"I already know the terms you are upon with him, that you often visited him in Ulm, and brought him secret intelligence of all kinds. He has confidence in you, and therefore I wish to put you on your guard, not to acquaint him with the state of my affairs; for I have my reasons to keep them as yet unknown to him."
The fifer of Hardt eyed the young man some time with a look of astonishment. "Where did you learn that I had been the bearer of secret intelligence to the knight of Lichtenstein? But it signifies little to me what my persecutors may have told you. I have a debt to pay, and until it is fully discharged, I call not my life my own. My death, I hope, will absolve me from my creditor." With these portending words, he promised to follow Albert's wishes to the letter, and added, "Now mount your horse, whilst I lead on, and you shall be welcome in the castle of Lichtenstein."
CHAPTER XIII.
The herdsman says, "If you will trust in me
And follow boldly, I will bring you free;--
A secret path there is, to man unknown,
And trodden by the mountain goat alone."
L. Uhland.
There were two ways from the spot where Albert had decided upon following his mysterious guide, leading to the neighbourhood of Reutlingen, in which the castle of Lichtenstein was situated. One was the high road from Ulm to Tübingen. It went through the beautiful Blauthal, or blue valley; when, reaching the town of Blaubeuren, at the foot of the Alb, it crossed immediately over that mountain, passing the fortress of Hohen Urach, near the villages of St. John and Pfullingen. This was the usual and most convenient road for travellers on horseback, in litters, or carriages; but at the time of our story, when Albert and the fifer of Hardt had to cross the country, it was not advisable to choose this route. The troops of the League already occupied Blaubeuren, their advanced posts stretched as far as Urach, and any one whom they found on the road, that did not belong to the army, or acknowledge their party, were rudely handled and otherwise ill-treated. Albert, therefore, had good reason to avoid this road; and his companion was too mindful of his own safety to dissuade him from it.
The other, a mere footpath, and known only to the inhabitants of the country, passed through thick woods, and deep ravines, where but a few single detached houses were to be met with, scattered over a distance of twelve hours (stunden), or between thirty to forty miles. Here and there the track made a circuit to avoid the high road, and for this reason possessed the greater advantage of security. It was very fatiguing, and, indeed, in many places scarcely passable for horses.