THE REBELS
I
At this same hour in the small withdrawing-room which adjoined the
dining-hall in Messire van Rycke's house, five men were sitting round
the gate-legged table in the centre of the room. At the top of the
table sat Clemence van Rycke, in a tall chair covered with crimson
velvet; opposite to her sat a man who was dressed in rough clothes of
dark-coloured buffle, and whose ruff was of plain, coarse linen; he wore
a leather belt to which was fastened a heavy wallet, and high, tough
boots that reached above his knee. His black hat and mantle lay on a
chair close by. In fact, his clothes--more than ordinarily sombre and
plain--were such as the serving man of a poor burgher might wear;
nevertheless this man had round his neck a crimson ribbon to which was
attached a gold pendant in the shape of a dead wether--which is the
badge worn by the Knights of the Golden Fleece.
When this man spoke the others listened to him with marked deference,
and Laurence van Rycke stood all the time beside his chair and served
him with wine. In appearance he was spare of build and tall, he wore
full beard and moustache and hair brushed away from an unusually high
forehead. His eyes were prominent and very keen and astute as well as
frank and kindly in expression, and his eyebrows were fully and markedly
arched.
Clemence van Rycke was the only woman present. The other three men were
all dressed in dark clothes, and their black mantles hung over the backs
of their chairs. The room in which these half-dozen people were
assembled was narrow and oak-panelled; at the end of it there was a low
and very wide window recess, across which heavy curtains of crimson
velvet had been drawn; at the side a door gave on the dining-hall; this
door was open and the hall beyond was in complete darkness.
The whole room was only dimly lighted by one thick wax candle which
burned in a tall sconce that stood on a bracket in an angle of the room,
and threw a fitful light on the grave faces of the men sitting around
the table.
"The High-Bailiff hath business at the Town House," Clemence van Rycke
was saying in reply to the stranger who sat opposite to her. "He will
not be home until midnight. My son Mark, too, is from home," she added
more curtly. "Your Highness can discuss your plans with these gentlemen
in all security. And if you wish me to retire..."
She half rose as if she meant to go, but a word from the stranger kept
her in her place.
"I entreat you to stay with us, mevrouw," he said; "we would wish you to
hear all that we have to say. Of a truth we have no more loyal
adherents than mevrouw van Rycke and her son, and what we should have
done in this city without their help I do not know."
He turned at the same time to Laurence and stretched out his hand to
him. The young man at once bent the knee and kissed the gracious hand.
"The little that we have done, Monseigneur," said Clemence softly, "hath
been done with great gladness seeing that it was in your service."
"Not only mine, mevrouw," rejoined the stranger. "I am but the
instrument of God's will, an humble follower of His cause. What you
have done was done for Him and for the cause of liberty, of justice and
of right."
"May God's blessing rest upon your Highness' enterprise," murmured
Clemence fervently. "For God and William of Orange is our cry. Your
cause is the cause of God."
"Alas!" said the Prince, with a sigh of utter weariness and dejection,
"you know how little success I have had in this city ... promises!
promises! promises I have in plenty, and a couple of thousand young men
from the town have rallied to my standard. A poor result indeed after
all my efforts! So much tyranny!" he exclaimed bitterly, "such wanton
oppression! the dastardly outrages at Mons and at Mechlin! and only two
thousand men among thirty, willing to take up arms to defend their
liberty, their ancient privileges, their very homes!"
He leaned his elbows on the table and buried his head in his hands.
Clemence van Rycke was silent as were the men; their hearts echoed all
the bitterness which had surged up in William of Orange's heart.
"Yet your Highness refuses to take me with you," said Laurence with
gentle reproach.
"Only for the moment, Messire," rejoined the Prince, "only for the
moment. Never fear but I will send for you as soon as I have need of
you. Can I afford to reject so devoted a champion? But for the moment
you can do so much more for me by staying quietly at home than if you
followed me on my recruiting campaign. I have not yet exhausted the
resources and enthusiasm of this city--of that I feel confident, I shall
try again--for another week. There are still several likely houses that
I have not visited, and whose cordial invitation I have received..."
"Beware of treachery, your Highness!" broke in Clemence van Rycke
suddenly.
"Nay, Madonna," he said, whilst that same winning smile lit up the
sombre dejection of his face, "but have I not told you that my dragon is
on the watch? Not a step am I allowed to take in this city without his
permission. He allowed me to come to this house to-night, because he
knew that I desired to express my gratitude to you personally. But I can
assure you," he added, laughing softly to himself, "I had to fight for
the permission."
"Is that not insolence?" exclaimed one of the others hotly. "Were we
not to be trusted with the care of your sacred person?"
"You all, seigniors, and Messire van Rycke and his mother," rejoined the
Prince; "but there are others in this house. Do not blame my devoted
Leatherface," he continued earnestly; "but for him I should not be here
now. No man could be more watchful, no man more brave or more
resourceful. Countless times did he save me from the assassin's dagger
and the poisoner's cup. If my life is necessary for the cause of
freedom and justice, then have freedom and justice in Leatherface their
truest and most efficient champion."
"Amen to that," rejoined Clemence van Rycke with fervour. "I only wish
I knew who he was, that I might pray more personally for him."
"Ah! we none of us know who he is, Madonna," said William of Orange more
lightly. "He is Leatherface, and that is enough for us. And this
reminds me that he begged me to be back at my lodgings by ten o'clock,
so I have not much time to spend in this pleasing gossip. Shall we to
serious business now?"
"At your Highness' service," replied Laurence, and the others also
murmured a quick assent.
II
"Well then, seigniors, having decided on our coup we have only the
details to consider. You have all assured me that the Duke of Alva will
come to Ghent within the next few days, and that our two thousand
recruits are ready to carry out the orders which we have framed for
them."
"The numbers will be doubled within the next few days," interposed one
of the grave seigniors with conviction. "Your Highness' presence in the
town--though only known to a very few loyalists--hath wrought miracles
already."
"The wave of enthusiasm is spreading," asserted another.
"Well! if we had more men," quoth the Prince cheerily, "our plan would,
of a surety, be more certain of success. I cannot say that I altogether
approve of the plan--for as you know, I am a soldier and have no great
mind for plots and conspiracies; but those on whose judgment I place
infinite confidence--men such as Messire Paul Buys, pensionary of
Leyden, Marnix of Tholouse, Marnix of St. Aldegonde and others, all
approve of it, and I have therefore given it mine assent."
He sank his voice yet lower to a whisper, and he leaned right across the
table as did the other men so that their ears were quite close to his
mouth.
"The Duke of Alva comes to Ghent in about a week's time," he continued.
"The idea is to seize his person and hold him a prisoner here and an
hostage whilst we demand the withdrawal of all the Spanish troops from
the Netherlands and the abolition of the Spanish Inquisition."
"To seize the person of the Duke of Alva!" murmured Clemence van Rycke,
and so great was the terror which the tyrant inspired in every Flemish
heart, that even those who already knew of this daring plot were
appalled at the magnitude of such an outrage.
"Why not?" quoth William of Orange earnestly. "Less than a hundred
years ago the town of Brueges held the Archduke Maximilian King of the
Romans a prisoner within her walls, until he swore to dismiss all
foreign troops from the Netherlands within four days, and gave hostages
for his fidelity. What Brueges did then, cannot Ghent do now? With
Alva a prisoner in our hands, we can dictate our terms to the King. It
is a bold coup, seigniors, I own, but it hath every chance of success."
A murmur of approval went round the table. Clemence alone was silent.
She was old and feeble, perhaps she had seen more than one bold coup
fail, and terrible reprisals follow such failures; but Laurence was full
of eagerness and enthusiasm.
"It cannot fail," he asserted vehemently. "Are there not two thousand
men in the city who are devoted to your Highness heart and soul, and who
are ready to give their lives for your cause? Two thousand, and within
three days there will be five! more than enough for such a bold coup.
It will and must succeed! One lucky hazard, and we may win all that we
have fought for, lived for, died for, for over a century."
"It cannot fail!" came with fervent conviction from every one of the
others.
"Ghent can do what Brueges hath done!" they affirmed.
"With the tyrant a prisoner in our hands, we can dictate terms as
Brueges did an hundred years ago."
"Well said, seigniors," rejoined William of Orange, "and your
approval--you who know this city so much better than I do--hath given me
further encouragement. And now," he added with serious earnestness,
"you will want to know why I convened this meeting, which by Mevrouw van
Rycke's graciousness I have been able to do, and you will wish to hear
what role hath been assigned to each of you in the great event which we
are preparing."
"Let me but offer my life..." interposed Laurence eagerly.
"Nay! not your life, I hope, Messire," quoth the Prince with a smile,
"your forethought and prudence and your united co-operation are what we
want. Ye are risking your lives, seigniors, in this enterprise, that
I'll not deny--but ye are men and know which you value most, your life
or the very existence of your nation which is threatened with complete
destruction."
"For Orange, for faith and for liberty!" said one of the men simply, and
the others merely murmured: "Tell us what we must do."
"You must be wary and alert above all things, seigniors, for I have
chosen you for a very arduous task in connection with this enterprise,
and you must recognise that however carefully we organise it, there will
always be one weak link in the chain which we are forging for the
capture of that abominable tyrant, the Duke of Alva."
"One weak link?"
"Yes. We do not and cannot know for certain on which date Alva proposes
to come to Ghent. The dates of his visits to Flemish towns are always
kept a secret until the very moment of departure."
"He dreads assassination," interposed one man with a sneer.
"On the last occasion of the Duke's visit to Ghent," said Clemence van
Rycke, "my husband was only apprised of it by courier two hours before
his arrival. The courier had started from Brussels a bare half-hour
before the Lieutenant-Governor and his cortege left the city."
"Precisely, and even then the High-Bailiff was in advance of every one
else with the news," nodded the Prince, "and that is where our
difficulty lies. How to collect together a couple of thousand men at
perhaps an hour's notice--men who are scattered in different portions of
this city and probably engaged in their usual avocations."
"Where will their leaders be?"
"Each at the different points where our secret stores of arms are kept.
There are four of these points and four captains whom I have appointed
to command five hundred men each. Having distributed the arms, the
captains will lead their respective companies to the Waalpoort, where a
crowd is sure to collect as soon as the rumour has spread to the town
that the Lieutenant-Governor is coming. Our men will mix with the
crowd, and at a given signal--when the Duke's cortege crosses the
bridge--they will rush the bodyguard, scatter confusion among the
escort, and in the melee seize the person of Alva. During the
inevitable tumult that will ensue among the soldiers and the populace,
our valuable hostage shall be conveyed in absolute secrecy to Het
Spanjaard's Kasteel, where of course we can easily keep him a close
prisoner whilst we negotiate with the King. But this of course is for
the future, seigniors," he added, "and my concern now is to explain to
you the method which I and my councillors have devised for the calling
together of our stalwarts as soon as the Duke's coming visit is
announced. Have I your close attention, seigniors?"
He had indeed. The four men round the table bent forward more eagerly
still so as not to lose one word of their noble chief's commands. But
before they could formulate the words of loyalty and of enthusiasm which
hovered on their lips, a soft sound like the beating of a bird's wing
against the window-pane froze those whispered words upon their lips.
Every head was immediately turned to the window, every face became rigid
and pale, every brow was contracted with the effort to strain the
faculty of hearing to its tensest point. It seemed as if six pairs of
glowing eyes would pierce the folds of the velvet curtain which hung
before the window.
III
The Prince was the first to recover himself.
"It is Leatherface," he whispered, "come to give me warning."
He rose and would have gone to the window, but Clemence van Rycke caught
him by the arm and clung convulsively to him. "Not you, Monseigneur,"
she entreated, "not you--it might be a traitor."
Then the tapping was repeated and Laurence went cautiously up to the
window, and after an instant's hesitation, he suddenly drew the curtains
aside with a resolute gesture. Then he unfastened the tall casement and
threw it open.
The night was of an inky blackness, and as the lattice flew open a gust
of wind and heavy driving rain nearly extinguished the light of the
candle, but in the framework of the window a man's head and shoulders
detached themselves from out the gloom. The head and shoulders were
closely enveloped in a hood and cape, and the face was hidden by a mask,
and all were dripping with wet.
"Leatherface!" murmured the Prince, and Clemence van Rycke gave a sigh
of relief.
"There is a light in the window above," whispered the man with the mask,
"and a shadow has crossed behind the windows of the corridor. Someone
is astir overhead--and the civic business at the Town House is drawing
to an end."
"We have nearly finished," murmured the Prince in reply. "And I'll come
away at once. Is the street clear?"
"Quite--and will be for another ten minutes till the night-watchman
comes round. I saw him just now, he is very drunk and might make
trouble."
"I come, friend," rejoined the Prince, "and as soon as may be."
The hooded head disappeared in the gloom; Laurence closed the window and
drew the curtains together again.
"I envy that man," he said, and Clemence murmured a fervent: "God bless
him!"
IV
Then the Prince turned once more to his friends.
"You see," he said with his grave smile, "how carefully my dragon guards
me. There is evidently no time for lengthy explanations, and I must be
as brief as I can."
He now opened the wallet at his belt and took out from it a small packet
of papers.
"I am going to entrust these papers to Messire Laurence van Rycke," he
said, "they contain the names and places of abode and of business of
every one of those two thousand men who have actually tendered me their
oath of allegiance, and have sworn to give me unconditional support. I
propose that Messire van Rycke keep these lists, because it will
undoubtedly be his father, the High-Bailiff, who will learn sooner than
any one else in the town the day and hour of the Duke of Alva's visit to
Ghent. As soon as this is known to him, Messire van Rycke will then go
to each of you, seigniors, and give you each a list of five hundred
names, at the head of which will be noted the rallying point where these
men will have to meet their captain and receive their arms. You in your
turn will then each go and beat up the five hundred men whose names will
have been given you, and order them to go to their respective rallying
points. All this plan," added the Prince, "has been very carefully
thought out, and it seems to me simple and easy of execution. But if
any of you, seigniors, can think of a better one, I am, of course,
always ready to take advice. You know your own city, better than I
do--you might devise something still more practical than what I
propose."
"Nay!" interposed one of the men, "meseems that nothing could be more
simple, and I for one do vote unconditionally for the acceptance of His
Highness' plan."
The others all gave their assent--hastily now, for again that gentle
tapping was heard against the window-pane, only rather more firmly, more
urgently this time. But no one went to the window to see what the
tapping meant; obviously the faithful watcher outside scented some still
hidden danger. The Prince at once by rising gave the signal that the
conference was at an end. As he did so he handed the packet of papers
to Laurence van Rycke who received it on bended knee.
"It is a treasure, Messire," said William of Orange earnestly, "which
involves the lives of many and even, perhaps, the whole existence of
this city. Where will you keep it?"
It was Clemence van Rycke who replied:
"This room," she said, "is mine own private withdrawing-room; that
bureau there hath a wonderful lock which defies the cleverest thief; it
contains my most valuable jewels. The papers will be safer there than
anywhere."
"Let me see you lock them up in there, mevrouw," rejoined the Prince
graciously, "I entrust them to you and to Laurence with utmost
confidence."
Clemence then handed a key to her son and he locked the packet up in the
tall bureau of carved and inlaid mahogany and satin-wood which stood in
an angle of the narrow room close to the window and opposite to the
door.
"I am meeting some friends and adherents to-morrow," said William of
Orange finally, "at the house of Messire the Procurator-General whom of
a truth God will bless for his loyalty--and I pray you, seigniors, as
many of you as can do so to meet me there at this same hour. But should
we not meet again, do you understand all that you have to do?"
The men nodded in silence, whereupon the Prince took formal leave of
them and of his host and hostess. He said kind and grateful words to
Clemence van Rycke, who, with tears in her eyes, kissed the gracious
hand which was held out to her. She then escorted her noble guest out
of the room and across the dining-hall, the others following closely
behind. All were treading as noiselessly as they could. The door which
gave from the dining-room on the hall and staircase beyond was wide
open: the room itself was in absolute darkness, and only a tiny light
flickered in the hall, which made the shadows round corners and in
recesses appear all the more dense.
"Will your Highness grope your way to the front door," whispered
Clemence van Rycke, "or shall my son bring a lanthorn to guide you?"
"No, no," said William of Orange hurriedly, "that small light yonder is
quite sufficient. I can see my way, and we must try not to wake your
hall-porter."
"Oh! nothing will rouse him save a very severe shaking, and the bolts
and bars have been left undone, as my husband will be coming home late
to-night."
"And, if I am not mistaken," quoth the Prince, "my devoted friend
Leatherface is waiting for me outside to see me safely to my lodgings.
He is always mistrustful of hidden traps or hired assassins for me.
Farewell, seigniors!" he added lightly, "remember my instructions in
case we do not meet again."
"But to-morrow..." interposed Laurence van Rycke.
"Aye! to-morrow," said William of Orange, "at this hour at the house of
Messire Deynoot, the Procurator-General: those of you, seigniors, who
care to come will be welcome."
"Not one of us would care to stay away," rejoined Laurence with earnest
conviction.