The herald., 1913-01-16
TheStranger
A Story Of Medieval Times
By EMMA STURGlS
By EMMA STURGIS

J
each OF which baron had built one of
| these fortresscs and lived in sight Of
each other. At first they were friends,
! but one day Sir Herman rode over To
! Sir Wilhelm'S castle and asked for the
| hand of the latter'S daughter, Wilhel-
nina, for his son, Frederick. Sir vii.
helm loved his daughter dearly and
! had no wish for her TO leave him. 50 he
! referred the matter TO her. She had
/ met Frederick while hawking and
/ found him an Ill favored young man,
| not at all to her liking, so she declined
! the honor offered her
! Sir Herman rode angrily back TO
| his castle and informed his son that
/ the offer had been declined. and the
| young man, who was of vengeful
| disposition. made n vow that he would
| either marry Wilhclmina or destroy
her fathers castle. And when he got
her he would let her understand that
no maiden could refuse him with i'm
punity,
From that time forward Sir Herman
and his son were constantly on the
lookout for cause for picking quar-
rel with Sir Wilhelm. In those days
the barons lived by plundering travel
ers, and both these nOhlemen sup
ported themselves and their rctainerS
in that way One dark night, when
young Frederick was lying in wait for
some merchants who were expected to
pass through the valley between his
fathers and Sir Wilhelm'S castles, Sir
Wilhelm, who was looking for the
same plumber. passed along the road
with a number of men at arms.
Now, Frederick knew who was riding
by, but. pretending that he thought
them merchants, fell upon them sud
denly. \ fierce fight enSued, and Sir
Wilhelm's force. having been surprised.
was routed, with the loss of several
men, while Frederick's escaped with a
few wounds.
Sir Wilhelm knew that this was a
mere preteXt and that he must fight
for having declined to give his daugh-
ter TO wife TO the man who had attack
ed him. So he strengthened his castle
rebuilt some Of the ramparts, laid in an
increased stock of arms and awaited
the next move of his enemy. 1t came
very soon. Sir Wilhelm robbed a party
of travellers, and the next day Sir Her
man sent him word that they had been
plundered on his own domain and de-
manded the goods that had been taken.
Sir Wilhelm sent back word that if his
neighbOr thought he was entitled to the
property he had better come and take it,
Meanwhile Sir Herman had been pre-.
pairing for the approaching fight and
was ready for it. His son Frederick
claimed the leadership. and his father
gave it to him.
There Is a principle of war that the
advantage is with the attacking party.
This is because the impetus is on their
side, while their enemies are on the
defensive. At any rate Frederick not
only besieged the castle, but led one
attack after another against it, making
a breach here and q hole there, killing
off men who could not be replaced |
while the stock of provisions within |
the walls was constantly growing less |
And so 1t came about that Sir Wilhelm |
saw that the end of the struggle must |
soon come with the capture Of his cas-
tie. He sent messenger to know |
what sum his enemy would ask to re-
tire and leave him in peace. Frederick |
replied that the only price he asked |
was the hand Of the Lady Wilhemina. |
This was a sad blow to the besieged. |
Wilhelmina would rather die than give !
herself to the man she hated, but she |
could not bear to bring destruction on |
her father and his retainers.
Now, among the travellers who had |
been robbed was young man who |
had been fighting in the service Of the |
king of France against the English. |
Hearing the sound Of war, he sent |
word from the cell in which he was |
confined and held for ransom, request |
ing that he be released and be permit. |
ted to take part In the defense. When |
all hope was gone Sir Wilhelm sent |
for him. The young man proposed to
lead a sortie against the enemy and |
was permitted to do sos
Just before dawn one morning he |
fell upon them so furiously and kept
up the fight so vigorously that within |
few hours he had them In full re.
treat. Catching sight of Frederick
endeavoring to rally his men. the
stranger drove his horse straight al
him and felled him with a battleax.
The sutton never arose from his fall,
and the attack was not renewed.
The stranger had been badly wound |
ed, but did not know 1t till the end of |
the struggle. when he tainted from |
loss OF blood. When he came to him
self he was lying In chamber Of the
castle, and young girl was bending
over him. She nursed him, dressing
his wounds herself and giving him |
every attention as the savior Of the
castle. He asked her what had oc.
easioned the war, and she told him
now marriage was proposed for the
Lady Wilhelmina and rejected.
When the stranger recovered the
baron asked him what boon ne could
confer upon him as repayment for his
services. The hero replied that If the
young girl who had nursed him didn't |
OBJECT he would like her given him to
wife.
What! My daughterr
Your daughter? No; my nurse"