l my heart," answered Adrian, taking those cool, agile-looking
fingers. "For years I have sought someone on whom I could rely, someone
who would understand me as I feel you do."

"Yes, yes," sighed the sage, "I do indeed understand you."

"To think," he said to himself after the door had closed behind the
delighted and flattered Adrian, "to think that I can be the father
of such a fool as that. Well, it bears out my theories about
cross-breeding, and, after all, in this case a good-looking, gullible
fool will be much more useful to me than a young man of sense. Let me
see; the price of the office is paid and I shall have my appointment
duly sealed as the new Governor of the Gevangenhuis by next week at
furthest, so I may as well begin to collect evidence against my worthy
successor, Dirk van Goorl, his adventurous son Foy, and that red-headed
ruffian, Martin. Once I have them in the Gevangenhuis it will go hard if
I can't squeeze the secret of old Brant's money out of one of the three
of them. The women wouldn't know, they wouldn't have told the women,
besides I don't want to meddle with them, indeed nothing would persuade
me to that"--and he shivered as though at some wretched recollection.
"But there must be evidence; there is such noise about these executions
and questionings that they won't allow any more of them in Leyden
without decent evidence; even Alva and the Blood Council are getting
a bit frightened. Well, who can furnish better testimony than that
jackass, my worthy son, Adrian? Probably, however, he has a conscience
somewhere, so it may be as well not to let him know that when he thinks
himself engaged in conversation he is really in the witness box. Let me
see, we must take the old fellow, Dirk, on the ground of heresy, and
the youngster and the serving man on a charge of murdering the king's
soldiers and assisting the escape of heretics with their goods. Murder
sounds bad, and, especially in the case of a young man, excites less
sympathy than common heresy."

Then he went to the door, calling, "Meg, hostess mine, Meg."

He might have saved himself the trouble, however, since, on opening it
suddenly, that lady fell almost into his arms.

"What!" he said, "listening, oh, fie! and all for nothing. But there,
ladies will be curious and"--this to himself--"I must be more careful.
Lucky I didn't talk aloud."

Then he called her in, and having inspected the chamber narrowly,
proceeded to make certain arra