y guardian opposed. He appeared to think that some
experience of the rigors of the convent might make me less eager to
immure myself in a nunnery, which, like Pfalz Castle, is also on a
restricted island."

"Then his remedy has proved unavailing?"

"Quite. The Sisters will be very good to me, for I shall enrich their
convent with my wealth. 'Twill be vastly different from incarceration in
Pfalz."

"Hilda, I doubt that. Captivity is captivity, under whatever name you
term it. I cannot understand why one who spoke so enthusiastically just
now of hills and valleys and liberty should take the irrevocable step
which you propose; a step that will rob you forever of those joys."

The girl remained silent, and he went on, speaking earnestly:

"I think in one respect you are like myself. You love the murmur of the
trees, and the song of the running stream."

"I do, I do," she whispered, as if to herself.

"The air that blows around the mountain-top inspires you, and you cannot
view the hills on the horizon without wishing to explore them, and learn
what is on the other side."

There was light enough for him to see that the girl's head sank into her
open hand.

"You, I take it, have never been restricted by discipline."

Her head came up quickly.

"You think that because of what I said in the courtyard?"

"No; my mind was running towards the future rather than to the past. The
rigor of strict rules would prove as irksome to you as would a cage to a
free bird of the forest."

"I fear you are in the right," she said with a sigh; and then,
impatiently, "Oh, you do not understand the situation, and I cannot
explain! The convent is merely a retreat for me; the lesser of two evils
presented."

"You spoke of your land. Where is that land?"

"Do you know Schloss Sayn?" she asked.

"Sayn? Sayn?" he repeated. "Where have I heard that name before, and
recently too? I thought I knew every castle on the Rhine, but I do not
remember Sayn."

The girl laughed.

"You will find no fellow-craftsman there, Pirate Roland, if ever you
visit it. The Schloss is not on the Rhine, and, perhaps on that account,
rather than because of its owner's honesty, is free from the taint you
suggest. It stands high in the valley of the Saynbach, more than half a
league from this river."

"Ah, that accounts for my ignorance. I never saw Sayn Castle, although I
seem to have heard of it. Are you its owner?"

"Yes; I told you I was wealthy."