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This news disturbed the good understanding between the prince and his guests, because not only the two newly arrived brothers but also Hugo von Danveld and Zygfried von Loeve, began to beseech the prince to render justice to the Order, to free the boundaries from the plunderer and to punish him once for all his offences.
"He believes that they are not keeping her on the border, and that, as Jurand has justly pointed out, they have carried her to some distant castle or to the seashore, but if there be proof that they are the perpetrators, then they will not disclaim it before the master." But Jurand said in a strange and, at the same time, terrible tone: "Danveld, von Loeve, Godfried and Rotgier."
"Danveld stands before God," replied Rotgier, "and of him I shall only say that the following morning blooming roses were found on his coffin, which, in this wintry weather, could not come there by human hands." Then again followed silence. "How did you know of the capture of Jurand's daughter?" inquired the prince. "Only the wickedness and audacity of the deed made it known to us.
"If we let her go free, the whole world would immediately say that we had captured both of them," answered Danveld. "Then, what do you propose to do with her?" At this Danveld bent toward the knight, and laughing, showed his rotten teeth from beneath his thick lips. "Do you mean what will be done with her, before or after?"
"Brother Danveld came to me and gave me the kiss of the Order; but I, thinking that he was doing it from pure license, raised my wicked hand against him " Here she began to strike her breast and repeated several times: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" "What happened then?" asked Danusia. "Immediately my hand became motionless, and from that moment I have been crippled.
"Why should we hide that which must come out?" But Hugo von Danveld began to laugh, and turning to Brother Godfried, asked: "How long have you worn the white mantle?" "It will be six years the first week after the day of the Holy Trinity." "When you have worn it six years longer, you will understand the affairs of the Order better. Jurand knows us better than you do.
In the Forest Court with the beloved princess there were many court ladies, but which among them was Jurand's daughter, none of us knew." "Danveld knew," said Mikolaj of Dlugolas. "He even talked to her during the hunt."
De Lorche began to question him: "Sir, you called that beautiful girl the devil's daughter; why did you call her that?" Danveld began to relate the story of Zlotorja: how during the restoration of the castle, they captured the prince with the court, and how during that fight Jurandowna's mother died; how since that time Jurand avenged himself on all the Knights of the Cross.
And Jurand removed his hands from his face and inquired: "Which of them were in the Forest Court?" "There were Danveld, old von Loeve, and two brethren, Godfried and Rotgier," replied the priest. "They made complaint and wished the prince to order you to release von Bergow from imprisonment.
But at that very moment Jurand roared like a bull, and with both hands he caught Danveld and raised him high in the air. The hall still resounded with the terrible cry: "Save me!" when the body of the count struck the stone floor with such terrible force that the brains from the shattered skull bespattered Zygfried and Rotgier who stood by.
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