"It will be labor in vain; you don't know these bandits; all they are fit for, is to lie and steal!--Seven!--And besides, it is too late now,--here is the last--Eight!--It is all over. Long live the Emperor!" said Hesso. Among the victims, some had fainted with pain, others had still strength enough to bind up their bleeding arms. "Have you no orders to dress their wounds?" asked Erwin. "The Emperor has prescribed their punishment, but he does not wish the poor wretches to bleed to death." "You are right," was the reply. "Where is that quack Lutold? Come here with your plasters, old man." And while the surgeon, thanks to the interference of the young Count, discharged his duty, Rechberg and his squire took their way to the Imperial camp. _CHAPTER XXVI_. _TREACHERY_. Events of great importance had attracted the attention of all the Court, and Erwin's prolonged and unusual absence had in consequence passed unnoticed. Influenced by their sincere admiration for the heroic resistance made by the citizens, and out of respect for the nobility of the Guelphic faction, the Count Palatine Conrad, Count Ludwig, and the Duke of Bohemia, decided to employ all their influence in case the besieged should seek to negotiate terms of surrender. The Milanese Consuls were agreeably surprised by the proposal, and eagerly accepted the offered mediation. A short time after Erwin's departure from the camp, the nobles presented themselves in a body before the Emperor and made known their views on the subject. At first Frederic was astonished, and disposed to reject any arrangement, but the firmness of the princes finally persuaded him that some concession must be made to the chivalrous spirit of the age, and the Milanese were notified that His Majesty would deign to receive a flag of truce. Barbarossa attached more importance to this step than it really merited; for, accustomed to look at everything from the standpoint of his pretensions to universal sovereignty, he thought himself aggrieved, not by the interference of his knights, but by what seemed an encouragement given to rebels. Besides, he was provoked at the opposition made by the Duke of Austria to the contemplated divorce between Clemence and Henry the Lion, and particularly by the conversation which Beatrice had repeated to him. Rinaldo, who was sent for, went still further, and loud words and threats were overheard in the Imperial chamber, which the Chancellor did not leave until after midnight. What passed between the Emperor and his minister was never known, but the chronicles of the Court leave us in doubt whether the latter was ever informed of the efforts made by the princes in favor of the Milanese.