"Ah! it vash you, vash it, good sar? you may come in," said the Jew. Vanslyperken walked into the parlour, where he found seated a young man of very handsome exterior, dressed according to the fashion of the cavaliers of the time. His hat, with a plume of black feathers, lay upon the table. This personage continued in his careless and easy position without rising when Vanslyperken entered, neither did he ask him to sit down. "You are the officer of the cutter?" inquired the young man, with an air of authority not very pleasing to the lieutenant. "Yes," replied Vanslyperken, looking hard and indignantly in return. "And you arrived yesterday morning? Pray, sir, why were not those letters delivered at once?" "Because I had no time," replied Vanslyperken, sulkily. "No time, sir; what do you mean by that? Your time is ours, sir. You are paid for it; for one shilling that you receive from the rascally government you condescend to serve and to betray, you receive from us pounds. Let not this happen again, my sir, or you may repent it." Vanslyperken was not in the best of humours, and he angrily replied, "Then you may get others to do your work, for this is the last I'll do; pay me for them, and let me go." "The last you'll do; you'll do as much as we please, and as long as we please. You are doubly in our power, scoundrel! You betray the government you serve, but you shall not betray us. If you had a thousand lives, you are a dead man the very moment you flinch from or neglect our work. Do your work faithfully, and you will be rewarded; but either you must do our work or die. You have but to choose." "Indeed!" replied Vanslyperken. "Yes, indeed! And to prove that I am in earnest, I shall punish you for your neglect, by not paying you this time. You may leave the letters and go. But mind that you give us timely notice when you are ordered back to the Hague, for we shall want you." Vanslyperken, indignant at this language, obeyed his first impulse, which was to snatch up the letters and attempt to leave the room. "No pay, no letters!" exclaimed he, opening the door. "Fool!" cried the young man with a bitter sneer, not stirring from his seat. Vanslyperken opened the door, and to his amazement there were three swords pointed to his heart. He started back. "Will you leave the letters now?" observed the young man. Vanslyperken threw them down on the table with every sign of perturbation, and remained silent and pale.