and stopped
behind the chains.

After he had briefly greeted his niece and she had enquired what had
befallen the Vorchtels, he asked anxiously: "Then you know nothing yet?
And Els--has it been kept from her, too?"

"What, in the name of all the saints?" asked Eva, with increasing alarm.

Then Herr Pfinzing, who saw that the door of the house was open, asked
her to come down. Eva was soon standing beside her godfather's big
bay, and while patting the smooth neck of the splendid animal he said
hurriedly, in a low tone: "It's fortunate that it happened so. You
can break it gradually to your sister, child. To-night Summon up your
courage, for there are things which even a man--To make the story short,
then: Tonight Wolff Eysvogel and young Vorchtel quarreled, or rather
Ulrich irritated your Wolff so cruelly that he drew his sword--"

"Wolff!" shrieked Eva, whose hand had already dropped from the horse.
"Wolff! He is so terribly strong, and if he drew his sword in anger----"

"He dealt his foe one powerful thrust," replied the imperial magistrate
with an expressive gesture. "The sword pierced him through. But I must
go on Only this one thing more: Ulrich was borne back to his parents as
a corpse. And Wolff Where is he hiding? May the saints long be the only
ones who know! A quarrel with such a result under the Emperor's eyes,
now when peace has just been declared throughout the land! Who knows
what sentence will be pronounced if the bailiffs show themselves
shrewder this time than usual! My office compelled me to set the pack
upon him. That is the reason I am so late. Tell Els as cautiously as
possible."

He bowed gallantly and trotted on, but Eva, as if hunted by enemies,
rushed up the staircase, threw herself on her knees before the prie
dieu, and sobbed aloud.

Young Vorchtel had undoubtedly heard of the events in the entry, taunted
Wolff with his betrothed bride's nocturnal interview with a knight, and
thus roused the strong man to fury. How terrible it all was! How could
she bear it! Her thoughtlessness had cost a human life, robbed parents
of their son! Through her fault her sister's betrothed husband, whom
she also loved, was in danger of being placed under ban, perhaps even of
being led to the executioner's block!

She had no thought of any other motive which might have induced the
hot-blooded young men to cross swords and, firmly convinced that her
luckless letter had drawn Heinz Schorlin to the house and