("Her daughter?” gasped Vavel.  “Her daughter?  Then Katharina is a married woman!”)

“But,” he continued to read, “it might happen that a woman who is in love would sacrifice her child.  So soon as this war broke out, Vavel threw off his hermit’s mask, and is now leading a company of troopers—­which he equipped at his own expense—­against us.

“From Jocrisse’s letters I learn that Vavel’s treasures are now in Themire’s hands.  That which our fair emissary was commissioned to find is in her possession.  Now, however, the question is, What will she do with it?

“Jocrisse also informs me that Themire is quite bewitched with the amiability of the maid who has been intrusted to her care.  If this be true, then matters are in a bad way.  If this is not another of Themire’s schemes, but actual sympathy, if this girl, whose remarkable loveliness of character (even Jocrisse is compelled to praise her) has won the piquant little Amelie’s place in her mother’s heart, then it will be more difficult to separate Themire from the girl than to win her from her lover.”

This was a solitary ray of sunshine amid the threatening clouds which enveloped Ludwig.  He continued to read with rapidly beating heart: 

“I must know to a certainty what Themire proposes to do.  To-day I sent her a message by a trusty courier, informing her that I should be at a certain place at an appointed time—­that I wanted her to meet me and deliver into my hands the treasures she now holds.  She will have an excellent excuse for leaving the manor.  Our troops are approaching Steiermark, and have already crossed the Hungarian border.  Thus it will seem as if she fell by accident into the hands of the enemy.

Vavel’s heart almost ceased to beat.  The letter shook in his trembling hands.

“I shall not, however,” he continued to read, “depend on the fickle mood of a woman, who may be swayed by a tear or a love-letter.  If Themire does not appear with the maid and the documents at the designated spot to-morrow evening, then I shall ride with my troop to the manor.  My troop, as you know, belongs to the ’Legion of Demons,’ and they do not know the definition of the word ‘impossible’!  If Themire of her own free will delivers the treasures into my hands, I shall thank her becomingly.  If, however, she fails to meet me, I shall take the maid and the documents by force.”

Vavel did not notice that the firelight by which he was reading the letter had begun to grow dim; he believed the characters on the page before him were swimming in a blood-red mist.