Show JOAN rnIID illAm ff 5 lli 5 RCROCKErTAaUJor Tfiek d JC v I Copyright 1898 1900 by S R Crockett CHAPTER I The Hall of the Guard Loud rang the laughter In the hall of tho menatarms at Castle Kerns berg There had como an embassy from tho hereditary Princess of Plass enburg recently established upon tho throno of her ancestors to tho Duchess Duch-ess 3oan of Hohcnsteln ruler of that cluster of hill statelets which Is called collectively Masurenland and which Includes besides Hohenstein the original Eagloa Eyrie Kernswald also and Marlenfeld Above In the hall of audience tho ambassador one Leopold von Des sauer a great lord and most learned councillor of state sat alone with the young duchess They wero eating of the baked meats and drinking tho good Rhenish up there But after all I It was much merrier down below with I Werner von Orseln Alt Plkker Peter I Balta and John of Thorn though what they ate was mostly but plain oxflesh and their drink the strong ale native to the hill lands which Is called Wend Ish mead Get you down Captains Jorlan and Boris tho young duchess had commanded com-manded looking very handsome and haughty In the prldo of her twenty one years her eight strong castles and her two thousand men ready to rise at her word down to the hall where my officers send round tho wassail was-sail If they do not treat you well oen come up and tell It to me Good had responded the two soldiers sol-diers of the Princess of Plassenburg turning them about as if they had been hinged on tho same stick and starting forward with precisely the shame stiff hitch from the halt they mado for the door But stay Joan of Hohensteln hart said ere they reached It hero are a couple of rings My father left me one or two such Fit them upon your fingers and when you return give them to the maidens of your choice And with their rings upon their little lit-tle fingers the two burly captains went down the marrow stair of Castle Kernsberg Being arrived at the hall beneath they soon found themselves the center of a hospitable circle Gruff bearded Vend Ish men wero these of ficers of the young duchess not a butterfly youngling nor a courtly carpet car-pet knight among them but men tanned tan-ned like shipmen of tho Baltic solS sol-S mostly who had served tinder her father Henry foraging upon occasion occa-sion as far ns the Mark in ono direction direc-tion and Into BorRussia In tho other iron grounded and compacted after the hearts of Jorlan and Boris It was small wonder that among such congenial society tho ex men > at arms found themselves presently very much at home Scarcely were they seated when lorian began to brag of the gift the duchess had given him for the maiden of his troth And Boris here that hulking co bold that Hans Klapper upon tho housetops had wellnigh spoiled the jest for when her ladyship asked him a second tlmo In her sweet voice for the name of his betrothed he must needs lay his tongue to Gretchen Instead of Katrln as ho had done at tho first Werner von Orseln tho eldest and gravest of all glanced round the full circle of his mess Then he looked back at tho two captains of the embassy em-bassy guard of Plassenburg with a pitying glance And you lied about your sweethearts sweet-hearts to the Duchess Joan he said Ha ha Yes I I trow yes quoth Jorlan Jovially Wino may bo dear ci rrrh11 4 y 14 I ilte il + A h 1 c y1e 1 A I But stay Joan of Hohensteln had said but this rlhg will pay tho sweets of many a night i Ha ha It will will It said Werner Wer-ner the chief captain grimly Aye truly echoed Boris the mead beginning to work nuttlly under his steel cap when we melt this ha ha Katrlns jewel well quaff many a beaker The Rhenish shall flow And Peg and Moil and Ellsabet shall bo there yes and many a good fellow Shut the door quoth Werner the chief captain at this point Sit down gentlemen Captains Jorlan mId I Doris you do not seem to know that you are no longer In l Plassenburg I Horo aro no tables of Karl tho Millers Mil-lers Son to hamper our liege mistress mis-tress Do you know that you have lied to her and made a jest of It Ho spoke vary slowlj leaning to ward them and punctuating his mean Ing upon the palm ot his left hand with tho fingers of his right If I Werner of Ormolu were now to walk upstairs and In so many words tell my lady the sweet easy princess aa you name her Joan of the Sword as wo are proud Joan of the Sword I Hoch Tho menatarms nt the lower table I tho bearded captains at the high I board tho very page boys lounging In I the niches rose to their feet at the very name pronounced In a voice of thunder priele by Chief Captain Werner Wer-ner I I thank you gentlemen on behalf of my lady In whose name 1 command com-mand here said Werner bowing ceremoniously cere-moniously to nil around while the others settled themselves to listen Now worthy soldiers of Plnssen burg ho went on be It known to you that If to suppose a case which will not happen I were to tell our Lady Joan what you have confessed I to us here and boasted orthat you lied and double lied to herl lay my life and tho Jives of these good fel lows that tho pair of you would bo aswlng from tho corner gallery of tho Lions Tower In something under five minutes Jorlan rose to his feet Up Boris ho cried noBorRusslan no kern of Holienstela that ever lived shall over crow a captain of the armies of Plas senburg and n soldier of tho Princess HeleneHeaven bless her Take your ring In your hand Boris for wo will go up straightway you and I And wo will tell tho Lady Duchess Joan that having no sweetheart of legal standing and no desire for any we choused her Into tho belief that we would bestow her rings upon our betrothed be-trothed in the rose gardens of Plan sec burg Then wo will see If Indeed we shall be aswlng In five minutes Ready Boris Aye thrice ready Jorlan About then I Quick march A great noise of clapping rose all round tho hall as the two stout soldiers sol-diers set themselves to march up the staircase l by which they had just descended des-cended Stand to ho doors cried Werner I the chief captain do not let them pass Stand up and drink a I deep cup to them rather To Captains Jorlan and Boris of Plassenburg brave fellows fel-lows both I Tho toast was drunk amid multi ttidluous shoutings and handshakings Tho two men had stopped perforce for the doors wero In the hands of the soldiers of the guard and tho pike points clustered thick In their paths They turned now In tho direction of tho high table from which they had risen Sit down gentlemen and I also will sit Now hearken well said Werner these good fellows of mine will bear me out that I lie not You havo done bravely and snoken un liko good men taken in a fault But we will not permit you to go to your deaths For our Lady JoanGod bless herwould not take a false word from anyno not If it wera on Twelfth Night or after a Christmas merrymaking She would not forgive it from your old Longbeard upstairs whose business It Isthat is if she found It out To the gallows sho would say and wewhy wo should sorrow for having to hasten the stretchings of two good men Keep jour rings lads and keep also your wits about you when tho duchess questions you again Nay when you return to Plassenburg be wise seek out a Gretchen and a Katrln and bestow be-stow the rings upon themthat Is If ever you mean again to stand within the danger of Joan of the Sword In this her castle of Kernsberg Gretchens are none so scarce In Plassenburg muttered Jorlan I think wo can satisfy h rbut at a cheaper price than a ring of rubles set In gold CHAPTER II The Baiting of the Sparhawk Bring In tho Danish Sparhawk and we will bait him said Werner Wo have shown our guests a poor entertainment I en-tertainment Bring in the Sparhawk r say I Through tho black oblong of the dungeon doorway thero camo a lad of seventeen or eighteen tall slim darkbrowed limber Ho walked between i be-tween two menatarms who held his rlsts firmly on either side His hands wero chained together and from between be-tween them dangled a spiked ball that clanked heavily on tho floor as ho stumbled forward rather than walked Into tho room He had black hair that waved from his forehead In a backward sweep a noso of slightly Roman shape which together with his bold eagles eyes had obtained him the name of the Spar or Sparrow hawk hawlWArner WArner von Orseln turned to his guests and salt This Sparhawk Is a little Dane we took on our lastforay to the north It Is only In that direction direc-tion wo can lend the foray since you have grown so lawabiding and strong In Plaasenburg and the Mark His uncles wero all killed In the defense of Castle Lynar on tho Northern Haff Wo know not which of these had also the claim of fatherhood upon him At all events his grandad had n manor man-or there and camo from tho Jutland sanddunes to build a castle upon tho Baltic shores But he had better havn stayed at homo for ho would not pay Jie Pearo OpM to OM Henry Ro tho Lion oaten Mao 1hI went to CaIlUe Lynar and mado nu end savo of this spitting Sparhawk whom our masttp would not let us kill and whom now we keep with clipped wings for our sport The lad listened vlth erected head and haughty eyes to the tale but answered not a word Now cried Werner with his cur In his hand and bin brown bent upon tho youth dance for us as you used upon the Baltic when the mal s camo In fresh from their tiring and tho newest kirtles were donned Dance I say I Foot 11 for your life The lad Maurice von Ljnar stood with his bold eyes upon his tormentors torment-ors Curs ot DorRussia he said at last In speech that trembled with anger you may vex the soul of a Danish gentleman with your aspersions asper-sions jolt may wound his body but you will never be able to stand up to him In battle You will never be worthy to eat or drink with him to taKe his hand In comradeship or to ride a till witji him Pigs of the sty you are man by man of you Wends nnd boors and no kings gentlemen Hnns Trench lift this sprlngalds pretty wristbauble said Werner At tho word tho man laid down his partisan and lifted the ball high between be-tween his two hands Now dance commanded Werner + W I < I 0 I a Pigs of the sty you areman by man of you von Orseln dance the Danish milkmaids milk-maids coranto or 1 will bid them drop It on your toes Dost want them Jellied man Drop and bo cursed In your lowborn low-born souls cried the lad fiercely Untruss my hands and let me loose with a sword and ten yards clear on the floor and by Saint Magnus of the Isles Iwill disembowel any three of you You will not dance said Werner nodding at him I will see you fry In hell fire first Down with the ball Hans Trench cried Werner Ho that will not danco at Castle Kernsdorf must learn at least to Jump Ware toes Sparhawk cried the soldiers In chorus but at that moment mo-ment suddenly kicking out as far as his chains allowed tho troy took tho stooping lout on the face and incontinently In-continently widened the superficial area of his mouth He went over on his hack amid the uproarious laughter of his fellows The fellow rose spluttering angrily an-grily Hold his legs some one he said Ill mark his pretty feet for him He shall not kick so free another time A couple of his companions took hold of the boy on either side so that he could not move his limbs and Hans again lifted high the ball Now then for marrow and mashed trotters ho cried spitting tho blood from tho split corners of his mouth Halt To bo continued |