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Show .u)ii(i mi ii H l.to.K.ii i CHAPTER XIII. Joan Stand Within Hrr Danger. So ixioii a Wirnir ton Oraeln re turned to CaHe Kirnshcrg with new of the forcing of the Alia and the overwhelming mimhot ( Urn Muneo-vltc Muneo-vltc horde. I ho adc)od Duchot ot llohenstcln bora me once mure Joan of the Sword Hand Thti Invading nrm must hate nam berd thirty thousahri at Irani Thore were, all told alou tn thousand In Kernaberg Von Orscln, Indeed, could wall) hate rained more Nay, they would hate come In of thomseltea by hundred to fight for thrlr ltache, but the little town could not feed more. When Winter ton Orsoln and I'eter Halt met the Invader at I he ford ol the Alia, Maurice win l.ynar and Alt I'lkker had riinalncd with Joan nominally nomi-nally In assist her disposition, but really to form a check upon the Itn-pcttiott) Itn-pcttiott) of her temper Now Von Oraeln wan back ngaln The fonl of the Alii were forced, and tho fighting l renal li of Kernsberg united Itaolf In the Haglo'i Ned to make itn final stand Aloft on the highest rnmiarta there wan a terrare walk which the Spar-hawk Spar-hawk much affected, tpt'Clnll) when he wa on guard at night. It lookeil tow. ards the oast, and from It tho firm glimpse of the Conrllandtrs would bo obtained Treoentl) the chief captain' atop nan heard on the atnno turnpike. "lla, Spnrhuwk,' ho cried, "thl It cold cheer' Why could we not hato talked comfortably In ball, with a beaker of mead at tone's elLowJ" "I wanted to apeak with jou on a matter we cannot mention cUowhere." aid Maurice ton l.ynar. ! "How long can wo bold out If they bceloge us?" "Two month, cerlalnl) with luck, three!" "And what of tho Hucheaa Joan?" remitted the young man. "Why. In tho name tlmo alio will be j dead or wed!" aald Von Orioln. with F an affectation of cnrcloasnoa easily i icon throUKti f "Wo must gil lier away to a placo I ot safety," said (ho young man. Von i Otsrln laughed. I "Get her? Who would persuade or i compel our IndyT Whllher would alio go? Would alio bo aafer thcra than here? Would tho Courtlandcr not find out In twenty four houra that llicro was no Joan of tho Sword Hand In Kernsberg, and follow her trail?" "Wo must perauado her capturo her, compel her, If nccesary Kerns-berg Kerns-berg cannot for lone hold out against loth the Muscovite and tho Court-lander Court-lander " "What? Cnpluro Joan of the Sword Hand and carry her off? The mead . buzzes In the bo)'a head. He grow dotty with anxiety and too much hard nlo" ' "Von Oraeln." anld the youth, with dimple earnestness, not heeding Ida taunt. "I lime thought deeply. I ace . ' no way out ot It but t lit s Our lady will eagerly go on recomialtanco If I you represent It a nccenry You must tako ten good men and rldo ' north, far north, otin to the edge of ;, tho Ilalllc, to a place I know of, which inone but 1 and one other can find There, wllh a few trusty fellow to guard her. ho will bo of till the , puili ot tho time I ocr." "Hut how" ald Von Orvln, modi-i modi-i tatlng, "will you prevent her absence being knonn? The pnstngn of to largo n party may easily be traced and remembered Though our folk are true enough and lo)ul enough, sooner or later what I known In tho Cattle i known In tho town, and what I "What? Capture Joan ol the Sword Hand and carry her oftl" known In the town become known la ' tho enemy' Maurice ton l.ynar leaned forward toward hi chief captain and whit-' whit-' pered a few word In hi oar "Ah"' he ald, and nodded Then, afler a pue for thought, he added, 1 "That la none o III thought on for a hoardleaa younker' I will think It oter, sleep on It. and tell you my opinion opin-ion to-morrow' At any rata," the chief oaptaln growled to h!melf, "you have a pretty part net for me I may forthwith order iny throud 1 hall never be able to face my lady again!" ' The Duchess Joan da In high aplrlt. It had been Judged necwuary, in cntultatlou wllh her chief offlear to ride a reionnalssanru to ascertain whether 'he ndtanclng enemy had cut Kernbtr off toward the north On thl matter Von Oraeln thought that her tllghne hail lx tier Judge for her-elf her-elf Here at lam wa something to be done It wa almost like the old rotating day, hut now In a more de ptrale catine. No one In all Castle Kernlierg wa to know of the departure of thl cav aloade. The Bparhawk wi appointed to command during Von Oraeln a absence ab-sence Ten men only were to go, and those picked and lifted rider cnoaen became of their powera of silence and because, being unmarried, they had no wire to worm tcret out of them Joan and her chief captain rode on ahrad Von ()reln glancing kecnl) aliniii hlrn, and Joan riding free and cur, I, a In old day when she mer passed the bill to ilrlw a prey from th land of her fuller cncnili It wa gny morning when they came to a goailurd hut at the top of the green tulle) Already they had panned the bound of Ilohonstolu b) half a doten mile The goatherd had led hi light skipping train to tho hill lor tho day, mid the rude and chaotic remain of hi hreukfait wiro Mill on the table Hurls and Jorlan cleared thee away, and with tho trained alacrity of seasoned men at arm, they placed before the party a breakfast prepared with speed nut of which they had brought with them and those thing which they had found to their hrnd by foraging In the cottage of the goatherd to-w It, diced mat' tongue dried In tho smoke, bread of flue wheat which Jorlan bad carried all the way In a net at hi sad-die sad-die bow. Ilorl had chargo of the wlue tklna, and upon a thelf aboto the door they found a great butler pot full of freshly inado curded goat'a milk, tery delicious both to taitc and mell Of thofo thing they ale and drank largely, Joan and Von Orteln btlng together to-gether at tho upper end of the tablo Ilorl and Jorlan had to nil with them, though much ngalnht their will, being be-ing (tplto of their weetheart) more nccuilomed to tho company of honeat men at arm than lo the practice of dainty eating In ladle' society Soon Joan of the Sword Hand rose to her feet, for the ex men at arm had few word to say. "Let u now- mount and rldo homeward,' home-ward,' alio aald, "there aro no enemy to be found on thl northerly road. Wo hall bo more fortunate upon another occasion." Then Werner ton Otseln nortcd himself for a battlo moro serious than any he had our fought at the elbow of Henry the I.lon of llohen-ateln llohen-ateln "My lady," he aald, standing up and boning gratel) before her, "you eo here eleven men who line you far aboe their lltee, of whom I am the chief Two other ato there are, who though not of our nation, are In heart Joined to u especially In thl thing that we hate done With all respect, your lllglmea cannot go back We liae come out not to make a reconnaissance, but to put your draco In a place of safely till the storm blow over" The Duchess had slowly risen to her feet, with her hand on the (word which aw ung at her bolt, "You hno uddenly gone mad, Werner'" Wer-ner'" alio aald, "lot us hao no moro of this, I hid you mount and ride. Hack lo Kernsherg, I ay ' Yo are not such fool and traitor n to deliver the maiden Castle, the Kagle's Net ot Hnhensteln. Into the hands of our enemies?" ene-mies?" Noy," said Von Oraeln, looking steadily upon the ground "that will we rot do, Kernsherg I I good hands, and will fight hrnely lint we cannot hold out with our few folk and scanty provender against the leaguer of thirty thousand. Nevertheless wo will not permit you to sacrifice yourself for our take or for tho tako of tho women and children of the city." Joan drew her word, "Werner von Oraeln, will you oboy me or must I slay jou with my hand?" she cried. Tho chief captain yot further bowod hi head and abased hi eye, "We hato thought alto of this," ha mado nnawer 'Mo you may kill, but these that aro with mo will defend themteltes, though they will not ttrlko one they loto moro than their live Tint man by man wo hate worn to do thl thing At all hazard you must nbldu In our hand tilt tho danger I overpast For me (thl ho added In a deeper lone). I am your Immediate officer There I nono to come between us It is your right to slay me if you will Mine Is tho re-tponslblllty re-tponslblllty for thl ' deed, though tho design wa not mine Here I my ord Slay your chief captain with It If you will lie has faithfully served jour houte for five-anil thirty jsars. Tie perhaps tlmo he rested now " And with these word Werner ton Oraeln took hi aword by the point and offered the hilt lo hi mlttreea Joan of the Sword Hand shook wlih mingled patelon and helpleasnea. and her eyea were dark and troubled "1'ut up your blade ' she aald, striking; strik-ing; tho hilt with her hand, "If you hate not deserved denth, no more hate t deaerted this! Hut you aald that the design wa not your. Who, then, ha dared to plot against the liberty of Joan of I'nhi-tsteln'" I "I mid t could claim the Iranor, I said Werner the chief captain; "M truly ihe matter came from Manrle ion l.ynar, the t)ne It I to M iwit'ier. who afler the death of la Count ton l.ynar continued to dwell In a secret strength on the HaKIt shore, that we are conducting your Orace' "Maurice ton l.ynar' ' eaelnltnad Joan. atonlhed "He remain Is Castle Kernsherg then?" "Aye," ald Werner, relieved by her tone he will take jottr pllr when danger cotuea In mornlnc twl light or at dusk he make none mi lit a IjuI) Duchess and. I faith, l word hand la brisk enough If lh town be taken Iwtter that he than you be found In Caatle Kernsberg. It Ihe thing not well Intented. my lady?" Werner looked up hopefully H thought he nd pleaded his cause will. "Traitor' supplant! r' ' cried Joan Indignantly, 'thl Dane In my place! "Werner von Orteln, will you obsy me?" I will hang him from tho highest window win-dow In tho Cattle of Kerntbcrg, It ctcr I win back (o mlno own again." "My lady," said Werner gently and respectfully, "your scrvnnt Von l.ynar hade me tell you that ho would a faithfully and loyally lako your place now aa ho did on a former occasion!" "Ah," aald Joan, smiling wanly with a quick chango of mood, "I hopo ho will bo more ready to glte up hi privilege on this occasion than on that' She wa thinking ot the Primes Margaret and Ihe hcrltngo of troublo upon which, n the Count ton Ijocn, ho had caused tho Bparhawk to enter. Then a new thought seemed to trlko her. "lint my nurse and my women how can he keep the Imposture secret? Ho may pas beforo tho stupid eye ot men. Hut they " "They hnto been tent out of harm'a way Into I'lattenburg Thcro I not a woman horn of woman In all tho Castle of Kernsberg!" "Ye." mused Jonn, "I hato Indeed been fairly cozened. I gate that order or-der also by tho Dane' adtlce Well, let him hate hi run. We will recta him n firm collar of hemp at tho end of It, unit maybe for Werner ton Orteln Or-teln alto as a traitor alike to M bread and hi mlttreaa Till thon I hope you will both enjoy playing your part " The chief captain bowed "I am content, my lady, ' he said respectfully re-spectfully "Now, good Jailers alt," cried Joan, "lead on. I will follow Or would you prefer to carry me with you hao4-cuffed hao4-cuffed and chained? I will go with you In what fashion seemeth good to my master!" She paused and looked around tht llttto goatherd's hut. "Only," alio aald, nodding her heal, "I warn you I will take my own tlmt and mnnner of coming back!" Thero u n deep sllenco a tbt men drew their holts tighter and prepared pre-pared to mount oml depart. (To bo continued ) |
