The Hangman's Daughter

“Let’s move on,” Hans Hohenleitner said again. “My head’s more important to me than a handful of guilders. They got André, and that’s not a good sign, may his damned soul rest in peace. But beforehand, let’s have a little fun…” He stooped down to Magdalena. When his pockmarked face appeared right above her mouth, she could smell brandy and beer on his breath. His lips were distorted into a sardonic grin.

“Well, sweetheart, do you feel a little twitching in the loins too?”

Magdalena’s head shot forward. Her forehead hit Hans right on the nose, which exploded like a ripe fruit. Blood spurted forth.

“You damned filthy slut!” Whimpering, the soldier held his nose, then he kicked the girl in the stomach. Magdalena doubled up, trying to choke back the pain. They mustn’t hear her scream. Not yet.

As Hans was about to kick her a second time, the devil restrained him.

“Cut it out. You’re ruining her pretty face. And then we’ll have only half as much fun with her later on, eh? I promise I’ll show you things that are too dirty even for the Prince of Darkness.”

“Braunschweiger, you’re a sick man.” Christoph Holzapfel shook his head in disgust. “All we want is some fun with the girl. I’ve had enough with the bloody mess you left behind in Landsberg.” He turned away. “Just have your fun with her, and then let’s clear out of here.”

Magdalena doubled up, ready for the next blow.

“Not yet,” the devil mumbled. “First let’s get the treasure.”

“Damn it, Braunschweiger!” Hans Hohenleitner said, holding his bleeding nose. “There is no treasure. Can’t you get that inside your sick head?”

The corners of the devil’s mouth started to twitch again, and his head moved in a wide circle, as if he was trying to release some internal tension.

“Don’t you ever call me…sick again, Hohenleitner. Never again…” His eyes darted from one soldier to the next. “And now I’ll tell you something. We’ll stay here one more night, just one more. You take the girl to a safe place, and I’ll get you the treasure by tomorrow morning. You’ll have ducats coming out of your arse. And then we’ll see to the girl, all of us.”

“One more night?” Hans Hohenleitner asked. The devil nodded.

“And how are you going to find that treasure?”

“Leave that to me. You just take care of the girl.”

Christoph Holzapfel stepped closer again.

“And where are we supposed to hide, huh? The place will be crawling with troops tomorrow.”

The devil smiled.

“I know an absolutely safe place. They won’t find you there. And you’ll have a great view.”

He told them the place. Then he set out for the town. Magdalena bit her lips. Tears were streaming over her cheeks. She struggled to turn her face away from the soldiers. They mustn’t see her cry.

The two men were standing near the building site watching the workmen. Some of the bricklayers and carpenters waved to them. Perhaps they were wondering what business the two men had here, but they didn’t harbor the slightest suspicion. The two men there were respected burghers. Presumably they just wanted to see for themselves how the construction was proceeding.

There wasn’t much left to see of the last day’s damage. The walls of the leper house were being raised again, and there was a new roof truss on the walls of the chapel. Two bailiffs were sitting at the edge of the well in the middle of the clearing, killing time by playing dice. The court clerk had ordered the entire area to be guarded day and night, and his orders had been quite precise, as usual. They had nailed together a wooden shelter for the bailiffs, where they could get cover from the rain. There were lanterns hanging on the outer wall of the shelter, and two halberds were leaning next to them.

“And you have really searched the entire place?” the older man was now asking.

The younger man nodded. “Everything. And several times. I really don’t know where else we could look. But it has to be here somewhere!”

The other man shrugged. “Maybe the old miser was lying. Maybe he was delirious on his deathbed. An old man’s feverish ravings, and we fell for them…”

He groaned loudly and held his side. He had to bend over briefly for the pain to subside. Then he turned to walk away.

“One way or another, the matter is over and done with.”

“Over and done with?” The younger man ran after him, grabbed him by the shoulder, and turned him around. “What do you mean, over and done with? We can still keep looking. I haven’t paid the soldiers in full yet. For just a few more guilders they’ll raze everything to the ground here and root about like hogs. The treasure is somewhere here. I…I can feel it!”