Part 13 (1/2)
”I had no intention to joke with my young master,” answered his companion; ”I am serious when I wish to persuade you to go there.”
”And what to do?”
”Why, to win over the old gentleman, to be sure, and dry the tears of the young lady, who weeps day and night on your account.”
”But how can I go to Lichtenstein? Bertha's father does not know me; how shall I make his acquaintance?”
”Are you the first knight who has ever demanded free quarters in a castle, according to the custom of our forefathers? If you will leave that to me, I will promise to satisfy your scruples.”
The young man pondered over his friend's proposal for some time; he carefully weighed all the reasons for and against it; he considered whether it was not against his honour, to be in the neighbourhood where the war would in all probability be carried on, instead of retiring from the theatre of it. But when he reflected upon the mild manner in which the commanders of the League had received his retreat from their cause, and the easy conditions which they had laid on him; but above all, when he called to his memory the unhappy position of his beloved Bertha, his inclination to proceed to Wurtemberg turned the scale.
”I will see and speak with her once more,” thought he to himself.----”Well, then,” he called to the countryman, ”if you will promise never to say a word to me about joining the Wurtemberg cause, and a.s.sure me that I shall not be looked upon as a partizan of your Duke, but merely a guest of Lichtenstein, I will follow you.”
”As far as lies in me, I can safely promise you,” said his companion; ”but it is impossible for me to answer for what the knight of Lichtenstein might propose. He is the Duke's warmest friend, and it is not unlikely he may endeavour to persuade you to join his cause.”
”I already know the terms you are upon with him, that you often visited him in Ulm, and brought him secret intelligence of all kinds. He has confidence in you, and therefore I wish to put you on your guard, not to acquaint him with the state of my affairs; for I have my reasons to keep them as yet unknown to him.”
The fifer of Hardt eyed the young man some time with a look of astonishment. ”Where did you learn that I had been the bearer of secret intelligence to the knight of Lichtenstein? But it signifies little to me what my persecutors may have told you. I have a debt to pay, and until it is fully discharged, I call not my life my own. My death, I hope, will absolve me from my creditor.” With these portending words, he promised to follow Albert's wishes to the letter, and added, ”Now mount your horse, whilst I lead on, and you shall be welcome in the castle of Lichtenstein.”
CHAPTER XIII.
The herdsman says, ”If you will trust in me And follow boldly, I will bring you free;-- A secret path there is, to man unknown, And trodden by the mountain goat alone.”
L. UHLAND.
There were two ways from the spot where Albert had decided upon following his mysterious guide, leading to the neighbourhood of Reutlingen, in which the castle of Lichtenstein was situated. One was the high road from Ulm to Tubingen. It went through the beautiful Blauthal, or blue valley; when, reaching the town of Blaubeuren, at the foot of the Alb, it crossed immediately over that mountain, pa.s.sing the fortress of Hohen Urach, near the villages of St. John and Pfullingen.
This was the usual and most convenient road for travellers on horseback, in litters, or carriages; but at the time of our story, when Albert and the fifer of Hardt had to cross the country, it was not advisable to choose this route. The troops of the League already occupied Blaubeuren, their advanced posts stretched as far as Urach, and any one whom they found on the road, that did not belong to the army, or acknowledge their party, were rudely handled and otherwise ill-treated. Albert, therefore, had good reason to avoid this road; and his companion was too mindful of his own safety to dissuade him from it.
The other, a mere footpath, and known only to the inhabitants of the country, pa.s.sed through thick woods, and deep ravines, where but a few single detached houses were to be met with, scattered over a distance of twelve hours (stunden), or between thirty to forty miles. Here and there the track made a circuit to avoid the high road, and for this reason possessed the greater advantage of security. It was very fatiguing, and, indeed, in many places scarcely pa.s.sable for horses.
The fifer of Hardt chose this route, which his young master joyfully acceded to, as being the least likely to fall in with the League's troops. They set forward accordingly, the countryman walking on Albert's side: in the difficult parts of the path, he carefully led the horse by the bridle, and showed so much attention generally, for both man and horse, that Albert by degrees began to lose sight of Fronsberg's warning, and to look upon his companion as a trustworthy servant.
They conversed upon different subjects, when the peasant reasoned and argued in so clear-sighted a manner, upon many things which in general do not come within the compa.s.s of a common countryman's mind, that his master could not at times control an involuntary smile. He had stories to relate of every tower and castle they saw in the distance, through the break of the forest; and the clearness and liveliness with which he described them, proved that he had been present as musician at many a marriage feast and village dance; but as often as Albert endeavoured to turn the conversation to the subject of his own life, and particularly to that period when the fifer of Hardt played so prominent a part in the insurrection of Poor Conrad, he either cut it short or turned it to some other channel, with a facility which bespoke a man of discernment.
In this way they proceeded on their journey, without stopping, except to refresh man and beast. Hans was well acquainted with the places where they would find accommodation. He was known everywhere, and received in a friendly manner, though, as it appeared to Albert, his appearance excited astonishment at times. He generally had a quarter of an hour's whisper with the host, during the time that the bustling hostess would wait on the young knight with bread, b.u.t.ter, and pure home-made cider; whilst the little boys and girls were lost in admiration at the tall figure of the guest, with his fine clothes, his brilliant scarf, and the waving plumes of his cap. After the frugal meal was finished, the whole family accompanied the travellers to the door; but, strange to say, the young cavalier could never induce the good people, upon any account, to accept a remuneration for their hospitality. When he asked his conductor to solve this riddle, his answer, ”that when they visit Hardt, they always come to my house,”
appeared a mere parry to the question.
They pa.s.sed the night in one of those solitary houses, where the hostess, with equal readiness, prepared a bed for her distinguished guest, and sacrificed, in honour of him, a couple of pigeons for his supper, served up with a dish of oatmeal.
They pursued their journey the following day in the same manner, excepting that it struck Albert, his leader appeared more cautious than on the day before: for, when they came within five hundred paces of a dwelling, he bid his master stop, whilst he approached it warily; and not till after he was perfectly satisfied that all was right, did he make him a sign to follow. In vain did Albert question him, whether the road was now more dangerous, or whether the troops of the League were in the neighbourhood? He could not elicit a direct answer.
Towards noon, as the country became more open, and the path descended into the plain, their route consequently was attended with more danger.
The musician of Hardt, thinking it no longer prudent to approach any habitation, had provided himself at the last place with a sack of fodder for the horse, and a sufficient supply of provisions for his master and himself; he sought the most unfrequented paths, and it appeared to Albert that they did not follow the first direction, but had turned sharp to the right.
They halted on the skirt of a shady beechwood, by the side of a clear stream with fresh gra.s.s on its banks, which invited them to repose.
Albert dismounted, whilst his provident guide produced the contents of his wallet, and set before him a good dinner. After he had looked to the horse, he placed himself at the feet of the young knight, and set to eating, with a hearty appet.i.te.