midday
At an early hour next morning the little procession began its journey up the Rhine , his Lordship and the Countess in front ; the six horsemen bringing up the rear . The lady was in a mood of deep dejection ; the regret which Mayence had anticipated as result of imprisonment already enveloped her . It was only too evident that the Archbishop of Cologne was bitterly disappointed , for he rode silently by her side making no attempt at conversation . They rested for several hours during midday , arriving at Caub before the red sun set , and now the Countess saw her pinnacled prison lying like an anchored ship in midstream . At Caub they were met by a bearded , truculent-looking ruffian , who introduced himself to the Archbishop as the Pfalzgraf von Stahleck . `` You take us rather by surprise , Prince of Cologne , '' he said . `` It is true that my overlord , the Archbishop of Mayence , called upon me several days ago while descending the Rhine in his ten-oared barge , and said there was a remote chance that a prisoner might shortly be given into my care .