ward to the porch, crying, in his wonderful
dialect between Latin and French, 'Sire, Domine Dux! Justitia! You
loved the Lady Eleanor. Free her! They are prisoners to latroni--un
routier--sceleratissimo--reiver--Balchenburg!'

Sigismund, ponderous and not very rapid, opened wide his big blue eyes,
while the Prior explained in French, 'It is even so, beau sire. This
poor man-at-arms was found bleeding on the way-side by our brethren,
having been left for dead by the robbers of Balchenburg, who, it seems,
descended on the ladies, dispersed their escort, and carried them off to
the castle.'

Sigismund made some tremendously emphatic exclamation in German, and
turned upon Douglas to interrogate him. They had very little of common
language, but Sigismund knew French, though he hated it, and was not
devoid of Latin, so that the narrative was made tolerably clear to him,
and he had no doubts or scruples as to instantly calling the latrones
to account, and releasing the ladies. He paced up and down the
guest-chamber, his spurs clattering against the stone pavement, growling
imprecations in guttural German, now and then tugging at his long fair
hair as he pictured Eleanor in the miscreants' power, putting queries to
George, more than could be understood or answered, and halting at door
or window to shout orders to his knights to be ready at once for
the attack. George was absolutely determined that, whatever his own
condition, he would not be left behind, though he could only go upon
Ringan's pony, and was evidently in Sigismund's opinion only a faithful
groom.

It was hard to say whether he was relieved or not when there was
evidently a vehement altercation in German between the Duke and a tough,
grizzled old knight, the upshot of which turned out to be that the
Ritter Gebhardt von Fuchstein absolutely refused to proceed through
those pine and beech forests so late in the day; since it would be only
too easy to lose the way, and there might be ambuscades or the like if
Balchenburg and his crew were on the watch, and there was no doubt that
they were allied with all the rentiers in the country.

Sigismund raged, but he was in some degree under the dominion of his
prudent old Marskalk, and had to submit, while George knew that another
night would further restore him, and would besides bring back his
attendant.

The next hour brought more than he had expected. Again there was a
clattering of hoofs, a few words with the porte