he did not return an answer, and retired towards the door. Her heart
was touched at the distress which appeared to oppress her patient; and
Albert, judging by her silence and the anxious expression of her
countenance, which he construed into an affirmation to his question,
that he was now in the hands of his enemies, exclaimed, "I am a
prisoner then, separated from her without hope, without consolation,
without the possibility of hearing from her perhaps for a long time!"
The shock was too great for his weak state of body to withstand; a tear
stole from his eye.

The girl observed the tear: her anxiety was changed into pity, she
approached nearer, and seating herself again by the bed-side, ventured
to take the hand of the young man. "You must not give way to grief,"
she said, "your honour is well again, and----you can very soon proceed
on your journey," she added, with a cheerful smile.

"Proceed on my journey?" asked Albert, "then I am not a prisoner?"

"Prisoner? no, certainly not; you might have been so, indeed, once or
twice, for the patroles of the League often came to our house, but we
always concealed you, because my father told us not to let any one see
you."

"Your father!" cried the young man, "who is your father? Where am I?"

"Where are you?" answered Barbelle, "why, in Hardt, to be sure."

"In Hardt?" a glance at the walls adorned with musical instruments
convinced him that he was indebted to the man for his life and liberty,
who had been sent to him from Bertha as a guardian angel. "So I am in
Hardt? and your father is the fifer of Hardt, is he not?"

"He does not like to be called by that name," said the girl; "he is
certainly a musician, but he prefers being known by the name of Hans."

"But how did I come here?" inquired Albert.

"Don't you recollect anything about it?" smiled the young girl, and
played with her hair again. She then related, in Swabian dialect, that
after her father had been absent many weeks, he suddenly arrived nine
days ago, in the night, and knocked at the door some time before it
awoke her. Having recognised his voice, she hurried down to let him in.
He was accompanied by four men, carrying a wounded man, covered with
his cloak, whom they brought into the house. When her father withdrew
the cloak from the sick man, and desired her to bring a light, she was
terribly frightened at seeing a person bleeding, and apparently half
dead. He then ordered her to heat the stove immed