"For heaven's sake, are you on that track again?"
"Yes, an insurrection!" repeated Hubert, with unshaken equanimity; "all the facts go to prove it."
"Nonsense!" ejaculated the superintendent; "it was a revolt against the landlord personally--nothing more. The forester and his men were accustomed to acts of violence, and the princess allowed them great liberty because they implicitly obeyed her commands. They would learn obedience to no other, and when their master sought to teach it to them, they rebelled. Any other man would have been killed, but his energy and presence of mind saved him. He shot down the would-be assassin without ceremony, and this paralyzed the others. The affair is as clear and simple as possible, and I do not comprehend how you can see a conspiracy in it."
"And how do you explain the presence of the Countess Morynski?" asked Hubert, triumphantly, as if he had just proved an accused person guilty of some heinous crime. "What business had she at the forester's place? We all know the part she and the princess take in the Polish movement. The women of that nation are very dangerous; they know everything, they are capable of everything, most of the political intrigues are in their hands, and the Countess Morynski is her father's own daughter, the apt pupil of her aunt. Her presence at the forest-house proves the existence of a conspiracy as clear as noonday. She hates her cousin with all the fanaticism of her nation, and she must have planned that murderous attack. That is why she suddenly appeared in the midst of the tumult, why she endeavored to disarm Herr Nordeck when he levelled his revolver at Osiecki, why she urged on the forester and his men to assassination. Waldemar Nordeck is a remarkable man; he not only put down the revolt, but he secured its instigator and carried her forcibly to Villica; in spite of all resistance, he tore his treacherous cousin from the midst of her followers, placed her in his sleigh, and dashed away with her as if life or death were at stake. Just think of it! during the whole journey he did not vouchsafe her one solitary word; he held her firmly by the hand so as to frustrate any attempt at flight. I have all this from a reliable source. I have questioned the coachman very minutely--"
"You had him on the rack for three hours, until the poor man became confused and said 'yes' to everything," interposed the superintendent, dryly. "He really knows very little about the matter; he only told what you put into his mouth. Herr Nordeck's story alone is reliable."
The assessor was deeply offended, but ere he gave vent to his indignation, he bethought himself that the person who indulged in such censure was his prospective father-in-law and must be treated accordingly, even though he were wanting in proper respect to his own official wisdom and dignity. So he swallowed his indignation, and replied in his usual self-possessed tone,--
"Herr Nordeck conducts himself like a sovereign as usual. He made his report as laconic as possible, would enter into no details, and refused to allow me to question the Countess Morynski on the plea that she was ill. Then he went on giving orders and making arrangements as if I were not present, and as if no other person had a right to say a word upon a matter he would prefer to keep secret. 'Herr Nordeck,' said I to him, 'you greatly deceive yourself if you look upon this affair as a mere outbreak of personal hatred. I perceive that it has a deeper significance: it was a deliberately planned insurrection which broke out prematurely; it was not designed merely as an attack upon you, it was a plot against order, law, and government. We must sift the matter to the bottom.' What do you suppose he said in reply? These were his words:
"'Herr Assessor, you deceive yourself in regarding the violence of a brutal man against me personally as a conspiracy against the state. As the main actors have escaped, in the absence of other conspirators you will be obliged to fall back upon Doctor Fabian and me. For your own sake, I advise you to restrain your ardor. I have given you the necessary materials for your report to the police department of L----, and you need not feel concerned about law and order here in Villica, for I consider myself competent to maintain both.' He then made a cold, polite, and incredibly haughty bow, and left me standing there alone."
The superintendent laughed. "He is just like his mother. I know this manner in the Princess Zulieski, and I have often enough been enraged by it. It is a sort of superiority which awes you in spite of yourself, and which Prince Leo does not at all possess. Herr Nordeck was right, however, in advising you to restrain your ardor; it has often enough brought you into difficulty."
"That is my fate," said the assessor, in a resigned tone. "With the noblest motives, with self-sacrificing devotion to the state and untiring zeal for its welfare, I reap nothing but ingratitude, misrepresentation and neglect. I had finally grasped the clew to a conspiracy, but it slipped through my hands. Osiecki is killed, his men have fled, no evidence can be obtained from the Countess Morynski; I can make an ordinary report and nothing more. If I had only been at the forest-house yesterday! When I arrived there this morning, it was empty. Yes, it is my destiny always to arrive too late!"