But this time the deed had a different effect from what it had had before, the multitude standing paralyzed, as it were, by horror. Suddenly the monstrous character of the whole proceeding seemed to strike them. Fallner himself stood there motionless, as though shocked by his own deed. The tumult was hushed; nobody hindered Dernburg, who, with pale face and compressed lips, slowly stooped down and took the unconscious Egbert in his arms.
Meanwhile, seeing that the square in front of the house was clear, the officers made a renewed attempt to force their way to the chief; it had only succeeded in a measure, but they already found themselves quite near to him, when that bloody incident supervened. Doctor Hagenbach, with quick presence of mind, profited by it to accomplish their end. "Room for the surgeon!" cried he, pressing forward. "Let me through!"
This word availed; a narrow path was opened for him in the densely-packed throng, and the officers crowded after; in a few minutes Dernburg was surrounded by them. But he did not concern himself on that score; he knelt by Egbert, whose head he supported, and when the doctor now stooped down and examined the wound, he asked softly, in a tone of deep distress:
"Is he--mortally wounded?"
"Very severely!" said Hagenbach, loudly and earnestly. "He must be conveyed somewhere instantly."
"To the Manor-house!" suggested Dernburg.
"Yes, indeed, that is best." He quickly put on a bandage, and then turned, in passing, to the bleeding Landsfeld, in order to examine him as well.
"There is no danger here!" he called aloud to the bystanders. "The blow has only stunned the man. Carry him into the house--he will soon again come to his senses--there is no cause for uneasiness about him. But Runeck--he is badly hurt!"
His manner showed that he feared the worst, and this decided the mood of the multitude. There arose an agitated murmur, that was transmitted from mouth to mouth, until it reached the ranks of those who had stood too far off to see what had been going on. And now, when Egbert was picked up and borne away, a movement of horror passed through the throng of human beings. They saw their deputy, whom they had elected in defiance of their chief, and lifted upon the shield with loud rejoicings lying lifeless and covered with blood, in the arms of the officers, who bore him away, and their chief walked by his side and held in his the hand of the unconscious young man. No request was needed to induce them to make way: all moved silently aside, when the melancholy procession came past--not a word, not a sound was to be heard. A silence as of death fell upon all those thousands.