23. XXIII.
Rodolph was speechless with varying emotions.
His own safety; the loss of his friend; the composure
with which Conrade announced his doom,
and prepared himself for it; all oppressed him
with the strangest sensations. Conrade again
spoke:
“I go to prepare. In the adjoining chamber,
agreeable to the directions of Oberfeldt, lies the
knife and the garment which are to prepare me for
his doom. There also are the candidates who
seek to fill my place. From one of these it is for
me to choose. Fear not, my friends, that I shall
choose one unworthy to associate with you. My
pride is, that my successor shall be worthy of me.”
With these words he left the hall. He returned
in a few moments, bringing with him another, of
whose face, though Rodolph knew him not, he did
not seem altogether ignorant. Conrade was robed
for death; and the double-edged knife, with
which Oberfeldt had slain himself, smeared still
with the purple blood of the preceding victim,
was uplifted in his hand.
“This is my successor,” exclaimed Conrade.
“He is named Hans Busacher; you will swear
him upon my body, as you have each of you
sworn upon that of Oberfeldt.”
With these words he prepared to mount the
throne of death, when his eyes met those of Rodolph,
which were full of irrepressible tears.
He whispered in the youth's ears:
“Rodolph, the hour which takes me from life,
gives a double life to you. Busacher tells me
that you are a father. Hurrying by your castle,
the intelligence reached him from a domestic. A
fine son links you now more than ever to Bertha
and to life.”
Without waiting for reply, the intrepid Conrade
leaped upon the table. He gave but a single look
and parting nod to the assembly; then, drawing
the keen edge of the knife with a heavy hand over
his throat, his eyes were fixed, a second after, in
the dim haze and utter insensibility of death.
Silence was among the rest, but a heavy groan
burst from Rodolph, drowned, however, in a burst
of shrieks and yells, from the cells below, which
were appalling. But there was little time allowed
for speculation upon these matters. The uninitiate
now advanced to the table, and each member
crowded round to repeat the terms of the oath to
Hans Busacher which he was required to take.
He did not shrink, though he had gazed upon the
awful event which had just taken place. With
one hand upon the body of Conrade, the fingers
of the other grasped the pen, and signed the instrument;
and Rodolph saw, ever as Busacher
wrote, that the name of Conrade faded from the
body of the instrument above, while that of Busacher,
letter by letter, rose visibly in its place.
The ceremony over, he rushed from the horrible
connexion, and was soon blessed with the sight of
that dear pledge of love, of which Weickhoff, in
the moment of death, had informed him.
