hands behind him. They were not his own seamen as he had
expected, but the Master's hidden companions. In a few moments he was
bound fast in the armchair in which he had been comfortably seated a
few minutes before, and ere he could utter a word he was securely
gagged.

"Well," said Feodor, placing himself calmly before his prisoner, "so
you have discovered where the bell-ringers are, and for whom they
ring! Doubtless you would like also to know who it was that rang. I am
Count Feodor von Ungern, the brother whom you betrayed, whom you
falsely accused, whom you had condemned to lifelong exile, whom you
made a wretched fugitive, whose wife you carried off, and whose child
you branded with shame. Since those days I have had no other thought
but that of vengeance. I built this tower here merely that I might see
your accursed nation's vessels dashed in pieces beneath it. Six
hundred of them have I destroyed already, and your proud three-decker
will be the first of the seventh hundred. The very moment you pulled
that cord, my trusty men burst forth from their concealment, overcame
your company, and, without a doubt, slew every one. And now they will
put on your men's uniforms, and row off in your own boat to your ship.
Then there will be a bath of blood! When every life has been destroyed
they will set fire to the ship and let her burn to cinders. Ay! and
you will be able to see the magnificent spectacle from the tower
windows. There you may enjoy it until at last, with a final crash, the
hull bursts into the air. At this sound our two boys will rush out of
bed half dressed. To my son I will say: 'Look! That brand on your
shoulder which has banished you for ever from the world, which
prevents you from ever calling any honourable woman your wife, or
disclosing your true name; that mark of infamy, which buries you alive
and damns you for ever before you have even sinned--it was that man
who stamped it upon you! He it was who robbed you of your heritage,
who robbed you of your mother's heart--of everything on earth. He has
turned your father into a devil, and of earth he has made a hell for
you. That man has a son. There he stands. That stripling is to blame
for all your misery. He had no right even to come into the world; by
his very birth he utterly destroyed both you and me. He is a thief who
has stolen away your good name. Well, you have there two swords. Fall
upon each other!' I will say all this, and then you will enjoy t