"Now we must make haste, my girl; we shall ascend the height; the footpath leads up here in the rear of the chapel; within two hours we shall reach the summit, and, if our feet do not slip, if we do not fall into the depth, if no avalanche overwhelms us, and if the storm does not freeze us, I think we shall reach the Isel-Tauerkamm to-night, and sleep at the inn there. May the Holy Virgin protect us!"And the Holy Virgin did seem to guard the intrepid wanderers--to enable them to cross abysses on frail bridges; to prevent them from sinking into invisible clefts and pits covered with snow; to make them safely escape the avalanches falling down here and there, and protect them from freezing to death.
Toward dusk they reached at length the inn on the Isel-Tauerkamm, utterly exhausted by fatigue, hunger, and frost, and entered the bar-room on the ground-floor. Nobody was there but the landlord, a gloomy, morose-looking man, who eyed the new-comers with evident distrust.
When the two wanderers, scarcely able to utter a word, seated themselves on the bench at the narrow table, the land-lord stepped up to them.
"I am not allowed to harbor any one without seeing his passport," he said. "There are all sorts of fugitive vagabonds prowling around here to hide from the Bavarians, who are searching the whole district to-day. Give me your passport, therefore."Wallner handed him the paper in silence. The landlord read it attentively, and seemed to compare the two with the description in the passport. "H'm!" he said, "the carpet-dealer and his son--that corresponds to what the passport says; but where is the bundle of carpets?"Anthony Wallner gave a slight start; he recovered his presence of mind immediately, however, and said calmly, "The carpets are all sold already; we are on our return to Windisch-Matrey."
"See, see how lucky you have been," said the landlord, laughing;"the passport says you started only yesterday morning, and to-day you have already sold all your carpets. Well, in that case, you are certainly justified in returning to your home. Your passport is in good order, and the Bavarians, therefore, will not molest you.""As my passport is in good order, I suppose you will give us beds, and, above all things, something to eat and drink.""You shall have everything, that is to say, every thing that I can give you. I am all alone here, and have nothing but a piece of ham, bread, and cheese, and a glass of wine. As for beds, I have not got any; you must sleep on the bench here.""Well, we will do so; but give us something to eat now," said Wallner, "and add a little fuel to the fire, that we may warm ourselves."The landlord added some brushwood and a few billets to the fire, fetched the provisions, and looked on while the wanderers were partaking of the food with eager appetite. All at once he stepped quickly up to them, seated himself on the bench opposite them, and drew a paper from his pocket. "I will read something to you now," he said. "There were Bavarian soldiers here to-day; they gave me a new decree, and ordered me to obey it under pain of death. Listen to me."And he read, in a loud, scornful voice "Know all men by these presents, that any inhabitant of the German or Italian Tyrol, who dares to harbor Anthony Wallner, called Aichberger, late commander of the sharp-shooters of Windisch-Matrey, or his two sons, shall lose his whole property by confiscation, and his house shall be burned down." [Footnote: Loritza, p. 130.]
"Did you hear it?" asked the landlord, after reading the proclamation.
"I did," said Wallner, with perfect composure, "but it does not concern us.""Yes, it does. I believe you are Anthony Wallner, and the lad there is one of your sons."Anthony Wallner laughed. "Forsooth," he said, "if I were Wallner Ishould not be so stupid as to show myself. I believe he is hiding somewhere in the mountains near Windisch-Matrey. But I think Iresemble him a little, for you are not the first man who has taken me for Anthony Wallner. And that the lad there is not one of Anthony Wallner's sons, I will swear on the crucifix, if you want me to do so.""Well, well, it is all right, I believe you," growled the landlord.
"Now lie down and sleep; there is a pillow for each of you, and now good-night; I will go to my chamber and sleep too."He nodded to them morosely, and left the room.
"Lizzie, do you think we can trust him?" asked Wallner, in a low voice.
Eliza made no reply; she only beckoned to her father, slipped on tiptoe across the room to the. door, and applied her ear to it.
There was a pause. Then they heard the front door jar.
"Father," whispered Eliza, hastening to Wallner, "he has left the house to fetch the soldiers. I heard him walk through the hall to the front door and open it. He has left, and locked us up.""Locked us up?" cried Wallner, and hastened to the door. He shook it with the strength of a giant, but the lock did not yield; the bolts did not give way.
"It is in vain, in vain!" cried Wallner, stamping the floor furiously; "the door does not yield; we are caught in the trap, for there is no other outlet.""Yes, father, there is; there is the window," said Eliza. "Come, we must jump out of the window.""But did you not see, Lizzie, that the house stands on a slope, and that a staircase leads outside to the front door? If we jump out of the window, we shall fall at least twenty feet.""But there is a great deal of snow on the ground, and we shall fall softly. I will jump out first, father, and you must follow me immediately."And Eliza disappeared out of the window. Wallner waited a few seconds and then followed her. They reached the ground safely; the deep snow prevented the leap from being dangerous; they sprang quickly to their feet, and hastened on as fast as their weary limbs would carry them.