ision because it is
characterized by that wisdom which accompanies every word your Lordship
utters. I shall therefore designate good men and bad."

Mayence gazed at the young man in amazement, but merely said:

"Proceed, sir, on your perilous road."

"I am the head of a gang of freebooters. When this company left
Frankfort under my command we appeared to be all of one mind. My gang
consisted entirely of ironworkers, well-set-up young fellows in splendid
physical condition, yet before I was gone a day on our journey I found
myself confronted by mutiny. A man named Kurzbold was the leader of this
rebellion; a treacherous hound, whom I sentenced to death. The two who
stood by me were Greusel and Ebearhard, therefore I told you that when I
met one villain I encountered two trustworthy men."

"When did this happen?" asked Mayence. "And what was the object of your
freebooting expedition?"

"High Heaven!" cried the Archbishop of Cologne, unable longer to
restrain his impatience when he saw the fatal trend of the Prince's
confession, "what madness has overcome you? Can you not see the effect
of these disturbing disclosures?"

The Prince smiled, and answered first the last question.

"'Tis an honest confession, my Lord, of what may be considered a
dishonest practice. It is information that should be within your
knowledge before you sit down to elect an Emperor.

"When did this happen, my Lord of Mayence?" he continued, turning to the
chairman. "It happened when you thought I was your prisoner in
Ehrenfels. Never for a day did you hold me there. I roamed the country
at my pleasure. I examined leisurely and effectively the defenses of
nearly every castle on the Rhine from the town of Bonn to your own city
of Mayence. The object of our expedition, you ask? It was to loot the
stolen treasure of the robber castles, and incidentally it resulted in
the destruction by fire of Furstenberg. The marauding excursion ended at
Pfalz, where I lightened the Pfalzgraf of his wealth, and liberated the
Countess von Sayn, unlawfully imprisoned within that fortress."

"By the Three Kings!" cried the Count Palatine, bringing his huge fist
down on the table like the blow of a sledge hammer, "you are a man, and
I glory that it is my privilege to vote for you."

"I agree with my brother of Cologne," said Treves, speaking for the
first time, "that this young man does not properly weigh the inevitable
result of his terrible words. I vote, of co