“Those men,” said Ulenspiegel to himself, “cannot longer be allowed to live.”
But even now they were disappearing in the thick mist, with the lantern which the peasant had brought for them. The light of the lantern shone out intermittently, as if continually intercepted by some dark body. From this Ulenspiegel concluded that the two men must be walking one behind the other.
He raised his arquebus to his shoulder and fired. Then he saw the lantern raised and lowered several times, as if the man who carried it was looking at his fallen comrade, trying to discover where he had been hit and the nature of the wound.
Yet again did Ulenspiegel raise his arquebus, and then when the lantern began to steady itself and to retreat speedily towards the camp, he fired again. Now the lantern swayed, fell to the ground and went out, leaving all in darkness.
Ulenspiegel ran on to the camp, and there he soon encountered the provost with a number of soldiers who had been awakened by the noise of the firing. Ulenspiegel accosted them, saying: “I am the huntsman. Go you now and find the game.”
“Brave Fleming,” said the provost, “methinks you are a man that knows other ways of talking besides with your tongue.”
“Words of the tongue they are but so much wind,” answered Ulenspiegel. “But words of lead—they know how to find for themselves a lasting habitation in the carcass of a traitor! Come then, follow me.”
And so saying he led them to the place where the two men had fallen. And in very deed the soldiers saw by the light of their lanterns two bodies stretched out on the ground. One was dead, and the other at the last gasp, holding his hand to his heart, and in his hand a letter all crumpled in the agony of death. The soldiers lifted the two bodies, whose clothes clearly showed them to be the bodies of gentlemen, and straightway carried them, still by the light of their lanterns, to the Prince.
Now William was about to hold a council with Frederick of Hollenhausen, the Margrave of Hesse, and other nobles. But the soldiers, who had now been joined by a company of other troopers in green and yellow jackets, stood before the tent, demanding with shouts and cries that the Prince should give them audience.
At length William of Orange came out to them, and the provost began to clear his throat and make other preliminaries for the accusation of Ulenspiegel. But the latter cut in before him, saying: