For a few minutes he paused
to consider, and as he reflected, so did his anger cool down, and
he decided that it would be sufficient to recover his relic without
having recourse to violence. So he called out in a loud voice:--

"Mynheer Poots, I know that you can hear me. Give me back what you
have taken, and I will do you no hurt; but if you will not, you must
take the consequence, for your life shall pay the forfeit before I
leave this spot." This speech was indeed very plainly heard by Mynheer Poots, but the
little miser had recovered from his fright, and, thinking himself
secure, could not make up his mind to surrender the relic without a
struggle; so the doctor answered not, hoping that the patience of
Philip would be exhausted, and that by some arrangement, such as
the sacrifice of a few guilders, no small matter to one so needy as
Philip, he would be able to secure what he was satisfied would sell at
a high price. Vanderdecken, finding that no answer was returned, indulged in strong
invective, and then decided upon measures certainly in themselves by
no means undecided. There was part of a small stack of dry fodder standing not far from
the house, and under the wall a pile of wood for firing. With these
Vanderdecken resolved upon setting fire to the house, and thus, if he
did not gain his relic, he would at least obtain ample revenge. He
brought several armfuls of fodder and laid them at the door of the
house, and upon that he piled the fagots and logs of wood, until the
door was quite concealed by them. He then procured a light from the
steel, flint, and tinder, which every Dutchman carries in his pocket,
and very soon he had fanned the pile into a flame. The smoke ascended
in columns up to the rafters of the roof while the fire raged below. The door was ignited, and was adding to the fury of the flames, and
Philip shouted with joy at the success of his attempt. "Now, miserable despoiler of the dead--now, wretched thief, now you
shall feel my vengeance," cried Philip, with a loud voice. "If you
remain within, you perish in the flames; if you attempt to come out
you shall die by my hands. Do you hear, Mynheer Poots--do you hear?" Hardly had Philip concluded this address when the window of the upper
floor furthest from the burning door was thrown open. "Ay,--you come now to beg and to entreat; but no--no," cried
Philip--who stopped as he beheld at the window what seemed to be an
apparition, for, instead of the wretched little miser, he beheld
one of the loveliest forms Nature ever deigned to mould--an angelic
creature, of about sixteen or seventeen, who appeared calm and
resolute in the midst of the danger by which she was threatened. Her
long black hair was braided and twined round her beautifully-formed
head; her eyes were large, intensely dark, yet soft; her forehead high
and white, her chin dimpled, her ruby lips arched and delicately
fine, her nose small and straight. A lovelier face could not be well
imagined; it reminded you of what the best of painters have sometimes,
in their more fortunate moments, succeeded in embodying, when they
would represent a beauteous saint. And as the flames wreathed and the
smoke burst out in columns and swept past the window, so might she
have reminded you in her calmness of demeanour of some martyr at the
stake. "What wouldst thou, violent young man? Why are the inmates of this
house to suffer death by your means?" said the maiden, with composure. For a few seconds Philip gazed, and could make no reply; then the
thought seized him that, in his vengeance, he was about to sacrifice
so much loveliness. He forgot everything but her danger, and seizing
one of the large poles which he had brought to feed the flame, he
threw off and scattered in every direction the burning masses, until
nothing was left which could hurt the building but the ignited door
itself; and this, which as yet--for it was of thick oak plank--had not
suffered very material injury, he soon reduced, by beating it, with
clods of earth, to a smoking and harmless state. During these active
measures on the part of Philip, the young maiden watched him in
silence. "All is safe now, young lady," said Philip. "God forgive me that I
should have risked a life so precious. I thought but to wreak my
vengeance upon Mynheer Poots." "And what cause can Mynheer Poots have given for such dreadful
vengeance?" replied the maiden calmly. "What cause, young lady? He came to my house--despoiled the dead--took
from my mother's corpse a relic beyond price." "Despoiled the dead!--he surely cannot--you must wrong him, young
sir." "No, no. It is the fact, lady,--and that relic--forgive me--but that
relic I must have. You know not what depends upon it." "Wait, young sir," replied the maiden; "I will soon return." Philip waited several minutes, lost in thought and admiration: so fair
a creature in the house of Mynheer Poots! Who could she be? While thus
ruminating, he was accosted by the silver voice of the object of his
reveries, who, leaning out of the window, held in her hand the black
ribbon to which was attached the article so dearly coveted. "Here is your relic, sir," said the young female; "I regret much that
my father should have done a deed which well might justify your anger:
but here it is," continued she, dropping it down on the ground by
Philip; "and now you may depart." "Your father, maiden! can he be your _father_?" said Philip,
forgetting to take up the relic which lay at his feet. She would have retired from the window without reply, but Philip spoke
again--

"Stop, lady, stop one moment, until I beg your forgiveness for my
wild, foolish act. I swear by this sacred relic," continued he, taking
it from the ground and raising it to his lips, "that had I known that
any unoffending person had been in this house, I would not have done
the deed, and much do I rejoice that no harm hath happened. But there
is still danger, lady; the door must be unbarred, and the jambs, which
still are glowing, be extinguished, or the house may yet be burnt. Fear not for your father, maiden, for had he done me a thousand times
more wrong, you will protect each hair upon his head. He knows me well
enough to know I keep my word. Allow me to repair the injury I have
occasioned, and then I will depart." "No, no; don't trust him," said Mynheer Poots, from within the
chamber. "Yes, he may be trusted," replied the daughter; "and his services are
much needed, for what could a poor weak girl like me, and a still
weaker father, do in this strait? Open the door, and let the house be
made secure." The maiden then addressed Philip--"He shall open the
door, sir, and I will thank you for your kind service. I trust
entirely to your promise." "I never yet was known to break my word, maiden," replied Philip; "but
let him be quick, for the flames are bursting out again." The door was opened by the trembling hands of Mynheer Poots, who then
made a hasty retreat upstairs.