At last the sounds were gone, and the night silence settled over the country which was now in darkness. They were about to kiss each other and say "Good-night," when Margaret pointed to a distant spot towards her old home. A dense cloud of smoke was rising, and flames were leaping up amongst it, like forked and fiery tongues, and lighting up the broken clouds. "'Tis a fire!" she exclaimed, and the others came to look through another of the windows from which the little wooden shutter had been flung back. "But what place can it be?" "It must be Schouts' castle!" Herman cried. "I'm certain of it!" he added, when he had scanned the country and was able to judge the distance of the burning mass from the city. As the hours passed the flames died down, and later still the clouds of smoke dwindled away, leaving nothing but a red light in the sky. But in time there came the sound of a terrific explosion which seemed to shake the mill. It came again; and after that there was a hush, and the countryside subsided into silence and dense darkness. "I'm going to find out what it means," said the forester; "but while I'm away be careful. Do whatever Mary says." He moved down the ladder swiftly, and before long he was riding through the forest with his faithful dog at his heels. He did not return until next day; the moon had risen, but none had gone to bed, all being eager to know what he had seen, if he should return that night. "You can have easy minds!" he exclaimed, when he and his cousin had mounted the ladder, he to tell the news, and she to hear it. "Sit down, every one of you," he said, with laughter in his face and eyes, and exultation in his voice. "'Tis fine news!" As if to tantalise them all, he began to talk of trivialities--things that had no concern for any of them. "Don't torment us, Otto," said his sweetheart, shaking him, as he sat at her side. "I won't, then!" he exclaimed. "But what an impatient body it is," he added, turning to look Mary in the face. "But 'tis this. Schouts has been so much a terror of late that the river became impassable, and men would stand it no longer. Even the Emperor, to whom appeal was made, outlawed him; but he tortured the messenger, and drowned him in his moat. That roused His Majesty, and he determined to deal with him as one would deal with a savage beast who is a menace to society. He took his steps accordingly.