YOLANDA

MAID OF BURGUNDY

_By_ CHARLES MAJOR

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY

CHARLOTTE WEBER DITZLER

_MCMV_

1905. 

CONTENTS

CHAPTER IA CASTLE AMONG THE CRAGS

CHAPTER IIKNIGHTS-ERRANT

CHAPTER IIIYOLANDA THE SORCERESS

CHAPTER IVDOWN THE RHINE TO BURGUNDY

CHAPTER VWHO IS YOLANDA?

CHAPTER VIDUKE CHARLES THE RASH

CHAPTER VIIA RACE WITH THE DUKE

CHAPTER VIIION THE MOAT BRIDGE

CHAPTER IXTHE GREAT RIDDLE

CHAPTER XTHE HOUSE UNDER THE WALL

CHAPTER XIPERONNE LA PUCELLE

CHAPTER XIIA LIVE WREN PIE

CHAPTER XIIIA BATTLE IN MID AIR

CHAPTER XIVSIR KARL MEETS THE PRINCESS

CHAPTER XVTHE CROSSING OF A "T"

CHAPTER XVIPARTICEPS CRIMINIS

CHAPTER XVIITRIAL BY COMBAT

CHAPTER XVIIIYOLANDA OR THE PRINCESS?

CHAPTER XIXMAX GOES TO WAR

CHAPTER XXA TREATY WITH LOUIS XI

ILLUSTRATIONS

MAX AND YOLANDAKARL AND MAX AT HAPSBURG CASTLEMAXTHE DUKE OF BURGUNDYMAX AT THE GATE OF THE LISTS

YOLANDA

CHAPTER I

A CASTLE AMONG THE CRAGS

Like the Israelites of old, mankind is prone to worship false gods, andpersistently sets up the brazen image of a sham hero, as its idol. Ishould like to write the history of the world, if for no other reasonthan to assist several well-established heroes down from theirpedestals. Great Charlemagne might come to earth's level, hispatriarchal, flowing beard might drop from his face, and we might seehim as he really was--a plucked and toothless old savage, with no moreChristianity than Jacob, and with all of Jacob's greed. Richard ofEngland, styled by hero-worshippers "The Lion-hearted, " might bere-christened "The Wolf-hearted, " and the famous Du Guesclin might seemto us a half-brutish vagabond. But Charles of Burgundy, dubbed by thisprone world "The Bold" and "The Rash, " would take the greatest fall. Ofhim and his fair daughter I shall speak in this history. 

At the time of which I write Louis XI reigned over France, Edward IVruled in England, and his sister, the beautiful Margaret of York, wasthe unhappy wife of this Charles the Rash, and stepmother to his gentledaughter Mary. Charles, though only a duke in name, reigned as a mostpotent and despotic king over the fair rich land of Burgundy. Frederickof Styria was head of the great house of Hapsburg, and Count Maximilian, my young friend and pupil, was his heir. 

Of the other rulers of Europe I need not speak, since they will notenter this narrative. They were all bad enough, --and may God have mercyon their souls. 

 * * * * *

Most of the really tragic parts in the great drama of history have beenplayed by women. This truth I had always dimly known, yet one does notreally know a fact until he feels it. I did not realize the extent towhich these poor women of history have suffered in the matter ofenforced marriages, until the truth was brought home to me in the personof Mary, Princess of Burgundy, to whose castle, Peronne La Pucelle, mypupil, Maximilian of Hapsburg, and I made a journey in the year 1476. 

My knowledge of this fair lady began in far-off Styria, and there Ishall begin my story. 

 * * * * *

In times of peace, life in Hapsburg Castle was dull; in times of war itwas doleful. War is always grievous, but my good mistress, the Duchessof Styria, was ever in such painful dread lest evil should befall heronly child, Maximilian, that the pains of war-time were rendered doublykeen to those who loved Her Grace. 

After Maximilian had reached the fighting age there was too little warto suit him. Up to his eighteenth year he had thrice gone out to war, and these expeditions were heart-breaking trials for his mother. Although tied to his mother's apron strings by bonds of mutual love, heburned with the fire and ambition of youth; while I, reaching welltoward my threescore years, had almost outlived the lust for strife. Maxlonged to spread his wings, but the conditions of his birth held himchained to the rocks of Styria, on the pinnacle of his family's emptygreatness. 

Perched among the mountain crags, our castle was almost impregnable; butthat was its only virtue as a dwelling-place. Bare walls, stone floors, sour wine, coarse boar's meat, brown bread, and poor beds constitutedour meagre portion. 

Duke Frederick was poor because his people were poor. They lived amongthe rocks and crags, raised their goats, ploughed their tiny patches ofthin earth, and gave to the duke and to each man his due. They weresimple, bigoted, and honest to the heart's core. 

Though of mean fortune, Duke Frederick was the head of the great Houseof Hapsburg, whose founders lived in the morning mists of Europeanhistory and dwelt proudly amid the peaks of their mountain home. Ourcastle in Styria was not the original Castle Hapsburg. That was builtcenturies before the time of this story, among the hawks' crags ofAargau in Switzerland. It was lost by the House of Hapsburg many yearsbefore Max was born. The castle in Styria was its namesake. 

To leaven the poor loaf of life in Castle Hapsburg, its inmates enjoyedthe companionship of the kindest man and woman that ever graced a highestate--the Duke and Duchess of Styria. Though in their little court, life was rigid with the starch of ceremony, it was softened by thetenderness of love. All that Duke Frederick asked from his subjects wasa bare livelihood and a strict observance of ceremonious conventions. Those who approached him and his son did so with uncovered head andbended knee. An act of personal familiarity would have been looked on ashigh treason. Taxes might remain unpaid, laws might be broken, and therewas mercy in the ducal heart; but a flaw in ceremony was unpardonable. 

The boar's meat and the brown bread were eaten in state; the sour winewas drunk solemnly; and going to bed each night was an act of nationalimportance. Such had been the life of this house for generations, andgood Duke Frederick neither would nor could break away from it. 

Of all these painful conditions young Max was a suffering victim. Didhe sally forth to stick a wild boar or to kill a bear, the Master of theHunt rode beside him in a gaudy, faded uniform. Fore-riders precededhim, and after-riders followed. He was almost compelled to hunt byproxy, and he considered himself lucky to be in at the death. The bear, of course, was officially killed by Maximilian, Count of Hapsburg, nomatter what hand dealt the blow. Maximilian, being the heir of Hapsburg, must always move with a slow dignity becoming his exalted station. Hemust, if possible, always act through an officer; I verily believe thatDuke Frederick, his father, regretted the humiliating necessity ofeating his own dinner. 

Poor Max did not really live; he was an automaton. 

Once every year Duke Frederick gave a tournament, the cost of which, inentertainments and prizes, consumed fully two-thirds of his annualincome. On these occasions punctilious ceremony took the place of richwine, and a stiff, kindly welcome did service as a feast. Thesetournaments were rare events for Max; they gave him a day of partialrest from his strait-jacket life at the little court among the crags. 

I shall give you here ten lines concerning myself. I am Italian bybirth--a younger son of the noble House of Pitti. I left home when butlittle more than a boy. Journeying to the East, I became Sir Karl dePitti, Knight of the Holy Order of St. John, and in consequence I amhalf priest, half soldier. My order and my type are rapidly passingaway. I fought and prayed in many lands during twenty years. To befrank, I fought a great deal more than I prayed. Six years out of thetwenty I spent in Burgundy, fighting under the banner of Duke Philip theGood, father to Charles the Rash. My mother was a Burgundian--aWalloon--and to her love for things German I owe my name, Karl. Duringmy service under Duke Philip I met my Lord d'Hymbercourt, and won thatmost valuable of all prizes, a trusted friend. 

Fifteen years before the opening of this story I grew tired of fighting. How I drifted, a sort of human flotsam, against the crags of Styriawould be a long, uninteresting story. By a curious combination of eventsI assumed the duties of tutor to the small count, Maximilian ofHapsburg, then a flaxen-haired little beauty of three summers. I taughthim all that was needful from books, and grounded him fairly well inchurch lore, but gave my best efforts to his education in arms. 

Aside from my duties as instructor to the young count, I was useful inmany ways about the castle. By reason of the half of me that waspriestly, I could, upon occasion, hear confession, administer the holysacrament, and shrive a sinner as effectively as the laziest priest inChristendom. I could also set a broken bone, and could mix as bitter adraught as any Jew out of Judea. So, you will see, I was a useful memberof a household wherein ancestry took the place of wealth, and pride wasmade to stand for ready cash. 

The good duke might have filled his coffers by pillaging travellers, asmany of his neighbors did; but he scorned to thrive by robbery, andlived in grandiose but honest penury. 

Max took readily to the use of arms, and by the time he was eighteen, which was three years before our now famous journey to Burgundy, astrong, time-hardened man might well beware of him. When the boy wasfourteen or fifteen, I began to see in him great possibilities. Inpersonal beauty and strength he was beyond compare. His eyes were asblue as an Italian sky, and his hair fell in a mass of tawny curls tohis shoulders. His mother likened him to a young lion. Mentally he wasslow, but his judgment was clear and accurate. Above all, he was honest, and knew not fear of man, beast, or devil. His life in Styria, hedgedabout by ceremonious conventions, had given him an undue portion ofdignity and reticence, but that could easily be polished down byfriction with the rougher side of the world. Except myself and hismother, he had never known a real friend. 

To Max the people of the world were of two conditions: a very smallclass to whom he must kneel, and a very large number who must kneel tohim. Even his mother addressed him publicly as "My Lord Count. " On rareoccasions, in the deep privacy of her closet, mother-love would get thebetter of her and break through the crust of ceremony. Then she indulgedherself and him in the ravishing, though doubtful, luxury of calling him"Little Max. " No one but I, and perhaps at rare intervals DukeFrederick, ever witnessed this lapse from dignity on the part of HerGrace, and we, of course, would not expose her weakness to the world. 

This love-name clung to Max, and "Little Max, " though somewhatincongruous, was pretty when applied to a strapping fellow six feet twoand large of limb in proportion. 

When the boy approached manhood, I grew troubled lest this strait-jacketexistence in Styria should dwarf him mentally and morally. So I began tostir cautiously in the matter of sending him abroad into the world. Myfirst advances met with a rebuff. 

"It is not to be thought of, " said the duke. 

"Send the count out to the rude world to associate with underlings?Never!" cried the duchess, horrified and alarmed. 

I had expected this, and I was not daunted. I renewed the attack fromdifferent points, and after many onslaughts, I captured the bailey ofthe parental fortresses; that is, I compelled them to listen to me. Mychief point of attack was Max himself. He listened readily enough, buthe could not see how the thing was to be done. When I spoke of theluxuries of Italy and Burgundy, and told him of deeds of prowessperformed daily throughout the world by men vastly his inferior, hiseyes brightened and his cheek flushed. When I talked of wealth to be wonand glory to be achieved in those rich lands, and hinted at the barrenpoverty of Styria, he would sigh and answer:--

"Ah, Karl, it sounds glorious, but I was born to this life, and fatherand mother would not forgive me if I should seek another destiny. Fatehas fixed my lot, and I must endure it. "

I did not cease my lay; and especially was the fat land of Burgundy mytheme, for I knew it well. Max would listen in enraptured silence. Whenhe was eighteen, I wrote, with deep-seated purpose, several letters tomy friend Lord d'Hymbercourt, who was at the time one of the councillorsof Charles the Rash, Duke of Burgundy. In those letters I dwelt atlength on the virtues, strength, and manly beauty of my pupil. 

I knew that Charles often negotiated with other states the marriage ofhis only child and heiress, Princess Mary. This form of treaty appearedto be almost a mania with the rash Burgundian. I also knew that in noinstance had he ever intended to fulfil the treaty. His purpose in eachcase was probably to create a temporary alliance with that one statewhile he was in trouble with another. His daughter would inherit adomain richer than that of any king in Europe, and the duke certainlywould be contented with nothing less than the hand of an heir to acrown. Suitors for the fair Mary came from every land. All wereentertained; but the princess remained unbetrothed. 

A few broad hints in my letters to Hymbercourt produced the result I somuch desired. One bright day our castle was stirred to itsfoundation-stones by the arrival of a messenger from Duke Charles ofBurgundy, bearing the following missive:--

 * * * * *

"To His Grace, Duke Frederick of Styria, Elector of the Holy RomanEmpire, and Count of Austria; Charles, Duke of Burgundy and Count ofCharolois, sends greeting:--

"The said Duke Charles recommends himself to the most puissant DukeFrederick, and bearing in mind the great antiquity and high nobility ofthe illustrious House of Hapsburg, begs to express his desire to bindthe said noble House to Burgundy by ties of marriage. 

"To that end, His Grace of Burgundy, knowing by fame the many virtuesof the young and valiant Count of Hapsburg, son to His Grace, DukeFrederick, would, if it pleasures the said illustrious Duke Frederick, suggest the appointment of commissioners by each of the high contractingparties for the purpose of drawing a treaty of marriage between thenoble Count of Hapsburg and our daughter, Princess Mary of Burgundy. Thesaid commissioners shall meet within six months after the date of thesepresents and shall formulate indentures of treaty that shall besubmitted to His Grace of Styria and His Grace of Burgundy. 

"The lady of Burgundy sends herewith a letter and a jewel which shehopes the noble Count of Hapsburg will accept as tokens of her esteem. 

"May God and the Blessed Virgin keep His Grace of Styria in theirespecial care. "

Signed with a flourish. "CHARLES. "

 * * * * *

This letter did not deceive me. I did not think for a moment thatCharles meant to give his daughter to Max. But it answered my purpose bybringing Max to a realization of the nothingness of life in Styria, andopening his eyes to the glorious possibilities that lay in the greatworld beyond the mountain peaks. 

Burgundy's missive produced several effects in the household of CastleHapsburg, though none were shown on the surface. I was glad, but, ofcourse, I carefully concealed the reasons for my pleasure from HisGrace. Duke Frederick was pleased to his toes and got himself very drunkon the strength of it. Otherwise he smothered his delight. He "was notsure"; "was not quite disposed to yield so great a favor to thisfar-away duke"; "the count is young; no need for haste, " and so on. Theduke had no intention whatever of sending such messages to Burgundy; hesimply wished to strut before his little court. Charles most certainlywould receive a pompous and affirmative answer. The poor duchess, tornby contending emotions of mother-love and family pride, was flattered byBurgundy's offer; but she was also grieved. 

"We do not know the lady, " she said. "Fame speaks well of her, but thereport may be false. She may not be sufficiently endued with religiousenthusiasm. "

"She will absorb that from Your Grace, " I answered. 

Her Grace thought that she herself was religious and tried to impressthat belief on others; but Max was her god. In truth she was jealous ofany woman who looked on him twice, and she kept at the castle only theold and harmless of the dangerous sex. She would have refused Burgundy'soffer quickly enough if her heart had been permitted to reply. 

The effect of the letter on Max was tremendous. He realized itspolitical importance, knowing full well that if he could add the richdomain of Burgundy to the Hapsburg prestige, he might easily achieve theimperial throne. But that was his lesser motive. Hymbercourt's lettersto me had extolled Mary's beauty and gentleness. Every page had sung herpraises. These letters I had given to Max, and there had sprung up inhis untouched heart a chivalric admiration for the lady of Burgundy. Heloved an ideal. I suppose most men and every woman will understand hiscondition. It was truly an ardent love. 

Max kept Hymbercourt's letters, and would hide himself on thebattlements by the hour reading them, dreaming the dreams of youth andworshipping at the feet of his ideal, --fair Mary of Burgundy, hisunknown lady-love. 

Before the arrival of the messenger from Duke Charles, Max spoke littleof the Burgundian princess; but the message gave her a touch of reality, and he began to open his heart to me--his only confidant. 

There seemed to have been a reciprocal idealization going on in thefar-off land of Burgundy. My letters to Hymbercourt, in which you may besure Max's strength and virtues lost nothing, fell into the hands ofMadame d'Hymbercourt, and thus came under the eyes of Princess Mary. That fair little lady also built in her heart an altar to an unknowngod, if hints in Hymbercourt's letters were to be trusted. Her maidenlyemotions were probably far more passive than Max's, though I have beentold that a woman's heart will go to great lengths for the sake of anideal. Many a man, doubtless, would fall short in the estimation of hislady-love were it not for those qualities with which she herselfendows him. 

Whatever the lady's sentiments may have been, my faith in Hymbercourt'shints concerning them were strengthened by Mary's kindly letter and thediamond ring for Max which came with her father's message to Styria. They were palpable facts, and young Max built an altar in his holy ofholies, and laid them tenderly upon it. 

Duke Frederick, with my help, composed a letter in reply to Burgundy'smessage. It required many days of work to bring it to a form sufficientin dignity, yet ample in assent. The missive must answer "yes" soemphatically as to leave no room for doubt in Burgundy's mind, yet itmust show no eagerness on the part of Styria. (Duke Frederick alwaysspoke of himself as Styria. ) Burgundy must be made to appreciate thehonor of this alliance; still, the fact must not be offensivelythrust upon him. 

The letter was sent, and Charles of Burgundy probably laughed at it. Duke Frederick appointed commissioners and fixed Cannstadt as the placeof meeting. Whatever Duke Charles's reasons for making the offer ofmarriage may have been, they probably ceased to exist soon afterward, for he never even replied to Duke Frederick's acceptance. For monthsCastle Hapsburg was in a ferment of expectancy. A watch stood from dawntill dusk on the battlements of the keep, that the duke might beinformed of the approach of the Burgundian messenger--that never came. After a year of futile waiting the watch was abandoned. Anger, for atime, took the place of expectancy; Duke Frederick each day drowned hisill-humor in a gallon of sour wine, and remained silent on the subjectof the Burgundian insult. 

Max's attitude was that of a dignified man. He showed neither anger nordisappointment, but he kept the letter and the ring that Mary had senthim and mused upon his love for his ideal--the lady he had never seen. 

A letter from Hymbercourt, that reached me nearly two years after thisaffair, spoke of a tender little maiden in Burgundy, whose heartthrobbed with disappointment while it also clung to its ideal, as tendernatures are apt to do. This hint in Hymbercourt's letter sank to thetenderest spot in Max's heart. 

On Max's twenty-first birthday he was knighted by the emperor. A grandtournament, lasting five days, celebrated the event, and Max provedhimself a man among men and a knight worthy of his spurs. I had trainedhim for months in preparation for this, his first great trial ofstrength and skill. He was not lacking in either, though they wouldmature only with his judgment. His strength was beyond compare. A mancould hardly span his great arm with both hands. 

Soon after Max was knighted, I brought up the subject of his journeyinto the world. I was again met by parental opposition; but Max was ofage and his views had weight. If I could bring him to see the truth, thecause would be won. Unfortunately, it was not his desires I mustovercome; it was his scruples. His head and his heart were full of falseideas and distorted motives absorbed from environment, inculcated byparental teaching, and inherited from twenty generations of fantasticforefathers. In-born motives in a conscientious person are stubborntyrants, and Max was their slave. The time came when his false buthonest standards cost him dearly, as you shall learn. But in Max's heartthere lived another motive stronger than the will of man; it was love. Upon that string I chose to play. 

One day while we were sunning ourselves on the battlements, I touched, as if by chance, on the theme dear to his heart--Mary of Burgundy. Aftera little time Max asked hesitatingly:--

"Have you written of late to my Lord d'Hymbercourt?"

"No, " I answered. 

A long pause followed; then Max continued: "I hope you will soon do so. He might write of--of--" He did not finish the sentence. I allowed himto remain in thought while I formulated my reply. After a time I said:--

"If you are still interested in the lady, why don't you go to Burgundyand try to win her?"

"That would be impossible, " he answered. 

"No, no, Max, " I returned, "not impossible--- difficult, perhaps, butcertainly not impossible. "

"Ah, Karl, you but raise false hopes, " he responded dolefully. 

"You could at least see her, " I returned, ignoring his protest, "andthat, I have been told, is much comfort to a lover!"

"Indeed, it would be, " said Max, frankly admitting the state of hisheart. 

"Or it might be that if you saw her, the illusion would be dispelled. "

"I have little fear of that, " he returned. 

"It is true, " I continued, "her father's domains are the richest onearth. He is proud and powerful, noble and arrogant; but you are just asproud and just as noble as he. You are penniless, and your estate willbe of little value; your father is poor, and his mountain crags are aburden rather than a profit; but all Europe boasts no nobler blood thanthat of your house. Lift it from its penury. You are worthy of thislady, were her estates multiplied tenfold. Win the estates, Max, and winthe lady. Many a man with half your capacity has climbed to the pinnacleof fame and fortune, though starting with none of your prestige. Why doyou, born a mountain lion, stay mewed up in this castle like a purringcat in your mother's lap? For shame, Max, to waste your life when love, fortune, and fame beckon you beyond these dreary hills and call to youin tones that should arouse ambition in the dullest breast. "

"Duke Charles has already insulted us, " he replied. 

"But his daughter has not, " I answered quickly. 

"That is true, " returned Max, with a sigh, "but the Duke of Burgundywould turn me from his gates. "

"Perhaps he would, " I replied, "if you should knock and demand surrenderto Maximilian, Count of Hapsburg. Take another name; be for a time asoldier of fortune. Bury the Count of Hapsburg for a year or two; beplain Sir Max Anybody. You will, at least, see the world and learn whatlife really is. Here is naught but dry rot and mould. Taste for once thezest of living; then come back, if you can, to this tomb. Come, come, Max! Let us to Burgundy to win this fair lady who awaits us anddoubtless holds us faint of heart because we dare not strike for her. Ishall have one more sweet draught of life before I die. You will learn alesson that will give you strength for all the years to come, and willhave, at least, a chance of winning the lady. It may be one chance in amillion; but God favors the brave, and you have no chance if you remainperched owl-like upon this wilderness of rock. Max, you know not whatawaits you. Rouse yourself from this sloth of a thousand years, andstrike fire from the earth that shall illumine your name to the endof time!"

"But we have no money for our travels, and father has none to give me, "he answered. 

"True, " I replied, "but I have a small sum in the hands of a merchant atVienna that will support us for a time. When it is spent, we must makeour bread or starve. That will be the best part of our experience. Astruggle for existence sweetens it; and if we starve, we shall deservethe fate. "

After three days Max gave me his answer. 

"I will go with you, Karl, " he said; "you have never led me wrong. If westarve, I shall not be much worse off than I am here in Styria. It hurtsme to say that the love of my father and mother is my greatest danger;but it is true. They have lived here so long, feeding on the pooradulation of a poor people, that they do not see life truly. I have hadnone of the joys and pleasures which, my heart tells me, life holds. Ihave known nothing but this existence--hard and barren as the rocks thatsurround me. I must, in time, return to Styria and take up my burden, but, Karl, I will first live. "

After this great stand, Max and I attacked first the father fortress andthen the mother stronghold. The latter required a long siege; but atlast it surrendered unconditionally, and the day was appointed when Maxand I should ride out in quest of fortune, and, perhaps, a-bride-hunting. Neither of us mentioned Burgundy. I confess totelling--at least, to acting--a lie. We said that we wished to go to mypeople in Italy, and to visit Rome, Venice, and other cities. I saidthat I had a small sum of gold that I should be glad to use; but I didnot say how small it was, and no hint was dropped that the heir toStyria might be compelled to soil his hands by earning his daily bread. We easily agreed among ourselves that Max and I, lacking funds to travelin state befitting a prince of the House of Hapsburg, should goincognito. I should keep my own name, it being little known. Max shouldtake the name of his mother's house, and should be known as SirMaximilian du Guelph. 

 * * * * *

At last came the momentous day of our departure. The battlements of thegate were crowded with retainers, many of them in tears at losing "Myyoung Lord, the Count. " Public opinion in Castle Hapsburg unanimouslycondemned the expedition, and I was roundly abused for what was held tobe my part in the terrible mistake. Such an untoward thing had neverbefore happened in the House of Hapsburg. Its annals nowhere revealed ajourney of an heir into the contaminating world. The dignity of thehouse was impaired beyond remedy, and all by the advice of a foreigner. There was no lack of grumbling; but of course the duke's will was law. If he wished to hang the count, he might do so; therefore the grumblingreached the duke's ears only from a distance. 

CHAPTER II

KNIGHTS-ERRANT

The good mother had made a bundle for her son that would have brought asmile to my lips had it not brought tears to my eyes. There were herhomely balsams to cure Max's ailments; true, he had never been ill, buthe might be. There was a pillow of down for his head, and a lawnkerchief to keep the wind from his delicate throat. Last, but by nomeans least, was the dear old mother's greatest treasure, a tooth of St. Martin, which she firmly believed would keep her son's heart pure andfree from sin. Of that amulet Max did not stand in need. 

We followed the Save for many leagues, and left its beautiful banks onlyto journey toward Vienna. At that city I drew my slender stock of goldfrom the merchant that had been keeping it for me, and bought abeautiful chain coat for Max. He already had a good, though plain, suitof steel plate which his father had given him when he received theaccolade. I owned a good plate armor and the most perfect chain coat Ihave ever seen. I took it from a Saracen lord one day in battle, andgave him his own life in payment. Max and I each bore a long sword, ashort sword, and a mace. We carried no lance. That weapon is burdensome, and we could get one at any place along our journey. 

I was proud of Max the morning we rode out of Vienna, trueknights-errant, with the greatest princess in Europe as our objectiveprize. Truly, we were in no wise modest; but the God of heaven, the godof Luck, and the god of Love all favor the man that is bold enough toattempt the impossible. 

My stock of gold might, with frugality, last us three months, but afterthat we should surely have to make our own way or starve. We hoped thatMax would be successful in filling our purses with prize money andransoms, should we fall in with a tournament now and then; but, lackingthat good fortune, we expected to engage ourselves as escorts tomerchant caravans. By this kind of employment we hoped to be housed andfed upon our travels and to receive at each journey's end a good roundsum of gold for our services. But we might find neither tournament normerchant caravan. Then there would be trouble and hardship for us, andperhaps, at times, an aching void under our belts. I had oftensuffered the like. 

Ours, you see, was not to be a flower-strewn journey of tinselled princeto embowered princess. Before our return to Styria, Max would probablyreceive what he needed to make a man of him--hard knocks and roughblows in the real battle of life. Above all, he would learn to know thepeople of whom this great world is composed, and would return toHapsburg Castle full of all sorts of noxious heresies, to theeverlasting horror of the duke and the duchess. They probably wouldnever forgive me for making a real live man of their son, but I shouldhave my reward in Max. 

To Max, of course, the future was rosy-hued. Caravans were waiting forour protection, and princes were preparing tournaments for our specialbehoof. _We_ want for food to eat or place to lay our heads? Absurd! Ourpurses would soon be so heavy they would burden us; we should soon needsquires to carry them. If it were not for our desire to remainincognito, we might presently collect a retinue and travel with heraldand banner. But at the end of all was sweet Mary of Burgundy waiting tobe carried off by Maximilian, Count of Hapsburg. 

Just what the boy expected to do in Burgundy, I did not know. For thelady's wealth I believe he did not care a straw--he wanted herself. Hehoped that Charles, for his own peace, would not be too uncivil andwould not force a desperate person to take extreme measures; but shouldthis rash duke be blind to his own interests--well, let him beware! Someone _might_ carry off his daughter right from under the ducal nose. Thenlet the Burgundian follow at his peril. Castle Hapsburg would open hiseyes. He would learn what an impregnable castle really is. If DukeCharles thought he could bring his soft-footed Walloons, used only tothe mud roads of Burgundy, up the stony path to the hawk's crag, why, let him try! Harmless boasting is a boy's vent. Max did not really meanto boast, he was only wishing; and to a flushed, enthusiastic soul, thewish of to-day is apt to look like the fact of to-morrow. 

We hoped to find a caravan ready to leave Linz, but we weredisappointed, so we journeyed by the Danube to the mouth of the Inn, upwhich we went to Muhldorf. There we found a small caravan bound forMunich on the Iser. From Munich we travelled with a caravan to Augsburg, and thence to Ulm, where we were overjoyed to meet once more our oldfriend, the Danube. Max snatched up a handful of water, kissed it, andtossed it back to the river, saying:--"Sweet water, carry my kiss to theriver Save; there give it to a nymph that you will find waiting, andtell her to take it to my dear old mother in far-off Styria. "

Do not think that we met with no hard fortune in our journeying. My goldwas exhausted before we reached Muhldorf, and we often travelled hungry, meeting with many lowly adventures. Max at first resented thefamiliarity of strangers, but hunger is one of the factors inman-building, and the scales soon began to fall from his eyes. Dignityis a good thing to stand on, but a poor thing to travel with, and Maxsoon found it the most cumbersome piece of luggage a knight-errantcould carry. 

Among our misfortunes was the loss of the bundle prepared by theduchess, and with it, alas! St. Martin's tooth. Max was so deeplytroubled by the loss of the tooth that I could not help laughing. 

"Karl, I am surprised that you laugh at the loss of my mother's sacredrelic, " said Max, sorrowfully. 

I continued to laugh, and said: "We may get another tooth from the firstbarber we meet. It will answer all the purposes of the one youhave lost. "

"Truly, Karl?"

"Truly, " I answered. "The tooth was a humbug. "

"I have long thought as much, " said Max, "but I valued it because mymother loved it. "

"A good reason, Max, " I replied, and the tooth was never afterwardmentioned. 

From Ulm we guarded a caravan to Cannstadt. From that city we hoped togo to Strasburg, and thence through Lorraine to Burgundy, but we foundno caravan bound in that direction. Our sojourn at Cannstadt exhaustedthe money we got for our journeys from Augsburg and Ulm, and we werecompelled, much against our will, to accept an offer of service with oneMaster Franz, a silk merchant of Basel, who was about to journeyhomeward. His caravan would pass through the Black Forest; perhaps themost dangerous country in Europe for travellers. 

Knowing the perils ahead of us, I engaged two stout men-at-arms, andlate in February we started for Basel as bodyguard to good Master Franz. Think of the heir of Hapsburg marching in the train of a Swiss merchant!Max dared not think of it; he was utterly humiliated!

Our first good fortune at Muhldorf he looked on as the deepestdegradation a man might endure, but he could not starve, and he wouldnot beg. Not once did he even think of returning to Styria, and, intruth, he could not have done so had he wished; our bridges were burnedbehind us; our money was spent. 

By the time we had finished half our journey to Basel, Max liked thelife we were leading, and learned to love personal liberty, of which hehad known so little. Now he could actually do what he wished. He couldeven slap a man on the back and call him "comrade. " Of course, if theprocess were reversed, --if any one slapped Max on the back, --well, dignity is tender and not to be slapped. On several occasions Max gothimself into trouble by resenting familiarities, and his difficulties attimes were ludicrous. Once a fist fight occurred. The heir of Hapsburgwas actually compelled to fight with his fists. He thrashed the poorfellow most terribly, and I believe would have killed him had not Istayed his hand. Another time a pretty girl at Augsburg became familiarwith him, and Max checked her peremptorily. When he grew angry, shelaughed, and saucily held up her lips for a kiss. Max looked at me inhalf-amused wonder. 

"Take it, Max; there is no harm in it, " I suggested. 

Max found it so, and immediately wanted more, but the girl said too manywould not be good for him. She promised others later on, if he werevery, very good. Thus Max was conquered by a kiss at the wayside. 

The girl was very pretty, Max was very good, and she helped mewonderfully in reducing his superfluous dignity. Her name was Gertrude, and we spoke of her afterward as "Gertrude the Conqueror. " She was amost enticing little individual, and Max learned that persons of lowdegree really may be interesting. That was his first great lesson. I hadsome trouble after leaving Augsburg to keep him from taking too manylessons of the same sort. 

Our contract with Franz provided that we should receive no compensationuntil after his merchandise had safely reached Basel, but then ourremuneration was to be large. Max had no doubt as to the safe arrival ofthe caravan at Basel, and he rejoiced at the prospect. I tried to reducethe rosy hue of his dreams, but failed. I suggested that we might havefighting ahead of us harder than any we had known, though we had givenand taken some rough knocks on two of our expeditions. Max laughed andlonged for the fray; he was beginning to live. The fray came quicklyenough after we reached the Black Forest, and the fight was sufficientlywarm to suit even enthusiastic Max. He and I were wounded; one of ourmen-at-arms was killed, and Franz's life was saved only by an heroicfeat of arms on Max's part. The robbers were driven off; we spent afortnight in a near-by monastery, that our wounds might heal, and againstarted for Basel. 

During the last week in March we approached Basel. Max had saved themerchant's life; we had protected the caravan from robbery; and goodFranz was grateful. Notwithstanding our sure reward, Max was gloomy. Thefuture had lost its rosiness; his wound did not readily heal; Basel washalf a hundred leagues off our road to Burgundy. Why did we ever come toSwitzerland? Everything was wrong. But no man knows what good fortunemay lurk in an evil chance. 

At the close of a stormy day we sighted Basel from the top of a hill, and soon the lights, one by one, began to twinkle cosily through thegloaming. All day long drizzling rain and spitting snow had blown in ourfaces like lance points, driven down the wind straight from the icyAlps. We were chilled to the bone; in all my life I have never beheld asight so comforting as the home lights of the quaint old Swiss city. 

Franz soon found a wherry and, after crossing the Rhine, we marchedslowly down the river street, ducking our heads to the blast. Withinhalf an hour we passed under a stone archway and found ourselves snug inthe haven of our merchant's courtyard. Even the sumpter mules rejoiced, and gave forth a chorus of brays that did one's heart good. Every toneof their voices spoke of the warm stalls, the double feed of oats, andthe great manger of sweet hay that awaited them. Before going into thehouse Max gave to each mule a stroke of his hand in token of affection. Surely this proud automaton of Hapsburg was growing lowly in his tastes. In other words, nature had captured his heart and was driving out theinherited conventions of twenty generations. Five months of contact withthe world had wrought a greater cure than I had hoped five years wouldwork. I was making a man out of the flesh and blood of a Hapsburg. Godonly knows when the like had happened before. 

Max and I were conducted by a demure little Swiss maid to a large roomon the third floor of the house, overlooking the Rhine. There was noluxury, but there was every comfort. There were two beds, each with asoft feather mattress, pillows of down, and warm, stuffed coverlets ofsilk. These were not known even in the duke's apartments at HapsburgCastle. There we had tarnished gold cloth and ancient tapestries inabundance, but we lacked the little comforts that make life worthliving. Here Max learned another lesson concerning the people of thisworld. The lowly Swiss merchant's unknown guest slept more comfortablythan did the Duke of Styria. 

When we went down to supper, I could see the effort it cost Max to sitat table with these good people. But the struggle was not very great;five months before it would have been impossible. At Hapsburg he sat attable with his father and mother only; even I had never sat with him inthe castle. At Basel he was sitting with a burgher and a burgher's frau. In Styria he ate boar's meat from battered silver plate and drank sourwine from superannuated golden goblets; in Switzerland he ate tender, juicy meats and toothsome pastries from stone dishes and drank richCannstadt beer from leathern mugs. His palate and his stomach jointlyattacked his brain, and the horrors of life in Hapsburg appeared intheir true colors. 

On the morning of our second day at Basel, Franz invited us to be hisguests during our sojourn in the city. His house was large, having beenbuilt to entertain customers who came from great distances to buyhis silks. 

Max and I had expected to leave Basel when our wounds were entirelyhealed, but we changed our minds after I had talked with Franz. Theconversation that brought about this change occurred one morning whilethe merchant and I were sitting in his shop. He handed me a purse filledwith gold, saying:--

"Here is twice the sum I agreed to pay. I beg that you accept it since Ishall still be in your debt. "

I knew by the weight of the gold that it was a larger sum than I hadever before possessed. I did not like to accept it, but I could notbring myself to refuse a thing so important to Max. 

"We should not accept this from you, good Franz, but--but--"

"The boy saved my life and my fortune, " he interrupted, "and I am reallyashamed to offer you so small a sum. You should have half of allmy goods. "

I protested and thanked him heartily, not only for his gift, but alsofor his manner of giving. Then I told him of our intended journey toBurgundy--of course not mentioning the princess--and asked if he knew ofany merchant who would soon be travelling that way. 

"There are many going down the river from Basel to Strasburg, " heanswered, "and you may easily fall in with one any day. But there willsoon be an opportunity for you to travel all the way to Burgundy. Iknow the very man for your purpose. He is Master George Castleman ofPeronne. He comes every spring, if there is peace along the road, to buysilks. We now have peace, though I fear it will be of short duration, and I am expecting Castleman early this season. He will probably be herebefore the first of May. He is a rich merchant, and was one of thecouncillors of Duke Philip the Good, father to the present Duke ofBurgundy. Years ago Duke Philip built a house for him abutting the wallsof Peronne Castle. It is called 'The House under the Wall, ' andCastleman still lives in it. He refused a title of nobility offered himby Duke Philip. He is not out of favor with the present duke, but heloves peace too dearly to be of use to the hot-headed, tempestuousCharles. Duke Charles, as you know, is really King of Burgundy--therichest land on earth. His domain is the envy of every king, but he willbring all his grandeur tumbling about his head if he perseveres in hispresent course of violence and greed. "

At that moment Max joined us. 

"I hear this Duke Charles has no son to inherit his rich domain?" Iobserved interrogatively. 

"No, " answered Franz. "He has a daughter, the Princess Mary, who willinherit Burgundy. She is said to be as gentle as her father is violent. Castleman tells me that she is gracious and kind to those beneath her, and, in my opinion, that is the true stamp of greatness. "

Those were healthful words for Max. 

"The really great and good have no need to assert their qualities, " Ianswered. 

"Castleman often speaks of the princess, " said Franz. "He tells me thathis daughter Antoinette and the Princess Mary have been friends sincechildhood--that is, of course, so far as persons so widely separated bybirth and station can be friends. "

I briefly told Max what Franz had said concerning Castleman, and theyoung fellow was delighted at the prospect of an early startfor Peronne. 

In Max's awakening, the radiance of his ideal may have been dimmed, butif so, the words of Franz restored its lustre. If the boy's fancy hadwandered, it quickly returned to the lady of Burgundy. 

I asked Franz if Duke Charles lived at Peronne. 

"No, he lives at Ghent, " he answered; "but on rare occasions he visitsPeronne, which is on the French border. Duke Philip once lived there, but Charles keeps Peronne only as his watch-tower to overlook his oldenemy, France. The enmity, I hope, will cease, now that the PrincessMary is to marry the Dauphin. "

This confirmation of a rumor which I had already heard was anything butwelcome. However, it sensitized the feeling Max entertained for hisunknown lady-love, and strengthened his resolution to pursue hisjourney to Burgundy at whatever cost. 

I led Franz to speak of Burgundian affairs and he continued:--

"The princess and her stepmother, the Duchess Margaret, live at Peronne. They doubtless found life at Ghent with the duke too violent. It is saidthat the duchess is unhappily wedded to the fierce duke, and that theunfortunate princess finds little favor in her father's eyes because hecannot forgive her the grievous fault of being a girl. "

While Franz was talking I was dreaming. A kind providence had led us ahalf-hundred leagues out of our road, through wounds and hardships, toBasel; but that quiet city might after all prove to be the open doorwayto Max's fortune. My air-castle was of this architecture: Max would winold Castleman's favor--an easy task. We would journey to Peronne, seekCastleman's house, pay court to Antoinette--I prayed she might not betoo pretty--and--you can easily find your way over the rest ofmy castle. 

Within a fortnight Max and I had recovered entirely from our wounds, andwere abroad each day in the growing warmth of the sunshine. We did notoften speak of Castleman, but we waited, each day wishing for hisspeedy advent. 

At last, one beautiful evening early in May, he arrived. Max and I weresitting at our window watching the river, when the little company rodeup to the door of the merchant's shop. With Castleman were two youngwomen hardly more than girls. One of them was a pink and white youngbeauty, rather tall and somewhat stout. Her face, complexion, and hairwere exquisite, but there was little animation in her expression. Theother girl had features less regular, perhaps, but she was infinitelymore attractive. She was small, but beautiful in form; and she sprangfrom her horse with the grace of a kitten. Her face was not so white asher companion's, but its color was entrancing. Her expression wasanimated, and her great brown eyes danced like twinkling stars on aclear, moonless night. 

The young women entered the house, and we saw nothing more of them forseveral days. 

When we met Castleman, he gladly engaged our services to Peronne, havingheard from Franz of our adventures in the Black Forest. We left theterms to him, and he suggested a compensation far greater than we shouldhave asked. The sum we received from Franz, together with that which weshould get from Castleman, would place us beyond want for a year tocome. Surely luck was with us. 

After Castleman's arrival our meals were served in our room, and we sawlittle of him or of Franz for a week or more. Twice I saw Castleman rideout with the young women, and after that I haunted the front door ofthe house. One bright afternoon I met them as they were about todismount. Castleman was an old man and quite stout, so I helped him fromhis horse. He then turned to the fair girl of pink and white, saying:--

"Antoinette, daughter, this is Sir Karl de Pitti, who will accompany usto Peronne. "

I made my bow and assisted Fräulein Antoinette to the ground. The otheryoung lady sprang nimbly from her saddle without assistance and waited, as I thought, to be presented. Castleman did not offer to present her, and she ran to the house, followed by serene Antoinette. I concludedthat the smaller girl was Fräulein Castleman's maid. I knew that greatfamiliarity between mistress and servant was usual among theburgher class. 

The smaller girl was certainly attractive, but I did not care for heracquaintance. Antoinette was the one in whose eyes I hoped to findfavor, first for myself and then for Max. By her help I hoped Max mightbe brought to meet the Princess of Burgundy when we should reachPeronne. I had little doubt of Max's success in pleasing Antoinette; Iwas not at all anxious that he should please the smaller maid. There wasa saucy glance in her dark eyes, and a tremulous little smile constantlyplaying about her red, bedimpled mouth, that boded trouble to asusceptible masculine heart. Max, with all his simplicity, though notsusceptible, had about him an impetuosity when his interest was arousedof which I had learned to stand in wholesome dread. I was jealous of anywoman who might disturb his dreams of Mary of Burgundy, and this littlemaid was surely attractive enough to turn any man's head her way if sheso desired. 

Later in the afternoon I saw Fräulein Antoinette in the shop looking atsilks and laces. Hoping to improve the opportunity, I approached her, and was received with a serene and gracious smile. Near Antoinette werethe saucy brown eyes and the bedimpled mouth. Truly they wereexquisitely beautiful in combination, and, old as I was, I could notkeep my eyes from them. The eyes and dimples came quickly to Antoinette, who presented me to her "Cousin Fräulein Yolanda Castleman. " FräuleinYolanda bowed with a grace one would not expect to find in a burghergirl, and said with the condescension of a princess:--

"Sir Karl, you pleasure me. "

I was not prepared for her manner. She probably was _not_ Antoinette'smaid. A pause followed my presentation which might have been meant bythe brown-eyed maid as permission to withdraw. But I was for havingfurther words with Antoinette. She, however, stepped back from hercousin, and, if I was to remain, I must speak to my lady FräuleinYolanda Castleman or remain silent, so I asked, --

"Do you reside in Basel, Fräulein?"

"No, no, " she replied, with no touch of bourgeois confusion, "I am aBurgundian. Uncle Castleman, after promising Twonette" (I spell the nameas she pronounced it) "and me for years, has brought us on this longjourney into the world. I am enjoying it more than any one can know, butpoor uncle lives in dread of the journey home. He upbraids himself forhaving brought us and declares that if he but had us home again, nothingcould induce him to start out with such a cargo of merchandise. "

"Well he may be fearful, " I answered. "Where one's greatest treasure is, there is his greatest fear, but peace reigns on the road to Burgundy, and I hope your good uncle's fears are without ground save in his love. "

"I hear you are to accompany us, and of course we shall be safe, " shesaid, the shadow of a smile playing suspiciously about her mouth anddancing in her eyes. 

"Yes, I am to have that great _honor_, " I replied, bowing very low. I, too, could be sarcastic. 

"Does the--will the--the gentleman who is with you accompany us?" askedFräulein Yolanda. So! These maidens of Burgundy had already seen myhandsome Max! This one would surely be tempting him with her eyes andher irresistible little smile. 

"Yolanda!" exclaimed serene Twonette. Yolanda gave no heed. 

"Yes, Fräulein, " I responded. "He goes with us. Do you live in Peronne?"

"Y-e-s, " she replied hesitatingly. "Where is your home and yourfriend's?"

"Yolanda!" again came in tones of mild remonstrance from FräuleinAntoinette. The dimples again ignored the warning and waited formy answer. 

"We have no home at present save the broad earth, Fräulein, " Iresponded. 

"You cannot occupy it all, " she retorted, looking roguishly up to me. 

"No, " I responded, "we are occupying this part of the earth at present, but we hope soon to occupy Burgundy. "

"Please leave a small patch of that fair land for Twonette and me, " sheanswered, in mock entreaty. After a short pause she continued:--

"It seems easier for you to ask questions than to answer them. "

"Fräulein, " I responded, "your question is not easily answered. I wasborn in Italy. I lived for many years in the East, and--"

"I did not ask for your biography, " she said, interrupting me. I did notnotice the interruption, but continued:--

"I spent six years in your fair land of Burgundy. My mother was aWalloon. I dearly love her people, and hope that my home may soon beamong them. "

The girl's face had been slightly clouded, but when I spoke lovingly ofthe Walloons, the dimples again played around her mouth and a smilebrightened her eyes. 

"I also am a Walloon, " she answered; "and your friend? He surely is notItalian: he is too fair. "

"The Lombards are fair, " I answered, "and the Guelphs, you know, are ofLombardy. You may have heard of the Houses of Guelph and of Pitti. "

"I have often heard of them, " she answered; then, after a shortsilence, --"I fear I have asked too many questions. " A gentle, apologeticsmile lighted her face and won me instantly. I liked her as much as Iadmired her. I knew that she wanted me to speak of Max, so to please herI continued, even against my inclination:--

"My young friend, Sir Maximilian du Guelph, wanted to see the world. Weare very poor, Fräulein, and if we would travel, we must make our way aswe go. We have just come from Ulm and Cannstadt, passing through theBlack Forest. Sir Max saved the life of our host, and in so doing wasgrievously wounded. Good Master Franz rewarded us far beyond ourdeserts, and for the time being we think we are rich. "

"The name Maximilian is not Italian, " observed Yolanda. "It has anAustrian sound. "

"That is true, " I responded. "My name, Karl, is German. Few namesnowadays keep to their own country. Your name, Yolanda, for example, is Italian. "

"Is that true?" she answered inquiringly, taking up a piece of lace. Isaw that the interview was closing. After a moment's hesitation Yolandaturned quickly to me and said:--

"You and your friend may sup with us this evening in the dining room ofour hostess. We take supper at five. "

The invitation was given with all the condescension of a noble lady. Twonette ventured:--

"What will father say, Yolanda?"

"I can guess what uncle will say, but we will give him his say and takeour own way. Nonsense, Twonette, if we are to journey to Peronne withthese gentlemen, our acquaintance with them cannot begin too soon. Come, Sir Karl, and--and bring your young friend, Sir Maximilian. "

It was clear to my mind that, without my young friend, Sir Maximilian, Ishould not have had the invitation. Yolanda then turned to Franz and hissilks, and I, who had always thought myself of some importance, wasdismissed by a burgher girl. I soothed my vanity with the thought thatbeauty has its own prerogatives. 

Without being little, Yolanda was small; without nobility, she had the_haute_ mien. But over and above all she had a sweet charm of manner, asaucy gentleness, and a kindly grace that made her irresistible. Whenshe smiled, one felt like thanking God for the benediction. 

That evening at five o'clock Max and I supped with Frau Franz. The goodfrau and her husband sat at either end of the table, Castleman, hisdaughter, and Yolanda occupied one side, while I sat by Max oppositethem. If Castleman had offered objection to the arrangement, he hadbeen silenced. 

I was especially anxious that Max should devote himself to Twonette, but, as I had expected, Yolanda's attractions were far too great to beresisted. There was a slight Walloon accent in her French and German (weall spoke both languages) that gave to her voice an exquisite cadence. Ispoke to her in Walloonish, and she was so pleased that she seemed tonestle toward me. In the midst of an animated conversation she suddenlybecame silent, and I saw her watching Max's hand. I thought she waslooking at his ring. It was the one that Mary of Burgundy had given him. 

CHAPTER III

YOLANDA THE SORCERESS

Several days passed, during which we saw the Castlemans frequently. Oneevening after supper, when we were all sitting in the parlor, Yolandaenticed Max to an adjoining room, on the excuse of showing him anancient piece of tapestry. When it had been examined, she seated herselfon a window bench and indicated a chair for Max near by. Among much thatwas said I quote the following from memory, as Max told me afterward:--

"So you are from Italy, Sir Max?" queried Yolanda, stealing a glance athis ring. 

"Yes, " returned Max. 

"From what part, may I ask?" continued the girl, with a slightinclination of her head to one side and a flash from beneath thepreposterously long lashes toward his hand. 

"From--from Rome, " stammered Max, halting at even so small a lie. 

"Ah, Sir Karl said you were from Lombardy, " answered the girl. 

"Well--that is--originally, perhaps, I was, " he returned. 

"Perhaps your family lives in both places?" she asked very seriously. 

"Yes, that is the way of it, " he responded. 

"Were you born in both places?" asked Yolanda, without the shadow of asmile. Max was thinking of the little lie he was telling and did notanalyze her question. 

"No, " he answered, in simple honesty, "you see I could not be born intwo places. That would be impossible. "

"Perhaps it would be, " replied Yolanda, with perfect gravity. Max wasfive years her senior, but he was a boy, while she had the self-commandof a quick-witted woman, though she still retained the saucyimpertinence of childhood. Slow-going, guileless Max began to suspect alurking intention on Yolanda's part to quiz him. 

"Did not Sir Karl say something about your having been born in Styria?"asked the girl, glancing slyly at the ring. 

"No, he did not, " answered Max, emphatically. "I suppose I was born inRome--no, I mean Lombardy--but it cannot matter much to you, Fräulein, where I was born if I do not wish to tell. "

The direct course was as natural to Max as breathing. The girl wasstartled by his abruptness. After a pause she continued:--

"I am sure you are not ashamed of your birthplace, and--"

He interrupted her sharply:--

"I also am sure I am not ashamed of it. "

"If you had permitted me to finish, " she said quietly, "you would havehad no need to speak so sharply. I spoke seriously. I wanted to say thatI am sure you have no reason to feel ashamed of your birthplace, andthat perhaps I ought not to have asked a question that you evidently donot want to answer. Uncle says if my curiosity were taken from me, therewould be nothing left but my toes. "

Her contrition melted Max at once, and he said:--

I will gladly tell you, Fräulein, if you want to know. I was born--"

"No, no, " she interrupted, "you shall not tell me. I will leave you atonce and see you no more if you do. Besides, there is no need to tellme; I already know. I am a sorceress, a witch. I regret to make theconfession, but it is true; I am a witch. "

"I believe you are, " answered Max, looking at her admiringly and seatinghimself beside her on the window bench. He had learned from Gertrude ofAugsburg and many other burgher girls that certain pleasantries weremore objectionable to them in theory than in practice; but this burghergirl rose to her feet at his approach and seemed to grow a head tallerin an instant. He quietly took his old place and she took hers. Shecontinued as if unconscious of what had happened:--

"Yes, I am a sorceress. " Then she drew her face close to Max, and, gazing fixedly into his eyes, said solemnly:--

"I can look into a person's eyes and know if they are telling me thetruth. I can tell their fortunes--past, present, and future. I can tellthem where they were born. I can tell them the history of anything ofvalue they have. Their jewellery, their--"

"Tell me any one of those things concerning myself, " interrupted Max, suddenly alive with interest. 

"No, it is too great a strain upon me, " answered the girl, with amusinggravity. 

"I entreat you, " said Max, laughing, though deeply interested. "Ibelieve you can do what you say. I beg you to show me your skill in onlyone instance. "

The girl gently refused, begging Max not to tempt her. 

"No, no, I cannot, " she said, "good Father Brantôme has told me it issinful. I must not. "

Half in jest but all in earnest, Max begged her to try; and, after agreat deal of coaxing, she reluctantly consented to give a very smallexhibition of her powers. Covering her face with her hands, she remainedfor the space of a minute as if in deep thought. Then, making a seriesof graceful and fantastic passes in the air with her hands, as ifinvoking a familiar spirit, she said in low, solemn tones:--

"You may now sit by me, Sir Max. My words must not be heard by any earssave yours. "

Max seated himself beside the girl. 

"Give me your word that you will tell no one what I am about to do andsay, " she said. 

"I so promise, " answered Max, beginning to feel that the situation wasalmost uncanny. 

"Now, place in my hand some jewel or valued article of which I mayspeak, " she said. 

Excepting his sword and dagger, Max owned but one article of value--thering Mary of Burgundy had given him. He hesitatingly drew it from hisfinger and placed it in the girl's hand. She examined it carefully, and said:--

"Now, give me your hand, Sir Max. " Her hand was not much larger than abig snowflake in early spring, Max thought, and it was completely lostto sight when his great fingers closed over it. The velvety softness ofthe little hand sent a thrill through his veins, and the firm, unyielding strength of his clasp was a new, delicious sensation to thegirl. Startled by it, she made a feeble effort to withdraw her hand; butMax clasped it firmly, and she surrendered. After a short silence sheplaced the ring to her forehead, closed her eyes, and drew her face sonear to Max that he felt her warm breath on his cheek. Max was learninga new lesson in life--the greatest of all. She spoke in soft whispers, slowly dropping her words one by one in sepulchral tones:--

"What--do--I see--surely I am wrong. No--I see clearly--a lady--a greatlady--a princess. She smiles upon a man. He is tall and young. His faceis fair; his hair falls in long, bright curls like yours. She gives himthis ring; she asks him to be her husband--no--surely a modest maidenwould not do that. " She stopped suddenly, snatched her hand from Max, returned the ring and cried, "No more, no more!"

She tossed her hands in the air, as if to drive off the spirits, andwithout another word ran to the parlor laughing, and threw herself onUncle Castleman's knee. Max slowly made the sign of the cross andfollowed the little enchantress. She had most effectually imposed onhim. He was inclined to believe that she had seen the ring or had heardof it in Burgundy before the princess sent it; but Yolanda could havebeen little more than a child at that time--three years before. Perhapsshe was hardly past fourteen, and one of her class would certainly notbe apt to know of the ring that had been sent by the princess. She mighthave received her information from Twonette, who, Franz said, wasacquainted with Mary of Burgundy; but even had Yolanda heard of thering, the fact would not have helped her to know it. 

After our first evening with the Castlemans we got on famouslytogether. True, Max and I felt that we were making great concessions, and I do not doubt that we showed it in many unconscious words and acts. This certainly was true of Max; but Yolanda's unfailing laughter, thoughat times it was provoking, soon brought him to see that too great asense of dignity was at times ridiculous. He could not, however, alwaysforget that he was a Hapsburg while she was a burgher girl, and his goodmemory got him many a keen little thrust from her saucy tongue. If Maxresented her sauciness, she ran away from him with the full knowledgethat he would miss her. She was much surer that she pleased anddelighted him than he was that he pleased her, though of the latter factshe left, in truth, little room for doubt. 

Max was very happy. He had never before known a playmate. But here inBasel the good Franz and his frau, Yolanda, Twonette, fat old Castleman, and myself were all boys and girls together, snatching the joys of lifefresh from the soil of mother earth, close to which we lived in rusticsimplicity. 

Since we had left Styria, our life, with all its hardships, had been adelight to Max, but it was also a series of constantly repeated shocks. If the shocks came too rapidly and too hard, he solaced his bruiseddignity with the thought that those who were unduly familiar with himdid not know that he was the heir of the House of Hapsburg. So day byday he grew to enjoy the nestling comfort of a near-by friend. This, Igrieve to say, was too plainly seen in his relations with Yolanda, forshe unquestionably nestled toward him. She made no effort to conceal herdelight in his companionship, though she most adroitly kept him at aproper distance. If she observed a growing confidence in Max, shequickly nipped it by showing him that she enjoyed my companionship orthat of old Franz just as much. On such occasions Max's dignity andvanity required balm. 

"Oh, Karl, " he said to me one evening while we were preparing for bed, "it seems to me I have just wakened to life, or have just got out ofprison. No man can be happy on a pinnacle above the intimate friendshipsof his fellow-man and--and woman. "

"Yes, 'and woman. ' Well put, Max, " said I. 

Max did not notice my insinuation, but continued:--

"I have lived longer since knowing these lowly friends than in all theyears of my life in Styria. Karl, you have spoiled a good, stiff-jointedHapsburg, but you have made a man. If nothing more comes of this journeyinto the world than I have already had, I am your debtor for life. Whatwould my dear old father and mother say if they should see me and knowthe life I am leading? In their eyes I should be disgraced--coveredwith shame. "

"When you go back to Hapsburg, " I said, "you can again take up yourold, petrified existence and eat your husks of daily adulation. You willsoon again find satisfaction in the bended knee, and will insist thatthose who approach you bow deferentially to your ancestors. "

"I shall, of course, return to Hapsburg, " he said. "It is my fate, andno man can change the destiny to which he was born. I must also endurethe bowing and the adulation. Men shall honor my ancestors and respectin me their descendant, but I shall never again be without friends if itbe in my power to possess them. As I have said, that is difficult forone placed above his fellow-man. "

"There is the trouble with men of your degree, " I answered. "Friends arenot like castles, cities, and courtly servitors. Those, indeed, one mayreally own; but we possess our friends only as they possess us. Like amirror, a friend gives us only what we ourselves give. No king is greatenough to produce his own image unless he stands before the glass. "

"Teach me, Karl, to stand before the glass, " said Max, plaintively. 

"You are before it now, my dear boy, " I answered. "These new friends aregiving you only what you give them. With me, you have always been beforethe glass. "

"That has been true, " said Max, "ever since the first day you enteredHapsburg. Do you remember? I climbed on your knee and said, 'You have abig, ugly nose!' Mother admonished me, and I quickly made amends bysaying, 'But I like you. '"

"I well remember, Max, " I responded. "That day was one of mutualconquest. That is the prime condition of friendship: mutual conquest andmutual surrender. But you must have other friends than me. You see I amnot jealous. You must have friends of your own age. "

"I now realize why I have hungered all my life, " said Max, "though Ihave never before known: I longed for friends. Is it not strange that Ishould find them among these low-born people? It surely cannot be wrongfor me to live as I do, though father and mother would doubtless deem itcriminal. "

"These good burgher folk are making you better and broader andstronger, " I answered. "But there is one thing I want to suggest: youare devoting too much of your time to the brown-eyed little maid. Youmust seek favor with Twonette. She is harmless, and through her you may, by some freak of fortune, reach the goal of your desires. With theprestige of your family and the riches of Burgundy, you may become themost powerful man in the world, save the Pope. "

"Perhaps Fräulein Yolanda is also acquainted with the Princess Mary, "responded Max, half reluctantly speaking Mary's name. 

"No, " I answered, "she is not. " I asked her if she were. She laughed atthe suggestion, and said: 'Oh, no, no, the princess is a very proudperson and very exclusive. She knows but one burgher girl in Peronne, Iam told. That one is Twonette, and I believe she treats her mostungraciously at times. I would not endure her snubs and haughty ways asTwonette does. I seek the friendship of no princess. Girls of my ownclass are good enough for me. "Twonette, fetch me a cup of wine. ""Twonette, thread my needle. " "Twonette, you are fat and lazy and sleeptoo much. " "Twonette, stand up. " "Twonette, sit down. " Faugh! I tell youI want none of these princesses, no, not one of them. I hate princesses, and I tell you I doubly hate this--this--' She did not say whom shedoubly hated. She is a forward little witch, Max. She laughed merrily atmy questions concerning the princess, and asked me if we were going toBurgundy to storm Mary's heart. 'Who is to win her?' she asked. 'You, Sir Karl, or Sir Max? It must be you. Sir Max is too slow and dignifiedeven to think of scaling the walls of a maiden fortress. It must be you, Sir Karl. ' The saucy little elf rose from her chair, bowed low before meand said, 'I do liege homage to the future Duke of Burgundy. ' Then shedanced across the room, laughing at my discomfiture. She is charming, Max, but remember Gertrude the Conqueror! Such trifling affairs are wellenough to teach a man the a-b-c of life but one with your destiny aheadof him must not remain too long in his alphabet. Such affairs are forboys, Max, for boys. "

"Do not fear for me, Karl, " answered Max, laughingly. "We are not apt totake hurt from dangers we see. "

"Do you clearly see the danger?" I suggested. 

"I clearly see, " he responded. "I admire Fräulein Yolanda as I havenever admired any other woman. I respect her as if she were a princess;but one of the penalties of my birth is that I may not think of her norof one of her class. She is not for me; she is a burgher maiden--out ofmy reach. For that reason I feel that I should respect her. "

The attitude of Max toward Yolanda was a real triumph of skill andadroitness over inherited convictions and false education. She hadbrought him from condescension to deference solely by the magic of herart. Or am I wrong? Was it her artlessness? Perhaps it was her artfulartlessness, since every girl-baby is born with a modicum of thatdangerous quality. 

"Perhaps you are right, Karl, " added Max. "I may underrate the power ofthis girl. As you have said, she is a little witch. But beneath herlaughter there is a rare show of tenderness and strength, which attimes seems pathetic and almost elfin. You are right, Karl. I willdevote myself to Twonette hereafter. She is like a feather-bed in thatshe cannot be injured by a blow, neither can she give one; butYolanda--ah, Karl, she is like a priceless jewel that may be shatteredby a blow and may blind one by its radiance. "

But Max's devotion to Twonette was a failure. She was certainly willing, but Yolanda would have none of it, and with no equivocation gave everyone to understand as much. Still, she held Max at a respectful distance. In fact, this Yolanda handled us all as a juggler tosses his balls. Maxmust not be too attentive to her, and he must not be at all attentive toTwonette. In this arrangement Twonette acquiesced. She would not dare tolift her eyes to one upon whom Yolanda was looking!

Here was illustrated the complete supremacy of mind over matter. Castleman, Twonette, Franz and his frau, Max and I, all danced when thetiny white hand of Yolanda pulled the strings. A kiss or a saucy nod forCastleman or Twonette, a smile or a frown for Max and me, were theinstruments wherewith she worked. Deftly she turned each situation asshe desired. Max made frequent efforts to obtain a private moment withher, that he might ask a few questions concerning her wonderfulknowledge of his ring--they had been burning him since the night of hersorcery--but, though she knew quite well his desire to question her, shegave him no opportunity. 

During the time that Castleman was buying his silks, the members of ourlittle party grew rapidly in friendship. In culture, education, andrefinement, the Castlemans were far above any burghers I had ever known. Franz and his wife, though good, simple people, were not at all inCastleman's class. They felt their inferiority, and did not go abroadwith us, though we supped daily with them. Each evening supper was alittle fête followed by a romp of amusement, songs, and childish gamesin the frau's great parlor. 

The Castlemans, Max, and I made several excursions into the mountains. Yolanda and Twonette were in ecstasy at the mountain views, which wereso vividly in contrast with the lowlands of Burgundy. 

"These mountains are beautiful, " said patriotic Yolanda, "but ourlowlands raise bread to feed the hungry. "

On one occasion we rode to the Falls of Schaffhausen, and often we wereout upon the river. During these expeditions Yolanda adroitly kept ourlittle party together, and Max could have no private word with her. 

I had never been so happy as I was during the fortnight at Basel whileCastleman was buying silk. I was almost a child again; my fifty oddyears seemed to fall from me as an eagle sheds his plumes in spring. Wewere all happy and merry as a May-day, and our joyousness was woven fromthe warp and woof of Yolanda's gentle, laughing nature. Without her, ourlife would have been comfortable but commonplace. 

During all this time Max pondered in vain upon the remarkable manner inwhich Yolanda had divined the secret of his ring. He longed to questionher, but she would not be questioned until she was ready to answer. 

On a certain morning near the close of our sojourn in Basel, Max, aftermany elephantine manoeuvres, obtained Yolanda's promise to walk out withhim to a near-by hill in the afternoon. It was a Sabbath day, and everyburgher maiden in Basel that boasted a sweetheart would be abroad withhim in the sunshine. Max could not help feeling that it was mostcondescending in him, a prince, to walk out with Yolanda, a burghermaiden. Should any one from Styria meet him, he would certainly sinkinto the ground, though in a certain way the girl's reluctance seemed toplace the condescension with her. 

After dinner, which we all took together that day, she put him off withexcuses until drowsy Uncle Castleman had taken himself off for a nap. Then Yolanda quickly said:--

"Fetch me my hood, Twonette. I shall not need a cloak. I am going towalk out with Sir Max. "

Twonette instantly obeyed, as if she were a tire-woman to a princess, and soon returned wearing her own hood and carrying Yolanda's. 

"Ah, but you are not to come with us, " said Yolanda. She was ready togive Max the opportunity he desired, and would give it generously. 

"But--but what will father say?" asked Twonette, uneasily. 

"We shall learn what he says when we return. No need to worry about thatnow, " answered Yolanda. Twonette took off her hood. 

Max and Yolanda climbed the hill, and, after a little demurring on thegirl's part, sat down on a shelving rock at a point where the river viewwas beautiful. As usual, Yolanda managed the conversation to suitherself, but after a short time she permitted Max to introduce thesubject on which he wished to talk. 

"Will you tell me, Fräulein, " he asked, "how you were enabled to knowthe history of my ring? I cannot believe you are what you said--asorceress--a witch. "

"No, no, " she answered laughingly, "I am not a sorceress. "

"You almost made me believe you were, " said Max, "but I am slow of wit, as you have doubtless observed. I told Sir Karl you said you were asorceress, and he said--"

"You gave me your word you would not tell!" exclaimed Yolanda. 

"Neither did I tell aught save that you said you were a sorceress. Helaughed and said--"

"Yes, yes, what did he say?" eagerly queried the girl. 

"He said--I am sure you will not take amiss what he said?" respondedMax. 

"No, no, indeed no! Tell me, " she demanded eagerly. 

"He said you were a witch, if brown eyes, dimpling smiles, and girlishbeauty could make one, " answered Max. 

"Ah, did he say that of me?" asked the girl, musingly. After a pause shecontinued, "That was kind in Sir Karl and--and evidently sincere. " Afteranother pause devoted to revery she said: "Perhaps I shall be his friendsometime in a manner he little expects. Even the friendship of ahelpless burgher girl is not to be despised. But he is wrong. I am notbeautiful, " she poutingly continued. "Now let us examine my face. " Shelaughed, and settled herself contentedly upon the stone, as if to takeup a serious discussion. "I often do so in the mirror. Vain? Of courseI am!"

"I am only too willing to examine it, " said Max, laughingly. 

"My mouth, " she said, pursing her lips and lifting her face temptinglyfor his inspection, "my mouth is--"

"Perfect, " interrupted Max. 

She looked surprised and said, "Ah, that was nicely spoken, Little Max, and quickly, for you. "

"'Little Max'!" exclaimed the young man. "Where heard you that name? Noone save my mother has ever used it; no one but Karl and my father hasever heard her speak the words. Did Karl tell you of it?"

"Karl did not tell me, " she responded, "and I never heard any one speakthe name. The name fits you so well--by contraries--that it came to me, perhaps, by inspiration. "

"That hardly seems possible, " returned Max, "and your knowledge of how Ireceived the ring is more than remarkable. "

"Let us talk about my face, " said the girl, full of the spirit ofmischief, and wishing to put off the discussion of the ring. "Now, myeyes, of which Sir Karl spoke so kindly, are--"

"The most wonderful in the world, " interrupted Max. "They are brilliantas priceless jewels, fathomless as deep water, gentle and tender as--"

"There, there, Little Max, " she cried, checking with a gesture his flowof unexpected eloquence. "I declare! you are not so slow as you seem. Iwill tell you just how much of a sorceress I am. I thought to flatteryou by saying a great lady had given you the ring, and lo, I was rightunless you are adroitly leading me to believe in my own sorcery. Is shea great lady? Come, tell me the story. "

She unconsciously moved nearer to him with an air of pleasantanticipation. 

"Yes, it was a great lady, a very great lady who gave me the ring, " hesaid most seriously. 

"And was I right in my other divination?" she asked, looking down andflushing slightly. "Did--did she wish to marry you? But you need notanswer that question. "

"I will gladly answer it, " returned Max, leaning forward, resting hiselbow on his knees and looking at the ground between his feet. "I hopedshe did. I--I longed for it. "

"Perhaps she possessed vast estates?" asked the girl, a slight frowngathering on her brow. 

"Yes, she possessed vast estates, " said Max, "but I would gladly havetaken her penniless save for the fact that I am very poor, and that shewould suffer for the lack of luxuries she has always known. "

"But how could the lady have felt sure you were not seeking her for thesake of her estates?" asked Yolanda. 

"She could not know, " answered Max. "But I sought her for her own sakeand for no other reason. "

"What manner of person was she?" asked Yolanda. "Was she dark or light, short or tall, plain of feature or beautiful, amiable of temper orvixenish? Was she like any one you have ever seen?"

She spoke in deep earnest and looked eagerly up to his face. 

"She was beautiful of feature, " answered Max. "Her eyes and her hairwere dark as yours are. She was short of stature, I have been told. "

Yolanda laughed merrily: "I declare, Sir Max, you were in love with alady you had never seen. It was her estate you loved. "

"No, no, " said Max, earnestly. "I ardently desired--"

"Perhaps if you were to see her, your enthusiasm would vanish, " saidYolanda, interrupting him almost sharply. "My magic tells me she is asquat little creature, with a wizened face; her eyes are sharp andblack, and her nose is a-peak, not unlike mine. That, she is sour andpeevish of temper, as I am, there can be no doubt. And, although she begreat and rich as the Princess of Burgundy, I warrant you she is not onewhit handsomer nor kinder in disposition than I. "

Max started on hearing Mary of Burgundy's name, but quickly recoveringhimself said:--

"I would not wish her better than you in any respect. You wrong bothyourself and the lady to speak as you do. Those who know her say thelady has not her like in all the world. "

A soft light came to Yolanda's face as he spoke, and she answeredslowly:--

"Doubtless the lady had like news of you, and is curious to know whatmanner of man you are. She too may have dreamed of an ideal. "

"How do you know she has never seen me?" asked Max, who had not fullycaught her reply when she spoke of the fact that he had never seen thelady of the ring. "I shall surely come to believe you are a sorceress. "

"No, I am not, " she answered emphatically. "You shall carry that jest nofurther. A moment since you said those who know her say so and so, andyou believed she was short of stature. Had you ever seen the lady, youwould know if she were tall or short. You would not be in doubt upon soimportant a matter as the stature of your lady-love. "

The reasoning and the reasoner were so irresistible that Max was easilysatisfied. 

"But you have spoken of the lady as in the past. I hope she is notdead?" asked Yolanda. 

"No, " answered Max, gravely, "our fathers did not agree. That is, herfather was not satisfied, and it all came to nothing save a--aheartache for me. "

It was well that Max was looking at the ground when she turned the softradiance of her eyes upon him, else he might have learned too much. Hismodesty and honesty in admitting frankly that the lady's father was notsatisfied with the match pleased her and she sat in silence, smilingcontentedly. After a time she turned almost fiercely upon him:--

"Do you know what I should do, Sir Max, were I in your place?"

"What would you do, Fräulein?" queried Max. 

"I would show the lady that I was worthy of her by winning her, eventhough she were on a throne, guarded by a thousand dragons. I am awoman, Sir Max, and I know a woman's heart. The heart of a princess isfirst the heart of a woman. Be sure the lady will thank you and willreward you if you fight your way to her and carry her off against allthe world. "

"But how is that to be done, Fräulein?" asked Max, carelessly. In truth, Mary of Burgundy was not uppermost in his heart at that moment. 

"That is for a man to say and for a man to do, " she responded. "A womanknows only how to wait and to long for one who, alas! may never come. She will wait for you, Sir Max, and when you come to her, she will placeher hand in yours and go with you wherever you wish to take her. Ofthis, at least, my powers of sorcery are sufficient to assure you. Donot fear! do not fear!"

She spoke earnestly, as if from the depths of a personal experience. Hereyes glowed with the light of excitement and her face was radiant. Maxturned to her and saw all this beauty. Then he gently took her hand andsaid huskily:--

"If I thought she were like you, Fräulein, I would gladly go to the endof the world to win from her even one smile. "

"No, no, Sir Max, " said Yolanda, withdrawing her hand, "we must have nomore such speeches from you. They are wrong coming from one of yourdegree to a burgher girl of Peronne, if she be an honest girl. Ourstations are too far apart. "

"That is true, Fräulein, " answered Max, sorrowfully, "but I mean nodisrespect. I honor you as if you were a princess"--here his tones tookenergy and emphasis--"but I meant what I said, Fräulein, I meant what Isaid, and though I shall never say it again, I know that I shall mean itall the days of my life. "

The expression in her eyes as she looked up at him was one of mingledpleasure and amusement. It seemed to say, "Do not be too sure that youwill never say it again, " but she said nothing. After a moment shesuggested:--

"Shall we return, Sir Max?" They rose, and as they started back to Baselhe remarked:--

"The words 'Little Max' on your lips sounded sweet to me, Fräulein. They bring home to me the voice of my mother, and though I should notcare to hear another speak them, still, the words are very pretty onyour lips, and I like them. "

Yolanda glanced quickly up to him with radiant eyes. He caught theglance, and the last vestige of his ideal, Mary of Burgundy, left hisheart, driven out by the very real little enchantress that walked byhis side. 

CHAPTER IV

DOWN THE RHINE TO BURGUNDY

Notwithstanding the idle, happy life we were leading, I was anxious tobegin our journey to Burgundy. Just what would--or could--happen when weshould reach that land of promise--perhaps I should say of no promise--Idid not know. I hoped that by some happy turn of fortune--perhapsthrough Twonette's help--Max might be brought to meet Mary of Burgundy. I had all faith in his ability to please her, or any woman, but whatadvantage he could gain by winning her regard I could not guess. Thelady's personal preference would cut no figure in the choosing of ahusband. Her father would do that for her, and she would be powerlessagainst the will of a man whose chief impulses were those of a mad bull. This arrogant duke, without so much as a formal withdrawal, had ignoredDuke Frederick's acceptance and had contracted his daughter's hand tothe Dauphin of France, who was a puny, weak-minded boy of fourteen. 

Should Max and I go to Burgundy and say to Charles, "This is Maximilianof Styria, to whom you offered your daughter in marriage, " his answermight be a sword thrust. Should the duke learn of our unbidden presencein his domain, his love for making enemies would probably bring us intotrouble. Therefore, though I ardently wished to begin the journey, I hadno real cause to hope for good results, though there were many reasonsto fear the outcome of our adventures. 

One may well ask why I continued in a course so dangerous. My answer is:A man travels the road of his destiny. The Fates sometimes hunt out aman for their purposes and snatch him from his hiding-place in theby-ways, but they usually choose from the scenes of great events theirvictims or their favorites. The man who fears to be their victim isseldom chosen for their favorite. I should rather be their victim thanbe overlooked; and what I should have chosen for myself I desired forMax. I had no future save in him; I had been overlooked in the by-ways. 

At the time of our journeying all Europe turned on a Burgundian pivot, and the Fates were busy in that land. It was the stage of the world, onwhich the strong, the great, and the enterprising of mankind wereplaying; and I hoped that Max, who was strong and enterprising, wouldfind his part in this Burgundian drama. I was willing to risksacrificing him, though he was dearer to me than the blood of my heart, if I might stand even a small chance to make him great. 

At strange variance with my philosophy, I had faith in Max's luck. Itwas more than faith; it was a fixed, intuitive conviction that he wouldwin. For these reasons, all growing out of what I felt rather than whatI reasoned, we continued our dangerous and apparently useless journey. When a man feels himself led by an unseen hand, he should gladly follow. There is an intuition that is better than reason. 

 * * * * *

One bright morning in May we began our journey down the Rhine. My fearshad no place in Max's heart, and his self-confidence was to me aharbinger of good fortune. A man may do anything that he knows he cando; failure never disappoints him who expects it. 

We left Basel by the west gate and took the road for Strasburg, leadingdown the west bank of the Rhine. That was not the most direct route toPeronne, but it was the safest because of the numerous river townswherein we might lie safely by night. The robber barons whom we had tofear along the river were at least not pilfering vagabonds, such as weshould meet across country. Against the open attack of a brave foe wefelt that we could make a good defence. Our fighting force consisted ofMax, myself, and two lusty squires. We had also a half-score of men wholed the sumpter mules. 

Castleman had purchased two beautiful chargers in Basel, pretending thathe wished to take them to Peronne for sale. He asked Max to ride one andoffered the other for my use. I was sure that his only reason for buyingthe horses was his desire to present them to us, which he afterward did. Max named his charger "Night, " because of its spotless coat of black. Yolanda rode a beautiful white mare which we re-christened "Day. "Castleman bestrode an ambling Flemish bay, almost as fat as its masterand quite as good-natured, which, because of its slowness, Yolandadubbed "Last Week. "

We travelled slowly down the Rhine, enjoying the scenery and filling ourhearts with the sunshine of the soft spring days. Our cautious merchantso arranged our lodging-places that we were never on the road afterdark. His system caused much delay, as we often rested a half-day in atown that we might be able to lodge there over night. In this deliberatemanner of proceeding, life was a sweet, lazy holiday, and our journeywas like a May outing. We were all very happy--almost ominously so. 

After the explanation between Max and Yolanda on the hill at Basel shemade no effort to avoid him, and he certainly did not avoid her. Theyboth evidently rested on his remark that he would never again speakupon a certain subject. They fully understood each other's position. 

Max knew that between him and the burgher maiden there could be nothought of marriage. She, it seemed, was equally aware of that fact. Allthat he had been taught to value in life--father, mother, family andposition, his father's subjects, who would one day be his, his father'sthrone, on which he would one day sit--stood between him and Yolanda. They stood between him and the achievement of any desire purely personalto himself and not conducive to the welfare of his state. He felt thathe did not belong to himself; that his own happiness was never to beconsidered. He belonged to his house, his people, and his ancestors. 

Max had not only been brought up with that idea as the chief element inhis education, but he had also inherited it from two score generationsof men and women that had learned, believed, and taught the same lesson. We may by effort efface the marks of our environment, but those weinherit are bred in the bone. Yolanda was not for Max. He could notcontrol his heart; it took its inheritance of unbidden passion from athousand scores of generations which had lived and died and learnedtheir lesson centuries before the House of Hapsburg began; but he couldcontrol his lips and his acts. 

With Max's growing love for Yolanda came a knightly reverence which wasthe very breath of the chivalry that he had sworn to uphold. This spiritof reverence the girl was quick to observe, and he lost nothing by it inher esteem. At times I could see that this reverential attitude of Maxalmost sobered her spirits; to do so completely would have been asimpossible as to dam the current of a mountain stream. 

On the evening of our first day out of Basel we were merrily eating oursuppers in a village where we had halted for the night, when I remarkedthat I had met a man, while strolling near the river, who had said thatwar was imminent between Burgundy and Switzerland. My remark immediatelycaught Yolanda's sharp attention. 

"Yes, " said I, "we left Switzerland none too soon. This man tells me, onwhat authority I know not, that a herald will soon be sent by DukeCharles carrying defiance to the Swiss. What of value the duke expectsto obtain from barren Switzerland outside of Basel, I do not know. Fighting for fighting's sake is poor sport. "

"Forbear your wise saws, Sir Karl, and tell me what the man said, "demanded Yolanda. 

"He told me, " I replied, "that he had heard the news at Metz, and thatit was supposed Duke René would muster his forces in Lorraine and turnthem against Burgundy in case of war with Switzerland. "

"I predicted evil when Burgundy took Nancy from Lorraine, " criedYolanda, excitedly. "The hollow conventions made with Lorraine after thecapture of that city were but the promises of a man under duress. Theonly ties that will bind a narrow man are those of immediateself-interest. There can be no lasting treaty between France andBurgundy so long as King Louis covets Flanders and is able to bribe ourneighbors. These conventions between Burgundy, Lorraine, Bourbon, andSt. Pol will hold only so long as Burgundy does not need them. "

"That is surely true, Fräulein, " I said. 

"Yes, " she continued, "and should Burgundy suffer any great misfortuneor be crippled for an hour, those small states would be upon his backlike a pack of wolves, and he would be ruined. Lorraine, Bourbon, andSt. Pol do not see that Burgundy alone stands between them and thegreedy maw of France. Should King Louis survive my--my Lord of Burgundyfive years, these dukes and counts will lose their feudal rights andbecome servile vassals of France, not in name, as now they are, but insorry fact. "

I was so astonished at this tempestuous outburst from an unexpectedquarter, and was so surprised at discovering an intimate knowledge ofgreat affairs in a simple burgher maid, that I dropped the piece of meatI held in my fingers and stared in wonder across the table at Yolanda. Ihad known from the first hour of meeting her that the girl's mind wasmarvellously keen; but that a maid of seventeen or eighteen, in herposition, should have so firm a grasp of international affairs andshould possess so clear a conception of the troublous situation inwestern Europe, astounded me. 

In eastern Europe, where we were not blinded by neighborly hatred andlocal jealousies, the truth of Yolanda's statement had long beenapparent. We carried our prophecy further and predicted that theheadlong passions of Charles the Rash would soon result in his death oroverthrow. 

My point in dragging in this heavy load of political lore is this: Incase of the death of Charles of Burgundy, the future of western Europewould depend on the brains and the bravery of the man who should marrythe Princess Mary. I felt that Max was chosen of God for that destiny. Should he succeed in defending Burgundy against France, he would becomethe most powerful man in Europe. No event save death could keep him fromachieving the imperial crown. 

If the existing treaty of marriage between Mary and the Dauphin ofFrance were carried out, and if the Dauphin as king should possessone-half the wisdom of his father, Louis, all western Europe would soonbe France. If this treaty were to fail and the Princess Mary espouse aman capable of defending her territory, Burgundy would still remain awall of protection to the smaller states of the Rhine. 

A long silence followed Yolanda's outburst, but her words had soastonished me that my supper for the evening was finished. Castlemanplied his knife industriously; Yolanda nibbled at a piece of meatbetween her dainty fingers, and Twonette gazed serenely out of theopen window. 

Yolanda's words and Castleman's constraint filled me with wonder. Therewas to me a mystery about this little beauty that had not been touchedon by my friend from Peronne. I hoped to gain information on the pointby inducing Yolanda to talk. She was willing enough. 

"Fräulein, " I said, "I quite agree with you. It is a matter of surpriseto me that these noblemen you mention do not see the truth as youstate it. "

"They are fools, Sir Karl, sodden fools, " exclaimed Yolanda. "You couldbuy their souls for a sou. King Louis buys them with an empty promiseof one. "

"Why does not Duke Charles buy them?" I asked. "'Tis said he hasenormous quantities of ready gold in Luxembourg Castle. "

"Because, Sir Karl, " she responded almost savagely, "bribery is theweapon of a coward. The Duke of Burgundy uses his money to paysoldiers. "

"But, Fräulein, " I answered, "the duke has for years--ever since beforehis father's death--been wasting his money, sacrificing his soldiers, and despoiling his land by wars, prosecuted to no good end. He hasconquered large territory, but he has paid for it with the blood of hispeople. Neither they nor he are the better because of those accessions, and the duke has made enemies who will one day surely wrest them fromhim. A brave prince should not fear to be called a coward because of anact that will bring peace and happiness to his subjects and save theirlives, their liberties, and their estates. That great end will ennobleany means. The subjects of Burgundy are frugal and peace-loving. Theyshould be protected from the cruel cost of useless war. I would notcriticise Duke Charles, whose bravery is beyond compare, but for thesake of his people I could wish that his boldness were tempered withcaution. Policy, not blows, appears to me the only way out of hispresent and imminent danger. "

"Perhaps you are right, Sir Karl, " answered Yolanda, "but I advise youto keep your views to yourself when you reach Burgundy. Should they cometo the duke's ears, you might lose yours. "

"Indeed, Fräulein, your warning is unnecessary, " I responded laughingly. "I already know the disposition of the duke toward those who disagreewith him. His ungovernable passions will surely lead him to a terribleend. Bravery, if wise, is one of the noblest attributes of men. Thelack of wisdom makes it the most dangerous. Duke Charles ought to temperhis courage with love for his people. He should fight, when he must, with wise bravery. If he should die, God pity the poor people ofBurgundy unless their princess choose a husband both wise and brave. "

"But she will not be allowed to choose, " cried Yolanda, passionately. "Her freedom is less than that of any serf. She is bound hand and footby the chains of her birth. She is more to be pitied than the poorestmaiden in Burgundy. The saddest of all captives is she who is chained toa throne. "

"That surely is the bitterest draught fate offers to mortal man, " sighedMax. 

"Yes, " whispered Yolanda, huskily. "One cannot rebel; one may not evenkill one's self when one is condemned to live. One can do nothing butendure and wait in haunting fear and, in rare moments, hope against amillion chances. "

Evidently she meant us to know that she sorrowed for Max's martyrdom, though how she had learned of his true station in life I couldnot guess. 

"It is strange, " said I to Castleman, when Yolanda and Twonette had leftus, "that Fräulein Yolanda, who seems to be all laughter andthoughtlessness, should be so well informed upon the affairs of princesand princesses, and should take this public matter so much to heart. "

"Yes, she is a strange, unfortunate girl, " answered Castleman, "andtruly loves her native land. She would, I believe, be another Joan ofArc, had she the opportunity. She and her father do not at all agree. Hewholly fails to comprehend her. "

"Is her father your brother?" I asked. I felt a sense of impertinence inputting the question, but my curiosity was irresistible. 

"Yes, " answered Castleman, hesitatingly; then, as if hurrying from thesubject, he continued, "Her mother is dead, and the girl lives chieflyunder my roof. "

I wanted to ask other questions concerning Yolanda, but I kept silent. Ihad begun to suspect that she was not what she passed for--a burghergirl; but Castleman was a straightforward, truthful man, and his wordssatisfied me. I had, at any rate, to be content with them, sinceYolanda's affairs were none of mine. Had I not been sure that Max'straining and inheritance gave him a shield against her darts, she andher affairs would have given me deep concern. At that time I had all thematch-making impulses of an old woman, and was determined that no womanshould step between Max and the far-off, almost impossible Princessof Burgundy. 

When we resumed our journey the next morning Yolanda was demure, grave, and serious; but the bright sun soon had its way with her, and within ahalf-hour after leaving the village she was riding beside Max, laughing, singing, and flashing her eyes upon him with a lustre that dimmed thesun--at least, so Max thought, and probably he was right. That eveningMax told me much of Yolanda's conversation. 

The road we were travelling clung to the Rhine for several leagues. Inmany places it was cut from the bank at the water's edge. At others itran along the brink of beetling precipices. At one of these Max guidedhis horse close to the brink, and, leaning over in his saddle, lookeddown the dizzy heights to the river below. 

"Please do not ride so near the brink, Sir Max, " pleaded Yolanda. "Itfrightens me. "

Max had little of the braggadocio spirit about him, but no rightlyconstituted young man is entirely devoid of the desire to "show off" inthe presence of timid and interesting ladies. Without that spirit of"show-off, " what would induce our knights to meet in glorioustournaments? Without it, what would our chivalry amount to? Without it, why should a peacock spread its tail? I do not belittle it, since fromthis spirit of "show-off" arises one great good--respect for the opinionof our fellow-man. So Max, with a dash of "show-off" in his disposition, laughed at Yolanda's fears and answered that he was in no danger. 

"It is very brave in you, Sir Max, to go so near the brink, " saidYolanda, ironically, "but do you remember what Sir Karl said concerning'wise bravery'? There can be no need for your bravery, and therefore nowisdom in it. Were there good reason why you should go near the brink, Ishould despise you if you refused; but there is no reason and, since itfrightens me, I wish you would remain in the road. "

"Gladly I will, " answered Max, reining his horse beside her. 

"Do you know, " said Yolanda, with as much seriousness as she couldeasily command, "that your friend, Sir Karl, is a philosopher? Hisphrase, 'wise bravery, ' clings to me. I certainly wish the Duke ofBurgundy would learn it and take it to heart. "

"I have heard many conflicting stories concerning this Duke Charles, "said Max. "Some persons say he is all that is brave and noble; othersdeclare that he is fierce, passionate, and bad. I wonder which I shallfind him to be?"

"Do you expect to take service with him?" asked Yolanda, half sadly. Atthe mention of the duke's name all smiles and dimples fledincontinently. 

"No, " answered Max, "I think I shall not take service with the duke. Intruth, I don't know what I shall do. For what purpose I am going toBurgundy I am sure I cannot say. "

A short silence ensued, which was broken by Yolanda, speaking archly:--

"Perhaps you are going to Burgundy or to France to win the lady who gaveyou the ring?" Max was surprised, and flushed as he answered:--

"That would be an impossible thought, Fräulein. If you but knew who thelady is, you would understand that such a hope on my part were aphantasy. But I have no such hope or wish. I do not now want to win thelady of the ring. "

"No, no, Sir Max, " said Yolanda, protestingly, "you must not baselydesert this lady-love whom you have never seen. If trouble should cometo her, whoever she is, you must hasten to her rescue and carry heraway. The best opportunity to rob, you know, comes in the midst of amêlée. Take her, Sir Max. I wish you success. "

"Do you really wish me success, Fräulein?" asked Max, looking straightahead. He was not at all flattered by her good wishes concerning thelady of the ring. 

"Indeed I do, " responded the girl, joyously; "I will pray to the Virginand ask her to help you to win this fair lady who gave you the ring. "

"I thank you for your good wishes, " returned Max, "though I could easilybe satisfied with less enthusiasm on the subject. "

"Indeed? Why, may I ask?"

"Because, Fräulein--because I had hoped--" Max ceased speaking, and, leaning forward, smoothed his horse's mane. 

Yolanda waited for a moment and then, turning her face toward Max, asked:--

"You had hoped for what, Sir Max?"

"I had hoped for nothing, Fräulein, " he answered. "I am satisfied asmatters now stand between us. Your words at supper last evening rang inmy ears all night, 'Chained to a throne; chained to a throne. ' I knewyou referred to my unhappy lot when you spoke, though how you guessedthe truth concerning my station I do not know. "

A surprised little smile spread over her face, but he did not see it. Hewas still smoothing his horse's mane. 

"You cannot know the terrible truth of your words, " continued Max. "Iwill tell you a part of my secret, Fräulein. All my life I have been cutoff--chained to a throne--from the fellowship of men and the love offriends. Karl is the only friend I have ever known save my mother untilI met you and your good people. Only the good God can know how I havelonged and hungered since childhood for friendship; even forcompanionship. I did not know what I yearned for until since my arrivalat Basel. Truly it is not good for man to be alone, even though he beupon a throne. I am not upon a throne, Fräulein, but I am near one--asmall, barren throne, whose greatest attribute is its ancestry. My homeis a sad, lonely place--how lonely even you, who have guessed soshrewdly and who speak so eloquently, cannot know. You should thank Godfor your lowly birth and your lowly friends. "

"I do, " the girl answered, with a queer, half-sad, half-amusedexpression upon her face which Max could not interpret. 

"But we cannot break the chains that have been welded a thousandyears--that have grown stronger and tighter with each generation, " saidMax. "You truthfully said, 'One may only endure. '"

"I also said that at rare moments one may hope, " she answered, withdrooping head. 

"Not I, Fräulein. I may not even hope. I am doomed, " answered Max. 

"No, no, Sir Max, " responded the drooping head. 

After a prolonged silence Max said, "I am sure the secret of my stationis safe with you. "

"You need not doubt, Sir Max, " she responded. "You cannot know how safeit is. " She turned brightly upon him and continued, "Let me invoke myspirits, Sir Max. " She raised her eyes, saint-fashion, toward heaven, and spoke under her breath: "I hear the word 'hope, ' Sir Max, 'hope. ' Itis very faint, but better faint than not at all. "

"I tell you there is no hope for me, Fräulein, " responded Max, desperately. "It is cruel in you to say there is. It is doubly cruel tospeak jestingly. "

"I speak earnestly, " said Yolanda. "There is hope. If you win the ladywho gave you the ring, you will be happy. I do not jest. "

"You do. You mock me, " cried Max. "I tell you, Yolanda, there is in allthe world no woman for me save--save one upon whom I may not think. "Yolanda's face grew radiant, though tears moistened her eyes. "Eventhough it were possible for me to defy my parents, to turn my faceagainst my country, my people, and the sacred traditions of my house, byasking her to share my life, there could be only wretchedness ahead forher, and therefore unhappiness for me. The dove and the eagle may notmate. Consider the fate of sweet Agnes Bernauer, who married Duke Albertand perished in the Danube. I tell you, Fräulein, I am hopeless. When Ireturn to my people, I shall do so knowing that life thereafter will besomething to endure, not a blessing to thank God for. "

"No, no, Sir Max, " murmured the girl, "you do not know. "

Max turned upon her almost angrily:--

"A man knows when he lives; a man knows when he is dying, and a man, ifhe be worthy of the name, knows when he loves a woman. I am not surethat the sun shines, Fräulein, than I am that I shall not forget thiswoman nor cease to sorrow for her all the days of my life. "

"You must not speak such words to me, Sir Max, " said Yolanda, reprovingly. "I, too, must live and be happy if--if I can. "

She turned her face away from Max and, touching her horse with her whip, passed a few feet ahead of him. If there were tears in her eyes, she didnot wish Max to see them. After several minutes of silence he spurredhis horse to her side. 

"I did not intend to speak, Fräulein. I once said I would never speakagain. I should not have spoken now, though I have told you only whatyou already know. I ask no favor in return, not even a touch fromyour hand. "

"You shall have that at least, Sir Max, " she answered, impulsivelyreining her horse close to Max and placing her hand in his. 

"Still, you wish me to win the lady who sent me the ring?" asked Max. 

"Yes, " returned Yolanda, softly. "It will mean your happiness andmine--" Suddenly checking herself, she explained: "I shall be happy ifyou are. A man cannot know how happy a woman may be for another's sake. "

I felt no desire to reprove Max when he told me of his day's adventurewith Yolanda, since I could in no way remedy the evil. In fact, Max wasgrowing out of my jurisdiction. He had listened to my lectures andadvice since childhood and had taken them kindly, because my authoritygrew out of my love for him and his love for me. He was a boy when weleft Styria, but he was a man when we were journeying down the Rhine. Though the confidential relations between us had grown closer, my advicewas gradually taking the form of consultation. I did not seek hisconfidences, and he gave them more freely, if that were possible, thanever before. I did not offer my advice so readily, but he sought it morefrequently. Max told me the sorrowful little story of the day, and I didnot comment on it. I simply led him in another direction. 

"Fräulein Yolanda's words have given me food for thought, " I said. "Solong as Duke Charles lives, there can be no union between Burgundy andHapsburg; but at the pace he is travelling he will surely receive his_coup de grâce_ before long, and I hope you will meet and know theprincess before the tragedy occurs. Then declare yourself and back yourclaim with the duke's proposal, which has never been withdrawn. That thepeople of Burgundy hate France and this French marriage there can be nodoubt. They are fools for so doing, but we may easily profit by theirlack of wisdom. In the event of the duke's death the inclinations of theprincess will be half the battle. So long as he lives they are no partof it. If, by the help of Twonette, you should be so fortunate as tomeet the princess, our dream may be realized, and our house may becomethe greatest in Europe. "

"I suppose you are right, Karl, " answered Max. "You are always right;but I have no heart in this matter, and I hope nothing will come of it. I have never known you to be so cold-blooded as in this affair. "

"If you are to be hot-blooded, or even warm-blooded, you must turn yourback on your house and cast from you the duties and privileges of yourbirth, " I observed. 

"You are right, " he answered irritably. "But it will be difficult for meto please one woman while thinking of another. Ah, Karl, I am growingtired of this Burgundian dream. Dream? It is almost a nightmare. "

Max's words did not alarm me; he was "chained to a throne. " He would notfail me if the hour of good fortune should come. 

"Your thoughts of another woman will not stand in your way, " I said. "Experience is more necessary in dealing with women than in any other oflife's affairs, and this episode with Yolanda is what you need toprepare you for--for what I pray you may have to do. "

"Karl, please do not talk of this--this--my feeling for Yolanda as anepisode, " he said, speaking almost angrily. "It is a part of my life, and will be my sorrow as long as I live. "

The boy's anger warned me that if I would lead him, I must do it gently. 

"I believe, Max, you speak truly, " I said; "but it will not be anunmixed evil. Good will come of it, since the image of a pure womaninjures no man's heart. It keeps him in the narrow way and guides hishand for righteousness. "

CHAPTER V

WHO IS YOLANDA?

Next morning Yolanda came to breakfast smiling, bedimpled, and sparklingas a sunlit mountain brook. Max, who was gloomy, took her sprightlinessamiss, thinking, no doubt, that her life also ought to be darkened bythe cloud that he thought was over-shadowing him. There was no doubt inmy mind that Yolanda had inspired a deep and lasting passion in Max, though he was, I hoped, mistaken in the belief that it would darken hislife. But I would not give a kreutzer for a young fellow who does notfeel that life is worthless without his lady-love. 

Yolanda did not take kindly to clouds of any sort, and she soonscattered those that Max had conjured up. After we had resumed ourjourney Max fell back to ride with her. 

"Sir Max, " she said, "if you allow yourself to become The KnightDoleful, I will not only cease having speech with you, but I willlaugh at you. "

The latter she did then and there. This from a burgher girl of Peronneto a prince of the House of Hapsburg! The good duke and duchess wouldhave swooned with horror had they known of it. Max was inclined to beangry, but, unfortunately for his ill-humor, he caught a glimpse of herface, and he, too, laughed. 

"I fear I am a great fool, " he said. Yolanda did not contradict him. Shesimply shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "That unfortunate conditionis apt, at times, to overtake the best of men. "

Soon our little cavalcade came together, and we rode, laughing, and alltalking at once, for a league or more. 

Our road had parted from the river at one of its great bends, and for anhour we had been slowly climbing a long hill. When we reached the top, we unsaddled for dinner in the shade of a tree by the wayside. A hundredyards from the road was a dense copse of undergrowth and bushes on theedge of the forest. Off to the east flowed the majestic Rhine, a leaguedistant, and to the north ran the road like a white ribbon, stretchingdownhill to the valley and up again to the top of another hill, distantperhaps a half-league. 

While we were eating dinner, a cloud of dust arose from the hilltopnorth of us, and immediately began descending in our direction. Atintervals, in the midst of the dust-cloud, we caught glimpses of men onhorseback riding at full gallop. This unwelcome sight brought our dinnerto an end. I at once ordered the sumpter mules taken to the copse onthe forest's edge, and directed every man to look to his arms and armor. I asked Twonette and Yolanda to go with the mules, and Yolandabecame angry. 

"_I_ go with the mules? Sir Karl, you forget yourself, " cried the younglady, drawing herself up with the dignity of a princess royal. Twonetteran as rapidly as her feet could take her to seek refuge with the mules, but Yolanda, with flashing eyes, declared:

"I will remain here. "

I felt that an apology was due to this burgher girl. 

"I will gladly apologize later, Fräulein, but now I have only time tobeg that you will conceal yourself. These men probably are robbers. Ifthey see you, we shall be compelled to fight them, however great theirnumbers. If we find their force too large for us, we may easily ransomthe mules and their packs, but we could make no terms for you. If theyare Black Riders, they will prefer a little gold to a great deal ofsilk, but they will prefer you and Fräulein Twonette to a great dealof gold. "

"I would not pay them one piece of gold, " cried Yolanda, defiantly. "Give me an arquebuse. I will help you fight. "

The brave little heroine astonished me. 

"Would you prefer that Max or your good uncle and perhaps some of ourpoor mule-leaders should be killed by these pigstickers, " I asked, "orwould you compound with them in some reasonable way? Shall wefight them?"

"No, no, " she answered, "wise bravery is better. I suppose I shall learnthe lesson some day. "

While the troop of horsemen were under the crest of the hill, Yolandaran across the open to a place of concealment beside Twonette. Hardlywas she hidden when the dust-cloud rose from the brink of the hill, andfive men, well though roughly armed, galloped up to us and drew theirhorses back upon their haunches. 

"What have we here?" demanded the captain, a huge German. Their grimyarmor and bearded faces besmeared with black marked them as BlackRiders. I was overjoyed to see that they numbered but five. 

"What is that to you?" I asked, putting on a bold front, though I fearedour mule-leaders would make but a sorry fight should we come to blows. 

"That depends on what you have, " responded our swart friend, coolly. "Whatever you have, so much it is to us. "

"What will you take in gold, my good man, and let us go our way in peacewith our cargo of silks?" asked Castleman. 

"By your leave, friend, " said I, interrupting the negotiations, "I amin command when fighting is to be done. Let me settle with this fellow. "

"Settle now, if you are so keen, " cried the big German, drawing hissword and spurring his horse upon me. I could not have withstood theunexpected onrush, and certainly would have met with hard blows orworse, had not Max come to my rescue. I hurriedly stepped back, and theGerman, in following me, rode near a large stone by the roadside. Hehad, doubtless, passed the stone many times in his travels up and downthe road, but the thought probably had never occurred to him that itwould be the cause of his death. The most potential facts in our livesare usually too insignificant to attract attention. 

When the German charged me, Max sprang upon the stone and dealt theswart ruffian a blow such as no man may survive. Max's great battle-axecrushed the Black Eider's helmet as if it were an egg-shell, and thecaptain of our foes fell backward, hanging by his stirrups. One of oursquires shot one of the robbers, and the remaining three took flight. Max caught the captain's horse, and coolly extricated the dead man'sfeet from the stirrups. Then he thrust the body to the roadside with theindifference of a man whose life has been spent in slaughter. Among hismany inheritances, Max probably had taken this indifference, togetherwith his instinctive love of battle. He was not quarrelsome, but hetook to a fight as naturally as a duck takes to water. 

When the robbers had left, Yolanda came running from her hiding-place. She was not frightened; she was aglow with excitement. She, too, musthave inherited the love of battle. Twonette was trembling with fear. 

"Ah, Sir Max, it was beautifully done, " said Yolanda. "You sprang uponthe rock with the quickness of a panther, and the blow was dealt withthe strength of a lion. I saw it all. When your battle-axe rose abovethe robber's head, death was written on the steel. It was beautiful tosee you kill him, Sir Max. Strength is always beautiful in the eyes of awoman, but it is doubly so when used in her defence and linked with'wise bravery. ' I thank you, Sir Karl, for teaching me that word. SirMax, I--I cannot thank you now. "

She stopped speaking and covered her face with her hands. In a momentshe partly recovered composure and smiled her gratitude through a littleshower of tears. Max was, of course, aglow with pleasure at Yolanda'spraise, but he bore his honors meekly. He did not look upon histremendous feat of arms as of much importance. 

Fearing the return of the Schwartreiter with reënforcements, we lost notime in resuming our journey, Max and Yolanda quickly finished theirdinner, but Castleman, Twonette, and myself did not care to eat. 

Within ten minutes after Max had killed the captain of the Black Riderswe were on our road travelling downhill, very joyful in our victory andvery proud of our knight, Sir Max. We left the dead men by the roadside, but took with us two fine horses as compensation for our trouble. Thecaptain's great charger Max appropriated for his own. He will appearagain in this chronicle. 

We rode silently but joyfully. Twonette slowly recovered from herfright, and the pink crept back to her cheeks. The pink had not leftYolanda's cheeks, nor had her nerves been disturbed by the adventures ofthe morning. Max tried hard to suppress his exuberance of spirit, andYolanda laved him in the sunshine of her smiles. 

Within three hours we were safely housed at a village by the Rhine. Castleman, finding me alone, said:--

"You, Sir Karl, and Sir Max little know the value of the friend you havemade this day. "

"I thank you, good Castleman, " I answered, hardly liking so great an airof condescension on the part of a burgher. An afterthought suggestedthat perhaps Castleman had not referred to himself as the friend we hadmade. Strange thoughts and speculations had of late been swarming in mymind until they had almost taken the form of a refrain, "Who isYolanda?" Though the question repeated itself constantly by day and bynight, I received no whisper of an answer. 

We travelled slowly, and it was not until the second day after ourconflict with the Black Riders that we found ourselves near Strasburg. Aleague from the city gates we met Raoul de Rose, a herald of the Duke ofBurgundy. Yolanda recognized his banner at a distance and hastily veiledherself. Twonette remained unveiled. 

We halted, and De Rose, who was travelling alone, safe under a herald'sprivileges, drew rein beside Castleman and me, who had been riding inadvance of our cavalcade. While Castleman was talking to De Rose, Yolanda and Twonette rode forward, passing on that side of the highwaywhich left Castleman and me between them and the herald. 

"Ah, good Castleman, " said De Rose, "you are far from home thesetroublous times. "

"Your words imply bad news, monsieur, " returned Castleman. "I havealready heard hints of trouble, though all was quiet when Ileft Peronne. "

"When did you leave?" asked the herald. 

"More than two months ago, " answered Castleman. 

"With our rapidly moving duke, two months is ample time to make a dealof trouble, to gain victories, and to compel peace among hisquarrelsome neighbors, " answered De Rose. "It is publicly known that Icarry defiance to the Swiss. They cannot comply with Burgundy's terms, and war will surely follow. Our duke will teach these Swiss sheep tostop bleating, and when this war is finished, the dominion of Burgundywill include the Alps. Duke Charles will have fresh ice for his dinnerevery day--ice from the mountain tops. "

"That is all he will get from the barren Swiss land, I fear, " remarkedCastleman. 

"But if he wants it?" answered De Rose, shrugging his shoulders. 

"Yes, " returned Castleman, "if the duke wants it, God give it him; but Iam sorry to see war with so peaceful a people as the Swiss. "

"There are many persons in Burgundy foolish enough to agree with you, "answered De Rose, laughingly, "but for my part, the will of my masteris my will. "

"Amen!" said the cautious burgher. 

De Rose smiled, and said:--

"There is but one will in Burgundy, and that will be done. "

"Where is the duke?" asked Castleman. 

"He is at home in Ghent, " answered the herald. 

"Is he to remain there?" asked the burgher, displaying a suddeninterest. 

"I believe he goes soon to Peronne to look after his affairs, on theFrench border, and to see the duchess and the princess before leavingfor Switzerland. It is also publicly known that the duke, while atPeronne, intends to arrange for the immediate marriage of the princessto the Dauphin. He wishes to tie the hands of King Louis before makingwar elsewhere, and he is going to Peronne to cause this marriage to becelebrated before he leaves Burgundy. "

"Sacred God!" exclaimed the usually phlegmatic burgher. "We must hastenhome. Farewell, Monsieur de Rose. Your news indeed is bad--your newsof war. "

Castleman urged "Last Week" to an unwonted pace, and drew rein besideYolanda. I followed slowly, and unintentionally overhead him say:--

"Your father will soon be in Peronne. The duke leaves Ghent within a dayor two. "

"Holy Virgin!" cried Yolanda, excitedly. "We must make all haste, gooduncle. Hereafter we must travel night and day. We must double ourretinue at Strasburg and hasten forward regardless of danger andfatigue. I wish we were across Lorraine and well out of Metz. If thiswar begins, Lorraine will surely turn upon Burgundy. "

"I begged you not to come upon this journey, " said Castleman, complainingly. 

"I know you did, uncle, " returned Yolanda, repentantly. 

"But you would come, " continued Castleman, determined to give vent tohis feelings. "I could not dissuade you, and now if the duke leavesGhent--if your father reaches Peronne--before we return, God helpus all. "

"Yes, dear uncle, " said Yolanda, humbly; "as usual, I was at fault. Ihave been a source of trouble and danger to you nearly all my life, andyou, of all persons in the world, I would make happy. "

I was riding ten paces behind Castleman, but the wind came toward me, and I was an involuntary listener. What I had heard was of suchtremendous import to Max that I could not bring myself to rein back myhorse, though I despised myself for listening. I believe that momentwas, of all my life, the greatest test of my love for Max. No less amotive could have induced me to become an eavesdropper. Castleman wassilent for a short time, and then I heard him say:--

"You have also brought me happiness, Yolanda, and I shall be wretchedwhen your father takes you from me. Twonette is not dearer to me thanyou. Whatever befalls, I shall still thank God for the happiness He hasgiven me in you. "

"Ah, uncle, your kind words almost break my heart, " said Yolanda, placing her kerchief to her eyes. "I wish you would not forgive me forhaving brought you into this hard case. I wish you would upbraid me. Iwill pray to the Blessed Virgin night and day to protect you from thistrouble my wilfulness has brought upon you. Never again will I bewilful, dear uncle, never again--with you. At Strasburg I will make anoffering to the Virgin. "

"Make her an offering of this young man on whom you are smiling, "suggested Castleman. "I would have left him at Basel but for yourwilfulness and entreaties. We know nothing of him save that he is big, honest, brave, gentle, and good to look upon. I have already warned youagainst the great favor you show him. I shall not do so again. I advisethat we leave him at Metz. "

"I will do as you advise, " said Yolanda, mournfully. "I will offer eventhis, my first great happiness, to the Virgin. Surely it willpropitiate her. "

This conversation almost deprived me of the power to think. In a dimlyconscious fashion, I wondered whether Castleman could possibly havemeant the Duke of Burgundy when he told Yolanda that her father wouldsoon be at Peronne. I could find no other meaning for his words, and Iwas almost ready to believe that the brown-eyed, laughing Yolanda wasnone other than the far-famed Mary of Burgundy, whose tiny hand wassought by every nation of Europe having a marriageable king or prince. 

Kings in their dotage and princes in their nonage wooed her. Old menand babes eagerly sought the favor of this young girl, and stood readyto give their gold, their blood, and the lives of their subjects on eventhe shadow of a chance to win her. The battle-field and the bower alikehad been wooing-ground for her smiles. After all this, she had beenaffianced to the Dauphin of France, and her father would bring themarriage about within a few weeks. To this girl I had thought to begracious, and had feared that I might be too condescending. I thenrealized what a pitiable ass a man may make of himself by giving hiswhole time and attention to the task. 

Of course I was not sure that Yolanda was the princess. Her father, spoken of by Castleman, might be, and probably was, a great lord in theduke's train. Yolanda might be the love-daughter of Charles of Burgundy. Many explanations might be given to Castleman's remarks; but I could nothelp believing that Yolanda was the far-famed Burgundian princess. Ifso, what a marvellous romance was this journey that Max and I hadundertaken, and what a fantastic trick fate had played in bringing thesetwo from the ends of the earth to meet in the quaint old Swiss city. Itseemed almost as if their souls had journeyed toward each other, sincethe beginning of time. 

That the princess should be abroad with Castleman and his daughterunattended by even a lady-in-waiting seemed improbable--almostimpossible. 

My wavering mind veered with each moment from the conviction thatYolanda was the princess to a feeling of certainty that she was not, andback again. That she was the princess seemed at one moment indubitablytrue; the next moment it appeared absurdly impossible. Still, Castleman's words rang in my ears. 

I was glad that Max was riding a hundred yards behind me. My firstdetermination was that he should know nothing of what I had heard. Mysecond was that he and I should leave the party at Metz. If I were todisclose to Max my suspicions concerning Yolanda, I well knew that itwould be beyond my power or that of any man to prevent his journeyingto Peronne. 

This meeting with the princess far from home, one might suppose, was theevent of all others that I desired, but the situation presented manypoints to be considered. If we should conduct Yolanda to Peronne andshould reach that city after the duke's arrival, there would be untoldtrouble for us, if (oh, that mighty if!) she were the Princess Mary. Iwas thoroughly frightened, since I could not know what trouble I mightbring to Max. We might, with comparative safety, visit Peronne at alater period; but I sincerely hoped that Yolanda would offer Max to theVirgin when we reached Metz. 

If Yolanda were the princess, and if the duke with his intentionsregarding her immediate marriage, should reach Peronne and find hisdaughter absent, his wrath against all concerned would be unappeasable. If he should learn that she had been absent from Peronne on thisjourney, even though she reached home before her father, Castleman wouldprobably lose his head for the crime of taking her, and all concerned inthe journey might meet with evil fortune. Any of these catastrophesmight occur if she were the princess. If she were not the princess, someother great catastrophe, hinted by Castleman and dreaded by Yolanda, might happen; and it is well for disinterested persons to remain awayfrom the scene of impending trouble. 

Aside from all these good reasons for cutting short our journey toPeronne, was the fact that our motive for going there had ceased toexist. The princess was soon to become the wife of the Dauphin. IfYolanda were not the princess, there was still good reason why we shouldabandon her at Metz. She was dangerously attractive and was gaining toogreat a hold on Max. We were under contract to escort Castleman toPeronne, and no danger should prevent us from fulfilling our agreement;but if Castleman should voluntarily release us, our obligationwould cease. 

As we passed under the portcullis at Strasburg, Max spurred his horseto Yolanda's side. She neither lifted her veil nor gave any sign ofrecognition. The news of impending war had been discussed, and Maxsupposed Yolanda was frightened. He spoke reassuringly to her, and sheanswered:--

"I thank you, Sir Max, but our danger is greater than you know. "

It was four o'clock when we reached Strasburg, where we stopped at TheCygnet. Soon after we entered the inn, Twonette and Yolanda went forth, heavily veiled, and walked rapidly in the direction of the cathedral. Yolanda was going to make her offering to the Virgin of the man sheloved; surely woman could make no greater. 

When Yolanda and Twonette had gone, Castleman asked me to assist him inprocuring a score of men-at-arms. They might be needed in crossingLorraine from Strasburg to Metz. 

"I shall travel night and day till we reach home, " said Castleman. "Ihave news of war that hastens us, and--and it is most important thatYolanda should deliver certain papers at the castle before the dukearrives at Peronne. If she reaches the castle one hour or one minuteafter the duke, the results will be evil beyond remedy. "

"I sincerely hope there may be no delay, " I answered, believing that thepapers were an invention of Castleman's. 

"Yes, " responded the burgher; "and, Sir Karl, I deem it best for allconcerned that you and Sir Max part company with us at Metz. I thank youfor your services, and hope you will honor us by visiting Peronne atsome future time. But now it is best that you leave us to pursue ourjourney without you. "

Castleman's suggestion was most welcome to me, and I communicated it toMax when I returned to the inn. He was sorrowful; but I found that he, too, felt that he should part from Yolanda. 

Castleman and I found the burgomaster, to whom we paid five hundredguilders (a sum equal to his entire annual salary), and within an hour atroop of twenty men-at-arms awaited us in the courtyard of The Cygnet. Castleman barely touched his meat at supper, though he drank two bottlesof Johannesburg; Max ate little, and I had no appetite whatever. 

When Yolanda returned, I said:--

"Fräulein, will you not eat?"

"I do not care to eat, " she replied, and I could easily see that she wasstruggling to keep back the tears. "Let us resume our journey at once. Isee the men-at-arms are waiting. "

Our rare days of sunshine had surely been weather-breeders. We were allunder a dark cloud. 

We left Strasburg by the north gate, and, as the city fell back of us, Max, riding by my side, asked:--

"What is the evil news that has cast this gloom over Yolanda and goodCastleman? If our friends are in danger, I would not leave them at Metz, and you would not have me do so. "

"The evil news grows out of the war, " I answered evasively. "I heardevery word spoken by the herald and Castleman. The burgher is wise tohasten home. If he delays his journey even for a day, he may findBurgundy--especially Lorraine--swarming with lawless men going to thevarious rendezvous. He also tells me he has important papers that mustbe delivered in the castle before the duke arrives at Peronne. "

"It is strange, " said Max, "that news of merely a general nature shouldproduce so gloomy an effect; but, if you heard all that De Rose said, that must be the only cause. "

"I cannot say, " I responded, "what the cause may be. All I know is thatDe Rose spoke of the impending war, and said that the duke was hasteningto Peronne for the purpose of consummating the French marriage at once. There is now no reason why we should journey to Peronne. My air-castleshave crumbled about my ears in fine shape. "

"I am not sorry, Karl, " replied Max. "During the last fortnight I havechanged. Should my marriage with the princess, by any marvellouschance, become possible, it would now be wholly for the sake of herestates, and I despise myself when I try to think that I wish to bringit about. Ah, Karl, it is now impossible even to hope for this marriage, and I tell you I am glad of it. We will see the world, then we willreturn to Styria; and I shall thank you all my life for having made aman of me. "

CHAPTER VI

DUKE CHARLES THE RASH

Our caravan travelled with the mournfulness of a funeral procession. Early in the evening Max spoke to Yolanda:--

"I hear your uncle desires Sir Karl and me to leave you at Metz. "

"Yes, " she answered dolefully, hanging her head, "we part at Metz. Ishall see you there before I leave, and then--and then--ah, Sir Max, Iwas wrong and you were right; there is no hope. "

"What of the lady who gave me the ring?" asked Max, in a feeble effortto banter her. 

"She would have made you very happy, Sir Max. Her estates would havecompensated for all losses elsewhere. "

"You know, that is not true, Yolanda, " said Max, earnestly. 

"I am not sure, Sir Max, " responded the girl, "and do not wish to besure. I will see you at Metz, and there we may part. It is our fate. Wemust not be doleful, Sir Max, we must be--we must be--happy and brave. "Her poor little effort to be happy and brave was piteous. 

Castleman soon fell back with Yolanda, and Max rode forward beside me. 

At midnight we offsaddled by a stream in a forest and allowed our horsesand mules to rest until sunrise. Then we took up our journey again, andby forced marches reached Metz one morning an hour before dawn. Wewaited in a drizzling rain till the gates opened, and, after a longparley with the warder, entered the city. We were all nearly exhausted, and our poor mules staggered along the streets hardly able to carrytheir burdens another step. Two had fallen a half-league outside ofMetz; and three others fell with their loads within the city gates. 

Castleman had determined to stop with a merchant friend, and after whatseemed a long journey from the gates we halted at the merchant's house. Our host left us in his parlor while he went to arrange for breakfast. When he had gone Castleman turned to me:--

"You and Sir Max will, if you please, find good lodging at the GreatTun. My friend will send a man in advance to bespeak your comfort. "

Max and I rose to leave, and Yolanda offered him her hand, saying:--

"It may be that we are to part here at Metz, but I will send for yousoon and will see you before we leave, and--and--" She could not speakfurther; tears were in her eyes and her voice. It was not so easy afterall to be happy and brave. 

"You will not fail to send for me?" asked Max, clinging to her hand. 

"I will not fail, " she answered, looking up timidly and instantlydropping her eyes. "Of that you have better assurance than you willever know. "

Castleman followed us to the street door and handed me a purse of gold. 

"I have expected to part from you here, " he said, "and it may be so; butI fear I shall need your services still further. My mules are unfit totravel at present; they may never be fit to use; surely not within afortnight. I must find other sumpter mules, wait for those I have toregain their strength, or leave my goods at Metz. My fortune is investedin these silks, and if I leave them here, I shall never see them again. In case the Duke of Lorraine succeeds in rallying his subjects againstBurgundy, I shall find it difficult to buy sumpter mules on the eve ofwar, and may be compelled to remain in Metz until my own mules are ableto travel. In that event may I depend upon you and Sir Max to escort myniece and my daughter to Peronne without me?"

I answered promptly, though against my desires:--"You may depend onus. "

At midnight I was aroused by a knock at my door. I arose and admittedCastleman. 

"I will take you at your word, Sir Karl, " said the burgher. "I cannotobtain sumpter mules, and I shall be ruined in fortune if I leave mysilks at Metz. I have had word that the Duke of Burgundy leaves Ghentthe day after to-morrow for Peronne. If he leaves late in the day, youmay, by starting at once, reach Peronne Castle ahead of him. His journeywill be shorter than yours by twenty-five leagues, but you will have abetter road. If you travel with all haste, you may be able to takeYolanda, with--with the important papers, to the castle a half-daybefore my lord arrives there. Are you ready to begin the journeyat once?"

"We are ready, " answered Max. 

"I will meet you at the Deutsches Thor Gate within an hour, " saidCastleman. "My daughter and my niece will be there. Since you are totravel rapidly I advise a small retinue. Your squires have provedthemselves worthy men, and I feel sure you will be able to protectyour charges. "

"We'll not boast of what we shall do, good Castleman, " said Max, "butwe'll do our best. "

"If you reach Peronne after the duke arrives, " said Castleman, "I adviseyou not to enter the gates of the city, but to leave Burgundy at onceand with all the speed you can make. If you reach Peronne before theduke, I advise you not to tarry; but if you determine to remain, youwill go to The Mitre--a quiet inn kept by my good friend Marcus Grote. Istrongly advise you not to remain at Peronne; but if you do not see fitto follow my advice, I hope you will remain close at The Mitre until myreturn, which, I trust, will be within three weeks. Danger will attendyou if you do not follow my suggestion. In any case, Sir Max, I hope youwill not visit my house. My words may seem ungracious, but they are foryour good and mine. When I return to Peronne, I shall be happy if youwill honor my poor house; but until my return, untold trouble to manypersons may follow your disregard of what I say. "

Castleman then departed, and we immediately arranged for the journey. 

Max and I, with our squires, were waiting at the Deutsches Thor Gatewhen Castleman arrived with Twonette, Yolanda, and a guide. I knocked atthe door of the lodge to rouse the warder, who, of course, was asleep, and that alert guardian of a drowsy city came grumbling to the wicket. 

"What in the devil's name do you want at this time of night?" hegrowled. "The gates won't open till dawn. "

"Yes, they will, " replied Castleman. "I have the burgomaster's order. "

"I open the gates only on an order from the governor of the citadel, "said the warder. 

"I have not that, my good friend, " responded Castleman, "but I have ahundred silver marks in my purse. "

"Let me see the burgomaster's order, " said the worthy gatekeeper. "I amalways glad to be accommodating. "

Castleman handed over the order and the purse, and the warder pretendedto read the paper in the dark. 

"I'll open the gate to accommodate you and to please the burgomaster, "he said. 

The gates screeched upon their hinges, and every link in the portcullischain groaned as if it wished to alarm the city. When the portcullis wasa-block, Max, myself, and the squires mounted our horses. Yolanda leaneddown from her saddle and, placing her arms about Castleman's neck, kissed him. Twonette followed her example; then our small cavalcadepassed out through the gate, and we entered on our long, hard race withthe Duke of Burgundy. 

At dawn Yolanda called me to her side. 

"Our guide will conduct us to Cinq Voies on the Somme, eight leaguesthis side of Peronne, " she said. "There we shall dismiss him. From CinqVoies the road is straight to Peronne down the river. Shall we put ourhorses to the gallop?"

To her last suggestion I objected:--

"We have no relays. These horses must carry us to Peronne. In Styria wehave an adage, 'If you would gallop on a long journey, walkyour horse. '"

"In Styria!" exclaimed Yolanda, laughing. "You told me you were fromItaly. "

"So I am, " I replied. 

"Now you say _we_ have an adage in Styria, " she returned, amused at mydiscomfiture. "I hope you have not been wandering from the path of truthin your long journey, Sir Karl. "

"No farther than yourself, Fräulein, " I answered. 

A frown came instantly to her face and, after a moment's hesitation, sheretorted:--

"Ah, but I am a woman; I am privileged to wander a little way from thenarrow road. A man may protect himself with his sword and battle-axe, and need never stray. A woman's defence lies in her wit and her tongue. "The frown deepened, and she turned sharply upon me: "But in whatrespect, pray, have I wandered? I have not spoken a word to you whichhas not been the exact truth. If I have left anything untold, it isbecause I do not wish to tell it, in which case, of course, you wouldnot wish to pry. "

Her audacity amused me, and though I knew I ought to hold my tongue, Icould not resist saying:--

"I have asked no questions, Fräulein. "

Yolanda cast a surprised glance toward me and then broke into a merrylaugh. 

"That is to say _I_ have asked too many questions. Good for you, SirKarl! I have had the worst of this encounter. I will ask no morequestions nor give you further cause to wander from the truth. Yourmemory, Sir Karl, is poor. 'To be a good liar, one must have a goodmemory, ' as King Louis of France has said. "

"Ask all the questions you wish, Fräulein, " I responded penitently, "Iwill answer with the truth. "

"There is no need to ask questions, " she said, giving me a side glancefull of sauciness. "I already know all that I wish to know. "

I could not resist saying:--

"Perhaps, Fräulein, I know quite as much about you as you know aboutus. "

"There is little to know about me that is really worth while, but whatlittle there is I sincerely hope you do not know, " she replied halfangrily. "If you do know anything which I have left untold, or if, inyour vanity, you think you have discovered some great mystery concerningme, I advise you to keep your supposed knowledge to yourself. The daythat I am made sure you know too much, our friendship ceases, and that, Sir Karl, would give me pain. I hope it would pain you. "

I at once began an orderly though hasty retreat. 

"I do not know to what you refer concerning yourself, " I explained. "AllI know about you is that you are Fräulein Castleman, and a very charmingperson, whom I would have for my friend, if that be possible. I spokebut jestingly. I have often doubted that you are a burgher maiden, butthere my knowledge ceases; and I am willing that it should so remaintill you see fit to enlighten me. "

"There is little knowledge in doubt, " said Yolanda, with a nervouslaugh, "though a doubt usually precedes wisdom. "

Although I was looking at my horse's ears, I could see the light of hereyes as she watched me inquiringly. After a long pause she stroked herhorse's mane with her whip, and said, musingly:--

"A man should seek to know only the languages, philosophy, and otheruseful learning. Useless knowledge has cost many a man his head. "

After a long pause she turned to me with a broad smile:--

"But it is usually not dangerous so long as it does not lodge in thetongue. "

I replied quickly:--

"Fräulein, when my tongue makes a fool of me, I pray God I may lose it. "

"God save all fools by a like fate, " she answered. 

I was sure she did not mean to include me in the category of fools. 

This conversation revealed to me two facts: first, I learned that bysome means--possibly the ring Max wore--this girl, Yolanda, whoever shemight be, knew Max. Second, I discovered in myself a dangerouspropensity to talk, and of all sure roads to ruin the tongue is thesurest. A man's vanity prompts him to be witty; hatred prompts him tocut his enemy, and his love of truth often prompts him to speak it atthe wrong time. These three motives combined often prompt him to losehis head. Max and I were on dangerous ground, and one untimely errormight make it perilous. 

We travelled rapidly, and near midnight of the second day out of Metz wereached Cinq Voies on the Somme. The village, consisting of a large inn, a church, a priest's house, and a farrier's shop, is situate at themeeting of five roads, from which the hamlet takes its name. One roadled down from Cambrai and Ghent in the north, one from Liege in thenortheast, and the one over which we had travelled from Metz came out ofthe southeast. Two roads led westward to Peronne. One followed the rightbank of the Somme, passed Peronne, and thence on to Amiens. Another roadfollowed the left bank of the Somme, touched Peronne, and thence ransouthwesterly to Paris. 

When we reached Cinq Voies on the Somme--within eight leagues ofPeronne--we halted for supper, very tired and weary. While supper waspreparing, we held a consultation, and determined to rest there for thenight. I advised against this course, believing that the duke would passthat way on his road from Ghent to Peronne. But Yolanda's sweet facewas pinched by weariness, and Twonette was sound asleep. Our horses, Ifeared, might fail, and leave us hopelessly in the lurch. Therefore, Igave the command to offsaddle, and we halted at the inn for the night. 

Our host told me his house was full of guests who had arrived two hoursbefore, but he found a room for Yolanda and Twonette, and told Max andme to sleep, if we could, on the tap-room floor. After an hour on thehard boards I went to the stable, and, rousing a groom, gave him asilver crown for the privilege of sleeping on a wisp of hay. I fellasleep at once and must have slept like the dead, for the dawn wasbreaking when one of our squires wakened me. I could not believe that Ihad been sleeping five minutes, but the dim morning light startled me, and I ordered the horses saddled. 

I hastened to the inn and wakened Max, to whose well-covered bones aboard was as soft as a feather bed. While I was speaking to him, I hearda noise in an adjoining room and saw the door opening. Max and I barelyescaped through an open arch when a commanding figure clad in lightarmor entered the tap-room. 

I had not seen Charles of Burgundy since he was a boy--he was then Countof Charolois--but I at once knew with terrifying certainty that I lookedon the most dreaded man in Europe. He had changed greatly since I lasthad seen him. He was then beardless; now he wore a beard that reachedalmost to his belt, and I should not have recognized in him the youngCount of Charolois. There was, however, no doubt in my mind concerninghis identity. 

Even had I failed to see the angry scar on his neck, of which I hadoften heard, or had I failed to note the lack of upper teeth (a factknown to all Europe) which gave his face an expression of savagery, Ishould have recognized him by his mien. There was not another man likehim in all the world, and I trust there never will be. His face wore anexpression of ferocity that was almost brutal. The passions of anger, arrogance, and hatred were marked on every feature; but over all therewas the stamp of an almost superhuman strength, the impress of an ironwill, the expression of an exhaustless energy, and the majesty of asatanic bravery. If Yolanda was the daughter of this terrible man, andif he should discover that I had her hidden in the room above his head, I should never eat another breakfast. Truly, Max and I were onperilous ground. 

Max remained in concealment, and I climbed the stairs, two steps at atime, to Yolanda's room. I gently knocked, and received asleepy response. 

"Rise at once, " I whispered. "I must speak to you instantly. "

"Enter--we are already dressed, " answered Yolanda. 

When I entered she had risen from the bed and was rubbing her eyes. 

"We were so tired we slept in our garments. Don't we show it?" saidYolanda. 

Her hands were above her head, vainly endeavoring to arrange her hair, which had fallen in a great tumble of dark curls over her shoulder. Resthad flushed her cheeks, and her lips and her eyes were moist with thedew of sleep. Though my business was urgent I could not resistexclaiming:--

"Ah, Fräulein, you surely are beautiful. "

"I thank you, Sir Karl, " she answered, flashing a smile upon me. "Youmay kiss my hand. "

She offered me her hand and asked:--

"But what is your news?"

While she spoke I heard voices and the tramping of hoofs beneath thewindow in front of the inn, and turned to look. I quickly drew away fromthe window and beckoned Yolanda:--

"Come here, Fräulein. "

She came to my side, and as she looked out upon the road two men emergedfrom the inn door. One of them was the Duke of Burgundy. She clutched myarm and whispered excitedly:--

"Watch them, Sir Karl! Note the road they take! If they go by the right, we shall take the left. We _must_ reach Peronne Castle before the duke. Death itself hangs upon the issue, Sir Karl. "

I watched till the duke and all his people had left the inn; then Ifollowed till I saw them take the road leading down the right bank ofthe Somme. When I returned to the inn, I paid the score, and gave eachmember of our little party a _boule_ of bread to be eaten as we rode;and within five minutes after the duke's departure we were fording theSomme to take the left bank for Peronne. 

CHAPTER VII

A RACE WITH THE DUKE

Neither road clung to the river in all its windings, but at too frequentintervals both touched the stream at the same points. At places theroads hugged the Somme, separated only by its width--perhaps two hundredyards. These would be our danger points. I did not know them, andYolanda's knowledge of the road was imperfect. 

Soon after leaving Cinq Voies, the road on the right bank--the one takenby the duke--gained a mile over the road on the left by cutting across agreat bend in the river around which we had to travel. We therefore lostthe duke's cavalcade at the outset. 

Hoping to pass the duke before the roads came again within sight of eachother, we urged our horses to full speed. But the duke also wastravelling rapidly, as we learned when we reached the first point ofcontact. Should the duke's men see us they would certainly hail. Fourmen in armor and two ladies, travelling the road to Peronne would not beallowed to pass unchallenged. Fortunately, just before the danger point, a clump of trees and underbushes grew between our road and the river. Max, who was riding a hundred yards in advance, suddenly stopped andheld up his hand warningly. We halted immediately, and Max turned backto us, guiding his horse to the roadside to avoid raising a dust-cloud. 

We listened in silence, and I beckoned the squires to our sides. The menof our little party all dismounted and stood by their horses' heads, ready to strike the noses of the animals should they offer to salute thehorses across the river with a neigh. Had not our danger been so greatit would have been amusing to see each man, with uplifted hand, watchingthe eyes of his horse as intently as though they were the eyes of hislady-love. Yolanda laughed despite the danger, but covered her mouthwith her hand when I frowned warningly. 

Presently we heard the tramping of horses and the voices of men acrossthe river, and soon the duke approached at a canter. I could not helpspeculating on the consequences should His Grace know that Yolanda waswatching him--if Yolanda were his daughter. 

That "if" would surely be the death of me. 

When the duke had passed a little way down the road, I peered throughthe bushes and saw the dust-cloud ahead of us. 

We could not venture from our hiding-place till the duke was out ofsight, and by the delay we lost a good half-league in our race. I askedYolanda if she knew how far it was to the next point of contact, She didnot know, but I learned from a peasant that the river made a great bend, and that our road gained nearly a league over the other before eachagain touched the river. This was our great chance. 

We put our horses to their best; and when we again reached the river, Max, who was riding in advance, announced that the other cavalcade wasnot in sight. If it had passed, our race was lost; if it had not, wefelt that we could easily ride into Peronne ahead of Duke Charles. Atthat point the roads followed the river within a stone's throw of eachother for a great distance. If the duke had not reached this point, ourneed for haste was greater than ever before. We must be beyond the openstretch before the other cavalcade should come up to it. 

Our poor blown horses were loath to run, but we urged them to it. Whenwe had covered half this open road, we took to the sod at the roadsideto avoid raising a telltale cloud of dust. After a hard gallop wereached a forest where the road again left the river. Here we halted tobreathe our horses and to watch the road on the right bank. After tenminutes we became uneasy and began to fear that the duke's cavalcade hadpassed us, but Max insisted that our fears were groundless. 

"Their dust could not have settled so quickly, " he declared. "We shouldsee at least traces of it. They cannot have passed. "

"One cannot help believing, " said Yolanda, musingly, "that there are menwho command the elements. One would almost say they make the rain tofall or to cease, the wind to rise or to drop, to suit their purposes, and the dust to lie quietly beneath their horses' feet. I pray God wemay soon know, else I shall surely die of suspense. "

"There are also some persons, Fräulein, whom God answers quickly, " saidMax, looking under his hand down the road. "Do you see yonderdust-cloud? It is a good two miles back of us. "

"It may not be the duke, " said Yolanda, doubtingly. 

"Let us trust it is, " said Max, "and lose no more time here. "

We watered our horses at a small brook and entered the forest, feelingthat our race was won. The exultation of victory was upon Yolanda, andher buoyant spirits mounted to the skies. All fear and gloom had lefther. She laughed and sang, and the sunshine of her humor filled all ourhearts with delight. Since leaving Metz we had travelled so rapidly, anda cloud of uncertainty and fear was so constantly over us, that Yolandahad spoken little to Max or to any one; but now that victory was in hergrasp, she intended to waste not one moment more in troubled thoughtsand painful fears. 

"Ride beside me, Sir Max, " she cried, beckoning him as if she were agreat princess and he her page. Max spurred his horse to her side, andafter a moment Twonette fell back with me. I overheard all that was saidbetween Max and Yolanda, and though I do not pretend to quoteaccurately, I will give you the substance of their conversation. 

"I cannot help laughing, " she said, suiting the action to the word, "over our tragic parting at Metz. We were separated a whole day!"

"But we supposed it was to be for a very long time, " said Max. "We--thatis, I--feared I should never see you again. As it was, the day seemedlong to me, Fräulein. "

The girl laughed joyously. She had, you remember, offered Max to theVirgin at Strasburg. Perhaps part of her joy was because the Queen ofHeaven had returned him to her. 

"I should like to try a separation for many days, " she said. 

"You will soon have the opportunity, " returned Max, with wounded vanity. She paid no heed to his remark, and continued:--

"The second day would not seem so long to you. The third would be stillshorter, and at the end of a fortnight--nay, at the end of a week--youwould wonder how you were ever brought to fix your eyes on a poorburgher girl, even for a passing moment--you, a great lord. You see, Ihave no vast estates to hold you constant, such as those possessed bythe forward lady who sent you the letter and the ring. Do you know, SirMax, if I were very fond of you, --if I were your sweetheart, --I shouldbe jealous of this brazen lady, very jealous. "

There was a glint in her eyes that might have caused one to believe thejealousy already existed. 

"Your raillery ill becomes you, " said Max, half sullenly. "If I forgetmy rank and hold it of small account for your sake, you should not makea jest of it. "

You see, he had not entirely washed out of himself the ceremoniousstarch of Hapsburg. 

She glanced quickly toward him and answered poutingly:--

"If you don't like my jesting, Sir Max, you may leave me to ride alone. "

"You asked me to ride with you, " returned Max, "but if you have changedyour mind and insist on being ill-tempered, I will--"

She reached out her hand, and, grasping his bridle-reins, threw themover the pommel of her saddle. 

"Now let me see what you will do, my great Lord Somebody, " she crieddefiantly. "You shall not only ride beside me, but you shall alsolisten good-humoredly to my jests when I am pleased to make them, andbear with my ill-humor when I am pleased to be ill-humored. "

Max left the bridle-reins in her hand, but did not smile. She was not tobe driven from her mood. 

"You are such a serious person, Sir Max, that you must, at times, feelyourself a great weight--almost burdensome--to carry about. " Shelaughed, though his resentment had piqued her, and there was a dash ofanger in her words. "Ponderous persons are often ridiculous and are aptto tire themselves with their own weight--no, Sir Max, you can't getaway. I have your reins. "

"I can dismount, " returned Max, "and leave you my horse to lead. "

He turned to leave his saddle, but she caught his arm, rode close to hisside, and, slipping her hand down his sleeve, clasped his hand--if ahand so small as hers can be said to clasp one so large as his. 

A beautiful woman is born with a latent consciousness of her power overthe subjugated sex. Max found in the soft touch of the girl's hand awonderful antidote to her sharp words. She continued to hold his hand ascompensation while she said, laughing nervously:--

"Sir Max, you are still young. A friend would advise you: Never lose achance to laugh, even though it be at your own expense. There willalways be opportunity to grieve and be gloomy. I tell you frankly, SirMax, I almost wept when I bade you good-by at Metz. Now, I am tellingyou my state secret and am giving you more than you have asked. "

Max joyfully interrupted her:--

"I can forgive you all your raillery, Fräulein, for that admission. "

"Yes, I confess it is a very important admission, " she said, inhalf-comic seriousness, "but you see, I really did weep when I partedfrom my great mastiff, Caesar, at Peronne. "

The saucy turn was made so quickly that its humor took Max unawares, andhe laughed. 

"There, there! Sir Max, there is hope for you, " she cried exultantly. Then she continued, stealing a side glance at him, "I loved Caesar very, very much. "

There was a satisfying implication in her laughing words, owing to thefact that she had almost wept at Metz. Max was eager to take advantageof the opportunity her words gave him, for his caution was rapidlyoozing away; but he had placed a seal on his lips, and they wereshut--at least, for the time. His silence needed no explanation toYolanda, and she continued laughingly:--

"Yes, I almost wept. Perhaps I did weep. I will not say truly that I didnot, Sir Max, but within an hour I was laughing at my foolish self andfeared that you, too, would be laughing at me. I wondered if in all theworld there was another burgher maiden so great a fool as to lift hereyes to a mighty lord, or to think that he could lower his eyes to herwith true intent. "

At that point in the conversation I felt that the seal upon Max's lipswould not stand another attack. It was sure to melt; so I rode toYolanda's side and interrupted the interesting colloquy. 

Max supposed the girl to be of the burgher class, and if by any chanceshe were Mary of Burgundy, he might ruin his future, should he becometoo insistent upon his rank in explaining the reasons why he could notfollow the path of his inclinations. He might make himself ridiculous;and that mistake will ruin a man with any woman, especially if she beyoung and much inclined to laugh. 

During the foregoing conversation we had been travelling at a six-milecanter. The day was warm, and I suggested breathing the horses in theshade of the forest. 

"I believe we are approaching the river, " I said, "and we should restthe horses before taking a dash over the open road. "

Yolanda assented--in a manner she seemed to have taken command of theparty--and we halted under the trees. Max rode forward to a point fromwhich he could view the other road, and waved his hand to let us knowthat the duke was not in sight. We immediately put spurs to our horsesand covered the stretch of open road by the river in a short, briskgallop. On leaving the road again we saw no indication of the duke'scavalcade. Evidently the race was ours by an easy canter. From thatpoint to within two miles of Peronne, Yolanda's song was as joyous asthat of a wooing bird. The sun beat down upon us, and blinding clouds ofdust rose from every plunge of our horses' hoofs; but Yolanda's songtransformed our hot, wearisome journey into a triumphant march. Happiness seemed to radiate from her and to furnish joy for all. 

For a stretch of two miles up river from Peronne the roads approachedeach other, but, owing to an intervening marsh, they were fully half amile apart. We, or at least Yolanda, had apparently forgotten the dukewhen, near the hour of eight in the morning, we approached the marsh;but when we entered the open country we saw, to our consternation, theduke's cavalcade within one mile of Peronne. Where they had passed us wedid not know, nor did we stop to consider. They were five minutes ahead, and if we could not enter Peronne in advance of them, it were no worsehad they been a day before us. 

Yolanda cast one frightened glance toward the duke's party, and struckher horse a blow with her whip that sent it bounding forward at afurious gallop. We reached the river and were crossing as the dukeentered Cambrai Gate--the north entrance to the city. We would enter bythe gate on the south known as the Somme Gate; Cambrai Gate was nearerthe castle. 

The duke, I supposed, would go directly to the castle; where Yolandawould go I could not guess. From outside the Somme Gate we saw the dukeenter Cambrai, but after we had passed under the arch we could not seehim for a time because of intervening houses. The huge, grim pile ofstone known as Peronne Castle loomed ominously on the opposite side ofthe small town. Yolanda veiled herself before passing under the gate andhastened, though without conspicuous speed, toward the castle. 

I afterward learned that there was but one entrance to the castle fromthe town. It was known as the Postern, though it had a portcullis and adrawbridge spanning the moat. To the Postern the duke took his way, aswe could see at intervals by looking down cross streets. Yolanda did notfollow him. She held her course down a narrow street flanked byoverhanging eaves. Looking down this street, I could see that itterminated abruptly at the castle wall, which rose dark and unbrokensixty feet above the ground. 

At the end of this street a stone footbridge spanned the moat, leadingto a strip of ground perhaps one hundred yards broad and two hundredlong that lay between the moat and the castle wall. At either end ofthis strip the moat again turned to the castle. The Cologne River joinedthe moat at the north end of this tract of ground and flowed on by thecastle wall to the Somme. In a grove of trees stood a large two-storyhouse of time-darkened stone, built against the castle wall. One couldnot leave the strip of ground save by the stone footbridge, unless byswimming the moat or scaling the walls. 

When we reached the footbridge, Yolanda and Twonette, without a word offarewell, urged their horses across, and, springing from their saddles, hurriedly entered the house. Max and I turned our horses' heads, and, aswe were leaving the footbridge, saw the duke's cavalcade enter thePostern, which was perhaps three hundred yards back and north of thestrip on which stood the House under the Wall. 

To reach the Postern in the castle wall from the footbridge one must gowell up into the town and cross the great bridge that spans the Cologne;then back along the north bank of the river by the street that leads tothe Postern. From the House under the Wall to the Postern, by way of theCologne bridge, is a half-hour's walk, though in a direct line, as thecrow flies, it may be less than three hundred yards. Neither Max nor Iknew whether our journey had been a success or a failure. 

We rode leisurely back to the centre of the town, and asked a carter todirect us to Marcus Grote's inn, The Mitre. We soon found it, and gavemine host the letter that we bore from Castleman. Although the hour ofnine in the morning had not yet struck, Max and I eagerly sought ourbeds, and did not rise till late in the afternoon. The next morning wedismissed our squires, fearing they might talk. We paid the men, gavethem each a horse, and saw them well on their road back to Switzerland. They were Swiss lads, and could not take themselves out of Burgundy fastenough to keep pace with their desires. 

Notwithstanding Castleman's admonition, Max determined to remain inPeronne; not for the sake of Mary the princess, but for the smile ofYolanda the burgher girl. I well knew that opposition would availnothing, and was quite willing to be led by the unseen hand of fate. 

The evening of the second day after our arrival I walked out at dusk andby accident met my friend, the Sieur d'Hymbercourt. He it was to whom myletters concerning Max had been written, and who had been responsiblefor the offer of Mary's hand. He recognized me before I could avoid him, so I offered my hand and he gave me kindly welcome. 

"By what good fortune are you here, Sir Karl?" he asked. 

"I cannot tell, " I answered, "whether it be good or evil fortune thatbrings me. I deem it right to tell you that I am here with my youngpupil, the Count of Hapsburg. "

Hymbercourt whistled his astonishment. 

"We are out to see a little of the world, and I need not tell you howimportant it is that we remain unknown while in Burgundy. I bear my ownname; the young count has assumed the name of his mother's family andwishes to be known as Sir Maximilian du Guelph. "

"I shall not mention your presence even to my wife, " he replied. "Iadvise you not to remain in Burgundy. The duke takes it for granted thatStyria will aid the Swiss, or at least will sympathize with them in thisbrewing war, and I should fear for your safety were he to discover you. "

"I understand the duke recently arrived in Peronne?" I asked. 

"Yes, " answered Hymbercourt, "we all came yesterday morning. "

"How is the fair princess? Did she come with you?" I asked, fearing tohear his reply. 

"She is well, and more beautiful than ever before, " he answered. "Shedid not come with us from Ghent; she has been here at the castle withher stepmother, the Duchess Margaret. They have lived here during thelast two or three years. The princess met her father just inside thePostern, lovely and fresh as a dew-dipped rose. "

"She met her father just inside the Postern?" I asked, slowly droppingmy words in astonishment. "She was in the castle yard when her fatherentered, --and at the Postern?"

"Yes, she took his hand and sprang to a seat behind him, " answeredHymbercourt. 

"She met him inside the Postern, say you?" I repeated musingly. 

"What is there amazing about so small an act?" asked Hymbercourt. "Is itnot natural that she should greet her father whom she has not seen fora year?"

"Indeed, yes, " I replied stumblingly, "but the weather is very hot, and--and I was thinking how much I should have enjoyed witnessing themeeting. She doubtless was dressed in gala attire for so rare anoccasion?" I asked, wishing to talk upon the subject that touched me sonearly. Yolanda was in short skirts, stained and travel-worn, whenshe left us. 

"Indeed she was, " answered Hymbercourt. "I can easily describe herdress. She loves woman's finery, and I must confess that I too love it. She wore a hawking costume; a cap of crimson--I think it wasvelvet--with little knots on it and gems scattered here and there. Aheron's plume clasped with a diamond brooch adorned the cap. Her hairhung over her shoulders. It is very dark and falls in a great bush offluffy curls. When her headgear is off, her hair looks like a blackcorona. She is wonderfully beautiful, wonderfully beautiful. Her gownwas of red stuff. Perhaps it was of velvet like the cap. It was hitchedup with a cord and girdle, with tassels of gold lace and--and--Sir Karl, you are not listening. "

"I am listening, " I replied. "I am greatly interested. Her gown--shewore a gown--she wore a gown--"

"Yes, of course she wore a gown, " laughingly retorted Hymbercourt. "Yourlagging attention is what I deserve, Sir Karl, for trying in my lamefashion to describe a woman's gear to a man who is half priest, halfwarrior. I do not wonder that you did not follow me. "

I had heard him, but there was another question dinning in my ears soloudly that it drowned all other sounds--"Who is Yolanda?"

Yolanda was entering the door of the House under the Wall less than fiveminutes before I saw the duke pass through the Postern. Marcus Grote hadtold me there were but two openings to the castle, the Postern and thegreat gate on the other side of the castle by the donjon keep. To reachthe great gate one must pass out by Cambrai or the Somme Gate and goaround the city walls--an hour's journey. 

With an air of carelessness I asked Hymbercourt concerning the variousentrances to the castle. He confirmed what Grote had said. Consideringall the facts, I was forced to this conclusion: If the Princess Mary hadmet the duke at the Postern, Yolanda was not the Princess Mary. 

The next day I reconnoitred the premises, and again reached theconclusion that Yolanda could not have met the duke inside the Posternunless she were a witch with wings that could fly thither over thecastle walls; ergo, she was not the princess. With equal certainty shewas not a burgher girl. 

In seeking an identity that would fit her I groped among many absurdpropositions. Yolanda might be the duke's ward, or she might be hisdaughter, though not bearing his name. My brain was in a whirl. If shewere the princess, I wished to remain in Peronne to pursue the smalladvantage Max had assuredly gained in winning her favor. The Frenchmarriage might miscarry. But if she were not the princess, I could notget my Prince Max away from her dangerous neighborhood too quickly. Icould not, of course, say to Max, "You shall remain in Peronne, " or "Youshall leave Peronne at once;" but my influence over him was great, andhe trusted my fidelity, my love, and my ability to advise him rightly. Ihad always given my advice carefully, but, above all, I had given himthe only pleasurable moments he had ever known. That, by the way, mayhave been the greatest good I could have offered him. 

When Max was a child, the pleasure of his amusements was smothered byofficialism. My old Lord Aurbach, though gouty and stiff of joint, waseager to "run" his balls or his arrows, and old Sir Giles Butch could becaught so easily at tag or blind man's buff that there was no sport forMax in doing it. Everything the boy did was done by the heir of Styria, except on rare occasions when he and I stole away from the castle. Thenwe were boys together, and then it was I earned his love and confidence. At such times we used to leave the Hapsburg ancestry to care for itselfand dumped Hapsburg dignity into the moat. But the crowning good I hadbrought to him was this journey into the world. The boy loathed theclinging dignities that made of him, at home, a royal automaton, trickedout in tarnished gold lace, faded velvets, and pompous airs. He oftenspoke of the pleasures I had given him. One evening at Grote's inn Ianswered:--

"Nonsense, Max, nonsense, " though I was so pleased with his gratitude Icould have wept. 

"It is not nonsense. You have saved me from becoming a mummy. I see itall, Karl, and shudder to think of the life that might have been mine. Itake no pleasure in seeing gouty old dependents bowing, kneeling, andsmirking before me. Of course, these things are my prerogative, and aman born to them may not forego what is due to his birth even though itirks him. But such an existence--I will not call it living--saps thejuice of life. Even dear old mother is compelled to suppress her lovefor me. Often she has pressed me to her breast only to thrust me away atthe approach of footsteps. By the way, Karl, " continued Max, whilepreparing for bed, "Yolanda one day at Basel jestingly called me'Little Max. '"

"The devil she did, " I exclaimed, unable to restrain my words. 

"Yes, " answered Max, "and when in surprise I told her that it was mymother's love-name for me, she laughed saucily, 'Yes, I know it is. '"

"The dev-- Max, you can't mean what you say?" I cried, in an ecstasy ofdelight over the news he was telling me. 

"Indeed I do, " he returned. "I told her I loved the name as a sweetreminder of my mother. "

"What did she say?" I asked. 

"She seemed pleased and flashed her eyes on me--you know the way shehas--and said: 'I, too, like the name. It fits you so well--bycontraries. ' Where could she have learned it, and how could she haveknown it was my mother's love-name for me?"

"I cannot tell, " I answered. 

So! here was a small fact suddenly grown big, since, despite allevidence to the contrary, it brought me back to my old belief that thisfair, laughing Yolanda was none other than the great Princess ofBurgundy. I was sure that she had gained all her information concerningMax from my letters to Hymbercourt. 

It racks a man's brain to play shuttlecock with it in that fashion. While I lay in bed trying to sleep, I thought of the meeting between theduke and the princess at the Postern, and back again flew my mind to theconviction that Yolanda was not, and could not possibly be, the PrincessMary. For days I had been able to think on no other subject. One momentshe was Yolanda; the next she was the princess; and the next I did notknow who she was. Surely the riddle would drive me mad. The fate ofnations--but, infinitely more important to me, the fate of Max--dependedupon its solution. 

Castleman had told us to remain at the inn until his return, and hadexacted from Max, as you will remember, a promise not to visit the Houseunder the Wall, which we had learned was the home of our burgher friend. We therefore spent our days and evenings in Grote's garden near thebanks of the river Cologne. 

One afternoon, while we were sitting at a table sipping wine under theshade of a tree near the river bank, Max said:--

"I have enjoyed every day of our journey, Karl. I have learned the greatlesson of life, and am now ready to go back to Styria and take up myburden. We must see our friends and say farewell to them. Then--"

"You forget the object of our journey to Burgundy, " I answered. 

"No, I have not forgotten it, " he replied. "I had abandoned it evenbefore I heard of the impending French marriage. "

"Not with my consent, Max, " I answered almost fiercely. "The princess isnot yet married, and no one can foresee the outcome of these presentcomplications into which the duke is plunging. We could not have reachedBurgundy at a more auspicious time. God's hand seems to have been in ourventure. If evil befall the duke, there will be an open gate for you, Max, --a gate opened by fate. "

I could not, by my utmost effort, force myself entirely away from thebelief that Yolanda was the princess, and I was near to telling Max ofmy suspicions; but doubt came before my words, and I remained silent. Before many days I was glad of my caution. 

"I knew, " said Max, "that I would pain you, Karl, by this determinationto return to Styria without so much as an effort to do--to do what we--what you wished; but it must be as I say. I must leave Burgundy and goback to my strait-jacket. I have lived my life, Karl, I have had myportion of sweet joy and sweeter pain. The pain will give me joy as longas I live. Now for my duty to my father, my house, and my ancestors. "

"But your duty to all these lies here in Peronne, " I answered, almoststifled by the stupendous import of the moment. 

"I suppose you are right, " sighed Max, speaking gently, though withdecision. "But that duty I'll shirk, and try to make amends in otherways. I shall never marry. That, Karl, you may depend upon. Styria maygo at my death to Albert of Austria, or to his issue. "

"No, no! Max, " I cried. He ignored my interruption. 

"Along with the countless duties that fall to the lot of a prince are afew that one owes to himself as a man. There are some sacrifices a manhas no right to inflict upon himself, even for the sake of his family, his ancestors, or his state. " He paused for the space of a minute, and, dropping his words slowly, continued in a low voice vibrant withemotion: "There is but one woman, Karl, whom I may marry with God'spleasure. Her, I may not even think upon; she is as far from me as ifshe were dead. I must sacrifice her for the sake of the obligations andconditions into which I was born; but--" here he hesitated, rose slowlyto his feet, and lifted his hands above his head, "but I swear beforethe good God, who, in His wisdom, inflicted the curse of my birth uponme, that I will marry no other woman than this, let the result bewhat it may. "

He sank back into the chair and fell forward on the table, burying hisface in his arms. His heart for the moment was stronger than hisresolution. 

"That question is settled, " thought I. No power save that of the Popecould absolve the boy from his oath, and I knew that the power of tenscore of popes could not move him from its complete fulfilment. The oathof Maximilian of Hapsburg, whose heart had never coined a lie, was aseverlasting as the rocks of his native land and, like Styria's mountainpeaks, pierced the dome of heaven. 

If Yolanda were not the princess, our journeying to Burgundy had been invain, and our sojourn in Peronne was useless and perilous. It could notbe brought to a close too quickly. But (the question mark seems at timesto be the greatest part of life) if Yolanda were Mary of Burgundy, Maxhad, beyond doubt, already won the lady's favor, unless she were awanton snare for every man's feet. That hypothesis I did not entertainfor a moment. I knew little of womankind, but my limited knowledge toldme that Yolanda was true. Her heart was full of laughter, --a rare, richheritage, --and she was little inclined to look on the serious side oflife if she could avoid it; but beneath all there was a real Yolanda, with a great, tender heart and a shrewd, helpful brain. She was somewhatof a coquette, but coquetry salts a woman and gives her relish. It hadbeen a grievous waste on the part of Providence to give to any girl sucheyes as Yolanda's and to withhold from her a modicum of coquetry withwhich to use them. Taken all in all, Yolanda, whoever she was, wouldgrace any station in life. But if she were not the princess, I would bewilling to give my life--nay, more, I would almost be willing to takehers--rather than see her marry Maximilian of Hapsburg. Happiness couldnot come from such a union. 

Should Max marry a burgher girl, his father and mother would never lookupon his face again. It would alienate his subjects, humble his house, and bring him to the level of the meanest noble on the Danube. To allthese dire consequences Max was quite as wide awake as I. He had nointention of bringing them upon his house, though for himself he wouldhave welcomed them. So I felt little uneasiness; but when a great lovelays hold upon a great heart, no man may know the outcome. 

CHAPTER VIII

ON THE MOAT BRIDGE

Awaiting Castleman's return, we remained housed up at The Mitre, seldomgoing farther abroad than Grote's garden save in the early morning orafter dark. But despite our caution trouble befell us, as our burgherfriend had predicted. 

Within a week Max began to go out after dark without asking me toaccompany him. When he came into our room late one evening, I askedcarelessly where he had been. I knew where he had been going, and hadburned to speak, but the boy was twenty-two. Within the last few monthshe had grown out of my tutelage, and his native strength of characterhad taught me to respect him and in a certain way to fear him. From thepromptness of his reply I thought that he had wished me to askconcerning his outgoing and incoming. 

"I have been to the bridge over the moat, near Castleman's House underthe Wall, " he answered. 

"What did you there?" I asked, seeing his willingness to be questioned. 

"I stood there--I--I--" He paused, laughed, and stammered on. "I lookedat the castle and at the moat, like a silly fool, and--and--"

"Castleman's house?" I suggested, helping him out. 

"Y-e-s, " he answered hesitatingly, "I could not help seeing it. It isclose by the bridge--not twenty paces distant. "

"Did you see any one else--except the house?" I asked. 

"No, " he returned promptly. "I did not want to see any one else. If Ihad I should have entered the house. "

"Why, then, did you go to the bridge?" I queried. 

"I cannot answer that question even to myself, " he replied. "I--I--thereis a constant hungering for her, Karl, that I cannot overcome; it seemsas if I am compelled to go to the bridge, though I know I should not. Itis very foolish in me, I am sure, but--"

"I heartily agree with you, " I answered. "It is not only foolish, it isrash; and it may bring you great trouble. "

I did not deem it necessary to tell him that he was following in thefootsteps of his race. I left him to suppose that he was the only foolof the sort that had ever lived. The thought would abate his vanity. 

"But I _must_ go to the bridge, " he continued, finishing the sentence Ihad interrupted, "and I do not see how there can be evil in it. "

"No, Max, it Is not wrong in itself, " I said reprovingly; "butCastleman, evidently for good reasons, asked you to stay away from hishouse, and counselled us to remain close at the inn. It has also thisevil in it for you, aside from the danger: it will make your duty harderto perform. When a man longs for what he may not have, he should notthink upon it, much less act on it. Our desires, like covetousness andjealousy, feed upon themselves. We may, if we but knew it, augment orabate them at will. "

"I shall always think on--on my love for Yolanda, " he replied. "I wouldnot abate it one jot; I would augment it in my heart. But, Karl--yousee, Karl, it is not a question of my own strength to resist. I need nostrength. There is no more reason for you to warn me against this dangerthan to admonish a child not to long for a star, fearing he might getit. The longing may be indulged with impunity; the star and the dangerare out of reach. "

I had nothing to say; Max was stronger and nobler than ever I hadbelieved. 

Max continued to go to the bridge, and I made no effort to prevent him. Meddling mars more frequently than it mends, and when the Fates areleading, a man is a fool to try to direct their course. Whatever was tobe would be. Fate held Max by the hand and was leading him. I almostfeared to move or to speak in his affairs, lest I should make a mistakeand offend these capricious Fates. The right or the wrong of his visitsto the moat depended entirely upon the answer to my riddle, "Who isYolanda?" and I dared not put it to the touch. 

On one occasion he returned from the bridge, and without lighting thelamp, sat on the arm of my chair. The moonlight streaming through thewindow illumined his head as with a halo. He tossed the damp curls fromhis face, and his eyes were aglow with joy. There was no need to tell mewhat had happened, but he told me. 

"Ah, Karl, I've seen the star, " he cried triumphantly. He was but aboy-man, you must remember. 

"I was sure you would see her, " I answered. "How did you bring themeeting about?"

"I did not bring it about, " he answered, laughing softly. "The star cameto the child. "

"All things come to him that waits at the bridge, " I repliedsarcastically. He paid no heed to the sarcasm, but continued:--

"She happened to be near the bridge when I got there, and she came tome, Karl, --she came to me like a real star falling out of the darkness. "

That little fact solved once more my great riddle--at least, it solvedit for a time. Yolanda was not Mary of Burgundy. I had little knowledgeof princesses and their ways, but I felt sure they were not in the habitof lurking in dark places or wandering by sluggish moats in the blackshadow of a grim castle. A princess would not and could not have beenloitering by the bridge near the House under the Wall. Castleman's wordsconcerning Yolanda's residence under his roof came back and convinced methat my absurd theory concerning her identity was the dream of a madman. 

"She happened to be near the bridge?" I asked, with significantemphasis. 

"Perhaps I should not have used the word 'happened, '" returned Max. 

"I thought as much. What did she have to say for herself, Max?"

"If I were not sure of your devotion, Karl, I should not answer aquestion concerning Yolanda put in such a manner, " he replied; "but I'lltell you. When I stepped on the bridge, she came running to me from theshadow of the trees. Her arms were uplifted, and she moved so swiftlyand with such grace one could almost think she was flying--"

"Witches fly, " I interrupted. My remark checked his flow of enthusiasm. After a long silence I queried, "Well?"

Max began again. 

"She gave me her hand and said: 'I knew you would come again, Sir Max. Isaw you from the battlements last night and the night before and thenight before that. I could not, with certainty, recognize you from sogreat a distance, but I was sure you would come to the bridge--I do notknow why, but I was sure you would come; so to-night I too came. Youcannot know the trouble I took or the risk I ran in coming. You have notseen me for many days, yet you remember me and have come five times tothe bridge. I was wrong when I said you would forget the burgher girlwithin a fortnight. Sir Max, you are a marvel of constancy. ' At thatmoment the figures of two men appeared on the castle battlements, silhouetted against the moon; they seemed of enormous stature, magnifiedin the moonlight. One of them was the Duke of Burgundy. I recognized himby his great beard, of which I have heard you speak. Yolanda caught oneglimpse of the men and ran back to the house without so much as givingme a word of farewell. "

"What did you say during the brief interview?" I asked. 

"Not one word, " he replied. 

"By my soul, you are an ardent lover, " I exclaimed. 

"I think she understood me, " Max replied, confidently; and doubtless hewas right. 

Once more the riddle was solved. A few more solutions and there would bea mad Styrian in Burgundy. My reflections were after this fashion:Princesses, after all, do wander by the moat side and loiter by thebridge. Princesses do go on long journeys with no lady-in-waiting to dotheir bidding and no servants ready at their call. Yolanda was Mary ofBurgundy, thought I, and Max had been throwing away God-givenopportunities. Had she not seen Max from the battlements, and had shenot fled at sight of the duke? These two small facts were but scantevidence of Yolanda's royalty, but they seemed sufficient. 

"What would you have me say, Karl?" asked Max. "You would not have mespeak more than I have already said and win her love beyond her power towithdraw it. That I sometimes believe I might do, but if my regard forher is true, I should not wish to bring unhappiness to her for the sakeof satisfying my selfish vanity. If I am not mistaken, a woman wouldsuffer more than a man from such a misfortune. "

Here, truly, was a generous love. It asked only the privilege of giving, and would take nothing in return because it could not give all. IfYolanda were Mary of Burgundy, Max might one day have a reward worthy ofhis virtue. Yolanda's sweetness and beauty and Mary's rich domain wouldsurely be commensurate with the noblest virtue. I was not willing thatMax should cease wooing Yolanda--if I might give that word to hisconduct--until I should know certainly that she was not the princess. This, I admit, was cruel indifference to Yolanda's peace of mind orpain of heart, if Max should win her love and desert her. 

Because of a faint though dazzling ray of hope, I encouraged Max afterthis to visit the bridge over the moat, dangerous though it was; andeach night I received an account of his doings. Usually the account wasbrief and pointless. He went, he stood upon the bridge, he saw the Houseunder the Wall, he returned to the inn. But a night came when he hadstirring adventures to relate. 

At the time of which I am writing every court in Europe had its clusterof genteel vagabonds, --foreigners, --who stood in high favor. Thesehangers-on, though perhaps of the noblest blood in their own lands, wereusually exiles from their native country. Some had been banished forcrimes; others had wandered from their homes, prompted by the love ofroaming so often linked with unstable principles and recklessdispositions. Burgundy under Charles the Rash was a paradise for thesegentry. The duke, who was so parsimonious with the great and wise Philipde Comines that he drove him to the court of Louis XI, was open-handedwith these floating villains. 

In imitation of King Louis's Scotch guard, Charles had an Italian guard. The wide difference in the wisdom of these princes is nowhere moredistinctly shown than in the quality of the men they chose to guardthem. Louis employed the simple, honest, brave Scot. Charles chose themost guileful of men. They were true only to self-interest, brave onlyin the absence of danger. The court of Burgundy swarmed with theseItalian mercenaries, many of whom had followed Charles to Peronne. CountCampo-Basso, who afterward betrayed Charles, was their chief. Among hisfollowers was a huge Lombard, a great bully, who bore the name ofCount Calli. 

On the evening of which I speak Max had hardly stepped on the bridgewhen Yolanda ran to him. 

"I have been waiting for you, Sir Max, " she said. "You are late. Ifeared you would not come. I have waited surely an hour, though I amloath to confess it lest you think me a too willing maiden. "

"It would be hard, Fräulein, for me to think you too willing--you arebut gracious and kind, and I thank you, " answered Max. "But you have notwaited an hour. Darkness has fallen barely a quarter of that time. "

"I was watching long before dark on the battlements, and--"

"On the battlements, Fräulein?" asked Max, in surprise. 

"I mean from--from the window battlements in uncle's house. I've beenout here under the trees since nightfall, and that seems to have been atleast an hour ago. Don't you understand, Sir Max?" she continued, laughing softly and speaking as if in jest; "the longer I know you themore shamefully eager I become; but that is the way with a maid and aman. She grows more eager and he grows less ardent, and I doubt not thetime will soon arrive, Sir Max, when you will not come at all, and Ishall be left waiting under the trees to weep in loneliness. "

Max longed to speak the words that were in his heart and near his lips, but he controlled himself under this dire temptation and remainedsilent. After a long pause she stepped close to him and asked:--

"Did you not want me to come?"

Max dared not tell her how much he had wanted her to come, so he went tothe other extreme--he must say something--and, in an excess ofcaution, said:--

"I would not have asked you to come, Fräulein, though I much desired it;but sober judgment would prompt me to wish that--that is, I--ah, Fräulein, I did not want you to come to the bridge. "

She laughed softly and said:--

"Now, Little Max, you do not speak the truth. You did want me to come, else why do you come to the bridge? Why do you come?"

In view of all the facts in the case the question was practicallyunanswerable unless Max wished to tell the truth, so he evadedby saying:--

"I do not know. "

She looked quickly up to his face and stepped back from him:--

"Did you come to see Twonette? I had not thought of her. She is butdrained milk and treacle. Do you want to see her, Sir Max? If so, I'llreturn to the house and send her to you. "

"Fräulein, I need not answer your question, " returned Max, convincingly. 

"But I love Twonette. I know you do not come to see her, and I shouldnot have spoken as I did, " said Yolanda, penitently. 

Perhaps her penitential moods were the most bewitching--certainly theywere the most dangerous--of all her many phases. 

"You know why I come to the bridge, even though I do not, " said Max. "Tell me, Fräulein, why I come. "

"That is what you may tell me. I came to hear it, " she answered softly, hanging her head. 

"I may not speak, Fräulein, " he replied, with a deep, regretful sigh. "What I said to you on the road from Basel will be true as long as Ilive, but we agreed that it should not again be spoken between us. Foryour sake more than for mine it is better that I remain silent. "

Yolanda hung her head, while her fingers were nervously busy with thepoints of her bodice. She uttered a low laugh, flashed her eyes uponhim for an instant, and again the long lashes shaded them. 

"You need not be _too_ considerate for my sake, Sir Max, " she whispered;"though--though I confess that I never supposed any man could bring meto this condition of boldness. "

Max caught her hands, and, clasping them between his own, drew the girltoward him. The top of her head was below his chin, and the deliciousscent from her hair intoxicated his senses. She felt his great frametremble with emotion, and a thrill of exquisite delight sped throughevery fibre of her body, warming every drop of blood in her veins. ButMax, by a mighty effort, checked himself, and remained true to hisself-imposed renunciation in word and act. After a little time she drewher hands from his, saying:--

"You are right, Max, to wish to save yourself and me from pain. "

"I wish to save you, Yolanda. I want the pain; I hope it will cling tome all my life. I want to save you from it. "

"Perhaps you are beginning too late, Max, " said the girl, sighing, "but--but after all you are right. Even as you see our situation it isimpossible for us to be more than we are to each other. But if you knewall the truth, you would see how utterly hopeless is the future in whichI at one time thought I saw a ray of hope. Our fate is sealed, Max; weare doomed. Before long you shall know. I will soon tell you all. "

"Do you wish to tell me now, Fräulein?" he asked. 

"No, " she whispered. 

"In your own good time, Yolanda. I would not urge you. "

Max understood Yolanda's words to imply that her station in life waseven lower than it seemed, or that there was some taint upon herself orher family. Wishing to assure her that such a fact could not influencehim, he said:--

"You need not fear to tell me all concerning yourself or your family. There can be no stain upon you, and even though your station beless than--"

"Hush, Max, hush, " she cried, placing her hand protestingly against hisbreast. "You do not know what you are saying. There is no stain on me ormy family. "

Max wondered, but was silent; he had not earned the right to beinquisitive. 

The guard appeared at that moment on the castle battlements, and Max andYolanda sought the shelter of a grove of trees a dozen paces from thebridge on the town side of the moat. They seated themselves on a bench, well within the shadow of the trees, and after a moment's silenceMax said:--

"I shall not come to the bridge again, Fräulein. I'll wait till youruncle returns, when I shall see you at his house. Then I'll say farewelland go back to the hard rocks of my native land--and to a life harderthan the rocks. "

"You are right in your resolve not to come again to the bridge, " saidYolanda, "for so long as you come, I, too, shall come--when I can. Thatwill surely bring us trouble sooner or later. But when Uncle Castlemanreturns, you must come to his house, and I shall see you there. As toyour leaving Peronne, we will talk of that later. It is not to bethought of now. "

She spoke with the confidence of one who felt that she might command himto stay or order him to go. She would settle that little pointfor herself. 

"I will go, Fräulein, " said Max, "soon after your uncle's return. "

"Perhaps it will be best, but we will determine that when we must--whenthe time comes that we can put it off no longer. Now, I wish you togrant me three promises, Sir Max. First, ask me no questions concerningmyself. Of course, you will ask them of no one else; I need not demandthat promise of you. "

"I gladly promise, " he answered. "What I already know of you isall-sufficient. "

"Second, do not fail to come to my uncle's house when he invites you. His home is worthy to receive the grandest prince in the world. My--mylord, Duke Philip the Good, was Uncle Castleman's dear friend. The oldduke, when in Peronne, dined once a week with my uncle. Although uncleis a burgher, he could have been noble. He refused a lordship anddeclined the Order of the Golden Fleece, preferring the freedom of hisown caste. I have always thought he acted wisely. "

"Indeed he was wise, " returned Max. "You that have never known therestraints of one born to high estate cannot fully understand howwise he was. "

Yolanda glanced up to Max with amusement in her eyes:--

"Ah, yes! For example, there is poor Mary of Burgundy, who is to marrythe French Dauphin. I pity her. For all we know, she may be longing foranother man as I--I longed for my mastiff, Caesar, when I was away. Bythe way, Sir Max, are you still wearing the ring?" She took his hand andfelt for the ring on his finger. "Ah, you have left it off, " she criedreproachfully, answering her own question. 

"Yes, " answered Max. "There have been so many changes within the lastfew weeks that I have taken it off, and--and I shall cease to wear it. "

"Then give it to me, Sir Max, " she cried excitedly. 

"I may not do that, Fräulein, " answered Max. "It was given to me by oneI respect. "

"I know who the lady is, " answered Yolanda, tossing her head saucily andspeaking with a dash of irritation in her voice. 

"Ah, you do?" asked Max. "Tell me now, my little witch, who is the lady?If you know so much tell me. "

Yolanda lifted her eyes solemnly toward heaven, invoking the help of hernever failing familiar spirit. 

"I see an unhappy lady, " she said, speaking in a low whisper, "whosefather is one of the richest and greatest princes in all the world. Afew evenings ago while we were standing on the moat bridge talking, Isaw the lady's father on the battlements of yonder terrible castle. Hisform seemed magnified against the sky till it was of unearthly size andterrible to look on--doubly terrible to those who know him. If sheshould disobey her father, he would kill her with his battle-axe, Iverily believe, readily as he would crush a rebellious soldier. Yet shefears him not, because she is of his own dauntless blood and fears notdeath itself. She is to marry the Dauphin of France, and her wishes areof so small concern, I am told that she has not yet been notified. Thisterrible man will sell his daughter as he would barter a horse. She ispowerless to move in her own behalf, being bound hand and foot by theremorseless shackles of her birth. She will become an unhappy queen, and, if she survives her cruel father, she will, in time, take to herhusband this fat land of Burgundy, for the sake of which he wishes tomarry her. She is Mary of Burgundy, and even I, poor and mean ofstation, pity her. She--gave--you--the--ring. "

"How did you learn all this, Fräulein? You are not guessing, as youwould have had me believe, and you would not lie to me. What you havejust said is a part with what you said at Basel and at Strasburg. Howdid you learn it, Fräulein?"

"Twonette, " answered Yolanda. 

That simple explanation was sufficient for Max. Yolanda might verylikely know the private affairs of the Princess Mary through Twonette, who was a friend of Her Highness. 

"But you have not promised to visit Uncle Castleman's house when heinvites you, " said Yolanda, drawing Max again to the bench beside her. 

"I gladly promise, " said Max. 

"That brings me to the third promise I desire, " said Yolanda. "I wantyou to give me your word that you will not leave Burgundy within onemonth from this day, unless I give you permission. "

"I cannot grant you that promise, Fräulein, " answered Max. 

"Ah, but you must, you shall, " cried Yolanda, desperately clutching hishuge arms with her small hands and clinging to him. "I will scream, Iwill waken the town. I will not leave you, and you shall not shake meoff till I have your promise. I may not give you my reasons, but trustme, Max, trust me. Give me your unquestioning faith for once. I am not afool, Max, nor would I lie to you for all the world, in telling you thatit is best for you to give me the promise. Believe me, while there maybe risk to me in what I ask, it is best that you grant it, and that youremain in Peronne for a month--perhaps for two months, unless I soonertell you to go. "

"I may not give you the promise you ask, Fräulein, " answered Max, desperately. "You must know how gladly I would remain here forever. "

"I believe truly you want to stay, " she answered demurely, "else Isurely would not ask this promise of you. Your unspoken words have beenmore eloquent than any vows your lips could coin, and I know what is inyour heart, else my boldness would have been beyond excusing. What Iwish is that your desire should be great enough to keep you when I askyou to remain. "

"I may not think of myself or my own desires, Fräulein, " he answered. "Like the lady of Burgundy, I was shackled at my birth. "

"The lady of Burgundy is ever in your mind, " Yolanda retorted sullenly. "You would give this promise quickly enough were she asking it--shewith her vast estate. "

There was an angry gleam in the girl's eyes, and a dark cloud ofunmistakable jealousy on her face. She stepped back from Max and hungher head. After a moment of silence she said:--

"You may answer me to-morrow night at this bridge, Sir Max. If you donot see fit to give me the promise, then I shall weary you no furtherwith importunity, and you may go your way. "

There was a touch of coldness in her voice as she turned and walkedslowly toward the bridge. Max called softly:--

"Yolanda!"

She did not answer, but continued with slow steps and drooping head. Asher form was fading into the black shadow of the castle wall he ranacross the bridge to her, and took her hand:--

"Fräulein, I will be at the bridge to-morrow night, and I will try togive the promise you ask of me. "

CHAPTER IX

THE GREAT RIDDLE

Max was cautious in the matter of making promises, as every honest manshould be, since he had no thought of breaking them once they weregiven. Therefore, he wished to know that he could keep his word beforepledging it. His lifelong habit of asking my advice may also haveinfluenced him in refusing the promise that he so much wished to give;or perhaps he may have wanted time to consider. He did not want to givethe promise on the spur of an impulse. 

When he had finished telling me his troubles, I asked:--

"What will you do to-morrow night?"

My riddle was again solved; Yolanda was the princess. Her words wereconvincing. All doubt had been swept from my mind. There would be nomore battledore and shuttlecock with my poor brain on that subject. Sowhen Max said, "I do not know what I shall do, " I offered my opinion;"You surprise me, Max. You lack enterprise; there is no warmth in yourblood. The girl cannot harm you. Give her the promise. Are your veinsfilled with water and caution?"

"What do you mean, Karl?" cried Max, stepping toward me with surpriseand delight in his face. "Are you advising me wrongly for the first timein my life?" Then there was a touch of anger in his voice as hecontinued: "Have I blood in my veins? Aye, Karl, burning, seethingblood, and every drop cries wildly for this girl--this child. I wouldgive the half of it to make her my wife and to make her happy. But Iwould not abate one jot of my wretchedness at her expense. As I treather I pray God to deal with me. I cannot make her my wife, and if I amhalf a man, I would not win her everlasting love and throw it to thedogs. She all but asked me last night to tell her of my love for her, and almost pressed hers upon me, but I did not even kiss her hand. Ah, Karl, I wish I were dead!"

The poor boy threw himself on the bed and buried his face in his hands. I went to him and, seating myself on the bed, ran my fingers throughhis curls. 

"My dear Max, I have never advised you wrongly. Perhaps luck has beenwith me. Perhaps my good advice has been owing to my great caution andmy deep love for you. I am sure that I do not advise you wrongly now. Goto the bridge to-morrow night, and give Yolanda the promise she asks. If she wants it, give her the ring. Keep restraint upon your words andacts, but do not fear for one single moment that my advice is wrong. Max, I know whereof I speak. "

Max rose from the bed and looked at me in surprise; but my advice jumpedso entirely with the longing deep buried in his heart that he took it asa dying man accepts life. 

The next evening Max met Yolanda under the trees near the bridge. 

"I may remain but a moment, " she said hurriedly and somewhat coldly. "Doyou bring me the promise?"

"Yes, " answered Max. "I have also brought you the ring, Fräulein, butyou may not wear it, and no one may ever see it. "

"Ah, Max, it is well that you have brought me the promise, for had younot you would never have seen me again. I thank you for the promise andfor the ring. No one shall see it. Of that you may be doubly sure. If byany chance some meddlesome body should see it and tell this arrogantlady of the castle that I have the keepsake she sent you, there would betrouble, Max, there would be trouble. She is a jealous, vindictivelittle wretch and you shall not think on her. No doubt she would have metorn limb from limb if she knew I possessed the jewel. When I touch it, I feel that I almost hate this princess, whose vast estates have apower of attraction greater than any woman may exert. "

There was real anger in her tone. In truth, dislike and aversion weremanifest in every word she spoke of the princess, save when the tenderlittle heart pitied her. 

"Now I must say good night and adieu, Sir Max, until uncle returns, "said Yolanda. She gave Max her hands and he, in bringing them to hislips, drew her close to him. At that moment they were startled by aboisterous laugh close beside them, and the fellow calling himself CountCalli slapped Max on the back, saying in French:--

"Nicely done, my boy, nicely done. But you are far too considerate. Whykiss a lady's hand when her lips are so near? I will show you, FräuleinCastleman, exactly how so delicate a transaction is conducted by anenterprising gentleman. "

He insultingly took hold of Yolanda, and, with evident intent to kissher, tried to lift the veil with which she had hastily covered her face. Max struck the fellow a blow that felled him to the ground, but Callirose and, drawing his dagger, rushed upon Max. Yolanda stood almostparalyzed with terror. Max was unarmed, but he seized Calli's wrist andtwisted it till a small bone cracked, and the dagger fell from his handto the ground. Calli's arm hung limp at his side, and he was powerlessto do further injury. Max did not take advantage of his helplessness, but said:--

"Go, or I will twist your neck as I have broken your wrist. "

Max had gone out that evening without arms or armor. He had not even adagger. 

When Calli had passed out of sight, Yolanda stooped, picked up hisdagger, and offered it to Max, saying:--

"He will gather his friends at once. Take this dagger and hasten back tothe inn, or you will never reach it alive. No, come with me to UncleCastleman's house. There you may lie concealed. "

"I may not go to your uncle's house, Fräulein, " answered Max. "I can gosafely to the inn. Do not fear for me. "

Yolanda protested frantically, but Max refused. 

"Go quickly, then, " she said, "and be on your guard at all times. Thisman who came upon us is Count Calli, the greatest villain in Burgundy. He is a friend of Campo-Basso. Now hasten to the inn, if you will notcome with me to uncle's house, and beware, for this man and his friendswill seek vengeance; of that you must never allow yourself to doubt. Adieu, till uncle comes. "

Max reached the inn unmolested. We donned our mail shirts, expectingtrouble, and took turn and turn watching and sleeping. Next day we hiredtwo stalwart Irish squires and armed them cap-a-pie. We meant to giveour Italian friends a hot welcome if they attacked us, though we had, intruth, little fear of an open assault. We dreaded more a dagger thrustin the back, or trouble from court through the machinations ofCampo-Basso. 

The next morning Max sent one of our Irishmen to Castleman's house witha verbal message to Fräulein Castleman. When the messenger returned, hereplied to my question:--

"I was shown into a little room where three ladies sat. 'What have youto say?' asked the little black-haired one in the corner--she with thegreat eyes and the face pale as a chalk-cliff. I said, 'I am instructed, mesdames, to deliver this simple message: Sir Max is quite well. ' 'Thatwill do. Thank you. ' said the big eyes and the pale face. Then she gaveme two gold florins. The money almost took my breath, and when I lookedup to thank her, blest if the white face wasn't rosy as a June dawn. When I left, she was dancing about the room singing and laughing, andkissing everybody but me--worse luck! By Saint Patrick, I never saw sosimple a message create so great a commotion. 'Sir Max is quite well. 'I'm blest if he doesn't look it. Was he ever ill?"

After five or six days we allowed ourselves to fall into a state ofunwatchfulness. One warm evening we dismissed our squires for an hour'srecreation. The Cologne River flows by the north side of the inn garden, and, the spot being secluded, Max and I, after dark, cooled ourselves bya plunge in the water. We had come from the water and finished dressing, save for our doublets, which lay upon the sod, when two men approachedwhom we thought to be our squires. When first we saw them, they were inthe deep shadow of the trees that grew near the water's edge, and we didnot notice their halberds until they were upon us. When the men hadapproached within four yards, we heard a noise back of us and turningsaw four soldiers, each bearing an arquebuse pointed in our direction. At the same moment another man stepped from behind the two we had firstseen and came quickly to me. He was Count Calli. In his left hand heheld a parchment. Max and I were surrounded and unarmed. 

"I arrest you on the order of His Grace, the duke, " said Calli, in lowtones, speaking French with an Italian accent. 

"Your authority?" I demanded. 

"This, " he said, offering me the parchment, "and this, " touching hissword. I took the parchment but could not read it in the dark. 

"I'll go to the inn to read your warrant, " I said, stooping to take upmy doublet. 

"You will do nothing of the sort, " he answered. "One word more fromyou, and there will be no need to arrest you. I shall be only too gladto dispense with that duty. "

I felt sure he wished us to resist that he might have a pretext formurdering us. I could see that slow-going Max was making ready for afight, even at the odds of seven to two, and to avert trouble I spokesoftly in German:--

"These men are eager to kill us. Our only hope lies in submission. "

While I was speaking the men gathered closely about us, and almostbefore my words were uttered, our wrists were manacled behind us and wewere blindfolded. Our captors at once led us away. A man on either sideof me held my arms, and by way of warning I received now and then amerciless prod between my shoulder-blades from a halberd in the hands ofan enthusiastic soul that walked behind me. Max, I supposed, wasreceiving like treatment. 

After a hundred paces or more we waded the river, and then I knewnothing of our whereabouts. Within a half-hour we crossed a bridge whichI supposed was the one over the moat at the Postern. There we halted, and the password was given in a whisper. Then came the clanking ofchains and creaking of hinges, and I knew the gates were opening and theportcullis rising. After the gates were opened I was again urged forwardby the men on either side of me and the enterprising soul in the rear. 

I noticed that I was walking on smooth flags in place of cobble-stones, and I was sure we were in the bailey yard of the castle. Soon I wasstopped again, a door opened, squeaking on its rusty hinges, and webegan the descent of a narrow stairway. Twenty or thirty paces from thefoot of the stairway we stopped while another door was opened. This, Ifelt sure, was the entrance to an underground cell, out of which Godonly knew if I should ever come alive. While I was being thrust throughthe door, I could not resist calling out, "Max--Max, for the love of Godanswer me if you hear!" I got no answer. Then I appealed to my guard:--

"Let me have one moment's speech with him, only one moment. I will payyou a thousand crowns the day I am liberated if you grant methis favor. "

"No one is with you, " the man replied. "I would willingly earn thethousand crowns, but if they are to be paid when you are liberated, Ifear I should starve waiting for them. "

With these comforting words they thrust me into the cell, manacled andblindfolded. I heard the door clang to; the rusty lock screechedvenomously, and then I was alone in gravelike silence. I hardly, daredto take a step, for I knew these underground cells were honeycombedwith death-traps. I could not grope about me with my hands, for theywere tied, and I knew not what pitfall my feet might find. 

How long I stood without moving I did not know; it might have been anhour or a day for all I could tell. I was almost stupefied by thismisfortune into which I had led Max. I do not remember having thought atall of my own predicament. I cannot say that I suffered; I was benumbed. I remember wondering about Max and speculating vaguely on his fate, butfor a time the thought did not move me. I also remember sinking to thefloor, only half conscious of what I was doing, and then I must haveswooned or slept. 

When I recovered consciousness I rose to my feet. A step or two broughtme against a damp stone wall. Three short paces in another direction, and once more I was against the wall. Then I stopped, turned my back tothe reeking stone, and cursed the brutes that had treated me with suchwanton cruelty. It was not brutal; it was human. No brute could feel it;only in the heart of man could it live. 

By chafing the back of my head against the wall I succeeded in removingthe bandage from my eyes. Though I was more comfortable, I was littlebetter off, since I could see nothing in the pitiless black of my cell. I stretched my eyes, as one will in the dark, till they ached, but Icould not see even an outline of the walls. 

A burning thirst usually follows excitement, and after a time it came tome and grew while I thought upon it. My parched throat was almostclosed, and I wondered if I were to be left to choke to death. I knewthat in Spain and Italy such refinement of cruelty was oftenedpractised, but I felt sure that the Duke of Burgundy would not permitthe infliction of so cruel a fate, did he know of it. But our captorswere not Burgundians, and I doubted if the duke even knew of ourimprisonment. I suffered intensely, though I believe I could haveendured it with fortitude had I not known that Max was suffering alike fate. 

I believed I had been several days in my cell when I heard a key turn inthe lock. The door opened, and a man bearing a basket and a lanternentered. He placed the basket on the ground and, with the lantern hungover his arm, unfastened the manacles of my wrists. In the basket were a_boule_ of black bread and a stone jar of water. I eagerly grasped thejar, and never in my life has anything passed my lips that tasted sosweet as that draught. 

"Don't drink too much at one time, " said the guard, not unkindly. "Itmight drive you mad. A man went mad in this cell less than a month agofrom drinking too much water. "

"How long had he been without it?" I asked of this cheering personage. 

"Three days, " he responded. 

"I did not know that men of the north could be so cruel as to keep aprisoner three days without water, " I said. 

"It happened because the guard was drunk, " answered the fellow, laughing. 

"I hope you will remain sober, " said I, not at all intending to behumorous, though the guard laughed. 

"I was the guard, " he replied. "I did not intend to leave the prisonerwithout water, but, you see, I was dead drunk and did not know it. "

"Perhaps you have been drunk for the last three or four days since Ihave been here?" I asked. 

He laughed boisterously. 

"You here three or four days! Why, you are mad already! You have beenhere only over night. "

Well! I thought surely I _was_ mad!

Suddenly the guard left me and closed the cell door. I calledfrantically to him, but I might as well have cried from the bottomof the sea. 

After what seemed fully another week of waiting, the guard again camewith bread and water. By that time my mind had cleared. I asked theguard to deliver a message to my Lord d'Hymbercourt and offered a largereward for the service. I begged him to say to Hymbercourt that hisfriends of The Mitre had been arrested and were now in prison. Theguard willingly promised to deliver my message, but he did not keep hisword, though I repeated my request many times and promised him anyreward he might name when I should regain my liberty. With each visit herepeated his promise, but one day he laughed and said I was wastingwords; that he would never see the reward and that in all probability Ishould never again see the light of day. His ominous words almostprostrated me, though again I say I suffered chiefly for Max's sake. Could I have gained his liberty at the cost of my life, nay, even mysoul, I should have been glad to do it. 

But I will not further describe the tortures of my imprisonment. Thegreatest of them all was my ignorance of Max's fate. It was a frightfulordeal, and I wonder that my reason survived it. 

CHAPTER X

THE HOUSE UNDER THE WALL

To leave Max and myself in our underground dungeon, imprisoned for anunknown, uncommitted crime, while I narrate occurrences outside ourprison walls looks like a romancer's trick, but how else I am to goabout telling this history I do not know. Yolanda is quite as importanta personage in this narrative as Max and myself, and I must tell of hertroubles as I learned of them long afterwards. 

Castleman reached home ten days or a fortnight after our arrest, bringing with him his precious silks, velvets, and laces to the lastell. As he had predicted, they were quadrupled in value, and theirincrease made the good burgher a very rich man. 

Soon after Castleman reached the House under the Wall, Yolanda camedancing into the room where he was sitting with good Frau Katherine, drinking a bottle of rich Burgundy wine well mixed with pepperand honey. 

"Ah, uncle, " she cried joyously, "at last you are at home, and I have afine kiss for you. "

"Thank you, my dear, " said Castleman, "you have spoiled my wine. Thehoney will now taste vinegarish. "

"You are a flatterer, uncle--isn't he, tante?" laughed Yolanda, turningto Aunt Castleman. 

"I am afraid he is, " said the good frau, in mock distress. "Every onetries to spoil him. "

"You more than any one, tante, " cried Yolanda. 

"Tut, tut, child, " cried Frau Katherine, "I abate his vanity withfrowns. "

Yolanda laughed, and the burgher, pinching his wife's red cheek, protested:--

"_You_ frown? You couldn't frown if you tried. A clear sky may rain aseasily. Get the peering glass, Yolanda, and find, if you can, a wrinkleon her face. "

Yolanda, who was always laughing, threw herself upon the frau's lap andpretended to hunt for wrinkles. Soon she reported:--

"No wrinkles, uncle--there, you dear old tante, I'll kiss you to keepyou from growing jealous of uncle on my account. "

"If any one about this house has been spoiled, it's you, Yolanda, " saidFrau Kate, affectionately. 

"When you speak after that fashion, tante, you almost make me weep, "said Yolanda. "Surely you and uncle and Twonette are the only friends Ihave, and give me all the joy I know. But, uncle, now that you are athome, I want you to drink your wine quickly and give me a great deal ofjoy--oh, a great deal. "

"Indeed I will, my dear. Tell me where to begin, " answered Castleman, draining his goblet. 

Yolanda flushed rosily and hesitated. At that moment Twonette, who hadalready greeted her father, entered the room. 

"Twonette will tell you, " said Yolanda, laughing nervously. 

"What shall I tell him?" asked Twonette. 

"You will tell him what I want him to do quickly, at once, immediately, "pleaded Yolanda. "You know what I have waited for this long, weary time. "

"Tell him yourself what you want quickly, at once, immediately, "answered Twonette. "I, too, have wants. "

"What do you want, daughter?" asked Castleman, beaming upon Twonette. 

"I want thirty ells of blue velvet for a gown, and I want you to askpermission of the duke for me to wear it. "

"Many noble ladies would not dare to ask so much of the duke, " suggestedCastleman. 

"It is true, George, " said Frau Kate, "that only noble ladies of highdegree are permitted to wear velvet of blue; but it is also true thatonly your stubbornness has deprived our daughter of that privilege. Shemight now be noble had you not been stubborn. "

"I also want--" began Twonette. 

"You shall wear the duke's own color, purple, if you will hold yourtongue about worthless matters and tell your father what I want, " criedYolanda, impetuously thrusting Twonette toward Castleman. 

"You tell him your own wants, " answered Twonette, pouting. "Then perhapshis own daughter may have his ear for a moment or two. "

Yolanda laughed at Twonette's display of ill-temper. 

"Well, uncle, since I must tell my own tale, I will begin, " saidYolanda, blushing. "I want you to go to The Mitre and ask a friend--twofriends--of yours here to supper this evening. I have waited a wearytime for you to give this invitation, and I will not wait another hour, nay, not another minute. We have a fat peacock that longs to be killed;it is so fat that it is tired of life. We have three pheasants that willdie of grief if they are not baked at once. I myself have been feedingthem this fortnight past in anticipation of this feast. We have a dozenwrens for a live pie, so tame they will light on our heads when you cutthe crust. We shall have a famous feast, uncle. There will be presentonly tante, you, Twonette, our two guests, and myself. Now, uncle, thewine is consumed. Hurry to the inn. "

"My dear child, " said Castleman, seriously, "you know that I am almostpowerless to refuse any request you make, but in this case I mustdo so. "

"Ah, uncle, please tell me why, " coaxed Yolanda, with trouble in hereyes and grief at the corners of her mouth. 

"Because you must see no more of this very pleasing young man, " answeredCastleman. "I yielded to your wishes at Basel and brought him with us; Iwas compelled to send him with you from Metz; but now that our journeyis over, I shall thank him and pay him an additional sum, since my goodsare safe home, and say farewell to him. I believe he is a worthy andhonorable young man, but we do not know who he is, and if we did--"

"Ah, but _I_ know who he is, " interrupted Yolanda, tossing her head. "_We_ may not know, but _I_ know, and that is sufficient. "

"Do you know?" asked Castleman. "Pray tell me of him. The informationwas refused me; at least, it was not given. He is probably of noblebirth, but we have nobles here in Peronne whom we would not ask to ourhouse. We know nothing of this wandering young Max, save that he ishonest and brave and good to look upon. "

"In God's name, uncle, what more would you ask in a man?" cried Yolanda, stamping her foot. "'Noble, honest, brave, and good to look upon!' Willnot those qualities fit a man for any one's regard and delight anywoman's heart? I tell you I will have my way in this. I tell you I knowhis degree. I know who he is and what he is and all about him, though Idon't intend to tell you anything, and would inform you now that it's nobusiness of yours. "

"Did you coax all this information out of him, you little witch?" askedCastleman, smiling against his will. 

"I did not, " retorted Yolanda, leaning forward and lifting her chindefiantly. "I learned it soon after we reached Basel. I discovered itby--by magic--by sorcery. He will tell you as much. "

"By the magic of your eyes and smiles. That's the way you wheedled itout of him, and that's the way you coax every one to your will, " saidCastleman, laughing while Yolanda pouted. 

"I never saw a girl make such eyes at a man as you made at this SirMax, " said Twonette, who was waiting for her blue velvet gown. 

"Twonette, you are prettier with your mouth shut. Silence becomes you, "retorted Yolanda, favoring Twonette with a view of her back. "Now, uncle, " continued Yolanda, "all is ready: peacock, pheasants, wrens; andI command you to procure the guests. "

Castleman laughed at her imperious ways and said:--

"I will obey your commands in all else, Yolanda, but not in this. "

The girl, who was more excited than she appeared to be, stood for amoment by her uncle's side, and, drawing her kerchief from its pouch, placed it to her eyes. 

"Every one tries to make me unhappy, " she sobbed. "There is no one towhom I may turn for kindness. If you will not do this for me, uncle, ifyou will not bring him--them--to me, I give you my sacred word I will goto them at the inn. If you force me to do an act so unmaidenly, I'llleave you and will not return to your house. I shall know that you donot love me!"

Castleman was not ready to yield, though he was sure that in the end hewould do so. He also knew that her threat to go to the inn was by nomeans an idle word. 

Yolanda was not given to tears, but she used them when she found shecould accomplish her ends by no other means. A long pause ensued, brokenby Yolanda's sobs. 

"Good-by, uncle. Good-by, tante. Good-by, Twonette. I mean what I say, uncle. I am going, and I shall not come back if you will not do thisthing for me. I am going to the inn. "

She kissed them all and started toward the door. The loving old tantecould not hold out. She, too, was weeping, and she added hersupplications to Yolanda's. 

"Do what she asks, father--only this once, " said Frau Kate. 

"Only this once, " pleaded Yolanda, turning her tear-moistened eyes uponthe helpless burgher. 

"I suppose I must surrender, " exclaimed Castleman, rising from hischair. "I have been surrendering to you, your aunt, and Twonette all mylife. First Kate, then Twonette, and of late years they have beenreënforced by you, Yolanda, and my day is lost. I do a little uselessfighting when I know I am in the right, but it is always followed by acowardly surrender. "

"But think of your victories in surrender, uncle. Think of yourrewards, " cried Yolanda, running to his side and kissing him. "Many aman would fight a score of dragons for that kiss. "

"Dragons!" cried Castleman, protestingly. "I would rather fight ahundred dragons than do this thing for you, Yolanda. I know littleconcerning the ways of a girl's heart, but, ignorant as I am, I couldsee--Mother, I never saw a girl so infatuated with a man as our Yolandais with this Sir Max--this stranger. "

"There, tante, " cried Yolanda, turning triumphantly to Frau Kate, "youhear what uncle says. Now you see the great reason for having himhere--this Sir Max and his friend. But, uncle, if you think I mean tomake a fool of myself about this man, put the notion out of your head. Iknow only too well the barrier between us, but, uncle mine, " shecontinued pleadingly, all her wonted joyousness driven from her face, "Iam so wretched, so unhappy. If I may have a moment of joy now, for thelove of the Blessed Virgin don't deny me. I sometimes think you love mechiefly because I so truly deserve your pity. As for this young man, heis gentle, strong, and good, and, as you say, he certainly is good tolook upon. Twonette knows that, don't you, Twonette? He is wise, too, and brave, even against the impulse of his own great heart. He thinksonly of my good and his own duties. I am in no danger from him, uncle. He can do me only good. I shall be happier and better all my life longfor having known him. Now, uncle?"

"I will fetch him, " exclaimed Castleman, seeking his hat. "You may beright or you may be wrong, but for persuasiveness I never saw your like. I declare, Yolanda, you have almost made me feel like a villain forrefusing you. "

"I wish the world were filled with such villains, uncle. Don't you, tante?" said Yolanda, beaming upon the burgher. 

"No, " answered the frau, "I should want them all for my husbands. "

"God forbid!" cried Yolanda, lifting her hands as she turned toward thedoor, laughing once more. "Tell them to be here by six o'clock, uncle. No! we will say five. Tell them to come on the stroke of five. No! fouro'clock is better; then we will sup at six, and have an hour or twobefore we eat. That's it, uncle; have them here by four. Tell them tofail not by so much as a minute, upon their allegiance. Tell them to behere promptly on the stroke of four. "

She ran from the room singing, and Castleman started toward the frontdoor. 

"The girl makes a fool of me whenever she wishes, " he observed, pausingand turning toward his wife. "She coaxed me to take her to Basel, andlife was a burden till I got her home again. Now she winds me around herfinger and says, 'Uncle Castleman, obey me, ' and I obey. Truly, therenever was in all the world such another coaxing, persuasive little witchas our Yolanda. "

"Poor child, " said Frau Kate, as her husband passed out of the door. 

Castleman reached The Mitre near the hour of one, and of course did notfind us. At half-past four, Yolanda entered the great oak room whereTwonette and Frau Kate were stitching tapestry. 

"Where suppose you Sir Max is--and Sir Karl?" asked Yolanda, with atouch of anger in her voice. "Why has he not come? I have been watchingbut have not seen him--them. He places little value on our invitationto slight it by half an hour. I am of half a mind not to see him whenhe comes. "

"Your uncle is downstairs under the arbor, Yolanda, " said FrauCastleman, gently. "He will tell you, sweet one, why Sir Max isnot here. "

Frau Katherine and Twonette put aside their tapestry, and went withYolanda to question Castleman in the arbor. 

"Well, uncle, where are our guests?" asked Yolanda. 

"They are not at the inn, and have not been there since nearly afortnight ago, " answered Castleman. 

"Gone!" cried Yolanda, aflame with sudden anger. "He gave me his word hewould not go. I'm glad he's gone, and I hope I may never see his faceagain. I deemed his word inviolate, and now he has broken it. "

"Do not judge Sir Max too harshly, " said Castleman; "you may wrong him. I do not at all understand the absence of our friends. Grote tells methey went to the river one night to bathe and did not return. Theirhorses and arms are at the inn. Their squires, who had left them twohours before, have not been seen since. Grote has heard nothing of ourfriends that will throw light on their whereabouts. Fearing to gethimself into trouble, he has stupidly held his tongue. He was notinclined to speak plainly even to me. "

"Blessed Mother, forgive me!" cried Yolanda, sinking back upon asettle. After a long silence she continued: "Two weeks ago! That was afew days after the trouble at the bridge. "

"What trouble?" asked Castleman. 

"I'll tell you, uncle, and you, tante. Twonette already knows of it, "answered Yolanda. "Less than three weeks ago I was with Sir Max near themoat bridge. It was dark--after night--"

"Yolanda!" exclaimed Castleman, reproachfully. 

"Yes, uncle, I know I ought not to have been there, but I was, " saidYolanda. 

"Alone with Sir Max after dark?" asked the astonished burgher. 

"Yes, alone with him, after it was _very_ dark, " answered Yolanda. "Ihad met him several times before. "

Castleman tried to speak, but Yolanda interrupted him:--

"Uncle, I know and admit the truth of all you would say, so don't sayit. While I was standing very near to Sir Max, uncle, very near, CountCalli came upon us and offered me gross insult. Sir Max, being unarmed, knocked the fellow down, and in the struggle that ensued Count Calli'sarm was broken. I heard the bone snap, then Calli, swearing vengeance, left us. Why Sir Max went out unarmed that night I do not know. Had hebeen armed he might have killed Calli; that would have preventedthis trouble. "

"I, too, wonder that Sir Max went out unarmed, " said Castleman musingly. "Why do you suppose he was so incautious?"

"Perhaps that is the custom in Styria. There may be less danger, lesstreachery, there than in Burgundy, " suggested Yolanda. 

"In Styria!" exclaimed Castleman. "Sir Karl said that he was from Italy. He did not tell me of Sir Max's home, but I supposed he also was fromItaly, or perhaps from Würtemberg--there are many Guelphs inthat country. "

"Yes, I will tell you of that later, uncle, " said Yolanda. "When Callileft us, Sir Max returned safely to the inn, having promised me not toleave Peronne within a month. This trouble has come from Calli andCampo-Basso. "

"But you say this young man is from Styria?" asked Castleman, anxiously. 

"Yes, " replied Yolanda, drooping her head, "he is Maximilian, Count ofHapsburg. "

"Great God!" exclaimed Castleman, starting to his feet excitedly. "If Ihave brought these men here to be murdered, I shall die of grief; allEurope will turn upon Burgundy. "

Yolanda buried her face in Mother Kate's breast; Castleman walked to andfro, and sympathetic Twonette wept gently. It was not in Twonette'snature to do anything violently. Yolanda, on the contrary, was intensein all her joys and griefs. 

"Did Sir Max tell you who he is?" asked Castleman, stopping in front ofYolanda. 

"No, " she replied, "I will tell you some day how I guessed it. He doesnot know that I know, and I would not have you tell him. "

"Tell me, Yolanda, " demanded Castleman, "what has passed between you andthis Sir Max?"

"Nothing, uncle, save that I know--ah, uncle, there is nothing. God pityme, there can be nothing. Whatever his great, true heart feels may beknown to me as surely as if he had spoken a thousand vows, but he wouldnot of his own accord so much as touch my hand or speak his love. Heknows that one in his station may not mate with a burgher girl. Hetreats me as a true knight should treat a woman, and if he feels painbecause of the gulf between us, he would not bring a like pain to me. Heis a strong, noble man, Uncle Castleman, and we must save him. "

"If I knew where to begin, I would try at once, " said Castleman, "but Ido not know, and I cannot think of--"

"I have a plan, " interrupted Yolanda, "that will set the matter going. Consult my Lord d'Hymbercourt; he is a friend of Sir Karl's; he may helpus. Tell him of the trouble at the bridge, but say that Twonette, notI, was there. If Lord d'Hymbercourt cannot help us, I'll try another wayif I die for it. "

Castleman found Hymbercourt and told him the whole story, substitutingTwonette for Yolanda. 

"It is the work of that accursed Basso, " said Hymbercourt, stroking hisbeard. "No villany is too black for him and his minions to do. "

"But what have they done?" asked Castleman. "They surely would notmurder these men because of the quarrel at the bridge. "

"They would do murder for half that cause, " replied Hymbercourt. "Abrave man hates an assassin, and I am always wondering why the duke, whois so bold and courageous, keeps this band of Italian cut-throats athis court. "

"What can we do to rescue our friends if they still live, or to avengethem if dead?" asked Castleman. 

"I do not know, " answered Hymbercourt. "Let me think it all over, and Iwill see you at your house to-night. Of this I am certain: you must notmove in the matter. If you are known to be interested, certain facts mayleak out that would ruin you and perhaps bring trouble to one whoalready bears a burden too heavy for young shoulders. We know but oneuseful fact: Calli and Campo-Basso are at the bottom of this evil. Theduke suspects that the states adjacent to Switzerland, including Styria, will give aid to the Swiss in this war with Burgundy, and it may bethat Duke Charles has reasons for the arrest of our friends. He may havelearned that Sir Max is the Count of Hapsburg. I hope his finger is notin the affair. I will learn what I can, and will see you to-night. Tillthen, adieu. "

True to his promise, Hymbercourt went to Castleman's that evening, buthe had learned nothing and had thought out no plan of action. Two dayspassed and there was another consultation. Still the mystery was as farfrom solution as on the day of its birth. Yolanda was in tribulation, and declared that she would take the matter into her own hands. Heruncle dissuaded her, however, and she reluctantly agreed to remainsilent for a day or two longer, but she vowed that she would give tongueto her thoughts and arouse all Burgundy in behalf of Max and myself ifwe were not soon discovered. 

CHAPTER XI

PERONNE LA PUCELLE

The next morning Duke Charles went down to the great hall of the castleto hear reports from his officers relating to the war that he was aboutto wage against the Swiss. When the duke ascended the three steps of thedais to the ducal throne, he spoke to Campo-Basso who stood upon thefirst step at the duke's right. 

"What news, my Lord Count?" asked Charles. "I'm told there is amessenger from Ghent. "

"Ill news, my lord, " answered Campo-Basso. 

"Out with it!" cried the duke. "One should always swallow a bitterdraught quickly. "

"We hear the Swiss are gathering their cantons in great numbers, " saidCampo-Basso. 

"Let the sheep gather, " said Charles, waving his hands. "The more theygather to the fold, the more we'll shear. " He laughed as if pleased withthe prospect, and continued, "Proceed, my Lord Count. "

"The Duke of Lorraine is again trying to muster his subjects againstYour Grace, and sends a polite message asking and offering terms ofagreement. Shall I read the missive, my lord?"

"No!" cried the duke, "Curse his soft words. There is no bad news yet. Proceed. "

"It is rumored, Your Grace, " continued the count, "that Frederick, Dukeof Styria, is preparing to aid the Swiss against Your Grace. "

"With his advice?" asked the duke. "The old pauper has nothing else togive, unless it be the bones of his ancestors. "

"It is said, Your Highness, that Würtemberg will also aid the Swiss, andthat Duke Albert will try to bring about a coalition of the Germanstates for the purpose of assisting the Swiss, aiding Lorraine, andoverthrowing Burgundy. This purpose, our informant tells us, has beenfostered by this same Duke Frederick of Styria. "

"This news, I suppose, is intended for our ears by the Duke of Styria. He probably wishes us to know that he is against us, " said Charles. "Hewanted our daughter for his clown of a son, and our contempt for hisclaims rankles in his heart. He cannot inflame Würtemberg, andWürtemberg cannot influence the other German princes. "

The duke paused, and Campo-Basso proceeded:--

"The citizens of Ghent, my lord, petition Your Grace for the restorationof certain communal rights, and beg for the abolition of the hearth taxand the salt levy. They also desire the right to elect their ownburgomaster and--"

"Give me the petition, " demanded the duke. Campo-Basso handed theparchment to Charles, and he tore it to shreds. 

"Send these to the dogs of Ghent, and tell them that for every scrap ofparchment I'll take a score of heads when I return from Switzerland. "

"We hear also, my lord, " said the Italian, "that King Edward of Englandis marshalling an army, presumably for the invasion of France and, because of the close union that is soon to be between King Louis andBurgundy, I have thought proper to lay the news before Your Grace. "

"Edward wants more of King Louis' gold, " answered Charles. "We'll lethim get it. We care not how much he has from this crafty miser of theSeine. Louis will buy the English ministers, and the army will suddenlyvanish. When King Edward grows scarce of gold, he musters an army, orpretends to do so, and Louis fills the English coffers. The French kingwould buy an apostle, or the devil, and would sell his soul to either toserve a purpose. Have you more in your budget, Sir Count?"

"I have delivered all, I believe, my lord, " answered Campo-Basso. 

"It might have been worse, " said the duke, rising to quit his throne. 

"One moment, my lord! There is another matter to which I wish to callYour Grace's attention before you rise, " said the count. "I have foryour signature the warrants for the execution of the Swiss spies, who, Your Highness may remember, were entrapped and arrested by thewatchfulness of Your Grace's faithful servant, the noble Count Calli. "

"Give me the warrant, " said the duke, "and let the execution take placeat once. "

Hymbercourt had been standing in the back part of the room, payinglittle attention to the proceedings, but the mention of Calli's name inconnection with the Swiss spies quickly roused him, and he hurriedlyelbowed his way to the ducal throne. A page was handing Charles a quilland an ink-well when Hymbercourt spoke:--

"My Lord Duke, I beg you not to sign the warrant until I have asked afew questions of my Lord Campo-Basso concerning these alleged spies. "

"Why do you say 'alleged spies, ' my Lord d'Hymbercourt?" asked the duke. "Do you know anything of them? Are they friends of yours?"

"If they are friends of mine, Your Grace may be sure they are notspies, " answered Hymbercourt. "I am not sure that I know these men, butI fear a mistake has been made. "

A soft cry, a mere exclamation, was heard behind the chancel in theladies' gallery, which was above the throne, a little to the right. Butit caused no comment other than a momentary turning of heads in thatdirection. 

"On what ground do you base your suspicion, my lord?" asked Charles. 

"Little ground, Your Grace, " answered Hymbercourt. "I may be entirelywrong; but I beg the privilege of asking the noble Count Calli two orthree questions before Your Grace signs the death warrant. We may averta grave mistake and prevent a horrible crime. "

"It is a waste of valuable time, " answered Charles, "but if you will bebrief, you may proceed. Count Calli, come into presence. "

Calli stepped forward and saluted the duke on bended knee. 

"Your questions, Hymbercourt, and quickly, " said Charles, testily. "Weare in haste. Time between the arrest and the hanging of a spyis wasted. "

"I thank you, my lord, " said Hymbercourt. He then turned to Calli, andasked, "When were these men arrested?"

"More than a fortnight ago, " answered Calli. 

"How came you to discover they were spies?" asked Hymbercourt. 

"I watched them, and their actions were suspicious, " replied theItalian. 

"In what respect were they suspicious?"

"They went abroad only at night, and one of them was seen near thecastle several evenings after dark, " responded Calli. 

"Is that your only evidence against them?" demanded Hymbercourt. 

"It is surely enough, " replied Calli, "but if more is wanted, they wereoverheard to avow their guilt. "

"What were they heard to say and where did they say it?" askedHymbercourt. 

"I lay concealed, with six men-at-arms, near the river in the garden ofThe Mitre Inn, where the spies had been bathing. We heard them speakmany words of treason against our gracious Lord Duke, but I did not movein their arrest until the younger man said to his companion: 'I willto-morrow gain entrance to the castle as a pedler and will stab thisDuke Charles to death. You remain near the Postern with the horses, andI will try to escape to you. If the gate should be closed, ride awaywithout me and carry the news to the cantons. I would gladly give mylife to save the fatherland. '"

"Hang them, " cried the duke. "We are wasting time. "

"I pray your patience, my Lord Duke, " said Hymbercourt, holding up hishand protestingly. "I know these men whom Count Calli has falselyaccused. They are not spies; they are not Swiss; neither are theyenemies of Burgundy. Were they so, I, my lord, would demand their deathwere they a thousand-fold my friends. I stake my life upon theirhonesty. I offer my person and my estates as hostages for them, andmake myself their champion. Count Calli lies. "

Hymbercourt's words caused a great commotion in the hall. Swords anddaggers sprang from the scabbards of the Italians, and cries ofindignation were uttered by the mercenaries, who saw their crimeexposed, and by the Burgundians, who hated the Italians and theirdastardly methods. Charles commanded silence, and Campo-Basso receivedpermission to speak. 

"Since when did my Lord d'Hymbercourt turn traitor?" said he. "Hisfealty has always been as loud-mouthed as the baying of a wolf. "

"I am a Burgundian, my lord, " said Hymbercourt, ignoring the Italian andaddressing Charles. "I receive no pay for my fealty. I am not a foreignmercenary, and I need not defend my loyalty to one who knows me as heknows his own heart. "

"My Lord d'Hymbercourt's honor needs no defence, " said Charles. "I trusthis honesty and loyalty as I trust myself. He may be mistaken; he may beright. Bring in these spies. "

"Surely Your Grace will not contaminate your presence with thesewretches, " pleaded Campo-Basso. "Consider the danger to yourself, mydear lord. They are desperate men, who would gladly give their lives totake yours and save their country. I beg you out of the love I bear YourGrace, pause before you bring these traitorous spies into your sacredpresence. "

"Bring them before me!" cried the duke. "We will determine this matterfor ourselves. We have a score of brave, well-paid Italians who may beable to protect our person from the onslaught of two manacled men. "

 * * * * *

On this same morning the guard had been to my cell with bread and water, and had departed. I did not know, of course, whether it was morning, noon, or night, but I had learned to measure with some degree ofaccuracy the lapse of time between the visits of the guard, and wassurprised to hear the rusty lock turn long before the time for hisreappearance. When the man entered my cell, bearing his lantern, he said:--

"Come with me. "

The words were both welcome and terrible. I could not know theirmeaning--whether it was liberty or death. I stepped from the cell and, while I waited for the guard to relock the door, I saw the light of alantern at the other end of a passageway. Two men with Max between themcame out of the darkness and stopped in front of me. Our wrists weremanacled behind us, and we could not touch hands. I could have wept forjoy and grief at seeing Max. 

"Forgive me, Max, for bringing you to this, " I cried. 

"Forgive me, Karl. It is I who have brought you to these straits, " saidMax. "Which is it to be, think you, Karl, liberty or death?"

"God only knows, " I answered. 

"For your sake, Karl, I hope He cares more than I. I would prefer deathto the black cell I have just left. "

We went through many dark passageways and winding stairs to the audiencehall. 

When we entered the hall, the courtiers fell back, leaving an aisle fromthe great double doors to the ducal throne. When we approached the duke, I bent my knee, but Max simply bowed. 

"Kneel!" cried Campo-Basso, addressing Max. 

"If my Lord of Burgundy demands that I kneel, I will do so, but it ismore meet that he should kneel to me for the outrage that has been putupon me at his court, " said Max, gazing unfalteringly into theduke's face. 

"Who are you?" demanded the duke, speaking to me. 

"I am Sir Karl de Pitti, " I replied. "Your Grace may know my family; weare of Italy. It was once my good fortune to serve under your father andyourself. My young friend is known as Sir Maximilian du Guelph. "

"He is known as Guelph, but who is he?" demanded Charles. 

"That question I may not answer, my lord, " said I, speaking in theWalloon tongue. 

"You shall answer or die, " returned the duke, angrily. 

"I hope my Lord of Burgundy will not be so harsh with us, " interruptedMax, lifting his head and speaking boldly. "We have committed no crime, and do not know why we have been arrested. We beg that we may be toldthe charge against us, and we would also know who makes the charge. "

"Count Calli, " said the duke, beckoning that worthy knight, "comeforward and speak. "

Calli came forward, knelt to the duke, and said:

"I, my lord, charge these unknown men as being Swiss spies andassassins, who seek to murder Your Grace and to betray Burgundy. "

"You lie, you dog, " cried Max, looking like an angry young god. "You liein your teeth and in your heart. My Lord of Burgundy, I demand thecombat against this man who seeks my life by treachery and falsehood. Iwaive my rank for the sweet privilege of killing this liar. "

"My Lord Duke, " I exclaimed, interrupting Max, "if my Lord d'Hymbercourtis in presence, I beg that I may have speech with him. "

Hymbercourt stepped to my side, and the duke signified permission tospeak. 

"My Lord d'Hymbercourt, " said I, turning to my friend, "I beg you totell His Grace that we are not spies. I may not, for reasons well knownto you, give you permission to inform His Grace who my young companionis, and I hope my Lord of Burgundy will be satisfied with your assurancethat we are honest knights who wish only good to this land and itspuissant ruler. "

"Indeed, my Lord Duke, I was right, " answered Hymbercourt. "Again Ioffer my person and my estates as hostages for these men. They are notspies. They are not of Switzerland, nor are they friends to the Swiss;neither are they enemies of Burgundy. I doubt not they will gladly joinYour Lordship in this war against the cantons. These knights have beenarrested to gratify revenge for personal injury received and deserved bythis traitorous Count Calli. "

"It is false, " cried Campo-Basso. 

"It is true--pitifully true, my lord, " returned Hymbercourt. "This youngknight was at the moat bridge near Castleman's House under the Walltalking with a burgher maid, Fräulein Castleman. Count Calli stole uponthem without warning and insulted the maiden. My young friend knockeddown the ruffian, and, in the conflict that ensued, broke Calli's arm. Your Grace may have seen him carrying it in a sling until within thelast forty-eight hours. 

"For this deserved chastisement Count Calli seeks the young man's lifeby bearing false witness against him; and with it that of my old friend, Sir Karl de Pitti. It is Burgundy's shame, my lord, that thesetreacherous mercenaries should be allowed to murder strangers and tooutrage Your Grace's loyal subjects in the name of Your Lordship'sjustice. Sir Maximilian du Guelph has demanded the combat against thisCount Calli. Sir Maximilian is a spurred and belted knight, and underthe laws of chivalry even Your Grace may not gainsay him. "

"My lord, I do not fight assassins and spies, " said Calli, addressingthe duke. 

"I do, " cried Max, "when they put injuries upon me as this false cowardhas done. I will prove upon his body, my Lord Duke, who is the assassinand the spy. My Lord d'Hymbercourt will vouch that my rank entitles meto fight in knightly combat with any man in this presence. My wrists aremanacled, my lord, and I have no gage to throw before this false knight;but, my Lord of Burgundy, I again demand the combat. One brave as YourGrace is must also be just. We shall leave Count Calli no excuse toavoid this combat, even if I must tell Your Grace my true rankand station. "

"This knight, " said Hymbercourt, addressing Charles and extending hishand toward Max, "is of birth entitling him to meet in the lists anyknight in Burgundy, and I will gladly stand his sponsor. "

"My Lord d'Hymbercourt's sponsorship proves any man, " said the duke, who well knew that Campo-Basso and his friends would commit any crime toavenge an injury, fancied or real. 

"My Lord Duke, I pray your patience, " said Campo-Basso, obsequiously. "No man may impugn my Lord d'Hymbercourt's honesty, but may he not bemistaken? In the face of the evidence against this man, may he not bemistaken? The six men who were with Count Calli will testify to thetreasonable words spoken by this young spy. "

"Does any other man in presence know these men?" asked the duke. No oneresponded. 

After a little time Hymbercourt broke silence. 

"I am grieved and deeply hurt, my lord, that you should want otherevidence than mine against the witnesses who make this charge. I am aBurgundian. These witnesses are Italians who love Your Grace for thesake of the gold they get. I had hoped that my poor services had earnedfor me the right to be believed, but if I may have a little time, I willprocure another man whose word shall be to you as the word ofyour father. "

"Bring him into our presence, " answered the duke. "We will see himto-morrow at this hour. "

"May I not crave Your Grace's indulgence for a half-hour?" pleadedHymbercourt. "I will have this man here within that time. "

"Not another minute, " replied the duke. "Heralds, cry the rising. "

"Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! His Grace, the Duke of Burgundy, is about to rise. His Grace has risen, " cried the herald. 

The duke left the hall by a small door near the dais. 

Hymbercourt was standing beside us when the captain of the guardapproached to lead us back to our cells. 

"May we not have comfortable quarters, and may we not be placed in onecell?" I asked, appealing to Hymbercourt. "I have been confined in areeking, rayless dungeon unfit for swine, and doubtless Sir Max has beensimilarly outraged. "

Hymbercourt put his hand into his pouch and drew forth two gold pieces. These he stealthily placed in the captain's hand, and that worthyofficial said:--

"I shall be glad to oblige, my lord. "

Hymbercourt left us, and Campo-Basso, beckoning the captain to one side, spoke to him in low tones. The captain, I was glad to see, was aBurgundian. 

After we left the hall we were taken to our old quarters. The captainfollowed me into the cell, leaving his men in the passageway. 

"My Lord Count ordered me to bring you here, " he said; "but I will, if Ican, soon return with other men who are not Italians and will removeyou to a place of safety. "

"Am I not safe here? Is my friend in danger?" I asked. 

The man smiled as though amused at my simplicity:--

"If you remain here to-night, there will be no need to hang you in themorning. Our Italian friends have methods of their own that are simpleand sure. But I will try to find a way to remove you before--before theItalians have time to do their work. I will see my Lord d'Hymbercourt, and if the duke has not gone a-hunting, we will induce His Grace toorder your removal to a place of safety. "

"But if the duke is gone, cannot you get the order when he returns?" Iasked. 

"That will be too late, I fear, " he answered, laughing, and with thesecomforting remarks he left me. 

After two or three hours--the time seemed days--I heard a key enter thelock of my cell door. If the hand inserting the key was that of anItalian, I might look for death. To my great joy the man was myBurgundian captain. 

"The duke had gone a-hunting, " he said, "and I could not find my Lordd'Hymbercourt; but Her Highness, the princess, asked me to remove you, and I am willing to risk my neck for her sweet sake. I am to place youin one of the tower rooms, out of the reach of our Italian cut-throats. "

"Will my young friend be with me?" I asked eagerly. 

"Yes, " responded the captain. 

Again I met Max with a man-at-arms in the passageway outside my celldoor, and we all went up the steps together. We were hurried throughdark passages to a spiral stairway, which we climbed till my kneesached. But we were going up instead of down, and I was overjoyed to havethe aching leave my heart for my knees. 

The room in which the Burgundian left us was large and clean. There weretwo beds of sweet straw upon the floor, and to my unspeakable joy therewas a bar on the door whereby it could be locked from within. There werealso two tubs of water for a bath. On a rude bench was a complete changeof clothing which had been brought by some kind hand from the inn. On anoak table were two bottles of wine, a bowl of honey, a cellar of pepper, white bread, cold meat, and pastry. A soul reaching heaven out ofpurgatory must feel as we felt then. We were too excited to eat, so webathed, dressed, and lay down on the straw beds. 

Before leaving us our captain had said:--

"Do not unbolt your door except to the password 'Burgundy. '"

We slept till late in the afternoon. When we wakened the sun was welldown in the west, and we could see only its reflected glare in theeastern sky. There was but one opening in the room through which thelight could enter--a narrow window, less than a foot wide. The light inthe room was dim even at noon, but the long darkness had so affected oureyes that the light from the window was sufficient to illumine theapartment and to make all objects plainly discernible. There was littleto be seen. The arched roof was of solid masonry; the walls were withouta break save the narrow window and the door. Through the window we couldsee only a patch of sky in the east, reddened by the reflection of thesinking sun; but the sight was so beautiful that Max and I were loath toleave it even for supper. 

"We must eat before the light dies, " said Max, whose young stomach wasmore imperious than mine, "or we shall have to eat in the dark. I havehad more than enough of that. "

"Fall to, " I said, as we drew the stools to the table. With the firstmouthful of clean, delicious food my appetite returned, and I ateravenously. Had the repast been larger I believe we should have killedourselves. Fortunately it was consumed before we were exhausted, and wecame off alive and victorious. After supper darkness fell, and Max satbeside me on the bench. He was very happy, for he felt that our troubleswould end with the night. I put my arm over his neck and begged him toforgive me for bringing this evil upon him. 

"You shall not blame yourself, Karl, " he protested. "There is no faultin you. No one is to blame save myself; I should not have gone to thebridge. I wonder what poor Yolanda is doing. Perhaps she is suffering infear and is ignorant of our misfortune. Perhaps she thinks I have brokenmy promise and left Peronne. I can see her stamp her little foot, and Isee her great eyes flashing in anger. Each new humor in her seems morebeautiful than the last, Karl. Knowing her, I seem to have known allmankind--at least, all womankind. She has wakened me to life. Her touchhas unsealed my eyes, and the pain that I take from my love for her islike a foretaste of heaven. I believe that a man comes to his fullstrength, mental and moral, only through the elixir of pain. "

"We surely have had our share of late, " I said dolefully. 

"All will soon be well with us, Karl; do not fear. We shall be freeto-morrow, and I will kill this Calli. Then I'll go back to Styria abetter, wiser, stronger man than I could ever have been had I remainedat home. This last terrible experience has been the keystone of myregeneration. It has taught me to be merciful even to the guilty, andgentle with the accused. No man shall ever suffer at my command until hehas been proved guilty. Doubtless thousands of innocent men as free fromcrime and evil intent as we, are wasting their lives away in dungeons asloathsome as those that imprisoned us. "

"Calli will not fight you, " I said. 

"If he refuses, I will kill him at the steps of the throne of Burgundy, let the result be what it may. God will protect me in my just vengeance. I will then go home; and I'll not return to Burgundy till I do so at thehead of an army, to compel Duke Charles to behead Campo-Basso. "

"What will you do about Yolanda, Max?" I asked. 

The interference of the princess in our behalf had thrown more light onmy important riddle, and once again I was convinced that shewas Yolanda. 

"I'll keep her in my heart till I die, Karl, " he responded, "and I prayGod to give her a happier life than mine can be. That is all I can do. "

"Will you see her before you go?" I asked, fully intending that thereshould be no doubt on the question. 

"Yes, and then--" He paused; and, after a little time, I asked:--

"And what then, Max?"

"God only knows what, Karl. I'm sure I don't, " he answered. 

We talked till late into the night, lay down on our soft, clean beds ofstraw, and were soon asleep. 

I did not know how long I had been sleeping when I was wakened by avoice that seemed to fill the room, low, soft, and musical as the tonesof an Aeolian harp. I groped my way noiselessly in the dark to Max's bedand aroused him. Placing my hand over his mouth to insure silence, Iwhispered:--

"Listen!"

He rested on his elbow, and we waited. After a few seconds the voiceagain resounded through the room, soft as a murmured ave, distinct asthe notes of a bird. Max clutched my hand. Soon the voice came again, and we heard the words:--

"Little Max, do you hear? Answer softly. "

"I hear, " responded Max. 

There was an uncanny note in the music of the voice. It seemed almostcelestial. We could not tell whence it came. Every stone in the wallsand ceiling, every slab in the floor seemed resonant with silvery tones. After Max had answered there was a pause lasting two or three minutes, and the voice spoke again:--

"I love you, Little Max. I tell you because I wish to comfort you. Donot fear. You shall be free to-morrow. Do not answer. Adieu. "

"Yolanda! Yolanda!" cried Max, pleadingly; but he received no answer. Heput his hand on my shoulder and said:--

"It was Yolanda, Karl--ah, God must hate a child that He brings intothe world a prince. "

For the rest of the night we did not sleep, neither did we speak. Themorrow was to be a day of frightful import to us, and we awaited it ingreat anxiety. 

When the morning broke and the sun shot his rays through the narrowwindow, we carefully examined the floor and walls of our room, but wefound no opening through which the voice could have penetrated. In theside of the room formed by the wall of the tower, the mortar had fallenfrom between two stones, leaving one of them somewhat loose, but thecastle wall at that point was fully sixteen feet thick, and it wasimpossible that the voice should have come through the layers of stone. 

From my first acquaintance with Yolanda there had seemed to be asupernatural element in her nature, an elfin quality in her face andmanner that could not be described. Max had often told me that sheimpressed him in like manner. The voice in our stone-girt chamber, coming as it did from nowhere, and resounding as it did everywhere, intensified that feeling till it was almost a conviction, though I amslow to accept supernatural explanations--a natural one usually exists. Of course, there are rare instances of supernatural power vested in menand women, and Yolanda's great, burning eyes caused me at times, almostto believe that she was favored with it. 

The voice that we had heard was unquestionably Yolanda's, but by whatstrange power it was enabled to penetrate our rock-ribbed prison andgive tongues to the cold stones I could not guess, though I could notstop trying. Here was another riddle set by this marvellous girl for mysolving. This riddle, however, helped to solve the first, and confirmedmy belief that Yolanda was Mary of Burgundy. 

After breakfast Max and I were taken to the great hall, where we foundCastleman standing before the ducal throne, speaking to Charles. Theburgher turned toward us, and as we approached I heard him say:--

"My lord, these men are not spies. "

"Who are they?" demanded the duke. 

Castleman gave our names and told the story of our meeting at Basel, after we had escorted Merchant Franz from Cannstadt. Then he narratedMax's adventure at the moat bridge, closing with:--

"Count Calli grossly insulted Fräulein Castleman, for which Sir Maxchastised him; and no doubt, my lord, this arrest has been madefor revenge. "

"Has the younger man name or title other than you have given?" askedCharles. 

The burgher hesitated before he answered:--

"He has, my lord, though I may not disclose it to Your Grace without hispermission, unless you order me so to do upon my fealty. That I humblybeg Your Grace not to do. "

"I beg Your Grace not to ask me to disclose my identity at this time, "said Max. "I am willing, should you insist upon knowing who I am, totell it privately in Your Grace's ear; but I am travelling incognitowith my friend, Sir Karl de Pitti, and I beg that I may remain so. Myestate is neither very great nor very small, but what it is I desire formany reasons not to divulge. These reasons in no way touch Burgundy, andI am sure Your Grace will not wish to intrude upon them. Within a month, perhaps within a few days, I will enlighten you. If you will permit meto remain in Peronne, I will communicate my reasons to you personally;if I leave, I will write to Your Grace. I give my parole that I will, within a month, surrender myself to Your Lordship, if you are notsatisfied, upon hearing my explanations, that my word is that of anhonorable knight, and my station one worthy of Your Grace's respect. Ihope my Lord d'Hymbercourt and my good friend Castleman will stand ashostages for me in making this pledge. "

Both men eagerly offered their persons and their estates as hostages, and the duke, turning to the captain of the guard, said:--

"Remove the manacles from these knights. "

The chains were removed, and the duke, coming down to the last step ofthe dais, looked into Max's face. 

Max calmly returned the fierce gaze without so much as the faltering ofan eyelid. 

"All step back save this young man, " ordered the duke, extending hisopen palm toward the courtiers. 

We all fell away, but the duke said:--

"Farther back, farther back, I say! Don't crowd in like a pack of yokelsat a street fight!"

Charles was acting under great excitement. I was not sure that it wasnot anger since his mien looked much like it. I did not know what wasgoing to happen, and was in an agony of suspense. Anything was possiblewith this brutish duke when his brain was crazed with passion. 

All who had been near the ducal throne moved back, till no one waswithin ten yards of Charles save Max. The duke wore a dagger and a shirtof mail; Max wore neither arms nor armor. After the courtiers steppedback from the throne a deep, expectant hush fell upon the room. No onecould guess the intentions of this fierce, cruel duke, and I wasterribly apprehensive for Max's safety. Had Max been armed, I shouldhave had no fear for him at the hands of the duke or any other man. 

Charles stepped from the dais to the floor beside Max, still gazingfixedly into his face. The men were within four feet of each other. Thesilence in the room was broken only by the heavy breathing of excitedcourtiers. The duke's voice sounded loud and harsh when he spoke to Max, and his breath came in hoarse gusts:--

"You are accused, Sir Knight, by credible witnesses of intent to murderme. For such a crime it is my privilege to kill you here and now with myown hand. What have you to say?"

Charles paused for a reply, drawing his dagger from its sheath. When Maxsaw the naked weapon, I noticed that he gave a start, though it wasalmost imperceptible. He at once recovered himself, and straightening tohis full height, stepped to within two feet of the duke. 

"If I plotted or intended to kill you, my lord, " said Max, less movedthan any other man in the room, "it is your right to kill me; but evenwere I guilty I doubt if my Lord of Burgundy, who is noted the worldover for his bravery, would strike an unarmed man. If Your Grace wishedto attack me, you would give me arms equal to your own. If you shouldkill me, unarmed as I am, you would be more pitiable than any other manin Burgundy. You would despise yourself, and all mankind wouldspurn you. "

"Do you not fear me?" asked the duke, still clutching the hilt of hisunsheathed dagger. 

"I do not believe you have the least intent to kill me, " answered Max, "but if you have, you may easily do so, and I shall be less to bepitied than you. No, I do not fear you! Do I look it, my lord?"

"No, by God, you don't look it. Neither have you cause to fear me, " saidCharles. "There is not another man in Christendom could have stood thisordeal without flinching. "

To a brave man, bravery is above all the cardinal virtue. Charles turnedtoward his courtiers and continued:--

"There is one man who does not fear me--man, say I? He is little morethan a boy. Men of Burgundy, take a lesson from this youth, and bear itin mind when we go to war. "

The duke began to unbuckle his shirt of mail, speaking as he did so:--

"I'll soon learn who has lied. I'll show this boy that I am as brave ashe. "

Charles turned to Calli. 

"Sir Count, did you not say this knight wished to kill me, even at thecost of his own life?"

"I so said, my lord, and so maintain upon my honor as a knight and uponmy hope of salvation as a Christian. I so heard him avow, "answered Calli. 

"I will quickly prove or disprove your words, Sir Count, " said the duke, removing his mail shirt and throwing it to the floor. Then he turned toMax and offered him the hilt of his dagger: "If you would purchase mydeath at the cost of your life, here is my dagger, and you may easilymake the barter. I am unarmed. One blow from that great arm of yourswill end all prospects of war with your Switzerland. "

Max hesitatingly took the dagger and looked with a puzzled expressionfrom it to the duke's face. Campo-Basso and his Italian friends movedtoward their lord as if to protect him, but Charles waved them back witha protesting palm. 

"Switzerland is not my native land, Your Grace, nor do I seek your life. Take your dagger, " said Max. 

"I offer you better terms, " said Charles. "If you wish to kill me, I nowgive you safe conduct beyond the borders of Burgundy. "

"My lord, you are mistaken, " said Max, impatiently, tossing the daggerto the floor and stepping back from the duke. A soft ripple of laughterwas heard in the ladies' gallery. 

"No, it is not I that am mistaken, " said Charles. "It is Campo-Basso andhis friends. Count Calli, prepare to give the combat to this knight, whoever he may be, and God have mercy on your soul, for the day of yourdeath is at hand. "

Another ripple of soft laughter came from the ladies' gallery. 

"I cannot fight him, " wailed Calli. "I am suffering from a broken arm. My horse fell with me three weeks ago, as Your Grace well knows. "

"When your arm mends, you must fight and prove your cause, or by thesoul of God, you hang! We'll make a fête of this combat, and another ofyour funeral. There shall be a thousand candles, and masses sufficientto save the soul of Satan himself. My Lord Campo-Basso, let not the likeof this happen again. Vengeance in Burgundy is mine, not my Italians'. Heralds, dismiss the company. These men are free. "

All departed save Castleman, Hymbercourt, Max, and myself, who remainedat the duke's request. 

"If you will remain at the castle, you are most welcome, " said Charles, addressing Max and me. 

I would have jumped at the offer, but Max thanked the duke and declined. 

"We will, with Your Grace's permission, remain at Grote's inn for ashort time and then ask leave to depart from Burgundy. "

The duke answered:--

"As you will. I do not press you. If you change your mind, come to thecastle, and you will be very welcome. "

He turned and, with brief adieu, left the great-hall by the small doornear the dais. Castleman, Hymbercourt, and Max passed out through thegreat doors, and I was about to follow them when I was startled by thevoice I had heard in the night:--

"Little Max, Little Max, " came softly from the ladies' gallery. 

I paused to hear more, but all was silent in the great hall. The wordscould have come from no other lips than Yolanda's--Mary's. True, Ireasoned, Yolanda might be one of the ladies of the court, perhaps anear relative of the duke. Once the horrifying thought that he was herlover came to my mind, but it fled instantly. There was no evilin Yolanda. 

Max did not hear the voice. I intended to tell him of it when we shouldreach the inn, and I thought to tell him also that I believed Yolandawas the Princess Mary. I changed my mind, however, and again had reasonto be thankful for my silence. 

CHAPTER XII

A LIVE WREN PIE

The next day came the invitation to sup at Castleman's, and we were onhand promptly at the appointed time--four o'clock. Before leaving theinn I had determined to ask Castleman to satisfy my curiosity concerningYolanda. With good reason I felt that it was my duty and my right toknow certainly who she was. She might not be Mary of Burgundy, but shesurely was not a burgher girl, and in some manner she was connected withthe court of Duke Charles. 

Max and I were sitting in the long room (it was on the ground floor andextended across the entire front of the house) with Castleman when FrauKate entered followed by Yolanda and Twonette. The frau courtesied, andgave us welcome. Twonette courtesied and stepped to her father's side. Yolanda gave Max her hand and lifted it to be kissed. The girl laughedjoyously, and, giving him her other hand, stood looking up into hisface. Her laughter soon became nervous, and that change in a womanlywoman is apt to be the forerunner of tears. They soon came to moistenYolanda's eyes, but she kept herself well in hand and said:--

"It has been a very long time, Sir Max, since last I saw you. "

"A hard, cruel time for me, Fräulein. Your hot-headed duke gives strangelicense to his murderous courtiers, " answered Max. 

"It has been a hard time for others, too, " she responded. "Hard foruncle, hard for tante, hard for Twonette--very hard for Twonette. " Shespoke jestingly, but one might easily see her emotion. 

"And you, Fräulein?" he asked smilingly. 

"I--I dare not say how hard it has been for me, Little Max. Do you notsee? I fear--I fear I shall--weep--if I try to tell you. I am almostweeping now. I fear I have grown gray because of it, " she answered, closing with a nervous laugh. Max, too, could hardly speak. She smiledup into his face, and bending before him stood on tiptoe to bring thetop of her head under his inspection. 

"You may see the white hairs if you look carefully, " she said. 

Max laughed and stooped to examine the great bush of fluffy dark hair. 

"I see not one white hair, " he said. 

"Look closely, " she insisted. 

He looked closely, and startled us all, including Yolanda, by puttinghis lips to the fragrant, silky mass. 

"Ah!" exclaimed Yolanda, stepping back from him and placing her hand tothe top of her head on the spot that he had kissed. She looked up to himwith a fluttering little laugh:--

"I--I did not know you were going to do that. "

"Neither did I, " said Max. 

Castleman and his wife looked displeased and Twonette's face wore anexpression of amused surprise. 

After a constrained pause Frau Katherine said:--

"Our guests are not in the habit of kissing us. "

"No one has kissed you, tante, " retorted Yolanda, "nor do they intend todo so. Do not fear. I--I brought it on myself, and if I do not complain, you may bear up under it. "

"It certainly is unusual to--" began the frau. 

"Tante, " cried Yolanda, flushing angrily and stamping her foot. Tantewas silent. 

"Your words night before last brought marvellous comfort to us, Fräulein, " said Max. "Where were you, and how--"

"My words? Night before last?" asked Yolanda, in open-eyed wonder, "Ihave not seen you since three weeks ago. "

"You called to me in my prison in the tower, " said Max. "You called tome by the name you sometimes use. "

"Ah, that is wonderful, " exclaimed Yolanda. "I wakened myself nightbefore last calling your name, and telling you not to fear. I wasdreaming that you were in danger, but I also dreamed that you would soonbe free. Can it be possible that the voice of a dreamer can travel to adistance and penetrate stone walls? You almost make me fear myself bytelling me that you heard my call. "

Like most persons, Max loved the mysterious, so he at once becamegreatly interested. He would have discussed the subject further had notYolanda turned to me, saying:--

"Ah, I have not greeted Sir Karl. "

She gave me her hand, and I would have knelt had she not prevented me bya surprised arching of her eyebrows. My attempt to salute her on my kneewas involuntary, but when I saw the warning expression in her eyes, Iquickly recovered myself. I bowed and she withdrew her hand. 

"Let us go to the garden, " she suggested. 

The others left the room, but Yolanda held back and detained me by agesture. 

"You would have knelt to me, " she said almost angrily. 

"Yes, mademoiselle, " I replied, "the movement was involuntary. "

"I once warned you, Sir Karl, not to try to learn anything concerningme. I told you that useless knowledge was dangerous. You have beenguessing, and probably are very far wrong in your conclusion. Butwhatever your surmises are, don't let me know them. Above all, saynothing to Sir Max; I warn you! Unless you would see no more of me, bearthis warning in mind. Yolanda is a burgher girl. Treat her accordingly, and impress the fact on Sir Max. Were I as great as the ill-temperedPrincess of Burgundy, whose estates you came to woo, I should stilldespise adulation. Bah! I hate it all, " she continued, stamping herfoot. "I hate princes and princesses, and do not understand how they canendure to have men kneel and grovel before them. This fine Princess ofBurgundy, I am told, looks--" She paused and then went on: "I sometimeshate her most of all. I am a burgher girl, I tell you, and I am proud ofit. I warn you not to make me other. "

"Your warning, my lady, is--"

"Fräulein!" interrupted Yolanda, angrily stamping her foot, "orYolanda--call me either. If I give you the privilege, you should valueit sufficiently to use it. "

"Yolanda, I will sin no more, " I responded. Her face broke into a smile, and she took my arm, laughing contentedly. 

I walked out to the garden--Yolanda danced out--and we sat with theothers under the shade of the arbor vines. Castleman and Max dranksparingly of wine and honey, while I sipped orange water with Yolanda, Twonette, and Frau Kate. 

"What do you think of Burgundy, Sir Max?" asked the burgher. 

"I like Grote's inn well, " answered Max. "I like the castle dungeon ill. I have seen little else of Burgundy save in our journey down the Somme. Then I saw nothing but the road on the opposite bank. Had I tried to seethe country I should have failed; the dust-cloud we carried with us wasimpenetrable. " He turned to Yolanda, "That was a hard journey for you, Fräulein. "

"No, no, " she cried, "it was glorious. The excitement was worth alifetime of monotony; it was delightful. I could feel my heart beat allthe time, and no woman is sure she lives until she feels the beating ofher heart. "

I suspected a double meaning in her words, but no trace ofself-consciousness was visible in her face. 

"I have often wondered, Fräulein, if the papers reached the castlebefore the duke arrived?" asked Max. 

"What papers?" queried Yolanda. 

"Why, the papers we made the mad race to deliver, " answered Max. 

"Oh, y-e-s, " responded the girl, "they arrived just in time. "

"And were delivered at the gate?" I suggested. 

A quick, angry glance of surprise shot from Yolanda's eyes, and risingfrom her chair she entered the house. Twonette followed her, and the twodid not return for an hour. I was accumulating evidence on the subjectof my puzzling riddle, but I feared my last batch might prove expensive. I saw the mistake my tongue had led me into. Many a man has wrecked hisfortune by airing his wit. 

When Yolanda returned, she sat at a little distance from us, poutingbeautifully. The cause of her unmistakable ill-humor, of course, wasknown only to me, and was a source of wonder to Max. At the end of fiveminutes, during which there had been little conversation, Max, who wasamused at Yolanda's pouting, turned to her, and said:--

"The Fates owe me a few smiles as compensation for their frowns duringthe last three weeks. Won't you help them to pay me, Fräulein?"

Her face had been averted, but when Max spoke she turned slowly and gavehim the smile he desired as if to say, "I am not pouting at you. "

Her act was so childlike and her face so childishly beautiful that weall smiled with amusement and pleasure. Yolanda saw the smiles andturned on us, pouting though almost ready to laugh. She rose from herchair, stamped her foot, stood irresolutely for a moment, and thenbreaking into a laugh, drew her chair to our little circle--next toMax--and sat down. 

"Tante, is supper never to be served?" she asked. "I am impatient to seethe live wren pie. "

"Live wren pie?" asked Max, incredulously. 

"Yes. Have you never seen one?" asked Yolanda. 

"Surely not, " he replied. 

"Ah, you have a treat in store, " she exclaimed, clapping her handsenthusiastically. "Uncle carves the pie, the wrens fly out, you openyour mouth, and the birds, being very small, fly down your throat andsave you the trouble eating them. They are trained to do it, you know. "

A chorus of laughter followed this remarkable statement. Max leanedforward, rested his elbows on his knees, looked at the ground for thespace of half a minute, and said:--

"I was mistaken in saying that I had never partaken of the dish. Whileat Basel I foolishly opened my mouth, and a beautiful little bird flewdown my throat to my heart. "

Frau Castleman coughed, and the burgher moved in his chair and swallowedhalf a goblet of wine. Twonette laughed outright at the pretty turn Maxhad made upon Yolanda, and I ridiculously tried to keep my faceexpressionless. Yolanda laughed flutteringly, and the long lashes fell. 

"That was prettily spoken, Sir Max, " she said, smiling. "No Frenchmancould improve upon it. You are constantly surprising me. "

"Are Frenchmen apt at such matters, Fräulein?" I asked. 

"I have known but few Frenchmen, " she responded. "You know Burgundy andFrance are natural enemies, like the cat and the dog. I have little lovefor the French. I speak only from hearsay. "

"You will do well to learn to like them, " I suggested. "Burgundy itselfwill soon be French, if the Princess Mary weds the Dauphin. "

By speaking freely of the princess, I hoped Yolanda might believe that, whatever my surmises were concerning her identity, I did not suspectthat she was Mademoiselle de Burgundy. 

Yolanda sighed, but did not answer. Silence fell upon our little party, and after a long pause I turned to Twonette:--

"I remember that Franz told me at Basel, Fräulein Twonette, that you andthis famous Princess Mary of Burgundy were friends. "

"Yes, " answered Twonette, with an effort not to smile, "she has, attimes, honored me with her notice. "

"Out of that fact grows Twonette's serene dignity, " laughed Yolanda. "Onthe strength of this acquaintance she quite lords it over us at times, and is always reminding me of the many haughty virtues of her friend asa pattern that I should follow. You see, I am incessantly confrontedwith this princess. "

I thought it was a pretty piece of acting, though the emphasis of herdislike for the princess was unmistakably genuine. 

"The duke has graciously invited us to the castle, " I said, "and I hopeto have the honor of seeing the princess. "

When I spoke of the duke's invitation, I at once caught Yolanda'sattention. 

"You will not meet the princess if you go to the castle, " said Yolanda. "She is an ill-natured person, I am told, and is far from gracious tostrangers. "

"I do not hope for such an honor, " I replied. "I should like merely tosee her before I leave Burgundy. That is all the favor I ask at herhands. She is a lady famed throughout all Europe for her beauty and hergentleness. "

"She doesn't merit her fame, " responded Yolanda, carefully examining herhands folded in her lap, and glancing nervously toward Max. 

"Do you know Her Highness?" I asked. 

"I--I have heard enough of her and have often seen her, " she replied. "She usually rides out with her ladies at this hour. From the upper endof the garden you may soon see her come through the Postern gate, if youcare to watch. "

"I certainly should like to see her, " I answered, rapidly losing faithin my conclusion that Yolanda was the princess. 

The Castlemans did not offer to move, but Yolanda, springing to herfeet, said, "Come, " and led the way. 

The upper end of the garden, as I have told you, was on the banks of theCologne at a point where it flowed into the castle moat. The castlewall, sixty feet high at that point, bordered the west side of thegarden. The moat curved along the right side, and the river flowed pastthe upper end. Castleman's house faced south, and stood on the lower endof the strip of ground that lay between the castle wall and the moat. The Postern was perhaps three hundred yards north from the upper end ofCastleman's garden. Since it was on the opposite side of the river, onecould reach the Postern, from Castleman's house, only by going up to thetown bridge and back to the castle by the street that followed the northside of the Cologne. 

We all walked to the upper end of the garden, and stood leaning againstthe low stone wall at the river's edge. We had waited perhaps tenminutes when we heard a blare of trumpets and saw a small cavalcade ofladies and gentlemen ride from the castle and pass over the drawbridge. 

"The lady in scarlet is the duchess, " said Castleman. 

"She is English, " remarked Yolanda, "and loves bright colors. "

"Which is the princess?" I asked of Yolanda, feeling that I also wasacting my part admirably. To my surprise she answered promptly:--

"She in blue with a falcon on her shoulder. Am I not right, uncle?"

"Yes, " responded Castleman. Twonette confirmed the statement. 

My air-castles fell noiselessly about my head. My dreams vanished likebreath from a cold mirror, and the sphinx-like face of my great riddlerose before me in defiance. 

After the cavalcade had passed I found myself with Yolanda a dozen pacesfrom the others. 

"Fräulein, " I said, "I want to confess I thought you were the PrincessMary of Burgundy. "

Yolanda laughed softly. 

"I was sure you had some such absurd notion. I supposed you had seenher, and had believed she was Yolanda, the burgher girl; that mistakehas often been made. You may see this princess at the castle, and I warnyou not to be deceived. I have the great honor, it is said, to resembleHer Highness as one pea resembles another. I have been told that she hasheard of the low-born maiden that dares to have a face like hers, andshe doubtless hates me for it, just as I bear her no good-will for thesame reason. When two women greatly resemble each other, there isseldom good feeling between them. Each believes the other is stealingsomething of her personality, and a woman's vanity prompts her to resentit. If you make the mistake with the princess that you made with me, Iwarn you it will not be so easily corrected. "

My poor riddle! My stony sphinx! My clinging hallucination! Again Ishould have it with me, stalking at my side by day, lying by me atnight, whirling through my brain at all times, and driving me mad withits eternal question, "Who is Yolanda?" The solution of my riddle may beclear to you as I am telling you the story. At least, you may think itis, since I am trying to conceal nothing from you. I relate this historyin the order of its happening, and wish, if possible, to place beforeyou the manner in which this question of Yolanda's identity puzzled me. If you will put yourself in my place, you will at once realize howdeeply I was affected by this momentous, unanswered, unanswerablequestion, "Who is Yolanda?" and you will understand why I could not seethe solution, however clear you may believe it to be to yourself. 

We soon went in to supper and, after the peacock, the pheasants, and thepastries were removed, we were served with a most delicious after-dishin sparkling glass cups. It was frozen orange-water mixed with wine ofBurgundy. I had never tasted a dish so palatable. I had dined at theemperor's table in Vienna; I had lived in Italy; I had sojourned in theEast, where luxuries are most valued and used, but I had never partakenof a more delicious supper than that which I ate at the house of my richburgher friend, George Castleman. There might have been a greatershowing of plate, though that was not lacking, but there could have beenno whiter linen nor more appetizing dishes than those which good FrauKate gave us that evening. 

After the frozen wine had disappeared, a serving-maid brought in astoneware pan covered with a snowy pastry, made from the whites of eggsand clear sugar. At its entry Yolanda clapped her hands and cried outwith childish delight. When the pan was placed before Castleman, sheexclaimed:--

"Be careful, uncle! Don't thrust the knife too deep, or you will killthe birds. "

Uncle Castleman ran the point of the knife around the outer edge of thecrust, and, with a twist of the blade, quickly lifted it from the pan, when out flew a dozen or more wrens. Yolanda's delight knew no bounds. She sprang from her chair, exclaiming:--

"Catch them! Catch them!" and led the way. 

She climbed on chairs, tables, and window shelves, and soon had herhands full of the demure little songsters. Max, too, was pursuing thewrens, and Twonette, losing part of her serenity, actually caught abird. The sport was infectious, and soon fat old Castleman was puffinglike a tired porpoise, and sedate old Karl de Pitti was in the chase. Frau Katherine grabbed desperately at a bird now and then, but she wastoo stout to catch one and soon took her chair, laughing and out ofbreath. Yolanda screamed with laughter, and after she had caught six orseven birds and put them in the cage provided for them, she asked Max tolift her in his arms that she might reach one resting on a beam near theceiling. Max gladly complied, and Yolanda, having caught thebird, said:--

"Now, Sir Max, open your mouth. "

"I have already swallowed one, " said Max, laughing, "and I will swallownone other so long as I live. "

As Max lowered her to the floor her arm fell about his neck for aninstant, and the great strong boy trembled at the touch of thisweak girl. 

Out to the garden we went again after supper, and when dusk began tofall, Yolanda led Max to a rustic seat in the deep shadow of the vines. I could not hear their words, but I learned afterward of theconversation. 

When I thought Yolanda was the princess, I was joyful because of themarked favor that she showed Max. When I thought she was a burgher girl, I felt like a fussy old hen with a flock of ducks if he were alone withher. She seemed then a bewitching little ogress slowly devouring myhandsome Prince Max. That she was fair, entrancing, and lovable beyondany woman I had ever known, only added to my anxiety. Would Max bestrong enough to hold out against her wooing? I don't like to apply theword "wooing" to a young girl's conduct, but we all know that woman doesher part in the great system of human mating when the persons mostinterested do the choosing; and it is right that she should. The modestythat prevents a woman from showing her preference is the result of afalse philosophy, and flies in the face of nature. Her right to chooseis as good as man's. 

If Yolanda's wooing was more pronounced than is usual with a modestyoung girl, it must be remembered that her situation was different. Sheknew that Max had been restrained from wooing her only because of theimpassable gulf that lay between them. Ardor in Max when marriage wasimpossible would have been an insult to Yolanda. His reticence forconscience' sake and for her sake was the most chivalric flattery hecould have paid her. She saw the situation clearly, and, trusting Maximplicitly, felt safe in giving rein to her heart. She did not care tohide from him its true condition. On the contrary she wished him to beas sure of her as she was of him, for after all that would be the onlysatisfaction they would ever know. 

I argued: If Yolanda were the princess, betrothed to the Dauphin, thegulf between her and Max was as impassable as if she were a burghergirl. In neither case could she hope to marry him. Therefore, hergirlish wooing was but the outcry of nature and was without boldness. 

The paramount instinct of all nature is to flower. Even the frozenAlpine rock sends forth its edelweiss, and the heart of a princess isfirst the heart of a woman, and must blossom when its spring comes. Allthe conventions that man can invent will not keep back the flower. Allcreated things, animate and inanimate, have in them an uncontrollableimpulse which, in their spring, reverts with a holy retrospect to thegreat first principle of existence, the love of reproduction. 

Yolanda's spring had come, and her heart was a flower with the sacredbloom. Being a woman, she loved it and cuddled it for the sake of thepain it brought, as a mother fondles a wayward child. Max, being a man, struggled against the joy that hurt him and, with a sympathy broadenough for two, feared the pain he might bring to Yolanda. So thisunresponsiveness in Max made him doubly attractive to the girl, who wasof the sort, whether royal or bourgeois, before whom men usually fall. 

"I thought you had left me, Sir Max, " she said, drawing him to a seatbeside her in the shade. 

"I promised you I would not go, " he responded, "and I would notwillingly break my word to any one, certainly not to you, Fräulein. "

"I was angry when I heard you had left the inn, " she said, "and I spokeunkindly of you. There has been an ache in my heart ever since thatnothing but confession and remission will cure. "

"I grant the remission gladly, " answered Max. "There was flattery inyour anger. "

The girl laughed softly and, clasping her hands over her knee, spokewith a sigh. 

"I think women have the harder part of life in everything. I again askyou to promise me that you will not leave Peronne within a month. "

"I cannot promise you that, Fräulein, " answered Max. 

"You will some day--soon, perhaps--know my reasons, " said Yolanda, "andif they do not prove good I am willing to forfeit your esteem. That isthe greatest hostage I can give. "

"I cannot promise, " answered Max, stubbornly. 

"I offer you another inducement, one that will overmatch the smallweight of my poor wishes. I promise to bring you to meet this Mary ofBurgundy whom you came to woo. I cannot present you, but I will see thatTwonette brings about the meeting. I tell you, as I have already toldSir Karl, that it is said I resemble this princess, so you must notmistake her for me. "

When Max told me of this offer I wondered if the girl had been testinghim, and a light dawned on me concerning her motives. 

"I did not come to woo her, " answered Max, "though she may have been apart of my reason for coming. I knew that she was affianced to theDauphin of France. Her beauty and goodness were known to me throughletters of my Lord d'Hymbercourt, written to my dear old friend Karl. Because of certain transactions, of which you do not know and of which Imay not speak, I esteemed her for a time above all women, though I hadnever seen her. I still esteem her, but--but the other is all past now, Fräulein, and I do not wish to meet the princess, though the honor wouldbe far beyond my deserts. "

"Why do you not wish to meet her?" asked Yolanda, with an air ofpleasure. Max hesitated, then answered bluntly:--

"Because I have met you, Fräulein. You should not lead me to speak suchwords. "

Yolanda touched Max's arm and said frankly:--

"There can be no harm, Max. If you knew all, --if I could tell youall, --you would understand. The words can harm neither of us. " Shehesitated and, with drooping head, continued: "And they are to me as thesun and the south wind to the flowers and the corn. You already know allthat is in my heart, or I would not speak so plainly. In all my life Ihave known little of the sweet touch of human sympathy and love, and, Max, my poor heart yearns for them until at times I feel like theflowers without the sun and the corn without the rain, --as if I will diefor lack of them. I am almost tempted to tell you all. "

"Tell me all, Yolanda, " entreated Max, "for I, too, have suffered fromthe same want, though my misfortune comes from being born to a highestate. If you but knew the lonely, corroding misery of those born to astation above the reach of real human sympathy, you would not envy, youwould pity them. You would be charitable to their sins, and would thankGod for your lowly lot in life. I will tell you my secret. I amMaximilian of Hapsburg. "

"I have known it since the first day I saw you at Basel, " answeredYolanda. 

"I have felt sure at times that you did, " responded Max, "though Icannot think how you learned it. Will you tell me of yourself?"

The girl hung her head and hesitated. Once she lifted her face to speak, but changed her mind. 

"Please don't ask me now. I will tell you soon, but not now, not now. Bepatient with me. I do pity you. I do, I do. If we could help eachother--but we cannot, and there is no use longing for it. I sometimesfear that your attitude is the right one, and that it is best that weshould part and meet no more. "

The proposition to part and meet no more was good in theory, but Maxfound that the suggestion to make a fact of it frightened him. 

"Let us not speak of that now, " he said. "The parting will come soonenough. You will surely deem me cold and unworthy, Fräulein, but youcannot understand. One may not call a man hard and selfish who plucksout his eye for the sake of a God-imposed duty, or who deliberatelythrusts away happiness and accepts a life of misery and heartachebecause of the chains with which God bound him at his birth. "

"Ah, I do understand, Max; I understand only too well, " answered thegirl. 

I have often wondered why Max did not suspect that Yolanda was thePrincess Mary; but when I considered that he had not my reasons to leadhim to that conclusion, I easily understood his blindness, for even Iwas unconvinced. Had I not overheard Castleman's conversation withYolanda on the road to Strasburg, after meeting De Rose, the suppositionthat the burgher girl travelling unattended with a merchant and hisdaughter could possibly be the Princess Mary would have been beyond thecredence of a sane man. The thought never would have occurred to me. Even with Castleman's words always ringing in my ears, I wasconstantly in doubt. 

"There is no reason why one should deliberately hasten the day of one'sthralldom, " said Yolanda, softly. "If one may be free and happy for anhour without breaking those terrible chains of God's welding, is he notfoolish to refuse the small benediction? The memory of it may sweetenthe years to come. "

"To woman, such a memory is sweet, " answered Max, striving to steel hisheart against the girl. "To men, it is a bitter regret. "

To me he had spoken differently of his pain. 

"Then be generous, Little Max, and give me the sweet memory, " said thegirl, carried away by the swirling impulse of her heart. 

"You will not need it, " answered Max. "Your lot will be different frommine. "

"Yes, it will be different, Max--it will be worse, " she criedpassionately, almost in tears. "I think I shall kill myself when youleave Burgundy. " She paused and turned fiercely upon him, "Give me thepromise I ask. I demand at least that consolation as my right--as a poorreturn for what you take from me. "

Max gently took her hand, which was at once lost in his great clasp. 

"Fräulein, I will not leave Burgundy within a month, whatever theconsequences may be, " he said tenderly. 

"Upon your honor?" she asked, joyously clapping her hands. 

"Every promise I make, Fräulein, is on my honor, " said Max, seriously. 

"So it is, Little Max, so it is, " she answered gently. Then they roseand came to the table where Castleman and I were sitting. 

Yolanda had gained her point and was joyful over her victory. 

Frau Katherine was asleep in a high-backed chair. Twonette slept in acorner of the arbor, her flaxen head embowered in a cluster of leavesand illumined by a stray beam of moonlight that stole between the vines. 

"I am going in now. Come, Twonette, " said Yolanda, shaking that plumpyoung lady to arouse her. "Come, Twonette. "

Twonette slowly opened her big blue eyes, but she was slower inawakening. 

"Twonette! Twonette!" cried Yolanda, pulling at the girl's hand. "Ideclare, if you don't resist this growing drowsiness you will go down inhistory as the 'Eighth Sleeper, ' and will be left snoring onresurrection morn. "

When Twonette had awakened sufficiently to walk, we started from thearbor to the house. As we passed from beneath the vines, the frowningwall of the castle and the dark forms of its huge towers, silhouetted inblack against the moon-lit sky, formed a picture of fierce and sombregloom not soon to be forgotten. 

"The dark, frowning castle reminds one of its terrible lord, " said Max, looking up at the battlements. 

"It does, indeed, " answered Yolanda, hardly above a whisper. Then wewent into the house. 

"We hope to see you again for supper to-morrow evening, don't we, uncle?" said Yolanda, addressing Max and me, and turning to Castleman. 

"Yes--yes, to-morrow evening, " said the burgher, hesitatingly. 

Max accepted the invitation and we made our adieux. 

At the bridge over the Cologne we met Hymbercourt returning to his housefrom the castle. While we talked, the cavalcade of ladies and gentlementhat we had watched from Castleman's garden cantered up the street. 

"You will now see the princess, " said Hymbercourt. "She comes with theduke and the duchess. They left the castle at five, and have been ridingin the moonlight. "

We stepped to one side of the street as the cavalcade passed, and Iasked Hymbercourt to point out the princess. 

"She rides between the duke--the tall figure that you may recognize byhis long beard--and the page carrying a hooded falcon, " he answered. 

Surely this evidence should have put my mind at rest concerning myhallucination that Yolanda was Mary of Burgundy; but when we reachedthe inn and Max told me of his conversation with Yolanda the riddleagain sprang up like a jack-in-the-box. I felt that I was growing weakin mind. Yolanda's desire to tell Max her secret, and her refusal; herlonging for human sympathy, and the lack of it; her wish that he shouldremain in Peronne for a month--all these made me feel that she wasthe princess. 

I could not help hoping that Hymbercourt was mistaken in pointing outHer Highness. She rode in the shadow of the buildings and the moon wasless than half full. Yolanda might have wished to deceive us by pointingout the princess while we watched the cavalcade from Castleman's garden. The burgher and Twonette might have been drawn into the plot against usby the impetuous will of this saucy little witch. Many things, Iimagined, had happened which would have appeared absurd to a saneman--but I was not sane. I wished to believe that Yolanda was theprincess, and I could not get the notion out of my head. 

Yolanda's forwardness with Max, if she were Mary of Burgundy, couldeasily be explained on the ground that she was a princess, and wasentitled to speak her mind. I was sure she was a modest girl, therefore, if she were of lowly birth, she would have hesitated to speak so plainlyto Max. So, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I refused tobe convinced that Yolanda was not Mademoiselle de Burgundy. I loved thethought so dearly that I could not and would not part with it. Thatnight, while I lay pondering over the riddle, I determined to do no moreguessing, and let the Fates solve it for me. They might give me theanswer soon if I would "give it up. "

The next evening we went to Castleman's house, but we did not seeYolanda. Frau Kate said she was indisposed, and we ate supper withouther. It was a dull meal, --so much does a good appetite wait upon goodcompany, --and for the first time I realized fully the marvellous qualityof this girl's magic spell. Max, of course, was disappointed, and wewalked back to The Mitre in silence. 

CHAPTER XIII

A BATTLE IN MID AIR

A day or two after the supper of the wren pie, Max bought from a pedlera gray falcon most beautifully marked, with a scarlet head and neck, andwe sent our squires to Hymbercourt, asking him to solicit from theduke's seneschal, my Lord de Vergy, permission to strike a heron on themarshes. The favor was easily obtained, and we went forth that afternoonto try the new hawk. 

The hours passed quickly. The hawk was perfectly trained, and as fierceas a mountain wildcat. Its combats in mid air were most exciting. Itwould attack its prey and drive it back to a point nearly over ourheads. There it waged the battle of death. It had killed three herons, all of which had fallen at our feet, and we were returning home when afourth rose from the marsh. We were on a side road or path, perhaps fivehundred yards from the main highway. 

At the moment Max gave wing to his bird, two ladies and three gentlemencame up the road, returning to Peronne, and halted to witness theaërial combat. That they were of the court, I could easily see by theirhabits, though the distance was so great that I could not distinguishtheir faces. 

Never did hawk acquit itself more nobly. It seemed to realize that ithad a distinguished audience. The heron opened the battle desperately, and persisted in keeping its course to the south. The hawk, not readyfor battle till the prey should be over our heads, circled round andround the heron, constantly striking, but carefully avoiding the _coupde grace_. After the birds had flown several hundred yards away from us, and were growing small in the distance, the heron, less hardy than itsknightly foe, showed signs of weariness and confusion. It changed itscourse, still flying away from us. This did not suit the hawk, and itcontinued circling about its faltering prey with a vicious swiftnesswell calculated to inspire terror. Its movements became so rapid that itappeared to describe a gray circle about the heron. These circles, withthe heron as the centre, constantly grew smaller, and after a time wecould see that the birds were slowly but surely approaching us. 

When they were almost over our heads, the hawk rose with incredibleswiftness above its prey, and dropped like a bolt of gray lightning uponthe heron. Then followed a struggle that lasted while the birds fellthree hundred feet. When within fifty feet of the ground the hawksuddenly spread its wings and stood motionless in mid air, watching itsvanquished foe as it fell to a spot within ten yards of where we stood. The movement of the falcon in descending to us can only be described asa settling or gradual sinking, with outstretched, motionless wings. WhenMax piped, the bird flew to its master's wrist and held down its beakfor the hood. 

At the close of the battle, the gentlemen of our little audience clappedtheir hands, and the ladies waved their kerchiefs. Max and I raised ourcaps and reined our horses toward the main road. As we approached, theladies and one of the gentlemen resumed their journey toward CambraiGate, but the others awaited us. When we reached them we found, to oursurprise, Duke Charles and my Lord d'Hymbercourt. 

"Ah, it is our unknown knight who was so eager to fight Count Calli, "exclaimed the duke. 

"And still eager, Your Grace, " answered Max. He uncovered uponapproaching the duke, but after a moment said, "By Your Grace's leave, "and resumed his cap. I, of course, remained uncovered. The duke showedsurprise and irritation as he answered:--

"Since you do not see fit to tell us who you are, you should have thegrace to remain uncovered. "

Max glanced quickly at the duke's face, and removed his cap, as heanswered, smiling:--

"If it pleases Your Grace, I will remain uncovered even though I be thePope himself. "

The duke saw the humor of the situation and replied:--

"One who owns so noble a hawk may remain covered in any man's presence. Never have I seen so rare a battle in mid air. The soul of Rolandhimself must inhabit the bird. "

"Will Your Grace accept the hawk?" Max asked. 

"Gladly, " answered the duke, "though I hesitate to deprive you of a birdto which you must be attached. "

"Do not hesitate to give me that pleasure, my lord, " answered Max. "Thebird is yours. His name is Caesar. I will send him to the castlethis evening. "

"Do not send him, " suggested the duke. "Double your kindness by bringinghim to-morrow at the noon hour, after the morning audience. We must nowfollow the princess. Adieu, messieurs. "

The duke touched his cap, and we bent almost to our horses' manes. 

Charles and Hymbercourt rode forward at a brisk canter, and Max and Ifollowed slowly. We entered Cambrai Gate three or four minutes after theduke and the princess. 

Max, eager to exhibit his hawk to Yolanda, proposed that we ridedirectly to Castleman's house. 

While we were crossing the Cologne bridge we saw the duke's party enterthe castle by the Postern, and as we turned a corner toward Castleman'sthe ladies looked in our direction and the gentlemen lifted their caps. 

"Yolanda will be delighted when she sees my hawk, " said Max. 

I did not answer, but I thought that Yolanda would not see the bird thatevening, since she had just entered the castle with her father. I was ingreat glee of spirits; I had at last trapped the young lady. If she werenot at Castleman's house there could be but one answer to my riddle. Idid not merely believe that I should not find her there; I knew Ishould not. 

Max and I hitched our horses, and when Castleman's front door opened, lo! there stood Yolanda. Never in all my life have I taken such a fall. 

Somewhat out of breath, Yolanda exclaimed:--

"Ah, Sir Max and Sir Karl, I saw you coming and ran to give youwelcome. "

She was in an ecstasy of glee, strangely out of proportion to the event, and there was a look of triumph in her eyes. 

After we entered the house Yolanda's laughter continued, and if itceased for a moment it broke out again without a pretext. She was alwayspleased to see Max, and never failed to show her pleasure in laughtermore or less; but Max's presence could hardly account for her highmerriment and the satisfaction she seemed to feel, as if a great victoryhad been gained. My sense of utter defeat had nothing but Yolanda'speculiar conduct to comfort it. 

To the arbor we went, Yolanda carrying the hawk on her shoulder andcaressing it with her cheek. In the garden, when our adventures wererelated, Yolanda, all excitement, could not keep her chair, but danceddelightedly like a child and killed a score of imaginary herons. 

She stroked the falcon's wings, and when I said, "My lord the duke hasgraciously consented to accept the bird, " she turned upon Max, exclaiming in mock anger:--

"The duke has graciously consented to accept the bird! I should think itrequired little grace to accept such a gift, though much to give it. Whydon't you give the bird to me, Sir Max, if you are eager to partwith it?"

"I would gladly have given it to you, Fräulein, " answered Max, "had Isupposed you could use it on the duke's marshes. Only nobles practisethe royal sport of falconry. "

Yolanda glanced quickly from Max to Castleman, turned her face to thebird upon her shoulder, and said, with a touch of dignity:--

"We receive small favors from court once in a while, don't we, uncle?We are not dirt under the nobles' feet, if we are plain burgher folk, are we, uncle?"

"Don't you know, Fräulein, what great pleasure I should have taken ingiving you the bird?" asked Max. 

Yolanda bent her head to one side, placed her cheek against the falcon'swing and pouted. Her pout was prettier even than her smile, and that issaying a great deal. 

After a few minutes Yolanda started to walk up the garden path and Maxfollowed her, leaving the Castlemans and me under the arbor. Yolanda, still pouting, carried Caesar on her shoulder, lavishing caresses on thebird that excited Max's bitterest envy. Max spoke at intervals, but sheanswered only to the bird. After many futile efforts to make her speak, he said:--

"If you won't talk to me, I'll go back to the arbor. "

She turned to the bird: "We are willing, Caesar, aren't we--if he cango. "

Max laughed and started toward the arbor. 

"Tell him to come back, Caesar. Tell him to come back, " exclaimedYolanda. 

"I take no orders from a bird, " declared Max, with pretendedseriousness. Then she turned toward him and her face softened. Shesmiled and the dimples came, though there was a nervous tremor in theupturned corners of her mouth that belied her bantering air and broughtMax quickly to her side. I saw the pantomime, though I did not hear thewords; and I knew that neither Max nor any other man could withstand thequivering smile that played upon Yolanda's lips and the yearninginvitation that was in her eyes. If Max did not soon take himself awayfrom Burgundy and lead himself out of this temptation, I feared that inthe end he would cast aside his ancient heritage, rend his sacred familyties, and forego everything he possessed in response to this mighty cryof nature, offering the one chance in life for happiness. 

"Now you will give me the bird--I know you will, " exclaimed Yolanda. 

A remnant of the pout still hovered about her lips, doing battle withthe dimples of a smile. 

"I have already given him to the duke, " answered Max. 

"Tell the duke the bird escaped, or died suddenly of an apoplexy. Tellhim anything you like, but give me the hawk, " said Yolanda. 

"Would you have me lie, Fräulein?" asked Max, amused at her persistency. "I cannot do that, even for you. If you insist upon having the bird, Imay go to the duke and withdraw my gift. "

"Would you do that for me, Sir Max?" she asked, eagerly. 

"Ay, and a great deal more, Fräulein. I tremble at the thought of whatyou could make me do, " he answered. 

"In the fiend's name, let the duke have the bird, " cried Yolanda. "Hewill pout more than I if you don't. He is of a sullen nature. "

"Do you know the duke?" asked Max, suspecting for the first time thatYolanda might be more intimate about the court than he had supposed. 

"I have heard much of him from those who know him, " answered Yolanda. 

So the duke got Caesar. 

The next morning Hymbercourt came to the inn to accompany us to thecastle. While we were sipping a mug of wine at a garden table, he said:--

"I do not want to be officious in your affairs, but I am convinced thatit will be well for you to tell the duke who you are. If you do not seefit to do so, it were wise in you to leave Burgundy at your earliestconvenience. "

"I cannot leave within a month, " said Max. I knew the cause of hisdetention, and, ignoring his remark, turned to Hymbercourt:--

"Do you want to give the reasons for your advice?"

"Yes, I am quite willing, " he answered, "but I would not have my wordsrepeated. "

"Of that you may rest assured, " I answered. 

"If you do not tell the duke who you are, " said Hymbercourt, "he willsoon learn it from our Italian friends, who have the fiend's own energyin the pursuit of vengeance. They will discover who you are, and youwill lose the advantage of a frank avowal. Duke Charles admires Sir Max, but our liege lord is capricious and can easily fancy that others areplotting to injure him. I am sure that he will now receive the Count ofHapsburg graciously if you tell him that Sir Max is that person. What hewould do were he to learn the fact highly colored by his Italians, Icannot say. These mercenaries have a strange influence over His Grace, and there is not a nobleman in Burgundy who does not fear them. "

"How will the duke feel concerning the old proposition of marriage?" Iasked. 

"That, I hope, will be of no moment now, since the duke is arranging forthe immediate celebration of this marriage with the Dauphin. I am givento understand that His Grace, the Bishop of Cambrai, secretary to theduke, has received orders to draught a letter to King Louis expressingour lord's pleasure. King Louis is so eager for the marriage, which willonce more bring Burgundy to the French kingship, that Duke Charles deemsit sufficiently courteous to express his intentions to Louis, ratherthan to request the king's compliance. The duke's contempt for the kingof France is so great that he causes the letter to be written inEnglish, a language which Charles loves because of the English blood inhis veins, and which Louis, with good reason, hates. "

"Has this letter been despatched?" I asked, concealing as well as Icould my deep concern. 

Max heard Hymbercourt's statement without even a show of interest. Hadhe suspected that Hymbercourt was speaking of Yolanda's marriage, theresurely would have been a demonstration. 

"No, " answered Hymbercourt, "the letter has not been sent, but the dukewill despatch it at once. It will probably be the chief business of thismorning's audience. The duke wants the marriage celebrated before heleaves for Switzerland. That will be within three or four weeks. I amnot informed as to the details of the ceremony, but I suppose theprincess will be taken to St. Denis, and will there be married. Theunfortunate princess, doubtless, has not yet been told of her impendingfate, though she may have heard of it by rumor. There will be tears andtrouble when she learns of it, for she has a strong dash of her father'stemper. But--" He shrugged his shoulders as if to say that her tearswould count for nothing. 

Hymbercourt's words took the heart out of me; and when he left us for amoment, I urged Max to leave Burgundy at once. 

"I must see Yolanda and ask her to release me from my promise before Igo, " he said. 

"You are surely not so weak as to allow a burgher girl to hold you?" Iasked. 

"The girl does not hold me, " he answered. "I was so weak as to give mypromise, and that holds me. "

"She will give you your release if you demand it, " I suggested. 

"If she does, I will go with you to-morrow. It is time that we were outof Burgundy. I will forego even my combat with Calli to get away. Ishould not have given Yolanda my promise; but she is so persuasive, andI pity her, and--and, oh! Karl, I--the trouble is, I love her, and it islike death to part from her forever. That is my weakness. "

The poor, suffering boy leaned forward on the table and buried his facein his arms. 

"That isn't your weakness, Max, it's your strength, " I responded. "Fewmen are so unfortunate as to escape it. God must pity those who do. Itmay be well to tell the duke who you are. If he is displeased, we mayleave Burgundy at once. If he receives you graciously, we may remain andyou may fight this Calli. That is the one duty that holds youin Peronne. "

My heart was hardened with years, and its love of just vengeance wasstronger than young Max could feel. Besides, he was possessed by asofter passion; and though he felt it his pleasant duty to fight Calli, vengeance held second place in his breast. 

Hymbercourt returned, and we started for the castle accompanied by oursquires; all riding in fine state. 

We arrived at the great hall before the duke had arisen from the morningaudience, and waited unobserved in the back part of the chamber. OurIrish squire, Michael, carried Caesar, hooded and belled. He was held bya golden chain that we had bought from a goldsmith, notwithstanding ourpurse was growing dangerously light. 

There was a great stir in the hall as we entered. The courtiers werebuzzing like a swarm of bees discussing a new queen. Evidently mattersof importance had been under consideration. Campo-Basso, my Lord deVergy, seneschal of Burgundy, and the Bishop of Cambrai, clerk to theduke, were standing on the second step of the dais, each with handresting on knee, and leaning eagerly toward the duke. Charles and thesecouncillors were speaking in low tones, and the courtiers of less degreewere taking advantage of the intermission in public business to settlethe great question among themselves. Each petty courtier felt that hecould offer a suggestion that would be of great value, could he but gainthe duke's ear. 

After a little time, Charles saw Hymbercourt with us, and sent a page tofetch him. Hymbercourt left us, and soon we saw him in whisperedconversation with the duke. Soon after Hymbercourt had gone to theducal throne, Calli, with two Italians, stopped four paces from where wewere standing. He gazed insolently at Max, and said in Italian to hiscompanions:--

"There is the loutish outlander, who boasted before the duke that hewould fight me. He is a big callow fellow, and it would be a shame tostick the swine. "

Max, who understood the Italian language sufficiently to grasp Calli'smeaning, flushed angrily, but I touched his arm and he turned his backupon the fellow. Then I spoke in tones that Calli could not failto hear:--

"Never turn your face from a cowardly foe, Max. He will, if he can, stabyou in the back. Your revenge will come when you send his soul to hell. "

Calli grasped his dagger hilt and muttered something about the duke'spresence. The incident determined us in the course Max should take. Heshould tell the duke who he was, remain in Burgundy to kill this fellowCalli, and to meet such other fortune as the Fates might have instore for him. 

Hymbercourt and the duke spoke together for the space of five minutes, evidently discussing a parchment that Charles held in his hand. Then theduke resumed his seat, and handed the parchment to the Bishop ofCambrai, when all save His Reverence stepped from the dais to thefloor. A herald commanded silence, and the bishop spoke:--

"It is the will of our most gracious lord that I announce to the courtthe impending marriage of Her Grace, the Princess, Mademoiselle deBurgundy, to the princely Dauphin of France, son to our lord's royalally, King Louis. His Grace of Burgundy hopes within three weeks to openhis campaign against the Swiss, and it is his intention to cause themarriage ceremony to take place before his departure. When the detailshave been arranged, they will be announced to the court. "

The bishop had barely stopped speaking when the shutter in the chancelof the ladies' gallery above the throne opened, and a voice rang throughthe vast audience hall, like the tones of an alarm bell:--

"Make one more announcement, please, my Lord Bishop. Say that if thiswondrous ceremony is to come off within three weeks, the Dauphin ofFrance must be content with a dead bride. "

No one saw the face of the speaker. The shutter closed, and a deepsilence fell upon the room. The duke sprang angrily to his feet; hisface was like a thunder-cloud. He looked toward the ladies' gallery, andstood for a moment like the incarnation of wrath. A puzzled expressionfollowed the glare of anger; and within a moment he laughed, and wavedhis hands to the heralds, directing them to cry the rising. Theaudience was dismissed, and the courtiers left the hall, laughing inimitation of their lord and master. 

Nothing could be more indicative of cruelty than the laughter thatfollowed the passionate protest of the unhappy princess. To the duke, and of course to his courtiers, the girl's suffering and the fate thatwas in store for her were mere matters of mirth. They laughed at herpain as savages laugh at the agonies of a tortured victim. 

I was so startled by the cry of the princess that for a time I could notthink coherently. My first clear thought was of Yolanda. If she were theprincess, this sacrifice that is practised without a protest throughoutthe world had come home to me, for Yolanda had nestled in my heart. Thatshe, the gentle, the tender, the passionate, the sensitive, should bethe victim of this legalized crime; that she, innocent of all fault, save that she had been born a girl, should be condemned to miserybecause the laws of chivalry and the laws of God, distorted by men tosuit their purposes, declared her to be the chattel of her father, movedme as I was never moved before. My sympathy for this rare, sweet girl, so capable of joy, so susceptible to pain, almost brought tears to myeyes; for I could not help thinking that she was the suffering princess. 

When the courtiers had left the great hall Hymbercourt, Max, and Iapproached the duke. Hymbercourt and I made obeisance on bended knee, but Max saluted the duke with a low bow. After the duke had spoken, Max said:--

"I hope Your Grace has not forgotten your promise to honor me byaccepting the falcon you admired yesterday. "

"I have not, my unknown friend, " answered the duke. 

Max took the bird from Michael and offered it to Charles, who acceptedthe gift graciously. I looked toward Hymbercourt and he, understandingmy unspoken word, again bent his knee before the duke:--

"My gracious lord, it is the desire of this young knight that he bepresented to you in due form under his own name and title, though hewould humbly ask that he be permitted to retain the name by which he isknown in Burgundy. His reasons for so doing are good, though they wouldnot interest Your Grace. Have I my lord's permission to present him?"

"In God's name, yes!" exclaimed the duke, stirred by some irritation, but spurred by curiosity. 

"My lord, " said Hymbercourt, speaking to the duke and extending his handtoward Max, "it is my great honor to present to Your Grace his highness, Maximilian, Count of Hapsburg. "

"By the just God, my lord, you certainly have given us a surprise, " saidthe duke, stepping back and making no offer of his hand to Max. Hepassed the falcon to a page, and continued, "What business have thesemen at my court?"

"None, Your Grace, absolutely none, " answered Max, standing proudlybefore the duke and steadfastly meeting his gaze. "It was my desire tosee the world and to learn something of its people before I undertook togovern my own. My country is not rich and fat like this great land ofBurgundy. I have neither the means nor the inclination to travel instate; so my dear friend and instructor, Sir Karl de Pitti, undertook toguide me and teach me in this journey to the outer world. I would ratherhave missed seeing all other countries than Burgundy, and of all theprinces of the world Your Grace was and is to me the most interesting. Your hand is the strongest, your courage the bravest, and your land therichest in Europe. We heard at Metz that you were here in Peronne; andnow, my lord, you understand what business I have in Burgundy. "

I had never given the boy credit for so much adroitness. What the duke'sintentions were, immediately after Hymbercourt presented Max, I couldnot have told, but his words sounded ominous, and the expression of hisface was anything but pleasant. Max, though not quarrelsome, was notgiven to the soft answer that turneth away wrath; but on this occasiondiscretion came to his rescue, and he made the soft answer with adignity and boldness that won Charles's respect. The duke's facesoftened into a half-smile, --if anything so hard as his face can be saidto soften, --and he offered his hand to Max. He withdrew it almostinstantly from Max's grasp, and said:--

"Are you sure my armament against Switzerland is no part of the reasonfor your presence in Burgundy?" Like all highly pugnacious men, he wassuspicious. "I have been told your father is a friend to the Swiss. "

"Does Your Grace mean to ask if I am here in the capacity of a spy, asCalli has charged?" asked Max, lifting his head and looking boldly intothe duke's face. 

"I do not know, " said the duke, hesitatingly. "I do not say you are. Ido not think you are, but--"

"I am glad Your Grace does not think we are spies, and am pleased tobelieve that you would not put so great an insult upon us, " answeredMax, "else we should ask permission to leave Burgundy at once. I am suremy lord knows we are not spies. If Your Lordship had a son, would yousend him forth as a spy for the sake of Burgundy? Much less would you doit for another land. Your Grace is misinformed. My father is not afriend to the Swiss; neither does he hate them, though perhaps he hasbetter cause to do so than has Your Grace. Your quarrel with the Swissis over a few cart-loads of sheepskins. These same Swiss took from myfather our ancient homestead, the old Castle of Hapsburg, and thesurrounding territory of Aargau. "

"I have heard of the spoliation, and have often wondered at yourfather's meek submission, " said the duke, with an almost imperceptiblesneer. Like Richard the Lion-hearted, of England, butchery was thisduke's trade, and he despised a man who did not practise it on allpossible occasions. A pretext for a quarrel is balm to the soul ofa hero. 

"The mountains of Switzerland, my lord, are the graveyard of foreignsoldiers, " Max replied. "Old Hapsburg Castle is a mere hawks' crag, asits name implies, and the half-score of mountain peaks my father lostwith it are not worth the life of his humblest subject. He loves hispeople, and would not shed their blood to soothe his wounded pride. Theman who makes war should fight in the front rank. "

"There is where I fight, young sir, " returned Charles. 

"The world knows that fact, my lord, " responded Max. "My father cannotfight at the head of his army, therefore, he makes war only in defenceof his people's hearths. It is possible that after consulting with myfriend, Sir Karl, I may ask the honor of serving with Your Grace againstthese Swiss who despoiled my house. Is Your Grace now satisfied that weare not Swiss spies? And are we welcome to sojourn for a time inPeronne? Or shall we leave Burgundy and return to my father in Styria, to tell him that you turned a guest and a friend from your door?"

"You are very welcome, Sir Count, and you, Sir Karl, " answered the duke, giving his right hand to Max and familiarly offering me his left. Thishard duke had been beaten into a gracious mood by Max's adroit mixtureof flattery and boldness. 

A soft answer may turn away wrath, but it may also involve thedisagreeable necessity of turning the other cheek. If it be not temperedby spirit, it is apt to arouse contempt. The duke remained silent forthe space of a minute or two. He was evidently struggling to suppress agood impulse. Then he turned to me and said, laughingly:--

"By my soul, Sir Karl, you have brought us a Roland and a Demosthenes inone. Where learned you your oratory, Sir Count?"

"From a just cause, my lord, " quickly retorted Max. 

"I fear I have had the worst of this encounter, Hymbercourt, " said theduke, smiling, "and I see nothing left for me but apology. "

"I sincerely hope Your Grace will not embarrass us by apologizing, " saidMax. 

Charles hesitated, gave a short laugh, and apologized by placing hishand on Max's shoulder. 

"Let us go into the little parley room, " he said. "Hymbercourt, lead theway with Sir Max; Sir Karl and I will follow presently. "

Max and Hymbercourt passed out at a small door near the throne, and theduke turned to me:--

"I like the boy's modest boldness, and I hope that I may induce him andyou to accompany me against the Swiss. I would not accept his offer madeon the spur of the moment, but if, on talking it over with him, you makeup your minds to come with me, I will make it well worth your while. This war will be but a May-day outing. We'll speak on the subject again. Meantime, I understand that you and Sir Max wish to remain incognitoat Peronne?"

"We do, Your Grace, " I responded. "I fear it will be impossible toaccept the honor you have offered, but, as you have graciously said, wewill, if you wish, speak of it again. "

"I am content, " said the duke. "Let us follow Hymbercourt. "

CHAPTER XIV

SIR KARL MEETS THE PRINCESS

The duke and I passed through the door by which Max and Hymbercourt hadleft the hall, and entered a narrow passageway eight or ten yards long, having two doors at the farther end. The door to the right, I soonlearned, led to the little parley room where Max and Hymbercourt hadgone. The door to the left opened into a staircase that led to theapartments of the duchess. A narrow flight of stone steps that led fromthe ladies' gallery opened into the passage, and, just as the dukeentered in advance of me, two ladies emerged from the stairs. They didnot see me in the shadow, and supposed that the duke was alone. Thetaller, who I soon learned was the duchess, hastened down the passageand through the door leading to her apartments. The smaller I at oncerecognized. She was Yolanda. 

"Father, you cannot mean to send me into France, " she cried, trying todetain the duke. "Kill me, father, if you will, but do not send me tothat hated land. I shall not survive this marriage a fortnight, and if Idie, Burgundy will go to our cousin of Bourbon. "

"Don't hinder me, daughter, " returned the duke, impatiently. "Don't yousee we are not alone?"

Yolanda turned in surprise toward me, and the duke said:--

"Go by the right door, Sir Karl. I will be with you at once. I wish tospeak with the duchess. "

He hurriedly followed his wife and left me alone with Yolanda. 

"Fräulein, my intrusion was unintentional, " I stammered. "I followed theduke at his request. "

"Fräulein!" exclaimed the girl, lifting her head and looking a veryqueen in miniature. "Fräulein! Do you know, sir, to whom you speak?"

"I beg your pardon, most gracious princess, " I replied. "Did you notcommand me to address you as Fräulein or Yolanda?"

"My name, sir, is not Yolanda. You have made a sad mistake, " said theprincess, drawing herself up to her full height. Then I thought ofYolanda's words when she told me that she resembled the princess as onepea resembles another. 

The girl trembled, and even in the dim light I could see the gleam ofanger in her eyes. I was endeavoring to frame a suitable apology whenshe spoke again:--

"Fräulein! Yolanda! Sir, your courtesy is scant to give me these names. I do not know you, and--did I not tell you that if you made this mistakewith the princess you would not so easily correct it? ThatI--you--Blessed Virgin! I have betrayed myself. I knew I should. I knewI could not carry it out. "

She covered her face with her hands and began to weep, speaking whileshe sobbed:--

"My troubles are more than I can bear. "

I wished to reassure her at once:--

"Most Gracious Princess--Yolanda--your secret is safe with me. You areas dear to me as if you were my child. You have nestled in my heart andfilled it as completely as one human being can fill the heart ofanother. I would gladly give my poor old life to make you happy. Now ifyou can make use of me, I am at your service. "

"You will not tell Sir Max?" she sobbed. 

She was no longer a princess. She was the child Yolanda. 

"As I hope for salvation, no, I will not tell Sir Max, " I responded. 

"Sometime I will give you my reasons, " she said. 

"I wish none, " I replied. 

After a short pause, she went on, still weeping gently:--

"If I must go to France, Sir Karl, you may come there to be my LordChamberlain. Perhaps Max should not come, since I shall be the wife ofanother, and--and there would surely be trouble. Max should not come. "

She stepped quickly to my side. Her hand fell, and she grasped mine foran instant under the folds of her cloak; then she ran from the passage, and I went to the room where Max and Hymbercourt were waiting. 

After a few moments the duke joined us. Wine was served, but Charles didnot drink. On account of the excessive natural heat of his blood hedrank nothing but water. His Grace was restless; and, although there wasno lack of courtesy, I fancied he did not wish us to remain. So afterour cups were emptied I asked permission to depart. The duke acquiescedby rising, and said, turning to Max:--

"May we not try our new hawk together this afternoon?"

"With pleasure, Your Grace, " responded Max. 

"Then we'll meet at Cambrai Gate near the hour of two, " said the duke. 

"I thank Your Grace, " said Max, bowing. 

On our way back to the inn, I told Max of my meeting with the princess, and remarked upon her resemblance to Yolanda. 

"You imagined the resemblance, Karl. There can be but one Yolanda in theworld, " said Max. "Her Highness, perhaps, is of Yolanda's complexion andstature, --so Yolanda has told me, --and your imagination has furnishedthe rest. "

"Perhaps that is true, " said I, fearing that I had already spoken toofreely. 

So my great riddle was at last solved! The Fates had answered when I"gave it up. " I was so athrill with the sweet assurance that Yolanda wasthe princess that I feared my secret would leap from my eyes or springunbidden from my lips. 

I cast about in my mind for Yolanda's reasons in wishing to remainYolanda to Max, and I could find none save the desire to win his heartas a burgher girl. That, indeed, would be a triumph. She knew that everymarriageable prince in Europe coveted her wealth and her estates. Themost natural desire that she or any girl could have would be to find aworthy man who would seek her for her own sake. As Yolanda, she offeredno inducement save herself. The girl was playing a daring game, anda wise one. 

True, there appeared to be no possibility that she could ever have Maxfor her husband, even should she win his heart as Yolanda. In view ofthe impending and apparently unavoidable French marriage, the futureheld no hope. But when her day of wretchedness should come, she would, through all her life, take comfort from the sweetest joy a woman canknow--that the man she loved loved her because she was her own fairself, and for no other reason. There would, of course, be the sorrow ofregret, but that is passive, while the joy of memory is ever active. 

When Max and I had departed, the duke turned to Hymbercourt and said:--

"The bishop's letter is not sufficiently direct. It is my desire toinform King Louis that this marriage shall take place at once--now!_Now_! It will effectually keep Louis from allying with Bourbon andLorraine, or some other prince, while I am away from home. They all hateme, but not one of the cowards would say 'Booh!' unless the others wereback of him. A word from Louis would kindle rebellion in Liege andGhent. This war with Switzerland is what Louis has waited for; and whenI march to the south, he will march into Burgundy from the west unlesshe has a counter motive. "

"That is but too true, my lord, " said Hymbercourt. 

"But if my daughter marries the Dauphin, Louis will look upon Burgundyas the property of the French kingship in the end, and the marriage willfrighten Bourbon and Lorraine to our feet once more. This hypocrite, Louis, has concocted a fine scheme to absorb Burgundy into his realm bythis marriage with my daughter. But I'll disappoint his greed. I'llwhisper a secret in your ear, Hymbercourt, --a secret to be told to noone else. I'll execute this treaty of marriage now, and will use mycrafty foe for my own purposes so long as I need him; but when I returnfrom Switzerland, I will divorce my present duchess and take a fruitfulwife who will bear me a son to inherit Burgundy; then King Louis maykeep the girl for his pains. "

The duke laughed, and seemed to feel that he was perpetrating a greatjoke on his rival. 

"But your brother-in-law, Edward of England, may object to having hissister divorced, " suggested Hymbercourt. 

"In that case we'll take a page from King Louis' book, " answeredCharles. "We'll use gold, Hymbercourt, gold! I shall not, however, likeLouis, buy Edward's ministers! They are too expensive. I'll put none ofmy gold in Hastings's sleeve. I'll pension Shore's wife, and Edward willnot trouble himself about his sister. He prefers other men's sisters. Donot fear, Hymbercourt; the time has come to meet Louis' craftwith craft. "

"And Your Grace's unhappy daughter is to be the shuttlecock, my lord?"suggested Hymbercourt. 

"She will serve her purpose in the weal of Burgundy, as I do. I give mylife to Burgundy. Why should not this daughter of mine give a few tears?But her tears are unreasonable. Why should she object to this marriage?Even though God should hereafter give me a son, who should cut theprincess out of Burgundy, will she not be queen of France? What morewould the perverse girl have? By God, Hymbercourt, it makes my bloodboil to hear you, a man of sound reason, talk like a fool. I hear thesame maudlin protest from the duchess. She, too, is under the spell ofthis girl, and mourns over her trumped-up grief like a parish priest ata bishop's funeral. "

"But, my lord, consider the creature your daughter is to marry, " saidHymbercourt. "He is but a child, less than fourteen years of age, and isweak in mind and body. Surely, it is a wretched fate for your daughter. "

"I tell you the girl is perverse, " interrupted the duke. "She wouldraise a storm were the Dauphin a paragon of manliness. He is a poor, mean wretch, whom she may easily rule. His weakness will be heradvantage. She is strong enough, God knows, and wilful enough to facedown the devil himself. If there is a perverse wench on all the earth, who will always have her own way by hook or by crook, it is thistroublesome daughter of mine. She has the duchess wound around herfinger. I could not live with them at Ghent, and sent them here for thesake of peace. When she is queen of France she will also be king of thatrealm--and in God's name what more could the girl ask?"

"But, my lord, let me beg you to consider well this step before you takeit. I am sure evil will come of it, " pleaded Hymbercourt. 

"I have considered, " answered the duke. "Let me hear no more of thisrubbish. Two women dinning it into my ears morning, noon, and night arequite enough for my peace of mind. I hear constantly, 'Dear father, don't kill me. Spare your daughter, ' and 'Dear my lord, I beg you not tosacrifice the princess, whom I so love. ' God's mercy! I say I am tiredof it! This marriage shall take place at once! Now, now, now, do youhear, Hymbercourt? Tell the bishop to write this letter in English. Wewill make the draught as bitter as possible for Louis. He hates thesight of an English word, and small wonder. Direct the bishop to makethe letter short and to the point. Tell him to say the marriage shalltake place _now_. Have him use the word _now_. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lord, " answered Hymbercourt. 

"Order him to fetch the missive immediately to the apartments of theduchess. It shall be read, signed, and despatched in the presence of mydaughter and my wife, so that they may know what they have to expect. I'll see that I'm bothered no more with their tears and their senselessimportunities. "

"I'll carry out your instructions, " said Hymbercourt, bowing and takinghis leave. 

The duke went to his wife's parlor and fell moodily into a chair. Theduchess was sitting on a divan, and the princess was weeping in herarms. After a long silence, broken only by Mary's half-smothered sobs, the duke turned sharply upon the women:--

"For the love of God, cease your miserable whimpering, " growled hislordship. "Is not my life full of vexations without this deluge of tearsat home? A whimpering woman will do more to wear out the life of a manthan a score of battling enemies. Silence, I say; silence, you fools!"

Mary and the duchess were now unable to control themselves. Charles roseangrily and, with his clenched hand raised for a blow, strode across theroom to the unhappy women. Clinging to each other, the princess andDuchess Margaret crouched low on the divan. Then this great hero, whomthe world worships and calls "The Bold, " bent over the trembling womenand upbraided them in language that I will not write. 

"God curse me if I will have my life made miserable by a pair of fools, "cried the duke. "I am wretched enough without this useless annoyance. Enemies abroad and disobedience in my own family will drive me mad!"

The women slipped from the divan to the floor at the duke's feet, andclung to each other. The duchess covered the princess to protect herfrom the duke's blow, and, alas! took it herself. Charles stepped back, intending to kick his daughter, but the duchess again threw herself onYolanda and again received the blow. By that time the duke's fury wasbeyond all measure, and he stooped to drag his wife from Yolanda that hemight vent his wrath upon the sobbing girl. The duchess, who was ayoung, strong woman, sprang to her feet and placed herself betweenYolanda, lying on the floor, and the infuriated duke. 

"You shall not touch the child, my lord!" cried the duchess. "Though sheis your child, you shall not touch her if I can help it. Twice, my lord, you have almost killed your daughter in your anger, and I have sworn toprevent a recurrence of your brutality or to die in my attempt tosave her. "

She snatched a dagger from her bosom, and spoke calmly: "Now come, mylord; but when you do so, draw your dagger, for, by the Virgin, I willkill you if you do not kill me, before you shall touch that girl. Beforeyou kill me, my lord, remember that my brother of England will tear youlimb from limb for the crime, and that King Louis will gladly help himin the task. Come, my husband! Come, my brave lord! I am but a weakwoman. You may easily kill me, and I will welcome death rather than lifewith you. When I am out of the way, you may work your will on yourdaughter. Because I am your wife, my brother has twice saved you fromKing Louis. You owe your domain and your life to me. I should sell mylife at a glorious price if my death purchased your ruin. Come, my lord!"

The duke paused with his hand on his dagger; but he knew that hiswife's words were true, and he realized that his ruin would followquickly on the heels of her death. 

"You complain that the world and your own family are against you, mylord, " said the duchess. "It is because you are a cruel tyrant abroadand at home. It is because you are against the world and against thosewhom you should protect and keep safe from evil. The fault is with you, Charles of Burgundy. You have spoken the truth. The world hates you, andthis girl--the tenderest, most loving heart on earth--dreads you as hermost relentless enemy. If I were in your place, my lord, I would fallupon my sword. "

Beaten by his wife's just fury, this great war hero walked back to hischair, and the duchess tenderly lifted Mary to the divan. 

"He will not strike you, child, " said Margaret. Then she fell to kissingYolanda passionately, and tears came to her relief. 

Poor Yolanda buried her face in her mother's breast and tried to smotherher sobs. Charles sat mumbling blasphemous oaths. At the expiration ofhalf an hour, a page announced the Bishop of Cambrai and othergentlemen. The duke signified that they were to be admitted; and whenthe bishop entered the room, Charles, who was smarting from his latedefeat, spoke angrily:--

"By the good God, my Lord Bishop, you are slow! Does it require an hourto write a missive of ten lines? If you are as slow in saving souls asin writing letters, the world will go to hell before you can saya mass. "

"The wording was difficult, Your Grace, " replied the bishopobsequiously. "The Lord d'Hymbercourt said Your Grace wished the missiveto be written in English, which language my scrivener knows butimperfectly. After it was written I received Your Lordship'sinstructions to use the word 'now, ' so I caused the letter to berewritten that I might comply with your wishes. "

"Now" is a small word, but in this instance it was a great one forYolanda, as you shall soon learn. 

"Cease explaining, my Lord Bishop, and read me the missive, " said theduke, sullenly. 

The bishop unfolded the missive, which was in a pouch ready for sealing. Yolanda stopped sobbing that she might hear the document that touched soclosely on her fate. Her tear-stained face, with its childlike pathos, but served to increase her father's anger. 

"Read, my Lord Bishop! Body of me, why stand you there like a woodenquintain?" exclaimed the duke. "By all the gods, you are slow! Read, I say!"

"With pleasure, my lord, " answered the bishop. 

"To His Majesty, King Louis of France, Charles, Duke of Burgundy andCount of Charolois, sends this Greeting:--

"His Grace of Burgundy would recommend himself to His Majesty of France, and would beg to inform the most puissant King Louis that the saidCharles, Duke of Burgundy, will march at the head of a Burgundian armywithin three weeks from the date of these presents, against the Swisscantons, with intent to punish the said Swiss for certain depredations. Therefore, the said Charles, Duke of Burgundy and Count of Charolois, begs that His Majesty of France will now move toward the immediateconsummation of the treaty existing between Burgundy and France, lookingto the marriage of the Princess Mary, Mademoiselle de Burgundy, with theprincely Dauphin, son to King Louis; and to these presents said Charles, Duke of Burgundy, requests the honor of an early reply. 

"We recommend Your Majesty to the protection of God, the Blessed Virgin, and the Saints. "

"Words, words, my Lord Bishop, " said Charles. "Why waste them on agraceless hypocrite?"

"I thought only to be courteous, " returned the bishop. 

"Why should we show King Louis courtesy?" asked the duke. "Is it becausewe give him our daughter to be the wife of his bandy-shanked, half-witted son? There is small need for courtesy, my Lord Bishop. Wecould not insult this King Louis, should we try, while he sees anadvantage to be gained. Give me the letter, and I will sign it, though Idespise your whimpering courtesy, as you call it. "

Charles took the letter, and, going to a table near a window, drew up achair. 

"Give me a quill, " he said, addressing the bishop. "Did you not bringone, my lord?"

"Your Grace--Your Grace, " began the bishop, apologetically. 

"Do you think I am a snivelling scrivener, carrying quill and ink-wellin my gown?" asked the duke. "Go to your parlor and fetch ink andquill, " said Charles, pointing with the folded missive toward Yolanda. 

"A page will fetch the quill and ink, my lord, " suggested the duchess. 

"Go!" cried the duke, turning angrily on the princess. Yolanda left theroom, weeping, and hastened up the long flight of steps to her parlor. It was the refinement of cruelty in Charles to send Yolanda for thequill with which he was to sign the instrument of her doom. 

Still weeping, Yolanda hurried back with the writing materials, butbefore entering the room she stopped at the door to dry her tears andstay her sobs. When she entered, she said:--

"There is the quill, father, and there is the ink. "

She placed them before the duke and stood trembling with one hand on thetable. After a moment she spoke in a voice little above a whisper:--"Youwill accomplish nothing, my lord, my father, by sending the letter. Ishall die before this marriage can take place. I am willing to obey you, but, father, I shall die. Ah, father, pity me. "

She fell upon her knees before the duke and tried to put her handsabout his shoulders. He repulsed her, and, taking up the quill, signedthe letter. After he had affixed his signature and had sealed themissive with his private seal, he folded the parchment and handed it tothe bishop, saying:--

"Seal the pouch, my lord, and send Byron, the herald, here to receiveour personal instructions. "

"The herald has not yet returned from Cambrai, my lord, " said De Vergy, who stood near by. "He is expected between the hours of five and sixthis evening. "

"Leave the letter, my lord, " said Charles, "and send Byron to me when hearrives. I shall be here at six o'clock to give him full instructions. "

The letter was deposited in a small iron box on the table, and the dukeleft the room, followed closely by the lords and pages. 

CHAPTER XV

THE CROSSING OF A "T"

Yolanda and her stepmother remained on the divan in silence for fully anhour after the duke had left. The duchess was first to speak. 

"Be resigned, sweet one, to your fate. It is one common to women. It wasmy hard fate to be compelled to marry your father. It was your mother's, poor woman, and it killed her. God wills our slavery, and we mustsubmit. We but make our fate harder by fighting against it. "

Yolanda answered with convulsive sobs, but after a while she grew morecalm. 

"Is there nothing I can do to save myself?" she asked. 

"No, sweet one, " answered the duchess. 

"Has God put a curse upon women, mother?" asked Yolanda. 

"Alas! I fear He has, " answered Margaret. "The Holy Church teaches usthat He punishes us for the sin of our mother Eve, but though Hepunishes us, He loves us, and we are His children. He knows what is bestfor us here and hereafter. "

"He certainly is looking to my _future_ good, if at all, " sighedYolanda. "But I do believe in God's goodness, mother, and I am sure Hewill save me. Holy Virgin! how helpless a woman is. " She began to weepafresh, and the duchess tried to soothe her. 

"I believe I will pray to the Virgin. She may help us, " said the girl, in a voice that was plaintively childlike. 

"It is a pious thought, Mary, " answered the duchess. 

Yolanda slipped from the divan to the floor, and, kneeling, buried herface in her mother's lap. She prayed aloud:--

"Blessed Virgin, Thou seest my dire need. Help me. My prayer is short, but Thou, Blessed Lady, knowest how fervent it is. " The duchess crossedherself, bowed her head, and murmured a fervent "Amen. "

Yolanda rose from her prayer with a brighter face, and exclaimed almostjoyfully:--

"It was impious in me to doubt God's love, mother. I do believe I heardthe Blessed Virgin say, 'Help is at hand. ' At least, I felt herwords, mother. "

Yolanda moved about the room aimlessly for several minutes and by chancestopped at the table. She started to take up the quill and ink-well tocarry them back to her parlor, which was in Darius (Darius was the nameof the tower that rose from the castle battlements immediately aboveCastleman's House under the Wall), and her eyes rested on the small ironbox in which the letter to King Louis had been deposited. An unconsciousmotive, perhaps it was childish curiosity, prompted her to examine themissive. She took the pouch from the box and found it unsealed. Shelistlessly drew out the missive and began to read, when suddenly herface grew radiant with joy. She ran excitedly to her mother, who wassitting on the divan, and exclaimed:--

"Oh! mother, the sweet Blessed Virgin has sent help!"

"In what manner, child?" asked the duchess, fondling Yolanda's hairwhile the girl knelt beside her. 

"Here, mother, here! Here is help; here in this very letter that wasintended to be my undoing. I cannot wait to thank the Holy Mother. " Shecrossed herself and buried her face in her mother's lap while shethanked the Virgin. 

"What is it, Mary, and where is the help?" asked Margaret, fearing thegirl's mind had been touched by her troubles. 

"Listen!" cried Yolanda. 

Her excitement was so great that she could hardly see the words thebishop's scrivener had written. 

"Listen, listen! Father in this letter first tells the king thathe--that is, father, you understand--is going to war with Lorraine--no, with Bourbon. I am wrong again. Father is so constantly warring withsome one that I cannot keep track of his enemies--against the Swiss. See, mother, it is the Swiss. He says he will go--will start--will beginthe war--no, I am wrong again. I can hardly see the words. He says hewill march at the head of a Burgundian army--poor soldiers, I pitythem--within three weeks. Ah, how short that time seemed when I heardthe letter read an hour ago. How long it is now! I wish he would marchto-morrow. Three long weeks!"

"But, my dear, how will that help you?" asked the duchess. "In whatmanner will--"

"Do not interrupt me, mother, but hear what follows. Father says he willmarch in three weeks and 'begs that His Majesty of France will _now_move toward the immediate consummation of the treaty existing betweenBurgundy and France looking to the marriage of the Princess, Mademoiselle de Burgundy, with the princely Dauphin, son to King Louis. 'In that word 'now, ' mother, lies my help. "

"In what manner does help lie in the word 'now, ' child?" asked theduchess. 

"In this, mother. 'Now' is a little word of three letters, n-o-v. See, mother, the letter 'v' is not perfectly made. We will extend the firstprong upward, cross it and make 't' of it, using the second prong as aflourish. Then the letter will read, 'begs that His Majesty of Francewill _not_ move toward the immediate consummation of the treaty. ' Whatcould be more natural than that my father should wish nothing ofimportance to occur until after this war with Switzerland is over? TheFrench king, of course, will answer that he will not move in the matter, and his letter will throw father into a delightful frenzy of rage. Itmay even induce him to declare war against France, and to break off thetreaty of marriage when he returns from Switzerland. He has often donebattle for a lesser cause. It will at least prevent the marriage for thepresent. It may prevent it forever. "

"Surely that cannot be; King Louis will immediately explain the mistaketo your father, " suggested Margaret. 

"But father, you know, will not listen to an explanation if he fears itmay avert blows, " returned Yolanda; "and he will be sure not to believeKing Louis whose every word he doubts. I shall enjoy King Louis' effortsto explain. 'Hypocrite, ' 'liar, ' 'coward, ' 'villain, ' will be amongfather's most endearing terms when speaking of His Majesty. If by chancethe error of 'not' for 'now' be discovered, the Bishop of Cambrai andfather will swear it is King Louis who has committed the forgery. Butshould the worst come, our 't' will have answered its purpose, at leastfor the present. The bishop may suffer, but I care not. He did his partin bringing about this marriage treaty, bribed, doubtless, by KingLouis' gold. In any case, we have no reason to constitute ourselves thebishop's guardians. We have all we can do to care for ourselves--andmore. "

She sprang to her feet and danced about the room, ardently kissing theletter she had so recently dreaded. 

"Mary, you frighten me, " said the duchess. "If we should be discoveredin changing this letter, I do believe your father would kill us. I donot know that it would be right to make the alteration. It would beforgery, and that, you know, is a crime punishable by death. "

"_We_ shall not be discovered, " said Mary. "You must have no part inthis transaction, mother. Father would not kill me; I am too valuable asa chattel of trade. With my poor little self he can buy the good-will ofkings and princes. I am more potent than all his gold. This alterationcan be no sin; it is self-defence. Think how small it is, mother. It isonly a matter of the crossing of a 't. ' But I care not how great thecrime may be; I believe, mother, I would commit murder to save myselffrom the fate father wishes to put upon me. "

"You frighten me, child, " said Margaret. "I tremble in terror at whatyou propose to do. "

"I, too, am trembling, mother, " sighed Yolanda, "but you must now leavethe room. You must know nothing of this great crime. "

The girl laughed nervously and tried to push her mother from the room. 

"No, I will remain, " said the duchess. "I almost believe that you areright, and that the Virgin has prompted you to do this to saveyourself. "

"I know she has, " answered Yolanda, crossing herself. "Now leave me. Imust waste no more time. "

"I will remain with you, Mary, " said Margaret, "and I will myself makethe alteration. Then I'll take all the blame in case we are discovered. "

Margaret rose, walked over to the table, and took up the quill. Shetrembled so violently that she could not control her hand. 

"No, mother, you shall not touch it, " cried Yolanda, snatching theparchment from the countess and holding it behind her. "If I would letyou, you could not make the alteration; see, your hand trembles! Youwould blot the parchment and spoil all this fine plan of mine. Give methe quill, mother! Give me the quill!"

She took the quill from Margaret's passive hand and sat down at thetable. Spreading the missive before her, she dipped the quill in theink-well, and when she lifted it, a drop of ink fell upon the tablewithin a hair's breadth of the parchment. 

"Ah, Blessed Virgin!" cried Yolanda, snatching the missive away from theink blot. "If the ink had fallen on the parchment, we surely had beenlost. I, too, am trembling, and I dare not try to make the alterationnow. What a poor, helpless creature I am, when I cannot even cross a 't'to save myself. Blessed Virgin, help me once more!"

But help did not come. Yolanda's excitement grew instead of subsiding, and she was so wrought upon by a nameless fear that she began to weep. Margaret seated herself on the divan and covered her face with herhands. Yolanda walked the floor like a caged wild thing, utteringejaculatory prayers to the Virgin. Again she took up the quill, butagain put it down, exclaiming:--

"I have it, mother! There is a friend of whom I have often told you--SirKarl. He will help us if I can bring him here in time. If father hasleft the castle, I'll take the letter to my parlor and fetch Sir Karl. He is a brave, strong old man and his hand will not tremble. "

Yolanda left the room and soon returned. 

"Father has gone to the marshes, " she whispered excitedly. "We haveample time if I can find Sir Karl. "

She took the missive, the ink, and the quill to her parlor in DariusTower, and hurried to Castleman's house. How she got there I willsoon tell you. 

She found Twonette sewing, and hastily explained her wishes. 

"Run, Twonette, to The Mitre, and fetch me Sir Karl. I don't want SirMax to know that I am sending. I think Sir Max has gone falconing withfather; I pray God he has gone, and I pray that Sir Karl has not. TellSir Karl to come to me at once. If he is not at the inn send for him. Ifyou love me, Twonette, make all haste. Run! Run!"

Twonette's haste was really wonderful. When she found me her cheeks werelike red roses, and she could hardly speak for lack of breath. For thefirst and last time I saw Twonette shorn of her serenity. 

The duke had not invited me to go hawking, and fortunately I had stayedat home cuddling the thought that Yolanda was the Princess Mary, andthat my fair Prince Max had found rare favor in her eyes. 

"Yolanda wants you at my father's house immediately, " said Twonette, when I stepped outside the inn door. "The need is urgent beyondmeasure. " Whereupon she courtesied and turned away. Twonette held thatwords were not made to be wasted, so I asked no questions. I almost ranto Castleman's house, and was taken at once to a large room in thesecond story. It was on the west side of the house immediately againstthe castle wall. The walls of the room were sealed with broad oakpanels, beautifully carved, and the west end of the apartment--that nextthe castle wall--was hung with silk tapestries. When I entered the roomI found Yolanda alone. She hurriedly closed the door after me and spokeexcitedly:--

"I am so glad Twonette found you, Sir Karl. I am in dire need. Will youhelp me?"

"I will help you if it is in my power, Yolanda, " I answered. "You canask nothing which I will not at least try to do. "

"Even at the risk of your life?" she asked, placing her hand upon myarm. 

"Even to the loss of my life, Yolanda, " I replied. 

"Would you commit an act which the law calls a crime?" she asked, trembling in voice and limb. 

"I would do that which is really a crime, if I might thereby serve youto great purpose, " I answered. "God often does apparent evil that goodmay come of it. An act must be judged as a whole, by its conception, itsexecution, and its result. Tell me what you wish me to do, and I will doit without an 'if'--God giving me the power. "

"Then come with me. "

She took my hand and led me to the end of the room next the castlewall. There she held the draperies to one side while she pushed back oneof the oak panels. Through this opening we passed, and the draperiesfell together behind us. After Yolanda had opened the panel a moment oflight revealed to me a flight of stone steps built in the heart of thecastle wall, which at that point was sixteen feet thick. When Yolandaclosed the panel, we were in total darkness. She took my left hand inher left and with her right arm at my back guided me up the long, darkstairway. While mounting the steps, she said:--"Now, Sir Karl, you haveall my great secrets--at least, they are very great to me. You know whoI am, and you know of this stairway. No one knows of it but my mother, uncle, aunt, Twonette, and my faithful tire-woman, Anne. Even my fatherdoes not know of its existence. If he knew, he would soon close it. Mygrandfather, Duke Philip the Good, built it in the wall to connect hisbedroom with the house of his true friend, burgher Castleman. Some dayI'll tell you the story of the stairway, and how I discovered it. Mybedroom is the one my grandfather occupied. "

The stairway explained to me all the strange occurrences relating toYolanda's appearances and disappearances at Castleman's house, and itwill do the same for you. 

After we had climbed until I felt that surely we must be among theclouds, I said:--

"Yolanda, you must be leading me to heaven. "

"I should like to do that, Sir Karl, " she responded, laughing softly. 

"I would gladly give my life to lead you and Max to heaven, " said I. 

"Ah, Sir Karl, " she answered gently, pressing my hand and caressinglyplacing her cheek against my arm. "I dare not even think on that. If hecould and would take me, believing me to be a burgher girl, he wouldtruly lead me to heaven. "

After a pause, while we rested to take a breath, I said: "What is it youwant me to do, Yolanda? I am unarmed. "

"I shall not ask you to do murder, Sir Karl, " she said, laughingnervously. I fancied I could see a sparkle of mirth in her eyes as shecontinued: "It is not so bad as that. Neither is there a dragon for youto overthrow. But I shall soon enlighten you--here we are at the top ofthe steps. "

At the moment she spoke I collided with a heavy oak partition, in whichYolanda quickly found a moving panel, and we entered a dimly lightedroom. I noticed among the furniture a gorgeously tapestried bed. A richrug, the like of which I had seen in Damascus, covered the floor. Thestone walls were draped with silk tapestry, and a jewelled lamp waspendant from the vaulted ceiling. This was Yolanda's bedroom, and trulyit was a resting-place worthy of the richest princess in Christendom. Ifelt that I was in the holy of holies. I found difficulty in believingthat the childlike Yolanda could be so important a personage in thepolitics of Europe. She seemed almost to belong to me, so much at thattime did she lean on my strength. 

Out of her sleeping apartment she led me to another and a larger room, lighted by broad windows cut through the inner wall of the castle, whichat that point was not more than three or four feet thick. This wasYolanda's parlor. The floor, like that of the bedroom, was covered witha Damascus rug. The windows were closed by glass of crystal purity, andthe furniture was richer than any I had seen in the emperor's palace. 

Yolanda led me to a table, pointed to a chair for me, and drew up onefor herself. At that moment a lady entered, whom Yolanda ran to meet. The princess took the lady's hand and led her to me:--

"Sir Karl, this is my mother. As you already know, she is my stepmother, but I forget that in the love I bear her, and in the sweet love shegives to me. "

I bent my knee before the duchess, who gave me her hand to kiss, saying:--

"The princess has often spoken to me of you, Sir Karl. I see she hascrept into your heart. She wins all who know her. "

"My devotion to Her Highness is self-evident and needs no avowal, " Ianswered, "but I take pleasure in declaring it. I am ready to aid her atwhatever cost. "

"Has the princess told you what she wants you to do?" asked the duchess. 

I answered that she had not, but that I was glad to pledge myselfunenlightened. I then placed a chair for the duchess, but, of course, remained standing. Yolanda resumed her chair, and said:--

"Fetch a chair, Sir Karl. We are glad to have you sit, are we not, mother?"

"Indeed we are, " said Margaret. "Please sit by the table, and theprincess will explain why she brought you here. "

"I believe I can now do it myself, mother, " said Yolanda, taking afolded parchment from its pouch. 

"See, my hand is perfectly steady. Sir Karl has given me strength. "

She spread the parchment before her, and, taking a quill from the table, dipped it in the ink-well. 

"I'll not need you after all, Sir Karl. I find I can commit my owncrime, " she said, much to my disappointment. I was, you see, eager tosin for her. I longed to kill some one or to do some other deed ofvaliant and perilous villany. 

Yolanda bent over the missive, quill in hand, but hesitated. Shechanged her position on the chair, squaring herself before theparchment, and tried again, but she seemed unable to use the quill. Sheplaced it on the table and laughed nervously. 

"I surely am a great fool, " she said. "When I take the quill in my hand, I tremble like a squire on his quintain trial. I'll wait a moment, andgrow calm again, " she added, with a fluttering little laugh peculiar toher when she was excited. But she did not grow calm, and after she hadvainly taken up the quill again and again, her mother said:--

"Poor child! Tell Sir Karl what you wish him to do. "

Yolanda did so, and then read the missive. I did not know the Englishlanguage perfectly, but Yolanda, who spoke it as if it were her mothertongue, translated as she read. I had always considered the islandlanguage harsh till I heard Yolanda speak it. Even the hissing "th" wasmusic on her lips. Had I been a young man I would doubtless have made afool of myself for the sake of this beautiful child-woman. When she hadfinished reading the missive, she left her chair and came to my side. She bent over my shoulder, holding the parchment before me. 

"What I want to do, but can't--what I want you to do is so small andsimple a matter that it is almost amusing. I grow angry when I thinkthat I cannot do so little a thing to help myself; but you see, SirKarl, I tremble and my hand shakes to that extent I fear to mar thepage. I simply want to make the letter 't' on this parchment and Ican't. Will you do it for me?"

"Ay, gladly, " I responded, "but where and why?" Then she pointed out tome the word "nov" in the manuscript and said:--

"A letter 't, ' if deftly done, will make 'not' instead of 'nov. ' Do youunderstand, Sir Karl?"

I sprang to my feet as if I had been touched by a sword-point. Thethought was so ingenious, the thing itself was so small and the resultwas so tremendous that I stood in wonder before the daring girl who hadconceived it. I made no answer. I placed the parchment on the table, unceremoniously reached in front of the duchess for the quill, and inless time than one can count three I made a tiny ink mark not thesixteenth part of an inch long that changed the destinies of nations forall time to come. 

I placed the quill on the table and turned to Yolanda, just in time tocatch her as she was about to fall. I was frightened at the sight of herpale face and cried out:--

"Yolanda! Yolanda!"

Margaret quickly brought a small goblet of wine, and I held the princesswhile I opened her lips and poured a portion of the drink into hermouth. I had in my life seen, without a tremor, hundreds of men killed, but I had never seen a woman faint, and the sight almost unmanned me. 

Stimulated by the wine Yolanda soon revived; and when she opened hereyes and smiled up into my face, I was so joyful that I fell to kissingher hands and could utter no word save "Yolanda, Yolanda. " She did notat once rise from my arms, but lay there smiling into my face as if shewere a child. When she did rise she laughed softly and said, turning tothe duchess:--

"'Yolanda' is the name by which Sir Karl knows me. You see, mother, Iwas not mistaken in deeming him my friend. "

Then she turned suddenly to me, and taking my rough old hand in hers, lifted it to her lips. That simple act of childish gratitude threw meinto a fever of ecstasy so great that death itself could have had noterrors for me. He might have come when he chose. I had lived throughthat one moment, and even God could not rob me of it. 

Yolanda moved away from me and took up the parchment. 

"Don't touch it till the ink dries, " I cried sharply. 

She dropped it as if it were hot, and the duchess came to me, andgraciously offered her hand:--

"I thank you with my whole heart, not only for what you have done, butfor the love you bear the princess. She is the one I love above allothers, and I know she loves me. I love those who love her. As theFrench say, '_Les amies de mes amies sont mes amies. '_ I am a poorhelpless woman, more to be pitied than the world can believe. I haveonly my gratitude to offer you, Sir Karl, but that shall be yours solong as I live. "

"Your Grace's reward is far too great for the small service I haverendered, " I replied, dropping to my knee. I was really beginning tolive in my sixtieth year. I was late in starting, but my zest for lifewas none the less, now that I had at last learned its sweetness throughthese two gracious women. 

When we had grown more composed, Yolanda explained to me her hopesregarding the French king's answer to the altered missive, and the wholemarvellous possibilities of the letter "t" dawned upon my mind. Theprincess bent over the parchment, watching our mighty "t" while the inkwas drying, but the process was too slow for her, so she filled hercheeks and breathed upon the writing. The color returned to her facewhile I watched her, and I felt that committing a forgery was a smallprice to pay for witnessing so beautiful a sight. Yolanda's breath soondried the ink, and then we examined my work. I had performed wonders. The keenest eye could not detect the alteration. Yolanda, as usual, sprang from the deepest purgatory of trouble to the seventh heaven ofjoy. She ran about the room, singing, dancing, and laughing, until theduchess warned her to be quiet. Then she placed her hand over her mouth, shrugged her shoulders, walked on tiptoe, and spoke only in whispers. Margaret smiled affectionately at Yolanda's childish antics and said:--

"I think the conspirators should disperse. I hope, Sir Karl, that I maysoon meet you in due form. Meantime, of course, it is best that we donot know each other. "

After examining the missive for the twentieth time, Yolanda placed it inits pouch and turned to the duchess. 

"Take it, mother, to the iron box, and I will lead Sir Karl back toUncle Castleman's, " she said. 

The duchess graciously offered me a goblet of wine, and after I haddrunk, Yolanda led me down the stairway to the House under the Wall. While descending Yolanda called my attention to a loose stone in thewall of the staircase. 

"The other end of this stone, " she said, "penetrates the wall of theroom that you and Sir Max occupied the night before you were liberated. The mortar has fallen away, and it was here that I spoke to you and toldyou not to fear. "

Here was another supernatural marvel all too easily explained. 

CHAPTER XVI

PARTICEPS CRIMINIS

That evening after supper Max and I walked over to Castleman's. Theevening was cool, and we were sitting in the great parlor talking withCastleman and Twonette when Yolanda entered. The room was fully fiftyfeet long, and extended across the entire front of the house. A hugechimney was built at the east end of the room, and on either side of thefireplace was a cushioned bench. A similar bench extended across theentire west end of the room. When Yolanda entered she ran to me andtook my hand. 

"Come, Sir Karl, I want to speak with you, " she said. 

She led me to the west end of the room, sat down on the cushioned bench, and drew in her skirts that I might sit close beside her. 

"I want to tell you about the missive, Sir Karl, " she whispered, laughing and shrugging her shoulders in great glee. "Mother returned itto the box, and when I left you I hurried back and haunted the room, fearing that some one might meddle with the parchment. Near the hour ofsix o'clock father entered. I was sitting on the divan, and he sat downin his great chair, of course taking no notice of me--I am tooinsignificant for so great a person to notice, except when he iscompelled to do so. I was joyful in my heart, but I conjured up all mytroubles that I might make myself weep. I feared to show any change inmyself, so I sobbed aloud now and then, and soon father turned angrilytoward me. 'Are you still there?' he asked. 'Yes, father, ' I answered, as if trying to stifle my sobs. 'Are you really going to send that cruelletter to King Louis?'"

"Cruel, indeed, " I interrupted. 

"Ah, yes! Well, father made no reply, and I went over to him and beganto plead. I should have wanted to cut my tongue out had I succeeded, butI had little fear. Father is not easily touched by another's suffering, and my tears only hardened his heart. Well, of course, he repulsed me;and soon a page announced Byron the herald and the Bishop of Cambrai. Father took the packet from the iron box, and put his fingers in thepouch, as if he were going to take out the letter. He hesitated, andduring that moment of halting I was by turns cold as ice and hot asfire. Finally his resolution took form, and he drew out the missive. Ithought I should die then and there, when he began to look it over. Butafter a careless glance he put it back in the pouch, and threw it onthe table in front of the bishop. I could hardly keep from shouting forjoy. He had failed to see the alteration, and in case of its discovery, he might now be his own witness against King Louis, should that craftymonarch dare to alter my father's missive by so much as the crossing ofa 't'. If father hereafter discovers anything wrong in the letter, hewill be able to swear that King Louis was the evil doer, since fatherhimself put the letter in the pouch with his own hands. Father willnever suspect that a friend came to me out of far-away Styria to committhis crime. "

"I rejoice that I came, " I said. 

"And I, " she answered. "I feared the bishop would read the letter, buthe did not. He tied the ribbon, softened the lead wafer over the lampflame, and placed it on the bow-knot; then he stamped it with father'ssmall seal. When it was finished I did not want to laugh for joy--whenone is very happy one wants to weep. That I could safely do, and I did. The bishop handed the letter to Byron, and father spoke commandingly:'Deliver the missive to the French king before you sleep or eat, unlesshe has left Paris. If he has gone to Tours, follow him and loiter not. ''And if he is not in Tours, Your Grace?' asked Byron. 'Follow him tillyou find him, ' answered father, 'if you must cross the seas. ' 'Shall Ido all this without eating or sleeping?' asked Byron. Father roseangrily, and Byron said: 'If Your Grace will watch from the donjonbattlements, in five minutes you will see me riding on your mission. When Your Grace sees me riding back, it will be, I fear, the ghostof Byron. '

"It was a wearisome task for me to climb the donjon stairs, but I knewfather would not be there to watch Byron set out, and I felt that one ofthe family should give him God-speed; so alone, and frightened almostout of my wits, I climbed those dark steps to the battlements, and gazedafter Byron till he was a mere speck on the horizon down toward Paris. Ipray God there may be a great plenty of trouble grow out of the crossingof this 't'. Father is always saying that women were put on earth tomake trouble, so I'll do what little I can to make true His Lordship'swords. " She threw back her head, laughing softly. "Is it not glorious, Sir Karl?"

"Indeed, Princess--" I began, but she clapped her hand over my mouth andI continued, "Indeed, Yolanda, the plan is so adroit and so effectivethat it fills me with admiration and awe. "

"I like the name Yolanda, " said she, looking toward Max, who was sittingwith Twonette on one of the benches by the chimney. 

"And I, too, like it, " I responded. "I cannot think of you as thegreatest and richest princess in Europe. "

"Ah, I wish I, too, could forget it, but I can't, " she answered with asigh, glancing from under her preposterously long lashes toward Maxand Twonette. 

"How came you to take the name Yolanda?" I asked. 

"Grandfather wished to give me the name in baptism, " she answered, "butMary fell to my lot. I like the present arrangement. Mary is the name ofthe princess--the unhappy, faulty princess. Yolanda is my name. Almostevery happy hour I have ever spent has been as Yolanda. You cannot knowthe wide difference between me and the Princess Mary. It is, Sir Karl, as if we were two persons. "

She spoke very earnestly, and I could see that there was no mirth in herheart when she thought of herself as the Princess Mary; she wasnot jesting. 

"I don't know the princess, " I said laughingly, "but I know Yolanda. "

"Yes; I'll tell you a great secret, Sir Karl. The Princess Mary is notat all an agreeable person. She is morose, revengeful, haughty, cold--"here her voice dropped to a whisper, "and, Sir Karl, she lies--she lies. While Yolanda--well, Yolanda at least is not cold, and I--I think she isa very delightful person. Don't you?"

There was a troubled, eager expression in her eyes that told plainly shewas in earnest. To Yolanda the princess was another person. 

"Yolanda is very sure of me, " I answered. 

"Ah, that she is, " answered the girl. You see, this was a real case ofbilling and cooing between December and May. 

A short silence followed, during which Yolanda glanced furtively towardMax and Twonette. 

"You spoke of your grandfather, " said I, "and that reminds me that youpromised to tell me the story of the staircase in the wall. "

"So I did, " answered Yolanda, haltingly. Her attention was at the otherend of the room. 

"Do you think Twonette a very pretty girl?" she asked. 

"Yes, " I answered, surprised at the abrupt question. I caught a glimpseof Yolanda's face and saw that I had made a mistake, so I continuedhastily: "That is--yes--yes, she is pretty, though not beautiful. Herface, I think, is rather dollish. It is a fine creation in pink andwhite, but I fear it lacks animation. "

"Now for the stairway in the wall, " said Yolanda, settling herself withthe pretty little movements peculiar to her when she was contented. "AsI told you, grandfather built it. Afterward he ceded Peronne to KingLouis, and for many years none of our family ever saw the castle. A fewyears ago King Louis ceded it to my father. Father has never lived here, and has visited Peronne only once in a while, for the purpose oflooking after his affairs on the French border. The castle is verystrong, and, being here on the border at the meeting of the Somme andthe Cologne, it has endured many sieges, but it has never been taken. Itis called 'Peronne La Pucelle. '

"Father's infrequent visits to the castle have been brief, and all whohave ever known of the stairway are dead or have left Burgundy, save thegood people in this house, my mother, my tire-woman, and myself. Threeor four years ago, when I was a child, mother and I, unhappy at Ghentand an annoyance to father, came here to live in the castle, and--and--Iwonder what Sir Max and Twonette find to talk about--and Twonette and Ibecame friends. I love Twonette dearly, but she is a sly creature, forall she is so demure, and she is bolder than you would think, Sir Karl. These very demure girls are often full of surprises. She has beensitting there in the shadow with Sir Max for half an hour. That, I say, would be bold in any girl. Well, to finish about the staircase: mybedroom, as I told you, was my grandfather's. One day Twonette wasvisiting me, and we--we--Sir Max, what in the world are you and Twonettetalking about? We can't hear a word you say. "

"We can't hear what you are saying, " retorted Max. 

"I wish you were young, Sir Karl, " whispered Yolanda, "so that I mightmake him jealous. "

"Shall we come to you?" asked Max. 

"No, no, stay where you are, " cried Yolanda; then, turning to me, "Wheredid I stop?"

"Your bedroom--" I suggested. 

"Yes--my bedroom was my grandfather's. One day I had Twonette in to playwith me, and we rummaged every nook and corner we could reach. Byaccident we discovered the movable panel. We pushed it aside, andspurring our bravery by daring each other, we descended the darkstairway step by step until we came suddenly against the oak panel atthe foot. We grew frightened and cried aloud for help. Fortunately, Tante Castleman was on the opposite side of the panel in the oak room, and--and--"

She had been halting in the latter part of her narrative and I plainlysaw what was coming. 

"Tante Castleman was--was--It was fortunate she--was in--" She sprang toher feet, exclaiming: "I'm going to tell Twonette what I think of herboldness in sitting there in the dark with Sir Max. Her father is nothere to do it. " And that was the last I heard of the stairway inthe wall. 

Yolanda ran across the room to the bench by the fireplace and stampedher foot angrily before Twonette. 

"It--it is immodest for a girl to sit here in the deep shadow beside agentleman for hours together. Shame, Twonette! Your father is not hereto correct you. "

Castleman had left the room. 

Twonette laughed, rose hurriedly, and stood by Yolanda in front of Max. Yolanda, by way of apology, took Twonette's hand, but after a few wordsshe coolly appropriated her place "in the deep shadow beside agentleman. " A princess enjoys many privileges denied to a burgher girl. When a girl happens to be both, the burgher girl is apt to be influencedby the princess, as the princess is apt to be modified by the life ofthe burgher girl. Presently Yolanda said:--

"Please go, Twonette, and mix a bowl of wine and honey. Yours isdelicious. Put in a bit of allspice, Twonette, and pepper, beat it well, Twonette, and don't spare the honey. Now there's a good girl. Goquickly, but don't hurry back. Haste, you know, Twonette, makes waste, and you may spoil the wine. "

Twonette laughed and went to mix the wine and honey. I walked back tothe other end of the room, and sat down by a window to watch the nightgather without. I was athrill with the delightful thought that, allunknown to the world, unknown even to himself, Max, through myinstrumentality, was wooing Mary of Burgundy within fifty feet of whereI sat. He was not, of course, actively pressing his suit, but allunconsciously he was taking the best course to win her heart forever andever. Now, with a propitious trick of fortune, my fantastic dream, conceived in far-off Styria, might yet become a veritable fact. By whatrare trick this consummation might be brought about, I did not know, butfortune had been kind so far, and I felt that her capricious ladyshipwould not abandon us. 

Yolanda turned to Max with a soft laugh of satisfaction, settled herskirts about her, as a pleased woman is apt to do, and saidcontentedly:--

"There, now!"

"Fräulein, you are very kind to me, " said Max. 

"Yes--yes, I am, Sir Max, " she responded, beaming on him. "Now, tell mewhat you and Twonette have been talking about. "

"You, " answered Max. 

A laugh gurgled in her throat as she asked:--

"What else?"

"I'll tell you if you will tell me what you and Sir Karl were saying, "he responded. 

"Ah, I see!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands gleefully. "You werejealous. "

"I admit it, " he answered, so very seriously that one might have thoughthim in earnest. "And you, Fräulein?"

"I jealous?" she responded, with lifted eyebrows. "You are a vain man, Sir Max. I was not jealous--only--only a tiny bit--so much--" and shemeasured the extent of her jealousy on the pink tip of her littlefinger. "I am told you were falconing with the Duke of Burgundy to-day. If you go in such fine company, I fear we shall see little of you. "

"There is no company finer than--than--" Max checked his tongue. 

"Say it, Max, say it, " she whispered coaxingly, leaning toward him. 

"Than you, Fräulein. " The girl leaned back contentedly against the wall, and Max continued: "Yes, his lordship was kind to me, and most gracious. I cannot believe the stories of cruelty I hear of him. I have been toldthat on different occasions he has used personal violence on his wifeand daughter. If that be true, he must be worse than the brutes of thefield, but you may be sure, Yolanda, the stories are false. "

"Alas! I fear they are too true, " responded the girl, sighing in memoryof the afternoon. 

"He is a pleasing companion when he wishes to be, " said Max, "and I hearhis daughter, the princess, is much like him. "

"Heavens!" exclaimed Yolanda, "I hope she is like him only when he ispleasing. "

"That is probably true, " said Max. 

"There is where I am really jealous, Max--this princess--" she said, leaning forward and looking up into his face with unmistakableearnestness. 

"Why?" asked Max, laughing. 

"Because men love wealth and high estate. There are scores of men--atleast, so I have been told--eager to marry this princess, who do noteven know that she is not hideous to look upon and vixenish in temper. They would take her gladly, with any deformity, physical, mental, ormoral, for the sake of possessing Burgundy. "

"But I am told she is fair and beautiful, " said Max. 

"Believe it not, " said Yolanda, sullenly. "Whoever heard of a richprincess who was not beautiful? Anne and Joan, daughters of King Louis, are always spoken of as paragons of beauty; yet those who know tell methese royal ladies are hideous. King Louis has nicknamed Joan 'TheOwlet' because she is little, ill-shapen, and black. Anne is tall, largeof bone, fat, and sallow. He should name her 'The Giantess of Beaujeu';and the little half-witted Dauphin he should dub 'Knight of the PrincelyOrder of House Rats. '"

That she was deeply in earnest there could be no doubt. 

"I hope you do not speak so freely to others, " said Max. "If His Graceof Burgundy should hear of your words he might--"

"I hope you will not tell him, " said Yolanda, laughing. "But this Mary!"she continued, clinging stubbornly to the dangerous topic. "You came towoo her estates, and in the end you will do so. "

I am convinced that the girl was intensely jealous of herself. When shefeared that Max might seek the Princess Mary, her heart brooded over thethought that he would do so for the sake of her wealth and her domains. 

"I have told you once, Fräulein, what I will do and what I will not. Foryour own sake and mine I'll tell you no more, " said Max. 

"If I were a great princess, " said Yolanda, pouting and hanging herhead, "you would not speak so sharply to me. " Evidently she was hurt byMax's words, though they were the expression, not of his displeasure, but of his pain. 

"Fräulein, forgive me; my words were not meant to be sharp. It was mypain that spoke. You torture me and cause me to torture myself, " saidMax. "To keep a constant curb on one's ardent longing is exhausting. Ittakes the heart out of a man. At times you seem to forget that mysilence is my great grief, not my fault. Ah, Fräulein! you cannotunderstand my longing and my struggle. "

"I do understand, " she answered plaintively, slipping her hand into his, "and unless certain recent happenings have the result I hope for, you, too, will understand, more clearly than you now do, within a veryshort time. "

She covered her face with her hands. Her words mystified Max, and he wason the point of asking her to explain. He loved and pitied her, andwould have put his arm around her waist to comfort her, but she sprangto her feet, exclaiming:--

"No, no, Little Max, let us save all that for our farewell. You will nothave long to wait. "

Wisdom returned to Max, and he knew that she was right in helping him toresist the temptation that he had so valiantly struggled against sinceleaving Basel. 

All that I had really hoped for in Styria, all our fair dreams upon thecastle walls of Hapsburg, had come to pass. Max had, beyond doubt, wonthe heart of Mary of Burgundy, but that would avail nothing unless bysome good chance conditions should so change that Mary would be able tochoose for herself. In such case, ambition would cut no figure in herchoice. The chains of duty to family, state, and ancestry that boundMax's feet so firmly would be but wisps of straw about Yolanda's slenderankles. She would have no hesitancy in making her choice, were she freeto do so, and states might go hang for all she would care. Her heart washer state. Would she ever be able to choose? Fortune had been kind to usthus far; would she remain our friend? She is a coquette; but the heartof a coquette, if truly won, is the most steadfast of all. 

Twonette brought in the wine and honey; Castleman soon returned andlighted the lamp, and we all sat talking before the small blaze in thefireplace, till the great clock in the middle of the room chimed thehour of ten. Then Yolanda ran from us with a hurried good night, and Maxreturned with me to the inn. 

 * * * * *

I cannot describe the joy I took from the recurring thought that I wasparticeps criminis with the Princess of Burgundy in the commission of acrime. At times I wished the crime had been greater and its extenuationfar less. We hear much about what happens when thieves fall out, but myobservation teaches me that thieves usually remain good friends. Thebonds of friendship had begun to strengthen between Yolanda and mebefore she sought my help in the perpetration of her great crime. Afterthat black felony, they became like links of Milan chain. I shared hersecrets, great and small. 

One day while Yolanda and I were sitting in the oak room, --the room fromwhich the panel opened into the stairway in the wall, --I said to her:--

"If your letter 't' causes a break with France, perhaps Max'sopportunity may come. "

"I do not know--I cannot hope, " she responded dolefully. "You see, whenfather made this treaty with France, he was halting between two men inthe choice of a husband for me. One was the Dauphin, son to King Louis, whom father hates with every breath he draws. The other was the Duke ofGelders, whom father really likes. Gelders is a brute, Sir Karl. He kepthis father in prison four years, and usurped his domain. He is adrunkard, a murderer, and a profligate. For reasons of state fatherchose the Dauphin, but if the treaty with France is broken, I suppose itwill be Gelders again. If it comes to that, Sir Karl--but I'll not saywhat I'll do. My head is full of schemes from morning till night, andwhen I sleep my poor brain is a whirl of visions. Self-destruction, elopement, and I know not what else appeal to me. How far is it toStyria, Sir Karl?" she asked abruptly. 

"Two or three hundred leagues, perhaps--it may be more, " I answered. "Ido not know how far it is, Yolanda, but it is not far enough for yourpurposes. Even could you reach there, Styria could not protect you. "

"I was not thinking of--of what you suppose, Sir Karl, " she saidplaintively. 

"What were you thinking of, Yolanda?" I asked. 

"Of nothing--of--of--a wild dream of hiding away from the world in someunknown corner, at times comes to me in my sleep--only in my sleep, SirKarl--for in my waking hours I know it to be impossible. The onlypleasant part of being a princess is that the world envies you; but whata poor bauble it is to buy at the frightful price I pay!"

"I have been on mountain tops, " I answered philosophically, "and I findthat breathing grows difficult as one ascends. "

"Ah, Sir Karl, " she answered tearfully, "I believe I'll go upstairs andweep. "

I led her to the moving panel and opened it for her. Without turning herface she held back her hand for me to kiss. Then she started up the darkstone steps, and I knew that she was weeping. I closed the panel and saton the cushioned bench. To say that I would have given my old life towin happiness for her but poorly measures my devotion. A man's happinessdepends entirely on the number and quality of those to whom his lovegoes out. Before meeting Yolanda I drew all my happiness from loving oneperson--Max. Now my source was doubled, and I wished for the first timethat I might live my life again, to lay it at this girl's feet. 

CHAPTER XVII

TRIAL BY COMBAT

Max had waited until Calli's arm was mended to bring up the subject ofthe trial by combat; but when he would have taken it before the duke, Idissuaded him by many pretexts, and for a few days it was dropped. Butsoon it was brought forward in a most unpleasant way. Max and I were inthe streets of Peronne one afternoon, and as we approached a group ofragged boys, one of them cried out:--

"There is the fellow that challenged Count Calli, but won't fight him!"

Max turned upon the boy, caught him roughly by the shoulder, and askedhim where he got his information. The frightened boy replied that hisfather was a hostler in the duke's stables, and had heard Count Callisay that the fellow who had challenged him was "all gauntlet butno fight. "

We at once sought Hymbercourt, who, on being closely questioned, admitted that the Italians in the castle were boasting that the strangerwho seemed so eager to fight when Calli's arm was lame, had lost hiscourage now that the arm was healed. 

Of course I was in a deal of trouble over this combat, and heartilywished the challenge had never been given, though I had all faith inMax's strength and skill. I, who had fought constantly for twenty years, had trained him since his tenth birthday. I had not only trained him; Ihad introduced him to the lists at eighteen--he being well grown, strongof limb, and active as a wildcat. I waged him against a famous tilt-yardknight, and Max held his own manfully, to his great credit and to mygreat joy. The battle was a draw. My first great joy in life came a fewmonths afterward, when Max unhorsed this same knight, and received thecrown of victory from the queen of the lists. 

But this combat would be a battle of death. Two men would enter thelists; one would die in the course. 

Max could, with propriety, announce his title and refuse to fight one sofar beneath him as Calli; but even my love for the boy and my fear ofthe outcome, could not induce me to advise this. The advice would havebeen little heeded had I given it. Max was not one in whose heart hatredcould thrive, but every man should have a just sense of injury received, and no one should leave all vengeance to God. In Max's heart this sensewas almost judicial. The court of his conscience had convicted Calli ofan unforgivable crime, and he felt that it was his God-appointed duty tocarry out the sentence. 

While I had all faith in Max's strength and skill, I also knew Calli tobe a strong, time-hardened man, well used to arms. What his skill was, Icould not say, but fame proclaimed it great. It would need to be greatto kill Max, boy though he was, but accidents are apt to happen in thelists, and Calli was treacherous. I was deep in trouble, but I saw noway out but for Max to fight. So, on the morning after our conversationwith Hymbercourt, Max and I sought admission to the duke's audience. Charles had been privately told of our purpose and of course wasdelighted at the prospect of a battle to the death. 

A tournament with, mayhap, a few broken heads furnished him greatenjoyment; but a real battle between two men, each seeking the other'slife, was such keen pleasure to his savage, blood-loving nature, thatits importance could hardly be measured. Charles would have postponedhis war against the Swiss, I verily believe, rather than miss thiscombat between Max and Calli. 

The duke hurried through the business of the morning, and then turnedtoward Max, signifying that his time had come. Max stepped before theducal throne, made his obeisance, and said:--

"May it please Your Highness to recall a wage of battle given by me someweeks ago, in this hall and in this august presence, to one who callshimself Count Calli? The cause of my complaint against the said Calli Ineed not here rehearse. I have waited to repeat my defiance until suchtime as Count Calli's arm should mend. I am told that he is now strong;and, most gracious Lord Charles, Duke of Burgundy, I again offer my wageof battle against this said knight and demand the trial by combat. "

Thereupon he drew an iron gauntlet from his girdle and threw it clankingon the stone floor. The gauntlet lay untouched for the space of a minuteor two; and the duke turned toward Calli and Campo-Basso, who stoodsurrounded by their Italian friends at the right of the throne. After along pause Charles said:--

"Will Count Calli lift the gage, or shall we appoint a court of heraldryto determine whether or no the combat shall take place?"

There was a whispered conversation among the Italians, after whichCampo-Basso addressed the duke. 

"My most gracious lord, " said he, "the noble Count Calli is loath tolift the gage of an unknown man, and would make bold to say that he willnot do so until he is satisfied that he who so boastingly offers it isworthy in blood, station, and knighthood to stand before him. "

"For all that I will stand surety, " said Hymbercourt, turning to theduke and to Campo-Basso. 

"The Lord d'Hymbercourt's honor is beyond reproach, " replied theItalian, "but Count Calli must have other proof. "

Hymbercourt was about to make an angry reply, but he was silenced by theduke's uplifted hand. 

"We will ourself be surety for this knight, " said Charles. 

"We cannot gainsay Your Lordship's surety, most gracious duke, " returnedCampo-Basso; "but with all meekness and humility we would suggest, withYour Grace's permission, that when a man jeopards his life againstanother he feels it his right to know at least his foe's name. "

"Count Calli must content himself with knowing that the knight's name isSir Maximilian du Guelph. If Count Calli is right and his cause just, God will give him victory, and the whole world shall know of his deed. If he is in the wrong and his cause unjust, may God have mercy onhis soul. "

A long pause ensued during which Max stood before the duke, a noblefigure of manly beauty worthy the chisel of a Greek sculptor. Theshutter in the ladies' gallery was ajar and I caught a glimpse ofYolanda's pale, tear-stained face as she looked down upon the man sheloved, who was to put his life in peril to avenge her wrong. 

"We are wasting time, Count Calli, " spoke the duke. "Take up the gage ordemand a court. The charge made by Sir Max will certainly justify acourt of chivalry in ordering the combat. The truth or falsity of thatcharge you and Sir Max must prove on each other's bodies. His desire toremain unknown the court will respect; he has ample precedent. If youare convinced by the word of our Lord d'Hymbercourt and myself that heis of birth and station worthy to engage with you in knightly and mortalcombat, you can ask no more. Few courts of chivalry, I take it, wouldhold the evidence inconclusive. Take up or leave the gage, Sir Count, and do one or the other at once. "

Calli walked over to the gauntlet and, taking it from the floor, held itin his right hand while he bent his knee before the duke. He did notlook toward Max, but turned in the direction of his friends and tuckedthe gauntlet in his girdle as he strode away. 

"We appoint this day twelve days, on a Sunday afternoon, for thecombat, " said Charles. "Then these men shall do their endeavor, eachupon the other; and may God give victory to the right!"

 * * * * *

That evening, as usual, Max and I were at Castleman's. Yolanda did notcome down till late, but when she came she clung silently to Max, andthere was a deep pathos in her every word and glance. As we left, I wentback and whispered hurriedly to her:--

"Have no fear, dear one. Our Max will take no harm. "

My words were bolder than my heart, but I thought to comfort her. 

"I have no fear, Sir Karl, " she said, in a trembling voice. "There is noman so strong and brave as Max. He is in the right, and God is just. TheBlessed Virgin, too, will help him. It would be sacrilege to doubt her. I do not doubt. I do not fear, Sir Karl, but, oh, my friend--" Here sheburied her face on my breast and wept convulsively. Her words, too, hadbeen bolder than her heart--far bolder. 

The brooding instinct in me--the faint remnant of mother love, that kindProvidence has left in every, good man's heart--longed to comfort herand bear her pains. But I was powerless to help her, and, after all, hersuffering was wholesome. In a moment she continued, sobbing whileshe spoke:--

"But--oh! if by any mischance Max should fall; if by treachery oraccident--oh, Sir Karl, my heart is breaking. Do not let Max fight. "These words were from her woman's heart. "His station will excuse him, but if the affair has gone too far for him to withdraw, tell him to--toleave Burgundy, to run away, to--"

"Yolanda, what are you saying?" I asked. "Would you not rather see himdead than a coward?"

"No, no, Sir Karl, " she cried, wrought almost to a frenzy by her griefand fear. "No, no, anything but dead. "

"Listen to reason, Yolanda, " I answered. "I, who love Max more than Ilove the blood of my heart, would kill him with my own hand rather thanhave cause to call him coward and speak the truth. "

"No, no, " she cried desperately, grasping my hand. "Do not let himfight. Ah, Sir Karl, if you bear me any love, if my grief and unhappylot have touched your heart, even on the smallest spot, I pray you, dothis thing for me. Do not let Max fight with this Count Calli. IfMax falls--"

"But Max will not fall, " I answered boldly. "He has overthrown bettermen than Calli. "

"Has he? Ah, tell me, has he? He is little more than a boy. I seem olderthan he at times, and it is hard to believe what you say, though I knowhe is strong, and that fear has no place in his heart. Tell me, whom hashe overthrown?"

"Another time, Yolanda, " I responded soothingly, "but this I say now tocomfort you. Calli is no match for our Max. In the combat that is tocome, Max can kill him if he chooses, barring accidents and treachery. Over and above his prowess, his cause, you know, is just, and for thatreason God will be with him. "

"Yes, yes, " sobbed Yolanda, "and the Virgin, too. "

The Virgin was a woman in whom she could find a woman's sympathy. Shetrusted God and stood in reverent awe of Him; but one could easily seethat the Virgin held her heart and was her refuge in time of trouble. When I turned to leave she called me back, saying:--

"I have a mind to tell Max the truth--to tell him who I am. "

"I would not do so now, " I answered, fearing, perhaps with good reason, the effect of the disclosure on Max. "After the combat, if you wish totell him--"

"But if he should fall?" said the girl, beginning to weep again andclinging desperately to my arm. "If he should fall, not knowing whoI am?"

"Max will not fall, Yolanda. Dismiss that fear from your heart. "

My bold words served a double purpose. They at least partially satisfiedYolanda, and they strengthened me. 

Of course Max and I at once began to prepare for the combat. The chargerwe had captured from the robbers on the Rhine now came to our hand as ifsent by Providence. He was a large, active horse, with limbs like steel. He was an intelligent animal, too, and a good brain is almost asvaluable in a horse as in a man. He had evidently borne arms all hislife, for when we tried him in the tilt-yard we found him trained atevery point. 

There was no heavy plate at the Peronne armorer's large enough for Max, so Hymbercourt dropped a hint to Duke Charles, and His Grace sent twobeautiful suits to our inn. One was of Barcelona make, the other an oldsuit which we judged had come from Damascus. I tried the latter with mysword, and spoiled a good blade. Although the Damascus armor was tooheavy by a stone, we chose it, and employed an armorer to tighten a fewnuts, and to adjust new straps to the shoulder plates and arm pieces. 

We caused lists to be built outside the walls, and Max worked eighthours a day to harden himself. He ran against me, against our squires, who were lusty big fellows, and now and then against Hymbercourt, whowas a most accomplished knight. 

Yolanda was prone to coax Max not to fight, and her fear showed itselfin every look and gesture. Her words, of course, could not have turnedhim, but her fears might have undermined his self-confidence. So Ipointed out to her the help he would get from encouragement, and thepossible hurt he would take were her fears to infect him. After myadmonition, her efforts to be cheerful and confident almost broughttears to my eyes. She would sing, but her song was joyless. She wouldbanter Max and would run imaginary courses with him, taking the part ofCalli, and always falling dead at Max's feet; but the moment ofrelaxation brought a haunting, terrified expression to her eyes. Thecorners of her sweet mouth would droop, effacing the cluster of dimplesthat played about her lips, and the fair, childish face, usually sojoyful, wore the mask of grief. For the first time in her life realhappiness had come, not within her grasp, but within sight; and thiscombat might snatch it from her. 

Once when I was helping Max to buckle on his armor for a bout atpractice, he said:--

"Yolanda seems to treat this battle as a jest. She laughs and banters meas if it were to be a justing bout. I wonder if she really has a heart?"

"Max, I am surprised at your dulness, " I said. "Do you not see hermanner is assumed, though her fear is small because of her great faithin your prowess?"

"I'll try to deserve her faith, " answered Max. 

 * * * * *

When at last the day arrived, Max was in prime condition. At the inn wecarefully adjusted the armor and fitted it on him. One of our squiresled the charger, carefully trapped, to the lists, which had been builtin an open field outside the town, west of the castle. 

Max and I, accompanied by Hymbercourt and two other friends, rode downto Castleman's, and Max entered the house for a few minutes. Yolanda hadtold him that she would not be at the lists, and Max felt that it werebetter so. 

Twonette and her father had gone to the lists when we reached the Houseunder the Wall, but Yolanda and Frau Kate were awaiting us. There was abrief greeting and a hurried parting--tearful on Yolanda's part. Then werode around to the Postern and entered the courtyard of the castle. Crossing the courtyard, we passed out through the great gate at thekeep, and soon stood demanding admission to the lists. 

The course was laid off north and south, the sun being in the southwest. The hour of battle was fixed at four o'clock, and the combat was tocontinue till sundown, if neither champion fell before that time. Thepavilion for the duke and the other spectators was built at the westside of the false lists--a strip of ground ten feet wide, extendingentirely around the true lists, but separated from it by a barrier orrailing three feet high. 

It was an hour after we left Castleman's house before Max and I enteredthe false lists. As I expected, the princess was sitting in the pavilionwith her father and Duchess Margaret. A veil partly concealed herfeatures, and when Max rode down the false lists to make his obeisancebefore the duke and the duchess, he could not know that the white faceof Yolanda looked down upon him. I was sorry to see the princess in thepavilion, because I knew that if an untoward fate should befall Max, ademonstration would surely follow in the ducal gallery. 

At the gate of the true lists, Max was met by a priest, who heard hisoath, and by a herald, who read the laws and the agreement relating tothe combat. A court of heraldry had decided that three lances should bebroken, after which the champions, if both alive, should dismount andcontinue the fight with battle-axes of whatever weight they mightchoose. If either knight should be disabled, it was the other's rightto kill him. 

After Max had entered the true lists the gates were closed, andHymbercourt, myself, and our squires stood outside the barrier at thenorth end of the false lists, --the north being Max's station onthe course. 

Max sat his charger, lance in rest; Calli waited in the south, and thesetwo faced each other with death between them. 

When all was ready the heralds raised their banners, and the duke gavethe word of battle. There was a moment of deep silence, broken by thethunder of tramping hoofs, as horses and men rushed upon each other. Calli and Max met in mid-course, and the din of their contact was likethe report of a cannon. Each horse fell back upon its haunches; eachrider bent back upon his horse. Two tough yule lances burst into ahundred splinters. Then silence ensued, broken after a moment by a stormof applause from the pavilion. 

The second course was like the first, save that Max nearly unhorsedCalli by a marvellous helmet stroke. The stroke loosened Calli's helmetby breaking a throat-strap, but neither he nor his friends seemed tonotice the mishap, and the third course was begun without remedying it. When the champions were within ten yards of each other, a report likethe discharge of an arquebuse was heard, coming apparently from beneaththe pavilion. I could not say whence the report came--I was too intentupon the scene in the lists to be thoroughly conscious of happeningselsewhere--but come it did from somewhere, and Max's fine chargerplunged forward on the lists, dead. Max fell over his horse's head andlay half-stunned upon the ground. 

Above the din rose a cry, a frantic scream, that fairly pierced myheart. Well I knew the voice that uttered it. The people in the pavilionrose to their feet, and cries of "Treachery! treachery!" came from alldirections. Calli was evidently expecting the shot, for just before itcame he reined in his horse, and when Max fell the Italian instantlybrought his charger to a standstill and began to dismount with all thespeed his heavy armor would permit. When safely down, he unclasped hisbattle-axe from the chain that held it to his girdle and started towardMax, who was lying prone upon the ground. Cries of "Shame! shame!" camefrom the pavilion, but no one, not even the duke, dared to interfere; itwas Calli's right to kill Max if he could. 

I had covered my eyes with my hand, thinking that surely the boy's hourhad come. I removed my hand when I heard the scream, and I have thankedGod ever since for prompting me to do that little act, for I saw themost beautiful sight that my eyes have ever beheld. Calli had reachedhis prostrate foe and was standing over him with battle-axe uplifted todeal the blow of death. At that same moment Yolanda sprang from theduke's side, cleared the low railing in front of the ducal box, andjumped to the false lists six or eight feet below. Her gown of scarletand gold shone with dazzling radiance in the sunlight. 

Calli was facing the pavilion, and Yolanda's leap probably attracted hisattention. However that may have been--perhaps it was because of Calli'shaste, perhaps it was the will of God--the blow fell short, and Calli'sbattle-axe, glancing from Max's helmet, buried itself in the hardground. While Calli was struggling to release his axe, Yolanda clearedthe low barrier of the true lists, sped across the intervening spacelike a flash of red avenging flame, and reached Max not one second toosoon, for Calli's axe was again uplifted. She fell upon Max, and had theaxe descended she would have received the blow. Calli stepped back insurprise, his heel caught on the toe of Max's iron boot, he fell proneupon his back, and the weight of his armor prevented him from risingquickly. The glancing blow on Max's helmet had roused him, and when hemoved Yolanda rose to her knees beside him. 

"Let me help you, " she cried, lifting Max's mailed hand to her shoulder;Max did so, and by help of the frail girl he drew himself to his kneesand then to his feet. Meantime, Calli was attempting to rise. I canstill see the terrible picture. Calli's panting horse stood near by withdrooping head. Max's charger lay quivering in the convulsions of death. Calli, whose helmet had dropped from his head when he fell, lay restingon his elbow, half risen and bareheaded. Max stood deliberately takinghis battle-axe from his girdle chain, while Yolanda still knelt at hisfeet. Battle-axe in hand, Max stepped toward Calli, who had risen to hisknees. The expression on the Italian's face I shall never forget. Withbared head and upturned face he awaited the death that he knew hedeserved. Max lifted his battle-axe to give the blow. I wondered if hewould give it. He lowered the axe, and a shout went up from thepavilion:--

"Kill him! Kill him!"

He lifted the axe again, and a silence like the hush of death fell uponthe shouting audience. Again Max hesitated, and I distinctly heardYolanda, who was still upon her knees, whisper:--

"Kill him! Kill him!"

Then came the shouts of a thousand voices, thrilling me to the marrow:--

"Kill him! Kill him!" and I knew that if I were standing in Max's shoes, Calli would die within a moment. I also remember wondering in a flash ofthought if Max were great enough to spare him. Again the battle-axe cameslowly down, and the din in the pavilion was deafening:--

"Kill him! Kill him!"

Again the battle-axe rose; but after a pause, Max let it fall to theground behind him; and, turning toward the girl, lifted her with hismailed hands to her feet. When she had risen Max looked into her face, and, falling back a step, exclaimed in a voice hushed by wonder:--

"Yolanda!"

His words coming to the girl's ears, like a far-away sound, from thecavernous recesses of his helmet, frightened her. 

"No, no, my name is not Yolanda. You are mistaken. You do not know me. I--I am the princess. You do not know me. "

Her words were prompted by two motives: she wished to remain unknown toMax, and she feared lest her father should come to know that a greatpart of her life was spent as a burgher girl. Her hands were clasped ather breast; her face was as pale as a gray dawn; her breath came infeeble gusts, and her words fell haltingly from her lips. She took twosteps forward, her eyes closed, and she began to fall. Max caught herand lifted her in his strong arms. On great occasions persons often dotrivial acts. With Yolanda held tightly in the embrace of his left arm, Max stooped to the ground and picked up his battle-axe with his righthand. Then he strode to the north end of the lists and placed the girlin my arms. 

"Yolanda, " he said, intending to tell me of his fair burden. 

"No, Max, " I whispered, as he unfastened his helmet. "Not Yolanda, butthe princess. The two resemble each other greatly. "

"Yolanda, " returned Max, doggedly. "I know her as a mother knows herfirst-born. "

Not one hundred seconds had elapsed between the report of the arquebuseand the placing of Yolanda in my arms; but hardly had Max finishedspeaking when a dozen ladies crowded about us and took possession of theunconscious princess. 

After the duke had set on foot a search for the man who had fired thearquebuse, he came down to the false lists and stood with Hymbercourtand me, discussing the event. Campo-Basso said that his heart was "sorewith grief, " and the Italians jabbered like monkeys. One of them wantedto kiss Max for sparing his kinsman's life, but Max thrust him off witha fierce oath. The young fellow was in an ugly mood, and if I had beenhis enemy, I would sooner have crossed the path of a wounded lion thanhis. He was slow to anger, but the treachery he had encountered hadraised all of Satan that was in him. Had he stood before Calli thirtyseconds longer that treacherous heart would have ceased to beat. 

While we were standing in the false lists, speaking with the duke, anItalian approached Max, bowed low, and said:--

"The noble Count Calli approaches to thank you for your mercy and toextol your bravery. "

Max turned his head toward the centre of the course, and saw Callisurrounded by a crowd of jabbering friends who were leading him towardus. A black cloud--a very mist from hell--came over Max's face. Hestooped and took his battle-axe from the ground. I placed my hand on theboy's arm and warningly spoke his name:--

"Max!" After a pause I continued, "Leave murder to the Italians. "

Max uttered a snort of disdain, but, as usual, he took my advice. Heturned to Campo-Basso, still grasping his battle-axe:--

"Keep that fellow away from me, " he said, pointing toward Calli. "Mymerciful mood was brief. By the good God who gave me the villain's life, I will kill him if he comes within reach of my axe. "

An Italian ran to the men who had Calli in charge, and they turned atonce and hurried toward the south gate of the lists. All this action wasvery rapid, consuming only a minute or two, and transpired in much lesstime than it requires to tell of it. 

While our squires were removing Max's armor, I heard the duke say:--

"Arrest Calli. We will hold him until the shot is explained. If he wasprivy to it, he shall hang or boil. " Then the duke, placing his hand onMax's shoulder, continued: "You are the best knight in Christendom, thebravest, the most generous, and the greatest fool. Think you Calli wouldhave spared you, boy?"

"I am not Calli, my lord, " said Max. 

"You certainly are not, " returned the duke. 

Visions of trouble with France growing out of Yolanda's "t, " and of asubsequent union between Max and the princess, floated before my mind, even amidst the din that surrounded me. Taking the situation by andlarge, I was in an ecstasy of joy. Max's victory was a thousandtriumphs in one. It was a triumph over his enemy, a triumph over hisfriends, but, above all, a triumph over himself. He had proved himselfbrave and merciful, and I knew that in him the world had a man who wouldleave it better and happier than he found it. 

Calli was arrested and brought to the duke's presence. Of course hedenied all knowledge of the shot that had killed Max's horse. Otherswere questioned, including three Italian friars wearing cassocks andcowls, who bore a most wondrous testimony. 

"Your Grace, " said one of the friars, "we three men of God can explainthis matter that so nearly touches the honor of our fair countryman, thenoble Count Calli. "

"In God's name, do so, " exclaimed the duke. 

"This is the explanation, most gracious lord. When the third course waspreparing, we three men of God prayed in concert to God theFather, "--all the friars crossed themselves, --"God the Son, and God theHoly Ghost, to save our countryman, and lo! our prayers were mostgraciously answered; for, noble lord, at the moment when this mostvaliant knight was about to kill our friend, we each heard a reportmarvellously like to the discharge of an arquebuse. At the same instanta fiery shaft descended from the palm of a mighty hand in the heavens, and the horse of this valiant and most generous knight, Sir Max, felldead, stricken by the hand of God. "

I had no doubt that this absurd explanation would be received withscorn and derision; but the friar knew his audience, and I did not. Hisstatement was not really accepted as true, but it was not cast aside asutterly absurd. I saw that it might easily be believed. 

"Why did not others see your wondrous shaft from the hand of God?" Iasked. 

"Because, noble lord, " answered the friar, "our eyes were looking upwardin prayer. All others were fixed on this worldly combat. "

The explanation actually seemed to explain. 

Just then the men who had been sent out to seek evidence concerning theshot returned, and reported that no arquebuse was to be found. The listswere surrounded by an open field, and a man endeavoring to escape wouldhave been seen. 

"Did you search all places of possible concealment for an arquebuse?"asked the duke. 

"All, my lord, " answered the men, who were Burgundians and to betrusted. 

Faith in the friars absurd story was rapidly gaining ground, and severalof the Italian courtiers, emboldened by encouragement, affirmed upontheir hope of salvation and their knightly honor that they, too, hadwitnessed the descent of the shaft from heaven. Touch a man on hissuperstitions, and he will believe anything you tell him. If you assurehim that an honest friend has told you so and so, he may doubt you, buttell him that God tells you, and he will swallow your hook. If you wouldhave your lie believed, tell a great one. 

Charles, more credulous and gullible than I should have believed, turnedto Hymbercourt. He spoke reverentially, being, you understand, in thepresence of a miracle:--

"This is a wondrous happening, my lord, " said the duke. 

"If it happened, Your Grace, " returned Hymbercourt, "it certainly wasmarvellous. "

"Don't you think it did happen? Do not you believe that this bolt camefrom the hand that was seen by these worthy friars?" asked the duke. 

"The shaft surely did not come from a just God, my lord, " returnedHymbercourt. 

"Whence, then, did it come?" asked the duke. "No arquebuse has beenfound, and a careful scrutiny has been made. "

"Aye!" echoed the friars. "Whence else did it come? Whence, my Lordd'Hymbercourt, whence?"

I had noticed our Irish servant Michael standing near one of the friars. At this point in the conversation the Irishman plucked me by the sleeve, pointed to a friar, and whispered a word in my ear. Like a stone from acatapult I sprang on the friar indicated, threw him to the ground, anddrew from under his black cassock an arquebuse. 

"Here is the shaft from God!" I exclaimed, holding the arquebuse up toview. Then I kneeled on the prostrate wretch and clutched his throat. Anger gathered in my brain as lightning clusters about a mountain top. Ithrew aside the arquebuse and proceeded to kill the canting mendicant. Ido not know that I killed him; I hope I did. I cannot speak withcertainty on that point, for I was quickly thrown away from him by theavenging mob that rushed upon us and tore the fellow limb from limb. Theother friars were set upon by the populace that had witnessed the combatfrom without the lists, and were beaten so unmercifully that one of themdied. Of the other's fate I know nothing, but I have my secret desires. 

"Kill the Italians! Murder the assassins! Down with the mercenaries, "cried the populace, who hated the duke's guard. The barriers were brokendown, and an interesting battle ensued. Surely the people got their fullsatisfaction of blood and excitement that day. The Italians drew theirswords, but, being separated, they were at a disadvantage, though theirassailants carried only staves. I expected the duke to stop the fight, but he withdrew to a little distance and watched it with evidentinterest. My interest was more than evident; it was uproarious. I havenever spent so enjoyable a day. The fight raged after Max and I left, and there was many a sore head and broken bone that night among theItalian mercenaries of the Duke of Burgundy. 

When Max and I returned to Peronne, we went to the noble church of St. Jean and offered our humble gratitude. Max, having thrown off his anger, proposed to buy a mass for the dead friar; but I was for leaving him inpurgatory where he belonged, and Max, as usual, took my advice. 

On reaching the inn, Max cried loudly for supper. His calmness wouldhave done credit to a hardened warrior. There was at least one hardenedwarrior that was not calm. I was wrought almost to a pitch of frenzy andcould not eat, though the supper prepared by Grote was a marvel in itsway. The old man, usually grave and crusty, after the manner of Germanhosts, actually bent his knee to Max and said:--

"My poor house has entertained kings and princes; but never has it hadso great an honor as that which it now has in sheltering you. "

That night the duke came with Hymbercourt to honor us at the inn. Eachspoke excitedly and warmly. Max seemed to be the only calm manin Peronne. 

CHAPTER XVIII

YOLANDA OR THE PRINCESS?

After these adventures we could no longer conceal Max's identity, and itsoon became noised about that he was Count of Hapsburg. But Styria wasso far away, and so little known, even to courtiers of considerablerank, that the fact made no great stir in Peronne. To Frau Kate andTwonette the disclosure came with almost paralyzing effect. 

The duke remained with us until late in the night, so Max and I did notgo over to the House under the Wall. When we were alone in our room, Max said:

"The Princess Mary has treated me as if I were a boy. "

"She saved your life, " I returned. "Calli would certainly have killedyou had she not acted quickly. "

"I surely owe her my life, " said Max, "though I have little knowledge ofwhat happened after I fell from my horse until I rose to my feet by herhelp. I complain of her conduct in deceiving me by pretending to be aburgher maiden. It was easily done, Karl, but ungraciously. "

"You are now speaking of Yolanda, " I said, not knowing what the wishesof the princess might be in regard to enlightening him. He looked at meand answered:--

"Karl, if a woman's face is burned on a man's heart, he knows it when hesees it. "

"You know Yolanda's face, certainly, and I doubt if Yolanda will thankyou for mistaking another's for it. "

"I have made no mistake, Karl, " he answered. 

"I am not so sure, " I replied. "The girl you placed in my arms seemedtaller by half a head than Yolanda. I noticed her while she wasstanding. She seemed rounder and much heavier in form; but I, too, thought she was Yolanda, and, after all, you may be right. "

"I caught but a glimpse of her face, and that poorly, " said Max. "It isdifficult to see anything looking downward out of a helmet; one mustlook straight ahead. But the glimpse I had of her face satisfied me. "

"Do not be too sure, Max. I once took another man for myself. " Maxlaughed. "I am sure no one could have told us apart. He was the Pope, and I his cousin. Yolanda herself once told me--I believe she has alsotold you--that she has the honor to resemble the princess. "

I did not wish to lie to Max, and you will note that I did not say theprincess was not Yolanda. Still, I wished him to remain ignorant uponthe important question until Yolanda should see fit to enlighten him. Iwas not sure of her motive in maintaining the alias, though I wascertain it was more than a mere whim. How great it was I could not know. Should she persist in it I would help her up to the point of telling Maxa downright falsehood. There I would stop. 

We spent two evenings at Castleman's, but did not see Yolanda. On thefirst evening, after an hour of listlessness, Max hesitatingly asked:--

"Where is Yo--that is, the princess has not been here this evening. "

"The princess!" exclaimed Frau Kate. "No, she has not been here thisevening--nor the duke, nor the king of France. No titled person, SirCount, save yourself, has honored us to-day. Our poor roof sheltersfew such. "

"I mean Yolanda, " said Max. Good-natured Frau Kate laughed softly, andTwonette said, with smiling serenity:--

"Yolanda's head will surely be turned, Sir Count, when she hears youhave called her the princess. So much greatness thrust upon her willmake it impossible for us to live with her. "

"She rules us all as it is, sweet soul, " said Castleman. 

"Yolanda is ill upstairs, Sir Count, " said Frau Kate. "She wanted tocome down this evening, but I commanded otherwise. Twonette, go to her. She will be lonely. "

Twonette rose, courtesied, and departed. This splendid bit of actingalmost made me doubt that Yolanda was the princess, and it shook Max'sconviction to its very foundation. 

I wish to warn you that the deception practised upon Max by Yolanda willseem almost impossible, except on the hypothesis that Max was a verysimple fellow. But the elaborate scheme designed and executed by thisgirl, with the help of the Castlemans and myself, --all of whom Max hadno reason to distrust, --would have deceived any man. Max, though simpleand confiding where he trusted, --judging others' good faith by hisown, --was shrewd for his years, and this plan of Yolanda's had to befaultless, as it really was, to mislead him. 

On the morning of the fourth day after the trial by combat, Yolanda madeher appearance at Castleman's, looking pale and large-eyed. Max and Ihad walked down to the House under the Wall before going to dine withthe duke. Soon after we were seated Twonette left, and within fiveminutes Yolanda came suddenly upon us in the long parlor. She ran toMax, grasping both his hands. For a moment she could only say, "Max, Max, " and he remained silent. 

When she recovered control of her voice she said:--

"How proud we are of you, Sir Max! Uncle and aunt have told me howbrave and merciful you were at the combat. "

"Your Highness surely knows all that can be told on the subject, sinceyou were there and took so active a part in the adventure, " answeredMax. "It is I who should be grateful, and I am. I owe my life to YourHighness. "

"You honor me too much, Sir Max, " said Yolanda, looking up with surpriseand bowing low before him. "Let my elevation be gradual that I may growaccustomed to my rank. Make of me first a great lady, and then, say, acountess. Afterward, if I prove worthy, call me princess. "

"We will call you a princess now, Your Highness, " answered Max, not tobe driven from his position. 

"Very well, " cried Yolanda, with a laugh and a sweeping courtesy. "Ifyou will have me a princess, a princess I'll be. But I will not be thePrincess of Burgundy. She saved your life, and I am jealous of her--Ihate her. "

She stamped her foot, and the angry gleam in her eyes was genuine. Therecould be no doubt that she was jealous of the princess. I could notaccount for her unique attitude toward herself save on one hypothesis:she was, even to herself, two distinct persons. Yolanda was a happyburgher girl; Mary was a wretched princess. The two widely differingconditions under which she lived were so distinct, and were separated bya gulf so broad, that to her the princess and the burgher girl were inno way related. 

With change of condition there was always a change of person. Theunhappy princess would come down the stairway in the wall; God wouldkindly touch her, and lo! she was transformed into a happy Yolanda. Yolanda's light feet would climb the dark stone steps, and God was oncemore a frowning father. There must also be added Max's share in heremotions. Perhaps she feared the princess as she would have dreaded arival; since she longed with all her passionate, tender heart to win Maxfor herself only. It would have been an easy task, as princess, to winhim or any man; but if she could win him as Yolanda, the burgher girl, the prize would be the greatest that could fall to a woman. 

The true situation dawned upon me as I stood before Max and watchedYolanda. I thought of her adroit plan to make trouble with France, and Iwanted to shout for joy. The impossible might yet happen. God's handsurely had been in our journeying to Burgundy. Max might yet win thispeerless princess, this priceless girl; or, reverse it if you choose, Mary of Burgundy might win this peerless man, and might at the same timeattain the unutterable joy of knowing that she had won him for herown sake. 

Perhaps her yearning had led her to hope that he might in the end bewilling to fling behind him his high estate for the sake of a burghergirl. Then, when she had brought him to that resolution, what a joy itwould be to turn upon him and say: "I am not a burgher girl. I amPrincess Mary of Burgundy, and all these things which you are willing toforego for my sake you may keep, and you may add to them the fair landof Burgundy!" Her high estate and rich domains, now the tokens of herthralldom, would then be her joy, since she could give them to Max. 

While these bright hopes were filling my mind, Yolanda was playing wellher part. She, too, evidently meant to tell no lies, though she might beforced to act many. Her fiery outburst against the Princess of Burgundyastonished Max and almost startled me. Still, the conviction was strongwith him that Yolanda was Mary. 

"If--if you are the princess, Yo--Yolanda, " said Max, evidentlywavering, "it were ungracious to deceive me. "

"But I _am_ the princess, " cried Yolanda, lifting her head and walkingmajestically to and fro. "Address me not by that low, plebeianname, Yolanda. "

She stepped upon a chair and thence to the top of the great oak tablethat stood in the middle of the room. Drawing the chair up after her sheplaced it on the table, and, seating herself on this improvised throne, lifted one knee over the other, after the manner of her father. Shelooked serenely about her in a most amusing imitation of the duke, andspoke with a deep voice:--

"Heralds!"

No one responded. So she filled the office of herald herself and criedout:--

"Oyez! Oyez! The princess now gives audience!" Resuming the ducal voice, she continued, "Are there complaints, my Lord Seneschal?" A pause. "Ah, our guards have stolen Grion's cow, have they? The devil take Grion andhis cow, too! Hang Grion for complaining. " A pause ensues while the dukeawaits the next report. "The Swiss have stolen a sheepskin? Ah, we'llskin the Swiss. My Lord Seneschal, find me fifty thousand men who areready to die for a sheepskin. Body of me! A sheepskin! I do loveit well. "

Yolanda's audience was roaring with laughter by this time, but her facewas stern and calm. 

"Silence, you fools, " she cried hoarsely, but no one was silent, and Maxlaughed till the tears came to his eyes. Yolanda on her throne was soirresistibly bewitching that he ran to her side, grasped her about thewaist, and unceremoniously lifted her to the floor. When she was on herfeet, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it, saying:--

"Yolanda or Mary--it's all one to me. There is not another like you inall the world. "

She drew herself up haughtily: "Sir, this indignity shall cost youdear, " and turning her back on him she moved away three or four paces. Then she stopped and glanced over her shoulder. His face had lost itssmile, and she knew the joke had gone far enough; so the dimples beganto cluster about the quivering corners of her mouth, the long blacklashes fell for a moment, a soft radiance came to her eyes, andshe asked:--

"Which shall it be, Sir Max, Yolanda or the princess?"

"Yolanda, " cried Max, huskily, while he held out his hands to her. Quickas the movement of a kitten, she sprang to him and allowed his arms toclose about her for one brief moment. While one might count ten sherested her head on his breast, but all too quickly she turned her faceto his and whispered:--

"Are you sure? Is it Yolanda?"

"Yes, yes, Yolanda. Thank God! it is Yolanda, " he replied, placing hishand before his eyes. She slipped from his arms, and Max, too deeplymoved to speak, walked over to the window and looked out upon thefrowning walls of Peronne the Impregnable. There was irony for you!

Probably Max was not sure that Yolanda was Yolanda; but, if he was, conviction had come through his emotions, and it might be temporary. Hewas, however, soon to be convinced by evidence so cunningly constructedthat he was compelled to abandon the testimony of his own eyes andaccept that of seemingly incontestable facts. 

"We are to dine privately with the duke at twelve o'clock, " I said, while Max was standing at the window. 

"Indeed?" asked Yolanda, arching her eyebrows; surprise and displeasureevident in her voice. She glanced at the great clock, then looked towardMax, and said:--

"It lacks but thirty minutes of that time now, and I suppose I shallsoon lose you. "

Max turned from the window, saying:--"Yes, we must go, or we shall belate. "

"Does the princess dine with you?" asked Yolanda. 

"I do not know, Fräulein, " answered Max. Thereupon Yolanda left the roompouting, and we took our departure, having promised to return toCastleman's after dinner. 

We went at once to the castle; and thirty minutes after leavingCastleman's we were in the small parlor or talking room of DuchessMargaret, where the famous letter to the king of France had been signedby Duke Charles. When we entered we saw the duchess and the princesssitting upon the divan. The duke was in his great oak chair, andHymbercourt and two other gentlemen were standing near by. I madeobeisance to Charles on bended knee. He rose to receive Max, and, aftera slight hesitation, offered his hand, saying:--

"You are welcome, my Lord Count. "

A year had passed since I had heard Max addressed as "my lord, " and thewords sounded strange to my ears. I turned quickly toward the princess, expecting to see a sparkle of mirth in her eyes, but Yolanda's everpresent smile was wholly lacking. The countenance of the princess wascalm, immovable, and expressionless as a mirror. I could hardly believethat it was the radiant, bedimpled, pouting face I had just seen atCastleman's, and for the first time in all my experience I realized thatI was face to face with a dual personality. The transformation was socomplete that I might easily have been duped had I not known beyondperadventure the identity of Yolanda and Mary. 

After the duke had kindly saluted Max, His Grace presented us to theladies. When the princess rose to receive us, she seemed at least half ahead taller than Yolanda. Her hair was hidden, and her face seemedfuller. These changes were probably wrought by her head-dress, whichtowered in two great curved horns twelve inches high. She wore a long, flowing gown that trailed two yards behind her, and this added to herapparent height. Max had seen Yolanda only in the short skirts of aburgher girl's costume. 

When Max rose, after kneeling before the princess, he gazed into hereyes, but the glance he received in return was calm and cold. Yolandawas rich, red wine, hot and strong; the princess was cold, clear water. The one was exhilarating, at times intoxicating; the other was chilling. The face of the princess, though beautiful, was touched with disdain. Every attitude was one of dignity and hauteur. Her words, though notlacking intelligence, were commonplace, and her voice was that of herfather's daughter. Yolanda was a girl; the princess was a woman. Themetamorphosis was complete, and Max's hallucination, I felt sure, wouldbe cured. The princess's face was not burned on his heart, whatevermight be true of Yolanda's. I can give no stronger testimony to themarvellous quality of the change this girl had wrought in herself thanto tell you that even I began to doubt, and wonder if Yolanda hadtricked me. The effect on Max was instantaneous. After looking into theprincess's face, he said:--

"I wish to thank Your Highness for saving my life. I surely had beenkilled but for your timely help. "

The situation bordered on the ridiculous. 

"Do not thank me, my Lord Count, " responded the princess, in cold andmeasured words. "I should have done the same for any man in your hardcase. I once saved a yokel in like manner. Two common men were fightingwith staves. One would have beaten the other to death had I not enteredthe lists and parted them. Father feared a similar exhibition on my partand did not wish me to attend your combat. He says now that I shall goto no more. I certainly made myself ridiculous. I enjoy a fair fight, whatever the outcome may be, but I despise murder. My act was entirelyimpersonal, Sir Count. "

"On the lists I addressed Your Highness as 'Yolanda, '" said Max. "Yourresemblance to one whom I know well was so great as to deceive me. "

I was eager to take Max away from the dangerous situation, but I couldnot. The duke, the courtiers, and myself had moved several paces fromMax and the princess. I, however, kept my eyes and ears open to whatoccurred between them. 

"Yes, " returned the princess, haughtily, "I remember you so addressedme. I have heard of the person to whom you refer. She is, I believe, aniece of one Castleman, a burgher of Peronne. I know Castleman'sdaughter--a simple creature, with no pretence of being else. It has beensaid that--what do they call her? Yolanda, I believe--resembles me insome respects and is quite proud of the distinction. I am sure I thankno one for the compliment, since she is a low creature, but I acceptyour apology, my Lord Count. "

"I do not apologize, Your Highness, " answered Max, in tones of equalhauteur. "You probably do not know the lady of whom you speak. "

The princess seemed to increase by an inch or two in stature as she drewherself up, and answered:--

"Of course we do not know her. "

"If you knew her, Your Highness would apologize, " retorted Max. 

Seeing the angry color mounting to his face, I stepped to his side andjoined in the conversation. Presently dinner was announced, and Irejoiced when we parted from the princess. Turning our faces toward theladies, we moved backward from the room, and went with the duke to thedinner hall. 

Compared with Castleman's daily fare, the duke's dinner was almostunpalatable. We had coarse beef, coarse boar's meat, coarse bread, --notblack, but brown. Frau Kate's bread was like snow. The sour wine on theduke's table set our teeth on edge, though it was served in huge goldengoblets studded with rare gems. At each guest's plate was a jewelleddagger. The tablecloth was of rich silk, soiled by numberless stains. Leeks and garlic were the only vegetables served. 

Nothing of importance occurred at the table, but after dinner the dukeabruptly offered Max a large sum of gold to accompany him toSwitzerland. Max thanked His Grace and said he would give him an answersoon. The duke urged an early reply, and Max said:--

"With Your Grace's permission we will attend to-morrow's morningaudience, and will make our answer after Your Lordship has risen. "

Charles acquiesced, and we soon left the castle. The duke, as I havealready told you, was very rich. Hymbercourt once told me that he hadtwo hundred and fifty thousand gold crowns in his coffers at Luxembourg. That was probably more than the combined treasuries of any two kings inEurope could show. Max and I were short of money, and the sum that theduke offered seemed enormous. Neither Max nor his father, DukeFrederick, had ever possessed as much money at one time. 

While we were leisurely walking across the courtyard toward the Postern, three ladies and two gentlemen, accompanied by outriders and pagescarrying falcons, rode by us and passed out through the Postern. Wefollowed, and overtook them at the town end of the drawbridge, wherethey had halted. When we came up to them, we recognized the duchess andthe princess. The duchess bowed smilingly, but the princess did notspeak, though she looked in our direction. 

The cavalcade turned to the left, and went up a narrow street towardCambrai Gate, evidently bound for the marshes. Max and I walked straightahead toward the Cologne bridge, intending, as we had promised, to goback to Castleman's. Two hundred yards up the street I glanced back, andsaw a lady riding through the Postern, back to the castle. I knew atonce that the princess had returned, and I was sure of meetingYolanda, --sweet, smiling, tender Yolanda, --at the dear old House underthe Wall. I did not like the princess; she was cold, haughty, supercilious, and perhaps tinged with her father's cruelty. I longedardently for Yolanda to come out of her skin, and my heart leaped withjoy at the early prospect. 

I was right in my surmise. Yolanda's sweet face, radiant with smiles andsoft with dimples, was pressed against the window-pane watching for uswhen we crossed the moat bridge at Castleman's door. 

"To see her face again is like coming back to heaven; isn't it, Karl?"said Max. 

Yolanda ran to the door and opened it. 

"I am glad you did not stay with her, " she said, giving a hand to Maxand to me, and walking into the room between us. She was like a childholding our hands. 

I had seen the world and its people in all its phases, and I pridedmyself on my shrewdness, but without my knowledge of the stairway in thewall, I would have sworn that Yolanda had played a trick on me byleading me to believe that she was the Princess Mary. Even with fullknowledge of all the facts, I found myself doubting. It is small causefor wonder, therefore, that Max was deceived. 

"Uncle is at the shop, " said Yolanda. "Tante is at a neighbor's, andTwonette, of course, is asleep. We three will sit here on this benchwith no one to disturb us, and I shall have you both all to myself. No!There! I'll sit between you. Now, this is delightful. "

She sat between us, crossed her knees--an unpardonable crime, Frau Katewould have thought--and giving a hand to Max and to me, saidcontentedly:--

"Now, tell me all about it. "

I was actually on the point of beginning a narrative of our adventures, just as if she did not already know them, --so great was the spell shehad thrown over me, --when Max spoke:--

"We had a poor dinner, but a kind host, therefore a fine feast. The dukehas asked us to go to Switzerland with him. Judging by the enormous sumhe offers for our poor services, he must believe that he will need noother help to conquer the Swiss. "

"Yes--yes, that is interesting, " said Yolanda, hastily, "but theprincess--tell me of her. "

"She is a very beautiful princess, " answered Max. 

"Yes--I suppose she is, " answered Yolanda. "I have it dinned into myears till I ought to believe it; but tell me of her manner, herconversation, her temper. What of them?"

"She is a most beautiful princess, " answered Max, evidently intending toutter no word against Her Highness, though as a matter of fact he didnot like her at all. "I am sure she deserves all the good that famespeaks of her. "

Yolanda flung our hands from her, sprang to her feet, and faced usangrily. 

"That's the way with all men. A rich princess, even though she be a colddevil, is beautiful and good and gentle and wise and true and quick ofwit. Men care not what she is if her house be great and rich andpowerful. If her domains are fat and broad, she deserves 'all the goodthat fame speaks of her. ' She can win no man for herself. She cannottouch a man's heart; she can only satisfy his greed. You went to thecastle, Sir Max, to see this princess. You want Burgundy. That is whyyou are in Peronne!"

The girl's passionate outburst was sincere, and showed me her truemotive for deceiving Max. Her plan was not the outgrowth of a whim; itwas the result of a tremendous motive conceived in the depths of hersoul. She had found the man she loved, and was taking her own way to winhim, if she could, for herself. She judged all men by the standard thatshe had just announced. She would never believe in the love of a man whoshould woo her as Princess Mary of Burgundy. 

Her words came near accomplishing more than she desired. When shestopped speaking, Max leaned forward and gently took her hand. 

"Yolanda, this princess is nothing to me, and I swear to you that I willnever ask her to marry--"

A frightened gleam came to the girl's eyes when she understood the oaththat Max was about to take, and she quickly placed her hand over hismouth. Max was swearing too much. 

"You shall not make that oath, Little Max, " she said. "You shall not saythat you will never marry her, nor shall you say that you will nevermarry any one else. You must remain free to choose the right wife whenthe right time comes. You must tread the path that God has marked outfor you. Perhaps it leads to this princess; no one can tell. If so, youmust accept your fate, Sir Max. " She sighed at the mere thought of sountoward a fate for Max. 

"I need make no oath not to marry the princess, " answered Max. "She isbeyond my reach, even though I were dying for love of her. "

"And you are not dying for love of her, are you?" asked Yolanda, againtaking the seat between Max and me. 

"No, " he responded. 

"Nor for love of any woman?" she asked, looking toward Max. 

"I'll not say that, " he replied, laughing softly, and taking her handsbetween his. 

"No, no, " she mused, looking in revery out the window. "No, we will notsay that. "

I have always been as unsentimental as a man well can be, but I believe, had I been in Max's place, I should have thrown away my crown for thesake of Yolanda, the burgher girl. I remember wondering if Max would bestrong enough finally to reach the same conclusion. If he should be, myfaith in Yolanda's powers led me to believe that she would contrive aplan to make him her husband, despite her father, or the devil andall his imps. 

There is a power of finesse in the feminine mind that no man may fullycompass, and Yolanda, in that respect, was the flower of her sex. Thatshe had been able to maintain her humble personality with Max, despitethe fact that she had been compelled to meet him twice as princess, proved her ability. Of course, she had the help of good old Castlemanand his sweet Frau Kate, serene Twonette, and myself; but with all thishelp she probably would have failed without the stairway in the wall. 

When we left Castleman's, I did not bring up the subject of Mary andYolanda. Max walked silently beside me until we had nearly reached theinn, when he said:--

"I am almost glad I was wrong, Karl. I would not have Yolanda otherthan she is. At times, wild thoughts suggest themselves to me; but I amnot so weak as to give way to them. I drive them off and clench myteeth, determined to take the misery God doles out to me. I am glad weare soon to leave Burgundy. The duke marches in three days, and it isnone too soon for me. "

"Shall not we return to Burgundy?" I asked. "I want you to see Paris andBrussels, and, if possible, London before we return to Styria. Don't youthink it best that we come back to Peronne after this war?"

"You are right, Karl; we must come back, " he answered. "I do not fearYolanda. I am not weak. "

"I sometimes wonder if we know our strength from our weakness, " Isuggested. "There is doubtless much energy wasted by conscientious menstriving in the wrong direction, who fancy they are doing their duty. "

"You would not have me marry Yolanda?" asked Max, a gleam of lightcoming to his eyes. 

"I do not know, Max, " I responded. "A rare thing has happened to you. You have won a marvellous love from a marvellous woman. She takes nopains to conceal it. She could not hide it if she would. What you feel, only you and God know. "

"Only God, " cried Max, huskily. "Only God. I cannot measure it. "

"My dear boy, " said I, taking his arm, "you are at a point where youmust decide for yourself. "

"I have decided, " returned Max. "If my father and mother were notliving, I might--I might--bah! there is but one life for me. I amdoomed. I make myself wretched by resistance. "

"When we return to Peronne, you will know your mind, " I answeredsoothingly. 

"I know my mind now, " he answered. "I know that I would give half theyears of my life to possess Yolanda; but I also know the fate that Godhas marked out for me. "

"Then you know more than many a wise man thrice your age can boast, "said I. 

 * * * * *

The duke's armies had been gathering throughout Burgundy. Men had comein great numbers to camp near Peronne, and the town was noisy withmartial preparations. Contrary to Hymbercourt's advice, the duke wasleaving Peronne Castle guarded by only a small garrison. Charles hadgreat faith in the strength of Peronne the Impregnable, and, although itwas near the French border, he trusted in its strength and in his treatywith King Louis. He knew from experience that a treaty with Louis wouldbind that crafty monarch only so long as it was to his interest toremain bound; but Louis' interest in maintaining the treaty seemedgreater than Burgundy's, and Charles rested on that fact. Peronne was tobe left captained by the duchess and Mary, and garrisoned by five scoremen-at-arms, who were either too old or too young to go to war. 

Without discussing the duke's offer, Max and I decided to accept it, though for different reasons. Max needed the gold; he also sniffedbattle, and wanted the excitement and the enterprise of war. I had allhis reasons, and still another; I wanted to give Yolanda time to executeher plans. 

The war with Switzerland would probably be short. Max would be with theduke, and would, I hoped, augment the favor with which Charles alreadyhonored him. Should Yolanda's letter make trouble with France, DukeCharles might be induced, through his personal feelings, to listen toMax's suit. If Charles returned from Switzerland victorious--and noother outcome seemed possible--he would no longer have reason to carryout the marriage treaty with France. It had been made largely for thepurpose of keeping Louis quiet while Charles was absent. Anything mighthappen; everything might happen, while Max was with Charles inSwitzerland and Yolanda at home making trouble with France. 

The next day, by appointment, we waited on the duke at the morningaudience. When we entered the great hall, the urgent business had beentransacted, and half a score of lords and gentlemen stood near the dais, discussing some topic with the duke and with one another. We moved nearthe throne, and I heard Charles say to Campo-Basso and Hymbercourt:--

"Almost three weeks have passed since our message to France, and we havehad no answer. What think you, gentlemen, of the delay?"

"His Majesty is not in Paris, or delays answering, " said Hymbercourt. 

"By the Host, if I could think that King Louis were holding Byron anddelaying an answer, I would change my plans and march on Paris ratherthan on Switzerland. "

"I fear, my lord, " said Campo-Basso, with a sympathetic desire to maketrouble, if possible, "that His Majesty delays an answer while he framesone that shall be elusive, yet conciliatory. King Louis, Your Graceknows, thinks many times before each word he speaks or writes. "

"If he has intentionally delayed this answer, I'll give him cause tothink many times _after_ his words, " said Charles. 

Conversations of like nature had occurred on several occasions since thesending of the missive to Louis, and they offered the stormy dukeopportunity to vent his boastfulness and spleen. While Charles waspouring out his wrath against his brother-in-law, Byron, the herald, appeared at the door of the great hall. He announced himself, and, whenordered to approach, ran to the dais, kneeled on the second step, andplaced a small sealed packet in the duke's hand. 

"Did you find King Louis at Paris?" asked the duke, addressing Byron. 

"I did, my lord. "

"Paris is but thirty leagues distant, and you certainly have hadsufficient time since leaving us to journey across Europe and back. Didnot I command you to make haste?"

"You did, my lord, " answered the herald. "King Louis put me off from dayto day, always promising me an answer, but giving it only yesterdayafternoon when the sun was half below the horizon. "

Charles nervously broke the seals of the package, and attempted to readthe letter. He failed, and handed it to Campo-Basso, saying:--

"Read the missive. I already know its contents, but read, my lord, read. "

Campo-Basso read the letter. 

"To Our Most Illustrious Brother Charles Duke of Burgundy, and Count ofCharolois:--

"We recommend us and send Your Grace greeting. We are anxious topleasure our noble brother of Burgundy in all things, and heartilydesire the marriage between our son and the illustrious Princess ofBurgundy, but we shall not move toward it until our said noble brothershall return from Switzerland, nor will we do aught to distract hisattention from the perilous business he now has on hand. We pray thatthe saints may favor his design, and would especially recommend that ournoble brother propitiate with prayers and offerings the holy SaintHubert. We, ourselves, have importuned this holy saint, and he hasproved marvellously helpful on parlous occasions. 

"Louis, R. "

The duke's anger was terrible and disgusting to behold. When histransports of rage allowed him to speak, he broke forth with oaths tooblasphemous to write on a white page. 

"The fawning hypocrite!" he cried. "He thinks to cozen us with his cheapwords. The biting insult in his missive is that he takes it for grantedthat we are so great a fool as to believe him. Even his recommendationof a saint is a lie. The world knows his favorite saint is Saint Andrew. King Louis spends half his time grovelling on his marrow bones beforethat saint and the Blessed Virgin. He recommends to us Saint Hubert, believing that his holy saintship will be of no avail. "

Charles was right. Sir Philip de Comines, seneschal to King Louis, afterward told me that His Majesty, in writing this letter to the Dukeof Burgundy, actually took counsel and devoted much time and thought tothe choice of a baneful or impotent saint to recommend to his "noblebrother of Burgundy. " Disaster to Louis had once followed supplicationto Saint Hubert, and the king hoped that the worthy saint might proveequally unpropitious for Charles. Yolanda's wonderful "t" was certainlythe most stupendous single letter ever quilled. Here were thefirst-fruits of it. 

"Were it not that these self-sufficient Swiss need to be blooded, Iwould turn my army against France to-morrow, " said the duke. 

"And have Bourbon and Lorraine upon Your Lordship's back from the east, Ghent rebelling in the north, and the Swiss pouring in from the south, "interrupted Hymbercourt. 

"You are certainly right, my Lord d'Hymbercourt, " replied Charles, sullenly. "They surround us like a pack of starved wolves, ready tospring upon us the moment we are crippled. Burgundy stands alone againstall Europe. "

"A vast treasure, my lord, attracts thieves, " said Hymbercourt. "Burgundy is the richest land on earth. "

"It is, indeed it is, " replied the duke, angrily, "and I have no son tokeep it after me. But France shall not have it; that I swear upon myknighthood. Write to France, my Lord Bishop of Cambrai, and tell KingLouis that my daughter shall not marry his son. Waste no words, my LordBishop, in what you call courtesy. We need no double meaning in ourmissives. "

Those who heard the duke's words knew that he was committing a costlyerror, but no one dared to suggest as much. One might, with equalsuccess, have flung soft words at a mad bull. Truly that "t"--but I willspeak of it no more, though I have a thrill of joy and mirth even nowwhen I think of it. 

After many explosions, the duke's pent-up wrath found vent, and began tosubside. Espying Max and me he called us to the throne. 

"Have you concluded to join us in our little holiday excursion againstthese mountain swine?" asked His Grace, addressing us. 

"We have, my lord. We shall be proud to serve under the banner of sobrave a prince, " I answered. 

"'We have' would have been sufficient, Sir Karl, " answered the duke, still surly from the dregs of his wrath. "We hear so many soft wordsfrom France that we despise them in the mouths of honest men. "

The duke then turned to his seneschal, De Vergy, and spoke in tones thatwere heard all over the room:--

"My lord, Maximilian, Count of Hapsburg, and Sir Karl de Pitti haveconsented to join our banners. Enroll them in places of honor, my LordSeneschal. See that they are supplied with horses, accoutrements, andtents for themselves and their squires, and direct my Lord Treasurer topay to them upon demand a sum of money of which he shall be dulynotified. "

When the duke stopped speaking, a murmur of approval ran through theaudience--though the Italians had no part in it. The murmur grewclamorous and soon a mighty shout filled the vaulted roof:--

"Long life to the noble Count of Hapsburg! Burgundy and Styria forever!"

To me, the words seemed delightfully prophetic. Soon afterward theaudience was dismissed, and Max and I had the great honor of being askedto join the duke's council. A council to the Duke of Burgundy was indeeda veritable fifth wheel. He made his own plans and, right or wrong, clung to them. He would, on rare occasions, listen to Hymbercourt, --aman of few words, who gave advice as if he were lending a crown, --butthe suggestions of others antagonized him. 

The question before the council this morning was: Should the duke's armycarry provisions, or should it take them from the countries throughwhich it was to pass? Charles favored the latter course, and it wasagreed upon. The people of non-belligerent states should be paid for theprovisions that were taken; that is, theoretically they should be paid. The Swiss should furnish provision, gratis, and that doubtless would beterribly practical. 

On each of the three evenings intervening between the day of thiscouncil and the departure of the army, we saw Yolanda at Castleman's. She was always waiting when we arrived. She had changed in manyrespects, but especially in her attitude regarding Max. She was kind andgentle, but shy. Having dropped her familiar manner, she did not go nearhim, but sat at a distance, holding Twonette's hand, and silently butconstantly watching him, as if she were awaiting something. Her eyes, attimes, seemed to be half-indignant interrogation points. At other timesI could see in them doubt, waiting, and hope--hope almost tiredwith yearning. 

It was no small love that she wanted from Max. She had hoped--perhaps Ishould say she had longed with little hope--that he would, for the sakeof the burgher girl, Yolanda, be willing to turn his back on his familyand his land. But now he was leaving, and her dream was about to close, since Max would probably never come back to her. 

Not the least painful of Yolanda's emotions was the knowledge that shecould insure Max's return by telling him that she was the Princess ofBurgundy. But she did not want this man whom she loved so dearly, andwho, she knew, loved her, if she must win him as princess. She wasstrangely impelled to reject a reprieve from a life of wretchedness, unless it came through the high court of love. 

Max, in speaking to me about his return, had wavered many times. One dayhe would return; the next, he would swallow the bitter draught fate hadin store for him. He was a great, honest soul, and to such the call ofduty is compelling. 

On the evening before our departure we went to sup with Castleman. Onour way down to the House under the Wall, Max said:--

"Karl, my duty is clear. I must not return to Peronne. If I do, I fear Ishall never leave it. "

I did not answer; but I had resolved that he should return, and Iintended that my resolution should become a fact. Yolanda was notpresent at supper, but she appeared soon after we had risen. We satunder the dim light of a lamp in the long room. Yolanda was on thecushioned bench in the shadow of the great chimney, silently claspingTwonette's hand. Twonette, of course, was silent and serene. Castlemanand I talked disjointedly, and Max sat motionless, gazing through thewindow into the night. After greeting us, Yolanda spoke not a word; butever in the deep shadow I could see the glow of her eyes looking towardMax. That his heart was filled with a great struggle, I knew, and Ibelieved that Yolanda also knew. 

We had many preparations to make before our departure next morning atdawn, so after an hour Max and I rose to leave. Twonette, leavingYolanda, came to us, and the Castlemans all gave us a hearty God-speed. Yolanda sat wordless in the shadow. I went to her and gave her my hand. 

"Farewell, Fräulein, " I said. 

Max followed me closely, and I stepped aside to make way for him. Thegirl rose and stood irresolute before him. I went to the Castlemans, whowere standing at a distance. 

"Fräulein--" said Max. But she interrupted him, extending her hands, which he clasped. 

"Have you no word for me, Sir Max?" she asked pathetically, tearsspringing to her eyes. "Are you coming back to me? Have you the right tocome into my life as you have done, and to leave me? Does God impose butone duty on you--that of your birth?"

"Ah, Fräulein, " answered Max, huskily, "you know--you know what Isuffer. "

"I surely do know, " she responded, "else I would not speak so plainly. But answer me, Sir Max. Answer my question. It is my right to know uponwhat I may depend. Will you come back to me?"

The imperious will of the princess had come to the rescue of Yolanda, the burgher girl. 

Max paused before speaking, then grasped her hands fiercely andanswered:--

"Before God, Fräulein, I will come back to you, if I live. "

Yolanda sank upon the cushioned bench, covered her face with her hands, and the pent-up storm of sobs and tears broke forth as Max and I passedout the door. 

Yolanda had won. 

CHAPTER XIX

MAX GOES TO WAR

The next morning at dawn our army marched. Although Duke Charles wouldnot encumber himself with provisions for his men, he carried a vasttrain of carts filled with plate, silk tents, rich rugs, and preciousjewels; for, with all his bravery, this duke's ruling passion was thelove of display in the presence of foreigners. 

I shall not give the story of this disastrous war in detail; that liesin the province of history, and my story relates only to Max andYolanda, and to the manner in which they were affected by the resultsof the war. 

We marched with forty thousand men, and laid siege to the city ofGranson, in the district of Vaud. The Swiss sent ambassadors under aflag of truce, begging Charles to spare them, and saying, according tomy friend Comines, that "there were among them no good prisoners tomake, and that the spurs and horses' bits of the duke's army were worthmore money than all the people of Switzerland could pay in ransoms, evenif they were taken. " Charles rejected all overtures, and on the third ofMarch the brave little Swiss army sallied against us, "heralding theiradvances by the lowings of the Bull of Uri and the Cow of Unterwalden, two enormous instruments which had been given to their ancestors byCharlemagne. "

God was against Charles of Burgundy, and his army was utterly routed byone of less than a fourth its size. I was with Charles after the battle, and his humiliation was more pitiful than his bursts of ungovernablewrath were disgusting. The king of France, hoping for this disaster, wasnear by at Lyons. 

A cruel man is always despicable in misfortune. Charles at once sent toKing Louis a conciliatory, fawning letter, recanting all that he hadsaid in his last missive from Peronne, and expressing the hope that HisMajesty would adhere to the treaty and would consent to the marriage ofPrincess Mary and the Dauphin at once. In this letter Yolanda had noopportunity to insert a disturbing "t. " Louis answered graciously, saying that the treaty should be observed, and that the marriage shouldtake place immediately upon the duke's return to Burgundy. 

"We have already forwarded instructions to Paris, " wrote King Louis, "directing that preparations be made at once for the celebration of thismost desired union at the holy church of St. Denis. We wondered much atYour Grace's first missive, in which you so peremptorily desired us notto move in this matter till your return; and we wondered more at YourLordship's ungracious reply to our answer in which we consented to thedelay Your Grace had asked. "

Well might King Louis wonder. Charles also wondered, and cursed thestupidity of the Bishop of Cambrai, who had so "encumbered his letterwith senseless courtesy as to distort its meaning. "

Charles despatched letters to Peronne and Ghent, ordering immediatepreparations for the marriage. As usual, poor Mary was not considered ofsufficient importance to receive notice of the event that concerned herso vitally. Others would prepare her, as one might fatten a lamb forslaughter. The lamb need not be consulted or even informed; the day ofits fate would be sufficient for it. I was in despair. Max, in hisignorance, was indifferent. 

After a short delay, the duke gathered his wrath and his army and laidsiege to the town of Morat, announcing his intention to give no quarter, but to kill all, old and young, men, women, and children. The Swiss wereprepared for us. "The energy of pride was going to be pitted against theenergy of patriotism. " Again disaster fell upon Charles. Thousands ofhis army were slain, and thousands fled in hopeless rout. His soldiershad never wanted to fight, and one man defending his hearth is strongerthan half a score attacking it. 

The loss of this battle drove Charles back to Burgundy. With a few ofhis train, including Max and myself, he retired to the Castle of LaRiviera. Here he learned that René, Duke of Lorraine, had mustered hisforces and had laid siege to Nancy, which city Charles had taken fromDuke René, some years before, and had garrisoned with Burgundians andEnglish. Upon hearing this unwelcome news, Charles began the arduoustask of collecting another army. He was compelled to leave theneighborhood of Switzerland and fly to the rescue of Nancy. 

The first of January found us before Nancy, but our arrival was threedays too late. The city had capitulated to Duke René. On the fifth ofJanuary a battle was fought before Nancy, but Fortune had turned herback for all and all on this cruel Duke of Burgundy and Count ofCharolois. The disasters at Granson and Morat were repeated. Atnightfall Charles could not be found. I supposed that he had escaped, but the next morning his body was found by a washerwoman, frozen in theice of a pond. He had been killed through the machinations ofCampo-Basso. Duke René magnanimously gave Charles regal burial, anddismissed his followers without ransom. You may be sure I was eager toreturn to Peronne. 

Fortune, in turning her back upon Charles, had turned her smiling facetoward Max. Her ladyship's smiles were too precious to be wasted, so wemade post-haste for Peronne, I spurred by one motive, Mary of Burgundy, Max by another--Yolanda. His heart had grieved for her in castle, incamp, and in din of battle. He had, unknown to me, formed a great andnoble resolution; and there was no horse swift enough to keep pace withhis desire when we started for Peronne. 

I was the first to announce the duke's death. The dark news was given byme to the duchess and the princess in Margaret's parlor. These poorwomen tried to grieve, but they were not hypocrites, and they could notweep. Each had received at Charles's hands only ill-usage and cruelty, and in their hearts they must have felt relief at his death. 

"It was sure to come, " said Margaret. "The duke's bravery led him alwaysinto danger. It is God's will, and it must be right. "

The princess walked to the window, and said nothing, until I was aboutto leave; then she turned to me nervously and asked:--

"Did--did Sir Max come with you?"

I looked at her in surprise, and glanced inquiringly toward the duchess. 

"My mother knows all, Sir Karl, " said the princess, reassuringly. "Therehave been many things which I could not have done without her help. Ihave made many rapid changes, Sir Karl, from a princess to a burghergirl, and back again, and I should have failed without my mother's help. I surely mystified you often before you knew of the stairway in thewall. Indeed, I have often hurried breathless to Uncle Castleman's houseto deceive you. Mother invented a burgher girl's costume that I used towear as an under-bodice and petticoat, so, you see, I have been visitingyou in my petticoats. I will show you some fine day--perhaps. I have butto unfasten a half-score of hooks, and off drops the princess--I amYolanda! I throw a skirt over my head, fasten the hooks of a bodice, donmy head-dress, and behold! the princess once more. Only a momentintervenes between happiness and wretchedness. But tell me, Sir Karl, have you ever told Sir Max who I am?"

"Never, Your Highness--"

"Yolanda, " she interrupted, correcting me smilingly. 

"Never, Yolanda, " I responded. "He does not even suspect that you arethe princess. I shall be true to you. You know what you are doing. "

"Indeed I do, Sir Karl, " she replied. "I shall win or lose now in ashort time and in short skirts. If Max will wed me as Yolanda, I shallbe the happiest girl on earth. If not, I shall be the most wretched. Ifhe learns that I am the princess, and if I must offer him the additionalinducement of my estates and my domains to bring him to me, I shall notsee him again, Sir Karl, if I die of grief for it. "

I knew well what she meant, but I did not believe that she would beable to hold to her resolution if she were put to the test. I was, however, mistaken. With all my knowledge of the girl I did not knowher strength. 

We reached Peronne during the afternoon and, of course, went early thesame evening to Castleman's. 

We were greeted heartily by the good burgher, his wife, and hisdaughter. Twonette courtesied to Max, but when she came to me, thisserene young goddess of pink and white offered me her cheek to kiss. I, who had passed my quasi-priestly life without once enjoying such aluxury, touched the velvet cheek with my lips and actually felt a thrillof delight. Life among the burghers really was delicious. I tell youthis as a marked illustration of the fact that a man never grows too oldto be at times a fool. Twonette slipped from the room, and withinfifteen minutes returned. She went directly to Max and said:--

"Some one is waiting for you in the oak room above. "

She pointed the way, and Max climbed the stairs two steps at a time. Ithought from his eagerness he would clear the entire flight at onebound. To his knock a soft voice bade him enter. The owner of the voicewas sitting demurely at the farthest end of the room on a cushionedbench. Her back rested against the moving panel that led to thestairway in the wall. She did not move when Max entered. She had doneall the moving she intended to do, and Max must now act for himself. Hedid. He ran down the long room to her, crying:--

"Yolanda! Yolanda!"

She rose to greet him, and he, taking her in his arms, covered her facewith kisses. The unconscious violence of his great strength bruised andhurt her, but she gloried in the pain, and was passive as a babe in hisarms. When they were seated and half calm, she clutched one of his greatfingers and said:--

"You kept your word, Little Max. You came back to me. "

"Did you not know that I would come?" he asked. 

"Ah, indeed, I knew--you are not one that makes a promise to break it. Sometimes it is difficult to induce such a man to give his word, and Ifound it so, but once given it is worth having--worth having, Little Max. "

She smiled up into his face while she spoke, as if to say, "You gave mea deal of trouble, but at last I have captured you. "

"Did you so greatly desire the promise, Yolanda?" asked Max, solely forthe pleasure of hearing her answer. 

"Yes, " she answered softly, hanging her head, "more than any _man_, canknow. It must be an intense longing that will drive a modest girl toboldness, such as I have shown ever since the day I first met you atdear old Basel. It almost broke my heart when father--fatherland--whenBurgundy made war on Switzerland. " The word "land" was a lucky thought, and came to the girl just in the nick of time. 

Max was too much interested in the girl to pay close attention to anyslips she might make about the war with Switzerland. It is true he wasnow a soldier, and war was all right in its place; but there are thingsin life compared with which the wars of nations are trivial affairs. Allsubjects save one were unwelcome to him. 

"Now I am going to ask a promise from you, Fräulein, " said Max, loosening his hand from her grasp and placing his arm about her waist. She offered no objections to the new situation, but blushed and lookeddown demurely to her folded hands. 

"It will, I fear, be very easy for you, Max, to induce me to promiseanything you wish. It will be all too easy, for I am not strong, as youare. " She glanced into his face, but her eyes fell quickly to her hands. 

"I shall soon leave you again, Fräulein, and what I wish is of suchmoment that I--I almost fear to ask. "

"Yes, Max, " she murmured, gently reaching across his knee, and placingher hand in his by way of encouragement. 

"It is this, Fräulein. I am going back to Styria, and I want to carrywith me your promise to be my wife, " said Max, softly. 

The girl's head fell over against his shoulder, and she clasped his freehand between both of hers. 

"I will ask my father's consent, " said Max. "I will tell him of you andof my great love, which is so great, Fräulein, that all the world isnothing beside it and beside you, and he will grant my request. "

"But if he doesn't, Max?" asked the face hidden upon his breast. 

"If he does not, Fräulein, I will forego my country and my estates. Iwill come back to you and will work in the fields, if need be, to makeyou as happy as you will make me. "

"There will be no need for that, Max, " she answered, tears of happinessslowly trickling down her cheeks, "for I am rich. "

"That I am sorry to hear, " he responded. 

"Don't you want to know who I am before you wed me?" she asked, after along pause. She had almost made up her mind to tell him. 

"That you may tell me when you are my wife, " said Max. "I thought youwere the Princess Mary, but I am almost glad that you are not. I soonknew that I was wrong, for I knew that you would not deceive me. "

The girl winced and concluded to postpone telling her momentous secret. She was now afraid to do so. As a matter of fact, she had in her heart ahealthy little touch of womanly cowardice on small occasions. After along, delicious pause, Max said:--

"Have I your promise, Fräulein?"

"Y-e-s, " she answered hesitatingly, "I will be your wife if--if I can, and if you will take me when you learn who I am. There is no taint ofdisgrace about me, Max, " she added quickly, in response to the look ofsurprise on his face. "But I am not worthy of you, and I fear that ifyour father but knew my unworthiness, he would refuse his consent to ourmarriage. You must not tell him of my boldness. I will tell you allabout myself before you leave for Styria, and then, if you do not wantme, you may leave me to--to die. "

"I shall want you, Yolanda. I shall want you. Have no doubt of that, " heanswered. 

"With the assurance that there is no stain or taint upon me or myfamily, do you give me your word, Max, that you will want me and willtake me, whoever I am, and will not by word or gesture show me that youare angry or that you regret your promise?"

"I gladly give you that promise, " answered Max. 

"Did you ever tell a lie, Little Max?" she asked banteringly, "or didyou ever deliberately break a promise?"

"Did I ever steal or commit wilful murder?" asked Max, withdrawing hisarm. 

"No, Max; now put it back again, " she said. 

After a long pause she continued:--

"I have lied. "

Max laughed and drew her to him. 

"Your lies will harm no one, " he said joyously. 

"No, " she responded, "I only lie that good may come of it. "

Then silence fell upon the world--their world. Was not that hour withMax worth all the pains that Yolanda had taken to deceive him?

Yolanda and Max came down to the long room, and she, too, gave me hercheek to kiss. 

Twonette had prepared a great tankard of wine and honey, with pepper andallspice to suit Yolanda's taste, and we all sat before the greatblazing yule fire, as joyful and content as any six people inChristendom. Twonette and Yolanda together occupied one large chair;Twonette serenely allowing herself to be caressed by Yolanda, who was ina state of mind that compelled her to caress some one. Gentle Frau Katewas sleeping in a great easy chair near the chimney-corner. Max sat atone side of the table, --the side nearest Yolanda, --while Castleman andI sat by each other within easy reach of the wine. I knew without thetelling, all that had occurred upstairs, and the same light seemed tohave fallen upon the Castlemans. Good old George was in high spirits, and I could see in his eye that he intended to get drunk and, ifpossible, to bring me, also, to that happy condition. After many gobletsof wine, he remarked:--

"The king of France will probably be upon us within a fortnight after hehears the sad news from Nancy. "

Yolanda immediately sat upright in her chair, abandoning Twonette's softhand and softer cheek. 

"Why do you believe so, uncle?" she asked nervously. 

"Because he has waited all his life for this untoward event to happen. "

"Preparations should be made to receive him, " said Yolanda. 

"Ah, yes, " replied Castleman, "but Burgundy's army is scattered to thefour winds. It has given its blood for causes in which its heart wasnot. We lack the strong arm of the duke, to force men to battle againsttheir will. King Louis must be fought by policy, not by armies; andHymbercourt is absent. "

"Do you know aught of him, Sir Karl?" asked Yolanda. 

"I do not, Fräulein, " I answered, "save that he was alive and well whenwe left Nancy. "

"That, at least, is good news, " she replied, "and I make sure he willsoon come to Burgundy's help. "

"I am sure he is now on his way, " I answered. 

"What can Burgundy do?" she asked, turning to Castleman and me. "Youwill each advise--advise the princess, I hope. "

"If she wishes my poor advice, " I responded, "she has but to ask it. "

"And mine, " said Castleman, tipping his goblet over his nose. 

"If we are to have clear heads to-morrow, " I suggested, "we must drinkno more wine to-night. The counsel of wine is the advice of the devil. "

"Right you are, Sir Karl. Only one more goblet. Here's to the health ofthe bride to be, " said Castleman. 

Yolanda leaned back in her chair beside Twonette, and her face wore acurious combination of smile and pout. 

On the way to the inn, Max, who was of course very happy, told me whathad happened in the oak room and added:--

"I look to you, Karl, to help me with father. "

"That I will certainly do, " I answered. I could not resist saying: "Wecame to Burgundy with the hope of winning the princess. Fortune hasopened a door for you by the death of her father. Don't you wishto try?"

"No, " said Max, turning on me. A moment later he added, "If Yolanda werebut the princess, as I once believed she was, what a romance ourjourney to Burgundy would make!"

My spirits were somewhat dampened by Castleman's words concerning theFrench king. Surely they were true, since King Louis was the last man inEurope to forego the opportunity presented by the death of Charles. Should the Princess Mary lose Burgundy just at the time when Max had wonher, my disappointment would indeed be great, and Max might truly needmy help with his father. 

CHAPTER XX

A TREATY WITH LOUIS XI

The next day Castleman and I were called to the castle, and talked overthe situation with the duchess and the Princess Mary. In the midst ofour council, in walked Hymbercourt and Hugonet. They were devotedfriends of Mary. 

Our first move was to send spies to the court of France; so two trustedmen started at once. Paris was but thirty leagues distant, and the mencould reach it in fifteen hours. Half a day there should enable them tolearn the true condition of affairs, since they carried well-filledpurses to loosen the tongues of Cardinal Balau and Oliver the Barber. The bribery plan was Mary's, and it worked admirably. 

Within forty-eight hours the spies returned, and reported that KingLouis, with a small army, was within fifteen leagues of Peronne. He hadquickly assembled the three estates at Paris, all of whom promised theking their aid. In the language of the chancellor, "The commons offeredto help their king with their bodies and their wealth, the nobles withtheir advice, and the clergy with their prayers. " This appalling newsset Peronne in an uproar. 

Recruiting officers were sent out in all directions, the town wasgarrisoned, and fortifications were overhauled. Mary was again introuble, and the momentous affairs resting on her young shoulders seemedto have put Max out of her mind. I expected her to call him into counciland reveal herself, but she did not. 

On the day after we learned of King Louis' approach, the princess calledHymbercourt, Hugonet, Castleman, and myself to her closet and graciouslyasked us to be seated about a small table. 

"I have formed a plan that I wish to submit to you, " she said. "I'llsend to King Louis an invitation to visit me here at Peronne, undersafeguard. When he comes, I intend to offer to restore all the citiesthat my father took from him, if he will release me from the treaty ofmarriage, and will swear upon the Cross of Victory to support me againstmy enemies, and to assist me in subduing Ghent, now in rebellion. Whatthink you of the plan?"

"Your Highness is giving King Louis nearly half your domain, " suggestedHymbercourt. 

"True, " answered the princess, "but it is better to give half than tolose all. Where can we turn for help against this greedy king? WhenBurgundy is in better case, we'll take them all from him again. "

"Your Highness is right, " answered Hymbercourt. "But what assurance haveyou that King Louis will accept your terms?"

"Little, my lord, save that King Louis does not know our weakness. Oliver has by this time told him that he has news of a vast armycollecting within twenty leagues of Peronne. If Louis accepts our terms, Oliver and the cardinal are each to receive twenty thousand crowns outof our treasury at Luxembourg. My father fought King Louis with blows;I'll fight His Majesty with his own weapon, gold. That is the lesson myfather should have learned. "

I rose to my feet during her recital and looked down at her in wonder. 

"Yolanda"--I began, but corrected myself--"Your Highness needs nocouncillor. I, for one, deem your plan most wise, and I see in it thesalvation of Burgundy. "

The other councillors agreed with me most heartily. 

"I have still another plan which I hope may frighten King Louis intoaccepting our terms. During the conference which I hope to hold with HisMajesty, I shall receive a message from my mother's brother, King Edwardof England. The missive, of course, will be directed to my father, sincethe English king cannot yet know of the duke's death. The messenger willbe an English herald, and will demand immediate audience, and--and--however, I'll keep the remainder of that plan to myself. "

A broad smile appeared on the faces of all present. Hugonet gazed at theprincess and laughed outright. 

"Why did not your father take you into his council?" he asked. 

"I should have been no help to him, " she responded. "A woman's wits, dear Hugonet, must be driven by a great motive. "

"But you would have had the motive, " answered Hugonet. 

"There is but one motive for a woman, my lord, " she answered. 

Hugonet unceremoniously whistled his astonishment, and Yolanda blushedas she said:--

"You shall soon know. "

Mary's plan for an interview with Louis succeeded perfectly. He camepost-haste under safe conduct to Peronne. 

Whatever may be said against Louis, he did not know personal fear. Hehad a wholesome dread of sacrificing the lives of his people, andpreferred to satisfy his greed by policy rather than by war. Gold, rather than blood, was the price he paid for his victories. Taken all inall, he was the greatest king that France ever had--if one may judge aking by the double standard of what he accomplishes and what it costshis people. He almost doubled the territory of France, and he lost fewermen in battle than any enterprising monarch of whom I know. 

Within forty-eight hours of receiving the safe conduct, King Louis wassitting beside Mary on the dais of the ducal throne in the great hall. She was heavily veiled, being in mourning for her father. At her leftstood Hymbercourt, Hugonet, Max, and myself. At the king's right stoodCardinal Balau and Oliver the Barber, each anticipating a rich reward incase Louis should accept Mary's terms. Back of them stood a score of theking's courtiers. Many questions of state were discussed; and thenHymbercourt presented Mary's offer to King Louis. The king hesitated. After a long pause he spoke, looking straight ahead, at nothing; as washis custom. 

"We will consult with our friends and make answer soon, " he said, speaking to nobody. 

Louis seemed to think that if he looked at no one and addressed nobody, when he spoke, he might the more easily wriggle out of hisobligations later on. 

Mary had caused to be drawn up in duplicate a treaty in accordance withthe terms that she had outlined at our little council. It was handed toOliver when the king rose to retire to a private room, to discuss thecontents with his councillors. 

At the moment when King Louis rose to his feet, a herald was announcedat the great hall door. 

"A message from His Majesty, King Edward of England, " cried theBurgundian herald. Louis resumed his seat as though his feet had slippedfrom under him. 

"We are engaged, " answered Mary, acting well a difficult part. "Let theherald leave his packet, or deliver it later. "

A whispered conversation took place between the Burgundian herald andthe Englishman. Then spoke the Burgundian:--

"Most Gracious Princess, the English herald has no packet. He bears averbal message to your late father, and insists that he must deliver itto Your Highness at once. "

"Must, indeed!" cried Mary, indignantly. Then turning to the king:"These English grow arrogant, Your Majesty. What has the herald to say?Let him come forward. We have no secrets from our most graciousgodfather, King Louis. "

The English herald approached the ducal throne, but did not speak. 

"Proceed, " said Mary, irritably. 

"With all deference, Most Gracious Princess, " said the herald, "thesubject-matter of my message is such that it should be communicatedprivately, or at Your Highness's council-board. "

"If you have a message from my good uncle, King Edward, deliver it hereand now, " said the princess. 

"As you will, Most Gracious Princess, " said the herald. "King Edward hasamassed a mighty army, which is now awaiting orders to sail for France;and His Majesty asks permission to cross the territory of Burgundy onhis way to Paris. He will pay to Your Highness such compensation as maybe agreed upon when His Majesty meets you, which he hopes may be withina month. His Majesty begs a written reply to the message I bear. "

Mary paused before she answered. 

"Wait without. My answer depends upon the conclusions of His Majesty, the King of France. "

The herald withdrew, but in the meantime Louis had descended to thefloor and was busily conning the treaty that Mary had caused to bewritten. He was whispering with Cardinal Balau and Oliver, and wasevidently excited by the news he had just heard from England. When heresumed his seat beside Mary, he said:--

"By this treaty, which is simple and straightforward, Your Highnesscedes to me certain cities herein named, in perpetuity; and inconsideration thereof, I am to be with you friend of friend and foe offoe. I am to aid you in subduing your rebellious subjects, and tosustain you in your choice of a husband. I am also to release you fromthe present contract of marriage with my son, the Dauphin. "

"That is all, Your Majesty, " said the princess. "It is short and to thepoint. "

"Indeed it is, Your Highness, and if you will answer King Edward andwill deny him the privilege of crossing Burgundy, I will sign thetreaty, and will swear upon the true cross to keep it inviolate. "

Mary could hardly conceal her exultation, but she answered calmly:--

"Will Your Majesty sign now?"

Louis and Mary each signed the treaty, and the piece of the true crossupon which the oath was to be made was brought before them, resting on avelvet pillow. Now there were many pieces of the true cross, of whichLouis possessed two. Upon one of these he held the oath to be bindingand inviolate; it was known as the Cross of Victory. Upon the other hisoath was less sacred, and the sin of perjury was venial. 

I stood near the throne, and, suspecting Louis of fraud, made bold toinquire:--

"Most humbly I would ask Your Majesty, is this the Cross of Victory?"

The king examined the piece of wood resting on the cushion and said:--

"By Saint Andrew, My Lord Cardinal, you have committed an error. Youhave brought me the wrong piece. "

The Cross of Victory was then produced, with many apologies and excusesfor the mistake, and the oath was taken while Mary's tiny hand rested onthe relic beside King Louis' browned and wrinkled talon. When theceremony was finished, the king turned to Mary and said:--

"Whom will Your Highness select for a husband?"

"My father sometime had treaty with Duke Frederick of Styria, lookingto my marriage with his son Maximilian, and I shall ratify the compact. "

Max was about to speak, but I plucked him by the sleeve. 

 * * * * *

Now I shall hasten to the end. The king took his departure within anhour, carrying with him his copy of the treaty. The audience wasdismissed, and the princess left the great hall by the door back of thethrone, having first directed Hymbercourt, Hugonet, Max, and myself tofollow within five minutes, under conduct of a page. Castleman excusedhimself and left the hall. 

The page soon came to fetch us, and we were taken to Mary's parlor, adjoining her bedroom in Darius tower. From the bedroom, as you know, the stairway in the wall descends to Castleman's house. In the parlor wefound Mary, the Duchess Margaret, and several ladies in waiting. All theladies, including Mary, were heavily veiled. When we entered, Maryaddressed Max:--

"Sir Count, you doubtless heard my announcement to the king of France. It was my father's desire at one time to unite Styria and Burgundy bymarriage. I myself sent you a letter and a ring that you doubtless stillpossess. Are you pleased with my offer?"

Max fell to his knee before the princess:--

"Your Highness's condescension is far beyond my deserts. There are fewmen who could refuse your offer, but I am pledged to another, and I begYour Highness--"

"Enough, enough, " cried the princess, indignantly. "No man need explainhis reasons for refusing the hand of Mary of Burgundy. "

Astonishment appeared on all faces save mine. I thought I knew thepurpose of Her Highness. Max rose to his feet, and Mary said:--

"We'll go downstairs now, and, if you wish, Sir Count, you may there sayfarewell. " She whispered a word to her mother, and led the way into herbedroom. The duchess indicated that Max and I were to follow. We did so, and Margaret came after us. 

"We'll go down by these steps, " said the princess, leading us to theopen panel. "The way is dark, and you must use care in descending, SirCount, but this is the nearest way to the ground. "

Max started down the steps and Mary followed close at his heels. Ifollowed Mary, and Duchess Margaret came after me. 

When we had descended twenty steps, the upper panel was closed by someone in the bedroom, and the stairway became inky dark. Ten stepsfurther, I stumbled and almost fell over a soft obstruction on thestairs. I stooped and examined it. Fearing that the duchess might fallwhen she reached it, I took it up. It was a lady's head-dress and veil. A few steps farther I picked up a lady's bodice and then a skirt. By thetime I had made this collection, Max and Mary had reached the movingpanel at the foot of the stairs. I heard it slide back, and a flood oflight came in upon us. Yolanda, in burgher girl's costume, sprang overthe cushioned seat into Castleman's oak room. Max followed, and I, withan armful of woman's gear, helped the duchess to step to the cushion andthence to the floor. Max stood for a moment in half-vexed surprise, butYolanda, two yards off, laughed merrily:--

"You promised, Sir Max, that you would show no anger when you learnedwho I was, and you said you would neither lie, steal, norcommit murder. "

The Castlemans stood near by, and the duchess and I joined them, formingan admiring group. Max did not reply. He held out his arms to the girl, and she ran to them. So closely did he hold her that she could hardlymove. She did, however, succeed in turning her face toward us, and saidpoutingly:--

"Why don't you leave the room?"

THE END