CHAPTER IV
THE PRINCESS HELENE
"What devil's work is this?" he said, frowning at her severely.
And I confess that I trembled, but not so the little maid.
"Do not be afraid, mannie," she said, laying down the axe on the stock ofthe couch, against which its broad red blade and glass-clear cutting edgemade an irregular patch of light. "Come and sit down beside me on yourbed. I shall not hurt you indeed, mannie, and I want to talk to you.There is nothing but a little boy down-stairs. And I like best to talkwith men."
"I declare it is the dead man's brat I saved last night for Hugo's sake!"I heard my father mutter, "the maid with the girdle of golden letters."
Presently a smile of amusement struggled about his mouth at her bairnlyimperiousness, but he came obediently enough and sat down. Neverthelesshe took away the heavy axe from her and said, "Put this down, then, orgive it to me. It is not a pretty plaything for little girls!"
The small figure in white put up a tiny fat hand, and solemnly withdrewthe red patch of mask from before the wide-open baby eyes.
"I am not a little _girl_, remember, mannie," she said, "I am a Princessand a great lady."
My father bowed without rising.
"I shall not forget," he said.
"You should stand up and bow when I tell you that," said she. "I declareyou have no more manners than the little boy in the brown blanketdown-stairs."
"Princess," said my father, gravely, "during my life I have met a greatmany distinguished people of your rank; and, do you know, not one of themhas ever complained of my manners before."
"Ah," cried the little maid, "then you have never met my father, thePrince. He is terribly particular. You must go _so_" (she imitated themincing walk of a court chamberlain), "you must hold your tails thus"(wagging her white nightrail and twisting about her head to watch theeffect), "and you must retire--so!" With that she came bowing backwardtowards the well of the staircase, so far that I was almost afraid shewould fall plump into my arms. But she checked herself in time, andwithout looking round or seeing me she tripped back to my father'sbedside and sat down quite confidingly beside him.
"Now you see," cried she, "what you would have had to put up with if youhad met my father. Be thankful then that it is only the little PrincessHelene that is sitting here."
"I think I had the honor to meet your father," said Gottfried Gottfried,gravely, again removing the restless baby fingers from the Red Axe andlaying it on the far side of the couch beyond him.
"Then, if you met him, did he not make you bow and bend and walkbackward?" asked the Playmate, looking up very sharply.
"Well, you see, Princess," explained my father, "it was for such a veryshort time that I had the honor of converse with him."
"Ah, that does not matter," cried the maid; "often he would be mostdifficult when you came running in just for a moment. Why, he wouldstraighten you up and make you do your bows if you were only racingafter a kitten, or, what was worse, he would call the Court Chamberlainto show you how to do it. But when I am grown up--ah, then!--I mean tomake the Chamberlain bow and walk backward; for you know he is onlytaking care of my princedom for me. Oh, and I shall have you well taughtby that time, long man. It is cold--cold. Let me get into your bed and Iwill give you your first lesson now."
So with that she skipped into my father's place and drew the great redcloak about her.
"Now then, first position," she commanded, clapping her hands like aSultana, "your feet together. Draw back your left--so. Very well! Bendthe knee--stupid, not that one. Now your head. If I have to come to you,sir--there, that is better. Well done! Oh, I shall have a peck of troublewith you, I can see that. But you will do me credit before I have donewith you."
In a little while she tired of the lesson.
"Come and sit down now"--she waved her hand graciously--"here on the bedby me. Though I am a Princess really, I am not proud, and, as I said, Imay make something of you yet."
My father came forward gravely, wrapped himself in another of his redcloaks, and sat down. I shivered in my blanket on the stair-head, but Icould not bear to move nor yet reveal myself. This was better than anyplay I had ever watched from the sparred gallery of the palace, to whichGottfried Gottfried took me sometimes when the mummers came fromBrandenburg to divert Duke Casimir.
"My father, the great Prince, took me for a long ride last night. Therewas much noise and many bonfires behind us as we rode away, and some ofthe men spoke roughly, for which my father will rate them soundly to-day.Oh, they will be sick and sorry this morning when the Prince takes themto task. I hope you will never make him angry," she said, laying her handwarningly on my father's; "but if ever you do, come to me and I willspeak to the Prince for you. You need not be bashful, for I do not mind abit speaking to him, or indeed to any one. You will remember and not bebashful when you have something to ask?"
"I will assuredly not be bashful," said my father, very solemnly. "I willcome and tell you at once, little lady, if I ever have the misfortune tooffend the most noble Prince."
Then he bent his head and raised her hand to his lips. She bowed inreturn with exquisite reserve and hauteur; and, as it seemed to me, morewith her long eyelashes than with anything else.
"Do you know, Black Man," she said--"for, you know, you are black, thoughyou wear red clothes--I am glad you are not afraid of me. At home everyone was afraid of me. Why, the little children stood with their mouthsopen and their eyes like this whenever they saw me."
And she illustrated the extremely vacant surprise into which herappearance paralyzed the infantry of her native city.
"I am glad my father left me here till he should come back. Do you know,I like your house. There are so many interesting things about it. Thatfunny axe over there is nice. It looks as if it could cut things. Has itever cut anything? It is so nicely polished. How do you keep it so, andcan I help you?"
"I had just finished polishing and oiling it before I fell asleep,"answered Gottfried Gottfried. "You see, little Princess, I had very manythings to cut with it last night."
"What a pity the Prince had not time to wait and see you! He is so veryfond of going out into the forest with the woodman. Once he took me tosee the tallest tree in all our woods cut down with just such an axe asthat--only it was not red. Have you ever seen a high tree cut down?"
"I have cut down some pretty tall ones myself!" said the Duke's Justicer,smiling quietly at her.
"Ah, but not as tall as my father! It is beautiful to see him striphis doublet and lay to. They say there is not a woodman like him inall our land."
Helene looked at my father, whose arms were folded in his great cloak.
"But you have fine strong arms too," she said. "You look as if you couldcut things. Did my father ever see you cut down tall trees?"
"Yes," said Gottfried Gottfried, slowly, "once!"
"And did he say that you cut well?" the little maid went on, with astrange, wilful persistence in her idea.
"He neither said that I did well nor yet that I did ill," repliedGottfried Gottfried.
"Ah!" said Helene, "that was just like the Prince. He was afraid offlattering you and making you unfit for your work. But if he saidnothing, depend upon it he was pleased."
"Thank you, Princess," said my father. "I think he was well enoughpleased."
Just then there came a noise that I knew--a sound which chilled everybone in my body.
It was the clear ring of a steady footstep upon the pavement without. Itcame heavily and slowly across the yard. The outer hasp of our doorclicked. The door opened, and the footstep began to ascend the stair.
There was but one man in the world who dared make so free with theRed Tower and its occupant. Our visitor was without doubt the DukeCasimir himself.
For the first time I saw my father manifestly disconcerted. The littlemaid's life might be worth no more than a torn ballad if Duke Casimirhappened to be in evil humor or had repented him of his mercy of thepast night. I saw
the Red Axe look aimlessly about for a hiding-place.There was a niche round which certain cloaks and coverlets were hung.
"Come in here," he said, abruptly.
"Why should I hide, whoever comes?" asked the Little Playmate,indignantly.
"It is the Duke Casimir," whispered my father, hurriedly, stirred as Ihad never seen him. "Come hither quickly!"
But the little maid struck an attitude, and tapped the floor with herfoot.
"I will not," she said. "What is the Duke Casimir to me that am aPrincess? If he is good, I will give him my hand to kiss!"
But at this point I rushed from the ladder-head, and, taking her in myarms, I sped up the turret stairs with her out upon the leads, my handover her mouth all the time.
And as I ran I could hear the Duke trampling upward not twenty steps inthe rear. I opened the trap-door and went out into the clear morningsunshine. And only the turn of the stair prevented Casimir from seeing mego up the narrow turret corkscrew with my little white burden.
Then I heard voices beneath, and I knew, as if I had seen it, that myfather stood up straight at the salute. Presently the voices lowered, andI knew also that the Duke Casimir was unbending as he did to none else inhis realm save to the Hereditary Justicer of the Wolfmark.
But I had my hands full with the little Princess. I dared not go downthe stairs. I dared not for a moment take my palm off her mouth. For aslike as not she would call out for the Duke Casimir to come and deliverher from my cruelty. So I stuck to my post, even though I knew that Iangered her.
The morning was warm for a winter's day in Thorn, and I pulled open mybrown blanket and wrapped her coseyly within it, chilling myself to thebone as I did so.
It seemed ages before the Duke strode down the stair again, and took hisway across the yard, with my father, in black, after him. For so he wasused to dress when he went to the Hall of Judgment, to be present andassist at the discovery of crime by means of the Minor and ExtremeQuestions.
Then, so soon as they were fairly gone, I took my hand from the mouth ofthe Little Playmate, and carried her down-stairs; which as soon as I haddone, she slapped my face soundly.
"I will never, never speak to you any more so long as I live, rudeboy--common street brat!" she said, biting her under-lip in ineffectual,petulant anger. "Listen, never as long as I live! So do not think it!Upstart, so to treat a lady and a Princess!"
And with that she burst into tears.
The Red Axe Page 4
