The boy rushed down-stairs, meeting in the entry the man-servant and
Trautchen, who had jumped hastily out of bed, throwing on an under-
petticoat, and was now trying, with trembling hands, to unlock the door.
The man pushed her aside, and as soon as the door creaked on its hinges,
Adrian darted out and ran, as if in a race, down the street to the
commissioner's. Arriving before any other messenger, he pressed through
the open door into the dining-hall and called breathlessly to the men,
who were holding a council over their wine:

"The Spaniards are here!"

The gentlemen hastily rose from their seats. One wanted to rush to the
citadel, another to the town-hall and, in the excitement of the moment,
no sensible reflection was made. Peter Van der Werff alone maintained
his composure and, after Allertssohn's messenger had appeared and
reported that the captain and his men were on the way to Leyderdorp, the
burgomaster pointed out that the leaders' care should now be devoted to
the people who had come to the fair. He and Van Hout undertook to
provide for them, and Adrian was soon standing with his father and the
city clerk among the crowds of people, who had been roused from sleep by
the wailing iron voice from the Tower or Pancratius.




CHAPTER XIX.

Adrian's activity for this night was not yet over, for his father did not
prevent his accompanying him to the town-hall. There he directed him to