Finally the situation became so acute that he resolved to fly for his life. He left in the middle of the night and managed to reach Moravia. Here a burly Austrian staff officer pulled him out of bed without any ceremony.
“You are wanted in Vienna,” he said gruffly.
“But I have been there,” protested Schulmeister, “and now it is most important that I should proceed on my way.”
The officer roared with laughter.
“I don’t doubt it, but we wish to show you some attention at the capital.”
Schulmeister made a final effort. He produced the letters by which he had wormed his way into the good graces of the Secretary of the Council.
“Here are my credentials. What more do you wish?”
“Nothing,” roared the big fellow, as he grabbed the letters. “These are what we have been hunting. They will be put to the test and you will come and answer to the charge of being a spy.”
This was a truly alarming situation, but the Alsatian smuggler carried himself with great confidence and dignity. In his heart of hearts he felt that he was lost. His wonderful activity had made him known to many persons and surely some of them would appear against him.
The court martial which was called to consider the case of Schulmeister met in Vienna and was surrounded with great pomp and dignity. The soldierly appearance of the accused and his refusal to defend himself aroused a great deal of sympathy in his case. But the weight of the evidence was against him. It was proven that he had given false information to General Mack in the Ulm campaign and it was shown that he had been in Vienna under false pretenses. After due deliberations the verdict was rendered and it condemned him to death as a spy.