him opened, and Lieutenant
von Luetzow, with his uniform covered with dust, entered the room.

Schill slowly turned his head. "Well, Luetzow, have you returned?" he
asked. "Were you at Doberan? Did you see the duke?"

"Yes, I was at Doberan."

"And what news do you bring? Bad news, of course! Did you see the Duke
of Mecklenburg?"

"No, the duke had given orders to admit neither you nor any of your
delegates. He says he will have nothing to do with insurgents and
rebels."

"Of course," exclaimed Schill, laughing scornfully, "he is a German
prince, and, therefore, cannot adhere to the cause of Germany, but must
side with France! Oh, I ought to have known it before. Well, it is all
right. What other news do you bring, Luetzow?"

"Here, major, is a paper issued by King Jerome of Westphalia. His
majesty does you the honor to call you in this proclamation a chief of
robbers, a pirate, and a deserter, and commands the military and civil
authorities to hunt you down. He also offers a reward of ten thousand
francs to him who will bring you dead or alive to Cassel."

"Is that so?" exclaimed Schill, laughing. "Well, M. Jerome attaches a
tolerably high value to my head. I am sorry that I am unable to return
the compliment. I shall reply this very day to Jerome's proclamation by
issuing one to the Germans, and by promising a reward of five dollars
for his delivery, living or dead.--What else, lieutenant?"

"The Emperor Napoleon has also issued an edict against Schill and his
men. He says in this document: 'A certain Schill, a sort of highway
robber, who committed crime upon crime during the last campaign in
Prussia, and was rewarded with a captaincy, has deserted with his whole
regiment from Berlin, marched to Wittenberg, and surrounded that place.
General Lestocq, governor of Berlin, has declared Schill a deserter, and
the King of Prussia has given orders to arrest him wherever he can be
found, and to put the insurgent on trial before a court-martial.'"

"Yes," murmured Schill, musingly, "the German patriot has become an
insurgent, and is to be punished for what he attempted in the salvation
of his country. It was quite unnecessary for the emperor to abuse and
revile him who boldly opposed his tyranny; the King of Prussia and the
governor of Berlin had already done so. And what else does Napoleon
say?"

"He orders a corps of observation to be formed on the Elbe, to be
commanded by the marshal, Duke of Valmy, and to be