The king had now marched far into the country, and wished to send some new important orders to Baner, who followed slowly in his steps from Ingolstadt. On account of the lawless state of the country this was attended with great risk, and the king would not order a large body to go. A young officer, a Finn, volunteered to try, accompanied by two horsemen. The king agreed to this, and the three horsemen set out one evening in May on this dangerous journey.
The young officer was no other than our friend Bertel, and his companions were Pekka from East Bothnia, and Vitikka from Tavastland. The night was dark and gloomy, and the three horsemen rode carefully in the middle of the road, much afraid of missing their way in this strange country, and dreading an ambush from their enemies. It began to rain, which made the roads still worse; these had already been much damaged by the passage of the heavy baggage-wagons, and at every step they risked an accident.
"Here," said Vitikka ironically to his companion, "you are a northern Finn, and ought to be able to practise witchcraft."
"I should not be worth much if I could not do it," responded Pekka in the same bantering tone.
"Try, then, and take us in a minute to Hattelmala mountain and let us see the light shining from Hämeenlinna's castle. There is a little gipsy girl whom I once loved, and I would rather be by her side to-night, than here in the ruts of this damned forest."
"That will be easy for me to do," said Pekka; "see, you can already see the lights shining from Hämeenlinna."
His comrade looked sharply around, uncertain if Pekka was joking or in earnest; he thought the latter quite as likely as the former. And truly, in the brushwood underneath, a light appeared, but he soon understood that he was still hundreds of miles away from his home. Suddenly their horses stopped, and would not move. A barrier of tree trunks was stretched across the road.
"Hush!" whispered Bertel, "I hear a noise in the wood."
The horsemen leaned forward and listened attentively. On the opposite side of the wood they heard footsteps and the breaking of branches.
"They must be here in a quarter of an hour," said a voice in the well-known Bavarian dialect.