At these words he signed to his men to follow him, and soon the troop disappeared in the recesses of the forest.

"What a strange person!" said Erwin; "he is a singular mixture of an honest man and a highway robber.

"Yes," replied Gero; "but there is a preponderance of the robber. His loyalty seems to me like a drop of wine in a cask of water. My lord, I don't like to see you stretched thus on the ground, so I will lift you upon your feet."

"Cut these ropes, and I will lift myself up."

"Excuse me, my lord Count, but I cannot; for I fear that you will make a bad use of your liberty, and pursue the bandits."

Gero, after some trouble, managed to get his master on his feet, and then went to look for the horses. In the interval, Rechberg reflected upon the change which had taken place in his position, and which had seemingly blasted his hopes. It was all over, he thought; Hermengarde was in the power of one who seemed to have certain claims to her; but Gero's return put an end to his meditations.

"Decidedly, they were not robbers. I have found the horses where I left them," said the soldier; "and now I have tied them up close by, ready for us to mount when the hour is up."

"You say they were not robbers, Gero?"

"Well, not ordinary robbers; for if they had been, these gold rings on your baldric and your horses too, would have disappeared."

"Hasten, my good fellow, and cut these ropes at once; you would leave me a prisoner forever, it seems!"

"The hour is not quite up yet, Count; be patient a little while longer.

Does the time really appear so wearisome?"

"Even if I would, it is impossible for me to pursue the bandit now. Do you not perceive how dark it grows?"

"Pray have a little patience, my dear lord. I am dreaming of your triumph of to-morrow; be a.s.sured that I will select the strongest lance and the best tempered coat-of-mail in your armory."

"You think, then, that he will meet me?"

"Most certainly; he has too proud an air to be a disloyal knight."

"But who is he? It is strange, but it seems as though I had already heard his voice."

"Do not worry your brain by guessing, Count; you will know his face soon enough."

"You are right. Never before have I experienced so much curiosity to see an adversary raise his visor!"

"And now, my lord, allow me to untie you;--how tightly the villains have drawn these knots!"

"Do you think so? And yet I felt nothing.--Quickly, now, Gero; where are the horses?"

They mounted and left the wood, as speedily as the obscurity would permit; but before reaching the camp, Rechberg was obliged to witness a scene rendered still more horrible by the darkness. He had scarcely advanced a hundred yards, when his attention was arrested by the clashing of arms and the shouts of strife. Always curious to recognize his enemy, he drew up his horse to listen, for he imagined that there must be some connection between this nocturnal combat and the Unknown, whose escape he hoped had been prevented by some of the German patrols.

As he advanced as rapidly as prudence and the darkness permitted, the noise ceased and he perceived, by the light of a dozen torches, a troop of heavily laden mules, whose drivers, with downcast eyes and manacled hands, were marching between two files of armed men.

"It is Hesso and his bloodhounds," cried Gero; "I know his gruff voice!"

"Captain Hesso," said Rechberg, when they had gotten nearer, "I heard the noise of your skirmish, as I was returning to camp, and was about to come to your a.s.sistance."

"I scarcely needed it, my lord."

"You have made a valuable capture, it seems!"

"Yes," answered Hesso; "twenty mules, and eight Milanese. One got away, and three were killed, so that four will escape punishment."

"Was there no escort?" inquired Erwin, as he rode by the headsman's side.

"No, not this time, although usually one comes out from Milan; but to-day it failed."

Thinking that the Unknown and his soldiers had probably been detailed for that duty, Erwin determined to question the prisoners, in the hope of discovering the name of his adversary.

"We must invent some other punishment," resumed Hesso. "They don't care for mutilation; one of them told me the other day, that Milan would give him a golden hand to replace the one that I had cut off. If the Emperor wants to starve them out, he will have to hang every one who tries to bring even a handful of peas into the town."

"Death is the punishment for a repet.i.tion of the offence, I believe?"

asked the knight.

"Yes; but they are very careful not to be caught at that! They are so well paid for mutilation that they are not tempted to risk their lives.

But they do not seem to care for their hands at all, and I am kept busy all day long in intercepting their convoys.--I suppose that, while I am stopping this one, another has got into the city."

By this time, they had reached the line of tents occupied by Hesso and his a.s.sistants--about thirty paces in front of the main camp. In the centre stood a gallows, and, near by, a heavy block stained with blood, to which the unfortunate prisoners were led.

"Do you mean to carry their sentence into effect at once?" asked Erwin.

"Certainly! These birds are a useless enc.u.mbrance in camp; as soon as they have left their hands with me, they can go where they please. Such is the law!" replied Hesso, who had taken off his doublet, and stood, with his shirt-sleeves rolled up to the elbows, before the fatal block.

One of the prisoners came up; his pale and suffering expression painfully affected the Count, who could not bear the sight of this barbarous tragedy, which to Hesso was a mere pastime.

"Bring up your contribution," said the headsman; "what a face the scoundrel has! he trembles, and his teeth chatter with fear."

A dull sound was heard, followed by a plaintive groan.

"One!" said the executioner, as he threw the hand on one side; "look what a baby-paw it is!"

The a.s.sistants joined in their chiefs laugh, as they saw the mutilated wretch faint with pain.

"Never mind!" said Hesso, coolly; "if he bleeds to death, we shall be sure that he won't try this business again."

"One moment, sir! Will you allow me a moment's conversation with the prisoners?" asked Erwin.

"What for?" was the reply, and the headsman stared angrily at the Count.

"As you have yourself told me, the besieged are in the habit of sending out to escort these convoys; perhaps I may gain some useful information which will decide the Emperor to adopt some more energetic measures!"

"Three!" cried Hesso.

And at the same time was heard the cry of pain and a brutal laugh.

"More energetic measures are well enough, but you will get no information.--Four!"

"But it is worth trying."