," said M. von Bothmar, solemnly, "Romberg is no longer imprisoned;
he is not now in danger."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Romberg, immediately after his arrival at Cassel, was tried
by a court-martial, and that sentence of death was at once passed upon
him."

"He has been shot?"

"Yes, Schill, Romberg has been shot."

Schill uttered a cry, and covered his face with his hands. "Oh!" he
murmured, "I have lost my most faithful friend, and Germany one of her
noblest sons. He was an humble peasant, but the heart of a great patriot
was throbbing under his blouse. He was the Andrew Hofer of the North,
and his death is a terrible disaster! But I will not complain," added
Schill--"no, I will not complain. Blessed are the dead, and who knows
how soon we ourselves shall have to bid farewell to life? The storm is
threatening us on all sides."

"And it is threatening our noble Schill, the hope of Germany," exclaimed
M. von Bothmar. "I have told you that all Romberg's papers were seized,
and among them the letters which you wrote to your friends Ledebour and
Sobbe. Your proclamations were read by the French authorities, and as
they thereby became aware of your plans, they will at once take steps to
put a stop to your agitation, and, if possible, put you to death. Would
Prussia be powerful and courageous enough to protect you, if the King of
Westphalia should charge you with being a traitor and demagogue, and if
Napoleon should insist on your punishment?"

"It is true," said Schill, "you point out to me an imminent danger, from
which I can only escape by striking immediately. If we give our enemies
time to mature their plans, all will be lost. We must, therefore, act at
once. We must hesitate no longer, but begin even before my comrades here
have learned that Romberg did not succeed in his enterprise. We may be
more successful, for God will perhaps be merciful to me: He has decreed,
perhaps, that Schill shall first of all break the chains imposed on us
by the foreign despot."

"Germany hopes in Schill," exclaimed Bothmar, enthusiastically, "and
hence I was bold enough to violate the oath of allegiance which I had
taken to King Jerome, and disclose to the German hero the danger
menacing him. I am a referendary at the department of state in Cassel,
and accordingly I soon heard of the danger to which you are exposed.
Under the pretext that I intended to enforce tranquillity and obedience
among the peasants on my estate,