t if it were not for that fiendish weather-vane. If I
only had my good rifle in my hand and was upon the ground, I would shoot
a bullet hole through it for every night it has robbed me of sleep.'

"'Now, Winkelsee, do you really imagine that you could shoot to the top
of the tower from the ground?'

"'I don't imagine it. I know it, and it would be a joy to me to have
revenge upon it for robbing me of sleep.'

"'Hans Winkelsee, the burgomaster and the judge who condemned you would
believe you a boaster, or out of your mind did they hear you say this,
for it is simply impossible.'

"'You can go and tell them, and say that if I lose my life upon the
gallows, they lose the best marksman in the kingdom.'

"The jailor shook his head, then turned the key in the lock and went
slowly down the steps. He believed that the judge and the burgomaster
would laugh at him should he give them Winkelsee's message. Yet he
feared that if the imprisoned man died upon the scaffold, he would feel
self-reproach and remorse for not giving him the one chance for his
life.

"He went to the judge and told him, and a council was called to discuss
the question. As in most cases, part were in favor of giving him the
chance for his life, and the other part believed that he was planning
a flight, and his associates would gather about to help him escape.

"But there were huntsmen among them who were eager to see what Winkelsee
could do and argued that if he failed, it would then be time enough to
have him executed, so they decided that as soon as the clock struck
twelve the next morning they would allow him the trial of his skill.

"A deputation was sent to tell him of the decision.

"'I am not afraid of the gallows,' he said, 'but am willing to have a
chance for my life on condition that I have my own rifle and one of my
comrades accompany me to the spot where I take my stand. Can you agree
to this?'

"They assured him that both requests should be granted, and hoped that
the trial would be a success.

"'I have no fear in regard to it. I know what I can do. Now you can
leave me to myself, and to-morrow I will leave this martyr cage and be
as free as the birds of the air.'

"'Winkelsee, I advise you not to take the affair so lightly. If you
fail, your last chance for life fails with it.'

"The news of the trial of his skill spread through the city and the next
day at twelve a great crowd assembled to witness the test of skill.

"When Hans