The Strong Arm | Page 3

"What is the Rhine? A province of which you are the ruler?"
"No, your Highness, it is a river; a lordly stream that never diminishes,
but flows unceasingly between green vine-clad hills; would that I had
some of the vintage therefore to cheer me in my captivity and remove
the taste of this brackish water!"
"In the name of the Prophet, then, why did you leave it?"
"Indeed, your Highness, I have often asked myself that question of late
and found but insufficient answer."
"If I give you back your sword, which not I, but the demon Thirst
captured from you, will you pledge me your word that you will draw it
no more against those of my faith, but will return to your own land,
safe escort being afforded you to the great sea where you can take
ship?"
"As I have fought for ten years, and have come no nearer Jerusalem
than where I now stand, I am content to give you my word in exchange
for my sword, and the escort you promise."
And thus it came about that Count Herbert von Schonburg, although
still a young man, relinquished all thought of conquering the Holy Land,

and found himself one evening, after a long march, gazing on the placid
bosom of the broad Rhine, which he had not seen since he bade
good-bye to it, a boy of twenty-one, then as warlike and ambitious, as
now, he was peace loving and tired of strife. The very air of the Rhine
valley breathed rest and quiet, and Herbert, with a deep sigh, welcomed
the thought of a life passed in comforting uneventfulness.
"Conrad," he said to his one follower, "I will encamp here for the night.
Ride on down the Rhine, I beg of you, and cross the river where you
may, that you may announce my coming some time before I arrive. My
father is an old man, and I am the last of the race, so I do not wish to
come unexpectedly on him; therefore break to him with caution the fact
that I am in the neighbourhood, for hearing nothing from me all these
years it is like to happen he believes me dead."
Conrad rode down the path by the river and disappeared while his
master, after seeing to the welfare of his horse, threw himself down in a
thicket and slept the untroubled sleep of the seasoned soldier. It was
daylight when he was awakened by the tramp of horses. Starting to his
feet, he was confronted by a grizzled warrior with half a dozen men at
his back, and at first the Count thought himself again a prisoner, but the
friendliness of the officer soon set all doubts at rest.
"Are you Count Herbert von Schonburg?" asked the intruder.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"I am Richart, custodian of Castle Gudenfels, and commander of the
small forces possessed by her Ladyship, Countess von Falkenstein. I
have to acquaint you with the fact that your servant and messenger has
been captured. Your castle of Schonburg is besieged, and Conrad,
unaware, rode straight into custody. This coming to the ears of my lady
the Countess, she directed me to intercept you if possible, so that you
might not share the fate of your servant, and offer to you the hospitality
of Gudenfels Castle until such time as you had determined what to do
in relation to the siege of your own."
"I give my warmest thanks to the Countess for her thoughtfulness. Is

her husband the Count then dead?"
"It is the young Countess von Falkenstein whose orders I carry. Her
father and mother are both dead, and her Ladyship, their only child,
now holds Gudenfels."
"What, that little girl? She was but a child when I left the Rhine."
"Her Ladyship is a woman of nineteen now."
"And how long has my father been besieged?"
"Alas! it grieves me to state that your father, Count von Schonburg, has
also passed away. He has been dead these two years."
The young man bowed his head and crossed himself. For a long time he
rode in silence, meditating upon this unwelcome intelligence, grieved
to think that such a desolate home-coming awaited him.
"Who, then, holds my castle against the besiegers?"
"The custodian Heinrich has stubbornly stood siege since the Count,
your father, died, saying he carries out the orders of his lord until the
return of the son."
"Ah! if Heinrich is in command then is the castle safe," cried the young
man, with enthusiasm. "He is a born warrior and first taught me the use
of the broad-sword. Who besieges us? The Archbishop of Mayence?
He was ever a turbulent prelate and held spite against our house."
Richart shifted uneasily in his saddle, and for the