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Gentlemen," said he, " I have need of a hundred men of will." — p. 166.
THE DRAGOONS
OF LA GUERCHE
BY AMEDEE ACHARD
Translated from
the French
BY RICHARD DUFFY
HOWARD, AINSLEE <* CO.
PUBI ISHERS NEW YORK
Copyright, 1899,
By Street & Smith.
Copyright in Great Britain.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I-
II-
III-
IV
v-
VI
VII-
VIII-
IX-
X-
XI-
XII-
XIII-
XIV-
XV-
XVI
XVII-
XVIII-
XIX
XX-
XXI-
XXII
XXIII
XXIV
XXV-
XXVI
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX
XXX
X X X I
XXXII
x x :■: 1 1 1
-A Desperate Resolve
-Magdebourg ....
-The Prophecy of Magnus
-With Fire and Sword
-Count Pappenheim's Nobility
-A Monk With an Appetite
-A Monk-Ridden Inn
-The Hostelry of Master Innocent
-A Terrible Awakening
-The Dungeons of Ravennest .
-The Kindness of Fate
-Matthews Drinks His Own Medicin
-The Battle ....
-The Wiles of a Daughter of Eve
-Prisoners in a Palace
-Drachenfeld Castle .
-Propositions and Provocations
-The Little House at Nuremberg
-Four Against One
-The Dragoons of La Guerche
-A Halt in the Shadow of a Wall
-What Woman Wills .
-The Postern of Drachenfeld
-Requiescal in Pace
-The Retreat of the Dragoons
-The Flag of Truce .
-The Cannon's Roar
-The Marsh
W..lf ami She-Wolf .
A Fight to the Death
-The Wolf at Bay
Vac Victis
The King's Avenged
PAGE
7
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24
33
40
48
55
62
67
72
84
92
100
113
124
136
144
151
156
161
172
180
190
197
20G
217
227
836
249
2.56
2C4
279
The Dragoons of La Guerche
CHAPTER I *
A DESPERATE RESOLVE.
The Thirty Years' War had reached that stage of fury
which was to lay Germany waste with sack and pillage.
It was the hour when the best and bravest generals of
Europe met face to face and made of death the sole
recognized king from the Elbe to the Danube, from
Pomerania to the Palatinate. Two figures dominated
the epoch, Gustavus Adolphus, the hero-king of
Sweden, and Wallenstein, the master and the sword of
the old German Empire. What events might not issue
from this stupendous clash of arms !
In the midst of the unleashing of these passions, in
this whirlwind of blood we return to the personages who
figured in "The Huguenot's Love." We shall follow
them through new adventures, through intrigues and
combats, some of them inspired by rancor and hatred,
others by devotion and love. It is with Mademoiselle
de Souvigny and Mademoiselle de Pardaillan, Count
Pappenhcim and Count Tilly, John of Werth and Mat-
thew Orlscopp, the Baroness of Igomer and Margaret,
Magnus and Carquefou, Armand-Louis and Renaud,
that we shall once more beat about the shores of the
* "The HuRuenot's Love," of which "The Drapoons of La
Guerche" is the sequel, is published uniform with this volume
by Howard, Ainslec & Company.
8 A DESPERATE RESOLVE
Baltic to the plains of Lutzen, running across castles
and cities in our way.
It will be remembered that Armand-Louis and Renaud
had spurred their steeds towards the camp of the King
of Sweden in pursuit of their sweethearts. At this time
Gustavus Adolphus, with some thousands of men, was
in the vicinity of Potsdam. He was endeavoring by the
most eloquent remonstrances, propped by divers pieces
of artillery which he discharged against the city, to wean
away his father-in-law, the Elector of Brandenbourg,
from his alliance with the Emperor Ferdinand. It was
exceedingly important to him that there should be no
hostile city between the heart of Germany and the shores
of Sweden which might place obstacles to his retreat in
case of reverses.
Neither the remonstrances nor the pleadings of Gus-
tavus Adolphus in favor of the German Protestant
princes, whose independence was imperilled by the
House of Hapsburg, had any effect upon the astute heart
of George William. The pieces of artillery produced a
better and more profound impression. According as
they increased in number, the Elector of Brandenbourg
showed himself correspondingly disposed to come to
terms.
When the King of Sweden grew tired of this dilatori-
ness, which cost him so much precious time, he directed
the mouths of his cannon full upon the palace of his
father-in-law. The latter, at once convinced by the ex-
cellence of this argumentation, agreed to serious negotia-
tions.
Unhappily for the cause which the King of Sweden
had entered Germany to defend, Gustavus Adolphus was
not the only one acquainted with the parleys which kept
him one day at Potsdam, another in Berlin. Duke
Francis-Albert knew from day to day what was said in
the councils of the king, and day by day he informed
the Commander-in-chief of all details. Count Tilly, al-
most certain that Gustavus Adolphus would not issue
from his enforced inaction as long, as he had not over-
come the passive resistance of George William, decided
to strike a decisive blow and capture Magdebourg, whose
A DESPERATE RESOLVE 9
archiepiscopal prince had sought the Swedish alliance,
placing his little army under the command of Thierry of
Falkenberg, one of the lieutenants of the young king.
He hastily gathered the troops, which were scattered
in the vicinity, and. urged on by the impetuosity of Count
Pappenheim, who burned to try his mettle with the Hero
of the North, he suddenly presented himself in the free
city at the same time that Armand-Louis and Renaud
reached the presence of the Marquis of Pardaillan.
When the two young gentlemen entered the Swedish
camp the news that Magdebourg was threatened had
just been received.
Twenty-four hours later a courier rode up, announc-
ing that the city was invested. He was accompanied by
a fellow messenger. But while the one, sent by Chris-
tian William, the Protestant Archbishop of Magde-
bourg, sought the king, the other, guided by Carquefou,
requested to see the Marquis of Pardaillan, whom he
found sick abed.
The unexpected information that Magdebourg was
being attacked excited the rage of the king, at the same
time that the dispatch borne by Benko filled the soul of
the Marquis of Pardaillan with terror. Gustavus Adol-
phus beheld a check upon the cause for which he had
drawn his sword ; the aged Huguenot thought only of
his daughter and adopted child, exposed to all the hor-
rors of a siege, which, on account of the name of the
man who had undertaken it, assumed a most ominous
aspect.
His wrinkled features livid with forebodings, the mar-
quis summoned to his side the two young Frenchmen, to
whom he exhibited the message of Magnus.
"They have escaped one most horrible danger only to
fall into another more frightful still," he said.
" r .od gave them back to us only to take them from
us." cried Armand-Louis.
"Oh, but Magnus is a lucky wretch," murmured Re-
naud. "To think that he should have been there and not
myself. Nevertheless I'll hug him with all my heart
when we get into Magdebourg."
io A DESPERATE RESOLVE
"When you get into Magdebourg!" the marquis in-
terrupted. "With whom do you expect to enter?"
"With King Gustavus Adolphus, I fancy, and I as-
sume that the dragoons of La Guerche will be the first
to pass through the gates."
"What, do you talk of the king? Would you see me
so sad if His Majesty were going to strike camp and
march against the enemy? Oh, don't hope for that!
Count Tilly alone is before Magdebourg; he alone will
enter the city."
"You believe then, that Gustavus Adolphus, the prince
to whom you have consecrated your entire life, will not
fly to the aid of a city that has given itself up to him ?"
"Oh, do not accuse him. How can he leave when his
father-in-law, the Elector, haggles with him over a
stronghold and reserves for himself the cursed chance of
attacking the Swedes, in case they suffer a check, so that
he may obtain a more advantageous peace from Emperor
Ferdinand."
"Do you think, then, that Magdebourg will not be
aided?" asked Armand-Louis, turning pale.
"Magdebourg will not be aided at all unless by me !"
The Marquis of Pardaillan made an effort to seize his
sword and stand up, as he spoke, but an atrocious pain
forced him back to his seat. "Oh, what unhappiness !
Only a father could lend them aid, and this wretched
father is reduced to impotence."
"You are mistaken, Marquis," interposed Armand-
Louis. "Mademoiselle de Pardaillan and Mademoiselle
de Souvigny, to whom I have plighted my faith, shall
not be deserted because your age and illness are traitors
to your courage. Renaud and Armand-Louis will re-
place you."
"To be sure," cried Renaud, "and that most speedily."
"You are going?" asked the marquis with emotion, as
he took their hands.
"You do us injury to doubt it," replied Armand-Louis.
"We will have left camp within an hour. I ask your
permission to see the king, who may perhaps have some
order for me to bear to the general in command at Mag-
debourg."
A DESPERATE RESOLVE n
"I cannot say whether we'll save the city," added Rc-
naud. "The aid of two men is not a great deal; but as
long as life is within us, never believe that your daugh-
ters are lost !"
"I shall never forget your words," returned the mar-
quis, who extended his arms and clasped the two French-
men long and tenderly to his bosom.
As they were leaving the tent of the marquis, and
while Renaud was wiping his eyes, they encountered
Carquefou, who was polishing the hilt of his rapier with
the sleeve of his leather cloak.
"Sir." began the honest valet, approaching Renaud, "I
have long ears and as a consequence I hear even when I
don't listen. Why did you tell the Marquis of Pardaillan
just now that you had the aid of two men only? Don't
you count me or, in your opinion, am I only half a man?
One may be a coward by birth, by character or by prin-
ciple and not be the less brave when occasion requires.
Now I am going to prove this to you when we are under
the walls of Magdebourg. This said, Sir, permit me to
go and make my will, for 'tis sure as the sun that we
shall never return from this expedition."
Armand-Louis left the care of preparing all for their
departure to Renaud and went to the king. His name
opened all doors for him. He found Duke Francis-Al-
bert with Gustavus Adolphus. The duke appeared to
be studying some maps and plans which were spread out
on the table.
At the si.L, r ht of the Saxon, the Huguenot recalled the
warning of Margaret. To the gracious smile of the duke
he replied with a cold bow, then in a high voice, he said :
"I do not come hither, Sire, in the interest of my service
but of my personal affairs. May I hope that Your Maj-
esty will be good enough to accord me a private inter-
v of a few moments' duration?"
"I wish to inconvenience no one," interposed the duke,
frowning. "I leave, Count of La Guerche."
Armand-Louis bowed without answering and the duke
moved aws
"Ah, you do not like the poor duke!" exclaimed the
king.
12 A DESPERATE RESOLVE
"Sire, you like him too much,'' returned the Huguenot.
"If such words fell not from the lips of a friend," re-
torted the king haughtily, "I should tell you, my dear
Count, that I am the only judge of my likes."
"A person whose devotion Your Majesty cannot doubt,
a woman who was praying for Gustavus Adolphus the
day the fleet left Sweden's shores, did not like the duke
any more than I do. Need I name her — Margaret!"
"Ah, Margaret told it you !" exclaimed the king,
nervously. "I knew it. He inspired her with terror.
Nobody about me loves this poor duke ; but he is the
friend of my childhood. One day I wounded him
cruelly — "
"Sire, do you believe that he has forgotten that?"
"It is enough that I remember it to pardon him for
remembering it. My foremost duty is to try by every
means to efface the trace of this outrage."
Gustavus Adolphus walked up and down the chamber
once or twice and then asked :
"What subject calls you hither? What do you desire
of me?"
The Huguenot understood that he must abandon the
matter of their first words.
"Mademoiselle de Souvigny is at Magdebourg. At
this moment there's a truce. The imperial troops, com-
manded by Torquato Conti, no longer hold the country
and are scattering in all directions. My presence is use-
less here; therefore I am going to Magdebourg."
"To Magdebourg! Why cannot I accompany you!"
exclaimed the king.
"I have come to inquire of Your Majesty whether there
is any order for me to bear to Thierry of Falkenberg?"
"Tell him to hold his post till the last extremity, to
burn his last cartridge, to fire his last ball ! Let him
defend the inmost wall and die on it, if necessary. By
the faith of Gustavus Adolphus, as soon as liberty of
action is allowed me, I'll lend him the help of my sword."
"Is that all ?"
"All. Stay, assure him that if I were not chained here
by the Elector of Brandenbourg, I should have arrived
with you in Magdebourg."
A DESPERATE RESOLVE 13
The king tossed the maps and plans on the table with
a violent gesture and added menacingly :
"If the Elector. George William, were not the father of
Eleanor, there would not have been a stone upon a stone
in Spandau six weeks ago and my cavaliers would have
dug their horses' hoofs in the streets of Berlin."
**I beg your pardon, Sire," interposed Armand-Louis,
taking a step toward the door, "but my hours are count-
ed. I must go."
"Good luck, then," replied the king, extending his
hand. "Ah. you are a happy man."
"I have a request to make to you. Your Majesty alone
knows whither I go. Will Gustavus Adolphus keep this
knowledge for himself alone?"
"Not even reveal it to the Duke of Lauenbourg, is not
that what you mean?" said the king, smiling.
"Above all. not to him !"
"Your business is yours. I shall keep my counsel,"
answered the king with a shade of displeasure.
Duke Francis-Albert was not in the gallery which led
to the king's chamber. Armand-Louis saw Arnold of
Brahe there.
.h," exclaimed the Huguenot, "I find the face of a
friend when I feared that of an enemy. A double good
fortune!"
Then drawing him into the embrasure of a window he
added :
"Do you love your king as you love Sweden?"
"He is my master by birth, my master by choice. Mv
life and blood are his."
"Then watch over him."
"What is wrong?"
"There is a man whom the king loves and who hates
the king."
"The Duke of Saxc-Lauenbourg?"
"Not so loud ! When this man is in the king's cham
ber, be afoot at the door with your hand on your sword-
hilt. If lie goes hunting with the king, ride close to
them. If some expedition calls the king far from camp.
do n«>t lose Bight of the other. I.H him understand that
a devoted heart is there and that faithful eyes survey his
14 A DESPERATE RESOLVE
every action. He's a coward, perhaps he will dare noth-
ing. On my faith of a gentleman, if I speak to you thus,
it is not without grave reason."
"Fear not. I shall walk in his shadow. I shall breathe,
his atmosphere," replied Arnold, clasping the Hugue-
not's hand firmly.
When night fell, three men, after a hard gallop, were
far from the camp. They followed the road which leads
from Spandau to Magdebourg.
"Ah," the Duke of Lauenbourg said to himself, who
had not again seen the Count of La Guerche, "if Captain
Jacobus were here I should have let him loose on the
track of this cursed Frenchman."
MAGDEBOURG 15
CHAPTER II.
MAGDEBOURG.
If three cavaliers might not traverse the long distance
between the Swedish camp and the city beleaguered by
Count Tilly without risking certain perils, dangers trebly
great awaited them at the approaches to the imperial
camp. The keen surveillance of countless cavalry patrols
about the city allowed none to enter or leave Magde-
bourg. Every man captured by them stood a good
chance of being run through by a sword. More fre-
quently a pistol ball ended his examination before he
had an opportunity to reply. A cordon of sentinels, re-
lieved from hour to hour, made all communication be-
tween the city and the surrounding country impossible.
It was therefore not a slight undertaking to enter Magde-
bourg, and neither Armand-Louis nor Renaud under-
rated the fact.
The roar of cannon in the distance soon apprised them
that they were now separated from the city only by a nar-
row stretch of field and forest. This formidable noise
seemed to inspire them with an even greater ardor and
they boldly spurred their steeds ahead. As they issued
from a wood they perceived deep columns of infantry ad-
vancing toward the new part of the city, whence mounted
clouds of smoke zebraed by red flames. Platoons of cav-
alry guarded every road, fifty pieces of artillery thundered
on the plain, and riderless horses ran wild from all sides.
Some corpses stretched in the plain showed that not all
balls and bullets had been spent. Far away the ram-
parts <>f the city were crowned with fire. The forts
which defended the approaches to the city bore on their
summits the colors of the emperor.
"They are preparing l<> attack the place," said Armand-
Louis.
16 MAGDEBOURG
"Many are the legs that will be broken this evening,"
Carquefou murmured philosophically, meanwhile mak-
ing a careful scrutiny of his pistols.
He was too well acquainted with his master not to
know that there could never be any fighting in his neigh-
borhood without his taking a part in it. As if their noble
steeds understood the secret intention of their riders, they
continued to advance at a slackened pace.
Armand-Louis lost nothing of what was going on
about him. The cavalry patrols, as well as the sentries,
were all interested in what was taking place about the
city.
In a few moments Armand-Louis, Renaud and Car-
quefou should have attained the outposts of the imperial
army. A few soldiers, struck down by grape-shot, lay
dead in the field. Armand-Louis lightly dismounted and
put on the green belt which had decorated the body of
an officer.
"Now that's not bad," said Renaud, as he remarked
the action of his friend.
He dismounted, as did Carquefou also, and looking
around them, they had little trouble in finding the ob-
jects of their quest.
"Now for a bold dash," said Armand-Louis.
"And at a gallop," added Renaud.
"Oh, I knew it would come to this," cried Carquefou.
They spurred their horses and set off at top speed.
Two or three sentries turned to look at them. One even
lowered his musket, but when he noticed the green belts
he shouldered it again.
A cavalry patrol beheld the three hardy adventurers
pass and did not doubt but they belonged to the major
body of the imperial army.
Farther on a company of infantry was halted in a
causeway which they had to traverse to reach the burn-
ing suburbs.
"Order of Count Tilly!" cried Armand-Louis, who
rode ahead.
The company opened ranks.
"I thought I saw the throats of a thousand wolves,"
said Carquefou when they had passed.
MAGDEBOURG 17
Thev had crossed the outposts of the camp ; another
spurt bore them to the entry of the suburbs, where the
ranks of the imperial troops were all disordered. The
wounded were lying on the walls, others groaned as they
were carried away by their comrades. Several wild balls
began to shatter the plaster of the houses in the neigh-
borhood.
"Hello, friend !" cried Armand-Louis to a lansquenet,
"have they burst in the gates of the city ?*'
"It rains shot," answered the soldier, "but the gates
hold firm. These cursed shop-keepers keep a hell-fire
upon us from the top of their ramparts."
"Forward!" said Renaud.
"Oh, but this is fine sport," murmured Carquefou, "the
shot of our friends catches us on the nose and the shot of
our enemies in the back."
They soon found themselves among the first columns
of the attack. The carnage was terrible. They were
fighting under the very walls of Magdebourg. It was
evident that the suburb which Count Tilly chose for at-
tack that day would remain in the power of the assail-
ants. To save part of his garrison, which had been over-
come by superior forces, the officer who commanded that
post, had just opened a postern. Perfect waves of men
were to be seen gathered about this postern. Iron and
lead made great holes in their number, but, like the waves
on the shore of the sea, other waves replaced the ones
which disappeared. The conquerors wished to enter with
the conquered.
Aloft, and wielding a battle-axe with the vigor of a
forester felling trees, John of Werth split the skulls of all
before him. The captain had been supplanted by the
soldier. In the city before him, had not Mademoiselle de
Souvigny taken refuge?
"God's day, we're done for!" moaned Carquefou when
he recognized tin- baron.
Renaud wt >uld have l< aped to the side of John of Werth
but Canjucfou restrained him by main force.
"Marquis," h<- said, "do you forget that we are like
Daniel in the lion's den. Don't have us die before our
time."
1 8 MAGDEBOURG
Before the postern, buttressed on his stout legs, stood
Magnus, swinging his musket around his head like a war-
club. Each time that the bloody weapon traced a circle,
a man fell. A void was being made about him.
"Our salvation lies there !" added Carquefou, pointing
out Magnus to Renaud.
But the marquis was delirious with the fever of battle.
"To hell with this rag!" he roared as he tore off the
green belt. Then, whirling his sword, he charged upon
a captain of the lansquenets.
Armand-Louis was thick in conflict with two imperial-
ists, who barred his way to the postern. Magnus per-
ceived him. A terrible leap landed him in the midst of
the Austrians and his bloody musket barrel knocked
down two more victims.
A handful of determined men had followed him. The
fire from turret and rampart was redoubled. The assail-
ants retreated somewhat and a broad, naked spot lay be-
tween them and the postern.
"Follow me !" cried Magnus.
Armand-Louis, Renaud and Carquefou, who with
lowered head struck everybody in their way, joined Mag-
nus almost instantly.
"Now to the postern !" roared Magnus.
"He talks like a sage !" growled Carquefou still wild-
ing his sword as they retreated.
Through the wreck of the garrison they made impetu-
ously for the wide-opened postern, behind which a troop
of Swedes was ready to receive them. At this moment
Tohn of Werth recognized the trio.
"Ah, the bandits !" he shrieked.
In the twinkling of an eye he had calculated the dis-
tance which separated him from the fugitives. But they
were beyond him now. Turning to the group of soldiers
which surrounded him he roared :
"Fire!"
But the fugitives had all passed within the ramparts.
The heavy doors of the postern rolled upon their hinges
and a few hurtling balls rebounded upon the ironbound
planks of oak.
"I think we got here in time," said Carquefou. Mag-
MACDEBOURG 19
nus did not lose a minute in conducting Armand-Louis
and Renaud to the house at which he had sought a lodg-
ing for the two young ladies upon their arrival in Magde-
bourg.
The time had passed when they used to go to the win-
dow, anxious and curious at each noise in the street. How
many pieces of cannon had they not counted as they were
drawn past the house by the citizens ! How many pa-
trols and companies rushing by full of ardor for the
fray, and returning wounded and blackened with powder.
The shrieking of shells or the whistling of bullets still
made them quake, but no longer terrified them. They
understood now the perils from which the courage and
resolution of Magnus had delivered them. They thanked
God ; and judged the burning projectiles which filled the
city with ashes and ruins to be less terrible than the
Baroness of Igomer or the Convent of St. Rupert.
Their hours were passed in conversing of their be-
trothed. What were they doing? In what territory were
they now seeking them? Had the messenger sent by
Magnus yet reached them? To be sure the two young
gentlemen must be suffering greater anxieties than they.
At times they thought it could not be long before they
should see them ; but so sweet a hope suddenly filled
them with affright, when they recalled the thousand dan-
gers their lovers would be exposed to in this beleaguered
city. They would be surely the first in the fight ; and
moreover, were not the men who directed this hail of shot
against Magdebourg named John of Werth and Henry of
Pappenheim ? The memory of these two implacable ene-
mies made the cousins pale with fear and foreboding.
"Heaven grant that they may not come hither," said
Adrienne, when all these dangers passed before her men-
tal vision. But the prayers which the two maidens ad-
dressed to heaven were rather timid. They felt them-
quite alone, and if a stray shot should kill Magnus
what would become of tin m, left in a city delivered up to
all the horrors and hazards of a siege in which they had
neither kinsfolk nor friends.
on as the halls prepared for the wounded had
begun to receive their blood-stained guests, Adrienne and
so MAGDEBOURG
Diana, amidst the women of the city, lent themselves to
the succor of the fallen soldiers. Their delicate hands
became accustomed to dressing the most horrible
wounds. They dwelt amid cries and groans. They
spent long nights between walls where moans of agony
banished all sleep. Ah, but how far removed from this
were their happy days at St. Wast !
When other young women came to relieve them at the
pillows of the sufferers they returned to theii apartments,
where they made bandages or melted shot.
At the very hour that Armand-Louis and Renaud ap-
peared before Magdebourg, Adrienne and Diana had
just received their relief after a whole night in the hos-
pital, which death visited every minute. Despite the
formidable thunder of the strife, which bloodied one of
Magdebourg's gates, the two cousins had retired to a
little room whose narrow windows looked out upon the
garden. They were both in silent meditation, while fill-
ing a large basket at their feet with lint. At times their
hands rested, a sigh swelled their bosoms and their eyes
would be pensively raised heavenward.
The detonations of the artillery succeeded one another
every minute. A sudden clamor in a neighboring street
indicated to them that a wounded man was being brought
to his family. Then they would shudder and resume
their pious labor, which had suffered the interruption of
a momentary dream.
Gradually a silence fell ; now only at intervals was a
cannon heard, the final shots of the ending battle. Then
footsteps were heard in the street and almost immediately
afterward the knocker of the door was let fall heavily.
"Dost hear?" asked Adrienne, springing from her
chair.
" 'Tis Magnus," returned Diana, who felt her cheeks
turn pale.
" "Tis he," said Adrienne, "but he's not alone. Who
can be with him? Who is there to come here?"
Meanwhile hurried steps clattered on the stairway.
"God is good, he has heard our prayers !" cried Diana.
"Ah, thou knowest them as I do. 'Tis Armand !"
" 'Tis Renaud !"
MAGDEBOURG 21
The door was pushed open and four men, whose gar-
ments were stained with dust, powder and blood, burst
into the room.
Before they could utter a sound Armand-Louis and
Renaud were at the feet of Adrienne and Diana.
Incapable of standing alone, Adrienne leaned on the
shoulders of Armand-Louis.
"You are cruel," she cried, "you would have me
tremble for your safety every hour."
"Is it life to live separated from you?" asked Armand-
Louis in transport.
"Thou knowest my love for him," added Adrienne,
looking upward, in an utter exaltation of soul, "if it be
Thy will, Our Saviour, to join us in death as we have
been joined in life, may Thv holv name be blessed and
Thy will be done !"
"Come here," said Magnus to Carquefou brusquely.
"Baliverne has done a deal of work to-day. I must have
a chat with her."
"And the Shivcrer shall not take ill a little refresh-
ment," replied Carquefou. "I feel her fainting on my
hips."
Recovering from the emotion of the first few moments
and again mistress of herself, Diana was threatening Re-
naud with her pretty finger. He remained kneeling be-
fore her in speechless adoration and joy.
"I can understand the Count of La Guerche's return,"
she said, rallying. "It is enough to see his attitude to her
to understand the motives which urged him hither. But
why did you follow him to Magdebourg?"
"I do not know," replied Renaud, troubled.
"Oh, what an innocent ! Well, if you do not know
why you came you had better leave at once, for the
country is unhealthy. It rains bullets here and the wind
is the color of fire. The Count of La Guerche has a light
to live here. Something keeps him here and he is willing
lose .'ill to remain with this something. But the Mar-
quis <-f Chaufontaine I Ui, fie! if he should receive a
scratrh we could never forgive ourselvi
"You send me back?" asked Renaud, scarrcly able to
breathe.
22 MAGDEBOURG
"To be sure, if you have no good reasons for remain-
ing here."
"But, Mademoiselle, I love you, I adore you!" cried
Renaud beside himself.
"Are you quite sure of that ?" said Diana gravely.
"Am I sure of it ? I would sacrifice ten thousand lives
to spare you a tear. I no longer belong to myself since
I first saw you. The castle of St. Wast, where you
dawned upon me, captured my heart and has kept it.
I'm almost mad, it is true"
"Almost?" interposed Diana, smiling.
"Well, if you wish, wholly mad, and something more.
There is no stupidity or extravagance of which I am not
capable. There are days when he who addresses you is a
perfect villian. Oh, sweet heaven, what a confession
'twould be, did I tell all! Collect all the faults and all
the imprudences of the world, combine them in one and
you have me. But I love you, and at the height of my
follies, when my heart and my head have the bit in their
teeth, if you made a sign, a single sign, you would see me
at your feet like a child. Armand can tell you. He has
seen me. Ask him what he thinks of my fever. I be-
lieved in the beginning that I had convulsions. I spared
nothing to heal myself. Oh, nothing, I swear. But
nothing could cure me, neither travels nor bottles, neither
time nor absence, neither this nor that, nor the things I
do not tell. Had I any need to love you, let me ask you?
But this love is like a nail which one strikes. Each day
it sinks deeper. It is like a charm which you have cast
upon me. In faith, I've done my share, now you must,
do yours. Henceforward you will see me eternally near
you, and if some day, in punishment of my sins, which
are, alas, rather numerous, you drive me from your pres-
ence, I do not know whither I shall betake myself, to the
land of the Indians, or to declare war on the Incas of
Peru, and I shall be killed in some barbaric isle, while
crying out your name to the savages about me."
"Well," replied Diana, "now that I know your reasons
for coming hither, I fancy that some day I may myself
be called Madame de Chaufontaine."
MAGDEBOURG 23
Rcnaud gave a cry that rang through the house. He
attempted to stand but burst into tears.
"Ah, tears are good," said Diana, offering him her
hand. "No words can equal them, and as I see them, 1
also dare tell you, Renaud, that I love you and shall never
Jove any but vou!"
24 THE PROPHECY OF MAGNUS
CHAPTER III.
THE PROPHECY OF MAGNUS.
That same evening Armand-Louis went to Thierry de
Falkenberg, who was at the town hall and imparted to
this officer the instructions Gustavus Adolphus had given
him in their brief interview.
"Oh, I will hold the city as long as I can," said the
Swedish officer, "but can I hold it long?"
He then informed Armand-Louis that signs of discon-
tent began to show among the inhabitants of Magde-
bourg. Some regretted their stifled commerce, others,
the consequences of an attack in case fate betrayed their
arms. The place was suffering much under the fire of
the besiegers.
"Had I not two thousand soldiers of the Swedish army
and a body of volunteers determined to resist till the
bitter end," added M. de Falkenberg, "Madgebourg
would already have opened her gates."
"You know what the king, your master, desires," re-
turned Armand-Louis. "The word surrender must not
be spoken."
"It never shall while I live, I swear to you."
Armand-Louis and Renaud investigated the interior of
the city and the ramparts. Everywhere they found the
evidences of long conflicts, portions of the walls in dust,
houses riddled with bullets, disemboweled towers, smok-
ing ruins ; everywhere, a gloomy population ; no more
songs or shouts, but women and children weeping in the
churches. The suburbs, invaded by the Imperialists, were
a heap of wreckage, lighted up here and there with flames.
Nevertheless, though the enthusiasm of the first days
had fallen, the defense was equally energetic and vigilant.
The army of Tilly, having mastered the forts and the sub-
urbs, had dealt cruel losses. The best regiments, which
had been so often led to victory, were decimated ; and a
THE rROPHECY OF MAGNUS 25
goodly number of excellent captains had lost their lives
in these murderous affrays. Xo part of the belt of wall
which encircled Magdebourg was broken. Its artillery
replied unfailingly to the Austrian artillery. The gen-
erals of the enemy who found the oldest troops in their
hands hesitating, began to believe that they could never
take this rebel city by main force.
To recommence the assault after the check at the pos-
tern would have been to expose the arms of Ferdinand to
a defeat whose consequences were incalculable.
One morning, after a long series of skirmishes which
had cost the enemy many lives, the sentinels placed on
the highest towers, observed that divers batteries, which
the previous evening had been vomiting flame and iron,
appeared to be disburdened of their engines of destruc-
tion. There were no soldiers about these deserted bat-
teries. Carquefou, who was on guard close by a postern,
hung a rope from a spike and let himself down into the
trench.
"Faith, 'tis so much the worse," he said to his com-
rades. "Fear gives way to curiosity."
Several resolute men followed him into the burned
suburbs, and gliding nearer and nearer behind fragments
of the walls and along the trenches, at last reached the
outposts of the Imperial army. Its lines were no longer
so tight about Magdebourg. The army had retreated
some distance.
The news of this unexpected retreat traversed the city
like lightning. Everybody rushed into the streets and
questioned those who had gone as scouts to reconnoiter
the positions of Tilly's army.
"I advanced timidly to the site of that great battery,
whose top you can see beyond on the down," said Car-
quefou. "God knows I was ready to run like a hare at
the first alarm. The hurdles had been overthrown, the
parapets knock" id down, the cannons carried away. I
could see naught on the plain but a company of cavaliers
behind a curtain of trees.
A hundred civilians flung their caps in the air.
"They're going away!" was cried upon all sides, and
the happiest of them fell to embracing each other.
26 THE PROPHECY OF MAGNUS
"If they're going away," said Magnus, "the moment
is come for us to keep a watchful lookout."
The veteran was glared at in astonishment.
"Don't you understand ?" they said." The Imperialists
are beating a retreat."
"I understand, perhaps, and that is why I say, if you
do not watch by day and by night, some fine morning
the Croatians will be in Magdebourg."
The civilians laughed at him.
"The Trojans laughed also when the daughter of
Hecuba spoke," retorted Magnus, "and Troy was taken
and reduced to ashes."
Nevertheless, he desired to learn what Carquefou had
discovered. Armand-Louis, who was ever thinking of
some means to restore the young ladies to the Marquis of
Pardaillan, together with Renaud, accompanied Magnus,
hoping to find some road passable.
For a long time they followed the lines of circumvalla-
tion, which had been occupied by the enemy the evening
before. Not a single breastwork but was abandoned.
"Some deserter must have told them," said Magnus
anxiously, "that we have the forces to take and keep
them."
"Magnus believes in nothing; not even flight," re-
turned Renaud, who was already foretasting the pleas-
ures of the journey he should undertake with Diana.
"Count Tilly has never taken flight," said Magnus.
"If he retires at times, it is his fashion, like the tiger's, in
order to make a better spring."
All three forged ahead in search of an open way. But
behind a hedge they discovered a cordon of infantry ; in
the depths of the woods, a squadron of cavalry; in the
centre of villages and farms, regiments. There was no
trace of rout, no wagon overturned, no piece of artillery
abandoned. Each copse of trees as well as every hollow
in the road sheltered a sentinel.
"The Imperial army acts as a wolf when it watches a
lamb," said Magnus.
"And in this instance the lamb is Magdebourg, is it
not?" asked Armand-Louis.
At this instant three or four shots crashed and a cor-
THE PROPHECY OF MAGNUS 27
responding number of balls dug up the earth about them.
"There's my answer," said Magnus.
They returned to Magdebourg, which they found in
jovial mood. Bonfires blazed in the streets, tuns of beer
and wine were tapped, tables set. Children were singing
and dancing, all doors were opened wide. Confusion
and clamor reigned everywhere. Some of the notables
were talking of a banquet to be given at the town hall to
celebrate the deliverance of their valiant city.
"If you cannot induce M. de Falkenberg to command
these shopmen to return to the ramparts, Magdebourg is
lost," said Magnus.
Armand-Louis hastened to the Governor's palace. It
was thronged with an immense crowd. The civilians,
freed from their arms, were congratulating one another.
The younger men were forming dances in the square.
It was with difficulty that Armand-Louis elbowed his
way to the apartment of the Swedish chieftain. He found
him engaged upon his replies to the last despatches of
Count Tilly. A burgomaster, standing upon a table.
read them in a loud voice to the magistrates and notables
of the city.
Their tone was extraordinarily moderate, although the
Austrian commander again summoned Magdebourg to
capitulate.
"The cock docs not crow so loud now," commented
one of the auditors.
"He is beginning to understand that our walls are not
made of gingerbread," said another.
"The old wretch must have caught cold in our
trenches," said a third.
"His doctors must have ordered him a change of air,"
added his neighbor.
With a superb disdain the burgomaster flung the dis-
patches on the table, amid the laughter and raillery of the
assembly.
"Henceforward Count Tilly will know of what stuff
Magdebourg is made," said the burgomaster.
"And ye, Magdebourgians, remember the fate of Maes-
tricht," said Magnus.
28 THE PROPHECY OF MAGNUS
All eyes were cast upon the old soldier. A shudder
ran through the room.
"One night not long since, Maestricht believed itself
saved," pursued Magnus. "The enemy was retreating
wearied of vain attacks on the ramparts. The next day
Maestricht was taken. If you do not wish to wake up
in fire and blood, then, men, be on your guard !"
A messenger entered, bearing news. He had seen the
Walloon regiments of the Pappenheim corps on the
march toward Schoenbeck.
"They were followed by a large body of artillery," he
added.
At these words a great tumult broke out in the hall.
They thought no more of the warning of Magnus, save to
mock at him.
"If you are sick, friend, don't drink, but at least let us
make merry in peace," cried the burgomaster.
"Plague upon the one who won't have us enjoy our-
selves," said another of them.
"Comrade, if you are afraid at Magdebourg, then set
out for Maestricht."
Each one vied with his neighbor to launch a jest, but
while some of them chattered, others, having paid a visit
to the cellars of the hall, charged tables with bottles and
pots.
"Good appetite to ye, sirs," said Magnus. "I will not
sit at a funeral feast."
In the meantime Armand-Louis had approached M.
de Falkenberg and had informed him of what he had
seen and of what he suspected. The Swede frowned and
glared about him.
"I know," he said. "I know; but nobody here is in
a condition to hear me. Prince Christian William him-
self, who will lose his head if Magdebourg be taken, is
riding about the city in holiday attire. I shall deem my-
self fortunate if I can keep a few hundred men at my side.
The merry-making fever is in the air. It has infected
even my soldiers."
The captain pointed to a band of Swedes tipping
glasses with the citizens in the square under his window.
Armand-Louis and Renaud left the town hall more
THE TROPHKCY OF MAGNUS *9
sorrowful than when they had entered it. Magnus spoke
no more. Each street they passed through offered a
holiday sight. Musicians, seated on casks, scraped their
fiddles to the lissome steps of dancing youths and
maidens. Hundreds of tables set in the open air, re-
ceived the thousands of guests. Passersby were invited
to sit down and drink. Every hearth was blazing. Not
an empty glass was to be seen. The nostrils of Car-
quefou dilated; he fondled his stomach tenderly with his
hand as he passed the kitchens. Here he accepted a
glass of Rhine wine, yellow as gold ; farther on, a wing
of roast capon, brown and deliciously crusted.
"They eat and you eat with them !" muttered Magnus,
glancing sideways at his comrade. "Oh, unhappy one!
To-morrow the enemy will be in Magdebourg."
"That's just my reason," replied Carquefou. "I won't
have the Austrians or Croatians find a bone to put be-
tween their teeth," and he buried in his pockets all that he
could not swallow.
When night fell Magnus saddled the horses of
Adricnne and Armand-Louis, and Hung under the beasts'
noses a bushel of oats. Carquefou scrupulously followed
his example.
"We must neglect nothing that is good," he said,
"neither wines nor precautions."
Soon afterward the steeds of Diana and Renaud had
no cause to envy their neighbors. They were saddled
and had double provender in their troughs.
Armand-Louis and Renaud took good care to conceal
their fears from the young ladies. Magnus might be mis-
taken in his forebodings, and in any case it were useless
to cause them a night of alarm, which the morrow alone
could dissipate or justify. They advised them, however,
to be ready to leave at the first rays of the rising sun.
The merrymakers prolonged their festivities far into
the night. The post which M. de Falkenbcrg had pru-
dently placed along the ramparts to warn the garrison in
of need, gradually disappeared. The soldiers, still
faithful to the countersign, but worn out by many liba-
3, fell asleep, one after t! ' r. Silence followed
song and soon naught was heard in the city bound in
3© THE PROPHECY OF MAGNUS
sleep, save the vague and indescribable noise of some
good citizens making staggering endeavors to find their
homes.
Silence reigned in the countryside as well. The dying
bivouac fires lighted the horizon here and there when
their flames were whipped by the wind.
Meanwhile, at that undecided hour when pale flashes
of light spread out in the heavens and made the scattered
trees and houses in the plain issue composedly from the
darkness, a low rumble arose in the distance. It was
regular, such as would be caused by a body of troops on
the march.
Magnus, whose anxiety prevented sleep, was wander-
ing about the gates. He kicked a sentinel and asked
him :
"Don't you hear anything?"
The sentinal hearkened for a second and burst out
laughing. Then he answered : " 'Tis the Croatian cav-
alry making away. 'Good luck,' they're saying to us."
Then pillowing his head on the back of a snoring com-
rade, he closed his eyes.
The same noise continued in the distance. At one
time Magnus thought it was moving away.
" 'Tis some witchery !" he said to himself. A wavering
white line on the other side of the Elbe made him be-
lieve that a cavalry corps was leaving the Imperial army.
"Can Count Tilly be really beating retreat?" mur-
mured Magnus. "Yet he's said to be a good general and
I've seen him at work."
He climbed upon the crest of the rampart and gazed
into the distance. Nothing disturbed the tranquillity of
the devastated country. Not a man showed himself ; but
by dint of scrutiny, Magnus thought he could distinguish
the uncertain movements of a troop of soldiers in a copse,
which stood on the horizon. Further, it seemed to him,
that a thin black line, whence issued divers shafts of bril-
liance, was crawling along the windings of a hollow road
The sun arose and flooded the plain with light. A
man appeared at the end of a path, running breathlessly.
He leaped quickly into the trench, seized with both hands
THE PROPHECY OF MAGNUS 31
a rope which dangled from the top of the wall and scaled
the rampart with the agility of a cat.
Magnus thrust himself before the man, in whom he,
at this instant, recognized Carquefou.
Tis true I've a good appetite, but I've also good
l^gs." said Carquefou. "I took a fancy last night to have
a stroll in the neighborhood of the Imperial camp. I
know the road, having crossed it ahorse in broad day. I
thereupon slipped along as far as the bank of the Elbe,
below there. Ah, the wretches, they are all astir!"
"The Imperialists?"
"God's death, to be sure! I'm not talking of the
Swedes. Artillery, cavalry, infantry — all are marching
together. I recognized Count Pappenheim on horse-
back, wearing his cuirass and leading ten regiments.
The cavalrymen have their sabres in their fists, the in-
fantry their pikes or their guns on their shoulders.
They'll reach Magdebourg before an hour's time."
"And vou are bound at this pace, whither?"
"To M. de Falkenberg."
"Thou art a man, Carquefou !"
"Who knows? Who knows? I'm afraid of being
caught like a hare in his burrow, that's all."
Carquefou and the veteran hurried on their way,
stumbling over these evidences of a holiday which was
to be followed by so sinister an awakening. They had
hardly gained the doors of the town hall when the crash
of musketry was heard from afar.
"Alas, 'tis too late!" said Carquefou. But Magnus,
drawing his sword, leaped up the stairway of the castle,
yelling:
"To arms ! To arms !"
While talking they had reached the next street. Be-
n tables and benches citizens were sleeping heavily
and barred the way. Magnus and Carquefou kicked
ie of them, crying :
"To anus! To arms! The cneniv is coming!"
Two or three of the sleep rs awoke and stood up
drowsily. One of them recognized Magnus.
32 THE PROPHECY OF MAGNUS
"Ah, the man of Maestricht," he said, and promptly
dropped down to dream again.
"Oh, what fools, who have eyes and do not see, ears,
and do not hear!" exclaimed Magnus.
WITH PIRB AND SWORD 33
CHAPTER IV.
WITH FIRE AND SWORD.
At the cry raised by Magnus, M. de Falkenberg, who,
surrounded by his officers, had been on the watch, leaped
outside. Repeated charges of musketry thundered in the
new city. The sound of the tocsin was now mingled with
them.
"To arms!" repeated the Swede, then gathering the
handful of soldiers and volunteers he had beside him, M.
de Falkenberg rushed ownard to meet the enemy.
As they reached the end of the square they met Ar-
mand-Louis and Renaud, who, while retreating, were
animating a group of surprised and routed citizens to ad-
vance to the fray.
The sight of the Swedish uniforms gave courage to
the citizens. They stopped.
"Forward !" commanded Falkenberg, flinging himself
first upon the Imperialists.
"Forward!" repeated Armand-Louis and Renaud.
The burgomaster, half frightened out of his wits, had
followed Falkenberg. He caught sight of Magnus, who
was brandishing Baliverne.
"Ah, why did I not believe you?" he groamd.
"The time for weeping is past and steady now and
let's make holiday with our swords!" returned the vet-
eran.
"And later we'll make holiday with our spurs, if we get
the chance," added Carquefou.
Before them wen- tin- Walloon companies, led to the
inlt by Count Pappenheim. At the first dash they
planted the colors <>f the Emperor upon the ramparts of
new city, while John of Werth, at the head of the Ra-
v.irinn regiments, struck at the opposite side of Magde-
bourg.
34 WITH FIRE AND SWORD
The attack had been made with as much promptitude
as skill ; after a decoy retreat, this was a rapid and terri-
ble return. The tactics forespoken by Magnus had in
reality been the strategy of old Count Tilly ; the execu-
tion of them had been confided to his most daring lieu-
tenants, at the head of his best troops.
Almost without striking a blow they had reached the
heart of Magdebourg on a gallop ; but then they met Fal-
kenberg and his Swedes.
Electrified by their example and that of Armand-Louis
and Renaud, who rallied to the charge the soldiers and
volunteers they had collected, they broke the first ranks
of the Walloons and drove them back to the ramparts.
But new cries arose at the other side of the city. The
ominous crash of musketry resounded more rapidly and
more loudly every minute. A great number of the fugi-
tives flung themselves amid the Swedes, filling the air
with clamors of terror.
A man, whose breast had been pierced by a bullet, fell
at the feet of Falkenberg, saying, "John of Werth !"
Then he gasped and died.
Armand-Louis and Renaud looked at each other. Be-
fore them Count Pappenheim, behind them John of
Werth. Their two implacable enemies were united to
conquer them. They were thinking of Adrienne and
Diana.
"We must not separate now," said Armand-Louis to
Renaud. Then, addressing Falkenberg, "Sir, do you see
to Count Pappenheim and his Walloons. We'll attend to
John of Werth and his Bavarians."
At this moment Magdebourg was a fearful spectacle.
Women and children, dragged from their slumber, ran
hither and thither in the streets and squares, where the
citizens, deprived of their leaders, sought to reunite their
forces. Most of them took refuge in the churches, whose
domes resounded with shrieks. The bells rang madly,
calling all citizens to defend the common cause. Mus-
ketry shrieked from all sides simultaneously. Volleys of
bullets, landing at the crossways, struck down hundreds
of wretches who augmented the confusion by their
groans. Already gruesome flashes of fire illuminated
WITH FIRE AND SWORD 35
several quarters of Magdebourg. Long columns of
smoke mounted to heaven, while the flames approached
ever nearer. New and more numerous hordes burst into
the city ; driven back, they returned to the charge with
more furious impetuosity and their mass rendered the re-
sistance of desperation all in vain. That which the bat-
tleax did not destroy, the torch devoured. The cannons
of the city, turned around upon the city, vomited destruc-
tion upon it. Whole rows of houses crumbled in clouds
of cinders. All that came within reach of sabre or
musket perished. Horror and awe were at the height,
when the gates forced inward by cannon balls, opened a
passage for the Croatian cavalry. It came like a torrent,
wrecking all in its path.
At the end of an hour the horses were pawing in blood.
Meanwhile Armand-Louis and Renaud held head
against John of Werth. Magnus and Carquefou were in
the foremost rank. The Bavarians found themselves
before a wall of bronze. From time to time Magnus
looked behind him. This astonished Carquefou. A
band of harrassed but ever fighting soldiers appeared at
the corner of the street. Magnus recognized the Swed-
ish uniform. Falkcnberg was not there. Magnus
knocked over a Bavarian who persisted in attacking him
and leaped toward the Swedes.
"M. de Falkenberg?" he asked of a young officer, all
covered with blood.
"An Austrian ball killed him," replied the officer.
A thunder of wild shouts burst on the air. The Wal-
loons pressed forward. Magnus rejoined Armand-Louis,
saving:
'The city's lost!"
"I'.h?" said Armand-Louis. "Then let's make one
more effort and save those confided to our care."
All f>»ur, Armand-Louis, Renaud, Magnus and Car-
quefou rushed forward and fell upon the Bavarians,
breaking their ranks as a battering ram breaks a wall. An
empty space lay before them.
"Honor is saved!" cried Armand-Louis, "now to the
gallop !"
Then all four disappeared down a little street. A few
36 WITH FIRE AND SWORD
minutes later, grouped about Adrienne and Diana, they
were seeking a means of escape from the burning city.
At this crisis, the unhappy defenders of Magdebourg
who still stood, resisted only to sell their lives dearly.
Each soldier fell in turn. The Croatians, spread broad-
cast, leaped ahorse and rode into the churches, pitilessly
massacring the flocks of kneeling women. Their sabres
never wearied.
Pillage followed carnage. A terror-stricken mob,
hunted from the houses, ran wildly through the city,
pursued by troops whom the intoxication of victory and
blood rendered implacable. They killed for the sake of
killing; they burned simply to destroy. Conflagration
raged from street to street.
In the midst of this furnace, which had been Magde-
bourg, Armand-Louis and his companions attempted to
open a passage to the gates. But what obstacles in their
way ! Here a street was blockaded by a fallen steeple,
reeking a cloud of black smoke ; farther on, a company of
Walloons was firing an entire district and driving the in-
habitants into the flames at the point of pikes. Yet the
four soldiers continued to advance, protected in some
wise by the tumult and terror of this work of annihilation.
If Croatian or Hungarian cavaliers came dangerously
close, the sword of Renaud or of Magnus soon felled
them to earth. Adrienne and Diana, all quivering with
awe, closed their eyes while their horses leaped over
corpses. When a numerous troop of the Imperialists
was seen afar off, the fugitives hid themselves behind a
smoking wall or under the fallen and smouldering dome
of some chapel. The troop once passed, they proceeded
on their way.
Suddenly a company of cavaliers rode before them,
wh.'le they were turning the corner of a still burning
building. The riders were galloping behind a man, who
wore a doublet of green satin, and who seemed to be their
leader. A scarlet plume waved from his grey cap, brush-
ing his shoulder. He. had a thin profile, a red beard and
the look of a wolf.
"Count Tilly," murmured Magnus. Carquefou crossed
WITH FIRE AND SWORD 37
himself, then raising a musket, hooked to his saddle-bow,
which he had reserved for a supreme occasion, he said :
"If he turns around, 'tis to look his last on the sun."
The squadron passed. A man galloped up to the side
of Count Tilly. A great mantle of green cloth enveloped
his form.
"If that's not the Duke of Saxe-Lauenbourg," said
Armand-Louis, "it is his phantom."
Carquefou replaced his musket in position, saying:
"Here's a ball that loses the chance to lodge itself in the
body of an illustrious cutthroat."
They had almost gained the ramparts when a body of
citizens, all covered with blood, rushed past them, pur-
sued by a regiment of Imperialists.
"Ah ! 'twere better to die here than flee farther," cried
one of the citizens.
They all retreated to the bottom of a garden. Armand-
Louis glanced about him. Naught could be seen on
any side but pikes and muskets, menacing visages and
bloody sabres. The torrent of citizens had borne them
along into the garden, which was protected on three sides
by an old wall.
While Armand-Louis was seeking a breach, a troop of
soldiers followed upon the citizens into the garden.
"Death to the heretics! Death to the rebels!" cried a
Walloon officer ; and a volley of bullets flew, decimating
the mutilated ranks of the citizens.
The horse of Adrienne began to rear and fell upon its
haunches. Armand-Louis quickly lifted her off and set
her behind him on his steed.
"Fly!" he said to Renaud, "I will follow you if I can."
"There's a bit of advice," retorted Renaud, "which I'd
make you answer for in the field were there not a thou-
sand murderers crowding upon us from all sides.''
But already Diana had come to Adrienne, and seizing
her hand, said :
"Thy lot shall be mine!''
They might still cross the walls of the garden and gain
the rampart, had it nut been that the horse of Armand-
Louis suffered from two wounds, in addition to his double
burden.
38 WITH FIRE AND SWORD
Suddenly Magnus dismounted, and pointing to one
end of the street with his sword, said :
"John of Werth !"
"And Captain Jacobus !" exclaimed Carquefou, dis-
mounting in turn.
Then each offered the bridle of his horse to Armand-
Louis.
"No; no; not at that price," cried the Huguenot.
John of Werth had already caught sight of them and
pointing them out to Captain Jacobus, he cried :
"This time they're mine."
Gathering his Bavarians about him, he dashed into the
garden. At the same instant another troop of cavalry
appeared at the opposite end of the street. Their
cuirasses bespattered with blood blazed in the sunlight.
They marched in good order, swords erect, following the
pace of the chief at their head.
"Ah, Count Pappenheim !" cried Armand-Louis, as he
recognized this personage.
"A tiger and a lion," said Carquefou, regarding in turn
the Bavarian captain and the Grand Marshal of the Em-
pire.
"Let all follow me !" commanded Armand-Louis in a
loud voice.
Bursting out of the garden in the teeth of the Croatians
and Walloons, striking and felling all who impeded his
passage, he opened a bloody path up to the cuirassiers of
Pappenheim, who gazed astounded at the havoc four
swords had wrought.
"Count Pappenheim," said Armand-Louis to his terri-
ble rival, "here are two gentlewomen whom I entrust to
your loyalty. If you are really he who is called The
Soldier, save them. As for myself and the Marquis of
Chaufontaine, we are your prisoners. Here is my
sword."
"Here is mine," added Renaud.
John of Werth had just ridden over the bodies of the
citizens retrenched in the garden. He had now arrived
at the group formed by Adrienne and Diana.
"At last," he said.
Almost at once his hand grasped the arm of Adrienne,
WITH FIRE AND SWORD 39
as the talons of a vulture upon the trembling wing of a
dove.
But Count Pappcnheim, swift as thunder, rode between
the maiden and the Bavarian, saying in an imperious
tone :
"Baron, you forget that Mademoiselle de Souvigny is
in my care. Who touches her, touches me."
The glances of the two captains crossed with the glitter
of swordblades. But Count Pappenheim was surrounded
by his cuirassiers, who were devoted to him. John of
Werth understood that he could not be the more power-
ful, lie lowered the point of his sabre.
"Mademoiselle de Souvigny, prisoner of a general of
Emperor Ferdinand," he said. "I do not dispute her
with you. Her ransom will go into the treasury of His
Roman and Apostolic Majesty, together with that of
Mademoiselle de Pardaillan."
Then bowing to Diana, he added :
"This is a capture which Count Tilly, Commander-in-
Chief of the Imperial army and an acquaintance of the
Marquis of Pardaillan, your father, will thoroughly ap-
preciate.
Then he retired slowly.
4o COUNT PAPPENHEIM'S NOBILITY
CHAPTER V.
COUNT PAPPENHEIM'S NOBILITY.
The name of Count Tilly, which has been mentioned
in the preceding colloquy, had a meaning which did not
escape Count Pappenheim. It made the Commander-
in-Chief of the army a kind of umpire between Made-
moiselle de Souvigny and of Mademoiselle de Pardaillan.
John of Werth would not tarry to inform him of what had
occurred, and Count Tilly would be sure to assert his
absolute authority, thus leaving Count Pappenheim no
longer free to act as he should have desired. His first
thought was to pay the debt of gratitude he owed Ar-
mand-Louis by restoring to him his freedom and Made-
moiselle de Souvigny. This would be the most noble
means of showing the French gentleman that he under-
stood great deeds and could imitate him in the practice
of heroic devotion. But did the young ladies still belong
to him, now that the name of His Majesty, the Emperor,
had been mentioned ?
As he had anticipated, John of Werth did not lose a
minute in going to Count Tilly and relating to him the
scene of which he had been a witness. The avidity of the
terrible general knew no bounds ; excited by the riches,
which long wars and rapine had permitted him to amass,
he thought unceasingly of some means to increase them.
Even as he named the two prisoners which fate had led
into the Imperial camp, John of Werth hastened to re-
mind Count Tilly that they were connected by blood with
the richest and noblest lords of Sweden. If the laws of
war gave them to one of his lieutenants, was it not just
that a part of their ransom should be given to the gen-
eralissimo of the army?
"Further," added John of Werth, "you know that
Mademoiselle de Pardaillan, Countess of Mummelberg,
by her mother's side, is by birth quite as much a Bo-
COUNT PAPPENHEIM'S NOBILITY 41
hemian as a Swede, and, therefore, subject to his Majesty.
the Emperor, our master. She possesses rich tracts in
Austria, which have been sequestrated. Part of them
may be the reward of him who conducts her to the feet
of her legitimate sovereign."
The eyes of Count Tilly gleamed with a ferocious
covetousness.
"Now," thought John of Werth, "Adrienne will always
be within reach of my claws."
Shortly thereafter a messenger from Count Tilly in-
formed Count rappenheim that the Commander-in-Chief
was awaiting him in the very palace Falkenberg had oc-
cupied the day before, when it was the scene of so much
rejoicing and festivity.
"Do not leave this house," said Count Pappenheim to
Armand-Louis as he resumed his armor, "neither you nor
any of your friends. The city belongs to Count Tilly ;
this house belongs to me."
He placed before the door, on which his name was in-
scribed in chalk, a platoon of his cuirassiers, commanded
them to allow entrance to none, no matter under what
pretext, and then betook himself to the conqueror of
Magdebourg.
It was not long ere the names of the two young ladies
were pronounced.
"I was expecting this," thought Count Pappenheim,
glancing at John of Werth.
John of Werth was stroking his mustache.
"This is an important capture," Count Tilly continued.
"One of the young ladies has wealth enough to save her
guardian the trouble of counting it. The other is de-
ided from one of the most considerable families in
C' rmany. Her perversity in heresy, or even some clever
arrangement may be reason sufficient to pass the land
she possesses into the hands of the crown. Besides.
Mademoiselle dc Pardaillan is the heiress of a gentleman,
who not only is known to be immensely wealthy, but who
is also the counsellor and confidant of our implacable
enemy. I claim these prisoners, therefore, in the name
of my sovereign. They may be able to serve our c:ium>
well."
42 COUNT PAPPENHEIM'S NOBILITY
"When he knows they are in our hands," interposed
John of Werth, "the Marquis of Pardaillan will surely
come to the Imperial camp at once, to treat of their ran-
som."
"Who can say," added Count Tilly, "whether the hopes
of liberating them quickly and without ransom will not
induce him to confide to us the secrets of his master?
Why should he not reveal the plans of Gustavus Adol-
phus, when all that is dearest to him in life is at stake?"
"The Marquis of Pardaillan is a warrior," Count Pap-
penheim hastened to reply, "and he will never do what
you yourselves would refuse to do, though you had ten
naked swords at your heart."
"Then he'll dive down deep into his coffers and empty
them, if he desires to get his daughter and his ward back
to Sweden. In default of revelations, which the vic-
torious armies of His Majesty can dispense with, our
master, Emperor Ferdinand, will have gold to pay some
of his faithful soldiers."
"Gold !" cried Count Pappenheim, looking the old gen-
eral straight in the eyes. "There was enough of it in
Magdebourg to keep a big army for three months. What
has become of it?"
The deep-set eyes of Count Tilly flashed, but without
replying directly to the question of a captain, whose vio-
lence and whose popularity he well knew* he said :
"The dispatch which bears the news of the capture of
Magdebourg to Munich and to Vienna contains the
names of Mademoiselle de Souvigny and Mademoiselle
de Pardaillan among the principal prisoners."
"I do not doubt," added John of Werth, "but that the
Emperor will hasten to summon them to his court. They
will adorn it with their beauty as the daughters of the
Eastern princes adorned the court of Alexander of Mace-
don."
Since the Emperor Ferdinand was thus informed,
Count Pappenheim could no longer think of executing
his generous project. This was the stroke of too clever
a hand.
"If the Emperor, my master, orders them to his pres-
ence, I myself will be the guide and protector of Made-
o
:
:
COUNT PAPPENHEIM'S NOBILITY 43
moiselle de Pardaillan and Mademoiselle de Souvigny,"
replied the grand-marshal.
"They could not be in better hands," cried John of
Werth. "I doubt only whether His Majesty will consen*
to be deprived of the services of a chief who knows ho\
to enchain victory to his sword."
"Oh, Bavaria can furnish captains to replace me."
John of Werth smiled and was silent. He did not des-
pair of yet finding an efficacious means to force the mar-
shal of the empire to separate himself from his prisoners.
What was important to him was to see that they were
not returned at once to the camp of Gustavus Adolphus.
"I have been told alss," said Count Tilly, "that you
have two French gentlemen as prisoners."
"The Count of La Guerche and the Marquis of Chau-
fontaine," added John of Werth.
" 'Tis true."
"What a windfall I" commented John of Werth care-
lessly. "Two desperate enemies to the imperial cause.
They shan't appear at court. A good tight lodging in
the state's prison will do for them."
"You forget, I believe," replied Count Pappenheim,
rising haughtily, "that these two gentlemen gave up their
swords to me."
"Ah, I understand," retorted John of Werth, "your in-
tention is to restore to them liberty. That's chivalry — "
"Such as yourself practiced one day; if I remember
aright, when you restored his liberty to the Marquis of
Pardaillan at the battle of Lutter," interrupted Count
Pappenheim.
John of Werth bit his lips. The argument was un-
answerable.
"Am I not concerned in this?" cried Count Tilly. "I
believe the smoking ruins of Magdebourg which sur-
round us are sufficient proof that I command Magde-
bourg."
"If you are generalissimo of the army, I believe 1 am
the hereditary marshal of the empire. What I have
taken, none dare touch."
"Count, do you know to whom you are speaking?"
44 COUNT PAPPENHEIM'S NOBILITY
"Count Tilly, you are speaking to Count Pappenheim.
That much I know."
The two chiefs glared at each other like two lions meet-
ing in the desert to drink at the same spring; the one
with all the haughty command with which he was in-
vested, the other with all the arrogance of the race
whence he sprung. The same pallor clouded each brow.
If pushed to extremes Count Pappenheim might depart
and not the whole army could stop him at the head of his
cuirassiers ; mayhap even a goodly part of it would follow
in his train ; and it meant risking all to exact all.
"Gentlemen," cried John of Werth, "what boots us the
life of two captains, whose ransom is not even ten crowns
of gold? On the contrary, it is well that the enemy
should know the contempt in which we hold their swords.
They will tell the Swedes what fate the army of Count
Tilly reserves for whomsoever resists. This surname of
'Invincible,' which it has so long deserved, they'll find it
deserves more than ever."
This flattery, adroitly put, banished the anger of the
general. A little smile spread over his face, as he re-
turned :
"John of Werth is right. Let the marshal of the em-
pire do as he pleases with the two adventurers, which
chance has placed in his way."
The conference was ended. Count Pappenheim slowly
returned to the house before which stood the guard of
cuirassiers. He had just bearded a man who did not
easily forgive, and he knew John of Werth enough to be
assured that he would not abandon his schemes, though
he had adjourned them. He must therefore place the
Count of La Guerche and the Marquis of Chaufontaine
beyond the reach of any hostile hand.
His manner, as he entered the room occupied by the
two gentlemen, gave them to understand that something
had happened. Adrienne and Diana clung close togeth-
er like two doves at the approach of a vulture.
"You know whence I come," said Count Pappenheim.
"Nothing is lost ; but you must separate."
"Separate?" echoed Adrienne.
"The name of one against whom I can do nothing, an
COUNT PAPPENHBIM'S NOBILITY 45
august name, has been pronounced ; Mademoiselle de
Souvigny is the prisoner of His Majesty Ferdinand, the
Emperor of Germany. Mademoiselle de Pardaillan as
well."
Adrienne was too much shocked to reply. Count Pap
penheim profited of this silence to relate to them whal
had passed at the abode of Count Tilly. When they
learned that their companions were to be sent either to
Munich or Vienna, Armand-Louis and Renaud leaped
like two panthers whose hips have been pierced with ar-
rows.
"Both prisoners? And we?" they cried.
"You, gentlemen, are free."
" Tis treason," exclaimed Renaud.
"There's a word, Sir," retorted the marshal, slightly
paling, "which I should make you answer for, were you
not my guest. I did all in human power to save you ; but
I'm not master, nor am I Ferdinand of Hapsburg, before
whose name the haughtiest heads bow. Yet be assured,
for the young ladies are under my charge."
"And you will answer for them on your life, your
honor?" cried Armand-Louis.
"There's no need to remind me of it, Count, but mean-
while, gentlemen, you had better leave."
"So soon ?" queried Armand-Louis, drawing near Ad-
rienne.
"The sooner the better."
"What do you fear?" asked Adrienne.
"I fear nothing and I mistrust everything. Do I know
what the general in command of Magdebourg will decide
to-night? There is a man close to him who hates you
all and he may be fertile of evil counsel."
*'< >h, go then, go quickly," said Adrienne.
Armand-I.<>uis arose and said shortly:
"Let us understand well. Count Tappenheim is for
us, is it *ru< v '
"It is," r< plii d the count.
"We are beneath your roof and I see below me cuir-
rs, who, at a signal from their general, would all die
to protect this house."
"All."
46 COUNT PAPPENHEIM'S NOBIUTY
"But against us we have Count Tilly, John of Werth
and an army."
"That is to say, might, machination and spleen."
"Then if we heed your advice we'll leave to-night."
"Within an hour."
"And we'll make straightway for the Swedish out-
posts?"
"Without looking back."
Adrienne and Diana felt a chill run through them.
Armand-Louis and Renaud started.
"Ah, I understand," said the grand-marshal of the em-
pire, "You have a thousand things to say, a thousand
confidences to exchange — perhaps even you have to un-
dertake a deliverance which is the sum of all your
prayers."
" 'Tis true," cried Renaud, "and which we shall obtain
with God's aid and our swords."
"Remain then. I allow you a night. 'Tis an im-
prudence, but perhaps this imprudence will enable me the
better to provide for your retreat. Besides, I'll not at-
tempt to combat the counsels of love. My experience
has taught me the follies it inspires. Happy we are when
they are still only follies !"
This allusion to the incidents of their meeting at La
Grande Fortelle caused Adrienne's visage to mantle with
a veil of purple. In it Armand-Louis beheld the proof
that Count Pappenheim was not the man he had hitherto
judged him, and he proffered his hand impulsively.
Renaud, touched by this action, approached the mar-
shal, saying:
"You have in your hands two gentlewomen, whom a
good resolution, an impulse of the heart may make free.
Are you not of a name to brave the anger of Count Tilly,
of a rank to coerce even the Emperor, your master, to
respect? Say the word and these two women will bless
you."
Without answering Count Pappenheim threw open the
window violentlv, then said :
"Behold!"
The two young men, behind whom Adrienne and
Diana grouped themselves, saw by the light of flame, a
COUNT PAPPKNIIEIM'S NOBILITY 47
black curtain of soldiers, whence issued the flashes of
pikes and muskets.
"There are the Walloons ; beyond, the Bavarian com-
panies," continued the count. "Oh, John of Werth laid
all his plans well. Do you desire a battle in which all
four of you may perish?"
" Tis nothing to us, but to them !" said Armand-Louis.
"I would not have waited for your request," said the
count, closing the window, "if it had been possible for me
to grant it. But where Tilly commands, where John of
Werth sleeps, a tiger and a wolf, gentlemen, we must
hope in God. To-day is theirs ; to-morrow, perhaps,
mav be ours !"
48 A MONK WITH AN APPETITE
CHAPTER VI.
A MONK WITH AN APPETITE.
While the preceding events were taking place in one
corner of Magdebourg a Capuchin monk was prowling
about a house which the quartermasters of the army had
marked as the headquarters of John of Werth. He was
as long as a ladder, as thin as the paw of a hare, dry as
a bit of twine and pale as a birch. His restless eyes lost
sight of nothing about him ; they were ever moving and
flashed darkly with a certain something both savage and
feline in their glance, that reminded one of the eyes of a
wild beast. At times the monk forgot to answer the sol-
diers who, charged with booty, asked his benediction in
passing ; at others he bestowed a careless sign of the cross
upon them with his right hand and a smile that bore more
of covetousness than of humility. He never went far
from the house, which was guarded by a Bavarian sen-
tinel pacing up and down monotonously.
Night fell and quiet reigned. Some of the houses
which were still blazing cast their red flames toward the
sombre sky. Then in a neighboring street the sound of
hurrying and heavy-booted feet was heard. Soon the
shadow of the Capuchin was outlined against the wall of
a building illuminated by flames. He was leaning for-
ward to see the better.
"It is he !" the monk murmured. "Play fast and an
hour may restore what chance lost to me."
At this moment John of Werth arrived in front of the
house. The Capuchin accosted him and crossing his
arms on his breast, bowed with a contrite air, saying :
"Will my lord John of Werth deign to lose five min-
utes of his precious time to listen to an humble servant of
the Church?"
"Now?" asked the Bavarian.
"Now, if it pleases your lordship ;" and he added in a
A MONK WITH AN APPETITE 49
lower tone, "it concerns a person claimed by hell, whom
my lord John of Werth honors with a particular hatred.
I mean the Count of La Guerche."
John of Werth scrutinized the monk sharply and said :
"Father, would you be frightened by a venison patty,
♦lanked with four bottles taken from the renegades of
Magdebourg?"
"Though my habit has cancelled all commerce with the
sensualities of this world, in the service of the cause
which we both defend, you by your sword, I by my word,
I will submit myself to the proof of the patty.'
"And the temptation of four bottles ?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Then follow me. We'll chat while supping."
The monk bowed to the ground and followed John of
Werth into a lower hall which the Croatians and the
flames had respected. A stout oak table bore without
bending the respectable burden of a patty modestly sur-
rounded by a complete assortment of saucepans, black
puddings and chitterlings, whence rose a steam of spices.
Four long, narrow-necked bottles decorated each corner
of the table.
"Ha, ha," said John of Werth, smiling, "Magdebourg
has good stuff." Then pointing out a chair to the Capu-
chin, "Be seated, eat and drink."
"Ah," exclaimed the monk emotionally, as he raised
his eyes toward heaven, "when one has labored all day in
the vineyard of the Lord, 'tis sweet at eventide to discover
that the modest efforts of an unworthy servant of the
Church have not been disagreeable t<> Providence."
I laving said this he rolled back the broad sleeves of his
-e robe and attacked the patty vigorously, not neglect-
ing the chitterlings, which he moistened with a brim-
ming bumper of Rhine wine.
"My lord," he recommenced with a sigh, "the words
of the Fathers of the Church are that we pardon sin ; but
when one has to do with a hardened and heretical sinner,
the Holy Inquisition, which T reverence, hands the wretch
who persists in error over t*> the si cular authorities."
"The Holy Inquisition never errs," replied John of
50 A MONK WITH AN APPETITE
Werth, striking an enormous breach in the side of the
patty.
"Therefore it has seemed to me that neither pity nor
mercy should be allowed to the cursed heretic who is
known among his heretical brethren under the name of
the Count of La Guerche."
"Neither pity nor mercy, quite right; but, unhappily,
you must know, father, that the Count of La Guerche
has, by some infernal art, interested a powerful dignitary
in his lot, namely, the Grand-Marshal of the Empire,
Count Pappenheim."
"I know it, my lord, I know it. And I see the hand of
the Evil One in it, but the machinations of the Spirit of
Darkness shall not prevail against the spiritual arms
which it is my duty to employ, and if it please God we
will conquer the obstinacy of this Huguenot."
"Your goblet."
The monk refilled his pewter goblet to the brim and
swallowed the contents at a draught.
"The Count of La Guerche," he continued with a bea-
tific air, "will surely leave here in a few days. Doubtless
he will take the shortest road from Magdebourg to the
camp of this son of Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar,
whom the Swedes call Gustavus Adolphus. He will do
this with the malicious aim of there securing aid."
" 'Tis evident, father. You reason with a clearness of
vision that charms me."
"Now, by giving the spiritual arms, of which I have
just spoken to you, the assistance of the temporal, it
would be easy to place the Count of La Guerche and his
companion, the Marquis of Chaufontaine, beyond all
power of injuring the well-beloved sons of our Holy
Church."
"Beyond all power, you say?"
"The roads are full of ambushes. The wise man can
never answer for the morrow."
The monk emptied a bottle and threw it adroitly out
of the window.
"There's a monk with the hand of a reiter," thought
John of Werth.
"Follow my argument closely," pursued the monk,
A MONK WITH AN ArTETITE 5'
whose brain found greater brilliance at the bottom of each
bottle he emptied. "These miscreants, whose names my
lips cannot utter without the sensation of a red-hot iron,
leave Magdebourg a fine morning, their souls full of black
schemes. They think over the perpetration of them
while on their way. But God, who does not permit the
wicked to triumph, causes them on a certain evening to
enter an inn whose proprietor is a holy man devoted to
the eternal interests of religion. One may excite his
piety by a gift and he will open the door of his house to
the secular arm."
"Without compromising the name or reputation of
anybody?"
"Does my lord take this venerable robe for the band
of an infant ? Xo, no ; this arm has often put in practice
the motto of a philosopher whose name escapes me,
which is, 'dispatch and discretion.' "
"It is a virtuous and prudent arm."
The Capuchin bowed and filled his plate of the patty,
which was fast disappearing.
"Moreover, I fancy," he went on, "that your lordship
has. like myself, a horror of useless violence and of the
spilling of blood. What we desire is not so much the
death of the sinner, but his conversion."
"To be sure."
"Then the thrust of a poniard, which sends life into
death, does not allow souls the time to repent and shrive
themselves by abundant alms-giving. The spectacle of
the miseries and sufferings to which they are to be con-
demned must move these souls to penance. Thus, if your
Huguenot dies, Mademoiselle de Souvigny perseveres in
her error. Where's your gain? The pleasure of tri-
umph is unquestionably something, but not everything.
The Count of La Guerche, on the contrary, is buried in
some deep hole and begs the obstinate person to respond
to the prayers of your lordship in order to obtain the de-
liverance of his miserable body, which suffers daily tor-
tures. That would be beautiful 1 And to attain this
end, our humble efforts must strive unceasingly."
John of Werth contemplated the monk with admira-
tion. It seemed to him that this man, whose name he
52 A MONK WITH AN APPETITE
did not know, outstripped the unfortunate Frantz Kreuss
by a hundred yards.
"You know an inn then," he added, "which will extend
hospitality to you at the price of a pious offering?"
"I do."
"And your arm will surprise the Count of La Guerche
there and lead him to a spot where he will have leisure
for long meditation ?"
"With your permission both the Count of La Guerche
and the Marquis of Chaufontaine."
"You have my permission with pleasure."
"You are a good man," replied the monk.
Then in a soft voice John of Werth called a lackey and
ordered him to fetch four more bottles together with
some ham.
"I cannot admire enough the excellence of your stom-
ach and the vigor of your appetite," the baron commented
with a smile.
"They are the privileges of a pure conscience," an-
swered the Capuchin.
"Now, tell me, father, does your holiness undertake
this mission of confidence for the love of your neighbor
only?"
"Alas, no."
"Ah !"
"Times are so hard that I must solicit a recompense
less heavenly for my services."
"I understand, father; and I think we can unite our
efforts for the common good."
"That is my most ardent desire. I have not always
been a lowly servant of the Church, my lord. In other
days I wore a sword. If humility did not forbid it, I
should add, that I handled it not ill."
"I suspected it when you showed me your arm a while
ago.
"Unhappily the devil fanned my spirit to anger. One
night we were playing dice with the equerry of his Emi-
nence, the Duke of Friedland. I lost ; and I killed the
equerry with a stab of my dirk."
"Merely a move of passion, father."
"I asked pardon for it from saints and men. Now I
A MONK WITH AN ArPETlTE 53
must obtain the forgiveness of his eminence the Duke of
Friedland."
"I'll see to that."
"Later, while traveling in the Palatinate, I met the
treasurer of His Eminence the Archbishop of Mayence.
We dined under an arbor together. On the morrow
neither the treasurer nor the treasure could be found.
Certain evil persons stirred the rumor that I had some-
thing to do with this singular event. Jt is to be desired
that His Eminence show his forgetfulncss of the injury
by ordering all investigation to be stopped and the pro-
ceedings to be closed."
"I will write to the Archbishop of Mayence."
"Later still in Bavaria in a castle where a marriage was
being celebrated, a band of students and gypsies abducted
the bride in her wedding dress and jewels. An unhappy
chance had brought me to this company of vagrants the
preceding day. They had been pleased to invest me
with the title of captain. The bride returned to the castle
eight days later and entered a convent. Alas, no trace of
the jewels was ever discovered."
"Such things are easily lost."
"Calumny dared accuse me. It would be opportune,
my lord, to engage the commander of the castle, a castle
of the Holy Empire, to think no more of this affair which
recalls to him such melancholy memories."
"I'll say a word to my master, the Elector Maximilian,
and I believe he will accede to my request."
"There are certain other trifling peccadilloes under
which my conscience has not slept. One among them
caused a sentence of death to be pronounced by the ec-
clesiastical tribunal of Treves. But thanks to the inter-
vention of my holy patron, I've killed so many Hugue-
nots since then, that I am sure the tribunal would consent
to remit my sentence did some charitable and powerful
soul plead my cause."
"I shall be that soul, if you wish."
"Now, my lord, I have to present to you a last humble
prayer. I should have none to address to heaven, if
some one of your name and credit attached me to his
person. The cloak befits my build better than the habit,
54 A MONK WITH AN APPETITE
not that I disdain this pious dress, but each of us has his
instincts and mine incline me toward the military attire.
Yet I should always be able, when occasion required, to
bend my head under a cowl."
"Zounds ! Father, for the past hour I've been think-
ing that you alone could replace an honest servant whom
I've lost, good Frantz. He was a clever man and one
unequalled for enterprises of hazard. Avaricious, if you
will, but not scrupulous. I weep for him every day.
You are of his race and blood, with something more that
attracts me."
"You flatter me."
"Not in the least. I speak of things as they are. You
have, perhaps, a brain even more inventive, more fertile
of resource, more prompt and energetic."
"Then, you agree?"
"Without the slightest hesitation."
"And I am yours?"
"From this evening."
"My lord," cried the monk, as he sent the four empty
bottles flying through the window, "as true as this brittle
glass breaks as it falls, shall I pitch at your feet, bound
and gagged, these two cursed Frenchmen, called La
Guerche and Chaufontaine. One is yours, my lord, the
other is mine !"
"Ah, thou hatest them also?"
"Look at this scar on my breast. The poniard of one
of them caused it. Though it were effaced I should
never forget the man who struck the blow."
"Thy name, soldier?"
"Matheus Orlscopp."
"To work, then, Matheus, and if thou dost succeed, in
all Germany there will not be a richer or more fortunate
captain than thou !"
A MONK-RIDDEN INN 55
CHAPTER VII.
A MONK-RIDDEN INN.
When both the conversation and dinner were finished a
vague inquietude filled the mind of John of Werth. He
feared that his new recruit would not be able to stand
up after the frightful quantity of food and drink he had
taken. What was his surprise when he saw the Capu-
chin leap to his feet with the agility of a cat after the
last slice of ham had followed the last glass of wine into
his stomach. Matheus Orlscopp looked no fatter than
if he had dined on a crust of dry bread and a drop of
water. Thin he was and thin he remained.
"Some money, now," he said in a sonorous voice.
"Take what you need," said John of Werth emptying
his belt on the table.
"I'll take all," answered Matheus, turning the gold
pieces into his pockets. "This will close the eyes and
open the ears of Master Innocent."
"Ah, his name is Innocent, eh, your innkeeper?"
"Yes, and never was a name better bestowed. He
never does anything save to render a service to his neigh-
bor."
Matheus was going out of the door when John of
Werth seized him by the arm, saying:
"What will answer for your good faith?"
"This," replied the Capuchin, placing his finger on the
scar of Renaud's poniard, "and the confession I made
you. Half of it would hang an honest man."
"Fly then!" cried the Bavarian.
An hour later a cavalier well mounted and followed by
two valets at a respectful distance, rode forth from Mag-
debourg. It was Matheus Orlscopp, traveling as a gen-
tleman.
Passing the house of Count Pappenheim, he noticed a
56 A MONK-RIDDEN INN
brilliant light at the upper story and heard a pure and
melodious voice vibrating in the night air, chanting a
psalm of David. This was not the first time that he had
heard this glorious voice. It recalled to him the inn of
The Cross of Malta in the town of Burgheim. The
shadows of the two gallant cavaliers could be seen
against the window.
"Sing," murmured Matheus, "we'll see whether you
will always sing."
Then he was lost in the night.
Armand-Louis and Renaud could not tear themselves
away from their sweethearts. To the bitter regret of
leaving them was added the mortal anguish of leaving
them in the hands of one who had been a rival and was
still an enemy. Loyal as they judged him, they were still
captives and with what hope of ever being liberated?
Renaud tore at his mustache and angry exclamations
escaped his lips. Armand-Louis walked up and down or
stood still, mute and pale with despair, looking toward
heaven.
"Beaten !" Renaud was repeating incessantly.
"And both prisoners !" said Armand-Louis.
At times the wildest plans occurred to them, from
which they recoiled only because they feared to com-
promise their companions still more. Adrienne and
Diana were confident in hope.
"What do you fear?" asked Adrienne in a firm voice.
"You surely do not do me the injury of thinking that my
heart can change ? Has my life been free from perils thus
far? Do you think I am too weak to support the rigors of
this new trial ? Believe me, my heart shall withstand all
proof and remain worthy of the name I bear. We shall
be separated for some days or months. What are they
in comparison to the long years that we have been to-
gether? Raise your head high and expect all from the
future. The God who rescued me from the hands of
Madame Igomer, after having sent us together from
Antwerp, will have pity on us. I have more confidence
than you in His goodness. A day may come, perhaps,
when the memory of Magdebourg shall be for you and
me as the memory of those storms of which sailors speak
A MONK-RIDDEN INN 57
with smiles. May it be not far away ! Give me your
hand, Armand, and place your hope in Him, who never
deceives."
Diana spoke in the same strain to Renaud, but with a
shade of irony, which denoted the difference between her
character and that of Adrienne.
"Are you no longer the man whom I knew?" she said,
"the cavalier amorous of danger and quick to rush into
adventures? Perch;. nee your devotion to St. Estocade
has declined. Do you believe that this blessed person-
age is no longer able to perform miracles? She has al-
lowed you to keep your dirk and sword and has not, to
my knowledge, caused the heroic Carquefou to disappear.
Have you decided to stop killing people, or do you think
that your character is not constant enough to support a
few weeks' absence? Speak, Sir, speak, if I must aban-
don hope, that I may have the time to accustom myself to
tears. To tell the truth, I did you the honor of judging
that you had a more robust temperament. Do you wish
to leave me, thinking that you are to be compared to a
willow, which trembles at the slightest zephyr, or are
you afraid of losing your memory while on your route as
a child loses its top? Do you take me for a will o' the
wisp, which morning causes to vanish, and have you no
strength left to cry: 'Chaufontaine to the rescue?' "
Renaud swore that ten million years' absence from
Diana could not shatter his constancy and that he still
remained the most faithful servant of St. Estocade. Ar-
mand-Louis, on his side, thanked Adrienne on his knees
for having restored his courage and hope. Thus, amid
these alternatives of dejection and resignation the mo-
ment of farewell approached.
The army of Count Tilly, fattened by orgies and booty,
about to leave this heap of ruins, which had been
Magdebourg. On the morrow it was to open the cam-
paign against the army of GustavtlS Adolphus.
Count Pappenheim himself made this news known to
them. The hour of separation was drawing near. Ar-
mand-Louis and Renaud were prepared f<>r it. but at his
fir^t words they thought their hearts must stop beating.
58 A MONK-RIDDEN INN
"Say farewell ! Leave you ! Is it possible?" cried Ar-
mand-Louis.
"Ah, Diana!" said poor Renaud, and his voice failed
him.
Adrienne cut short this fatal hour by running into her
oratory, whither she was followed by Diana.
She stood by the window, behind a thick curtain and
looked down into the street. She had remained firm as
long as it was necessary for her to encourage Armand-
Louis. Then there was not a tear, but a steady tone, a
confident smile, a face all aflame with love and faith.
But when she saw them disappear behind a corner of the
wall, a deadly pallor overspread her features and tears
flooded her cheeks.
"Good God !" she cried, clasping her hands prayerfully,
"have pity on me !"
Behind her, prostrate, lay the laughing Diana, sobbing
her heart out.
Count Pappenheim wished to escort the two gentle-
men in person at the head of a body of cuirassiers. Count
Tilly had given his word, but he had more confidence in
the swords and shields of his soldiers. For a while they
galloped along the road in a northerly direction, the
grand-marshal in advance with the French gentlemen,
and behind them the squadron. At two hours' distance
from Magdebourg Count Pappenheim reined up his horse
and said :
"Farewell now. You are free and the country lies open
before you."
For some time Armand-Louis and Renaud rode in
silence. They held in their horses, as though counting
the paces that separated them from the prisoners. In the
distance huge clouds of dust veiled the route of the impe-
rial army. An opaque dome of smoke lay above Magde-
bourg. Everywhere they found trees uprooted or cal-
cined, huts in ashes, sacked hamlets and fields of grain
trampled under foot. But this mourning of nature did
not equal the mourning of their souls.
Renaud was the first to spur his horse.
"Let's gallop now," he cried, "the faster we go, the
sooner shall we return."
A MONK-RIDDEN INN 59
Armand-Louis bent down over his horse's neck, and
followed by Magnus and Carquefou, the two friends
speeded toward that point of the horizon where they
hoped to find Gustavus Adolphus and the Swedes.
"Ah," said Armand-Louis, between his teeth, "if they
need a guide to lead them to Vienna I am he."
One evening after a long run, which had fatigued only
their horses, they came in sight of an inn, situated below
a field of starved buckwheat on the edge of the woods.
A few bundles of fresh-cut fodder embalmed the air. The
horses shook their heads and whinnied.
"Poor beasts, they smell their suppers," said Carque-
fou, who had great compassion for sufferings of the
stomach.
The horses stopped of their own accord before the inn.
It was a vast building, whose black walls still bore traces
of the fire which had devoured the castle of which it had
formerly been a part. Here and there bits of ruins could
be seen, and amid the remains grew fruit trees and veg-
etables. There was no sign on the door of the inn, but
some dried branches of pine. An arbor stretched out on
one side of the building, beneath which a monk was read-
ing his breviary, in company of two lay brothers, who
were mumbling prayers on their beads. The host ran
out and seized the bridle of Armand-Louis.
Ik- was a little man, with the face of a cat, his hair
brushed straight back and hands crook shaped, like the
claws of a vulture.
"Your horses are foundering," said he, casting a know-
ing glance upon them; "if your lordships have need of
fresh and sturdy steeds, they can be found here."
"Ah, you're a bit of a horsedealer, are you?" said Re-
naud, dismounting.
"I find many horses running wild," said the innkeeper ;
"it wounds my heart to see them. I gather them in for
the service of the honest people who frequent my house."
Carquefou, who had already paid a visit to the office
and the kitchen, appeared at the threshold, and said:
"I never saw an inn so full of monks. I counted three
round a pot which disseminat< S an amiable odor of bacon
and cabbage; two in the garden; two others in medita
60 A MONK-RIDDEN INN
tion before the store-room, not to mention the four who
are now praying in the arbor."
"They are Capuchin fathers who are on a pilgrimage to
Cologne. They come from the interior of Pomerania,"
said the innkeeper. ''Their stay will certainly bring the
blessings of our Lord down upon my poor house."
"Holla, Master Innocent !" cried he of the monks, who
appeared to be the superior, "get my supper ready. A
few lentils boiled in water and a handful of nuts."
"Humph," muttered Carquefou, "there's a specimen
to disgust one of life."
"I desire neither wine nor beer," added the monk ; "the
water which flows in the bottom of the garden will suffice
to quench my thirst."
Then the monk, whose cowl was drawn down over his
eyes, crossed his hands over his breast and passed into
the garden, followed by the two lay brothers.
Master Innocent hurried to the kitchen, and returned
thence a moment later with a plate of lentils smoking
sadly and a plate in the centre of which rolled a few nuts.
It took him a quarter of an hour to serve this meagre
repast, and as Carquefou, whose hunger sharpened his
temper, remarked the fact to him, he replied :
"Ah, sir, the saintly man is nourished with the bread of
the divine word."
Soon afterward the host showed Carquefou that he
had something besides lentils and nuts in his house. At
the sight of the good cheer which filled the place with
the most delicate aroma, the honest servant sighed :
"Ah, if we were not sad, what appetites we should
have !"
Armand-Louis and Renaud hastily swallowed a few
mouthfuls, without exchanging more than ten words,
and they related to the deliverance of their sweethearts.
This was their sole thought and care.
"Let the horses be ready at dawn to-morrow," ordered
Armand-Louis.
The host took a torch and conducted the young gentle-
men to their rooms. One faced the garden, the other
the road, at either extremity of a long corridor.
"I should have prepared to put you in the same part
A MONK-RIDDEN INN 6l
of the house," said he, "but the holy Capuchin fathers
occupy all the rooms with two beds, as well as those
which separate you. But I have taken care that your
lordships shall want for nothing. You see the sheets
are spotless."
"That is well," said Renaud, "one night is short."
Then he bade his friend to rest and pleasant dreams.
The host shivered when he saw him place his naked
sword beside the bed within arm's reach, and then with-
drew slowly.
62 THE HOSTELRY OF MASTER INNOCENT
CHAPTER VIII.
THE HOSTELRY OF MASTER INNOCENT.
As Master Innocent passed along the corridor, a door
was suddenly opened ajar, revealing the cowl of a monk.
" The birds are caged," said Master Innocent in a low
voice.
The cowl vanished.
At the foot of the stairs Master Innocent met Magnus
and Carquefou.
"The rooms of your lordships are on the very top floor.
I am sorry to have to put you under the rafters "
"Never worry about that," interrupted Magnus. "Our
lordships will sleep beside their horses."
In truth this had been their practice since their de-
parture from Magdebourg. They had need to travel
rapidly, and their salvation, as well as that of the pris-
oners behind them, depended upon their steeds. Magnus
knew by experience that a horse neglected is often a
horse stolen. Consequently, neither he nor Carquefou
ever left the stable. They slept and watched by turns.
"What, sleep on bundles of straw when you may taste
repose in beds of down ! " exclaimed Master Innocent.
Then he endeavored to make Magnus understand
what an unhealthy place the stable was, full of draughts
and spiders, in fine a pesthole for aches and rheumatism.
" The windows are broken and the doors won't close,"
he added finally.
"That's the very reason," returned Magnus. "I don't
wish my horses to take cold."
Master Innocent insisted no more. The face of Mag-
nus indicated to him that he was one of those stubborn
men, who stick to their ideas like an oak to its roots.
" The devil ! " murmured the innkeeper as he went off.
" 'Tis lucky their masters have not the same opinion in
regard to the horses."
THE HOSTELRY OF MASTER INNOCENT 63
At about midnight the last candle in the kitchen was
extinguished. The universal silence was interrupted only
by the snorting of the horses or their chewing of the
fodder provided for them.
At this moment a door in the corridor was softly
opened and a monk issued from his room noiselessly.
His half-opened habit revealed a cloak of skin, bound by
a belt on which shone the iron hilt of a heavy sword.
Almost instantly Master Innocent appeared at the head
of the stairs, holding a dark lantern.
The monk proceeded toward the room of Armand-
Louis. the innkeeper toward that of Renaud. Each
leaned his ear to the keyhole. A deep, regular breathing
in each room informed them that the two cavaliers were
sleeping.
The monk flung back his cowl and dropped his habit,
disclosing the sinister form and features of Mattheus Orl-
scopp.
"Now to work," he whispered; then, preceded by
Master Innocent, who had rejoined him, he buried him-
self in a dark passage, whose door was cleverly secreted
in a corner of the hall.
Meanwhile the two Frenchmen slept, all dressed on top
of their beds.
A few moments afterward a panel of the woodwork
which surrounded the room of Armand-Louis, glided si-
lently into an invisible groove. It left only a slit in the
wall, through which it would have been difficult to thrust
a sword blade. Then the slit broadened wonderfully, and
in the deep, black opening the silhouette of two men ap-
peared. One was Mattheus Orlscopp, the other Master
Innocent. They held their breath. In their hands were
narrow but solid strips of leather.
They stepped upon the floor without more noise than
a cat makes crawling cautiously along the U<\) of a wall.
Behind them, like shadows, two monks followed them
into the room of tin- 1 [uguenot.
The hitter's spirit was HOW in the land of dreams, lie
fancied that the door of a palace had been opened, re-
vealing Adrienne \<> him in a garden all brilliantly light-
ed. She was extending her hands to him, which were
64 THE HOSTELRY OF MASTER INNOCENT
laden with chains. He advanced a step toward her, but
a wall of crystal suddenly rose up between them. Hide-
ous dwarfs and horrible grinning giants seized Adrienne
and rushed off with her. Armand-Louis stretched forth
his arms to deliver her, but on all sides he met the wall
of crystal, harder than adamant. He struggled in mortal
anguish ; he tried to cry out, but his gagged throat let no
sound escape ; his limbs stiffened under the tension of his
muscles and he sat up by a violent effort. Of a sudden
he opened his eyes. Four horrible faces were looking
into his ; his feet were bound with leather thongs ; others
were rolled about his wrists, and before a single cry could
burst from his lips a violent hand was laid upon his
throat and throttled him.
All this had happened within two minutes after the
panel had been slid open. Armand-Louis lay like a
corpse about to be nailed in a coffin, before Mattheus
Orlscopp.
"Do you recognize me?" asked the false monk as two
of his accomplices laid the Huguenot across their robust
shoulders. "It's my turn now."
The two men and their living burden vanished through
the wall and Mattheus Orlscopp turned toward Master
Innocent, who was trembling.
"Let's to the other, now," he said.
Soon afterward the same scene took place in the room
of Renaud de Chaufontaine. A similar panel glided into
its groove, the same men with like thongs leaned over the
bed of Renaud. The same unpitying hand seized him by
the throat, while indestructible knots were being fastened
about his arms and legs ; and he was carried from his
room in the same manner as Armand-Louis.
"Above all let's make no noise," murmured Master In-
nocent, who shivered at the slightest sound. "There are
two rascals below who will stomach no jests. 'Tis true
there are ten of us, but they have a number of pistols in
their belts."
"I know one of them," Mattheus answered. "His whole
skin's not worth a florin. Nevertheless, let some one go
and see what he and his comrade are doing.
A monk stole down to the stable and soon returned.
THE HOSTELRY OF MASTER INNOCENT 65
"One of the valets is snoring on the straw," he said.
"The other is on the watch, his pistol in his hand, his
sword on his knee. I did not dare let myself be seen."
"You did well," commented Master Innocent, "only
let's make haste," and he shuddered more violently than
before.
Traversing the passage, and descending the staircase,
the two accomplices reached a rear yard, in the midst of
which was a sedan hitched to two mules. They placed
the two prisoners side by side in the sedan after Mattheus
Orlscopp had tried the bonds to see that they were in-
tact.
"Make a stir," he said, before drawing the curtains,
"and at the first sign two balls will crack your skulls."
In a corner Master Innocent was counting the gold
pieces which Mattheus Orlscopp had poured into his
palm.
"They may be a little under weight," he said," but
friends do not quarrel over such trifles."
The sound of a trumpet in the night air startled him.
"Perhaps 'tis the Swedes," he exclaimed, turning pale.
"So much the worse for you, gentlemen," said Matthe-
us, frowning and taking his pistols.
He now enveloped himself in a serge habit and pulled
the cowl over his head. With a haughty gesture he
caused the gate of the yard to be opened, and, concealing
his hands in the capacious sleeves of his robe and tight-
ening his girdle, he went out.
Behind him followed a file of monks. The sedan was
driven ahead. Dawn was peeping above the horizon, but
a few stars still shone in the heavens. A troop of Saxon
cavaliers was taking a spur-drink at the door. Master
Innocent was passing from one to the other, bearing a
broad-bottomed jug. lie was trembling in spite of him-
self and dared not look toward tin- sedan or the stable.
Magnus was standing at the door of the latter build-
ing. Carquefou, seated on a stone, was spreading sau-
s systematically on a slice of bread.
"Confound that trumpet." h<- murmured, "I was sleep •
ing so well."
Magnus took a step toward the sedan.
66 THE HOSTELRY OF MASTER INNOCENT
"One of our younger friars was seized with fever last
night," explained Mattheus. "Pray for him, brother."
A kind of groan issued from the sedan, which was
drowned in the sound of a psalm which the monks were
chanting. The procession moved away.
Magnus looked toward the horizon, where he saw a
narrow band of opalescent light.
"Ah," thought he, "in an hour we also will be off."
Then he returned to the stable, whither Carquefou fol-
lowed him, yawning, and the latter stretched himself out
on a bundle of straw.
"Confound that trumpet !" he repeated as he closed his
eyes.
While the Saxon cavaliers were distributing hay and
oats to their horses, Master Innocent quietly retired to a
cellar, whence he rode out on a vigorous nag, first slowly,
then at breakneck speed toward a fine wood about a half
mile distant from the inn.
Here he found the whole band of Mattheus shedding
their skins. Several of the monks had shouldered buff
cloaks and were astride stout steeds, which had been wait-
ing their arrival in the coppice. Others, among whom
was Master Innocent, wore the costune of honest mer-
chants, who go from fair to fair selling their wares. No
sign of a habit or cowl was now to be seen. The sedan
on the impulse of stalwart arms rolled to the bottom of a
ravine, and the two prisoners, bound and garrotted on
the crupper of horses, looked like two malefactors taken
by a band of soldiers in the very act of robbery or assas-
sination.
"Good luck !" cried Mattheus Orlscopp to Master In-
nocent, as he gave the signal for starting.
"God speed !" answered the tavern-keeper.
Then the two bands, separating, dashed forward each
in its own direction.
A TERRIBLE AWAKENING 67
CHAPTER IX.
A TERRIBLE AWAKENING.
Meanwhile day followed night; all about the country-
side could be heard the usual noises of morning. The
peasants drove their herds to pasture, looking about nerv-
ously, less an enemy should spring up from some corner
of the horizon. Wagons passed along the road. The
angelus sounded from a neighboring monastery. The
buzz of life was reawakened. Magnus had thrice exam-
ined the harness of the horses. The cloud of dust raised
by the departing troop of Saxons could no longer be
seen ; and a profound silence reigned in the inn.
"This is the first time my master has been late," ob-
served Magnus.
"Let him sleep," returned Carquefou. "Sleep is a
blessing of God."
But he himself was tormented by his breakfast appe-
tite, which he was not in the habit of resisting, and he
left his straw bed to go to the kitchen.
He reappeared an instant later with a melancholy face.
"It's very strange," he said, "there are no victuals of
any kind and no cook in there. I poked into every cor-
ner. Nothing and nobody. I think we've put up at an
enchanted inn."
"Nobody!" cried Magnus.
"It's rather gloomy to set out with no breakfast."
But Magnus did not wait to hear his plaint. He went
up the stairs of the inn four steps at a time, ran along the
corridor and knocked at the door of Armand- Louis.
There was no answer.
" Tis Magnus, open the door," he roared in a voice of
thunder.
Then he leaned his ear to the keyhole, but could hear
no sound.
68 A TERRIBLE AWAKENING
Carquefou, who had followed him, saw him turn pale.
Magnus burst in the door and landed in the middle of the
room, which was lighted by the sunlight entering through
a half-opened shutter. The room was empty. But the
panel lay open in the woodwork over the bed and the
terrified glance of Magnus shot into the black pit.
"Through there !" he cried in a broken voice, and draw-
ing his sword he plunged into the dark passage.
But Carquefou, instead of following him, leaped out
of the room and across the corridor, dashing against the
door with a shock that burst it open. He ran across the
apartment to the alcove.
"My master also," he cried, "the wretches !"
Then as Magnus had done he dashed into the passage
behind the alcove. A few steps lay before him. He de-
scended them carefully and reached the end of the secret
passage, which abutted on a door concealed in the cor-
ner of a ruined building. It opened on the rear of the
inn, in a spot shaded by tall trees and planted with hedge
wood. The footprints of many men could be seen on the
moist ground.
Here Carquefou met Magnus, who was prowling like a
wolf among the ruins. He was frightfully pale and mut-
tered imprecations issued from his lips. Suddenly he per-
ceived a cowl at his feet.
"Ah, it was the monks, and we heard nothing," he
cried. "I am no longer Magnus."
For an instant his grief killed his indefatigable energy.
The old reiter sank upon a stone and buried his face in
his hands. "My poor master," he sobbed, "what have
they done with you?"
Suddenly he rose, and, stretching out his hand to Car-
quefou, who was weeping also, he said :
"Brother, Mademoiselle de Souvigny and Mademoiselle
de Pardaillan are in the hands of Count Pappenheim.
The Count of La Guerche and Renaud de Chaufontaine
have been stolen by John of Werth ; it can be none other
but him. We alone are left to save the four. But if thou
art prepared to dare everything, as I am, let them be on
their guard. They know not what two men can do."
A TERRIBLE AWAKENING 69
"Count on me, Magnus. Command and I'll obey,"
Carquefou answered simply.
"Wilt thou swear with me that, at the peril of my life,
and even if we must go to the end of the world, we'll save
our masters, and that if either of us fall, the other will
devote his bones and blood to this sacred enterprise?"
"I swear it!"
"Then let's to the hunt. We have wild beasts before us
and we must kill them."
Carquefou was in the saddle as quickly as Magnus. He
had neither hunger, thirst nor fear now. Their first pro-
ceeding, after having beaten about the neighborhood of
the inn, was to follow the direction the troop of monks
had taken. Thus they searched the pine wood and dis-
covered the overturned sedan at the bottom of the ra-
vine.
"They were in that, dost understand?" said Magnus,
pointing it out to Carquefou.
There was no sign of blood around the sedan, there-
fore no idea of murder occurred to them. Besides, if the
plan had been to kill their masters, it would not have been
necessary to carry them off from the inn.
"Let's search farther," said Carquefou.
At the end of the glade, where the abductors had made
a halt, the numerous hoofprints of the horses suddenlv
forked in two. Long traces stretched out before them in-
versely.
"Take the left," said Magnus, reining up his horse.
"I'll take the right. The one who first reaches the edge
of the forest will ride along beside till he meets the other.
Open your eyes and ears. If thou find the band, break a
branch and bend it in the direction you have taken. I
shan't be long in rejoining thee. I'll do likewise."
Magnus and Carquefou dove into the sombre vaults of
the forest. Two hours later they met on the edge of the
pines, one from the East, the other from the West.
"Nothing," said Carquefou. "If there is one hoof-
prim in the sand, there are a hundred on the road."
"Thou hast followed a false trail," answered Maernus.
I vp a good one.
"Thou didst see the monk?"
70 A TERRIBLE AWAKENING
"The monk? Dost fancy he kept his habit? No, no.
But a poor woman, picking deadwood along the way, told
me that she saw two prisoners pass. They were bound to
horses, in the centre of a body of armed men, and were
riding rapidly."
"Though they ride faster than the wind, we will catch
them," cried Carquefou.
The road they followed now led them into a large town,
where twenty troops of cavalry had been seen riding
during the day. As for prisoners, they had been counted
by the dozen, both young and old. Some of these bands
had stopped, others had kept on their way. Magnus and
Carquefou ran from inn to inn untiringly, spying and
questioning.
As yet they had struck no clue, when a stable boy spoke
to them of a cavalier, who had been knocked down by his
horse as he was about to set his foot in the stirrup. The
man's leg was broken and he had been carried into a
house.
"What's more strange," added the stable boy, "the
poor devil, who swore like a pagan, wore an enormous
rosary about his throat. It looked like a monk's beads."
A light broke in upon Magnus.
"Take us to this man," said he, exchanging a glance
with Carquefou. "He's just the one we're looking for.
Sweet heaven, but he'll be glad to see us !"
Carquefou said nothing and followed Magnus, who was
led to the room of the wounded man by the stable boy.
"Holla, comrade," cried the latter, opening the door,
"here are some friends to see you."
At the sight of Magnus and Carquefou, whom he rec-
ognized at first view in the dim light of the candle, the
wounded man made a movement of terror, which cor-
roborated the first suspicions of Magnus.
"Don't cry out, or I'll kill thee," said the veteran, un-
sheathing his long dirk.
"Have your talk," said Carquefou, closing the door
carefully. "I'll protect you against interruption."
The wounded man, who was lying on a truckle bed,
followed every movement of the two friends with a hag-
gard eye.
A TERRIBLE AWAKENING 71
"Wert thou not with the scoundrels who slept last night
at the inn of Master Innocent?" asked Carquefou.
The wounded man replied with a groan.
"'Twas you who carried off our masters?" added Mag-
nus.
"Our leader enrolled us for an expedition. An honest
soldier has only his word."
"What's your leader's name?"
"Mattheus Orlscopp."
"Mattheus!" cried Carquefou with a bound. "Thou
sayest Mattheus Orlscopp? God of heaven, if my hand
does not cut his heart out promptly the count and the
marquis are dead !"
72 THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST
CHAPTER X.
THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST.
In the meantime Mattheus Orlscopp continued on his
way. He was not better mounted than Magnus and Car-
quefou, but he had plenty of gold to barter for new horses
when the old ones foundered. The band stopped only to
take a meal in morsels, and then set out again. Two or
three times they changed their course and their gar-
ments, the better to evade those who might be on their
track. Ordinarily Armand-Louis and Renaud traveled
on horse ; they were described as state criminals, whom
Count Tilly was sending to Munich. At times they made
them sit in carriages, whose curtains were heremetically
sealed. Then it was said that they were noble lords, who
were ill and feared the open air. Mattheus never lost
sight of Armand-Louis, but he addressed Renaud more
readily.
"Life is all happiness and unhappiness," he said to
him. "Brandenbourg and Saxony are not like the Neth-
erlands. There 'twas Malines, here 'tis Magdebourg.
One day you threw Mattheus Orlscopp to the ground,
an ugly way of thanking him for the good supper he gave
you. Another day 'tis Mattheus who is the stronger. But
look whether I am not better than you. Instead of mak-
ing you swallow a poniard, I provide you with horses,
food and escort. Later I will give you the resting place
to which you have a right."
When they were separated from the inn of Master In-
nocent by some dozens of miles and in a country where
only detached bands of the imperial troops were to be
seen, Mattheus, fully assured, caused the gags to be re-
moved from his prisoners.
"Now let us chat," he said to Renaud. The latter, who
had had time to chew his anger and felt in no mood
THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST 73
to converse with this scoundrel, glared at him from head
to foot, and with a shrug said :
"My good fellow, you are very ugly. Have some pol-
ish given to your face to begin with, and then we'll see."
Some of the men of the escort burst out in laughter.
Mattheus Orlscopp turned purple.
"Ah, you joke, do you ?" he said. "We'll see what kind
of a face yours will be in the place to which I am taking
you."
"God grant it be not like yours," returned Renaud
coldly.
From this moment this was Renaud's weapon. He
executed infinite variations on the theme of the ugliness
of Mattheus Orlscopp. He did not know whether Mat-
theus was uglier at night than in the morning; on foot
or on horse; fasting or after supper; by the light of a
candle, or in the glare of the sun. One thing only was
possible, namely, that he might have an uglier shape than
a face. This was a problem Renaud had not yet solved,
and on its uncertainties his wit did not go dry.
"To be sure, your lordship has the nose of a hyena,"
said he, "the eves of an owl and the snout of a goat; but
in revenge your lordship has the body of an ape, the legs
of a heron and the feet of a frog. 'Tis hard to say which
is ugliest."
Mattheus was stupid enough to show that these pleas-
antries tortured him, and, seeing this, Renaud did not
spare him. At times, even, he referred to Armand-Louis.
"Docs it not surprise thee," he asked, "that a man with
so long a nose should have so broad a mouth ? He might
have selected one or the other. Such little eyes and such
enormous ears are too much for one visage. Tell me
thy opinion of it : the magnificent lord who accompanies
us desires to know it."
"And what cast of visage wouldst thou expect in a man
who has a soul more grovelling than a worm, flatter than
a leaf, and blacker than coal ? 'Tis not a face, 'tis a sign-
board "
"I'rvther," replied Kenaud, "we'll hang this signboard
to the branch of ;.n oak."
The raillery of tin <m<-, the am igance <>f the other grew
74 THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST
to make a singular impression on the minds of the rascals
in Orlscopp's train. They rejoiced over these qualities
of boldness and good humor, which please even the most
perverted natures. A kind of sympathy softened their
stone hearts, which showed itself on several occasions.
A stout lansquenet, whose life had been spent in wars and
who had slept on all the highroads, did not fear to mani-
fest his inward sentiments. The moment arrived when
Mattheus understood, that if an effort should be made to
deliver his captives, he could no longer rely on the aid
of his companions. He reached a decision at once, and
on a certain morning summoned the lansquenet.
"Friend Rudiger," he said to him, "I give you thirty
rix-dollars. It is the salary I agreed to pay you. Count
them and go to the devil !"
"Ah, 'tis a farewell !"
"And I fancy that we will have no further business to-
gether."
"You promised me a bounty, it seems to me."
"Have a care that I do not lay it on your back with a
rope, and be thankful. Thy heart is much too tender
not to be under a thin skin. This said, be off as fast as
possible. Besides, console thyself; thou art not the only
one whom I've brusquely bidden to leave me. My escort
it shedding its skin."
Rudiger looked out the window and saw twenty new
cavaliers in the midst of the men who were making their
preparations to depart. The newcomers were part of a
troop disbanded, after an unfortunate engagement with
the Swedes.
"I enlisted them last night," said Mattheus. "There
are Croatians and Bulgarians among them, who would
hang a man as easily as they quaff a glass of wine."
The struggle was unequal.
"Till we meet again, Lord Mattheus," said Rudiger,
taking the rix-dollars and biting his lips.
After the departure of Rudiger and the others he had
sent away, Mattheus changed his course suddenly, de-
spatched a messenger with the command to stop neither
night nor clay, made his cavaliers do double stages, and
at the end of the week reached a castle, whose every door
THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST 75
was opened to him as soon as he had whispered a few
words to the seneschal. He and his men entered. He
visited its every nook and corner, then announced that it
seemed to him to be a good place to camp.
Ravennest Castle was situated on the precipitous slope
of a mountain, and it overlooked a gorge, through which
a torrent rushed. Great pine woods buried it from sight.
Its walls were solid, it had four towers, a moat and a
drawbridge. It was a haunt whence a garrison could not
be easily routed.
Renaud was placed in the Crow's tower; Armand-
Louis in the Serpent's tower. The two were distin-
guished by their form. The one was round, the other
square. ( Otherwise they had the same solidity, the same
walls, the same furnishings, which consisted of a wretched
truckle bed, two stools, an iron candlestick, a table of
worm-eaten wood. Two dormer windows, adorned with
thick bars, allowed daylight to pour in ; the rain and the
north wind entered as well.
"There's the room," said Mattheus ; " 'tis furnished."
"It is almost as pretty as you," answered Renaud.
"Rely on me that your food be all that can be desired,"
added Mattheus.
"Then it won't be like you, my amiable lord."
Mattheus tried to smile, flashed a sinister glance upon
Renaud, and closed the door violently.
Nothing tmublcd the silence of the castle during the
night. The wind blew in between the iron bars. The
monotonous tread of the sentries, pacing around the
towers, could be heard. Renaud sang to let his friend
know the part of the building in which he was placed.
Armand-Louis made a panther's leap and hung by his
hands to the bars of the dormer. Before him, but sepa-
rated by a curtain, was the tower whence proceeded the
ice. An ocean <>f sombre verdure stretched itself out
in the distance as far as the eye could reach.
A heavy sigh rose from the breast of Armand-Louis
and he let himself fall back upon the floor.
iviour," he prayed, with his hands and eyes towards
heaven, "my !>o<ly and soul arc yours."
76 THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST
The next morning the door was opened and John of
Werth entered his cell.
"I suspected as much," said Armand-Louis. "From all
I can see you dabble in many trades."
"Count," answered the Bavarian coldly, "one has not
King Gustavus Adolphus always under his hand. We
are not at Carlscrona now."
"I see that from the faces about me. But let's have
done. What do you wish ?"
" 'Tis very simple. You are my prisoner, and the laws
of war give me a right to exact a ransom. Give me your
weight in gold coins and you are free."
"My weight? Where do you think I can find such a
sum?"
"If I knew, I should certainly have been the first to
seek it. Now there is another means of reaching an un-
derstanding, and an easier one."
"Ah !"
"Renounce, by a signed declaration, the hand of Mad-
emoiselle de Souvigny ; give her back her troth, and on
the instant the doors of the castle will be opened to you."
"You dare to call that an easier means? This hand
shall sooner be cold in death than sign such a declara-
tion !"
"Nevertheless, reflect. King Gustavus Adolphus does
not know where you are. His armies are far from here
and nobody will come to aid you."
"If that is all you have to say to me, why this visit?
You might have saved yourself the trouble, and me the
disgust of it."
John of Werth arose and called. His features remained
impassive. When a servant had placed the objects he
desired on a table, he added :
"Here are pen, ink and paper. A few written words
will set you free. Perhaps you may not always be as ob-
stinate as you are now. The walls of this castle are good
stone and will last longer than you. Farewell, Count."
Armand-Louis did not stir, and soon the sound of the
baron's tread was lost in the stairway of the tower.
From the Serpent's tower the Bavarian went to the
THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST 77
Crow's tower. Here he found Renaud carving the profile
of Mattheus on the wall with the teeth of a fork.
".Marquis," said John of Werth, entering, "I am sorry
to disturb you, but continue if that amuses you."
Renaud turned halfway and without the least surprise,
answered :
"Oh, there's no hurry. You know I have my model
always before my eyes. Tis a remarkably ugly face and
such a one as only your lordship could have chosen — "
"Lord Mattheus has my entire confidence."
"He deserves it."
"The fortunes of war have placed you in his hands."
"In his claws, Baron."
"He has the right to dispose of you."
"I fancy his lordship is using this right."
"Nevertheless, if you renounce the hand of Mademoi-
selle de Pardaillau, I might make use of my rights to get
you out of here."
"God's day," cried Renaud, with a leap. "I thought
you were minded of Mademoiselle de Souvigny!"
"Oh, I am always minded of her; but if I request this
written and signed declaration from you, it is in view of a
project to assure the happiness of Mademoiselle de Par-
daillau."
"Baron, you are too good. I am so unhappy as to be
possessed of such an extremely nervous disposition that
I am moved to break something, a table, a stool or any-
thing handy upon the back of whomsoever mentions the
name of Mademoiselle de Pardaillan. You can see that
such inclinations might be destructive to the rich furnish-
ings of my apartment. Allow me to hope, therefore, that
our interview is ended."
John of Werth rose, and pointing to the implements of
writing, which a servant had just placed on the table, he
said :
"Everything is here. Two lines upon the paper, and,
in consideration of my friendship with him, Lord Mat-
theus will furnish yon with a horse to leave the castle."
John of Werth descended the stairs; soon afterward
could Ix- heard the rattle of the chains letting fall the
drawbridge. John of Werth was going away.
78 THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST
Another night fell, silent and black as the preceding.
Armand-Louis hung by the bars of his window and saw
a light burning in the tower occupied by Renaud. The
light came and went ; his companion was tracing a gro-
tesque image of Mattheus on the wall of his cell with the
smoke of the candle. This done, Renaud began to sing.
He did not think that his day had been lost.
Armand-Louis' character did not afford him the same
subjects for distraction. His thoughts had but one ob-
ject, Mademoiselle de Souvigny, ever and always. Where
was she now? Did Count Pappenheim forget the prom-
ises he had made in the midst of the flames and massacre
of Magdebourg? Should he ever see Adrienne again,
and would she still be loving and faithful? And brave
Magnus, what had become of him? Had he not been
killed? If living, would he struggle to save his master,
as he had done before?
"Ah," thought the Huguenot, "when one has such
hearts as those in keeping, hope is always with one."
Meanwhile days followed days. The same silence con-
tinued, interrupted by squalls of wind in the pines and
the songs of Renaud. When Armand-Louis hung from
the bars of his window, no rider could be seen in the
black shade of the forest. The hours grew longer and
more heavy. Each day at noon precisely, Mattheus Orl-
scopp entered his cell, looked at the table, and seeing
nothing, withdrew without a word.
Soon Armand-Louis began to notice that the meagre
pittance which was served him for breakfast and dinner
diminished insensibly. The crust of bread grew smaller,
the plate contained less meat.
It was the regimen of a convalescent applied to a
healthy man, the nourishment of a child given to a sol-
dier.
He remarked this to Mattheus.
"Sometimes fever is caused in the garrison," replied the
latter, smiling, "by too good cheer."
Thenceforward Armand-Louis disdained to make any
complaints. On the morrow he had the dinner of an
anchorite.
Several times when he awoke at dawn he had noticed
THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST 79
birds entering his cell through the two windows to seize
the crumbs of bread on the floor. An idea crossed his
brain, just when hunger began to gnaw at his entrails.
By the aid of a cloth, which he adroitly threw over the
little thieves, he succeeded each morning in capturing
two or three of them. Then he hung from their throats
or on their wings a piece of paper fastened by a thread.
On the paper he wrote the words, "Ravennest Castle ;
Armand-Louis of La Guerche." This done he liberated
his tiny captives, who flew away with a thousand cries.
"Who knows," thought Armand-Louis; "perhaps one
of these scraps of paper will fall into the hands of a
friend."
Each day the birds bore these uncertain messages to
the four points of the horizon.
The observation which Armand-Louis had made upon
the fare which was being served to him, Renaud had also
made. It was the appearance of a breakfast, followed by
the light shadow of a dinner. Renaud, whose appetite
was superb, almost broke the back of the servant who
laid the ironic meal on a corner of the table. On the
following day his dinner was passed into him through a
peep-hole, and was more slender still.
"And yet it is hard to imagine how it could be so,"
murmured Renaud, as he went to revenge himself by
drawing a skeleton of Mattheus. For some time he re-
sisted this slow torture, inflicted with the patience of a
cat which torments a mouse. Then he felt his forces fail-
ing him. Horrible pains in his stomach, a ringing in his
ears. He awaited the hour of his repast with a ferocious
impatience, and he flung himself upon the wretched food
which was served to him like a beast of prey upon the
unclean flesh it discovers on the highway. This mad-
dened him, but In- yielded to the cry of hunger. He re-
covered a little of his good humor only when lie saw Mat-
theus. A flood (.f sarcasm would then issue from his lips,
which were pallid with suffering.
By a refinement of cruelty, Mattheus, who until now
had allowed Renaud to remain in his tower, had him
transferred to a room in the centre of the building,
whence he could see the garrison at table. The clatter
80 THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST
of the dishes, the tipping of glasses, reached the prison-
er's ears like the refrain of a joyous song. The vapors
of the meats mounted to his nostrils and redoubled the
anguish of his stomach.
"Let's see," sneered Mattheus ; "a prayer, sir, and I'll
throw you a bone."
" 'Tis wonderful, gracious lord," retorted Renaud,
drawing himself up, "how ill good eating befits you. You
are always more ugly, even when eating."
In this terrible struggle, the advantage was not always
with Mattheus. He was laughed at. More than one sol-
dier glanced from a corner of his eye, and the phenome-
non which had occurred on the way to Ravennest was
again taking place. Some of the less hardened guards
made secret vows to deliver a prisoner who supported his
miserable fortune so gallantly. Mattheus perceived these
feelings, and his fury consequently increased.
Each evening a doctor entered Renaud's room and felt
his pulse. Then wagging his head, he would say :
"Humph, the pulse is violent, hard, impetuous. The
regimen is too succulent. A little dieting will do you
great good."
Renaud had an infernal desire to bite this doctor. He
contented himself with asking him quite seriously wheth-
er he was the son of Mattheus, his father, his grand-
nephew, or his grandfather. He told him that their noses
were cousins-german.
One morning Mattheus appeared in the room of Re-
naud. The floor was covered with scraps of paper of all
sizes on each of which was drawn the hideous portrait
of the master of Ravennest.
"Be prudent, sweet lord," cried Renaud ; "if you walk
on those dear pictures you would be putting the hoof of
a goat on the snout of a wolf. What a pity !"
"Marquis," said Mattheus, bowing, "Baron John of
Werth is getting tired of sheltering you so sumptuously.
The place and table of a prince. It is too much. If it
does not please you to sign this renunciation of good will,
he will be constrained to use means to make you, which
are repugnant to my gentleness."
"Have a care. If your tenderness overcomes you,
THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST 81
you'll make a worse than ordinary grimace. That would
be frightful."
Mattheus made a sign. Two valets seized Renaud by
the arms, sat him upon a stool and passed a rope around
his wrists. The rope was held fast by a stick.
"Will you sign?" asked Mattheus.
"Ha, ha." cried Renaud, "I believe, God forgive me
for so thinking, but I believe that the left side of your
prettv face is more abortive than the right. 'Tis a ques-
tion."
"Turn !" cried Mattheus.
The two servantsnurned the stick about which the rope
was tied. Renaud paled. The rope was straining.
"Will you sign?" repeated Mattheus.
"Well," added Renaud. "I believe the front of his face
is uglier than either side of it. See if it is not, fellows."
The servants smiled.
"Turn again," roared Mattheus, pale with rage. The
stick was turned, and the rope entered into the flesh of
Renaud. He let forth a cry and shut his eyes. His face
was like death. The doctor, who had glided into the
room, bathed the sweaty brow of the sufferer with a
cloth soaked in vinegar. Renaud opened his eyes.
"Heavens !" he said. "Two masks!"
"Turn, turn," yelled Mattheus.
The stick traced a semi-circle. The bones cracked.
Renaud's head fell upon his breast. The physician placed
his fingers upon an artery.
"Another turn." he said, "and our prisoner will suf-
fer no more. This is not what you desire. I think "
"Certainly not," answered Mattheus. Even before they
had received the signal the two servants had unknotted
the bloody rope. Renaud breathed feebly. The physi-
cian pressed the cloth of vinegar upon his temples and
upon his nose. Renaud reopened his eyes.
"Well, what have you to say?" asked Mattheus.
"More and mure ugly, always more ugly," murmured
Renaud, and then -•■•■< toned.
Mattl • ized a poniard which he wore at his belt,
and arose. The physician seized his arm, saving:
"Do not kill him J you will regret it."
82 THE DUNGEONS OF RAVENNEST
"You are right," returned Mattheus, shoving back the
weapon in its sheath. " 'Twere madness to yield to the
first impulse. Take the prisoner to the green room.
We'll see to-morrow whether he is in condition to see me
again."
The green room was a dungeon, built under the
foundations of the castle, out of a rock, which oozed a
humid moss of green scum and slime. It was reached by
a low door of massive iron. In one corner were a few
wisps of straw, on which they laid Renaud, who was al-
most lifeless. They would have thought him dead were
it not for the irregular beating of his pulse. The physi-
cian hung a lantern on the wall, and under it laid a jug
of water and a bit of black bread.
"Let us be human," he said.
On the day Renaud underwent this terrible cruelty, all
Armand-Louis found on his table was a crust of bread,
harder than a shell, and a pot half filled of brackish water.
It was one of the principles of Mattheus to entertain no
unjust preferences. With the nourishment of his two
boarders rendered alike, for so he sometimes called the
Frenchmen, Mattheus believed it honest to also establish
an equilibrium in their lodgings. Therefore Armand-
Louis was conducted to the Red Room. This was a hol-
low cavern in Ravennest Castle, built under the Crow's
tower out of a piece of red granite. It had likewise a
wisp of straw in one corner and along the walls were cer-
tain hooks of sinister aspect. A lantern hung from one
of the hooks, and under it lay a jug of water and a quar-
tern of black bread.
One of the servants who accompanied Mattheus onthis
subterranean visit threw a coil of rope and some iron balls
armed with a ring into a corner.
"Count," said the Governor of the castle, "we shall
talk to-morrow."
In all Germany there was not a happier man than
Mattheus Orlscopp at this moment. He had everything
in profusion, good table and rich cellars, a warm bed and
fresh beer, a tribe of willing servants, fat game in the
neighboring forest, gold in his pockets, gibbets on his
THE DUNGEONS OF RAVBNNBST 83
towers, and the protection of a mighty lord who had need
of him.
To crown this fortunate existence, he had the delicious
pleasure of tormenting slowly and voluptuously two
brave gentlemen, whom he hated from the depths of his
black soul..
Assuredly he would not exchange the joys of this life
for any other, no matter how brilliant. He compared
them with the pleasures of the cheery sojourn he had
spent in the vicinity of Malines, when, in company with
the worthy Don Gaspard d'Albacete y Buitrago, he
gusted the most delicate wines of Spain from so generous
a hand. Now what a change ! Then he acted on an-
other's account, and under the orders of a leader, while
at present his sole guide and counsellor was his caprice !
84 THE KINDNESS OF FATE
CHAPTER XI.
THE KINDNESS OF FATE.
Such was not the state of mind of Magnus and Carque-
fou, whom we saw last on the highway after their meet-
ing with the soldier whose leg had been broken.
At the gates of the next city, where they arrived at
night after a forced march, they learned that neither a
cavalry troop nor carriages, nor prisoners had been seen.
"It is now four days," replied a citizen to their enquiry,
"since anybody passed here. There is a Swedish regi-
ment two leagues distant toward the north, a Croatian
regiment at half a league toward the south, and, therefore,
no one dares to venture on the roads."
"Did the rascal deceive us?" said Carquefou, minded
of the wounded man.
"No ; he was too frightened," returned Magnus. "The
scoundrel whom we are hunting had changed his course."
They returned sorrowfully on their tracks. All traces
were disappearing. They rode at hazard in an unknown
country, and by hostile ways, where a thousand dangers
might arise at any moment. What a number of maraud-
ers did they not meet? How many leaders in search of
good arms and horses? But no consideration could pre-
vent Magnus and Carquefou from persevering in their
design, and if at times they thought of the perils with
which their enterprise was rife, it was only in the fear lest
an accident should unfit them to devote all their life and
effort to accomplishing it.
They explored each town, each village, each hamlet.
There was no more trace of the passage of Mattheus
than of the flight of an eel through the reeds of a pond.
This new discomfiture, far from weakening the resolution
of Magnus, only exasperated him. He could not pro-
nounce the name of Mattheus Orlscopp without paling.
Never had such a fierce hate gnawed at his heart.
THE KINDNESS OF FATE 85
One evening when they were hastily eating a bit of
bread and some cold meat at the door of a tavern, Mag-
nus remarked a soldier who was studying him attentively.
The veteran reiter, who did but seek occasion to question
people, went up to the soldier, who arose and said :
"By the way, were you not at the inn of a rascal called
Master Innocent, and did you not sup there with two
gentlemen last month?"
"I was, 'tis true," cried Magnus. "Do you know them,
or where they are ?"
"I know them to be brave soldiers, and they interest
me, who helped to garrot them, more than I can say."
"Ah, you were with Mattheus Orlscopp," said Mag-
nus, whose hand instinctively sought the hilt of Baliverne.
"Yes, but let us not quarrel. I tell you these brave
young men won me by their valiant humor. As for Mat-
theus, he's a bandit to whom I would not regret doing a
dirty turn. There were ten counterfeits in the dollars he
gave me."
"God's day ! If you put me on his track, had I a thou-
sand ducats they would be yours."
"Then, comrades, ride no more toward the west. Lord
Mattheus has given up his first project of going to
Munich. I think you'll find him by Holberg way, and if
you will take me as your guide, I have an idea that we'll
catch him. Rudiger has a good foot and a good eye. '
'Tis a bargain," said Magnus, "thou art ours and I
am thine."
"And to both of us who make the pair," added Carque-
fou, giving a vigorous handshake to their auxiliary.
Rudiger, it will be recalled, was one of the cavaliers
whom Mattheus expelled when he found that their svm-
pathy for his prisoners was assuming too great propor-
tions.
lb- took a cross-road, rode four or five leagues
through a forest, forded a river and rediscovered the
es of Mattheus.
"Oh, if [ had a thousand ducats!" exclaimed Magnus,
almosl ( nil-racing him in gratitude.
"Bah," returned Rudiger with a laugh, "it seems
86 THE KINDNESS OF FATE
original and amusing for me to do something for nothing.
'Tis a change."
They forged ahead. Confidence was restored in the
hearts of the three companions. Even the horses rode
with more elastic step, as though they knew what was
passing in the minds of their masters. For six more
leagues they continued on the right track. Then all trace
of Mattheus and his company suddenly ceased. They
seemed to have vanished like a procession of phantoms.
Magnus, Carquefou and Rudiger beat about the coun-
try separately on all sides. They examined every hut and
inn, they allowed no traveller to pass unquestioned.
Rudiger was of that race of hunters who rage on a trail.
He returned at night to their rendevous all fagged and
discouraged.
"The damned fox," he said, "he has broken his trail."
A profound sadness overwhelmed Magnus. For the
first time he felt his courage fail ; nor was Carquefou more
hopeful.
"Goodness of heaven," he murmured, "if Magnus
weeps all is lost."
They were now in the common room of a sorry inn,
where carters, hunters and travellers of all sorts were
drinking. A band of gypsies stopped at the door and
Rudiger went out with Carquefou to mingle with them
and question them.
Magnus remained in a corner, his head resting in his
hands, Baliverne laid across his knees. He fancied a
black gulf was yawning before him.
A boy of about fifteen years came in, holding a bird
in his hands.
"Isn't this wonderful ?" he said to the hostess, who was
spreading the cloth for the travellers. "Here's a bird with
a bit of paper tied by a string about its throat. 'Tis the
third I've caught in fifteen days. See, there are some
words written on the paper!"
The child drew near the candle and endeavored to read
them.
"It's impossible," he said. "The rain has washed out
the ink. There's only one word I can make out, and it
is always the same one."
THE KINDNESS OF FATE 87
He placed the paper on the stove to dry it. Some one
opened the door and a gust of wind sent the paper flying
to the feet of Magnus. lie took it up mechanically and
turned it about in his hands.
"See," added the child, "would you not say that there,
quite at the bottom, are three words. It seems as if it
were the name of a man. Tis easy to read the first one,
which is 'Armand.' The others vanish."
Magnus leaped to his feet. He devoured the paper
with his eyes and recognized the writing of his master.
"Armand — Armand-Louis of La Guerche, that's it,"
he said, weeping. Then he kissed the child, who looked
at the tearful veteran in speechless astonishment.
When Rudigcr and Carqucfou re-entered they found
Magnus on his knees, bareheaded and with hands joined.
His features glowed.
"Oh, God, you are good," he prayed. "My God, I be-
lieve."
"What is this?" asked Rudiger.
"Now I've got him," cried Magnus, leaping towards
Carqucfou.
"Got whom?"
"Why. Mattheus, to be sure."
"Thou hast seen him ?"
"No, but look. Pshaw. I tell you I have him."
Carqucfou feared for the reason of Magnus. Suddenly
the veteran stretched forth a crimpled dirty piece of
paper, saying:
"The child could not read it, but I have better eyes.
Letter by letter I spelled it out. I knew well I would find
him."
Carqucfou distinguished vaguely the name of Armand-
Louis ; hope, an indefinable hope, sprang up within him.
Magnus turned to their companion, who could under-
stand nothing of this scene.
"Do you know Ravennest Castle in this part of the
country?" Magnus asked.
"To be sun-, 'tis a great devil of a stronghold in the
depth of a wood."
"And on a mountain?"
"With three big towers."
88 THE KINDNESS OF FATE
"Which are called the Serpent's Tower, the Crow's
Tower and the Great Tower?"
"Exactly."
Magnus embraced him brusquely and cried :
"Now, comrade, if thou hast really a heart in thy
bosom, thou'lt be of great aid to us. I know the castle.
In what fortress or citadel of Germany have I not placed
my heel? This one is not the least formidable. I visited
it in my youth. It is full of cells and dungeons, buried
in the belly of the rock. The walls are high and stout, the
moat deep; but M. de la Guerche and M. de Chaufon-
taine are there and we are three. Therefore, we'll save
them."
Carquefou ran to the mistress of the house, took her
about the waist and kissed her on both cheeks. Then he
danced down the hall singing in a deafening voice :
"To the branch of an oak,
We'll hang the rogue ;
If it does not hurt him,
It will do us some good."
He had improvised this couplet in honor of Mattheus
and he sang it in a burst of gaiety.
That very evening Magnus, Carquefou and Rudiger
slept in a cottage, situated in the vicinity of the moun-
tain on which Ravennest Castle could be seen. The
heart of Magnus tightened at the sight of these black
walls, behind which Armand-Louis breathed ; but Car-
quefou, who had regained his appetite, ordered the most
juicy supper he had eaten since the fatal one taken at
the hostelry of Master Innocent.
"There's nothing like a full stomach to open up one's
ideas," he said.
Magnus disclosed his plans of campaign to his asso-
ciates.
"Rudiger, who has been in the service of Mattheus,"
he said, "should procure information about the place. He
must at any price get the countersign."
"I'll get it."
"I know a subterranean passage, thanks to which one
may enter the castle, despite the bandits who guard it.
THE KINDNESS OF FATE 89
This passage opens into a valley. How many times have
I not profited thereby to borrow from the lord of the
castle, bottles of his best wine and quarters of venison,
which I never returned."
"That's in the rules," interposed Rudiger.
"I will soon rediscover this entrance. What we need
to know is, in what corner Mattheus has hidden the two
gentlemen. Is it on high tinder the tiles or below in the
cellars? This is what we must learn so as not to run in
with the garrison."
"I'll find out." replied Rudiger.
"Thou speakest curt, friend, but thou speakest well."
"And what shall I be doing meanwhile?" asked Car-
quefi >n.
"Thoul't prowl about everywhere, like a fox seeking a
hen. Thou'lt contrive to open acquaintance with one oi
the inhabitants of the castle and thou'lt gain his confi-
dence. Two sources of information are better than one.
Above all, never lose sight of our horses. They will
shortly have to bear double burden, I hope."
"Then tiny must have double rations now."
While Carquefou went to the stable, Rudiger resolute-
ly took the road to the castle, and Magnus busied himself
in the brushwood that covered the bosom of the valley.
After an hour's search he reached an enormous rock,
whose base was lost in an inextricable thicket of briar,
■rcat juniper was growing in a split in the rock.
"It should be here," thought Magnus.
lie held back the bush which covered the ground and
under a hollow, which one could never have dreamt of, if
one did not know, he found a low opening veiled with
long grass.
He stooped and disappeared herein. Thence he found
himself in a narrow hall, which descended as it crept
along the interior of the mountain. Magnus lighted a
lantern with which he had provided himself and ad-
vanced slowly. After some hundred steps, he reached
what seemed to be an impenetrable wall. He examined
it carefully, shedding the Hgh1 on the dank sides of the
rock and at last found a nail, the head of which was stick-
ing out of the wall. lie tool; hold of it firmly and a
9Q THE KINDNESS OF FATE
layer of the wall, shaking lightly, turned outward. A
wave of air struck his face and in the glare of his lan-
tern, which he held above his head, he beheld an immense
dark cave, in which were buried the foundations of one
of the towers. Tuns and small barrels were ranged along
the wall. The first contained wine or beer, the others
powder.
"This is the right place," murmured Magnus.
He retreated from the cave, shoved back the large
stone into its socket, groped along the gloomy corridor
and regained the secret entrance, where the blaze of the
sun's light blinded him.
"If I had not been a marauder," he thought, "I should
never have discovered that place."
Then he returned to the cottage, where Carquefou was
lavishing fodder on the horses. He found Rudiger rub-
bing his hands joyously.
"Lord Mattheus has the charming gift of offending
those who serve him," he said. "He maltreats and pays
his people ill. That's too much. As a consequence one
of the men gave me the countersign."
"Which is—"
"Agnus Dei and Wallenstein."
"The scoundrel ! He mixes religion and politics. But
patience, perhaps he will not indulge these fancies much
longer."
"Furthermore, some of my former good comrades
whom I met up there, received me well. I may come
and go as I please."
" 'Tis well at times to frequent bad company," Carque-
fou observed philosophically.
"But where are the prisoners kept?" asked Magnus.
"One of them was taken to-day to the dungeon of the
Serpent's Tower, which is called the Red Room. He is
tall, slender and fair."
" 'Tis the Count of La Guerche."
"Maybe. The other, a dark complexioned man, has
been transferred to a part of the castle which no one
could tell me."
' 'Sdeath," cried Carquefou, "here's a poniard which
THE KINDNESS OE FATE 91
will make Mattheus speak, though he were mute as a
tomb and deaf as the wind."
"Thus, thou are not willing to wait?" said Magnus,
touching Carquefou on the shoulder.
"Wait! They are living! Who knows whether an
hour's respite may not allow this wretch time to conceive
wicked thoughts. No, no ; our masters are up there. To
work, then !"
"To work, then !" echoed Magnus.
92 MATTHEUS DRINKS HIS OWN MEDICINE
CHAPTER XII.
MATTHEUS DRINKS HIS OWN MEDIICNE.
It was the same day on which Mattheus had questioned
Renaud. The prisoners had been put into their new
quarters, the one in the Green Room, the other in the
Red Room. A stairway, carved in the rock, allowed
communication between the former and the apartments
occupied by Mattheus himself.
Mattheus had just supped delicately in the company of
the physician attached to the castle. Enlivened by the
conversation of this learned man and also by abundant
libations he resolved to visit his victim.
"I am responsible for him,"- he said sweetly, "and I
would not have his health endangered."
The physician staggered after Mattheus. The two
found Renaud lying on the ground, munching his crust
of bread.
At the sight of Mattheus Renaud winked and said :
"Ha, ha ! There, a ray of light is making your nose
enormously long. The polecats will be envious of you."
Meanwhile the doctor out of habit felt the prisoner's
pulse.
"Don't you think that the dampness of the ground,"
said Mattheus, "may have an unhealthy effect on the
nerves of the marquis?"
"To be sure," replied the doctor.
Mattheus made a sign. Two servants passed a rope
under the armpits of Renaud, tied his hands behind his
back and hoisted him a few feet from the ground.
"See whether the ring is solid," added Mattheus. "We
must not expose the marquis to a fall that could injure
him."
This was a new torture in addition to those Renaud
had already undergone. The ropes were fastened in a
knot.
MATTHEUS DRINKS HIS OWN MEDICINE 93
"Good night, marquis," said Mattheus, saluting him
ironically. "Till to-morrow."
"Till to-morrow," Renaud cried after him, "and see,
my pretty lord, that you do not bite your ears while
sleeping. Your mouth has a spite against them."
At the same hour and while Mattheus was returning to
his apartment. Magnus was leading Carquefou and Rudi-
ger to the great rock under which opened the subterra-
nean passage.
He had brought with him cowls, ropes and gags. They
all wore buff cloaks, adorned with steel blades, which
rendered all arms hurtless. Carquefou and Magnus,
muffled in false beards, were unrecognizable ; each bore
in addition to his sword, a dirk and a poniard, the one
with a long blade, the other thin and short, and a pair of
pistols well charged and primed.
At the end of the vaulted passage Magnus pressed the
nail which stuck out of the wall. The stone turned and
th.y entered the subway, in the centre of which stood
the foot of the Serpent's Tower, a heavy, round mass.
"He is there," said Rudiger.
Magnus, without replying, walked around the founda-
tion of the tower, examined the stones with his hand and
his eyes and noticed one of a peculiar shape. He thrust
his poniard in the interstice between this one and the
next, thus making an invisible spring work. Carquefou
and Rudiger, holding their breath, were watching his
every movement with anxiety. A low door opened slow-
ly and noiselessly before them. It was made of one block
and was hung on iron hinges. Magnus passed through
first and projected the flame of his lamp into the dun-
geon.
A livid shadow stirred in the obscure depths of the
cavern.
"Oh God ! My master!" cried Magnus, who had recog-
nized Armand-Louis almost before seeing him.
With a trembling hand he cut the cords which bound
him in his bed of straw.
"Mattheus did this," he said, his face scarlet with rage,
"and he did it knowing that I lived."
94 MATTHEUS DRINKS HIS OWN MEDICINE
"Ah, I had given up hope," said Armand-Louis, when
he stood up free.
Magnus kissed his hand and wept to see him so pale
and thin.
"Without doubt," said Carquefou, wiping his eyes,
the robber has not treated Renaud de Chaufontaine any
better."
"Is he also free?" asked Armand-Louis.
"Not yet."
"Let us seek him, then. I'll not leave this hole till
we find him."
The Count of La Guerche hastily swallowed two or
three gulps of a cordial which Carquefou had had the
foresight to bring with him in a gourd. Then he left the
tower.
"But you are staggering." cried Magnus.
"Ah, the thoughts of delivering my brother at arms
will restore my strength," said Armand-Louis.
They covered him with a cowl, armed him with a poni-
ard and a pair of pistols. Then all four ascended the
stairs like snails, which led to the ground floor of the
castle. They soon found themselves in a gallery dimly
lighted by a lantern suspended from the ceiling. A man
was on guard in one corner.
At the sight of the little troop he took a step forward.
Rudiger ran up to him and placing his finger on his
lips he said :
"Agnus Dei !"
"And Wallenstein !" replied the sentinel.
Magnus nudged him and leaning to his ear added :
"Officers of the Imperial army sent by Count Tilly,
Sir! I received them and I am taking them to Lord
Mattheus. Something great is impending."
The sentinel smiled with a satisfied air and the troop
passed on.
Another soldier stood at the very door of the apart-
ment occupied by Mattheus.
"Agnus Dei !" he said, advancing toward Rudiger, his
hand upon his pistol.
"And Wallenstein !" replied Rudiger ; then lowering
his voice : "Silence ! John of Werth is here. He conies
MATTHUES DRINKS HIS OWN MEDICINE 95
from the camp. Whether Lord Mattheus be asleep or
not he wishes to see him."
The man with the pistol opened the door.
In an instant Armand-Louis and his companions were
in an immense room, one of whose corners was occupied
by a great canopied bed. A two-branched candlebra
burned on the table.
Magnus tore wide the curtains of the bed.
Mattheus Orlscopp opened his eyes and beheld the
mouths of four pistols gaping at his breast. Over the
eyes of the four men cowls were drawn.
"Not a word," said one of them. "A cry or a sigh and
thou art dead !"
Mattheus remained still. The thought of a mutiny
crossed his mind.
"Do you want gold? Speak!" he said.
"What hast thou done with Renaud?" asked Armand-
Louis, throwing back his cowl.
An icy sweat overspread the visage of Mattheus ; yet
the cautious air of his foes convinced him that the castle
was still his. If he could but gain some time perhaps he
might have the last word in this argument.
"You demand the marquis?" he said. "Let them who
liberated you find where he is."
He had raised his voice and made a movement to leap
from the bed. The point of a sword touched his naked
breast.
"Have a care," said Magnus. "We have small patience
and thou art in our power."
Mattheus crossed his arms and hatred surmounting his
courage, he said :
"Strike, then! If I die, the Marquis of Chaufontaine
dies also."
The four companions consulted one another with a
glance. Each minute dragged by like a century. They
could hear the heavy and cadenced tread of the patrol
passing in the gallery.
"Ah, my maskers," said Mattheus. smiling, "you think
you can enter a lion's lair and go out of it alive."
"If he has any heart, we are lost," murmured Magnus.
96 MATTHEUS DRINKS HIS OWN MEDICINE
"Then thou refusest?" asked Carquefou, shaking the
governor of the castle in his bed.
"I do. One can die only once."
With one hand Carquefou seized the sword which Mat-
theus had laid on a chair beside his bed before going to
sleep, with the other he began calmly to indent its blade
with that of his poniard.
"To die is nothing," he said. "To suffer is every-
thing. A ball or a sword-thrust in the heart — bah — 'tis
too gentle for thee. I'll make a saw and with my saw
I'll cut thy wretched body in two."
Mattheus turned livid.
"Magnus, gag the man," said Carquefou, who after
indenting the sword, tried its teeth on the table.
Armand-Louis approached Mattheus, who was pinned
to the bed by the stout arm of Magnus.
"Listen," he said, "if thou wilt lead us to Renaud of
Chaufontaine, thou'lt have life and liberty. I give thee
my word."
"And if thou refuse," added Carquefou, "I swear by
the thousand horns of the devil that the teeth of this
sword will drink in the last drop of blood in thy veins."
"Now, thou hast a minute to decide," said Magnus.
Meanwhile Rudiger, pistol in hand, kept guard at the
door.
Mattheus regarded in turn each of the actors in this
scene. Each was merciless. Carquefou rested the
notched sword blade on the damp thighs of Mattheus,
whose every fibre quivered. Carquefou made a move-
ment and the sharp teeth of the saw tore the skin.
"Oh," moaned Mattheus, his eyes starting from his
sockets, "I yield. The passage is there; I'll guide you,"
and his teeth chattered as he spoke.
Carquefou raised the saw.
Mattheus, held at each arm by Magnus and Rudiger,
went into a room and descended a stairway, at the foot
of which they saw an iron door.
"He is in there," said Mattheus.
"Ah, bandit, under thy hand !" murmured Carquefou.
"Give us the key !"
When the door was opened they saw Renaud. He was
MATTHEUS DRINKS HIS OWN MEDICINE 97
hanging from a hook, fully three feet from the floor. His
head had fallen on his chest and he seemed to be dead.
"Oh, tlnm miscreant!" cried Carquefou. who with a
bound, caught the body of his master, cut the ropes, laid
him on the ground and untied his bonds.
Renaud sighed. Carquefou forced the neck of his
gourd between his master's lips. The prisoner drank
deeply ; then opened his eyes. At the sight of Armand-
Louis he stood up and pointing to Mattheus, without
waiting to understand the situation, he said :
"See, there's the ugliest man I know. Tis beyond all
credence."
But Carquefou had already seized Mattheus, and be-
fore any of them could oppose him he had suspended him
in the same place from which he had just taken his
master.
'Tis thy turn for the ring." he said, "and thank God
that the Count of La Guerche has pledged his word to
thee, or I swear my sword should have put thee into
eternal sleep on that pack of straw."
"Listen," continued Renaud, "I know the ways of the
house. To-morrow at noon they fetch thee a handful of
lentils, swimming in a little water. The doctor, thy
friend, will prove to thee that thou hast not slept ill and
you can breakfast together. Now forget not this one
thing, my dear lord. I have the sweet hope of meeting
thee again. But on that day thou shalt be hanged so well
and tastefully, not by the armpits but by the neck, that
thy last grimace shall frighten the world."
Mattheus was hanging bound and gagged. Magnus
closed the door and the men retired to the room they
had just left. On their way, Carquefou, who had an eye
for 1 \.r\ thing, rammed into his pockets a long, fat purse
which he found on the table.
" 'Tis an orphan," said he, "let's offer it an asylum."
Renaud cast a glance of question upon him.
"Marquis," he continued, "one tnusl lave no muni-
tions of war to the enemy. The rules of the commonest
prudence command thi
While he was speaking he enveloped his master in a
garment that Mattheus had worn.
98 MATTHEUS DRINKS HIS OWN MEDICINE
"What a cruel fate," he commented, "to hide one's self
in the skin of a wolf."
Renaud turned suddenly pale and staggered. At this
instant a patrol passed in the gallery and some one
knocked at the door.
"What is it?" asked Magnus in a muffled voice.
"The doctor wishes to ask your lordship whether it be
not opportune to pay a visit to the prisoner," answered
the man who had knocked. "He may die in the night
and that would be a pity."
"The prisoner has a tough life," returned Carquefou.
who was supporting Renaud. "I know him. To-mor-
row he'll be fresh and lively as an eel."
While these words were passing the five companions
made ready their arms in utter silence.
The step of the patrol moved away in the distance and
the voice was hushed.
"I thought the hour to conquer or die here had come,"
murmured Magnus, breathing again.
"Be of good heart now, marquis," said Carquefou, "if
we do not wish to be caught in this hall like gudgeons
in a net let's make haste to get out."
"I've suffered so much," said Renaud, making a des-
perate effort. "But, be assured, when the soul com-
mands, the body must obey."
Then with a slow but firm tread he walked toward the
door.
Magnus opened it resolutely ; the sentinel who had not
moved, stared at them.
"Not a word !" Magnus whispered in his ear.
Rudiger, who followed, half uncovered himself.
"John of Werth is here with Lord Mattheus," he
added. " Tis business of the state. Say nothing to thy
comrades of what thou hast seen."
The sentinel drew up respectfully against the wall and
gave the military salute.
The troop attained the end of the gallery, descended
the staircase and soon found itself in the subway of the
castle. A draught of fresh air caressed their cheeks. The
secret door in the foundation of the tower yawned before
them. They passed through one after the other, Car-
MATTHEUS DRINKS HIS OWN MEDICINE 99
fou first. Magnus last. The stone block fell hack in
its mute frame and within a few moments the fugitives
reached the entry of the long passage, which they had
traversed two hours before. When they had brushed
aside the shrubs and reeds which masked the narrow
vault, they saw a myriad of stars shining in the heavens.
Armand-Louis and Renaud fell upon their knees.
"Free!" they murmured in one voice.
Behind them. Magnus, Rudiger and Carquefou were
embracing each other.
ioo THE BATTLE
CHAPTER XIII.
THE BATTLE.
Yet the merest accident might arouse the garrison.
They had no time to lose if they would put a broad space
between them and Ravennest Castle. The horses, tied
in a lonely corner of the gorge, were ready for them.
Rudiger charged himself to reconnoitre the road ; Mag-
nus and Carquefou took Armand-Louis and Renaud on
their horses and set out on a gallop.
At the first halt, Carquefou rode into a neighboring
village and returned with two fresh horses for his mas-
ters. On the saddle bows of each were pistols and a
sword.
"I think there must have been a fight in the neighbor-
hood," he said, "I got the beasts and the arms for twenty
pistoles."
A few hours' sleep after some cold mutton and good
old wine restored to Armand-Louis and Renaud a part
of the forces they had lost. The latter unsheathed his
sword and tried its mettle.
"Sharp, supple and easy to handle," he commented. "I
fancy St. Estocade will soon afford me an opportunity to
prove its temper."
One thing bothered Carquefou. He could not refrain
from confiding it to Magnus.
"There were black passages in that hole," he said, "in
which the devil himself never set fot : moving stones and
secret doors no sorcerer could discover. By what chance
didst thou learn of them?"
"Friend Carquefou, Magnus was young once, though
a long time ago," answered the veteran. "At that time I
was equerry to a baron who hunted on the domain of the
castillon of Ravennest. When the latter was on the hunt
or traveling, the baron paid visits to the castle. The
THK BATTLE 101
Lady of Ravennest had a fresh and pretty maid. Poor
Catinka! What has become of her? Whither the baron
went, thither went the equerry in his turn. Dost under-
stand now?"
"I do."
They ran until evening- without unbridling.
The action and fresh air invigorated from hour to hour
the muscles of the gentlemen with the force and elasticity
to which they had been so long accustomed.
When night began to fall they were at least fifteen
leagues from Mattheus. The direction they followed led
them near the provinces where the weight of
Swedish arms was felt. They had now very little to fear
from the master of Ravennest.
"Perhaps 'twere as well," suggested Armand-Louis,
"to find out what has become of King Gustavus Adol-
phus."
On their way they had passed cottages in ruins, ham-
lets in ashes. Here and there harvests were trodden
down by the march of cavalry, trees hewn to the ground,
orchards destroyed, bits of land freshly turned, in ditches
lay the half decomposed bodies of horses. It was clear
that many troops of warriors had fought in this territory.
They must take care not to fall into the hands of the
Imperialists. The Croatian squadrons had at times a very
expedite method of ridding themselves of their prisoners.
The peasants and innkeepers whom Carquefou and
Magnus questioned told them that indeed many battles
had been fought in the vicinity. Everywhere the Swedes
had conquered, but real war had scarcely commenced.
Since the sacking of Magdebourg the two belligerent
armies had been manoeuvring to meet. Count Tilly was
no less urgent to offer battle to the King of Sweden than
Gustavus Adolphus was desirous to accept. Yet as their
desires were the same, so was their prudence. Neither of
generals wished to leave anything t<> chance. The
one had an old reputation to sustain and did not wish to
expose an army, which till now had known naught but
victories, to the shame of a defeat. The other, heralded
by a fame already glorious, surrounded himself with pre-
cautions before measuring himself with the most experi-
102 THE BATTLE
enced commander in Europe. They both felt that perhaps
on their first battle hinged the issue of the war and by a
counter-stroke the fate of Germany. Meanwhile their
flags approached each other day by day. The circle in
which they moved grew narrower. Skirmishes became
more frequent. Everything presaged an impending
shock in some corner of the province.
"Let's not miss the ball !" said Renaud euthusiastically.
Thanks to the information they secured from the sol-
diers and deserters they met continually ; they learned
almost precisely toward what point they must ride to
avoid the Imperialists and meet the Swedes. It was not
an easy matter, in the midst of bands of Hungarians and
Croatians who were ravaging the land, and whose ca-
prices, or the thought of a richer booty here or there,
drove them like a blast of wind drives a cloud of locusts.
They heard no more of Mattheus Orlscopp, and Car-
quefou, enlivened by travel, repeated his famous song :
"To the limb of an oak,
We'll hang the rogue."
One morning the light breeze, which follows the birth
of day, bore to their ears the echo of a formidable noise
booming in the distance.
"Cannon !" said Renaud.
They all stopped. It was really cannon and they heani
its incessant thundering from afar.
Carquefou pointed out great clouds of white smok*
which veiled one side of the horizon.
"Over there," he said.
Magnus pressed his ear to the ground, which trem-
bled.
"That's no skirmish," he said, "nor yet a combat. 'Tis
a battle."
A gleam of joy flashed in the eyes of Armand-Louis
and of Renaud. The latter was already fondling his
sword, which he drew from its scabbard little by little.
"The road is free," said Magnus turning to Rudiger,
"thou hast been brave and loyal. If thou come with us
this hand which has clasped thine will never forsake thee.
If thou goest elsewhere, good luck ! But thou went with
THE BATTLE 103
the Imperialists and I warn thee that we cry, 'Long live
Gustavus Adolphus !' "
"I am a Pole. Whore there's fighting, I fight. For-
ward, I am yours," replied the reiter, who with a feverish
hand gathered the reins of his horse.
The roar of the cannon continued.
"To the cannon !" cried Renaud.
The five cavaliers shot forward like a thunderbolt.
As they were turning the brow of a hill, over which
they were galloping, such a magnificent spectacle struck
their sight that of one accord they reined up their horses.
"By St. Estocade, my patroness," exclaimed Renaud,
"but that is beautiful !"
In the plain at the foot of the hill the two armies were
met. The regiments were clashing together. The artil-
leries were thundering. From the colors of the stand-
ards the spectators discovered that the Imperialists oc-
cupied the (lank of the eminence and that the Swedes
had taken the offensive. A man, wearing a doublet of
green satin under a cuirass of steel, and bearing a scarlet
plume on his brow, which was lashed by the wind, sat on
his horse on the summit of a hillock. Groups of officers
surrounded him.
"Count Tilly," said Magnus.
From time to time Count Tilly made a sign of his hand
and an aide-de-camp would set out at breakneck speed.
Then the commander would observe anew the waves of
battle.
The Imperialists had the advantage of position ; the
Swedes and their Saxon allies the superiority of attack.
The fire of the artillery, stationed at one side, did not
balk them, and such was the fury of their onslaught that
at each offensive return new regiments were obliged to
descend the hill to meet them.
Yet one of their wings had just wavered. The con-
fusion of the ranks was visible; the ground was heaped
with corpses. Fugitives without number ran in rout, and
in the distance a squadron was pillaging an encampment.
Gnat joyous cri< :s arose from the Imperialists.
"The Saxons arc routed," said Magnus.
But in the thick of the battle a picked body had now
104 THE BATTLE
launched forward with such intrepidity, that overturning
all in its path, it succeeded in climbing the first rows of
the escarpment. The Imperial army retreated in dis-
order.
"The blue regiment ! The yellow regiment ! 'Tis the
king!" roared Magnus.
Count Tilly made a sign. An officer set out on a gallop
and flung himself ahead, straining every nerve of his
horse. At the same moment a body of cavalry, which
had been concealed behind a slope, came in view and de-
scended to meet the Swedes. The sun shone on their
shields, a clatter of steel accompanied their charge ; men
and horses passed like a torrent of fire.
"The cuirassiers of Pappenheim !" said Magnus.
A moment later Imperialists and Swedes were lost in
clouds of smoke.
Not far from the stirless spectators of this bloody
drama, the Austrian artillery rained a hail of shot on the
decimated regiments of the king. Yet around this artil-
lery neither reiters, lansquenets, cuirassiers, dragoons nor
musketeers were now to be seen.
"Forward!" cried Armand-Louis, whose visage had
suddenly become illuminated.
This cry awoke Renaud from his silence and his ad-
miration.
"Yes, forward !" he repeated as he spurred his horse
in pursuit of Armand-Louis, who was riding down the
hill.
In their wake Magnus, Rudiger and Carquefou fol-
lowed across the circle of fire where the cuirassiers of
Pappenheim and the regiment of the king had just struck.
In the thickest of the strife they saw Gustavus Adol-
phus. A more terrible dash bore them close to him.
Balls and bullets dug holes in the battalions. The con-
fusion of men and horses was horrible. The cuirassiers
of Pappenheim, like a wall of iron, barred the way of the
Swedes, who were broken by their successive charges.
Before the reserves, called for by Gustavus Adolphus,
could even arrive on the field of carnage, they were cut
down by the torrent of projectiles which the Imperial
batteries vomited forth incessantly.
THE BATTLE 105
The king, who redoubled his efforts and bore himself
into the most perilous passes, felt that victory was escap-
ing from him. Corpses heaped up about him. When
he charged, the ranks opened as a wall falls before the bat-
tering ram. Once he had passed the ranks closed and
the struggle remained violent and uncertain.
"Oh, the cursed cannon," cried the king. "If they do
not stop they'll cost me honor and life."
Then he spurred his horse in the direction of the bat-
teries. Suddenly Armand-Louis, covered with blood, ap-
peared at his side.
"Sire," he said, "give me five hundred cavaliers and
the cannons are ours."
The Duke of Lauenbourg, who was near Gustavus
Adolphus, trembled.
"What madness!" he cried, "while we have still the
chance, let us retreat. It's impossible to climb up there."
"Sire, five hundred men and I will answer for all," re-
ated Armand-Louis. "But the seconds are counted.
Make haste."
Gustavus Adolphus called Arnold of Brahe, who had
just plunged his sword into the throat of a cuirassier.
"Let the orders of the Count of La Guerche be obeyed
as my own. Go !" said the king.
"Sire, I thank you. Hold the place only a quarter of
an hour and you will have news of me," cried the Count
of La Guerche, spurring his horse out of the confusion.
"Hold it !" said the king ; "I'll die here before I retreat."
The Count of La Guerche had soon collected some
hundreds of cavaliers, when one captain hesitated to fol-
low him.
"By order of the king!" said Arnold and they ranged
themselves behind him. The Huguenot squadron was
battling terrifically not far from here.
"Zounds !" said Renaud, "there are our compatriots.
I'll fetch them to thee!"
He shot out like an arrow and gained the Huguenotg
by rough riding over all in his course. The clamor
which arose as they caught sight of him showed that the
soldiers of La Rochdle recognized him.
106 THE BATTLE
"Here are our friends," said Renaud, reappearing at
the head of the Huguenots.
When they saw Armand-Louis the dragoons let forth
a thousand huzzas.
"To battle, gentlemen," said Armand-Louis, placing
them in the first ranks.
He had now almost the number of men he desired.
He skirted the lines of the Swedish army, then turned
them and discovering a free issue, he pointed with his
sword towards the Imperial artillery crowned with fire.
"Now to the batteries !" he thundered.
"To the batteries !" repeated Renaud and Magnus.
"If we ever return, 'twill be a miracle," murmured Car-
quefou, lowering his head and plunging forward.
The Huguenots and the Swedes came down upon the
cannons with the velocity of an avalanche. Some in-
fantry mixed up with artillerymen endeavored to oppose
them, but they were sabred across the guns and every
battery fell in an instant into the power of the assailants.
Then a body of cavaliers, imitating the example of Ar-
mand-Louis and Arnold, alighted and turned the cannon
on the Imperial army. In an instant Magnus, Carque-
fou, Rudiger and twenty others charged the pieces.
"Fire !" commanded Armand-Louis.
A roar of thunder answered him and forty balls bore
death into the ranks of the Austrians. Some of the men
fell lifeless around Count Tilly. He turned in amaze-
ment and looked behind him. At the sight of the Swed-
ish uniform he paled and said :
"Ah, we are conquered !"
The king also had just recognized the colors of the La
Guerche Dragoons planted on the batteries. Before him
whole lines of cuirassiers fell like ripe corn before the
scythe. His band, gathered at the sign of his sword, fol-
lowed him for a supreme onslaught. The cavalry of Pap-
penheim wavered.
But they had to do with two men who did not yield
easily. They redoubled their efforts, and rallying the
ruins of their scattered regiments, they strove to re-estab-
lish the battle. All that courage can dare, all that the
most consummate experience can advise, they endeav-
THE BATTLE 107
ored to accomplish with an equal ardor and tenacity. But
the breath of triumph influenced the Swedish army and
urged it onward. A few squadrons gathered about Count
Pappenheim, some regiments chained by discipline alone
resisted them and still obeyed the voice of Count Tilly.
"Look at him !*' exclaimed Renaud to Armand-Louis,
pointing out the Grand Marshal of the Empire, who
stood in his stirrups and felled to earth every soldier who
approached him.
Neither Armand-Louis nor Renaud could help admir-
ing this valiant warrior. He showed himself superior to
ill fortune and knew at once how to command and how to
strike.
"Ah, that he may not fall here, he whom they have so
properly surnamed 'the Soldier,' " said Renaud. "And
oh, that I might one day meet him face to face. See,
he's a lion. None can down him, none can stop him."
"Well, then," cried Armand-Louis," since Count Pap-
penheim cannot reach us, let us go to him."
"Let us fly!" yelled the Huguenots.
A flood of assailants had separated him from Count
Tilly and, like a boar harassed by a pack of hounds, the
Grand Marshal galloped into the neighboring wood,
whither all that remained of his magnificent cavalry had
disappeared before Renaud could come up with him.
The army of Count Tilly, this army which was called
invincible, was at last overthrown, annihilated. He alone
still stood his ground, hoping that some chance would
render him victory which had so long been faithful to his
colors. But the hour came at last when he was obliged
to yield to the officers grouped about him. They had
remained beside him despite the horror of the rout.
When the old commander decided to quit the field of
battle, on which his military fortune had been shattered,
night was falling and still it was not easy for him to es-
cape from his conquerors.
Hunted unremittingly, wounded four times, weakened
by loss of blood, it seemed as though Count Tilly could
no longer evade the Swedes who were mad to capture
him. rlifl escort, diminished each minute by fir<' and
sword, was reduced to a few men. Two leagues from the
io8 THE BATTLE
field the pursuit still rolled on. An officer of the Finnish
Guard, his sword aloft, approached the conquered com-
mander and raised his hand to seize him by the belt.
Captain Jacobus, terrible and livid, his hands red with
blood, his hat and cloak in tatters, more furious than
frightened, was marching in the rear of the escort. With
a blow of his pistol he broke the Finlander's skull and
then helped the aged commander to mount the steed of
the dead man.
"If Count Tilly fell, who would fight Gustavus Adol-
phus?" he said.
"I thank you," replied the man of Magdebourg.
Then digging the spurs into the Swedish horse, he
gained the forest where Count Pappenheim was rallying
the remains of his regiments.
For an instant Captain Jacobus paused to give his
horse a chance to breathe. He glanced back toward the
heights now crowned by the Swedish army.
"Thou dost triumph to-day, Gustavus Adolphus," he
cried, "but patience. The war is not ended. We shall
meet again."
A great shout struck upon his ears. It was the voice
of Armand-Louis, who had caught sight of him and was
now charging upon him, followed by Magnus.
It will be remembered that Armand-Louis and Renaud
had rushed upon Count Pappenheim ; but in the con-
fusion they became separated and each thrust his sword
at hazard in the conflict, the one striving to reach Count
Pappenheim, the other Count Tilly.
Armand-Louis had ridden across the plain in a lost
quest, when he perceived Captain Jacobus. In a minute
he was brandishing his sword and dashing toward him.
But Captain Jacobus turned his horse and did not tarry.
He had no intention of exposing his life while the King
of Sweden lived. Provided with a fleeter mount he soon
attained the edge of the wood and was lost therein.
Magnus seized the bridle of his master's horse, say-
ing:
"Halt ! The wood is full of ambushes."
"Ah," returned Armand-Louis, shuddering with rage,
c
3
"2.
r.
<
3
n
'—
r.
THE BATTLE 109
"that scoundrel will not always be so lucky as to have a
forest before him."
As he rode back leisurely he heard cries of distress.
He traced the sound and in the thick of a band of cav-
aliers, near a burning cottage, he saw a woman lying on
the ground and a young girl who was struggling with
her assailants.
' 'Sdeath!" roared Armand-Louis, "there are wretches
who will pay for Captain Jacobus."
1 [e spurred his horse into a gallop.
Tis imprudent," cried Magnus, who followed him.
'They are twelve, we are two, and now is the time that
the best soldiers often become plunderers."
Magnus glanced over the plain and saw naught but
horses running wild, corpses here and there and in the
distance a veil of smoke.
"This is a nasty adventure," he said to himself as he
galloped onward.
One of the cavaliers had seized the young girl by the
arm. She clung to the body of the woman lying on the
ground, whose head was cloven in twain with a sabre
blow. The man tore her up and lifted her to his horse,
oundrel !" yelled Armand-Louis, leaping forward
and hitting the ravisher's hand with the flat of his sword,
"be Off!"
"Oh, save me," sobbed the girl running to the Hugue-
not. "They have killed my mother."
Her dishevelled hair fell down over her face. Blood
flowed on her cheeks. Armand-Louis leaped before her
and cried :
"Death to him who touches her!"
But the cavaliers had reckoned their number and one
them jeered :
"Kill a soldier for a gypsy! Death to the officer!"
The sound of his voice still vibrated in the air as Bal-
iverne sank into his throat.
"Be still, chatterer!" growled Magnus.
Then in a lower voice he added:
"A Btupid business! They have still the advantage of
number.'
Bui the boldness of the two rt scuers, the fiery altitude,
no THE, BATTLE
the swiftness of their blows, all had disconcerted the rav-
ishers. They hesitated and consulted among themselves.
"Yet we can't leave here without some booty," said
one of them.
"Here," pursued another, "give us the girl and go on
your way."
"Come and take her!" roared Armand-Louis, and
charging upon the soldier who had addressed him, he
sent him in a heap to the earth with a sword thrust
through his heart.
The freebooters let forth a cry of rage, and serrying
their rank, they raised their sabres.
"This is going to be a mess," thought Magnus, "and
all for a gypsy."
At this juncture Renaud and Carquefou, followed by
five dragoons, appeared. They had lost the trail of Count
Pappenheim.
Renaud, whose disappointment vexed him to utter low
imprecations, caught sight of Armand-Louis.
"Ha, ha !" he said, "they are having a chat below
there."
His horse leaped forward ; but the marauders, who had
perceived him, suddenly changed their tactics. Their at-
tack was transformed into a rout. They vanished like a
flight of pigeons before a hawk.
The gypsy had thrown herself across the body of her
mother, weeping violently.
"Ah, Sir," she said at last, raising her head, "my mother
breathes."
Touched with pity Armand-Louis had the poor woman
laid upon a horse. A little life still remained in her, but
the blood flowed in waves from her wound.
"We will do all we can for her," he said.
The young gypsy pressed her lips to the hand of the
Huguenot, then uplifting her black eyes, she said :
"Tell me your name. I shall never forget it. I am
called Yerta."
On their way Yerta told them that she belonged to a
tribe of gypsies which followed Count Tilly's army and
bought and sold horses. At the moment when the battle
ended the poor girl and her mother found themselves
THE BATTLE in
with two men of their tribe on the edge of a field. Sud-
denly a troop of cavaliers surrounded them. The two
men ran off. The mother, seeing her seized by one of
the marauders, threw herself in front of the girl to save
her. A sabre blow stretched her on the turf.
"A Christian came and saved poor Yerta," she added
in a sweet voice. "Henceforward my life is yours."
They laid the dying gypsy in a tent near the one oc-
cupied by Armand-Louis. Magnus was commanded to
see that she wanted for nothing. Then Armand-Louis
went forth to seek the king.
Torrents of light illuminated the bivouac of the vic-
torious army. Torches and flames blazed everywhere.
King Gustavus Adolphus, preceded, followed, accom-
panied by the huzzas of twenty thousand soldiers, had
just visited the field of battle, where under his care all
the wounded had been borne. He met the Count of La
Guerche riding at the head of his dragoons. The gar-
ments of every warrior bore witness to the fight they had
waged.
Gustavus Adolphus rode swiftly to the Huguenot's
side and embraced him, saying:
"Colonel, next to God, I owe this victory to you."
An immense shout of joy greeted the king and the
young colonel who rode with him.
"Ah," murmured Armand-Louis, "why is Adrienne not
here!"
When he returned to his quarters he found Yerta
weeping over the body of her mother. She arose and
kissed his hands anew.
"She is dead," the gypsy whispered. "I am alone in
the world."
All night long she remained seated in the tent beside
her dead mother. She sang in a low chanting tone and
wept. Her voice was so plaintive, her songs sad^ that
the heart of the veteran Magnus ached for her.
At daybreak two men of Yerta's tribe glided noise-
&ly into the tent. They wrapped the gypsy's body in
a cloak and buried it 5n a remote and unmarked spot.
Then they vanished furtively like birds of the night.
Twice or thrice during the day Yerta was seen haunt-
H2 THE BATTLE
ing the tent of Armand-Louis. When he passed she fol-
lowed him with her eyes. He stopped in front of her.
Yerta began suddenly to tremble and tears bathed her
face. When he was unmindful of her, she took the hem
of his cloak and bore it to her lips.
Once, feeling herself quite alone, she stole into the
Huguenot's tent. She watched an instant, glanced all
about her and seeing one of his gloves lying in a corner
she quickly seized it. Then she saw a medallion hung
between two swords on the pole which supported the
tent. She took hold of it with a kind of feline quickness,
touched the spring of its gold lid and saw within the por-
trait of a woman. Yerta turned pale and sat down upon
a chest. She studied the picture a long while in a kind
of trance, then replaced it between the two swords, threw
back the glove and glided out of the tent.
When evening came she had vanished. When Ar-
mand-Louis asked Magnus what had become of Yerta,
Magnus pointed to a bird which was hopping from limb
to limb on a tree nearby.
"Whither goes that bird?" he asked.
THE WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EVE 113
CHAPTER XIV.
THE WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EVE.
Let us for a short while leave the Count of La Gucrche
and the Marquis of Chaufontaine at the court of King
Gustavus Adolphus, where war will scarcely allow them
long leisure, and let us return to Madame d'Igomer, of
whom we have lost sight since the audacity of Magnus
took Mademoiselle de Souvigny and Mademoiselle de
Pardaillan from ' er clutches at the triumphant moment
when she was leading them to St. Rupert's Convent.
It will be remembered that John of Werth, in obedi-
ence to the desire of the baroness, had promised to es-
cort her in person to Prague, in which city Field Marshal
Wallenstein had fixed his residence. The check she had
received in the pavilion, in which she had passed the
night, did not alter her resolution, and on the morrow
she set out for Bohemia. Escorted, however, by the
people of the baron, she left the General of the Bavarian
troops before Magdebourg. She was sure of him and
she wished only to have an accomplice not less ardent
and obstinate in hate to keep guard over the city in which
the two cousins had sought such a fatal refuge.
For the designs which ripened in her agitated brain
the Baroness d Igomer needed an all-powerful support.
She needed this support if she were never to enter the
palace toward which she directed her steps with feverish
impatience, revenged at last and pride-blown with her
triumph ; and if, on the contrary, she appeared there con-
quered and shattered by her defeat, she nourished the
hop'- <if extra' ting the bett< r part of this misfortune.
She was pursuing a double aim. therefore; first, to
lose her rival: then, deprived of the sole love that had
ever made her heart throb, to show to Renaud, by the
glory of the almightiness toward which her ambition
H4 THE WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EVE
aspired, what she was and what she had been willing to
sacrifice to him.
"Then he will know me," she mused, "and perhaps he
will regret me. I do not know whether I will be happy,
but at least he will not be more so."
As she rode along she arranged her argument and
prepared herself for the part of the victim, which she pro-
posed to play.
The man whom Ferdinand the Emperor had created
the Duke of Friedland, in recognition of the services he
had rendered to the throne of Hapsburg, at this time
held a position at Prague, whose brilliance was not less
than the grandeur of his sovereign master. His military
reputation equalled Count Tilly's and his pomp and
wealth surpassed all that had been hitherto known. Now
for some time in disgrace, he possessed, in the retreat he
had chosen in the centre of his domains, a court which
a mighty king might have envied. Around him
swarmed a very people of officers devoted to his for-
tunes, and which his prodigal hand entertained magnifi-
cently. He had sixty pages and fifty guards attached to
his house.
The most noble lords considered it a happiness to be
admitted to this fairy palace, which was reached by six
vast porticos. Gentlemen of the best houses aspired to
the honor of serving him. His treasures sufficed for all;
and in this royal solitude, on which were cast the eyes of
Germany, his ungovernable ambition meditated new
glories.
Not in the whole empire, from the shores of the Elbe
to the Rhine, from the Baltic Sea to the mountains of
Tyrol, was there a soldier who did not know him, not a
commander who did not respect or fear him. His name
was a standard. At his call not a man who could handle
a sword or a musket, who was not glad to undertake a
new campaign under his command. From that moment
they felt certain of victory. He possessed the great art
of rewarding liberally whoever served him. He had
been seen by some magic to improvise armies, and sud-
denly to arise at the head of numerous regiments in a
THE WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EVE 115
devastated province, where on the preceding day there
had been naught hut fugitives.
He had his chamberlains and his majordomos, his great
officers and his ambassadors even as the Emperor. He
was treated with as a crowned head. Disgraced by his
master, because he was feared, he was not discouraged ;
a reverse to the imperial armies could restore to him his
sovereign military power. Then, the Baroness d'Igomer
had witnessed too much in a small number of years not
to understand that war has its caprices. She did not
know whence should come the thunderbolt that would
replace Wallenstein on his pinnacle, but she was con-
vinced that it would strike. She must, therefore, make
sure of him before he became master.
The baroness had not forgotten a certain evening in
Vienna, the occasion of a ball, when the first lieutenant
of the Emperor had considered her with glances which
his familiars had never seen him bestow on anyone. He
had spoken to her and that stern voice at which the
whole world trembled had softened ; that austere and
sallow visage had flushed. Something had throbbed in
the breast of the savage general which was strange to
him. At this time Madame d'Igomer, married only a
few days, was in the bloom of her springtime ; but she
was in wit already a woman and no detail of that night
had escaped her. What more glorious triumph for her
youthful vanity! But now in the memory of this day,
what an indignation she felt toward herself for having
yielded to the love inspired by a poor gentleman, almost
an adventurer, when at a nod of her head she could have
had the master of G< rmany at her feet! Despairing and
still inwardly bleeding from the wounds of her heart,
which wondered why it had given itself up. Madame
d'Igomer wished to learn whether her sun-like beauty
could yd work upon Wallenstein the charm and seduc-
tion which were to serve her new designs.
Tier first care on arriving at Prague was to pay a visit
to him. With what art did she not approach him! How
ed over the mighty hand which the duke prof-
fered t<> herl With what sweet and suppliant inflection
of the voice did she I II him that she was a widow, alone
n6 THR WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EVE
and almost without protection. In the midst of the
abandon which surrounded her, desolate as a fledgling
whose nest has been swept away in a storm, she had
recollected the illustrious and all-powerful Wallenstein,
the pride of Germany. The terrible and magnanimous
warrior had spoken to her kindly in the past, she re-
membered, and her first impulse urged her toward him.
Cruel enmities pursued her. She had left much rancor
at the court of Sweden, where melancholy days had en-
chained her. But if her presence might stir any danger
against the man whom the whole empire admired, she
was ready to flee and to drag out the last years of her life
within the icy shadow of a convent.
Two tears fell from her eyes and rolled like pearls
down her rose-tinted cheeks. Wallenstein raised her up,
saying:
"Enter, Madam. This palace is yours."
This was a first success. She counted on gaining
others. Soon she contrived to interest the Duke of
Friedland in imaginary woes which permitted her to shed
tears that accentuated her beauty. Pity mingled with
the spontaneous sentiment of seduction to whose empire
her host yielded. It was not long before chamberlains,
majordomos, equerries and pages, in fine, a whole people
of gentlemen and captains, learned to reckon with the
new star which shone above Prague.
Among all those who surrounded Wallenstein, one
alone was really to be mistrusted. This was an Italian,
Seni, who consulted the stars to the profit of the Field
Marshal. But Thecla pierced this man with her first
glance. One evening she asked the astrologer to come
to her apartment. She showed him a jewel of priceless
value, suspended from a chain of gold, in a casket.
"This is a tribute which my sex pays your science,"
she said. "I dare to hope that it will not prove unfavor-
able, and that the planets under your laws will accord
me a part of the friendship I ask."
The astrologer could not misunderstand the smile and
the glance which accompanied her words.
"What have you to fear from the planets which con-
THE WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EVE 117
fide their secrets to me," Seni replied. "You shine as
brilliantly as Venus and the stars arc your sisters."
"That's what you must sometimes say to His High-
ness, the Duke of Priedland : and I shall not fail to swear
to him that you are never mistaken."
That very evening the conjunction of Mars and Jupiter
demonstrated to Wallenstein that the arrival of Madame
dTgomer at Prague was a good auspice. The stars re-
joiced.
The correspondence which Madame d'Igomer had
kept with the army of Tilly enabled her to know before
everybody the taking of Magdebourg. This was noth-
ing to her. But what did interest her, was that Made-
moiselle de Pardaillan, who, she was aware, was in the
beleaguered city, had not succeeded in escaping from it.
Of this she was assured by a courier sent on the same
evening the catastrophe had occurred. Now they must
endeavor to get the captive out of Count Pappenheim's
hands, send her to Prague, where the baroness would
have every liberty to dispose of her according to her
caprice. But to attain such a result it was first of all
necessary to secure the co-operation of Count Pappen-
heim. The plan of the baroness was promptly con-
ceived. One morning she presented herself before the
Duke of Friedland, her face bathed in tears.
"What horrible news I have learned," she said, falling
to her knees. "I'll not leave this spot till you grant me
the favors I ask."
"What is it? Do you not command here?" said Wal-
lenstein, seating her beside him.
"Magdebourg is taken !"
"Well, was it not a rebel city? The arms of the Em-
peror have punished it."
"Ah. but you do not know. Two persons of quality.
1 young k'if'^. who are kinswomen, have fallen into
the power of Count Pappenheim. Count Tilly, who
knows their name and fortune, claims them. To what
citadel will they be driven!-' To what shameful treat-
ment will they !<<• exposed? Despite all I have suffered
in Sweden, I cannot forget that I slept under their roof."
"Generous Thecla, always good and devoted!"
n8 THE WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EVE
"Obtain from Count Tilly that Mademoiselle de Par-
daillan and Mademoiselle de Souvigny be delivered to
you, that your palace be their prison. If he asks for
gold, gold has never cost your liberal hand anything.
Here I shall watch over them. More, I will secure their
eternal salvation. If God wills it, I'll free their souls
from the night of heresy. Thus shall acquit my heart's
debt."
"What do you wish me to do, Thecla? Must I send
one of my officers to Count Tilly? He knows me I'll
answer for his consent."
"And who would refuse the wish of the Prince of Wal-
lenstein? But, do more. Allow me to go myself. I
shall go to meet Count Pappenheim, and when the two
captives see me they will believe themselves saved. Ah,
if I could but restore these strayed souls to the bosom of
our Holy Mother Church !"
"But," returned Wallenstein, "this journey which you
would undertake will separate you from me for a long
time. You are going to see a man laden with the laurels
of victory ; and what am I, except a soldier who is for-
gotten?"
"You are the Duke of Friedland ; he who has con-
quered ever, he whom the stars protect. Wallenstein
has deigned to lower his glance to me ; and Wallenstein
thinks that I can be dazzled by any but him ! Ah, why
is he not poor, forsaken, miserable, betrayed by men as
he is by the Emperor, that he might learn the extent of
my devotion !"
The Duke pressed the head of Thecla to his heart.
"Ah," she thought, "formerly it was the arms of Ren-
aud which held me thus."
Madame d'Igomer set out. She bore a letter signed
with the mighty name of Wallenstein, and an escort of
honor.
The letter, which was for Count Tilly, advised the
conqueror of Magdebourg that the Duke of Friedland
desired the presence of Mademoiselle de Pardaillan and
Mademoiselle de Souvigny at Prague. He was also no-
tified that they were kinswomen of the Baroness
THE WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EVE 119
(I'lgomcr. the grand-mistress of his palace. Great pres-
ents went with the letter, which Madame d'Tgomer did
not deliver without saying a word about the ransom, the
greater part of which should revert to him who had the
largest right to booty. Count Tilly yielded and there
remained only to rejoin Count Pappenheim, who had
taken time by the forelock.
"He insisted on escorting the prisoners in person,"
said the old general. "Therefore, do not lose a minute,
for on learning of the capture of Magdebourg, the Em-
peror appointed Count Pappenheim to the command of
a body of troops which is to fight in Saxe.
Madame d'lgomer. provided with this knowledge,
conferred with John of Werth.
"I know him. whom they call The Soldier," the baron
explained. "He's a man mulish in mad resolutions. I
should like you to tell me where he got the reputation for
chivalry. The two captives are lost to us if you do not
find the weak point in his cuirass."
"No cuirass is without flaw. Trust me to discover the
one in his. Grant only that Mademoiselle de Souvigny
come to Prague, where I reign, and I give you my word
she shall be yours."
"My sole fear is that Count Pappenheim will refuse to
leave either her or her cousin."
"On your conscience, do you believe that he still loves
Adrienne?"
"No. Time and separation have dissipated this dream
of a day. But he knows that I love her and he has
promised the Count of La Guerche to be her guardian."
" Tis a <|uestion of honor, then. I dread it less than a
question of love. Let me kindle a desire in this passion-
OUl and I'll direct the ilame whithersoever I please."
"You have the gift of miracles," said John of Werth,
smilingly.
"No; but I have the gift of hate. Now arrange mat-
ters so that I may meet Count Pappenheim as soon as
possib!
Thanks to an exceeding assiduity, John of Werth and
Madame d'lgomer caught up with Counl Pappenheim
120 THE WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EVE
toward the close of the second day thereafter. An hour
later Thecla was announced to the general.
"Ah, a command!" he said, reading the dispatches
which the baroness had given to him.
"The Emperor relies on your devotion."
"He has the right to rely on it, since the King of
Sweden is in Germany. But perhaps you are not aware
of my position here ?"
"I know all. Read !" and with a hardy hand she held
out the letters of Wallenstein and Tilly.
"Surrender Mademoiselle de Pardaillan and Made-
moiselle de Souvigny to you?" he continued, after glanc-
ing at both letters. "And my word of honor?"
"And your interest?"
The general and the baroness looked each other
steadily in the eyes.
"Let's have no big words," pursued Thecla. "Let us
call things by their names. There are two young girls.
One of them you loved for a day "
"Ah, you know it ?"
"I am a bit of a diplomat. A diplomat should know
everything. That she loves the Count of La Guerche
and that John of Werth loves her is a matter to be ar-
ranged between those gentlemen. You have no sword
to draw for the one or the other. But besides Made-
moiselle de Souvigny there is Mademoiselle de Par-
daillan, and here's an affair to which you have not, per-
haps, paid sufficient attention."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that Mademoiselle de Pardaillan, Countess of
Mummelsberg, through her mother, is in consequence
almost a German, and that her title is from the crown of
Austria, one of whose heroic servants is yourself. Being
the sole daughter and heir of the Marquis of Paidaillan,
a man for whom the Pactolus flows in Sweden, she is
gifted to flatter the pride and win the love of the greatest
lords in Germany. It is known that eyes see her only to
admire and see only her when the two cousins are to-
gether."
"She is truly charming," murmured Count Pappen-
heim.
THE WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EVE 121
"Do you believe," continued Thecla, drawing nearer
to him, "that prisoner of Emperor Ferdinand as she is,
the master of the Empire would hesitate to give her to
him who has so valiantly served him? What domains
would then be added to the estate of Pappenheim ! It
is true that the Marquis of Chaufontaine adores her, and
I have been told that Count Pappenheim met the mar-
quis at Le Grande Fortelle."
Count Pappenheim bit his lips.
"And that would forge bonds which nothing can de-
stroy. Did he not brave you? Did he not make you
undergo the first check, which he who was afterwards
called The Soldier endured? That is what one may call a
title. When you were still thinking of Mademoiselle de
Souvigny, have I not heard it related that in a town near
Malines, Renaud of Chaufontaine boldly killed one of
your men. and a fine blade at that! Ha, ha! the Mar-
quis of Chaufontaine has a right to Count Pappenheim's
respect. He struck you ; bow !"
"Madam," he said, "you have uttered words that no
man should have spoken with impunity. You are a
woman. I forget them."
"No. Don't forget them !" retorted the baroness.
"But what would you have me do?"
"What I would do if I had the honor to be called God-
frey-Henry of Pappenheim."
"Then speak, woman, speak!'*
"A man has insulted you, a foreigner, an enemy of
your country and your Emperor! This man loves a
woman, whom the chances of war have cast into your
hands, and you ask me what you are to do? A truce to
vain words. Are you one of those schoolboys who are
governed by childish scruples? Do you desire to re-
serve for this Frenchman, who mocks at you and thai
only because he is conquered, one of the most beautiful
spots that Germany has to offer her glorious sons?
Mademoiselle de 1'ardaillan is there and you hesitate!
You speak of your word given to the Count of La
Guercne. The order of Count Tilly frees you from it,
and besides, what do you owe to the Marquis of Chau-
tain< ? [s it gratitude for the story I've heard him
122 THE WILES OF A DAUGHTER OE EVE
tell twenty times of the singular figure you made at La
Grande Fortelle, when fifty carbines threatened you
from all sides?"
"Chaufontaine told me that " but Count Pappen-
heim could say no more. His blood rose in his throat
and suffocated him.
"Why do you not be page to Mademoiselle de Par-
daillan to conduct her to this happy rival? Does the
noble blood of Pappenheim stir at last? Fortune has
placed a daughter of birth in your hands, like a dove in
the claws of a kite. Don't surrender her. Besides, you
will be doing a good work, a pious deed. Remembei
the Countess of Mummelsberg, who gave life to Made
moiselle de Pardaillan was a Catholic. You restore to
the foot of the altar the victim of heresy who desecrates
it. A fortune for yourself, a soul for heaven."
"I yield," cried Count Pappenheim, trembling.
"Then Mademoiselle de Souvigny and Mademoiselle
de Pardaillan follow me to Prague?"
"To Prague or Vienna, whither you will."
"You know what race of man is the Duke of Fried-
land. None more faithful to his friends. I shall tell
him that his desire was your law, and perhaps the day is
nigh when you will see him again at the front of the Im-
perial armies. Count, behold in me the ambassadress of
the Field-Marshal Wallenstein.
"To-night I take the road to Saxony, while you fol-
low the one to Bohemia. Is your presence to be an-
nounced to the two cousins ?"
" 'Tis unnecessary. Tell them simply that you are no
longer charged to accompany them. I will arrange all
else."
"And I may rely on your good offices with her who
may be called the Countess of Mummelsberg?"
"If she be not yours, she will be no other's. Yet there
is Renaud of Chaufontaine "
"God will grant us a meeting, and I will answer for
it."
"Till we meet again, then, Count."
"Till we meet again, baroness."
TII1C WILES OF A DAUGHTER OF EYE 123
A moment later Madame d'Igomer was with John of
W< rth. She informed him of the result of her interview
with Count Pappcnheim.
"Did I not tell you?" she cried. "I found the flaw in
his cuirass."
124 PRISONERS IN A PALACE
CHAPTER XV.
PRISONERS IN A PALACE.
In taking leave of Mademoiselle de Souvigny and of
Mademoiselle de Pardaillan, Count Pappenheim had
good heed not to tell them all he knew. His conscience
murmured a little, but hatred and ruffled pride stifled its
plaints. He gave as reason for his departure an impera-
tive order from the Emperor and did not risk any lengthy
farewells. He was leaving the two cousins, he said, in
the hands of a trustworthy person. When he had gone
Madame d'Igomer hastened toward Prague, using all
caution to keep her presence a secret, and it was not till
they reached the princely residence of Wallenstein that
the two captives learned into what hands implacable for-
tune had cast them anew.
As soon as they alighted Thecla ran toward them with
open arms, joy in her eyes and the fresh smile of a child
on her lips. A chill froze the blood of Adrienne in her
veins.
"Why these outstretched arms? Why these kisses?"
she said to her. "We are your prisoners. Let us have
no comedy !"
"Is there a St. Rupert's Convent here, too?" added
Diana.
"Ah, it is my destiny, then, not to be loved by those I
love," returned the baroness, her eyes filling with tears.
Madame d'Igomer had the gift of tears and she used
it on all favorable occasions. Tears became her features,
to which they lent a new seductiveness and gave her, be-
sides, a semblance of feeling of which she profited well.
It was not without purpose or for the sole pleasure of
playing her part of hypocrite till the end that she had
PRISONERS IN A PALACE 125
such a dulcet tongue for the two cousins. She had an
ulterior aim. She wished to parade her tender and pa-
tient affection for the two prisoners before the eyes of
the Duke of Friedland, and to pose as the victim of black
calumnies.
Thus she hoped to gain a double end, to inspire her
protector with an inalterable horror for the creatures who
repelled the most striking testimonies of an amiable re-
gard and to bedeck herself with a veil of unhappiness and
virtue.
As soon as the two cousins had been settled in a pa-
vilion, where without any sign of it, they were subject to
the most active surveillance, Madame d'Igomer allowed
herself to be caught in tears by Wallenstein twice or
thrice. To the pressing inquiries of the Field Marshal
to whom these tears were glorious and priceless as pearls,
Thecla first offered a plaintiff resistance; then, as if sud-
denly yielding under the weight of her woe, she cried :
"Oh. I do not know any punishment more intolerable
to a tender soul than to be misunderstood."
Her tears redoubled and Wallenstein at last tore from
her the secret of her dolors.
"You know," she said, "how much I love Made-
moiselle de Pardaillan and Mademoiselle de Souvigny,
above all, the former. You remember in what terms I
mentioned them to you. Ah, what would I not have
done to secure their happiness! My desire to make them
happy would have inspired me even to entreat you to
send them back to the Court of Sweden, if it were not
against the laws of war. They an' hostages, and one
may hope that their presence here will detach from the
party of Gustavus Adolphus a lord whose experience
lid admit him with honor into the counsels of the Em-
peror."'
"Madam, you talk like a politician," said the duke,
kissing her hand. "Your lips possess all wisdom as they
hold all charm."
"I am inspired in your interest." answered Thecla. "I
have then conquered myself by respect for this imperious
duty; but 1 wished in any case to render their sojourn
here agreeable. I lavished all upon them. I do not
126 PRISONERS IN A PALACE
speak of my tenderness, it was already theirs ; nothing
could change it. But, alas ! nothing has been able to
melt the ice between us. Choice robes which might have
pleased them, and of which I deprived myself, caresses,
distractions, invented for them alone, courtesies, suppli-
cations, all they have repelled."
Madame d'Igomer bore her dainty hands to her eyes.
The duke gently drew them away, saying :
"And still you weep and do not abandon these un-
worthy creatures?"
"I love them. Then another thought sustains me. Do
you understand me, my dear duke, when I tell you that
the welfare of their souls is as dear to me as that of their
bodies. I know that they are attached to two French
gentlemen of poor birth, who are seeking their fortune
in a foreign land, not being able to earn a copper in their
own land. I met both of them at the time fate kept me
in Sweden. I observed their manners and mind. They
are rather soldiers of fortune than gentlemen. They are
said to be brave, but what soldier in the armies you have
led to a hundred vie pries is not? Beyond this, they
have nothing in their favor. By what witchcraft have
they seduced the hearts of these young girls I know
not. Ah, I have often believed that some sorcery "
"Be sure of it," interposed Wallenstein, whom the as-
trologer Seni kept respectful of all superstition.
"I did not dare to tell you," pursued Thecla, shiver-
ing, "but there is something in their way of thinking and
talking, which astonishes, afflicts me. Despite myself, I
see in this the influence of some mysterious power. I,
who saw them enter into life, do not recognize them.
Surprised, alas, even indignant, I wished to rescue their
wandering brains. Irony and perverse obstination an-
swered me. Would you believe that one of them, Mad-
emoiselle de Souvigny, has returned the kindnesses of her
uncle, the Marquis of Pardaillan, by the most bitter dis-
dain? Whether well or ill advised by the sectarians, who
abound at the Court of Stockholm, he had the happy
thought to destine her for the hand of one of the most
celebrated captains of the empire— "
"Celebrated captains, did you say?"
PRISONERS IN A PALACE 127
"You know, my lord, that when the sun does not shine
in the heavens, the stars shed rays."
"The name of this star?"
"Baron John of Werth."
'And she refuses him ?"
"That is not all. Another famous captain, who profits
by the eclipse of the sun to climb to the stars, is en-
amored of Maidemoiselle de Pardaillan and asks her
hand."
"The name of this amorous star?"
"Count Pappenheim."
"One of my best lieutenants."
"That's a commendation, which Count Pappenheim, I
am sure, would not exchange for an elector's crown."
"Then he loves Mademoiselle de Pardaillan?" con-
tinued YVallenstein, kissing Thecla's hand anew.
"He adores her. But as her cousin acts with John of
Werth, so does Mademoiselle de Pardaillan with Count
Pappenheim. She declines the honor of so grand an
alliance."
"You are right. This inexplainable obstinacy must be
the effect of witchcraft."
"Ah, my lord, the two unfortunates were reared in the
heresy of the Reformation.''
Wallenstein crossed himself devoutly.
"One might abandon Mademoiselle de Souvigny to
her blindness by weariness of her obstinacy," pursued
the baroness; "but another interest commands firm,
unctuous action with Mademoiselle de Pardaillan. Let
us not forget her origin, that she is a subject of the em-
pire, to which she owes faith and allegiance. Let us not
allow the- Countess of Mummelsberg to fall into the
hands of a Gallic adventurer. My conscience would
n<-ver absolve me of such a weakness. But if I have the
rourage to desire the good of the one, why should I not
have the same charity for the other. The same perils
threaten inch."
"Ah, your devotion knows no limit !"
"Lost here in this world by their obstinacy, must they
be forever lost in the next? You cannot understand
128 PRISONERS IN A PALACE
how this sorrowful dread haunts me ! I have not a
minute's peace. I would do anything to save them."
"You have every grace, every charm. God has in-
spired your immortal soul in a cell which reminds one of
heaven."
Thecla forgot that her hand rested in that of Wallen-
stein and fell into a profound reverie. The Duke of
Friedland contemplated her in admiration.
"Ah," she said suddenly, raising her head languidly.
"I often thought that if the light of our holy religion il-
lumined the souls of Mademoiselle de Pardaillan and
Mademoiselle de Souvigny, they would listen to me."
"You have a holy thought. The austere silence of a
convent will teach submission to these souls troubled and
inspired to revolt by the detestable doctrines of the Ref-
ormation."
"You would approve me, then, my dear duke, if, with
the aim of restoring them to the faith, I should place
each of them under the direction of a holy man who would
remove them from the theatre of the world?"
"I would advise you to such action. When gentle-
ness is powerless, when softness is exhausted, chastise-
ment must be applied, as one uses iron and fire to root
out the brambles and brushwood of a field to make way
for the plough."
"Shall I tell you all my fears? I feared for an instant
that you wished to ravish them from my anxious affec-
tion. Will you authorize me to do all to bring them
back to a sense of their duty? Will you allow me to di-
rect them, according to my will, along the paths which
shall seem to me the safest towards the goal I labor to
attain ?"
"As you will. The young ladies are yours."
"At least may their happiness repay me for the pain
they have cost me !" sighed the baroness unctuously.
This conversation summed up the lot which she had
reserved for the two prisoners. But before having re-
course to the rigors of a monastery, Madame d'Igomer
must learn whether she might not conquer and seduce
these proud souls by the fascinations of luxury, the en-
ticements of pleasure. What a triumph of voluptuous-
PRISONERS IN A PALACE 129
ness of this hate-corroded heart if her rival should suc-
cumb to temptation, if. entwined in the embrace of Count
Pappenheim in the whirl of a dazzling- ball, Made-
moiselle de Pardaillan should betray at once her love and
her faith! Such would be the best and sweetest ven-
geance. She must first corrupt her, then strike. The
baroness marveled within herself that she had not
thought of this sooner.
Thenceforward she took care to conduct the two
cousins to all the entertainments by which Wallenstein
beguiled his inaction and displayed the magnificence of
his court. The gowns they had brought with them were
replaced by much richer apparel. All that could dazzle
their eyes and fascinate their young hearts was lavished
upon them. They breathed an atmosphere of pleasure.
Music, the dance, the hunt, feasts followed one another
unceasingly and a group of gallant gentlemen, gathered
around them, kept a concert of flattery.
Each evening Adrienne and Diana returned wearied
and, as it were, stupid with excitement, to their apart-
ments. But their brave souls remained untainted. Their
simple honesty ran foul of every trap. After an even-
ing in the tumultous, brilliant palace, they knelt down
humbly and prayed. Then all stain of the day departed
from them. The schemes of Madame d'Igomer were
baffled.
Thanks to the connivance of his accomplice, Count
Pappenheim, though conquered at Leipzig, could com-
municate at liberty with Diana. The hour for hesitation
had passed. The Grand-Marshal returned from the bat-
tle-field, his soul ulcerated with defeat. He had seen his
own cuirassiers fall under the blows of the very dragoons
to whom he had surrendered their leaders, lie had seen
the Marquis of C'hanfontaine in the thick of the fight. lie
had been able to judge the weight of his sword-arm. He
been forced t<> retreat in the mad disarray of his own
troops. Should he, therefore, abandon the heiress, who
was now offered to him, t" this hated enemy?
"Never!" cried Count Pappenheim. "lie defeated
me. 'Tis my turn to defeat him and have mv revenge!"
Rooted in this new resolve he balked no longer at any
130 PRISONERS IN A PALACE
dial reception. The innate loyalty of Adrienne repugned
any thought of treachery. She had been confided to the
count by Armand-Louis and she believed the German
worthy such a trust. His bearing toward her reaffirmed
her in full ; but what was her amazement when Diana, all
terrified, informed her one day of a conversation she had
held with their rescuer.
"Ah," she murmured, "I know not which is worse ; the
brutal arrogance of John of Werth, or the gallant insid-
iousness of Count Pappenheim."
"Tell me, what is wrong?" asked Adrienne, anx-
iously.
"He came to me just now. I gave him my hand.
Suddenly he threw himself at my feet. I was so as-
tonished I could not think. He declared he loved me;
that nothing should ever kill his love and that to possess
me there was nothing he would not do. Ah, now I
know that it is no longer you he threatens, but myself.
I saw all clearly in the ardor of his speech. 'Tis Mad-
ame d'Igomer who has knotted this plot. She has sold
us to John of Werth and to Count Pappenheim. It is not
an abduction as at Erandebourg; it is imprisonment in
a palace. God save us !"
Several things helped Adrienne to understand that
Diana was not in error. She saw that in this immense
edifice, apparently all devoted to pleasure, the most dire
slavery awaited them. For them it was the world's
limits. No sound, no word, no memory of anything that
happened beyond the six porticos where the guards of
Wallenstein kept watch was for them. Robed in lace-
laden silk, bedizened with gold and silver, strolling under
glittering chandeliers, they were still slaves. They did
not know whether in the whole world anyone remem-
bered that they had lived in it.
At a ball one evening, Madame d'Igomer approached
Diana, whom for some time she had affected to address
as the Countess of Mummelsberg. It was the night of
a great celebration. Seated sadly at the side of Adrienne,
Diana gazed at, without seeing, the crowd of courtiers
who moved to and fro in the brilliant halls.
"What !" exclaimed the baroness, taking Diana's hand,
PRISONERS IN A PALACE 131
"not a jewel on this pretty arm, clear Countess of Mum-
melsberg? 'Tis a treason to beauty!"
Then she unlocked a jewel of rare price from her own
arm.
"'There," continued the baroness, ''is a bracelet which
Count Pappenheim presented to me. He will thank me
for having perceived that upon your wrist, paler than
marble, it will shine with all brilliance."
Quick as lightning - Diana tore off the jewel and flung
it far from her.
"I'll have naught from you or from him," she said.
"Good!" whispered Adrienne, pressing her cousin's
hand.
Despite her natural self-control, Madame dTgomer
paled. She forgot to weep and straightening up, re-
torted :
"Though you will accept nothing from me, I am re-
signed, no matter at what cost to my feelings. But that
you should refuse it from him passes my understanding.
Count Pappenheim will return to Prague in a few days
and we will then see whether the Countess of Mummcls-
berg will dare to refuse the marriage ring which he will
offer her at the foot of the altar.
It was as if a bolt from heaven had fallen upon Diana.
"A marriage ring? Count Pappenheim?" she gasped,
brokenly.
"At present we await a courier who will bring the con-
sent of the Emperor," answered Thecla. "Be ready,
therefore, for this ceremony."
At this juncture the Papal Delegate, who had been
sent into Germany to combat heresies and strengthen the
Catholic faith in faint hearts, appeared in the gallery.
He was a Prince of the Church, famed for a devout and
noble character. Breaking of a sudden through the
group that surrounded her, Diana of Pardaillan threw
herself at his feet, crying:
"My lord, you are the refuge of the weak and the de-
fender of the down-trodden. I come to you. Have pity
on me !"
"Daughter, stand up," said the prelate,
"Not until yon have heard me. Ybu who represent
l 3 2 PRISONERS IN A PALACE
Christ on earth, will you permit a minister of the Gospel
to bless a marriage into which they wish to force me and
which I hate. Tell me, my Lord, will you allow Catholic
altars to be desecrated by such a sacrilege? I was
brought up in the reformed faith. If it be wrong, let
the apostles of truth convert me, but without violence or
subterfuge. By my mother's descent I am Countess of
Mummelsberg. I own ten villages and twenty castles.
They may sequester them. I do not complain ; but they
cannot erase from my 'scutcheon the arms of my ances-
tors. In heart and desire I am promised in mariage to
a French Catholic gentleman, who is fighting for Swe-
den, the ally of his country. I claim the privileges of my
birth and my rank, the right to dispose of my hand ac-
cording to my will. I entreat your pity, my lord. Look
you that I never see the day when I awaken as Countess
of Pappenheim because it has pleased an impious ser-
vant of the God of Mercy to unite me, in despite of my
tears and of my cries, to a man I do not love !"
"In the name of him who has power to bind and un-
bind," said the Papal Delegate, extending his hand to
Diana, "and who has invested me with a part of his au-
thority, I condemn and curse the unworthy priest who
would do violence to this woman. Stand up, my child,
and fear not. I am but passing through the city, but my
brother, Archbishop of Prague, will watch over you.
Let all who hear me now, remember; the Countess of
Mummelsberg is under the protection of the Church !"
The Cardinal went on his way slowly, blessing the peo-
ple with his right hand as they knelt before him. Mad-
ame d'Igomer said nothing; she had recovered her com-
posure. As soon as her glance met Diana's, she mut-
tered :
"Yours, the victory now. But all things pass away
with time, even delegates !"
Then noticing that everybody was scanning her, she
smiled quickly and offered her arm to Diana, with :
"You are a bit feverish, my child. You had best re-
tire."
The two cousins went to their apartments, not soon to
quit them. Hours, days, weeks glided by. No one
PRISONERS IN A PALACE 133
visited them ; no one addressed them. The silence of the
cloister followed upon the noisy merry-makings in the
palace. One might fancy that the service was done by
shadows. But the tortured souls of the prisoners found
a balm almost in the solitude. Xo odious visage of-
fended their sight ; no hypocritical smiles seared their
hearts, no hateful words wearied their ears.
"How unhappy Armand-Louis and Renaud must be,"
they thought frequently. "They are seeking us without
hope."
Sitting at the window they watched the flight of the
birds and the clouds. Some of them went north. Why
had they not the wings of birds ! Why might they not
sail away on the clouds !
But while they were buried far from the world in the
palace of Prague, various grave developments of war,
confirming the prophecy of Madame dTgomer, were
about to summon Field-Marshal Wallenstein back to
theatre of battles. After Count Tilly's disaster on the
plains of Leipzig, on September 7th, 163 1, a second de-
feat cost him his lite at the passage of the Lechs, which
he had defended in vain. The star of Gustavus Adolphu'
was in the ascendant and the humbled arms of the House
of Austria recalled at last the devotion and the reputa-
tion of the exiled general.
Madame d'Igomer had been from the first informed of
the secret negotiations between Ferdinand, terrified by
the enemy at every outpost, and the Duke of Friedland,
who was entreated to take in hand the cause of Ger-
many and to leave the retreat of his Titanic pride.
When she was consulted by him, Madame dTgomer
easily divined the counsel he expected from her.
"Ah," she said, mingling a trick of sadness and en-
thusiasm in her tones, "I will forget myself and remem-
ber only youl An empire hangs on the brink of ruin,
an implacable enemy stands over it, threatening with a
final exterminating stroke. Should you, in a just,
though excessive resentment, refuse it your stoul sword
and thus precipitate it into the abyss? You alone are
left to fight againsl Gustavus Adolphus. You are the
stronghold of mpire, the defender of the Catholic
134 PRISONERS IN A PALACE
world. Think not of my anguish, but arise. Shall not
all the conditions it may please you to dictate, be ac-
cepted? Lo, soldiers, captains, generals call upon you
and have no hope save in you ! They cry in acclaim
upon you and stretch their swords to you, impatient to
avenge the insult done the German flag. Princes, elec-
tors, kings intrust to you their people and their crowns.
No, on the day you leave this palace I shall weep alone.
All Germany will shout for joy. They will behold vic-
tory in you and an immense escort of courtiers and gen-
tlemen will attend you to the frontiers insulted by the
Swedes. Hesitate no longer. Be gone, my lord, rejoin
the few troops with which Pappenheim still holds his
ground. To-morrow 'twill be an army and let astounded
Europe see that if he is the Soldier, you are the Gen-
eral !"
"Ah, Thecla !" cried Wallenstein, "you alone love me."
Then he gave orders that all preparations for his de-
parture be set forward with dispatch.
On the evening of the day that saw him re-enter the
lists, Madame d'Igomer asked permission to restore to
the two prisoners some of their liberty .
"They braved you, almost insulted you," he said
frowning.
"It is true," she replied, "but some slight tokens make
me believe that their hearts are opening to better feel-
ings. You know I am obstinate in my affections. To
remain at Prague has become odious to me since I know
you must depart. The hours I cannot consecrate to you
(alas, the heart of a hero belongs to his army, rather than
to her who loves him), I shall endure far from the noise
of courts. But into this retreat where I shall live with
your memory, suffer that I take with me the Countess of
Mummelsberg and Mademoiselle de Souvigny. I have
a hope that the hour of repentance will soon strike for
them."
Wallenstein could not resist the tones of his enchant-
ress and on the day that the conqueror of Tilly learned
that he was to combat a man who had never met de-
feat, a page entered the apartment of the two cousins and
announced to them that a carriage awaited them in the
PRISONERS IN A PALACE 135
courtyard of the palace. They followed him unresist-
ingly. A few minutes later their carriage passed out of
Prague.
Looking out at the sides of the curtains they discov-
ered a dozen cavaliers riding at arms with them. They
advanced swiftly.
Madame d'Igomer, who had not seen them at their
leaving, did not appear during their journey.
Two days after their exit from YVallenstein's palace,
which they did not at ail regret, the two cousins, having
seen many hills and forests disappear behind their car-
riage, halted at twilight in the yard of a great castle,
which towered upon the knob of a mountain.
"I wonder where we may be," said Adrienne, meas-
uring with a glance the high walls which surrounded
them.
"You are at Drachenfeld Castle, my home," replied
Madame d'Igomer. appearing upon the threshold, "and
you behold me all happiness to receive you."
"Then, madame," replied Diana, "the happiness is all
your own."
136 DRACHENFELD CASTLE
CHAPTER XVI.
DRACHENFELD CASTLE.
Drachenfeld Castle, where new dangers lay in wait for
Adrienne and Diana, had at once the aspect of a citadel
and of a convent. There were galleries and ball rooms
as in a palace; a donjon fit for a stronghold; a chapei
with cloister and cells as in a monastery. That all might
be in harmony in this singular habitation, one might
meet at random in its chambers men armed with
sword and musket, pages robed in satin and velvet,
beautiful women plying fans or playing the lute, almoners
absorbed in pious meditation.
Within a month's time the two cousins had become
acquainted with life as it was at Drachenfeld. The evening
was given up to the dance and to various entertainments,
in the devising of which Madame d'Igomer showed re-
markable invention. The morning was devoted to exer-
cises of prayer. If the afternoon were clear they went
boating on beautiful lakes or walked along broad ave-
nues through the forest. There was the hunt also. But
if it rained they went to some chapel to behold a good
monk surrender himself to the fervor of a religious ex-
hortation. At times, and when Madame d'Igomer had
slept ill, the sermon was replaced by music.
It did not seem as though the inconsolable Thecla re-
gretted Wallenstein very much. She did not lose much
of her time in repining. Perhaps her sojourn in the
country was accountable for this.
To a Franciscan father was entrusted the charge of
extirpating the abominable roots of heresy from the souls
of the two cousins. He persecuted them most
religiously.
The management of the castle devolved upon a thin,
lemon-hued, ghastly gallows-dog of a fellow. Diana
shivered the first time she saw him. She kept the im-
DRACHENFELD CASTLE 137
pression of this sinister profile stored in a corner of her
memory.
When she heard the name of Matthcns Orlscopp pro-
nounced, she was frozen with tenor.
" Tis the terrible man from Bergheim," she cried.
In truth it was Mattheus Orlscopp, who, after his de-
feat at Ravennest Castle, had come to Drachcnfeld for
his revenge. The men had escaped him, but the women
were left. He had really a double offense to avenge,
and Madame d'lgomer might well count on his devotion.
It will be remembered that, thanks to the precautions
of Carqucfou, Mattheus Orlscopp had hung for some
time on the hook that had been Renaud's torture in the
green room at Ravennest. Mattheus had been released
only a few hours after the departure of the fugitives. The
guard whose duty it was to bear the starveling nourish-
ment to the captive, found the master of Ravennest,
pallid, frozen, mad with rage and pain. Once cut down
he did not lose time in attempting to catch up with the
cavaliers, who had a full day's advance upon him. He
hurried away to tell all to John of Werth.
The explosion of his hatred and fury was such that
John of Werth understood at once that he had some
mettle in him. Far from reprehending him, he con-
gratulated him on his escape and sent him to his ac-
complice, Madame d'Jgomer, with a letter, which con-
tained only these words :
"Here's a scoundrel I can recommend to you."
Xo more was necessary to induce the baroness to en-
gage Mattheus Orlscopp. When he found it to his in-
terest, Mattheus could exhibit a terrible candor. He con-
cealed none of the circumstances from Madame dTgomer
of the events which had brought him into Renaud's life
at Bergheim and at Ravennest. What he had just done,
far from revolting the baroness, gave her an idea of what
she might expect from such a man on occasion.
Their hates wen- friends from the first bound. As soon
as Wallenstein's departure to join the imperial army was
decided, she determined to leave Prague f"r Drachenfeld
and 1m confide the command of tip' castle to Mattheus
-COpp.
138 DRACHENFELD CASTLE
Mistress now of Diana and Adrienne, at Drachenfeld,
she was like the hunter who keeps a pretty decoy bird in
a cage waiting for the partridges to come and be killed.
In this instance the partridges were Armand-Louis and
Renaud. She was sure that none could keep a better
guard over this cage than Mattheus Orlscopp.
A hideous smile rendered the face of Mattheus still
more frightful when he took the keys of the castle.
"The idiots !" he murmured ; "they had me in their
hands and they allowed me to live!" He suddenly
stamped his foot with force. "But I made the same mis-
take. The next time I'll profit by experience."
In the first days of his installation at Drachenfeld, Mat-
theus called Madame d'Igomer to one side.
"My duty is to speak plainly to you," he said. "Per-
mit me, my lady, to sound the depth of things. It is quite
true that you do not love the Countess of Mummels-
berg?"
"Oh, no," murmured Thecla.
"But there is some one else towards whom your feel-
lings are even stronger. I mean Renaud de Chaufon-
taine. Am I correct?"
"You are."
"Why do you persist, then, in keeping Mademoiselle
de Pardaillan hidden like a light in a bushel? Why do
you not proclaim, by trumpet call, if need be, that she
is at Drachenfeld and that she is your prisoner?"
"He would fly hither."
"That is not the only thing. If he comes, he will not
come alone. And at one swoop the Baroness d'Igomer,
John of Werth and Mattheus Orlscopp, their unworthy
servitor, will be avenged. To accomplish this miracle it
will be enough that Armand de la Guerche and Renaud
de Chaufontaine show themselves within musket range of
the castle."
The look which Mattheus threw at Madame d'Igomer
made her shudder.
"Ah," she said, "you are a terrible man."
"No, madame, I am a logical man ; and I strive above
all to merit the good opinion which my lord, John of
Werth, entertains of my humble self."
DRACHENFELD CASTLE 139
"Do as you will," said Thecla. "You have my full per-
mission."
"Then I will answer for everything,"
At times Madame d'Igomer was absent for several
days. On these occasions she went to the imperial camp
in great mystery. No one knew of this save Mattheus,
who remained absolute master of the castle. He had
spies throughout the country for ten leagues around,
beating up all the roads and returning to him with re-
ports of what they had learned. They had orders to
spread the names of the two prisoners broadcast, so that
it might soon be a secret to no one. Something in this
way should reach the ears of Armand-Louis and Renaud,
and attract them' to the shadow of the towers of Drachen-
feld. This was what Mattheus hoped for.
The departure of the baroness discontinued all amuse-
ments ; no more dancing, almost no music, but sermons
in abundance, pious prayers and conferences, during
which the Franciscan endeavored to convert his flock.
After long days of controversy, if he had gained nothing,
the worthy monk would cross his arms on his big paunch,
saying :
"The devil still holds ; but I shall do so much that in
the end I shall have exorcised him."
Then still rolling on his short legs, still smiling and
casting benedictions, he proceeded with his preachments.
As yet there was no news of Armand-Louis or Renaud.
In the absence of Madame d'Igomer, there was. a kind
of domestic guardian within the castle, in the person of a
ceremonious and formal dame, who had the figure of a
musketeer, yellow hair, sickly eyes, a square head and the
legs of an ostrich. Her aim in life was to embarrass the
existence of others with a thousand little difficulties.
With her each hour had its destined purpose, which no
human power or event could influence her to change.
Madame de Tj'ffenbach had but one dogma, the rule; and
one faith, etiquette. She always spoke in a voice low
and soft as a sighing wind. Hut this apparent sweetness
Concealed the stubbornness of a mule. Nothing escaped
her. Her long legs took her everywhere, and In r eyes,
a blurred blue in color, shot glances of a lynx.
140 DRACHENFEED CASTEE
Adrienne and Diana were placed under her special
care. Madame de Lirrenbach did not allow them a min-
ute's peace. Only at night could they converse freely;
and even then not easily, for their rooms were separated
by a gallery. As long as day lasted the old woman, robed
in an old-fashioned gown, instructed them in the degrees
of respect to be shown to different persons of the court,
according to the rank they occupied. She varied the
subject by little discourses on the etiquette in vogue in
the Capital of the Electorate of Bavaria, and exhortations
on perfections of grace and the merits of penance. By
crafty turnings, she took text from these conferences to
insinuate that Baron John of Werth and Count Pappen-
heim would make their happiness in this world, and as-
sure their salvation in the next.
"Always the same tune," murmured Diana, who was
not listening.
"And the same words," added Adrienne.
One of the pretensions of Madame de Liffenbach was
to make Diana and Adrienne believe that they were in
no sense prisoners. Captives? By no means. Who
could have noised so calumnious a report obroad? Had
they not full liberty to walk in the castle gardens? To
pluck fruits there and eat them? Were they not seen
in the state halls on concert days, and in ball attire on
evenings when there was dancing? If it was required of
them to be attended by grave and silent persons, was it
proper for young ladies of quality to promenade alone?
If they were not allowed to leave the grounds of Drachen-
feld, the reason was that all sorts of disreputable folks
were abroad in the country. All that was done was
prompted by the single purpose to secure their care and
comfort in this asylum of virtue.
When Madame d'Igomer returned to Drachenfeld
things took another turn. The young gentlemen saw
the great doors of the castle open to them, and more
than one leaned gallantly on the chair of the charming
Thecla, while the viol, the theorbo and the lute filled the
apartment with melody. Meanwhile Adrienne and Diana
lost neither the Franciscan's sermons nor Madame de
Liffenbach's visits.
DRACHENFKLD CASTTE 141
As time flowed the color of health gradually vanished
from the fair faces of the two cousins. Days followed
days, weeks followed weeks. Spring had passed. Sum-
mer was at the height. The prisoners were no longer
heard to laugh or sing. When they conversed they dared
not confide to each other their dread ; and when in the
morning they kissed each other, after a long tearful night,
they spoke of the reposeful sleep they had enjoyed.
They could not banish the thought that Armand-Louis
and Renaud were still trying to liberate them. Diana
had learned from Adrienne the nature of Matthcus, and
fearing that the permission they had to write to the
Marquis of Tardaillan was a snare, they never told all.
In the interim, a truce, as is often met with in the
history of old wars, had stopped hostilities between the
belligerent arms for some days. There had been no
cessation of fighting since Leipzig. How many brave
officers would never again respond to the clarion call !
How many soldiers lay hurriedly buried under a hand-
ful of earth. Nobody knew how or when this war, be-
gim so many years ago, would terminate. Religious
fanaticism commingled with political interests had kept
it alive. Armand-Louis and Renaud had had their share
of the common glory and danger ; but they considered all
days lost which did not engage them in the rescue of their
loves. L ntil now all their attempts had been fruitless, or,
what amounted to it, interrupted by the imperious neces-
sities of war. The intervals between sieges and struggles
were too brief to permit them to undertake an expedition
into the heart of the provinces occupied by the enemy.
Yet they neglected nothing; but they had learned
nothing. None of the dangerous sorties they had made
right and left from day to day had afforded them tin- in-
formation as to which city or fortress held within its walls
the fair wmun for whom they were ready to shed every
drop of their blood.
At the first rumor in camp of the armistice concluded
with the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial troops,
hope was reborn in the hearts «>f the two brothers at
arms. They pr< sented themselves to Gustavus Adolphus
I4 2 DRACHENFELD CASTLE
at once and asked him as a favor to send them to Wallen-
stein to negotiate the exchange of prisoners.
"We have known for some little time," said Armand-
Louis, "by a letter addressed to an old companion in
arms, the Marquis of Pardaillan, that the two captives
have been taken to Prague, at the palace of the Duke of
Friedland. It is perhaps our only chance to see Made-
moiselle de Souvigny and her cousin. Perhaps we may
learn at what cost we can regain them."
Without replying, the king wrote and signed a dis-
patch, in which he endowed Armand-Louis with the
power of plenipotentiary.
"Depart," he said, embracing him, "and that with all
speed. My conscience would reproach me for every min-
ute I caused you to lose."
Nevertheless neither Armand-Louis nor Renaud
wished to set out without having seen the Marquis of
Pardaillan.
"You have permitted us to devote our lives to the wel-
fare of your two daughters," said Armand-Louis. "God
gave them to us ; He has retaken them. We shall have
neither truce nor rest until we have recovered them."
"Ah, if it were not for you," said the old nobleman,
taking them in his arms, "how far hope should be from
my heart."
Armand-Louis and Renaud communicated their pur-
pose to him.
"The Duke of Friedland is at Nuremberg," said Ar-
mand-Louis, "we shall go to Nuremberg."
"And if my daughters, if Adrienne, be not there? If
he refuses to give them up to you?"
"When diplomacy dies," exclaimed Renaud, "we cry
'Long live the sword!' "
"Ah," murmured the old marquis as the tears streamed
down his cheeks, "the sword has proved treacherous to
me and to you !"
"God above sees and judges us," replied Renaud. "Be
of good hope. I promise you that as long as a heart
beats in my bosom, as long as my hand can bear a sword,
this heart and sword are consecrated to the liberation of
Mademoiselle de Pardaillan."
DRACHRXFELD CASTLE 143
"Bring back my daughter," said the venerable old man,
touched by Rcnaud's ardor, "and you will be received by
a father."
These words flooded Rcnaud's heart with an immense
joy. He felt as though the glorious fire which had ani-
mated the souls of his ancient heroes, the Rolands, Ga-
laors, Cids and Tancreds, was enkindled in his veins.
Nothing seemed impossible to him now. Pie kissed the
hand of the Marquis of Pardaillan and said:
"If your daughter be not restored to you," he cried, "it
is because I am dead." *
144 PROPOSITIONS AND PROVOCATIONS
CHAPTER XVII.
PROPOSITIONS AND PROVOCATIONS.
An hour after this short interview, Armand-Louis
and Renaud, followed by Magnus, Carquefou and Rudi-
ger, were on the road to Nuremberg. They were not
long in reaching the Imperial camp, where a trumpet an-
nounced their arrival.
The Duke of Friedland had taken residence in the most
vast castle in the vicinity of Nuremberg. The same lux-
ury which astonished Germany in his palace at Prague,
surrounded him in this stopping place whence the can-
non's roar could not be long in summoning him. In the
antechambers and court yards the same gilded crowd of
pages, equerries and chamberlains was to be seen ; guards,
dressed in the colors of the house, were stationed at the
doors. A very people of lackeys ran hither and thither.
He kept open house. Hundreds of officers, from all parts
of Germany, were enrolled under his standard, attracted
at once by the splendor of his name and his magnificent
bounties. His army increased like a ball rolled in the
snow. Tents stretched away in the plain. Every soldier
who had survived the disasters of Torquato Conti and
Count Tilly rejoined him. Provinces lately impoverished
furnished him with men and money.
There were neither entertainments nor pleasures now.
He had kept naught of his former habits but the pag-
eantry which astounded and that superb pride which made
him the equal of princes. Discipline had returned and
with it confidence. He hurried naught and left naught to
chance. The best generals had rallied about him. Among
them was Count Pappenheim, who, covered with blood
like a lion fresh from his prey, reorganized in Wallen-
stein's camp what was left of his Walloon bands and his
unconquerable cavalry.
While awaiting the hour for fight he had long consul-
PROPOSITIONS AND PROVOCATIONS 145
tations with the chief of the army. John of Werth on his
side enlisted in regiments the flood of adventurers which
the bait of new battles and the hope of plunder urged
toward Nuremberg. They came from Spain, Hungary,
Poland and Italy. They all felt that the time was preg-
nant with great events. The heart of Catholic Germany
was beating at Nuremberg.
Europe's attentive eye watched anxiously the manoeu-
vres of the two famous adversaries, who, before measur-
ing their strength, prepared themselves with an excess of
precaution. Each had a wonderful prestige to maintain.
Each had to meet like chances in the uncertainty of the
strife.
When Armand-Louis entered the Imperial camp a
man was in conference with the general and was marking
different points on a chart with his finger. It was suf-
ficient to have but barely seen him either in the thick of
the battle or the brilliance of a ball to recognize Francis-
Albert, Duke of Lauenburg.
"Then," said the Duke of Friedland, "you are certain
that eight thousand men, led by the queen, are on the
march to the camp of Gustavus Adolphus?"
"I was leaving the king's tent when the courier of the
queen arrived with the news," replied Francis-Albert.
"These men may be still on the shores of the Baltic
Sea: j ;
"No, my lord ; scarcely a few days separate them from
your camp. They are Finlanders, Upsalanders, in a
word, Swedes, the bravest troops you ever met on the
field of battle. What is more, the corps commanded by
General Banner and Duke Bernard of Saxe-Weimar have
left their cantonments. Make haste before these impor-
tant reinforcements have given your adversary the ad-
vantage in numbers."
"But am I not waiting the Lorraines of Duke Charles,
the Spaniards garrisoned on the Rhine, the Bavarian reg-
iments of the Elector Maximilian, the Cossacks of King
Sigismund? Why should I make haste? Strong as the
king may be, I shall be his match, and I promise you to
annihilate him at the first stroke!"
"God aid you in this noble resolve! No one in the
14 6 PROPOSITIONS AND PROVOCATIONS
Catholic world, saved by your army, will be happier for it
than he who speaks to you. But France may come into
the lists. Even now her arms approach Alsace ; you may
then regret that you did not destroy the audacious King
of Sweden."
"France is afar off, Gustavus Adolphus is near. If any
menace springs up in the west, the battle which will dis-
embarras me of this enemy will soon be fought. You,
Lord Lauenburg, will return promptly to the king and
fail not to inform me in case anything important should
arise."
"What I have done, I shall do always," replied Francis-
Albert, bowing.
He raised a heavy arras which hung in the corner of
the room and disappeared behind its folds. A man was
waiting for him at the door of the palace.
"Are the horses ready?" asked the duke.
"The horses?" said Captain Jacobus in a growling
tone. "Two men have just reached camp — the Count of
La Guerche and Renaud of Chaufontaine. I'm not going
away now."
The duke hesitated.
"Listen," continued the veteran captain, "the truce sus-
pends hostilities, but I have an old debt to pay, and I'm
a good debtor. To-day the whelps, afterward the wolf."
"Then we'll not go," said Francis-Albert.
Madame d'Igomer was at Nuremberg with the Duke
of Friedland. She was at once informed of the arrival of
Armand-Louis and Renaud by a dispatch from John of
Werth. She did not wish them to have a conference
with Wallenstein during her absence. She felt that the
struggle begun at St. Wast and continued by the terrible
episodes of St. Rupert's, Magdebourg and Ravennest,
was about to assume a new phase.
"These are the two adventurers of whom I spoke to
you," she said negligently to Wallenstein. "Hunters fol-
low the deer's trail, but it has pleased His Majesty, the
King of Sweden, to invest them with the solemn office
of ambassadors. Honor them by receiving them in pres-
ence of all your officers."
This desire of Madame d'Igomer was accomplished
PROPOSITIONS AND PROVOCATIONS I47
At noon on the morrow two officers escorted Armand-
Louis and Renaud to the palace. Chamberlains, equer-
ries and pages crowded the antechambers and the grand
stair way. The envoys of Gustavus Adolphus walked be-
tween two lines of musketeers. A double door swung
wide admitting them to a hall thronged with gentlemen.
Quite at the end of the hall Wallenstein sat in a gold
armchair, much as a sovereign prince giving audience to
his court. Beside him in a magnificent robe of golden
brocade was Madame d'Igomer.
Renaud saw her and their glances crossed.
"We are lost !" he murmured to his friend.
Armand-Louis shivered ; but well dissembling his emo-
tion, he presented his credentials to Wallenstein, who at
once perused them.
"The exchange of prisoners will be made," he said then.
"Man for man, officer for officer. One of my aides-de-
camp will give you a list of the Swedes fallen into our
hands by the fortunes of war. You are at liberty, Sir, to
remain at Nuremberg until all these conventions have
been ratified."
Wallenstein bowed slightly as if betokening his de-
parture.
"But that is not all," said Armand-Louis quickly.
Madame d'Igomer exchanged a glance with Wallen-
stein and smiled. The duke sat down.
"Two women have been taken captive by the Imperial
troops at Magdebourg." Armand-Louis continued. "They
are Mademoiselle de Souvigny and Mademoiselle de Par-
daillan. I come to treat of their ransom, if such is neces-
sary."
"Count Tilly is dead and affairs are no longer as he
left them," replied Wallenstein haughtily. "We have
more gold, thank God, than we can use for ourselves or
our army."
"If you keep them as prisoners of war, Sir, at least ac-
cord us a fair exchange."
"Have you any daughter of a great house, any German
princess in captivity in the Swedish camp? If you have
let us have the names and we will see."
"Ah," roared Renaud, whose blood began to boil, "do
148 PROPOSITIONS AND PROVOCATIONS
you gentlemen think we are having a war with women ?"
Wallenstein frowned. Madame d'Igomer advanced
abruptly and said :
"Perhaps these gentlemen are not aware that, thanks to
the worthy Franciscan monk, which His Eminence the
legate of the Holy Father has supplied, Mademoiselle de
Pardaillan and Mademoiselle de Souvigny are opening
their hearts to the holy truths of our faith ? To restore
them to those who are bred in the poison of heresy were
to endanger their eternal salvation. Politics and blood
must yield to religion."
"Mademoiselle de Souvigny a Catholic!" cried Ar-
mand-Louis.
"Mademoiselle de Pardaillan a Catholic!" added Ren-
aud.
He was about to say that this conversion mattered
little to him, who gloried in the fact that he was of Rom-
ish persuasion, when two officers appeared in the hall.
The groups of gentlemen retired and parted at their ap-
proach.
"The most striking sign of their conversion," added
the Duke of Friedland, "is that Mademoiselle de Par-
daillan and Mademoiselle de Souvigny have been af-
fianced with Count Pappenheim and Baron John of
Werth."
Armand-Louis and Renaud turned livid. Count Pap-
penheim and John of Werth were standing before them.
The bow of ribbon embroidered by Adrienne's hand hung
at the hilt of the baron's sword.
"What, you !" cried Armand-Louis to Count Pappen-
heim.
"I do not remember that I promised anything to the
Count of La Guerche in the regard of Mademoiselle de
Pardaillan," answered Count Pappenheim. "It is per-
haps well to recall that, at Prague, as well as at Vienna,
she is Countess of Mummelsberg, subject to His Majesty
the Emperor of Germany; and that, if it pleases the Em-
peror Ferdinand to grant me her hand, it pleases me to
accept it."
"Ah," murmured Armand-Louis, "you are always the
man of La Grande Fortelle."
PROPOSITIONS AND PROVOCATIONS 149
Count Pappenheim's visage colored. The purple lines
of the crossed sabres stood revealed upon his brow.
"I believe you met this man at Magdebourg," he re-
plied, haughtily throwing back his head.
"Traitor!" roared Renaud.
A deadly pallor overspread the features of Count Pap-
penheim as he measured the Gaul with his glaring eyes.
"That word will cost life to either one of us," he said.
"Well, why do you tarry? You have your sword.
We've met often before this. If you hate me as I hate
you, you must burn with ardor to end this quarrel. Come
on!"
"I follow you," said Count Pappenheim advancing a
step.
"And I forbid you to leave this place," cried Wallen-
stein. "Who commands here? Who is the representa-
tive and delegate of the Emperor? If it please the Mar-
quis of Chaufontaine to forget his office, it suits me to
remind him that I am master at Nuremberg. Sheathe
your swords ! Count Pappenheim, Grand Marshal of the
Empire, you have a command which necesitates your
presence in the army and does not permit you, unless at
my order, to risk your life in single combat. You will do
as you see fit, if the chance of war sets you face to face
with your enemy on the field of battle. Until then, obey!"
Count Pappenheim, trembling with rage, rammed his
half-drawn sword into its scabbard.
Armand-Louis, noticing that Renaud did not do like-
wise, seized his comrade's arm.
"I can wait," he murmured, "be thou patient, also."
The Duke of Friedland cast his imperious glance over
the assembly. All were silent. Madame dTgomer smiled,
smiled.
"(Gentlemen," said the duke, "I believe the conference
is ended."
"My lord, is that all the answer you have to make?"
said Armand-Louis. "Remember, I speak in the name
of Gustavus Adolphus and I demand justice."
"Sir, 1 have nothing to add."
Armand-Louis s iluted Wall* nst< in and withdrew. As
he passed Count Pappenheim he said :
150 PROPOSITIONS AND PROVOCATIONS
"You promised me on your honor to guard Made-
moiselle de Souvigny. Au revoir, count!"
"Au revoir, gentlemen," replied Count Pappenheim.
Meanwhile Madame d'Igomer kept smiling and flut-
tering her fan. John of Werth curled his mustache. He
alone had not spoken.
"I must see Captain Jacobus," he said to himself. "In
the interim I will send a messenger to my friend, Lord
Mattheus. I fancy that my two gentlemen will beat about
the country. They shall not take me unawares."
No words can express exactly the feelings that tortured
Renaud. The furtive glances which Armand-Louis cast
upon him told him how precisely his own fury and hate
were reflected and echoed. Unhappily their anger had
no vent ; their office and the haughty answer of Wallen-
stein did not allow them to seek the immediate reparation
of arms for the injury they suffered. They must bide
their time and stomach the outrage until the day when
their brave swords might be freely drawn.
"Don't talk to me of Pappenheim," said Renaud.
"Whether traveler or soldier 'tis always the same man."
THE LITTLE HOUSE AT NUREMBERG 151
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE LITTLE HOUSE AT NUREMBERG.
That same evening, while Renaud was walking up and
down before the house, which had been assigned as their
dwelling, and as he vented his rage in various expletives,
a page approached and invited him with much discretion
to follow him.
"Whither dost thou wish to lead me?" asked Renaud,
who was not in a mood for adventures.
"To a place where you will not regret to have gone,"
replied the page.
Carquefou, who was nearby, munching the wing of a
pheasant, lifted up his nose.
"Marquis," he said, " 'tis my mind that this is not a safe
country at sunset. Hereabouts they tell some awful talcs
of devils and hobgoblins with divers human rascals inter-
mixed. Stay at home."
"It concerns Mademoiselle de Pardaillan," the page
murmured close to Renaud's ear.
"What ! Why didst not speak sooner? Be off, I follow
thee."
Renaud ran rather than walked upon the heels of the
page, whom he drove thus more briskly. Carquefou
flung away his bone.
"I feel just like a good sleep," he said to himself.
He arose with a sigh and followed his master at a dis-
tance. Renaud never looked behind him.
Carquefou saw him go out of the city, dive into a hol-
low road, reach a coppice in whose midst an avenue
opened, then disappear suddenly behind the door of a
pavilion, hidden under a thick mass of foliage.
< arquefou took a turn about the building, scraping the
deadwood under his feet. No light could he see. Doors
and windows were hermetically scaled.
152 THE LITTLE HOUSE AT NUREMBERG
"Humph !" murmured Carquefon, "this looks like the
house of a fairy or the abode of an ogre."
He leaned against a tree, facing the door by which his
master had entered the pavilion. Here he waited.
"At the slightest noise I begin the attack," he said to
himself in a low voice.
Meanwhile Renaud was ascending a dark staircase.
The page held his hand. He felt a carpet under his feet
which stifled his footfalls. His heart beat till he could
scarcely breathe.
"Diana! I shall see Diana!" he thought. A portiere
was drawn aside, and in a room dimly lighted he beheld
Madame d'Igomer. Renaud recoiled.
"You are afraid of a woman, then, marquis ?" she said.
"I believed that I was summoned in regard to Made-
moiselle de Pardaillan. This is treachery!" crieu Renaud.
"You have not been deceived. It concerns Made-
moiselle de Pardaillan. But I do not know that you have
been told you were to see her."
Madame d'Igomer trembled as she spoke.
Renaud had never seen her so pale and worn, not even
on the day he took his leave from her in St. Wast Castle.
This vindictive woman, who obeyed hate's every in-
spiration, seemed to have lost almost all her strength.
Her white robe revealed the heaving of her bosom. The
pallor of death veiled her forehead and cheeks. Never-
theless Renaud, while studying her, drew open one of
the folds of the portiere, as if about to retire.
"What do you fear?" asked Madame d'Igomer sweet-
ly. "Only a woman and a boy are here."
"But that woman is you," said Renaud.
"If you mean that the fate of Mademoiselle de Par-
daillan is in my hands, it is true. But it is for you to de-
cide whether she shall be free to-morrow."
"I am to decide! What must I do? All my life
blood—"
"You would shed for her, eh?" interrupted Madame
d'Igomer. "I know that. Why do you tell me it? You
take bad means to heal the wound which bleeds in my
heart."
Thecla fell exhausted into a chair. Her face was the
THE LITTLE HOUSE AT NUREMBERG 153
color of snow. Tears of unfeigned suffering flowed from
her eyes. Renaud took her hands and felt them tremble
in his.
"If you wished it." he said, "you might have me spend
my whole life in blessing you."
"Listen," replied Madame d'Igomer. ''I fancied I was
much stronger than I am ; much more rooted in hate. I
have seen you and I know not what flame has suddenly
warmed this heart which has throbbed but once. What
shall I say? Do I not know the influence, the charm
that has conquered it? All this feeling that I had for-
gotten suddenly returns upon me. Long months of
mourning, tumultuous with the spirit of vengeance, are
obliterated: of all that I have suffered or dreamed, of my
tears of madness and despair, only you remain."
For a moment Thecla was silent. A mingling of as-
tonishment and sadness flooded Renaud's soul. He was
about to speak, but she anticipated him .
"Know me as I am," she continued. "Whatever you
will have me, I will be. I can no longer be your com-
panion in life, the proud wife to walk, leaning on your
arm. I shall be your servant, your slave. None will be
more devoted, more humble, more happy with the lot you
dole her. If you wish me to love Mademoiselle de Par-
daillan, I will love her. But do you love me, or if this
effort be impossible to you still, do not love her at all any
more and abandon this cursed idea of giving her your
name! Tell me, do you remember nothing of the past,
and am I too exacting in asking of you a little pity? Re-
call our words of whilom times. Ah, if you have lost the
memory of them, my sad heart still burns with it. You
do not know how deeply I loved you ! Alas, I did not
know myself. See what you have made of me, into what
an abyss I have fallen! Do you not owe something to
her whom yon have abandoned and who, if it were not
for you, perhaps . But I will nol reproach you. I
bless the evil day I nut yon, the day that saw me love
you. Of the happiness I tasted in the past 1 ask only the
shadow, the remembrance. At this price there Is nothing
you cannot obtain from me. Place your hand in mine.
154 THE LITTLE HOUSE AT NUREMBERG
Swear that Mademoiselle de Pardaillan shall never be
Marquise de Chaufontaine, and my confidence will go
so far as to tell you : She is free !"
"But I love her!" cried Renaud.
"What!" exclaimed Madame d'Igomer. "You are in
my house. She is still captive. You dare hold, you
are very bold or else mad !"
"In turn, hear me, I pray you. What has she done to
you? Is she not entirely innocent?"
"Innocent? She who tore you from my arms!"
"Then punish me, but spare her. Has she not been
good and true to you? She is not yet twenty. Let not
her youth be drowned in tears !"
"Do you fancy that she has wept alone?"
"Ah, you are implacable. Neither beauty, innocenct
nor misery affect you. Why strike her, when I am here ?
What shame do you propose to me? Betray her when
she has said, 'I love you !' "
"Did not some one, named Renaud, say the same
words to me?" she almost shrieked.
This last cry was the last straw. Madame d'Igomer
had arisen. That expression he had seen in her face at
St. Wast had returned. Thecla showed not the slightest
trace of the emotion which had softened her a minute be-
fore.
Renaud went toward the door without answering.
"Then," said Madame d'Igomer, "you do not renounce
the hand of Mademoiselle de Pardaillan?"
"Never!"
"Then she shall renounce yours!"
Renaud turned as if to question her.
"Marquis, I do not detain you any longer," said
Madame d'Igomer, striking a bell and ordering the page
to reconduct Renaud.
"Now," murmured Madame d'Igomer, "I'll let Mat-
*heus Orlscopp do his will."
Renaud found Carquefou standing against the tree he
had selected as his post for observation.
"All goes wrong," he said in reply to Carquefou's in-
terrogative glance.
THE LITTLE HOUSE AT NUREMBERG 155
"Sir," replied the honest philosopher, "while there's
life, there's hope."
Then understanding that his master was not in a talk-
ative mood, he wound his cloak about him and followed
in silence.
156 FOUR. AGAINST ONE
CHAPTER XIX.
FOUR AGAINST ONE.
The conditions of exchange had been ratified. There
was nothing to detain Armand-Louis and Renaud at
Nuremberg. They took leave of Wallenstein and rode
out of the camp.
Within arrow-shot of the moat they met a cavalier who
saluted them as he passed. It was Count Pappenheim.
He bore his cuirass and a great cloak. Before Armand-
Louis or Renaud had time to answer his salute the count
was far away.
"The bird of prey flies to the left — a bad sign," said
Carquefou.
"Even without considering that the country is full of
ambushes," murmured Rudiger.
Their route led through a wooded country, sewn with
gorges and solitudes of pine and birch trees. A low
wind blew the mass clouds wandering across the sky.
They thickened and they scattered Jn turn. Armand-
Louis and Renaud felt the influence of this melancholy
mood of nature. They meditated and did not converse.
Magnus was looking ahead one moment, behind the
next, now to the left, then to the right.
Rudiger on his side kept his eye on everything.
"If I die, which is probable," murmured Carquefou, "I
should not like to die in such weather or in such a coun-
try. I should be too cold."
This said he wrapped His cloak, which fluttered in the
north wind, closer about his thighs.
The fog ran along the heather; a flock of crows
streaked its gray mass in a sinister and heavy flight.
A cavalier passed like a phantom along the road, then
FOUR AGAINST ONE 157
another, then a third ; then the three united in a group,
preceding Armand-Louis and Renaud by one hundred
paces.
Magnus cast his eves toward the end of a gorge his
little troop had just crossed. In the distance, almost in-
visible in the mist, three cavaliers appeared on foot.
"That makes six in all," he thought, "that's nothing."
Nevertheless he tried his pistols to see that they slipped
easily from their holsters.
Almost at the same moment, Rndiger who had tried his
weapons also, and was peering searchingly on every side,
observed on the right, in the plain, where grew a low
copsewood, three other cavaliers.
"Nine," said he, pointing them out to his neighbor.
Magnus quickly turned his eyes to the left, where a
small wood lay, along the border of which they were
passing.
Night was coming on quickly. Yet among the pale
trunks of the birches they distinguished three shadows,
which glided into the silent depths of the forest.
"That makes twelve," thought Magnus. This time he
primed his pistols, and, drawing his sword from the scab-
bard, let it hang naked in his hand. Rudigcr had taken
the same precaution.
Carquefou, who was watching them, imitated them
scrupulously. Then leaning over toward Magnus' ear he
asked :
"Why?"
Without saying a word Magnus pointed toward the
four points of the compass.
"('th!" exclaimed Carquefou.
"Remark," said Rudiger, "that they are approaching
us."
Magnus said nothing; but for himself he took note that
within the last minute each group had been augmented
by one man, making the whole number sixteen.
The next instant, the four men in advance turned
around ; those behind hurried forward. By a simultane-
ous movement the two troops on the right and left gal-
loped toward the road.
158 FOUR AGAINST ONE
Armand-Louis and Renaud were caught between four
fires.
In this district where no inn, house, or cabin could be
seen as far as the eye could reach, two bunches of black
pines arose on either side of the road.
Magnus had struck Armand-Louis on the shoulder,
and Carquefou cautioned Renaud, when a cavalier sud-
denly issued from the pines. He held his head high, his
sword in his hand.
Carquefou gave utterance to a cry.
"I see, gentlemen," said the cavalier smiling and salut-
ing them with his sword, "that you have recognized Cap-
tain Jacobus."
"Ah, bandit!" roared Renaud.
"Now, ii it please you, let's settle our accounts."
But as Captain Jacobus raised his pistol to give the
signal of attack to the four bands, which were within
thirty paces of the gentlemen, a cavalier came bounding
along the road and putting a silver whistle to his lips sent
forth a shrill call.
A great clashing was heard in the thick of the fog and
the road was covered with cuirassiers, who, sabres
drawn, surrounded the assailants.
"Captain Jacobus, lower arms," said the cavalier. "1
am Count Pappenheim."
Captain Jacobus cast his astonished glances in all di-
rections and found his bands surrounded by a wall of
bronze.
He shoved his sword back into the scabbard.
"My lord," he said coolly, "you are the stronger, but
I very much fear that you've committed a blunder."
Count Pappenheim pointed toward Nuremberg.
Captain Jacobus reunited his men, the serried ranks of
the cuirassiers opened and the whole pack scurried away
like jackals who have heard the roaring of a lion.
The cuirassiers formed ranks behind Count Pappen-
heim and, riding at their head, he escorted Armand-Louis
and Renaud to the end of this dangerous road. At the
first streaks of dawn they saw a town, whose houses
speckled each side of the way.
FOUR AGAINST ONE 159
"The Swedish army is before you, gentlemen." lie then
said, "and the armistice expires to-morrow."
As the two Gauls bowed, he added, addressing himself
to Armand-Louis.
"Are we not quits, now, count? The woods you have
just passed through, have they paid the debt of the camp
of Stettin? Has Count Pappenheim remembered Count
Eberart ?"
"Yes." replied Armand-Louis.
"Then, gentlemen, good luck to you. And, if it please
God we shall meet on the field of battle, there you shall
see that I forget nothing."
Count Pappenheim saluted the two gentlemen very
proudly with his hand, and, followed by his cuirassiers,
was soon lost in a cloud of dust.
"A strange man," said Renaud, looking after the sol-
dier as he rode away with his men.
"Truly a strange man," replied Armand-Louis, "in
him is to be found a mixture of all good and all bad Qual-
ities. The former are his by birth, the latter the result of
the events and the struggles of his life. He has the germ
of the best and highest virtues, the passion for glory, love
of country and religion, faithful beyond all proof to his
emperor and his flag, untamably brave. But all this is
envenomed and corrupted by a dangerous ambition, an
implacable pride, a contempt for men and a disdain for all
rights. Yesterday he rode through a city in Barnes and
made his horse pass over the corpses of ten thousand
Germans. What did it matter to him? They were only
rebels and Protestants. The same day he resolutely risks
his life for two women in a village, a prey to the drunken
pillage of an army. Yesterday he aspired unpityingly to
the hand of a noble woman, who repulsed him ; to-day he
s his rival. Circumstances have made him what he
is; ferocious, violent, capable of most terrible revenge, the
most savagr deeds. Then at times his soul awakens and
magnanimity dawns. The tree seems to be withered, but
it often drops ripe fruit."
"In faith," said Rcnnnd, "if \ ever kill him, I shall never
have killed a more valiant warrior."
160 FOUR AGAINST ONE
On the very day the armistice expired Armand-Louis
and Renaud regained the army of the king. Immediately
Armand-Louis requested an audience with Gustavus
Adolphus.
A most audacious project had sprung up in his mind.
He had served the cause of Sweden. He believed he had
the right to serve his own now.
THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUERCHE 161
CHAPTER XX.
THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUERCHE.
After having detailed to the king the result of the mis-
sion, which had been entrusted to him, Armand-Louis
asked His Majesty permission to speak of matters that
were of no importance save to himself.
"Speak, my dear count," said the king.
"Sire, do you think I have so far served the cause to
which you have devoted your arms, as to solicit a favor
from Your Majesty?"
"Colonel, you know that I have not hesitated to pro-
claim before the whole army how much Sweden owes to
ft
you.
"Then, Sire, as I one day asked you for five hundred
men to deal a final blow to the enemy, will you now per-
mit me to look in the army for one hundred volunteers
who will follow me whithersoever I may lead them ?"
"If you mean to be their leader, I fear they may go so
far that they will never return."
"It is quite possible. I must have soldiers who will re-
treat before nothing."
"This is a difficult undertaking, then?"
"So difficult, that it may well appear mad to any man
who does not see the happiness of his life entailed in it."
"Explain yourself."
"A faithful servant drew me out of the hands of the
Imperialists. Shall I do less for Mademoiselle de Souv-
igny than Magnus did for me? Mademoiselle de Par-
daillan is beside her, subject to the same slavery. Her
father weeps, my heart bleeds. M. de Chaufontaine and I
have sworn to liberate them."
"It is to Prague, in Bohemia, in the heart of the ene-
my's province s, I know not whither, you wish to go with
one hundred men ?"
"Yes, Sire. Honor is my law."
i6a THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUERCHE
"Oh, I should have acted as you act in the past," cried
the king, seizing the hand of Armand-Louis. "Go then !
I should think myself unworthy of my crown if I did not
say to you : Risk everything to rescue her whom you
love. But after the king, the friend will add : Be careful
to save the brave soldiers of Sweden. She has none too
many."
As Armand-Louis was taking leave of the king, the
door opened and the Duke of Lauenbourg entered. Ar-
mand-Louis stopped.
"Hostilities have recommenced," said Francis-Albert.
"Two Hungarian regiments, which reached the Imperial
camp yesterday, attacked a squadron of Finnish musket-
eers during the night. Two Italian regiments follow in
their train."
"Your information is very exact," said Armand-Louis
brusquely. "How did you get it?"
The duke who had not noticed Armand-Louis, turned
toward him now and reddened. As he spoke Armand-
Louis played with a chain of gold which hung at his belt.
The flashing of the pure metal attracted the attention of
the Duke of Lauenbourg, who was sore put for an answer.
"But you, Sir," he said at length with mingled anger
and haughtiness, "you who ask such fluent questions, can
you tell me whence you have this golden chain that glit-
ters on your doublet ? I have been looking for it for some
time."
"Does the chain belong to you?" asked Armand-Louis
quickly.
"It was stolen from me. By what strange chance does
it come to be in your hands ?"
"Ah, Sir, you have been searching for it for a long time,
you say. Well, I have been just as long seeking its
owner. Something tells me that there may be some rela-
tion, at least a whimsical one, between the accident by
which you lost it and a crime committed near the royal
residence some three years ago."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that this chain, which is yours and claimed by
you so impudently, was found by me near Gothabourg, at
the door of the house from which Margaret Cabeliau had
THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUERCIIIv 163
just been abducted and where, an hour later, I met you,
my lord duke, for the first time."
"It must have slipped from my belt," stammered the
duke, turning pale.
'"Before the crime, then; because it was before the ab-
duction of Margaret Cabeliau that I found this chain on
the grass amid the hoof-prints of a horse — of your horse,
my lord duke."
For an instant the Duke of Lauenbourg wished to re-
turn the stare of Armand-Louis. But as he was van-
quished in this silent struggle he slowly lowered his eyes.
Armand-Louis then passed before him, saying in a con-
descending tune :
"Since the chain belongs to you, my lord duke, take it."
With a haughty gesture the Huguenot flung it at his
feet.
Armand-Louis approached the king and murmured:
"Sire, what do you think of this?"
Then believing that he had trod the worm in the dust,
he went away.
"Well?" asked the king turning suddenly upon the
Duke of Lauenbourg.
"If this man were not your guest I should have killed
him," cried the duke.
"It is not so easy to kill the Count of La Guerche," re-
turned the king. "But we are now concerned with this
chain and not with him."
The blow had been a terrific one, not less terrific than
unexpected. But the duke was alone and he knew that
Gustavus Adolphus loved him. He made a sudden sum-
mons on all his native audacity.
"It is true, the chain is mine and I lost it at the door of
the little White House," he cried. "Do not ask me what
I was doing there. Remember only that Margaret was
beautiful and I was young. All that could be done to
stifle a love which fills the heart I had done. My efforts
were in vain. Her image pursued me everywhere. Sire,
was it my fault that I met her before you did? When a
COTlfid< in''-, which I had not asked for, informed nie that I
had no longer the right to hope, you know not the an-
guish which tore my breast. I would have fled away, dis-
1 64 THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUERCHE
appeared to forget her who had become the soul of my
life. An invisible but mighty thread drew me back to the
places where she breathed and I drank the poison with
the bitter pleasure of a heart which nothing can disen-
thral of its love. Ah, a thousand times I felt that I was
dying. When you were at her side, I, drunk with despair,
prowled about her enchanted abode, which should have
been my kingdom, my paradise, had Margaret so willed.
My tears wet the grass as did the dew. She loved you
and I kissed the traces of her footsteps. One day this
chain fell. Ah, Sire, you were then with Margaret "
An emotion he could not master stole into the king's
heart. Could he who had felt love's full fever condemn a
man who had suffered all its anguish? Francis-Albert
knew Gustavus Adolphus too well not to guess at the
slightest outward sign the trend of his sentiments. He
felt that the best and cleverest defense was absolute frank-
ness ; and he resumed with an extraordinary vehemence :
"But if, Sire, you wish to have my whole confession,
then know all. What tempests in a bosom all burning
with a futile love ! Yes, I admit it, I thought to avenge
myself."
"You?"
"Indeed I did. A thousand terrible projects crossed
my mind. I knew not to which I should sacrifice the re-
mainder of a miserable life. In you I saw the sole cause
of all my suffering. It seemed that my greatest joy should
be to see you dying, abandoned by all. I sought a means
of appeasing my black grief in the sight of your ruin. Ah,
if I acknowledge these nightmares 'tis because my awak-
ening has dissipated them. I had not the strength and in
spite of myself, when I wished to carry out these sinister
dreams, I thought of the past and my cowardly heart
trembled."
Astonishment, anger, pity, all were pictured in the vis-
sage of the king.
Francis-Albert, who observed his mood even as he pre-
tended to abandon himself to the feverish flow of his con-
fession, soon went on :
"I did more. I visited your most implacable enemies.
I saw Count Pappenheim, I saw the Duke of Friedland,
THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUERCHE 165
as I saw also him, whose army your sword scattered on
the shores of the Lech. I was to march with them
against you and in the conflict seek you out and die — or
kill you. I heard your voice, a chill seized me, and this
sword which thirsted for your blood I surrender to you.
If it seems fit to you that I should die, strike!"
Francis-Albert had drawn his sword and gave it to
Gustavus Adolphus.
"Hut when you strike," he added, "at last do not forget
that perhaps you do not owe me so much misery in rec-
ompense for the past. My cheek is pale to-day though
my heart bleeds."
This allusion to the scene of their youth, which had not
been forgotten by Gustavus Adolphus, suddenly shook
the king. His open and loyal soul reached the highest
mercy as it understood all candor. The fearless confes-
sion of Francis-Albert had paved the way. What sus-
picion could live in presence of such an avowal ?
"Take back this sword," said the king holding his hand
out to him. "It is Gustavus Adolphus who gives it to you
and who asks you to keep it for Sweden."
Francis-Albert gave utterance to a cry and raised the
king's hand to his lips. But when he had gained the
door of the roval tent he shook the dust from his feet and
slapping his scabbard said between his teeth :
"Thou hast given it back! Woe betide thee!"
That same day Armand-Louis convoked a general as-
sembly of the dragoons of his company. A goodly num-
ber of them had fallen at Leipzig and on the shores of the
Lech ; but they had been replaced by other Huguenots
who had flocked hither from all parts of France with the
permission of Cardinal Richelieu. Never had a braver
body of youth gathered about a captain. No hall was
large enough to contain them all, so it was decided to
have the reunion on the border of a wood where lay a
quantity of fallen trees. These were the seats of the
dragoons. That the truce was at an end tilled the hearts
of these brave gentlemen with hope. The hour of perils
and battles was t<> be reborn. This n pose of a few days
irked even the least impatient among them.
"When do we sit in saddle?" asked one.
i66 THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUERCHE
"Do you remain with the king or do we follow Rhine-
grave Otto?" asked another.
' "Whithersoever we go, let us be in the advance
guard !" said a third.
' When calm had been almost restored, Armand-Louis
stood on the trunk of a felled Oak.
"Gentlemen," said he, "I have need of a hundred men
of will. I should have judged myself guilty of an insult
to the dragoons of France had I addressed myself to the
other corps of the Swedish army before submitting my
request to them. It is no longer your captain who speaks
to you. It is your brother in arms — a soldier. Therefore,
speak as you will, without fear. We are not concerned
with a matter of service."
"Will you lead the hundred men you need into battle?"
asked M. de Berail.
"I shall lead them all into the heart of Germany, into
the thick of the Austrian provinces, into the home of the
enemy." A thrill of joy animated the dragoons.
"Now we begin to understand," added M. d'Aigrefeu-
ille. "We may hope then to incur many dangers?"
"My friends," said Renaud, "the Count of La Guerche
has confided his project to me. Such is it that the half
of those who undertake the expedition have a chance of
never returning."
"Then there'll be a shower of blows to give and re-
ceive," cried a young cornet.
"And a tempest of pistol balls as well," added Renaud.
"Monsieur de Chaufontaine, you speak like a good
book," said M. de Berail. "If fate does not have me to
fall on the way, we'll talk about this little journey over a
pate of venison. Write me at the head of the list."
"And do you think I wish to remain here?" cried M.
d'Aigrefeuille. "If we don't risk our lives twenty times
I'll consider you a man of ill faith and we'll cut our own
throats. Have a care."
"Be easy on that score," replied Renaud, as he drew
from his pocket a memorandum on which he wrote the
names of the first two recruits. "The least that can hap-
pen you is to lose a leg or an arm."
"Put my name there also," cried the cornet.
THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUERCHE 167
"Do you think I will miss this pleasure party?" asked
a gentleman burning with ardor to win his spurs.
-Write M.de St.'l'aer."
-And M. d'Arrandes."
-M. de Volras."
"M. de Collonges."
Renaud's pen lagged; the cries crossed one another in
the lire of enlistment and grew more numerous.
"Oh, la, la!" cried Renaud, "my hands weary. We
need one hundred men of good will. Let those who have
a fancy to follow us have the goodness to pass to my
right. We will count them.''
All the men rushed at one bound to the right of Ren-
aud. Not one remained on his left.
"Good!" cried Renaud, closing his book, "we won't
count."
"I maintain my rank," said M. de Berail, laughing, "by
right of age. Let the others draw lots."
"Let us draw lots," said M. d'Aigrefeuille, sadly.
A cornet placed his hat on a stone and each man
hastened to throw into it his name inscribed on a bit of
paper. The hat was half filled when M. de Collonges,
who was quite young, knocked it over with a blow of his
fist.
"We are stupid," he cried, "why draw lots? Let us all
go — the more the merrier, and if we're all killed there'll
be none left to be jealous."
"Truth sometimes comes from the mouth of a child,"
said Renaud. "What thinkest thou, captain?"
"I think," replied Armand-Louis, "that the entire
squadron may pace whithersoever the company has made
a way."
"What's better still," continued Renaud, "the more
numerous we are the less we shall be remarked."
"There's a riddle I will not undertake to solve," said
M. de St. Paer. "The important thing to know is whether
you accept."
"I acc< pi !" cried Armand-Louis.
Every hat was thing in the air. They cried :
"Loner live the Count <>f La Guerchel Long live the
168 THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUERCHE
Marquis of Chaufontaine." They pressed around them,
embraced them.. It was a very explosion of joy.
"And now that, thanks to me, everybody is of accord,"
said M. de Collonges, "may one with discretion ask
whither we are to go?"
"We are going to Bohemia," repeated Armand-Louis,
"and when we shall have reached there, this army of Wal-
lenstein will be between us and the Swedes."
"It could not be more clearly said. We shall be as
Daniel in the lion's den," said M. de Berail.
"With the distinction that Daniel was a prophet and we
are but poor sinners."
"So that we have some chance of being devoured by
lions."
"In faith," grunted M. d'Aigrefeuille, "I pity the im-
molators," and he clapped the heavy hilt of his sword.
"Now that we are in Bohemia," continued M. de Col-
longes, "what do we do there?"
"We seek out a stronghold called Drachenfeld Castle."
"Suppose we have found it. Then ?"
"Gentlemen," said Armand-Louis, "in this castle dwell
two ladies whom several of you have known ; Madem-
oiselle de Pardaillan and Mademoiselle de Souvigny.
They are kept captive ; both their faith and their hearts
are threatened. M. de Chaufontaine and I have sworn to
deliver them or lose our lives. But the swords of two
men, however devoted, cannot overcome all obstacles.
This is why I have made call upon your chivalry. We
will conquer together or perish together. As for me, gen-
tlemen, I swear to return with them or not to return at
all."
Three hundred swords suddenly flashed in the sun-
light and this valiant body of youth, exalted by one of
those bursts of enthusiasm which are the appanage of
noble hearts and generous natures, made oath to devote
their last drop of blood to the cause of Armand-Louis
and Renaud.
"When you give the signal to set out, we shall be
ready," said M. de Berail to Armand-Louis.
"Then, gentlemen," replied he ,smiling, "have your
THE DRAGOONS OF LA Gl'ERCHE 169
horses saddled and bridled to-morrow. You have one
night left to say farewell to those you love."
Renaud was not the only one to whom Armand-Louis
had confided his project. As soon as Magnus was in-
formed of it, the old reiter, who held no enterprise, how-
ever dangerous, to be impossible, together with his com-
rade Rudiger, had set about beating the country with the
activity of ants. At the end of the day they returned with
three or four wagons loaded with a mass of Imperial uni-
forms, where, thanks to the skirmishes that were of daily
occurrence, these objects were not wanting. Carquefou,
who assisted at the unloading, opened wide his eyes at the
sight of so many cloaks, coats, mantles, doublets and
belts of the Austrian colors. There was enough to clothe
an army.
"Great Jove !" he exclaimed, "for whom are all these
things ?"
"For us," replied Magnus.
Armand-Louis. who appeared then, congratulated
Magnus and Rudiger on their excellent selection.
"\Ve must begin with a ruse," said Magnus. "Force
always comes soon enough."
"Always too soon," commented Carquefou, to whom
this odyssey into the country of the enemy seemed like a
defiance flung at Lucifer.
The disguise proposed by Magnus was in truth the only
means for crossing the lines of Wallenstein's army with-
out difficulty, or at least without too much danger.
Nevertheless it required some effort to convince certain
of the young gentlemen of this who could not bear the
thought of shielding their skins under the hated cockade.
They had never, they said, hidden either their names or
their faces. They wished no mask.
"Gentlemen," cried Magnus, impatiently, "why do you
not rather send word to the Duke of Friedland of the day
of your departure and the road you are taking?"
At length the punctilious ones < . ded and none thought
of anything save of preparations for the morrow. An ex-
•rdinary animation reigned in the Dragoons' quarters
during the whole night. Busy men came and went;
some groomed their horses or furbished their arms;
170 THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUERCHE
others wrote farewell letters; while furtive sighs made
their bosoms heave. The younger ones sang songs of
their distant fatherland; others knelt in remote corners
in prayer. Diverse though their occupations were, the
same fire shone in every visage. Not for anything in the
world would the soberest of them have renounced this
mad expedition.
The rumor had spread to the Swedish camp and with
it the fever. It was much feared that the most of these
braves who were to take saddle at the first streak of dawn
would never be seen again. But among the officers
grouped about the king, a goodly number would willingly
have joined them and none dreamed of dissuading them
from their undertaking. At the first sound of the morn-
ing trumpet all the troop was afoot, beside their steeds.
The whole army had gathered to assist at the setting out
of the La Guerche Dragoons to hail them with acclaim.
When they broke away, every hat flew in the air and a
chorus of a thousand cries echoed to heaven.
The sun shone radiantly, the sky was in holiday dress.
The three hundred dragoons rode proudly round the line
of the camp and drew up in battle array before the tent
of Gustavus Adolphus, who had come out to honor this
picked body of men.
He uncovered and three hundred swords sparkled in
the sun.
"Good luck and God guard you, gentlemen," cried the
king with emotion.
"God give us victory as he gives it to Gustavus Adol-
phus," answered the dragoons.
The king embraced Armand-Louis, the bugles sounded
and the troop rode, on, their horses' heads pointed south-
ward. Far away could be discerned the smoke of the
Austrian outposts.
Magnus rode ahead. He acted as guide and was seek-
ing to distinguish himself by leading the dragoons to
Drachenfeld Castle by the shortest route.
He had taken the broadest and most frequented road.
"If we do not wish to be seen," he said, "we must not
hide ourselves."
THE DRAGOONS OF LA GUEROHE 171
"We are like the Argonauts who went in quest of the
golden fleece," cried M. de Collonges.
"With the difference that our golden fleece consists of
two golden heads," corrected M. de Berail.
"What a conquest it will be for us !" added M. de Saint-
Paer.
"We might also be compared to three hundred Persei
going forth to the rescue of two Andromedas," said M.
d'Arrandes.
"In faith, long live war!" cried M. tie Yolras gaily, "in
that alone is life."
"When there's not death in it," Carquefou murmured
low.
There was no dearth oi talk ; they laughed and made a
great commotion.
"Gentlemen," said Magnus, suddenly, "let us not talk-
too much French now. We are in the enemy's territory."
lie pointed out to the Huguenots a company of Croa-
tian cavalry driving a herd of cows before them across
the ford of a stream.
"The Rubicon is passed!" cried M. de Collonges,
whose joy was so great that he made his horse perform a
couple of pirouettes.
"Alas!" murmured Carquefou, and he sadly crossed
himself three times.
172 A HALT IN THE SHADOW OF A WALL
CHAPTER XXI.
A HALT IN THE SHADOW OF A WALL.
The squadron rode on bravely without meeting any ob-
stacle in a country mottled on all sides by the uniforms of
a hundred foreign soldiers. Hardly an hour passed that
they did not meet some of them. The most passed un-
questioning. When it chanced that a captain interro-
gated Magnus, who, with Rudiger, had taken the white
horse and clarion of a trumpeter, a reply was ever
promptly vouchsafed. Sometimes Armand-Louis, who
rode at the head of the cavaliers, was questioned.
One day they said they belonged to the army of Wal-
lenstein, and that they were going into garrison in a place
in Suabia. On the morrow, they were of the Pappenheim
regiments, marching toward the frontier of Bohemia
which was menaced by the Swedes. The next day, they
were in the service of Duke Charles of Lorraine and they
were making a flank march. According to the circum-
stances and the various officers they met, they were in
turn Italian, Spanish, Hungarian or Polish.
Day by day they steadily advanced. Each time they
broke in halt Carquefou sighed.
"We are as so many fishes with a hundred nets
stretched in their pool," he said ; "the weave is coming
closer together."
Honest Carquefou's unquietude was felt by the others,
but in an inverse sense. They looked upon it as a pil-
grimage, or a journey in search of new scenes.
Some of the gentlemen complained. "Marquis, you
have played upon our faith," said M. de Collonges to
Renaud. "Where are the dangers ? The battles?"
"Patience," replied Renaud, astonished to hear him-
self utter the word.
"You promised us a storm of sword blows," interposed
M. de Berail. "I am looking for it, but in vain."
A HALT IN THB SHADOW OV A WALL 173
"Is Pappenheim a phantom?" asked M. d'Aigrefcuille.
"You promised to let us see him."
" Tis no longer an expedition, but a journey. We
should have carriages," cried M. de Saint-Paer. "With
a few violins and flutes we could give a ball," added M.
d'Arrandes.
Some scraps of this and similar conversations reached
the ears of Magnus.
"Gentlemen," he said, smiling, "don't be impatient.
Everything comes to him who waits. To go into this
country is nothing; to get out of it is everything. Mag-
nus has sung many songs which began with a burst of
laughter and ended with a De Profundis."
One morning he informed the dragoons that they had
crossed the borders of Bohemia.
"So well that we are in the heart of the place," said M.
de Collonges.
"You mean in the fire," said Carquefou, sadly.
"Now, gentlemen," continued Magnus, "I have but one
suggestion to make to you. Remember that a single im-
prudence means the death of all of us."
"Quite short, but clearly said," answered M. de Berail,
saluting him.
Rudiger, who knew Bohemia as a gardener knows his
garden, from the fact that he had served under Count
Thurn, was sent out as scout as soon as the troop reached
the vicinity of Drachenfeld. At a glance one could see
in him a man of the same race as Magnus, inured to all
hardships and ready even to risk his head on the cast of a
die.
The surprise of living in the company of men for whom
honor and devotion were more than mere words was as
great as was his desire to imitate them. He set out alone
on foot. He wore a forester's jacket and a fox-skin cap.
The dragoons laid their bivouac in a wood.
They waited for him to return until evening. Night
fell and he had not yet returned. Renaud was beginning
to suspect that Rudiger might have sold the secret of
their expedition t<> Madame d'Igomer, when he reap-
I ired. His head was low, his fort-head care-stricken.
"What Dews?" asked Armand-Louis.
174 A HALT IN THE SHADOW OF A WALL
"The man of Ravennest is at Drachenfeld," answered
Rudiger.
"Mattheus Orlscopp?"
"He is in command of the castle."
"So much the better," cried Renaud. "This time I'll
hang him."
At daybreak they resumed their march. Armand-
Louis and Renaud, in unrecognizable disguise of beard
and hair, rode at the head of the band. Rudiger retained
his forester's dress. Magnus wore the costume of a char-
coal-burner. Carquefou was disguised as a raftsman. He
carried a pole with an iron hook, and wore great boots.
These three advanced on foot. At noon they beheld the
towers of a castle rising above the crest of a hill.
"Drachenfeld !" Rudiger explained tranquilly.
These three syllables sent a chill through the veins of
Armand-Louis and Renaud. Behind those formidable
walls breathed Adrienne and Diana.
"Now, gentlemen," said Magnus, "the siege begins."
Then at a rather slow gait he made his way toward the
postern of the castle.
Madame dTgomer had returned to Drachenfeld the day
after she had received Renaud in the pavilion at Nurem-
berg. From the first moment they looked at her on this
occasion the two young ladies understood that something
grave had occurred.
But they could learn nothing from her. With
Mattheus, Thecla was more frank.
"Redouble your vigilance." she said to him. "The
wolves know where the sheepfold is."
"Please God they'll come hither. My only fear is that
they may find the road too difficult," replied Mattheus.
"One would say you did not know them," added Mad-
ame dTgomer.
Meanwhile the days sped by and naught was discov-
ered that might justly the belief of Madame dTgomer.
The scouts sent by Mattheus in every direction saw no
man of suspicious appearance. Two or three of them had
met the La Guerche squadron. But they were consid-
ered merely as adventurers.
They had spoken with some of the dragoons ; but they
A HALT IN THK SHADOW OF A WALL 175
had not thought it worth while to inform the governor of
the castle of their presence.
One morning a charcoal-burner appeared at the gate of
the castle and asked to speak to the steward.
'"In a valley, a short league from here," he explained,
"there's a troop of cavalry which would like to breakfast
here. They look like Poles or Spaniards, and seem to
have a great appetite. They took all they could find in
our cabins at a mouthful. I offered to go seek something
for them to eat. They are going to join the army. You'll
see whether 'tis worth the trouble to take them in. I
saw a big round purse in the belt of the leader. The
others have sabres and pistols. They swear they'll pay
for everything."
The steward went to Mattheus. Mattheus ordered five
or six lackeys to attend him and he rode out to find what
sort of men these might be who were Poles passing for
Spaniards. In the meantime Magnus took good care to
lose himself in the castle. While wearing a stupid air,
he ferreted into every corner. He saw many warriors,
but neither Adrienne nor Diana.
The steward who had been looking everywhere for him
found him lying on the rampart. At this the steward
frowned.
"Sir," began Magnus, "I believed you had forgotten
me. I've been beating about for an hour trying to find a
way out. Show me to the door, please. There's no
doubt but that the Spaniards will skin me alive if I don't
bring them an answer."
"An answer!" cried the steward, giving him a shove,
"they have it already. Begone, varlet !"
Magnus crossed the drawbridge- lightly. He reached
the bivouac juA as Mattheus was having it.
To insure safety, M. de Berail had taken command in
place of Armand-Louis. M. de Berail, who spoke Italian
and Spanish fluently, gave out that he was the captain of
a free company which was being Bent from Milan to the
army of Wallenstein.
Mattheus asked him some questions, less, perhaps, in
fear of a Burprise than by force of habit. M. de Berail
176 A HALT IN THE SHADOW OF A WALL
had an apt and easy answer for everything. He enjoyed
the game.
"My entire troop is in need of rest," he said, finally.
"If I were assured of meat for my men and fodder for
their horses, I should like to remain here for a few days."
"You will have everything you need," replied Mattheus.
"In return, if I should have need of some soldiers for
work hereabouts, you will furnish them to me."
The governor and the captain separated, each en-
chanted with the ether.
"He would have looked fine hanging from that dead
branch," said Renaud as he watched Mattheus retire.
"Bah!" cried M. de Collonges. "The dead branch
won't leave its place."
On the return of Magnus a council was held.
"The camp is assured for eight days at least," said M.
de Berail. "That's a longer time than 'twill take to sack
the place."
"Above all, if we make the attack to-night," said M. de
Saint- Paer. "My sword is rusting in its scabbard."
"Thou who hast seen Drachenfeld," asked Armand-
Louis of Magnus, "what dost thou think of it?"
"An attack is impossible. There is a garrison of two
hundred men, not counting the lackeys. I saw nothing
but cannons, falconets and blunderbusses. The moats
are deep, the walls thick, the drawbridge provided with
harrows. Lions must yield place to foxes. We shall be
very wretched if we don't find a means of getting inside
of the fortress."
"Is it not the same here as it was at Ravennest?" asked
Carquefou, who pitched into a conversation whenever the
mood was on him. "Don't you know of some accommo-
dating underground path by which we could comfortably
glide into the cellars of Drachenfeld? I should have an
exceeding pleasure in surprising Lord Mattheus in bed
again."
"Alas, no," answered Magnus, shaking his gray head.
"There's neither a hole in the wall, a tunnel under the
towers, nor a cave in the rocks. But since I got in there
once, we'll all manage to do so."
While the dragoons consulted under the walls of the
A HALT IN THE SHADOW OF A WALL 177
stronghold, the Franciscan monk and Madame de Lif-
fenbach, each in turn, left the two cousins no respite.
Prayers and admonitions followed each other. Despite
tluir patience and their good courage, their strength be-
gan to fail. They suffered fits of fever and hours of de-
pression in which they tied from each other's presence.
The thought that Armand-Louis and Rcnaud had for-
gotten them sometimes assailed their brain. They suf-
fered horrible tortures. They repelled this thought, but
it returned ever like those light and tenacious enemies
who harass a good knight. Again, they might be dead.
Tears followed to ease their anguish-torn hearts.
The prisoners of John of Wcrth and Count Pappen-
heim were meanwhile well remembered. These gentle
swains sent them flowers and gilded fruits in silver
baskets. With them the fair women should have riches,
honors, pleasures, rank, consideration — in a word, all
worldly goods that could be desired. If, on the con-
trary, the young ladies continued to repel them, solitude
should be their dole until their bright youth should be ex-
tinguished by the icy austerities of the cloister. They
must, therefore, have no illusions. To be sure, it was no
longer a question of marrying them by surprise and
against their will. The intervention of the Papal Legate
had delivered them from this peril. But the Duke of
Friedland having spoken after the legate, time was al-
lowed to them to reflect. It was a kind of novitiate.
They should not leave the castle, where a few pleasures
were arranged for them, except to be buried in a convent.
Inflexible as they were, they were their own executioners
and could blame none but themselves for the lot which
was reserved for them.
These discourses were served under all forms. The
Franciscan monk gave them commentaries in a horrid
voice. Madame de Liffenbach spoke with an air of au-
thority. It was hoped that the two cousins would be-
come wearied ; that fatigue and disenchantment should
had them to a capitulation that would accomplish all the
prayers of Madame d'Igomer. The tatter's patient wait-
ing was recompensed by the enduring pleasure of the
moral suffering she was inflicting on the two captives.
178 A HALT IN THE SHADOW OF A WALL
The suspense, anxiety, the torment of knowing naught
and fearing all, the daily persecution, the incertitude in-
creasing day by day, the silence which gives access to
chimeras, homesickness, imprisonment in a castle where
everything speaks of what is hateful to one, monotonous
days of threatening, pleasures offered by hated hands and
to which they had to resign themselves in the midst of
inimical faces, the imagination a prey to every wild dream
and half maddened by the sweet daily exhortations, which
produced on the irritated minds of the prisoners the cruel,
intolerable sensation of a drop of water ceaselessly falling
on the aching forehead of a sick person — all this was
equal to the corporal barbarities which Mattheus had in-
flicted on Armand-Louis and Renaud.
The delicate, nervous woman proved herself the peer of
the brutal and ferocious men. He aimed at the flesh ; she
at the heart.
"If Mademoiselle de Pardaillan and Mademoiselle de
Souvigny should die now," Madame d'Igomer said, "it
will not be my fault. I have not laid a hand on them nor
have I allowed anyone else to do so."
The very day on which the squadron of Armand-Louis
lay in bivouac under the cannons of the castle, Madame
d'Igomer entered the apartment of the two cousins.
"Good news," she said gaily, "John of Werth is soon
going to pay us a visit. He cannot live any longer with-
out you, dear Adrienne. When Count Pappenheim
learns that the Bavarian is here, I am sure that he will
desert to fling himself at the feet of his beloved Diana.
Make yourselves beautiful to receive them."
Adrienne and Diana at once made a resolve to wear
only their simplest clothes. But when they awoke in the
morning all their linen and woollens had disappeared.
In their stead they had but to choose between silks, laces
and velvets scattered in profusion about the room.
"Ah, my pretty coquettes," said Madame d'Igomer,
clapping her hands when she saw them in their gorgeous
attire, "you have not lost a minute !"
Touched by this example of feminine zeal, Madame
d'Igomer confided to them that she proposed to celebrate
A HALT IN THE SHADOW OF A WALL 179
the arrival of John of Worth by magnificent entertain-
ments.
"You will be the Queen of the Fetes,'* she said to Ad-
rienne. Then turning toward Diana, she added sooth-
ingly : "Be not jealous, my dear Diana, your turn will
eome later."
180 WHAT WOMAN WILLS
CHAPTER XXII.
WHAT WOMAN WILLS.
A kind of intimacy had sprung up between the castle
governed by Mattheus and the wood in which the dra-
goons were encamped. Magnus profited of this to fre-
quent the walls of Drachenfeld, whose every nook and
cranny was soon familiar to him. He changed his guise
more easMy and quickly than a chameleon. Now a char-
coal-burner, now a porter, he avoided all suspicion. On
one occasion he yielded to the request of Armand-Louis
and crossed the portcullis of the castle in company with
his master disguised as a pilgrim.
At the stroke of one they saw a door at the end of a
gallery open, whence appeared a little band which moved
toward the chapel. It was raining that day and Madame
d'Igomer felt a need of prayer. Behind the stiff and
pompous Madame de Liffenbach came the two young
ladies, wearing long veils of lace, embroidered with gold,
which hid the elegance of their robes. But what a pale-
ness marked their brows ! They looked as two statues
torn from the marble of a tomb. Picture Armand-Louis
as he recognized x\drienne and Diana !
A cry almost broke from his lips. Magnus, who was
kneeling at his side, seized his arm.
"Not a word, a stir," murmured the veteran, "or you
will lose all."
Armand-Louis restrained himself, though he shook
like a tree in a storm.
"Stretch out your hand," whispered Magnus, "are you
not a pilgrim and should you not ask alms."
The band passed close to them. The skirt of Adrienne
swept the pilgrim's gown. Unable to master his emo-
tions, Armand-Louis bore the rich waving stuff to his
lips. Adrienne slackened her steps and letting fall a piece
WHAT WOMAN WILLS 1S1
of money into the hands of the unknown beggar, she
said :
"Pray for me I"
The voice was so sad that the eyes of the Huguenot
filled with tears.
"Bend low," murmured the ever-watchful Magnus,
"here comes Lord Mattheus."
The knees of Arniand-Louis remained nailed, as it
were, to the floor, but when he stood up the flames of an-
ger and daring flooded his countenance.
"I leave my heart in this place or I save her," he swore.
On the fourth morning after the arrival of the dragoons
the trumpets sounded anew in the wood. A squadron of
Croatians was passing. These troops had marched over
the whole of Austria to gain the theatre of war. They
halted to repose after the fatigues of their long travel.
Some of the Huguenot gentlemen paid them a visit.
"Gentlemen, let us rejoice," said M. de Collonges, when
he returned that evening, enchanted with his excursion.
"We shall play a little before fighting. Everything went
so well during our visit that we have had the good fortune
to arrange four or five duels for to-morow. This is the
sowing of the seed."
"We'll reap the harvest," cried M. d'Aigrefeuille de-
lightedly.
The promised duels took place at the rising k of the sun
in a glade at an equal distance from either camp. Two
of the Croatians were killed and a third grievously
wounded. M. de Yoltras sustained a scratch on the
arm.
By careful management the Croatian squadron might
last fifteen days.
"Then we'll have to fast," said M. de Saint- Paer.
While the dragoons were beguiling their tedious so-
journ in the wood, Magnus had discovered a young and
pretty gypsy who came and went unmolested in the cas-
tle. She belonged to a tribe whose tents jutted from the
foot of a hill not far from Drachenfeld. She seemed to
about sixteen years old. She was mel at all hours on
the postern path with her tambourine. It was rare that
182 WHAT WOMAN WILLS
some of the officers did not watch her as she issued from
the gate.
Magnus persuaded a few women and lackeys into con-
versation. He learned that the gypsy frequently saw Ad-
rienne and Diana, who seemed to feel a friendship for her.
She danced and told them tales. One of the governor's
lieutenants, Patricio Bempo, found her very much to his
taste.
"Perhaps the road to the castle lies there," Magnus
thought, scratching his ear. "If we get the gypsy, we
will have Patricio Bempo, and if we get Patricio, we will
have Drachenfeld."
In his turn by apparent accident he haunted the little
savage, who smiled and showed her flawless white teeth
whenever Patricio Bempo spoke to her. What surprised
Magnus was that when the gypsy fixed her coal-black
eyes upon himself, there was a significant something in
her look which he could not understand. He fancied he
had seen this face somewhere before now. But despite
his efforts he could not remember where.
"I have seen so many faces, young and old, glad and
sorrowful, pretty and ugly — a whole ocean of them," he
said to himself.
One evening he found her alone on the edge of the
forest, running like a fawn. He accosted her resolutely.
She stopped suddenly.
"Will it please you, my child," he said, "to render a
service to a gentleman who will be happy to pass a neck-
lace of a hundred gold ducats about your pretty throat?
Gold like this ring, which will fit your finger so well."
The gypsy did not even look at the ring which Magnus
had just drawn from his pocket.
"In your turn," she replied, "will it please you to lead
me to this gentleman ? When I shall have seen him, per-
haps I will be more disposed to perform whatever he may
need of me."
Magnus hesitated.
"The Spanish camp is not far away," she added smil-
ing. "Go thither, I follow you."
But she rather preceded than followed him. Magnus
kept close to her, and studied her from the corner of his
WHAT WOMAN WILLS 183
eye. In the depths of his memory he recalled a face much
resembling hers, as one sees, but does not grasp the traits
of a countenance reflected in the water of a fountain. The
gypsy hastened onward. She bounded like a deer through
the forest. After a quarter of an hour, without having
looked back once, she reached the camp, and standing
upon a hillock, she cast an inquiring gaze over it.
"Why do you seek a cavalier you do not know?" Mag-
nus asked her.
"Who has said I do not know him? Besides, you for-
get that I belong to a race that possesses the gift of sec-
ond sight.*'
A group of dragoons stood at the edge of the camp.
The gj psy went rapidly thither and approached a cavalier
who was seated on the trunk of a fallen birch.
"Count of La Guerche," she asked quietly, "what can I
do for you?''
Armand-Louis trembled. Magnus seized the gypsy by
the arm.
"Thou knowest things," he murmured, "that it is not
well to know."
"If you no longer remember Yerta," she continued,
keeping her gaze upon Armand-Louis, and not seeking to
free herself from the veteran's grasp, "Yerta has forgotten
nothing."
"Yerta! 'Tis thou, little Yerta!" cried Armand-Louis.
"Myself! If you have passed close to me without rec-
ognizing me, my eyes and heart at once divined who you
wire."
"Then this is why I always saw this dark glance in
spirit." said Magnus, releasing her, "but if you knew us
so well why did you not discover yourself?"
"The Count of La Guerche wore a dress that did not
belong to him. His disguise and yours might deceive all
ccept those of a gypsy. I thought that you did not
wish to be known, and I acted as though I did not see
-."
"A child with the heart of a man !" murmured Magnus.
"I have the hear! of a woman who dors not forget. If
you have need of Yerta now-. Yerta is yours."
She crossed her arms on her bosom and waited.
184 WHAT WOMAN WILLS
"Well, Yerta," cried Armand-Louis, "thou canst pay a
hundred fold in one day what I did for you."
"Command; I obey."
"Thou enterest and leavest Drachenfeld Castle freely?"
"As freely as a bird flies in the forest."
"Thou must have seen two young ladies within there —
iwo prisoners."
"I have seen them. One laughs sometimes, the other
prays. Both are beautiful as morning."
"Yerta, thou must help me save them."
"The tongue speaks of two young lad ; es ; but the heart
thinks only of one. She is fair, with eyes bluer and
sweeter than heaven, sadder than night. She prays much
and her name is Adrienne."
"What ! Thou knowest "
"In your tent on the battlefield of Leipzig there hung
a medallion between two swords. When I saw a woman
at Drachenfeld, whose features resembled those painted
on the medallion, I felt that some day you would come
and that is why I waited."
"Good, Yerta !"
"She for whom you have risked a thousand deaths is
not ungrateful. Had I not known it, I would have
guessed it from her sadness. Alas, they whose hearts are
captured are not gay."
A sigh swelled Yerta's bosom ; then she glanced
toward the wood, saying :
"Now that you are here, let me know what I must do
and I will do it."
"Couldst thou not, if only for an hour, lead us into the
castle?" asked Magnus. "Couldst thou manage to have
the postern left open some evening? I think it is not
always closed."
"Yes," answered Yerta, blushing, "sometimes a man
comes out of there in the steps of a Tzigane, whose
thoughts are elsewhere. He is in love, therefore he is
blind. If I wish it, the postern will be left open."
"Then Adrienne is saved," cried Armand-Louis.
A shadow darkened Yerta's visage.
WHAT WOMAN WILLS 18s
"There's a man I will deceive," continued the gypsy
with an effort.
"Patricio Bempo?" suggested Magnus.
"Yes, Patricio Bempo. If blood must flow, you will
save his life?"
"I swear it to thee," replied Armand-Louis.
"Take back this jewel," said Yerta, taking off the ring
Magnus had slipped on her finger. "Between us there
must be neither gold nor silver. I will see Patricio
Bempo this evening."
"A word," cried Armand-Louis, retaining her as she
withdrew. "If through thee I am to save Adrienne, and
my life shall not be long enough to bless you for it, try
to see her. Tell her that friends are near, and that she
is to be ready to follow us when the hour of deliverance
strikes."
Yerta seemed to reflect for a moment. She was no
longer the girl Armand-Louis had seen, her face stained
with blood, and pale and haggard as death. She was a
woman now in all the glory of a wildflower beauty, proud
and sad, a brow of rare intelligence, a glance of fire.
"Three days from now," she continued at length, "at
the first hour of evening, be before the postern of the
castle, behind the thick curtain of oak trees that stands
there. I will have the key and a light burning in the
highest window of the tower you see yonder toward the
setting sun, will tell you that she whom you love sleeps
not, but waits."
Yerta then dove in the wood, while the glances of Ar-
mand-Louis followed her steps. Soon the slight silhouette
of the gypsy maiden disappeared, and they could not
longer hear the sound of her tread on dead leaves. Two
tears were silently coursing down her cheeks.
"Does this fair prisoner know how happy she is?" she
I as though the words « -'aped her lips unwittingly.
Then lowering her head she hastened along the path
which led to the castle.
A moment later she was to be seen in a gallery where
Madame d'Igomcr loved to assemble the people of the
neighborhood, to whom her hospitable heart offered en-
• - linment. Yerta sounded her tambourine and halt :d
i86 WHAT WOMAN WILLS
before each group. But her eye, quick as a bird's, was
seeking a certain face. Finally a door was opened and
Adrienne appeared.
"Last always, and last to be best admired," said the
baroness, advancing towards Adrienne.
But Yerta was before her, and placing her finger on the
arm of the young woman, she said :
"The morning follows night. The nightingale sings
after the storm. In your features I read that before a
year shall have passed you will be wedded to a young and
mighty lord, whom you love "
"And who will soon be here, is it not so?" suggested
Madame d'Igomer, who was thinking of John of Werth.
"Yes, he will be here soon. As you I know it, as you I
see him."
Adrienne quickly withdrew her arm.
"Do you not wish me to tell you his name?" asked
Yerta.
"Since fate protects you, let fate speak, my darling,"
said the baroness, who moved away after casting a sig-
nificent glance upon the Tzigane.
Yerta had seized Adrienne's arm again.
"Armand-Louis !" she whispered.
Adrienne trembled from head to foot.
"They are watching us," continued the gypsy coolly,
pretending to examine the lines in Adrienne's hand. "Do
not tremble. Try to smile. I have seen him. He is near.
He will deliver you. Be ready at the first signal. Leave
your lamp lighted, and if at night you hear me sing, let
your door remain open. Somebody will not be far away.
For the present make Madame d'Igomer believe that you
are resigned. You can well suffer a little for him who
loves you so much."
Yerta let fall Adrienne's hand, and brushing her thumb
against the sonorous skin of her tambourine, she softly
sang:
"I love," says the silvery moon,
Bathing in cloudy fleece.
"I love," say the jaded flowers,
Dragged
By the careless brook.
WHAT WOMAN WILLS 187
The tambourine snorted while she shook its copper
rings, and Ycrta continued, as she threw a furtive glance
on Fatricio Bempo, who devoured her with his eyes :
"I love," said the wave to the moon,
Under the dune
On which mounts its mighty surge.
"I love," says the bird who clucks
Under the moss
Amid the yellow corn.
"Well?" asked Madame d'lgomer, as she dropped a
gold coin into Yerta's hand.
"Well," replied Adrienne, "one must resign oneself to
one's lot."
Madame d'lgomer kissed her brow.
Yerta had just disappeared ; but she had not left the
gallery alone. Patricio Bempo followed her. lie saw her
stop at the edge of a ditch and fling into it the piece of
gold which the baroness had given her. As the glittering
coin sank into the greenish water she rubbed her hands
together in a convulsive movement of anger and disgust.
"Ah, the words I have just heard, the words your song
repeats ever, will you always say them alone?" cried Pa-
tricio Bempo.
"And why should I say them," asked Yerta, looking at
him fixedly, "to him who does nothing to merit them ?"
"What have you demanded of me which permits you
to speak thus? Have I not offered to do everything?"
"Yes; everything I did not wish to accept."
She moved away from the ramparts. Patricio walked
beside her, ravished with her beauty.
"Command me, then," he cried.
"Words, mere words," interrupted Yerta. "Others have
offered me gold, jewels, robes to make duchesses envious,
in fine, all that the sword >>f a soldier can conquer. None
has said to me, 'Here is my heart, my life. I,< t all perish,
I am yovUTS.' "
"Do •' U not know that I am all yours? That I "
' her little finger over Patricio's mouth, and
fixing her soft-flamrd eyes upon him, added:
1 88 WHAT WOMAN WILLS
"No more promises ! If I ask you two things, I wager
you will refuse them to me."
"I ? Speak," said the lieutenant of Mattheus, whose lips
clung to that dainty hand.
"Two things. Only two. The key of the little door
which pierces the foot of the ramparts "
"Of the door whose charge is mine?"
"Moreover, the countersign, which permits entrance
though ten sentinels, with musket in hand, were posted
along the wall."
"The countersign also? But you ask me my life with
it, my honor of a soldier !"
"Do you fear to trust me with them?" Yerta asked half
closing her dark eyes.
"Everything is yours, Yerta, except this."
"What did I tell you? Let's speak no more of it. You
are like the others. A sorry love that which can give
nothing. Farewell, Patricio!"
Yerta took a few steps toward the forest. Patricio fol-
lowed her still, but she took no notice of him.
"But why do you want this key and the countersign?"
he asked.
"Why?" asked Yerta, slackening her pace. "I was
dreaming. I fancied that with this key one might enter
Drachenfeld, without being seen, at nightfall. The door
open, with the countersign, one might pass unknown and
unquestioned before the sentinels. In the morning one
might escape as a bird from its nest, and my tribesfolk
would not know that the gypsy maiden had deserted her
tent."
"Yerta, is it true ? You promise me?"
"I promise nothing. But like the swallow I come and
go. A chance may lead me to the foot of the walls, a
chance may cause me to seek the door. But why open it,
when behind this impenetrable iron and wood there is
hidden a captain prudent as a hare and suspicious as an
eel? Ah, Patricio Bempo, you are like a fire that from
afar blazes brilliantly. One runs toward it, and reaches it
to find only ashes."
WHAT WOMAN WILLS 189
"Yerta," cried the conquered Patricio, "here's the
key!"
"The key ; 'tis well. But the countersign ?"'
Patricio heaved a great and violent sigh. Falling at the
Tzigane's feet and hiding his head between her hands, he
murmured :
"Dux et imperator!"
i 9 o THE POSTERN OF DRACHENFElvD
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE POSTERN OF DRACHENFELD.
On the morrow at evening's first sign, Armand-Louis,
who in the depths of the forest never let his eyes wander
from Drachenfeld, noticed a light as of a star, shining at
the top of a stunted tower in which dwelt Adrienne.
"Look !" he said to Magnus.
"The gypsy maiden has lost no time," replied Magnus.
They notified Renaud of their discovery, and the
dragoons were informed that they might have to strike
camp during the night.
"So much the better," said M. de Collonges. "I am
weary of killing Croatians."
Shortly afterward, a band of Huguenots, at whose head
were Armand-Louis, Renaud, Magnus, Carquefou and
Rudiger, stole up to the edge of the wood. A little
distance behind them a few of the dragoons held horses
ready saddled and bridled. M. d'Aigrefeuille was in
charge of the latter company. He had received orders to
advance at the first noise or cry that should be raised.
The rest of the troop lay flat in the undergrowth, be-
hind the hedge, so that they could see everything that
passed without being seen themselves. Somewhat for-
ward and protected by a knoll lay Armand-Louis and
Renaud with their three servitors. The night was clear
and calm.
Armand-Louis and Renaud had been at their post
scarcely a quarter of an hour, when their ears caught
the sound of light footsteps. A woman was passing
THE POSTERN OF DRACHENFELD l9 i
within a few yards of them. She wore a long cloak and
was hurrying toward the castle.
"Yerta!" Magnus whispered to Armand-Louis.
The gypsy maiden vanished in the black shadow of the
castle walls. Behind her followed Magnus and Carquefou.
gliding like serpents toward the bank of the wood. Ru-
diger kept watch not far distant.
Lying quite near and holding breath, Armand-Louis
and Renaud scanned the postern, which looked like a
great round black spot on the base of the wall.
Here Yerta paused for a second, slipped the key into
the hole and opened the little door.
Perhaps she was not going to close it when a sentinel
advanced upon her.
"Dux !" she cried huskily.
"Et imperator!" replied the sentry.
Yerta pushed the door back on its iron hinges and en-
tered into the vault.
Patricio Bempo had heard all, the furtive step of Yerta,
the muffled groan of the door on its hinges, and the chal-
lenge and countersign.
"She! It is she!" he said.
Yerta was soon at the head of the spiral staircase which
led to the apartment of Patricio. He leaped across the
threshold, darted through the room and opened the win-
dow on the balcony.
Patricio was following her with outstretched arms. The
Tzigane was horribly pale. Her glittering eyes scanned
the sombre and silent forest, the glades, the moats, where
vague forms were barely distinguishable. They looked
like the fallen trunks of trees. In the stunted tower a
lamp-flame trembled. She leaned over the balustrade.
From the foot of the wall arose the sound of a piece of
nutal against a pebble.
"What is that?" asked Patricio.
"The gold bracelet I had on my arm has fallen," an-
swered Yerta.
Patricio took her in his arms and tried to lead her
within the room.
"No," murmured Yerta, holding him tenderly. "The
air is good here."
192 THE POSTERN OF DRACHENFELD
Then she laid her head on Patricio's shoulder, and in
a trembling voice began to sing :
"I love," says the black nightfly
To the breath
Which weeps in the reeds,
"I love," says the wave superb
To the bit of grass
That quivers in the depths of the waters.
The soft night breeze bore the sound of her voice
through the air; the light still trembled behind the nar-
row window of the tower, and Yerta, whom Patricio
gazed upon enraptured, continued her song:
"I love," says the wind that passes
Through space
Where glows the great sun.
"I love," says the autumn flower
Which shivers
At the kisses of the purple eve.
A shadow passed before the window where the solitary
lamp shone, and the gravel crunched furtively at the foot
of the wall.
"Some one walks below," whispered Patricio, leaning
over the balcony.
"You hear the tread of a stag in the wood, and you no
longer see Yerta who is at your side," murmured the
gypsy.
Patricio felt the fire of a kiss upon his cheek, and
trembling he seized her in his arms.
"Ah," she whispered, "it will no longer be said that I
do not love."
Her cheeks were instantly flooded with tears.
Magnus meanwhile had slowly and noiselessly as a
lizard approached the postern. He had picked up the
key which Yerta had dropped from above, and slid into
the hole. This done, Armand-Louis wished to pass in the
first.
"No," said Magnus. "Let me go first. There may be a
poignard behind this door, and the blow that strikes you
will strike Mademoiselle de Souvigny as well."
THE TOSTERN OF DRACHENFELD 193
"Dux!" cried a sentinel who suddenly appeared at the
loophole.
"Et imperator!" replied Armand-Louis.
The sentry shouldered his musket, and they entered.
A sentry was pacing up and down in the sombre hall,
which was poorly lighted by a lamp hung from the roof.
This one challenged them with the same word ; the same
reply was returned to him.
He had counted four men ; at the fifth he frowned.
"Does the governor of the castle know you are here?"
he asked.
The Pole nodded in assent and allowed his companions
to enter.
The postern remained open.
"Comrade," said the sentinel as Magnus and his three
companions passed into the vault, "do you not close the
door?"
"Others are coming," replied Rudiger, who had quiet-
ly seated himself on a stone bench.
"More? Then if more come they must give the counter-
sign. The door must not remain open."
"Then close it yourself."
The sentry approached and shoved it close ; but the in-
stant that he turned his back on Rudiger, the Pole leaped
like a jaguar and planted his dirk between the shoulders
of the sentinel. The latter's arms opened wide and he
fell in a heap to the earth.
"One at least," muttered Rudiger, as he calmly wiped
the blood-stained blade on the dead man's cloak.
Then he reseated himself on the bench after having
opened the postern door.
Magnus, who was acquainted with the lay of the castle,
swept through a long gallery which connected the two
wings of the building. Thus he quickly led Armand-
Louis and Renaud to the tower inhabited by Adrienne
and Diana. Standing arm in arm, pale and trembling,
they were awaiting their saviors.
At sight of the two gentlemen they sprang toward the
passage which united the tower to the other buildings.
Madame de Liffenbach appeared at the door.
i 9 4 THE POSTERN OF PRACHENFELD
She was about to scream, when Renaud, pointing a
pistol at her head, muttered :
"Madame, a single word, and you die !"
Madame de Liffenbach grew pallid, attempted to ad-
vance a step and fell in a swoon.
"She may recover and cry the alarm before we get out
of this cursed castle," murmured Carquefou, casting lynx
glances from side to side.
" Tis possible," said Magnus.
Then wrapping the duenna in the folds of a great cloak,
he laid her in a closet, taking care to shut the door upon
her.
Adrienne and Diana were in the arms of Armand-
Louis and Renaud.
"No words, but wings," warned Magnus.
As they reached the door of the gallery the silhouette
of a man, who walked with the supple tread of a cat, sud-
denly appeared at the farther end of this long apartment.
"Have a care, 'tis Mattheus Orlscopp !" Magnus mur-
mured in the ear of Armand-Louis.
Though these words had been so swiftly and quickly
said the little band had caught them.
With a lightning glance Magnus surveyed the gallery.
Then he assisted the two young ladies behind a heavy
curtain, whose folds concealed a bay window. Armand-
Louis and Renaud stood beside them, pistols in hand.
Magnus exchanged a glance with Carquefou, and these
trusty fellows hid behind enormous pillars, which were
covered with panoplies of arms.
All this was done with the rapidity and silence of the
wind that blows. They had disappeared as so many
phantoms. When Mattheus entered into the gallery all
was mute under its lofty ceiling. An uncertain ray of
the moon, broken by the panes of glass in the window,
cast a confused light across this immense hall.
For an instant Mattheus paused on the threshold as
though warned by some indefinable fear of the presence
of an unseen danger. Then neither hearing nor seeing
anything to cause him alarm he proceeded.
The rounds he made this evening were not his daily
habit, though he was ever on the alert. But a certain
THE POSTERN OF DRACHENFELD 195
something, which it would have been very difficult for
him to explain, a kind of suspicion, a vague and unthink-
ing anxiety, had dragged him from his bed to run
through the castle halls. The governor's inspection was
awaited night and morning, and while waiting the sol-
diers watched.
His eyes questioned the stiff folds of arras and curtain,
the window niches and corners lost in the night as his
footfall fell lightly on the floor. When he reached the
middle of the gallery the moon was veiled and a deeper
shadow flooded the place. Mattheus still advanced.
He had made most of his way when he fancied he saw
the bottom of a curtain move as though in a sigh of the
night wind.
His hand sought the hilt of his dirk, but while all his
attention was concentrated upon the suspect tapestry,
Magnus and Carquefou suddenly leaped upon him and
flung him to the floor before he could even unsheath.
"Help!" cried the governor in stifled tones.
But his voice was lost as a breath. A moment he lay,
bound and gagged securely despite all his struggles, a
rope about his neck, which Carciuefou held. Mattheus
Orlscopp. the terrible, was now no more than a lifeless
lump, like a soldier's cadaver ready for burial.
Armand-Louis and Renaud stood before him. but he
did not recognize them. Only the presence of Adrienne
and Diana made him suspect the traits of these faces he
could but indistinctly trace in the darkness.
"I told thee," said Renaud finally, "that I would hang
thee ; and thou well knowest I keep my promises."
Mattheus shivered. The veins of his throat swelled.
From corpse-like pallor his face grew purple red. His
whole body shook convulsively and his muscles strug-
gled in a supreme effort. His eyes, into which the blood
had spurted, closed and he remained motionless as death.
Renaud made a sign and Carquefou slung Mattheus
across his shoulder. They pnssrd through the gallery,
reached the hall and proceeded silently through the pos-
tern. Rudigt*, who was waiting for them, had seen or
heard nothing
"All's well!' he said to Maenus.
196 THE POSTERN OF DRACHENFELD
The moon lay hid behind great clouds. It was almost
impossible for them to discern the black curtain of the
forest, which lay drowned in the blackness of the night.
Suddenly a cry arose from the watch-tower hooked in
the angle of the wall as an eyrie of an eagle on the side
of a rock.
"Dux et imperator!" shouted Armand-Louis in an-
swer to the challenge of the sentry.
Mattheus opened his eyes and closed them in the same
instant.
A moment later the moat and escarpment had been
cleared by this strange company.
REQUIESCAT IN PACE 197
CHAPTER XXIV.
REQUIESCAT IN PACE.
A few paces from the forest there was an old dead
tree, which stretched its stout branches over a precipice
at the border of a glade. Carquefou laid Mattheus on
the ground and passed the end of the rope which he held
over a branch of this tree. Magnus took part of the gag
from the prisoner's mouth, who could now articulate a
few sounds, but could not cry out. Then he placed be-
tween his pinioned hands a small wooden cross.
"Recommend thy soul to God," said Magnus. "Thine
hour is come !"
"Damn ye !*' mumbled Mattheus, throwing the cross
from him, "John of Werth is not far away."
Carquefou pulled the rope and looked at Renaud.
The prisoner's body was half raised from the ground.
"< >h. this is horrible! Not here, not before me!"
cried Diana, clinging to the arm of Renaud.
"No, no," added Adrienne. "Have mercy on him.
Should we think of punishment, in this hour when Provi-
dence restores our liberty to us?"
Renaud was about to answer.
"Adrienne is right," interrupted Diana, "he is a cap-
tive. He can do nothing against us. Have mercy on
him."
The body of Mattheus was let fall again to earth by
Carquefou.
"Vet this was a beautiful chance and a beautiful tree,"
grumbled Carquefou, as he knotted the rope solidly
about the trunk of the dried tree.
Then lie followed Magnus, who was running to the
spot where M. d'Aigrefeuille was waiting with his
dragoons.
Armand-Louis, Renaud, Adrienne and Diana had
just disappeared in the depths of the forest.
L98 REQUIESCAT IN PACE
Rudiger walked in their rear ; a kind of pity had seized
him as he gazed at the man who had been his master
and whose face was pale with the awe of death.
He looked behind him once more and saw the gover-
nor writhing on the ground. Carquefou had not
loosened entirely the rope about his neck ; besides, a jerky
movement might pitch him into the gorge which lay
within ten feet of him.
Death lurked everywhere for Mattheus. Rudiger re-
traced his steps.
"Now I'm becoming tender," he told himself. "How
stupid it is !"
Mattheus, hearing his steps, raised his head with an ef-
fort and looked at him.
"I'm suffocating," he groaned in a voice hardly hu-
man.
Rudiger knelt down and loosened the knot of the rope.
"If you have anything else to ask of me, make haste,"
he said.
"Don't leave me in this position," replied Mattheus.
"The slant of the ground impels me toward the gorge.
My head is low and the blood stops my breath."
He gasped even as he spoke.
Rudiger knelt down again, and taking Mattheus in his
arms, he raised him to change his position. A devilish
joy gleamed in the eyes of the prisoner. Seizing Rudi-
ger's pistol, which, hanging in its belt, came even with
his grasp, he pressed the barrel to the Pole's breast and
fired.
Rudiger sprang back like a tiger struck with the ball
of a hunter. He staggered a few steps and fell.
"Dead !" cried Magnus.
A musket shot from the castle answered this report.
"Ah, all's not lost !" murmured the governor, as he
glared at Rudiger, stretched on the earth.
But the Pole, whom he thought dead, rose slowly
on his hands and crawled toward him. Mattheus felt a
cold sweat moisten the roots of his hair. Keeping one
hand on his wound, whence the blood flowed in a torrent,
Rudiger crept on and on ; each effort brought him nearer
to Mattheus. A grim, unconquerable determination
REQUIESCAT IN PACE 199
shone in his eyes. Soon he could touch the feet of Mat-
theus with his finger-tips and clung to them.
"1*11 not die alone!" he groaned. "Wretch, 'tis thou
who killed me, even as I was helping thee. Then, rat,
I'll do for you what Rcnaud de Chaufontaine was too no-
ble to do."'
Then, stiffening his bloody hands he braced his chest
against the feet of Mattheus and pushed him toward the
abyss. Mattheus strove to repulse him, but his bonds
prevented him, the blood froze in his veins and his most
violent efforts were hurtling. He felt his body gradually
slipping along the grass.
"Mercy, mercy," he groaned.
"Thou'lt have mercy and from me! Thou'rt joking,
Mattheus. Wretch, thou'rt going to die and to die
hanged."
With this Rudiger made an extra effort and Mattheus
went nearer death. He dug up the tufts of grass by
which he sought to save himself. Only a small stretch
of verdure separated him now from the abyss. Suddenly
Rudiger stopped ; his exhausted arms scarcely bore him ;
he fell face downward to the earth.
"Ah, thou couldst not, robber," roared Mattheus.
Rudiger dragged himself slowly along and again laid
his hands on the body of the governor.
"Listen," said Mattheus, his teeth chattering. "Die in
peace. Release me and I'll have a thousand masses said
for the repose of thy soul."
But the feeble hands of the dying Pole frantically
shoved the governor on to the slope. A trail of blood
marked his course.
"Thou'lt have a thousand gold ducats, ten thousand ;
all I've got, if thou'lt but spare me, hangman !"
The last words died in the throat of Mattheus. Rudi-
ger, feeling the chill of death in his bones, shoved him
onward with shoulder and arm, digging his feet in the soil
to sustain his pressure. The abyss yawned slowly, but
fatally, beneath the haggard eyes of the captive; he
gasped an oath from his foaming mouth. Then a last
shove of the Poll's should r sent him over, the rope
200 REQUIESCAT IN PACE
straightened out with a crack and the corpse of Mattheus
hung above the gorge.
Rudiger leaned his head over the side of the precipice,
while his life-blood ebbed away swiftly. He raised him-
self on his elbow by a supreme effort.
"He'll take thee, villain !" he groaned.
A veil sprang up before his eyes, a chill shook his
whole body and his elbow fell from under him.
"Ah, mercy, good God, mercy!" he cried.
His head dropped heavily on the grass and he moved
no more.
Meanwhile the double firing which had just broken the
silence of the night had aroused Patricio Bempo. He
sprang for his sword and leaped from the room, where
Yerta listened with bended head like a wild-cat. The
Italian crossed the gallery to attain the ramparts. He
stopped at the sound of a stifled groan which proceeded
from the depths of a room he was passing. He kicked
the door in and a disheveled phantom, dragging a cloak,
appeared before him.
"Down there, down there, they took them," said Mad-
ame de Liffenbach in a hoarse voice, as she pointed with
her withered hand to an open door at the end of the gal-
lery.
Patricio ran toward it. The alarm had been sounded
and everywhere heavy footsteps echoed from the walls
and ceilings of the castle. As the lieutenant was passing
through one of the lower halls, at the end of which stood
a spiral staircase, he felt a draft of fresh air strike his
cheek. A dreadful suspicion crossed his mind and he
plunged into the dark passage at the foot of this stair-
case, which led to the postern. He had advanced but
thirty steps when he slipped in a pool of blood. He
stopped and looked down and began to search. The
body of a soldier lay against the wall ; and the earth here-
abouts was freshly marked with many footprints.
To arms!" cried Patricio in terrible tones.
"To arms !" repeated the sentry in the watch-tower.
Ten trumpet calls replied and Patricio hastened back to
his room to inform Yerta of what had happened. The
hour of love had passed ; the hour of battle had struck.
REQUIESCAT IN PACE 201
"Oh, Yerta," he cried as he entered the room, "what
an awakening!"
But there was no answer. The gypsy had disappeared.
The window was wide open and from the balcony to the
ground hung a white sheet which indicated the flight of
the fugitive. The water in the moat was still trembling
under the rays of the moon and a vague shadow was flee-
ing into the forest.
In a mad rage Patricio Bempo seized a musket from
the wall, set it against his shoulder and fired. The ball
whistled through the air. The gypsy gave a great leap
and vanished in the thick of the wood.
"I'll be avenged yet," roared Patricio as he flung the
musket from him into the moat.
In the castle rumor and tumult reigned. Madame de
LifTenbach had awakened Madame dTgomer, who, half
naked, rushed to the room of the two cousins, unable to
believe that they had been taken.
"Both of them gone!" she cried, "Mademoiselle de
Pardaillan and Mademoiselle de Souvigny! Then those
two Huguenots must have got into the castle."
As she turned to leave, she met Patricio, who had just
been to the room of Mattheus. He had not found him
there and was seeking him out all through the castle.
"The governor is not in his room," Patricio said, "and
nobody has seen him."
"To horse, then!" cried Madame dTgomer, "and woe
betide ye, if ye fetch not back the two women, bound hand
and foot, as well as the wretches who have stolen them."
An instant later a troop of cavalry issued like a torrent
from the gate of Drachenfeld and made the drawbridge
tremble as they crossed it.
They saw traces of the vanishcrs in the earth moist with
the dew. Patricio followed them up to the edge of the
forest, where the great dead oak stretched its branches.
"Look," said one of his riders suddenly, taking hold of
his arm and pointing to the body of Rudiger stretched on
the edge of the gorge, over whose abysmal depths swung
the body of Mattheus Orlscopp.
Meanwhile Armand-Louis and Renaud had not lost
any time in reaching the glade where M. d'Aigrcfeuille,
202 REQUIESCAT IN PACE
with his saddled steeds, was awaiting them. They were
now advancing steadily, escorting Adrienne and Diana,
when they heard from afar the pistol shot of Mattheus
and the gunshot of the sentry to arouse the castle.
"Powder is beginning to sing now," said Magnus.
"Forward, gentlemen !"
"At last," cried M. de Collonges, "and if the balls sing,
we'll talk."
Shortly afterward a third shot was heard and almost
immediately Yerta appeared.
"Are you content with what I've done?" she asked,
laying her hand on the neck of Armand-Louis' horse.
"Is my debt paid?"
"Yerta, dear Yerta !" cried Armand-Louis, seizing the
gypsy's hands and kissing them.
A smile illuminated Yerta's dusky countenance ; but
the next instant she staggered and fell upon her knees. A
long thread of purple flowed down her dress to the
ground. Armand-Louis leaped from his horse and took
her in his arms.
"Yerta !" he cried, "you must not die, you who have
saved us all."
The gypsy pressed him close to her.
"Thank you," she murmured, shivering. "Ah, I had
not hoped to die thus."
The words came to his ear like a breath of the wind.
"Here," she whispered, laying her head against the
heart of the Huguenot, "I am happy here."
Her eyelids rose and fell ; she smiled sweetly. Her
arms, which she had clasped about his neck, unwound.
It seemed to him that the dear weight of her frail form
had grown heavier on his chest and knees. He leaned
his lips toward Yerta's cheek.
"Dead," he said in a low voice.
He laid her on the ground. All the men raised their
caps.
A rumbling noise, as of cavalry, reached their ears.
Magnus turned cautiously toward the castle and said :
"We have not a minute to lose if we would not have
all Drachenfeld's warriors on our hands."
"Shall we leave poor Yerta unburied?" asked Renaud.
REQUIESCAT IN PACK 203
"Assuredly no,"' cried Armand-Louis. "I should
deem mvself unworthy to look upon Mademoiselle de
Souvigny, if I left the body of our saviour to be out-
raged."
"Quick to work, then!" replied Magnus, as he and
Carquefou began vigorously to dig a grave. A line of the
dragoons was ranged between them and the border-side
of the forest.
The noise grew louder and the earth trembled under
the hoof-beats of the horses who were galloping between
the trees. Soon they saw the flames of torches which the
foremost riders bore to light their course. At the head of
the squadron rode Patricio Bempo and Madame
d'Igomer. A few more leaps and their horses stood be-
fore the line of Huguenots, behind which Carquefou and
Magnus were digging the grave.
Madame d'Igomer. astonished at the sight of this
armed troop, approached M. d'Aigrefeuille, whose uni-
form bore the imperial colors, and asked him whether he
had not seen two women fleeing through the forest.
"Two women?" repeated M. d'Aigrefeuille, caressing
his beard.
"Was one of them fair with eyes like the sky?" asked
M. de Saint-Paer.
"The other dark, with fiery eyes?" asked M. de Berail.
"I think that we must have met them," added M. de
Collonges.
But before he had finished speaking Madame d'Igomer
had caught sight of Adrienne and Diana on horse.
"Patricio," she cried, "there they arc. We need search
nc longer. You stopped them, gentlemen? I thank
v< >u
She spurred her horse forward, but M. d'Aigrefeuille
caught it by the bridle, saying:
"Do not trouble yourself, Madame. These young
women have been placed under our protection and, not
to displease you, however, they must remain with us."
"What?" cried Madame d'Igomer, paling. "You will
not give them bail, to me? 1 "
Renaud advance. 1. taking off his hat and not trying to
disguise his voice, he said:
204 REQU1ESCAT IN PACE
"No, madam. I will keep Mademoiselle de Pardaillan,
and my friend will keep Mademoiselle de Souvigny."
"They, always they," shrieked Thecla, in the tones of a
hyena. "And do you fancy I cannot take them from you
by force?"
"Try," suggested Armand-Louis.
Madame d'Igomer turned toward Patricio and his
band, before whom in serried ranks stood three hundred
gentlemen who looked upon fighting as a pleasure. The
men of Drachenfeld counted them at a glance and hung
back.
"Cowards!" muttered Madame d'Igomer.
"My lord, the work is done," said Magnus, coming
forward, hat in hand. "Yerta sleeps in peace."
"Then, gentlemen, we have no more to do here. For-
ward !" commanded Armand-Louis.
"What!" scf earned Madame d'Igomer, who was rid-
ing up and down like a fury. "They go off and you do
not stir, you who have swords in your hands ! What sort
of men are you, then?"
Patricio spurred his horse forward. A handful of sol-
diers followed him and they fell upon the first line of the
dragoons.
But the skirmish was very short. The Imperialists
wavered, four or five of them emptied their bows and
Patricio retreated with a broken sword.
"Yerta said I must spare thee," said Magnus, as he
wiped Baliverne on the mane of his horse. "But don't
tempt me again."
Madame d'Igomej- was now surrounded by a disordered
band of cavaliers. A good half of them was ready to flee.
All seemed lost, when a fanfare of trumpets resounded
from the other extremity of the forest and a rider, whose
silhouette appeared in the first streak of dawn, came gal-
loping at top speed under the branches of the ancient
oaks.
When he reached Madame d'Igomer, he saluted her
and said :
"John of Werth follows me."
The fanfare of trumpets kept sounding meanwhile.
"Ah, John of Werth !" cried Thecla, the blood leaping
REQUIESCAT IN PACE 205
to her cheeks for joy. "Until we meet again, gentle-
men !"
Then, without concerning herself more with Patricio
and his men, she spurred her horse in the direction
whence the trumpets sounded.
"Now the ball commences," said Magnus, touching M.
de Collonges on the shoulder. "You will sec what a
dance there'll be when Baron John of Werth leads the
violins."
This said, he tried the blade of his sword with his finger.
"My poor Shiverer," murmured Carquefou. whose re-
ligion it was to imitate Magnus, "more work for thee;
more terrors for thy master."
Carquefou tried the blade of his weapon on his saddle.
The strong voice of Armand-Louis resounded once
more, the squadron fell in line and rode from the bivouac
in good order.
M. de Collonges, who did not feel at ease, whistled a
hunting song.
so6 THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS
CHAPTER XXV.
THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS.
In truth John of Werth had just reached Drachenfeld,
He had taken advantage of a cessation of hostilities to pay
a visit to Madame d'Igomer. But in place of finding a
new opportunity to press his suit with Adrienne at the
castle, who, as he had been informed by the latest letters
of the baroness, was beginning to show a more docile dis-
position, he met with the tumult and clamor incident to
the evacuation of the fortress. As soon as the cause had
been explained he dashed into the forest with his escort
and had his buglers sound his approach. How Madame
d'Igomer became aware of his presence has been told.
She speedily joined him and together they set out on the
tracks of the three hundred dragoons in all haste.
The name of Armand-Louis was sufficient stimulus for
John of Werth. Another and such a check from this
hated rival after so many former ones made him furious.
The sun shone in full splendor when the troop of the
baron, enlarged by that which had fallen to the command
of Patricio Bempo after the tragic death of Mattheus,
came up with the squadron of Armand-Louis. The Hu-
guenots, who expected this encounter, were drawn up in
battle array at the gate of a village, whose every position
they held and whose every street they had barricaded.
At sight of the first dust clouds which betokened the
approach of the Imperialists, the dragoons leaped to sad-
dle. John of Werth, who was at the head of his troop,
rode around the village, but did not find a single spot
unguarded. In a burst of rage he gave the command to
attack the enemy.
He had about three hundred cavaliers of his own ; the
troop of Patricio numbered almost as many. Thus the
Imperialists possessed the advantage of number ; but the
THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS 207
Huguenots that of position. The chances of victory were
therefore ahout equal.
The clarions of the Huguenots retorted to those of the
Imperialists and the struggle began. John of Worth
charged on the right ; Patricio on the left. Both attacks
were fast and furious ; but such was the vigor of the
defense that the shock of the assailants went no farther
than the lines of the village.
Armand-Louis, aided by M. d'Aigrefeuillc, met John of
Worth ; Renaud and M. de Berail repelled Patricio.
Madame d'Igomer, sitting her saddle with the ease of a
reiter, had taken a place on a small hill whence she could
observe the action. Adrienne and Diana, sheltered under
the porch of a church, awaited the issue of the combat.
They were surrounded by four dragoons, lest by any
chance one or more of the enemy should surprise their
covert.
Soon a belt of smoke encircled the village, where the
men fought like demons in the blood of the fallen. Horses
neighed piteously and dropped to the ground ; the sound
of the muskets was an incessant crash ; the clash of
swords and cries of terror, rage and pain tore the air. A
kind of sullen fury was evident in the Imperialists. A
gallant intrepidity marked the fighting of the Huguenots.
The younger men sang; M. de Collonges spared neither
songs nor blows. Renaud revelled in the strife. It was
long since he had had occasion to call upon his St. Esto-
cade so valiantly.
Finally the ranks of Patricio weakened ; one broke, then
another, until an entire squadron was disarrayed. A cry
of victory arose from the throats of the Huguenots; but
John of Worth answered it with a desperate charge. Mag-
nus was tired of seeing him load the old companies in his
command back and back again to make the attack and he
determined to break his fury by a decisive blow. Taking
with him M. de St. Paer and thirty dragoons, he wont
forth from the village by a remote side street, attained the
fifld without being Been and fell like a torrent bursting its
dikes upon the flank of the Imperialists.
At this juncture when his advance was sorely put by
Armand-Louis, his flank massacred by Magnus, ami his
208 THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS
chances further diminished by the scurrying of Patricio's
cravens, John of Werth gave way.
"Raise your swords and down on them !" commanded
Armand-Louis.
The Huguenots charged mightily and the Imperialists
fell before them like a tree in the tempest. In the heart
of the bloody struggle Magnus met Patricio.
"Again !" cried the veteran.
Patricio fell upon him without parley ; Magnus parried,
then thrust — and the bloody blade of Baliverne sank into
the throat of the Italian, who fell back upon his horse.
The beast shied and Patricio dropped heavily to the
ground.
"I told thee," said Magnus, "not to lead me into temp-
tation !"
Leaping over the corpse of the lieutenant he swung
Baliverne right and left in the broken ranks of the van-
quished.
Armand-Louis and M. de Berail pursued John of
Werth with unremitting fury. M. de Berail had a better
mount and so reached the baron first. Then the latter
turned. For an instant both riders were hidden in a cloud
of dust, in which only the gleam of their swords was vis-
ible. Then a rider appeared out of the cloud. It was
John of Werth.
M. de Berail staggered and fell to earth. He was seen
to raise himself to his knees and seize again his sword.
Then he fell and lay still. His horse scurried off in terror
and John of Werth galloped away. Armand-Louis had
come up to the spot ; but the terrible captain was lost in
the crowd of fugitives.
"He still bears that sword-knot at his hilt," murmured
the Huguenot.
Renaud, who was close behind him, felt his eyes grow
dim at the sight of M. de Berail lying lifeless and livid on
the ground. He crossed the dead man's arms on his
breast, took up his sword and covered him with a cloak.
"He was my friend and brother in arms," he said ; "may
the soil of Germany lie lightly upon his brave heart."
M. de Berail was not the only dragoon who failed to
respond to the roll-call. These were decently interred;
.— * - "**"
,
-^r>
" Diana tore off I e jewel and flung il far from her. " p. 131
THE RETRKAT OF THE DRAGOONS 209
and the wounded were placed in the largest house of the
village, where a document was left, informing the Im-
perialists that a considerable number of wounded Aus-
trians and Bavarians would answer for the lot of these
Frenchmen. Magnus then hurried preparations for de-
parture. M. de Collonges was astounded at this haste.
"Sir," replied Magnus, "you do not know the man with
whom we have to deal. He will be on our trail before
to-night, like a wolf that has scented blood."
They left the village, around which lay a hundred dead
or dying men. and rode rapidly northward. But in spite
of this loss the squadron exhibited an almost joyous ar-
dor, which seemed increased by the knowledge that perils
threatened them from all sides. Some of their foes might
rise up at any moment from any point of the horizon.
The memories of classic antiquity commingled in their
minds with the heroic memories of chivalry.
"Where are the Arabs? Where are the Saracens?"
asked M. d'Aigrefeuille, who was thinking of the gloomy
Templars wandering in the mournful solitudes of Pales-
tine.
"Who will sing on our return the retreat of the three
hundred as in the past old Xenophon sang the retreat of
the ten thousand?" added M. de Saint-Paer.
And they all longed for another battle, almost before
their blades were dry of the blood shed in the first.
Although they were by this time accustomed to the
horrible perils and scenes of war, Adrienne and Diana felt
profoundly touched at the thought of the sacrifices these
brave men were making for them. They were as among
brothers with these hardy dragoons, whose ranks knew
but one heart and one will. Even those who had never
seen them before panted for a risk to incur in the young
ladies' behalf.
"We swore we would rescue you from the Philistines !"
said the old Calvinists.
"God, the king and women !" cried the younger men,
who had adopted Sweden as their country.
They rode the whole day unmolested. Towards even-
ing they noticed a great cloud rolling from the south.
"Here comes a storm," said Magnus.
210 THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS
They gained a wood as night fell. This they entered,
and proceeding in the midst of a profound silence reached
a valley wherein they set their bivouac, after having bar-
ricaded the entrance to it.
"The cursed Imperialists will not attempt to attack us
here," said Magnus, who had guided them hither.
"So much the worse," replied M. de Collanges. "We
should kill a goodly number."
After resting a few hours they set out before dawn on
their march, escorted at front and on their flank by light
platoons.
" 'Tis easy to go into a wood," thought Armand-Louis.
"To get out of it is more difficult."
Magnus, to whom no path was unknown, guided them
towards the left. At the first streak of day in the heavens
they gained the border of the forest, whence they were in
view of mounted sentries disposed on the plain.
Armand-Louis commanded his dragoons to leap from
their saddles behind an elevation, while Magnus with
Carquefou and M. de Collonges set out in three direc-
tions to inspect the environs. At sunrise they returned.
"I saw five musketeers toward the west," said Magnus.
"On the north side I counted four squadrons," said M.
de Collonges.
"Below there, where we entered, there's a million
sabres and muskets," said Carquefou. "The Shiverer is
still quaking because of them."
"Then we're surrounded," said Armand-Louis.
Without further parley Magnus flung the bridle of his
steed to Carquefou, and creeping on hands and knees he
reached the hedge which bordered the confines of the
forest. They awaited his return in silence. In half an
hour he returned and leaped into his saddle.
"Well ?" asked Armand-Louis.
"I have found a passage at the end of which are four
hundred cavaliers with a handful of infantry," answered
Magnus. "Half of them are asleep or playing cards.
These people fancy we are still on the other side of the
wood."
"Let's show them we are quite near," said Renaud.
THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS 211
"We'll ride over their stomachs before they have time to
recognize us. What think ye, gentlemen?"
The dragoons all brandished their sabres in token of
assent.
Armand-Louis placed Adrienne and Diana in the mid-
dle of a platoon, the command of which he gave to M.
d'Aigrefeuille. Then riding at the head of the squadron
he led his men quickly to the border of the forest. Here
he paused for an instant to contemplate his companions,
who chafed with impatience behind him. He raised his
sword and cried :
"Forward! Gallop!"
The troop dashed ahead precipitately. Like an ava-
lanche, a whirlwind, they rode down upon the sentries al-
most before they could fire their pistols. The squadrons
reached the body of the company with swords aloft and
cut it down. In vain did infantry and cavalry attempt to
array themselves in line of battle. Only one squadron
offered serious resistance, but it soon followed the others
in rout under the fierce blades of the Huguenots.
The way was clear and one hundred bodies lay in the
plain.
Armand-Louis looked for M. d'Aigrefeuille, who rode
up to him and said proudly :
"You confided the young ladies to my care. Behold
them here."
But ere he could take the valiant gentleman's hand, M.
d'Aigrefeuille let fall his bridle and fell at the feet of Ad-
rienne. At the beginning of the action a ball had entered
his breast ; yet he had remained steadfast to his duty till
the end. The battle won, he died.
"Yesterday M. de Berail ! To-day M. d'Aigrefeuille!
How many shall yet fall?" murmured Armand-Louis
sadly.
Then the retreat recommenced.
The living barrier through which they had just fought
their way was part of a belt of soldiers that John of Werth
had formed around the wood. After his previous defeat
the baron gave hurried orders to the various detachments
in the vicinity to join him or to follow the directions of his
212 THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS
couriers. He himself launched out in pursuit of the Hu-
guenots at the head of a small band of tried men.
As soon as he saw Armand-Louis and his companions
enter the wood he resolved to imprison them there, not
daring to risk himself in the night. Then he took his
stand at the head of the stoutest squadrons upon the road
which the Huguenots should logically take in order to
reach the Swedish cantonments. But the oblique march
of Magnus foiled his plan, and it was only two hours
after the French had left the wood that fugitives coming
up with him informed John of Werth that the dragoons
had escaped from the belt of steel within which he fancied
he had caught them.
The baron collected his men and set forth on the track
of the Huguenots, like the wolf scenting blood, to which
Magnus had likened him. None dared speak to him. He
galloped ahead of his troop, silent and pale, biting his
moustache and tiring his hand with the fierce grip in
which he held his sabre.
"Nothing stops ; nothing catches them !" he muttered
at times.
Animated with a like ardor, strengthened by the same
hate, maddened by the same thirst for vengeance,
Madame d'Igomer galloped at his side. She seemed to
be made of steel. No effort fatigued her.
The desolate villages, the smoking ruins, the numerous
squadrons they saw here and there notified the Hugue-
nots that they were nearing the fields where the armies of
Sweden and Germany floated their mutually hostile
standards.
Toward evening, Magnus, who rode ever in advance,
descried the fires of a bivouac across their path. He
spurred his horse and soon recognized the encampment
of a numerous body of Imperial cavalry, lying on either
side of the highway. They could pass here only in the
teeth of sabres and pistols.
To the right and left stretched plains and marshes
broken up with streams. None could pass here without a
guide. To wait meant to receive the attack of John of
Werth, and to be caught between two fires.
THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS 213
Magnus returned and coldly explained their situation.
A council of war assembled about Armand-Louis.
'"Gentlemen," said he, "we have just five minutes to
deliberate."
"That's four too many. Let's draw and down this
rabble !" said Renaud.
"This rabble numbers three hundred men," objected
Magnus. "Let each of you give his opinion."
"Half of us will remain on the ground, the other half
will pass ahead," cried M. de Collonges.
"We have always time to adopt the plan of M. de Chau-
fontaine," said Armand-Louis. "But we may try an-
other."
"Which?" asked M. de Saint-Paer.
"It is possible that John of Werth has not had the time
to inform these cavaliers of all that has happened since
our departure from Drachenfeld. This is even probable.
We still wear our green belts, our Imperial cockades."
"Alas for that!" sighed M. de Collonges. "Further,
we are in a territory where it is hardly to be supposed
that anv Swedes would dare to penetrate."
"That is true."
'We can present ourselves boldly to the captains of
this cavalry, pretend we are Spaniards or Italians, accord-
ing as they are Germans or Hungarians, and inquire of
them the location of the cantonments occupied by the
corps of General Pappenheim. If the ranks open, we
pass ; if the captains become too curious we unsheath."
"Well planned !" exclaimed M. d'Arrandes.
"If the opinion of M. de la Guerche is that of us all,"
said M. de Yoltras, "let us advance straight upon the Im-
perials."
"Forward, then!" said Renaud.
"Sheath, therefore, and trot ahead," said Armand-
Louis. Taking M. de Collonges aside, he added :
"You are, perhaps, the youngest of us, but none the
less resolute. At the first sign of danger you will take
ten well-mounted men and form around the young ladies
If I make a sign to you with my hand, dash onward for
their lives !"
214 THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS
"If I do not pass 'twill be because I'm dead !" an-
swered M. de Collonges.
A few hundred paces had been ridden and Armand-
Louis and Magnus took the lead.
"Who goes there?" cried a sentry.
"Jesus and Mary !" answered Armand-Louis.
At the war-cry of the Imperial army an officer ap-
proached them.
"Who are you? Whence do you come?" demanded
the cavalier, whom Armand-Louis determined by his ac-
cent must be a Walloon.
"We are part of a Spanish regiment with orders to join
General Pappenheim," replied Armand-Louis in atro-
cious German. "We are forbidden to lose an hour though
we leave half the squadron on the wayside. If you can
tell us how we can reach this general most speedily we
will be grateful to you."
Several other officers now came forward. One of them,
who was acquainted with Spanish, questioned Armand-
Louis in this tongue. Armand-Louis and Renaud, who
spoke this language fluently, replied with cleverly dissim-
ulated gratification.
While they were speaking they still rode on. The
squadron followed in close ranks. M. de Collonges re-
mained near the two young ladies, keeping a constant eye
on Armand-Louis.
"Ah, you have two women with you !" said one of the
captains.
"My wife and her sister," Armand-Louis replied un-
disturbed. "Donna Louisa-Fernanda de Coloredo y Pen-
aflor and Donna Emmanuela-Dolores de Miranda y Cas-
tejo. They are to await the termination of the war at the
court of His Highness the Elector of Bavaria."
He said this in a calm, natural voice. Adrienne and
Diana, who had listened in amazement, bowed to the
Walloon officers. The latter all saluted in return. They
were now almost at the limits of the encampment.
An idea suddenly illumined Renaud's brain.
"Dear captain/' he said lightly, addressing his neigh-
bor. "My horse is rather fagged. Had I the time to
leave him stabled for a day or two, I would not part with
THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS 215
him for anything under the sun. But. as you know, I
must hurry. Give me yours, which seems fresh and stal-
wart and you will have in exchange besides mine own ten
gold ducats."
"So be it," said the captain, "I am happy to be able to
oblige a comrade."
The deal was made, and this example followed by a
large number of the dragoons, who had fagged or foun-
dered steeds. Exchanges were proposed on the spot and
were the more readily effected by the ingenious expedient
of some pieces of gold.
Walloons and Huguenots separated a quarter of an hour
later, each equally pleased with the other. The former
believed that in two or three days they should have good
were the more readily effected by the ingenious expedient
horses. Provisionally they had a few bright ducats in
pocket. The latter, spurring their vigorous mounts into
leaps and curvets, felt quite assured that they had driven
an excellent bargain.
One or two hours later Baron John of YVerth entered
the Imperial camp. His astonishment at finding no trace
of battle, no dead or wounded in the route which Ar-
mand-Louis and his men had followed, knew no bounds.
Certainly the fugitives had necessarily met the Wal-
loons. Yet they had no wings, he thought.
Before ten minutes had elapsed he knew what had
passed.
"And you have been their dupes!" he roared. "They
Spaniards from Milan ! They soldiers for the corps of
Pappenheim ! Good God! They're Huguenots! French-
men!"
A cry of rage replied to him. Five hundred of the best
ravaliers were at once placed at the disposal of John of
Werth. They sent couriers in every direction to trace
the path of the eternally elusive fugitives.
This was not easy, as the country was marked with the
tread of countless ^nuadrons passing hither and thither.
Further, it will be remembered that the Huguenots wore
the Imperial cockade atl(l their guide was a man who
knew the country perfectly and who was acquainted with
2i6 THE RETREAT OF THE DRAGOONS
all the ruses of war. The band glided across the fields as
a pike through the troubled waters of a stream.
At last such information was brought to John of Werth
as enabled him to decide what course he should take.
Madame d'Igomer displayed even more irritation and im-
patience than he, and it was on her insistence that they
did not pause in their march when night overtook them.
At daybreak they learned from their couriers, who were
scouting on all sides, in what location Armand-Louis and
his companions were situated. They counted upon gain-
ing upon them at about evening.
"The Huguenots are in front of you," said John of
Werth, turning to his men, "will you suffer them to re-
turn to their country and tell how they vanquished the
Imperialists on twenty fields?"
A terrible huzza and the unsheathing of a thousand
sabres were his answer.
"Then, death to the French !" and the pursuit recom-
menced.
THE FLAG OF TRUCE 217
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE FLAG OF TRUCE.
Good as a horse may be he cannot run forever. The
steeds of the Huguenots had covered a dozen leagues
without a stop. A halt was now imperative. Armand-
Louis chose a village at the entrance to a valley, on either
side of which lay an impenetrable morass. A flank at-
tack was thus impossible. On the other side of the vil-
lage was a thick wood, in which no cavalry could be
marshalled. If the enemy wished to force its way there-
f >re there was but one point for assault, the face of the
village.
To render this spot less vulnerable Armand-Louis
caused a dozen great oaks to be felled and stretched
across the road and embattled the cottages which over-
looked it.
"Now we shall be quiet, at least for the night," he said.
"For to-morrow let's trust in God."
The horses were unbridled, and while they were taking
fodder the Huguenots sought to make themselves com-
fortable here and there in the village.
As soon as the villagers caught sight of the cavalry in
the Imperial uniform they were struck with terror of
being plundered. They secreted all their goods and cattle
and withdrew in hiding. Not a living being was to be
seen.
w The houses still stand," said Magnus. "The place
must be inhabited."
He set out upon a hunt and entered an inn. The host
swore by all the gods amid quaking that he had not a
ham hung on his roof, not a bottle of wine in his cellar.
"The Saxons, who visited us yesterday, gulped every-
thing," he added.
But the I lngucnots were not content with this explana-
tion. The host was fat and sleek. They rummaged the
218 THE FLAG OF TRUCE
place and that so carefully that they found bread, cheese
and beer. Carquefou made a sally upon the fowl that so
imprudently displayed their beaks in the barn. He car-
ried off a couple of dozen. Magnus discovered three mut-
ton and two calves hidden in the depth of the cellar.
Shortly a half dozen pigs declared their existence by their
stupid squealing. But they did not squeal long.
"Now we have something to live on," said M. de Col-
longes.
A few of the village women, who were the first to ven-
ture from their huts, wept and lamented the theft of the
fowl and meat.
Armand-Louis made a sign to Magnus, who pulled out
his long purse and generously reimbursed these poor
folk. Their astonishment at this liberality quickly dried
their tears. They had not been beaten and had received
money. This was unprecedented in their memory since
the beginning of the war.
Sentries were distributed on every side.
At midnight all the dragoons, save eight or nine, slept
tranquilly. A shot, echoing from one end of the village,
startled the troop from its slumber. Each man rushed to
the post to which Armand-Louis had previously assigned
him. The alarm had been given by one, of the sentries.
Far off in the darkness a cohort of cavalry could be
dimly seen.
A low rumble of horses' neighing and the distant clash
of arms reached the village. A company of musketeers
drew near stealthily. Then a volley of balls leaped into
the barricade of trees shaving off the twigs and bark.
"That's John of Werth," said Magnus.
"Fire low!"
The dragoons returned the fire. A dozen men and
horses dropped to earth. The company, suddenly dis-
mayed, retreated in disarray. Then silence reigned again.
M. de Collonges went outside of the village to recon-
noitre. In an hour he returned with the information that
the road was occupied by a body of troops.
"If by to-morrow we have not ten thousand devils with
green belts on our tends," he added, "I shall be much
surprised."
THE FLAG OF TRUCE 219
" Tis not the attack that concerns me," replied Mag-
nus. " 'Tis the retreat."
He glanced at Armand-Louis as he said this and con-
tinued :
"Yes, yes, the assault will be repelled and John of
Werth, hell take him, will leave a goodly number of his
men stretched before our barricade. But if we leave the
village we'll meet the Bavarians on open ground less than
an hour on the other side of the forest, and we shall be
one against ten."
"Zounds ! What do we risk ?" added M. de Saint Paer.
"They'll not take us alive !"
"True; but are we alone?" murmured Armand-Louis,
turning his gaze upon the house in which Adrienne and
Diana had sought shelter.
"Curse the beggarly Germans!" exclaimed M. de Vol-
tras.
"Perhaps we have another means to hold the enemy in
check," suggested Magnus.
"We can pile up brushwood about the wooden walls
and thatched roofs of these cottages and easily fire the
whole place. Neither John of Werth nor his cavalry will
pass through that furnace and we can meanwhile beat a
retreat."
"Good!" cried M. de Collonges.
"But there are over a hundred families in the village.
How many women and children will be without home or
bread to-morrow I"
All about Magnus were silent. Each understood that
the squadron was at the most difficult pass it had yet en-
countered.
M. de Collonges stretched his cloak on a bundle of
straw and lav down.
"Let business wait till the morrow," he grumbled. "I'm
going to sleep."
Carquefou, who never lost a word of Magnus' utter-
ances, slept with one eye open. lie did not hold the same
opinion as his veteran comrade on the- question <>f burn-
ing the village and believed that grave maladies demand
heroic remedies.
"Faith," he thought to himself, "if a spark should ac-
220 THE FLAG OF TRUCE
cidentally catch a cottage thatch they would not hang me
for it."
But first he must know whether the road through the
forest was free. Tormented by these thoughts Carquefou
rose before dawn, and, like a beast in search of prey, he
slipped out of the village on the side opposite to the one
attacked. There were great clusters of pines. Then leav-
ing the road he followed the wood-path in the depth of
which he could barely distinguish the traces of foresters.
A horseman would have found it difficult to pass here. A
quarter of an hour after he had left the last house in the
village he noticed a flame in the middle of the road. Car-
quefou fell upon his stomach and crept along on ail fours.
Two more fires appeared on the road, one at the right, the
other at the left. Shadows passed before the flames meth-
odically. He fancied he could distinguish muskets on the
shoulders of these shadows.
"Ha ! Now it's going to be spoiled !" thought Car-
quefou.
He crept on a bit, then lfiting his head in a bush, whose
branches he separated with both hands, he counted about
twenty flames scattered along the wood. Soon the slow
and regular tread of a troop on march struck his ears.
He leaned forward under the lower branches of the bush,
held his breath and waited.
A patrol of infantry, commanded by a sergeant, passed
quite close to him. Carquefou counted twelve men bear-
ing muskets.
"I might easily finish two or three," he thought, "but
then? 1 fancy by that time the others would have
rather battered me."
The result of this reflection was that he quickly turned
his heels to the Imperialists and returned to the village
noiselessly.
"Cavalry before us and infantry behind ! 'Tis done
perfectly," murmured Carquefou, still pressing onward.
He met Magnus, who was making his rounds.
"Let us be humane," he told him. "The fire will be
useful," and he detailed to the veteran what he had seen.
Then he added: "Yesterday M. de la Guerche spoke of
THE FLAG OF TRUCE 221
Providence. Zounds, but Providence would be welcome
in the guise of a good Swedish regiment."
A volley of musketry interrupted them.
"There," said Magnus, "John of Werth wants to talk
with us."
"Let's talk, then," sighed Carquefou.
But while Armand-Louis rushed toward the threatened
quarter, Magnus took Renaud aside and related to him
what he had learned from Carquefou.
"We must divide into two bands. In a little while you
will have plenty to do on the forest side. If we remember
only the cavalry of John of Werth, his infantry will soon
have smoked us out like rats.*'
M. de Voltras and M. de Saint-Pacr followed Renaud;
M. de Collonges joined Armand-Louis. Thirty dragoons
were left under the orders of M. d'Arrandes to be led
with all speed toward the point most fiercely attacked.
Soon the fusillade resumed from all points. The people
of the village, terrified, took refuge in a poor chapel. Ad-
rienne and Diana fell to their knees on the threshold of
their house.
While they raised their voices to God in prayer, the
musket balls rained on the roof and bounded against the
walls of the houses in the village like hail in a storm. The
roar of musketry continued unceasingly, interrupted oc-
casionally by shouts and cries, which announced a death-
dealing stroke, now on one side, now on the other. The
whole village was overcast with a cloud of smoke.
The greater number of John of Werth's cavaliers had
leaped from their saddles and were striving to scale the
barricade erected by the Huguenots. Axes, hooks, pikes
were brought into requisition against this obstacle which
resembled a gigantic chevaux-de-frise. But the dragoons,
ambushed in every nook, beat back the assailants as fast
as tlu-y advanced. The French were entrenched behind
the trunks of trees and spans of wall, which partially pro-
tected them from the fire of the enemy ami permitted
them to make every shot tell. At times they allowed a
small body of soldiers to reach as far as the first line of
houses, then they leaped uj on th< Imperialists, who had
222 THE FLAG OF TRUCE
become almost confident of victory, and not a man of
them but fell.
Yet no backset diminished the fury of the foes, who
were rallied by John of Werth, galloping hither and thith-
er, sword in hand and cuirass on his back.
While Armand-Louis held his position, at the other end
of the village Renaud withstood the assault of the in-
fantry.
There had been no time to build a barricade here, but
the village confines were protected by a small river
crossed by a log bridge. All the fighting was concen-
trated at this bridge. A very rain of bullets did not deter
a few lansquenets and musketeers from crossing the
single arch, but as soon as they showed themselves on the
opposite bank, Renaud, followed by M. de Voltras and M.
de Saint Paer charged upon them and drove them back
into the river, where some drowned.
On returning from such a charge Carquefou would
wipe the Shiverer, saying :
"Some of them get bullets, the others water. It is a
matter of taste."
Toward noon a parley-bearer, preceded by a trump-
eter, who bore a white flag, appeared on the side which
John of Werth commanded in person. The firing was at
once stopped and Armand-Louis received the truce-bear-
er, whose eyes Magnus had already bound.
"Speak, sir," Armand-Louis said to him, after they had
retired to the lower room of a house near by.
"I am sent to you by Baron John of Werth, general of
the troops of His Highness, the Elector of Bavaria, my
master, to request you to cease a futile resistance and to
treat of conditions in order to stop the shedding of
blood."
"In that case, sir, allow me to inform my companions
in arms. Nothing of what is to pass here shall be con-
cealed from them."
Armand-Louis addressed a few words to Magnus, who
went out ; then turning to the envoy of John of Werth, he
added :
"You seem to be surprised, sir, that I should summon
THE FLAG OP TRUCE 223
all the men, with whom you have just been fighting, to
this interview ?'"
"I have admired the valor of them all," gallantly an-
swered the officer. "But, I admit, that I did not think the
presence of so many dragoons was necessary to our de-
liberations. I believed I was speaking to their com-
mander."
" Tis true, I ride at their head. This is their free
choice, confirmed by a commission of King Gustavus
Adolphus. Yet I am less their commander than their
friend. They would obey my orders without question,
but I hold it in my honor to consult with them."
Renaud, M. de Voltras, M. de Saint Paer, M. de Col-
longes, M. d'Arrandes and other gentlemen now entered,
] 'receded by Magnus. They ranged around Armand-Louis.
"Gentlemen," said their chief, "here is an officer sent
by our neighbor, Baron John of Werth, to treat a pro-
posal for capitulation."
"What !" cried Renaud, "have we only the hilts of
our swords left? Are we out of powder and balls?"
"I swear to you, sir," added M. de Collonges, "that the
most of us is still alive, feel us and see?"
"It is precisely to save your lordships the trouble of
dying," responded the officer, saluting courteously, "that
Baron John of Werth sends me hither. His conditions
are such that you can accept them without dishonor."
"After all, it shall not be said that you undertook this
inconvenience for nothing," returned Renaud.
"Sir, we harken to you."
"As soon as the village be surrendered and occupied
by our men, you will have full liberty to retreat whither-
soever it please you."
"Without ransom and with the right to return to the
camp of the King of Sweden?" asked Renaud.
"All roads lay open to you, and you will pay no ran-
som."
"Proceed, sir."
"The honors of wnr will be allowed you and you will
retain your arms and horses."
"< »ur standards also?"
"Your standards also."
224 THE FLAG OF TRUCE
"Ha ! Ha !" laughed M. de Collonges. "This begins to
resemble a fairy tale most marvelously."
"If I may believe my ears," said M. de Saint Paer, "all
we have to do is to proceed on our way with blowing
trumpets. Why did you not speak sooner? For the last
three or four hours this has been our only desire."
"Perchance there may be a final little condition which
you have not yet mentioned ?" suggested Renaud.
"It is true, gentlemen, there is a final condition with
which I have still to acquaint you. Yet remember well
before you refuse it that all egress from this village is
blocked."
"Here's a bit of advice that bodes little good," mur-
mured M. de Collonges.
"You have with you two persons of quality, Made-
moiselle de Souvigny and Mademoiselle de Par-
daillan. They shall be restored to His Eminence, Baron
John of Werth, who will conduct them to the Duke of
Friedland, from whom, as you well know, they have been
violently abducted."
"In a word," said M. de Saint Paer, with a tinge of dis-
dain, "you propose that we deliver to you two women,
who, besides us, have no friends or protectors?"
"Though the lot which the friends of whom you speak
reserves for them may be exceedingly brilliant," con-
tinued the envoy, "that which awaits them at the courts of
Munich and Vienna will leave them no room for regret."
"You call these conditions one may accept without dis-
honor?" cried M. de Collonges. "To sell defenseless
women !"
"Bravo!" commented Renaud, grasping his hand.
Renaud's face at the same time turned scarlet with rage.
He was about to speak, but Armand-Louis restrained
him by a sign. Then turning to the Bavarian officer the
Huguenot announced that the conference was at an end.
"We must deliberate," he told him, "will you please to
withdraw? You will have an answer within a quarter of
an hour."
"Deliberate!" cried M. de Saint Paer, when the dra-
goons were alone. "Deliberate, and to what end, pray?"
"Because there is involved a matter of personal interest
THK FLAG OF TRUCE 225
to M. de Chaufontaine and to myself," replied Armand-
Louis. "I should consider myself dishonored if I did not
inform you of the consequences of the resolution inspired
by your magnanimity. On this matter I believe that M.
de Chaufontaine holds the same opinion as I."
"Most surely," said Renaud.
"We are hemmed in on all sides," continued Armand-
Louis, "by a superior force, which is being continually
augmented by reinforcements, while steel and lead deci-
mate our ranks. If you refuse the offer of John of Werth,
some day we shall be caught in our entrenchments. You
know what we may then expect."
"Death, of course," said M. de Saint Paer, quietly.
"Well, we have no great reason to be terribly fright-
ened by such a thing!" exclaimed M. de Voltras.
"To die with sword in hand, is this not the best end a
gentleman can wish for?" added M. de Collonges.
"Besides, who can tell," continued M. d'Arrandes,
"how many there are condemned to death who live for
a long time."
"There is no need to say, 'who knows,' " Armand-
Louis interposed with vigor, "we have all been long ac-
customed to war and no peril frightens us. Come hither,
Magnus, and tell us what thou thinkest of our position.
Dost thou believe that the most tenacious courage can
by any desperate chance secure our salvation?"
"No," replied Magnus, gravely. "I am speaking to
soldiers. They know how to hear the truth. Only God's
hand can draw us out of this pass. If then you wish to
persevere in your resistance till the end, make the sacri-
fice of your lives. At your last hour you can all unite in
a close column, leave the wounded to the mercy of the
conqueror and frill upon the enemy. This is the supreme
chance which the fate of war reserves for men of heart.
I '• W of you will relate the episodes of this bloody strife to
your nephews. Outside of this there is nothing."
"You hear, gentlemen," replied Armand-Louis. "Death
is everywhere, yet you can avoid it."
"But you?" cried M. de Collonges.
"Oh, Renaud and I," answered Armand-Louis, taking
his friend's hand, "are bound by a promise which cannot
226 THE FLAG OF TRUCK
be blotted out by the shedding of every drop of our blood.
We will return with Mademoiselle de Souvigny and
Mademoiselle de Pardaillan or we will not return at all."
"Then, count," said M. de Collonges, "insist no more.
Your lot shall be ours. I believe I interpret the feeling of
all my companions when I speak thus. When we set out
for Drachenfeld you did not conceal from us the dangers
of our way. The hour of real peril has struck. We are
all ready for it."
"Yes ! Yes ! All of us !" was cried from all sides.
"Then, gentlemen, the propositions of John of Werth,
which mean liberty and life to you, are declined ?"
"They are !"
"Go," said Arrnand-Louis, turning to Magnus, "and
have the envoy reconducted hither."
When the Bavarian officer returned he found the Hu-
guenots pressing about their leader, clasping his hands
and embracing him. A chivalrous enthusiasm glowed in
every visage.
"Our deliberation is done, sir," Armand-Louis began.
"I promised you should have your reply within a quarter
of an hour. Here it is : Tell John of Werth that we in-
tend to fight while a drop of blood flows in our veins."
"This is a sublime madness," the officer answered, cast-
ing a glance over the assembly. "I admire you. If
Sweden can count many such soldiers as you, she will
never be conquered."
The set faces which surrounded him told him plainly
how useless it would be to insist on the purpose of his
mission. He allowed Magnus to bind his eyes and to lead
him out of the village, where the trumpeter with the white
flag awaited him.
"Now, gentlemen," cried Armand-Louis, "to our posts.
Let those who separate say farewell, for they may not
meet again."
All brows were uncovered and these valiant warriors
exchanged fraternal embraces in ominous silence.
"We are ready," cried M. de Collonges, who was pale
with emotion, as he drew his sword the first of all.
A moment afterward the firing recommenced at both
extremities of the village.
THK CANNON'S ROAR 227
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE CANNON'S ROAR.
While these combats, followed by parleys, which were
soon interrupted by now battles, were taking place at
either side of their asylum, Adrienne and Diana were
waiting- and praying in the house which Armand-Louis
had chosen as most secure. Here the two cousins had
found a game-warden, who was watching a child in fever.
At sight of them he stood up and looked at them with
eyes full of desperation and sombre fire.
"I had two sons and a daughter," he said to them.
"The two boys fell before the blows of the Swedes in de-
fending their father's faith. The girl was seduced by the
new doctrines and she has strayed from the bosom of
Holy Mother Church. God has avenged himself. She
I by an unknown malady. Of all that I loved only
this child remains to me, and his life is threatened. I
hate you because you are of Huguenot blood, but you are
being persecuted and are in danger. Therefore come in."
He sat down at the child's bedside, his face glowering
with fanatic hate.
Adrienne drew near the little invalid and took his hand.
The child looked at her and did not withdraw his hand.
"' '• >d is good to those who prav out of a faithful heart,"
she said. "Hope!"
In the days when she was at the Grande-Fortelle
Adrienne had often had occasion to tend the sick, either
of the people of tin- house or those in the neighborhood.
She km w the virtues of certain plants and used them ef-
ficaciously. Toward evening her sweetness and kind
manner had won for her the child's heart; he wished her
to remain by him and felt his pain assuaged when she
ssed him.
Certain now of bring heard and obeyed, she prepared
a brew of the juice of some herbs gathered in the garden
and oflf< red it to him.
228 THE CANNON'S ROAR
The game-warden stretched forth his hand as if to take
the vessel which contained the potion.
"No," interposed the child, "this woman is good to
me."
Then raising the cup to his lips he drank the draught.
That evening he slept peacefully ; a copious sweat ex-
uded from his pores and at daybreak he was breathing
like one just brought to life. His first glance caught Ad-
rienne, who was leaning against the bed.
"I dreamed that my mother kissed me last night," he
said, stretching his arms to her. "She looked like you."
The game-warden stood up much perturbed. Adri-
enne looked at him sweetly, saying, in a low voice :
"Perhaps God will deign to save him."
The child fell asleep again, holding her hand.
It was at this time that the envoy of John of Werth
entered the village. The roar of battle resounded even
until nightfall. At times a spent ball would flatten against
the roof of the house. Every little while Diana went to
the door to look without. To the right or left, whichever
way she gazed, she saw but two great clouds of smoke
streaked with flame. Then a few of the men would come
by, bearing on a litter some poor wounded fellow. After
having laid their burden in a shed or a barn they returned
in all haste to the strife.
"Farewell !" murmured the wounded one to his depart-
ing comrades.
"Farewell," was the melancholy response.
Then Adrienne and Diana left their shelter and ran to
render aid and consolation to the fallen. At times all
they had need to offer was their prayers.
Night fell and put a stop to the attacks of the Imperial-
ists. Despite twenty assaults they had not succeeded in
breaking the barriers or dislodging the Huguenots from
the outermost houses or the gardens which belted the vil-
lage. Both sides suffered the loss of a goodly number of
men. Several times the enemy had gained so great an
advance that M. de Voltras had to- run at the head of the
reserve to protect the points in danger.
Armand-Louis inspected his ranks; on all sides he
THE CANNON'S ROAR 229
found the same resolution and intrepidity ; but neither M.
d'Arrandes ncr any of his companions now said :
"Who knows?" '
"We can calculate how many days we have to live,"
cried M. de Collonges good humoredly, "by a rule of pro-
portion. If in twenty-four hours we lose thirty men, how
many days will suffice in which to destroy those still
standing r'
"I don't know arithmetic," answered M. de Saint-Paer,
smiling.
Nevertheless there was but little talk as the night-
watches drew near ; the youngest and maddest heads
found themselves in serious meditation. They thought
of their distant fatherland, of those they loved, whose
voices they should hear nevermore. A few furtive tears
bedewed blond moustache ; then the refrain of a song
troubled the impressive silence of the night.
Magnus, indefatigable even after the battle, searched
the marshes which surrounded the village to discover a
passage. On all sides the muddy bottomed water
stretched out in pathless waste.
Returning from this excursion he went to the quarters
of Armand-Louis.
"God is master!" he said, shaking his head discon-
solately.
Renaud alone preserved a semblance of hope. As
soon as the last shot had been fired he hurried to Diana's
presence and here forgot everything. When she recalled
their situation to him, he smiled.
"By St. Estocade, my patroness," he cried, "do you
think that I have come all the way from La Rochelle to
die in Germany? Erase that from your diary, if you
please."
Nevertheless, at the first streak of dawn the Marquis
of Chaufontaine reappeared at his post and did not leave
it again.
He was on the valley side, as Armand-Louis was on
the plain side, on the day after that which saw John of
Werth's envoy return with his propositions spurned.
To-day, to the great astonishment of the French, morn-
ing broke without the crack of musketry.
230 THE CANNON'S ROAR
"They are reserving their music to salute the sun," said
Renaud.
The sun rose and they heard nothing. An hour
passed ; then another ; the same ominous silence sur-
rounded the village.
Magnus and Carquefou became impatient. Taking
separate routes, both of them stole out of the village. The
sentries of the enemy were at their posts ; the men in
their ranks.
John of Werth was riding up and down, inspecting
earthworks that were being put up with superhuman ef-
fort, while places were being measured off by the officers.
The baron was pointing out his plans with his cane to
Madame d'Igomer, who appeared to approve of them.
"Here's something that augurs no good for us,"
thought Magnus.
A white rocket shot out from the plain side, a red one
answered it from the valley.
Magnus returned to quarters, where Armand-Louis
was awaiting his report. Here he met Carquefou, who
detailed information identical with his own. At either
end of the village the same works was being pursued and
the same calm was remarkable.
"Perhaps they're going to starve us out," said M. de
Collonges.
"Gentlemen," said Renaud, "if battle makes holiday,
there is no reason why our breakfast should do like-
wise."
In this lay the thorny aspect of the question for Car-
quefou. What he had been able to discover on the day
of their arrival in the village, had given him but a poor
opinion of its culinary resources. All that they had found
had been eaten ; and he was at a loss to invent a means for
replacing what no longer existed. But a kind of miracle
had been wrought in the village. At the first few steps
of certain dragoons, whose appetite awoke early, they
were agreeably surprised by the sight of numerous com-
panies of fowl which issued from various cellars. A herd
of honest sheep and inoffensive calves, having been re-
stored to daylight, were running along in the chase of
THE CANNON'S ROAR 231
shepherds. Cellars and black holes gave up their pris-
oners.
" Tis the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and
fishes," murmured Carquefou. "Blessed be the Lord!"
This miracle was the result of Magnus' execution of his
master's commands. All their provisions being eaten, he
had made known that his purse was by no means empty
and he had offered to pay for everything in beautiful gold
pieces of full weight. The poverty of the village was
suddenly transformed into plenty.
Carquefou, now quite reassured, passed muster of the
cattle and led the fattest to one side.
At noon, when he was stacking a larder with the leav-
ings of the feast, they had not yet heard the crack of a
musket.
Magnus tried anew to cross the marsh, now afoot, now
ahorse ; but always, despite his persistence, unsuccess-
fully. When he returned, exhausted by ineffectual effort,
his visage was commencing to lower.
Evening came ; and not a ball had fallen upon the vil-
lage.
The dragoons supped. The youngest of them lost not
a toothful ; the veterans seemed unquiet. The uncer-
tainty, more than the prospect of battle, weighed upon
their hearts.
Armand-Louis reflected that, abundant as the re-
sources of the village might be, they must be exhausted
some day ; and there must be no thought of revictualing
by a sortie.
The dragoons went to sleep gloomily, wrapped in their
cloaks. Each of them was making mute farewells to
France. Far away, lost in the growing shadows, they
could discern the fires kindled by the men of John of
Werth, to lighten them in their work.
A white rocket whistled into the air on the right ; two
red ones were the response on the left.
"To-morrow," said Magnus, "we will know what these
signals mean. When we do, death will be before us."
When night had well fallen, Armand-Louis besought
his lieutenants to redouble their watchfulness at the out-
pusts. Then he hurried to the side of Adrienne.
232 THE CANNON'S ROAR
He found her playing with the child of the game-
warden. The child's fever had abated. The father sat
in a corner gazing now upon his boy, now upon the
beautiful young foreigner. His face glowed with tender-
ness and gratitude. A burst of joyous laughter, a child's
laughter, suddenly sounded and filled the house with
gayety. The game-warden trembled and silently kissed
the hem of Adrienne's robe. But noticing the entry of
Armand-Louis, he dropped that delicate hand, kissing
it, and withdrew.
"Well, what news ?" asked Adrienne, as she rocked the
child on her knee.
"I believe we have tired the enemy and that they are
beating a retreat," answered Armand-Louis, whose face
wore an untroubled expression that betrayed naught of
their dire situation.
He sat beside Adrienne and they talked a while in a
low voice. Armand-Louis replied and smiled as though
they were still at St. Wast Castle. Nevertheless, at the
slightest sound from without, he lent ear, fearing a sur-
prise.
"What troubles and torments have I not caused you,
dear friend," said Adrienne, taking note of his furtive
glances toward the door.
Armand-Louis did not reply, but remained listening
intently.
"You are hiding something from me," she added
quickly.
"God is master," answered Armand-Louis with a tre-
mor. "To-morrow we may make a desperate resolve
Until then, do not fear."
The night passed uninterruptedly. A glorious day fol-
lowed it. It looked as though the Imperalists had not al-
tered their mind. All the change noticeable lay in the
earthworks that had been built in the night to the right
and left of the road leading from the plain. The earth
had likewise been thrown up at the other extremity of
the village, on the forest-side, and presented the same
ominous aspect.
Magnus, whose brow lowered, met the glance of Ar-
mand-Louis. Then he turned without saying a word.
THE CANNON'S ROAR 233
Armand-Louis tapped him oil the shoulder, saying:
"What docs this mean?"
"Sir,"' replied the old soldier, "we pulled ourselves out
of Magdebourg and out of Ravennest Castle. We con-
quered at Drachcnfeld ; but I'm afraid we'll find our tomb
here."
The sun was now high in the heavens, when, for the
second time, the same officer, who had come for parley
before, presented himself at the outposts.
"Night brings with it counsel sometimes," he said to
Armand-Louis. "You have had two nights in which to
reflect Have you done so?"
"Yes."
"And vou surrender?"
"No."
An expression of profound sadness overspread the
countenance of the Bavarian.
"Perhaps, if I were in your place I should act as you
do," he added. "Nevertheless, my heart bleeds at the
thought of the shedding of so much noble blood."
"All our days are counted, sir. No drop of blood
shall flow, unless God so wills."
Armand-Louis conducted the officer in person to the
lines, after which every man flew to his post. The
dragoons felt instinctively that the terrible day was come.
They had hardly drawn up in line ere a trumpet call
resounded from the ranks of John of Werth. Almost im-
mediately afterward a cloud of white smoke covered the
road. A ball whistled through the branches of the bar-
ricade and felled a dragoon who, at two paces from Ar-
mand-Louis, was renewing the priming of his pistols.
"Ah, the brcaslworks !" cried Magnus.
Another roar answered the first volley and a ball that
came from the depths of the valley, toppled over a tree at
the door of a house.
The Huguenots understood now why John of Werth
had left them undisturbed for a whole day.
"We shall soon be obliged to see these gentlemen at
close range," said Kenaud.
The cannons, of which there were two on either side,
answering each other alternately, wrought terrible havoc,
234 THE CANNON'S ROAR
but never broke the courage of the French. Some of
them, including Renaud, leaped forward and by a better
directed and more copious fire, succeeded in decimating
the ranks of the enemy. Their platoons of greater num-
ber imitated this manoeuver and boldly led to the last line
of houses under cover of walls and orchards, they gath-
ered batteries here and picked off the cannonaders from
the side of their guns.
In order to dislodge the besieged, columns of infantry
were cast upon them, which were in turn shattered by the
fury and expertness of the Huguenots, as the flinging of
a stone shatters a vase of clay. Every field, garden and
ditch was strewn with the dead.
Armand-Louis was ever the foremost in the attack and
the last to retreat. Magnus never left his side.
In the intervals between assaults Renaud sent for news
of Armand-Louis, as the latter also did to know how mat-
ters were progressing at his friend's post. Magnus and
Carquefou, who acted as couriers, crossed in their hur-
ried expeditions and exchanged a word as they passed.
"All goes well down there," said the old reiter. "We
have twelve dead and twenty wounded — who are still
fighting."
"On our side it hails — hails iron and lead," answered
Carquefou. "I'm frozen in the marrow and burning in
the face. Our men are dying a little."
At sunset a final charge, led by John of Werth in per-
son, brought the Imperialists up to the barricade, whose
thickness had been increased by a fresh stack of hewn
trees. The Huguenots, weakened by cruel losses, had
just been dislodged from their outposts. Armand-Louis
serried his men and fell upon the enemy, who were striv-
ing to penetrate into the village by the breaches their
balls had effected. He caught sight of John of Werth
and he discerned the swordknot, embroidered by Ad-
rienne, hanging from his hilt.
"Come hither, thou !" cried the Huguenot, felling a
lansquenet at each blow to clear his way to the baron.
"Dost take me for an adventurer like thee? I am the
general of an army," replied the Bavarian, as he directed
his soldiers toward a point not well guarded.
THE CANNON'S ROAR 235
M. d'Arrandes divined his purpose and rushed forward
at the head of the little band he held in reserve. The
terrific shock of the Huguenots stopped the Imperialists.
They were attacked in front by M. d'Arrandes and on the
ilank by Armand-Louis. They withdrew, driven back,
with swords in their vitals, through the orchard they had
crossed. They held this position with difficulty.
At this juncture Renaud rejoined Armand-Louis.
" Tis a good quarter of an hour that we've been doing
nothing below there," he said. "I have left the com-
mand in the hands of M. de Saint-Paer and have come
hither to see how things are. 'Twas the awful noise in
this quarter that bothered my cars."
With a bound he was in the thick of the strife.
Madame d'Igomer, who watched the battle ahorse from
a small hill, wearing a velvet doublet in the belt of which
hung a poinard, saw him forcing a passage in the midst
of the combatants. A mixture of rage, admiration and
sorrow suddenly changed the expression of her features.
"Ah, if he had only loved me !" she murmured.
At this moment, John of Werth, who was roaring like
a lion torn from its prey, strove to drive back the fleeing
by beating them with the flat of his sword, but darkness
fell upon the plain.
"The game's postponed," he said, finally.
The cannons, which had not been fired since the men
were fighting hand to hand, bellowed anew.
"Halt!" cried Armand-Louis.
In the first ranks of those who stopped at the sound
of his voice, Armand-Louis saw M. d'Arrandes. He
gave him his hand, saying:
"Ah, you arrived in good time, friend."
"Thus, Captain, you can one day say to the Viscount
d'Arrandes, my father, that I did my duty," cried the gen-
tleman, joyously.
2 x6 THE MARSH
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE MARSH.
Armand-Louis, his heart throbbing with joy over his
victory, walked through the ranks of his friends. A
goodly number of them failed to answer the roll-call.
Many others, covered with blood, could no longer lift
either sword or musket. Some lay in their cloaks await-
ing death. The eyes of all of them were turned towards
the setting sun. Perhaps they were thinking of France,
hidden below the horizon.
At the first sound of this furious battle, Adrienne had
leaped out of the cottage in which slept the sick child.
Diana followed her, gasping for breath, with distended
nostrils.
The game-warden, still gloomy and absorbed, walked
behind them.
"Dost hear? It is the cannon," said Diana.
"Yes, it is the cannon," murmured the warden.
"Oh ! They are lost !" cried Adrienne.
"Ah. A ball goes farther than a sword. To-day or to-
morrow all will be over," added the warden.
Diana seized the arm of Adrienne feverishly, saying :
"I have always thought that a terrible day would come
which should summon all the energy of a woman's heart.
Dost thou not feel the same resolution ?"
"I understand it," replied Adrienne.
"God forgive me if it be a crime, but never while I live
shall I fall again into the hands of John of Werth !"
"They are of the same age as was my poor daughter,"
murmured the warden, the tears flowing slowly down his
cheek.
Towards evening the child, which Adrienne had
watched and fondled like a mother, for three days, called
her to his bedside.
"Kiss me," he said to her, "and I will sleep well."
THE MARSH
237
Adrienne kissed the child, and while Diana, pale and
haggard, looked out of the window, hearkening the
clamor of the assault, she knelt by the bed, joining her
hands and prayed :
"Lord, my God, I have sacrificed my life to you, spare
him whose name you read in my heart."
The warden, who had been walking up and down in
the room, suddenly drew near her and laying his hand
on her shoulder, said :
"I had sworn to let all your people die in this corner
of the world, as my two sons have died. But you have
saved the life of this child. I will save you and all who
are with you."
Adrienne stood up and regarded him in amazement.
"Asa has never lied," continued the warden. "You have
opened the way to my heart by pity. When night is
quite fallen, tell him who came to see you yesterday, to-
gether with his companions in arms, that I swear to you,
I will save you all."
Meanwhile the dragoons whom death had spared were
busy in digging trenches in which to bury their unhappy
comrades, who had fallen in battle.
Even M. de Collonges was grave. The trenches were
many, and many also were the wounded. He was cal-
culating for how many hours the defense might last, and
he scarcely found sufficient for two days, after which
none should survive, so swiftly did death swing his scythe.
At this time in the midst of the flaring torches which
illuminated the spots where the battle had raged most
fiercely, Adrienne appeared, searching for Armand-
I.ouis. The- men gathered here moved away that they
might be alone. In a broken voice she told him what
she had just heard from the warden.
"I have faith in the word of this man," she added.
"Therefore assemble the dragoons in the village square."
"God is with us." cried Armand-Louis.
At this cry. the dragoons who had gone away came
rushing towards him rind he informed them of the prom-
ise made by Asa to his sweetheart. Soon the strange
news, that a man had promised to rescue those who wcrr
lift of the Hugm-ii'iK was borne from mouth to mouth.
238 THE MARSH
An hour later the entire squadron was arrayed in the
order of battle in the village square.
The better to hide the retreat, Armand-Louis and Re-
naud took care to set blazing great fires along the stretch
of barricades and at the abandoned bridge. The sentries
exchanged halloas as they moved away to make it be-
lieved that the guard was to be prolonged until morning.
The Huguenots formed in the order of march noisily.
Carquefou flung his hat into the air, saying: "Another
hour of this life, enameled with balls, and the excitement
should have killed me !"
Almost immediately the warden arrived with torches.
He kindled one and approaching Armand-Louis, he
said :
"Divide your soldiers into two platoons of twenty, and
let the one who marches at the head of each bear a torch."
The ranks of the squadron broke, and each platoon
was formed in silence.
"Now, follow me," said Asa.
He walked at the head of the column and led the way
towards the marsh, which belted the village with rushes
and weeds.
For some time he searched at the border of the stag-
nant water, then halting beside an uprooted willow, he
said:
"This is the place." Then turning to Armand-Louis,
he pointed to the marsh whose surface was covered with
sword-grass and weeds. A light breeze rippled the water.
"The way of safety lies before us," he continued. "No
one knows it, excepting me. I will go first, the two
young ladies shall follow me, the men after us."
"And I will be the last," said Armand-Louis.
"Let each of you be very careful to ride your horses in
my tracks," added Asa. "If one of you goes out of the
line of my march, he will be lost in the swamp. The
path is not broad, only one man can ride abreast. Keep
your ears and eyes open. All that vigilance can secure I
promise, the rest belongs to God."
"But," asked M. de Collonges, "will not these torches
light us on our way?"
"Look at the fires which glide across the marsh. How
THE MARSH 239
many women cross themselves when they see those er-
rant flames ! Do you believe that the torches which are
to guide you will increase their number?"
Having said this, Asa urged his horse into the marsh.
The water splashed up from the animal's hoofs. Renaud
seized the warden by the arm.
"By the blood of Christ, this is not reason,'' he said.
"She saved my child," said Asa, pointing to Adrienne,
"and you mistrust me."
Then he advanced. Adrienne followed him resolutely,
and the whole troop did likewise.
The wind rose and shook the bushy forests of the
weeds, which murmured plaintively.
At times a wild bird, awakened by the passage of the
cavaliers, sprang up with a cry and with frightened wing
skimmed the cloak of a dragoon. Soon the last soldier
had left the shore and Armand-Louis followed him.
Naught disturbed the silence in which the village slept
save the occasional halloas of the Imperial sentries. The
long line of Huguenots plunged further and further into
the marsh. They rode slowly one after the other, seek-
ing each other's tracks, the head of each horse on the
crupper of the horse which preceded. None spoke. The
torches, shaking in the wind, threw red streaks of light
upon the dismal surface of the water, which were lost
in the midst of the weeds. At times the horses sank in
the slime up to their houghs. Once or twice their great
breasts almost disappeared in a bed of floating grass, but
just when the earth seemed to be Ios1 beneath their feet,
they found a solid soil which lay hidden from all eyes
under the sleeping wat< r.
Asa did not keep a regular gait. Tie hesitated and
glanced about him, then lie leaned over the mane of his
horse, consulting the still surface of the marsh with a
piercing eye, sounding the thick mesh of grass, turning
to the right, then to the left, then stopping for a minute
or making a sign to Adrienne who followed him, when
he would beat about until he found again tin- invisible
line of passage, which wound under the water. At this a
smile would brighten his pale visage, and he would press
forward again before her.
240 THE MARSH
This long journey lasted almost two hours. Finally
a wooded shore appeared by the dim light of the stars, a
more solid footing grew under the horses' feet, and a leap
bore Asa upon the steep bank of the marsh. He turned,
and each dragoon in his turn did likewise. Not a single
man had strayed. Armand-Louis was the last. Before
him the country spread out, hidden by a curtain of forest.
A spontaneous impulse threw Adrienne and Diana into
each other's arms. Armand-Louis uncovered. All the
cavaliers imitated him, and a deep sigh of benediction
rose to God. All these brave soldiers had left death be-
hind them and hope seemed to be calling them to the
other end of the horizon.
"Take the road to the right," said Asa, pointing to the
north. "Follow it until you come to a cross of stone.
There take the road which is built of stone. Each step
you make in that direction will put you further from the
Imperialists."
Meanwhile the dragoons, who had drawn up in battle
array, shook their damp cloaks. Armand-Louis drew a
long purse from his pocket and tried to pass it to the
warden. But the first words of the sombre Catholic
stopped him.
"You owe me nothing," he ,said. "I did this for a
woman and not for you. God is my witness that if you
had been alone, I should have left the village to its fate
and would have done nothing to save you."
Asa brushed back his hair, which was wet with the
moisture of the marsh, and, casting a glance upon the
cavaliers, he added :
"One thing amazes me, which is, that I, Asa Herr,
have had the heart to save from death soldiers serving
under the Swedish colors. May the bones of my sons
forgive me ! And now farewell."
He took Adrienne's hand, bore it respectfully to his
lips, and leaped back into the marsh. Almost immedi-
ately his silhouette was lost in the blackness of the night.
"Your goodness," said Armand-Louis, approaching
Adrienne, "has done more for our salvation than our own
courage."
THE MARSH 241
Then, with resolute tread, he urged his horse along the
path which Asa had indicated.
Sunrise surprised them at the cross of stone, where the
roads intersected. As far as the eye could reach they
could see neither cavalry nor infantry.
"Gentlemen.'" said M. de Collonges gaily, "behold us
now as Ulysses when he escaped from the cave of Poly-
phemus. Let us gallop a little to warm our blood."
As they were driving on towards the north, John of
Werth commanded his batteries to open fire again.
Lodged in fields and orchards, his musketeers awaited a
rally of the Huguenots. Astonished at hearing or seeing
nothing, John of Werth led a reconnoitre as far as the
barricade.
Not a ball shot out from the branches. The captain,
who was versed in stratagem, feared an ambush. lie
drew up his troop behind a rising ground and command-
ed the batteries to redouble fire.
In the village all remained silent and undisturbed.
A few of the more hardy pikemen scaled a wall around
which a goodly number of their comrades had found
death the evening before. They ventured even beyond
posts they had until now been unable to attain.
Madame dTgomer. who saw them suddenly scatter
like a flight of birds of prey behind the barricade which
masked the village, gave her impatient steed free rein,
and. leaping over the obstacles, came up with them in a
few seconds.
The main street, so long and so heroically defended
by the dragoons, opened before her. Some few women
were walking here and drawing water from the fountains.
In an instant she had gained the limits of the village.
ry where were to be seen pools of blood and mounds
of freshly turned earth ; but nowhere a single soldier.
Far away in the distance the road stretched deserted.
"J". ut where can they be?" she cried, tormented by a
maddening rage.
It was now two or three hours since the game-warden
had returned to his cottage.
John of Werth had followed Madame d'Igomer at the
head of a regiment.
242 THE MARSH
"Do you understand this?" she asked him. "I tell you
Satan protects them."
But John of Werth did not believe in such mysterious
protection. He was quite sure that the Huguenots had
not escaped by the road which crept down the valley. He
stopped the first peasant that passed.
"Dost thou know whether there be any path through
the marsh?" he asked.
"Our fathers have spoken of a path which could be
seen years ago," answered the peasant trembling. "But
the secret has long since been lost. The game-warden,
Asa, used to run across it, when he was young, in order
to surprise the ducks. I was a little child then. A great
many people have been drowned in trying to imitate
him."
John of Werth desired to see Asa, ?ad was conducted
to his cottage.
"I am told that thou knowest the path which leads
across the marsh," he said. "We have discovered the
hoof prints of many horses on its borders. Hast thou
served as guide to the Huguenots?"
"Me!" answered the warden. "I have been watching
this child all night along. Besides my two sons died in
fighting the Swedes. One at Leipzic, the other at the
passage of the Lech "
"And thou believest that if the cursed Huguenots,
whom we are pursuing, have set foot in this marsh with-
out a guide, not one of them will leave it alive?"
"Not a single one."
John of Werth left the cottage.
"Oh my sons !" murmured the warden, as he kissed his
sleeping child.
WOLF AND SHE-WOLF 243
CHAPTER XXIX.
WOLF AND SHE-WOLF.
Madame d'Igomer herself had discovered many hoof-
prints in divers places on the shore of the marsh. She
looked for them under the water and saw them vanish
here and there in the midst of a bed of grass which the
wind caused to foam. Her anxious looks questioned the
horizon. Had those whom she was pursuing with in-
defatigable hate succeeded in crossing this reputed un-
fordable spot, or were they sleeping under the surface of
this leaden water? The space replied not. She heard
only the plaintive cries of the curlews beating their wings
among the weeds. A thousand variant sentiments
troubled her heart. It was mingling of joy and deep and
violent pain. He who had betrayed her and whom she
had loved, had he not paid the penalty with his life?
What a death was this in the sinister waters of a marsh,
and how well her vengeance had served her! But the
last look of Renaud had doubtless met that of Diana,
their hands had joined in a supreme clasp, death had
united them, and now nought could ever separate them.
Suddenly the thought that perhaps they had succeeded
in reaching the opposite bank crossed her mind. A
shudder passed through her frame and she thought only
of retracing them to capture them and inflict her worst
upon them.
J hn 1 if W'erth was only half assured by the declaration
of the game-warden. He had too often witnessed the
incredible resources which Armand-I.ouis and Renaud
drew from their courage and their address, not to doubt
that they had once more overcome the obstacles heaped
up in their way. Further, would they have exposed
their companions to an almost certain death if they had
244 WOLF AND SHE-WOLF
not by some means secured the secret of crossing the
marsh ?
Such he knew their character to be, that they would
have twenty times preferred to gallop their horses into his
cannons' mouths and upon his saber blades, thus breaking
a way through his ranks or perishing in the effort. The
hoofprints on the muddy edge of the marsh were every-
where very numerous on the right as well as on the left
shore. The cattle of the village and the beasts of burden
were wont to haunt these places for pasture. The peas-
ants who were questioned answered vaguely. Some had
seen nothing, others had slept. The most of them, mad
with terror, declared that since the siege of the village
had begun they had not left their cottages. In fine, no
information could be gained from them. Weary of ques-
tioning them, John of Werth sent scouts here and there
to find the exact spot at which a body of cavalry might
have crossed. Their zeal was spurred by the anxious
anger and feverish impatience of Madame d'Igomer.
She rode along the edge of the marsh, leaning over her
horse's neck, searching for a trace which should put her
on the track of the fugitives. Suddenly she was seen to
stop, and pointing to a spread of glade marked in a
straight line by the hoofs of fifty horses, she cried :
"There it is ! There I"
"I see nothing except the hoofprints which are every-
where to be found," said John of Werth, who had gal-
loped up to her in answer to her call.
"But look there," replied Madame d'Igomer, pointing
to a bow of ribbon, which floated among the bushes a
short distance from the shore. "She passed there. That
bit of silk hanging on the bush, does it not prove what I
said ? Ah, I recognize it. This scarlet bow was worn by
Mademoiselle de Pardaillan at her breast. Behold the
path under the water, behold the deep hoofprints, one
after the other, which lose themselves in the distance."
" 'Tis true," said John of Werth. "If they have passed,
shall we not pass also ? Ah, that bow of ribbon, I want
to know whether Renaud de Chaufontaine did not fall
beside it."
"What are you going to do ?"
WOLF AND SHE -WOLF 245
"Show you the way. Will you follow me if I suc-
ceed ?" Then inspired by the demon of hate, Madame
d'Igomer spurred her horse into the marsh before anv
one could stop her.
"Beware, you are tempting God," cried out one of the
peasants, whom John of Werth had been questioning.
But her horse's hoofs had just struck solid ground.
Madame d'Igomer shook her hand with disdain and pur-
sued her perilous course. The scarlet bow of ribbon,
which her eyes never quitted, attracted her like a magnet.
For some minutes the cavaliers of John of Werth followed
her with their eyes, hesitating on the shore, tempted to
follow her, but awed by the mysteries of this spread of
water, which was veiled here and there by reeds and
bushes.
"And you are men, soldiers !" cried back Madame
d'Igomer, who rode still onward.
Eight or ten cavaliers galloped in her tracks. John
of Werth never stirred.
"If they find the pass I shall follow," he murmured.
The cavaliers rode chancefully, some recklessly, some
with circumspection. After an advance of a hundred
steps one of them sank suddenly into a gut, his horse dis-
appearing up to the breast. Another felt the mire cave
under him and leaped back. A third slipped into a hole
and with difficulty swam back to the shore. Then they
all halted.
Madame d'Igomer continued to advance alone. The
bow of scarlet ribbon nodded in the wind and smiled to
the sun.
Suddenly her horse stumbled. One of his hind legs
sank up to the haunch. With a violent effort he tore him-
self out of the mire only to fall into a hole at the other
side. For an instant he struggled to regain the path he
had lost. Each strain plunged him deeper into the mire.
His hoofs beat the mud frantically, splashing it up into
the eyes of his mistress, till it almost blinded her. Then
the water reached to her knees. Despite her brave heart
she was terrified.
"Help! Help!" she screamed.
246 WOLF AND SHE-WOLF
John of Werth set the example by plunging resolutely
into the marsh. Several of his men followed him.
But the frightened steed of Madame d'Igomer no
longer obeyed the bridle, and leaping and kicking madly
only dug deeper into the sinking earth. He reared sud-
denly, slipped and fell on his side.
"Help ! Help !" screamed Madame d'Igomer anew.
Buried up to her shoulders, her hands clutched wildly
at the bushes. The weight dragged them down, they
bent and the water reached up to her chin. She uttered
a piercing shriek, her arms beat the slimy waters con-
vulsively, and then she vanished beneath them.
John of Werth urged his horse straight ahead. He
was dumbstruck, and the pallor of death was on his brow.
When he reached the hole into which Madame d'Igomer
had been buried alive the green, greasy water was placid
as a mirror. A silk scarf, which he picked up on the
point of his sword, was the sole sign that a woman had
disappeared there.
For a moment John of Werth glanced at the edge of
the abyss, harrowed by the silence which succeeded the
struggle of youth against death. Two or three men who
had dismounted attempted, with him, to drag Madame
d'Igomer from her tomb, but the marsh-bed yielded not
its prey.
Convinced that they could do nothing and that if they
succeeded in discovering her body, it would not be the
only one to be borne back to the shore, John of Werth
remounted.
"Now let us avenge her!" he said.
Then, having regained the shore, he commanded a
part of his troop to speed along the north road while he,
at the head of the others, undertook to round the marsh.
The French had a great advance upon them, but cour-
iers sent in all directions could not fail to overtake them.
Their only care was not to mistake the route that had
been followed.
Towards evening one of the couriers returned to John
of Werth. He had discovered the tracks of the Hugue-
nots.
WOLF AND SHE-WOLF 247
"Dead or alive, 1*11 have them," cried the baron, dig-
ging the spurs into his winded horse.
His mad chase carried him into a territory covered
with the corpses of men and horses. Far away a fleece
of white smoke blanched the crest of the heather.
"Curse them," roared John of Werth, "they have
passed here.'' and he spurred his horse anew.
In truth Armand-Louis and Renaud had just passed.
"When they reached this country they found a body of
cavalry, which barred their way at a chain of hills into
which opened a narrow defile. They had needs gain this
point with the utmost celerity. To parley meant the loss
of precious moments, and would have allowed the Im-
perialists to form ranks. Divided as they now were, the
Huguenots might break through their line almost with-
out striking a blow.
A rising ground enabled the Huguenots to arrive just
before the encampment.
"Let us trot now," said Armand-Louis. "When with-
in pistol range, gallop all together.''
The sight of the squadron suddenly debouched on the
plain at first surprised the Imperialists. Some of them
leaped to their saddles; others prepared their arms while
remaining on foot. The attitude of the squadron ap-
proaching on an easy trot drove all mistrust from their
minds. Nevertheless two or three cavaliers were sent
out to reconnoitre them.
Armand-Louis advanced constantly. Adrienne and
Diana were in the midst of the troop, flanked by ten dra-
goons, chosen from the stoutest and best mounted of his
men.
They allowed the cavaliers to draw near. Then when
the latter summoned them to halt, at a sign from Ar-
maud-Louis, the Huguenots dashed madly upon the en-
campment, pistols in hand.
They were as a rushing torrent upon a field of ripe
corn. The hole they made was broad and bloody, and
hardly half the Imperialists had drawn sabre ere the
Huguenot! galloped towards the defile.
A few stray balls followed thi m as they attained the
foot of the hill-range.
248 WOLF AND SHE-WOLF
John of Werth reached the spot as the Imperialists,
comparable to a flock of wild birds dispersed by the shot
of a hunter, were consulting as to what course they
should pursue.
The horse of the baron shuddered as he drew up and
dropped dead.
"You hesitate?" he cried, as he made known his
identity.
He flung a wounded cavalier from his saddle, and, tak-
ing his place, said :
"Forward ! Ten ducats of gold to the first man who
kills a Huguenot !"
An old officer took the baron's bridle in his hand and,
pointing before him, said :
"Behold, my lord !"
John of Werth looked and saw the dragoons heaving
great boulders of rock into the defile. The roar of the
massive rocks as they rolled down the mountain side
reached his ears.
"How many of us are there?" asked John of Werth.
"About a thousand."
"Good. Five hundred of us will fall and five hundred
will pass. Forward !"
The Imperialists, inspired by the voice of the baron,
galloped onward at a mad pace.
A FIGHT TO THE DEATH 249
CHAPTER XXX.
A FIGHT TO THE DEATH.
Armand-Louis, who had been observing the enemy,
collected his dragoons around him.
"Monsieur de Saint-Paer," he said, "you will take one
hundred men with you and ride straight ahead to the end
of the defile. Perhaps, and this is my hope, you will find
some Swedes at the other side of the mountain. Then
Mademoiselle de Pardaillan and Mademoiselle de Souv-
igny will be saved. Renaud and I and Monsieur Voltras
and Monsieur de Collonges will sustain the attack of the
Imperialists. Fifty men will suffice to guard this pas-
sage."
"Why do you not yourself remain with the young
ladies?" cried M. de Saint-Paer. "It is our part to fight,
your part to save them."
"If the Swedes are not on the other side of the moun-
tain, will not your mission be the more perilous? It is
with your sword that you must hew your way to them."
M. de Saint-Paer was about to reply.
"Have you not freely chosen me as your commander?''
asked Armand-Louis.
"Yes."
"Then, sir, obey. It is no longer your friend who
speaks, it is your captain."
Then, as the brow of M. de Saine-Paer darkened sadly,
Armand-Louis took his hand, saying:
"You have two wounds, I know, sir. Give the others a
chance to show later such glorious scars."
Meanwhile, the Imperialists came galloping, mad with
a thirst for blood. The farewells of the dragoons were
hasty, sad, almost mute. Adrienne and Diana, who had
not heard the above conversation, set out. astonished at
not rinding Armand-I.cuis and Renaud at their side. At
250 A FIGHT TO THE DEATH
the first turn which the defile made in the mountain, M.
de Saint-Paer heard a crash as of thunder behind him.
It was the beginning of the fusillade.
"Oh, God !" cried Adrienne, "they are fighting." As
she spoke, both she and Diana reined up their horses.
"Madame," said M. de Saint-Paer, "you are in my
charge. I have answered for your safety upon my
honor. Forward."
The two young women lowered their veils to hide their
tears, and as their steeds followed the pass of the defile,
the roar of the conflict gradually died in the distance be-
hind them. M. de Saint-Paer rode in the rear, with
bowed head.
It should be remembered that the boulders of rock cast
down by the Huguenots blocked the defile. But the
spaces between them allowed two or three men to pass at
the risk of life.
John of Werth, furious with rage, led the Imperialists
against this improvised rampart.
There was one thousand on one side, fifty on the other.
But the narrow road was full of windings. Scarcely two
men could march abreast, and every ball from the rocks
above felled one of them. A wall of corpses soon grew
up before the wall of stone. The Imperialists did not
count their dead ; but kept advancing constantly.
The dragoons were on foot, having hidden their horses
behind the angle of an enormous rock. When one of
them fell wounded, he sat up and ceased fighting only at
the last ebb of his life-blood.
At times a savage onslaught bore some of the Imperi-
alists up to the crest of the rocks, or gliding in between
masses which no effort could break. But then sword-
points or butt of muskets met them. Magnus and Car-
quefou had armed thmselves with long pikes, on which
they spitted the assailants. "This is an exercise which
recalls to me the siege of Berg-Op-Zoom," said Magnus,
"when with great lance blows we precipitated Spaniards
into ditches full of water."
"Alas," replied Carquefou, "these pike strokes make
me think of the kitchen of St. Wast Castle. But there
A FIGHT TO THE DEATH 251
we spitted only honest capons. We had good appetites
there and no goose-flesh as now."
Evening fell. Then darkness rose from the depths of
the valley and enveloped the mountain. The blows be-
came less frequent and attacks less rapid. The Imperial-
ists seemed tired of making a pasture of the dead. A
final wave of men had been broken against the wall, be-
hind which the Huguenots were intrenched. Soon the
voices of the officers could be heard, commanding the
retreat.
"Where dost thou fancy the young ladies are now?"
Armand-Louis asked of Renaud.
"In the plain doubtless," replied the latter.
The order to mount passed softly from mouth to
mouth. Each dragoon in turn left his fighting post.
Armand-Louis, Renaud, Magnus and Carqucfou were
the last to stand up noiselessly. They sighed as they
looked at those who could never rise again. M. de Yoltras
and M. de Collonges were alone. The latter was bent
over in his saddle, his hand gripped on the pommel. The
other sat erect and smiling.
The horses of the dead were led by the bridle, and
Armand-Louis, who remained in the rear, gave the signal
to set out.
Only twenty men were there. Thirty slept in eternal
sleep, their faces upturned to heaven.
The dragoons left behind them a wall impassable to
cavalry ; but since night had fallen John of W'erth, who
suspected a flight similar to that which had saved them
once before, had a troop of determined men charge
against the barricade every quarter of an hour. He
judged of the presence of the Huguenots by the blows
with which they answered these attacks.
When the troop was scattered Armand-Louis signalled
\<> Renaud, Magnus and Carquefou; the four of them re-
turned to their tracks. They hid themselves in the fis-
sures <>f the rocks at the moment when a slight noise gave
them v> hi lieve that a new assault was being attempted.
Spying from their ambush they saw shadows moving
along the defile and silently approaching tin in.
25 2 A FIGHT TO THE DEATH
"Fire!" cried Armand-Louis suddenly. Four shots
cracked on the air. Four shadows vanished.
Seizing the muskets of the men lying dead, the four
fired again. The assailants then retreated.
"They are still there," thought John of Werth.
Without losing a minute, Armand-Louis jumped into
saddle, and, followed by Renaud, Magnus and Carque-
fou, galloped upon the tracks of M. de Voltras and M. de
Collonges. Carquefou rubbed his hands the whole
length of his body and said to Magnus :
"Dost fancy that I am still alive?"
"Almost," replied the veteran.
"If thou swear it, I believe thee. But I am astonished
at it."
They soon regained their company, and together they
arrived at the extremity of the defile. New horizons
opened before their gaze. The rising sun disclosed a
peaceful country. In the distance they saw columns of
smoke, and at the edge of a large field the troop of M. de
St. Paer was awaiting in good order the coming of Ar-
mand-Louis.
"There they are!" cried M. de Collonges joyously,
who was the first to decry them. M. de Voltras, who for
the past hour had been riding with bowed head, smiled
and fell from his saddle.
"Farewell," he said, "at least the Imperialists will not
take me alive."
And he gave up his soul, his hand clutching his sword-
hilt.
While Armand-Louis and Renaud, broken with fatigue
and devoured with fever, seated themselves beside Ad-
rienne and Diana under the shade of a cluster of trees,
Carquefou and Magnus kept guard on either side.
Almost immediately one of them discerned a troop of
cavaliers in tremendous haste coming down the defile of
the mountain, which the Huguenots had just crossed,
and the other beheld far off in the plain a cloud of dust
streaked with a thousand flashes.
"Above there, John of Werth," said Carquefou.
"Below the unknown!" said Magnus.
"Everywhere nothing but blows ! Zounds but 'tis
A FIGHT TO THE DEATH 253
pleasant this travelling in Germany,'' added Carquefou.
M. de Saint-Paer approached Armand-Louis. "Our
horses are exhausted." he said. "On this side there is a
curtain of trees, beyond the brook. Perhaps 'tis there
that we shall die."
Armand-Louis glanced towards the mountain. "John
of Werth can have but a handful of men with him. The
danger therefore lies not in his quarter," said he. "Let
us march upon this squadron which is coming towards
us, and, sword in hand, let us by a final effort conquer
some horses to replace those who are quivering under
our spurs."
The dragoons serried ranks. At Armand-Louis' ges-
ture, as he pointed his sword toward the plain, they all
knew what he expected from them. A shiver ran through
the valiant troop and they all nerved themselves to fall
in this supreme struggle. None hoped to come out of
it alive.
As they approached the brook indicated by M. de
Saint-Paer, a blast of wind brushed the dust-cloud which
enveloped the squadron. They could now distinguish
the men, the horses, the arms.
"The Swedes !" cried Magnus.
A trembling ran through the decimated ranks of the
La Guerche Dragoons.
"Long live King Gustavus Adolphus !" roared the im-
petuous voice of Armand-Louis.
And, as if the new-born ardor of the Huguenots had
passed from their souls to electrify the flanks of their
steeds, each horse, which had seemed almost foundered,
bounded off at a gallop.
The brook was crossed, the plain flew under the hoofs
and Armand-Louis flung himself into the astonished
arms of Arnold of Brahe.
Adricnne and Diana were kneeling on the ground be-
fore the whole regiment, and with hands uplifted were
rendering thanks to God.
The Swedes waved their flags and sabres. The dra-
goons had hung their hats on the point of their swords.
A deafening scries of roars rose to the heavens.
"Behold our Iliad at an end." cried Renaud, kissing in
254 A FIGHT TO THE DEATH
transport Diana's hand. "Now that all's past I may
confess, that I have been mightily afraid."
"Three hundred of us set out and fifty return," said M.
de Saint Paer.
When the dragoons turned their attention again to
the Huguenots, they saw that John of Werth had wheeled
about and was marching along the foot of the mountain.
His sword hung in his scabbard.
For some time Armand-Louis followed him with his
eyes.
"Are you beating about the country, or are you the
advance guard of the army?" he at length asked Arnold
of Brahe.
"The king's army entire is near here," replied Arnold.
"One part lies on the left, the other behind us. That of
the Duke of Friedland occupies a formidable position on
the right. Gustavus Adolphus is going to meet it. Bat-
tle is imminent, and this battle between Sweden and Aus-
tria will decide the destiny of Germany."
"Ah," cried Renaud, "we arrive in good time."
"A little too soon perhaps," Carquefou murmured tim-
idly.
Renaud glared at him askance.
" 'Tis but a personal opinion," added Carquefou, "and
applies only to me."
Armand-Louis meanwhile kept his eyes on the little
band led by John of Werth. "The assurance of his
march, the direction he follows, both convince me that he
knows fully whither he is bound," he said at length.
"And you are not mistaken. Before this evening he
will be in the quarters of General Wallenstein at Lutzen."
Renaud, who had heard every word of this short dia-
logue, approached Armand-Louis.
"Captain," he said, "you are questioning Arnold of
Brahe as though you had a project in view."
"There's something missing from this hilt," answered
Armand-Louis, lightly touching his sword.
"A sword-knot perhaps?"
"Thou hast said it."
"And thou wilt seek it out?"
Armand-Louis nodded.
A FIGHT TO THE DEATH 255
" 'Tis mad, but I'm with thee," replied Rcnaud.
"Now not a word," pursued Armand-Louis. "Four
eyes are watching us, four beautiful eyes, which read our
souls. Magnus and Carquefou will be of our company."
"Thou knowest well that the one goes nowhere with-
out the other."
256 THE WOLF AT BAY
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE WOLF AT BAT.
One hour later, while Adrienne and Diana were being
taken to the camp of the king, under the escort of a
guard of honor, four well mounted men galloped on the
tracks of John of Werth.
Had any one met them they would have taken Ar-
mand-Louis, Renaud, Magnus and Carquefou for four
body guards of His Excellency the Duke of Friedland.
They wore his uniform, his arms and colors. Magnus
had secured a complete disguise and they spurred in-
trepidly onward towards the enemy's lines.
It was not long before they reached the outposts of the
Imperial army, where they declared themselves to be spe«
cial couriers. All opposition disappeared before their
uniforms. Some of the soldiers against whom they had
fought the evening before even told them where they
might best look for John of Werth, for whom, said Mag-
nus, they had important messages. They learned also
that all the companies scattered throughout the land had
received orders to join the grand army.
An aide-de-camp whom they met informed them that
during the night John of Werth had received a courier
from the commander-in-chief and that, despairing of ever
capturing the Huguenots, he thought now only of his of-
ficial duties. According to this message, he was pro-
visionally to halt in a village situated at the extreme left
of the base of operations, and here await further intsruc-
tions.
"I believe that it is just these instructions whicr we
are taking to him," Armand-Louis replied hardily.
"Make haste then. The Bavarian general may remain
only a few hours in the house where he is stopping."
Then the aide-de-camp saluted Armand-Louis and disap-
peared.
THE WOLF AT BAY 257
"Zounds!" said Carquefou, "this village whither we
are being sent looks to be just like a cavern."
"That is why we must go to it," replied Renaud.
Armand-Louis always galloped ahead. When the four
cavaliers reached the village, night had quite fallen. They
rode through the streets, which were incumbered with
soldiers and arms, without molestation. In the middle
of the place they saw a large house resplendent with light.
Within was John of Werth. Four body guards stalled
their horses in a yard nearby and emptied a bag of oats
before them. The poor beasts were jaded.
Towards midnight Magnus, who never slept with more
than one eye, noticed a courier run up his foaming horse
before the house of the Bavarian general. This courier
bore the livery of Wallenstein. Magnus nudged Carque-
fou with his elbow.
"Get thou some flagons of old wine and two or three
jugs of brandy," said he, "while I go and keep guard be-
low there."
When Magnus spoke Carquefou had the habit to obey
unquestioningly. While Magnus directed his steps
towards the door which the courier had just entered, Car-
quefou hurried down a neighboring street, determined to
find flagons and jugs well filled even if he had to pillage
every inn cellar in the village. Soon afterwards Wallen-
sti in's courier came out of the house of John of Werth.
Magnus accosted him and, having invited him to refresh
himself, he conducted him to the spot where he had left
Carquefou. Carquefou had secured both the wine and
the brandy.
"Ah, comrade," said Magnus, breaking the neck of a
bottle, "a drink or two can do you no harm. You look
like a man who has ridden too fast not to be thirsty."
"My throat is as dry as a bit of old leather, and my
palate as hard as horn," replied the cavalier, seizing a
bottle and gluing it with both hands to his lips.
This fraternal reception disposed the courier to become
confidential. lie did not conceal from the two good fel-
lows who welcomed him so cordiallv that he was fagged
out after galloping all day, and that the prospect of serv-
258 THE WOLF AT BAY
ing as guide to John of Werth in a new expedition
simply appalled him.
"I have had no sleep for the last three nights," he said.
"Bah !" interposed Magnus, handing him another bot-
tle, "the general will surely give you time to take a rest."
"Not at all. We must start out at once. The de-
spatches which I gave him are very urgent and he is not
the man to lose any time."
Magnus exchanged a wink with Carquefou. The cav-
alier drank, closed his eyes, drank again and yawned so
widely that he was in danger of dislocating his jaws.
"Baron John of Werth resembles somewhat the Duke
of Friedland," continued the cavaHer. "As the general,
so the lieutenant. With them a mar. must march straight
or die. That is what awaits me."
"You interest me, my friend," replied Magnus, "and if
the proposition be agreeable to you, I know somebody
who would perhaps take your place."
"Who?"
"Myself."
The cavalier opened wide his eyes in amazement.
"Whatever I do it is in goodness of heart," added Mag-
nus. "Is John of Werth going far?"
"To headquarters now, but he will pass through a
large town where there is some artillery. The roads are
bad, a bridge across a river is half broken. If I fall
asleep, good-night, I will break my neck."
"My dear friend," interposed Carquefou, "you must
not break anything."
"It is imprudent," added Magnus. "I who know the
roads will cross the bridge straight."
The courier could no longer see clearly. His leaden
head tossed from one shoulder to the other, but he still
had a ray of reason left.
"Yes," he replied, "you are very prompt to help people.
There have been wolves who have taken the skin of a
shepherd to devour the sheep."
Then Magnus said with an innocent air :
"You are not stupid, comrade. The truth is that, to-
gether with the desire to serve you there is a wish to
curry the good graces of the field marshal, Wallenstein.
THE WOLF AT BAY 259
Our friend here, who will not leave you a drop of this
excellent wine if you do not be wary, has, like me, certain
peccadillos to be eased by performing some honest ser-
vice."
"One cannot be perfect," Carquefou commented, never
ceasing to fill the courier's bumper.
"That is why," added Magnus, "we desire to be the
ones that shall lead John of Werth in triumph to head-
quarters. This done, pardon will be ours."
"Pardon for you ; and for me, what ?" cried the cavalier.
"For you five ducats of gold. Behold them here !"
The courier took the five pieces, shook them in his
hand, laughed stupidly and replied with half-shut eyes:
"Ha! Ha! I am no gudgeon. I knew cursed well
that there was an eel under the rock. I'm a good devil;
so be off and break your back in my place. Good luck
attend you! Stay; don't tell this to the comrades whom
I left at the village gate. They would want a bite off
my cake."
As he spoke the courier slid the ducats into his pocket,
not without exceeding difficulty discovering this recep-
tacle.
The door of John of Werth's house was opened. Sev-
eral men came out and hurried towards the stables.
"Halloa !" mumbled the courier in a thick voice,
"Baron John of Werth is making ready to leave. He
does not know you, he may question you. If he says
'Prague,' answer 'Friedland.' "
The head of the courier dropped down on his breast
and he fell fast asleep.
"Make haste now!" murmured Magnus.
The courier had been cautiously laid on a bed of straw
and locked in the stable. Magnus and Carquefou de-
tailed their adventure to Armand-Louis and Renaud, and
the four hurriedly mounted and posted themselves at the
door of John of Werth.
The Bavarian appeared. As he leaped into his saddle
he cast a rapid glace at the four cavaliers. By the light
of a torch which was held by a groom, he recognized the
uniform of Wallenstein's body guard, but he did not see
260 THE WOLF AT BAY
the man who had come into his presence a short while
before.
"Where's the courier?" he asked.
Magnus leaned over toward John of Werth and gave
the military salute, saying:
"We took care of him ; he is sleeping in there."
Then in a weak voice, and without the flutter of an
eyelid, under the stern glance of John of Werth, he
added in a mysterious tone :
"I am called 'Prague,' as he is called 'Friedland.' "
"Let's be off," said the Bavarian.
John of Werth took with him only one officer.
Magnus and Carquefou rode in advance, Armand-
Louis and Renaud remained in the rear, and the entire
company plunged into the open country, which lay
flooded in the light of the moon.
They cut through space, their heads above their steeds,
the skirts of their long cloaks floating in the breeze be-
hind them. They passed swift as shadows by trees,
houses and mills, challenged only by the snarling bark of
occasional dogs. John of Werth at times exchanged a
few words with his aide-de-camp.
At length a white line, broadening on the horizon, an-
nounced the coming of morning. The pale light de-
scending from the sky revealed a river in their path, and
across this river lay a stone bridge whose arches were
half broken. The church spire of a town stood up away
in the distance. At the moment when Magnus and Car-
quefou galloped on the bridge, the sound of a whistle
pierced the air. They both halted abruptly midway be-
tween the two shores. John of Werth and his aide-de-
camp mechanically reined up their horses. Armand-
Louis and Renaud were upon them in an instant.
"What's wrong?" cried John of Werth.
"I am Armand-Louis of La Guerche," said the Hugue-
not uncovering, "and here is my friend, the Marquis Re-
naud of Chaufontaine, who will be my witness."
John of Werth gazed about him.
"It boots naught to look for help," interposed Renaud.
"Magnus and Carquefou, whom I beg to introduce, keep
good guard there. Nobody is near. We are four and
THE WOLF AT BAY 261
you are two. The simplest thing for you to do is to un-
sheath."
"Now if this duel be not to your taste," added Armand-
Louis, '*or if you do not care to run its chances, you can
avoid it by giving me that swordknot you wear."
John of Worth, smiling with a disdainful air, replied :
"I fancied I had to deal with a man of war, not with a
comedian. Near here are two armies which are to play
the game of battles for the crowns of two nations. Your
place is marked out for you on one side, as mine is for me
on the other. Let the quarrel between an emperor and a
king be settled and I swear to you on my word of a
gentleman that we will meet whenever your good pleas-
ure wills."
"I have you here," answered Armand-Louis, "and I'll
keep you. Only one of us must fall, and thus the armies
will be only one soldier less and they can fight."
The plain was deserted. Not a human being could be
seen on either side of the river. John of Werth's gaze
surveyed the horizon and it stopped at the spire of the
town to which the military mission, confided to him by
Wallenstein, summoned him. What would he not have
given to see a squadron come flying thence ! But Ar-
mand-Louis had already drawn his sword.
"You have said a duel," spoke John of Werth as he
drew his. "If I down you am I free? If I fall can Cap-
tain Steinwald, my escort, go upon his way?"
"I swear it to you," answered Armand-Louis.
"Then to arms !"
Armand-Louis and John of Werth leaped to the
ground, and, having chosen a spot at the middle of the
bridge, they crossed swords.
Renaud stood behind Armand-Louis, the statuesque
Captain Steinwald behind John of Werth. Magnus and
Carquefou kept guard at either end of the bridge.
Between the two combatants there was the same hate,
the same youth, the same ardor, the same strength.
Each sword-point sought the other's heart ; not a word,
not a cry, not a sigh. Naught was heard but the clash
of steel against steel. The chances looked equal. Neither
262 THE WOLF AT DAY
one nor the other of the adversaries weakened ; neither
one nor the other recoiled. But Armand-Louis' duels
with Renaud and Count Pappenheim in the past had not
been in vain. No feint was strange to him, no trick was
there, no attack, that he did not know.
A flame of anger crossed the visage of John of Werth.
For an instant he fell off guard and the sword of Ar-
mand-Louis, swift as a dart, pierced his arm through.
The hand of the Bavarian opened and his weapon drop-
ped on the bridge. Armand-Louis leaped forward to
seize it, when John of Werth, snatching it up with his
unwounded hand, pitched it into the river.
"Perish the sword which betrayed me," he shouted.
"Perish the sword-knot !"
With one spring Armand-Louis leaped over the par-
apet after the sword. They saw him sink in the whirling
stream and then suddenly reappear, holding in his hand
the weapon with its sword-knot. With the other hand
he swam and soon reached the shore.
John of Werth, pale with rage, was holding his wound-
ed arm.
"You are free, sir," said Armand-Louis.
Then he leaped astride his horse, which Magnus had
brought to him, and they galloped off, leaving John of
Werth standing in the middle of the bridge. In his mad
course towards the Swedish line he pressed the wet
sword-knot to his heart, saying:
"Thank God, Adrienne is mine !"
When Armand-Louis and Renaud reached the camp
of Gustavus Adolphus, Arnold of Brahe had just pre-
ceded them with the two young ladies in charge.
The Marquis of Pardaillan was stronger than his sick-
ness and was in the presence of the king. Not having
heard from the two adventurers, nor from Adrienne and
Diana, his only hope now was to avenge them or die.
Suddenly a great noise was heard outside of his tent,
and the sound of those two loved voices made his heart
leap. As he stood up Adrienne and Diana fell into his
arms.
"Both still alive!" cried the old man, as the tears
streamed down his cheeks.
THE WOLF AT BAY 263
"My Lord, Marquis," said Rcnaud, "I was not to re-
appear before you until I brought your daughter with
tne. Have I kept my word?"
"My son, embrace me !" said the old man.
"Sweet heaven !" exclaimed Renaud, his knees trem-
bling. But the father gave room to the gentleman and
the soldier immediately.
"Gentlemen," said the Marquis of Pardaillan, "the
affairs of Sweden must be prefered to the affairs of the
family. Let us give up these few hours to prayer and
rest To-morrow the God of war will decide the fate of
Gustavus Adolphus. I also will be ahorse."
26a VAE VICTIS
CHAPTER XXXII.
VAE VICTIS.
The camp presented a scene of suppressed agitation.
The squadrons and battalions were taking their rank in
the order of battle. The men knew that on the morrow
the King of Sweden was to measure himself with Wal-
lenstein. The officers came and went giving orders.
Cannons were rolled in place and stalwart veterans ex-
amined their arms.
Armand-Louis hastened to the presence of Gustavus
Adolphus, who received him with open arms. He was
struck with the grave demeanor of the king.
"I bring back to you what is left of the La Guerche
Dragoons," said Armand-Louis after he had informed
the King in a few words of the state of his affairs.
"So much the better," answered Gustavus Adolphus.
"We cannot have too many good soldiers."
"Do you think, sir, that Wallenstein is more redoubt-
able than Count Tilly? The town of Lutzen will be an-
other Leipzic for Your Majesty. It will baptise a new
victory."
"God is master. Grant that He may hear you !"
Then with a firm hand Gustavus Adolphus traced to
Armand-Louis the plan of the positions occupied by the
two armies.
"I am not in a condition to wait till winter any more
than Wallenstein," explained the king. "I offer him
battle and he accepts, so as not to merit the reproach
which has been cast up to him since Nuremberg, that he
did not dare to measure arms with the King of Sweden.
Wallenstein is a great general. Every combination that
the genius of man can invent to assure victory to his flag
he will discover. How many who are alive to-day will
sleep in eternity to-morrow ! You will remain near me,
La Guerche."
VAE VICTIS 265
"That means I will be in the most dangerous place. I
thank you, sire, for this privilege."
Then, leaving the King's tent, Armand-Louis sought
Arnold of Brahe to have news of the Duke of Laucn-
bourg.
"He has been gone two days," Arnold said.
"God grant that he may never return," cried Armand-
Louis.
Some hours still separated the night from the moment
when the great battle should begin. Armand-Louis left
the camp to see Adrienne once more. As he was passing
from it he met Magnus. The veteran was shadowing a
man of gaunt appearance who was urging onward a
horse of thin and half-starved build.
"If Magnus is still the man I knew him to be," said the
old reiter. "it is my opinion that I saw the scowl of this
rascal in the inn where Lord Mattheus wore the cloak of
a monk."
"What matters it to thee?" said Armand-Louis.
"It is said in Africa that jackals go before hyenas in
search of prey. Master Innocent might well be the spy
of a bandit called Jacobus, whose angular profile and red
beard I fancied I recognized when you left to go to the
king. I want to talk with him about this."
But just when Magnus was about to turn, Master In-
nocent plied his spurs and the lean and half-starved horse
galloped away like a thunderbolt. In a few moments he
was quite out of reach.
"Ha!" murmured Magnus. "This serves to give my
suspicions bottom. We'll see the hyena after the jackal."
"Well," answered Armand-Louis, "are we not here to
receive him?"
While all in the Swedish camp was being made ready
for the decisive action of the morrow, Wallcnstein was
in conference with Duke Francis-Albert, who informed
him of the resolution of Gustavus Adolphus.
"Twice have I lost twenty-four hours in seeking you
in the mountains between Cambourg and Wcissenfels
and along the shores of the Saale. In your turn do not
lose an hour. The King of Sweden will be upon you to-
morrow."
266 VAE VICTIS
"Are you quite sure of this ?" cried Wallenstein, leap-
ing to his feet. "Yesterday the king was marching on
Saxony."
"He has struck his camp at Naumbourg and is ad-
vancing by forced marches on Weissenfels."
"Is Count Kolloredo there?"
"He holds the fort, but that will not prevent the pass-
ing of King Gustavus Adolphus. Believe me, my lord,
the battle is inevitable."
"It will be inevitable only if I consent to accept it."
"And if Your Highness refuse, his enemies will be as-
sured that Your Highness does not dare meet the King
of Sweden in open country."
"They say that," cried Wallenstein, flushing.
"They who know you not, my lord, take a malicious
pleasure in spreading such calumnies."
"How many soldiers has Gustavus Adolphus in hand?"
"Twenty thousand."
"That is more than I have to oppose him."
"But you are Wallenstein and you command. Besides
you have the advantage of position. If you retreat, do
you not fear to lose by such a retreat the prestige of
twenty victories? The King of Sweden has attacked
you, it seems to me, in your entrenchments at Nurem-
berg. Has the conqueror of Tilly been able to inflict a
scratch upon you?"
" 'Tis true ; but consider my ill-luck. Yesterday by
my order and in the conviction that I was in a place
where the campaign was ended, Count Pappenheim left
me and marched on Mortzbourg."
"He must be called back in all haste. He cannot be
gone above seven or eight leagues."
"Will you undertake to reach him ?"
"Yes ; and when the Count has been brought back to
camp, I will hurry to rejoin the King of Sweden."
"Go then. There's the order, signed and sealed by
me. I will confer with my generals."
But it was less Count Kolloredo or Piccolimini that
the Duke of Friedland went to consult than the Astrolo-
ger Seni.
The conversation just held with the Duke of Lauen-
VAE VICTIS 267
bourg was far from determining Wallenstein to accept
the battle threatened by Gustavus Adolphus. It was his
policy to temporize, and though moved by the arguments
by whose aid the astute Francis-Albert had pricked his
pride, he resolved to hang his resolution on the answer
of the stars.
The astrologer Seni occupied a house on the summit
of a terrace which had been built by the laborers of the
camp and a kind of tower in which the clever man lived
among his instruments. The walls were covered with
cabalistic figures and algebraic calculations.
When Wallenstein entered in the tower Seni was study-
ing the stars. At the sight of the firmament, resplendent
with stars, above all at the sight of the silent man, who
was tracing on a sheet of paper signs and figures, which
he could not understand, the general, whom one hundred
cannons discharged at one time could not make quiver,
trembled from head to foot.
"What say the planets?'' he asked, in a voice of emo-
tion.
Previously Seni had received a visit from Duke Fran-
cis-Albert, nevertheless he was not in the habit of com-
promising himself by giving categorical answers.
"Mars was very red to-night," he said. "The earth
will soon drink blood."
" 'Tis a dew which falls almost every eve in this tem-
pestuous weather. But have you cast your eyes upon the
star of the King of Sweden?" asked the Duke of Fried-
land.
"It was veiled yesterday ; this morning even more so.
But it was not entirely hidden. Saturn threatens it, also
Jupiter. I have made my calculations from the conjunc-
tion of those stars. A great event is at hand."
"Ah!"
"Behold your star, my lord ; what a brilliance it has
despite the approach of Mercury, the inimical star of
which, Sirius, who protects you, combats the evil influ-
ence. Truth is read in the heavens in characters of fire.
Behold that passing star, which dies. Lo, another dis-
appears! A third, more resplendent, springs from the
'!• pths of the firmament. In its course it skims the war-
268 VAE VICTIS
like Lion and the Ram, friend of battles. Let him have
heed."
"Who? Explain!" cried Wallenstein breathlessly.
"The star which is the master of his life pales. The
heavens have said it and repeat it. The Ides of November
shall be fatal to Gustavus Adolphus !"
"And to-day is the first of November !" cried Wallen-
stein, his breast heaving.
Seni traced some figures and parabola on his papar.
Wallenstein stared at him with bated breath.
"Yes, fatal; exceeding fatal!" repeated Seni. "The
sun set in purple. How sombre wert thou then, star of
Gustavus Adolphus !"
As he left the house of Seni, Wallenstein, half con-
quered, yet still hesitating, met a man for whom he had
been searching. He recognized the equerry of Madame
d'Igomer.
"Ah, my lord," said this man, as he knelt and presented
to him a scarf still wet and soiled with mud.
"Good God ! Dead !" cried W^allenstein.
The equerry arose and with bared brow narrated to the
Duke of Friedland the manner in which the Baroness of
Igomer had lost her life. Only this bit of silk had the
cruel waters yielded. Now Thecla slept forevermore be-
neath the weeds and grasses of the marsh.
Wallenstein heard the equerry's recital with a sad and
grave attention.
"Ah !" he roared at length, "let the earth drink blood.
I've paid my holocaust!"
Then summoning the generals of the Imperial army,
Isolani, Kolloredo, Piccolimini and Terzki, he said:
"Gentlemen, to-morrow we fight Gustavus Adolphus."
All preparations were made within the few hours which
lay between now and daylight. Deep trenches, bristling
with stakes ran along each side of the road from Weissen-
fels to Leipzic between the two armies. The Imperial
troops, divided into five brigades, took position at three
hundred paces from this road, the left wing against the
canal which joins the Elster with the Saale, and the bat-
teries quickly established dressed their cannons all on ris-
ing ground.
VAE VICTIS 269
Meanwhile the Duke of Lauenbourg and Captain
Jacobus were galloping in the night in the pursuit of
Count Pappenheim. A burning village, which cast sin-
ister flames athwert the heavens, served to light them.
They understood that the terrible general had passed
here.
At the first streaks of dawn Gustavus Adolphus leaped
into his saddle. Still suffering from an ill-healed wound,
he wore in lieu of his cuirass a close coat of buff and a
surtout of cloth. Pale, but with eye undimmed and brow
erect, he rode along the front of his army of warriors and
devotees.
At view of him a thousand cheers rent the air, which
reverberated even to the camp of Wallenstein.
"Soldiers!" cries the king, "lift your souls to God, the
giver of victory!"
He kneels on the ground, uncovers and prays.
The army kneels in a mass, and twenty thousand brave
voices intone a religious chant, which is accompanied by
the music of the regiment. A great fog covers the plain
and the prayer of these valiant men, half of whom are
going to their death, rises up in the mist.
Armand-Louis and the Marquis of Pardaillan, sudden-
ly animated by the fire of youth, followed the king. Ar-
mand-Louis looked everywhere for Renaud. He was not
to be seen in the ranks of the dragoons.
Armand-Louis questioned Magnus.
"This morning M. de Chaufontaine seemed very much
interested in a new buff coat, which he was trying," re-
plied Magnus. "Carquefou was trying one also of the
same form."
At this moment a ray of sunlight burst over the plain,
the fog rose like a curtain and the two armies beheld each
other separated by the highway.
A jet of flame shot out from a battery placed on a hill
in the midst of the Imperial army.
"God is with us!" cried the Swedes.
"Jesus and Mary !" replied the Imperialists.
The battle had begun.
While Gustavus Adolphus was pointing with his sword
to the battery, enveloped in smoke and flames, which
270 VAE VICTIS
must be taken, Wallenstein was gazing in the direction
in which Count Pappenheim had ridden away the day
before. The road was white and naked even to the hor-
izon.
"Will he arrive in time ?" murmured the field marshal,
glancing now upon the masses of Swedes, who had al-
ready fought their way to the first trench along the road.
The muskets shrieked all along the line and the cannon
thundered. Balls and bullets dealt destruction in their
path.
The fury of the attack was equalled only by the ob-
stinacy of the defense. Neither army would yield. The
yards of ground conquered, foot by foot, by the Swedes,
were almost immediately retaken by the Imperialists.
Whole ranks fell in the carnage only to be replaced by
new combatants fighting like devils. Everywhere, when
a regiment wavered the captains rushed ahead and their
presence inspired new force and spirit in the men. The
dead were no longer counted. The road which separated
the two armies had been captured and lost three times.
While Gustavus Adolphus was directing his impetuous
charges from the centre to the left wing and from the left
wing to the right of his army, Armand-Louis, now alone
with Magnus, now with some dozens of dragoons, had
never left the king's side. Athwart the smoke he once
caught a glimpse of Renaud, who was issuing from the
midst of a Bavarian battalion he had routed. He fancied
he saw Gustavus Adolphus in person and behind this new
Gustavus Adolphus still another. The close coat and sur-
tout were exactly alike.
"What madness is this?" said Armand-Louis, while
the balls whistled around his head.
" 'Tis a trick," replied Renaud. "A deserter informed
me that certain captains of the Imperial army wished to
attack the king. Five or six of us have adopted his cos-
tume. If fortune wills it, I will be the one to fall."
Meanwhile the king aimed by a decisive blow to break
the centre of the enemy, where Wallenstein fought in per-
son. He gathered about him several Finland battalions
and, his sword aloft, he dashed them on to the charge.
All yielded before him and his rush makes him master
VAE VICTIS 271
of the batteries that crest the road. Wallenstein, still im-
passive, retreats, surrounded by the vanquished. His line
of operation is broken, but so long- as one regiment lasts
he does not believe the battle lost.
Had Seni not said that the Ides of November would be
fatal to the King of Sweden ?
But now a fearful uproar bursts forth on the road. A
terrible confusion ensues in the ranks. The two armies
seem to be run over by a whirlwind, which annihilates the
Swedish lines.
Gustavus Adolphus pauses and looks into the distance.
A fearful shout tears the air, springing from the midst of
this whirlwind.
"Jesus and Mary !"
It is the cry of the Imperialists, and eight regiments of
cuirassiers appear dealing death in their path.
At the same instant a man covered with powder passes
near Wallenstein and flings forth these words :
"Count Pappenheim !"
Then, continuing his course, he attains the thick of the
Swedish squadrons and hastening to the side of the king,
he shouts :
"Sire, Count Pappenheim is arrived. Your left wing
is broken."
"Damn you !" mutters Armand-Louis, as he recognizes
Francis-Albert.
The king had signalled to Armand-Louis.
"Gallop," he said, "and fetch Duke Bernard of Weimar
with his reserve. He will find me before Pappenheim."
Armand-Louis leaps off in one direction, Gustavus
Adolphus in the other, and followed by the Duke of
Lauenbourg.
A sinister cavalier gallops in their shadow. If Carque-
fou should meet him he would recognize Captain Jacobus
despite the red cloak which he wears.
"At last, thou'rt here," said the king to the Duke of
Lauenbourg. "Why have I not seen thee for tun days?"
"Ah, Sire," replied the duke, "now I leave you no
more."
The flames had beaconed him the preceding night to
Halle, which General Pappenheim had consigned to fire.
272 VAE VICTIS
Scarcely had he been made aware of the order, which
the sombre ally of the Imperialists bore, than the Grand-
Marshal had his drums beating and clarions sounding.
But cavalry and infantry were mad in the lust of pillage.
Only eight regiments of cuirassiers answered his sum-
mons, and at the head of these Pappenheim had galloped
to the battle.
It was lost. He arrives and wins it back. His sword
works prodigies and his cavalry, accustomed to conquer
with him, meet the Blue Regiment, the most staunch of
the Swedish infantry.
They formed a very living wall; a wall bristling with
pikes and muskets; but the cuirassiers ten times re-
pulsed are lashed back to the charge for the eleventh
time and the wall falls.
To the Blue Regiment succeeds the Yellow. The tor-
rent of cavaliers attack it and heap themselves on its
flanks without being able even to scratch it. Pappenheim
flings himself into the thickest of the conflict. His cava-
liers follow him and pass.
The Yellow Regiment is no more.
"Gustavus Adolphus, where art thou?" roars Pappen-
heim, brandishing his sword that flows with blood.
He perceives a cavalier who resembles the king and
charges upon him. A few terrific blows and the cavalier,
wounded to death, falls back on the crupper of his horse.
"Ah, 'tis not the king !" says Pappenheim disdainfully,
and he plunges forward, roaring, "Gustavus Adolphus,
where art thou ?"
On his way he ploughs the broken ranks of the Swed-
ish army as a mighty drill ploughs a field of brushwood.
This great tumult attracts the king, who from afar sees
the rout of his men and then apprehends that the Duke
of Friedland will retake the offensive.
The cavalier in the red cloak, who shadows him, ap-
proaches Francis-Albert.
"The army wavers. If the king dies it is beaten. Strike,
then," he mutters.
The Duke of Lauenbourg raises a heavy pistol.
"Ah, I dare not," he says.
At this juncture, Gustavus Adolphus, in his unbridled
VAE VICTIS 273
course, passed near a platoon of Imperial musketeers.
Francis-Albert feigned to be carried away by his horse
and galloped along their front.
"The man riding ahead," he said, "is the king. Fire!"
Three muskets are raised and fire. One ball strikes
Gustavus Adolphus, breaking his left arm, which falls
limp to his side.
"God's curse !" muttered Francis-Albert, seeing that
the king did not fall.
Armand-Louis galloped up now and said to the king :
"Sire, Duke Bernard follows me."
"Forward !" replied the king.
A body of cuirassiers suddenly separates him from Ar-
mand-Louis, who charges on them with thirty dragoons.
Gustavus Adolphus strove to reach Count Pappenheim,
but pain and the loss of blood were weakening him. The
old ill-healed wound reopened. He grew pale and
swayed in his saddle.
"Oh, if at least my brave soldiers do not see me fall !"
he murmured.
"Strike now!" repeats Jacobus in the ear of the Duke
of Lauenbourg, as Gustavus Adolphus moves away
slowly.
Francis-Albert hesitates.
"Well," retorted the captain, "what you do not know
how to do, I will do."
Then raising his pistol, the dog fires. Gustavus Adol-
phus utters a cry. His trembling hand seeks to grip the
saddle, but he falls to earth.
"Brother," said the king to the duke, who stares at him
in terror, "I am ready to die. Preserve thy days !"
"Now, Sire, dost recognize me?" asked Jacobus, who
had just left his men, "thou didst degrade me. I kill
thee !"
A terrible cry causes him to raise his glance. Armand-
Louis had seen all and at the head of his cavaliers is
fighting frantically to come up with him.
"Help! Help!" cried Jacobus. "Gustavus Adolphus is
dead !"
One hundred cuirassiers and one hundred Imperial
musk( t' < n run hither. The cavaliers, whom Jacobus has
274 VAE VICTIS
filled with rage, fling themselves ahead and a combat, in
which quarter is neither asked nor given, begins over the
corpse of Gustavus Adolphus.
Duke Bernard of Weimar, summoned by Armand-
Louis, had just met Count Pappenheim. To the Austrian
cuirassiers are opposed the cuirassiers of Finland.
The torrent, which seemed a few moments before irre-
sistible, recoils now.
The news that the king is dead spreads like a forest-fire
through the ranks of the Swedish army. An outburst of
rage is their reply, and like she-wolves from whom their
cubs have been ravished, the companies rally and dash
upon the enemy.
It is no longer a battle, but a duel; every man who
bears a pike, a sword, or a musket seems to have a per-
sonal injury to avenge. Cavalry and infantry vie with
each other in falling upon the Imperialists.
"Vengeance !" is now the army's cry.
Everything yields to this effort of desperation.
Wallenstein, leading the centre to the battle, jostled
against General Horn and his old regiments.
"Ah," said he, "the soul of Gustavus Adolphus is with
them."
This soul was incarnate in the manly visage of Duke
Bernard. While the Swedes fought to kill and die, he
urged them ahead to conquer, and mastering the batter-
ies, which had kept Gustavus Adolphus so long in check,
he thunderstruck the Imperial army.
Meanwhile the fury of the combat, which bloodied the
corner of ground on which lay the body of Gustavus
Adolphus, had not diminished in violence. Dead piled
upon dead, and the wounded fell around them. Above
this raging sea of the dying the head and arm of Pappen-
heim could be seen. He did not know that Gustavus
Adolphus had fallen and still sought him.
While an equal rage animated the Imperialists to effect
a breach in the soldiers of Armand-Louis and Renaud,
the one redoubled his blows to attain Captain Jacobus,
the other precipitated his in order to strike the Grand-
Marshal of the Empire. In spite of the waves of enemies
VEA VICTIS 275
which flung themselves upon them, Carquefou had man-
aged to join his companions in arms. But his horse no
longer obeyed the bit. Deceived by the close-coat of buff
and the surtout of cloth Pappenheim dashed upon him.
"Here's my last hour !" murmured Carquefou, who
braced himself intrepidly for the ordeal.
Almost immediately the horse of the Grand-Marshal,
with its enormous breast-plate, dashed against the stag-
gering mount of his adversary and sent him flying ten
feet away.
"Hold on to thy saddle better," cried the German,
laughing as he recognized Carquefou and shot past him.
While Carquefou was picking up the Shiverer and leap-
ing to his feet the Marquis of Pardaillan charged upon
Count Pappenheim, crying:
"Raise your sword !*'
"Old man," replied the marshal, "the game is not
Itj
.
Then, with the velocity of a stone let fly from a sling
the blow he struck at the marquis tore the old man's
sword from his grasp and drove a great gash into his
arm.
"Where are the others? Get the wounded out of the
way I" roars the Grand-Marshal.
Now Renaud managed to break the formidable circle
of pistols and sabres which encompassed him and he rode
up like a lion to Count Pappenheim.
"At last !" said the Grand-Marshal, as he recognized
him.
They leap at each other like two bulls. Their swords
meet with the swiftness of the sledge striking the anvil ;
and blows are parried as fast as dealt. The strife is re-
markable in this, nevertheless, that the longer it lasts the
more assured becomes the coolness and address of Ren-
aud. Pappenheim, on the contrary, noting that his men
were wavering all about him, wished to rally them and
make himself known to animate them by his example.
For an instant his eyes leave Renaud and standing in his
stirrups, he cries :
"Close cuirassiers and forward !"
276 VAE VIOTIS
His lips had not yet regained their tight shut expres-
sion ere the sword of Renaud had slipped under his arm
and pierced his shoulder.
A cry of rage burst from the throat of the Grand-Mar-
shal. He would keep up the fight. His leaden arm
makes a desperate effort to lift his weapon, but it falls
limp to his side.
"Surrender !" cries Renaud.
But the cuirassiers, seeing the peril of their chief, a
furious charge bears them between the combatants. The
men of Duke Bernard and the dragoons of Armand-
Louis fling themselves into the conflict.
What arquebuses, pistols and muskets still remained
belched forth fire and Pappenheim, who presisted in re-
fusing to retreat with his men, fell from his steed with
two balls in his breast.
A company of cuirassiers closed in around him, and
while they made a rampart of their bodies for their chief,
some bore the Grand-Marshal far from the strife. His
limp hand no longer held his sword.
"Ah, if he escapes me," cried Renaud, "this victory is
no victory !"
When Gustavus Adolphus, struck with a mortal blow,
fell from his saddle-bows, Duke Francis-Albert, seized by
a mad terror, had taken flight. His terrified horse bore
him up to the front of the Imperial army, and he shrieked
in a kind of frenzy :
"The king is dead ! The king is dead I"
Captain Jacobus, now afoot, sword in hand, raged
around his dying victim.
Here musketeers and lansquenets fought for the effects
of the king, his hat, riddled with bullets, his bloody close-
coat, his scarlet sword, his tattered cloak.
Armand-Louis, who was followed by Magnus, M. de
Saint-Paer, M. de Collonges and thirty dragoons, cut
great breaches in this moving circle. Captain Jacobus
caught sight of him and leaping astride of a horse, which
had wandered from its fallen rider, he waved his stalwart
arm in the air.
" 'Tis too late," he cried. "The king is dead."
VAE VICTIS 377
Then like an adder, which glides through thorns and
brushwood, he launched into the thick of the Imperial
squadrons.
But these squadrons, divided and broke by the repeated
charges of the Swedes, wavered and opened on all sides.
Whither Captain Jacobus galloped Armand-Louis pur-
sued him. They shot like two arrows through the midst
of the dispensed battalions. Now the Huguenot had al-
most overtaken him, now the captain evaded him. Thrice
had the sword of Armand-Louis ploughed the crupper of
the captain's mount, thrice a chance separated them.
Thus they passed through the army and the chase
ceased not.
Beside a brook, fringed with willows. Captain Jacobus
perceived a bevy of eight or ten disbanded Croatians.
"There's a Swedish general," he cried, "ten ducats to
those who kill him."
The Croatians were about to charge upon Armand-
Louis, but they saw M. de Saint-Paer and M. de Collon-
g«s, flanked by five or six dragoons, galloping toward
him at a fearful speed. The Croatians turned bridle and
crossed the brook. Unhappily rapid as had been their
intervention, it had allowed Captain Jacobus to gain the
opposite bank. A thin, pale man came out of the shade
of the willows, holding by the bit a lank horse. Captain
Jacobus leaped upon this steed, abandoning his former
mount, while Master Innocent glided into the thick bush
which bordered the brook, wherein his stealthy flight left
no more trace than that of a fox.
Armand-Louis gave vent to a yell of rage and would
have kept on in pursuit of Captain Jacobus.
Magnus calmly stopped him and pointing with Bali-
verne to the fleeing rascal, he said:
"His horse has wings. Do not follow him. Yester-
day I discovered the abode of Master Innocent, Captain
Jacobus will certainly return to it. But as sure as Mag-
nus is a man and has never deceived you, he will bring
you face to face with that ruffian !"
"Thou promisest it?"
"I swear it!"
27 8 VAE VICTIS
"Well, I swear in my turn that this hand will not touch
the hand of Adrienne before it has punished the mur-
derer of the king!"
Then, ramming his sword into its scabbard, Armand-
Louis turned bridle.
THE KING'S AVENGED 279
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE KING'S AVENGED.
As he was slowly retracing his steps with the dragoons
grouped about M. de Saint-Paer and M. de Collonges,
Armand-Louis met Renaud, flanked by Carquefou. They
were galloping at the side of an officer in the uniform of
the Croatian cavalry and halted on the instant.
"This man has promised to conduct me to the abode
of Count Pappenheim," said Renaud. "If he keeps his
promise he will receive one hundred pistoles; if he fails,
the ball in this pistol will crack his skull."
"To thee the Grand-Marshal of the Empire," replied
Armand-Louis, "to me Captain Jacobus."
The two brothers in arms exchanged a vigorous grip
of the hands and their countenances glowed with the fire
of an irrefragable resolution.
"My horse is fresh," interposed M. de Collonges. "I
borrowed him from an officer of Wallenstein's body-
guard in exchange for a thrust of my sword. I will go
then and join my fortune with that of the Marquis of
Chaufontaine. M. de Saint-Paer will remain with our
chief. Thus each of us will have his share of the common
work."
The dragoons divided into two bands, the better
mounted men rallying around M. de Collonges.
"Farewell, Baliverne," said Carquefou to Magnus, "I
feel as though the Shiverer is in danger of death, but she
has also a little debt to pay. If we die in company on our
way forgive us in remembrance of the feelings that were
not stinted by us."
Shortly afterward Renaud's troop vanished in the dis-
tance.
When Armand-Louis reappeared on the field of battle
the day was ended. All to be discerned in the dubious
280 THE KING'S AVENGED
light of evening was some of the wounded dragging
themselves over the ground to reach the ambulances.
Ten thousand slain lay upon the field. A funereal si-
lence enveloped this mighty multitude, such a brief while
before agitated by the storm-wind of all passions of vio-
lence. In the midst of the shadows, which grew more
dense every minute, Armand-Louis, M. de Saint-Paer
and Magnus searched for the body of the king.
While they were wandering silently in the confused
ranks of Imperialists and Swedes, they fancied they de-
scried a black figure which came and went in the night
like a phantom.
"Can that be Captain Jacobus already?" murmured
Magnus.
Armand-Louis approached the figure. A woman's
outlines loomed upon his gaze and raising her veil she
returned his regard.
"Do you not recognize me?" she said.
"Margaret!"
"Yes, Margaret who weeps and will not be comforted.
Everywhere the king went, I have gone. To Leipzic ; to
the passage of the Lech ; to Nuremberg ! He was at Lut-
zen this morning; I also was there. He fought, I prayed.
God has not willed that Germany should know the hero
who rescued her from slavery. But if his soul is above,
at least his mortal remains should be brought back to
Sweden."
" 'Tis an hour that I have been searching for him who
was Gustavus Adolphus. Alas, who can say what has
become of him?"
"Follow me. If you find him not, I shall find him."
Margaret pressed onward with a firm tread through the
holocaust of piled dead. Her face was hard and cold as
marble.
"Ah, to think that I have seen her happy and beauti-
ful !" thought Armand-Louis.
The daughter of Abraham Cabeliau at length reached
a mound of corpses grouped in a circle. The earth was
sodden with blood and covered with the fragments and
remains of arms.
It was a heap of cuirassiers and musketeers, riddled
THE KING'S AVENGED 281
with wounds, mutilated, disembowelled, decapitated ; the
severed heads beside their trunks grinned in a final glare
of furious hate.
Margaret searched in this gruesome pile of unrecog-
nizable dead, torn by the hoofs of a thousand horses.
Suddenly she sank to her knees and lifting in her hands
a head cold and ghastly, she said:
" Tis here!"
So much of tears and anguish was in this cry that Mag-
nus turned away his gaze and wept.
Then Margaret stood up and thrusting back the long
black veil, which covered her like a shroud, her eyes
bathed in tears, her face on fire, she shrieked :
"And he who killed this hero lives perchance. God of
heaven, where is thy justice !"
"Yes, madam,'' said Armand-Louis, seizing her hand,
"this man lives. But by the soul of him, who hears me
no more, I swear to you that Gustavus Adolphus shall be
avenged !"
Magnus brushed away his tears shamefacedly.
"To work then!'' he cried. "Now that we have found
the king's body, let it remain here for an hour. You,
madam, go and pray under the shadow of those trees
torn by shot. You are a woman. You may be seen and
heard without exciting suspicion. How many widows
and mothers weep this night You, M. dc
Saint-Paer, will lie in ambush below there behind that
stretch of wall, where you may sec all without being
seen."
"What wilt thou do?" asked Armand-Louis.
"We are on the hunt. Let us snap the trap where the
tiger should be taken."
"Ah, I understand. But if he should not come?"
"If he come not? Do you know a corner of Germany
which the point of Baliverne cannot rummage? But be
assured. The tiger has smellcd blood. He will want to
know whether his victim is dead."
"Good, Magnus, good. I will wait there in the shelter
of that group of pines and twenty dragoons will wheel
around the plain so that he cannot approach unseen or
try to flee without being taken."
282 THE KING'S AVENGED
"Above all, not a word, not a stir; all around you
great quarters of rock, trunks of felled trees, cottages in
ruin, ramparts of corpses. Let them be just so many re-
treats in which you remain buried. But when you shalJ
see me standing, and sword in hand, shouting, 'Gustavus
Adolphus,' then rise all of you !"
"Then let me kill him," cried Armand-Louis.
The dragoons moved away. Margaret knelt on a knoll
and all noise died on the plain.
Magnus, left alone, groped among the dead, and se-
lecting a cloak of the Imperial colors, he slung it across
his shoulders. He masked his features by rubbing pow-
der and blood upon them. He put a dinted helmet on
his head and, unrecognizable to every eye, the veteran
reiter trudged to the extreme limit of the field of battle.
Some few groans rose up from beneath him indicating
the little life that still struggled to survive.
We will forsake Armand-Louis and Magnus for a mo-
ment to rejoin Renaud, who with M. de Collonges,
launched in the pursuit of the Grand-Marshal of the Em-
pire. The marquis determined to take this man dead or
alive.
The Croatian, whose movements he scrutinized, gal-
loped toward Leipzic. Here and there at rare intervals
they passed groups of disbanded soldiers. Some of them
dropped their arms at sight of the Swedish dragoons and
scampered away, others flung themselves upon their
knees in terror and begged for mercy. Yet others, faith-
less to the defeated flag and deprived of their chief, ral-
lied around Renaud's escort, crying, "Long live Gustavus
Adolphus !"
A poor house, whose half smashed windows shone in
the darkness, appeared on one side of the road.
The Croatian stretched out his hand toward it.
"There it is," he said.
Shadows passed athwart the windows.
A group of bloody, mutilated, yet sword-bearing cuir-
assiers, kept guard around the house. At the approach
of Renaud they lined up before the door.
"Lower arms !" said Renaud. "You are ten and we are
thirty."
THE KING'S AVENGED 283
A robust voice was heard from within, Renaud recog-
nizing it as that of Count Pappenheim.
"Let them enter!" he cried, "the enemy will see how
the Grand-Marshal of the German Empire can die!"
Solemn and mute, the cuirassiers parted from before
the door; and Renaud, followed by M. de Collonges, en-
tered. Carquefou, the Shiverer in his hand, glided after
them.
Count Pappenheim, without his cuirass, his head bare
and already covered with the shadows of death, lay upon
a miserable bed. Drops of blood oozed through the
cloak thrown over his wound and dropped to the floor.
His sword, broken through the middle, lay across his
coverlet.
At sight of Renaud he raised himself on his elbow and
saluted him with his hand, saying:
" Tis a long distance from La Grande Fortelle to
Leipzic. Since then we have met in some strange places.
Be welcome to the last house in which I shall dwell."
Renaud uncovered. Carquefou lowered the Shiverer's
point.
Then placing his hand upon the hilt of his broken
sword, which he still kept by him, the Grand-Marshal
added :
"If that is what you seek, wait a few moments, death
will come and take me."
A shade of anger and despair crossed his visage.
"You have met me on ten fields of battle," he con-
tinued, "in respect for death, which hovers here, forget
our long intimacy and answer as a soldier to him who
was The Soldier. Your presence here tells me clearly
enough that we have lost the battle. What remains of
the Imperial army?"
"A few routed companies, some scattered squadrons."
"And the Duke of Friedland, our commander?"
"He has fled."
"If he lives, nothing is lost."
Count Pappenheim pulled himself up with an effort,
not releasing the hilt of his sword.
"And Gustavus Adolphus?" he asked.
Renaud bowed his head and was silent.
284 THE KING'S AVENGED
"And Gustavus Adolphus?" repeated the dying man,
sharply.
"He is dead," answered Renaud.
^ "Dead !" cried the Grand-Marshal, "the King of
Sweden dead !"
Then lifting himself up, his hands all palsied and his
face transfigured, he shrieked :
"Blessed be the God who lets me learn before my last
hour that the implacable enemy of my religion and my
country has lost his life ! No ! The battle is not lost if
Gustavus Adolphus is dead! What matters it though
fifty regiments have been broken like this sword ! I die
content. With him dead, Austria is triumphant!"
A violent knocking at the door interrupted him; a
cuirassier entered followed by a courier who knelt on the
ground, saying:
"I arrive from Madrid and the king, my master, has
charged me to give this casket to the Grand-Marshal of
the Empire."
Count Pappenheim took the casket and opened it.
Soon the brilliant insignia of the famous Order of the
Golden Fleece glittered in his trembling fingers. A kind
of ecstacy illumined his countenance.
"At last !" he murmured.
A chill seized him.
"Farewell to glory! Farewell to earth!" he said.
A deathly pallor spread over his forehead ; the scarlet
cross appeared faintly between his eyebrows, then turn-
ing those eyes, in which the flame of life was flickering,
upon Renaud, he murmured :
"I have found you always a man of war, brave and gen-
erous. In memory of the days when our swords crossed,
allow my cuirassiers to bury me with these two souvenirs
of here below."
"Your wish shall be accomplished !" said Renaud.
"Now, let God summon me," cried the Grand-Marshal.
"I am ready."
Soon he yielded up his soul, holding under his cold
hands the necklace of the Golden Fleece and the hilt of
his sword."
"Yes, he was a soldier," murmured Renaud.
THE KING'S AVENGED 285
"God grant me such a death," said M. de Collonges,
kneeling.
While these things were passing in the humble house,
under whose roof the chance of war had driven one of
the best warriors of the seventeenth century, to die, Ar-
mand-Louis, Magnus and M. de Saint-Paer were watch-
ing on the ghastly field of Lutzen.
The silence was profound ; a slight sough of wind com-
plained in the branches of the trees ; the moon, immobile
in a pure sky, cast its gleam upon that field where slept
the frozen multitude.
At times a wounded horse raised his head, uttered a
long neigh and then became silent.
Night was now well advanced. Armand-Louis began
to believe that Captain Jacobus would not come. About
this time, old Magnus, who was prowling along the edge
of the field, distinguished a man walking slowly and
glancing about him. His tall form cast a long shadow
on the ground. He held a sword in his hand.
" "Tis he!" murmured Magnus.
Then he directed his steps toward the captain, while
feigning to be seeking something along the ground.
The captain stopped, drew a pistol from his belt and
for a few minutes studied this unknown who was ram-
bling among the dead.
"A marauder," he said to himself at last, as he rammed
his pistol back in the folds of silk.
"Holloa, friend !" he cried.
Magnus raised his head, hesitated like one surprised
and discontent, then advanced toward the captain, his
hand on his swordhilt.
"Keep the toy in its place," quoth Captain Jacobus.
"Thou'rt pillaging corpses; I want to find only one. So,
let's not quarrel."
"Then, let's talk," replied Magnus, "but quickly. The
day is not far off and it won't be pleasant to meet a
Swedish patrol here."
"Hark thee! If thou aidcst me to find him, whom I
seek, there's more gold for you in this purse than you'll
find in the pockets of a hundred officers."
"Speak."
286 THE KING'S AVENGED
"The man of whom I shall speak fell near a field of
wheat, not far from a group of trees at a spot where the
road makes a bend."
Magnus scratched his forehead.
"In a place something like that," he answered, "I s-aw
an extraordinary pile of corpses. They lay like the
strands of an unbound sheaf, one on top of the other.
One of them wore a close-coat of buff with a gorget of
steel ; his left arm had been broken by a ball."
"Go thither, I follow thee," said the captain, seizing
Magnus by the hand.
Without reply Magnus hastily took a path which cut
the battlefield diagonally. The captain walked in his
tracks at a sword's distance. His anxious glances sound-
ed on every side the dubious clearness of the night; but
naught stirred in the immense plain.
Further, the man walking before him had his sword in
his scabbard.
Thus they neared a field of wheat, which had been
trampled and torn by the ravages of the fearful struggle.
Magnus pointed out to Captain Jacobus a group of five
or six trees, and the road, whose white line bent here.
"Yes, 'tis there," murmured the adventurer.
A mass of bloody bodies carpeted the ground. Broken
swords and muskets were strewn everywhere, and every-
where pale faces stared up at Heaven.
Magnus crossed the first circle of corpses and in the
heart of this hecatomb he pointed to the body of the king.
Then uncovering and in a voice of thunder he roared :
"Gustavus Adolphus !"
A man sprang up at this cry, then a second, then ten,
then twenty and all, sword in hand, marched toward Mag-
nus.
"Traitor!" cried Captain Jacobus, as he pulled his pis-
tol and fired.
But the veteran had leaped aside and the ball passed
within a few inches of his brow.
"Too soon and too late," said Magnus, coldly.
Armand-Louis and M. de Saint-Paer were now beside
him, and around them a circle of dragoons. Escape was
impossible.
THE KING'S AVENGED 287
Captain Jacobus recognized Armand-Louis and, stand-
ing behind him like a spectre, Margaret Cabeliau.
He flung his useless arms to the ground and crossing
his arms on his breast, he said :
"Ah, an ambush as at La Grande Fortelle. The gen-
tleman does the bandit's job."
Armand-Louis made a gesture, at which M. de Saint-
Paer and Magnus moved back. Then the Huguenot
faced the adventurer and said :
"1 shall believe my duty but half done if I don't kill
you. Raise your sword then, Captain Jacobus, and de-
fend your life, for as true as my name is Armand-Louis of
La Guerche, one of us will fall here never to rise."
The captain whipped out his rapier, then retreating a
step, he asked :
"Is it fair play?"
"Fair play. You against me. One to one."
"Without pity or mercy? With dirk and sword?"
"With dirk and sword. Without quarter or pardon."
"And if I kill you?"
"You shall be free, my faith of a gentleman."
M. de Saint-Paer made a move forward.
"Allow me," interposed Armand-Louis. "This man
belongs to me."
"Magnus is not a gentleman. He has promised noth-
ing," said Magnus.
Captain Jacobus bent his blade as he glanced at the
veteran and said with a disdainful air :
"Thou — thou'rt nothing."
"On guard and pray to God," cried Armand-Louis.
The steel crossed and the duel began.
Margaret on her knees held up the livid head of the
king and turned it toward the combatants, as if she willed
death to be the witness of this implacable struggle to
avenge it.
This time Armand-Louis had to do with the most for-
midable jouster he had ever met. No feint or trick but
Captain Jacobus knew it. He made of his sword and pon-
iard an apile and living shield, whence shot out a thousand
thrustfl prompt as thunderbolts. A mist passed before the
of Magnus, who gripped tight the hilt of Baliverne.
288 THE KING'S AVENGED
But Armand-Louis parried every thrust and multiplied
his own with a speed and precision that increased by re-
sistance.
Naught was heard but the clash of steel and the short,
hard breathing of the two men.
According as the adversaries changed their positions,
Margaret turned the head of the dead king between her
knees so that its pallid face might ever be fixed on Cap-
tain Jacobus.
Once the eyes of the adventurer met this terrible vis-
age. He shuddered and the sword of Armand-Louis
caught him full in the breast ; but the blade met the fine
mail of a close-coat of steel under the buff doublet and
it snapped into pieces.
"Bandit!" cried Armand-Louis.
A snarl of ferocious joy answered him.
Magnus paled and brandished Baliverne; but at the
moment when Jacobus, sure of victory, lunged at Ar-
mand-Louis, Margaret handed the latter a bloody sword.
" 'Tis the sword of the king," she said, "kill that man !"
The arm of Captain Jacobus hesitated ; the thrust des-
tined for his foe was lost in space and almost immediately
the point of a blade, whose force he had once felt, threat-
ened him anew.
"Strike at his throat !" Magnus said in a sombre voice.
The duel recommenced more bitterly and stubbornly.
"Death of my life!" murmured the captain. "I must
make an end of this."
He crouched back like a tiger and his play became
more rapid and serried. They saw his white teeth gleam
through his red moustache.
Soon some drops of blood appeared on the clothes of
Armand-Louis, who had no steel armor to protect him.
Twice the captain had torn his doublet. A smile parted
his lips as he said :
"My sword is thirsty. Beware!"
He made a step and Magnus passed his hand across his
sweat-soaked brow. But suddenly the sword of Armand-
Louis shone like an arrow and pinked the adventurer in
the shoulder, where his cuirass joined.
"Hell I" roared Jacobus, falling back.
THE KING'S AVENGED 289
Armand-Louis dropped his sword, leaped forward and
while with his right hand he seized the left arm of the
captain, with the swiftness of a lightning streak he plant-
ed his poniard full in the villain's throat with his left.
The shell of steel struck his gorget and a jet of black
blood leaped on the arm of the conqueror.
"Justice is done!" said Armand-Louis.
At daybreak two troops of cavalry met on the Leipzic
road. One was being conducted by Renaud of Chaufon-
taine, the other by Armand-Louis. The one had seen
Count Pappenheim die ; the other bore the body of King
Gustavus Adolphus. Not long afterward the two gentle-
men entered the abode of the Marquis of Pardaillan.
"Dost believe that the Shiverer may take some rest
now?" asked Carquefou.
"Who knows ! Baliverne is not tired," replied Mag-
nus.
Adrienne and Diana awaited their sweethearts.
"A man dared to look upon you," said Renaud. "He
is no more."
The Marquis of Pardaillan took Diana's hand and
placed it in that of Renaud.
"Madame," said Armand-Louis, "the swordknot with
which John of Werth adorned his blade is here on mine ;
and I have killed the man who raised his hand against the
ing.
"Madame de La Guerche," said the Marquis of Par-
daillan, "kiss your husband."
(THH END)
E, E0LLE2 ZIC2ASDSP&
SURGEON, U. & (^
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