and tell him----"

Here the friendly man's patience gave out, and, drawing his little broad
figure stiffly up, he said repellently: "You are mistaken in me, my
dear. If you need a messenger, you must seek some one else. You have
taken care to make me sincerely regret having discharged this office for
your sake. Besides, your recovery will progress without my professional
aid; and, moreover, I shall leave Ratisbon with my illustrious master in
a few days."

He turned his back upon her as he spoke. When toward evening the
Emperor asked him how Barbara had received his decision, he shrugged
his shoulders and answered: "As was to be expected. She thinks herself
ill-used, and will not give up the child."

"She will have a different view in the convent," replied the Emperor.
"Quijada shall talk with her to-morrow, and De Soto and the pious
nuns here will show her where she belongs. The child--that matter is
settled--will be taken from her."

The execution of the imperial will began on the very next morning. First
the confessor De Soto appeared, and with convincing eloquence showed
Barbara how happily she could shape her shadowed life within the sacred
quiet of the convent. Besides, the helpless creature whose coming
she was expecting with maternal love could rely upon the father's
recognition and aid only on condition that she yielded to his Majesty's
expressed will.

Barbara, though with no little difficulty, succeeded in maintaining her
composure during these counsels and the declaration of the servant of
the Holy Church. Faithful to the determination formed during the night,
she imposed silence upon herself, and when De Soto asked for a positive
answer, she begged him to grant her time for consideration.

Soon after Don Luis Quijada was announced. This time he did not appear
in the dark Spanish court costume, but in the brilliant armour of the
Lombard regiment whose command had been entrusted to him.

When he saw Barbara, for the first time after many weeks, he was
startled.

Only yesterday she had seemed to Wolf Hartschwert peerlessly beautiful,
but the few hours which had elapsed between the visit of the physician
and the major-domo had sadly changed her. Her large, bright eyes were
reddened by weeping, and the slight lines about the corners of the mouth
had deepened and lent her a severe expression.

A hundred considerations had doubtless crowded upon her during the
night, yet she by no means repented having