Rosa, on leaving Cornelius, had fixed on her plan, which wasno other than to restore to Cornelius the stolen tulip, ornever to see him again.
She had seen the despair of the prisoner, and she knew thatit was derived from a double source, and that it wasincurable.
On the one hand, separation became inevitable, -- Gryphushaving at the same time surprised the secret of their loveand of their secret meetings.
On the other hand, all the hopes on the fulfilment of whichCornelius van Baerle had rested his ambition for the lastseven years were now crushed.
Rosa was one of those women who are dejected by trifles, butwho in great emergencies are supplied by the misfortuneitself with the energy for combating or with the resourcesfor remedying it.
She went to her room, and cast a last glance about her tosee whether she had not been mistaken, and whether the tulipwas not stowed away in some corner where it had escaped hernotice. But she sought in vain, the tulip was still missing;the tulip was indeed stolen.
Rosa made up a little parcel of things indispensable for ajourney; took her three hundred guilders, -- that is to say,all her fortune, -- fetched the third bulb from among herlace, where she had laid it up, and carefully hid it in herbosom; after which she locked her door twice to disguise herflight as long as possible, and, leaving the prison by thesame door which an hour before had let out Boxtel, she wentto a stable-keeper to hire a carriage.
The man had only a two-wheel chaise, and this was thevehicle which Boxtel had hired since last evening, and inwhich he was now driving along the road to Delft; for theroad from Loewestein to Haarlem, owing to the many canals,rivers, and rivulets intersecting the country, isexceedingly circuitous.
Not being able to procure a vehicle, Rosa was obliged totake a horse, with which the stable-keeper readily intrustedher, knowing her to be the daughter of the jailer of thefortress.
Rosa hoped to overtake her messenger, a kind-hearted andhonest lad, whom she would take with her, and who might atthe same time serve her as a guide and a protector.
And in fact she had not proceeded more than a league beforeshe saw him hastening along one of the side paths of a verypretty road by the river. Setting her horse off at a canter,she soon came up with him.
The honest lad was not aware of the important character ofhis message; nevertheless, he used as much speed as if hehad known it; and in less than an hour he had already gone aleague and a half.
Rosa took from him the note, which had now become useless,and explained to him what she wanted him to do for her. Theboatman placed himself entirely at her disposal, promisingto keep pace with the horse if Rosa would allow him to takehold of either the croup or the bridle of her horse. The twotravellers had been on their way for five hours, and mademore than eight leagues, and yet Gryphus had not the leastsuspicion of his daughter having left the fortress.
The jailer, who was of a very spiteful and crueldisposition, chuckled within himself at the idea of havingstruck such terror into his daughter's heart.
But whilst he was congratulating himself on having such anice story to tell to his boon companion, Jacob, that worthywas on his road to Delft; and, thanks to the swiftness ofthe horse, had already the start of Rosa and her companionby four leagues.
And whilst the affectionate father was rejoicing at thethought of his daughter weeping in her room, Rosa was makingthe best of her way towards Haarlem.
Thus the prisoner alone was where Gryphus thought him to be.
Rosa was so little with her father since she took care ofthe tulip, that at his dinner hour, that is to say, attwelve o'clock, he was reminded for the first time by hisappetite that his daughter was fretting rather too long.
He sent one of the under-turnkeys to call her; and, when theman came back to tell him that he had called and sought herin vain, he resolved to go and call her himself.
He first went to her room, but, loud as he knocked, Rosaanswered not.
The locksmith of the fortress was sent for; he opened thedoor, but Gryphus no more found Rosa than she had found thetulip.
At that very moment she entered Rotterdam.
Gryphus therefore had just as little chance of finding herin the kitchen as in her room, and just as little in thegarden as in the kitchen.
The reader may imagine the anger of the jailer when, afterhaving made inquiries about the neighbourhood, he heard thathis daughter had hired a horse, and, like an adventuress,set out on a journey without saying where she was going.
Gryphus again went up in his fury to Van Baerle, abused him,threatened him, knocked all the miserable furniture of hiscell about, and promised him all sorts of misery, evenstarvation and flogging.
Cornelius, without even hearing what his jailer said,allowed himself to be ill-treated, abused, and threatened,remaining all the while sullen, immovable, dead to everyemotion and fear.
After having sought for Rosa in every direction, Gryphuslooked out for Jacob, and, as he could not find him either,he began to suspect from that moment that Jacob had run awaywith her.
The damsel, meanwhile, after having stopped for two hours atRotterdam, had started again on her journey. On that eveningshe slept at Delft, and on the following morning she reachedHaarlem, four hours after Boxtel had arrived there.
Rosa, first of all, caused herself to be led before Mynheervan Systens, the President of the Horticultural Society ofHaarlem.
She found that worthy gentleman in a situation which, to dojustice to our story, we must not pass over in ourdescription.
The President was drawing up a report to the committee ofthe society.
This report was written on large-sized paper, in the finesthandwriting of the President.
Rosa was announced simply as Rosa Gryphus; but as her name,well as it might sound, was unknown to the President, shewas refused admittance.
Rosa, however, was by no means abashed, having vowed in herheart, in pursuing her cause, not to allow herself to be putdown either by refusal, or abuse, or even brutality.
Announce to the President," she said to the servant, "thatI want to speak to him about the black tulip."These words seemed to be an "Open Sesame," for she soonfound herself in the office of the President, Van Systens,who gallantly rose from his chair to meet her.
He was a spare little man, resembling the stem of a flower,his head forming its chalice, and his two limp armsrepresenting the double leaf of the tulip; the resemblancewas rendered complete by his waddling gait which made himeven more like that flower when it bends under a breeze.
Well, miss," he said, "you are coming, I am told, about theaffair of the black tulip."To the President of the Horticultural Society the Tulipanigra was a first-rate power, which, in its character asqueen of the tulips, might send ambassadors.
Yes, sir," answered Rosa; "I come at least to speak of it.""Is it doing well, then?" asked Van Systens, with a smile oftender veneration.
Alas! sir, I don't know," said Rosa.
How is that? could any misfortune have happened to it?""A very great one, sir; yet not to it, but to me.""What?""It has been stolen from me.""Stolen! the black tulip?""Yes, sir.""Do you know the thief?""I have my suspicions, but I must not yet accuse any one.""But the matter may very easily be ascertained.""How is that?""As it has been stolen from you, the thief cannot be faroff.""Why not?""Because I have seen the black tulip only two hours ago.""You have seen the black tulip!" cried Rosa, rushing up toMynheer van Systens.
As I see you, miss.""But where?""Well, with your master, of course.""With my master?""Yes, are you not in the service of Master Isaac Boxtel?""I?""Yes, you.""But for whom do you take me, sir?""And for whom do you take me?""I hope, sir, I take you for what you are, -- that is tosay, for the honorable Mynheer van Systens, Burgomaster ofHaarlem, and President of the Horticultural Society.""And what is it you told me just now?""I told you, sir, that my tulip has been stolen.""Then your tulip is that of Mynheer Boxtel. Well, my child,you express yourself very badly. The tulip has been stolen,not from you, but from Mynheer Boxtel.""I repeat to you, sir, that I do not know who this MynheerBoxtel is, and that I have now heard his name pronounced forthe first time.""You do not know who Mynheer Boxtel is, and you also had ablack tulip?""But is there any other besides mine?" asked Rosa,trembling.
Yes, -- that of Mynheer Boxtel.""How is it?""Black, of course.""Without speck?""Without a single speck, or even point.""And you have this tulip, -- you have it deposited here?""No, but it will be, as it has to be exhibited before thecommittee previous to the prize being awarded.""Oh, sir!" cried Rosa, "this Boxtel -- this Isaac Boxtel --who calls himself the owner of the black tulip ---- ""And who is its owner?""Is he not a very thin man?""Bald?""Yes.""With sunken eyes?""I think he has.""Restless, stooping, and bowlegged?""In truth, you draw Master Boxtel's portrait feature byfeature.""And the tulip, sir? Is it not in a pot of white and blueearthenware, with yellowish flowers in a basket on threesides?""Oh, as to that I am not quite sure; I looked more at theflower than at the pot.""Oh, sir! that's my tulip, which has been stolen from me. Icame here to reclaim it before you and from you.""Oh! oh!" said Van Systens, looking at Rosa. "What! you arehere to claim the tulip of Master Boxtel? Well, I must say,you are cool enough.""Honoured sir," a little put out by this apostrophe, "I donot say that I am coming to claim the tulip of MasterBoxtel, but to reclaim my own.""Yours?""Yes, the one which I have myself planted and nursed.""Well, then, go and find out Master Boxtel, at the WhiteSwan Inn, and you can then settle matters with him; as forme, considering that the cause seems to me as difficult tojudge as that which was brought before King Solomon, andthat I do not pretend to be as wise as he was, I shallcontent myself with making my report, establishing theexistence of the black tulip, and ordering the hundredthousand guilders to be paid to its grower. Good-bye, mychild.""Oh, sir, sir!" said Rosa, imploringly.
Only, my child," continued Van Systens, "as you are youngand pretty, and as there may be still some good in you, I'llgive you some good advice. Be prudent in this matter, for wehave a court of justice and a prison here at Haarlem, and,moreover, we are exceedingly ticklish as far as the honourof our tulips is concerned. Go, my child, go, remember,Master Isaac Boxtel at the White Swan Inn."And Mynheer van Systens, taking up his fine pen, resumed hisreport, which had been interrupted by Rosa's visit.