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The Strong Arm

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"The law stands substantially as you have cited it, madame, but its
bearing upon your presence in this room is, I confess, hidden from me."

"I shall endeavour to enlighten you, my Lord. Are you convened here to
further the peace and comfort of his Majesty the Emperor?"

"We devoutly trust so, madame. His Majesty is so eminently fitted for a
cloister, rather than for domestic bliss or the cares of state, that we
hope to pleasure him by removing all barriers in his way to a
monastery."

"Then until his Majesty is deposed you are, by your own confession,
traitors."

"Pardon me, madame, but the law regarding traitors which you quoted
with quite womanly inaccuracy, and therefore pardonable, does not apply
to eight persons within this Empire, namely, the seven Electors and the
Emperor himself."

"I have been unable to detect the omission you state, my Lord. There
are no exceptions, as I read the law."

"The exceptions are implied, madame, if not expressly set down, for it
would be absurd to clothe Electors with a power in the exercise of
which they would constitute themselves traitors. But this discussion is
as painful as it is futile, and therefore it must cease. In the name of
the Electoral College here in session assembled, I ask you to withdraw,
madame."

"Before obeying your command, my Lord Archbishop, there is another
point which I wish to submit to your honourable body, so learned in the
law. I see three vacant chairs before me, and I am advised that it is
illegal to depose an emperor unless all the members of the college are
present and unanimous."

"Again you have been misinformed. A majority of the college elects; a
majority can depose, and in retiring to private life, madame, you have
the consolation of knowing that your intervention prolonged your
husband's term of office by several minutes. For the third time I
request you to leave this room, and if you again refuse I shall be
reluctantly compelled to place you under arrest. Young man, open the
door and allow this woman to pass through."

"I would have you know, my Lord," said Wilhelm, "that I am appointed
commander of the imperial forces, and that I obey none but his Majesty
the Emperor."

"I understood that the Emperor depended upon the Heavenly Hosts," said
the Archbishop, with the suspicion of a smile on his grim lips.

"It does not become a prince of the Church to sneer at Heaven or its
power," said the Empress, severely.

"Nothing was further from my intention, madame, but you must excuse me
if I did not expect to see the Heavenly Hosts commanded by a young man
so palpably German. Still all this is aside from the point. Will you
retire, or must I reluctantly use force?"

"I advise your lordship not to appeal to force."

The old man of Treves rose slowly to his feet, an ominous glitter in
his eyes. He stood for some minutes regarding angrily the woman before
him, as if to give her time to reconsider her stubborn resolve to hold
her ground. Then raising his voice the Elector cried:

"Men of Treves! enter!"

While one might count ten, dense silence followed this outcry, the
seated Electors for the first time glancing at their leader with looks
of apprehension.

"Treves! Treves! Treves!"

That potent name reverberated from the lips of its master, who had
never known its magic to fail in calling round him stout defenders, and
who could not yet believe that its power should desert him at this
juncture. Again there was no response.

"As did the prophet of old, ye call on false gods."

The low vibrant voice of the Empress swelled like the tones of a rich
organ as the firm command she had held over herself seemed about to
depart.

"Lord Wilhelm, give them a name, that carries authority in its sound."

Wilhelm strode forward from the door, raised his glittering sword high
above his head and shouted:

"THE EMPEROR! Cheer, ye woodland wolves!"

With a downward sweep of his sword, he cut the two silken cords which,
tied to a ring near the door, held up the tapestry. The hangings fell
instantly like the drop curtain of a theatre, its rustle overwhelmed in
the vociferous yell that rang to the echoing roof.

"Forward! Close up your ranks!"

With simultaneous movement the men stepped over the folds on the floor
and stood shoulder to shoulder, an endless oval line of living
warriors, surrounding the startled group in the centre of the great
hall.

"Aloft, rope-men."

Four men, with ropes wound round their bodies, detached themselves from
the circle, and darting to the four corners of the room, climbed like
squirrels until they reached the tunnelled roofing, where, making their
way to the centre with a dexterity that was marvellous, they threw
their ropes over the timbers and came spinning down to the floor, like
gigantic spiders, each suspended on his own line. The four men, looped
nooses in hand, took up positions behind the four Electors, all of whom
were now on their feet. Wilhelm saluted the Empress, bringing the hilt
of his sword to his forehead, and stepped back.

The lady spoke:

"My Lords, learned in the law, you will perhaps claim with truth that
there is no precedent for hanging an Electoral College, but neither is
there precedent for deposing an Emperor. It is an interesting legal
point on which we shall have definite opinion pronounced in the inquiry
which will follow the death of men so distinguished as yourselves, and
if it should be held that I have exceeded my righteous authority in
thus pronouncing sentence upon you as traitors, I shall be nothing
loath to make ample apology to the state."

"Such reparation will be small consolation to us, your Majesty," said
the Archbishop of Cologne, speaking for the first time. "My preference
is for an ante-mortem rather than a post-mortem adjustment of the law.
My colleague of Treves, in the interests of a better understanding, I
ask you to destroy the document of deposition, which you hold in your
hand, and which I beg to assure her Majesty, is still unsigned."

The trembling fingers of the Archbishop of Treves proved powerless to
tear the tough parchment, so he held it for a moment until it was
consumed in the flame of a taper which stood on the table.

"And now, your Majesty, speaking entirely for myself, I give you my
word as a prince of the Church and a gentlemen of the Empire, that my
vote as an Elector will always be against the deposition of the
Emperor, for I am convinced that imperial power is held in firm and
capable hands."

The great prelate of Cologne spoke as one making graceful concession to
a lady, entirely uninfluenced by the situation in which he so
unexpectedly found himself. A smile lit up the face of the Empress as
she returned his deferential bow.

"I accept your word with pleasure, my Lord, fully assured that, once
given, it will never be tarnished by any mental reservation."

"I most cordially associate myself with my brother of Cologne and take
the same pledge," spoke up his Lordship of Mayence.

The Count Palatine of the Rhine moistened his dry lips and said:

"I was misled by ambition, your Majesty, and thus in addition to giving
you my word, I crave your imperial pardon as well."

The Archbishop of Treves sat in his chair like a man collapsed. He had
made no movement since the burning of the parchment. All eyes were
turned upon him in the painful stillness. With visible effort he
enunciated in deep voice the two words: "And I."

The face of the Empress took on a radiance that had long been absent
from it.

"It seems, my Lords, that there has been merely a slight
misunderstanding, which a few quiet words and some legal instruction
has entirely dissipated. To seal our compact, I ask you all to dine
with me to-morrow night, when I am sure it will afford intense
gratification to prelates so pious as yourselves to send a message to
his Majesty the Emperor, informing him that his trust in Providence has
not been misplaced."




CHAPTER V

THE NEEDLE DAGGER


Wilhelm Von Schonburg, Commander of the Imperial Forces at Frankfort,
applied himself to the task of building up an army round his nucleus of
five hundred with all the energy and enthusiasm of youth. He first put
parties of trusty men at the various city gates so that he might
control, at least in a measure, the human intake and output of the
city. The power which possession of the gates gave him he knew to be
more apparent than real, for Frankfort was a commercial city, owing its
prosperity to traffic, and any material interference with the ebb or
flow of travel had a depressing influence on trade. If the Archbishops
meant to keep their words given to the Empress, all would be well, but
of their good faith Wilhelm had the gravest doubts. It would be
impossible to keep secret the defeat of their Lordships, when several
thousands of their men lay immured in the city prison. The whole world
would thus learn sooner or later that the great Princes of the Church
had come to shear and had departed shorn; and this blow to their pride
was one not easily forgiven by men so haughty and so powerful as the
prelates of Treves, Mayence and Cologne. Young as he was, Wilhelm's
free life in the forest, among those little accustomed to control the
raw passions of humanity, had made him somewhat a judge of character,
and he had formed the belief that the Archbishop of Cologne, was a
gentleman, and would keep his word, that the Archbishop of Treves would
have no scruple in breaking his, while the Archbishop of Mayence would
follow the lead of Treves. This suspicion he imparted to the Empress
Brunhilda, but she did not agree with him, believing that all three,
with the Count Palatine, would hereafter save their heads by attending
strictly to their ecclesiastical business, leaving the rule of the
Empire in the hands which now held it.

"Cologne will not break the pledge he has given me," she said; "of that
I am sure. Mayence is too great an opportunist to follow an
unsuccessful leader; and the Count Palatine is too great a coward to
enter upon such a dangerous business as the deposing of an emperor who
is _my_ husband. Besides, I have given the Count Palatine a post
at Court which requires his constant presence in Frankfort, and so I
have him in some measure a prisoner. The Electors are powerless if even
one of their number is a defaulter, so what can Treves do, no matter
how deeply his pride is injured, or how bitterly he thirsts for
revenge? His only resource is boldly to raise the flag of rebellion and
march his troops on Frankfort. He is too crafty a man to take such risk
or to do anything so open. For this purpose he must set about the
collection of an army secretly, while we may augment the Imperial
troops in the light of day. So, unless he strikes speedily, we will
have a force that will forever keep him in awe."

This seemed a reasonable view, but it only partly allayed the
apprehensions of Wilhelm. He had caught more than one fierce look of
hatred directed toward him by the Archbishop of Treves, since the
meeting in the Wahlzimmer, and the regard of his Lordship of Mayence
had been anything but benign. These two dignitaries had left Frankfort
together, their way lying for some distance in the same direction.
Wilhelm liberated their officers, and thus the two potentates had scant
escort to their respective cities. Their men he refused to release,
which refusal both Treves and Mayence accepted with bad grace, saying
the withholding cast an aspersion on their honour. This example was not
followed by the suave Archbishop of Cologne, who departed some days
after his colleagues. He laughed when Wilhelm informed him that his
troops would remain in Frankfort, and said he would be at the less
expense in his journey down the Rhine, as his men were gross feeders.

Being thus quit of the three Archbishops, the question was what to do
with their three thousand men. It was finally resolved to release them
by detachments, drafting into the Imperial army such as were willing so
to serve and take a special oath of allegiance to the Emperor, allowing
those who declined to enlist to depart from the city in whatever
direction pleased them, so that they went away in small parties. It was
found, however, that the men cared little for whom they fought,
providing the pay was good and reasonably well assured. Thus the
Imperial army received many recruits and the country round Frankfort
few vagrants.

The departed Archbishops made no sign, the Count Palatine seemed
engrossed with his duties about the Court, the army increased daily and
life went on so smoothly that Wilhelm began to cease all questioning of
the future, coming at last to believe that the Empress was right in her
estimate of the situation. He was in this pleasing state of mind when
an incident occurred which would have caused him greater anxiety than
it did had he been better acquainted with the governing forces of his
country. On arising one morning he found on the table of his room a
parchment, held in place by a long thin dagger of peculiar
construction. His first attention was given to the weapon and not to
the scroll. The blade was extremely thin and sharp at the point, and
seemed at first sight to be so exceedingly frail as to be of little
service in actual combat, but a closer examination proved that it was
practically unbreakable, and of a temper so fine that nothing made an
impression on its keen edge. Held at certain angles, the thin blade
seemed to disappear altogether and leave the empty hilt in the hand.
The hilt had been treated as if it were a crucifix, and in slightly
raised relief there was a figure of Christ, His outstretched arms
extending along the transverse guard. On the opposite side of the
handle were the sunken letters "S. S. G. G."

Wilhelm fingered this dainty piece of mechanism curiously, wondering
where it was made. He guessed Milan as the place of its origin, knowing
enough of cutlery to admire the skill and knowledge of metallurgy that
had gone to its construction, and convinced as he laid it down that it
was foreign. He was well aware that no smith in Germany could fashion a
lancet so exquisitely tempered. He then turned his attention to the
document which had been fastened to the table by this needle-like
stiletto. At the top of the parchment were the same letters that had
been cut in the handle of the dagger.


_S. S. G. G._

_First warning. Wear this dagger thrust into your doublet over the
heart, and allow him who accosts you, fearing nothing if your heart be
true and loyal. In strict silence safety lies_.


Wilhelm laughed.

"It is some lover's nonsense of Elsa's," he said to himself. "'If your
heart be true and loyal,' that is a woman's phrase and nothing else."

Calling his wife, he held out the weapon to her and said:

"Where did you get this, Elsa? I would be glad to know who your
armourer is, for I should dearly love to provide my men with weapons of
such temper."

Elsa looked alternately at the dagger and at her husband, bewildered.

"I never saw it before, nor anything like it," she replied. "Where did
you find it? It is so frail it must be for ornament merely."

"Its frailness is deceptive. It is a most wonderful instrument, and I
should like to know where it comes from. I thought you had bought it
from some armourer and intended me to wear it as a badge of my office.
Perhaps it was sent by the Empress. The word 'loyalty' seems to
indicate that, though how it got into this room and on this table
unknown to me is a mystery."

Elsa shook her head as she studied the weapon and the message
critically.

"Her Majesty is more direct than this would indicate. If she had aught
to say to you she would say it without ambiguity. Do you intend to wear
the dagger as the scroll commands?"

"If I thought it came from the Empress I should, not otherwise."

"You may be assured some one else has sent it. Perhaps it is intended
for me," and saying this Elsa thrust the blade of the dagger through
the thick coil of her hair and turned coquettishly so that her husband
might judge of the effect.

"Are you ambitious to set a new fashion to the Court, Elsa?" asked
Wilhelm, smiling.

"No; I shall not wear it in public, but I will keep the dagger if I
may."

Thus the incident passed, and Wilhelm gave no more thought to the
mysterious warning. His duties left him little time for meditation
during the day, but as he returned at night from the barracks his mind
reverted once more to the dagger, and he wondered how it came without
his knowledge into his private room. His latent suspicion of the
Archbishops became aroused again, and he pondered on the possibility of
an emissary of theirs placing the document on his table. He had given
strict instructions that if any one supposed to be an agent of their
lordships presented himself at the gates he was to be permitted to
enter the city without hindrance, but instant knowledge of such advent
was to be sent to the Commander, which reminded him that he had not
seen Gottlieb that day, this able lieutenant having general charge of
all the ports. So he resolved to return to the barracks and question
his underling regarding the recent admittances. Acting instantly on
this determination, he turned quickly and saw before him a man whom he
thought he recognised by his outline in the darkness as von Brent, one
of the officers of Treves whom he had released, and who had accompanied
the Archbishop on his return to that city. The figure, however, gave
him no time for a closer inspection, and, although evidently taken by
surprise, reversed his direction, making off with speed down the
street. Wilhelm, plucking sword from scabbard, pursued no less fleetly.
The scanty lighting of the city thoroughfares gave advantage to the
fugitive, but Wilhelm's knowledge of the town was now astonishingly
intimate, considering the short time he had been a resident, and his
woodlore, applied to the maze of tortuous narrow alleys made him a
hunter not easily baffled. He saw the flutter of a cloak as its wearer
turned down a narrow lane, and a rapid mental picture of the labyrinth
illuminating his mind, Wilhelm took a dozen long strides to a corner
and there stood waiting. A few moments later a panting man with cloak
streaming behind him came near to transfixing himself on the point of
the Commander's sword. The runner pulled himself up with a gasp and
stood breathless and speechless.

"I tender you good-evening, sir," said Wilhelm, civilly, "and were I
not sure of your friendliness, I should take it that you were trying to
avoid giving me salutation."

"I did not recognise you, my Lord, in the darkness."

The man breathed heavily, which might have been accounted for by his
unaccustomed exertion.

"'Tis strange, then, that I should have recognised you, turning
unexpectedly as I did, while you seemingly had me in your eye for some
time before."

"Indeed, my Lord, and that I had not. I but just emerged from this
crooked lane, and seeing you turn so suddenly, feared molestation, and
so took to my heels, which a warrior should be shamed to confess, but I
had no wish to be embroiled in a street brawl."

"Your caution does you credit, and should commend you to so peacefully-
minded a master as his Lordship of Treves, who, I sincerely trust,
arrived safely in his ancient city."

"He did, my Lord."

"I am deeply gratified to hear it, and putting my knowledge of his
lordship's methods in conjunction with your evident desire for secrecy,
I should be loath to inquire into the nature of the mission that brings
you to the capital so soon after your departure from it."

"Well, my Lord," said von Brent, with an attempt at a laugh, "I must
admit that it was my purpose to visit Frankfort with as little
publicity as possible. You are mistaken, however, in surmising that I
am entrusted with any commands from my lord, the Archbishop, who, at
this moment, is devoting himself with energy to his ecclesiastical
duties and therefore has small need for a soldier. This being the case,
I sought and obtained leave of absence, and came to Frankfort on
private affairs of my own. To speak truth, as between one young man and
another, not to be further gossiped about, while, stationed here some
days ago, I became acquainted with a girl whom I dearly wish to meet
again, and this traffic, as you know, yearns not for either bray of
trumpet or rattle of drum."

"The gentle power of love," said Wilhelm in his most affable tone, "is
a force few of us can resist. Indeed, I am myself not unacquainted with
its strength, and I must further congratulate you on your celerity of
conquest, for you came to Frankfort in the morning, and were my guest
in the fortress in the evening, so you certainly made good use of the
brief interval. By what gate did you enter Frankfort?"

"By the western gate, my Lord."

"This morning?"

"No, my Lord. I entered but a short time since, just before the gates
were closed for the night."

"Ah! that accounts for my hearing no report of your arrival, for it is
my wish, when distinguished visitors honour us with their presence,
that I may be able to offer them every courtesy."

Von Brent laughed, this time with a more genuine ring to his mirth.

"Seeing that your previous hospitality included lodging in the city
prison, my Lord, as you, a moment ago, reminded me, you can scarcely be
surprised that I had no desire to invite a repetition of such courtesy,
if you will pardon the frank speaking of a soldier."

"Most assuredly. And to meet frankness with its like, I may add that
the city prison still stands intact. But I must no longer delay an
impatient lover, and so, as I began, I give you a very good evening,
sir."

Von Brent returned the salutation, bowing low, and Wilhelm watched him
retrace his steps and disappear in the darkness. The Commander,
returning his blade to its scabbard, sought Gottlieb at the barracks.

"Do you remember von Brent, of Treves' staff?"

"That hangdog-looking officer? Yes, master. I had the pleasure of
knocking him down in the Cathedral before pinioning him."

"He is in Frankfort to-night, and said he entered by the western gate
just before it was closed."

"Then he is a liar," commented Gottlieb, with his usual bluntness.

"Such I strongly suspect him to be. Nevertheless, here he is, and the
question I wish answered is, how did he get in?"

"He must have come over the wall, which can hardly be prevented if an
incomer has a friend who will throw him a rope."

"It may be prevented if the walls are efficiently patrolled. See
instantly to that, Gottlieb, and set none but our own woodlanders on
watch."

Several days passed, and Wilhelm kept a sharp lookout for von Brent, or
any other of the Archbishop's men, but he saw none such, nor could he
learn that the lieutenant had left the city. He came almost to believe
that the officer had spoken the truth, when distrust again assailed him
on finding in the barracks a second document almost identical with the
first, except that it contained the words, "Second warning," and the
dirk had been driven half its length into the lid of the desk. At first
he thought it was the same parchment and dagger, but the different
wording showed him that at least the former was not the same. He called
Gottlieb, and demanded to know who had been allowed to pass the guards
and enter that room. The honest warrior was dismayed to find such a
thing could have happened, and although he was unable to read the
lettering, he turned the missive over and over in his hand as if he
expected close scrutiny to unravel the skein. He then departed and
questioned the guards closely, but was assured that no one had entered
except the Commander.

"I cannot fathom it," he said on returning to his master, "and, to tell
truth, I wish we were well back in the forest again, for I like not
this mysterious city and its ways. We have kept this town as close
sealed as a wine butt, yet I dare swear that I have caught glimpses of
the Archbishop's men, flitting here and there like bats as soon as
darkness gathers. I have tried to catch one or two of them to make
sure, but I seem to have lost all speed of foot on these slippery
stones, and those I follow disappear as if the earth swallowed them."

"Have you seen von Brent since I spoke to you about him?"

"I thought so, Master Wilhelm, but I am like a man dazed in the mazes
of an evil dream, who can be certain of nothing. I am afraid of no man
who will stand boldly up to me, sword in hand, with a fair light on
both of us, but this chasing of shadows with nothing for a pike to
pierce makes a coward of me."

"Well, the next shadow that follows me will get my blade in its vitals,
for I think my foot is lighter than yours, Gottlieb. There is no shadow
in this town that is not cast by a substance, and that substance will
feel a sword thrust if one can but get within striking distance. Keep
strict watch and we will make a discovery before long, never fear. Do
you think the men we have enlisted from the Archbishop's company are
trying to play tricks with us? Are they to be trusted?"

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