“Nevertheless,” says Guy, unheeding this tribute to the advanced womanhood of the sixteenth century, “I have promised my friend, this girl’s lover, to take her safely out of Haarlem.”
“How can you get her out?” queries the burgher grimly.
“That will be my business if she will take the chance.”
“You’ll have to see Commandant Ripperda. If he says so, well and good. If not, I’ll not let you take the responsibility of trying to get Mina out of this town. She’s safer here. Do you believe we’re going to surrender? Not while we have anything to eat.”
With this Guy goes away. But Ripperda, the commandant, is busy and cannot be seen; so Chester, going to the Swan, there meets Haring, and finds the inn as clean as it was before; in fact, too clean, for there is nothing to dirty it with—nothing to eat save a porridge made of grass taken from the streets. Therefore the two, having taken the precaution of bringing their provisions with them in a bag, fall to upon their own.
But the smell of strong salt red herrings is so great that the children congregate about the door, and the widow Hasselaer, who has just come in from active duty, and is putting aside her breast-plate and head piece, cries out savagely: “Dolts! what are you doing? Luxuries are for the wounded!” With this she sweeps the Spanish wine, spirits, bread, herrings, and every morsel they have, away from them to carry out to the Kerk hospital, though her lips water at the sight of such unknown delicacies, and the children follow her, sobbing for “a little herring—just a taste, just a smell!”
But Kenau Hasselaer is made of sterner stuff and the wounded get even the herring smell.
Guy and Haring look glumly at each other. “To-morrow morning,” says the Englishman, “we’ll report ourselves and get rationed. It’s half a pound of mouldy bread, I believe, made of rye husks and ground oats.”
“Voor den duivel!” growls the Dutchman. “We must get out of here while we have strength. If that infernal woman had only left us the spirits!” [[197]]
Then the two go gloomily to bed and fall into the deep sleep of tremendous fatigue, having toiled with their boat all the night before.