"Do not be impatient," he cried down to them, "'twill not take long to
strip the boat of every bale, then I shall hang you on these trees, and
send back your bodies in the barge, as a lesson to Frankfort. You must
return, captain," he cried, "for you cannot sell dead bodies to my liege
of Cologne."
As he spoke a ruddy flush spread over the Rhine, as if some one had
flashed a red lantern upon the waters. The glow died out upon the
instant.
"What!" thundered the Margrave, "is that the reflection of my beard, or
are Beelzebub and his fiends coming up from below for a portion of the
Frankfort cloth? I will share with good brother Satan, but with no one
else. Boil me if I ever saw a sight like that before! What was it,
captain?"
"I saw nothing unusual, my lord."
"There, there!" exclaimed the Margrave, and as he spoke it seemed that a
crimson film had fallen on the river, growing brighter and brighter.
"Oh, my lord," cried the captain, "the Castle is on fire!"
"Saints protect us!" shouted the Red Margrave, crossing himself, and
turning to the west, where now both hearing and sight indicated that a
furnace was roaring.
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