"You can leave this room only as a prisoner, Herr Foligno. You are arrested."
The Judge's eyes flashed fire. His right hand sought his breast pocket and he drew from it a knife, but before he could use it the Clerk had seized him by the wrist, and then began a struggle, a fight for life and death between these two powerful men.
Frau Franzka screamed with terror; her husband stood trembling beside her, not venturing to come to the help of the wrestling pair; but I summoned all the physical force that I possessed--my foot pained me terribly as I sprang up, but I did not heed the pain--and I was just in the nick of time; the Judge had torn his hand loose and had raised it for a deadly lunge with the knife. I seized his wrist from behind; the Clerk clutched him by the throat, and our united strength succeeded in overpowering him, throwing him on the ground, and holding tight his right hand, which still held the knife. It was a terrible moment; my strength was all but gone, for the desperate wretch made frantic efforts to tear himself loose, but help was at hand. The doctor rushed into the room with three gendarmes following him. Without a thought the active little man threw himself upon the Judge, kneeled upon his chest and helped me to hold down the hand that held the knife.
"Seize and bind the monster!" he cried to the gendarmes, "or he will do more mischief with his knife."
The Judge could not but see that all further resistance was vain. He dropped the knife, which I seized and hurled to the end of the room.
"Let me go," he said sullenly. "You see that I can no longer defend myself."
We arose; first the Clerk, then I; I limped back in positive agony to my sofa; my help was no longer required. The Judge, too, arose, and, panting, stood between the Clerk and the doctor. He had given up all hope of escape, for the three gendarmes blocked all egress from the room, but his feverishly active mind devised new food for hope.
"Captain," he cried to the captain of the gendarmes, "captain, I call you to bear witness to the maltreatment I have received from these madmen, who have attacked me. I command you to stand by me--me, the District Judge. I order you to arrest these people, the Clerk, the doctor and the German Professor. I take all the responsibility upon myself."
The captain's martial countenance betrayed embarrassment. He looked dubiously, first at the Judge, then at the Clerk.