drifted on a level with the windows; the sashes were all white. I began
to reflect upon the sad condition of my companions; they must have
suffered with the cold, particularly old Bremer and Bertha, and the idea
filled me with sorrow. As I was reflecting thus, a strange noise arose
outside. It drew near the inn, and I sprang anxiously to the window to
see if some new dangers were threatening. They were bringing the
famous band of robbers to confront Dame Gredel Dick, who was not yet
sufficiently recovered from her fright to venture out of doors. My
poor comrades came down the street between a double file of police,
and followed by a crowd of street urchins, who screamed and yelled like
savages. It seems to me that I can still see that terrible scene; poor
Bremer chained between his sons, Ludwig and Karl, Wilfred behind them,
and Bertha bringing up the rear and crying piteously: "In the name of
Heaven, my masters, have pity on a poor, innocent harpist! I kill? I
steal? O God! can it be?" She wrung her hands distractedly. The others
proceeded with bowed heads, their hair falling over their faces.

The crowd swarmed into the dark alleyway of the inn. The guards drove
back the rabble, and the door was closed and barred. The eager crowd
remained outside, standing ankle-deep in slush, with their noses
flattened against the panes. A profound silence settled upon the house.
Having by this time got into my clothes, I opened the door part way to
listen, and see if it would be possible to escape from my unpleasant
quarters. I heard the sound of voices and of people moving about on
the lower floors, which convinced me that the passages were strongly
guarded. My door opened on the landing, directly opposite the window
through which the man had fled two nights before. I did not pay any
attention to this circumstance at first, but as I stood there I suddenly
noticed that the window was open, and that there was no snow on the
sill; approaching it, I saw fresh tracks along the wall. I shuddered.
The man must have returned last night; perhaps visited the inn every
night. It was a revelation to me, and at once the mystery began to clear
up.

"Oh! if it were only true," I said to myself, "that fortune had placed
the murderer's fate in my hands, my unhappy fellows would be saved!"
And I followed with my eyes the footprints, which led with surprising
distinctness to the opposite roof. At this moment some words fell on
my ear. The door of t