Elsalill came into the tavern wrapt in her long cloak and wentstraight to a table where Sir Archie sat drinking with hisfriends. A crowd of customers sat about the tables in the cellar,but Elsalill took no heed of all the wondering glances thatfollowed her, as she went and sat down beside the man she loved.Her only thought was to be with Sir Archie in the few moments offreedom which were left to him.
When Sir Archie saw Elsalill come and sit by him, he rose andmoved with her to a table that stood far down the room, hidden bya pillar. She could see that he was displeased at her coming tomeet him in a place where it was not the custom for young maids toshow themselves.
"I have no long message to bring you, Sir Archie," said Elsalill;"but I would have you know that I cannot go with you to your owncountry."
When Sir Archie heard Elsalill speak thus he was in despair, sincehe feared that, if he lost Elsalill, the evil thoughts would againtake possession of him.
"Why will you not go with me, Elsalill?" he asked.
Elsalill was as pale as death. Her thoughts were so confused thatshe scarce knew what answer she made him.
"It is a perilous thing to follow a soldier of fortune," she said."For none can tell whether such a man will keep his plightedtroth."
Before Sir Archie had time to answer, a sailor came into thetavern.
He went up to Sir Archie and told him he was sent by the skipperof the great gallias which lay in the ice behind Klovero. Theskipper prayed Sir Archie and all his men to make ready theirgoods and come aboard that evening. The storm had sprung up againand the sea was clearing far away to the westward. It might wellbe that before daybreak they would have open water and could sailfor Scotland.
"You hear what this man says?" said Sir Archie to Elsalill. "Willyou come with me?"
"No," said Elsalill, "I will not go with you."
But in her heart she was very glad, for she thought: "Now belikeit will turn out so that he may escape ere the watch can come andseize him."
Sir Archie rose and went over to Sir Philip and Sir Reginald andspoke to them of the message. "Get you back to the inn before me,"he said, "and make all ready. I have a word or two yet to say toElsalill."
When Elsalill saw that Sir Archie was coming back to her, shewaved her hands as though to prevent him. "Why do you come back,Sir Archie?" she said. "Why do you not hasten down to the sea asfast as your feet may carry you?"
For such was her love for Sir Archie. She had indeed betrayed himfor her dear foster sister's sake, but her most fervent wish wasthat he might escape.
"No, first will I beg you once more to come with me," said SirArchie.
"But you know, Sir Archie, that I cannot come with you," saidElsalill.
"Why can you not?" said Sir Archie. "You are a poor orphan, soforlorn and friendless that none will care what becomes of you.But if you come with me, I will make you a noble lady. I am apowerful man in my own country. You shall be clad in silk andgold, and you shall tread a measure at the King's court."
Elsalill was shaking with alarm at his delaying while flight wasstill open to him. She could scarce calm herself to answer: "Gohence, Sir Archie! You must tarry no longer to importune me.""There is something I would say to you, Elsalill," said SirArchie, and his voice became more tender as he spoke. "When firstI saw you, my only thought was of tempting and beguiling you. Inthe beginning I promised you riches in jest, but since two nightsago I have meant honestly by you. And now it is my purpose anddesire to make you my wife. You may trust in me, as I am agentleman and a soldier."
At that moment Elsalill heard the march of armed men in the squareoutside. "If I go with him now," she thought, "he may yet escape.If I refuse, I drive him to destruction. It is for my sake hetarries here so long that the watch will lay hands on him. But howcan I go with the man who has murdered all my dear ones?"
"Sir Archie," said Elsalill, and she hoped her words might startlehim, "Do you not hear the tramp of armed men in the square?"
"Oh, yes, I hear it," said Sir Archie; "there has been somealehouse brawl, I doubt not. Let it not fright you, Elsalill; itis but some fishermen that have come to clapper-claws over theircups."
"Sir Archie," said Elsalill, "do you not hear them stand beforethe town hall?"
Elsalill was trembling from head to foot, but Sir Archie took nonote of it; he was quite calm.
"Where else would you have them stand?" said Sir Archie. "Theymust bring the brawlers here to lay them by the heels in the watchhouse. Listen not to them, Elsalill, but to me, who ask you tofollow me over the sea!"
But Elsalill tried once more to put fear into Sir Archie. "SirArchie," she said, "do you not hear the watch coming down the stepsto the cellar?"
"Oh, yes, I hear them," said Sir Archie; "they will come here toempty a pot of ale, since their prisoners are safe under lock andkey. Think not of them, Elsalill, but think how tomorrow you and Iwill be sailing the wide sea to my dear native land!"
But Elsalill was pale as a corpse, and she shook so that she couldscarce speak. "Sir Archie," she said, "do you not see themspeaking with the hostess yonder at the bar? They are asking herwhether any of those they seek is within."
"I'll wager they are charging her to brew them a warm, strongdrink this stormy night," said Sir Archie. "You need not quake andtremble so mightily, Elsalill. You can follow me without fear. Itell you that if my father would have me wed the noblest damsel inour land, I should now say her nay. Come with me over the sea infull security, Elsalill! Nothing awaits you there but joy andhappiness."
More and more of the pikemen had collected about the door, andElsalill was now beside herself with terror. "I cannot look onwhile they come and seize him," she thought. She leaned toward SirArchie and whispered to him: "Do you not hear, Sir Archie? Theyare asking the hostess whether any of Herr Arne's murderers ishere within."
Then Sir Archie threw a glance across the room and looked at thepikemen who were speaking with the hostess. But he did not riseand fly as Elsalill had expected: he bent down and looked deeplyinto her eyes. "Is it you, Elsalill, who have discovered andbetrayed me?" he asked.
"I have done it for my dear foster sister's sake, that she mighthave peace in her grave," said Elsalill. "God knows what it hascost me to do it. But now fly, Sir Archie! There is yet time. Theyhave not yet barred all doors and lobbies."
"You wolf's cub!" said Sir Archie. "When first I saw you on thequay I thought I ought to kill you."
But Elsalill laid her hand on his arm. "Fly, Sir Archie! I cannotsit still and see them come and take you. If you will not flywithout me, then in God's name I will go with you. But do not staylonger here for my sake, Sir Archie! I will do all you ask of me,if only you will save your life."
But now Sir Archie was very angry, and he spoke scornfully toElsalill. "Now, mistress, you shall never go in gold-embroideredshoes through lofty castle halls. Now you may stay in Marstrandall your days and gut herrings. Never shall you wed a man who hascastle and lands, Elsalill. Your man shall be a poor fisherman andyour dwelling a cabin on a cold rock."
"Do you not hear them setting guards before all the doors to barthe way with their pikes?" asked Elsalill. "Why do you not hastenhence? Why do you not fly out upon the ice and hide yourself in aship?"
"I do not fly because I have a mind to sit and talk withElsalill," said Sir Archie. "Are you thinking that now there is anend of all your joy, Elsalill? Are you thinking that now there isan end of my hope of atoning for my crime?"
"Sir Archie," whispered Elsalill, rising from her seat in herterror; "now the men are all posted. Now they will catch and seizeyou. Make haste and fly! I shall come out to your ship, SirArchie, if only you will fly."
"You need not be so frightened, Elsalill," said Sir Archie. "Wehave some time left to talk together. These fellows have nostomach to set upon me here, where I can defend myself. They meanto take me in the narrow stair. They think to spit me on theirlong pikes. And that is what you have always wished me, Elsalill."
But the more her terror gained
on Elsalill, the calmer became SirArchie. She never ceased praying him to fly, but he laughed ather.
"You need not be so sure, mistress, that these fellows can takeme. I have come through greater dangers than this. I'll warrant Iwas harder put to it some months since in Sweden. Some slanderershad told King John that his Scots guard was disloyal to him. Andthe King believed them. He threw the three commanders into dungeonand sent their men out of his realm, and had them guarded tillthey had passed the border."
"Fly, Sir Archie, fly!" begged Elsalill.
"You need not be troubled for me, Elsalill," said Sir Archie witha hard laugh. "This evening I am myself again, my old humour iscome back. I see no more the young maid that haunted me, and Ishall hold my own, never fear. I will tell you of those three wholay in King John's dungeon. They stole out of the tower one night,when their guards were drowsy with liquor, and ran their ways. Andthen they fled to the border. But so long as they were in theSwedish king's land they durst not betray themselves. They had nochoice, Elsalill, but to make themselves rough coats of skin andgive out that they were journeymen tanners travelling the countryin search of work."
Now Elsalill began to mark how changed Sir Archie was toward her.And she knew he hated her, since he had found out that she hadbetrayed him.
"Speak not so, Sir Archie!" said Elsalill.
"Why should you play me false, just when I trusted you most?" saidSir Archie. "Now I am again the man I was. Now none shall find memerciful. And now you'll see, Fortune will favour me, as she hasdone hitherto. Were we not in bad case, I and my comrades, when atlast we had walked through all Sweden and come down to the coasthere? We had no money to buy us honourable clothes. We had nomoney to pay for our shipping to Scotland. We knew no remedy butto break into Solberga parsonage."
"Speak no more of that!" said Elsalill.
"Yes, now you must hear all, Elsalill," said Sir Archie. "There isone thing you know not, and it is that when first we came into thehouse we went to Herr Arne, roused him, and told him he must giveus money. If he gave it freely, we would not harm him. But HerrArne resisted us with force, and so we had to strike him down. Andwhen we had dispatched him, we had to make an end of all hishousehold."
Elsalill interrupted Sir Archie no more, but her heart felt coldand empty. She shuddered as she looked upon Sir Archie, for as hespoke a cruel and bloodthirsty look came over him. "What was Iabout to do?" she thought. "Have I been mad and loved the man whomurdered all my dear ones? God forgive my sin!"
"When we thought all were dead," said Sir Archie, "we dragged theheavy money chest out of the house. Then we set fire about it,that men might think Herr had been burnt alive."
"I have loved a wolf of the woods," said Elsalill to herself. "Andhim I have tried to save from justice!"
"But we drove down to the ice and fled to sea," Sir Archie wenton. "We had no fear so long as we saw the flames mounting to thesky, but when we saw them die down we took alarm. We knew thenthat neighbours had come and put out the fire, and that we shouldbe pursued. So we drove back toward land, for we had seen theoutlet of a stream where the ice was thin. We lifted the chestfrom the sledge and drove forward till the ice broke under thehorse's hoofs. Then we let it drown and sprang off to one side. Ifyou were aught but a little maid, Elsalill, you would see thatthis was bravely done. We acquitted ourselves like men."
Elsalill kept still; she felt a sharp pain tearing at her heart.But Sir Archie hated her and delighted to torment her. "Then wetook our belts and fastened them to the chest and began to drawit. But as the chest left tracks in the ice, we went ashore andgathered twigs of spruce and laid them under the chest. Then wetook off our boots and went over the ice without leaving a tracebehind us."
Sir Archie paused to throw a scornful glance at Elsalill.
"Although we had prospered in all this, we were yet in bad case.Wherever we went our bloodstained clothes would betray us and weshould be seized. But now listen, Elsalill, so that you may tellall those who would be at the pains to give us chase, that theymay understand we are not of a sort to be lightly taken! Listen tothis: As we came over the ice toward Marstrand here, we met ourcomrades and countrymen, who had been banished by King John fromhis land. They had not been able to leave Marstrand because of theice, and they helped us in our need, so that we got clothes. Sincethen we have gone about here in Marstrand and been in no danger.And no danger would threaten us now, if you had not been faithlessand played me false."
Elsalill sat still. This was too great a grief for her. She couldscarce feel her heart beating.
But Sir Archie sprang up and cried: "And no ill shall befall ustonight either. Of that you shall be witness, Elsalill!"
In an instant he seized Elsalill in both his arms and raised heroff her feet. And with Elsalill before him as a shield Sir Archieran through the tavern to the doorway. And the men who were postedto guard the door levelled their long pikes at him, but they durstnot use them for fear of hurting Elsalill.
When Sir Archie reached the narrow stair and the lobby, he heldElsalill before him in the same way. And she protected him betterthan the strongest armour, for the pikemen who were drawn up therecould make no use of their weapons. Thus he came a good way up thesteps, and Elsalill could feel the free air of heaven blowingabout her.
But Elsalill's love for Sir Archie was changed to the most deadlyhatred, and her only thought was that he was a villain and amurderer. And when she saw that her body shielded him, so that hewas likely to escape, she stretched out her hand and took hold ofone of the watchmen's pikes and aimed it at her heart. "Now I willserve my foster sister, so that her mission shall be fulfilled atlast," thought Elsalill. And at the next step Sir Archie took upthe stairs, the pike entered Elsalill's heart.
But then Sir Archie was already at the top of the stairway. Andthe pikemen fell back when they saw that one of them had hurt themaid. And he ran past them. When Sir Archie came out into themarket-place he heard a Scottish war cry from one of the lanes: "Arescue! A rescue! For Scotland! For Scotland!"
It was Sir Philip and Sir Reginald, who had mustered the Scots andnow came to relieve him.
And Sir Archie ran toward them and cried in a loud voice: "Hitherto me! For Scotland! For Scotland!"
Herr Arnes penningar. English Page 8