ernatural.

He watched him with dull, tired eyes, as he finally went out of the room
through the inner door; no doubt that this too he locked behind him.
Beresteyn did not know; he half lay, half sat in the chair like a log,
the sound of the fight outside, of the shouts that greeted Diogenes'
arrival, of the latter's merry laughter that went echoing through the
mist, only reached his dull perceptions like a far-off dream.

But in his mind he saw it all: the walls of the hut were transparent
before his mental vision, he saw now the unequal fight; a perfect
swordsman against Stoutenburg's unreasoning attacks and Heemskerk's want
of skill. Jan too will have joined them by now, but he was loutish and
clumsy. The issue would have been a foregone conclusion even without the
aid of the fat knave who had held his own already for nearly ten
minutes. Yet, though his thoughts were not by any means all clear upon
the subject, Beresteyn made no attempt to go to his own friend's
assistance. Vaguely some pleasing visions began to float through space
around him. It seemed as if the magic personality of a nameless
adventurer still filled this narrow room with its vitality, with its joy
and with its laughter. The optimistic breeziness which emanated from the
man himself had lingered here after he was gone. His cheerful words
still hung and reverberated upon the cold, wintry air.

"After all, why not?" mused Beresteyn.

Gilda knew of his share in the conspiracy against the Stadtholder of
course. But that conspiracy had now aborted; Gilda would never betray
her brother's share in it either to the Stadtholder's vengeance or to
her father's wrath.

And she had been made to believe that he was not the mover in the
outrage against her person.

"Then--why not?"

She had been forcibly dragged out of this hut: she knew that Stoutenburg
meant to take her away with him into exile; even if she had been only
partially conscious since she was taken to the sledge, she would know
that a desperate fight had been going on around her. Then if he,
Nicolaes, now appeared upon the scene--if he took charge of her and of
the sledge, and with the help of one or other of those knaves outside
sped away with her north to Haarlem, would she not be confirmed in her
belief in his loyalty, would he not play a heroic role, make her happy
and himself free?

"Then--why not?"

All the papers relating to the aborted conspiracy which might have
compromised him he