"Yes, yes--that's right--we have the right man! Up those rocks there," pointing. "That is the way he went. I shouldn't wonder if you might catch him." The officer didn't wait to hear any more of this elaborate instruction, but rushed away with his men. "Now, comrade," Devilshoof said to Thaddeus: "It is time for us to be off, while our soldier friends are enjoying the hunt. Only you lie around here while we explore a little; this gipsy life means a deal of wear and tear, if a fellow would live. There is likely to be something worth picking up about the castle, and after we have done the picking, we'll all be off." As the gipsies and Thaddeus went away, the huntsmen rushed on, shouting to each other, and sounding their horns. Florestein came along in their wake. He was about the last man on earth to go on a hunt. He made this known without any help, by singing: Is no succour near at hand? For my intellect so reels, I am doubtful if I stand On my head or on my heels. No gentleman, it's very clear, Such a shock should ever know, And when once I become a peer, They shall not treat me so---- That seemed to suggest that something serious had happened, but no one knew what till Thaddeus and a crowd of peasants rushed wildly in. "The Count's child, Arline, is attacked by an infuriated animal, and we fear she is killed,"--that is what Florestein had been bemoaning, instead of hurrying to the rescue! The Count Arnheim ran in then, distraught with horror. But Thaddeus had not remained idle; he had rushed after the huntsmen. Presently he hurried back, bearing the child in his arms. The retainer whose business it was to care for Arline fell at the Count's feet. "Oh, great sir, just as we were entering the forest a wild deer rushed at us, and only for the bravery of this young gipsy,"--indicating Thaddeus--"the child would have been torn in pieces. As it is, she is wounded in the arm." The Count took his beloved daughter in his arms. "Her life is safe and the wound is not serious, thank God. Take her within and give her every care. And you, young man--you will remain with us and share our festivities--and ask of me anything that you will: I can never repay this service." "Humph! Thaddeus is a fool," Devilshoof muttered. "First he served his enemy and now has to stand his enemy's thanks." Thaddeus refused at first to remain, but when his refusal seemed to draw too much attention to the gipsy band, he consented, as a matter of discretion. So they all seated themselves at the table which had been laid in the garden, and while they were banqueting, the gipsies and peasants danced to add to the sport; and little Arline could be seen in the nurse's arms, at a window of the castle, watching the fun, her arm bound up.