Barr Robert
Tekla

Heinrich threw back his head with a rasping bark that stood him in place of a laugh.

"Indeed, my Lord, you have the true hangman's favour, and I marvel not the girl fled from you. I am, as you say, somewhat of a pirate, but with more honesty in me than passes current in Treves, so I cannot lift the gauge without leave of its real owner. Steinmetz, bring here the archer with his bow."

When the wonder-stricken archer appeared, grasping his weapon, his mouth full, for he had been reluctantly haled from a groaning board, he looked with some apprehension at the Black Count, expecting a recantation of the promise wrung from him.

"Archer," cried Heinrich, "there lies a gauntlet which is yours of right. I ask you for it."

"Indeed, my Lord," replied the archer, hastily gulping his food to make utterance possible, "if I have aught to say concerning it, it is yours with right good will."

"Then from where you stand, as I refused your formal proposal to judge your marksmanship, pin it for me to the floor."

The archer, nothing loath, drew bow, and with incredible swiftness shot one after another five shafts that pierced fingers and thumb of the glove, the first arrow still quivering while the last struck into its place.

For the only time that day the dark face of the Count Palatine lit up, in radiant admiration of the stout foreigner who stood with a smirk of self-satisfaction while he nodded familiarly to Captain Steinmetz as who would say:

"You see what would have happened if – "

Count Bertrich regarded him with wonder in his eyes, then pulling a purse from under his breast-plate, he said:

"Archer, I am in your debt for horse, armour and arms, and think it little shame to confess defeat to one so skilful. If you will accept this gold in payment, and leave me steed and accoutrements, I shall hold myself still your debtor. My excuse for tardy payment is that you did not wait to claim your own."

"My Lord," said the archer, "I am always willing to compound in gold for any service I can render, and only hope to have another opportunity of practising against your closed helmet with arrows which I shall shortly make a trifle thinner in the shank than those I used to-day. I have to apologise to your Lordship that my shafts were rather too thick at the point to give complete satisfaction either to you or to me."

All sign of levity vanished from Count Bertrich's face as he turned again to the Black Count.

"Although the exhibition we have been favoured with is interesting," he said, "I do not understand what bearing it has upon the point we were discussing. Do you accept challenge, or shall I intercede with my Lord the Archbishop to grant you the terms formerly recited by me?"

"Tell the Archbishop that the glove has been pinned to my floor by five shafts, piercing the points of its five members; there it will remain until his Lordship contritely enters this hall on his knees and pulls them out with his teeth. When he does this and delivers up Count Bertrich to my hangman he shall have peace."

Count Bertrich, again without salutation, turned his back upon the company, and left the apartment while the archer gazed with admiration on Black Heinrich, whose language had no mincing diplomacy about it, but stood stoutly for a quarrel.

CHAPTER XIV
A RELUCTANT WELCOME

After Count Bertrich's unceremonious departure, Heinrich stood by the table with black brows, in the attitude of one who listened intently. No one in the room moved or spoke, and in the silence there came from the courtyard the noise of horse's hoofs on stone – first the irregular stamping of an animal struck or frightened by an impatient master, then the rhythmical clatter of the canter, gradually diminishing until it lapsed beyond the hearing. The shutting of the gates with a clang seemed to arouse the master of Thuron. He drew a deep breath and glared about him fiercely, like a man ill-pleased, but determined.

"Steinmetz," he said, gruffly, "have you three men who can be trusted?"

"I should hope, my Lord, that we have many."

"Are you sure of three?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Then send them with money – no, I will not tempt the dogs. Let one on horseback cross the river, and scour the region round Munster-Maifield, telling each peasant to bring to Thuron all the grain he has to sell. Announce that I will pay for wheat delivered here at once, a trifle higher than the market price."

"Indeed, my Lord," said Steinmetz, "it will not be believed; better trust your men with the money – if you really intend to pay."

"Tell the peasants that all who bring in grain to-morrow will be paid, and fair weight allowed. Say that I will in person visit those who do not respond, accompanied by a troop of horse, and take then what pleases me without payment. See that no word slips out about the coming of the Archbishop. Another horseman is to go eastward and treat on our side of the river in the same way. Let the third ride up the Moselle and collect wine on similar terms. To-morrow it is bought; next day it is taken."

"The sun is already set, my Lord. The men cannot go far to-night. Might it not be better – "

"Steinmetz, I spoke of hanging to-day, and I am still in the mood for it. If you do not listen silently and act promptly and accomplish effectually, you shall dangle. The three men you despatch must be in the saddle all night, returning here by sunrise, with a full account of what we may expect. They will be the surer of finding the peasants at home from now till cock-crow. If my vaults are not full to-morrow at this hour, some one's soul goes to Purgatory. Arrange as best pleases you, and account to me twenty-four hours hence. I shall myself superintend the intake, and will know how to deal with you if it is insufficient."

Steinmetz looked with evil eye at his imperious master, but left the room in silence and haste, to make the best of a dangerous commission.

Heinrich turned to Rodolph, and was about to address him when the archer, who had been uneasily awaiting a chance to attract attention, clearing his throat emphatically and often, with little result, spoke up.

"My Lord, I am pleased to see that you so thoroughly understand the first requisite of a good captain, the which is to attend properly to the victualling of his garrison, but I was somewhat hastily removed from a full board at which I had hardly seated myself, leaving in my hurry to wait on your highness, a full tankard of wine, which I would fain return to. Therefore, my Lord – "

"In the Fiend's name, do so!" cried Heinrich, who with wrinkled brow had at last comprehended his guest's volubility, whereupon the archer waited no further permission but took himself off with a celerity which caused more than one smile to brighten the anxious faces in the room.

"You are doubtless as hungry as your man-at-arms," said Heinrich, turning to Rodolph, "but will possibly pardon the necessity that intervened between you and the board."

"Indeed, my Lord, I care little for food to-night, being more in need of rest, and, if I have your leave, would be glad to get sight of bed, especially as I hold it necessary to be early astir to-morrow, if we are to make Frankfort before nightfall."

"It is not my intention that you go to Frankfort; I have changed my mind. It will profit my niece nothing to go to Frankfort, for even if the Emperor were there, he is nothing but a hare-brained fool."

"I most emphatically agree with your estimate of him, my Lord."

"I thought you were a friend of his?"

"I am, and therefore know him well, and so with easy conscience can perform the part of candid friend and amply corroborate what you say concerning him."

"I know him not, and judge him but by hearsay. He is a foreigner and no true German, and was elected by the two Archbishops for their own purposes and cannot therefore be either a fighter or a man of brains. He lacks wisdom, think you?"

"He has no more wisdom, my Lord, than I, who mix with other people's quarrels and get scant thanks for my pains."

"A man can scarcely be expected to give thanks when he finds that others have arranged a war for him without his knowledge or sanction."

"That is very true, my Lord, and consequently I expect no thanks from the Archbishop, who thus finds his hand prematurely forced, and timely warning given to the redoubtable Count Heinrich. His secret preparations against you are thus unmasked, and I can well understand his rage thereat."

The Black Count scowled darkly at the younger man, and seemed unable to measure accurately his apparent frankness, feeling the awkwardness of an unready man in the polished presence of a courtier, and resenting the feeling.

"That was not my meaning," he said, curtly.

"I am under little obligation to the Archbishop, and therefore tell you frankly that I believe it was his intention to attack you later, and catch you unaware. I was confirmed in this belief by some remarks dropped by the custodian of Cochem castle. He told me the Archbishop had lately sent two spies secretly, to find out all there was to learn regarding your defences. They did so, and reported to his pious and crafty Lordship."

"Did the custodian say Arnold intended an attack?"

"Had he said so, then would I have surmised you were free from danger. On the contrary, he said the Archbishop had thought better of it; but knowing the devious ways of the Elector, I am convinced he was making secret preparations for your downfall. He is not a man to wear his plans upon his robes of office. Imagine then his present rage at finding himself unaccountably forestalled, for nothing on earth will persuade him the flight of the Countess is not all your doing. He is taken unprepared. His troops are some days' hard marching from Thuron, and when they come, they find the land has already been scoured; that you have collected in your cellars all the meat and drink there is in the region round about, so therefore must he sustain his army from a distance and at increased labour and cost. Instead of secretly encircling your castle with an army, as if he called his troops by magic from the ground, and driving back your foragers on a half empty larder, he comes upon you well stocked and waiting for him. Instead of the haughty Bertrich giving you his ultimatum with a company at his back, and the white tents of Treves gleaming over the green landscape, the envoy goes back on the horse of one of his own slain men, himself compelled to compound with an unknown foot-soldier for his forfeited accoutrements, and that in the hall of his enemy, under the taunts of the master of Thuron and the scornful gaze of his nobles. He returns to Treves an overthrown man with good assurance that Heinrich of Thuron cares not one trooper's oath for either the Archbishop or himself. Therefore, my Lord, you have right valid reason for thanking the Countess Tekla and myself, although I must own that some short time since, you gave but small token of your gratitude."

Heinrich regarded the young man as he spoke with a look of piercing intentness, tinctured with suspicion. As the recital went on and he began to see more clearly in what light his actions would go abroad, and how he stood in relation with the Archbishop, he drew himself proudly up, the smell of coming battle seeming to thrill his nostrils. Nevertheless there was rarely absent from his penetrating gaze the indication of slumbering distrust, with which a man uncouth and rough of tongue, usually listens to one of opposite qualities for here before him was a puzzle; a man who apparently did not fear him, who spoke smoothly and even flatteringly, yet who, in a manner, looked down upon him as if he were inferior clay. He had this young man entirely in his power, yet the position might have been reversed for all the comfort it gave the Black Count.

"I am not sure but you have some qualities of a great commander," said Heinrich, a compliment which although perhaps reluctantly given, the nobleman recalled in after life as a proof of his own foresight, when Rodolph had become in the estimation of all Europe the most notable Emperor Germany had ever seen.

The young man laughed.

"I am scarcely in physical condition to do justice to whatever qualities I may possess, for these two nights past I have had more fatigue than sleep."

His entertainer, however, did not take the hint. His brow was knitted in deep thought. At last he said, with a return to scepticism to his eyes:

"You spoke of being at Cochem. What did you there? Were you the guest of the Archbishop?"

"In a manner. A guest without his knowledge. The Countess and her party enjoyed the hospitality of Cochem last night."

"You amaze me. In your flight from Treves had you the actual temerity to make a hostel of the Archbishop's own palace?"

Again the Emperor laughed.

"It was not our intention to do so, but hospitality was forced upon us. At Bruttig I was, with some reluctance, compelled to slit the throat of Beilstein's captain in defence of the Countess, and, in the mêlée that followed, I had to proclaim the quality of the lady and demand protection from the Archbishop's troops there stationed. They conducted us to Cochem, and the Countess was received by the custodian of the castle there with a courtesy which seems to be entirely absent from such ceremonies further down the Moselle."

The Black Count grunted and the expression on his countenance was not pleasing to look upon. However, he did not pursue the subject, but called to an aged waiting servant and said:

"Conduct Lord Rodolph to the round guest-chamber."

"With your Lordship's permission," said Rodolph, "I would crave a word with the Countess Tekla. She has had recent trying experiences, and after the tension may come relapse. I would fain speak encouragingly to her, if you make no objection."

Heinrich threw back his lion head and laughed hoarsely.

"Objection of mine comes rather tardily. An unmarried woman who throws herself into the arms of the first chevalier who presents himself, and journeys with him night and day across the country, has no reputation left for me to protect. See her when you will for aught of me."

Rodolph reddened, and his lips came tightly together.

"My Lord," he said, slowly, "I have already informed you that I slit the throat of a man who spoke less slightingly of her Ladyship than you have this moment done, and, from what I saw of him, he was as brave a warrior as you, and had the advantage of being surrounded by a larger following. Yet he lies buried in Bruttig."

"We have had this trick performed to-day already by the archer, and it is now stale. Push me not too often to the wall, for I am an impatient man, and some one is like to get hurt by it. I say nothing against the girl; she is my niece and if any one draw sword for her it should be me." Then to the aged servitor who still stood waiting, he cried:

"Take him to my lady's portion of the castle, and after, to the round guest-chamber."

Rodolph followed the servant, who shuffled on before him through various passages, and at last came to a small door where he knocked. It was opened by an old woman, who, after explanation, conducted the young man through several small rooms, in the first of which the manservant awaited the Emperor's return. This suite of rooms looked out on a courtyard overshadowed by one of the tall round towers of the castle, and in the courtyard there had been an attempt at gardening, unattended with marked success. The further room of the series was larger than any of the others, and was furnished less rudely than the huge apartment in which the Black Count and his men were gathered.

The sallow wife of Heinrich sat at a table near one of the windows and was gazing silently out on the courtyard. The Countess Tekla sat also by the table with her arms spread upon it and her head resting, face downward, upon them. Hilda had a bench to herself in a corner of the room, and it was evident that all three women had been weeping in a common misery. The Countess Heinrich gave Rodolph a timid, almost inaudible greeting, and when Tekla raised her head at the slight sound, she sprang to her feet on seeing who had entered, undisguised joy in her wet eyes.

"Oh Lord Rodolph!" she cried, but could get no further.

The Emperor took her unresisting hand and raised it to his lips.

"I have come, my Lady Tekla," he said, with a smile, "to congratulate you on the successful accomplishment of your dangerous journey."

"Successful!" she cried. "Yes, successful as far as you could make it so, and most sincerely do I thank you. But cannot we leave for Frankfort to-night? I am now rested, and eager to be quit of this inhospitable dungeon. I would rather be in the forest with you – " then adding in some confusion, realising what she had said in her zeal to set off without delay, "and Conrad, and Hilda, than to stay longer in Thuron."

"In that you would do grave injustice to your valiant uncle, who but now has said he would be first to draw sword for your defence. No, Bertrich has returned empty-handed as he came, unless a bold defiance of the Archbishop from Heinrich of Thuron be considered, which he takes with him to Treves. The Emperor, as Heinrich truly says, is not at Frankfort, so a journey thence might be ill-timed. Your uncle freely extends to you the shelter and protection of Thuron. I must own to having formed an admiration for the man, although at first my feeling tended rather in the opposite direction. But it must not be forgotten on his behalf that our coming was unexpected, and he can scarcely be blamed if, like a spirited horse, he shied at first."

"He is a good man," said the Countess of Thuron, mildly, "if he be not crossed. He will brook no interference."

"Then we stay in Thuron!" cried Tekla, in amazement.

"It is your uncle's wish."

"And what of the Archbishop? Will he attack, think you?"

"Of that I have grave doubts. Arnold is above all things a cautious man, and if one were sure what any other would do, one might guess that the Archbishop would act the contrary. I think he will attack, but my thinking so quite prepares me for the opposite. In any case, Lady Tekla, you have nothing further to fear from Count Bertrich, for your uncle seems to hold him in less fear than you do yourself."

"Thank God for that!" said the Countess, fervently, with an involuntary shudder. She stole a furtive glance at the young man before her. "Do you depart from Thuron on the morrow?" she asked, in a low voice.

"That rests largely with Count Heinrich – and – and with you. If you desire my presence, or my absence, I shall endeavour to fulfil your wish."

"Your own affairs will not be bettered by your absence from them I fear."

"Indeed," said Rodolph, with a laugh, "I doubt if it will make great difference either way."

"If that is truly the case, I would be – I think my uncle will need all the stout hearts he can muster round him."

"My own wish is to stay. But we will see what the morrow brings. Meanwhile, you are tired, and little wonder. I wish you good rest, and I am sure you may sleep in serene peace of mind, for your troubles are at an end."

With that he took leave of her, sighing to think they were no longer alone together, he her sole protector, and so it may have chanced that his eyes spoke what his lips dare not utter, but if this were the case Tekla had no censure for him, but sighed in company, though so lightly he did not hear as he turned away.

The ancient man, who was patiently waiting for him, had now a torch in his hand, which he lighted when he came to the courtyard, applying it to another that flared in an iron receptacle fastened to the stone wall. He led the way to one of the round towers, and climbed slowly up a narrow stone stair, passing several doors, but stopping at none until he seemed to have reached the top. Then, resting his torch in an iron holder, he, with much effort, drew back heavy bolts and threw open the door. The torch lighted a round chamber in which were three narrow windows in the thick stone, wide at the inner surface of the wall, but narrowing to a mere slit, with scarce room for a man's hand to penetrate to the outer air. A pallet of straw lay by the wall furthest from the door, and there was in the room a rude table, and a ruder bench. The old servant placed the burning torch within the room, and muttering a good-night, withdrew, closing the door after him. A moment later Rodolph heard the bolts being shot into their places. He cried aloud, beating the stout oaken panels with the hilt of his rapier.

"Here, fellow. You are exceeding your instructions. The Count said nothing of my being barred in. I am no prisoner, but a guest."

But the old man did not draw the bolts.

"The instructions ever follow the order given. Take him to the round guest-chamber, says my Lord, which means also, bolt him in there."

Again Rodolph loudly protested, but the shuffling steps of his guide echoed hollow from the circular stair. The Emperor, when the last sound had ceased, threw himself, dressed as he was, on the straw, and an instant later was sound asleep.