There was a short pause, and then a voice said: "We surrender, relying upon your knightly word." A minute later the sound of bars being withdrawn was heard, and the door opened. Conrad, with his own followers, entered, letting the others remain without. The men were first disarmed and placed in the guard chamber at the gate, and a sentry posted outside. Then, taking torches from the walls, Conrad made a hasty survey of the interior, telling the frightened scullions and other servants that no harm would come to them. "'Tis indeed a stately castle," he said to Johann, "and I have made a good exchange. Now, do you remain here in charge; I will go down and see how matters are proceeding. Day is breaking already." Then with those who had remained outside the castle gate he joined the main body in the outer courtyard. "Now, Grun," he said to the farmer, "we will summon the men on the walls to surrender. They must see that their case is desperate. There are but sixty or seventy of them, and they are hopelessly outnumbered. If they refuse, I shall not attack them; hunger and thirst will soon tame them. We have not lost a life, and I would not that any of your good fellows or mine should be killed, and were we to storm the walls we should assuredly lose many. I should be sorry indeed were any wives left widows, or children fatherless, by this night's work." Accordingly, as soon as it became light, Conrad summoned the men on the walls to surrender on promise of their lives being spared. The answer was a yell of defiance. When this subsided he said: "Well, if it pleases you to starve like rats in a trap you can do so; there is no hope of your escape or of aid arriving. The baron, his son, and all the party who rode with him are dead, the castle is in my possession, and you are as much prisoners as if you were in a dungeon." He now ordered his own men and a dozen of his vassals to leave the courtyard and form a line across the narrow neck by which the castle was approached, and to see that no one passed; for he deemed it possible that a man might be lowered from the wall to entreat aid from some of the baron's neighbours. Food was brought out from the castle and distributed. The men were divided into four parties, each of which was to take up its station near the foot of the four flights of steps up to the wall. Two mounted men were sent off to Waldensturm to fetch the young countess back, and the courtyards were cleared of the bodies that had fallen. Three hours later Minna arrived. On the way she had heard the details of the capture of the castle, and was delighted to hear that it had been taken without the loss of a single man. "I am proud of you, indeed," Minna said. "I always was so, but after capturing in this way a castle that the baron considered impregnable, I shall always regard you as a hero indeed."