"Ye serpent's brood," continued the king beside himself with anger, "how long do ye think that the Almighty will endure your iniquities? By God! I have seen much; I have seen your Antichrist and Romish rule cover the world with all the deeds of darkness; I have seen ye, monks and Jesuits, poison frightened consciences with your devil's teachings about murder and crimes committed for the glory of Heaven; but a deed so black as this, a blasphemy against everything that is holy in Heaven and upon earth, I have never before dreamed of. I have forgiven ye all; ye have plotted against my life at Demmin and other places; I have not taken revenge; ye have acted worse than Turks and barbarians towards the innocent Lutherans; wherever ye have had the power ye have destroyed their churches, and burned them at the stake, driven them away from house and home; and what is worse, ye have tried to draw them from their faith with arguments and force to your idolatrous religion, which worships deeds and miserable images instead of the living God and His only Son. For all this, I have not retaliated upon your cloisters and churches and consciences; ye have gone free in your faith, and no one has touched a hair of your heads. But now I know you, servants of the devil; the Almighty God has delivered ye into my hand; I shall scatter ye like chaff; I shall punish you, ye desecrators of the temple; I shall follow you to the end of the world, as long as this arm is able to wield the Lord's sword. Ye have hitherto seen me mild and merciful, ye will now see me hard and terrible; I will destroy you and your accursed faith on earth; it will be such a judgment as the world has not seen since the destruction of Rome."
The king walked up and down the room with hasty steps, without deigning to bestow a glance on the prostrate Jesuit or the trembling Regina, who was standing by the window covering her face with her hands. Oxenstjerna, always calm and collected, was alarmed at the king's anger, and feared that he would go too far, and now tried to modify it.
"Will your Majesty deign to order Lieutenant Bertel to take the monk into safe custody, and let a court-martial make a terrible example of him?"
"Mercy, your Majesty!" cried Regina, who was blindly devoted to her father confessor. "Mercy! I am the guilty one. I have advised him to take this terrible step. I alone deserve to be punished for it."
At this noble self-sacrifice a faint ray of hope illumined the Jesuit's pale features, but he did not dare to rise up. The king took no notice of this appeal. Instead, he turned all his wrath upon the guard.
"Lieutenant Bertel," he said sharply, "you have commanded my life-guard to-night; through your neglect this wretch has slipped into the room. Take him at once to prison, and you shall answer for his safety with your head. Then you can go and take your place in the ranks. From this moment you are degraded to the position of a private soldier."
Bertel saluted, but did not speak. What pained him more than the loss of his commission was the sacrifice of the king's favour, especially as he knew that he had kept a ceaseless watch. It was a complete mystery to him how the Jesuit had got in. The latter had now grasped the king's knees and prayed for mercy. But in vain. The king pushed him backwards, and he was taken away gnashing his teeth and his heart full of revenge.
Gustaf Adolf then turned to the trembling girl at the window, took her hand and looked straight into her eyes.
"Lady," he said with asperity, "it is said that when the king of the darkness wishes to do a terrible evil deed on earth, he sends his instruments dressed as angels of light. What do you wish me to think of you?"
Lady Regina had courage enough to lift up her eyes once more to the great king.