double-barreled fowling-piece. He carefully placed the latter in the
corner, then asked:

"Shall I light the candles now?"

"Certainly not. I don't want the gentleman to know that I am here. Maybe
he may want something, and open the screen. I am going to lie down on
this sofa, and you are to stand close by the alcove and watch the
gentleman. If he should lift the screen, and I have fallen asleep, you
must waken me at once."

Marie wrapped herself in her shawl, and lay down on the leather couch.
Laczko took up his station as directed, close by the metal screen,
through which he peered from time to time.

But there was no danger of Marie falling asleep. She could not even keep
her eyes closed. Every few moments she would sit up and ask in a
cautious whisper:

"What is he doing now?"

"He is tossing from side to side."

This reply was repeated several times.

At last the answer came that the invalid was perfectly quiet, whereupon
Marie decided not to inquire again for an hour.

Suddenly she heard the lad say, in a trembling voice:

"I am dreadfully frightened."

"What of?" whispered Marie.

"The gentleman lies so still. He has n't stirred for a long time."

"He is asleep, I dare say."

"If he were sleeping his breast would rise and fall; but he is perfectly
still."

Marie rose, and hastened to the screen. The smoking wick in the
night-lamp near Cambray's head illumined his ghastly face. Marie had
already seen one such pallid countenance--that of the old servant Henry
when he lay dead on his bier.

She shuddered, and retreated with trembling limbs, drawing the lad with
her.

"You may light the candle now," she whispered; "then we will go back to
Lisette."

Laczko lighted the candle, then shouldered his gun, and preceded his
young mistress down the staircase to the lower story.

They had almost reached the door of Lisette's room when Marie, who had
been peering sharply ahead, stopped abruptly, and exclaimed in a
startled tone:

"There is a man!"

Even as she spoke a dark form stepped from a doorway into the corridor
in front of them. Marie retreated several steps; but her little escort
proved that he was made of sterner stuff. He placed himself valiantly in
front of his young mistress, laid his gun against his cheek, and aiming
directly for the stranger's breast, said, in a brave tone:

"Halt, or I will shoot you."

"That's my brave lad," commented the stranger. "But don't shoot. It is
I, your father."

"Don't come any nearer, I tell you!" responded the lad, threateningly.

"Why, I am not moving a muscle, lad; don't be foolish."

"What do you want here?" demanded Laczko. "I will not let you do any
harm to my mistress."

Here Marie, who had recovered from her alarm, came forward, and laid her
hand over her small defender's eyes.

"Take down your gun, Laczko," she commanded. Then turning to the
stranger asked: "What do you want, my good man?"

For answer the man merely pronounced a name:

"Sophie Botta."

Without an instant's hesitation, and although she shuddered
involuntarily when her eyes fell on the stranger's repulsive
countenance, the young girl went close to his side, and said calmly:

"What do you wish me to do?"

Satan Laczi held the thumb-ring toward her, and said:

"The person who wears this sent me to fetch you away from here. Are you
ready to come with me at once?"

"I am," replied Marie, who seemed unable to remove her eyes from the
hideously ugly face before her.

"My master," continued the ex-robber, "also bade me fetch a little steel
casket. Do you know where it is hidden?"

"The person who had it in her care has already taken it to your master,"
was Marie's response.

"Ah, she has taken it to him?" repeated Satan Laczi. "Then it is all
right. I know now what I have to do. My master bade me convey you to a
place of concealment; but my face is not exactly the sort to win
anybody's confidence. Besides, I know some one who can perform this
errand as well as I. The way to Raab is clear. Instead of taking you
there myself, my wife will go with you. I think you would rather have
her for a companion?"

"Yes, I think I would rather go with a woman," diplomatically assented
Marie.

"As an additional protection, take this little lad with you." Here the
ex-robber laid his hand on his son's shoulder, and looked proudly down
on him. "His heart is already in the right place. And then he is not a
wicked rascal like his father."

He was silent a moment, then added: "But I intend to reform. When my
master has spoken with the woman to whom he intrusted his treasures, and
if she has not betrayed him, then I know where he will be to-morrow. And
Satan Laczi will be there, too! Then I and my comrades will show them
what we can do. But come, we must make haste, and get on as far as
possible while the moon is shining."

"But I am not properly clad for a journey," interposed Marie.

"My wife brought a nice warm _bunda_ to wrap you in; it is in the
carriage out yonder," returned the ex-robber.

"One word first: you are acquainted with the man who made the metal
screen in my apartments. Could you see him?"

"He is in Count Vavel's service, and I can see him when I return to the
camp."

"Then tell him to come to the Nameless Castle at once. He understands
the secret spring of the screen, behind which he will find a dead man.
This man was a very good friend, and I want him properly buried."

"I will give Master Matyas your order."

Marie now took leave of the Nameless Castle, feeling that she would
never again come back to it. But she had not the courage to enter her
apartments again.

The four-horse coach waited at the park gate. Marie entered it, wrapped
the warm sheep-skin around her, and tied a cotton kerchief over her head
in peasant fashion. Satan Laczi's wife took a seat by her side; the
little Laczko climbed to the coachman's box, where he sat with his gun
between his knees. Then the coachman cracked his whip, and the vehicle
rattled down the road amid a cloud of dust. Satan Laczi looked after the
coach until it disappeared around a turn in the road. Then he blew a
shrill blast on his whistle, whereupon a number of wild-looking men,
each armed to the teeth, emerged from the shrubbery and came toward him.
Whispered orders were given, then the men in a body moved toward the
willow-copse on the shore of the lake. Here were two flatboats drawn up
on the beach. These were pushed into the water; the men entered them,
each took an oar, and the unwieldy vessels were propelled along the
shore toward the marshes.

The Marquis de Fervlans had camped with his company of demons on the
shore of Neusiedl Lake. The marquis himself had taken quarters at the
inn in the nearest village, where, assisted by two companions of
questionable respectability but of undoubted valor, he was testing the
quality of the fiery wine of the region, when a peasant cart, drawn by
three horses, drew up before the inn, and Jocrisse, Baroness Katharina's
messenger, alighted.

"Ah, here comes a sensible fellow," exclaimed the marquis. "I wonder
what news he brings."

He was very soon enlightened.

"Hum! '_Io non posso!_'" he repeated, after reading the brief message
Jocrisse delivered to him. "Very well, madame, I think I shall know what
to do if you 'cannot'! Jocrisse, how is the country around Odenburg
garrisoned?"

"A division of militia cavalry occupies every town,"

"That is exasperating! Not that I fear these militiamen might give my
demons too much work; but I am afraid I may alarm them; then they will
scamper in all directions, and frighten the entire Neusiedl region, so
that when I arrive at Fertoeszeg I shall find the birds flown and the
nest empty. We must take them by surprise. Have you ever before been in
this part of the country, Jocrisse?"

"I accompanied the county surveyor once as far as Frauenkirchen."

"Is the road practicable for wheels?"

"To Frauenkirchen it is good for wagons; but beyond the city it is in a
wretched condition."

"Very well. You will engage a post-chaise here, and follow us to
Frauenkirchen, where you will wait for further orders. What time did you
leave Fertoeszeg?"

"About noon."

"Listen. I suspect that your mistress will try to escape with the maid.
If that is the case, we must bestir ourselves. But women are afraid to
travel by night; and even if they have already left the manor, they
cannot have gone very far. The water in the Danube was unusually high on
the day of the battle at Aspern; that would cause the Raab to rise, and
overflow the bridges crossing it. I shall doubtless overtake the
fugitives at Vitnyed."

"It will be rather risky crossing the Hansag at night," observed
Jocrisse, "and no amount of money would induce one of these natives
about here to act as guide. They are a peculiar folk."

"Yes; but I shall not need a guide. I have an excellent map of the
neighborhood, which I used when I was in garrison here. I used to hunt
all over this region after wild boars and turkeys, and never had any
difficulty finding my way, even at night."

De Fervlans now sent orders to his troop to break camp at once, with as
little stir as possible; and before twilight shadows fell upon the land,
the demons were riding toward the Hansag.

If we assume that Marie left the Nameless Castle in company with the
wife of Satan Laczi at midnight, we can easily see that she would have
but a few hours' advantage of the demons, who broke camp at sunset. If
the latter met with no hindrance on their way, they would overtake the
coach of the fugitives at the crossing of the Raab. As it was after
midnight when Ludwig Vavel learned of the danger which threatened Marie,
he could not, even if he had set out at once, have reached the Hansag
before noon of the following day, by which time De Fervlans and his
demons would have accomplished their errand. Therefore nothing short of
a miracle could save the maid.




CHAPTER II


The miracle happened--a true miracle, like the one of the biblical
legend, when the Red Sea obstructed the way of the persecutor Pharaoh.

Those who may doubt this assertion are referred to the "Monograph on
Lake Neusiedl," in which may be read a description of the phenomenon. In
the last years Lake Neusiedl had been drained, and where it had joined
the lakes of the Hansag, a stout dam had been built. When the waters of
the Hansag chain rose, the muddy undercurrent threw up great mounds of
earth, like enormous excrescences on a diseased body. One of these huge
mounds burst open at the top and emitted a black, slimy mud that
inundated the surrounding morass for a considerable distance.

Already in the neighborhood of St. Andras this slimy ooze was noticeable
when the troop of demons galloped over the plantain-covered flats which
here and there bent under the weight of the horsemen. As they proceeded,
the enormous numbers of frogs became surprising, as if this host of
amphibia had leagued against the invading demons. Then flocks of
water-fowl, with clamorous cries and rustling wings, rose here and
there, startled from their quiet nests by the approaching inundation,
which by this time had completely hidden what was called in that region
the public road. De Fervlans, at a loss what to make of this singular
freak of nature, sent a horseman to the right, and one to the left, to
examine the ground, and learn whence came the sea of slime, and how it
might be avoided. Each of his messengers returned with the information
that the slime was flowing in the direction he had ridden. The source,
then, must be near where they had halted.

"This is bad," said De Fervlans, impatiently. "This eruption of mud will
hinder our progress. We can't run a race with it. We must look up
another route, and this will delay us perhaps for hours. But we can make
that up when on a hard road again."

De Fervlans, who was familiar with the neighborhood, now led his troop
in the direction of the path which ran through the morass toward the
village of Banfalva, hoping thus to gain the excellent highway of
Eszterhaza. Here and there from the swamp rose slight elevations of dry
earth which were overgrown with alders and willows. On one of these
"hills" De Fervlans concluded to halt for a rest, as both men and horses
were weary with the toilsome journey over the wretched roads.

Very soon enough dry wood was collected for a fire. There was no need to
fear that the light might attract attention; the camp was far enough
from human habitation, and neither man nor beast ever spent the night in
the morass of the Hansag. Besides, they could have seen, from the top of
a tree, if any one were approaching. They could see in the bright
moonlight the long poplar avenue which led to Eszterhaza; and even a
gilded steeple might be seen gleaming in the Hungarian Versailles, which
was perhaps a two hours' ride distant.

Suddenly the sharp call, "_Qui vive?_" was heard. It was answered by a
sort of grunt, half-brute, half-human. Again the challenging call broke
the silence, and was followed in a few seconds by a gunshot. Then a wild
laugh was heard at some distance from the hill. De Fervlans hurried
toward the guard.

"What was it?" he asked.

"I don't know whether it was a wild beast or a devil in human form," was
the reply. "It was a strange-looking monster with a large head and
pointed ears."

"I 'll wager it is my runaway fish-boy!" exclaimed the marquis.

"When I challenged the creature he stood up on his feet, and barked, or
grunted, or whatever you might call it; and when I called out the second
time he seemed to strike fire with something; at any rate, he did not
act in the proper manner, so I fired at him. But I did n't hit him."

"I should be sorry if you had," responded the marquis. "I am convinced
that it was my little monster. I taught him to strike fire; and he was
evidently attracted by the light of our camp-fire."

Perhaps it would have been better had the guard shot the amphibious
dwarf. Hardly had De Fervlans returned to his seat when the adjutant
called his attention to a suspicious flashing in the morass a short
distance from the hill on which they were resting. Suddenly, while they
were watching the flashes of light, a column of flame rose toward the
sky, then another, and another--the morass was on fire in a dozen
places.

"Hell, and all devils!" shouted De Fervlans, springing toward his horse.
"The little monster has set the marsh-grass on fire, and it was I who
taught the devil's spawn how to use touchwood! Give chase to the
creature!"

But the order for a chase came too late. In ten minutes the reeds
growing about the hill were burning, and the demons were compelled to
use their spurs in order to speed their horses from the dangerous
conflagration.

They did not stop until they had reached the Valla plain--driven to
their mad gallop by the caricature of the "militiaman"!

"This is a pretty state of affairs!" grumbled De Fervlans. "Mire first,
then flames, bar our way. _Quis quid peccat, in eo punitur_--he who sins
will be punished by his sin! I sinned in teaching that monster to strike
fire. It has made us lose four more hours."

The four hours were of some consequence to the fugitive maid and Ludwig
Vavel.

Dawn broke before the demons found the road between the groups of hills,
and when they reached it, they still had before them that half of the
Hansag which is formed by a series of small lakes.

De Fervlans now became anxious to shorten their route. A lakelet of
fifty or sixty paces in width is not an impassable hindrance for a
horseman. Therefore it was not necessary to ride perhaps a thousand
paces in making a detour of the lakelets--the demons must ride through
them. How often had he, when following a deer, swam with his horse
through just such a body of water. Only then it was autumn, and now it
was spring.

The flora of this marsh country has many species which hide underneath
the water, and in the springtime send their long stems and tendrils
toward the surface. De Fervlans was yet to learn that even plants may
become foes. Those of his demons who were the first to plunge into the
water suddenly began to call for help. Neither man nor beast can swim
through a network of growing plants; at every movement they become
entangled among the clinging tendrils and swaying stems, and sink to the
bottom unless promptly rescued. The men on shore were obliged to grasp
the tails of the struggling horses and draw them back to land. De
Fervlans, who could not be convinced that it was impossible to swim
across the narrow stretch of water, came very near losing his life among
the aquatic growths. There was now no likelihood of their reaching the
highway before sunrise.

There was still another hindrance. The fire in the morass had alarmed
the entire neighborhood, and the inhabitants were out, to a man,
fighting the flames which threatened their meadows. Therefore De
Fervlans, who wished to avoid attracting attention to his troop, was
obliged to make his way through thickets and over rough byways, which
was very tedious work.

It was noon when they arrived at the bridge which crossed the Raab half
a mile from Pomogy. At the farther end of this bridge was the
custom-house, which was also a public inn.

"We must rest there," said De Fervlans, "or our worn-out beasts will
drop under us."

Just as the troop rode on to the bridge, two men ran swiftly from the
custom-house toward the swampy lowland. Before they entered the marsh
they stopped, and bound long wooden stilts to their feet; and, thus
equipped, stepped without difficulty from one earth-clod to another. No
horseman could have followed them across the treacherous ground. De
Fervlans's adjutant became uneasy when he saw these two men, whose
actions seemed suspicious to him; but the marquis assured him that they
were only shepherds whose herds pastured in the marshes.

The troop dismounted at the inn, and demanded of the host whatever he
had of victuals and drinks. He could offer them nothing better than sour
cider, mead, and wild ducks' eggs. But when a demon is hungry and
thirsty, even these will satisfy him. De Fervlans, who had not for one
instant doubted that his expedition would be successful, spread out his
map and planned their further march. General Guillaume would have
received one of his letters at least,--he had sent two, with two
different couriers in different directions,--and would now be waiting at
Friedberg for the arrival of the demons and their distinguished captive.
Therefore the most direct route to that point must be selected. It was
not likely that any militia troops would be idling about that cart of
the country; and if there were, the demons could very easily manage
them.




CHAPTER III


One of the two men who crossed the morass on stilts was Master Matyas,
whose distance marches during this campaign were something phenomenal.
Matyas found Count Vavel with his troop already at Eszterhaza, and
apprized him at once of De Fervlans's arrival at the bridge-inn. The
Volons had not yet rested, but they had traveled over passable roads,
and were not so exhausted. Their leader at once gave orders to mount.

When Ludwig saw that Katharina also prepared to accompany the troop, he
hurried to her side.

"Don't come any farther, Katharina," he begged. "Remain here, where you
will be perfectly safe. Something might happen to you when we meet the
enemy."

Katharina's smiling reply was:

"No, my dear friend. I have paid a very high entrance-fee to see this
tragedy, for that you will kill Barthelmy Fervlans I am as certain as
that there is a just God in heaven!"

"But _your_ presence will make me fear at a moment when I must not feel
afraid--afraid for your safety."

"Oh, don't trouble about yourself. I know you better. When you come in
sight of the enemy you will forget all about _me_. As for me, I am going
with you."

The troop now set out on the march through the poplar avenue. When they
drew near to Pomogy, Vavel sent a squad in advance to act as
skirmishers, while he, with the rest of his men, took possession of a
solitary elevation near the road, which was the work of human hands. It
was composed of the refuse from a soda-factory, and encircled on three
sides a low building. Vavel concealed his horsemen behind this
artificial hillock, then, accompanied by Katharina, he ascended to the
top to take a view of the surrounding country.

He could see through his field-glass the bridge across the Raab and the
inn at the farther end. The entire region was nothing but morass. A
trench ran from the highway toward Lake Neusiedl; it could be traced by
the dense growth of broom along its edges.

"You are my adjutant," jestingly remarked Vavel to Katharina. "I am
going down now; for if I should be seen here it will be known what is
behind me. You are a farmer's wife, and will not arouse suspicion; stop
here, therefore, and take observations with my glass, and keep me
informed of what happens."

The Marquis de Fervlans was enjoying a tankard of foaming mead when his
adjutant came hastily into the room with the announcement that some
troopers were approaching the bridge on the farther side of the river.
De Fervlans hurried from the inn and gave orders to mount. As yet only
the crimson hats of the troopers could be seen above the tall reeds on
the farther shore.

"Those are Vavel's Volons," said De Fervlans, taking a look through his
glass. "I recognize the uniform from Jocrisse's description. Madame
Themire has turned traitor, and sent the count to deal with me instead
of coming herself. Very good! We will show the gentleman that war and
star-gazing are different occupations. He was a soldier once; but I
don't think he paid much attention to military tactics, else he would
not have neglected to occupy yon hill, on which I see a peasant woman
with a red kerchief over her head. That is an old soda-factory--I know
the place well. I should n't wonder if Vavel had concealed some men
there after all! That small body coming this way is evidently bent on a
skirmishing errand. Well, our tactics will be to lure him from his
concealment."

He held a consultation with his subordinates; after which he turned
toward the waiting demons, and called:

"Signor Trentatrante!"

The man came forward--a true type of the gladiator of the Vatican.

"Dismount," ordered the marquis. "Take thirty men, and proceed on foot
to the farther side of yon thicket, where you will lie in ambush until I
have begun an assault on the soda-factory over yonder. The men in hiding
there will show up when we approach; I shall then pretend to retreat,
and lure them toward the thicket. You will know what to do then--fall
upon them in the rear. When you have arrived at the thicket let me know.
Set fire to that tallest clump of reeds near the willow-shrubs."

"All right!" returned the signor. Then he selected thirty of his
companions, who also dismounted, and they started at once to obey the
orders of their leader.

The "peasant woman with a red kerchief over her head," who was standing
on the soda-factory hill, called in a low, clear tone to Ludwig:

"De Fervlans is coming with his troop."

"Then we must prepare a greeting for him," responded Vavel. He ordered
his men into their saddles, then sallied forth with them to meet the
enemy.

The two bodies of soldiers moving toward each other were very nearly
alike in numbers. Neither seemed to be in a particular hurry to begin an
assault. Suddenly a column of smoke rose from the thicket near the
bridge--it was the signal De Fervlans was waiting for. He gave orders to
halt. The next instant there was a rattling salute from the demons'
carbines. The "peasant woman" on the hill covered her face with both
hands and shivered. The messengers of death flew about the head of her
lover, but left him unharmed.

Vavel now moved nearer to the attacking foe, and himself made straight
for the leader. One of De Fervlans's lieutenants, however, a thick-set,
sun-browned Sicilian, met the count's assault. There was a little
sword-play, then Vavel struck his adversary's blade from his hand with a
force that sent it whizzing through the air, and with his left hand
thrust the Sicilian, who was reaching for his pistols, from the saddle.

Nor had Vavel's companions been idle the while. The first assault was a
success for the count's troop. De Fervlans now ordered a retreat. The
death-heads looked upon this as a victory, and eagerly pursued the
retreating foe. But the woman on the hill had already perceived that the
retreat was but a feint. She saw the demons crouching among the reeds in
the thicket, and guessed their intention.

"Vavel!" she shouted at the top of her voice, "Vavel, take care! Look to
your rear!"

She imagined that her lover would hear her amid the tumult of the fight.

But Vavel had ears and eyes only for what was in front of him. Nearer
and nearer he approached to the trap De Fervlans had laid for him. He
was in it! The trench was behind him now, and the demons in ambush were
preparing to spring upon their prey.

Katharina could look no longer. She ran down the hill, sprang on her
mule, and galloped after her lover.

De Fervlans's retreat was conducted in proper order, step by step, from
earth-clod to earth-clod.

Suddenly Katharina discovered that a mule was an obstinate beast. The
one she was riding stopped abruptly, and would not advance another step.
In vain she urged and coaxed. At last she sprang from the saddle, and on
foot made her way toward the scene of the fray.

At this moment the demons creeping steathily along the trench sprang
from their concealment, their bayonets ready for action. They were on
the point of firing a volley into the black backs of the Volons, when a
rattling fire in their own rear brought down half of them dead and
wounded. The uninjured on turning found themselves confronted by Satan
Laczi and his comrades, who, black and slimy from their passage through
the morass, sprang like tigers upon the foe.

"Strike for their heads!" commanded Satan Laczi, as, with sabers drawn,
the ex-robbers rushed upon the bewildered demons, who had at last met
their match.

When De Fervlans heard the firing in the neighborhood of the trench, he
believed it to come from the muskets of his own men, and quickly sounded
an attack. The demons, who had been feigning to retreat, now turned and
met their pursuers, and a hand-to-hand conflict began.

Vavel also had heard the firing behind him, and believed himself
surrounded by the enemy. He beckoned to his trumpeter, to whom he wished
to give orders to sound a retreat, but the man's horse unfortunately
stumbled, and threw his rider to the earth. Three demons, at once sprang
to capture the fallen trumpeter; but Vavel, who knew how necessary the
man was to him, hastened to his assistance.

De Fervlans in amazement watched this unequal encounter. A masterly
conflict arouses admiration even in an enemy; and Vavel certainly
proved himself a master in the art of fighting.

He fought in cold blood; he was not in the least excited. He made no
unnecessary thrusts, but wounded his three adversaries in the hand, the
elbow, the forearm, whereby he rendered them incapable of further
combat. De Fervlans saw how his skilled demons gave way before Vavel's
masterly thrusts, while the Volons drew their unfortunate trumpeter from
beneath his horse, and assisted him to mount again, after they had also
helped the horse to his feet.

But the trumpet was now useless; it was filled with mud. Consequently a
signal for retreat could not be sounded.

A dense mass of wild-hop vines inclosed the eastern side of the scene of
action. De Fervlans glanced impatiently toward this green wall. The
armed men who should penetrate it would decide the victory.

Even as the thought flashed through his brain, the tangle of vines began
to shake violently; but the first man to appear therefrom was not Signor
Trentatrante, as De Fervlans had expected, but Satan Laczi, with his
ferocious followers.

The attack from this point was so unexpected that De Fervlans for a
moment seemed stupefied; then quickly recovering himself, he dashed into
the thick of the fight, Vavel following his example. By this time the
trumpet had been cleansed, but no orders were received for a retreat
signal; instead, the sound it shrilled above the fearful turmoil was:
"Forward! forward!"

With the blood pouring from a gaping wound in his head, Satan Laczi,
swinging a saber he had captured from a foe, now rushed to meet De
Fervlans, who at once recognized the former robber.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, preparing to meet the furious onslaught, "you have
not yet found your way to the gallows!"

"No; here in Hungary only traitors are hanged," retorted Satan Laczi, in
a loud voice, as, with a mighty leap that would have done credit to a
horse, he sprang toward the marquis, caught the reins from his hands,
and with true robber-wit called: "Surrender, brother-rascal!"

De Fervlans raised himself in his stirrups and brought his saber
savagely down on the robber's head. This was the second serious cut
Satan Laczi had received that day, and was evidently enough to calm his
enthusiasm. He staggered to one side, made several vain attempts to
straighten himself, then fell suddenly to the earth. His own blade,
however, remained in the breast of De Fervlans's horse, where he had
thrust it to the hilt.

The marquis hardly had time to leap from the saddle before the poor
beast fell under him.

All seemed lost now. His men were confused and thrown into disorder. In
desperation he tore his pistols from the saddle of his fallen horse.
Only a single shrub separated him from his enemy,--twenty paces,--and De
Fervlans was a celebrated shot.

Count Vavel saw what was coming, and he too drew his pistol.

"Good night, Chevalier Vavel!" in a mocking tone called De Fervlans, as
his finger pressed the trigger. There was a sharp report, the ball
whistled through the air--but Vavel did not fall.

"Accept _my_ greeting, marquis!" responded Vavel, He raised his pistol,
and fired without taking aim. De Fervlans fell backward to the ground.




CHAPTER IV