CHAPTER VII.
HOW TOMASO HELPED HIS FRIENDS IN TROUBLE--THE SKIRMISH IN THEPRISON--MATHIAS THE BRIGAND.
Tomaso, before the day was over, changed his garments and abandonedcrutch and stick, and when he turned out with flaxen-dyed hair andspectacles, and presented himself at the other great entrance of theprison, as a German traveller who desired to go over the place, no onecould possibly have imagined it to be the old cripple whose paternallamentation had so touched the doorkeeper's heart.
"You have got here a notorious brigand, as I have heard tell," said thevisitor.
"We have, sir," was the governor's reply; "a very remarkable man he is,too."
"Ah, so I have heard," said the visitor. "He is called Demetrius, Ibelieve?"
"Nay; his name is Mathias."
The visitor looked surprised at this information.
"Mathias--Mathias!" he repeated to himself. "I was misinformed, then. Icertainly thought that his name was Demetrius."
The governor smiled.
"You may be right, all the same," said he.
"How so?"
"Why, Mathias is but his avowed name; he may be known by a dozendifferent _aliases_."
"Is it possible?" ejaculated the sham German traveller.
"Indeed it is. These robbers are mostly adepts at disguise. Would youlike to see this Mathias?" demanded the governor, courteously.
"Vastly."
"Well, sir, I'll only warn you of one thing."
"Indeed! What is it?"
"A disappointment awaits you in this."
"How so?"
"Instead of seeing a ferocious fellow, such as you might expect,Mathias is really a very pleasant and innocent-looking man."
The governor of the prison then led the visitors through the long stonecorridors of the place where Mathias was confined.
They stopped before a door of great thickness, heavily barred, andstudded with iron bolts and nails.
The governor tapped at a small grated trap in the door, and it waspulled aside.
At the grating a broad-shouldered fellow appeared, who touched his capat the visitors.
"So that is Mathias," said the German gentleman.
"No, no," said the governor; "that is the gaoler who is shut up withhim."
"What for?"
"So that he might be watched night and day; the authorities have doomedhim to--"
"To what?"
"To death," replied the governor, in a low but impressive voice.
"He is young."
"In years, yes," answered the governor, "but old in crime. This man hasbeen guilty of nearly every crime under the sun--brigandage is one ofhis least offences. His last exploit, however, is the worst."
"What is that?"
"Murder."
"Murder!"
And the German traveller looked inexpressibly shocked.
"Murder is a capital crime in every land."
"And rightly too," said the visitor, "rightly, too. But, sir, excuse mycuriosity--"
"Ask all you will," returned the governor.
"This man had, I was told, a bold, dashing fellow to second him in allhis exploits."
"An Italian?"
"No."
"An Englishman?"
"No, no, sir, you mistake; I mean a Greek--a handsome, dashingfellow--a great favourite with the ladies--brave and daring."
"And how is this Apollo called?"
"Tomaso."
The governor burst into a loud fit of laughter at this,
"You are altogether mistaken about that brigand--that Tomaso. He is ascrubby and ill-favoured scamp--a sneaking, crawling rascal, capable ofall the villany of his master, but not possessed of his courage."
Had the governor been looking at the visitor's face just then, he mighthave had his suspicions aroused.
The sham German philanthropist glared ferociously as this descriptionwas given.
The prisoner, who was seated at a rough deal table at the further endof the cell, here arose at the gaoler's order, and came to the window.
A single glance sufficed to show that a very noticeable change hadtaken place in the appearance of Mathias.
His face was pale and haggard, and the whole of one side of it, theeye, cheek bone, and forehead were bruised.
This was the mark that Jefferson had set upon him.
This was the bold American's only vengeance for the deathblow which thebrigand had dealt upon his faithful friend and companion Magog Brand.
Jefferson's right arm came down like a steam hammer, and any man whohad felt its full force as the scoundrel Mathias had did not forget itvery readily.
Such a desperate shaking had it given Mathias that he had not yetrecovered.
The bold, defiant bearing of the man was gone, and he looked ten yearsolder than when Tomaso and he had last met.
It struck the visitor at once.
"Dear, dear me," exclaimed the latter, "is it possible that this can bethe redoubtable Mathias?"
"It is he," said the governor, "yet scarcely so gay as is his wont, eh,Mathias?"
The prisoner shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
"Laugh on, your excellency," he said, rather bitterly, "it is your turnnow."
"Now!"
"Aye, now. It may not always be."
"Why, surely you never think of getting out of this?"
"Indeed, I think of nothing else morning, noon, and night."
The governor gave a sharp glance about.
He looked toward the gaoler.
Now the gaoler was a huge fellow, over six feet high and broad inproportion, one who could have tackled Toro himself, as far as weightand sheer brute strength went.
"Your excellency," replied Mathias, "when I leave this place, my exitwill be due to no violence. Bad as I am, I am not altogether what theywould make out."
"Poor Mathias!" said the governor ironically, "one would almost thinkthat murder was not his line of business."
"Your excellency," said the prison, drawing near to the grated window,"I repent sincerely of that poor little gentleman's death; it was noassassin's stab in the dark, but a most unfortunate blow in a fight,remember."
"Bravo! Mathias! bravo!" ejaculated the visitor.
The prisoner looked up.
A strange expression flitted across his face.
Mathias was an adept in the art of dissimulation, and his face wasschooled to tell neither more nor less than he wished.
"Now, your excellency," said the visitor, "this rascal appearsstrangely self-possessed."
"He does."
"What does it mean?"
"Brag."
"Humph!"
"Ah, you do not know him, sir, as well as I do."
"Perhaps not; but it might just be possible that he is in league withsome of his comrades outside."
The governor smiled incredulously.
"Impossible."
"What if that scoundrel, Tomaso, of whom we were speaking, should be atwork?"
The prisoner's eyes glistened at this word.
A slight flash of intelligence passed between the prisoner and thevisitor.
It was but momentary, and so slight as to be utterly unobserved byeither the gaoler or the governor.
"And if such could be the case, sir, what could he possibly do, eh?What on earth, that's what I ask."
"There's no saying."
"Indeed you're right."
"Only he ought to be well guarded when you change him from one prisonto another, or--"
"Stop, stop, my dear sir, why change him? He will never leave thisplace alive," said the governor.
"Never?"
"Never!"
"But surely you don't keep your prisoners all confined in thesestifling places?"
"We do, though."
"And never let them breathe the air? Why, it is torture."
"They do breathe the air. At noon every day they are allowed to walkfor an hour in the prison yard."
"At noon?"
"At noon."<
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The visitor fixed his eyes strangely upon the prisoner.
"Very good; if I may be allowed to trespass again, I should like to seehow this fellow bears himself in the yard amongst his fellow-criminals."
"By all means."
"I'll come, then, at noon."
* * * * *
At noon next day the German traveller was as good as his word.
The governor, full of his wonted courtesy, accompanied him to the yard,where all the prisoners were walking round two and two.
Some of the more desperate men were fastened by a single handcuff tothe wrist of another man--a warder.
Of this category was the brigand Mathias.
His companion was a huge fellow, who topped him by a head andshoulders, and their wrists were linked securely together by astrong--if slender--pair of handcuffs.
The visitor's countenance fell when he observed this.
It upset all his plans at one fell swoop.
However, he did not utterly despair, but made an effort to get over thedifficulty.
"Your excellency," said he, "this is indeed cruel."
"What," demanded the governor, "fastening them to the gaoler?"
"Yes."
"I only order it in special cases, such as that of Mathias."
"He is then very dangerous?"
"Well, I scarcely believe that, only such precautions are theestablished rules."
"I regret that."
"Why?"
"Partly on the score of humanity," was the reply.
"Ah, you would be too tender-hearted," said the governor.
"No. But I also regret it because I hoped to see the brigand more likehe appears when not under restraint. I suppose you would not like toset him free?"
The governor shook his head.
"That is against custom, and I should really not like to do it."
The visitor reflected a moment as they walked on.
He could not abandon his scheme now that he had gone so far.
The effort should be made all the same.
They walked up to the porter's lodge beside the gates, where an eagercrowd had assembled for a glimpse of the prisoners.
"And do you open those gates to admit the prisoners?" asked the visitorinnocently.
"No, sir," replied the governor; "this little side door is all we open.Now watch how it is done. This bar, which is like a lever, stops thedoor, and renders it immovable, now--hah!"
The fallacy of his words was shown ere they were fairly uttered.
The visitor whistled in a very peculiar way.
And there was a sudden silent rush at the door in question.
The bar, immovable as it was, fell before that desperate onslaught, andthe door was carried off its hinges.
The ragged and miserable-looking mob turned like magic into a crowd ofarmed desperadoes. And in they pressed.
On they came, tearing down the gates and dashing every thing beforethem.
The poor gatekeeper was trampled under foot, and the warders andgovernor got hustled and cruelly handled.
The mob of armed invaders made for Mathias and his companion, and borethem bodily outside the gates.
The brigands then wrenched off the handcuffs.
Once outside the gates, a horse was found waiting.
Suddenly there was a loud cry heard.
"The soldiers--the soldiers!"
The whole of the guard-room had turned out.
A charge was made, and it looked as though the rescue of Mathias werelikely to cost them dear.
Cries of defiance and rage were heard.
Just when matters were at the worst for the robber band, a deafeningexplosion was heard, that shook the solid building to its base.
The soldiers turned back and re-formed at their officer's command.
Then it was that the brigands, headed by the sham visitor, Tomaso,found their chance.
Up till now, the retreat had been cut off by the unpleasant appearanceof the military.
"There goes the powder keg under the water gate," cried Tomaso. "Losenot a moment. Follow me."
A desperate rush was made, and the brigands got clear of the prison.
The soldiers were divided into two lots, one party being sent inpursuit, the other remaining to guard the prison.
The roll-call of the prisoners made this discovery.
"How many prisoners have escaped?" inquired the governor.
"Three absentees, your excellency," said the head man of the prison."One is an Italian, calling himself Toro; another an Englishman,calling himself Hunston; and the third, the brigand chief Mathias."