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 blood relations—that was valor so rare, so magnificent, so immortal, that it was rewarded, not only with one estate and castle, but with whole cities, manors and princely domains; and even yet the stars of honor and glory are showered upon that heroic family.”

The harper, stiff as a post, was not able to say a word.

“Ah, it seems that you are trembling, and I have hardly begun,” Andrew unmercifully added. “Will you regain your common sense and rid yourself of Countess Felsenburk after knowing that love, unreciprocated love, led to this bloody crime? The master of this castle, Hlohovsky, who was the foremost defender of the Brethren’s Union and also the most sincere professor of their faith, had a bosom friend with whom he shared everything, cup, bed and arms. He was of the family of the Skalnickys, and grew up as a page on the manor of Hlohovsky’s father. They spent their young days happily together, and were inseparable.

“One day, during a tournament, they met