the
battlements to the ground; of an alarm given; of torches flashing; of
diving into the Rhine, and swimming under the water until I nearly
strangled; of floating down over the rapids, with arrows whizzing round
me in the night; of climbing dripping to the farther shore, far from
sight of Ehrenfels, then, doubtless, you would believe. But my escape
was prosaically commonplace, depending on the cupidity of one man. The
material for it was placed in my hands by the Archbishops themselves.
Your account states that the Castle is well guarded. So it is, but when
the Archbishop needs an augmentation of his force, he withdraws his men
from Ehrenfels to Mayence, as my prison is the nearest of his
possessions to his capital city, and thus at times it happens that the
Castle is bereft of all save the custodian and his family. His eldest
son happens to be of my own age, and not unlike me in appearance. None
of the guards saw me, except the custodian, and you must remember he was
a very complacent jailer, for the reason that he knew well every rising
sun might bring with it tidings that I was his Emperor, so he cultivated
my acquaintance, to learn in his own thrifty, peasant way what manner of
ruler I might become, and I, having no one else to talk to, made much of
his company.
"Frequently he impressed upon me that his task of jailer was most
irksome to him, but poverty compelling, what could he do? He swore he
would accomplish whatever was in his power to mitigate my captivity, and
this indeed did; so at last when the Castle was empty I made him a
proposal. Now remember, Sir Merchant, that what I tell you is in
confidence, and should you break faith with me, I will have you hanged
if I become Emperor, or slit your throat with my own sword if I don't."
"Go on. I shall tell no one."
"I said to my jailer: 'There are not half a dozen people in this world
who know me by sight, and among that half-dozen no Elector is included.
Outside the Palace at Frankfort I am acquainted with a sword maker or
two, and about a score of good fellows who are friends of theirs, but to
them I am merely a fencing-master. Now, seven hundred thalers a month
pass through your honest hands to mine, and will continue to do so. Your
son seems to be even more silent than yourself, and he is a young fellow
whom I suspect knows the difference between a thaler and a button on his
own coat. If you do what I wish, there will be some slight risk, but
think of the reward immediate and in future! At once you come into an
income of seven hundred thalers a month. If I am elected Emperor, I
shall ennoble you, and present you with the best post in the land. If
you don't do what I wish, I shall cause your head cut off as the first
act of my first day of power,'"
"You did not threaten to slit his throat with your own sword, failing
your elevation?" asked the merchant, with a smile.
"No. He was quite safe from my vengeance unless I came to the throne."
"In that case I should say the custodian need not fear the future. But
please go on with your account."
"I proposed that his son and I should exchange costumes; in short, the
young man was to take my place, occupying the suite of rooms assigned to
me in the Castle. I told his father there was not the slightest fear of
discovery, for if the Archbishop of Mayence sent some one to see that
the Prince was safe, or even came himself, all the young man need do was
to follow my example and keep silent, for I had said nothing from the
time I was roused in my room in the Saalhof until I was lodged in
Ehrenfels. I promised, if set at liberty, to keep within touch of
Frankfort, where, at the first rumor of any crisis, I could return
instantly to Ehrenfels.
"The custodian is a slow-minded man, although not so laggard in coming
to an agreement as yourself. He took a week to turn the matter over in
his mind, and then made the plunge. He is now jailer to his own son, and
that young peasant lives in a style he never dreamed of before. The
Archbishops are satisfied, because they believe I cannot escape from the
stronghold--like yourself, holding but a poor opinion of my abilities;
and their devout Lordships know that outside the fortress no person, not
even my mother, wishes me forth. I took in my wallet five hundred
thalers, and fared like the peasant I seemed to be, down the Rhine, now
on one side, now on the other, until I came to the ancient town of
Castra Bonnensia of the Romans, which name the inhabitants now shorten
to Bonn. There I found the Archbishop in residence, and not at Cologne,
as I had supposed. The town being thronged with soldiers and inquisitive
people of Cologne's court, I returned up the Rhine again, remembering I
had gone rather far afield, and although you may not believe it, I
called upon my old friend the custodian of Ehrenfels, and enjoyed an
excellent meal with him, consuming some of the seductive wine that is
grown on the same side of the river about a league above Ehrenfels."
"I dare say," said the merchant, "that I can give the reason for this
apparently reckless visit of yours to Ehrenfels. You were in want of
money, the five hundred thalers being spent."
"Sir, you are exactly in the right, and I got it, too, without nearly so
much talk as I have been compelled to waste on the present occasion."
"What was your object in going down the river instead of turning to
Frankfort?"
"I had become interested in my prison, and had studied methods by which
it could be successfully attacked. I knew that my father allowed the
Barons of the Rhine to override him, and I wondered if his wisdom was
greater than I thought. Probably, said I to myself, he knew their
castles to be impregnable, but, with the curiosity of youth, I desired
to form an opinion of my own. I therefore lodged as a wayfarer at every
castle to I could gain admittance, making friends with some underling,
and getting a bed on occasion in the stables, although often I lodged
within the castle itself. Thus I came to the belief, which I bring to
you, that assisted by twenty fearless men I can capture any castle on
the Rhine with the exception of three. And now, Herr Goebel, I have said
all I intend to say. Do you discredit my story?"
The merchant gazed across at him quizzically for some time without
making any reply, then he said:
"Do you think I believe you?"
"Frankly, I do not."
"If I am unable to give you the gold, I can at least furnish some good
advice. Set up as a poet, good Master Roland, and weave for our
delectation stories of the Rhine. I think your imagination, if
cultivated, would give you a very high place among the romancers of our
time."
With a patience that Herr Goebel had not expected, Roland replied:
"It grieves me to return empty-handed to my twenty friends, who last
night bade me a very confident adieu."
"Yes, they will be disappointed, and I shrewdly suspect that my thousand
thalers would not go towards the prosecuting of the expedition you have
outlined, but rather in feasting and in wine."
"Again, sir, you are right. It is unfortunate that I am so often
compelled to corroborate your statements, when all the acumen with which
you credit my mind is turned towards the task of proving you a
purse-proud fool, puffed up in your own conceit, and as short-sighted as
an owl in the summer sunlight. However, let us stick to our text. If
what I said had been true, although of course you know it isn't, you
have nevertheless enough common sense to be aware that I would certainly
show a pardonable reluctance about visiting my father's Palace. It is
thronged with spies of the Archbishop, and although, as I have said, I
am not very well known, there is a chance that one or another might
recognize me, and then, almost instantly, a man on a swift horse would
be on his way to Mayence. If I knew that I had been discovered, I should
make at once for Ehrenfels, arriving there before an investigation was
held. But my twenty comrades would wait for me in vain. Nevertheless, I
shall venture into the Saalhof this very afternoon, and bring to you a
letter written by my mother certifying that I am her son. Would that
convince you?"
"Yes; were I sure the signature was genuine."
"Ah, there you go again! Always a loophole!"
The young man spoke in accents of such genuine despair that his host was
touched despite his incredulity.
"Look you here," he said, bending across the table. "There is, of
course, one chance in ten thousand that you are what you say. I have
never seen the signature of the Empress, and such a missive could easily
be forged by a scholar, which I take you to be. If, then, you wish to
convince me, I'll put before you a test which will be greatly to your
advantage, and which I will accept without the loophole."
"In Heaven's name, let's hear what it is."
"There is something that you cannot forge: the Great Seal of the Realm,
attached to all documents signed by the Emperor."
"I have had no dealings with my father for years," cried the young man.
"I have not even seen him these many months past. I can obtain the
signature of my mother to anything I like to write, but not that of my
father."
"Patience, patience," said the merchant, holding up his hand. "'Tis well
known that the Empress can bend the Emperor to her will when she chooses
to exert it. You see, in spite of all, I am quite taking it for granted
that you are the Prince, otherwise 'twere useless to waste time in this
talk. You display all the confidence of youth in speaking of the
exploits you propose, and, indeed, it is cheering for a middle-aged
person like myself to meet one so confident of anything in these
pessimistic days. But have you considered what will happen if something
goes wrong during one of your raids?"
"Nothing can go wrong. I feel no fear on that score."
"I thought as much. Very well, I will tell you what could go wrong. Some
Baron may entrap you and your score, and forthwith hang you all from his
battlements. Now, it is but common sense to prevent such a termination,
if it be possible. Therefore seek out the Empress. Tell her that you and
your twenty companions are about to embark on an enterprise greatly
beneficial to the land. Say that you go incognito, and that, even should
you fail, 'twill bring no discredit to your Royal House. But point out
the danger of which I forewarn you. Ask her to get the signature of the
Emperor attached to a safe-conduct, together with the device of the
Great Seal; then if the Baron who captures you cannot read, he will
still know the potency of the picture, and as there is no loophole to my
acceptance of this proof, I will, for your convenience, and for my own
protection, write the safe-conduct on as sound a bit of parchment as
ever was signed in a palace."
Saying this, Herr Goebel rose, and went to his desk in a corner of the
room, where he indited the memorial he had outlined, and, after
sprinkling it with sand, presented it to Roland, who read:
"These presents warn him to whom they are presented that Roland the
bearer is my son, and that what he has done has been done with my
sanction, therefore he and his twenty comrades are to be held scathless,
pending an appeal to me in my capital city of Frankfort.
"Whomsoever disobeys this instrument forfeits his own life, and that of
his family and followers, while his possessions will be confiscated by
the State."
Roland frowned.
"Doesn't it please you?" asked Goebel, his suspicions returning.
"Well, it seems to me rather a plebeian action, to attack a man's
castle, and then, if captured, crawl behind a drastic threat like this."
The merchant shrugged his shoulders.
"That's a sentimental objection, but of course you need not use the
document unless you wish, though I think if you see twenty-one looped
ropes dangling in the air your hesitation will vanish. Oh, not on your
own account," cried Goebel, as a sign of dissent from his visitor, "but
because of those twenty fine young fellows who doubtless wait to drink
wine with you."
"That is true," said Roland, with a sigh, folding up the stiff
parchment, opening his cloak, and thrusting it under his belt, standing
up as he did this.
"Bring me that parchment, bearing the Emperor's signature and the Great
Seal, and you will find the golden coins awaiting you."
"Very well. At what time this evening would it please you to admit me?"
"Friends of mine are coming to-night, but they are not likely to stop
long; merely a few handshakes, and a few cups of wine. I shall be ready
for you when the Cathedral clock strikes ten."
With this the long conference ended, and the aged servitor in the hall
showed Roland into the Fahrgasse.
As the young man proceeded down the Weckmarkt into the Saalgasse, he
muttered to himself:
"The penurious old scoundrel! God keep me in future from dealing with
such! To the very last he suspects me of being a forger, and has written
this with his own hand, doubtless filling it with secret marks. Still,
perhaps it is as well to possess such a safeguard. This is my loophole
out of the coming enterprise, I fear we are all cowards, noble and
merchant alike."
He walked slowly past the city front of the Palace, cogitating some
means of entering without revealing his identity, but soon found that
even this casual scrutiny made him an object of suspicion. He could not
risk being accosted, for, if taken to the guard-room and
questioned--searched, perhaps, and the sword found on him--a
complication would arise adding materially to the difficulties already
in his way. Quickening his pace, he passed through the Fahrthor, and so
to the river-bank, where he saw that the side of the Saalhof fronting
the Main was guarded merely by one or two sentries, for the mob could
not gather on the surface of the waters, as it gathered on the
cobble-stones of the Saalgasse and the Fahrthor.
Retracing his steps, the Prince walked rapidly until he came to the
bridge, advancing to the iron Cross which commemorates the fowl
sacrifice to the devil, as the first living creature venturing upon that
ancient structure. Here he leaned against the parapet, gazed at the
river facade of the Palace, and studied his problem. There were three
sets of steps from the terrace to the water, a broad flight in the
center for use upon state occasions, and a narrow flight at either end;
the western staircase being that in ordinary use, and the eastern steps
trodden by the servants carrying buckets of water from the river to the
kitchen.
"The nearer steps," he said to himself, "offer the most feasible
opportunity. I'll try them."
He counted his money, for here was probably a case for bribery. He found
twenty-four gold pieces, and some loose silver. Returning the coins to
his pouch, he walked to the land, and proceeded up the river until he
reached a wharf where small skiffs were to let. One of these he engaged,
and refusing the services of a waterman, stepped in, and drifted down
the stream. He detached sword and scabbard from his belt, removed the
cloak and wrapped the weapon in it, placing the folded garment out of
sight under the covering at the prow. With his paddle he kept the boat
close to the right bank, discovering an excellent place of concealment
under the arch supporting the steps, through which the water flowed. He
waited by the steps for a few moments until a scullion in long gabardine
came down and dipped his bucket in the swift current.
"Here, my fine fellow," accosted Roland, "do you wish to earn a pair of
gold pieces?" and he showed the yellow coins in the palm of his hand.
The menial's eyes glistened, and he cast a rapid glance over his
shoulder.
"Yes," he replied breathlessly.
"Then leave your bucket where it is, and step into this wherry."
The underling, again with a cautious look around, did as he was ordered.
"Now throw off that outer garment, and give it to me."
Roland put it on over his own clothes, and flung his bonnet beside the
cloak and sword, for the servant was bareheaded.
"Get under that archway, and keep out of sight until you hear me
whistle."
Taking the bucket, Roland mounted the steps, and strode out of the
brilliant sunlight into the comparative gloom of the corridor that led
to the kitchen. He had been two hours with the merchant, and it was now
the time of midday eating. Every one was hurrying to and fro, with no
time to heed anything that did not pertain to the business in hand, so
placing the bucket in a darkened embrasure, the intruder flung off the
gabardine beside it, and searching, found a back stair which he
ascended.
Once in the upper regions, he knew his way about, and proceeded directly
to his mother's room, being sure at this hour to find her within. On his
unannounced entrance the Empress gave utterance to an exclamation that
indicated dismay rather than pleasure, but she hurried forward to meet
and embrace him.
"Oh, Roland!" she cried, "what do you here? How came you to the Palace?"
"By way of the river. My boat is under the arch of the servants'
stairway, and I have not a moment to lose."
"How did you escape from Ehrenfels, and why have you come here? Surely
you know the Palace will be the first place searched for you?"
"There will be no search, mother. Take my word for it that no one is
aware of my absence from Ehrenfels but the custodian, and for the best
of reasons he dare not say a word. Do not be alarmed, I beg of you. I am
free by his permission, and shall return to the Castle before he needs
me. Indeed, mother, so far from jeopardizing my own safety, I am here to
preserve it."
He drew from under his belt Herr Goebel's parchment, and handed it to
her.
"In case it should occur to the good Archbishop, or any other noble, to
hang me, I thought it best to get such a declaration signed by the
Emperor, and decorated with the Great Seal of the Empire. Then, if any
attempt is made on my life, as well as on my liberty, I may produce this
Imperial decree, and bring my case to Frankfort."
"Surely, surely," exclaimed the agitated lady, her hands trembling as
she held the document and tried to read it; "I can obtain your father's
signature, but the Great Seal must be attached by the Chamberlain."
"Very good, mother. The Chamberlain will do as his Majesty orders. The
seal is even more important than the signature, if it comes to that, and
I am sure the Chamberlain will make no objection when the instrument is
for the protection of your son's life. It is not necessary to say that I
am here, or have anything to do with the matter. But lose not a moment,
and give orders that no one shall enter this room."
The empress hastened away with the parchment, while the young man walked
impatiently up and down the room. It seemed hours before she returned,
but at last she came back with the document duly executed. Roland thrust
it under his belt again, and reassuring his mother, who was now weeping
on his shoulder, he tried to tear himself away. The Empress detained him
until, with fumbling hands, she unlocked a drawer in a cabinet, and took
from it a bag that gave forth a chink of metal as she pressed it on her
son.
"I must not take it," he said. "I am quite well provided. The generous
Archbishops allow me seven hundred thalers a month, which is paid with
exemplary regularity."
"There are only five hundred thalers here," replied the Empress. "I wish
there were more, but you must accept it, for I should feel easier in my
mind to know that you possess even that much. Do they misuse you at
Ehrenfels, my son?"
"Oh, no, no, no! I live like a burgomaster. You need feel no fear on my
account, mother. Ehrenfels is a delightful spot, with old Bingen just
across the water. I like it much better than I did Frankfort, with its
howling mobs, and shall be very glad to get quit again of the city."
Then, with a hurried farewell, he left the weeping woman, and descending
the back stair, secured the abandoned gabardine, put it on, and so came
to the water's edge, entering into possession of his boat again.
Returning the craft to its owner, he resumed sword and cloak once more,
and found his way to a tavern, where he ordered a satisfactory meal.
In the evening he arrived at the Rheingold, and meeting the landlord in
the large, empty, public cellar, asked that worthy if his friends had
assembled yet, and was told they were all within the Kaiser cellar.
"Good!" he cried. "I said I would be gone a week, but here I am within a
day. If that's not justifying a man's word, I should like to know what
is. And now, landlord, set forth the best meal you can provide, with a
double quantity of wine."
"For yourself, sir?"
"For all, landlord. What else? The lads have had no supper, I'll
warrant."
"A little black bread has gone the rounds."
"All the more reason that we should have a huge pasty, steaming hot, or
two or three of them if necessary. And your best wine, landlord. That
from the Rheingau."
But the landlord demurred.
"A meal for yourself, sir, as leader, I could venture upon, but feeding
a score of hungry men is a different matter. Remember, sir, I have not
seen the color of their silver for many a long day, and, since these
evil times have set in, I am a poor man."
"Sordid silver? Out upon silver! unless it is some silvery fish from the
river, fresh and firm; and that's a good idea. We will begin with fish
while you prepare the meat. 'Tis gold I deal with to-night, and most of
it is for your pouch. Run your hand in here and enjoy the thrill," and
Roland held open the mouth of the bag which contained his treasure.
"Ah!" cried the inn-keeper, his face aglow. "No such meal is spread
to-night in Frankfort as will be set before you."
There was a great shout as Roland entered the Kaiser cellar, and a
hurrah of welcome.
"Ha, renegade!" cried one. "Have you shirked your task so soon?"
"Coward, coward, poltroon!" was the cry. "I see by his face he has
failed. Never mind them, Roland. Your chair at the head of the table
always awaits you. There is a piece of black bread left, and though the
wine is thin, it quenches thirst."
Roland flung off his cloak, hung it and the sword on a peg, and took his
seat at the head of the table. Pushing away the flagons that stood near
him, he drew the leathern bag from his belt, and poured the shining
yellow coins on the table, at the sight of which there arose such a yell
that the stout beams above them seemed to quake.
"Apologize!" demanded Roland, when the clamor quieted down. "The man who
refuses to apologize, and that abjectly, must take down his sword from
the peg and settle with me!"
A shout of apology was the response.
"We grovel at your feet, High Mightiness!" cried the man who had called
him poltroon.
"I have taken the liberty of ordering a fish and meat supper, with a
double quantity of Rudesheimer wine. Again I offer to fight any man who
resents this encroachment on my part."
"I could spit you with a hand tied behind my back," cried one, "but I am
of a forgiving nature, and will wait instead for the spitted fowl."
"Most of this money," continued Roland quietly, "goes, I suspect, to the
landlord, as a slight recognition of past kindness, but I am promised a
further supply this evening, which will be divided equally among
ourselves. I ask you, therefore, to be sparing of the wine." Here he was
compelled to pause for some moments, and listen to groans, hoots, howls,
and the rapping of empty flagons on the stout table.
The commotion was interrupted by the entrance of the landlord, who
brought with him the promised Rhine wine; for, hearing the noise, he
supposed it represented impatience of the company at the delay, a
mistake which no one thought it worth while to rectify. He promised that
the fish would follow in a very few minutes, and went out to see that
his word was kept.
"Why should we be sparing of the wine?" asked a capable drinker, who had
drained his flagon before asking the question. "With all that money on
the table it seems to me a scandalous proviso."
"'Tis not a command at all," replied Roland, "but merely a suggestion. I
spoke in the interests of fair-play. An appointment was made by me for
ten o'clock this evening, and I wish to keep it and remain uninfluenced
by wine."
"What's her name, Roland?" inquired the wine-bibber.
"I was about to divulge that secret when you interrupted me. The name is
Herr Goebel."
"What! the cloth merchant on the Fahrgasse?"
"Is it cloth he deals in? I didn't know the particulars of his
occupation beyond the facts that he is a merchant, and lives in the
Fahrgasse. This morning I enjoyed the privilege of presenting to Herr
Goebel a mutually beneficial plan which would give us all something to
do."
"Oh, is Goebel to be our employer? I'm a sword forger, and work for no
puny cloth merchant," said Kurzbold.
"This appointment," continued Roland, unheeding, "is set for ten
o'clock, and I expect to return here before half-past, therefore--"
"Therefore we're not to drink all the wine."
"Exactly."
Their leader sat down as the landlord, followed by an assistant,
entered, carrying the paraphernalia for the substantial repast, and
proceeded to set the table.
When the hilarious meal was finished, the company sat for another
half-hour over its wine, then Roland rose, buckled on his sword, and
flung his cloak over his shoulders.
"Roland, I hope you have not sold your soul for this gold?"
"No; but I have pledged your bodies, and my own as well. Greusel, will
you act as secretary and treasurer? Scrutinize the landlord's bill with
a generous eye, and pay him the amount we owe. If anything is left, we
will divide it equally," and with that he waved his hand to them,
departing amidst a round of cheers, for the active youths were tired of
idleness.
Punctuality is the politeness of kings, and as the bells of Frankfort
were ringing ten o'clock, Roland knocked at the door of the merchant's
house in the Fahrgasse. It was promptly opened by the ancient porter,
who, after securing it again, conducted the young man up the solid
stairway to the office-room on the first floor.
Ushered in, the Prince found the merchant seated in his usual chair, as
if he had never moved from the spot where Roland had left him at noon
that day. Half a dozen candles shed their soft radiance over the table,
and on one corner of it, close by Herr Goebel's right elbow, the visitor
saw a well-filled doeskin bag which he fancied might contain the
thousand thalers.
"Good even to you, Herr Goebel," said the young man, doffing his bonnet.
"I hope I have not trodden too closely on the heels of my appointment,
thus withdrawing you prematurely from the festivities, which I trust you
enjoyed all the more that you breathed the air of liberty again."
"The occasion, sir, was solemn rather than festive, for although I was
glad to see my old friends again, and I believe they were glad to see
me, the condition of the city is such, and growing rapidly worse, that
merchants cannot rejoice when they are gathered together."
"Ah, well, Herr Goebel, we will soon mend all that. How long will it
require to load your boat and choose your crew?"
"Everything can be ready by the evening of the day after to-morrow."
"You will select one of your largest barges. Remember, it must house
twenty-one men besides the crew and the goods."
"Yes; I shall see that complete arrangements are made for your comfort."
"Thank you. But do not provide too much luxury. It might arouse
suspicion from the Barons who search the boat."
"But the Barons will see you and your men in the boat."
"I think not. At least, we don't intend to be seen. I will call upon you
again to-morrow at ten o'clock. Will you kindly order your captain to be
here to meet me? I wish you to give him instructions in my presence that
he is to do whatever I ask of him. We will join the boat on the Rhine
between Ehrenfels and Assmannshausen. Instruct him to wait for us midway
between the two places, on the right bank. And now the money, if you
please."
"The money is here," said the merchant, sitting up a little more stiffly
in his chair as he patted the well-stuffed bag. "The money is here if
you have brought the instrument that authorizes you to take it."
"I have brought it with me, mein herr."
"Then show it to me," demanded the merchant, adjusting his horn glasses
with the air of one who will not allow himself to be hoodwinked.
"With the greatest pleasure," returned the young man, standing before
him. He unfastened his cloak, and allowed it to fall at his feet, then
whisked out his sword, and presented the point of it to the merchant's
throat.
Goebel, who had been fumbling with his glasses, suddenly became aware of
his danger, and shrank back so far as his chair allowed, but the point
of the sword followed him.
"What do you mean by that?" he gasped.
"I mean to show you that in this game iron is superior to gold. Your
card is on the table, represented by that bag. Mine is still in my hand,
and unplayed, but it takes the trick, I think. I hope you see the
uselessness of resistance. You cannot even cry out, for at the first
attempt a thrust of this blade cuts the very roots of utterance. It will
be quite easy for me to escape, because I shall go quietly out with the
bag under my cloak, telling the porter that you do not wish to be
disturbed."
"It is the Prince of Thieves you are, then," said Herr Goebel.
"So it would appear. With your right hand pass that bag of gold across
the table, and beg of me to accept it."
The merchant promptly did what he was told to do.
The young man put his sword back in its place, laughing joyously, but
there was no answering smile on the face of Herr Goebel. As he had said,
the condition of things in Frankfort, especially in that room, failed to
make for merriment. Roland, without being invited, drew up a chair, and
sat down at the opposite side of the table.
"Please do not attempt to dash for the door," he warned, "because I can
quite easily intercept you, as I am nearer to it than you are, and more
active. Call philosophy to your aid, and take whatever happens calmly. I
assure you, 'tis the best way, and the only way."
He untied the cord, and poured the bulk of the gold out upon the table.
The merchant watched him with amazement. For all the robber knew, the
door might be opened at any moment, but he went on with numbering the
coins as nonchalantly as if seated in the treasury of the Corn Exchange.
When he had counted half the sum the bag contained, he poured the loose
money by handfuls into the wallet that had held his mother's
contribution, and pushed towards the merchant the bag, in which remained
five hundred thalers.
"You are to know," he said with a smile, abandoning his bent-forward
posture, "that when I visited my mother this afternoon, she quite
unexpectedly gave me five hundred thalers, so I shall accept from you
only half the sum I demanded this morning."
"Your mother!" cried the merchant. "Who is your mother?"
"The Empress, as I told you. Oh, at last I understand your uneasiness.
You wished to see that document! Why didn't you ask for it? I asked for
the money plainly enough. Well, here it is. Examine Seal and
sign-manual."
The merchant minutely scrutinized the Great Seal and the signature above
it.
"I don't know what to think," stammered Herr Goebel at last, gazing
across the table with bewildered face.
"Think of your good fortune. A moment ago you imagined a thousand
thalers were lost. Now it is but five hundred thalers invested, and you
are a partner with the Royal House of the Empire."
III
DISSENSION IN THE IRONWORKERS' GUILD
Up to the time of his midnight awakening, Prince Roland had led a
care-free, uneventful life. Although he received the general education
supposed to be suitable for a youth of his station, he interested
himself keenly in only two studies, but as one of these challenged the
other, as it were, the result was entirely to the good. He was a very
quiet boy, much under the influence of his mother, seeing little or
nothing of his easy-going, inebriated father. It was his mother who
turned her son's attention towards the literature of his country, and he
became an omnivorous reader of the old monkish manuscripts with which
the Palace was well supplied. Especially had his mind been attracted by
the stories and legends of the Rhine. The mixture of history, fiction,
and superstition which he found in these vellum pages, so daintily
limned, and so artistically embellished with initial letters in gold and
crimson and blue, fascinated him, and filled him with that desire to see
those grim strongholds on the mountain-sides by the river, which later
on resulted in his journey from Ehrenfels to Bonn, when his ingenuity,
and the cupidity of his custodian, freed him from the very slight
thraldom in which he was held by the Archbishop of Mayence.
If his attention had been entirely absorbed by the reading of these
tomes, he might have become a mere dreamy bookworm, his intellect
saturated with the sentimental and romantic mysticism permeating Germany
even unto this day, and, as he cared nothing for the sports of boyhood,
body might have suffered as brain developed.
But, luckily, he had been placed under the instruction of Rinaldo, the
greatest master of the sword that the world had up to that period
produced. Rinaldo was an Italian from Milan, whom gold tempted across
the Alps for the purpose of instructing the Emperor's son in Frankfort.
He was a man of grace and politeness, and young Roland took to him from
the first, exhibiting such aptitude in the art of fencing that the
Italian was not only proud of one who did such credit to his tuition,
but came to love the youth as if he were his own son.
For the sword-making of Germany the Italian expressed the utmost
contempt. The coarse weapons produced by the ironworkers of Frankfort
needed strength rather than skill in their manipulation. Between the
Italian method and the German was all the contrast that exists between
the catching of salmon with a delicate line and a gossamer fly, or
clubbing the fish to death as did the boatmen at that fishery called the
Waag down the Rhine by St. Goar.
Roland listened intently and without defense to the diatribe against his
country's weapons and the clumsy method of using them, but although he
said nothing, he formed opinions of his own, believing there was some
merit in strength which the Italian ignored; so, studying the subject,
he himself invented a sword which, while lacking the stoutness of the
German weapon, retained some of its stability, and was almost as easily
handled as the Italian rapier, without the disadvantage of its extreme
frailty.
Thus it came about that young Roland stole away from the Palace and made
the acquaintance of the sword makers. The practice of fencing exercises
every muscle in the body, and Roland's constant bouts with Rinaldo did
more than make him a master of the weapon, with equal facility in his
right arm or his left; it produced an athlete of the first quality;
agile and strong, developing his physical powers universally, and not in
any one direction.
Meanwhile Roland remained deplorably ignorant regarding affairs of
State, this being a subject of which his mother knew nothing. The
Emperor, who should have been his son's natural teacher, gave his whole
attention to the wine-flagon, letting affairs drift towards disaster,
allowing the power that deserted his trembling fingers to be grasped by
stronger but unauthorized hands. Roland's surreptitious excursions into
the city to confer with the sword makers taught him little of politics,
for his conversations with these mechanics were devoted entirely to
metal-working. He was hustled now and again by the turbulent mob, in
going to and fro, but he did not know why it clamored, and, indeed, took
little interest in the matter, conscious only that he came more and more
to hate the city and loathe its inhabitants. When he could have his own
way, he said to himself, he would retire to some country castle which
his father owned, and there devote himself to such employment as fell in
with his wishes.
But he was to receive a sharp lesson that no man, however highly placed,
is independent of his fellows. He was unaware of the commotion that
arose round his own name, and of the grim hanging of the leaders who
chose him as their supreme head. When, bewildered and sleepy, he was
aroused at midnight, and saw three armed men standing by his bedside, he
received a shock that did more to awaken him than the grip of alien
hands on his shoulders. During that night ride in the boat he said
nothing but thought much. He had heard his mother plead for him without
for a moment delaying his departure. She, evidently, was powerless.
There was then in the land a force superior to that of the Throne.
Something that had been said quieted his mother's fears, for at last she
allowed him to go without further protest, but weeping a little, and
embracing him much. There was no roughness or rudeness on the part of
those who conveyed him down the river Main, and finally along the Rhine
to Ehrenfels, but rather the utmost courtesy and deference, yet Roland
remained silent throughout the long journey, agitated by this new,
invisible, irresistible sovereignty animated with the will and power to
do what it liked with him.
At the Castle of Ehrenfels he found awaiting him no rigorous
imprisonment. He was treated as a welcome guest of an invisible host. It
was his conversations with the garrulous custodian, who was a shrewd
observer of the passing show, that gradually awakened the young Prince
to some familiarity with the affairs of the country. He learned now in
what a deplorable state the capital stood, through the ever-increasing
exactions of the robber Barons along the Rhine. He asked his instructor
why the merchants did not send their goods by some other route, which
was a very natural query, but was told there existed no other route. A
great forest extended for the most part between Frankfort and Cologne,
and through the wilderness were no roads, for even those constructed by
the Romans had been allowed to fall into decay; overgrown with trees,
Nature thus destroying the neglected handiwork of man; the forest
reclaiming its own.
"Indeed," continued the custodian, "for the last ten years things have
been going to the devil, for the lack of a strong hand in the capital. A
strong hand is needed by nobles and outlaws alike. We want a new
Frederick Barbarossa; the hangman's rope and the torch judiciously
applied might be the saving of the country."
Ehrenfels, belonging to the Archbishop, was not a nest of piracy, and so
its guardian could talk in this manner if he chose, but had he uttered
these sentiments farther down the Rhine, he would himself have
experienced the utility of the hangman's rope. Roland, knowing by this
time who had taken him into custody, said:
"Why do not the three Archbishops put a stop to it? They possess the
power."
The old jailer shrugged his shoulders.
"My chief, the great prelate of Mayence, would do it speedily enough if
he stood alone, but the Archbishops of Treves have ever been robbers
themselves, and Cologne is little better, therefore they neutralize one
another. No two of them will allow the other to act, fearing he may gain
in power, and thus upset the balance of responsibility, which I assure
your Highness is very nicely adjusted. Each of the three claim
allegiance from this Baron or the other, and although the Archbishops
themselves may not lay toll directly on the Rhine, their ardent
partisans do, which produces a deadlock."
Thus Roland received an education not to be had in palaces, and, saying
little beyond asking an occasional question, he thought much, and came
to certain conclusions. He arrived at an ambition to open the lordly
Rhine and spent his time gathering knowledge and forming plans.
Twelve hours after receiving the five hundred thalers from the merchant,
he again presented himself at the now familiar door in the Fahrgasse. In
the room on the first floor he found with Herr Goebel a thick-set,
heavily-bearded, weather-beaten man, who stood bonnet in hand while the
merchant gave him final instructions.
"Good-morning, Sir Roland," cried Herr Goebel cheerfully. He exhibited
no resentment for his treatment of the night before, and apparently
daylight brought with it renewed confidence that the young man might
succeed in his mission. There was now no hesitation in the merchant's
manner; alert and decided, all mistrust seemed to have vanished. "This
is Captain Blumenfels, whom I put in charge of the barge, and who has
gathered together a crew on which he can depend although, of course, you
must not expect them to fight."
"No," said Roland, "I shall attend to that portion of the enterprise."
"Now, Captain Blumenfels," continued Herr Goebel, "this young man is
commander. You are to obey him in every particular, just as you would
obey me."
The captain bowed without speaking.
"I shall not detain you any longer, captain, as you will be anxious to
see the bales disposed of to your liking on the barge."
The captain thereupon took himself off, and Roland came to the
conclusion that he liked this rough-and-ready mariner with so little to
say for himself; a silent man of action, evidently.
Herr Goebel turned his attention to Roland.
"I have ordered bales of cloth to the value of a trifle more than four
thousand thalers to be placed in the barge," he said. "The bales are
numbered, and I have given the captain an inventory showing the price of
each. I suppose you despise our vulgar traffic, and, indeed, I had no
thought of asking so highly placed a person as yourself to sell my
goods, therefore Blumenfels will superintend the marketing when you
reach Cologne--that is, if you ever get so far."
"Your pardon, Herr Goebel, but I have my own plans regarding the
disposal of your goods. I intend to be quit of them long before I see
Cologne. Indeed, should I prosper, I hope your boat will set its nose
southward for the return journey some distance this side of Coblentz."
The merchant gazed up at him in astonishment.
"Your design is impossible. There is no sale for cloth nearer than
Coblentz. Your remarks prove you unacquainted with the river."
"I have walked every foot of both sides of the river between Ehrenfels
and Bonn. There are many wealthy castles on this side of Coblentz."
"True, my good sir, true; but how became they wealthy? Simply by robbing
the merchants. Are you not aware that each of these castles is inhabited
by a titled brigand? You surely do not expect to sell my cloth to the
Barons?"
"Why not? Remember how long it is since a cloth-barge went down the
Rhine. Think for a moment of the arduous life which these Barons lead,
hunting the boar, the bear, and the deer, tearing recklessly through
thicket and over forest-covered ground. Why, our noble friends must be
in rags by this time, or clad in the skins of the beasts they kill! They
will be delighted to see and handle a piece of well-woven cloth once
more."
For a full minute the merchant gaped aghast at this senseless talk so
seriously put forward; then a smile came to his lips.
"Prince Roland, I begin to understand you. Your words are on a par with
the practical joke you played upon me so successfully last night. Of
course, you know as well as I that the Barons will buy nothing. They
will take such goods as they want if you but give them opportunity. What
you say is merely your way of intimating it is none of my affair how the
goods are disposed of, so long as you hand over to me four thousand
thalers." "Four thousand five hundred, if you please."
"I shall be quite content with the four thousand, regarding the extra
five hundred as paid for services rendered. Now, can I do anything
further to aid you?"
"Yes. I wish you to send a man on horseback to Lorch, there to await the
barge. Choose a man as silent as your captain; one whom you trust
implicitly, for I hope to send back with him four thousand five hundred
thalers, and also some additional gold, which I beg of you to keep
safely for me until I return."
"Prince Roland, there can be no gold for me at Lorch."
"Dispatch a trustworthy man in case I receive the money. You will be
anxious to know how we prosper, and I can at least forward a budget of
news."
"But should there be gold, he cannot return safely with it to
Frankfort."
"Oh, yes, if he keeps to the eastern bank of the Rhine. There is no
castle between Lorch and Frankfort except Ehrenfels, and that, being the
property of the Archbishop, may be passed safely."
"Very well. The man shall await you at Lorch. Inquire for Herr Kruger at
Mergler's Inn."
That night, in the Kaiser cellar, another excellent supper was spread
before the members of the metal-workers' league. It was quite as
hilarious as the banquet of the night before; perhaps more so, because
now, for the first time in months, the athletic young men were well fed,
with money in their pouches. Each was clad in a new suit of clothes.
Nothing like uniformity in costume had been attempted, there being but
one day in which to replenish the wardrobes, which involved the
acquiring of garments already made. However no trouble was experienced
about this, for each branch of the metal-workers had its own recognized
outfit, which was kept on hand in all sizes by various dealers catering
to the wants of artisans, from apprentices to masters of their trade.
The costumes were admirably adapted to the use for which they were
intended. There was nothing superfluous in their make-up, and, being
loosely cut, they allowed ample play to stalwart limbs. For dealing with
metal the wearers required a cloth tightly woven, of a texture as nearly
as possible resembling leather, and better accouterment for a
rough-and-tumble, freebooter's excursion could not have been found,
short of coats of mail, or, failing that, of leather itself.
Roland appeared in the trousers and doublet of a sword maker, and his
comrades cheered loudly when he threw off his cloak and displayed for
the first time that he was actually one of themselves. Hitherto
something in the fashioning of his wearing apparel had in a manner
differentiated him from the rest of the company, but now nothing in his
dress indicated that he was leader of the coterie, and this pleased the
independent metal-workers.
The previous night, after the landlord's bill was generously liquidated,
each man had received upwards of thirty thalers. Roland then related to
them his adventure with the merchant, and the result of his sword-play
in the vicinity of Herr Goebel's throat. Two accomplishments he
possessed endeared Roland to his comrades: first, the ability to sing a
good song; and second, his talent for telling an interesting story,
whether it was a personal adventure, a legend of the Rhine, or some tale
of the gnomes which, as every one knows, haunt the gloomy forests in the
mountain regions. His account of the evening spent with Herr Goebel
aroused much laughter and applause, which greatly augmented when the
material advantages of the interview were distributed among the guild.
This evening he purposed making a still more important disclosure; thus
when the meal was finished, and the landlord, after replenishing the
flagons, had retired, the new sword maker rose in his place at the head
of the table.
"I crave your strict attention for a few minutes. Although I refused to
confide my plans to Herr Goebel, I consider it my duty to inform you
minutely of what is before us, and if I speak with some solemnity, it is
because I realize we may never again meet around this table. We depart
from Frankfort to-morrow upon a hazardous expedition, and some of us may
not return."
"Oh, I say, Roland," protested Conrad Kurzbold, "don't mar a jovial
evening with a note of tragedy. It's bad art, you know."
Kurzbold was one of the three actual sword makers, and had been
president of the guild until he gave place to Roland. He was the oldest
of the company; an ambitious man, a glib talker, with great influence
among his fellows, and a natural leader of them. What he said generally
represented the opinion of the gathering.
"For once, Kurzbold, I must ask you to excuse me," persisted Roland. "It
is necessary that on this, the last, opportunity I should place before
you exactly what I intend to do. I am very anxious not to minimize the
danger. I wish no man to follow me blindfold, thus I speak early in the
evening, that you may not be influenced by the enthusiasm of wine in
coming to a decision. I desire each man here to estimate the risk, and
choose, before we separate to-night, whether or not he will accompany
the expedition.
"Here is the compact made with Herr Goebel: I promised that, with the
help of my comrades, I would endeavor to open the Rhine to mercantile
traffic. On the strength of such promise he gave me the money."
At this announcement rose a wild round of applause, and with the thunder
of flagons on the table, and the shouting of each member, no single
voice could make itself heard above the tumult. These lads had no
conception of the perils they were to face, and Roland alone remained
imperturbable, becoming more and more serious as the uproar went on.
When at last quiet was restored, he continued, with a gravity in
striking contrast to the hilarity of his audience:
"Herr Goebel is filling his largest barge with bales of cloth, and he
has engaged an efficient crew, and a capable captain who will assume
charge of the navigation. The barge will proceed to-morrow night down
the Main, leaving Frankfort as unostentatiously as possible, while we
march across the country to Assmannshausen, and there join this craft.
It is essential that no hint of our intention shall spread abroad in
gossipy Frankfort, therefore, depending on Captain Blumenfels to get his
boat clear of the city without observation, and before the moon rises, I
ask you to leave to-morrow separately by different gates, meeting me at
Hochst, something more than two leagues down the river. I dare say you
all know the Elector's palace, whose beautiful tower is a landmark for
the country round."
"I protest against such a rendezvous," objected Kurzbold. "Make it the
tavern of the Nassauer Hof, Roland. We shall all be thirsty after a walk
of two leagues."
"Not at that time in the morning, I hope," said Roland, "for I shall
await you in the shadow of the tower at nine o'clock. Let every man
drink his fill to-night, for I intend to lead a sober company from
Hochst to-morrow."
"Oh, you're optimistic, Roland," cried John Gensbein. "Give us till
twelve o'clock to cool our heads."
"Drink all you wish this evening," repeated Roland, "but to-morrow we
begin our work, with a long day's march ahead of us, so nine is none too
early for a start from Hochst."
"Sufficient to the day is the wine thereof," said Conrad Kurzbold,
rising to his feet. "Wine, blessed liquor as it is, possesses
nevertheless one defect, which blot on its escutcheon is that it cannot
carry over till next day, except in so far as a headache is concerned,
and a certain dryness of the mouth. It is futile to bid us lay in a
supply to-night that will be of any use to-morrow morning. For my part,
I give you warning, Roland, that I shall make directly for the Nassauer
Hof, or for the Schone Aussicht, where they keep most excellent
vintages."
To this declaration Roland made no reply, but continued his explanatory
remarks.
"We shall join the barge, as I have said, above Assmannshausen, probably
at night, and then cross directly over the river. The first castle with
which I intend to deal is that celebrated robber's roost, Rheinstein,
standing two hundred and sixty feet above the water. Disembarking about
a league up the river from Rheinstein, before daybreak we will all lie
concealed in the forest within sight of the Castle gates. When the sun
is well risen, Captain Blumenfels will navigate his boat down the river,
and as it approaches Rheinstein we shall probably enjoy the privilege of
seeing the gates open wide, as the company from the Castle descend
precipitously to the water. While they rifle the barge we shall rifle
the Castle, overpowering whoever we may find there, and taking in return
for the cloth they steal such gold or silver as the treasury affords. We
will then imprison all within the Castle, so that a premature alarm may
not be given. If we are hurried, we may lock them in cellars, or place
them in dungeons, then leave the Castle with our booty, but I do not
purpose descending to the river until we have traversed a league or more
of the mountain forest, where we may remain concealed until the barge
appears, and so take ship again.
"The next castle is Falkenberg, the third Sonneck, both on the same side
of the river as Rheinstein, and within a short distance from the
stronghold, but the plan with each being the same as that already
outlined, it is not necessary for me to repeat it."
"An excellent arrangement!" cried several; but John Gensbein spoke up in
criticism.
"Is there to be no fighting?" he asked. "I expected you to say that
after we had secured the gold we would fall on the robbers to the rear,
and smite them hip and thigh."
"There is likely to be all the fighting you can wish for," replied
Roland, "for at some point our scheme may go awry. It is not my
intention to attack, but I expect you to fight like heroes in our own
defense."
"I agree with Herr Roland," put in Conrad Kurzbold, rising to his feet.
"If we purpose to win our way down to Cologne, it is unnecessary to
search for trouble, because we shall find enough of it awaiting us at
one point or another. But Roland stopped his account at what seems to me
the most interesting juncture. What is the destination of the gold we
loot from the castles?"
"The first call upon our accumulation will be the payment of four
thousand five hundred thalers to Herr Goebel."
"Oh, damn the merchant!" cried Conrad. "We are risking our lives, and I
don't see why he should reach out his claws. He will profit enough
through our exertions if we open the Rhine."
"True; but that was the bargain I made with him. We risk our lives, as
you say, but he risks his goods, besides providing barge, captain, and
crew. He also furnished us with the five hundred thalers now in our
pockets. We must deal honestly with the man who has supported us in the
beginning."
"Oh, very well," growled Kurzbold, "have it your own way; but in my
opinion the merchants should combine and raise a fund with which to
reward us for our exertions if we succeed. Still, I shall not press my
contention in the face of an overwhelming sentiment against me. However,
I should like to speak to our leader on one matter which it seemed
ungracious to mention last night. The merchant offered him a thousand
thalers in gold, and he, with a generosity which I must point out to him
was exercised at our expense, returned half that money to Herr Goebel. I
confess that all I received has been spent; my hand is lonesome when it
enters my pouch. I should be glad of that portion which might have been
mine (and when I speak for myself, I speak for all) were it not for the
misplaced prodigality of our leader who, possessing the money, was so
thoughtless of our fellowship that he actually handed over five hundred
thalers to a man who had not the slightest claim upon it."
"Herr Kurzbold," said Roland, with some severity, "many penniless nights
passed over our heads in this room. If you know so much better than I
how to procure money, why did you not do so? I should not venture to
criticise a man who, without any effort on my part, placed thirty
thalers at my disposal."
There was a great clamor at this, every one except Kurzbold, who stood
stubbornly in his place, and Gensbein, who sat next to him, becoming
vociferous in defense of their leader.
"It is uncomrade-like," cried Ebearhard above the din, "to spend the
money and then growl."
"I speak in the interests of us all," shouted Kurzbold. "In the
interests of our leader, no less than ourselves," but the others howled
him down.
Roland, holding up his right hand, seemed to request silence and
obtained it.
"I am rather glad," he said, "that this discussion has arisen, because
there is still time to amend our programme. Herr Goebel's barge will not
be loaded until to-morrow night, so the order may even yet be
countermanded. The five hundred thalers which belonged to me I say
nothing about, but the five hundred advanced by Herr Goebel must be
returned to him unless we are in perfect unanimity."
At this suggestion Kurzbold sat down with some suddenness.
"I told you, when I left this room, promising to find the money within a
week, that one condition was the backing of my fellows. You empowered me
to pledge the efforts of our club as though it contained but one man. If
that promise is not to be kept in spirit as well as in letter, I shall
retire from the position I now hold, and you may elect in my stead
Conrad Kurzbold, John Gensbein, or any one else that pleases you. But
first I must be in a position to give back intact Herr Goebel's money;
then, as I have divulged to you my plans, Conrad Kurzbold may approach
him, and make better terms than I was able to arrange."
There were cries of "Nonsense! Nonsense!" "Don't take a little
opposition in that spirit, Roland." "We are all free-speaking comrades,
you know." "You are our leader, and must remain so."
Kurzbold rose to his feet for the third time.
"Literally and figuratively, my friend Roland has me on the hip, for my
hip-pocket contains no money, and it is impossible for me to refund. I
imagine, if the truth were told, we are all more or less in the same
condition, for we have had equipment to buy, and what-not."
"Also Hochheimer," said one, at which there was a laugh, as Kurzbold was
noted for his love of good wine. Up to this point Roland had carried the
assemblage with him, but now he made an injudicious remark that
instantly changed the spirit of the room.
"I am astonished," he said, "that any objection should be made to the
fair treatment of Herr Goebel, for you are all of the merchant class,
and should therefore hold by one of your own order."
He could proceed no farther. Standing there, pale and determined, he was
simply stormed down. His ignorance of affairs, of which on several
occasions the merchant himself had complained, led him quite
unconsciously to touch the pride of his hearers. It was John Gensbein
who angrily gave expression to the sentiment of the meeting.
"To what class do _you_ belong, I should like to know? Do you claim
affinity with the merchant class? If you do, you are no leader of ours.
I inform you, sir, that we are skilled artisans, with the craft to turn
out creditable work, while the merchants are merely the vendors of our
products. Which, therefore, takes the higher place in a community, and
which deserves it better: he who with artistic instinct unites the
efforts of brain and hand to produce wares that are at once beautiful
and useful, or he who merely chaffers over his counter to get as much
lucre as he can for the creations that come from our benches?"
To Roland's aristocratic mind, every man who lacked noble blood in his
veins stood on the same level, and it astonished him that any mere
plebeian should claim precedence over another. He himself felt
immeasurably superior to those present, sensible of a fathomless gulf
between him and them, which he, in his condescension, might cross as
suited his whim, but over which none might follow him back again; and
this, he was well aware, they would be the first to admit did they but
know his actual rank.
For a moment he was tempted to acknowledge his identity, and crush them
by throwing the crown at their heads, but some hitherto undiscovered
stubbornness in his nature asserted itself, arousing a determination to
stand or fall by whatever strength of character he might possess.
"I withdraw that remark," he said, as soon as he could obtain a hearing.
"I not only withdraw it, but I apologize to you for my folly in making
it. It was merely thoughtlessness on my part, and, resting on your
generosity, I should like you to consider the words unsaid."
Once more eighteen of the twenty swung round to his side. Roland now
turned his attention to Conrad Kurzbold, ignoring John Gensbein, who had
sat down flushed after his declamation, bewildered by the mutability of
the many as Coriolanus had been before him.
"Herr Kurzbold," began Roland sternly, "have you any further criticism
to offer?"
"No; but I stand by what I have already said."
"Well, I thank you for your honest expression of that determination, and
I announce that you cannot accompany this expedition."
Again Roland instantaneously lost the confidence of his auditors, and
they were not slow in making him of the fact.
"This is simply tyranny", said Ebearhard. "If a man may not open his
mouth without running danger of expulsion, then all comradeship is at an
end, and I take it that good comradeship is the pivot on which this
organization turns. I do not remember that we ever placed it in the
power of our president merely by his own word to cast out one of us from
the fellowship. I may add, Roland, that you seem to harbor strange ideas
concerning rank and power. I have been a member of this guild much
longer than you, and perhaps understand better its purpose. Our leader
is not elected to govern a band of serfs. Indeed, and I say it subject
to correction from my friends, the very opposite is the case. Our leader
is our servant, and must conduct himself as we order. It is not for him
to lay down the law to us, but whatever laws exist for our governance,
and I thank Heaven there are few of them, must be settled in conclave by
a majority of the league."
"Right! Right!" was the unanimous cry, and when Ebearhard sat down all
were seated except Roland, who stood at the end of the table with pale
face and compressed lips.
"We are," he said, "about to set out against the Barons of the Rhine,
entrenched in their strong castles. Hitherto these men have been
completely successful, defying alike the Government and the people. It
was my hope that we might reverse this condition of things. Now, Brother
Ebearhard, name me a single Baron along the whole length of the Rhine
who would permit one of his men-at-arms to bandy words with him on any
subject whatever."
"I should hope," replied Ebearhard, "that we do not model our conduct
after that of a robber."
"The robbers, I beg to point out to you, Ebearhard, are successful. It
is success we are after, also a portion of that gold of which Herr
Kurzbold has pathetically proclaimed his need."
"Do you consider us your men-at-arms, then, in the same sense that a
Rhine Baron would employ the term?"
"Certainly."
"You claim the liberty of expelling any one you choose?"
"Yes; I claim the liberty to hang any of you if I find it necessary."
"Oh, the devil!" cried Ebearhard, sitting down as if this went beyond
him. He gazed up and down the table as much as to say, "I leave this in
your hands, gentlemen."
The meeting gave immediate expression of its agreement with Ebearhard.
"Gentlemen," said Roland, "I insist that Conrad Kurzbold apologizes to
me for the expressions he has used, and promises not again to offend in
like manner."
"I'll do nothing of the sort," asserted Kurzbold, with equal firmness.
"In that case," exclaimed Roland, "I shall retire, and I ask you to put
me in a position to repay Herr Goebel the money I extracted from him. I
resign the very thankless office of so-called leadership."
At this several wallets came out upon the table, but their contents
clinked rather weakly. The majority of the guild sat silent and sobered
by the crisis that had so unexpectedly come upon them. Joseph Greusel,
seeing that no one else made a move, uprose, and spoke slowly. He was a
man who never had much to say for himself; a listener rather than a
talker, in whom Roland reposed great confidence, believing him to be one
who would not flinch if trial came, and he had determined to make
Greusel his lieutenant if the expedition was not wrecked before it set
out.
"My friends," said Greusel gloomily, "we have arrived at a deadlock, and
I should not venture to speak but that I see no one else ready to make a
suggestion. I cannot claim to be non-partisan in the matter. This crisis
has been unnecessarily brought about by what I state firmly is a most
ungenerous attack on the part of Conrad Kurzbold."
There were murmurs of dissent, but Greusel proceeded stolidly, taking no
notice.
"It is not disputed that Kurzbold accepted the money from Roland last
night, spent it to-day, and now comes penniless amongst us, quite unable
to refund the amount when his unjust remarks produce their natural
effect. He is like a man who makes a wager knowing he hasn't the money
to pay should he lose. If Roland retires from this guild, I retire also,
ashamed to keep company with men who uphold a trick worthy of a ruined
gambler."
"My dear Joseph," cried Ebearhard, springing up with a laugh, "you were
misnamed in your infancy. You should have been called Herod, practically
justifying a slaughter of us innocents."
"I stand by Benjamin," growled Gruesel, "the youngest and most capable
of our circle; the one who produced the money while all the rest of us
talked."
"You never talked till now, Joseph," said Ebearhard, still trying to
ease the situation with a laugh, "and what you say is not only
deplorably severe, but uttered, as I will show you, upon entirely
mistaken grounds. We did not, and do not, support Conrad Kurzbold in
what he said at first. Now you rate us as if we were no better than
thieves. Dishonest gamblers, you call us, and Lord knows what else, and
then you threaten withdrawal. I submit that your diatribe is quite
undeserved. We all condemn Kurzbold for censuring Roland's generosity to
the merchant, unanimously upholding Roland in that action, and have said
so plainly enough. What we object to is this: Roland arrogates to
himself power which he does not possess, of peremptorily expelling any
member whose remarks displease him. Surely you cannot support him in
that any more than we."
"Let us take one thing at a time," resumed Greusel, "not forgetting from
whom came the original provocation. I must know where we stand. I
therefore move a vote of censure on Conrad Kurzbold for his unmerited
attack upon our president anent his dealings with Herr Goebel."
"I second that with great pleasure," said Ebearhard.
"Now, as we cannot ask our leader to put that motion, I shall take the
liberty of submitting it myself," continued Greusel. "All in favor of
the vote of censure which you have heard, make it manifest by standing
up."
Every one arose except Roland, Gensbein, and Kurzbold.
"There, we have removed that obstacle to a clear understanding of the
case, and before I formally deliver this vote of censure to Herr
Kurzbold, I request him to reconsider his position, and of his own
motion to make such delivery unnecessary.
"If it is the case that Roland assumes authority to expel whom he
pleases from this guild, I shall not support him."
"It _is_ the case! It _is_ the case!" shouted several.
"Pardon me, comrades; I have the floor," continued Greusel. "I am not
attempting oratory, but trying to disentangle a skein in which we have
involved ourselves. I wish to receive neither applause nor hissing until
I have finished the business. You say it is the case. I say it is not.
Roland gave Herr Kurzbold the alternative either of apologizing or of
paying over the money, so that it might be returned to the merchant. As
I understand the matter, our president does not insist on Kurzbold
leaving the guild, but merely announces his own withdrawal from it. You
have allowed Kurzbold to put you in the position of being compelled to
choose between himself and Roland. If you are logical men you cannot
pass a vote of censure on Kurzbold, and then choose him instead of
Roland. I therefore move a vote of confidence in our chief, the man who
has produced the money, a thousand thalers in all, half of which was his
own, and has divided it equally amongst us, when the landlord's bill was
paid, withholding not a single thaler, nor arrogating--I think that was
your word, friend Ebearhard--to himself a stiver more of the money than
each of the others received. While Kurzbold has prated of comradeship,
Roland has given us an excellent example of it, and I think he deserves
our warmest thanks and our cordial support. I therefore submit to you
the following motion: This meeting tenders to the president its warmest
thanks for his recent efforts on behalf of the guild, and begs to assure
him of its most strenuous assistance in carrying out the project he has
put before it to-night."
"Joseph," said Ebearhard, rising, with his usual laugh, "you are a very
clever man, although you usually persist in hiding your light under a
bushel. I desire to associate myself with the expressions you have used,
and therefore second your motion."
"I now put the resolution which you have all heard," said Greusel, "and
I ask those in favor of it to stand."
Every one stood up promptly enough except the two recalcitrants, and of
those two John Gensbein showed signs of hesitation and uneasiness. He
half rose, sat down again; then, apparently at the urging of the man
next him, stood up, a picture of irresolution. Kurzbold, finding himself
now alone, laughed, and got upon his feet, thus making the vote
unanimous. As the company seated itself, Greusel turned to the
president.
"Sir, it is said that all's well that ends well. It gives me pleasure to
tender you the unanimous vote of thanks and confidence of the
iron-workers' guild, and before calling upon you to make any reply, if
such should be your intention, I will ask Conrad Kurzbold to say a few
words, which I am sure we shall all be delighted to hear."
Kurzbold rose bravely enough, in spite of the fact that Joseph Greusel's
diplomacy had made a complete separation between him and all the others.
"I should like to say," he began, with an air of casual indifference,
"that my first mention of the money was wholly in jest. Our friend
Roland took my remarks seriously, which, of course, I should not have
resented, and there is little use in recapitulating what followed. As,
however, my utterances gave offense which was not intended by me, I have
no hesitation in apologizing for them, and withdrawing the ill-advised
sentences. No one here feels a greater appreciation of what our
president has done than I, and I hope he will accept my apology in the
same spirit in which it is tendered."
"Now, Master of the Guild," said Greusel, and Roland took the floor once
more.
"I have nothing to say but 'Thank you.' The antagonists whom we hope to
meet are men brave, determined, and ruthless. If any one in this company
holds rancor against me, I ask him to turn it towards the Barons, and
punish me after the expedition is accomplished. Let us tolerate no
disagreements in face of the foe."
The young man took his cloak and sword from the peg on which they hung,
passed down along the table, and thrust across his hand to Kurzbold, who
shook it warmly. Arriving at the door, Roland turned round.
"I wish to see Captain Blumenfels, and give him final instructions
regarding our rendezvous on the Rhine, so good-night. I hope to meet you
all under the shadow of the Elector's tower in Hochst to-morrow morning
at nine," and with that the president departed, being too inexperienced
to know that soft words do not always turn away wrath, and that mutiny
is seldom quelled with a handshake.
IV
THE DISTURBING JOURNEY OF FATHER AMBROSE
The setting summer sun shone full on the western side of Sayn Castle,
sending the shadow of that tenth-century edifice far along the
greensward of the upper valley. Upon a balcony, perched like a swallow's
nest against the eastern end of Sayn Castle, a lovely girl of eighteen
leaned, meditating, with arms resting on the balustrade, the harshness
of whose stone surface was nullified by the soft texture of a
gaudily-covered robe flung over it. This ample cloth, brought from the
East by a Crusading ancestor of the girl, made a gay patch of scarlet
and gold against the somber side of the Castle.
The youthful Countess Hildegunde von Sayn watched the slow oncoming of a
monk, evidently tired, who toiled along the hillside deep in the shadow
of the Castle, as if its cool shade was grateful to him. Belonging, as
he did, to the very practical Order of the Benedictines, whose belief
was in work sanctioned by prayer, the Reverend Father did not deny
himself this temporary refuge from the hot rays of the sun, which had
poured down upon him all day.
Looking up as he approached the stronghold, and seeing the girl, little
dreaming of the frivolous mission she would propose, he waved his hand
to her, and she responded gracefully with a similar gesture.
Indeed, however strongly the monk might disapprove, there was much to be
said in favor of the resolution to which the young lady had come. She
was well educated, probably the richest heiress in Germany, and
carefully as the pious Sisters of Nonnenwerth Convent may have concealed
the fact from her, she was extremely beautiful, and knew it, and
although the valley of the Saynbach was a very haven of peace and
prosperity, the girl became just a trifle lonely, and yearned to know
something of life and the Court in Frankfort, to which her high rank
certainly entitled her.
It is true that very disquieting rumors had reached her concerning the
condition of things in the capital city; nevertheless she determined to
learn from an authoritative source whether or not it was safe to take up
a temporary residence in Frankfort, and for this purpose the reluctant
Father Ambrose would journey southward.
Father Ambrose was more than sixty years old, and if he had belonged to
the world, instead of to religion, would have been entitled to the name
Henry von Sayn. His presence in the Benedictine Order was proof of the
fact that money will not accomplish everything. His famous, or perhaps
we should say infamous, ancestor, Count Henry III. of Sayn, who died in
1246, was a robber and a murderer, justly esteemed the terror of the
Rhine. Concealed as it was in the Sayn valley, half a league from the
great river, the situation of his stronghold favored his depredations.
He filled his warehousing rooms with merchandise from barges going down
the river, and with gold seized from unhappy merchants on their way up.
He thought no more of cutting a throat than of cutting a purse, and it
was only when he became amazingly wealthy that the increase of years
brought trouble to a conscience which all men thought had ceased to
exist. Thereupon, for the welfare of his soul, he built the Abbey of
Sayn, and provided for the monks therein. Yet, when he came to die, he
entertained fearsome, but admittedly well-founded doubts regarding his
future state, so he proceeded to sanctify a treasure no longer of any
use to him, by bequeathing it to the Church, driving, however, a bargain
by which he received assurance that his body should rest quietly in the
tomb he had prepared for himself within the Abbey walls.
He was buried with impressive ceremony, and the monks he had endowed did
everything to carry out their share of the pact. The tomb was staunchly
built with stones so heavy that no ordinary ghost could have emerged
therefrom, but to be doubly sure a gigantic log was placed on top of it,
strongly clamped down with concealed bands of iron, and, so that this
log might not reveal its purpose, the monks cunningly carved it into
some semblance of Henry himself, until it seemed a recumbent statue of
the late villainous Count.
But despite such thoughtfulness their plan failed, for when next they
visited the tomb the statue lay prone, face downwards, as if some
irresistible, unseen power had flung it to the stone flags of the floor.
Replacing the statue, and watching by the tomb, was found to be of
little use. The watchers invariably fell asleep, and the great wooden
figure, which during their last waking moments lay gazing towards the
roof, was now on its face on the monastery floor, peering down in the
opposite direction, and this somehow was regarded by the brethren as a
fact of ominous significance.
The new Count von Sayn, heir to the title and estate of the late Henry
III. was a gloomy, pious man, very different indeed from his turbulent
predecessor. Naturally he was much perturbed by the conduct of the
wooden statue. At first he affected disbelief in the phenomena despite
the assurances of the monks, and later on the simple brethren deeply
regretted they had made any mention of the manifestations. The new Count
himself took up the task of watching, and paced all night before the
tomb of the third Henry. He was not a man to fall asleep while engaged
on such a somber mission, and the outcome of his vigil was so amazing
that in the morning he gathered the brethren together in the great hall
of the Abbey, that he might relate to them his experience.
The wooden statue had turned over, and fallen to the floor, as was its
habit, but on this occasion it groaned as it fell. This mournful sound
struck terror into the heart of the lonely watcher, who now, he
confessed, regretted he had not accepted the offer of the monks to share
his midnight surveillance. The courage of the House of Sayn is, however,
a well-known quality, and, notwithstanding his piety, the new holder of
the title was possessed of it, for although admitting a momentary
impulse towards flight, and the calling for assistance which the monks
would readily have given, he stood his ground, and in trembling voice
asked what he could do to forward the contentment of his deceased
relative.
The statue replied, still face downward on the stone floor, that never
could the late wicked Count rest in peace unless the heir to his titles
and lands should take upon himself the sins Henry had committed during
his life, while a younger member of the family should become a monk of
the Benedictine Order, and daily intercede for the welfare of his soul.
"With extreme reluctance," continued the devout nobleman, "I gave my
assent to this unwelcome proposal, providing only that it should receive
the sanction of the Abbot and brethren of the Monastery of Sayn, hoping
by a life of continuous rectitude to annul, in some measure at least,
the evil works of Henry III.; and that holy sanction I now request,
trusting if given it may remove any doubts regarding the righteousness
of my promise."
Here the Count bowed low to the enthroned Abbot and, with less
reverence, to the assembled brethren. The Abbot rose to his feet, and in
a few well-chosen words complimented the nobleman on the sacrifice he
made, predicting that it would redound greatly to his spiritual welfare.
Speaking for himself, he had no hesitation in giving the required
sanction, but as the Count made it a proviso that the brethren should
concur, he now requested their acquiescence.
This was accorded in silent unanimity, whereupon Count von Sayn, deeply
sighing as one accepting a burden almost too heavy to bear, spoke with a
tremor of grief in his voice.
"It is not for me," he said, "to question your wisdom, nor shrink from
my allotted task. After all, I am but human, and up to this decisive
moment had hoped, alas! in vain, that some one more worthy than I might
be chosen in my place. The most grievous part of the undertaking, so far
as I am concerned, was outlined in the last words spoken by the wooden
statue. The evil deeds my ancestor has committed will in time be
obliterated by the prayers of the younger member of my family who
becomes a monk, but the accumulated gold carries with it a continual
curse, which can be wiped off each coin only by that coin benefiting the
merchants who have been robbed. The contamination of this metal,
therefore, I must bear, for it adds to the agony of my ancestor that,
little realizing what he was doing, he bequeathed this poisonous dross
to the Abbey he founded. I am required to lend it in Frankfort, upon
undoubted security and suitable usury, that it may stimulate and
fertilize the commerce of the land, much as the contents of a compost
heap, disagreeable in the senses, and defiling to him who handles it,
when spread upon the fields results in the production of flower, fruit,
and food, giving fragrance, delight, and sustenance to the human frame."
The count, bowing for the third time to the conclave, passed from its
presence with mournful step and sorrowful countenance; whereupon the
brethren, seeing themselves thus denuded of wealth they had hoped to
enjoy, gave utterance to a groan doubtless much greater in volume than
that emitted by the carven statue, which wooden figure may be seen
to-day in the museum of the modern Castle of Sayn by any one who cares
to spend the fifty pfennigs charged for admission.
All that has been related happened generations before the time when the
Countess Hildegunde reigned as head of the House of Sayn, but Father
Ambrose formed a link with the past in that he was the present scion of
Sayn who, as a Benedictine, daily offered prayer for the repose of the
wicked Henry III. The gold which Henry's immediate successor so craftily
deflected from the monks seemed to be blessed rather than cursed, for
under the care of that subtle manager it multiplied greatly in
Frankfort, and scandal-mongers asserted that besides receiving the usury
exacted, the pietistic Count tapped the treasure-casks of upward-sailing
Rhine merchants quite as successfully, if more quietly, than the profane
Henry had done. Thus the House of Sayn was one of the richest in
Germany.
The aged monk and the youthful Countess were distant relatives, but he
regarded her as a daughter, and her affection was given to him as to a
father, in other than the spiritual sense.
In his youth Ambrose the Benedictine, because of his eloquence in
discourse, and also on account of his aristocratic rank, officiated at
the court in Frankfort. Later, he became spiritual and temporal adviser
to that great prelate, the Archbishop of Cologne, and the Archbishop,
being guardian of the Countess von Sayn, sent Father Ambrose to the
castle of his ancestor to look after the affairs of Sayn, both religious
and material. Under his gentle rule the great wealth of his House
increased, although he, the cause of prosperity, had no share in the
riches he produced, for, as has been written of the Benedictines:
"It was as teachers of ... scientific agriculture, as drainers of fens
and morasses, as clearers of forests, as makers of roads, as tillers of
the reclaimed soil, as architects of durable and even stately buildings,
as exhibiting a visible type of orderly government, as establishing the
superiority of peace over war as the normal condition of life, as
students in the library which the rule set up in every monastery, as the
masters in schools open not merely to their own postulants but to the
children of secular families also, that they won their high place in
history as benefactors of mankind."
* * * * *
"Oh, Father Ambrose," cried the girl, when at last he entered her
presence, "I watched your approach from afar off. You walked with
halting step, and shoulders increasingly bowed. You are wearing yourself
out in my service, and that I cannot permit. You return this evening a
tired man."
"Not physically tired," replied the monk, with a smile. "My head is
bowed with meditation and prayer, rather than with fatigue. Indeed, it
is others who do the harassing manual labor, while I simply direct and
instruct. Sometimes I think I am an encumberer in the vineyard, lazily
using brain instead of hand."
"Nonsense!" cried the girl, "the vineyard would be but a barren
plantation without you; and speaking of it reminds me that I have poured
out, with my own hand, a tankard of the choicest, oldest wine in our
cellars, which I allow no one but yourself to taste. Sit down, I beg of
you, and drink."
The wise old man smiled, wondering what innocent trap was being set for
him. He raised the tankard to his lips, but merely indulged in one sip
of the delectable beverage. Then he seated himself, and looked at the
girl, still smiling. She went on speaking rapidly, a delicate flush
warming her fair cheeks.
"Father, you are the most patient and indefatigable of agriculturists,
sparing neither yourself nor others, but there is danger that you grow
bucolic through overlong absence from the great affairs of this world."
"What can be greater, my child, than increasing the productiveness of
the land; than training men to supply all their needs from the fruitful
earth?"
"True, true," admitted the girl, her eyes sparkling with eagerness, "but
to persist overlong even in well-doing becomes ultimately tedious. If
the laborer is worthy of his hire, so, too, is the master. You should
take a change, and as I know your fondness for travel, I have planned a
journey for you."
The old man permitted himself another sip of the wine.
"Where?" he asked.
"Oh, an easy journey; no farther than the royal city of Frankfort, there
to wander among the scenes of your youth, and become interested for a
time in the activities of your fellow-men. You have so long consorted
with those inferior to you in intellect and learning that a meeting with
your equals--though I doubt if there are any such even in
Frankfort--must prove as refreshing to your mind as that old wine would
to your body, did you but obey me and drink it."
Father Ambrose slowly shook his head.
"From what I hear of Frankfort," he said, "it is anything but an
inspiring town. In my day it was indeed a place of cheer, learning, and
prosperity, but now it is a city of desolation."
"The rumors we hear, Father, may be exaggerated; and even if the city
itself be doleful, which I doubt, there is sure to be light and gayety
in the precincts of the Court and in the homes of the nobility."
"What have I to do with Court or palaces? My duty lies here."
"It may be," cried the girl archly, "that some part of your duty lies
there. If Frankfort is indeed in bad case, your sage advice might be of
the greatest benefit. Prosperity seems to follow your footsteps, and,
besides, you were once a chaplain in the Court, and surely you have not
lost all interest in your former charge?"
Again that quiet, engaging smile lit up the monk's emaciated features,
and then he asked a question with that honest directness which sometimes
embarrassed those he addressed:
"Daughter Hildegunde, what is it you want?"
"Well," said the girl, sitting very upright in her chair, "I confess to
loneliness. The sameness of life in this castle oppresses me, and in its
continuous dullness I grow old before my time. I wish to enjoy a month
or two in Frankfort, and, as doubtless you have guessed, I send you
forth as my ambassador to spy out the land."
"In such case, daughter, you should present your petition to that Prince
of the Church, the Archbishop of Cologne, who is your guardian."
"No, no, no, no!" cried the girl emphatically; "you are putting the
grapes into the barrel instead of into the vat. Before I trouble the
worthy Archbishop with my request, I must learn whether it is
practicable or not. If the city is indeed in a state of turbulence, of
course I shall not think of going thither. It is this I wish to
discover, but if you are afraid." She shrugged her shoulders and spread
out her hands.
And now the old monk came as near to laughing as he ever did.
"Clever, Hildegunde, but unnecessary. You cannot spur me to action by
slighting the well-known valor of our race. I will go where and when you
command me, and report to you faithfully what I see and hear. Should the
time seem favorable for you to visit Frankfort, and if your guardian
consents, I shall raise not even one objection."
"Oh, dear Father, I do not lay this as a command upon you."
"No; a request is quite sufficient. To-morrow morning I shall set out."
"Along the Rhine?" queried the girl, so eagerly that the old man's eyes
twinkled at the celerity with which she accepted his proposition.
"I think it safer," he said, "to journey inland over the hills. The
robbers on the Rhine have been so long bereft of the natural prey that
one or other of them may forget I am Father Ambrose, a poor monk,
remembering me only as Henry of the rich House of Sayn, and therefore
hold me for ransom. I would not willingly be a cause of strife, so I
shall go by way of Limburg on the Lahn, and there visit my old friend
the Bishop, and enjoy once more a sight of the ancient Cathedral on the
cliff by the river."
When the young Countess awoke next morning, and reviewed in her mind the
chief event of the preceding day, remembering the reluctance of Father
Ambrose to undertake the quest she had outlined without the consent of
his overlord the Archbishop, a feeling of compunction swept over her.
She berated her own selfishness, resolving to send her petition to her
guardian, the Archbishop, and abide by his decision.
When breakfast was finished, she asked her lady-in-waiting to request
the presence of Father Ambrose, but instead of the monk came disturbing
news.
"The seneschal says that Father Ambrose left the Castle at daybreak this
morning, taking with him frugal rations for a three days' journey."
"In which direction did he go?" asked the lady of Sayn.
"He went on horseback up the valley, after making inquiries about the
route to Limburg on the Lahn."
"Ah!" said the Countess. "He spoke yesterday of taking such a journey,
but I did not think he would leave so early."
This was the beginning of great anxiety for the young lady of the
Castle. She knew at once that pursuit was useless, for daybreak comes
early in summer, and already the good Father had been five hours on his
way--a way that he was certain to lose many times before he reached the
capital city. An ordinary messenger might have been overtaken, but the
meditative Father would go whither his horse carried him, and when he
awoke from his thoughts and his prayers, would make inquiries, and so
proceed. A day or two later came a message that he had achieved the
hospitality of Limburg's bishop, but after that arrived no further word.
Nearly two weeks had elapsed when, from the opposite direction,
Hildegunde received a communication which added to her already painful
apprehension. It was a letter from her guardian in Cologne, giving
warning that within a week he would call at her Castle of Sayn.
"Matters of great import to you and me," concluded the Archbishop, "are
toward. You will be called upon to meet formally my two colleagues of
Mayence and Treves, at the latter's strong Castle of Stolzenfels, above
Coblentz. From the moment we enter that palace-fortress, I shall,
temporarily, at least, cease to be your guardian, and become merely one
of your three overlords. But however frowningly I may sit in the throne
of an Elector, believe me I shall always be your friend. Tell Father
Ambrose I wish to consult with him the moment I arrive at your castle,
and that he must not absent himself therefrom on any pretext until he
has seen me."
Here was trouble indeed, with Father Ambrose as completely disappeared
as if the dragons of the Taunus had swallowed him. Never before on his
journeys had he failed to communicate with her, even when his travels
were taken on account of the Archbishop, and not, as in this case, on
her own. She experienced the darkest forebodings from this incredible
silence. Imagine, then, her relief, when exactly two weeks from the day
he had left Schloss Sayn, she saw him coming down the valley. As when
she last beheld him, he traveled on foot, leading his horse, that had
gone lame.
Throwing etiquette to the wind, she flew down the stairway, and ran to
meet her thrice-welcome friend.
She realized with grief that he was haggard, and the smile he called up
to greet her was wan and pitiful.
"Oh, Father, Father!" she cried, "what has happened to you? I have been
nearly distraught with doubt and fear, hearing nothing of you since your
message from Limburg."
"I was made a prisoner," said the old man quietly, "and allowed to
communicate with no one outside my cell. 'Tis a long and sad story, and,
worse than all one that bodes ill for the Empire. I should have arrived
earlier in the day, but my poor, patient beast has fallen lame."
"Yes!" said the girl indignantly, "and you spare him instead of
yourself!"
The monk laid his left hand affectionately on her shoulder.
"You would have done the same, my dear," he said, and she looked up at
him with a sweet smile. They were kin, and if she censured any quality
in him, the comment carried something of self-reproach.
A servitor took away the lame horse; another waited on Father Ambrose in
his small room, which was simple as that of a monastery cell, and as
meagerly furnished. After a slight refection, Father Ambrose received
peremptory command to rest for three full hours, the lady of the Castle
saying it was impossible for her to receive him until that time had
elapsed. The order was welcome to the tired monk, although he knew how
impatient Hildegunde must be to unpack his budget of news, and he fell
asleep even as he gave instructions that he should be awakened at nine.
Descending at that time, the supper hour of the Castle, he found a
dainty meal awaiting him, flanked by a flagon of that rare wine which he
sipped so sparingly.
"I lodged with my brethren in their small and quiet monastery on the
opposite side of the Main from Frankfort, in that suburb of the
workingmen which is called Sachsenhausen. Even if my eyes had not seen
the desolation of the city, with the summer grass growing in many of its
streets, the description given of its condition by my brethren would
have been saddening enough to hear. All authority seems at an end. The
nobles have fled to their country estates, for defense in the city is
impossible should once a universal riot break out, and thinking men look
for an insurrection when continued hunger has worn down the patience of
the people. Up to the present sporadic outbreaks have been cruelly
suppressed, starving men falling mutilated before the sword-cuts of the
soldiers; but now disaffection has penetrated the ranks of the Army
itself, through short rations and deferred pay, and when the people
learn that the military are more like to join them than oppose,
destruction will fall upon Frankfort. The Emperor sits alone in drunken
stupor, and it is said cannot last much longer, he who has lasted too
long already; while the Empress is as much a recluse as a nun in a
convent."
"But the young Prince?" interrupted the Countess. "What of him? Is there
no hope if he comes to the throne?"
"Ah!" cried the monk, with a long-drawn sigh, dolefully shaking his
head.
"But, Father Ambrose, you knew him as a lad, almost as a young man. I
have heard you speak highly of his promise."
"He denied me; denied his own identity; threatened my life with his
sword, and finally flung me into the most loathsome dungeon in all
Frankfort!"
The girl uttered an ejaculation of dismay. If so harsh an estimate of
the heir-presumptive came from so mild and gentle a critic as Father
Ambrose, then surely was this young man lower in the grade of humanity
than even his bestial father.
"And yet," said the girl to herself, "what else was to be expected? Go
on," she murmured; "tell me from the beginning."
"One evening, crossing the old bridge from Frankfort to Sachsenhausen, I
saw approach me a swaggering figure that seemed familiar, and as he drew
nearer I recognized Prince Roland, son of the Emperor, despite the fact
that he held his cloak over the lower part of his face, as if, in the
gathering dusk, to avoid recognition.
"'Your Highness!' I cried in surprise. On the instant his sword was out,
and as the cloak fell from his face, displaying lips which took on a
sinister firmness, I saw that I was not mistaken in so accosting him. He
threw a quick glance from side to side, but the bridge, like the silent
streets, was deserted. We stood alone, beside the iron Cross, and there
under the Figure of Christ he denied me, with the sharp point of his
sword against my breast.
"'Why do you dare address me by such a title?'
"'You are Prince Roland, son of the Emperor.'
"The sword-point pressed more sharply.
"'You lie!' he cried, 'and if you reiterate that falsehood, you will pay
the penalty instantly with your life, despite your monkish cowl. I am
nobody. I have no father.'
"'May I ask, then, sir, who you are?'
"'You may ask, but there is no reason for me to answer. Nevertheless, to
satisfy your impertinent curiosity, I inform you that I am an
ironworker, a maker of swords, and if you desire a taste of my
handiwork, you have but to persist in your questioning. I lodge in the
laboring quarter of Sachsenhausen, and am now on my way into Frankfort,
which surely I have the right to enter free from any inquiry
unauthorized by the law.'
"'In that case I beg your pardon,' said I. 'The likeness is very
striking. I had once the honor to be chaplain at Court, where frequently
I saw the young Prince in company with that noble lady, noble in every
sense of the word, his mother, the Empress.
"I watched the young man narrowly as I said this, and despite his
self-control, he winced perceptibly, and I thought I saw a gleam of
recognition in his eyes. He thrust the sword back into its scabbard, and
said with a light laugh:
"''Tis I that should beg your pardon for my haste and roughness. I
assure you I honor the cloth you wear, and would not willingly offer it
violence. We are all liable to make mistakes at times. I freely forgive
yours and trust you will extend a like leniency to mine.'
"With that he doffed his hat, and left me standing there."
"Surely," said the Countess, deeply interested in the recital, "so far
as speech was concerned he made amends?"
"Yes, my daughter; such speech never came from the lips of an
ironworker."
"You are convinced he was the Prince?"
"Never for one instant did I doubt it."
"Be that as it may, Father Ambrose, why should not the young man walk
the streets of his own capital city, and even explore the laborers'
quarter of Sachsenhausen, if he finds it interesting to do so? Is it not
his right to wear a sword, and go where he lists; and is it such a very
heinous thing that, being accosted by a stranger, he should refuse to
make the admission demanded? You took him, as one might say, unaware."
The monk bowed his head, but did not waste time in offering any defense
of his action.
"I followed him," he went on, "through the narrow and tortuous streets
of Frankfort, an easy adventure, because darkness had set in, but even
in daylight my course would have been safe enough, for never once did he
look over his shoulder, or betray any of that suspicion characteristic
of our laboring classes."
"I think that tells in his favor," persisted the girl.
"He came to the steps of the Rheingold, a disreputable drinking cellar,
and disappeared from my sight down its steps. A great shout greeted him,
and the rattle of tankards on a table, as he joined what was evidently
his coterie. Standing outside, I heard song and ribaldry within. The
heir-presumptive to the throne of the Empire was too obviously a drunken
brawler; a friend and comrade of the lowest scum in Frankfort.
"After a short time he emerged alone, and once more I followed him. He
went with the directness of a purposeful man to the Fahrgasse, the
street of the rich merchants, knocked at a door, and was admitted. Along
the first-floor front were three lighted windows, and I saw his form
pass the first two of these, but from my station in the street could not
witness what was going on within. Looking about me, I found to my right
a narrow alley, occupied by an outside stairway. This I mounted, and
from its topmost step I beheld the interior of the large room on the
opposite side of the way.
"It appeared to me that Prince Roland had been expected, for the elderly
man seated at the table, his calm face toward me, showed no surprise at
the Prince's entrance. His Highness sat with his back towards me, and
for a time it seemed that nothing was going forward but an amiable
conversation. Suddenly the Prince rose, threw off his cloak, whisked out
his sword, and presented its point at the throat of the merchant.
"It was clear, from the expression of dismay on the merchant's face,
that this move on the part of his guest was entirely unexpected, but its
object was speedily manifested. The old man, with trembling hand, pushed
across the table to his assailant a well-filled bag, which the Prince at
once untied. Pouring out a heap of yellow gold, he began with great
deliberation to count the money, which, when you consider his precarious
situation, showed the young man to be old in crime. Some portion of the
gold he returned to the merchant; the rest he dropped into an empty bag,
which he tied to his belt.
"I did not wait to see anything more, but came down to the foot of the
stairs, that I might learn if Roland took his money to his dissolute
comrades. He came out, and once more I followed him, and once more he
led me to the Rheingold cellar. On this occasion, however, I took step
by step with him until we entered the large wineroom at the foot of the
stairs, he less than an arm's length in front of me, still under the
illusion that he was alone. Prince though he was, I determined to
expostulate with him, and if possible persuade a restitution of the
gold.
"'Your Highness!' I began, touching him lightly on the shoulder.
"Instantly he turned upon me with a savage oath, grasped me by the
throat, and forced me backward against the cellar wall.
"'You spying sneak!' he cried. 'In spite of my warning you have been
hounding my footsteps!'
"The moment I attempted to reply, he throttled me so as to choke every
effort at utterance. There now approached us, with alarm in his
wine-colored face, a gross, corpulent man, whom the Prince addressed as
proprietor of the place, which doubtless he was.
"'Landlord,' said Roland very quietly, 'this unfortunate monk is weak in
the head, and although he means no harm with his meddling, he may well
cause disaster to my comrades and myself. Earlier in the evening he
accosted on the bridge, but I spared him, hoping never to see his
monkish costume again. You may judge the state of his mind when I tell
you he accuses me of being the Emperor's son, and Heaven only knows what
he would estimate to be the quality of my comrades were he to see them.'
"Two or three times I attempted to speak, but the closing of his fingers
upon my throat prevented me, and even when they were slightly relaxed I
was scarcely able to breathe."
The Countess listened with the closest attention, fixing upon the
narrator her splendid eyes, and in them, despite their feminine beauty
and softness, seemed to smoulder a deep fire of resentment at the
treatment accorded her kinsman, a luminant of danger transmitted to her
down the ages from ancestors equally ready to fight for the Sepulcher in
Palestine or for the gold on the borders of the Rhine. In the pause,
during which the monk wiped from his wrinkled brow the moisture brought
there by remembrance of the indignity he had undergone, kindliness in
the eyes of the Countess overcame their menace, and she said gently:
"I am quite confident, Father, that such a ruffian could not be Prince
Roland. He was indeed the rude mechanic he proclaimed himself. No man of
noble blood would have acted thus."
"Listen, my child, listen," resumed Father Ambrose. "Turning to the
landlord, the Prince asked:
"'Is there a safe and vacant room in your establishment where I could
bestow this meddlesome priest for a few days?'
"'There is a wine vault underneath this drinking cellar,' responded the
landlord.
"'Does anyone enter that vault except yourself?'
"'No one,'
"'Will you undertake charge of the priest, seeing that he communicates
with none outside?'
"'Of a surety, Captain,'
"'Good. I will pay you well, and that in advance.'"
"This ruffian was never the Prince," interrupted the Countess firmly.
"I beg you to listen, Hildegunde, and my next sentence will convince
you. The Prince continued:
"'Not only prevent his communication with others, but do not listen to
him yourself. He will endeavor to persuade you that his name is Father
Ambrose, and that he is a monk in good standing with the Benedictine
Order. If he finds you care little for that, he may indeed pretend he is
of noble origin himself; that he is Henry von Sayn, and thus endeavor to
work on whatever sympathy you may feel for the aristocrats. But I assure
you he is no more a Sayn than I am Prince Roland,'
"'Indeed, Captain,' replied the host, 'I have as little liking for an
aristocrat as for a monk, so you may depend that I will keep him safe
enough until you order his release.'
"Now, my dear Hildegunde, you see there was no mistake on my part. This
young man asserted he knew nothing of me, and indeed, I believed he had
forgotten the time of my chaplaincy at the Court, often as he listened
to my discourses, yet all the time he knew me, and now, with an
effrontery that seems incredible, he showed no hesitation in proving me
right when I accosted him as son of the Emperor. I must in justice,
however, admit that he instructed the landlord when he paid him, to
treat me with gentleness, and to see that I had plenty to eat and drink.
When three days had expired, I was to be allowed my liberty.
"'He can do no harm then,' concluded the Prince, in his talk with the
landlord, 'for by that time I shall have succeeded or failed.'
"I was led down a narrow, broken stairway by the proprietor, and thrust
into a dark and damp cellar, partially filled with casks of wine, and
there I remained until set at liberty a few days ago.
"I returned at once to the Benedictine Monastery where I had lodged,
expecting to find my brethren filled with anxiety concerning me, but
such was not the case. Any one man is little missed in this world, and
my comrades supposed that I was invited to the Court, and had forgotten
them as I saw they had forgotten me, so I said nothing of my adventure,
but mounted my waiting horse and journeyed back to the Castle of Sayn."
For a long time there was silence between the two, then the younger
spoke.
"Do you intend to take any action regarding your unauthorized
imprisonment?"
"Oh, no," replied the forgiving monk.
"Is it certain that this dissolute young man will be chosen Emperor?"
"There is a likelihood, but not a certainty."
"Would not the election of such a person to the highest position in the
State prove even a greater misfortune to the land than the continuance
of the present regime, for this young man adds to his father's vice of
drunkenness the evil qualities, of dishonesty, cruelty, ribaldry, and a
lack of respect for the privileges both of Church and nobility?"
"Such indeed is my opinion, daughter."
"Then is it not your duty at once to acquaint the three Archbishops with
what you have already told me, so that the disaster of his election may
be avoided?"
"It is a matter to which I gave deep thought during my journey thither,
and I also invoked the aid of Heaven in guiding me to a just
conclusion."
"And that conclusion, Father?"
"Is to say nothing whatever about my experiences in Frankfort."
"Why?"
"Because it is not given to a humble man like myself, occupying a
position of no authority, to fathom what may be in the minds of those
great Princes of the Church, the Archbishops. In effect they rule the
country, and it is possible that they prefer to place on the throne a
drunken nonentity who will offer no impediment to their ambitions,
rather than to elect a moral young man who might in time prove too
strong for them."
"I am sure no such motive would actuate the Archbishop of Cologne."
"His Lordship of Cologne, my child, dare not break with their Lordships
of Treves and Mayence, so you may be sure that if these two wish to
elect Prince Roland Emperor, nothing I could say to the Archbishop of
Cologne would prevent that choice."
"Oh, I had forgotten, in the excitement of listening to your adventures,
but talking of the Archbishop reminds me his Highness of Cologne will
visit us to-morrow, and he especially wishes to see you. You may imagine
my anxiety when I received his message a few days ago, knowing nothing
of your whereabouts."
"Wishes to see me?" ejaculated Father Ambrose, wrinkling a perplexed
brow. "I wonder what for. Can he have any knowledge of my visit to
Frankfort?"
"How could he?"
"The Archbishops possess sources of enlightenment that we wot not of. If
he charges me with being absent from my post, I must admit the fact."
"Of course. Let me confess to him as soon as he arrives; your journey
was entirely due to my persistence. I alone am to blame."
The old man slowly shook his head.
"I am at least equally culpable," he said. "I shall answer truthfully
any question asked me, but I hope I am not in the wrong if I volunteer
no information."
The girl rose.
"You could do no wrong, Father, even if you tried; and now good-night.
Sleep soundly and fear nothing. On the rare occasions when the good
Archbishop was angry with me, I have always managed to placate him, and
I shall not fail in this instance."
Father Ambrose bade her good-night, and left the room with the languid
air of one thoroughly tired. As the young Countess stood there watching
his retreat and disappearance, her dainty little fist clenched, and her
eyebrows came together, bringing to her handsome face the determined
expression which marked the countenances of some of her Crusader
ancestors whose portraits decorated the walls.
"If ever I get that ruffian Prince Roland into my power," she said to
herself, "I will make him regret his treatment of so tolerant and
forbearing a man as Father Ambrose."
V
THE COUNTESS VON SAYN AND THE ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE
It was high noon when that great Prince of the Church, the Archbishop of
Cologne, arrived at Castle Sayn, with a very inconsiderable following,
which seemed to indicate that he traveled on no affair of State, for on
such occasions he led a small army. The lovely young Countess awaited
him at the top of the Castle steps, and he greeted her with the courtesy
of a polished man of the world, rather than with the more austere
consideration of a great Churchman. Indeed, it seemed to the quick
apprehension of the girl that as he raised her fair hand to his lips his
obeisance was lower, more deferential, than their differing stations in
life justified.
He shook hands with Father Ambrose in the manner of old friend accosting
old friend, and nothing in his salutation indicated displeasure of any
sort in the background.
Perhaps, then, that sense of uneasiness felt by both the aged Father
Ambrose and the youthful Countess Hildegunde in the Archbishop's
presence came from their consciousness of conspiracy, resulting in the
ill-fated journey to Frankfort. Nevertheless, all that afternoon the two
were oppressed by the shadow of some impending danger, and the good
spirits of the Archbishop seemed to them assumed for the occasion, and
indeed in this they were not far wrong. His Lordship of Cologne was
keenly apprehensive regarding an important conference set down for the
next day, and the exuberance of an essentially serious man in such a
crisis is prone to be overdone.
Father Ambrose, who, in the midst of luxury and plenty, lived with the
abstemiousness of an anchorite, and always partook of his scant
refreshment alone in his cell, was invited by the Archbishop to a seat
at the table in the dining-hall.
"So long as you cast no look of reproach upon me for my enjoyment of
Sayn's most excellent cuisine, and my appreciation of its unequaled
cellar, I shall not comment on your dinner of parched peas and your
unexhilarating tankard of water. Besides, I wish to consult with Ambrose
the librarian of Sayn, touching the archives of this house, rather than
with Ambrose the superintendent of farms, or Father Ambrose the monk."
During the midday meal the Archbishop led, and at times monopolized, the
conversation.
"While you were under the tutelage of the good Sisters at Nonnenwerth
Convent, Hildegunde, the Abbess frequently spoke of your proficiency in
historical studies. Did you ever turn your attention to the annals of
your own House?"
"No, Guardian. From what I heard casually of my ancestors a record of
their doings would be scarcely the sort of reading recommended to a
young girl."
"Ah, very true, very true," agreed the Archbishop. "Some of the Counts
of Sayn led turbulent lives, and except with a battle-ax it was
difficult to persuade them not to meddle with the goods and chattels of
their neighbors. A strenuous line they proved in those olden days; but
many noble women have adorned the Castle of Sayn whose lives shine out
like an inspiration against the dark background of medieval tumult. Did
you ever hear of your forebear, the gracious Countess Matilda von Sayn,
who lived some hundreds of years ago? Indeed, the letters I have been
reading, written in her quaint handwriting, are dated about the middle
of the thirteenth century. I cannot learn whether she was older or
younger than the Archbishop of Cologne of that period, and thus I wish
to enlist the interest of Father Ambrose in searching the archives of
Sayn for anything pertaining to her. The Countess sent many epistles to
the Archbishop which he carefully preserved, while documents of much
more importance to the Archbishopric were allowed to go astray.
"Her letters breathe a deep devotion to the Church, and a warm
kindliness to its chief ornament of that day, the then Archbishop of
Cologne. She was evidently his most cherished adviser, and in points of
difficulty her counsel exhibits all the clarity of a man's brain, to
which is added a tenderness and a sense of justice entirely womanly. I
could not help fancying that this great prelate's success in his
Archbishopric was largely due to the disinterested advice of this noble
woman. It is clearly to be seen that the Countess was the benignant
power behind the throne, and she watched his continued advancement with
a love resembling that lavished on a favorite son. Her writings now and
then betray an affection of a quality so motherly that I came to believe
she was much older than the great Churchman, but then there is the fact
that she long outlived him, so it is possible she may have been the
younger."
"Why, my Lord, are you about to weave us a romance?"
The Archbishop smiled, and for a moment placed his hand upon hers, which
rested on the table beside him.
"A romance, perhaps, between myself and the Countess of long ago, for as
I read these letters I used much of their contents for my own guidance,
and found her precepts as wise to-day as they were in 1250, and to me
... to me," the Archbishop sighed, "she seems to live again. Yes, I
confess my ardent regard for her, and if you call that romance, it is
surely of a very innocent nature."
"But the other Archbishop? Your predecessor, the friend of Matilda; what
of him?"
"There, Hildegunde, I have much less evidence to go upon, for his
letters, if they exist, are concealed somewhere in the archives of Sayn
Castle."
"To-morrow," cried the girl, "I shall robe myself in the oldest garments
I possess, and will rummage those dusty archives until I find the
letters of him who was Archbishop in 1250."
"I have bestowed that task upon one less impulsive. Father Ambrose is
the searcher, and he and I will put our wise old heads together in
consultation over them before entrusting them to the perusal of that
impetuous young noblewoman, the present Countess von Sayn."
The impetuous person referred to brought down her hand with a peremptory
impact upon the table, and exclaimed emphatically:
"My Lord Archbishop, I shall read those letters to-morrow."
Once more the Archbishop placed his hand on hers, this time, however,
clasping it firmly in his own. There was no smile on his face as he said
gravely:
"My lady, to-morrow you will face three living Archbishops, more
difficult, perhaps, to deal with than one who is dust."
"Three!" she cried, startled, a gleam of apprehension troubling her fine
eyes. "My Lords of Mayence, Treves, and yourself? Are they coming here?"
"The conclave of the Archbishops will be held at Castle Stolzenfels, the
Rhine residence of my brother of Treves."
"Why is this Court convened?"
"That will be explained to you, Hildegunde, by his Highness of Mayence.
I did not intend to speak to you about this until later, so I will
merely say that there is nothing to fear. I, being your guardian, am
sent to escort you to Stolzenfels, and as we ride there together I wish
to place before you some suggestions which you may find useful when the
meeting takes place."
"I shall faithfully follow any advice you give me, my Lord."
"I am sure of it, Hildegunde, and you will remember that I speak as
guardian, not as Councilor of State. My observations will be requests
and not commands. You see, we have reversed the positions of my
predecessor and the Countess Matilda. It was always she who tendered
advice, which he invariably accepted. Now I must take the role of
advice-giver; thus you and I transpose the parts of the former
Archbishop of Cologne, and the former Countess of Sayn, who, I am sorry
to note, have been completely banished from your thoughts by my
premature announcement regarding the three living Archbishops."
"Oh, not at all, not at all! I am still thinking of those two. Have you
told me all you know about them?"
"Far from it. Although I was handicapped in my reconstitution of their
friendship by lack of the Archbishop's letters, he had nevertheless made
a note here and there upon the communications he received from the
Countess. Throughout the letters certain paragraphs are marked with a
cross, as if for reperusal, these paragraphs being invariably most
delicately and charmingly written. But now I come to the last very
important document, the only one of which a copy has been kept, written
in the Archbishop's own hand.
"In the year 1250, the Countess von Sayn had ceded to him the Rhine town
of Linz. Linz seems to have been a rebellious and troublesome fief,
which the Sayns held by force of arms. When it came into the possession
of the Archbishop, the foolish inhabitants, remembering that Cologne was
a long distance down the river compared with the up-river journey to
Sayn, broke out into open revolt. The Archbishop sent up his army, and
most effectually crushed this outbreak, severely punishing the rebels.
He returned from this subdued town to his own city of Cologne, and
whether from the exposure of the brief campaign, or some other cause, he
was taken ill and shortly after died.
"The new Archbishop was installed, and nearly two years passed, so far
as I can learn, before the Countess Matilda made claim that the town of
Linz should come again within her jurisdiction, saying that this
restitution had been promised by the late Archbishop. His successor,
however, disputed this claim. He possessed, he said, the deed of gift
making over the town of Linz to his predecessor, and this document was
definite enough. If then, it was the intention of the late Archbishop to
return Linz to the House of Sayn, the Countess doubtless held some
document to that effect, and in this case he would like to know its
purport.
"The Countess replied that an understanding had existed between the late
Archbishop and herself regarding the subjugation of the town of Linz and
its return to her after the rebellion was quelled. But for the untimely
death of the late Archbishop she did not doubt that his part of the
contract would have been kept long since. Nevertheless, she did possess
a document, in the late Archbishop's own hand, setting out the terms of
their agreement, and of this manuscript she sent a copy.
"The crafty Archbishop, without casting doubt on the authenticity of the
copy, said that of course it would be illegal for him to act upon it. He
must have the original document. Matilda replied, very shrewdly, that on
her part she could not allow the original document to quit her custody,
as upon it rested her rights to the town of Linz. She would, however,
exhibit this document to any ecclesiastical committee her correspondent
might appoint, and the members of the committee so chosen should be men
well acquainted with the late Archbishop's writing and signature. In
reply the Archbishop regretted that he could not accept her suggestion.
The people of Cologne, believing that their overlord had rightfully
acquired Linz, cheerfully consented to make good their title by battle,
thus having, as it were, bought the town with their blood, and indeed, a
deplorable sacrifice of life, it would become a dangerous venture to
give up the town unless indisputable documentary evidence might be
exhibited to them showing that such a bargain was made by the deceased
prelate.
"But before proceeding farther in this matter, he asked the Countess if
she were prepared to swear that the copy forwarded to him was a full and
faithful rendition of the original. Did it contain every word the late
Archbishop had written in that letter?
"To this the Countess made no reply, and allowed to lapse any title she
might have to the town of Linz."
"I think," cried the girl indignantly, "that my ancestress was in the
right, refusing further communication with this ignoble Churchman who
dared to impugn her good faith."
The Archbishop smiled at her vehemence.
"I shall make no attempt to defend my astute predecessor. A
money-lender's soul tenanted his austere body, but what would you say if
his implication of the Countess Matilda's good faith was justified?"
"You mean that the copy which she sent of the Archbishop's letter was
fraudulent? I cannot believe it."
"Not fraudulent. So far as it went her copy was word perfect. She
neglected to add, however, a final sentence, and rather than make it
public forfeited her rightful claim to great possessions. Of the
Archbishop's communications to her there remains in our archives a copy
of this last epistle written in his own hand. I cannot imagine why he
added the final clauses to what was in essence an important business
communication. The premonition he admits may have set his thoughts upon
things not of this world, but undoubtedly he believed that he would live
long enough to conquer the rebels of Linz, and restore to the Countess
her property. This is what he wrote, and she refused to publish:
"'Matilda, I feel that my days are numbered, and that their number is
scant. To all the world my life seems to have been successful beyond the
wishes of mortal man, but to me it is a dismal failure, in that I die
bachelor Archbishop of Cologne, and you are the spinster Countess von
Sayn.'"
VI
TO BE KEPT SECRET FROM THE COUNTESS
There are few favored spots occupied by blue water and greensward over
which a greater splendor is cast by the rising sun on a midsummer
morning than that portion of the Rhine near Coblentz, and as our little
procession emerged from the valley of the Saynbach every member of it
was struck with the beauty of the flat country across the Rhine,
ripening toward a yellow harvest, flooded by the golden glory of the
rising sun.
Their route led to the left by the foot of the eastern hills, and not
yet along the margin of the great river. Gradually, however, as they
journeyed in a southerly direction, the highlands deflected them
westward until at last there was but scant room for the road between
rock and water. Always they were in the shade, a comforting feature of a
midsummer journey, an advantage, however, soon to be lost when they
crossed the Rhine by the ferry to Coblentz. The distance from Sayn
Castle to Schloss Stolzenfels was a little less than four leagues, so
their early start permitted a leisurely journey.
The Archbishop and the Countess rode side by side. Following them at
some distance came Father Ambrose, deep in his meditations, and paying
little attention to the horse he rode, which indeed, faithful animal,
knew more about the way than did his rider. Still farther to the rear
rode half a dozen mounted lancemen, two and two, the scant escort of one
who commanded many thousands of armed men.
"How lovely and how peaceful is the scene," said the Countess. "How
beautiful are the fields of waving grain; their color of dawn softened
by the deep green of interspersed vineyards, and the water without a
ripple, like a slumbering lake rather than a strong river. It seems as
though anger, contention, and struggle could not exist in a realm so
heavenly."
"'Seems? is the word to use," commented the Archbishop gravely, "but the
unbroken placidity of the river you so much admire is a peace of defeat.
I had much rather see its flood disturbed by moving barges and the
turmoil of commerce. It is a peace that means starvation and death to
our capital city, and, indeed, in a lesser degree, to my own town of
Cologne, and to Coblentz, whose gates we are approaching."
"But surely," persisted the girl, "the outlook is improving, when you
and I travel unmolested with a mere handful of men to guard us. Time was
when a great and wealthy Archbishop might not stir abroad with less than
a thousand men in his train."
The Archbishop smiled.
"I suppose matters mend," he said, "as we progress in civilized usage.
The number of my escort, however, is not limited by my own modesty, but
stipulated by the Court of Archbishops. Mayence travels down the Rhine
and Treves down the Moselle, each with a similar following at his
heels."
"You are pessimistic this lovely morning, my Lord, and will not even
admit that the world is beautiful."
"It all depends on the point of view, Hildegunde. I regard it from a
position toward the end of life, and you from the charming station of
youth: the far-apart outlook of an old man and a young girl."
"Nonsense, Guardian, you are anything but old. Nevertheless I am much
disappointed with your attitude this morning. I fully expected to be
complimented by you."
"Doesn't my whole attitude breathe of compliment?"
"Ah, but I expected a particular compliment to-day!"
"What have I overlooked?"
"You overlooked the fact that yesterday you aroused my most intense
curiosity regarding the journey we are now taking together, and the
conference which is to follow. Despite deep anxiety to learn what is
before me I have not asked you a single question, nor even hinted at the
subject until this moment. Now, I think I should be rewarded for my
reticence."
"Ah, Countess, you are an exception among women, and I merely withheld
the well-earned praise until such time as I could broach the subject
occupying my mind ever since we left the Castle. With the awkwardness of
a man I did not know how to begin until you so kindly indicated the
way."
"Perhaps, after all, I make a false claim, because I have guessed your
secret, and therefore my deep solicitude is assumed."
"Guessed it?" queried the Archbishop, a shade of anxiety crossing his
face.
"Yes. Your story of the former Archbishop and the Countess Matilda gave
me a clue. You have discovered a document proving my right to the town
of Linz on the Rhine."
The Archbishop bowed his head, but said nothing.
"Your sense of justice urges you to make amends, but such a long time
has elapsed that my claim is doubtless outlawed, and you do not quite
know how restoration may be effected. You have, I take it, consulted
with one or other of your colleagues, Mayence or Treves, or perhaps with
both. They have made objection to your proposed generosity, and put
forward the argument that you are but temporary trustee of the Cologne
Archbishopric; that you must guard the rights of your successor; and
this truism could not help but appeal to that quality of equity which
distinguishes you, so a conference of the prelates has been called, and
a majority of that Court will decide whether or not the town of Linz
shall be tendered to me. Perhaps a suggestion will be made that I allow
things to remain as they are, in which case I shall at once refuse to
accept the town of Linz. Now, Guardian, how near have I come to solving
the mystery?"
They rode along in silence together, the Archbishop pondering on the
problem of her further enlightenment. At last he said:
"Cologne is ruled by its Archbishop, wisely or the reverse as the case
may be. The Archbishop, much as he reveres the opinion of his
distinguished colleagues, would never put them to the inconvenience of
giving a decision on any matter not concerning them. Linz's fate was
settled when the handwriting of my predecessor, prelate of 1250 A.D.,
convinced me that this Rhine town belonged to the House of Sayn.
Restitution has already been accomplished in due legal form, and when
next the Countess Hildegunde rides through Linz, she rides through her
own town."
"I shall never, never accept it, Guardian."
"It is yours now, Countess. If you do not wish to hold the town, use it
as a gift to the fortunate man you marry. And now, Hildegunde, this
long-postponed advice I wish to press upon your attention, must be
given, for we are nearing the ferry to Coblentz, and between that town
and Stolzenfels we may have company. Of the three Archbishops you will
meet to-day, there is only one of whom you need take account."
"Oh, I know that," cried the girl, "his Lordship of Cologne!"
The Archbishop smiled, but went on seriously:
"Where two or three men are gathered together, one is sure to be leader.
In our case the chief of the trio supposed to be equal is his Highness
of Mayence. Treves and I pretend not to be under his thumb, but we are:
that is to say, Treves holds I am under his thumb, and I hold Treves is
under his thumb, and so when one or the other of us join the Archbishop
of Mayence, there is a majority of the Court, and the third member is
helpless."
"But why don't you and Treves join together?"
"Because each thinks the other a coward, and doubtless both are right.
The point of the matter is that Mayence is the iron man of the
combination; therefore I beg you beware of him, and I also entreat you
to agree with the proposal he will make. It will be of tremendous
advantage to you."
"In that case, my Lord, how could I refuse?"
"I hope, my child, you will not, but if you should make objection, do so
with all the tact at your disposal. In fact, refrain wholly from
objection if you can, and plead for time to consider, so that you and I
may consult together, thus affording me opportunity of bringing
arguments to bear that may influence your decision."
"My dear Guardian, you alarm me by the awesome way in which you speak.
What fateful choice hangs over my head?"
"I have no wish to frighten you, my daughter, and, indeed, I anticipate
little chance of disagreement at the conference. I merely desire that
you shall understand something of Mayence. He is a man whom opposition
may drive to extremity, and being accustomed to crush those who disagree
with him, rather than conquer by more diplomatic methods, I am anxious
you should not be led into any semblance of dissent from his wishes. By
agreement between Mayence, Treves, and myself, I am not allowed to
enlighten you regarding the question at issue. I perhaps strain that
agreement a little when I endeavor to put you on your guard. If, at any
point in the discussion, you wish a few moments to reflect, glance
across the table at me, and I shall immediately intervene with some
interruption which must be debated by the three members of the Court. Of
course, I shall do everything in my power to protect you should our grim
friend Mayence lose his temper, as may happen if you thwart him."
"Why am I likely to thwart him?"
"Why indeed? I see no reason. I am merely an old person perhaps
over-cautious. Hence this warding off of a crisis which I hope will
never arise."
"Guardian, I have one question to ask, and that will settle the matter
here on the border of the Rhine, before we reach Stolzenfels. Do you
thoroughly approve, with your heart, mind, and conscience, of the
proposition to be made to me?"
"I do," replied the Archbishop, in a tone of conviction that none could
gainsay. "Heart and soul, agree."
"Then, Guardian, your crisis that never came vanishes. I shall tell his
Lordship of Mayence, in my sweetest voice and most ingratiating manner,
that I will do whatever he requests."
Here the conversation ceased, for the solitude now gave way to a scene
of activity, as they came to the landing alongside which lay the
floating bridge, a huge barge, capable of carrying their whole company
at one voyage. Several hundred persons, on horseback or on foot,
gathered along the river-bank, raised a cheer as the Archbishop
appeared. The Countess thought they waited to greet him, but they were
merely travelers or market people who found their journey interrupted at
this point. An emissary of the Archbishop had commanded the ferry-boat
to remain at its eastern landing until his Lordship came aboard. When
the distinguished party embarked, the crew instantly cast off their
moorings, and the tethered barge, impelled by the swift current, gently
swung across to the opposite shore.
A great concourse of people greeted their arrival at Coblentz, and if
vociferous shouts and hurrahs are signs of popularity, the Archbishop
had reason to congratulate himself upon his reception. The prelate bowed
and smiled, but did not pause at Coblentz, and, to the evident
disappointment of the multitude, continued his way up the Rhine. When
the little cavalcade drew away from the mob, the Countess spoke:
"I had no thought," she said, "that Coblentz contained so many
inhabitants."
"Neither does it," replied the Archbishop.
"Then is this simply an influx of people from the country, and is the
conclave of the Archbishops of such importance that it draws so many
sightseers?"
"The Court held by the Archbishops on this occasion is very important. I
suspect, however, that those are no sightseers, for the general public
is quite unaware that we meet to-day. They who cheered so lustily just
now are, I think, men of Treves."
"Do you mean soldiers?"
"Aye. Soldiers in the dress of ordinary townsmen, but I dare say they
all know where to find their weapons should a war-cry arise."
"Do you imply that the Archbishop of Treves has broken his compact? I
understood that your escort was limited to the few men following you."
His Lordship laughed.
"The Archbishop of Treves," he said, "is not a great strategist, yet I
surmise he is ready in case of trouble to seize the city off Coblentz."
"What trouble could arise?"
"The present moment is somewhat critical, for the Emperor lies dying in
Frankfort. We three Electors hope to avoid all commotion by having our
plans prepared and acting upon them promptly. But the hours between the
death of an Emperor and the appointment of his successor are fateful
with uncertainty. I suppose the good Sisters at Nonnenwerth taught you
about the Election of an Emperor?"
"Indeed, Guardian, I am sorry to confess that if they did I have
forgotten all about it."
"There are seven Electors; four high nobles of the Empire and three
Archbishops, Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. The present Count
Palatine of the Rhine is, like my friend Treves, completely under the
dominion of the Archbishop of Mayence, so the three Lords Spiritual,
with the aid of the Count Palatine, form a majority of the Electoral
Court."
"I understand. And now I surmise that you assemble at Stolzenfels to
choose our future Emperor."
"No; he has already been chosen, but his name will not be announced to
any person save one before the Emperor dies."
"Doubtless that one is the Count Palatine."
"No, Countess, he remains ignorant; and I give you warning, Madam, I am
not to be cross-questioned by indirection. You should be merciful: I am
but clay in your hands, yet there is certain information I am forbidden
to impart, so I will merely say that if the Archbishop happens to be in
good-humor this afternoon, he is very likely to tell you who will be the
future Emperor."
The girl gave an exclamation of surprise.
"To tell me? Why should he do so?"
"I said I was not to be cross-examined any further. I tremble now with
apprehension lest I have let slip something I should not, therefore we
will change the subject to one of paramount importance; namely, our
midday meal. I intended to stop at Coblentz for that repast, but the
Archbishop of Treves, whose guests we are, was good enough to accept a
menu I suggested, therefore we will sit at table with him."
"You suggested a menu?"
"Yes; I hope you will approve of it. There is some excellent Rhine
salmon, with a sauce most popular in Treves, a sauce that has been
celebrated for centuries. Next some tender venison from the forest
behind Stolzenfels, which is noted for its deer. There are, beside,
cakes and various breads, also vegetables, and all are to be washed down
by delicate Oberweseler wine. How does my speis-card please you,
Countess?"
"I am committing it to memory, Guardian, so that I shall know what to
prepare for you when next you visit my Castle of Sayn."
"Oh, this repast is not in my honor, but in yours. I feared you might
object to the simplicity of it. It is upon record that this meal was
much enjoyed by a young lady some centuries ago, at this very Castle of
Stolzenfels, shortly after it was completed. Indeed, I think it likely
she was the noble castle's first guest. Stolzenfels was built by Arnold
von Isenberg, the greatest Archbishop that ever ruled over Treves, if I
may except Archbishop Baldwin, the fighter. Isenberg determined to have
a stronghold on the Rhine midway between Mayence and Cologne, and he
made it a palace as well as a fortress, taking his time about it--in all
seventeen years. He began its erection in 1242, and so was building at
the time your ancestress Matilda ceded Linz to the Archbishop of
Cologne, therefore I imagine Cologne probably wished to have a
stronghold within striking distance of Treves' new castle.
"One of the first to visit Stolzenfels was a charming young English girl
named Isabella, who was no other than the youngest daughter of John,
King of England. Doubtless she came here with an imposing suite of
attendants, and I surmise that the great prelate's castle saw impressive
pageants and festivities, for the chronicler, after setting down the
menu whose excellence I hope to test to-day, adds:
"'They ate well, and drank better, and the Royal maiden danced a great
deal.'
"Her brother then occupied the English throne. He was Henry III., and of
course much attention was paid over here to his dancing sister."
"Why, Guardian, what you say gives a new interest to old Stolzenfels. I
have never been within the Castle, but now I shall view it with delight,
wondering through which of the rooms the English Princess danced. Why
did Isabella come from England all the way to the Rhine?"
"She came to meet the three Archbishops."
"Really? For what purpose?"
"That they might in ecclesiastical form, and upon the highest
ecclesiastical authority, announce her betrothal."
"Announce in Stolzenfels the betrothal of an English Princess, the
daughter of one king and sister of another! Did she, then, marry a
German?"
"Yes; she married the Emperor, Frederick II.; Frederick of
Hohenstaufen."
Slowly the girl turned her head, and looked steadfastly at the
Archbishop, who was gazing earnestly up the road as if to catch a
glimpse of the Castle which had been the scene of the events he related.
Her face became pale, and a questioning wonder rose in her eyes. What
did the Archbishop really mean by this latest historical recital? True,
he was a man who had given much study to ancient lore; rather fond of
exhibiting his proficiency therein when he secured patient listeners.
Could there be any secret meaning in his story of the English Princess
who danced? Was there any hidden analogy between the journey of the
English Isabella, and the short trip taken that day by Hildegunde of
Sayn? She was about to speak when the Archbishop made a slight signal
with his right hand, and a horseman who had followed them all the way
from Coblentz now spurred up alongside of his Lordship, who said sharply
to the newcomer:
"How many of Treves' men are in Coblentz?"
"Eight hundred and fifty, my Lord."
"Enough to capture the town?"
"Coblentz is already in their possession, my Lord."
"They seem to be unarmed."
"Their weapons are stored under guard in the Church of St. Castor, and
can be in the hands of the soldiers within a few minutes after a signal
is rung by the St. Castor's bells."
"Are there any troops in Coblentz from Mayence?"
"No, my Lord."
"How many of my men have been placed behind the Castle of Stolzenfels?"
"Three thousand are concealed in the forest near the hilltop."
"How many men has my Lord of Mayence within call?"
"Apparently only the scant half-dozen that reached Stolzenfels with him
yesterday."
"Are you sure of that?"
"Scouts have been sent all through the forest to the south, and have
brought us no word of an advancing company. Other scouts have gone up
the river as far as Bingen, but everything is quiet, and it would have
been impossible for his Lordship to march a considerable number of men
from any quarter towards Stolzenfels without one or other of our hundred
spies learning of the movement."
"Then doubtless Mayence depends on his henchman Treves."
"It would seem so, my Lord."
"Thank you; that will do."
The rider saluted, turned his horse towards the north, and galloped
away, and a few moments later the little procession came within sight of
Stolzenfels, standing grandly on its conical hill beside the Rhine,
against a background of green formed by the mountainous forests to the
rear.
This conversation, which she could not help but hear, had driven
entirely from the mind of Hildegunde the pretty story of the English
Princess.
"Why, Guardian!" she said, "we seem to be in the midst of impending
civil war."
The Archbishop smiled.
"We are in the midst of an assured peace," he replied.
"What! with Coblentz practically seized, and three thousand of your men
lurking in the woods above us?"
"Yes. I told you that Treves was no strategist. I suppose he and Mayence
imagine that by seizing the town of Coblentz they cut off my retreat to
Cologne. They know it would be useless in a crisis for me to journey up
the river, as I should then be getting farther and farther from my base
of supplies both in men and provisions, therefore the Archbishop of
Mayence has neglected to garrison that quarter."
"But, Guardian, you are surely entrapped, with Coblentz thus held?"
"Not so, my child, while I command three thousand men to their eight
hundred."
"But that means a battle!"
"A battle that will never take place, Hildegunde, because I shall seize
something much more valuable than any town, namely, the persons of the
two Archbishops. With their Lordships of Treves and Mayence in my
custody, cut off from communication with their own troops, I have slight
fear of a leaderless army. The very magnitude of the force at my command
is an assurance of peace."
They now arrived at the branching hill-road leading up to the gates of
Stolzenfels just above them, and conversation ceased, but the Countess
was fated to remember before the afternoon grew old the final words
Cologne spoke so confidently.
VII
MUTINY IN THE WILDERNESS
It was a lovely morning in July when Prince Roland walked into the
shadow of the handsome tower which to-day is all that survives of the
Elector's palace at Hochst, on the river Main. He found Greusel there
awaiting him, but none of the others. When the two had greeted one
another, the Prince said:
"Joseph, I determined several days ago to appoint you my lieutenant on
this expedition."
"If you take my advice, Roland, you will do nothing of the kind."
"Why?"
"Because it may be looked upon as favoritism, and so promote jealously
in the ranks, which is a thing to avoid."
"Whom would you suggest for the place?"
"Conrad Kurzbold."
"What! and run the risk of divided authority? I am determined to be
commander, you know."
"Kurzbold, even if made lieutenant, would be as much under your orders
as the rest of us. He is an energetic man, and you may thus direct his
energy along the right path. From being a critic, he will become one of
the criticised, giving him something to think about. Then your
appointment of him would show that you bear no ill-feeling for what he
said last night."
"You appear to think, Greusel, that it is the duty of a commander to
curry favor with his following."
"No; but I regard tact as a useful quality. You see, you are not in the
position of a general with an army. The members of the guild can depose
you whenever they like and elect a successor, or they may desert you in
a body, and you have no redress. Your methods should not be drastic, but
rather those of a man who seeks election to some high office."
"I fear I am not constituted for such a role, Greusel."
"If you are to succeed in the task you have undertaken, Roland, you must
adapt yourself to your situation as it actually is, and not as you would
wish to have it. I stood by you yesterday evening, and succeeded in
influencing the others to do the same, yet there is no denying that you
spoke to those men in a most overbearing manner. Why, you could not have
been more downright had you been an officer of the Emperor himself. What
passed through my mind as I listened was, 'Where did this youth get his
swagger?? You ordered Kurzbold out of the ranks, you know."
"Then why favor my action?"
"Because I was reluctant to see a promising marauding adventure wrecked
at the very outset for lack of a few soothing words."
Roland laughed heartily. The morning was inspiring, and he was in good
fettle.
"Your words to Kurzbold were anything but soothing."
"Oh, I was compelled to crush him. He was the cause of the disturbance,
and therefore I had no mercy so far as the affair impinged upon him. But
the others, with the exception of Gensbein perhaps, are good, honest,
sweet-tempered fellows, whom I did not wish to see misled. I think you
must put out of your mind all thought of punishment, no matter what the
offense against your authority may be."
"Then how would you deal with insubordination when it arises?"
"I should trust to the good sense of the remaining members of your
company to make it uncomfortable for the offender."
"But suppose they don't?"
Greusel shrugged his shoulders.
"In that case you are helpless, I fear. At any rate, talking of hanging,
or the infliction of any other punishment, is quite futile so long as
you do not possess the power to carry out your sentence. To return to my
simile of the general: a general can order any private in his army to be
hanged, and the man is taken out and hanged accordingly, but if one of
the guild is to be executed, he must be condemned by an overwhelming
vote of his fellows, because even if a bare majority sentenced one
belonging to the minority it would mean civil war among us. Suppose, for
example, it was proposed to hang you, and eleven voted for the execution
and nine against it. Do you think we nine would submit to the verdict of
the eleven? Not so. I am myself the most peaceful of men, but the moment
it came to that point, I should run my sword through the proposer of the
execution before he had time to draw his weapon. In other words, I'd
murder him to lessen the odds, and then we'd fight it out like men."
"Why didn't you say all this last night, Greusel?"
"Last night my whole attention was concentrated on inducing Kurzbold to
forget that you had threatened the company with a hangman's rope. Had he
remembered that, I could never have carried the vote of confidence. But
you surely saw that the other men were most anxious to support you if
your case was placed fairly before them, a matter which, for some
reason, you thought it beneath your dignity to attempt."
"My dear Joseph, your wholesale censure this morning does much to
nullify the vote I received last night."
"My dear Roland, I am not censuring you at all; I am merely endeavoring
to place facts before you so that you will recognize them."
"Quite so, but what I complain of is that these facts were not exhibited
in time for me to shoulder or shirk the responsibility. I do not believe
that military operations can be successfully carried on by a little
family party, the head of which must coddle the others in the group, and
beg pardon before he says 'Devil take you!' I would not have accepted
the leadership last night had I known the conditions."
"Well, it is not yet too late to recede. The barge does not leave
Frankfort until this evening, and it is but two leagues back to that
city. Within half an hour at the farthest, every man of us will be
assembled here. Now is the time to have it out with them, because
to-morrow morning the opportunity to withdraw will be gone."
"It is too late even now, Greusel. If last night the guild could not
make up the money we owe to Goebel, what hope is there that a single
coin remains in their pockets this morning? Do I understand, then, that
you refuse to act as my lieutenant?"
"No; but I warn you it will be a step in the wrong direction. You are
quite sure of me; and as merely a man-at-arms, as you called us last
night, I shall be in a better position to speak in your favor than if I
were indebted to you for promotion from the ranks."
"I see. Therefore you counsel me to nominate Kurzbold?"
"I do."
"Why not Gensbein, who was nearly as mutinous as Kurzbold?"
"Well, Gensbein, if you prefer him."
"He showed a well-balanced mind last night, being part of the time on
one side and part on the other."
"My dear commander, we were all against you last night, when you spoke
of hanging, and even when you only went as far as expulsion."
"Yes, I suppose you were, and the circumstances being such as you state,
doubtless you were justified. I am to command, then, a regiment that may
obey or not, according to the whim of the moment; a cheering prospect,
and one I had not anticipated. When I received the promise of twenty men
that they would carry out faithfully whatever I undertook on their
behalf, I expected them to stand by it."
"I think you are unjust, Roland. No one has refused, and probably no one
will. If any one disobeys a command, then you can act as seems best to
you, but I wish you fully to realize the weakness of your status should
it come to drastic punishment."
"Quite so, quite so," said Roland curtly. He clasped his hands behind
his back, and without further words paced up and down along the bank of
the river, head bowed in thought.
Ebearhard was the next arrival, and he greeted Greusel cordially, then
one after another various members of the company came upon the scene. To
the new-comers Roland made no salutation, but continued his meditating
walk.
At last the bell in the tower pealed forth nine slow, sonorous strokes,
and Roland raised his head, ceasing his perambulations. Greusel looked
anxiously at him as he came forward to the group, but his countenance
gave no indication whether or not he had determined to abandon the
expedition.
"Are we all here?" asked Roland.
"No," was the reply; "Kurzbold, Eiselbert, Rasselstein, and Gensbein
have not arrived yet."
"Then we will wait for them a few moments longer," said the commander,
with no trace of resentment at their unpunctuality, and from this
Greusel assumed that he not only intended to go on, but had taken to
heart the warning given him. Ebearhard and a comrade walked up the road
rapidly toward Frankfort, hoping for some sign of the laggards, and
Roland resumed his stroll beside the river. At last Ebearhard and his
companion returned, and the former approached Roland.
"I see nothing of those four," he said. "What do you propose to do?"
Roland smiled.
"I think sixteen good men, all of a mind, will accomplish quite as much
as twenty who are divided in purpose. I propose, therefore, to go on,
unless you consider the missing four necessary, in which case we can do
nothing but wait."
"I am in favor of going forward," said Ebearhard; then turning to the
rest, who had gathered themselves around their captain, he appealed to
them. All approved of immediate action.
"Do you intend to follow the river road, Captain?" asked Ebearhard.
"Yes, for two or three leagues, but after that we strike across the
country."
"Very well. We can proceed leisurely along the road, and our friends may
overtake us if they have any desire to do so."
"Right!" said Roland. "Then let us set out"
The seventeen walked without any company formation through the village,
then, approaching a wayside tavern, they were hailed by a loud shout
from the drinkers in front of it. Kurzbold was the spokesman for the
party of four, which he, with his comrades, made up.
"Come here and drink success to glory," he shouted. "Where have you lads
been all the morning?"
"The rendezvous," said Roland sternly, "was at the Elector's tower."
"My rendezvous wasn't. I have been here for more than an hour," said
Kurzbold. "I told you last night that when I arrived at Hochst I should
be thirsty, and would try to mitigate the disadvantage at a tavern."
"Yes," said Ebearhard, with a laugh, "we can all see you have succeeded
in removing the disadvantage."
"Oh, you mean I'm drunk, do you? I'll fight any man who says I'm drunk.
It was a tremendous thirst caused by the dryness of my throat from last
night, and the dust on the Frankfort road this morning. It takes a great
deal of wine to overcome two thirsts. Come along, lads, and drink to the
success of the journey. No hard feeling. Landlord, set out the wine here
for seventeen people, and don't forget us four in addition."
The whole company strolled in under the trees that fronted the tavern,
except Roland, who stood aloof.
"Here's a salute to you, Captain," cried Kurzbold. "I drink wine with
you."
"Not till we return from a successful expedition," said Roland.
"Oh, nonsense!" hiccoughed Kurzbold. "Don't think that your office
places you so high above us that it is _infra dig_. to drink with your
comrades."
To this diatribe Roland made no reply, and the sixteen, seeing the
attitude of their leader, hesitated to raise flagon to lip. The
diplomatic Ebearhard seized a measure of wine and approached Roland.
"Drink with us, Commander," he said aloud; and then in a whisper,
"Greusel and I think you should."
"Thank you, comrade," said Roland, taking the flagon from him. "And now,
brethren, I give you a toast."
"Good, good, good!" cried Kurzbold, with drunken hilarity. "Here's to
the success of the expedition. That's the toast, I make no doubt, eh,
Captain?"
"The sentiment is included in the toast I shall offer you. Drink to the
health of Joseph Greusel, whom I have this morning appointed my
lieutenant. If we all conduct ourselves as honorably and capably as he,
our project is bound to prosper."
Greusel, who was seated at a table, allowed his head to sink into his
hands. Here was his advice scouted, and a direct challenge flung in the
face of the company. He believed now that, after all, Roland had
resolved to return to Frankfort, money or no money. If he intended to
proceed to the Rhine, then even worse might happen, for it was plain he
was bent on rule or ruin. Instantly the challenge was accepted. Kurzbold
stood up, swaying uncertainly, compelled to maintain his upright
position by grasping the top of the table at which he had been seated.
"Stop there, stop there!" he cried. "No man drinks to that toast just
yet. Patience, patience! all things in their order. If we claim the
power to elect our captain, by the cock-crowned Cross of the old bridge
we have a right to name the lieutenant! This is a question for the
companionship to decide, and a usurpation on the part of Roland."
"Sit down, you fool!" shouted Ebearhard savagely. "You're drunk. The
Captain couldn't have made a better selection. What say you, comrades?"
A universal shout of "Aye!" greeted the question, and even Kurzbold's
three comrades joined in it.
"And now, gentlemen, no more talk. Here's to the health of the new
lieutenant, Joseph Greusel."
The toast was drunk enthusiastically, all standing, with the exception
of Kurzbold, who came down in his seat with a thud.
"All right!" he cried, waving his hand. "All right; all right! That's
what I said. Greusel's good man, and now he's elected by the
companionship, he's all right. I drink to him. Drink to anybody, I
will!"
In groping round for the flagon, he upset it, and then roared loudly for
the landlord to supply him again.
"Now, comrades," said Roland sharply, "fall in! We've a long march ahead
of us. Come, Greusel, we must lead the van, for I wish to instruct you
in your duties."
It was rather a straggling procession that set out from Hochst.
"Perhaps," began Roland, as he strode along beside Greusel, "I should
make some excuse for not following the advice you so strenuously urged
upon me this morning regarding the appointment of a lieutenant. The
truth is I wished to teach you a lesson, and could not resist the
temptation of proving that a crisis firmly and promptly met disappears,
whereas if you compromise with it there is a danger of being
overwhelmed."
"I admit. Commander, that you were successful just now, and the reason
is that most of our brigade are sane and sober this morning. But wait
until to-night, when the wine passes round several times, and if you try
conclusions with them then you are likely to fail."
"But the wine won't pass round to-night."
"How can you prevent it?"
"Wait, and you will see," said Roland, with a laugh.
By this time they arrived at a fork in the road, one section going
southwest and the other straight west. The left branch was infinitely
the better thoroughfare, for the most part following the Main until it
reached the Rhine. Roland, however, chose the right-hand road.
"I thought you were going along by the river," said his lieutenant.
"I have changed my mind," replied Roland, without further explanation.
At first Kurzbold determined to set the pace. He would show the company
he was not drunk, and tax them to follow him, but, his stout legs
proving unable to carry out this excellent resolution, he gradually fell
to the rear. As the sun rose higher, and grew hotter, the pace began to
tell on him, and he accepted without protest the support of two comrades
who had been drinking with him at Hochst. He retrograded into a
condition of pessimistic dejection as the enthusiasm of the wine
evaporated. A little later he wished to lie down by the roadside and
allow a cruel and unappreciative world to pass on its own way, but his
comrades encouraged him to further efforts, and in some manner they
succeeded in dragging him along at the tail of the procession.
As they approached the village of Zeilsheim, Roland requested his
lieutenant to inform the marchers that there would be no halt until
_mittagessen_.
Zeilsheim is rather more than a league from Hochst, and Kurzbold allowed
himself to wake up sufficiently to maintain that the distance earned
another drink, but his supporters dragged him on with difficulty past
those houses which displayed a bush over the door. At the larger town of
Hofheim, five leagues from Frankfort, the same command was passed down
the ranks, and at this there was some grumbling, for the day had become
very hot, and the way was exceedingly trying, up hill and down dale.
Well set up as these city lads were, walking had never been their
accustomed exercise. The interesting Taunus mountains, which to-day
constitute an exercise ground full of delights to the pedestrian,
forming, as they do, practically a suburb of Frankfort, were at that
time an unexplored wilderness, whose forests were infested by roving
brigands, where no man ventured except at the risk of an untimely grave.
The mediaeval townsman rarely trusted himself very far outside the city
gates, and our enterprising marauders, whom to outward view seemed
stalwart enough to stand great fatigue, proved so soft under the hot sun
along the shadeless road that by the time they reached Breckenheim,
barely six leagues from Frankfort, there was a mopping of brows and a
general feeling that the limit of endurance had been reached.
At Breckenheim Roland called a halt for midday refreshment, and he was
compelled to wait nearly half an hour until the last straggler of his
woebegone crew limped from the road on to the greensward in front of the
_Weinstaube_ which had been selected for a feeding-place. Black bread
and a coarse kind of country cheese were the only provisions obtainable,
but of these eatables there was an ample supply, and, better than all to
the jaded wayfarers, wine in abundance, of good quality, too, for
Breckenheim stands little more than a league to the north of the
celebrated Hochheim.
The wanderers came in by ones and twos, and sank down upon the benches
before the tavern, or sprawled at full length on the short grass, where
Kurzbold and his three friends dropped promptly off into sleep. A more
dejected and amenable gang even Roland could not have wished to command.
Every ounce of fight, or even discussion, was gone from them. They cared
not where they were, or what any one said to them. Their sole desire was
to be let alone, and they took not the slightest interest even in the
preparing of their frugal meal. A mug of wine served to each mitigated
the general depression, although Kurzbold showed how far gone he was by
swearing dismally when roused even to drink the wine. He said he was
resolved to lead a temperate life in future, but nevertheless managed to
dispose of his allowance in one long, parched draught.
Greusel approached his chief.
"There will be some difficulty," he said, "when this meal has to be paid
for. I find that the men are all practically penniless."
"Tell them they need anticipate no trouble about that," replied Roland.
"I have settled the bill, and will see that they do not starve or die of
thirst before we reach the Rhine."
"It is proposed," continued Greusel, "that each man should give all the
money he possesses into a general fund to be dealt with by a committee
the men will appoint. What do you say to this?"
"There is nothing to say. I notice that the proposal was not made until
the proposers' pouches were empty."
"They know that some of us have money," Greusel went on, "myself, for
instance, and they wish us to share as good comrades should--at least,
that is their phrase."
"An admirable phrase, yet I don't agree with it. How much money have
you, Greusel?"
"The thirty thalers are practically intact, and Ebearhard has about the
same."
"Well, fifty thalers lie safe in my pouch, but not a coin goes into the
treasury of any committee the men may appoint. If they choose a
committee, let them finance it themselves."
"There will be some dissatisfaction at that decision, Commander."
"I dare say. Still, as you know, I am always ready to do anything
conducive to good feeling, so you may inform them that you and Ebearhard
and myself, that is, three of us, will contribute to the committee's
funds an amount equal to that subscribed by the other eighteen. Such
lavishness on our part ought to satisfy them."
"It won't, Commander, because there's not a single kreuzer among the
eighteen."
"So be it. That's as far as I am willing to go. Appeal to their
reasoning powers, Greusel. If each of the eighteen contributes one
thaler, we three will contribute six thalers apiece. Ask them whether
they do not think we are generous when we do six times more than any one
of them towards providing capital for a committee."
"'Tis not willingness they lack, Commander, but ability."
"They are not logical, Joseph. They prate of comradeship, and when it
comes to an exercise of power they demand equality. How, then, can they,
with any sense of fairness, prove ungrateful to us when we offer to bear
six times the burden they are asked to shoulder?"
The lieutenant said no more, but departed to announce the decision to
the men, and either the commander's reasoning overcame all opposition,
or else the company was too tired to engage in a controversy.
When the black bread and cheese were served, with a further supply of
wine, all sat up and ate heartily. The banquet ended, Greusel made an
announcement to the men. There would now be an hour's rest, he said,
before taking to the road again. The meal and the wine had been paid for
by the commander, so no one need worry on that account, but if any man
wished more wine he must pay the shot himself. However, before the
afternoon's march was begun flagons of wine would be served at the
commander's expense. This information was received in silence, and the
men stretched themselves out on the grass to make the most of their hour
of rest. Roland strolled off alone to view the village. The lieutenant
and Ebearhard sat together at a table, conversing in low tones.
"Well," said Ebearhard, "what do you think of it all?"
"I don't know what to think," replied Greusel. "If the Barons of the
Rhine could see us, and knew that we intended to attack them, I imagine
there would be a great roar of laughter."
Ebearhard emulated the Barons, and laughed. He was a cheerful person.
"I don't doubt it," he said; "and talking of prospects, what's your
opinion of the Commander?"
"I am quite adrift on that score also. This morning I endeavored to give
him some good advice. I asked him not to appoint me lieutenant, but to
choose Kurzbold or Gensbein from among the malcontents, for I thought if
responsibility were placed on their shoulders we should be favored with
less criticism."
"A very good idea it seems to me," remarked Ebearhard.
"Well, you saw how promptly he ignored it, yet after all there may be
more wisdom in that head of his than I suspected. Look you how he has
made a buffer of me. He gives no commands to the men himself, but merely
orders me to pass along the word for this or that. He appears determined
to have his own way, and yet not to bring about a personal conflict
between himself and his following."
"Do you suppose that to be cowardice on his part?"
"No; he is not a coward. He doubtless intends that I shall stand the
brunt of any ill-temper on the part of the men. Should disobedience
arise, it will be my orders that are disobeyed, not his. If the matter
is of no importance one way or the other, I take it he will say nothing,
but I surmise that when it comes to the vital point, he will brush me
aside as though I were a feather, and himself confront the men
regardless of consequences. This morning I thought they would win in
such a case, but, by the iron Cross, I am not so confident now. Remember
how he sprung my appointment on the crowd, counting, I am sure, on your
help. He said to me, when we were alone by the tower, that you were the
most fair-minded man among the lot, and he evidently played on that,
giving them not a moment to think, and you backed him up. He carried his
point, and since then has not said a word to them, all orders going
through me, but I know he intended, as he told you, to take the river
road, instead of which he has led us over this hilly district until
every man is ready to drop. He is himself very sparing of wine, and is
in fit condition. I understand he has tramped both banks of the Rhine,
from Ehrenfels to Bonn, so this walk is nothing to him. At the end of it
he was off for a stroll, and here are these men lying above the sod like
the dead underneath it."
"I cannot make him out," mused Ebearhard. "What has been his training?
He appears to be well educated, and yet in some common matters is
ignorant as a child, as, for instance, not knowing the difference in
status between a skilled artisan and a chaffering merchant! What can
have been his up-bringing? He is obviously not of the merchant class, yet
he persuades the chief of our merchants, and the most conservative, to
engage in this wild goose chase, and actually venture money and goods in
supporting him. This expedition will cost Herr Goebel at least five
thousand thalers, all because of the blandishments of a youth who walked
in from the street, unintroduced. Then he is not an artisan of any sort,
for when he joined us his hands were quite useless, except upon the
sword-hilt."
"He said he was a fencing-master," explained Greusel.
"I know he did, and yet when he was offered a fee to instruct us he
wouldn't look at it. The first duty of a fencing-master, like the rest
of us, is to make money. Roland quite evidently scorns it, and at the
last instructs us for nothing. Fencing-masters don't promote freebooting
expeditions, and, besides, a fencing-master is always urbane and polite,
cringing to every one. I have watched Roland closely at times, trying to
study him, and in doing so have caught momentary glimpses of such
contempt for us, that, by the good Lord above us, it made me shrivel up.
You know, Greusel, that youth has more of the qualities usually
attributed to a noble than those which go to the make-up of any
tradesman."
"He is a puzzle to me," admitted Greusel, "and if this excursion does
not break up at the outset, I am not sure that it will be a success."
Noticing a look of alarm in Ebearhard's eyes, Greusel cast a glance over
his shoulder, and saw Roland standing behind him. The young man said
quietly:
"It hasn't broken up at the outset, for we are already more than five
leagues from Frankfort. Our foray must be a success while I have two
such wise advisers as I find sitting here."
Neither of the men replied. Both were wondering how much their leader
had overheard. He took his place on the bench beside Ebearhard, and said
to him:
"I wish you to act as my second lieutenant. If anything happens to me,
Greusel takes my place and you take his. This, by the way, is an
appointment, rather than an election. It is not to be put before the
guild. You simply act as second lieutenant, and that is all there is
about it."
"Very good, Commander," said Ebearhard.
"Greusel, how much money have you?"
"Thirty thalers."
"Economical man! Will you lend me the sum until we reach
Assmannshausen?"
"Certainly." Greusel pulled forth his wallet, poured out the gold, and
Roland took charge of it.
"And you, Ebearhard? How are you off for funds?"
"I possess twenty-five thalers."
"May I borrow from you as well?"
"Oh, yes."
"I was thinking," continued the young man, as he put away the gold,
"that this committee idea of the men has merits of its own; therefore I
have formed myself into a committee, appointed, not elected, and will
make the disbursements. How much money does our company possess?"
"Not a stiver, so far as I can learn."
"Ah, in that case there is little use in my attempting a collection.
Now, as I was saying, Greusel, if anything happens to me, you carry on
the enterprise along the lines I have laid down. The first thing, of
course, is to reach Assmannshausen."
"Nothing can happen to you before we arrive there", hazarded Greusel.
"I'm not so sure. The sun is very powerful to-day, and should it beat me
down, let me lie where I fall, and allow nothing to interrupt the march.
Once at Assmannshausen, you two must keep a sharp lookout up the river.
When you see the barge, gather your men and lead them up to it. It is to
await us about half a league above Assmannshausen."
The three conversed until the hour was consumed, then Roland, throwing
his cloak over his arm, rose, and said to his lieutenant:
"Just rouse the men, if you please; and you, Ebearhard, tell the
landlord to give each a flagon of wine. We take the road to Wiesbaden. I
shall walk slowly on ahead, so that you and the company may overtake
me."
With this the young leader sauntered indifferently away, leaving to his
subordinates the ungracious task of setting tired men to their work
again. Greusel looked glum, but Ebearhard laughed.
Some distance to the east of Wiesbaden the leader deflected his company
from the road, and thus they passed Wiesbaden to the left, arriving at
the village of Sonnenberg. The straggling company made a halt for a
short time, while provisions were purchased, every man carrying his own
share, which was scantly sufficient for supper and breakfast, and a
quantity of wine was acquired to gratify each throat with about a liter
and a half; plenty for a reasonable thirst, but not enough for a
carouse.
The company grumbled at being compelled to quit Sonnenberg. They had
hoped to spend the night at Wiesbaden, and vociferously proclaimed
themselves satisfied with the amount of country already traversed. Their
leader said nothing, but left Greusel and Ebearhard to deal with them.
He paid for the provisions and the wine, and then, with his cloak
loosely over his arm, struck out for the west, as if the declining sun
were his goal. The rest followed him slowly, in deep depression of
spirits. They were in a wild country, unknown to any of them. The hills
had become higher and steeper, and there was not even a beaten path to
follow; but Roland, who apparently knew his way, trudged steadily on in
advance even of his lieutenants. A bank of dark clouds had risen in the
east, the heat of the day being followed by a thunderstorm that growled
menacingly above the Taunus mountains, evidently accompanying a torrent
of rain, although none fell in the line of march.
The sun had set when the leader brought his company down into the valley
of the Walluf, about two and a half leagues from Sonnenberg. Here the
men found themselves in a wilderness through which ran a brawling
stream. Roland announced to them that this would be their camping place
for the night. At once there was an uproar of dissent. How were they to
camp out without tents? A heavy rain was impending. Listen to the
thunder, and taking warning from the swollen torrent.
"Wrap your cloaks around you," said Roland, "and sleep under the trees.
I have often done it myself, and will repeat the experience to-night. If
you are not yet tired enough to ensure sound slumber, I shall be
delighted to lead you on for another few leagues."
The men held a low-voiced, sullen consultation, gathered in a circle.
They speedily decided upon returning to Sonnenberg, which it was the
unanimous opinion of the company they should never have left. Townsmen
all, who had not in their lives spent a night without a roof over their
heads, such accommodation as their leader proposed they should endure
seemed like being cast away on a desert island. The mystery of the
forest affrighted them. For all they could tell the woods were full of
wild animals, and they knew that somewhere near lurked outlaws no less
savage. The eighteen, ignoring Greusel and Ebearhard, who stood on one
side, watching their deliberations with anxious faces, moved in a body
upon their leader, who sat on the bank of the torrent, his feet dangling
down towards the foaming water.
"We have resolved to return to Sonnenberg," said the leader of the
conclave.
"An excellent resolution," agreed Roland cheerfully. "It is a pleasant
village, and I have passed through it several times. By the way,
Wiesbaden, which is much larger, possesses the advantage to tired men of
being half a league nearer."
The spokesman seemed taken aback by Roland's nonchalant attitude.
"We do not know the road to Wiesbaden, and, indeed, are in some doubt
whether or no we can find our way to Sonnenberg with darkness coming
on."
"Then if I were you, I shouldn't attempt it. Why not eat your supper,
and drink your wine in this sheltering grove?"
"By that time it will be as dark as Erebus," protested the spokesman.
"Then remain here, as I suggested, for the night."
"No; we are determined to reach Sonnenberg. A storm impends."
"In that case, gentlemen, don't let me detain you. The gloom thickens as
you spend your time in talk."
"Oh, that's all very well, but when we reach Sonnenberg we shall need
money."
"So you will."
"And we intend to secure it."
"Quite right."
"We demand from you three thalers for each man."
"Oh, you want the money from me?"
"Yes, we do."
"That would absorb all the funds I possess."
"No matter. We mean to have it."
"You propose to take it from me by force?"
"Yes."
"Ah, well, such being the case, perhaps it would be better for me to
yield willingly?"
"I think so."
"I quite agree with you. There are eighteen of you, all armed with
swords, while I control but one blade."
Saying this he unfastened his cloak, which he had put on in the
gathering chill of the evening, and untying from his belt a well-filled
wallet, held it up to their gaze.
"As this bag undisputedly belongs to me, I have a right to dispose of it
as I choose. I therefore give it to the brook, whose outcry is as
insistent as yours, and much more musical."
"Stop, Roland, stop!" shouted Ebearhard, but the warning came too late.
The young man flung the bag into the torrent, where it disappeared in a
smother of foam. He rose to his feet and drew his sword.
"If you wish a fight now, it will be for the love of it, no filthy lucre
being at stake."
"By Plutus, you are an accursed fool!" cried the spokesman, making no
further show of aggression now that nothing but steel was to be gained
by a contest.
"A fool; yes!" said Roland. "And therefore the better qualified to lead
all such. Now go to Sonnenberg, or go to Hades!"
The men did neither. They sat down under the trees, ate their supper,
and drank their wine.
"Will you dine with me?" said Roland, approaching his two gloomy
lieutenants, who stood silent at some distance from the circle formed by
the others.
"Yes," said Greusel sullenly, "but I would have dined with greater
pleasure had you not proven the spokesman's words true."
"You mean about my being a fool? Oh, you yourself practically called me
that this morning. Come, let us sit down farther along the stream, where
they cannot overhear what we say."
This being done, Roland continued cheerfully:
"I may explain to you that a week ago I had only a wallet of my own, but
before leaving on this journey I called upon my mother, and she
presented me with another bag. I foresaw during _mittagessen_ that a
demand would be made upon us for money, therefore I borrowed all that
you two possessed. Walking on ahead, I prepared for what I knew must
come, filling the empty wallet with very small stones picked up along
the road. That wallet went into the stream. It is surprising how prone
human nature is to jump at conclusions. Why should any of you think that
I am simpleton enough to throw away good money? Dear, dear, what a world
this is, to be sure!"
Half an hour later all were lying down enveloped in their cloaks,
sleeping soundly because of their fatigue, despite being out of doors.
Next morning there was consternation in the camp, real or pretended.
Roland was nowhere to be found, nor did further search reveal his
whereabouts.
VIII
THE MISSING LEADER AND THE MISSING GOLD
Probably because of the new responsibility resting upon him, Joseph
Greusel was the first to awaken next morning. He let his long cloak fall
from his shoulders as he sat up, and gazed about him with astonishment.
It seemed as if some powerful wizard of the hills had spirited him away
during the night. He had gone to sleep in a place of terror. The thunder
rolled threateningly among the peaks of Taunus, and the reflection of
the lightning flash, almost incessant in its recurrence, had lit up the
grove with an unholy yellow glare. The never-ceasing roar of the foaming
torrent, which in the darkness gleamed with ghostly pallor, had somehow
got on his nerves. Under the momentary illumination of the lightning,
the waves appeared to leap up at him like a pack of hungry wolves,
flecked with froth, and the noise strove to emulate the distant thunder.
The grove itself was ominous in its gloom, and sinister shapes seemed to
be moving about among the trees.
How different was the aspect now! The sun was still beneath the eastern
horizon. The cloudless sky gave promise of another warm day, and the
air, of crystalline clearness, was inspiring to breathe. To Greusel's
mind, tinged with religious feeling, the situation in which he found
himself seemed like a section of the Garden of Eden. The stream, which
the night before had been to his superstitious mind a thing of terror,
was this morning a placid, smiling, rippling brook that a man might
without effort leap across.
He rubbed his eyes in amazement, thinking the mists of sleep must be
responsible for this magic transformation, until he remembered the
distant thunderstorm of the night before among the eastern mountains,
and surmised that a heavy rainfall had deluged these speedily drained
peaks and valleys.
"What a blessed thing," he said to himself fervently, "is the
ever-recurring morning. How it clears away the errors and the passions
of darkness! It is as if God desired to give man repeated opportunities
of reform, and of encouragement. How sane everything seems now, as
compared with the turbulence of the sulphurous night."
As he rose he became aware of an unaccustomed weight by his side, and
putting down his hand was astonished to encounter a bag evidently filled
with coin. It had been tied by its deerskin thong to his belt, just as
was his own empty wallet. He sat down again, drew it round to the front
of him, and unfastened it. Pouring out the gold, he found that the
wallet contained a hundred and fifteen thalers, mostly in gold, with the
addition of a few silver coins. At once it occurred to him that these
were Roland's sixty thalers, his own thirty, and Ebearhard's
twenty-five. For some reason, probably fearing the men would suspect the
ruse practiced on them the night before, Roland had made him treasurer
of the company. But why should he have done it surreptitiously?
Readjusting the leathern sack, he again rose to his feet, but now cast
his cloak about him, thus concealing the purse. Ebearhard lay sound
asleep near him. Farther away the eighteen remaining members of the
company were huddled closely together, as if they had gone to rest in a
room too small for them, although the whole country was theirs from
which to choose sleeping quarters.
Remembering how the brook had decreased in size, and was now running
clear and pellucid, he feared that the bag of stones Roland had so
dramatically flung into it might be plainly visible. He determined to
rouse his commander, and seek the bag for some distance downstream; for
he knew that when the men awakened, all night-fear would have departed
from them, and seeing the shrinkage of the brook they might themselves
institute a search.
On looking round for Roland he saw no sign of him, but this caused
little disquietude, for he supposed that the leader had risen still
earlier than himself, wishing to stroll through the forest, or up and
down the rivulet.
Greusel, with the purpose of finding the bag, and in the hope, also, of
encountering his chief, walked down the valley by the margin of the
waterway. Peering constantly into the limpid waters, he discovered no
trace of what he sought. Down and down the valley, which was wooded all
the way, he walked, and sometimes he was compelled to forsake his liquid
guide, and clamber through thickets to reach its border again.
At last he arrived at a little waterfall, and here occurred a break in
the woods, causing him to stand entranced by the view which presented
itself. Down the declivity the forest lasted for some distance, then it
gave place to ever-descending vineyards, with here and there a house
showing among the vines. At the foot of this hill ran a broad blue
ribbon, which he knew to be the Rhine, although he had never seen it
before. Over it floated a silvery gauze of rapidly disappearing mist.
The western shore appeared to be flat, and farther along the horizon was
formed by hills, not so lofty as that on which he stood, but beautiful
against the blue sky, made to seem nearer than they were by the first
rays of the rising sun, which tipped the summits with crimson.
Greusel drew a long breath of deep satisfaction. He had never before
realized that the world was so enchanting and so peaceful. It seemed
impossible that men privileged to live in such a land could find no
better occupation than cutting one another's throats.
The gentle plash of the waterfall at his right hand accentuated the
stillness. From his height he glanced down into the broad, pellucid
pool, into whose depths the water fell, and there, perfectly visible,
lay the bag of bogus treasure. Cautiously he worked his way down to the
gravelly border of the little lake, flung off his clothes, and plunged
head-first into this Diana's pool. It was a delicious experience, and he
swam round and round the circular basin, clambered up on the gravel and
allowed the stream to fall over his glistening shoulders, reveling in
Nature's shower-bath. Satisfied at length, he indulged in another
rainbow plunge, grasped the bag, and rose again to the surface. Coming
ashore, he unloosened the swollen thongs, poured out the stones along
the strand, then, after a moment's thought, he wrung the water out of
the bag itself, and tied it to his belt, for there was no predicting
where the men would wander when once they awoke, and if he threw it away
among the bushes, it might be found, breeding first wonder how it came
there, and then suspicion of the trick.
Greusel walked back to camp by the other bank of the stream. Although
the early rays of the sun percolated through the upper branches of the
trees above them, the eighteen prone men slept as if they were but
seven. He sprang over the brook, touched the recumbent Ebearhard with
his foot, and so awoke him. This excellent man yawned, and stretched out
his arms above his head.
"You're an early bird, Greusel," he said. "Have you got the worm?"
"Yes, I have," replied the latter. "I found it in the basin of a
waterfall nearly a league from here," and with that he drew aside his
cloak, showing the still wet but empty bag.
For a few moments Ebearhard did not understand. He rose and shook
himself, glancing about him.
"Great Jove!" he cried, "this surely isn't the stream by which we lay
down last night? Do you mean to tell me that thread of water struck
terror into my heart only a few hours ago? I never slept out of doors
before in all my life, and could not have imagined it would produce such
an effect. I see what you mean now. You have found the bag which Roland
threw into the foaming torrent."
"Yes; I was as much astonished at the transformation as you when I
awoke, and then it occurred to me that when our friends saw the
reduction of the rivulet, they would forthwith begin a treasure-hunt, so
I determined to obliterate the evidence."
"Was the bag really full of stones?"
"Oh, yes."
"Well, that is a lesson to me. I believe after all that Roland is
helplessly truthful, but last night I thought he befooled us. I was
certain it was the bag of coin he had thrown away, and becoming ashamed
of himself, had lied to us."
"How could you imagine that? He showed us both the bag of money."
"He produced a bag full of something, but I, being the doubting Thomas
of the group, was not convinced it contained money."
"Ah, that reminds me, Ebearhard; here is the bag we saw last night. I
discovered it attached to my belt this morning."
"He attached it to the wrong belt, then, for you believed him. He should
have tied it to mine. What reason does he give for presenting it to
you?"
"Ah, now you touch a point of anxiety in my own mind. I have seen
nothing of Roland this morning. I surmised that he had arisen before me,
and expected to meet him somewhere down the stream, but have not done
so."
"He may have gone farther afield. As you found the bag, he of course,
missed it, and probably continued his search."
"I doubt that, because I came upon a point of view reaching to the Rhine
and the hills beyond. I could trace the stream for a considerable
distance, and watched it for a long time, but there appeared to be
nothing alive in the forest."
"You don't suppose he has gone back to Frankfort, do you?"
"I am at loss what to think."
"If he has abandoned this gang of malcontents, I should be the last to
blame him. The way these pigs acted yesterday was disgraceful, ending up
their day with rank mutiny and threats of violence. By the iron Cross,
Greusel, he has forsaken this misbegotten lot, and it serves them
perfectly right, prating about comradeship and carrying themselves like
cut-throats. This is Roland's method of returning our money, for I
suppose that bag contains your thirty thalers and my twenty-five."
"Yes, and his own sixty as well. Poor disappointed devil, generous to
the last. It was he who obtained all the money at the beginning, then
these drunken swine spend it on wine, and prove so generous and brave
that eighteen of them muster courage enough to face one man, and he the
man who had bestowed the gold upon them."
"Greusel, the whole situation fills me with disgust. I propose we leave
the lot sleeping there, go to Wiesbaden for breakfast, and then trudge
back to Frankfort. It would serve the brutes right."
"No," said Greusel quietly; "I shall carry out Roland's instructions."
"I thought you hadn't seen him this morning?"
"Not a trace of him. You heard his orders at Breckenheim."
"I don't remember. What were they?"
"That if anything happened to him, I was to drive the herd to
Assmannshausen. I quite agree with you, Ebearhard, that he is justified
in deserting this menagerie, but, on the other hand, you and I have
stood faithfully by him, and it doesn't seem to me right that he should
leave us without a word. I don't believe he has done so, and I expect
any moment to see him return."
"You're wrong, Greusel. He's gone. That purse is sufficient explanation,
and as you recall to my mind his instructions, I believe something of
this must have suggested itself to him even that early in the day. He
has divested himself of every particle of money in his possession,
turning it over to you, but instead of returning to Frankfort he has
made his way over the hills to Assmannshausen, and will await us there."
"What would be the object of that?"
"One reason may be that he will learn whether or not you have enough
control over these people to bring them to the Rhine. He will satisfy
himself that your discipline is such as to improve their manners. It may
be in his mind to resign, and make you leader, if you prove yourself
able to control them."
"Suppose I fail in that?"
"Well, then--this is all fancy, remember--I imagine he may look round
Assmannshausen to find another company who will at least obey him."
"What you say sounds very reasonable. Still, I do not see why he should
have left two friends like us without a word."
"A word, my dear Greusel, would have led to another, and another, and
another. One of the first questions asked him would be 'But what are
Ebearhard and I to do?' That's exactly what he doesn't wish to answer.
He desires to know what you will do of your own accord. He is likely
rather hopeless about this mob, but is giving you an opportunity, and
then another chance. Why, his design is clear as that rivulet there, and
as easily seen through. You will either bring those men across the
hills, or you won't. If you and I are compelled to clamber over to
Assmannshausen alone, Roland will probably be more pleased to see us
than if we brought this rogues' contingent straggling at our heels. He
will appoint you chief officer of his new company, and me the second. If
you doubt my conclusions, I'll wager twenty-five thalers against your
thirty that I am in the right."
"I never gamble, Ebearhard, especially when certain to lose. You are a
shrewder man than I, by a long bowshot."
In a work of fiction it would of course be concealed till the proper
time came that all of these men were completely wrong in their
prognostications regarding the fate of Roland, but this being history it
may be stated that the young man had not the least desire to test
Greusel's ability, nor would his lieutenants find him awaiting them when
they reached Assmannshausen.
"Hello! Rouse up there! What have we for breakfast? Has all the wine
been drunk? I hope not. My mouth's like a brick furnace!"
It was the brave Kurzbold who spoke, as he playfully kicked, not too
gently, those of his comrades who lay nearest him. He was answered by
groans and imprecations, as one by one the sleeping beauties aroused
themselves, and wondered where the deuce they were.
"Who has stolen the river?" cried Gensbein.
"Oh, stealing the river doesn't matter," said a third. "It's only
running water. Who drank all the wine? That's a more serious question."
"Well, whoever's taken away the river, I can swear without searching my
pouch has made no theft from me, for I spent my last stiver yesterday."
"Don't boast," growled Kurzbold. "You're not alone in your poverty.
We're all in the same case. Curse that fool of a Roland for throwing
away good money just when it's most needed."
"Good money is always most needed," exclaimed the philosophic Gensbein.
He rose and shook himself, then looked down at the beautiful but
unimportant rivulet.
"I say, lads, were we as drunk as all that last night? Was there an
impassable torrent here or not?"
"How could we be drunk, you fool, on little more than a liter of wine
each," cried Kurzbold.
"Please be more civil in your talk," returned his friend. "You were
drunk all day. The liter and a half was a mere nightcap. If you are
certain there was a torrent, then I must have been in the same condition
as yourself."
The spokesman of the previous night, who had been chided for not
springing on Roland before he succeeded in doing away with the treasure,
here uttered a shout.
"This water," he said, "is clear as air. You can see every pebble at the
bottom. Get to work, you sleepyheads, and search down the stream. We'll
recover that bag yet, and then it's back to Sonnenberg for breakfast.
Whoever finds it, finds it for the guild; a fair and equal division
amongst us. That is, amongst the eighteen of us. I propose that Roland,
Greusel, and Ebearhard do not share. They were all in the plot to rob
us."
"Agreed!" cried the others, and the treasure-hunt impetuously began.
Greusel and Ebearhard watched them disappear through the forest down the
stream.
"Greusel," said Ebearhard, "what a deplorable passion is the frantic
quest for money in these days, especially money that we have not earned.
Our excited treasure-hunters do not realize that at such a moment in the
early morning the only subject worth consideration is breakfast. Being
unsparing and prodigal last night, it would take a small miracle of the
fishes to suffice them to-day. There is barely enough for two hungry
men, and as we are rid of these chaps for half an hour at least, I
propose we sit down to our first meal."
Greusel made no comment upon this remark, but the advice commended
itself to him, for he followed it.
Some time after they had finished breakfast, the unsuccessful company
returned by twos and threes. Apparently they had not wandered so far as
the waterfall, for no one said anything of the amazing view of the
Rhine. Indeed, it was plain that they considered themselves involved in
a boundless wilderness, and were too perplexed to suggest a way out.
After a storm of malediction over the breakfastless state of things, and
a good deal of quarreling among themselves anent who had been most
greedy the night before, they now turned their attention to the silent
men who were watching them.
"Where's Roland?" they demanded.
"I don't know," replied Greusel.
"Didn't he tell you where he was going?"
"We have not seen him this morning," explained Ebearhard gently. "He
seems to have disappeared in the night. Perhaps he fell into the stream.
Perhaps, on the other hand, he has deliberately deserted us. He gave us
no hint of his intentions last night, and we are as ignorant as
yourselves regarding his whereabouts."
"This is outrageous!" cried Kurzbold. "It is the duty of a leader to
provide for his following."
"Yes; if the following follows."
"We have followed," said Kurzbold indignantly, "and have been led into
this desert, not in the least knowing where in Heaven's name we are. And
now to be left like this, breakfastless, thirsty--" Here Kurzbold's
language failed him, and he drew the back of his hand across parched
lips.
"When you remember, gentlemen," continued Ebearhard, in accents of
honey, "that your last dealings with your leader took place with
eighteen swords drawn; when you recollect that you expressed your
determination to rob him, and when you call to mind that you brave
eighteen threatened him with personal violence if he resisted this
brigandage on your part, I cannot understand why you should be surprised
at his withdrawal from your fellowship."
"Oh, you always were a glib talker, but the question now is what are we
to do?"
"Yes, and that is a question for you to decide," said Ebearhard. "When
you mutinied last night, you practically deposed Roland from the
leadership. To my mind, he had no further obligations towards you, so,
having roughly taken the power into your own hands, it is for you to
deal with it as you think best. I should never so far forget myself as
to venture even a suggestion."
"As I hinted to you," said Kurzbold, "you are talking too much. You are
merely one of ourselves, although you have kept yourself separate from
us. Greusel has been appointed lieutenant by our unanimous vote, and if
his chief proves a poltroon, he is the man to act. Therefore, Joseph
Greusel, I ask on behalf of the company what you intend to do?"
"Before I can answer that question," replied Greusel, "I must know
whether or not you will act as you did yesterday?"
"What do you mean by that?" Several, speaking together, put the
question.
"I wish to know whether you will follow cheerfully and without demur
where I lead? I refuse to act as guide if I run the risk of finding
eighteen sword-points at my throat when I have done my best."
"Oh, you talk like a fool," commented Kurzbold. "We followed Roland
faithfully enough until he brought us into this impasse. You make
entirely too much of last night's episode. None of us intended to hurt
him, as you are very well aware, and besides, we don't want a leader who
is frightened, and runs away at the first sign of danger."
"Make up your minds what you propose to do," said Greusel stubbornly,
"and give me your decision; then you will receive mine."
Greusel saw that although Kurzbold talked like the bully he was, the
others were rather subdued, and no voice but his was raised in defense
of their previous conduct.
"There is one thing you must tell us before we can come to a decision,"
went on Kurzbold. "How much money have you and Ebearhard?"
"At midday yesterday I had thirty thalers, and Ebearhard had
twenty-five. While you were all sleeping on the grass, after our meal at
Breckenheim, Roland asked us for the money."
"You surely were not such idiots as to give it to him?"
"He was our commander, and we both considered it right to do what he
asked of us."
"He said," put in Ebearhard, "that your suggestion about a finance
committee was a good one, and that he had determined to be that
committee. He asked us if any of you had money, but I told him I thought
it was all spent, which probably accounts for his restricting the
application to us two."
"Then we are here in an unknown wilderness, twenty men, hungry, and
without a florin amongst us," wailed Kurzbold, and the comments of those
behind him were painful to hear.
"I am glad that at last you thoroughly appreciate our situation, and I
hope that in addition you realize it has been brought about not through
any fault of Roland's, who gave in to your whims and childishness until
you came to the point of murder and robbery. Therefore blame yourselves
and not him. You now know as much of our position as I do, so make up
your minds about the next step, and inform me what conclusion you come
to."
"You're a mighty courageous leader," cried Kurzbold scornfully, and with
this the hungry ones retired some distance into the grove, from whence
echoes of an angry debate came to the two men who sat by the margin of
the stream. After a time they strode forward again. Once more Kurzbold
was the spokesman.
"We have determined to return to Frankfort."
"Very good."
"I suppose you remember enough of the way to lead us at least as far as
Wiesbaden. Beyond that point we can look to ourselves."
"I should be delighted," said Greusel, "to be your guide, but
unfortunately I am traveling in the other direction with Ebearhard."
"Why, in the name of starvation?" roared Kurzbold. "You know no more of
the country ahead of us than we do. By going back we can get something
to eat, and a drink, at one of the farmhouses we passed this side of
Sonnenberg."
"How?" inquired Greusel.
"Why, if they ask for payment we will give them iron instead of silver.
No man need starve with a sword by his side."
"Granted that this is feasible, and that the farmers yield instead of
raising the country-side against you, when you reach Frankfort what are
you going to do? Eat and drink with the landlord of the Rheingold until
he becomes bankrupt? You must remember that it was Roland who liquidated
our last debt there, without asking or receiving a word of thanks, and
he did that not a moment too soon, for the landlord was at the end of
his resources and would have closed his tavern within another week."
Kurzbold stormed at this harping on the subject of Roland and his
generosity, but those with him were hungry, and they now remembered, too
late, that what Greusel said was strictly true. If Roland had put in an
appearance then, he would have found a most docile company to lead. They
were actually murmuring against Kurzbold, and blaming him and his clan
for the disaster that had overtaken them.
"Why will you not come back with us?" pleaded the penitents, with
surprising mildness.
"Because the future in Frankfort strikes me as hopeless. Not one amongst
us has the brains of Roland, whom we have thrown out. Besides, it is
nine and a half long leagues to Frankfort, and only three and a half
leagues to Assmannshausen. I expect to find Roland there, and although I
know nothing of his intentions, I imagine he has gone to enlist a
company of a score or thereabouts that will obey his commands. There is
some hope by going forward to Assmannshausen; there is absolutely none
in retreating to Frankfort. Then, as I said, Assmannshausen is little
more than three leagues away; a fact worth consideration by hungry men.
On the Rhine we are in the rich wine country, where there is plenty to
eat and drink, probably for the asking, whereas if we turn our faces
towards the east we are marching upon starvation."
The buzz of comment aroused by this speech proved to the two men that
Kurzbold stood once more alone. Greusel, without seeming to care which
way the cat jumped, had induced that unreasoning animal to leap as he
liked. His air of supreme indifference aroused Ebearhard's admiration,
especially when he remembered that under his cloak there rested a
hundred and fifteen thalers in gold and silver.
"But you know nothing of the way," protested Kurzbold. "None of us are
acquainted with the country to the west."
"We don't need to be acquainted with it," said Greusel. "We steer
westward by glancing at the sun now and then, and cannot go astray,
because we must come to the Rhine; then it's either up or down the
river, as the case may be, to reach Assmannshausen."
"To the Rhine! To the Rhine!" was now the universal cry.
"Before we begin our journey," said Greusel, as if he accepted the
leadership with reluctance, "I must have your promise that you will obey
me without question. I am not so patient a man as Roland, but on my part
I guarantee you an excellent meal and good wine as soon as we reach
Assmannshausen."
"How can you promise that," growled Kurzbold, "when you have given away
your money?"
"Because, as I told you, I expect to meet Roland there."
"But he threw away his bag."
"Yes; I told him it was a foolish thing to do, and perhaps that is why
he left without saying a word, even to me. He is an ingenious man.
Assmannshausen is familiar to him, and I dare say he would not have
discarded his money without knowing where to get more."
"To the Rhine! To the Rhine! To the Rhine!" cried the impatient host,
gathering up their cloaks, and tightening their belts, as the savage
does when he is hungry.
"To the Rhine, then," said Greusel, springing across the little stream
in company with Ebearhard.
"You did that very well, Greusel," complimented the latter.
"I would rather have gone alone with you," replied the new leader, "for
I have condemned myself to wear this heavy cloak, which is all very well
to sleep in, but burdensome under a hot sun."
"The sun won't be so oppressive," predicted his friend, "while we keep
to the forest."
"That is very true, but remember we are somewhere in the Rheingau, and
that we must come out into the vineyards by and by."
"Don't grumble, Greusel, but hold up your head as a great diplomatist.
Roland himself could not have managed these chaps so well, you flaunting
hypocrite, the only capitalist amongst us, yet talking as if you were a
monk sworn to eternal poverty."
Greusel changed the subject.
"Do you notice," he said, "that we are following some sort of path,
which we must have trodden last evening, without seeing it in the dusk."
"I imagine," said Ebearhard, "that Roland knew very well where he was
going. He strode along ahead of us as if sure of his ground. I don't
doubt but this will lead us to Assmannshausen."
Which, it may be remarked, it did not. The path was little more than a
trail, which a sharp-eyed man might follow, and it led up-hill and down
dale direct to the Archbishop's Castle of Ehrenfels.
The forest lasted for a distance that the men in front estimated to be
about two leagues, then they emerged into open country, and saw the
welcome vines growing. Climbing out of the valley, they observed to the
right, near the top of a hill, a small hamlet, which had the effect of
instantaneously raising the spirits of the woebegone company.
"Hooray for breakfast!" they shouted, and had it not been for their own
fatigue, and the steepness of the hill, they would have broken into a
run.
"Halt!" cried Greusel sternly, standing before and above them. At once
they obeyed the word of command, which caused Ebearhard to smile.
"You will climb to the top of this hill," said Greusel, "and there rest
under command of my lieutenant, Ebearhard. As we now emerge into
civilization, I warn you that if we are to obtain breakfast it must be
by persuasion, and not by force. Therefore, while you wait on the
hilltop, I shall go alone into the houses on the right, and see what can
be done towards providing a meal for eighteen men. Ebearhard and I will
fast until we reach Assmannshausen. On the other hand, you should be
prepared for disappointment; loaves of bread are not to be picked up on
the point of a sword. If I return and order you to march on unfed, you
must do so as cheerfully as you can."
This ultimatum called forth not a word of opposition, and Ebearhard led
the van while Greusel deflected up the hill to his right, the sooner to
reach the village.
He learned that the name of the place was Anton-Kap; that the route he
had been following would take him to Ehrenfels, and that he must adopt a
reasonably rough mountain-road to the right in order to reach
Assmannshausen.
By somewhat straining the resources of the place, which proved to
possess no inn, he collected bread enough for the eighteen, and there
was no dearth of wine, although it proved a coarse drink that reflected
little credit on the reputation of the Rheingau. He paid for this meal
in advance, saying that they were all in a hurry to reach
Assmannshausen, and wished to leave as soon as the frugal breakfast was
consumed.
Mounting a small elevation to the west of the village, he signaled to
the patient men to come on, which they lost no time in doing. The bread
was eaten and the wine drunk without a word being said by any one. And
now they took their way down the hill again, crossed the little
Geisenheim stream, and up once more, traversing a high table-land giving
them a view of the Rhine, finally descending through another valley,
which led them into Assmannshausen, celebrated for its red wine, a color
they had not yet met with.
Assmannshausen proved to be a city as compared with the hamlets they had
passed, yet was small enough to make a thorough search of the place a
matter that consumed neither much effort nor time. Greusel led his men
to a _Weinstaube_ a short distance out of the village, and, to their
delight, succeeded in establishing a credit for them to the extent of
one liter of wine each, with a substantial meal of meat, eggs, and
what-not. Greusel and Ebearhard left them there in the height of great
enjoyment, all the more delightful after the hunger and fatigue they had
encountered, for the three and a half leagues had proved almost without
a single stretch of level land. The two officers inquired for Roland,
without success, at the various houses of entertainment which
Assmannshausen boasted, then canvassed every home in the village, but no
one had seen anything of the man they described.
Coming out to the river front, deeply discouraged, the two gazed across
the empty water, from which all enlivening traffic had departed. It was
now evident to both that Roland had not entered Assmannshausen, for in
so small and gossipy a hamlet no stranger could even have passed through
without being observed.
"Well, Joseph," asked Ebearhard, "what do you intend to do?"
"There is nothing to do but to wait until our money is gone. It is
absolutely certain that Roland is not here. Can it be possible that
after all he returned?"
"How could he have done so? We know him to have been without money;
therefore why to Frankfort, even if such a trip were possible for a
penniless man?"
"I am sorry now," said Greusel despondently, "that I did not follow a
suggestion that occurred to me, which was to take the men direct down
the valley where we encamped, to the banks of the Rhine, and there make
inquiries."
"You think he went that way?"
"I did, until you persuaded me out of it."
"Again I ask what could be his object?"
"It seems to me that this mutiny made a greater impression on his mind
than I had supposed. After all, he is not one of us, and never has been.
You yourself pointed that out when we were talking of him at
Breckenheim. If you caught glances of contempt for us while we were all
one jolly family in the Kaiser cellar, what must be his loathing for the
guild after such a day as yesterday?"
"That's true. You must travel with a man before you learn his real
character."
"Meaning Roland?"
"Meaning this crew, guzzling up at the tavern. Meaning you, meaning me;
yes, and meaning Roland also. I never knew until yesterday and to-day
what a capable fellow you were, and when I remember that I nominated
Kurzbold for our leader before Roland appeared on the scene, I am amazed
at my lack of judgment of men. As for Roland himself, my opinion of him
has fallen. Nothing could have persuaded me that he would desert us all
without a word of explanation, no matter what happened. My predictions
regarding his conduct are evidently wrong. What do you think has
actually occurred?"
"It's my opinion that the more he thought over the mutiny, the angrier
he became; a cold, stubborn anger, not vocal at all, as Kurzbold's would
be. I think that after fastening the money to my belt he went down the
valley to the Rhine. He knows the country, you must remember. He would
then either wait there until the barge appeared, or more likely would
proceed up along the margin of the river, and hail the boat when it came
in sight. The captain would recognize him, and turn in, and we know the
captain is under his command. At this moment they are doubtless poling
slowly up the Rhine to the Main again, and will thus reach Frankfort.
Herr Goebel has confidence in Roland, otherwise he would never have
risked so much on his bare word. He will confess to his financier that
he has been mistaken in us, and doubtless tell him all that happened,
and the merchant will appreciate that, even though he has lost his five
hundred thalers, Roland would not permit him to lose his goods as well."
"Do you suppose Roland will enlist another company?"
"It is very likely, for Herr Goebel trusts him, and, goodness knows,
there are enough unemployed men in Frankfort for Roland to select a
better score than we have proved to be."
It was quite certain that Roland was not in Assmannshausen, yet Greusel
was a prophet as false as Ebearhard.
IX
A SOLEMN PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE
When Roland wrapped his cloak about him, and lay down on the sward at
some distance from the spot where his officers already slept, he found
that he could not follow their example. Although, he had remained
outwardly calm when the attack was made upon him, his mind was greatly
perturbed over the outlook. He reviewed his own conduct, wondering
whether it would be possible for him so to amend it that he could
acquire the respect and maintain the obedience of his men. If he could
not accomplish this, then was his plan foredoomed to failure. His
cogitations drove away sleep, and he called to mind the last occasion on
which he made this same spot his bedroom. Then he had slumbered
dreamlessly the night through. He was on the direct trail between
Ehrenfels Castle and the town of Wiesbaden, the route over which
supplies had been carried to the Castle time and again when the
periodical barges from Mayence failed to arrive. It had been pointed out
to him by the custodian of the Castle when the young man first became
irked by the confined limits of the Schloss, and frequently since that
time he had made his way through the forest to Wiesbaden and back.
Never before had he seen the little Walluf so boisterous, pretending
that it was important, and he quite rightly surmised that the cause was
a sudden downpour in the mountains farther east. The distant mutterings
of thunder having long since ceased, he recognized that the volume of
the stream was constantly lessening. As the brook gradually subsided to
its customary level, the forest became more and more silent. The greater
his endeavor to sleep, the less dormant Roland felt, and all his senses
seemed unduly quickened by this ineffectual beckoning to somnolence. He
judged by the position of the stars, as he lay on his back, that it was
past midnight, when suddenly he became aware of a noise to the west of
him, on the other side of the brook. Sitting up, and listening intently,
he suspected, from the rustle of the underbrush, that some one was
following the trail, and would presently come upon his sleeping men.
He rose stealthily, unsheathed his sword, leaped across the rivulet, and
proceeded with caution up the acclivity, keeping on the trail as best he
could in the darkness. He was determined to learn the business of the
wayfarer, without disturbing his men, so crept rapidly up the hill.
Presently he saw the glimmer of a light, and conjectured that some one
was coming impetuously down, guided by a lanthorn swinging in his hand.
Roland stood on guard with sword extended straight in front of him, and
the oncomer's breast was almost at the point of it when he hauled
himself up with a sudden cry of dismay, as the lanthorn revealed an
armed man holding the path.
"I have no money," were the first words of the stranger.
"Little matter for that," replied Roland. "'Tis information I wish, not
gear. Why are you speeding through the forest at night, for no sane man
traverses this path in the darkness?"
"I could not wait for daylight," said the stranger, breathing heavily.
"I carry a message of the greatest importance. Do not delay me, I beg of
you. I travel on affairs of State; Imperial matters, and it is necessary
I should reach Frankfort in time, or heads may fall."
"So serious as that?" asked Roland, lowering the point of his sword, for
he saw the messenger was unarmed. "Whom do you seek?"
"That I dare not tell you. The message concerns those of the highest,
and I am pledged to secrecy. Be assured, sir, that I speak the truth."
"Your voice sounds honest. Hold up the lanthorn at arm's length, that I
may learn if your face corresponds with it. Ha, that is most
satisfactory! And now, my hurrying youth, will you reveal your mission,
or shall I be compelled to run my sword through your body?"
"You would not learn it even then," gasped the young man, shrinking
still farther up the hill.
Roland laughed.
"That is true enough," he said, "therefore shall I not impale you, but
will instead relate to you the secret you carry. You are making not for
Frankfort--"
"I assure you, sir, by the sacred Word, that I am, and grieve my oath
does not allow me to do your bidding, even though you would kill me,
which is easily done, since I am unarmed."
"You pass through Frankfort, I doubt not, but your goal is a certain
small room in the neighboring suburb of Sachsenhausen, and he whom you
seek is a youth of about your own age, named Roland. You travel on the
behest of your father, who was much agonized in mind when you left him,
and he, I take it, is custodian of Ehrenfels Castle."
"In God's name!" cried the youth, aghast, "how did you guess all that?"
Again Roland laughed quietly.
"Why, Heinrich," he said, "your agitation causes you to forget old
friends. Hold up your lanthorn again, and learn whether or not you
recognize me, as I recognized you."
"Heaven be praised! Prince Roland!"
"Yes; your journey is at an end, my good Heinrich, thank the fortune
that kept me awake this night. Do you know why you are sent on this long
and breathless journey?"
"Yes, Highness. There has come to the Castle from the Archbishop of
Mayence a lengthy document for you to sign, and you are informed that
the day after to-morrow their Lordships of Mayence, Treves, and Cologne,
meet together at the Castle to hold some conversation with you."
"By my sword, then, Heinrich, had you found me in Sachsenhausen we had
never attained Ehrenfels in time."
"I think I could have accomplished it," replied the young man. "I should
have reached Wiesbaden before daybreak, and there bought the fastest
horse that could be found. My father told me to time myself, and if by
securing another horse at Frankfort for you I could not make the return
journey speedily enough, I was to engage a boat with twenty rowers, if
necessary, and convey you to Ehrenfels before the Archbishops arrived."
"Then, Heinrich, you must have deluded me when you said you had no
money."
"No, Highness, I have none, but I carry an order for plenty upon a
merchant in Wiesbaden, who would also supply me with a horse."
"Heinrich, there are many stars burning above us to-night, and I have
been watching them, but your star must be blazing the brightest of all.
Sit you down and rest until I return. Make no noise, for there are
twenty others asleep by the stream. My cloak is at the bottom of the
hill, and I must fetch it. I shall be with you shortly, so keep your
candle alight, that I may not miss you."
With that Roland returned rapidly down the slope, untying his bag of
money as he descended. Cautiously he fastened it to the belt of Greusel,
then, snatching his cloak from the ground, he sprang once more across
the stream, and climbed to the waiting Heinrich.
It was broad daylight before they saw the towers of Ehrenfels, and they
found little difficulty in rousing Heinrich's father, for he had slept
as badly that night as Roland himself.
The caretaker flung his arms around the young prisoner.
"Oh, thank God, thank God!" was all he could cry, and "Thank God!" again
he repeated. "Never before have I felt my head so insecure upon my
shoulders. Had you not been here when they came, Highness, their
Lordships would have listened to no explanation."
"Really you were in little danger with such a clever son. The
Archbishops would never have suspected that he was not I, for none of
the three has ever seen me. I am quite sure Heinrich would have effected
my signature excellently, and answered to their satisfaction all
questions they might ask. So long as he complied with their wishes,
there would be no inquiries set afoot, for none would suspect the
change. Indeed, custodian, you have missed the opportunity of your life
in not suppressing me, thus allowing your son to be elected Emperor."
"Your Highness forgets that my poor boy cannot write his own name, much
less yours. Besides, it would be a matter of high treason to forge your
signature, so again I thank God you are here. Indeed, your Highness, I
am in great trouble about my son."
"Oh, the danger is not so serious as you think."
"Tis not the danger, Highness. That it is his duty to face, but he takes
advantage of his position as prisoner. He knows I dare refuse him
nothing, and he calls for wine, wine, wine, spending his days in revelry
and his nights in stupor."
"You astonish me. Why not cudgel the nonsense out of him? Your arm is
strong enough."
"I dare not lay stick on him, and I beg you to breathe nothing of what I
have told you, for he holds us both in his grasp, and he knows it. If I
called for help to put him in a real dungeon, he would blurt out the
whole secret."
"In that case you must even make terms with him. 'Twill be for but a
very short time, and after that we will reform him. He was frightened
enough of my sword in the forest, and I shall make him dance to its
point once this crisis is over."
"I shall do the best I can, Highness. But you must have been on your way
to Ehrenfels. Had you heard aught of what is afoot?"
"Nothing. Twas mere chance that Heinrich and I met in the forest, and he
was within a jot of impinging himself upon my sword in his hurry. I
stood in the darkness, while he himself held a light for the better
convenience of any chance marauder who wished to undo him."
"Unarmed, and without money," said the custodian, "I thought he was
safer than otherwise. But you are surely hungry, Highness. Advance then
within, and I will see to your needs."
So presently the errant Prince consumed an excellent, if early
breakfast, and, without troubling to undress, flung himself upon a
couch, sleeping dreamlessly through the time that Greusel and Ebearhard
were conjuring up motives for him, of which he was entirely innocent.
When Roland woke in the afternoon, he had quite forgotten that a score
of men who, nominally, at least, acknowledged him master, were wondering
what had become of him. He called the custodian, and asked for a sight
of the parchments that his Lordship of Mayence had sent across the river
for his perusal. He found the documents to be a very carefully written
series of demands disguised under the form of requests.
The pledges which were asked of the young Prince were beautifully
engrossed on three parchments, each one a duplicate of the other two. If
Roland accepted them, they were to be signed next day, in presence of
the three Archbishops. Two certainties were impressed upon him when he
had read the scroll: first, the Archbishops were determined to rule; and
second, if he did not promise to obey they would elect some other than
himself Emperor on the death or deposition of his father. The young man
resolved to be acquiescent and allow the future to settle the question
whether he or the Archbishops should be the head of the Empire. A
strange exultation filled him at the prospect, and all thought of other
things vanished from his mind.
Leaving the parchments on the table in the knights' hall, where he had
examined them, he mounted to the battlements to enjoy the fresh breeze
that, no matter how warm the day, blows round the towers of Ehrenfels.
Here a stone promenade, hung high above the Rhine, gave a wonderful view
up and down the river and along the opposite shore. From this elevated,
paved plateau he could see down the river the strongholds of Rheinstein
and Falkenberg, and up the river almost as far as Mayence. He judged by
the altitude of the sun that it was about four o'clock in the afternoon.
The sight of Rheinstein should have suggested to him his deserted
company, for that was the first castle he intended to attack, but the
prospect opened up to him by the communication of the Archbishops had
driven everything else from his mind.
Presently the cautious custodian joined him in his eyrie, and Roland
knew instinctively why he had come. The old man was wondering whether or
not he would make difficulties about signing the parchments. He feared
the heedless impetuosity and conceit of youth; the natural dislike on
the part of a proud young prince to be restricted and bound down by his
elders, and the jailer could not conceal his gratification when the
prisoner informed him that of course he would comply with the desires of
the three prelates.
"You see," he continued, with a smile, "I must attach my signature to
those instruments in order to make good my promises to you."
He was interrupted by a cry of astonishment from his aged comrade.
"Will wonders never cease!" cried the old man. "Those merchants in
Frankfort must be irredeemable fools. Look you there, Highness! Do you
see that barge coming down the river, heavily laden, as I am a sinner,
for she lies low in the water. It is one of the largest of the Frankfort
boats, and those hopeful simpletons doubtless imagine they can make
their way through to Cologne with enough goods left to pay for the
journey. 'Tis madness! Why, the knights of Rheinstein and Falkenberg
alone will loot them before they are out of our sight. If they think to
avoid those rovers by hugging our shore, their mistake will be apparent
before they have gone far."
Roland gazed at the approaching craft, and instantly remembered that he
was responsible for its appearance on the Rhine. He recognized Herr
Goebel's great barge, with its thick mast in the prow, on which no sail
was hoisted because the wind blew upstream. On recollecting his deserted
men, he wondered whether or not Greusel had brought them across the
hills to Assmannshausen. Had they yet discovered that Joseph carried the
bag of gold? He laughed aloud as he thought of the scrimmage that would
ensue when this knowledge came to them. But little as he cared for the
eighteen, he experienced a pang of regret as he estimated the
predicament in which both Greusel and Ebearhard had stood on learning he
had left them without a word. Still, even now he could not see how any
explanation on his part was possible without revealing his identity, and
that he was determined not to do.
Turning round, he said abruptly to the custodian:
"Were the seven hundred thalers paid to you each month?"
"Of a surety," was the reply.
"That will be two thousand one hundred thalers altogether. Did you spend
the money?"
"I have not touched a single coin. That amount is yours, and yours
alone, Prince Roland. If I have been of service I am quite content to
wait for my reward, or should I not be here, I know you will remember my
family."
"May the Lord forget me if I don't. Still, the twenty-one hundred
thalers are all yours, remember, but I beg of you to lend me a thousand,
for I possess not a single gold piece in my bag. Indeed, if it comes to
that, I do not possess even a bag. I had two yesterday, but one I gave
away and the other I threw away."
The old man hurried down, and presently returned with the bag of money
that Roland had asked of him. Before this happened, however, Roland,
watching the barge, saw it round to, and tie up at the shore some
distance above Assmannshausen. He took the gold, and passed down the
stone stair to the courtyard.
"I shall return," he said, "before the sun sets," and without more ado,
this extraordinary captive left his prison, and descended the hill in
the direction of the barge.
After greeting Captain Blumenfels, he learned that the boat had been
delayed by running on a sandbank in the Main during the night, but they
had got it off at daybreak, and here they were. As, standing on the
shore, Roland talked with the captain on the barge, he saw approaching
from Assmannshausen two men whom he recognized. Telling the captain he
might not be ready for several days, he walked along the shore to meet
his astonished friends, who, as was usual with them, jumped at an
erroneous conclusion, and supposed that he arrived on the barge which
they had seen rounding to for the purpose of taking up her berth by the
river-bank.
Greusel and Ebearhard stood still until he came up to them.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Are you here alone, or have you brought the
mob with you?"
"Your capable lieutenant, sir," said Ebearhard, before his slower
companion could begin to frame a sentence, "allowed the men to think
they were having their own way, but in reality diverted them into his,
so they are now enjoying a credit of one liter each at the tavern of the
Golden Anker."
"That," said Roland, "is but as a drop of water in a parched desert.
Have they discovered you hold the money, Greusel?"
"No, not yet; but I fear they will begin to suspect by and by. I suppose
you went down the valley of the brook to the Rhine, and overhauled the
barge there?"
"I suppose so," said Roland. "What else did you think I could do?"
"I was sure you had done that, but I feared you would turn the barge
back to Frankfort."
"I never thought of such a thing. Indeed, the captain told me he met
difficulty enough navigating the shallow Main, and I think he prefers
the deeper Rhine. Of course, you know why I left you."
The men looked at each other without reply, and Roland laughed.
"I see you have been harboring dark suspicions, but the case is very
simple. The pious monks tell us that the Scriptures say if a man asks us
to go one league with him, we should go two. My good friends of the
guild last night made a most reasonable request, namely, that I should
bestow upon them three thalers each, and surely, to quote the monks
again, the laborer is worthy of his hire."
"Oh, that is the way you look upon it, then," said Greusel.
"From a scriptural point of view, yes; and I am going to better the
teachings of my young days by giving each of the men ten times the
amount he desired. Thirty thalers each are waiting in this bag for
them."
"By my sword!" cried Ebearhard, "if that isn't setting a premium on
mutiny it comes perilously close."
"Not so, Ebearhard; not so. You and Greusel did not mutiny, therefore to
each of you I give a hundred and thirty thalers, which is the thirty
thalers the mutineers receive, and a hundred thalers extra, as a reward
of virtue because you did not join them. After all, there is much to be
said for the men's point of view. I had led them ruthlessly under a
burning July sun, along a rough and shadeless road, then dragged them
away from the ample wine-vaults of Sonnenberg; next guided them on
through brambles, over streams, into bogs and out again; and lastly,
when they were dog-tired, hungry and ill-tempered, I carelessly pointed
to a section of the landscape, and said, 'There, my dear chaps, is your
bedroom'; lads who had never before slept without blankets and a roof.
No wonder they mutinied; but even then, by the love of God for His
creatures, they did not actually attack me when I stood up with drawn
sword in my hand."
"Of course you have that at least to be thankful for," said Ebearhard.
"Eighteen to one was foul odds."
"I be thankful! Surely you are dreaming, Ebearhard. Why should I be
thankful, except that I escaped the remorse for at least killing a dozen
of them!"
Ebearhard laughed heartily.
"Oh, if so sure of yourself as all that, you need no sympathy from me."
"You thought I would be outmatched? By the Three Kings! do you imagine
me such a fool as to teach you artisans the higher qualities of the
sword? There would have been a woeful surprise for the eighteen had they
ventured another step farther. However, that's all past and done with,
and we'll say no more about it. Let us sit down here on the sward, and
indulge in the more agreeable recreation of counting money."
He spread his cloak on the grass, and poured out the gold upon it.
"I am keeping two hundred thalers for myself, as leader of the
expedition, and covetous. Here are your hundred and thirty thalers,
Greusel, and yours, Ebearhard. You will find remaining five hundred and
forty, which, if divided with reasonable accuracy, should afford thirty
thalers to each of our precious eighteen."
"Aren't you coming with us to Assmannshausen, that you may give this
money to the men yourself?" asked Greusel.
"No; that pleasure falls to my lieutenants, first and second. One may
divide the money while the other delivers the moral lecture against
mutiny, illustrated by the amount that good behavior gains. Say nothing
to the men about the barge being here, merely telling them to prepare
for action. Now that you are in funds, engage a large room, exclusively
for yourselves, at the Golden Anker. Thus you will be the better able to
keep the men from talking with strangers, and so prevent any news of our
intentions drifting across the river to Rheinstein or Falkenberg. You
might put it to them, should they object to the special room, that you
are reconstituting, as it were, the Kaiser cellar of Frankfort in the
village of Assmannshausen. Go forward, therefore, with your usual
meetings of the guild, as it was before I lowered its tone by becoming a
member. Knowing the lads as I do, I suggest that you make your bargain
with them before you deliver the money. No promise; no thirty thalers.
And now, good-by. I shall be exceedingly busy for some days arranging
for a further supply of money, so do not seek me out no matter what
happens."
With this Roland shook hands, and returned to Ehrenfels Castle.
* * * * *
The three sumptuous barges of the Archbishops hove in sight at midday,
two coming up the river and one floating down. They maneuvered to the
landing so that all reached it at the same time, and thus the three
Archbishops were enabled to set foot simultaneously on the firm ground,
as was right and proper, no one of them obtaining precedence over the
other two. On entering the Castle of Ehrenfels in state, they proceeded
to the large hall of the knights, and seated themselves in three equal
chairs that were set along the solid table. Here a repast was spread
before them, accompanied by the finest wine the Rheingau produced, and
although the grand prelates ate lustily, they were most sparing in their
drink, for when they acted in concert none dared risk putting himself at
a disadvantage with the others. They would make up for their abstinence
when each rested in the security of his own castle.
The board being cleared, Roland was summoned, and bowing deeply to each
of the three he took his place, modestly standing on the opposite side
of the table. The Archbishop of Mayence, as the oldest of the trio,
occupied the middle chair; Treves, the next in age, at his right hand,
and Cologne at his left. A keen observer might have noticed that the
deferential, yet dignified, bearing of the young Prince made a favorable
impression upon these rulers who, when they acted together, formed a
power that only nominally was second in the realm.
It was Mayence who broke the silence.
"Prince Roland, some months ago turbulence in the State rendered it
advisable that you, as a probable nominee to the throne, should be
withdrawn from the capital to the greater safety which this house
affords. I hope it has never been suggested to you that this unavoidable
detention merited the harsh name of imprisonment?"
"Never, your Lordships," said Roland, with perfect truth.
The three slightly inclined their heads, and Mayence continued:
"I trust that in the carrying out of our behests you have been put to no
inconvenience during your residence in my Castle of Ehrenfels, but if
you find cause for complaint I shall see to it that the transgressor is
sharply punished."
"My Lord, had such been the case I should at once have communicated with
your Lordship at Mayence. The fact that you have received no such
protest from me answers your question, but I should like to add emphasis
to this reply by saying I have met with the greatest courtesy and
kindness within these walls."
"I speak for my brothers and myself when I assert we are all gratified
to hear the expression that has fallen from your lips. There was sent
for your perusal a document in triplicate. Have you found time to read
it?"
"Yes, my Lord, and I beg to state at once that I will sign it with the
greater pleasure since in any case, if called to the high position you
propose, I should have consulted your Lordships on every matter that I
deemed important enough to be worthy of your attention, and in no
instance could I think of setting up my own opinion against the united
wisdom of your Lordships."
For a few minutes there ensued a whispered conversation among the three,
then Mayence spoke again:
"Once more I voice the sentiments of my colleagues, Prince Roland, when
I assure you that the words you have just spoken give us the utmost
satisfaction. In the whole world to-day there is no prouder honor than
that which it is in the Electors' power to bestow upon you, and it is a
blessed augury for the welfare of our country when the energy and
aspiration of youth in this high place associates itself with the
experience of age."
Here he made a signal, and the aged custodian, who had been standing
with his back against the door, well out of earshot, for the
conversation was carried on in the most subdued and gentle tones,
hurried forward, and Mayence requested him to produce the documents
entrusted to his care. These were spread out before the young man, who
signed each of them amidst a deep silence, broken only by the scratching
of the quill.
Up to this point Roland had been merely a Prince of the Empire; now, to
all practical purposes, he was heir-apparent to the throne. This
distinction was delicately indicated by Mayence, who asked the attendant
to bring forward a chair, and then requested the young man to seat
himself. Roland had supposed the ceremonies at an end, but it was soon
evident that something further remained, for the three venerable heads
were again in juxtaposition, and apparently there was some whispered
difference as to the manner of procedure. Then Cologne, as the youngest
of the three, was prevailed upon to act as spokesman, and with a smile
he regarded the young man before he began.
"I reside farther than my two colleagues from your fair, if turbulent,
city of Frankfort, and perhaps that is one reason why I know little of
the town and its ways from personal observation. You are a young man
who, I may say, has greatly commended himself to us all, and so in
whatever questions I may put, you will not, I hope, imagine that there
is anything underneath them which does not appear on the surface."
Roland drew a long breath, and some of the color left his face.
"What in the name of Heaven is coming now," he said to himself, "that
calls for so ominous a prelude? It must be something more than usually
serious. May the good Lord give me courage to face it!"
But outwardly he merely inclined his head.
"We have all been young ourselves, and I trust none of us forget the
temptations, and perhaps the dangers, that surround youth, especially
when highly placed. I am told that Frankfort is a gay city, and
doubtless you have mixed, to some extent at least, in its society." Here
the Archbishop paused, and, as he evidently expected a reply, Roland
spoke:
"I regret to say, my Lord, that my opportunities for social intercourse
have hitherto been somewhat limited. Greatly absorbed in study, there
has been little time for me to acquire companions, much less friends."
"What your Highness says, so far from being a drawback, as you seem to
imagine, is all to the good. It leaves the future clear of complications
that might otherwise cause you embarrassment." Here the Archbishop
smiled again, and Roland found himself liking the august prelate. "It
was not, however, of men that I desired to speak, but of women."
"Oh, is that all?" cried the impetuous youth. "I feared, my Lord, that
you were about to treat of some serious subject. So far as women are
concerned, I am unacquainted with any, excepting only my mother."
At this the three prelates smiled in differing degrees; even the stern
lips of Mayence relaxing at the young man's confident assumption that
consideration of women was not a matter of importance.
"Your Highness clears the ground admirably for me," continued Cologne,
"and takes a great weight from my mind, because I am entrusted by my
brethren with a proposal which I have found some difficulty in setting
forth. It is this. The choice of an Empress is one of the most momentous
questions that an Emperor is called upon to decide. In all except the
highest rank personal preference has much to do with the selection of a
wife, but in the case of a king do you agree with me that State
considerations must be kept in view?"
"Undoubtedly, my Lord."
"This is a matter to which we three Electors have given the weightiest
consideration, finally agreeing on one whom we believe to possess the
necessary qualifications; a lady highly born, deeply religious,
enormously wealthy, and exceedingly beautiful. She is related to the
most noble in the land. I refer to Hildegunde Lauretta Priscilla Agnes,
Countess of Sayn. If there is any reason why your preference should not
coincide with ours, I beg you quite frankly to state it."
"There is no reason at all, your Lordships," cried Roland, with a deep
sigh of relief on learning that his fears were so unfounded. "I shall be
most happy and honored to wed the lady at any time your Lordships and
she may select."
"Then," said the Archbishop of Mayence, rising to his feet and speaking
with great solemnity, "you are chosen as the future Emperor of our
land."
X
A CALAMITOUS CONFERENCE
The prelate and his ward were met at the doors of Stolzenfels by the
Archbishop of Treves in person, and the welcome they received left
nothing to be desired in point of cordiality. There were many servants,
male and female, about the Castle, but no show of armed men.
The Countess was conducted to a room whose outlook fascinated her. It
occupied one entire floor of a square tower, with windows facing the
four points of the compass, and from this height she could view the
Rhine up to the stern old Castle of Marksburg, and down past Coblentz to
her own realm of Sayn, where it bordered the river, although the
stronghold from which she ruled this domain was hidden by the hills
ending in Ehrenbreitstein.
When she descended on being called to _mittagessen_, she was introduced
to a sister of the Archbishop of Treves, a grave, elderly woman, and to
the Archbishop's niece, a lady about ten years older than Hildegunde.
Neither of these grand dames had much to say, and the conversation at
the meal rested chiefly with the two Archbishops. Indeed, had the
Countess but known it, her presence there was a great disappointment to
the two noblewomen, for the close relationship of the younger to the
Archbishop of Treves rendered it impossible that she should be offered
the honor about to be bestowed upon the younger and more beautiful
Countess von Sayn.
The Archbishop of Mayence, although a resident of the Castle, partook of
refreshment in the smallest room of the suite reserved for him, where he
was waited upon by his own servants and catered for by his own cook.
When the great Rhine salmon, smoking hot, was placed upon the table,
Cologne was generous in his praise of it, and related again, for the
information of his host and household, the story of the English Princess
who had partaken of a similar fish, doubtless in this same room. Despite
the historical bill of fare, and the mildly exhilarating qualities of
the excellent Oberweseler wine, whose delicate reddish color the
sentimental Archbishop compared to the blush on a bride's cheeks, the
social aspect of the midday refection was overshadowed by an almost
indefinable sense of impending danger. In the pseudogenial conversation
of the two Archbishops there was something forced: the attitude of the
elderly hostess was one of unrelieved gloom. After a few conventional
greetings to her young guest, she spoke no more during the meal. Her
daughter, who sat beside the Countess on the opposite side of the table
from his Lordship of Cologne, merely answered "Yes" or "No" to the
comments of the lady of Sayn praising the romantic situation of the
Castle, its unique qualities of architecture, and the splendid outlook
from its battlements, eulogies which began enthusiastically enough, but
finally faded away into silence, chilled by a reception so unfriendly.
Thus cast back upon her own thoughts, the girl grew more and more uneasy
as the peculiar features of the occasion became clearer in her own mind.
Here was her revered, beloved friend forcing hilarity which she knew he
could not feel, breaking bread and drinking wine with a colleague while
three thousand of his armed men peered down on the roof that sheltered
him, ready at a signal to pounce upon Stolzenfels like birds of prey,
capturing, and if necessary, slaying. She remembered the hearty cheers
that welcomed them on their arrival at Coblentz, yet every man who thus
boisterously greeted them, waving his bonnet in the air, was doubtless
an enemy. The very secrecy, the unknown nature of the danger, depressed
her more and more as she thought of it; the fierce soldiers hidden in
the forest, ready to leap up, burn and kill at an unknown sign from a
Prince of religion; the deadly weapons concealed in a Church of Christ:
all this grim reality of a Faith she held dear had never been hinted at
by the gentle nuns among whom she lived so happily for the greater part
of her life.
At last her somber hostess rose, and Hildegunde, with a sigh of relief,
followed her example. The Archbishop of Cologne gallantly held back the
curtain at the doorway, and bowed low when the three ladies passed
through. The silent hostess conducted her guest to a parlor on the same
floor as the dining-room; a parlor from which opened another door
connecting it with a small knights' hall; the _kleine Rittersaal_ in
which the Court of the Archbishops was to be held.
The Archbishop's sister did not enter the parlor, but here took formal
farewell of Countess von Sayn, who turned to the sole occupant of the
room, her kinsman and counselor, Father Ambrose.
"Were you not asked to dine with us?" she inquired.
"Yes; but I thought it better to refuse. First, in case the three
Archbishops might have something confidential to say to you; and second,
because at best I am poor company at a banquet."
"Indeed, you need not have been so thoughtful: first, as you say, there
were not three Archbishops present, but only two, and neither said
anything to me that all the world might not hear; second, the rest of
the company, the sister and the niece of Treves, were so doleful that
you would have proved a hilarious companion compared with them. Did my
guardian make any statement to you yesterday afternoon that revealed the
object of this coming Court?"
"None whatever. Our conversation related entirely to your estate and my
management of it. We spoke of crops, of cultivation, and of vineyards."
"You have no knowledge, then, of the reason why we are summoned hither?"
"On that subject, Hildegunde, I am as ignorant as you."
"I don't think I am wholly in the dark," murmured the Countess,
"although I know nothing definite."
"You surmise, in spite of your guardian's disclaimer, that the
discussion will pertain to your recovery of the town of Linz?"
"Perhaps; but not likely. Did you say anything of your journey to
Frankfort?"
"Not a word. I understood from you that no mention should be made of my
visit unless his Lordship asked questions proving he was aware of it, in
which case I was to tell the truth."
"You were quite right, Father. Did my guardian ask you to accompany us
to Stolzenfels?"
"Assuredly, or I should not have ventured."
"What reason did he give, and what instructions did he lay upon you?"
"He thought you should have by your side some one akin to you. His
instructions were that in no circumstances was I to offer any remark
upon the proceedings. Indeed, I am not allowed to speak unless in answer
to a question directly put to me, and then in the fewest possible
words."
Hildegunde ceased her cross-examination, and seated herself by a window
which gave a view of the steep mountain-side behind the Castle, where,
sheltered by the thick, dark forest, she knew that her guardian's men
lay in ambush. She shuddered slightly, wondering what was the meaning of
these preparations, and in the deep silence became aware of the
accelerated beating of her heart. She felt but little reassured by the
presence of her kinsman, whose lips moved without a murmur, and whose
grave eyes seemed fixed on futurity, meditating the mystery of the next
world, and completely oblivious to the realities of the earth he
inhabited.
She turned her troubled gaze once more to the green forest, and after a
long lapse of time the dual reveries were broken by the entrance of an
official gorgeously appareled. This functionary bowed low, and said with
great solemnity:
"Madam, the Court of my Lords the Archbishops awaits your presence."
* * * * *
The _kleine Rittersaal_ occupied a fine position on the river-side front
of Stolzenfels, its windows giving a view of the Rhine, with the strong
Castle of Lahneck over-hanging the mouth of the Lahn, and the more
ornamental Schloss Martinsburg at the upper end of Oberlahnstein. The
latter edifice, built by a former Elector of Mayence, was rarely
occupied by the present Archbishop, but, as he sat in the central chair
of the Court, he had the advantage of being able to look across the
river at his own house should it please him to do so.
The three Archbishops were standing behind the long table when the
Countess entered, thus acknowledging that she who came into their
presence, young and beautiful, was a very great lady by right of descent
and rank. She acknowledged their courtesy by a graceful inclination of
the head, and the three Princes of the Church responded each with a bow,
that of Mayence scarcely perceptible, that of Treves deferential and
courtly, that of Cologne with a friendly smile of encouragement.
In the center of the hall opposite the long table had been placed an
immense chair, taken from the grand _Rittersaal_, ornamented with gilded
carving, and covered in richly-colored Genoa velvet. It looked like a
throne, which indeed it was, used only on occasions when Royalty visited
the Castle. To this sumptuous seat the scarcely less gorgeous
functionary conducted the girl, and when she had taken her place, the
three Archbishops seated themselves. The glorified menial then bent
himself until his forehead nearly touched the floor, and silently
departed. Father Ambrose, his coarse, ill-cut clothes of somber color in
striking contrast to the richness of costume worn by the others, stood
humbly beside the chair that supported his kinswoman.
The Countess gave a quick glance at the Archbishop of Mayence, then
lowered her eyes. Cologne she had known all her life; Treves she had met
that day, and rather liked, although feeling she could not esteem him as
she did her guardian, but a thrill of fear followed her swift look at
the man in the center.
"A face of great strength," she said to herself, "but his thin, straight
lips, tightly compressed, seemed cruel, as well as determined." With a
flash of comprehension she understood now her guardian's warning not to
thwart him. It was easy to credit the acknowledged fact that this man
dominated the other two. Nevertheless, when he spoke his voice was
surprisingly mild.
"Madam," he said, "we are met here in an hour of grave anxiety. The
Emperor, who has been ill for some time, is now upon his death-bed, and
the physicians who attend him inform me that at any moment we may be
called upon to elect his successor. That successor has already been
chosen; chosen, I may add, in an informal manner, but his selection is
not likely to be canceled, unless by some act of his own which would
cause us to reconsider our decision. Our adoption was made very recently
in my castle of Ehrenfels, and we are come together again in the Castle
of my brother Treves, not in our sacred office as Archbishops, but in
our secular capacity as Electors of the Empire, to determine a matter
which we consider of almost equal importance. It is our privilege to
bestow upon you the highest honor that may be conferred on any woman in
the realm; the position of Empress.
"When you have signified your acceptance of this great elevation, I must
put to you several questions concerning your future duties to the State,
and these are embodied in a document which you will be asked to sign."
The Countess did not raise her eyes. While the Archbishop was speaking
the color flamed up in her cheeks, but faded away again, and her
guardian, who watched her very intently across the table, saw her face
become so pale that he feared she was about to faint. However, she
rallied, and at last looked up, not at her dark-browed questioner, but
at the Archbishop of Cologne.
"May I not know," she said, in a voice scarcely audible, "who is my
future husband?"
"Surely, surely," replied her guardian soothingly, "but the Elector of
Mayence is our spokesman here, and you must address your question to his
Lordship."
She now turned her frightened eyes upon Mayence, whose brow had become
slightly ruffled at this interruption, and whose lips were more firmly
closed. He sat there imperturbable, refusing the beseechment of her
eyes, and thus forced her to repeat her question, though to him it took
another form.
"My Lord, who is to be the next Emperor?"
"Countess von Sayn, I fear that in modifying my opening address to
accord with the comprehension of a girl but recently emerged from
convent life, I have led you into an error. The Court of Electors is not
convened for the purpose of securing your consent, but with the duty of
imposing upon you a command. It is not for you to ask questions, but to
answer them."
"You mean that I am to marry this unknown man, whether I will or no?"
"That is my meaning."
The girl sat back in her chair, and the moisture that had gathered in
her eyes disappeared as if licked up by the little flame that burned in
their depths.
"Very well," she said. "Ask your questions, and I will answer them."
"Before I put any question, I must have your consent to my first
proposition."
"That is quite unnecessary, my Lord. When you hear my answer to your
questions, you will very speedily withdraw your first proposition."
The Elector of Treves, who had been shifting uneasily in his chair, now
leaned forward, and spoke in an ingratiating manner.
"Countess, you are a neighbor of mine, although you live on the opposite
side of the river, and I am honored in receiving you as my guest. As
guest and neighbor, I appeal to you on our behalf: be assured that we
wish nothing but your very greatest good and happiness." The spark in
her eyes died down, and they beamed kindly on the courtier Elector. "You
see before you three old bachelors, quite unversed in the ways of women.
If anything that has been said offends you, pray overlook our default,
for I assure you, on behalf of my colleagues and myself, that any one of
us would bitterly regret uttering a single word to cause you
disquietude."
"My disquietude, my Lord, is caused by the refusal to utter the single
name I have asked for. Am I a peasant girl to be handed over to the hind
that makes the highest offer?"
"Not so. No such thought entered our minds. The name is, of course, a
secret at the present moment, and I quite appreciate the reluctance of
my Lord of Mayence to mention it, but I think in this instance an
exception may safely be made, and I now appeal to his Lordship to
enlighten the Countess."
Mayence answered indifferently:
"I do not agree with you, but we are here three Electors of equal power,
and two can always outvote one."
The Elector of Cologne smiled slightly; he had seen this comedy enacted
before, and never objected to it. The carrying of some unimportant point
in opposition to their chief always gave Treves a certain sense of
independence.
"My Lord of Cologne," said the latter, bending forward and addressing
the man at the other end of the table "do you not agree with me?"
"Certainly," replied Cologne, with some curtness.
"In that case," continued Treves, "I take it upon myself to announce to
you, Madam, that the young man chosen for our future ruler is Prince
Roland, only son of the dying Emperor."
The hands of the Countess nervously clutched the soft velvet on the arms
of her chair.
"I thank you," she said, addressing Treves, and speaking as calmly as
though she were Mayence himself. "May I ask you if this marriage was
proposed to the young man?"
Treves looked up nervously at the stern face of Mayence, who nodded to
him, as much as to say:
"You are doing well; go on."
"Yes," replied Treves.
"Was my name concealed from him?"
"No."
"Had he ever heard of me before?"
"Surely," replied the diplomatic Treves, "for the fame of the Countess
von Sayn has traveled farther than her modesty will admit."
"Did he agree?"
"Instantly; joyfully, it seemed to me."
"In any case, he has never seen me," continued the Countess. "Did he
make any inquiry, whether I was tall or short, old or young, rich or
poor, beautiful or ugly?"
"He seemed very well satisfied with our choice."
Treves had his elbows on the table, leaning forward with open palms
supporting his chin. He had spoken throughout in the most ingratiating
manner, his tones soft and honeyed. He was so evidently pleased with his
own diplomacy that even the eye of the stern Mayence twinkled
maliciously when the girl turned impulsively toward the other end of the
table, and cried:
"Guardian, tell me the truth! I know this young man accepted me as if I
were a sack of grain, his whole mind intent on one thing only: to secure
for himself the position of Emperor. Is it not so?"
"It is not so, Countess," said Cologne solemnly.
"Prince Roland, it is true, made no stipulation regarding you."
"I was sure of it. Any Gretchen in Germany would have done just as well.
I was merely part of the bargain he was compelled to make with you, and
now I announce to the Court that no power on earth will induce me to
marry Prince Roland. I claim the right of my womanhood to wed only the
man whom I love, and who loves me!"
Mayence gave utterance to an exclamation that might be coarsely
described as a snort of contempt. The Elector of Treves was leaning back
in his chair discomfited by her abrupt desertion of him. The Elector of
Cologne now leaned forward, dismayed at the turn affairs had taken, deep
anxiety visible on his brow.
"Countess von Sayn," he began, and thus his ward realized how deeply she
had offended, "in all my life I never met any young man who impressed me
so favorably as Prince Roland of Germany. If I possessed a daughter whom
I dearly loved, I could wish her no better fortune than to marry so
honest a youth as he. The very point you make against him should have
told most strongly in his favor with a young girl. My reading of his
character is that so far as concerns the love you spoke of, he knows as
little of it as yourself, and thus he agreed to our proposal with a
seeming indifference which you entirely misjudge. If you, then, have any
belief in my goodwill towards you, in my deep anxiety for your welfare
and happiness, I implore you to agree to the suggestion my Lord of
Mayence has made. You speak of love knowing nothing concerning it. I
call to your remembrance the fact that one noble lady of your race may
have foregone the happiness that love perhaps brings, in her desire for
the advancement of one whom she loved so truly that she chose for her
guide the more subdued but steadier star of duty. The case is presented
to you, my dear, in different form, and I feel assured that duty and
love will shine together."
As the venerable Archbishop spoke with such deep earnestness, in a voice
she loved so well, the girl buried her face in her hands, and he could
see the tears trickle between her fingers. A silence followed her
guardian's appeal, disturbed only by the agitated breathing of
Hildegunde.
The cold voice of the Elector of Mayence broke the stillness, like a
breath from a glazier:
"Do you consent, Madam?"
"Yes," gasped the girl, her shoulders quivering with emotion, but she
did not look up.
"I fear that the object of this convocation was like to be forgotten in
the gush of sentiment issuing from both sides of me. This is a business
meeting, and not a love-feast. Will you do me the courtesy, Madam, of
raising your head and answering my question?"
The girl dashed the tears from her eyes, and sat up straight, grasping
with nervous hands the arms of the throne, as if to steady herself
against the coming ordeal.
"I scarcely heard what you said. Do you consent to marry Prince Roland
of Germany?"
"I have consented," she replied firmly.
"Will you use your influence with him that he may carry out the behests
of the three Archbishops?"
"Yes, if the behests are for the good of the country."
"I cannot accept any qualifications, therefore I repeat my question.
Will you use your influence with him that he may carry out the behests
of the three Archbishops?"
"I can have no influence with such a man."
"Answer my question, Madam."
"Say yes, Hildegunde," pleaded Cologne.
She turned to him swimming eyes.
"Oh, Guardian, Guardian!" she cried, "I have done everything I can, and
all for you; all for you. I cannot stand any more. This is torture to
me. Let me go home, and another day when I am calmer I will answer your
questions!"
The perturbed Archbishop sat back again with a deep sigh. The ignorance
of women with which his colleague of Treves had credited all three was
being amazingly dispelled. He could not understand why this girl should
show such emotion at the thought of marrying the heir to the throne,
when assured the young man was all that any reasonable woman could
desire.
"Madam, I pray you give your attention to me," said the unimpassioned
voice of Mayence. "I have listened to your conversation with my
colleagues, and the patience I exhibited will, I hope, be credited to
me. This matter of business"--he emphasized the word--"must be settled
to-day, and to clear away all misapprehension, I desire to say that your
guardian has really no influence on this matter. It was settled before
you came into the room. You are merely allowed a choice of two outcomes:
first, marriage with Prince Roland; second, imprisonment in Pfalz
Castle, situated in the middle of the Rhine."
"What is that?" demanded the Countess.
"I am tired of repeating my statements."
"You would imprison me--me, a Countess of Sayn?"
Again the tears evaporated, and in their place came the smoldering fire
bequeathed to her by the Crusaders, and, if the truth must be known, by
Rhine robbers as well.
"Yes, Madam. A predecessor of mine once hanged one of your ancestors."
"It is not true," cried the girl, in blazing wrath. "'Twas the Emperor
Rudolph who hanged him; the same Emperor that chastised an Archbishop of
Mayence, and brought him, cringing, to his knees, begging for pardon,
which the Emperor contemptuously flung to him. You dare not imprison
me!"
"Refuse to marry Prince Roland, and learn," said the Archbishop very
quietly.
The girl sprang to her feet, a-quiver with anger.
"I do refuse! Prince Roland has hoodwinked the three of you! He is a
libertine and a brawler, consorting with the lowest in the cellars of
Frankfort; a liar and a thief, and not a brave thief at that, but a
cutthroat who holds his sword to the breast of an unarmed merchant while
he filches from him his gold. Added to that, a drunkard as his father
is; and, above all, a hypocrite, as his father is not, yet clever
enough, with all his vices, to cozen three men whose vile rule has
ruined Frankfort, and left the broad Rhine empty of its life-giving
commerce;" she waved her hand toward the vacant river.
The Archbishop of Cologne was the first to rise, horror-stricken.
"The girl is mad!" he murmured.
Treves rose also, but Mayence sat still, a sour smile on his lips, yet a
twinkle of admiration in his eyes.
"No, my poor Guardian, I am not mad," she cried, regarding him with a
smile, her wrath subsiding as quickly as it had risen. "What I say is
true, and it may be that our meeting, turbulent as it has been, will
prevent you from making a great mistake. He whom you would put on the
throne is not the man you think."
"My dear ward!" cried Cologne, "how can you make such accusations
against him? What should a girl living in seclusion as you live, know of
what is passing in Frankfort."
"It seems strange, Guardian, but it is true, nevertheless. Sit down
again, I beg of you, and you, my Lord of Treves. Even my Lord of Mayence
will, I think, comprehend my abhorrence when such a proposal was made to
me, and I hope, my Lord, you will forgive my outburst of anger just
now."
She heard the trembling Treves mutter:
"Mayence never forgives."
"Now, Father Ambrose, come forward."
"Why?" asked Ambrose, waking from his reverie.
"Tell them your experiences in Frankfort."
"I am not allowed to speak," objected the monk.
"Speak, speak!" cried Cologne. "What, sir, have you had to do with this
girl's misleading?"
"I thought," he said wistfully to his kinswoman, "that I was not to
mention my visit to Frankfort unless my Lord the Archbishop brought up
the subject."
"Have you not been listening to these proceedings?" cried the girl
impatiently. "The subject is brought up before three Archbishops,
instead of before one. Tell their Lordships what you know of Prince
Roland."
Father Ambrose, with a deep sigh, began his recital, to which Treves and
Cologne listened with ever-increasing amazement, while the sullen
Mayence sat back in his chair, face imperturbable, but the thin lips
closing firmer and firmer as the narrative went on.
When the monologue ended, his Reverence of Cologne was the first to
speak:
"In the name of Heaven, why did you not tell me all this yesterday?"
Father Ambrose looked helplessly at his kinswoman, but made no reply.
"I forbade him, my Lord," said the girl proudly, and for the first time
addressing him by a formal title, as if from now on he was to be
reckoned with her enemies. "I alone am responsible for the journey to
Frankfort and its consequences, whatever they may be. You invoked the
name of Heaven just now, my Lord, and I would have you know that I am
convinced Heaven itself intervened on my behalf to expose the real
character of Prince Roland, who has successfully deluded three men like
yourselves, supposed to be astute!"
The Archbishop turned upon her sorrowful eyes, troubled yet kindly.
"My dear Countess," he said, "I have not ventured to censure you;
nevertheless I am, or have been, your guardian, and should, I think,
have been consulted before you committed yourself to an action that
threatens disaster to our plans."
The girl replied, still with the hauteur so lately assumed:
"I do not dispute my wardship, and have more than once thanked you for
your care of me, but at this crisis of my life--a crisis transforming me
instantly from a girl to a woman--you fail me, seeing me here at bay. I
wished to spend a month or two at the capital city, but before troubling
you with such a request I determined to learn whether or not the state
of Frankfort was as disturbed as rumor alleged. Finding matters there to
be hopeless, the project of a visit was at once abandoned, and knowing
nothing of the honor about to be conferred on Prince Roland, I thought
it best to keep what had been discovered regarding his character a
secret between the Reverend Father and myself. I dare say an attempt
will be made to cast doubt on the Reverend Father's story, and perhaps
my three judges may convince themselves of its falseness, but they
cannot convince me, and I tell you finally and formally that no power on
earth will induce me to marry a marauder and a thief!"
This announcement effectually silenced the one friend she possessed
among the three. Mayence slowly turned his head, and looked upon the
colleague at his right, as much as to say, "Do you wish to add your
quota to this inconsequential talk?"
Treves, at this silent appeal, leaned forward, and spoke to the
perturbed monk, who knew that, in some way he did not quite understand,
affairs were drifting towards a catastrophe.
"Father Ambrose," began the Elector of Treves, "would you kindly tell us
the exact date when this encounter on the bridge took place?"
"Saint Cyrille's Day," replied Father Ambrose.
"And during the night of that day you were incarcerated in the cellar
among the wine-casks?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Would it surprise you to know, Father Ambrose, that during Saint
Cyrille's Day, and for many days previous to that date, Prince Roland
was a close prisoner in his Lordship of Mayence's strong Castle of
Ehrenfels, and that it was quite impossible for you to have met him in
Frankfort, or anywhere else?"
"Nevertheless, I did meet him," persisted Father Ambrose, with the quiet
obstinacy of a mild man.
Treves smiled.
"Where did you lodge in Frankfort, Father?"
"At the Benedictine Monastery in Sachsenhausen."
"Do the good brethren supply their guests with a potent wine? Frankfort
is, and always has been, the chief market of that exhilarating but
illusion-creating beverage."
The cheeks of the Countess flushed crimson at this insinuation on her
kinsman's sobriety. The old monk's hand rested on the arm of her throne,
and she placed her own hand upon his as if to encourage him to resent
the implied slander. After all, they were two Sayns hard pressed by
these ruthless potentates. But Ambrose answered mildly:
"It may be that the monastery contains wine, my Lord, and doubtless the
wine is good, but during my visit I did not taste it."
Cross-examination at an end, the Lord of Mayence spoke scarcely above a
whisper, a trace of weariness in his manner.
"My Lords," he said, "we have wandered from the subject. The romance by
Father Ambrose is but indifferently interesting, and nothing at all to
the point. Even a child may understand what has happened, for it is
merely a case of mistaken identity, and my sympathy goes out entirely
towards the unknown; a man who knew his own mind, and being naturally
indignant at an interference both persistent and uncalled for, quite
rightly immured the meddler among the casks, probably shrewd enough to
see that this practicer of temperance would not interfere with their
integrity.
"Madam, stand up!"
The Countess seemed inclined to disobey this curt order, but a
beseeching look from her now thoroughly frightened guardian changed her
intention, and she rose to her feet.
"Madam, the greatest honor which it is in the power of this Empire to
bestow upon a woman has been proffered to you, and rejected with
unnecessary heat. I beg therefore, to inform you, that in the judgment
of this Court you are considered unworthy of the exalted position which,
before knowing your true character, it was intended you should fill. The
various calumnies you have poured upon the innocent head of Prince
Roland amount in effect to high treason."
"Pardon, my Lord!" cried the Archbishop of Cologne, "your contention
will hold neither in law nor in fact. High treason is an offense that
can be committed only against the realm as a whole, or against its ruler
in person. Prince Roland is not yet Emperor of Germany, and however much
we may regret the language used in his disparagement, it has arisen
through a misunderstanding quite patent to us all. A good but dreamy man
made a mistake, which, however deplorable, has been put forward with a
sincerity that none of us can question; indeed, it was the intention of
Father Ambrose to keep his supposed knowledge a secret, and you both saw
with what evident reluctance he spoke when commanded to do so by my
colleague of Treves. Whatever justice there may be in disciplining
Father Ambrose, there is none at all for exaggerated censure upon my
lady, the Countess of Sayn, and before pronouncing a further censure I
beg your Lordship to take into consideration the circumstances of the
case, by which a young girl, without any previous warning or
preparation, is called upon suddenly to make the most momentous decision
of her life. I say it is to her ladyship's credit that she refused the
highest station in the land in the interests of what she supposes to be,
however erroneously, the cause of honesty, sobriety, and, I may add, of
Christianity; qualities for which we three men should stand."
"My Lord," objected Treves, "we meet here as temporal Princes, and not
as Archbishops of the Church."
"I know that, my brother of Treves, and my appeal is to the temporal
law. Prince Roland, despite his high lineage, is merely a citizen of the
Empire, and a subject of his Majesty, the Emperor. It is therefore
impossible that the crime of treason can be committed against him."
During this protest and discussion the Elector of Mayence had leaned
back again in his usual attitude of tired indifference; his keen eyes
almost closed. When he spoke he made no reference to what either of his
two confreres had said.
"Madam," he began, without raising his voice, "it is the sentence of
this Court that you shall be imprisoned during its pleasure in the
Castle of Pfalzgrafenstein, which stands on a rock in the middle of the
Rhine. Under the guardianship of the Pfalzgraf von Stableck, who will be
responsible for your safe keeping, I hope you will listen to the devout
counsel of his excellent wife to such effect that when next you are
privileged to meet a Court so highly constituted as this you may be
better instructed regarding the language with which it should be
addressed. You are permitted to take with you two waiting-women, chosen
by yourself from your own household, but all communication with the
outside world is forbidden. You said something to the effect that this
Court dared not pronounce such sentence against you, but if you
possessed that wisdom you so conspicuously lack, you might have surmised
that a power which ventured to imprison the future Emperor of this land
would not hesitate to place in durance a mere Countess von Sayn."
The Countess bowed her head slightly, and without protest sat down
again. The Elector of Cologne arose.
"My Lord, I raised a point of law which has been ignored."
"This is the proper time to raise it," replied Mayence, "and you shall
be instantly satisfied. This Court is competent to give its decision
upon any point of law. If my Lord of Treves agrees with me, your
objection is disallowed."
"I agree," said the Elector of Treves.
"My Lord of Cologne," said Mayence, turning towards the person
addressed, "the decision of the Court is against you."
Hildegunde was already learning a lesson. Although dazed by the verdict,
she could not but admire the quiet, conversational tone adopted by the
three men before her, as compared with her own late vehemence.
"The decision of the Court is not unexpected," said Cologne, "and I
regret that I am compelled to appeal."
"To whom will you appeal?" inquired Mayence mildly, "The Emperor, as you
know, is quite unfit for the transaction of public business, and even if
such were not the case, would hesitate to overturn a decision given by a
majority of this Court."
"I appeal," replied Cologne, "to a power that even Emperors must obey;
the power of physical force."
"You mean," said Mayence sadly, "to the three thousand men concealed in
the forest behind this house in which you are an honored guest?"
The Elector of Cologne was so taken aback by this almost whispered
remark that he was momentarily struck speechless. A sudden pallor swept
the usual ruddiness from his face. The Lord of Mayence gently inclined
his head as if awaiting an answer, and when it did not come, went on
impassively:
"I may inform you, my Lord, that my army occupies the capital city of
Frankfort, able and ready to quell any disturbance that may be caused by
the announcement of the Emperor's death, but there are still plenty of
seasoned troops ready to uphold the decisions of this Court. When your
spies scoured the country in the forests, and along the river almost to
the gates of my city of Mayence, they appeared to labor under the
illusion that I could move my soldiers only overland. Naturally, they
met no sign of such an incursion, because I had requisitioned a hundred
barges which I found empty in the river Main by Frankfort. These were
floated down the Main to Mayence, and there received their quota of a
hundred men each. The night being dark they came down the Rhine, it
seems, quite unobserved, and are now concealed in the mouth of the river
Lahn directly opposite this Castle.
"When my flag is hoisted on the staff of the main tower this flotilla
will be at the landing below us within half an hour. You doubtless have
made similar arrangements for bringing your three thousand down upon
Stolzenfels, but the gates of this Castle are now closed. Indeed,
Stolzenfels was put in condition to withstand a siege very shortly after
you and your ward entered it, and it is garrisoned by two hundred
fighting men, kindly provided at my suggestion by my brother of Treves.
I doubt if its capture is possible, even though you gave the signal,
which we will not allow. Of course, your plan of capturing Treves and
myself was a good one could it be carried out, for a man in jeopardy
will always compromise, and as I estimate you are in that position I
should be glad to know what arrangement you propose."
The Archbishop of Cologne did not reply, but stood with bent head and
frowning brow. It was the Countess von Sayn who, rising, spoke:
"My Lord Archbishop of Mayence," she said, "I could never forgive myself
if through action of mine a fatal struggle took place between my
countrymen. I have no desire to enact the part of Helen of Troy. I am
therefore ready and willing to be imprisoned, or to marry Prince Roland
of Frankfort, whichever alternative you command, so long as no
disadvantage comes to my friend, his Lordship of Cologne."
"Madam," said Mayence suavely, "there are not _now_ two alternatives, as
you suppose."
"In such case, your Highness, I betake myself instantly to Pfalz Castle,
and I ask that my guardian be allowed to escort me on the journey."
"Madam, your determination is approved, and your request granted, but,
as the business for which the three Electors were convened is not yet
accomplished, I request you to withdraw until such time as an agreement
has been arrived at. Father Ambrose is permitted to accompany you."
The gallant Elector of Treves sprang at once to his feet, pleading for
the privilege of conducting the Countess to the apartments of his sister
and her daughter. As the door to the ante-room opened the Elector of
Cologne, whose eyes followed his departing ward, did not fail to observe
that the lobby was thronged with armed men, and he realized now, if he
had not done so from Mayence's observation, how completely he was
trapped. Even had a hundred thousand of his soldiers stood in readiness
on the hills, it was impossible for him to give the signal bringing them
to his rescue.
A few minutes later the Elector of Treves returned, and took his place
at Mayence's right hand. The latter spoke as though the conference had
been unanimous and amiable.
"Now that we three are alone together, I think we shall discuss our
problems under a feeling of less apprehension if the small army in the
forest is bade God-speed on its way to Cologne. Such being the case," he
went on, turning to Cologne, "would you kindly write an order to that
effect to your commander. Inform him that we three Electors wish to
review your troops from the northern balcony, and bid them file past
from the hills to the river road. They are to cross the Moselle by the
old bridge, and so return to your city. You will perhaps pledge faith
that no signal will be made to your officers as they pass us. I make
this appeal with the greater confidence since you are well aware three
thousand men would but destroy themselves in any attempt to capture this
Castle, with an army of ten thousand on their flank to annihilate them.
Do you agree?"
"I agree," replied Cologne.
He wrote out the order required, and handed it to Mayence, who
scrutinized the document with some care before passing it on to Treves.
Mayence addressed Cologne in his blandest tones:
"Would you kindly instruct our colleague how to get that message safely
into the hands of your commander."
"If he will have it sent to the head of my small escort, ordering him to
take it directly up the hill behind this Castle until he comes to my
sentinels, whom he knows personally, they will allow him to pass
through, and deliver my written command to the officer in charge."
This being done, and Treves once more returned, Mayence said:
"I am sure we all realize that the Countess von Sayn, however admirable
in other respects, possesses an independent mind and a determined will
rendering her quite unsuited for the station we intended her to occupy.
I think her guardian must be convinced now, even though he had little
suspicion of it before, that this lady would not easily be influenced by
any considerations we might place before her. The regrettable incidents
of this conference have probably instilled into her mind a certain
prejudice against us."
Here, for the first time, the Elector of Cologne laughed.
"It is highly probable, my Lord," he said, "and, indeed, your moderate
way of putting the case is unanswerable. Her ladyship as an Empress
under our influence is out of the question. I therefore make a proposal
with some confidence, quite certain it will please you both. I venture
to nominate for the position of Empress that very demure and silent lady
who is niece of my brother the Elector of Treves."
Treves strangled a gasp in its birth, but could not suppress the light
of ambition that suddenly leaped into his eyes. The elevation of his
widowed sister's child to the Imperial throne was an advantage so
tremendous, and came about so unexpectedly, that for the moment his slow
brain was numbed by the glorious prospect. It seemed incredible that
Cologne had actually put forward such a proposition.
The eyes of Mayence veiled themselves almost to shutting point, but in
no other manner did emotion show. Like a flash his alert mind saw the
full purport of the bombshell Cologne had so carelessly tossed between
himself and his henchman. Cologne, having lost everything, had now
proved clever enough to set by the ears those who overruled him by their
united vote. If this girl were made Empress she would be entirely under
the influence of her uncle, of whose household she had been a pliant
member ever since childhood. Yet what was Mayence to do? Should he
object to the nomination, he would at once obliterate the unswerving
loyalty of Treves, and if this happened, Treves and Cologne, joining,
would outvote him, and his objection would prove futile. He would enrage
Treves without carrying his own point, and he knew that he held his
position only because of the dog-like fidelity of the weaker man. Slow
anger rose in his heart as he pictured the conditions of the future.
Whatever influence he sought to exert upon the Emperor by the indirect
assistance of the Empress, must be got at through the complacency of
Treves, who would gradually come to appreciate his own increased
importance.
All this passed through the mind of Mayence, and his decision had been
arrived at before Treves recovered his composure.
"It gives me great pleasure," said the Elector of Mayence, firmly
suppressing the malignancy of his glance towards the man seated on his
left,--"it gives me very great pleasure indeed to second so admirable a
nomination, the more so that I am thus permitted to offer my
congratulations to an esteemed colleague and a valued friend. My Lord of
Treves, I trust that you will make this nomination unanimous, for, to my
delight, his Lordship of Cologne anticipated, by a few moments the
proposal I was about to submit to you."
"My Lord," stammered Treves, finding his voice with difficulty,
"I--I--of course will agree to whatever the Court decides. I--I thank
you, my Lord, and you too, my brother of Cologne."
"Then," cried Mayence, almost joyfully, "the task for which we are
convened is accomplished, and I declare this Court adjourned."
He rose from his chair. The overjoyed Prince at his right took no
thought of the fact that their chairman had not called upon the lady
that she might receive the decision of the conclave and answer the
questions to be put to her, but Cologne perceived the omission, and knew
that from that moment Mayence would set his subtility at work to nullify
the nomination. Even though his bombshell had not exploded, and the two
other Electors were apparently greater friends than ever, Cologne had
achieved his immediate object, and was satisfied.
Through the open windows came the sound of the steady tramping of
disciplined men, and the metallic clash of armor and arms in transit.
"Ah, now," cried Mayence, "we will enjoy the advantage of reviewing the
brave troops of Cologne. Lead the way, my Lord of Treves. You know the
Castle better than we do."
The proud Treves, treading on air, guided his guests to the northern
balcony.
XI
GOLD GALORE THAT TAKES TO ITSELF WINGS
In the thick darkness Roland paced up and down the east bank of the
Rhine at a spot nearly midway between Assmannshausen and Ehrenfels. The
night was intensely silent, its stillness merely accentuated by the
gentle ripple of the water current against the barge's blunt nose, which
pointed upstream. Standing motionless as a statue, the massive figure of
Captain Blumenfels appeared in deeper blackness against the inky hills
on the other side of the Rhine. Long sweeps lay parallel to the bulwarks
of the barge, and stalwart men were at their posts, waiting the word of
command to handle these exaggerated oars, in defiance of wind and tide.
On this occasion, however, the tide only would be against them, for the
strong southern breeze was wholly favorable. Their voyage that night
would be short, but strenuous; merely crossing the river, and tying up
against the opposite bank; but the Rhine swirled powerfully round the
rock of Ehrenfels above them, and the men at the sweeps must pull
vigorously if they were not to be carried down into premature danger.
Roland, who when they left Frankfort was in point of time the youngest
member of the guild, now seemed, if one could distinguish him through
the gloom of the night, to have become years older, and there was an
added dignity in his bearing, for, although now but a potential
freebooter, he had received assurance that he would be eventually
elected Emperor.
He had sent word that morning to Greusel at the Golden Anker, bidding
him get together his men, and lead them up to the barge not later than
an hour before the moon rose, for Roland was anxious to reach the other
side of the Rhine unseen from either shore. He cautioned Greusel to make
his march a silent one, and this order Joseph at first found some
difficulty in carrying out, but in any case he need have entertained no
fear. The strong red wine of Assmannshausen is a potent liquid, and the
inhabitants of the town were accustomed to song and laughter on the one
street of the place at all hours of the night.
When they arrived, the men were quiet enough, and speedily stowed
themselves away in their quarters at the stern of the barge, whereupon
Roland, the last to spring aboard, waved his hand at the captain to cast
off. The nose of the boat was shoved away from land, and then the
powerful sweeps dipped into the water. Slowly but surely she made her
way across the river; silent and invisible from either bank. The
current, however, swept them down opposite the twinkling lights of
Assmannshausen, after which, in the more tranquil waters of the western
shore, they rowed steadily upstream for about half a league, and then,
with ropes tied round trees growing at the water's edge, laid up for the
remainder of the night.
Roland now counseled his company to enjoy what sleep was possible, as
they would be roused at the first glint of daybreak; so, with great
good-nature, each man wrapped himself up in his cloak and lay down on
the cabin floor.
When the eastern sky became gray, the slumberers were awakened, and a
ration of bread and wine served to each. The captain already had
received his instructions, and the men discarding their cloaks, followed
their leader into the still gloomy forest. Here, with as little noise as
might be, they climbed the steep wooded hill, and arriving at something
almost like a path, a hundred yards up from the river, they turned to
the right, and so marched, no man speaking above a whisper.
The forest became lighter and lighter, and at last Roland, holding up
his hand to sign caution, turned to the left from the path, and farther
up into the unbroken forest. They had traversed perhaps a league when
another silent order brought them to a standstill, and peering through
the trees to the east, the men caught glimpses of the grand, gray
battlements of that famous stronghold, Rheinstein, seeing at the corner
nearest them a square tower, next a machicolated curtain of wall, and a
larger square tower almost as high as the first hanging over the
precipice that descended to the Rhine. Inside this impregnable enclosure
rose the great bulk of the Castle itself, and near at hand the massive
square keep, with an octagonal turret on the southeast corner, the top
of which was the highest point of the stronghold, although a round tower
rising directly over the Rhine was not much lower.
Roland, advancing through the trees, but motioning his men to remain
where they were, peered across to the battlements and down at the
entrance gate.
Baron von Hohenfels sat so secure in his elevated robber's nest, which
he deemed invincible--and, indeed, the cliff on which it stood, nearly a
hundred yards high, made it so if approached from the Rhine--that he
kept only one man on watch, and this sentinel was stationed on the
elevated platform of the round tower. Roland saw him yawn wearily as he
leaned against his tall lance, and was glad to learn that even one man
kept guard, for at first he feared that all within the Castle were
asleep, the round tower, until Roland had shifted his position to the
north, being blotted out by the nearer square donjon keep. Now
satisfied, he signaled his men to sit down, which they did. He himself
took up a position behind a tree, where, unseen, he could watch the man
with the lance.
So indolent was the sentry that Roland began to fear the barge would
pass by unnoticed. Not for months had any sailing craft appeared on the
river, and doubtless the warden regarded his office as both useless and
wearisome. Brighter and brighter became the eastern sky, and at last a
tinge of red appeared above the hills across the silent Rhine. Suddenly
the guardian straightened up, then, shading his eyes with his right
hand, he leaned over the battlements, peering to the south. A moment
later the stillness was rent by a lusty shout, and the man disappeared
as if he had fallen through a trap-door. Presently the notes of a bugle
echoed within the walls, followed by clashes of armor and the buzzing
sound of men, as though a wasp's nest had been disturbed. Half a dozen
came into sight on top of the various towers and battlements, glanced at
the river, and vanished as hastily as the sentinel had done.
At last the gates came ponderously open, and the first three men to
emerge were on horseback, one of them hastily getting into an outer
garment, but the well-trained horses, who knew their business quite as
thoroughly as their riders, for they were accustomed to plunge into the
river if any barge disobeyed the order commanding it to halt, turned
from the gate, and dashed down the steep road that descended through the
forest. The men-at-arms poured forth with sword or pike, and in turn
went out of sight. They appeared to be leaderless, dashing forward in no
particular formation, yet, like the horses, they knew their business.
All this turmoil was not without its effect on Roland's following, who
edged forward on hands and knees to discover what was going on, everyone
breathless with excitement; but they saw their leader cool and
motionless, counting on his fingers the number of men who passed out,
for he knew exactly how many fighters the Castle contained.
"Not yet, not yet!" he whispered.
Finally three lordly individuals strode out; officers their more
resplendent clothing indicated them to be, and the trio followed the
others.
"Ha!" cried Roland, "old Baron Hugo drank too deeply last night to be so
early astir."
He was speaking aloud now.
"Take warning from that, my lads, and never allow wine to interfere with
business. Follow me, but cautiously, one after the other in single file,
and look to your footing. 'Tis perilous steep between here and the
gate;" and, indeed, so they found it, but all reached the level
forecourt in safety, and so through the open portal.
"Close and bar those gates," was the next command, instantly obeyed.
Down the stone steps of the Castle, puffing and grunting, came a
gigantic, obese individual, his face bloated with excess, his eyes
bleary with the lees of too much wine. He was struggling into his
doublet, assisted by a terrified old valet, and was swearing most
deplorably. Seeing the crowd at the gate, and half-blindly mistaking
them for his own men, he roared:
"What do you there, you hounds? To the river, every man of you, and
curse your leprous, indolent souls! Why in the fiend's name--" But here
he came to an abrupt stop on the lowest step, the sting of a sword's
point at his throat, and now, out of breath, his purple face became
mottled.
"Good morning to you, Baron Hugo von Hohenfels. These men whom you
address so coarsely obey no orders but mine."
"And who, imp of Satan, are you?" sputtered the old man.
"By profession a hangman. From our fastnesses in the hills, seeing a
barge float down the river, we thought it likely you would leave the
Castle undefended, and so came in to execute the Prince of Robbers."
The Baron was quaking like a huge jelly. It was evident that, although
noted for his cruelty, he was at heart a coward.
"You--you--you--" he stammered, "are outlaws! You are outlaws from the
Hunsruck."
"How clever of you, Baron, to recognize us at once. Now you know what to
expect. Greusel, unwind the rope I gave you last night. I will show you
its purpose."
Greusel did as he was requested without comment, but Ebearhard
approached closely to his chief, and whispered:
"Why resort to violence? We have no quarrel with this elephant. 'Tis his
gold we want, and to hang him is a waste of time."
"Hush, Ebearhard," commanded Roland sternly. "The greater includes the
less. I know this man, and am taking the quickest way to his
treasure-house."
Ebearhard fell back, but by this time the useful Greusel had made a loop
of the rope, and threw it like a cravat around the Baron's neck.
"No, no, no!" cried the frightened nobleman. "'Tis not my life you seek.
That is of no use to such as you; and, besides, I have never harmed the
outlaws."
"That is a lie," said Roland. "You sent an expedition against us just a
year ago."
"'Twas not I," protested Hohenfels, "but the pirate of Falkenberg.
Still, no matter. I'll buy my life from you. I am a wealthy man."
"How much?" asked Roland, hesitating.
"More than all of you can carry away."
"In gold?"
"Of a surety in gold."
"Where are the keys of your treasury?"
"In my chamber. I will bring them to you," and the Baron turned to mount
the steps again.
"Not so," cried Roland. "Stand where you are, and send your man for
them. If they are not here before I count twoscore, you hang, and
nothing will save you."
The Baron told the trembling valet where to find the keys.
"Greusel, you and Ebearhard accompany him, and at the first sign of
treachery, or any attempt to give an alarm, run him through with your
swords. Does your man know where the treasury is?" he continued to the
Baron.
"Oh, yes, yes!"
"How is your gold bestowed?"
"In leathern bags."
"Good. Greusel, take sixteen of the men, and bring down into the
courtyard all the gold you can carry. Then we will estimate whether or
not it is sufficient to buy the Baron's life, for I hold him in high
esteem. He is a valuable man. See to it that there is no delay, Greusel,
and never lose sight of this valet. Bring him back, laden with gold."
They all disappeared within the Castle, led by the old servitor.
"Sit you down, Baron," said Roland genially. "You seem agitated, for
which there is no cause should there prove to be gold enough to outweigh
you."
The ponderous noble seated himself with a weary sigh.
"And pray to the good Lord above us," went on Roland, "that your men may
not return before this transaction is completed, for if they do, my
first duty will be to strangle you. Even gold will not save you in that
case. But still, you have another chance for your life, should such an
untoward event take place. Shout to them through the closed gates that
they must return to the edge of the river until you join them; then, if
they obey, you are spared. Remember, I beg of you, the uselessness of an
outcry, for we are in possession of Rheinstein, and you know that the
Castle is unassailable from without."
The Baron groaned.
"Do not be hasty with your cord," he said dejectedly. "I will follow
your command."
The robbers, however, did not return, but the treasure-searchers did,
piling the bags in the courtyard, and again Hohenfels groaned dismally
at the sight. Roland indicated certain sacks with the point of his
sword, ordering them to be opened. Each was full of gold.
"Now, my lads," he cried, "oblige the Baron by burdening yourselves with
this weight of metal, then we shall make for the Hunsruck. Open the
gates. Lead the men to the point where we halted, Greusel, and there
await me."
The rich company departed, and Roland beguiled the time and the
weariness of the Baron by a light and interesting conversation to which
there was neither reply nor interruption. At last, having allowed time
for his band to reach their former halting-place, he took the rope from
the Baron's neck, tied the old robber's hands behind him, then bound his
feet, cutting the rope in lengths with his sword. He served the
trembling valet in the same way, shutting him up within the Castle, and
locking the door with the largest key in the bunch, which bunch he threw
down beside his lordship.
"Baron von Hohenfels," he said, "I have kept my word with you, and now
bid farewell. I leave you out-of-doors, because you seem rather scant of
breath, for which complaint fresh air is beneficial. Adieu, my lord
Baron."
The Baron said nothing as Roland, with a sweep of his bonnet, took leave
of him, climbed the steep path and joined his waiting men. He led them
along the hillside, through the forest for some distance, then descended
to the water's edge. The river was blank, so they all sat down under the
trees out of sight, leaving one man on watch. Here Roland spent a very
anxious half-hour, mitigated by the knowledge that the men of Rheinstein
were little versed in woodcraft, and so might not be able to trace the
fugitives. It was likely they would make a dash in quite the opposite
direction, towards the Hunsruck, because Hohenfels believed they were
outlaws from that district, and did not in any way associate them with
the plundered barge.
But if the robbers of Rheinstein took a fancy to sink the barge, an act
only too frequently committed, then were Roland and his company in a
quandary, without food, or means of crossing the river. However, he was
sure that Captain Blumenfels would follow his instructions, which were
to offer no resistance, but rather to assist the looters in their
exactions.
"Within a league," said Roland to his men, "stand three pirate castles:
Rheinstein, which we have just left; Falkenberg, but a short distance
below, and then Sonneck. If nothing happens to the barge, I expect to
finish with all three before nightfall; for, the strongholds being so
close together, we must work rapidly, and not allow news of our doings
to leap in advance of us."
"But suppose," said Kurzbold, "that Hohenfels' men hold the barge at the
landing for their own use?"
"We will wait here for another half-hour," replied Roland, "and then, if
we see nothing of the boat, proceed along the water's edge until we
learn what has become of her. I do not think the thieves will interfere
with the barge, as they have not been angered either by disobedience of
their orders to land, or resistance after the barge is by the shore.
Besides, I count on the fact that the officers, at least, will be
anxious to let the barge proceed, hoping other laden boats may follow,
and, indeed, I think for this reason they will be much more moderate in
their looting than we have been."
Before he had finished speaking, the man on watch by the water announced
the barge in sight, floating down with the current. At this they all
emerged from the forest. Captain Blumenfels, carefully scanning the
shore, saw them at once, and turned the boat's head towards the spot
where they stood.
The bags of gold were bolted away in the stout lockers extending on each
side of the cabin. While this was being done, Roland gave minute
instructions to the captain regarding the next item in the programme,
and once more entered the forest with his men.
The task before them was more difficult than the spoiling of Rheinstein,
because the huge bulk of Falkenberg stood on a summit of treeless rock;
the Castle itself, a gigantic, oblong gray mass, with a slender square
campanile some distance from it, rising high above its battlements on
the slope that went down towards the Rhine, forming thus an excellent
watch-tower. But although the conical hill of rock was bare of the large
trees that surrounded Rheinstein, there were plenty of bowlders and
shrubbery behind which cover could be sought. On this occasion the
marauding guild could not secure a position on a level with the
battlements of the Castle, as had been the case behind Rheinstein, and,
furthermore, they were compelled to make their dash for the gate up-hill.
But these disadvantages were counterbalanced by the fact that Falkenberg
was situated much higher than Rheinstein, and was farther away from the
river, so that when the garrison descended to the water's edge it could
not return as speedily as was the case with Hohenfels' men. Rheinstein
stood directly over the water, and only two hundred and sixty feet above
it, while, comparatively speaking, Falkenberg was back in the country.
Still all these castles had been so long unmolested, and considered
themselves so secure, that adequate watching had fallen into abeyance,
and at Falkenberg guard was kept by one lone man on the tall campanile.
The attacking party saw no one on the battlements of the Castle, so
worked their way round the hill until the man on the tower was hidden
from them by the bulk of the Castle itself, and thus they crawled like
lizards from bush to bush, from stone to stone, and from rock-ledge to
rock-ledge, taking their time, and not deserting one position of
obscurity until another was decided upon. The fact that the watchman was
upon the Rhine side of the Castle greatly favored a stealthy approach
from any landward point.
At last the alarm was given; the gate opened, and, as it proved, every
man in the Castle went headlong down the hill. The amateur cracksmen
therefore had everything their own way, and while this at first seemed
an advantage, they speedily found it the reverse, for although they
wandered from room to room, the treasure could not be discovered. The
interior of Falkenberg was unknown to Roland, this being one of the
strongholds where he had been compelled to sleep in an outhouse. At last
they found the door to the treasure-chamber, for Roland suggested it was
probably in a similar position to that at Rheinstein, and those who had
accompanied Hohenfels' valet made search according to this hint, and
were rewarded by coming upon a door so stoutly locked that all their
efforts to force it open were fruitless.
Deeply disappointed, with a number of the men grumbling savagely, they
were compelled to withdraw empty handed, warned by approaching shouts
that the garrison was returning, so the men crawled away as they had
come, and made for the river, where on this occasion the boat already
awaited them.
The lord of Falkenberg proved as moderate in his exactions as the men of
Rheinstein. Many bales had been cut open, and the thieves, with the
knowledge of cloth-weavers, selected in every case only the best goods,
but of these had taken merely enough for one costume each.
Although the company had made so early a beginning, it was past noon by
the time they reached the barge on the second occasion. A substantial
meal was served, for every man was ravenously hungry, besides being
disgusted to learn that there were ups and downs even in there were ups
and downs even in the trade of thievery.
Early in the afternoon they made for the delicate Castle of Sonneck,
whose slender turrets stood out beautifully against the blue sky. Here
excellent cover was found within sight of the doorway, for Sonneck stood
alone on its rock without the protection of a wall.
In this case the experience of Rheinstein was repeated, with the
exception that it was not the master of the Castle they encountered, but
a frightened warder, who, with a sharp sword to influence him, produced
keys and opened the treasury. Not nearly so large a haul of gold was
made as in the first instance, yet enough was obtained to constitute a
most lucrative day's work, and with this they sought the barge in high
spirits.
They waited in the shadow of the hills until dusk, then quietly made
their way across the river behind the shelter of the two islands, and so
came to rest alongside the bank, just above the busy town of Lorch,
scarcely two leagues down the river from the berth they had occupied the
night before. After the barge was tied up, Roland walked on deck with
the captain, listening to his account of events from the level of the
river surface. It proved that, all in all, Roland could suggest no
amendment of the day's proceedings. So far as Blumenfels was concerned,
everything had gone without a hitch.
As they promenaded thus, one of the men came forward, and said, rather
cavalierly:
"Commander, your comrades wish to see you in the cabin."
Roland made no reply, but continued his conversation with the captain
until he learned from that somewhat reticent individual all he wished to
know. Then he walked leisurely aft, and descended into the cabin, where
he found the eighteen seated on the lockers, as if the conclave were a
deliberate body like the Electors, who had come to some momentous
decision.
"We have unanimously passed a resolution," said Kurzbold, "that the
money shall be divided equally amongst us each evening. You do not
object, I suppose?"
"No; I don't object to your passing a resolution."
"Very good. We do not wish to waste time just now in the division,
because we are going to Lorch, intending to celebrate our success with a
banquet. Would Greusel, Ebearhard, and yourself care to join us?"
"I cannot speak for the other two," returned Roland quietly; "but
personally I shall be unable to attend, as there are some plans for the
future which need thinking over."
"In that case we shall not expect you," went on Kurzbold, who seemed in
no way grieved at the loss of his commander's company.
"Perhaps," suggested John Gensbein, "our chief will drop in upon us
later in the evening. We learned at Assmannshausen that the Krone is a
very excellent tavern, so we shall sup there."
"How did you know we were to stop at Lorch?" asked Roland, wondering if
in any way they had heard he was to meet Goebel's emissary in this
village.
"We were not sure," replied Gensbein, "but we made inquiries concerning
all the villages and castles down the Rhine, and have taken notes."
"Ah, in that case you are well qualified as a guide. I may find occasion
to use the knowledge thus acquired."
"We are all equally involved in this expedition," said Kurzbold
impatiently, "and you must not imagine yourself the only person to be
considered. But we lose time. What we wish at the present moment is that
you will unlock one of these chests, and divide amongst us a bag of
gold. The rest is to be partitioned when we return this evening; and
after that, Herr Roland, we shall not need to trouble you by asking for
more money."
"Are the thirty thalers I gave you the other day all spent, Herr
Kurzbold?"
"No matter for that," replied this insubordinate ex-president. "The
money in the lockers is ours, and we demand a portion of it now, with
the remainder after the banquet."
Without another word, Roland took the bunch of keys from his belt,
opened one of the lockers, lifted out a bag of gold, untied the thongs,
and poured out the coins on the lid of the chest, which he locked again.
"There is the money," he said to Kurzbold. "I shall send Greusel and
Ebearhard to share in its distribution, and thus you can invite them to
your banquet. My own portion you may leave on the lid of the locker."
With that he departed up on deck again, and said to his officers:
"Kurzbold, on behalf of the men, has demanded a bag of gold. You will go
to the cabin and receive your share. They will also invite you to a
banquet at the Krone. Accept that invitation, and if possible engage a
private room, as you did at Assmannshausen, to prevent the men talking
with any of the inhabitants. Keep them roystering there until all the
village has gone to bed; then convoy them back to the barge as quietly
as you can. A resolution has been passed that the money is to be divided
amongst our warriors on their return, but I imagine that they will be in
no condition to act as accountants when I have the pleasure of beholding
them again, so if anything is said about the apportionment, suggest a
postponement of the ceremony until morning. I need not add that I expect
you both to drink sparingly, for this is advice I intend to follow
myself."
Roland paced the deck deep in thought until his difficult contingent
departed towards the twinkling lights of the village, then he went to
the cabin, poured his share of the gold into his pouch, and followed the
company at a distance into Lorch. He avoided the Krone, and after
inquiring his way, stopped at the much smaller hostelry, Mergler's Inn.
Here he gave his name, and asking if any one waited for him, was
conducted upstairs to a room where he found Herr Kruger just about to
sit down to his supper. A stout lad nearing twenty years of age stood in
the middle of the room, and from his appearance Roland did not need the
elder man's word for it that this was his son.
"I took the precaution of bringing him with me," said Kruger, "as I
thought two horsemen were better than one in the business I had
undertaken."
"You were quite right," returned Roland, "and I congratulate you upon so
stalwart a traveling companion. With your permission I shall order a
meal, and sup with you, thus we may save time by talking while we eat,
because you will need to depart as speedily as possible."
"You mean in the darkness? To-night?"
"Yes; as soon as you can get away. There are urgent reasons why you
should be on the road without delay. How came you here?"
"On horseback; first down the Main, then along the Rhine."
"Very well. In the darkness you will return by the way you came, but
only as far as the Castle of Ehrenfels, three leagues from here. There
you are to rouse up the custodian, and in safety spend the remainder of
the night. To-morrow morning he will furnish you a guide to conduct you
through the forest to Wiesbaden, and from thence you know your way to
Frankfort, which you should reach not later than evening."
At this point the landlord, who had been summoned, came in.
"I will dine with my friends here," said Roland. "I suppose I need not
ask if you possess some of the good red wine of Lorch, which they tell
me equals that of Assmannshausen?"
"Of the very best, mein Herr, the product of my own vineyard, and I can
therefore guarantee it sound. As for equaling that of Assmannshausen, we
have always considered it superior, and, indeed, many other good judges
agree with us."
"Then bring me a stoup of it, and you will be enabled to add my opinion
to that of the others."
When the landlord produced the wine, Roland raised it to his lips, and
absorbed a hearty draught.
"This is indeed most excellent, landlord, and does credit alike to your
vines and your inn. I wish to send two large casks of so fine a wine to
a merchant of my acquaintance in Frankfort, and my friend, Herr Kruger,
has promised to convey it thither. If you can spare me two casks of such
excellent vintage, they will make an evenly balanced burden for the
horse."
"Surely, mein Herr."
"Choose two of those long casks, landlord, with bung-holes of the
largest at the sides. Do you possess such a thing as a pack-saddle?"
"Oh, yes."
"And you, my young friend," he said, turning to Kruger's son, "rode here
on a saddle?"
"No" interjected his father; "I ride a saddle, but my son was forced to
content himself with a length of Herr Goebel's coarse cloth, folded four
times, and strapped to the horse's back."
"Then the cloth may still be used as a cushion for the pack-saddle, and
you, my lad, will be compelled to walk, to which I dare venture you are
well accustomed."
The lad grinned, but made no objection.
"Now, landlord, while we eat, fill your casks with wine, then place the
pack-saddle on the back of this young man's horse, and the casks
thereon, for I dare say you have men expert in such a matter."
"There are no better the length of the Rhine," said the landlord
proudly.
"Lay the casks so that the bung-holes are upward, and do not drive the
bungs more tightly in place than is necessary, for they are to be
extracted before Frankfort is reached, that another friend of mine may
profit by the wine. When this is done, bring me word, and let me know
how much I owe you."
The landlord gone, the three men fell to their meal.
"There is more gold," said Roland, "than I expected, and it is
impossible even for two of you to carry it in bags attached to your
belts. Besides, if you are molested, such bestowal of it would prove
most unsafe. A burden of wine, however, is too common either to attract
notice or arouse cupidity. I propose, then, when we leave here, to bring
you to the barge belonging to Herr Goebel, and taking out the bungs, we
will pour the gold into the barrels, letting the wine that is displaced
overflow to the ground. Then we will stoutly drive in the bungs, and
should the guards question you at the gates of Frankfort, you may let
them taste the wine if they insist, and I dare say it will contain no
flavor of the metal."
"A most excellent suggestion," said Herr Kruger with enthusiasm. "An
admirable plan; for I confess I looked forward with some anxiety to this
journey, laden down with bags of gold under my cloak."
"Yes. You are simply an honest drinker, tired of the white wine of
Frankfort, and providing yourself with the stronger fluid that Lorch
produces. I am sure you will deliver the money safely to Herr Goebel,
somewhat in drink, it is true, but, like the rest of us, none the worse
for that when the fumes are gone."
The repast finished, and all accounts liquidated, the trio left the inn,
and, leading the two horses, reached the barge without observation. Here
the bungs were removed from the casks, and the three men, assisted by
the captain, quietly and speedily opened bag after bag, pouring the
coins down into the wine; surely a unique adulteration, astonishing even
to so heady a fluid as the vintage of Lorch. From the whole amount
Roland deducted two thousand thalers, which he divided equally between
two empty bags.
"This thousand thalers," said he to Kruger, "is to be shared by your son
and yourself, in addition to whatever you may receive from Herr Goebel.
The other you will hand to the custodian of Ehrenfels Castle, saying it
came from his friend Roland, and is recompense for the money he lent the
other day. That will be an effective letter of introduction to him. Say
that I ask him to send his son with you as guide through the forest to
Wiesbaden; and so good-night and good luck to you."
It was long after midnight when the guild came roystering up the bank of
the Rhine to the barge. The moon had risen, and gave them sufficient
light to steer a reasonably straight course without danger of falling
into the water. Ebearhard was with them, but Greusel walked rapidly
ahead, so that he might say a few words to his chief before the others
arrived.
"I succeeded in preventing their talking with any stranger, but they
have taken aboard enough wine to make them very difficult and rather
quarrelsome if thwarted. When I proposed that they should leave the
counting until to-morrow morning they first became suspicious, and then
resented the imputation that they were not in fit condition for such a
task. I recommend, therefore, that you allow them to divide the money
to-night. It will allay their fear that some trick is to be played upon
them, and if you hint at intoxication, they are likely to get out of
hand. As it does not matter when the money is distributed, I counsel you
to humor them to-night, and postpone reasoning until to-morrow."
"I'll think about it," said Roland.
"They have bought several casks of wine, and are taking turns in
carrying them. Will you allow this wine to come aboard, even if you
determine to throw it into the water to-morrow?"
"Oh, yes," said Roland, with a shrug of the shoulders. "Coax them into
the cabin as quietly as possible, and keep them there if you can, for
should they get on deck, we shall lose some of them in the river."
Greusel turned back to meet the bellowing mob, while Roland roused the
captain and his men.
"Get ready," he said to Blumenfels, "and the moment I raise my hand,
shove off. Make for this side of the larger island, and come to rest
there for the remainder of the night. Command your rowers to put their
whole force into the sweeps."
This was done accordingly, and well done, as was the captain's custom.
The late moon threw a ghostly light over the scene, and the barren
island proved deserted and forbidding, as the crew tied up the barge
alongside. Most of the lights in Lorch had gone out, and the town lay in
the silence of pallid moonbeams like a city of the dead. Roland stood on
deck with Greusel and Ebearhard by his side, the latter relating the
difficulties of the evening. There had been singing in the cabin during
the passage across, then came a lull in the roar from below, followed by
a shout that betokened danger. An instant later the crowd came boiling
up the short stair to the deck, Kurzbold in command, all swords drawn,
and glistening in the moonlight.
"You scoundrel!" he cried to Roland, "those lockers are full of empty
bags."
"I know that," replied Roland, quietly. "The money is in safe keeping,
and will be honestly divided at the conclusion of this expedition."
"You thief! You robber!" shouted Kurzbold, flourishing his weapon.
"Quite accurate," replied Roland, unperturbed. "I was once called a
Prince of Thieves when I did not deserve the title. Now I have earned
it."
"You have earned the penalty of thieving, and we propose to throw you
into the Rhine."
"Not, I trust, before you learn where the money is deposited."
Drunk as they were, this consideration staggered them, but Kurzbold was
mad with rage and wine.
"Come on, you poltroons!" he shouted. "There are only three of them."
"Draw your swords, gentlemen," whispered Roland, flashing his own blade
in the moonlight.
Greusel and Ebearhard obeyed his command.
XII
THE LAUGHING RED MARGRAVE OF FURSTENBERG
Ebearhard laughed, and took two steps forward. Whenever affairs became
serious, one could always depend on a laugh from Ebearhard.
"Excuse me, Commander," he said, "but you placed Greusel and me in
charge of this pious and sober party; therefore I, being the least of
your officers, must stand the first brunt of our failure to keep these
lambs peaceable for the night. Greusel, stand behind me, and in front of
the Commander. I, being reasonably sober, believe I can cut down six of
the innocents before they finish with me. You will attend to the next
six, leaving exactly half a dozen for Roland to eliminate in his own
fashion. Now, Herr Conrad Kurzbold, come on."
"We have no quarrel with you," said Kurzbold. "Stand aside."
"But I force a quarrel upon you, undisciplined pig. Defend yourself,
for, by the Three Kings, I am going to tap your walking wine-barrel!"
Kurzbold, however, retreating with more haste than caution, one or two
behind him were sent sprawling, and the half-dozen which were Roland's
portion tumbled over one another down the steep ladder into the cabin.
Ebearhard laughed again when the last man disappeared.
"I think," he said to Roland, "that you will meet no further trouble
from our friends. They evidently broke open the lockers, alarmed because
Greusel and I asked for a postponement of the counting, probably
intending to make the division without our assistance."
"Have you hidden the money?" asked Greusel.
"Not exactly," replied Roland; "but, in case anything should happen to
me, I will tell you what I have done with it."
When he finished his recital, he added:
"I will give each of you a letter to Herr Goebel, identifying you. He is
entitled to four thousand five hundred thalers of the money. The balance
you will divide among those of us who survive."
Roland slept on deck, wrapped in his cloak. His two lieutenants took
turn in keeping watch, but nothing except snores came up from the cabin.
The mutineers were not examples of early rising next morning. The sun
gave promise of another warm day, and Roland walked up and down the
deck, anxiety printed on his brow. He had made up his mind to knock at
the door of the Laughing Baron, a giant in stature, reported to be the
most ingenious, most cruel, and bravest of all the robber noblemen of
the Rhine, whose Castle was notoriously the hardest nut to crack along
the banks of that famous river. For several reasons it would not be wise
to linger much longer in the neighborhood of Lorch. The three castles
they had entered the day before were still visible on the western bank.
News of the raid would undoubtedly travel to Furstenberg, also within
sight down the river, and thus the hilarious Margrave would be put on
his guard, overjoyed at the opportunity of trapping the moral marauders.
Furstenberg was also a fief of Cologne, and any molestation of it would
involve the meddler, if identified, in complications with the Church and
the Archbishop.
It was necessary, therefore, to move with caution, and to retreat, if
possible, unobserved. These difficulties alone were enough to give pause
to the most intrepid, but Roland was further handicapped by his own
following. How could he hope to accomplish any subtle movement requiring
silence, prompt obedience, and great alertness, supported by men whose
brains were muddled with drink, and whose conduct was saturated with
conspiracy against him? They had wine enough on board to continue their
orgy, and he was quite unable to prevent their carouse. With a deep sigh
he realized that he would be compelled to forego Furstenberg, and thus
leave behind him a virgin citadel, which he knew was bad tactics from a
military point of view.
During his meditations his men were coming up from the fuming cabin into
the fresh air and the sunlight. They appeared by twos and threes,
yawning and rubbing their eyes, but no one ventured to interrupt the
leader as, with bent head, he paced back and forth on the deck. The men,
indeed, seemed exceedingly subdued. They passed with almost overdone
nonchalance from the boat to the island, and sauntered towards its lower
end, from which, in the clear morning air, the grim fortress of
Furstenberg could be plainly discerned diagonally across the river. It
was Ebearhard who broke in upon Roland's reverie.
"Our friends appear very quiet this morning, but I observe they have all
happened to coincide upon the northern part of the island as a
rendezvous for their before-breakfast walk. I surmise they are holding a
formal meeting of the guild, but neither Greusel nor I have been
invited, so I suppose that after last night's display we two are no
longer considered their brethren. This meekness on their part seems to
me more dangerous than last night's flurry. I think they will demand
from you a knowledge of what has been done with the gold. Have you
decided upon your answer?"
"Yes; it is their right to know, so I shall tell them the truth. By this
time Kruger is on his way somewhere between Ehrenfels and Wiesbaden. He
will reach Frankfort to-night, and cannot be overtaken."
Is there not danger that they will desert in a body, return to
Frankfort, and demand from Herr Goebel their share of the spoil?"
"No matter for that," returned Roland. "Goebel will not part with a
florin except under security of such letters as I purpose giving you and
Greusel, and even then only when you have proven to him that I am dead."
"That is all very well," demurred Ebearhard, "but don't you see what a
dangerous power you put into the hands of the rebels? Goebel is merely a
merchant, and, though rich, politically powerless. He has already come
into conflict with the authorities, and spent a term in prison. Do not
forget that the Archbishops have refused to take action against these
robber Barons. Our men, if there happen to be one of brains among them,
can easily terrify Goebel into parting with the treasure by threatening
to confess their own and his complicity in the raids. Consider what an
excellent case they can put forward, stating quite truly that they
joined this expedition in ignorance of its purport, but on the very
first day, learning what was afoot, they deserted their criminal leader,
and are now endeavoring to make restitution. Goebel is helpless. If he
says that they first demanded the gold from him, they as strenuously
deny it, and their denial must be believed, because they come of their
own free-will to the authorities. The merchant, already tainted with
treason, having suffered imprisonment, and narrowly escaped hanging,
proves on investigation to be up to the neck in this affair. There is no
difficulty in learning that his barge went down the river, manned by a
crew of his own choosing. Of course, it need never come to this, because
Goebel, being a shrewd man, could at once see in what jeopardy he stood,
and convinced from the men's own story that they were part, at least, of
your contingent, would deliver up the treasure to them. Don't you see he
must do so to save his own neck?"
Roland pondered deeply on what had been said to him, but for the moment
made no reply. Greusel, who joined them during the conversation,
remaining silent until Ebearhard had finished, now spoke:
"I quite agree with all that has been said."
"What, then, would you advise me to do?" asked Roland.
"I have been talking with one or two of the men," said Greusel. "(They
won't speak to Ebearhard because he drew his sword on them.) I find they
believe you took advantage of their absence to bury the gold in what you
suppose to be a safe place. They are sure you are acquainted with no one
in Lorch to whom you could safely entrust it, and of course do not
suspect an emissary from Frankfort. I should advise you to say that
arrangements have been made for every man to get his share so long as
nothing untoward happens to you. This will preserve your life should
they go so far as to threaten it, and compel them to stay on with us.
After all, we are merely artisans, and not fighting men. I am convinced
that if ever we are really attacked, we shall make a very poor showing,
even though we carry swords. Remember how the men tumbled over one
another in their haste to get out of reach when Ebearhard flourished his
blade."
"I think Greusel's suggestion is an excellent one," put in Ebearhard.
"Very well," said Roland, "I shall adopt it, although I had made up my
mind fully to enlighten them."
"There is one more matter that I should like to speak to you about,"
continued Ebearhard. "Both at Assmannshausen, and at Lorch last night,
we heard a good deal anent Furstenberg. It is the most dangerous castle
on the Rhine to meddle with. The Laughing Baron, as they call him,
although he is a Margrave, is the only man who dared to stop a king on
his way down the Rhine, and hold him for ransom."
"Yes," said Roland; "Adolf of Nassau, on his way to be crowned at
Aix-la-Chapelle."
"Quite so. Well, this huge ruffian--I never can remember his name; can
you, Greusel?"
"No, it beats me."
"Margrave Hermann von Katznellenbogenstahleck," said Roland, so solemnly
that Ebearhard laughed and even Greusel smiled.
"That's the individual," agreed Ebearhard, "and you must admit the name
itself is a formidable thing to attack, even without the giant it
belongs to."
"Banish all apprehension," said Roland. "I have already decided to
remain here through the day, and drop quietly down the river to-night in
the darkness past Furstenberg."
"I think that is a wise decision," said Ebearhard.
"'Tis against all military rules," demurred Roland, "but nevertheless
with such an army as I lead it seems the only way. Do the men know that
Furstenberg is our point of greatest danger?"
"Yes; but they do not know so much as I. Last night I left them in
Greusel's charge, being alarmed about what I heard of Furstenberg, and
engaged a boatman to take me over there before the moon rose. I
discovered that the Laughing Baron has caused a chain to be buoyed up
just below the surface of the water, running diagonally up the river
more than half-way across it, so that any boat coming down is caught and
drawn into the landing, for the main flood of the Rhine, as you know,
runs to the westward of this island. The boatman who ferried me knew
about this chain, but thought it had been abandoned since traffic
stopped. He says it runs right up into the Castle, and the moment a
barge strikes against it, a big bell is automatically rung inside the
stronghold, causing the Baron to laugh so loudly that they sometimes
hear him over in Lorch."
"This is very interesting, Ebearhard, and an excellent feat of scouting
must be set down to your credit. Say nothing to the men, because,
although we give Furstenberg the go-by on this occasion, I shall pay my
respects to Herman von Katznellenbogenstahleck on my return, and the
knowledge you bring me will prove useful."
"Ha!" cried Greusel, "here are our infants returning, all in a body,
Kurzbold at their head as usual. I imagine this morning they are going
to depend on rhetoric, and allow their swords to remain in scabbard.
They have evidently come to some momentous decision."
The three retired to the prow of the boat as the guild clambored on at
the stern. The captain and two of his men had taken the skiff belonging
to the barge, and were absent at Lorch, purchasing provisions. Roland
stood at the prow of the barge, slightly in advance of his two
lieutenants, and awaited the approach of Kurzbold, with seventeen men
behind him.
"Commander," said the spokesman, with nothing of the late truculence in
his tone, "we have just held a meeting of the guild, and unanimously
agreed to ask you one question, and offer you one suggestion."
"I shall be pleased," replied Roland, "to answer the first if I think it
desirable, and take the second into consideration."
He inclined his head to the delegation, and received a low bow in
return. This was a most auspicious beginning, showing a certain
improvement of method on the part of the majority.
"The question is, Commander, what have you done with the gold we
captured yesterday?"
"A very proper inquiry," replied Roland, "that it gives me much pleasure
to answer. I have placed the money in a custody which I believe to be
absolute, arranging that if nothing happens to me, this money shall be
properly divided in my presence."
"Do you deny, sir, that the money belongs to us?"
"Part of it undoubtedly does, but I, as leader of the expedition, am
morally, if not legally, responsible to you all for its safe keeping.
Our barge has stopped three times so far, and Captain Blumenfels tells
me that he has had no real violence to complain of, but as we progress
farther down the river, we are bound to encounter some Baron who is not
so punctilious; for instance, the Margrave von Katznellenbogenstahleck,
whose stronghold you doubtless saw from the latest meeting-place of the
guild. Such a man as the Margrave is certain to do what you yourselves
did without hesitation last night, that is, break open the lockers, and
if gold were there you may depend it would not long remain in our
possession after the discovery."
"You miss, or rather, evade the point, Commander. Is the gold ours, or
is it yours?"
"I have admitted that part of it is yours."
"Then by what right do you assert the power to deal with it, lacking our
consent? If you will pardon me for saying so, you, the youngest of our
company, treat the rest of us as though we were children."
"If I possessed a child that acted at once so obstreperously and in so
cowardly a manner as you did last night, I should cut a stick from the
forest here, and thrash him with such severity that he would never
forget it. As I have not done this to you, I deny that I treat you like
children. The truth is that, although the youngest, I am your commander.
We are engaged in acts of war, therefore military law prevails, and not
the code of Justinian. It is my duty to protect your treasure and my
own, and ensure that each man shall receive his share. After the
division you may do what you please with the money, for you will then be
under the common law, and I should not presume even to advise concerning
its disposal."
"You refuse to tell us, then, what you have done with the gold?"
"I do. Now proceed with your suggestion."
"I fear I put the case too mildly when I called it a suggestion,
considering the unsatisfactory nature of your reply to my question,
therefore I withdraw the word 'suggestion,' and substitute the word
'command.'"
Kurzbold paused, to give his ultimatum the greater force. Behind him
rose a murmur of approval.
"Words do not matter in the least. I deal with deeds. Out, then, with
your command!" cried Roland, for the first time exhibiting impatience.
"The command unanimously adopted is this: the Castle of Furstenberg must
be left alone. We know more of that Castle than you do, especially about
its owner and his garrison. We have been gathering information as we
journeyed, and have not remained sulking in the barge."
"Well, that is encouraging news to hear," said Roland. "I thought you
were engaged in sampling wine."
"You hear the command. Will you obey?"
"I will not," said Roland decisively.
Ebearhard took a step forward to the side of his chief, and glanced at
him reproachfully. Greusel remained where he was, but neither man spoke.
"You intend to attack Furstenberg?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"This afternoon."
Kurzbold turned to his following:
"Brethren," he said, "you have heard this conversation, and it needs no
comment from me."
Apparently the discussion was to receive no comment from the others
either. They stood there glum and disconcerted, as if the trend of
affairs had taken an unexpected turn.
"I think," said one, "we had better retire and consult again."
This was unanimously agreed to, and once more they disembarked upon the
island, and moved forward to their Witenagemot. Still Greusel and
Ebearhard said nothing, but watched the men disappear through the trees.
Roland looked at one after another with a smile.
"I see," he said, "that you disapprove of my conduct."
Greusel remained silent, but Ebearhard laughed and spoke.
"You came deliberately to the conclusion that it was unwise to attack
Furstenberg. Now, because of Kurzbold's lack of courtesy, you deflect
from your own mature judgment, and hastily jump into a course opposite
to that which you marked out for yourself after sober, unbiased
thought."
"My dear Ebearhard, the duty of a commander is to give, and not to
receive, commands."
"Quite so. Command and suggestion are merely words, as you yourself
pointed out, saying that they did not matter."
"In that, Ebearhard, I was wrong. Words do matter, although Kurzbold
wasn't clever enough to correct me. For example, I hold no man in higher
esteem than yourself, yet you might use words that would cause me
instantly to draw my sword upon you, and fight until one or other of us
succumbed."
Ebearhard laughed.
"You put it very flatteringly, Roland. Truth is, you'd fight till I
succumbed, my swordsmanship being no match for yours. I shall say the
words, however, that will cause you to draw your sword, and they are:
Commander, I will stand by you whatever you do."
"And I," said Greusel curtly.
Roland shook hands in turn with the two men.
"Right," he cried. "If we are fated to go down, we will fall with
banners flying."
After a time the captain returned with his supplies, but still the
majority of the guild remained engaged in deliberation. Evidently
discussion was not proceeding with that unanimity which Kurzbold always
insisted was the case.
At noon Roland requested the captain to send some of his men with a meal
for those in prolonged session, and also to carry them a cask which had
been half-emptied either that morning or the night before.
"They will enjoy a picnic under the trees by the margin of the river,"
said Roland, as he and his two backers sat down in the empty cabin to
their own repast.
"Do you think they are purposely delaying, so that you cannot cross over
this afternoon?"
"'Tis very likely," said Roland. "I'll wait here until the sun sets, and
then when they realize that I am about to leave them on an uninhabited
island, without anything to eat, I think you will see them scramble
aboard."
"But suppose they don't," suggested Greusel. "There are at least three
of them able to swim across this narrow branch of the Rhine, and engage
a boatman to take them off, should their signaling be unobserved."
"Again no matter. My plan for the undoing of the castles does not depend
on force, but on craft. We three cannot carry away as much gold as can
twenty-one, but our shares will be the same, and then we are not likely
to find again so full a treasury as that at Rheinstein. My belief that
these chaps would fight was dispelled by their conduct last night. Think
of eighteen armed men flying before one sword!"
"Ah, you are scarce just in your estimate, Commander. They were under
the influence of wine."
"True; but a brave man will fight, drunk or sober."
Although the sun sank out of sight, the men did not return. There had
been more wine in the cask than Roland supposed, for the cheery songs of
the guild echoed through the sylvan solitude. Roland told the captain to
set his men at work and row round the top of the island into the main
stream of the Rhine. The revelers had evidently appointed watchmen, for
they speedily came running through the woods, and followed the movements
of the boat from the shore, keeping pace with it. When the craft reached
the opposite side of the island, the rowers drew in to the beach.
"Are you coming aboard?" asked Roland pleasantly.
"Will you agree to pass Furstenberg during the night?" demanded
Kurzbold.
"No."
"Do you expect to succeed, as you did with the other castles?"
"Certainly; otherwise I shouldn't make the attempt."
"I was wrong," said Kurzbold mildly, "in substituting the word 'command'
for 'suggestion,' which I first employed. There are many grave reasons
for deferring an attempt on Furstenberg. In the heat of argument these
reasons were not presented to you. Will you consent to listen to them if
we go on board?"
"Yes; if you, on your part, will unanimously promise to abide by my
decision."
"Do you think," said Kurzbold, "that your prejudice against me, which
perhaps you agree does exist--"
"It exists," confessed Roland.
"Very well. Will you allow that prejudice to prevent you from rendering
a decision in the men's favor?"
"No. If they present reasons that convince Greusel and Ebearhard against
the attack on Furstenberg, I shall do what these two men advise, even
although I myself believe in a contrary course. Thus you see, Herr
Kurzbold, that my admitted dislike of you shall not come into play at
all."
"That is quite satisfactory," said Kurzbold. "Will you tie up against
the farther shore until your decision is rendered?"
"With pleasure," replied Roland; and accordingly the raiders tumbled
impetuously on board the barge, whereupon the sailors bent to their long
oars, and quickly reached the western bank, at a picturesque spot out of
sight of any castle, where the trees came down the mountain-side to the
water's edge. Here the sailors, springing ashore, tied their stout ropes
to the tree-trunks, and the great barge lay broadside on to the land,
with her nose pointing down the stream.
"You see," said Roland to his lieutenants, "without giving way in the
least I allow you two the decision, and so I take it Furstenberg or
ourselves will escape disaster on this occasion."
"Aside from all other considerations," replied the cautious Greusel, "I
think it good diplomacy on this occasion to agree with the men, since
they have stated their case so deferentially. They are improving,
Commander."
"It really looks like it," he agreed. "You and Ebearhard had better go
aft, and counsel them to begin the conference at once, for if we are to
attack we must do so before darkness sets in. I'll remain here as usual
at the prow."
Some of the men were strolling about the deck, but the majority remained
in the cabin, down whose steps the lieutenants descended. Roland's
impatience increased with the waning of the light.
Suddenly a cry that was instantly smothered rose from the cabin, then a
shout:
"Treachery! Look out for yourself!"
Roland attempted to stride forward, but four men fell on him, pinioning
his arms to his side, preventing the drawing of his weapon. Kurzbold,
with half a dozen others, mounted on deck.
"Disarm him!" he commanded, and one of the men drew Roland's sword from
its sheath, flinging it along the deck to Kurzbold's feet. The others
now came up, bringing the two lieutenants, both gagged, with their arms
tied behind them. Roland ceased his struggles, which he knew to be
fruitless.
"We wish an amicable settlement of this matter," said Kurzbold,
addressing the lieutenants, "and regret being compelled to use measures
that may appear harsh. I do this only to prevent unnecessary bloodshed.
Earlier in the day," he continued, turning to Roland, "when we found all
appeals to you were vain, we unanimously deposed you from the
leadership, which is our right, and also our duty."
"Not under martial law," said Roland.
"I beg to point out that there was no talk of martial law before we left
Frankfort. It was not till later that we learned we had appointed an
unreasoning tyrant over us. We have deposed him, and I am elected in his
place, with John Gensbein as my lieutenant. We will keep you three here
until complete darkness sets in, then put you ashore unarmed. Bacharach,
on this side of the Rhine, is to be our next resting-place, and
doubtless so clever a man as you, Roland, may say that we choose
Bacharach because it is named for Bacchus, the god of drunkards.
Nevertheless, to show our good intentions towards you, we will remain
there all day to-morrow. You can easily reach Bacharach along the
hilltops before daybreak. We have written a charter of comradeship which
all have signed except yourselves. If at Bacharach you give us your word
to act faithfully under my leadership, we will reinstate you in the
guild, and return your swords. By way of recompense for this leniency,
we ask you to direct the captain to obey my commands as he has done
yours."
"Captain Blumenfels," said Roland to the honest sailor, who stood
looking on in amaze at this turn of affairs, "you are to wait here until
it is completely dark. See that no lights are burning to give warning to
those in Furstenberg; and, by the way," added Roland, turning to his
former company, "I advise you not to drink anything until you are well
past the Castle. If you sing the songs of the guild within earshot of
Furstenberg, you are like to sing on the other side of your mouths
before morning. Don't forget that Margrave Hermann von
Katznellenbogenstahleck is the chief hangman of Germany." Then once more
to the captain:
"As the Castle of Furstenberg stands high above the river, and well back
from it, you will be out of sight if you keep near this shore. However,
you can easily judge your distance, because the towers are visible even
in the darkness against the sky. No man on the ramparts of the Castle
can discern you down here on the black surface of the water, so long as
you do not carry a light."
"Roland, my deposed friend," said Kurzbold, "I fear you bear resentment,
for you are giving the captain orders instead of telling him to obey
mine."
"Kurzbold, you are mistaken. I resign command with great pleasure, and,
indeed, Greusel and Ebearhard will testify that I had already determined
to pass Furstenberg unseen. As my former lieutenants are disarmed,
surely the company, with eighteen swords, is not so frightened as to
keep them gagged and bound. 'Tis no wonder you wish to avoid the
Laughing Baron, if that is all the courage you possess."
Stung by these taunts, Kurzbold gruffly ordered his men to release their
prisoners, but when the gags were removed, and before the cords were
cut, he addressed the lieutenants:
"Do you give me your words not to make any further resistance, if I
permit you to remain unbound?"
"I give you my word on nothing, you mutinous dog!" cried Greusel; "and
if I did, how could you expect me to keep it after such an example of
treachery from you who pledged your faith, and then broke it? I shall
obey my Commander, and none other."
"I am your Commander," asserted Kurzbold.
"You are not," proclaimed Greusel.
Ebearhard laughed.
"No need to question me," he said. "I stand by my colleagues."
"Gag them again," ordered Kurzbold.
"No, no!" cried Roland. "We are quite helpless. Give your words,
gentlemen."
Gloomily Greusel obeyed, and merrily Ebearhard. Darkness was now
gathering, and when it fell completely the three men were put off into
the forest.
"You have not yet," said Kurzbold to Roland, "ordered the captain to
obey me. I do not object to that, but it will be the worse for him and
his men if they refuse to accept my instructions."
"Do you know this district, Captain Blumenfels?" asked Roland.
"Yes, mein Herr."
"Is there a path along the top that will lead us behind Furstenberg on
to Bacharach?"
"Yes, mein Herr, but it is a very rough track."
"Is it too far for you to guide us there, and return before the moon
rises?"
"Oh no, mein Herr, I can conduct you to the trail in half an hour if you
consent to climb lustily."
"Very good. Herr Kurzbold, if you are not impatient to be off, and will
permit the captain to direct us on our way, I will tell him to obey
you."
"How long before you can return, captain?" asked Kurzbold.
"I can be back well within the hour, mein Herr."
"You will obey me if the late Commander orders you to do so?"
"Yes, mein Herr."
"Captain," said Roland, "I inform you in the hearing of these men that
Herr Kurzbold occupies my place, and is to be obeyed by you until I
resume command."
Kurzbold laughed.
"You mean until you are re-elected to membership in the guild, for we do
not propose to make you commander again. Now, captain, to the hill, and
see that your return is not delayed."
The four men disappeared into the dark forest.
"Captain," said Roland, when they reached the track, "I have taken you
up here not that I needed your guidance, for I know this land as well as
you do. You will obey Kurzbold, of course, but if he tells you to make
for Lorch, allow your boat to drift, and do not get beyond the middle of
the river until opposite Furstenberg. There is a buoyed chain--"
"I know it well," interrupted the captain. "I have many times avoided
it, but twice became entangled with it, in spite of all my efforts, and
was robbed by the Laughing Baron."
"Very well; I intend you to be entrapped by that chain to-night. Offer
no resistance, and you will be safe enough. Do not attempt to help these
lads should they be set upon, and it will be hard luck if I am not in
command again before midnight. Keep close to this shore, but if they
order you into the middle of the river, or across it, dally, my good
Blumenfels, dally, until you are stopped by the chain for the third
time."
When the captain returned to his barge, he found Kurzbold pacing the
deck in a masterly manner, impatient to be off. For once the combatants,
with an effort, were refraining from drink.
"We will open a cask," said Kurzbold, "as soon as we have passed the
Schloss."
He ordered the captain to follow the shore as closely as was safe, and
take care that they did not come within sight of Furstenberg's tall,
round tower. All sat or reclined on the dark deck, saying no word as the
barge slid silently down the swift Rhine. Suddenly the speed of the boat
was checked so abruptly that one or two of the standing men were flung
off their feet. From up on the hillside there tolled out the deep note
of a bell. The barge swung round broadside on the current, and lay there
with the water rushing like hissing serpents along its side, the bell
pealing out a loud alarm that seemed to keep time with the shuddering of
the helpless boat.
"What's wrong, captain?" cried Kurzbold, getting on his feet again and
running aft.
"I fear, sir, 'tis an anchored chain."
"Can't you cut it?"
"That is impossible, mein Herr."
"Then get out your sweeps, and turn back. Where are we, do you think?"
"Under the battlements of Furstenberg Castle."
"Damnation! Put some speed into your men, and let us get away from
here."
The captain ordered his crew to hurry, but all their efforts could not
release the boat from the chain, against which it ground up and down
with a tearing noise, and even the un-nautical swordsmen saw that the
current was impelling it diagonally toward the shore, and all the while
the deep bell tolled on.
"What in the fiend's name is the meaning of that bell?" demanded
Kurzbold.
"It is the Castle bell, mein Herr," replied the captain.
Before Kurzbold could say anything more the air quivered with shout
after shout of laughter. Torches began to glisten among the trees, and
there was a clatter of horses' hoofs on the echoing rock. A more
magnificent sight was never before presented to the startled eyes of so
unappreciative a crowd. Along the zigzag road, and among the trees,
spluttered the torches, each with a trail of sparks like the tail of a
comet. The bearers were rushing headlong down the slope, for woe to the
man who did not arrive at the water's edge sooner than his master.
The torchlight gleamed on flashing swords and glittering points of
spears, but chief sight of all was the Margrave Hermann von
Katznellenbogenstahleck, a giant in stature, mounted on a magnificent
stallion, as black as the night, and of a size that corresponded with
its prodigious rider. The Margrave's long beard and flowing hair were
red; scarlet, one may say, but perhaps that was the fiery reflection
from the torches. Servants, scullions, stablemen carried the lights; the
men-at-arms had no encumbrance but their weapons, and the business-like
way in which they lined up along the shore was a study in discipline,
and a terror to any one unused to war. Above all the din and clash of
arms rang the hearty, stentorian laughter of the Red Margrave actually
echoing back in gusts of fiendish merriment from the hills on the other
side of the Rhine.
Now the boat's nose came dully against the ledge of rock, to whose
surface the swaying chain rose dripping from the water, sparkling like a
jointed snake under the torchlight.
"God save us all!" cried the Margrave, "what rare show have we here? By
my sainted patron, the Archbishop, merchants under arms! Whoever saw the
like? Ha! stout Captain Blumenfels, do I recognize you? Once more my
chain has caught you. This makes the third time, does it not,
Blumenfels?"
"Yes, your Majesty."
"You may as well call me 'your Holiness' as 'your Majesty.' I'm
contented with my title, the 'Laughing Baron,' Haw-haw-haw-haw! And so
your merchants have taken to arms again? The lesson at the Lorely taught
them nothing! Are there any ropes aboard, captain?"
"Plenty, my lord."
"Then fling a coil ashore. Now, my tigers," he roared to his
men-at-arms, "hale me to land those damned shopkeepers."
With a clash of armor and weapons the brigands threw themselves on the
boat, and in less time than is taken to tell it, every man of the guild
was disarmed and flung ashore. Here another command of the Red Margrave
gave them the outlaw's knot, as he termed it, a most painful tying-up of
the body and the limbs until each victim was rigid as a red of iron.
They were flung face downwards in a row, and beaten black and blue with
cudgels, despite their screams of agony and appeals for mercy.
"Now turn them over on their backs," commanded the Margrave, and it was
done. The glare of the pitiless torches fell upon contorted faces. The
Baron turned his horse athwart the line of helpless men, and spurred
that animal over it from end to end, but the intelligent horse, more
merciful than its rider, stepped with great daintiness, despite its
unusual size, and never trod on one of the prostrate bodies. During what
followed, the Red Baron, shaking with laughter, marched his horse up and
down over the stricken men.
"Now, unload the boat, but do not injure any of the sailors! I hope to
see them often again. You cannot tell how we have missed you, captain.
What are you loaded with this time? Sound Frankfort cloth?"
"Yes, your Majesty--I mean, my lord."
"No, you mean my Holiness, for I expect to be an Archbishop yet, if all
goes well," and his laughter echoed across the Rhine. "Uplift your
hatches, Blumenfels, and tell your men to help fling the goods ashore."
Delicately paced the fearful horse over the prone men, snorting, perhaps
in sympathy, from his red nostrils, his jet-black coat a-quiver with the
excitement of the scene. The captain obeyed the Margrave with promptness
and celerity. The hatches were lifted, and his sailors, two and two,
flung on the ledge of rock the merchant's bales. The men-at-arms, who
proved to be men-of-all-work, had piled their weapons in a heap, and
were carrying the bales a few yards inland. Through it all the Baron
roared with laughter, and rode his horse along its living pavement,
turning now at this end and now at the other.
"Do not be impatient," he cried down to them, "'twill not take long to
strip the boat of every bale, then I shall hang you on these trees, and
send back your bodies in the barge, as a lesson to Frankfort. You must
return, captain," he cried, "for you cannot sell dead bodies to my liege
of Cologne."
As he spoke a ruddy flush spread over the Rhine, as if some one had
flashed a red lantern upon the waters. The glow died out upon the
instant.
"What!" thundered the Margrave, "is that the reflection of my beard, or
are Beelzebub and his fiends coming up from below for a portion of the
Frankfort cloth? I will share with good brother Satan, but with no one
else. Boil me if I ever saw a sight like that before! What was it,
captain?"
"I saw nothing unusual, my lord."
"There, there!" exclaimed the Margrave, and as he spoke it seemed that a
crimson film had fallen on the river, growing brighter and brighter.
"Oh, my lord," cried the captain, "the Castle is on fire!"
"Saints protect us!" shouted the Red Margrave, crossing himself, and
turning to the west, where now both hearing and sight indicated that a
furnace was roaring. The whole western sky was aglow, and although the
flames could not be seen for the intervening cliff, every one knew there
was no other dwelling that could cause such an illumination.
Spurring his horse, and calling his men to come on, the nobleman dashed
up the steep acclivity, and when the last man had departed, Roland,
followed by his two lieutenants, stepped from the forest to the right
down upon the rocky plateau.
XIII
"A SENTENCE; COME, PREPARE!"
"Captain," said Roland quietly, "bring your crew ashore, and fling these
bales on board again as quickly as you can."
An instant later the sailors were at work, undoing their former efforts.
"In mercy's name, Roland," wailed one of the stricken, "get a sword and
cut our bonds."
"All in good time," replied Roland. "The bales are more valuable to me
than you are, and we have two barrels of gold at the foot of the cliff
to bring in, if they haven't sunk in the Rhine. Greusel, do you and
Ebearhard take two of the crew, launch the small boat, and rescue the
barrels if you can find them."
"Mercy on us, Roland! Mercy!" moaned his former comrades.
"I have already wasted too much mercy upon you," he said. "If I rescue
you now, I shall be compelled to hang you in the morning as breakers of
law, so I may as well leave you where you are, and allow the Red
Margrave to save me the trouble. The loss of his castle will not make
him more compassionate, especially if he learns you were the cause of
it. You will then experience some refined tortures, I imagine; for, like
myself, he may think hanging too good for you. I should never have fired
his castle had it not been for your rebellion."
The men on the ground groaned but made no further appeal. Some of them
were far-seeing enough to realize that an important change had come over
the young man they thought so well known to them, who stood there with
an air of indifference, throwing out a suggestion now and then for the
more effective handling of the bales; suggestions carrying an impalpable
force of authority that caused them to be very promptly obeyed. They did
not know that this person whom they had regarded as one of themselves,
the youngest at that, treating him accordingly, had but a day or two
before received a tremendous assurance, which would have turned the head
of almost any individual in the realm, old or young; the assurance that
he was to be supreme ruler over millions of creatures like themselves; a
ruler whose lightest word might carry their extinction with it.
Yet such is the strange littleness of human nature that, although this
potent knowledge had been gradually exercising its effect on Roland's
character, it was not the rebellion of the eighteen or their mutinous
words that now made him hard as granite towards them. It was the trivial
fact that four of them had dared to manhandle him; had made a personal
assault upon him; had pinioned his helpless arms, and flung his sword,
that insignia of honor, to the feet of Kurzbold, leader of the revolt.
The Lord's Anointed, he was coming to consider himself, although not yet
had the sacred ointment been placed upon his head. A temporal Emperor
and a vice-regent of Heaven upon earth, his hand was destined to hold
the invisible hilt of the Almighty's sword of vengeance. The words "I
will repay" were to reach their fulfillment through his action.
Notwithstanding his youth, or perhaps because of it, he was animated by
deep religious feeling, and this, rather than ambition, explained the
celerity with which he agreed to the proposals of the Archbishops.
The personage the prisoners saw standing on the rock-ledge of
Furstenberg was vastly different from the young man who, a comrade of
comrades, had departed from Frankfort in their company. They beheld him
plainly enough, for there was now no need of torches along the
foreshore; the night was crimson in its brilliancy, and down the hill
came a continuous roar, like that of the Rhine Fall seventy leagues
away.
Into this red glare the small boat and its four occupants entered, and
Roland saw with a smile that two well-filled casks formed its freight.
The bales were now aboard the barge again, and the Commander ordered the
crew to help the quartette in the small boat with the lifting of the
heavy barrels. Greusel and Ebearhard clambered over the side, and came
thus to the ledge where Roland stood, as the crew rolled the barrels
down into the cabin.
"Lieutenants," said the Commander, "select two stout battle-axes from
that heap. Follow the chain up the hill until you reach that point where
it is attached to the thick rope. Cut the rope with your axes, and draw
down the chain with you, thus clearing a passage for the barge."
The two men chose battle-axes, then turned to their leader.
"Should we not get our men aboard," they said, "before the barge is
free?"
"These rebels are prisoners of the Red Margrave. They belong to him, and
not to me. Where they are, there they remain."
The lieutenants, with one impulse, advanced to their Commander, who
frowned as they did so. A cry of despair went up from the pinioned men,
but Kurzbold shouted:
"Cut him down, Ebearhard, and then release us. In the name of the guild
I call on you to act! He is unarmed; cut him down! 'Tis foul murder to
desert us thus."
The cutting down could easily have been accomplished, for Roland stood
at their mercy, weaponless since the _emeute_ on the barge.
Notwithstanding the seriousness of the occasion, the optimistic
Ebearhard laughed, although every one else was grave enough.
"Thank you, Kurzbold, for your suggestion. We have come forward, not to
use force, but to try persuasion. Roland, you cannot desert to death the
men whom you conducted out of Frankfort."
"Why can I not?"
"I should have said a moment ago that you will not, but now I say you
cannot. Kurzbold has just shown what an irreclaimable beast he is, and
on that account, because birth, or training, or something has made you
one of different caliber, you cannot thus desert him to the reprisal of
that red fiend up the hill."
"If I save him now, 'twill be but to hang him an hour later. I am no
hangman, while the Margrave is. I prefer that he should attend to my
executions."
Again Ebearhard laughed.
"'Tis no use, Roland, pretending abandonment, for you will not abandon.
I thoroughly favor choking the life out of Kurzbold, and one or two of
the others, and will myself volunteer for the office of headsman,
carrying, as I do, the ax, but let everything be done decently and in
order, that a dignified execution may follow on a fair trial"
"Commander," shouted the captain from the deck of the barge, "make
haste, I beg of you. The rope connecting with the Castle has been burnt,
and the chain is dragging free. The current is swift, and this barge
heavy. We shall be away within the minute."
"Get your crew ashore on the instant," cried Roland, "and fling me these
despicable burdens aboard. A man at the head, another at the heels, and
toss each into the barge. Is there time, captain, to take this heap of
cutlery with us as trophies of the fray?"
"Yes," replied the captain, "if we are quick about it."
The howling human packages were hurled from ledge to barge; the strong,
unerring sailors, accustomed to the task, heaved no man into the water.
Others as speedily fell upon the heap of weapons, and threw them,
clattering, on the deck. All then leaped aboard, and Roland, motioning
his lieutenants to precede him, was the last to climb over the prow.
The chain came down over the stones with a clattering run, and fell with
a great splash into the river. The barge, now clear, swung with the
current stern foremost; the sailors got to their oars, and gradually
drew their craft away from the shore. A little farther from the landing,
those on deck, looking upstream, enjoyed an uninterrupted view of the
magnificent conflagration. The huge stone Castle seemed to glow white
hot. The roof had fallen in, and a seething furnace reddened the
midnight sky. Like a flaming torch the great tower roared to the
heavens. The whole hilltop resembled the crater of an active volcano.
Timber floors and wooden partitions, long seasoned, proved excellent
material for the incendiaries, and even the stones were crumbling away,
falling into the gulf of fire, sending up a dazzling eruption of sparks,
as section after section tumbled into this earthly Hades.
The long barge floated placidly down a river resembling molten gold. The
boat was in disarray, covered with bales of cloth not yet lowered into
the hold, cluttered here and there with swords, battle-axes, and spears.
In the various positions where they had been flung lay the helpless men,
some on their faces, some on their backs. The deck was as light as if
the red setting sun were casting his rays upon it. Roland seated himself
on a bale, and said to the captain:
"Turn all these men face upward," and the captain did so.
"Ebearhard, you said execution should take place after a fair trial.
There is no necessity to call witnesses, or to go through any court of
law formalities. You two are perfectly cognizant of everything that has
taken place, and no testimony will either strengthen or weaken that
knowledge. As a preliminary, take Kurzbold, the new president, and
Gensbein, his lieutenant, from among that group, and set them apart. Two
members of the crew will carry out this order," which was carried out
accordingly.
Roland rose, walked along the prostrate row, and selected, apparently at
haphazard, four others, then said to the members of his crew:
"Place these four men beside their leader. Left to myself," he continued
to his lieutenants, "I should hang the six. However, I shall take no
hand in the matter. I appoint you, Joseph Greusel, and you, Gottlieb
Ebearhard, as judges, with power of life and death. If your verdict on
any or all of the accused is death, I shall use neither the ax nor the
cord, but propose flinging them into the river, and if God wills them to
reach the shore alive, their binding will be no hindrance to escape."
Kurzbold and his lieutenant broke out into alternate curses and appeals,
protesting that Greusel and Ebearhard had not been expelled from the
guild, and calling upon them by their solemn oath of brotherhood to
release them now that they possessed the power. To these appeals the
newly-appointed judges made no reply, and for once Ebearhard did not
laugh.
The other four directed their supplications to Roland himself. They had
been misled, they cried, and deeply regretted it. Already they suffered
punishment of a severity almost beyond power of human endurance, and
they feared their bones were broken with the cudgeling, since which
assault their bonds grievously tortured them. All swore amendment, and
their grim commander still remaining silent, they asked him in what
respect they were more guilty than the dozen others whom seemingly he
intended to spare. At last Roland replied.
"You four," he said sternly, "dared to lay hands upon me, and for that I
demand from the judges a sentence of death."
Even his two lieutenants gazed at him in amazement, that he should make
so much of an action which they themselves had endured and nothing said
of it. Surely the laying-on of hands, even in rudeness, was not a
capital crime, yet they saw to their astonishment that Roland was in
deadly earnest.
The leader turned a calm face toward their scrutiny, but there was a
frown upon his brow.
"Work while ye have the light," he said. "Judges, consider your
decision, and deliver your verdict."
Greusel and Ebearhard turned their backs on every one, walked slowly
aft, and down into the cabin. Roland resumed his seat on the bale of
cloth, elbows on his knees, and face in his hands. All appeals had
ceased, and deep silence reigned, every man aboard the boat in a state
of painful tension. The fire in the distant castle lowered and lowered,
and darkness was returning to the deck of the barge. At last the judges
emerged from the cabin, and came slowly forward.
It was Greusel who spoke.
"We wish to know if only these six are on trial?"
"Only these six," replied Roland.
"Our verdict is death," said Greusel. "Kurzbold and Gensbein are to be
thrown into the Rhine bound as they lie, but the other four receive one
chance for life, in that the cords shall be cut, leaving their limbs
free."
This seeming mercy brought no consolation to the quartette, for each
plaintively proclaimed that he could not swim.
"I thank you for your judgment," said Roland, "which I am sure you must
have formed with great reluctance. Having proven yourself such excellent
judges, I doubt not you will now act with equal wisdom as advisers. A
phrase of yours, Ebearhard, persists in my mind, despite all efforts to
dislodge it. You uttered on the ledge of rock yonder something to the
effect that we left Frankfort as comrades together. That is very true,
and unless you override my resolution, I have come to the conclusion
that if any of us are fated to die, the penalty shall be dealt by some
other hand than mine. The twelve who lie here are scarcely less guilty
than the six now under sentence, and I propose, therefore, to put ashore
on the east bank Kurzbold and Gensbein, one a rogue, the other a fool.
The sixteen who remain have so definitely proven themselves to be
simpletons that I trust they will not resent my calling them such. If
however, they abandon all claim to the comradeship that has been so much
prated about, swearing by the Three Kings of Cologne faithfully to
follow me, and obey my every word without cavil or argument, I will
pardon them, but the first man who rebels will show that my clemency has
been misplaced, and I can assure them that it shall not be exercised
again. Captain, your sailors are familiar with knotted ropes. Bid them
release all these men except the six condemned."
The boatmen, with great celerity, freed the prostrate captives from
their bonds, but some of the mutineers had been so cruelly used in the
cudgeling that it was necessary to assist them to their feet. The early
summer daybreak was at hand, its approach heralded by the perceptible
diluting of the darkness that surrounded them, and a ghastly, pallid
grayness began to overspread the surface of the broad river. Down the
stream to the west the towers of Bacharach could be faintly
distinguished, looking like a dream city, the lower gloom of which was
picked out here and there by points of light, each betokening an early
riser.
It was a deeply dejected, silent group that stood in this weird
half-light, awaiting the development of Roland's mind regarding them;
he, the youngest of their company, quiet, unemotional, whose dominion no
one now thought of disputing.
"Captain," he continued, "steer for the eastern shore. I know that
Bacharach is the greatest wine mart on the Rhine, and well sustains the
reputation of the drunken god for whom it is named, but we will
nevertheless avoid it. There is a long island opposite the town, but a
little farther down. I dare say you know it well. Place that island
between us and Bacharach, and tie up to the mainland, out of view from
the stronghold of Bacchus. He is a misleading god, with whom we shall
hold no further commerce.
"Now, Joseph Greusel, and Gottlieb Ebearhard, do you two administer the
oath of the Three Kings to these twelve men; but before doing so, give
each one his choice, permitting him to say whether he will follow
Kurzbold on the land or obey me on the water."
Here Kurzbold broke out again in trembling anger:
"Your pretended fairness is a sham, and your bogus option a piece of
your own sneaking dishonesty. What chance have we townsmen, put ashore,
penniless, in an unknown wilderness, far from any human habitation,
knowing nothing of the way back to Frankfort? Your fraudulent clemency
rescues us from drowning merely to doom us to starvation."
The daylight had so increased that all might see the gentle smile coming
to Roland's lips, and the twinkle in his eye as he looked at the
wrathful Kurzbold.
"A most intelligent leader of men are you, Herr Conrad. I suppose this
dozen will stampede to join your leadership. They must indeed be proud
of you when they learn the truth. I shall present to each of you, out of
my own store of gold that came from the castle you so bravely attacked
last night, one half the amount that is your due. This will be more
money than any of you ever possessed before; each portion, indeed,
excelling the total that you eighteen accumulated during your whole
lives. I could easily bestow your share without perceptible diminution
of the fund we three, unaided, extracted from the coffers of the Red
Margrave. The reason I do not pay in full is this. When you reach
Frankfort, I must be assured that you will keep your foolish tongues
silent. If any man speaks of our labors, I shall hear of it on my
return, and will fine that man his remaining half-share.
"It distresses me to expose your ignorance, Kurzbold, but I put you
ashore amply provided with money, barely two-thirds of a league from
Lorch, where you spent so jovial an evening, and where a man with gold
in his pouch need fear neither hunger nor thirst. Lorch may be attained
by a leisurely walker in less than half an hour; indeed, it is barely
two leagues from this spot to Assmannshausen, and surely you know the
road from that storehouse of red wine to the capital city of Frankfort,
having once traversed it. A child of six, Kurzbold, might be safely put
ashore where you shall set foot on land. Therefore, lieutenants, let
each man know he will receive a bag of coin, and may land unmolested to
accompany the brave and intelligent Kurzbold."
As he finished this declamation, that caused even some of the beaten
warriors to laugh at their leader, the barge came gently alongside the
strand, well out of sight of Bacharach. Each of the dozen swore the
terrible, unbreakable oath of the Three Kings to be an obedient henchman
to Roland.
"You may," said Roland, "depart to the cabin, where a flagon of wine
will be served to every man, and also an early breakfast. After that you
are permitted to lie down and relax your swollen limbs, meditating on
the extract from Holy Writ which relates the fate of the blind when led
by the blind."
When the dozen limped away, the chief turned to his prisoners.
"Against you four I bear resentment that I thought could not be appeased
except by your expulsion, but reflection shows me that you acted under
instruction from the foolish leader you selected, and therefore the
principal, not the agent, is most to blame. I give you the same choice I
have accorded to the rest. Unloose them, captain; and while this is
being done, Greusel, get two empty bags from the locker, open one of the
casks, and place in each bag an amount which you estimate to be one half
the share which is Kurzbold's due."
The four men standing up took the oath, and thanked Roland for his
mercy, hurrying away at a sign from him to their bread and wine.
"Send hither," cried Roland after them, "two of the men who have already
refreshed themselves, each with a loaf of bread and a full flagon of
wine. And now, captain, release Kurzbold and Gensbein."
When these two stood up and stretched themselves, the bearers of bread
and wine presented them with this refreshment, and after they had
partaken of it, Greusel gave them each a bag of gold, which they tied to
their belts without a word, while Greusel and Ebearhard waited to escort
them to land.
"We want our swords," said Kurzbold sullenly.
Ebearhard looked at his chief, but he shook his head.
"They have disgraced their swords," he said, "which now by right belong
to the Margrave Hermann von Katznellenbogenstahleck. Put them ashore,
lieutenant."
It was broad daylight, and the men had all come up from the cabin,
standing in a silent group at the stern. Kurzbold, on the bank, foaming
at the mouth with fury, shook his fist at them, roaring:
"Cowards! Pigs! Dolts! Asses! Poltroons!"
The men made no reply, but Ebearhard's hearty laugh rang through the
forest.
"You have given us your titles, Kurzbold," he cried. "Send us your
address whenever you get one!"
"Captain," said Roland, "cast off. Cross to this side of that island,
and tie up there for the day. Set a man on watch, relieving the sentinel
every two hours. We have spent an exciting night, and will sleep till
evening."
"Your honor, may I first stow away these bales, and dispose of the
battle-axes, spears, and broadswords, so to clear the deck?"
"You may do that, captain, at sunset. As for the bales, they make a very
comfortable couch upon which I intend to rest."
XIV
THE PRISONER OF EHRENFELS
There is inspiration in the sight of armed men marching steadily
together; men well disciplined, keeping step to the measured clank of
their armor. Like a great serpent the soldiers of Cologne issued from
the forest, coming down two and two, for the path was narrow. They would
march four abreast when they reached the river road, and the evolutions
which accomplished this doubling of the columns, without changing step
or causing confusion, called forth praise from the two southern
Archbishops.
A beautiful tableau of amity and brotherly love was presented to the
troops as they looked up at the three Archbishops standing together on
the balcony in relief against the gray walls of the Castle. The
officers, who were on horseback, raised their swords sky-pointing from
their helmets, for they recognized their overlord and his two notable
confreres. With the motion of one man the three Archbishops acknowledged
the salute. The troops cheered and cheered as the anaconda made its
sinuous way down the mountain-side, and company after company came
abreast the Castle. The Archbishops stood there until the last man
disappeared down the river road on his way to Coblentz.
"May I ask you," said Mayence, addressing Treves, "to conduct me to the
flat roof of your Castle? Will you accompany us?" he inquired of
Cologne.
Cologne and Treves being for once in agreement, the latter led the way,
and presently the three stood on the broad stone plateau which afforded
a truly striking panorama of the Rhine. The July sun sinking in the west
transformed the river into a crimson flood, and at that height the cool
evening breeze was delicious. Cologne stood with one hand on the
parapet, and gazed entranced at the scene, but the practical Mayence
paid no attention whatever to it.
"Your troublesome guest, Treves, has one more request to make, which is
that you order his flag hoisted to the top of that pole."
Treves at once departed to give this command, while Cologne, with
clouded brow, turned from his appreciation of the view.
"My Lord," he said, "you have requested the raising of a signal."
"Yes," was the reply.
"A signal which calls your men from the Lahn to the landing at
Stolzenfels?"
"Yes," repeated Mayence.
"My Lord, I have kept my promise not only to the letter, but in the
spirit as well. My troops are marching peaceably away, and will reach
their barracks some time to-morrow. Although I exacted no promise from
you, you implied there was a truce between us, and that your army, like
my company, was not to be called into action of any kind."
"Your understanding of our pact is concisely stated, even though my
share in that pact remained unspoken. A truce, did you say? Is it not
more than that? I hoped that my seconding of the nomination you proposed
proved me in complete accord with your views."
"I am not in effect your prisoner, then?"
"Surely not; so contrary to the fact is such an assumption that I
implore you to accept my hospitality. The signal, which I see is now at
the mast-head, calls for one barge only, and that contains no soldier,
merely a captain and his ten stout rowers, whom you may at this moment,
if you turn round, see emerging from the mouth of the Lahn. I present to
you, and to the Countess von Sayn, my Schloss of Martinsburg for as long
as you may require it. It is well furnished, well provisioned, and
attended to by a group of capable servants, who are at your command. I
suggest that you cross in my barge, in company with the Countess and her
kinsman, the Reverend Father. You agree, I take it, to convoy the lady
safely to her temporary restraint in Pfalz. It was her own request, you
remember."
"I shall convoy her thither."
"I am trusting to you entirely. The distance is but thirteen leagues,
and can be accomplished easily in a day. Once on the other side of the
river she may despatch her kinsman, or some more trustworthy messenger,
to her own Castle, and thus summon the two waiting-women who will share
her seclusion."
"Is it your intention, my Lord, that her imprisonment shall--?"
The Archbishop of Mayence held up his thin hand with a gesture of
deprecation.
"I use no word so harsh as 'imprisonment.' The penance, if you wish so
to characterize it, is rather in the nature of a retreat, giving her
needed opportunity for reflection, and, I hope, for regret."
"Nevertheless, my Lord, your action seems to me unnecessarily severe.
How long do you propose to detain her?"
"I am pained to hear you term it severity, for her treatment will be of
the mildest description. I thought you would understand that no other
course was open to me. So far as I am personally concerned, she might
have said what pleased her, with no adverse consequences, but she
flouted the highest Court of the realm, and such contempt cannot be
overlooked. As for the duration of her discipline, it will continue
until the new Emperor is married, after which celebration the Countess
is free to go whither she pleases. I shall myself call at Pfalz four
days from now, that I may be satisfied the lady enjoys every comfort the
Castle affords."
"And also, perhaps, to be certain she is there immured."
Mayence's thin lips indulged in a wry smile.
"I need no such assurance," he said, "since my Lord of Cologne has
pledged his word to see that the order of the Court is carried out."
The conversation was here interrupted by the return of Treves. Already
the great barge was half-way across the river. The surging, swift
current swept it some distance below Stolzenfels, and the rowers, five a
side, were working strenuously to force it into slower waters. Lord,
lady, and monk crossed over to the mouth of the Lahn, and the barge
returned immediately to convey across horses and escort.
As the valley of the Lahn opened out it presented a picture of quiet
sylvan beauty, apparently uninhabited by any living thing. The
Archbishop of Cologne rose, and, shading his eyes from the still radiant
sun, gazed intently up the little river. No floating craft was anywhere
in sight. He turned to the captain.
"Where is the flotilla from Mayence?" he asked.
"Flotilla my Lord?"
"Yes; a hundred barges sailed down from Mayence in the darkness either
last night or the night before, taking harbor here in the Lahn."
"My Lord, even one barge, manned as this is, could not have journeyed
such a distance in so short a time, and, indeed, for a flotilla to
attempt the voyage, except in daylight, would have been impossible. No
barges have come down the Rhine for months, and had they ventured the
little Lahn is too shallow to harbor them."
"Thank you, captain. I appear to be ignorant both of the history and the
geography of this district. If I were to ask you and your stout rowers
to take me down through the swiftest part of the river to Coblentz, how
soon would we reach that town?"
"Very speedily, my Lord, but I could undertake no such voyage except at
the command of my master. He is not one to be disobeyed."
"I quite credit that," said Cologne, sitting down again, the momentary
desire to recall his marching troops, that had arisen when he saw the
empty Lahn, dying down when he realized how effectually he had been
outwitted.
When the horses were brought across, Father Ambrose, at the request of
the Countess, rode back to Sayn, and sent forward the two waiting-women
whom she required, and so well did he accomplish his task that they
arrived at Schloss Martinsburg before ten of the clock that night. At an
early hour next morning the little procession began its journey up the
Rhine, his Lordship and the Countess in front; the six horsemen bringing
up the rear.
The lady was in a mood of deep dejection; the regret which Mayence had
anticipated as result of imprisonment already enveloped her. It was only
too evident that the Archbishop of Cologne was bitterly disappointed,
for he rode silently by her side making no attempt at conversation. They
rested for several hours during midday, arriving at Caub before the red
sun set, and now the Countess saw her pinnacled prison lying like an
anchored ship in midstream.
At Caub they were met by a bearded, truculent-looking ruffian, who
introduced himself to the Archbishop as the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck.
"You take us rather by surprise, Prince of Cologne," he said. "It is
true that my overlord, the Archbishop of Mayence, called upon me several
days ago while descending the Rhine in his ten-oared barge, and said
there was a remote chance that a prisoner might shortly be given into my
care. This had often happened before, for my Castle covers some gruesome
cells that extend under the river,--cells with secret entrances not
easily come by should any one search the Castle. It is sometimes
convenient that a prisoner of State should be immured in one of them
when the Archbishop has no room in his own Schloss Ehrenfels, so I paid
little attention, and merely said the prisoner would receive a welcome
on arrival. This morning there came one of the Archbishop's men from
Stolzenfels, and both my wife and myself were astonished to learn that
the prisoner would be here this evening under your escort, my Lord, and
that it was a woman we were to harbor. Further, she was to be given the
best suite of rooms we had in the Castle, and to be treated with all
respect as a person of rank. Now, this apartment is in no state of
readiness to receive such a lady, much less to house one of the dignity
of your Lordship."
"It does not matter for me," replied the Archbishop. "Being, as I may
say, part soldier, the bed and board of an inn is quite acceptable upon
occasion."
"Oh no, your Highness, such a hardship is not to be thought of. The
Castle of Gutenfels, standing above us, is comfortable as any on the
Rhine. Its owner, the Count Palatine, is fellow-Elector of yours, and a
very close friend of my overlord of Mayence, and I am told they vote
together whenever my overlord needs his assistance."
"That is true," commented Cologne.
"My overlord sent word that anything I needed for the accommodation of
her ladyship, he recognizing that my warning had been short, I should
requisition from the Count Palatine, so at midday I went up to call upon
him, not saying anything, of course, about State prisoners, male or
female. The moment he heard that you, my Lord, were visiting this
neighborhood, he begged me to tender to you, and to all your companions
or following, the hospitality of his Castle for so long as you might
honor him with your presence."
"The Count Palatine is very gracious, and I shall be glad to accept
shelter and refreshment."
"He would have been here to greet your Highness, but I was unable to
inform him at what hour you would arrive, so I waited for you myself,
and will be pleased to guide you to the gates of Gutenfels."
The conversation was interrupted by a great clatter of galloping horses,
descending the hill with reckless speed, and at its foot swinging round
into the main street of the town.
"Ha!" cried the amateur jailer, "here is the Count Palatine himself;"
and thus it is our fate to meet the fourth Elector of the Empire, who,
added to the three Archbishops, formed a quorum so potent that it could
elect or depose an Emperor at will.
The cavalry of the Count Palatine was composed of fifty fully-armed men,
and their gallop through the town roused the echoes of that ancient
bailiwick, which, together with the Castle, belonged to the Palatinate.
The powerful noble extended a cordial welcome to his fellow-Elector, and
together they mounted to the Castle of Gutenfels.
At dinner that night the Count Palatine proved an amiable host. Under
his geniality the charming Countess von Sayn gradually recovered her
lost good spirits, and forgot she was on her way to prison. After all,
she was young, naturally joyous, and loved interesting company,
especially that of the two Electors, who were well informed, and had
seen much of the world. The Archbishop also shook off some of his
somberness; indeed, all of it as the flagons flowed. Being asked his
preference in wine, he replied that yesterday he had been regaled with a
very excellent sample of Oberweseler.
"That is from this neighborhood," replied the Count. "Oberwesel lies but
a very short distance below, on the opposite side of the river, but we
contend that our be |
