CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
BELL' DEMONIO.
As we trudged along, I had an opportunity to study to some extent thecharacteristics of the individuals forming my escort, and I may saywithout reserve that a more unprepossessing set of men it has seldombeen my lot to encounter. With the solitary exception of the sergeant,who seemed a gay, careless, good-natured fellow enough, they appeared tobe a thoroughly "bad lot:" low, ruffianly-looking men in their outwardsemblance, and--judging from their conversation, much of which, however,I failed to understand from their liberal use of what is now termed"slang"--utterly given over to the indulgence of the lowest and mostdegrading forms of vice, scoffing at all things pure and holy, andluxuriating in the recital of deeds of all manner of cruelty anddebauchery.
I had heard something of the terribly-brutalising effects of the Reignof Terror, but the conversation of these wretches gave me such a vividinsight of the incredible depths of depravity of which the human mind issometimes capable as I could certainly not otherwise have gained, unlessindeed by associating with the ruffians who gathered daily round theguillotine to insult and exult over the death-agonies of their victims.
It was not to be expected that I should altogether escape the attentionsof wretches such as these, and accordingly my ears were soon assailedwith ribald jests and ruffianly speculations touching the mode and timeof my execution, the manner in which I should bear myself, and so on;but I turned a deaf ear to it all, devoting my entire energies to thedevising of some practicable method of escape, and, as it appeared tothem that I understood nothing of what was said, my tormentors after atime turned their conversation to other matters.
"I expect we shall very soon make another excursion in this direction,"said one.
"Indeed, and for what purpose?" asked another.
"Nay, then, has it not been told thee, Adolphe, that our colonelsuspects one of these Corsican aristocrats of being concerned in thepresent rising of his countrymen, and of plotting with the accursedEnglish for assistance?" remarked the first speaker.
"_Mille bombes_! that it might be so. It would be rare sport to huntthe old rat out of his hole, or, better still, burn him in it. It wouldbe a pleasant change from the dullness of mounting eternal guard,marching and countermarching every day, and all to what purpose? For mypart I am tired of it, and long for a little more of the sport we had indear Paris. Ah! it was worth living for, to see fifty or sixty of theproud aristocrats carted away to the guillotine every day. I doubt ifthere is such a thing as a guillotine in the whole island."
"_Soyez tranquille, mon cher Adolphe_! The machine is not difficult toconstruct. But for real amusement give me such as we had at Ostend,when Davoust shot down with grape 500 men, women, and children under theramparts, to say nothing of those which we sent afloat in the harbour inold and leaky boats which sank with all on board. And, ah, the sportthat it was to chase the people through the streets until they could flyno longer, and then bayonet them! You were there, Antoine, _moncamarade_! you have not forgotten the day?"
"And never shall," responded Antoine, the most ruffianly-looking of thewhole party. "A day or two like that would bring these vile Corsicansto their senses. `Give them plenty of bayonet,' say I. And if you wantreal sport, do as I did: chase the mothers until they drop, then bayonettheir children first, and themselves afterwards. But do not bayonet themothers _too_ soon, or you rob yourself of half your amusement."
"Good! ah, ah! _very_ good indeed!" laughed the wretches.
"But say, Baptiste, _mon cher_, who is this Corsican of whom you werespeaking?"
"He is called Count Lorenzo Paoli," responded Baptiste. "He has a fineplace away yonder among the hills, which, it is said, would make thoserich who could have the plundering of it. And, moreover, he has adaughter--ah! but she is simply divine," and the brute smacked his lipsin a way which made me long to spring at his throat. "_Le cherGuiseppe_--is he not delightful?--says that this boy Englishman haspapers which are thought to be for this rascally Count, and if it be so,_ma foi_! but there will be rare doings at the chateau before long."
It may be imagined what were my feelings on hearing this.
How fervently I blessed the lucky inspiration which prompted me toconceal my bag, and how much more imperative now became the necessitythat I should effect my escape without delay, not only for my own sake,but in order also that I might recover possession of those compromisingpapers, and warn the Count of the fearful danger which threatened him.
There was much more conversation of the kind recorded above, but I willnot revolt the reader's feelings by repeating it; what I have alreadygiven is intended merely to convey an idea of the unparalleledruffianism and brutality which characterised the soldiery of theRepublic at that period.
The way, which was being enlivened with such delectable converse, ledback through the forest which I had already traversed, only we were nowpassing along the road, such as it was. It consisted simply of a pathof varying width, but nowhere very wide, cleared through the trees, theundergrowth of the forest forming a sort of hedge on either side of theway. The branches met overhead, veiling the path in semi-obscurity, andso completely intercepting all but an occasional ray of the sun that theground appeared to be in a perpetual state of dampness, the clayey soilbeing in consequence so much cut up, notwithstanding the small amount oftraffic which seemed to pass over it, that it had become almostimpracticable for foot-passengers. Here and there an old tree-stumpprojected out of the ground, while in other places the stumps had beenremoved without filling in the corresponding hole. These holes were nowfull of water, and as they sometimes occurred in places where there wasa general depression of the ground, flooded by the heavy rain of theprevious night, their presence only became known when one of the partyfloundered in and found himself, if lucky enough to avoid going headover heels, and so securing entire immersion, up to the waist in muddywater of about the consistency of pea-soup. To add still farther to thediscomfort of the journey, the ground was excessively slippery, so that,what with one difficulty and another, we made but very slow progress.
We had reached and become involved in an exceptionally bad spot--aspring apparently rendering the clay so soft that the entire road forabout thirty yards had been worked into a perfect quagmire, into whichwe sank above our knees at every step, the tenacious clay holding ourfeet almost as though they had been in a vice--when, without theslightest warning of any kind, a withering volley of musketry was pouredin upon the devoted band from the bushes on both sides of the road, andwhile the smoke still enveloped us out dashed some thirty or fortyCorsicans, armed, some only with their clubbed muskets, othersflourishing in addition long double-edged knives of a most bloodthirstyappearance.
Every man of us went down before that deadly discharge; some beingkilled outright, while a few, myself among the number, were onlywounded. But the tragedy was soon completed; hampered as we were withthe difficulties of the road, and disabled by our wounds, resistance wasimpossible, and before the smoke of the musketry discharge had clearedaway every Frenchman had received the _coup-de-grace_. I also shouldundoubtedly have received my quietus, had I not had the presence of mindto exclaim in French, just as a stalwart mountaineer was bending over mewith his long glittering blade upraised, that I was an Englishman. Theman hesitated for an instant, and that slight pause saved me. I rapidlyexplained who and what I was, and another individual, apparently theleader of the band, approaching at the moment, I was reprieved until anopportunity could be found for verifying my statement. In the meantime,however, my captors were kind enough to take charge of my watch, mymoney, and one or two other valuables which they found in my pockets.
The bodies of the Frenchmen were rifled with a thoroughness and celeritywhich I could not but admire, their pockets being turned inside-out, andevery article of the slightest value, including their weapons andammunition, appropriated. One individual especially, who was workingaway with his back turned towards me, appeared to possess all thecoolness and dext
erity of a London pick-pocket.
He was certainly not much troubled with squeamishness either; for whileoperating upon the body of the sergeant, he discovered upon one of thefingers a ring, which, being unable to remove, he without hesitationdrew his keen blade across the member, severing it from the body at asingle stroke; he then removed the ring, dropped it coolly into hispouch, and jauntily jerked the dismembered finger in among the shrubs bythe roadside. Then, animated apparently by a sudden frenzy, he plungedhis blade again and again into the lifeless body, his fury increasingwith every stroke, until the uniform was slashed almost to rags,finishing off by drawing his weapon across and across the face, until itwas mutilated beyond all possibility of recognition. He then rose tohis feet with a sigh of satisfaction, while the admiring laughter andjocular remarks of his comrades evinced their high appreciation of theperformance.
Turning round, he faced me just in good time to catch on my features theexpression of sickening disgust with which I had viewed his actions. Athreatening scowl instantly overspread his repulsive features, and,raising his knife, he advanced with such an evident intention of usingit upon me, that three or four of his companions interposed, and withconsiderable difficulty at length succeeded in dissuading him from hispurpose.
It was the traitor Guiseppe.
The booty, such as it was, being secured, the party marched off theground, taking a contrary direction to that pursued by the Frenchmen. Iwas placed in the centre of the band, the leader of which was kindenough to warn me that any attempt at escape would be promptly met by aneffectual application of the knife. It thus appeared that I had onlyescaped from one danger to fall into a second, almost, if not equally,as great. Had my captors been merely insurgents, I should not have feltany very great anxiety; but, though I was not directly addressed, Igathered within the first few minutes of our march that I had falleninto the hands of a party of brigands, and from all that I had heard ofthe unscrupulous character of these gentry, I believed that they wouldnot have the slightest hesitation about murdering me, if the whim seizedthem, merely by way of "divarshin."
My left arm had been broken above the elbow by a musket-shot in thefusillade which had destroyed the Frenchmen, and, dangling helplessly atmy side, gave me exquisite pain, as I stumbled along over the uneven andslippery road. The injury was plainly perceptible, yet no one offeredto bind up the bleeding limb, and of course it was quite impossible forme to do so myself. I might have requested one of my captors to performthe service for me, but a scrutiny of their countenances afforded me solittle encouragement that I decided to suffer on, rather than placemyself in their rough and merciless hands.
On emerging from the wood, we turned off to the left, and, forsaking theroad altogether, made across the moor in the direction of another wood,which entirely clothed the sides to the very summit of a high hill aboutfive miles distant. We were a couple of hours performing the journeyacross the open moor, and another hour was occupied in threading our waythrough the wood, the ground being very rugged and rising steeply allthe while. At length, however, we reached a wide open space along oneside of which a mountain-stream was noisily rushing "in spate," as theysay in Scotland; the surroundings of the place being very similar tothose of the spot where I had quenched my thirst, and bathed on theprevious evening--the principal difference being that here there was nowaterfall. Instead, however, of this being a picturesque solitude, ithad all the bustle and animation of a camp upon a small scale.
As we drew near the place, although there had been no visible sign ofthe proximity of other human beings, signal-whistles had been given andanswered, and I was consequently in a measure prepared for the scenewhich suddenly burst upon us on emerging into the open.
Some twenty or more bell-shaped tents were disposed in a circle on thegreensward, the little tri-coloured bannerets, which in some cases stillfluttered at their apex, seeming to indicate that they had at no verydistant period been French property. In the centre of the circle alarge wood fire was blazing and crackling, with an immense cauldronhanging suspended over it, gipsy fashion, from a tripod.
A man in white cap and apron--he turned out to be a French prisoner--wasstanding over this pot, armed with a long iron ladle with which he keptdiligently stirring up its contents, the savoury steam from which wasgreeted with ejaculations of approval from my hungry captors. Outsidethe doors of some of the tents the muskets of its occupants were piled,the owners of the weapons, for the most part, being scattered about thesward in picturesque groups; some laughing, talking, and smokingtogether, while others were deeply interested in games of cards--playedwith packs so greasy, worn, and thumb-marked, that those who had usedthem a few times would as readily recognise a particular card on seeingits back as they would by looking at its face--while a few, moreindustriously disposed, were diligently cleaning and polishing theirweapons. There must have been quite a hundred men in the campaltogether, counting the detachment which had brought me in, all wearingthe garb of Corsican mountaineers; and a fine, stalwart set of men theywere, almost without exception. Their countenances, however, wore anexpression of reckless, relentless ferocity, which augured ill for anyunfortunate against whom they might fancy they had a grievance, shouldhe chance to fall into their clutches.
My captors were dismissed immediately on our arrival in camp, with theexception of two who mounted guard over me, while their leader entered atent somewhat larger than the rest. We were quickly surrounded by agroup of curious and eager questioners, anxious apparently to learn theresult of the expedition, and to "take stock" of the prisoner--myunlucky self.
The information supplied by my custodians evidently afforded them greatgratification, and though they spoke a patois which was quiteunintelligible to me, the gesticulations which accompanied the closingportion of the narrative, and the shouts of laughter and applause withwhich it was received, showed me that the exploit of the amiableGuiseppe was duly receiving honourable mention.
After an absence of about twenty minutes, the individual whom I havedesignated as the leader of the party which brought me in, issued fromthe tent, and, coming up to where I stood, said, with much greatercourtesy than I had hitherto received,--
"Be good enough to step this way, Signor Englishman, if you please."
I followed him into the tent from which he had just emerged, and foundmyself in the presence of an individual whose appearance differed soentirely from that of the rest of the band, that I could not helpwondering what could possibly have induced her to associate herself withthem.
Start not, reader, at the word _her_--it is no misprint; I actuallyfound myself in the presence of a _woman_. Not such an one, either, asmight be expected to be found--if indeed one would expect to find awoman at all--amid such surroundings; not an old, withered, vindictive-looking hag, repulsive alike in appearance and manner, but a woman,youthful, handsome, and to all appearance gentle, though her demeanourwas somewhat cold and distant.
I set her down at about three or four and twenty years of age. She wasreclining on a pile of rugs when I entered the tent, so I could not justthen judge of her stature, but before the interview terminated she hadrisen to her feet, and I then saw that she was rather above mediumheight. Her skin was dazzling fair, hair and eyes black as night; thebeauty of the latter being rather marred, according to my taste, by acurious glitter, which, but for the calmness of their owner's demeanour,I should have regarded as slightly suggestive of incipient insanity.Her figure, clothed in a picturesque, if somewhat theatrical, adaptationof the costume of her comrades, was somewhat slight, but eminentlygraceful, while her hands and feet would have delighted a sculptor withtheir symmetry. Her voice was especially beautiful, being a full, rich,and powerful contralto.
The midshipmen of the British navy have not as yet rendered themselvesespecially remarkable by their bashfulness, and I was neither muchbetter nor much worse than my neighbours in that respect; but I was sotaken aback when I entered the tent and my eyes met those of itsoccupant, that I could only
bow somewhat awkwardly, blushing like asimpleton the while.
"This, signora, is the prisoner of whom I told you," said my conductorby way of introduction.
"Why, he is a mere boy, Benedetto; and wounded, too! What is the natureof your wound, child?"
"A broken arm, signora," I replied unsteadily; the unexpected accents ofpity in her voice, or the excruciating pain I had been suffering for theprevious four hours, suddenly unnerving me.
"Poor fellow!" she exclaimed. "And it has not been attended to. Howdid it happen?"
"A stray ball struck me this morning, when the party under thisgentleman surprised and shot down the French detachment," I answered.
A gleam of almost fiendish ferocity passed like a lightning-flash acrossthe beautiful face of my fair interrogator at the mention of the French;but it disappeared again in an instant, and, turning to Benedetto, sheasked with just the slightest ring of harshness in her voice,--
"Is the Padre in camp?"
"He is not," was the reply. "He left us yesterday to go into Ajaccio,telling us not to expect him back here until late to-night."
"Then I will turn leech myself," said she. "It will not be for thefirst time. Fetch me a bowl of water from the stream, Benedetto, andbid them bring some wine to the tent."
Benedetto departed upon his mission with alacrity, and my hostess, orwhatever she was, rising to her feet, bared her beautiful, round, whitearms to the elbow, drew from a large chest a supply of lint and oldlinen, and, arming herself from the same depository with a pair ofscissors, proceeded deftly to slit up from wrist to shoulder the leftsleeve of my jacket and shirt. By the time that this was done,Benedetto had returned with a bowl of water in one hand, and a jar ofwine in the other. A small quantity of the latter revived my strengthand steadied my nerves, and then this curious pair went to work to dressmy wound, and set the shattered limb, displaying during the operation anamount of skill on the part of the woman, and of gentleness on that ofthe man, for which I was wholly unprepared.
A set of splints, which had evidently seen previous service, was finallyproduced and applied, and the arm carefully adjusted in a sling, afterwhich food was placed before me; and though I was suffering too muchpain and in too feverish a condition to take much, I soon found myselfin a condition of ease which was comfort itself compared with my stateduring the earlier part of the day.
At the conclusion of my meal I was advised, or I might say _ordered_, tolie down upon the pile of rugs which my strange hostess had vacated; anorder which I obeyed gladly, for fatigue and pain together had produceda feeling of almost utter exhaustion, and, in spite of the anguish of mywound, I soon dropped off into a doze which was a something betweensleeping and waking, in which, while my consciousness never entirelyleft me, my fancy, breaking away from the control of reason, rambled offand indulged in the most extraordinary vagaries. I heard the rush ofthe stream, the murmur of the wind through the branches of the treeswith which the camp was surrounded, the hum of many voices outside thetent, the frequent snatch of song, or peal of laughter, the occasionalangry altercation, and--once or twice--voices speaking in low toneswithin the tent; but all seemed to strike upon my ear as though thesounds reached me from an incredible distance, and then the absurd ideatook possession of me that I was increasing in bulk to such anextraordinary extent, that my recumbent body covered miles of ground.
Then my sight seemed to undergo an equally extraordinary alteration, forit appeared that I was able to see away over the tree-tops down into thetown of Ajaccio; the lines of the streets, the architecture of thehouses, and the very features of the inhabitants being distinguishable.Then I thought I was rising gradually in the air, my powers of visionsteadily increasing at the same time. First I saw the wide stretch ofblue foam-flecked ocean glittering in the sun; then the coast of Francerose above the horizon, Toulon harbour, as might be expected, comingprominently forward in the picture; then the vine-clad hills and fertileplains, the populous cities and picturesque villages of the interiorspread themselves out like a panorama; and finally the northern sea-board, the English Channel dotted here and there with white gleamingsails, the chalk cliffs of old England, the Hampshire downs, and my dearold home with all the loved familiar faces appeared, and I heard themspeaking lovingly of poor absent me.
Then with a suddenness that was absolutely painful all these pleasantfancies passed away, and I imagined myself to be a disembodied spiritfloating helplessly in the midst of immeasurable space, enveloped inmurky clouds and thick darkness, and whirled hither and thither at themercy of a furious wind.
Of course I had no idea of the actual passage of time during this periodof delirium, but it seemed that I had thus been the sport of theelements for countless ages, when the sensation gradually passed away,and I sank into a condition of complete unconsciousness.
When I awoke daylight was just making itself visible through the canvassides of the tent, and overpowering the feeble glimmer of a small lampwhich hung suspended from the pole. I remained motionless for somelittle time after I had opened my eyes, trying to remember where I was,and what had happened, and then wondering in a vague speculative sort ofway who and what was the strange being who appeared to govern thereckless band of outlaws into whose hands I had fallen. I thought atfirst that I was alone in the tent, but a restless movement on my partundeceived me.
A cool soft hand was laid upon my forehead, and the voice of my hostessinquired in gentle tones whether I felt better.
I replied that I did, but complained of thirst, upon which there was afaint rustle, followed by a gurgling sound, and then the beautifulunknown, kneeling beside me, raised my head and presented to my lips abrimming goblet containing a draught of very peculiar taste, but cold asice, and, oh! _so_ refreshing. I drained it to the last drop, and askedfor more, which was given me. I was then advised to lie down, and sleeponce more.
It was evening when I next awoke, and on opening my eyes I felt morebewildered than ever.
I was stretched upon a luxurious bed, the four slender posts of whichwere elaborately carved into the semblance of palm-trees, the gracefulfoliage forming the canopy; the stems and leaves of the trees beingrichly gilt. The bed was draped with heavy silken hangings overlaidwith magnificent lace, and the linen was pure, white, and fresh as newfallen snow. This bed occupied one end of a lofty room of moderatesize.
A massive cornice ran round the room, and was supported by decoratedpilasters, which divided the walls into compartments. A coved ceilingsprang from the cornice, and both ceiling and walls were decorated withpaintings, in distemper, of mythological subjects; the lower portion ofthe wall, however, having what is, I believe, termed a dado, ornamentedwith a diaper pattern, each square of which contained a conventionalrepresentation of a different flower.
The end of the room facing the bed was almost entirely occupied by alarge bay-window draped with heavy curtains of silk and lace, matchingthe hangings of the bed. There was not much furniture in the room; anelegantly-appointed toilet-table, a couch, and one or two chairs beingall that it contained, as far as I could see. One of the casements ofthe window was open, and through it there stole into the room a coolgentle breeze laden with sweet odours which evidently had their originin some contiguous garden. A hilly and heavily-wooded landscape wasvisible through the window and beyond all was a sky glowing with thethousand evanescent beauties of a gorgeous sunset.
I lay for some time enjoying the magnificent spectacle before me, andwondering in a feeble sort of way how much of my present and recentexperiences was real, and how much was due to the delirium through whichI was conscious of having passed. Were my present surroundings, forinstance, real, or was I simply dreaming a vivid dream? And had Ireally been present in the body at that bandit camp, or was it onlyfancy? The present appeared to be a waking reality, and so had theother, yet both experiences seemed so strange that I knew not what tothink.
Upon one point, however, I did not long remain in doubt; whatever elsemight be fancy, the sensati
on of hunger soon forced itself upon mynotice as a most prosaic and undeniable fact, and I very speedilydecided that I ought to make somebody acquainted with it.
I glanced round the room in quest of a hand-bell or some other means ofattracting that somebody's attention, and, seeing nothing of the kind,made a move with the intention of getting out of bed to reconnoitre, butfell back, weak and helpless as an infant. My movement, however, wasnot without result, for there was a sudden stir behind the curtains; ablack-eyed, dark-skinned damsel emerged from her place of concealment,looked in upon me, uttered an ejaculation in what I imagined to beItalian, and forthwith beat a hasty retreat, notwithstanding my feeblehail for her to remain.
She returned, however, in two or three minutes, accompanied by, withoutexception, the most lovely being it has ever been my happy lot tobehold. It was a young girl in her thirteenth year, as I subsequentlylearned, though I should have supposed her to be quite sixteen.
She was of about medium height, and her exquisite figure was alreadyassuming the rounded graces of budding womanhood. Her skin was a clearpale olive with just the faintest and most delicate tinge of colour inthe velvety cheek; her face was a perfect oval, and her smallexquisitely poised head was covered with a wealth of soft, silky,chestnut hair, so dark as to appear black in the shade, but when a rayof light fell upon it, the rippling ringlets revealed the full beauty oftheir deep rich colour. The eyebrows and long drooping lashes were ofthe same colour as her hair, and her eyes--well, they were deep hazel;but it was impossible to ascertain this until after repeatedobservations--they glowed and sparkled to such a bewildering extent.Add to this a mouth "shaped like Cupid's bow" with full rich scarletlips, just parted sufficiently to permit a glimpse of the small regularpearly teeth within, a small round deeply-dimpled chin, an ivory-whiteneck and shoulders, upon which the delicate head was set with fairy-likegrace, and you have as accurate a portrait of this dainty beauty as itis within my poor power to paint.
She approached the side of the bed, and, looking inquiringly in my facefor a moment, said in excellent English,--
"I congratulate you, sir, on your recovery from that terrible fever. Iam glad--oh! so very much, and so will be the count, my father, when hereturns. He has been obliged to go away on important business, and willnot perhaps be back for a day or two. But you are in excellent hands;old Maria, my nurse, is a skilful leech, and Angela here and I have beenable to watch beside you, if we could do nothing more. Now, tell me,are you hungry? You should be, for you have taken nothing exceptMaria's horrid medicine for two whole days, and how long before that Iknow not. Now, however, nurse has something more palatable for you; shesaid you would awake soon and be better, and she has made you someexcellent broth. Shall she bring it up?"
"By all means," I replied. "I am so weak with hunger, or something,that I seem scarcely able to speak. But before we do anything else,allow me to ask where I am, and to whom I am indebted for so muchkindness. The last thing I remember was that I was in camp with--"
"Bell' Demonio," she interrupted. "Yes, she brought you to us two daysago. You were then very ill indeed, and Bell' thought you ought to havebetter nursing than she could give you. It is all quite right; you arein the Chateau Paoli belonging to my father, Count Lorenzo di Paoli; Iam his only daughter Francesca, and this is my foster-sister Angela.Now you must talk no more for the present, but take the broth like agood boy which I shall bring you."
So saying, she tripped away out of the room, returning again in aboutten minutes, accompanied by an ancient and inexpressibly ugly female,who, I was duly informed, was the before-mentioned Maria.
This antique dame felt my pulse, laid her hand upon my brow, put a fewquestions to me through the medium of her young mistress, and finallypronounced that I was very much better, that the fever had left me, andthat all I should be likely henceforth to require would be carefulnursing and judicious nourishment. A sample of the latter, sheintimated, would be found in the substantial basin of broth which wasnow placed before me, and which I was to be sure and consume to the lastdrop.
I had not much difficulty in effecting a satisfactory disposal of themeal, and when I had finished, my wounded arm was carefully dressedafresh, and, to finish off with, I enjoyed as copious an ablution indeliciously cold water as circumstances would permit; after which I wasleft to myself with imperative orders to go to sleep again as soon aspossible. I passed a most comfortable night, sleeping pretty soundlyuntil broad daylight, when I awoke to find myself very much better inevery respect, and, not to weary my readers, I may say in a word thatfrom that time my improvement in health was both rapid and regular.
While partaking of a light breakfast on the morning following my returnto consciousness, my lovely young hostess informed me joyously that herfather had unexpectedly returned very late on the previous night, andthat he proposed paying me an early visit, if I felt strong enough tosee him.
I gladly assented to this proposal, for it suddenly flashed across mymind that though by a series of accidents I had almost without an effortof my own reached the place of my destination, my mission was stillunaccomplished; my bag, containing the all-important despatches, beingliable to discovery by the first visitor to the old hut, if indeed ithad not already been discovered; and the only chance which now remainedof its recovery was to describe as well as I could to the count, theplace of its concealment, and request him to despatch a trusty messengerforthwith in quest of it.
Accordingly, as soon as breakfast was over, my wound dressed, and mytoilet attended to, the dark-eyed Angela was despatched with a messageto the count that I should be happy to see him as early as might beconsistent with his own convenience. A few minutes afterwards hepresented himself, and the ancient Maria, who had mounted guard _over_me in the interval, was dismissed.
Count Lorenzo di Paoli was a fine, stalwart, soldierly-looking figure ofa man, dark-complexioned, and with a noble cast of countenance whichaccorded well with his stately carriage and demeanour.
His features were stamped with an expression of stern gravity andmelancholy, which impressed me greatly at this, my first interview withhim, and which I could readily account for when I learned, later on, thetragical fate of his lovely young wife many years before.
He greeted me with grave cordiality, expressing his deep regret "that Ihad received so rough a welcome to the country which my presence hadbeen intended so signally to benefit, and hoping that he and hishousehold would prove able to efface the unfavourable impression which Imust have received."
Of course I replied in suitable terms to this polite speech, expressedmy gratitude for the extraordinary kindness which I was receiving underhis roof, and then begged him to favour me with particulars of thecircumstances under which I had become an inmate of his establishment.
"Certainly I will," said the count. "Your curiosity is quite natural,and, apart from that, there are doubtless matters connected with yourvisit to this island, which are at present causing you no small share ofanxiety. Before I say more, however, let me give you the assurancethat, excepting for the unfortunate adventure in which you received yourwound, everything has gone right; the despatches and other papers ofwhich you were the bearer have duly reached my hands; I haveaccomplished the first and most difficult part of my mission, and thepapers are now accomplishing theirs. You may rest satisfied thereforethat your difficult and dangerous task has been successfully achieved,and you have now nothing whatever to do but recover your health at yourleisure. I trust it is not necessary for me to say that the longer youare able to remain with us, the greater will be our gratification."
He then proceeded to narrate the circumstances under which I had beenbrought to the chateau; the details of which, however, I shall reservefor the next chapter.