Houndsditch

“ If it please you, she went to the circus last night along with———"
"Is that her ring?" I asked.
"The Lord be thanked!" cried the old woman; "Sally will be a glad woman this night. That's the ring."
"And what may your address be? " I inquired, taking up a pencil.
"13, Duncan Street, Houndsditch. A weary way from here."
"The Brixton Road does not lie between any circus and Houndsditch," said Sherlock Holmes sharply. ”

“ His predilection for Hanover has, we think, been unjustly censured; for there is nothing very discreditable, after all, in a love for one's own birth-place, though it may be what is termed a beggarly hole in the strong language of detraction. The native of Lambeth has been known to pine with a sort of mal du pays after the cherished sheds and shambles of the New Cut, and we have heard the plaintive accents of "Home, sweet Home," issuing from the lips of the exiled sons and daughters of Houndsditch. ”

“ Are you really speaking of Baron Arno von Hohenwald? I can scarcely credit that you travelled for a year with that gloomy misanthrope, that inveterate woman-hater. And yet it must be so, for to my knowledge there is but one family of Hohenwalds in Saxony, and I ought to know, for I am distantly connected with them myself. I never judge others with severity,--it is not my nature,--but I cannot help pronouncing the Hohenwalds, that is, the old Baron and his son Arno, haughty, disagreeable, inaccessible people, who have very little intercourse with any one, not even their nearest relatives. ”

“ But words were grown heavy to Hogni, and scarce he spake with a smile:
"Let the living seek their desire; for indeed thou shalt live for a while."
"Wilt thou speak and live," said Atli, "nor pay for the blood thou hast spilt?"
Said he: "Thou art waxen so mighty, thou mayst have the Gold when thou wilt."
Said the King: "I will give thee thy life, and forgive thee measureless woe."
"It was gathered for thee," said Hogni, "and fashioned long ago."
"Speak, man o'ercome," quoth Atli: "Is life so little a thing?"
"Art thou mighty? put forth thine hand and gather the Gold!" said the King. ”

“ Hogni answers, "A marvel is it to me of his bidding, for seldom hath he done in such a wise, and ill counselled will it be to wend to him; lo now, when I saw those dear-bought things the king sends us I wondered to behold a wolfs hair knit to a certain gold ring; belike Gudrun deems him to be minded as a wolf towards us, and will have naught of our faring."
But withal Vingi shows him the runes which he said Gudrun had sent. ”

“ The Freiherr nodded, well pleased, when he heard how the Hohenwald people had refused to carry old John to Grünhagen, but he was all the more irritated by the Finanzrath's acceptance of Kurt's invitation. "It is disgraceful!" he exclaimed. "How could a Hohenwald forget himself so far as to accept hospitality at the hands of a beggarly Poseneck!"
"It is not at all nice of you, papa!" Celia instantly declared, with flaming cheeks and flashing eyes. "How can you, who are usually just and good, speak so unkindly of Herr von Poseneck, who has never done anything to you? ”

“ A stranger in the Hohenwald forest! Celia had reason enough for astonishment, for she could scarcely remember ever having seen any save the people of Hohenwald upon her father's estate. And this was an elegantly-dressed stranger, no forester or peasant, but a young man evidently from the higher walks of society. Now a well-educated young lady would certainly have found it becoming in such an unexpected encounter with a stranger in the lonely forest to display a certain amount of embarrassment, perhaps of timidity. ”

“ Arno asked, and there was surprise as well as disapproval in his tone. "What business has a Hohenwald in Grünhagen? Am I to ask shelter for old John and for you of the Amtsrath Friese or young Kurt von Poseneck, only to meet with a rude refusal, or, what would be worse, with a condescending compliance, which would burden me with an obligation to them?"
"What folly!" Werner declared. "You ought to be above such prejudice, Arno. It speaks ill for your humanity that you insist upon dragging poor old John to Hohenwald." ”

“ She spoke to him courteously, and when he asked her her name she said she was called Göndul. Then they talked together. She questioned him about his mighty deeds and he told her everything frankly and asked her whether she knew of any king to match himself in valour and hardihood, renown and prowess. She replied that she knew of one who did not fall short of him—one who had twenty kings subject to him just as Hethin had; and she added that his name was Högni and that he lived in the North, in Denmark.
"I know one thing," said Hethin; "we have got to prove which of us is the more valiant." ”

“ There's a woman in the scrape, and not the madcap Celia either!" the man exclaimed, in amazement, after having lighted a couple of matches, which the rain, to be sure, instantly extinguished, but not before he had perceived that it was not Celia who addressed him.
"A lady! a stranger!" he muttered to himself. "She must not be left all night in the quarry. The devil take the Hohenwalds; but I must let the folks at Grünhagen know what has happened."
For one moment he stood reflecting, and then, without heeding the Finanzrath's entreaties, he turned away and vanished in the darkness. ”

“ I have been transferred to A----, and, as there is scarcely any society in the tiresome little town, I beguile my leisure by visits to the neighbouring gentry. I am at present enjoying the Amtsrath Friese's hospitality, in Grünhagen, and was just taking a woodland walk. But you, madame,--how happens it that I meet you here? You must be living either at Grünhagen or in Castle Hohenwald. Oh, I see, I see. My cousin, the old Freiherr, has overcome his antipathy to your charming sex and has admitted into his household a governess for my lovely cousin Celia. You are this governess of course. ”

“ Freiherr Werner had transferred it to the Poseneck's near relative, the Amtsrath, whom he detested for his Prussian extraction.
Like master like man! All the inmates of the castle and the inhabitants of the village of Hohenwald hated everything relating to Grünhagen. The Hohenwald servants, from the steward and inspector to the commonest stable-boy, held the "Grünhagen Prussians" for an odious race of men, and, as they had received strict orders from the Freiherr not to be led into any disputes, avoided all association with the Grünhagen people. ”

“ The gang of rovers stood in absolute silence, listening intently.
"How old is that kid?" asked Hondo when the letter was done.
"Eleven," said Fritz.
"And where is she at?"
"At dose rock quarries—working. Ach, mein Gott—little Lena, she speak of drowning. I do not know if she vill do it, but if she shall I schwear I vill dot Peter Hildesmuller shoot mit a gun."
"You Dutchers," said Hondo Bill, his voice swelling with fine contempt, "make me plenty tired. Hirin' out your kids to work when they ought to be playin' dolls in the sand. You're a hell of a sect of people. ”

“ You know Frau von Sorr detests you. Will she not instantly return to Hohenwald when she finds that she has been deceived?"
"That is my affair, my dear friend," Count Repuin replied, with an ugly smile. "There are means to tame the wildest bird, and of those means I shall avail myself."
What means, the Finanzrath asked himself, would the Russian use to bend the young wife's will, to conquer her hatred of him? Brutal force spoke in the Count's words and gleamed in his treacherous eyes. And to such villainy he, Werner von Hohenwald, was lending himself! ”

“ Hogni said, "Do according to thy will; merrily will I abide whatso thou writ do against me; and thou shalt see that my heart is not adrad, for hard matters have I made trial of ere now, and all things that may try a man was I fain to bear, whiles yet I was unhurt; but now sorely am I hurt, and thou alone henceforth will bear mastery in our dealings together."
Then spake a counsellor of King Atli, "Better rede I see thereto; take we the thrall Hjalli, and give respite to Hogni; for this thrall is made to die, since the longer he lives the less worth shall he be." ”

“ The Inspector's embarrassment was increased by the reproof conveyed in the young Baron's words; and it suddenly seemed to him that the reasons for which he had undertaken his walk through the forest were mere folly. "I beg pardon, Herr Baron," he said, meekly, "I should not have left my work with the men, but I saw Herr von Poseneck again, and I wanted to know what the young gentleman is after on our land. Something must be wrong when a Poseneck tramps about our forest!"
"You are dreaming. Inspector!" Arno rejoined, harshly. "What could bring Herr von Poseneck to Hohenwald? ”

“ Hondo Bill parleyed aside briefly with his band, and then they seized Fritz and conveyed him off the road to one side. Here they bound him fast to a tree with a couple of lariats. His team they tied to another tree near by.
“We ain’t going to hurt you bad,” said Hondo reassuringly. ‘‘’Twon’t hurt you to be tied up for a while. We will now pass you the time of day, as it is up to us to depart. Ausgespielt—nixcumrous, Dutchy. Don’t get any more impatience.”
Fritz heard a great squeaking of saddles as the men mounted their horses. ”

“ The Finanzrath sprang up in a rage, but his brother, without waiting for a reply, left the room. "Insulting!" Werner exclaimed, quite beside himself.
"Not one word against Arno!" the old Freiherr said, sternly. "Every word that he uttered found its echo in my soul, and I thank God that there is at least one Hohenwald who retains within him a sense of right and honour and a genuine love of his country. Not a word, Werner! I will hear no more of your disgraceful schemes; not now, at all events. I must be more myself than I am now when I speak with you again. Now leave me; I wish to be alone." ”

“ And the Draiglin' Hogney came in, and asked him the three questions, and he gave the same three answers, and received three hairs—one to throw over his horse, one to throw over his hound, and one to throw over his hawk; then the Hogney killed him, just as he had killed his brother.
Time passed, and the youngest son, finding that his two elder brothers never returned, asked his father for a horse, a hawk, and a hound, in order that he might go and look for them. And the poor old man, who was feeling very desolate in his old age, gladly gave them to him. ”

“ Moreover I own, a piece or two went to the Kourds as backsheesh, that they might let our cattle alone."
"Indeed, father," Jack said again, "I wish you would take it all; it is yours by right."
Hohannes shook his head. "And what, then, if you should want to go home?" he said; "or if any way for your doing it should open? Moreover we dare not, for our lives, let any one know we have so much gold in the house. The Kourds would come down from the mountains and rob us, or the Turks would take it from us on [Pg 38] pretence of arrears of taxes. It is best for me to keep it here for you. ”

“ I never can walk to the castle. Can the carriage not be righted?"
"We will see." Arno examined the carriage, but found the axle broken. "This is bad," he said. "We cannot, then, drive poor old John to Hohenwald, but we can make a litter comfortable with the carriage cushions, and you, my men, can carry him to the village."
The men assented eagerly, but the Finanzrath was not satisfied. "I should suppose," he said, peevishly, "that I might be attended to before John. I cannot possibly walk. When the men have carried me to Hohenwald they can return and fetch John." ”

“ Castle Hohenwald was surrounded for him by an insurmountable wall; there was no possible way by which he could approach Celia's father. Did not the Finanzrath whenever he came to Grünhagen loudly lament that it was impossible for him to invite Herr von Poseneck to return his visit? The attempt, too, which Count Styrum had made to influence Arno had been without result. Arno was as inaccessible as his father. Castle Hohenwald was closed against Kurt.
Yet he would not resign hope; he was resolved that his life should not be ruined by a silly prejudice. ”

“ Since when have you become the champion of the Posenecks, little one?"
"It seems to me unjust to abuse the absent, who do not deserve it, and cannot defend themselves!"
"How do you know what the Posenecks deserve? Would you send your old father to school? Truly, it seems high time that your education were looked after, child."
Celia's cheek grew more crimson still, but she made no reply to her father's reproof. Arno had listened to the brief war of words with a smile. "Positively," he said, "I shall henceforth believe in signs and wonders. A Hohenwald partakes of the hospitality of Grünhagen ”

“ When he emerged from the railway-carriage he looked eagerly about for the Count, whom he did not immediately perceive, but who greeted him upon his approach with the air of a master addressing his slave.
Sorr, however, interrupted the imperious commands of the Russian with, "One moment, Herr Count; I have most important news for both Baron von Hohenwald and yourself, which will doubtless affect your plans. We are betrayed! You as well as the Herr Finanzrath are not safe for a moment. Your arrest is already ordered ”

“ For a while Werner von Hohenwald sat silent as if in utter despair. At last a red spark of light appeared in the distance; again he shouted as loud as he could for help, and to his joy the voice that answered him was Arno's.
In a few minutes Arno, followed by several men with lighted torches, reached the overturned carriage. "I was afraid," he said, "that John would miss the road, and so came out to meet you with torches; not soon enough, unfortunately, to prevent an accident. But why do you sit up there on the carriage, Werner? Why don't you jump down?" ”