"I shall reveal myself to her Ladyship, and to her will state the
object of my coming."

"Your object is plain enough. You are some tatterdemalion of the
forest come to beg the life of your lover, who hangs to-morrow, or I am
a heathen Saracen."

"I do beseech you, tell the Countess that a miserable woman craves
permission to speak with her."

What success might have attended her petition is uncertain, but the
problem was solved by the appearance of the Countess herself on the
terrace above them, which ran the length of the castle on its western
side. The lady leaned over the parapet and watched with evident
curiosity the strange scene in the courtyard below, the captain and his
men in a ring around the maiden of the forest, who occupying the centre
of the circle, peered now in one face, now in another, as if searching
for some trace of sympathy in the stolid countenances of the warriors
all about her. Before the captain could reply, his lady addressed him.

"Whom have you there, Conrad?"

It seemed as if the unready captain would get no word said, for again
before he had made answer the girl spoke to the Countess.

"I do implore your Ladyship to grant me speech with you."

The Countess looked down doubtfully upon the supplicant, evidently
prejudiced by her rags and wildly straying hair. The captain cleared
his throat and opened his mouth, but the girl eagerly forestalled him.