Then rising, she once more fixed her eyes on the knight, and in a glad voice said to him:
"Keep still, Sir Adolf, and move not; that is what Master Roger strictly enjoins you."
"What have you not done for me, illustrious daughter of my lord!" replied Adolf. "How constantly have your prayers sounded in my ears; how often has your voice of comfort cheered my heart! Yes; in my half-consciousness it seemed to me as though one of God's angels was standing by my bedside, and warding off death from it; an angel that propped my head, that quenched my burning thirst with cooling drinks, that constantly assured me that death should not yet have dominion over me! God grant me health and strength again, that T may one day be able to pour out my blood for you!"
"Sir Adolf," answered the maiden, "you have risked your life for my father; you love him as I love him; does it not, then, become me to care for you as for a brother? The angel you saw was, without doubt, St. Michael, to whom I have constantly prayed in your behalf. Now I will hasten and call your good sister Maria, that we may rejoice together over your better health."
She then left the knight, but in a few moments returned, accompanied by his sister. Joy at this sudden improvement in Adolf's condition was visible, not only upon her countenance, but in her whole air and bearing. Her movements were quicker and lighter, her tears no longer flowed, and now she could find cheerful words for her favorite. Immediately on her return to the room with Maria, she took her hawk from the back of the chair upon her hand, and so drew near to Adolf's bed.
"My good brother!" cried Maria, kissing his pale cheek, "you are better! Now I shall be rid of those frightful dreams! O, how glad I am! How often have I wept by your bedside with bitter pain of heart! How often have I thought that death could surely not be far from you! But now my heart is lighter. Will you drink, my brother?"
"No, my good Maria," answered Adolf, "I have never had to suffer thirst, so anxiously has my generous Lady Matilda cared for me. As soon as I am strong enough to make a pilgrimage to St. Cross, I will go and pray to God for blessings upon her head, and that sorrow may ever be far from her."
Matilda meanwhile was busily employed in whispering the good news to her bird, which now, seeing its mistress in recovered spirits, was dressing and pluming itself, and seemed to be making ready for the chase.
"Look, my faithful friend," she said, turning the creature's head toward Adolf; "look, now is Sir Adolf in the way of recovery, after we have so long seen him lying helpless there. Now we may speak together again, and not be sitting always in the dark. Our fear for him is all gone; and so methinks shall our other griefs pass away too, now that God has shown us His mercy and favor. Yes, my beautiful bird, so also shall have an end the sad captivity of—"
But here Matilda felt that she was about to say what the sick knight had better not be made aware of; but as she broke off, the word "captivity" had sounded strangely in Adolf's ear. The tears, too, which on awakening he had perceived on the maiden's cheek, filled him now with anxious foreboding.
"What say you, Matilda?" he exclaimed. "You weep! Heavens! What, then, has happened? of whose imprisonment did you speak?"
Matilda dared not answer; but Maria, more self-possessed, stooped down and whispered in his ear:
"Of her poor aunt Philippa's. But let us drop the subject; for she is always weeping about it. Now you are better, I shall, as soon as Master Roger allows it, have to talk to you of things of weight, but which are not for Matilda's ear; besides, I am at this moment expecting Master Roger. Be still awhile, and I will take her away into another chamber."
The knight laid his head upon the pillow, and feigned to sleep; upon which Maria turned upon Matilda, and said:
"I think, Lady Matilda, we had better now leave my brother alone, that he may sleep, and not be tempted to speak too much; which the desire of expressing his gratitude to you might, I fear, lead him to do."
The two damsels left the room together; and presently afterward the surgeon presented himself at the door, and was conducted by Maria to her brother.
"Well, Sir Adolf!" said Roger cheerfully, "how goes it with you? Better, I see. Now all the danger is over, and you are safe for this time. There is no need of my dressing your wound again at present: only drink copiously of this beverage, keep as quiet as you can, and in less than a month you and I will take a walk together. That is my prognostic, if no unforeseen accident retard your recovery. Meanwhile, as your mind is in better case than your body, I have no objection to Lady Maria informing you of the sad events that have happened while you have been confined to your bed; but I pray you, do not lose your self-command, and keep yourself calm."
Maria now drew forward two chairs, upon which she and Master Roger took their places at the head of the bed; while Adolf regarded them with the greatest curiosity, and with an evident expression of anxiety upon his countenance.
"Let me finish what I have to say," began Maria, "without interrupting me, and bear yourself like a man, my brother. In that evening which was so unlucky for you, our Count called his faithful vassals together, and declared
