gave a cry of surprise and terror. "I do not think, my dear
girl," Malcolm went on, "that there is much fear of the second
alternative, but we must be prepared for it. You must obey my
instructions implicitly. Should I not return by nightfall you will know
that for a time at least I have been detained. You will tell the woman
of the house, who is aware that I am employed by Wallenstein, that I
have been sent by him to examine and set in order the clocks in his
palace in Vienna in readiness for his return there, but that as you were
too unwell to travel I have bade you remain here until I return to fetch
you.

"You have an ample supply of money even without the purse of gold which
the duke presented to me yesterday. You must remain here quietly until
the spring, when the tide of war is sure to roll away to some other
quarter, and I trust that, long ere that, even should I be detained,
I shall be free to come to you again; but if not, do you then despatch
this letter which I have written for you to Jans Boerhoff. In this
I tell him where you are, in order that, if your mother comes to him
asking for you, or your parents are able to write to him to inquire for
you, he may inform them of your hiding place. I have also written you a
letter to the commander of any Swedish force which may enter this town,
telling him who you are, and praying him to forward you under an escort
to Nuremberg."

"But what shall I do without you?" Thekla sobbed.

"I trust, my dear, that you will not have to do without me, and
feel convinced that tomorrow we shall be upon our way to the Swedish
outposts. I only give you instructions in case of the worst. It troubles
me terribly that I am forced to do anything which may possibly deprive
you of my protection, but my duty to the country I serve compels me to
take this step, which is one of supreme importance to our cause."

It was long before Thekla was pacified, and Malcolm himself was
deeply troubled at the thought that the girl might be left alone and
unprotected in a strange place. Still there appeared every probability
that she would be able to remain there in safety until an opportunity
should occur for her to make her way to Nuremberg. It was with a heavy
heart, caused far more by the thought of Thekla's position than of
danger to himself, that he took his way to the castle; but he felt that
his duty was imperative, and was at heart convinced that Wallenstein
would eagerly embrace his offer.