he sword from his hand, but
he held it firmly, seeking his master's eyes with a look of warning
entreaty; but his faithful solicitude would have been futile had not
the monk lent his aid. The old man's whispered exhortation to his young
friend to spare the imperial master, to whom he was so deeply indebted,
a fresh sorrow, restored to the infuriated young knight his power of
self-control. Pushing the thick locks back from his brow with a hasty
movement, he answered in a tone of the most intense contempt:

"Do what you will, but remember this: Beware that, ere the joust begins,
you do not ride the rail instead of the charger. The maidens whose pure
name you so yearn to sully are of noble birth, and if they appear to
complain of you----"

"Then I will proclaim the truth," Siebenburg retorted, "and the Court of
Love and Pursuivant at Arms will deprive you, the base seducer, of the
right to enter the lists rather than me, my handsome knight!"

"So be it," replied Heinz quietly. "You can discuss the other points
with my herald. Wolff Eysvogel, too--rely upon it--will challenge you,
if you fulfil your base design."

Then, turning his back upon Seitz without a word of farewell, he
motioned the monk towards the open door of the antechamber, and letting
him lead the way, closed it behind them.

"He will come to you, you boaster!" Siebenburg shouted contemptuously
after the Swiss, and then turned to Biberli and the maid with a
patronising question; but the former, without even opening his lips in
reply, hastened to the door and, with a significant gesture, induced the
knight to retire.

Seitz submitted and hastened down the stairs, his eyes flashing as if he
had won a great victory. At the door of the house he grasped the hilt
of his sword, and then, with rapid movements, twisted the ends of his
mustache. The surprise he had given the insolent Swiss by the discovery
of his love messenger--it had acted like a spell--could not have
succeeded better. And what had Schorlin alleged in justification?
Nothing, absolutely nothing at all. Wolff Eysvogel's herald should
challenge the Swiss, not him, who meant to open the deceived lover's
eyes concerning his betrothed bride.

He eagerly anticipated the joust and the sword combat with Heinz. The
sharper the herald's conditions the better. He had hurled more powerful
foes than the Swiss from the saddle, and from knightly "courtoisie" not
even used his strength without consideration. H