CHAPTER XXII.

THE NEW UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR.

The forester's death prevented any concealment of the tragedy at the border-house, and all Villica was in commotion. Nothing could have been more unwelcome to the princess than this open and bloody conflict. Doctor Fabian and the superintendent were horror-stricken, while the tenants were divided into two parties, and discussed the affair with angry vehemence. One person only was elated at this melancholy event, and that person was Assessor Hubert. As he chanced to be stopping at the superintendent's, he seized his opportunity, and went at once to the castle in his official capacity, forcing Herr Nordeck into a personal interview, a consummation he had long devoutly wished.

Waldemar told him, very briefly, that he had shot the forester in self-defence, and declared himself ready to proceed at once to L----, to undergo an examination by the civil authorities; meanwhile Hubert could obtain all the information in his power.

The representative of the police department of L---- was right in his element, and set about his duties with a very consequential air; but he was doomed to disappointment; the witnesses he had hoped to seize and bear in triumph to L---- had eluded his grasp; the men concerned in the affray had seen fit to escape all judicial investigation by flight beyond the border where they had long desired to be. They had escaped by night, and had already joined the insurgent army. Hubert was inconsolable.

"They have gone!" he said, despairingly, to the superintendent. "Not a single one of them remains behind."

"I could have told you that before," rejoined Herr Frank; "it was the wisest thing they could do. Over there they are secure from indictment as accomplices."

"But I wanted to arrest them--I wanted to bring them all to justice."

"And I am glad they are out of the way; they are a wild, dangerous set, and we are well rid of them. Herr Nordeck does not want a great ado made about it."

"It is none of Herr Nordeck's business," said Hubert, in his most pompous, official tone; "he must submit to the majesty of the law, which demands the most thorough and searching investigation. Of course he will not be compromised; he fired in self-defence, after the forester had aimed at him. He will only have to submit to an examination which will end in an honorable acquittal; but there is something else involved: we are dealing with a conspiracy, with an insurrection--"

"For heaven's sake, are you on that track again?"

"Yes, an insurrection!" repeated Hubert, with unshaken equanimity; "all the facts go to prove it."

"Nonsense!" ejaculated the superintendent; "it was a revolt against the landlord personally--nothing more. The forester and his men were accustomed to acts of violence, and the princess allowed them great liberty because they implicitly obeyed her commands. They would learn obedience to no other, and when their master sought to teach it to them, they rebelled. Any other man would have been killed, but his energy and presence of mind saved him. He shot down the would-be assassin without ceremony, and this paralyzed the others. The affair is as clear and simple as possible, and I do not comprehend how you can see a conspiracy in it."

"And how do you explain the presence of the Countess Morynski?" asked Hubert, triumphantly, as if he had just proved an accused person guilty of some heinous crime. "What business had she at the forester's place? We all know the part she and the princess take in the Polish movement. The women of that nation are very dangerous; they know everything, they are capable of everything, most of the political intrigues are in their hands, and the Countess Morynski is her father's own daughter, the apt pupil of her aunt. Her presence at the forest-house proves the existence of a conspiracy as clear as noonday. She hates her cousin with all the fanaticism of her nation, and she must have planned that murderous attack. That is why she suddenly appeared in the midst of the tumult, why she endeavored to disarm Herr Nordeck when he levelled his revolver at Osiecki, why she urged on the forester and his men to assassination. Waldemar Nordeck is a remarkable man; he not only put down the revolt, but he secured its instigator and carried her forcibly to Villica; in spite of all resistance, he tore his treacherous cousin from the midst of her followers, placed her in his sleigh, and dashed away with her as if life or death were at stake. Just think of it! during the whole journey he did not vouchsafe her one solitary word; he held her firmly by the hand so as to frustrate any attempt at flight. I have all this from a reliable source. I have questioned the coachman very minutely--"

"You had him on the rack for three hours, until the poor man became confused and said 'yes' to everything," interposed the superintendent, dryly. "He really knows very little about the matter; he only told what you put into his mouth. Herr Nordeck's story alone is reliable."

The assessor was deeply offended, but ere he gave vent to his indignation, he bethought himself that the person who indulged in such censure was his prospective father-in-law and must be treated accordingly, even though he were wanting in proper respect to his own official wisdom and dignity. So he swallowed his indignation, and replied in his usual self-possessed tone,--

"Herr Nordeck conducts himself like a sovereign as usual. He made his report as laconic as possible, would enter into no details, and refused to allow me to question the Countess Morynski on the plea that she was