"Yes, we are ready."
The count gave the word of command, "Forward!" and grasped tighter his horse's reins.
"Halt! halt!" called a loud voice, and the shadow which had crept behind them now changed into the form of a tall and powerful man, who sprang through the gate and seized the count's horse by the bridle.
"Back!" shouted Adolphus Schwarzenberg furiously.
"Halt! halt!" cried the other. "You shall not escape. In the name of
Colonel von Burgsdorf I arrest you, Count John Adolphus von
Schwarzenberg."
"Who are you, poor man, who are you who dares to oppose me?"
"I am the police master Brandt. I arrest you in the name of the Stadtholder in the Mark!"
"Wretched traitor! You swore fidelity to my father, and have now become the tool of his enemies. Hands off! It will cost you your life! Back!"
"No, I will not leave you, I arrest you. You must stay here!"
"Let us make an end of this, count," shouted von Waldow "The night is so pitch-dark that we can not distinguish friend from foe, else I would have shot him long ago."