Leatherface: A Tale of Old Flanders Read online

  He it was who had been in command at Mechlin--entrusted by General deNoircarmes with the hideous task of destroying the stately city--and hehad done it with a will. Overproud of his achievements he had obtainedleave to make personal report of them to the Lieutenant-Governor, andthus it was that on this 2nd day of October, 1572, he was present at thecouncil board, talking with easy grace and no little satisfaction of allthat he had done: of the churches which he had razed to the ground, thehouses which he had sacked, of the men, women and children whom he hadturned out naked and starving into the streets.

  "We laboured hard for three days," he said, "and the troops worked witha will, for there were heavy arrears of pay due to them and we told themto make up those arrears in Mechlin, since they wouldn't get any moneyfrom headquarters. Oh! Mechlin got all that she deserved! Her accursedcitizens can now repent at leisure of their haste in harbouring Orangeand his rebel troops!"

  His voice was deep and mellow and even the guttural Spanish consonantssounded quite soft when he spoke them. Through half-closed lids hisglance swept from time to time over the eager faces around the board,and his slender hands emphasised the hideous narrative with a fewgraceful gestures. He looked just the true type of grand seigneurtelling a tale of mild adventure and of sport, and now and then helaughed displaying his teeth, sharp and white like the fangs of aleopard's cub.

  No one interrupted him, and Councillor Hessels fell gradually--as washis wont--into a gentle doze from which he roused himself now and againin order to murmur drowsily: "To the gallows with them all!"

  Viglius and Hopper and de Berlaymont tried hard to repress a shudder.They were slaves of Spain, these gentlemen of the Low Countries, but notSpanish born, and were not accustomed from earliest childhood tolisten--not only unmoved but with a certain measure of delight--to thesetales of horror. But there was nothing in what don Ramon said of whichthey disapproved. They were--all of them--loyal subjects of the King,and the very thought of rebellion was abhorrent to them.

  But it was passing strange that the Duke of Alva made no comment on theyoung captain's report. There he sat, at the head of the table, silentand moody, with one bony fist clenched above a letter which lay openbeneath his hand, and which bore a large red seal with the royal arms ofSpain impressed upon it. Not a word of praise or blame did he speak.His heavy brows were contracted in a sullen frown, and his protrudingeyes were veiled beneath the drooping lids.

  De Vargas, too, was silent--de Vargas who loved to gloat over such talesas don Ramon had to tell, de Vargas who believed that these rebelliousLow Countries could only be brought into subjection by such acts ofdemoniacal outrage as the Spanish soldiery had just perpetrated in Monsand in Mechlin. He, too, appeared moody to-day, and the story of sickwomen and young children being dragged out of their beds and driven outto perish in the streets while their homes were being pillaged anddevastated, left him taciturn and unmoved.

  Don Ramon made vain pretence not to notice the Lieutenant-Governor'smoodiness, nor yet de Vargas' silence, but those who knew him best--andde Vargas was among these--plainly saw that irritation had seized uponhis nerves. He was talking more volubly, and his voice had lost itssmoothness, whilst the languor of his gestures had given place to sharp,febrile movements of hands and shoulders which he tried vainly todisguise.

  "Our soldiers," he was saying loudly, "did not leave a loaf of bread inthe bakeries, or a bushel of wheat in the stores of Mechlin. The richcitizens we hanged at the rate of twenty a day, and I drew orders forthe confiscation of their estates to the benefit of our Most GraciousKing and suzerain Lord. I tell you we made quick work of all therebels: stone no longer stands on stone in Mechlin to-day: itspatricians are beggars, its citizens are scattered. We have put to thetorture and burned at the stake those who refused to give us their all.A month ago Mechlin was a prosperous city: she gave of her wealth and ofher hospitality to the rebel troops of Orange. To-day she and herchildren have ceased to be. Are you not satisfied?"

  He brought his clenched fist crashing down upon the table: surely a veryunusual loss of restraint in a grandee of Spain: but obviously he foundit more and more difficult to keep his temper under control, and thosedark eyes of his were now fixed with a kind of fierce resentment uponthe impassive face of the Duke.

  Councillor Hessels, only half awake, reiterated with drowsy emphasis:"To the gallows with them! Send them all to the gallows!"

  Still the Duke of Alva was silent and de Vargas did not speak. Yet itwas the Duke himself who had given the order for the destruction ofMechlin: "as a warning to other cities," he had said. And now he sat atthe head of the table sullen, moody and frowning, and don Ramon felt anicy pang of fear gripping him by the throat: the thought that censure ofhis conduct was brewing in the Lieutenant-Governor's mind caused him tolose the last vestige of self-control, for he knew that censure couldhave but one sequel--quick judgment and the headman's axe.

  "Are you not satisfied?" he cried hoarsely. "What more did you expect?What more ought we to have done? What other proof of zeal does KingPhilip ask of me?"

  Thus directly challenged the Duke raised his head and looked the youngman sternly in the face.

  "What you have done, Messire," he said slowly--and the cold glitter inhis steely eyes held in it more real and calculating cruelty than thefeline savagery of the other man, "what you have done is good, but it isnot enough. What use is there in laying low an entire city, when the oneman whose personality holds the whole of this abominable rebelliontogether still remains unscathed? You hanged twenty noted citizens aday in Mechlin, you say," he added with a cynical shrug of theshoulders, "I would gladly see every one of them spared, so long asOrange's head fell on the scaffold."

  "Orange has disbanded his army and has fled almost alone into Holland,"said don Ramon sullenly. "My orders were to punish Mechlin and not torun after the Prince of Orange."

  "The order to bring the Prince of Orange alive or dead to Brussels andto me takes precedence of every other order, as you well know, Messire,"retorted Alva roughly. "We decided on that unanimously at the meeting ofthe Grand Council on the day that I sent Egmont and Horn to the scaffoldand Orange refused to walk into the trap which I had set for him."

  "He always escapes from the traps which are set for him," now broke inde Vargas in his calm, even, expressionless voice. "During the siege ofMons, according to don Frederic's report, no fewer than six surprisenight-attacks--all admirably planned--failed, because Orange appeared tohave received timely warning."

  "Who should know that better than I, senor?" queried don Ramon hotly,"seeing that I led most of those attacks myself--they were splendidlyplanned, our men as silent as ghosts, the night darker than hell. Not aword of the plan was breathed until I gave the order to start. Yetsomeone gave the alarm. We found Orange's camp astir--every time we hadto retire. Who but the devil could have given the warning?"

  "A spy more astute than yourselves," quoth Alva dryly.

  "Nay!" here interposed del Rio blandly, "I am of the same opinion as donRamon de Linea; there is a subtle agency at work which appears to guardthe life of the Prince of Orange. I myself was foiled many a time whenI was on his track--with Ribeiras who wields a dagger in the dark moredeftly than any man I know. I also employed Loronzo, who graduated inVenice in the art of poisons, but invariably the Prince slipped throughour fingers just as if he had been put on his guard by some mysteriousemissary."

  "The loyalists in Flanders," quoth President Viglius under his breath,"declare that the agency which works for the safety of the Prince ofOrange is a supernatural one. They speak of a tall, manlike figurewhose face is hidden by a mask, and who invariably appears whenever thePrince of Orange's life is in danger. Some people call this mysteriousbeing 'Leatherface,' but no one seems actually to have seen him. Itsounds as if he were truly an emissary of the devil."

  And as the President spoke, a strange silence fell around the councilboard: every cheek had become pale, every lip quivered. De Vargas madea qui
ck sign of the Cross over his chest: Alva drew a small medal fromthe inside of his doublet and kissed it devoutly. These men who talkedairily of rapine and of violence perpetrated against innocent people,who gloated over torture and misery which they loved to inflict, wereheld in the cold grip of superstitious fear, and their trembling lipsuttered abject prayers for mercy to the God whom they outraged by everyact of their infamous lives.

  IV

  When the Duke of Alva spoke again, his voice was still unsteady: "Devilor no devil," he said with an attempt at dignified composure, "Hismajesty's latest orders are quite peremptory. He desires the death ofOrange. He will have no more cities destroyed, no more wholesalemassacres until that great object is attained. Pressure has beenbrought to bear upon him: the Emperor, it seems, has spokenauthoritatively, and with no uncertain voice. It seems that thedestruction of Flemish cities is abhorrent to the rest of Europe."

  "Rebel cities!" ejaculated de Berlaymont hotly.

  "Aye! we know well enough that they are rebel cities," quoth Alvafiercely, "but what can we do, when a milk-livered weakling wears theImperial crown? Our gracious King himself dares not disregard theEmperor's protests--and in his last letter to me he commands that weshould hold our hand and neither massacre a population nor destroy atown unless we have proof positive that both are seething withrebellion."

  "Seething with rebellion!" exclaimed don Ramon, "then what ofGhent--which is a very nest of rebels?"

  "Ah!" retorted Alva, "Ghent by the Mass! Seigniors, all of you who knowthat accursed city, bring me proof that she harbours Orange or histroops! Bring me proof that she gives him money! Bring me proof thatplots against our Government are hatched within her walls! I have moralproofs that Orange has been in Ghent lately, that he is levying troopswithin her very walls--I know that he has received promises of supportfrom some of her most influential citizens..."

  "Nay, then, let your Highness but give the order," broke in don Ramononce more, "my soldiers would spend three fruitful days in Ghent."

  "As I pointed out to His Highness yesterday," rejoined de Vargas inmellifluous tones, "we should reduce Ghent to ashes before she hatchesfurther mischief against us. Once a city hath ceased to be, it can nolonger be a source of danger to the State ... and," he added blandly,"there is more money in Ghent than in any other city of Flanders."

  "And more rebellion in one family there than in the whole of thepopulation of Brabant," assented Councillor Arsens. "I have lived inthat accursed city all my life," he continued savagely, "and I say thatGhent ought not to be allowed to exist a day longer than is necessaryfor massing together two or three regiments of unpaid soldiery andturning them loose into the town--just as we did in Mechlin!"

  The others nodded approval

  "And by the Mass..." resumed don Ramon.

  "Enough, Messire," broke in the Duke peremptorily, "who are you, I pray,who are you all to be thus discussing the orders of His Majesty theKing? I have transmitted to you His Majesty's orders just as I receivedthem from Madrid yesterday. It is for you--for us all--to show our zealand devotion at this critical moment in our nation's history, by obeyingblindly, whole-heartedly, those gracious commands. Do we want our Kingto be further embarrassed by a quarrel with the Emperor? And what arethose orders, I ask you? Wise and Christianlike as usual. His Majestydoth not forbid the punishment of rebel cities--No!--all that he asks isthat we deliver Orange unto him--Orange, the arch-traitor--and that infuture we prove conclusively to Europe and to Maximilian that when wepunish a Flemish city we do so with unquestioned justice."

  He paused, and his prominent, heavy-lidded eyes wandered somewhatcontemptuously on the sullen faces around the board.

  "Proofs, seigniors," he said with a light shrug of the shoulders,"proofs are not difficult to obtain. All you want is a good friendinside a city to keep you well informed. The paid spy is notsufficient--oft-times he is clumsy and himself an object of suspicion.Orange has been in Ghent, seigniors; he will go again! He has disbandedhis army, but at his call another will spring up ... in Ghent mayhap ...where he has so many friends ... where money is plentiful and rebellionrife.... We must strike at Ghent before she becomes an open menace..."

  "You'll never strike at Orange," broke in Councillor Arsens obstinately,"while that creature Leatherface is at large."

  "He is said to hail from Ghent," added Viglius with conviction.

  "Then by the Mass, seigniors," interposed Alva fiercely, "the matter iseven more simple than I had supposed, and all this talk and thesemurmurings savour of treason, meseems. Are you fools and dolts toimagine that when His Majesty's orders were known to me, I did not atonce set to work to fulfil them? We want to strike at Ghent, seigniors,and want proofs of her rebellion--His Majesty wants those proofs and hewants the death of Orange. We all desire to raze Ghent to the ground!Then will you give me your close attention, and I will e'en tell you myplans for attaining all these objects and earning the approval of ourgracious King and recognition from the rest of Europe."

  "Then should not don Ramon de Linea retire?" queried President Viglius,"surely His Highness's decision can only be disclosed to members of hiscouncil."

  "Let don Ramon stay," interposed de Vargas with unanswerable authority,even as the young man was preparing to take his leave. "The matter isone that in a measure will concern him, seeing that it involves thedestinies of the city of Ghent and that His Highness is pleased to givehim the command of our troops stationed in that city."

  V

  Don Ramon de Linea glanced up at de Vargas with a look of agreeablesurprise. The command of the troops in Ghent! Of a truth this was newsto him, and happy news indeed. Rumour was current that the Duke ofAlva--Lieutenant-Governor of the Low Countries and Captain-General ofthe forces--was about to visit Ghent, and the captain in command therewould thus be in a position of doing useful work, mayhap of renderingvaluable services, and in any case, of being well before the eyes of theCaptain-General.

  All the young man's elegant, languid manner had come back to him. Hehad had a fright, but nothing more, and commendation--in the shape ofthis important promotion--had allayed all his fears: his being allowedto be present at a deliberation of the Grand Council was also a signalmark of favour granted to him, no doubt in recognition of his zeal andloyalty whilst destroying the noble city of Mechlin for the glory ofKing Philip of Spain.

  He now resumed his seat at the board, selecting with becoming modesty aplace at the bottom of the table and feeling not the least disconcertedby the wrathful, envious looks which President Viglius and one or twoother Netherlanders directed against him.

  "The plan, seigniors, which I have in my mind," resumed the Duke after aslight pause, "could never have come to maturity but for the loyalco-operation of senor Juan de Vargas and of his equally loyal daughter.Let me explain," he continued, seeing the look of astonishment whichspread over most of the faces around the board. "It is necessary, inview of all that we said just now, that I should have a means--a tool Imight say--for the working out of a project which has both the death ofOrange and the punishment of Ghent for its aim. I have told you that Iam morally certain that Orange is operating in Ghent at the presentmoment. Is it likely that he would leave such a storehouse of wealthand rebellion untouched?--heresy is rampant in Ghent and treachery goeshand in hand with it. Our spies unfortunately have been unable toobtain very reliable information: the inhabitants are astute andwary--they hatch their plots with devilish cunning and secrecy.Obviously, therefore, what we want is a loyal worker, an efficient anddevoted servant of the King in the very heart of the civic life of thetown: if only we can get to know what goes on in the intimate familycircles of those townsfolk, I feel sure that we shall get all the proofsthat the King desires of the treachery of Ghent."

  He paused a moment in order to draw breath; absolute silence--thesilence of tense expectation--hung around the council-board. TheNetherlanders hung obsequiously on the tyrant
's lips, del Rio leanedback in his chair--seemingly indifferent--and de Vargas was closelywatching don Ramon de Linea; the young man was trying to appear calmlyinterested, but the restless look in his eyes and a slight tremor of hishand betrayed inward agitation.

  "Some of you reverend seigniors," continued the Duke of Alva afterawhile, in powerful, compelling tones, "will perhaps have guessed bynow, what connection there is in my mind between that vast project whichI have just put before you and the daughter of my loyal coadjutor donJuan de Vargas. I have arranged that she shall marry a man of influenceand position in Ghent, so that she can not only keep me informed of allthe intrigues which are brewing in that city against the Government ofour gracious King, but also become the means whereby we can lure Orangeto his doom, capture that mysterious Leatherface, and then deliver Ghentover to don Ramon's soldiery."

  He struck the table repeatedly with his fist as he spoke: there was nodoubting the power of the man to accomplish what he wanted, as well asthe cruelty and vindictiveness wherewith he would pursue anyone whodared to attempt to thwart him in his projects. No one thought ofinterrupting him. Don Ramon kept his agitation under control as best hecould, for he felt that de Vargas's eyes still watched him closely.

  "A very admirable idea," now murmured Viglius obsequiously.

  As usual on these occasions, it was obvious that he and the otherNetherlanders were mere figureheads at the council-board. Alva wasdirecting, planning, commanding, de Vargas had been the confidant, anddel Rio would always be the ready tool when needed: but Viglius, deBerlaymont, Hessels, and the others, were mere servile listeners, readyto give the approbation which was expected of them and withholding everyword of criticism.