waited him. He had made enemies among the German
princes, and they conspired against him, but they were forced to submit
to his rule. Some of those whose lands he had seized did not hesitate to
express openly their hatred for him; but others, while secretly plotting
against him, pretended to be his friends, shared in his wars and his
courtly ceremonies, and were glad to accept favors from his hands.

One of those who hated him most bitterly, yet who seemed most attached to
him, was the Count-Duke of Schwerin, a man who, alike from his dark
complexion and his evil disposition, was known in his own country as
"Black Henry." The king had often been warned to beware of this man, but,
frank and open by nature and slow to suspect guile, he disregarded these
warnings and went on treating him as a trusty friend.

This enabled Count Henry to make himself familiar with Valdemar's habits
and mode of life. He secretly aided certain traitors who cherished evil
designs against the king; but when he found that all these plots failed
he devised one of his own which the king's trust in him aided him in
carrying out.

In the spring of the year 1233 Valdemar invited his seeming friend to a
two days' hunt which he proposed to enjoy in the woods of Lyoe, but the
count sent word that he regretted his inability to join him, as he had
been hurt by a fall and could not leave his bed.

His bed just then was his horse's saddle. The opportunity which he
awaited had come, and he spent the night scouring the country in search
of aid for the plot he had in view, which was no less than to seize and
hold prisoner his trusting royal friend. He knew the island well, and
when his spies told him that the king and his son Valdemar had landed at
Lyoe with a small following of huntsmen and servants, Black Henry prepared
to carry out his plot.

The king's first day's hunt was a hard one and he and his son slept
soundly that night in the rude hut that had been put up for their use. No
one thought of any need of guarding it and the few attendants of the king
were scattered about, sleeping under the shelter of rocks and trees.

Late that night Count Henry and his men landed and made their way
silently and cautiously through the tired sleepers to the royal hut,
which he well knew where to find. Quietly entering, they deftly gagged
the king and prince before they could awake, and before either of them
could raise a hand in resistance sacks of wool and straw we