sewn in her saddle, where
I trust none will seek it, and wonder why she comes to you without
warning. I will tell you.

"You know that here the axe and the stake are very busy, for at The
Hague the devil walks loose; yes, he is the master in this land. Well,
although the blow has not yet fallen on me, since for a while I have
bought off the informers, hour by hour the sword hangs over my head, nor
can I escape it in the end. That I am suspected of the New Faith is not
my real crime. You can guess it. Cousin, they desire my wealth. Now I
have sworn that no Spaniard shall have this, no, not if I must sink it
in the sea to save it from them, since it has been heaped up to another
end. Yet they desire it sorely, and spies are about my path and about my
bed. Worst among them all, and at the head of them, is a certain Ramiro,
a one-eyed man, but lately come from Spain, it is said as an agent of
the Inquisition, whose manners are those of a person who was once a
gentleman, and who seems to know this country well. This fellow has
approached me, offering if I will give him three-parts of my wealth to
secure my escape with the rest, and I have told him that I will consider
the offer. For this reason only I have a little respite, since he
desires that my money should go into his pocket and not into that of the
Government. But, by the help of God, neither of them shall touch it.

"See you, Dirk, the treasure is not here in the house as they think. It
is hidden, but in a spot where it cannot stay.

"Therefore, if you love me, and hold that I have been a good friend
to you, send your son Foy with one other strong and trusted man--your
Frisian servant, Martin, if possible--on the morrow after you receive
this. When night falls he should have been in The Hague some hours, and
have refreshed himself, but let him not come near me or my house. Half
an hour after sunset let him, followed by his serving man, walk up and
down the right side of the Broad Street in The Hague, as though seeking
adventures, till a girl, also followed by a servant, pushes up against
him as if on purpose, and whispers in his ear, 'Are you from Leyden,
sweetheart?' Then he must say 'Yes,' and accompany her till he comes to
a place where he will learn what must be done and how to do it. Above
all, he must follow no woman who may accost him and does not repeat
these words. The girl who addresses him will be short, dark, pretty, and
gaily dressed, with a red bow upo