Whilst Cornelius was engaged with his own thoughts, a coachhad driven up to the scaffold. This vehicle was for theprisoner. He was invited to enter it, and he obeyed.

　　His last look was towards the Buytenhof. He hoped to see atthe window the face of Rosa, brightening up again.

　　But the coach was drawn by good horses, who soon carried VanBaerle away from among the shouts which the rabble roared inhonour of the most magnanimous Stadtholder, mixing with it aspice of abuse against the brothers De Witt and the godsonof Cornelius, who had just now been saved from death.

　　This reprieve suggested to the worthy spectators remarkssuch as the following: --"It's very fortunate that we used such speed in havingjustice done to that great villain John, and to that littlerogue Cornelius, otherwise his Highness might have snatchedthem from us, just as he has done this fellow."Among all the spectators whom Van Baerle's execution hadattracted to the Buytenhof, and whom the sudden turn ofaffairs had disagreeably surprised, undoubtedly the one mostdisappointed was a certain respectably dressed burgher, whofrom early morning had made such a good use of his feet andelbows that he at last was separated from the scaffold onlyby the file of soldiers which surrounded it.

　　Many had shown themselves eager to see the perfidious bloodof the guilty Cornelius flow, but not one had shown such akeen anxiety as the individual just alluded to.

　　The most furious had come to the Buytenhof at daybreak, tosecure a better place; but he, outdoing even them, hadpassed the night at the threshold of the prison, fromwhence, as we have already said, he had advanced to the veryforemost rank, unguibus et rostro, -- that is to say,coaxing some, and kicking the others.

　　And when the executioner had conducted the prisoner to thescaffold, the burgher, who had mounted on the stone of thepump the better to see and be seen, made to the executionera sign which meant, --"It's a bargain, isn't it?"The executioner answered by another sign, which was meant tosay, --"Be quiet, it's all right."This burgher was no other than Mynheer Isaac Boxtel, whosince the arrest of Cornelius had come to the Hague to tryif he could not get hold of the three bulbs of the blacktulip.

　　Boxtel had at first tried to gain over Gryphus to hisinterest, but the jailer had not only the snarlingfierceness, but likewise the fidelity, of a dog. He hadtherefore bristled up at Boxtel's hatred, whom he hadsuspected to be a warm friend of the prisoner, makingtrifling inquiries to contrive with the more certainty somemeans of escape for him.

　　Thus to the very first proposals which Boxtel made toGryphus to filch the bulbs which Cornelius van Baerle mustbe supposed to conceal, if not in his breast, at least insome corner of his cell, the surly jailer had only answeredby kicking Mynheer Isaac out, and setting the dog at him.

　　The piece which the mastiff had torn from his hose did notdiscourage Boxtel. He came back to the charge, but this timeGryphus was in bed, feverish, and with a broken arm. Hetherefore was not able to admit the petitioner, who thenaddressed himself to Rosa, offering to buy her a head-dressof pure gold if she would get the bulbs for him. On this,the generous girl, although not yet knowing the value of theobject of the robbery, which was to be so well remunerated,had directed the tempter to the executioner, as the heir ofthe prisoner.

　　In the meanwhile the sentence had been pronounced. ThusIsaac had no more time to bribe any one. He therefore clungto the idea which Rosa had suggested: he went to theexecutioner.

　　Isaac had not the least doubt that Cornelius would die withthe bulbs on his heart.

　　But there were two things which Boxtel did not calculateupon: --Rosa, that is to say, love;William of Orange, that is to say, clemency.

　　But for Rosa and William, the calculations of the enviousneighbour would have been............