He called again, and from far away a mocking laugh
seemed alone to answer him.

Like a frightened beast now he bounded forward. There were the gallows
not five paces away from him; the planks hastily hammered together
awhile ago were creaking weirdly, buffeted by the wind, and up aloft the
rope was swinging, beating itself with a dull, eerie sound against the
wood.

The Lord of Stoutenburg--dazed and stupefied--looked on this desolate
picture like a man in a dream.

"My lord!"

The voice came feebly from somewhere close by.

"My lord! for pity's sake!"

It was Jan's voice of course. The Lord of Stoutenburg turned
mechanically in the direction from whence it came. Not far from where he
was standing he saw Jan lying on the ground against a beam, with a scarf
wound loosely round his mouth and his arms held with a cord behind his
back. Stoutenburg unwound the scarf and untied the cord, then he
murmured dully:

"Jan? What does this mean?"

"The men all threw down their arms, my lord," said Jan as soon as he had
struggled to his feet, "they ran like cowards when Lucas of Sparendam
brought the news."

"I knew that," said Stoutenburg hoarsely, "curse them all for their
miserable cowardice. But the prisoner, man, the prisoner? What have you
done with him? Did I not order you to guard him with your life?"

"Then is mine own life forfeit, my lord," said Jan simply, "for I did
fail in guarding the prisoner."

A violent oath broke from Stoutenburg's trembling lips. He raised his
clenched fist, ready to strike in his blind, unreasoning fury the one
man who had remained faithful to him to the last.

Jan slowly bent the knee.

"Kill me, my lord," he said calmly, "I could not guard the prisoner."

Stoutenburg was silent for a moment, then his upraised arm fell
nervelessly by his side.

"How did it happen?" he asked.

"I scarce can tell you, my lord," replied Jan, "the attack on us was so
quick and sudden. Piet and I did remain at our post, but in the rush and
the panic we presently were left alone beside the prisoner. Two men--who
were his friends--must have been on the watch for this opportunity, they
fell on us from behind and caught us unawares. We called in vain for
assistance; it was a case of sauve qui peut and every one for himself,
in a trice the cords that bound the prisoner were cut, and three men had
very quickly the best of us. Piet, though wounded in the leg, contrived
to escape, but it almost seemed a