The
Archbishop of Cologne rose, and, shading his eyes from the still radiant
sun, gazed intently up the little river. No floating craft was anywhere
in sight. He turned to the captain.
"Where is the flotilla from Mayence?" he asked.
"Flotilla, my Lord?"
"Yes; a hundred barges sailed down from Mayence in the darkness either
last night or the night before, taking harbor here in the Lahn."
"My Lord, even one barge, manned as this is, could not have journeyed
such a distance in so short a time, and, indeed, for a flotilla to
attempt the voyage, except in daylight, would have been impossible. No
barges have come down the Rhine for months, and had they ventured the
little Lahn is too shallow to harbor them."
"Thank you, captain. I appear to be ignorant both of the history and the
geography of this district. If I were to ask you and your stout rowers
to take me down through the swiftest part of the river to Coblentz, how
soon would we reach that town?"
"Very speedily, my Lord, but I could undertake no such voyage except at
the command of my master.
Pages:
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407