CHAPTER XXVI
BACK TO HOUDEKERK
And now back once more in the kingdom of the night and of the frost, ofthe darkness and of silence, back along the ice ways on a swift anduninterrupted flight.
The moon is less kind now, fitful and coy; she will not peep out frombehind the banks of clouds save at rare intervals; and the clouds areheavy; great billows, clumsy in shape as if weighted with lead; the moonplays a restless game of hide and seek amongst them for the bewildermentof the skater, to whom last night she was so kind.
They come tumbling in more and more thickly from the south--thoseclouds--driven more furiously by the gusty wind. Brother north-easterhas gone to rest, it is the turn of the south wind now--not the softsouth wind of summer, but a turbulent and arrogant fellow who bellows asloudly as he can, and who means to have a frolic in this world of iceand snow from which his colder brethren have exiled him until now.
Straight at the head of the skater, it expended the brunt of its fury,sending his hat flying in one direction and in wanton delight leadinghim into a mad chase after it; then when once more he was on hisway--hat in hand this time--it tore with impish glee at his hair,impeded his movements, blew doublet and sash awry.
What a chase! what a fight! what a run! But Dondersteen! we do defythee, O frolicsome south wind! aye, and the darkness too! Back toHoudekerk, the first stage on the road to fortune.
It is not nearly so cold now that brother north-easter has yielded tohis madcap brother from the south! gusty and rough and a hand-to-handfight for progress all the time, with tears running down the cheeks, andbreath coming in gasps from the chest! It is not so cold, and the ice isless crisp, its smooth skin is furrowed and wrinkled, soft and woollybeneath the touch of the steel blades; but the snow still lies thicklyupon the low-lying ground, and holds in its luminous embrace all thereflections which the capricious moon will lend it.
For the first half hour, while the moon was still very brilliant and thenight air very still, it seemed to Diogenes as if the loneliness aroundhim was only fictitious, as if somewhere--far away mayhap--men moved inthe same way as he did, swiftly and silently over the surface of theice. It seemed to him in fact that he was being followed.
He tried to make sure of this, straining his ears to listen, and now andthen he caught very distinctly the sound of the metallic click ofseveral pairs of skates. His senses, trained to over-acuteness throughyears of hard fighting and of campaigning, could not easily be deceived;and presently there was no doubt in his mind that Nicolaes Beresteyn orthe Lord of Stoutenburg had set spies upon his track.
This knowledge caused him only to set his teeth, and to strike out morevigorously and more rapidly than before; those who followed him werefairly numerous--over half a dozen he reckoned--the only chance ofevading them was, therefore, in flight. He took to noting the rollingbanks of cloud with a more satisfied eye, and when, after the first houror so, the light of the waning moon became more dim and even at timesdisappeared completely, he took the first opportunity that presenteditself of making a detour over a backwater of the Meer, which he knewmust bewilder his pursuers.
Whether the pursuit was continued after that, he could not say. His eyestrying to pierce the gloom could tell him nothing; but there were manyintricate little by-ways just south of the Meer over backwaters andnatural canals, which he knew well, and over these he started on aneccentric and puzzling career which was bound to baffle the spies on histrack.
Whenever he spoke subsequently of the many adventures which befell himduring the first days of this memorable New Year, he never was veryexplicit on the subject of this night's run back to Houdekerk.
As soon as he had rid himself--as he thought--of his pursuers, heallowed his mind to become more and more absorbed in the great problemwhich confronted him since he had pledged his word to Mynheer Beresteynto bring the jongejuffrouw safely back to him.
He now moved more mechanically over the iceways, taking no account oftime or space or distance, only noting with the mere eye of instinct thevarious landmarks which loomed up from time to time out of the fastgathering darkness.
This coming darkness he welcomed, for he knew his way well, and it wouldprove his staunch ally against pursuit. For the rest he was consciousneither of cold, of hunger nor of fatigue. Pleasant thoughts helped tocheer his spirits and to give strength to his limbs. His brief visit toHaarlem had indeed been fruitful of experiences. A problem confrontedhim which he had made up his mind to solve during his progress acrossthe ice in the night. How to keep his word to Nicolaes Beresteyn, andyet bring the jongejuffrouw safely back to her father.
She would not, of course, willingly follow him, and his would once againbe the uncongenial task of carrying her off by force if he was tosucceed in his new venture.
A fortune if he brought her back! That sounded simple enough, and thethought of it caused the philosopher's blood to tingle with delight.
A fortune if he brought her back! It would have to be done after he hadhanded her over into the care of Mynheer Ben Isaje at Rotterdam. He waspledged to do that, but once this was accomplished--his word to NicolaesBeresteyn would be redeemed.
A fortune if he brought her back! And when he had brought her back shewould tell of his share in her abduction, and instead of the fortunemayhap the gallows would be meted out to him.
'Twas a puzzle, a hard nut for a philosopher to crack. It would be thework of an adventurer, of a man accustomed to take every risk on themere chance of success.
But Gilda's image never left him for one moment while his thoughts werebusy with that difficult problem. For the first time now he realized theutter pathos of her helplessness. The proud little vixen, as he haddubbed her a while ago, was after all but a poor defenceless girl tossedhither and thither just to suit the ambitions of men. Did she reallylove that unscrupulous and cruel Stoutenburg, he wondered. Surely shemust love him, for she did not look the kind of woman who would plighther troth against her will. She loved him and would marry him, her smallwhite hand, which had the subtle fragrance of tulips, would be placed inone which was deeply stained with blood.
Poor young vixen, with the sharp tongue that knew how to hurt and theblue eyes that could probe a wound like steel! It was strange to thinkthat their soft glances were reserved for a man whose heart was morefilled with hate for men than with love for one woman.
"If I loved you, little vixen," he once murmured apostrophizing theelusive vision which lightened the darkness around him, "if I loved you,I would break my word to that dastard who is your brother ... I wouldnot take you to Rotterdam to further his ambition, but I would carryyou off to please myself. I would take you to some distant land, mayhapto my unknown father's home in England, where the sounds of strife andhatred amongst men would only come as a faint and intangible echo. Iwould take you to where roses bloom in profusion, and where in thespring the petals of apple-blossoms would cover you like a mantle offragrant snow. There I would teach that sharp tongue of yours to murmurwords of tenderness and those perfect blue eyes to close in the ecstasyof a kiss. But," he added with his habitual light-hearted laugh, "I donot love you, little vixen, for heigh-ho! if I did 'twere hard for mypeace of mind."
* * * * *
When Diogenes neared the town of Leyden he heard its church clocks ringout the hour of three. Close by the city walls he took off his skates,preferring to walk the short league which lay between him and Houdekerk.
He was more tired than he cared to own even to himself, and the lasttramp along the road was inexpressibly wearisome. But he had seen orheard nothing more of his pursuers; he was quite convinced that they hadlost track of him some hours ago. The south wind blew in heavy gustsfrom over the marshlands far away, and the half-melted snow clung stickyand dank against the soles and heels of his boots. A smell of dampnessin the air proclaimed the coming triumph of the thaw. The roads, thoughtDiogenes, would be heavy on the morrow, impassable mayhap to a sledge,and the jongejuffrouw would have to travel in
great discomfort in ajolting vehicle.
At last in the near distance a number of tiny lights proclaimed thepresence of a group of windmills. It was in one of these that Pythagorasand Socrates had been ordered to ask for shelter--in the fifth one downthe road, which stood somewhat isolated from the others; even now itslong, weird arms showed like heavy lines of ink upon the blackbackground of the sky.
Diogenes almost fell up against the door; he could hardly stand. But themiller was on the look-out for him, having slept only with half an eye,waiting for the stranger whose emissaries had already paid him well. Hecarried a lanthorn and a bunch of keys; his thin, sharp head wassurmounted with a cotton nightcap and his feet were encased in thickwoollen hose.
It took him some time to undo the many heavy bolts which protected themolens against the unwelcome visits of night marauders, and before hepushed back the final one, he peered through a tiny judas in the doorand in a querulous voice asked the belated traveller's name.
"Never mind my name," quoth Diogenes impatiently, "and open thy door,miller, ere I break it in. I am as tired as a nag, as thirsty as a dogand as hungry as a cat. The jongejuffrouw is I trust safe: I am hermajor domo and faithful servant, so open quickly, or thy shoulder willhave to smart for the delay."
I have Diogenes' own assurance that the miller was thereuponboth obedient and prompt. He--like all his compeers in theneighborhood--found but scanty living in the grinding of corn for theneighbouring peasantry, there was too much competition nowadays and workhad not multiplied in proportion. Optimists said that in a few yearstime the paralysing effects of the constant struggle against Spain wouldbegin to wear off, that the tilling of the soil would once more become aprofitable occupation and that the molens which now stood idle throughmany days in the year would once more become a vast storehouse ofrevenue for those who had continued to work them.
But in the meanwhile the millers and their families were oft on theverge of starvation, and some of them eked out a precarious livelihoodby taking in wayfarers who were on their way to and from the cities andhad sundry reasons--into which it was best not to inquire--forpreferring to sleep and eat at one of these out-of-the-way places ratherthan in one of the city hostelries.
Diogenes had made previous acquaintance with his present landlord; heknew him to be a man of discretion and of boundless cupidity, two veryuseful qualities when there is a secret to be kept and plenty of moneywherewith to guard it.
Therefore did Diogenes order his companions to convey the jongejuffrouwto the molens of Mynheer Patz, and there to keep guard over her untilhis own return.
Patz looked well after his belated guest's material comfort. There wassome bread and cheese and a large mug of ale waiting for him in thewheel-house and a clean straw paillasse in a corner. The place smeltsweetly of freshly ground corn, of flour and of dry barley and maize,and a thin white coating of flour--soft to the touch as velvet--lay overeverything.
Diogenes ate and drank and asked news of the jongejuffrouw. She was wellbut seemed over sad, the miller explained; but his wife had prepared acomfortable bed for her in the room next to the tiny kitchen. It wasquite warm there and Mevrouw Patz had spread her one pair of linensheets over the bed. The jongejuffrouw's serving woman was asleep on thekitchen floor; she declared herself greatly ill-used, and had gone tosleep vowing that she was so uncomfortable she would never be able toclose an eye.
As for the two varlets who had accompanied the noble lady, they werestretched out on a freshly made bed of straw in the weighing-room.
Patz and his wife seemed to have felt great sympathy for thejongejuffrouw, and Diogenes had reason to congratulate himself that shewas moneyless, else she would have found it easy enough to bribe theover-willing pair into helping her to regain her home.
He dreamt of her all night; her voice rang in his ear right through thesoughing of the wind which beat against the ill-fitting windows of thewheel-house. Alternately in his dream she reviled him, pleaded with him,heaped insults upon him, but he was securely bound and gagged and couldnot reply to her insults or repulse her pleadings. He made franticefforts to tear the gag from his mouth, for he wished to tell her thathe had not lost his heart to her and cared nothing for the misery whichshe felt.