Produced by Al Haines. [Illustration: Cover] LEATHERFACE _A TALE OF OLD FLANDERS_ BY BARONESS ORCZY AUTHOR OF "THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL" NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA [Transcriber’s note: several passages in this book use "f" for "s" to convey the archaic long "s" as "f".] By BARONESS ORCZY THE BRONZE EAGLE A BRIDE OF THE PLAINS THE LAUGHING CAVALIER "UNTO CAESAR" EL DORADO MEADOWSWEET THE NOBLE ROGUE THE HEART OF A WOMAN PETTICOAT RULE GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY NEW YORK CONTENTS Prologue: Mons, September, 1572 BOOK ONE; BRUSSELS CHAPTER I. The Blood Council II. The Subject Race III. The Ruling Caste IV. Justice V. Vengeance BOOK TWO: DENDERMONDE VI. A Stranger in a Strange Land VII. The Rebels VIII. The Watcher in the Night IX. A Divided Duty X. Enemies XI. Utter Loneliness BOOK THREE: GHENT XII. Reprisals XIII. My Faithful Watch-dog XIV. The Tyrants XV. Two Pictures XVI. The Right to Die XVII. Truth and Perfidy XVIII. The Last Stand XIX. The Hour of Victory Epilogue PROLOGUE: MONS, SEPTEMBER, 1572 PROLOGUE MONS: SEPTEMBER, 1572 It lacked two hours before the dawn on this sultry night early in September. The crescent moon had long ago sunk behind a bank of clouds in the west, and not a sound stirred the low-lying land around the besieged city. To the south the bivouac fires of Alva’s camp had died out one by one, and here the measured tread of the sentinels on their beat alone broke the silence of the night. To the north, where valorous Orange with a handful of men--undisciplined, unpaid and rebellious--vainly tried to provoke his powerful foe into a pitched battle, relying on God for the result, there was greater silence still. The sentinels--wearied and indifferent--had dropped to sleep at their post: the troops, already mutinous, only held to their duty by the powerful personality of the Prince, slept as soundly as total indifference to the cause for which they were paid to fight could possibly allow. In his tent even Orange--tired out with ceaseless watching--had gone to rest. His guards were in a profound sleep. Then it was that from the south there came a stir, and from Alva’s entrenchments waves of something alive that breathed in the darkness of the night were set in motion, like when the sea rolls inwards to the shore.