had swept the place a bit, it was
passable. Then I gave the girl a groschen to put the pigs somewhere
else, and during the day, at least, I managed to let the horses stand
upright, for I took off the boards at the top, when the morning dawned,
and put them on again in the evening. They peeped out of the roof like
so many geese, and looked after Kohlhaasenbrueck, or some place at any
rate, where they would be better off."

"But now," said Kohlhaas, "why in the world did they send you away?"

"Because, master," replied the man, "they wanted to get rid of me;
because, as long as I was there, they could not ruin the horses. In
the yard, and in the servants' room, they always made queer faces at
me, and because I thought 'you may twist your mouths out of joint, if
you like,' they managed to find a pretext, and turned me out of the
yard."

"But the reason," said Kohlhaas, "they must have had some reason."

"Oh, certainly," replied Herse, "and a very good one too. On the
evening of the second day which I had passed in the sty, I took the
horses, which had become dirty, and was going to ride them out to
water. When I was just at the gate, and was about to turn, I heard the
castellan and the bailiff, with servants, dogs, and sticks, rush upon
me from the servants' room, and shout out 'Stop the thief, stop the
hangdog!' as if they were all possessed. The gate-keeper intercepted
my passage, and when I asked him and the uproarious mob what was the
matter, the castellan, seizing the bridle of the two horses, cried,
'Matter, indeed! Where are you going with the horses?' and so saying,
seized me by the collar. Why, where should I be going?' said I, 'I am
going to water the horses.' 'Oh, to water!' cried the castellan, 'I'll
water you! I'll teach you to swim on the high road all the way to
Kohlhaasenbrueck.' Upon this, he and the bailiff, who had laid hold of
my leg, flung me treacherously from the horse, so that I lay full
length in the mud. 'Murder!' shouted I, 'There are the harness, and
the horse-cloths, and a bundle of linen belonging to me in the stable.'
But the castellan and the servants, while the bailiff led off the
horses, belaboured me with whips, and cudgels, and kicks, till I fell
down, half dead, at the gate. And when I said, 'Where are the thievish
rogues taking the horses?' and got up, 'Out of the castle-yard!' cried
the castellan. 'Ho, there, Caesar!--Ho, Touzer!--Ho, Pincher!' and
straight more than