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The Strong Arm

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Produced by Lee Dawei, David Moynihan, Michelle Shephard,
Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.




THE STRONG ARM

BY
ROBERT BARR




CONTENTS


Chapter I. THE BEAUTIFUL JAILER OF GUDENFELS
II. THE REVENGE OF THE OUTLAW
III. A CITY OF FEAR
IV. THE PERIL OF THE EMPEROR
V. THE NEEDLE DAGGER
VI. THE HOLY FEHM

THE COUNT'S APOLOGY
CONVERTED
AN INVITATION
THE ARCHBISHOP'S GIFT
COUNT KONRAD'S COURTSHIP
THE LONG LADDER
"GENTLEMEN: THE KING!"
THE HOUR-GLASS
THE WARRIOR MAID OF SAN CARLOS
THE AMBASSADOR'S PIGEONS




CHAPTER I

THE BEAUTIFUL JAILER OF GUDENFELS


The aged Emir Soldan sat in his tent and smiled; the crafty Oriental
smile of an experienced man, deeply grounded in the wisdom of this
world. He knew that there was incipient rebellion in his camp; that the
young commanders under him thought their leader was becoming too old
for the fray; caution overmastering courage. Here were these dogs of
unbelievers setting their unhallowed feet on the sacred soil of Syria,
and the Emir, instead of dashing against them, counselled coolness and
prudence. Therefore impatience disintegrated the camp and resentment
threatened discipline. When at last the murmurs could be no longer
ignored the Emir gathered his impetuous young men together in his tent,
and thus addressed them.

"It may well be that I am growing too old for the active field; it may
be that, having met before this German boar who leads his herd of
swine, I am fearful of risking my remnant of life against him, but I
have ever been an indulgent general, and am now loath to let my
inaction stand against your chance of distinction. Go you therefore
forth against him, and the man who brings me this boar's head shall not
lack his reward."

The young men loudly cheered this decision and brandished their weapons
aloft, while the old man smiled upon them and added:

"When you are bringing confusion to the camp of the unbelievers, I
shall remain in my tent and meditate on the sayings of the Prophet,
praying him to keep you a good spear's length from the German's broad
sword, which he is the habit of wielding with his two hands."

The young Saracens went forth with much shouting, a gay prancing of the
horses underneath them and a marvellous flourishing of spears above
them, but they learned more wisdom in their half hour's communion with
the German than the Emir, in a long life of counselling, had been able
to bestow upon them. The two-handed sword they now met for the first
time, and the acquaintance brought little joy to them. Count Herbert,
the leader of the invaders, did no shouting, but reserved his breath
for other purposes. He spurred his horse among them, and his foes went
down around him as a thicket melts away before the well-swung axe of a
stalwart woodman. The Saracens had little fear of death, but mutilation
was another thing, for they knew that they would spend eternity in
Paradise, shaped as they had left this earth, and while a spear's
thrust or a wound from an arrow, or even the gash left by a short sword
may be concealed by celestial robes, how is a man to comport himself in
the Land of the Blest who is compelled to carry his head under his arm,
or who is split from crown to midriff by an outlandish weapon that
falls irresistible as the wrath of Allah! Again and again they threw
themselves with disastrous bravery against the invading horde, and
after each encounter they came back with lessened ranks and a more
chastened spirit than when they had set forth. When at last, another
counsel of war was held, the young men kept silence and waited for the
smiling Emir to speak.

"If you are satisfied that there are other things to think of in war
than the giving and taking of blows I am prepared to meet this German,
not on his own terms but on my own. Perhaps, however, you wish to try
conclusions with him again?"

The deep silence which followed this inquiry seemed to indicate that no
such desire animated the Emir's listeners, and the old man smiled
benignly upon his audience and went on.

"There must be no more disputing of my authority, either expressed or
by implication. I am now prepared to go forth against him taking with
me forty lancers."

Instantly there was a protest against this; the number was inadequate,
they said.

"In his fortieth year our Prophet came to a momentous decision,"
continued the Emir, unheeding the interruption, "and I take a spear
with me for every year of the Prophet's life, trusting that Allah will
add to our number, at the prophet's intervention, should such an
augmentation prove necessary. Get together then the forty _oldest_
men under my command. Let them cumber themselves with nothing in the
way of offence except one tall spear each, and see that every man is
provided with water and dates for twenty days' sustenance of horse and
man in the desert."

The Emir smiled as he placed special emphasis on the word "oldest," and
the young men departed abashed to obey his orders.

Next morning Count Herbert von Schonburg saw near his camp by the
water-holes a small group of horsemen standing motionless in the
desert, their lances erect, butt downward, resting on the sand, the
little company looking like an oasis of leafless poplars. The Count was
instantly astride his Arab charger, at the head of his men, ready to
meet whatever came, but on this occasion the enemy made no effort to
bring on a battle, but remained silent and stationary, differing
greatly from the hordes that had preceded it.

"Well," cried the impatient Count, "if Mahomet will not come to the
mountain, the mountain for once will oblige him."

He gave the word to charge, and put spurs to his horse, causing instant
animation in the band of Saracens, who fled before him as rapidly as
the Germans advanced. It is needless to dwell on the project of the
Emir, who simply followed the example of the desert mirages he had so
often witnessed in wonder. Never did the Germans come within touch of
their foes, always visible, but not to be overtaken. When at last Count
Herbert was convinced that his horses were no match for the fleet
steeds of his opponents he discovered that he and his band were
hopelessly lost in the arid and pathless desert, the spears of the
seemingly phantom host ever quivering before him in the tremulous
heated air against the cloudless horizon. Now all his energies were
bent toward finding the way that led to the camp by the water-holes,
but sense of locality seemed to have left him, and the ghostly company
which hung so persistently on his flanks gave no indication of
direction, but merely followed as before they had fled. One by one the
Count's soldiers succumbed, and when at last the forty spears hedged
him round the Emir approached a prisoner incapable of action. The
useless sword which hung from his saddle was taken, and water was given
to the exhausted man and his dying horse.

When the Emir Soldan and his forty followers rode into camp with their
prisoner there was a jubilant outcry, and the demand was made that the
foreign dog be instantly decapitated, but the Emir smiled and, holding
up his hand, said soothingly:

"Softly, softly, true followers of the only Prophet. Those who
neglected to remove his head while his good sword guarded it, shall not
now possess themselves of it, when that sword is in my hands."

And against this there could be no protest, for the prisoner belonged
to the Emir alone, and was to be dealt with as the captor ordained.

When the Count had recovered speech, and was able to hold himself as a
man should, the Emir summoned him, and they had a conference together
in Soldan's tent.

"Western barbarian," said the Emir, speaking in that common tongue made
up of languages Asiatic and European, a strange mixture by means of
which invaders and invaded communicated with each other, "who are you
and from what benighted land do you come?"

"I am Count Herbert von Schonburg. My castle overlooks the Rhine in
Germany."

"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 moment did not
answer. Then he said, with hesitation:

"I think the Archbishop regards the siege with favour, but I know
little of the matter. My Lady, the Countess, will possess you with full
information."

Count Herbert looked with astonishment upon the custodian of Castle
Gudenfels. Here was a contest going on at his very doors, even if on
the opposite side of the river, and yet a veteran knew nothing of the
contest. But they were now at the frowning gates of Castle Gudenfels,
with its lofty square pinnacled tower, and the curiosity of the young
Count was dimmed by the admiration he felt for this great stronghold as
he gazed upward at it. An instant later he with his escort passed
through the gateway and stood in the courtyard of the castle. When he
had dismounted the Count said to Richart:

"I have travelled far, and am not in fit state to be presented to a
lady. Indeed, now that I am here, I dread the meeting. I have seen
nothing of women for ten years, and knew little of them before I left
the Rhine. Take me, I beg of you, to a room where I may make some
preparation other than the camp has heretofore afforded, and bring me,
if you can, a few garments with which to replenish this faded, torn and
dusty apparel."

"My Lord, you will find everything you wish in the rooms allotted to
you. Surmising your needs, I gave orders to that effect before I left
the castle."

"That was thoughtful of you, Richart, and I shall not forget it."

The Custodian without replying led his guest up one stair and then
another. The two traversed a long passage until they came to an open
door. Richart standing aside, bowed low, and entreated his lordship to
enter. Count Herbert passed into a large room from which a doorway led
into a smaller apartment which the young man saw was fitted as a
bedroom. The rooms hung high over the Rhine, but the view of the river
was impeded by the numerous heavy iron bars which formed a formidable
lattice-work before the windows. The Count was about to thank his
conductor for providing so sumptuously for him, but, turning, he was
amazed to see Richart outside with breathless eagerness draw shut the
strong door that led to the passage from which he had entered, and a
moment later, Herbert heard the ominous sound of stout bolts being shot
into their sockets. He stood for a moment gazing blankly now at the
bolted door, now at the barred window, and then slowly there came to
him the knowledge which would have enlightened a more suspicious man
long before--that he was a prisoner in the grim fortress of Gudenfels.
Casting his mind backward over the events of the morning, he now saw a
dozen sinister warnings that had heretofore escaped him. If a friendly
invitation had been intended, what need of the numerous guard of armed
men sent to escort him? Why had Richart hesitated when certain
questions were asked him? Count Herbert paced up and down the long
room, reviewing with clouded brow the events of the past few hours,
beginning with the glorious freedom of the open hillside in the early
dawn and ending with these impregnable stone walls that now environed
him. He was a man slow to anger, but resentment once aroused, burned in
his heart with a steady fervour that was unquenchable. He stopped at
last in his aimless pacing, raised his clinched fist toward the
timbered ceiling, and cursed the Countess von Falkenstein. In his
striding to and fro the silence had been broken by the clank of his
sword on the stone floor, and he now smiled grimly as he realised that
they had not dared to deprive him of his formidable weapon; they had
caged the lion from the distant desert without having had the courage
to clip his claws. The Count drew his broadsword and swung it hissing
through the air, measuring its reach with reference to the walls on
either hand, then, satisfying himself that he had free play, he took up
a position before the door and stood there motionless as the statue of
a war-god. "Now, by the Cross I fought for," he muttered to himself,
"the first man who sets foot across this threshold enters the chamber
of death."

He remained thus, leaning with folded arms on the hilt of his long
sword, whose point rested on the flags of the floor, and at last his
patience was rewarded. He heard the rattle of the bolts outside, and a
tense eagerness thrilled his stalwart frame. The door came cautiously
inward for a space of perhaps two feet and was then brought to a stand
by the tightening links of a stout chain, fastened one end to the door,
the other to the outer wall. Through the space that thus gave a view of
the wide outer passage the Count saw Richart stand with pale face, well
back at a safe distance in the centre of the hall. Two men-at-arms held
a position behind their master.

"My Lord," began Richart in trembling voice, "her Ladyship, the
Countess, desires----"

"Open the door, you cringing Judas!" interrupted the stern command of
the count; "open the door and set me as free as your villainy found me.
I hold no parley with a traitor."

"My Lord, I implore you to listen. No harm is intended you, and my
Lady, the Countess, asks of you a conference touching----"

The heavy sword swung in the air and came down upon the chain with a
force that made the stout oaken door shudder. Scattering sparks cast a
momentary glow of red on the whitened cheeks of the startled onlookers.
The edge of the sword clove the upper circumference of an iron link,
leaving the severed ends gleaming like burnished silver, but the chain
still held. Again and again the sword fell, but never twice in the same
spot, anger adding strength to the blows, but subtracting skill.

"My Lord! my Lord!" beseeched Richart, "restrain your fury. You cannot
escape from this strong castle even though you sever the chain."

"I'll trust my sword for that," muttered the prisoner between his set
teeth.

There now rang out on the conflict a new voice; the voice of a woman,
clear and commanding, the tones instinct with that inborn quality of
imperious authority which expects and usually obtains instant
obedience.

"Close the door, Richart," cried the unseen lady. The servitor made a
motion to obey, but the swoop of the sword seemed to paralyse him where
he stood. He cast a beseeching look at his mistress, which said as
plainly as words: "You are ordering me to my death." The Count, his
weapon high in mid-air, suddenly swerved it from its course, for there
appeared across the opening a woman's hand and arm, white and shapely,
fleecy lace falling away in dainty folds from the rounded contour of
the arm. The small, firm hand grasped bravely the almost severed chain
and the next instant the door was drawn shut, the bolts clanking into
their places. Count Herbert, paused, leaning on his sword, gazing
bewildered at the closed door.

"Ye gods of war!" he cried; "never have I seen before such cool courage
as that!"

For a long time the Count walked up and down the spacious room,
stopping now and then at the window to peer through the iron grille at
the rapid current of the river far below, the noble stream as typical
of freedom as were the bars that crossed his vision, of captivity. It
seemed that the authorities of the castle had abandoned all thought of
further communication with their truculent prisoner. Finally he entered
the inner room and flung himself down, booted and spurred as he was,
upon the couch, and, his sword for a bedmate, slept. The day was far
spent when he awoke, and his first sensation was that of gnawing
hunger, for he was a healthy man. His next, that he had heard in his
sleep the cautious drawing of bolts, as if his enemies purposed to
project themselves surreptitiously in upon him, taking him at a
disadvantage. He sat upright, his sword ready for action, and listened
intently. The silence was profound, and as the Count sat breathless,
the stillness seemed to be emphasised rather than disturbed by a long-
drawn sigh which sent a thrill of superstitious fear through the
stalwart frame of the young man, for he well knew that the Rhine was
infested with spirits animated by evil intentions toward human beings,
and against such spirits his sword was but as a willow wand. He
remembered with renewed awe that this castle stood only a few leagues
above the Lurlei rocks where a nymph of unearthly beauty lured men to
their destruction, and the knight crossed himself as a protection
against all such. Gathering courage from this devout act, and
abandoning his useless weapon, he tiptoed to the door that led to the
larger apartment, and there found his worst anticipations realised.
With her back against the closed outer door stood a Siren of the Rhine,
and, as if to show how futile is the support of the Evil One in a
crisis, her very lips were pallid with fear and her blue eyes were wide
with apprehension, as they met those of the Count von Schonburg. Her
hair, the colour of ripe yellow wheat, rose from her smooth white
forehead and descended in a thick braid that almost reached to the
floor. She was dressed in the humble garb of a serving maiden, the
square bit of lace on her crown of fair hair and the apron she wore, as
spotless as new fallen snow. In her hand she held a tray which
supported a loaf of bread and a huge flagon brimming with wine. On
seeing the Count, her quick breathing stopped for the moment and she
dropped a low courtesy.

"My Lord," she said, but there came a catch in her throat, and she
could speak no further.

Seeing that he had to deal with no spirit, but with an inhabitant of
the world he knew and did not fear, there arose a strange exultation in
the heart of the Count as he looked upon this fair representative of
his own country. For ten years he had seen no woman, and now a sudden
sense of what he had lost overwhelmed him, his own breath coming
quicker as the realisation of this impressed itself upon him. He strode
rapidly toward her, and she seemed to shrink into the wall at his
approach, wild fear springing into her eyes, but he merely took the
laden tray from her trembling hands and placed it upon a bench. Then
raising the flagon to his lips, he drank a full half of its contents
before withdrawing it. A deep sigh of satisfaction followed, and he
said, somewhat shamefacedly:

"Forgive my hurried greed, maiden, but the thirst of the desert seems
to be in my throat, and the good wine reminds me that I am a German."

"It was brought for your use," replied the girl, demurely, "and I am
gratified that it meets your commendation, my Lord."

"And so also do you, my girl. What is your name and who are you?"

"I am called Beatrix, my Lord, a serving-maid of this castle, the
daughter of the woodman Wilhelm, and, alas! that it should be so, for
the present your jailer."

"If I quarrelled as little with my detention, as I see I am like to do
with my keeper, I fear captivity would hold me long in thrall. Are the
men in the castle such cravens then that they bestow so unwelcome a
task upon a woman?"

"The men are no cravens, my Lord, but this castle is at war with yours,
and for each man there is a post. A woman would be less missed if so
brave a warrior as Count von Schonburg thought fit to war upon us."

"But a woman makes war upon me, Beatrix. What am I to do? Surrender
humbly?"

"Brave men have done so before now and will again, my Lord, where women
are concerned. At least," added Beatrix, blushing and casting down her
eyes, "I have been so informed."

"And small blame to them," cried the count, with enthusiasm. "I swear
to you, my girl, that if women warriors were like the woodman's
daughter, I would cast away all arms except these with which to enclasp
her."

And he stretched out his hands, taking a step nearer, while she shrank
in alarm from him.

"My Lord, I am but an humble messenger, and I beg of you to listen to
what I am asked to say. My Lady, the Countess, has commissioned me to
tell you that--"

A startling malediction of the Countess that accorded ill with the
scarlet cross emblazoned on the young man's breast, interrupted the
girl.

"I hold no traffic with the Countess," he cried. "She has treacherously
laid me by the heels, coming as I did from battling for the Cross that
she doubtless professes to regard as sacred."

"It was because she feared you, my Lord. These years back tales of your
valour in the Holy Land have come to the Rhine, and now you return to
find your house at war with hers. What was she to do? The chances stood
even with only your underling in command; judge then what her fate must
be with your strong sword thrown in the balance against her. All's fair
in war, said those who counselled her. What would you have done in such
an extremity, my Lord?"

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