by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VI.
THE VILLA SPINOLA
After taking a room and seeing his portmanteau carried up there, Frankwent out for an hour and looked at the shops in the principal street;then he returned to the hotel, and stood at the entrance until his threefriends arrived. He had again loaded his pistols and placed them in hispocket, and had engaged an open vehicle that was now standing at thedoor.
"Let us start at once," he said; "gentlemen, if you will take yourplaces with me, I will explain the matter to you as we drive along."
They took their seats.
"Drive to the Strada de Livourno," he said to the coachman; "I will tellyou the house when we get there. Now, my friends," he went on, as thecarriage started, "I will explain what may seem singular to you. Mymother has sent out a letter which contained, I may say, a considerablesum to be used by the general for the purposes of this expedition. Ithad been intended that I should bring it; but when we discovered thatthere was a spy in the house, and that our cabinets had been ransackedand our conversation overheard, it was thought almost certain that anattempt would be made to rob me of the letter on the way. Finally, aftermuch discussion, it was agreed to send the letter by post to the care ofthe Countess of Mongolfiere, who is an old friend of Signora Forli, mygrandmother; she was convinced that I should be watched from the momentI landed, and advised me not to go to see the countess until I couldtake three of Garibaldi's followers with me, and that after accompanyingme to her house, they should drive with me to the Villa Spinola. Now youwill understand why I have asked you to give up a portion of your firstday to come to aid me."
"I think your friends were very right in giving you the advice,Percival. After the two attempts that have been made--I will not say tokill you--but to search you and your luggage, it is certain thatFrancisco's agents must have obtained information that you were carryingmoney, and perhaps documents of importance, and that they would not taketheir eyes off you until either they had gained their object ordiscovered that you had handed the parcel over to the general. I have nodoubt that they are following you now in some vehicle or other."
On arrival at the villa of the Countess of Mongolfiere, Frank sent inhis card, and on this being taken in, was at once invited to enter. Thecountess was a lady of about the same age as Signora Forli.
"I am glad to see you, Signor Percival," she said. "I have received theletter from Madame Forli with its enclosure."
"I have brought you another note from her, madame la contessa," he said,presenting it, "as a proof of my identity; for the matter is ofimportance, as you may well suppose, from the manner in which thisletter was sent to you, instead of by the post direct to me."
"So I supposed, signor. Signora Forli said that it concerned the good ofthe cause; and the manner in which she begged me to lock it up at onceon my receiving it, was sufficient to show that it either containedmoney for the cause or secrets that the agents of the foes of freedomwould be glad to discover. The mere fact that she gave no particularsconvinced me that she considered it best that I should be in the dark,so that, should the letter fall into other hands, I could say truly thatI had not expected its arrival, and knew nothing whatever of the matterto which it related."
"It contains drafts for a considerable sum of money, signora, for theuse of Garibaldi. The general, being ignorant of my father's death, hadwritten to him, asking him to join him, and recalling his promise toassist with money. My father, unfortunately, could no longer givepersonal service, but as he had for years put by a certain portion ofhis income for this purpose, my mother had it in her power to send thismoney. It was intended that I should bring it; but we found that all ourdoings were watched, and that, therefore, there was considerable dangerof my being followed and robbed upon the way; and Signora Forli thensuggested that she should send it direct to you, as possibly a letteraddressed to me here might fall into the hands of the Neapolitanagents."
"It was a very good plan," the countess said. "And have you beenmolested on the way?"
"Attempts have been made on two occasions--once in the train on my wayto Marseilles, and once on board the steamer coming here."
"You must be careful even now, signor. If you are watched as closely asit would seem, you may be robbed before you can hand this letter over tothe general. There is nothing at which these men will hesitate in orderto carry out their instructions. You might be arrested in the streetsby two or three men disguised as policemen, and carried away andconfined in some lonely place; you might be accused of a theft and givenin charge on some trumped-up accusation, in order that your luggage andevery article belonging to you might be thoroughly searched, before youcould prove your entire innocence. I can quite understand that, when youfirst started, the object was simply to search for any papers you mightbe carrying, and if this could be done without violence it would be soeffected, although, if murder was necessary, they would not havehesitated at it; and even now, guessing as they will that you have comehere, directly you have landed, to obtain some important document, theywould, if they could find an opportunity, do anything to obtain it,before you can deliver it to Garibaldi."
"I quite feel that, signora, and have three young Garibaldian officerswaiting in a carriage below for me, and they will drive with me to theVilla Spinola."
"That will make you perfectly safe," and she then rose from her seat,opened a secret drawer in an antique cabinet, and handed him the letter."Now, Signor Percival," she said, "this has been a visit of business,but I hope that when you have this charge off your mind you will, as thegrandson of my old friend Signora Forli, come often to see me while youare here. I am always at home in the evening, and it will be a greatpleasure to me to hear more of her than she tells me in her letters."
Thanking the countess for her invitation, and saying that he shouldcertainly avail himself of it, he went down and again took his place inthe carriage.
"Have you found all as you wished?" Sarto asked.
"Yes; I have the letter in my pocket."
"That is good news. Knowing what these secret agents are able toaccomplish, I did not feel at all sure that they might not in some wayhave learned how the money was to be sent, and have managed to interceptthe letter."
Having given instructions to the driver where to go, they chatted asthey drove along of the proposed expedition.
"None of us know yet," Rubini said, "whether it is against the PapalStates or Naples. We all received the telegram we had for some time beenhoping for, with the simple word 'Come.' However, it matters not a bitto us whether we first free the Pope's dominions or Francisco's."
"Will you go in with me to see Garibaldi?"
"No; we have already received orders that, until we are called upon, itis best that we should remain quietly with our families. Were a largenumber of persons to pay visits to him, the authorities would know thatthe time was close at hand when he intended to start on an expedition ofsome kind. The mere fact that we have come here to stay for a time withour friends is natural enough; but we may be sure that everything thatpasses at the villa is closely watched. It is known, I have no doubt,that an expedition is intended, and Cavour may wait to prevent it fromstarting, until the last moment; therefore I should say that it isimportant that no one should know on what date Garibaldi intends to sailuntil the hour actually arrives. How we are to get ships to carry us,how many are going, and how we are to obtain arms, are matters thatdon't concern us. We are quite content to wait until word comes to us,'Be at such a place, at such an hour.'"
"I would give something to know which among the men we are passing arethose who have been on your track," Sarto remarked. "It would be such asatisfaction to laugh in their faces and to shout, 'Have you had apleasant journey?' or, 'We congratulate you,' or something of thatsort."
"They feel sore enough without that," Maffio said. "They areunscrupulous villains; but to do them justice, they are shrewd ones, andwork their hardest for their employers, and it is not very often thatthey fail; and you have a right to congratulate yoursel
f that for oncethey have been foiled. It is certainly a feather in your cap, Percival,that you and your friends have succeeded in outwitting them."
They had now left the city and were driving along the coast road towardsthe Villa Spinola. There were only a few people on the road.
"You see, it is well that we came in force," Sarto remarked; "for hadyou been alone, the carriage might very well have been stopped, andyourself seized and carried off, without there being any one to noticethe affair. I have no doubt that even now there is a party somewherebehind a wall or a hedge, in waiting for you; they would probably besent here as soon as you landed, and would not be recalled, as, untilyou left the house of the countess, all hope that you would drive alongthis road alone would not be at an end."
"We shall call and see you this evening, and we all hope that you willuse our homes as your own while you are staying here," Rubini said. "Wecan introduce you to numbers of our friends, all of our way of thinking,and will do our best to make your stay at Genoa as pleasant as possible.It may be some time before all is ready for a start, and until that isthe case you will have nothing to do, and certainly Garibaldi will notwant visitors."
"I shall be pleased indeed to avail myself of your kindness," Franksaid. "It will be a great pleasure to me to see something of Italiansociety, and I should find time hang very heavy on my hands at thehotel, where there are, I know, very few visitors staying at present."
"That is the villa," Rubini said, pointing to a large house surroundedby a high wall.
"Will you take my vehicle back?"
"No; we shall walk. I should advise you to keep the carriage, howeverlong you may stay here. These fellows will be very sore at finding theyhave failed, after all the trouble they have taken in the matter. Idon't say that they will be watching for you; but if they should comeacross you in a lonely spot, I think it is very probable that they wouldnot hesitate to get even with you with the stab of a knife between yourshoulders."
Alighting, Frank rang at the bell. His friends stood chatting with himuntil a man, after looking through a grill in the gate, came out; andthen, feeling that their mission was safely accomplished, they startedfor their walk back in high spirits.
"I do not know whether the general is in at present, signor," the mansaid, as Frank was about to enter. "May I ask your business?"
"If you will take this card to him, I am sure that he will see me."
In three minutes the gates were opened. Frank entered on foot, and wouldhave left the carriage outside; but the porter said,--
"It had better come in, signor; carriages standing at a gate attractattention."
Garibaldi was seated in a room with two men, who were, as Frankafterwards learned, Bixio and Crispi. Garibaldi had risen from his seatand was looking inquiringly at the door as the lad entered.
"Welcome, Signor Percival! You have come, doubtless, on the part of mydear friend your father. Has he not come with you? I trust that he isbut delayed."
"I come on the part of my mother, general," Frank replied. "I lost myfather more than a year ago."
"And I had not heard of it!" the general exclaimed. "Alas! alas! for myfriend and comrade; this is indeed a heavy blow to me. I looked forwardso much to seeing him. Oh, how many friends have I lost in the past twoyears! And so your mother has sent you to me?"
"She bade me give you this letter, general."
The letter was not a long one. Mrs. Percival briefly told how herhusband had set out to endeavour to find where Professor Forli wasimprisoned, how he had been attacked and killed by brigands, and howshe, knowing what her husband's wishes would have been, had sent herson. "He is young," she said, "but not so young as many of those whohave fought under you. He is as eager and enthusiastic in the cause ofItalian liberty as was his father, having, as you may well suppose,learned the tale from my husband and myself, and my father and mother.As you will see, he speaks Italian as well as English, and I pray you,for the sake of my husband, to take him on your staff; or, if thatcannot be, he will shoulder a musket and march with you. He does notcome empty-handed. My husband has for years laid by a certain amount tobe used in the good cause when the time came. He will tell you where itis to be obtained, and how. I wish you success with all my heart, andif the prayers of two widowed women will avail aught, you will havethem daily. It is my only son I give you, and a widow cannot give more.The money is from my husband; the boy is from me."
Garibaldi's eyes filled with tears as he read the letter.
"Your mother is a noble woman indeed! How could she be otherwise, as thedaughter of Forli and the wife of my brave comrade? Surely you will bemost welcome to me, young man--welcome if you came only as your mother'sgift to Italy."
Frank opened the envelope, which was directed to himself, and took outfive slips of thin paper.
"These are bills, general," he said, handing them to him. "They aredrawn upon a bank at Genoa, and are each for two thousand pounds."
"Francs, you must mean, surely?" Garibaldi said.
"No, general; they are English pounds."
Exclamations of surprise and gratification broke from Garibaldi and histwo companions.
"This is a royal gift!" the former cried. "My brave comrade is not hereto help us; but he has sent us a wonderful proof of his love for thecause. It is noble!--it is superb! This will indeed be aid to us," hewent on, holding out his two hands to Frank. "We are strong in men, weare strong in brave hearts, but money is scarce with us, though manyhave given all that they possess. I know, lad, how you English object tobe embraced,--were it not for that, I would take you to my heart; but ahand-clasp will say as much."
The two officers were almost as much excited as Garibaldi himself, forthis gift would remove one of the obstacles that lay in their way. Bymeans of a subscription contributed in small amounts by patriots allover Italy for the purchase of arms, twelve thousand good muskets hadbeen bought and stored at Milan, together with ammunition. When, a fewdays before Frank's arrival, Crispi, with some other of Garibaldi'sofficers, had gone to fetch them, they found that Cavour had placed aguard of royal troops over the magazine, with orders that nothingwhatever was to be taken out. Heavy though the blow had been, theGaribaldian agents were already at work buying arms, but with no hope ofcollecting more than sufficient for the comparatively small force thatwould sail for Sicily. Even this addition of funds would not avail tosupply that deficiency, as it was very difficult for the general'sagents, closely watched as they now were, to purchase military weapons.
For some time the conversation turned entirely upon the steps to betaken, now that the war-chest had been so unexpectedly replenished. ThenGaribaldi put aside the papers on which he had been taking notes, andsaid,--
"Enough for the time, Signor Percival. I shall, of course, write myselfto your good mother, expressing my heartfelt thanks, and telling herthat if success attends us, she can be happy in the knowledge that itwill be largely due to her. You will, naturally, yourself write home andtell her what joy her gift occasioned, how much it added to our hopesand relieved us of our difficulties. Tell her that I have appointed youas a lieutenant on my staff, and that I shall trust you as I trustedyour noble father."
"I thank you greatly, general; I hope to prove myself worthy of yourconfidence."
"And now, sir, will you advise me as to your own movements?"
"I have put up at the Hotel Europa."
"At present it will be best for you to stay there. We are anxious thatthere should be no appearance of any gathering here, and my friends willnot assemble until all the preparations are completed. How did you comeover here?"
"I drove, General; the carriage is waiting for me."
"Then it must wait for awhile; or, better still, it can carry my twofriends here to the town, where they have much to do. In future it willbe best for you to walk over; 'tis but a short distance, and I know thatyou English are good walkers. Of course, the authorities know that I amhere; there is no concealment about that. As long as they do not see anysigns of pr
eparations for a movement, they will leave me alone. Asprobably your prolonged stay at the hotel may excite curiosity, it iswell that you should visit the galleries and palaces, and takeexcursions in the neighbourhood. It may be as well, too, that you shouldmention casually at the _table-d'hote_ that you know me, as your fatherwas a great friend of mine when we were together in South America, whichwill account for your paying visits here frequently. We know that we arebeing closely looked after by government spies, and must therefore omitno precaution. Now I wish you to take lunch with me, as I have manyquestions to ask you. I had heard, of course, of Signor Forli beingmissing, and of the correspondence between your government and that ofNaples on the subject."
Frank went out and told the driver that he should not be returning forsome time, but that two gentlemen would go back in the carriage in a fewminutes. "As I took the carriage from the hotel, the hire will, ofcourse, be charged in my bill; but here are a couple of francs foryourself."
In two or three minutes the Italian officers came out, and thankingFrank for the accommodation, drove away, while the lad himselfre-entered the villa.
"The meal is ready," Garibaldi said, when he entered the room where hehad left him. "It is very pleasant to me to turn my thoughts for oncefrom the subject of my expedition."
The meal was a very simple one, though the general had ordered one ortwo extra dishes in honour of his guest.
"Now," he said, when they had sat down, and the servant had retired,"tell me first of all about the loss of my dear friend."
Frank related the story of his father going out to search for SignorForli, and how he had been captured and killed by brigands. As thegeneral listened, his kindly face grew stern and hard, but he did notspeak until Frank brought the tale to an end.
"_Cospetto!_" he exclaimed, "he may have been killed by brigands, but Idoubt not the Neapolitan government were at the bottom of it. I wouldwager any money that they hired the men of the mountains to disembarrassthem of one who was exposing the horrible secrets of their prisons. Andyou say that his body could not be found. Was the search made for itsimply by the carabinieri?"
"It was made by them, sir, but the secretary of our legation accompaniedthem, and wrote that, although he had himself searched everywhere in theneighbourhood of the hut, he could find no traces whatever of a newlymade grave. I may say that Signora Forli still believes that my fatherwas not killed, but was, like her husband, carried off to somedungeon."
"It is possible," the general said, "though I would not encourage you tohope; the ways of these people are so dark that there is no fathomingthem. Since his grave could not be found, I regard it as certain that hewas not buried there, for his captors would not have troubled to carryhis body far, but would have dug a hole close by and thrown the earthover the body; and in that case, when the band returned, one or theother of the men who did the work would most likely have carelesslypointed to the spot, and said, 'There lies the Englishman.' But though Ibelieve that he did not die there, he might have died elsewhere. Hiswounds were evidently very severe, and they may have proved fatal afterhe was carried off by those who took him away from the brigands; if theywere not fatal, he may have been murdered afterwards."
"Signora Forli thought, general, that it was more probable that he hadbeen taken to one of the prisons, and that, just as they hunted down thebrigands in order that none of these should have power to betray them,so they might have preferred putting him in prison to having himmurdered, because in the latter case the men employed might go to theBritish legation and accept a large sum for betraying the secret."
"It may have been so," the general said; "and if we succeed, perhaps youwill find both your father and grandfather. But do not cherish falsehopes. Even if both were once in the Neapolitan dungeons, they maybefore this have succumbed to their treatment there. You have mournedthem as dead; do not buoy yourself up with hope, for if you did so, thechances are all in favour of your suffering a terrible disappointment."
"That is just what my mother impressed upon me, general. She said thatfrom the first she had never allowed herself to think of my father asin prison; and it was not until she received your letter, and thoughtthat at last there was really a chance that the inmost cells of all theprisons would be opened, she would admit a possibility of my fatherstill being alive."
"At least, she and you will have the consolation that if you do not findthose dear to you, you will have aided in restoring fathers and husbandsto hundreds of other grieving wives, mothers, and children."
"May I ask how large a force you are likely to take over with you,general?"
"If the government had remained neutral and not interfered with me, wecould have found men for the twelve thousand muskets they have seized;as it is, we have been obliged to write letters to all parts of Italy,stopping the volunteers who were preparing to join us. Some of theseletters will doubtless fall into the hands of the authorities, and wehave therefore so worded them that it may be supposed that theexpedition has been altogether given up. A thousand men is the utmostthat we can hope to embark secretly. These will be all picked men andgallant fellows who fought under me in the Alps, or men who have, likemyself, been for years living as exiles. These thousand I have chosen,every one; they will die fighting, and will never turn their back to anenemy. Would that I had them all safely landed in Sicily, and hadsurmounted all the difficulties and dangers that are caused by thehostility of the government, which will, however, be glad enough to takeadvantage of our work."
"My mother thought that you would probably form the Neapolitan States,if you conquered them, into a republic."
"That was my dream when I was fighting at Rome but I see now that it isimpossible. I am for a republic on principle, but I must take what I canget. I cannot conceal from myself that my experience of Mazzini andother enthusiasts is that they are not practical, they commit terribleblunders, and the matter ends in a dictatorship, as has twice been thecase in France. Mazzini would sacrifice the practical to gain his ideal.I care nothing for theory--I want to see Italy free; and this can onlybe done under Victor Emmanuel. He is popular and energetic. His fathersuffered for his devotion to the cause of freedom. The son is a strongerman; but at present he is forced by Cavour and the other temporisers whosurround him to curb his own impetuosity.
"I don't like Cavour--he gave up my birthplace, Nice, to France; but, atthe same time, I respect his great ability, and am sure that as soon ashe feels the opportunity has come, he will grasp it, and the king willnot hesitate to accept the possessions that I hope to gain for him. WithVictor Emmanuel King of Northern and Southern Italy, the rest is simple.Then Italy can afford to wait its opportunity for driving the Austriansfrom Venezia, and becoming, for the first time since the days of theRomans, a united kingdom. When I hoist my banner in Sicily, it will beas a soldier of Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy."
Frank was pleased to hear this. His father, though an advanced liberalin matters connected with Italy, was a strong conservative at home; andFrank had naturally imbibed his ideas, which were that the people of aconstitutional monarchy, like that under which he lived, were in everyrespect freer and better governed than under any republic, still more sothan they could be under a republic constituted according to thetheories of Mazzini or those of the authors of the first and secondFrench revolutions.
"By the way, you must have found it a terrible responsibility carryingso much money with you."
"I did not carry it, general. The bills were, with the letter to you,sent by post to the care of the Countess of Mongolfiere, who was afriend of Signora Forli."
"That was hazardous, too," the general said, shaking his head. "To trustten thousand pounds to the post was a terrible risk."
"It was the best way that we could think of, general. The courier whowas with my father when he was killed came over to see my mother at herrequest, as she wished to hear every detail about my father's last days.He professed a great fear of returning to Italy, as, having givenevidence against the brigands, he would
be a marked man."
"There is no doubt that is so," Garibaldi put in. "His life would nothave been worth a day's purchase. These scoundrels have their agents inevery town, men who keep them informed as to persons travelling, whom itwould be worth while to capture, and of any movements of the carabinieriin their direction."
"My mother, therefore, took him into her service," Frank went on; "buttwo days before I started, she discovered that he had been acting as aspy, had been opening her desk, examining her letters, and listening atthe door. She and Signora Forli had no doubt whatever that he had madehimself acquainted with the contents of your letter, and believed that Iwas going to carry this money to you."
"The villains!" Garibaldi exclaimed, bringing his clenched hand downupon the table: "it is just what they would do. I know that many of myfriends enjoyed your father's hospitality; and no doubt it would be amarked house, and the secret police of Francisco would keep an eye overwhat was being done there, and would, if possible, get one of theiragents into it. This man, who had no doubt acted as a spy over yourfather when he was in Italy, would be naturally chosen for the work; andhis story and pretence of fear served admirably to get him installedthere. If he had learned that you were about to start to bring me tenthousand pounds, and perhaps papers of importance, it would have beennothing short of a miracle had you arrived safely with them."
"That was what Signora Forli and my mother thought, sir. They wereafraid to send the letter directed to me at the hotel where I was tostop, as the man would doubtless telegraph to agents out at Genoa, andthey would get possession of it; so instead of doing so, they enclosedit in a letter to the countess. I posted it myself, and there wastherefore no chance of the letter being lost, except by pure accident."
"But if the spy did not know that you had sent the letter off by post,it would render your journey no less hazardous than if you had taken itwith you."
"My mother and the Signora were both convinced that an attempt would bemade to search me and my baggage on the way, but they did not think thatthey would try to take my life; for after what had happened to mygrandfather and father, there would be no question that my murder wasthe work of Neapolitan agents, and a storm of indignation would thus becaused."
Garibaldi nodded. "No doubt they were right, and if the scoundrels couldhave got possession of what you carried without injury to you they wouldhave done so. But they would have stuck at nothing in order to carry outtheir object; and had you caught them while they were engaged insearching your clothes or baggage, they would not have hesitated to usetheir knives. I cannot now understand how you have come through withouttheir having meddled with you. It might have been done when you wereasleep in an hotel, or they might have drugged you in a railwaycarriage, or in your cabin on board the steamer coming here. The secretpolice of Naples is the only well-organised department in the kingdom.They have agents in London, Paris, and other cities, and from the momentyou left your mother's house you must have been watched. Are you surethat, although you may not know it, you have not been searched?"
"I am quite sure, sir. We were so certain I should be watched that Imade no attempt to get off secretly, but started by the train I hadintended to travel by. I did not stop a night at an hotel all the way,and made a point of getting into railway carriages that contained otherpassengers. It happened, however, that at Vienne the last of those withme alighted. It was one o'clock in the morning when we left the station,and I felt sure that if an attempt was made, it would be before westopped, especially as a man looked into the carriage just before wewere starting, and then went away. I had a loaded pistol in each pocketand a rug over me, and I sat in the corner pretending to be asleep. Anhour later a man came and looked in; another joined him. The door waspartly opened, and an arm with an extended pistol pointed at me, but Ifelt perfectly sure that he had no intention of firing unless I woke.
"Half a minute later his comrade entered the carriage. He had an openknife in one hand, and a cloth in the other; but as he came in I shothim; he fell back through the carriage door. Whether in doing so heknocked his comrade down or not, I cannot say; but, at any rate, I sawno more of him. The man whom I shot had dropped what he held in his handon to the floor. It was as I had expected--a handkerchief, soaked withchloroform. It was seven when I arrived at Marseilles. Fortunately, asteamer left at twelve. When I went on board I made the acquaintance ofthree young men, who were, I guessed, on the same errand as myself;their names were Rubini, Sarto, and Maffio. We soon became veryfriendly, and I found that my conjectures were correct. This being so, Itold them what had happened; and as there was no one besides myself inmy cabin, Rubini most kindly laid a mattress across the door and sleptthere. As I had not had a wink of sleep the night before, and only dozeda little the one before that, I should have had great difficulty inkeeping awake. In the course of the night some one did attempt to openthe door; but he was unable to do so on account of the mattress placedthere, and we heard no more of him. I asked these gentlemen to come tothe Hotel Europa at eleven, for I was really afraid to come along theroad here by myself. They drove with me to the house of the countess,and then here, so that I was well guarded."
"I know them all well," Garibaldi said. "Rubini is a lieutenant in theGenoese company of my cacciatori; the others are in his company. Youhave done well indeed, my friend; it needed courage to start on such ajourney, knowing that Francisco's police were on your track. You have aright to feel proud that your vigilance and quickness defeated theirattempt. It is well that you met Rubini and his friends; for as thespies would know directly you entered the palazzo of the countess thatyou had gone there for some special purpose, probably to obtaindocuments sent to her, I doubt whether you would have been able to comesafely alone, even if the road had been fairly well thronged."
"I should not have gone to the countess's unless I had an escort,general. My intention was to come to you in the first place, and askthat three of your officers might accompany me to get the letter; but,of course, after having found friends who would act as my escort, therewas no occasion to do so. I suppose there is no fear of my being furtherannoyed?"
"I should think not," Garibaldi said; "now they know that your missionhas been carried out, you will cease to be of interest to them. But atthe same time, it would be well to be cautious. If the fellow you shotwas the leader of those charged to prevent the supplies and lettercoming to me, we may consider that there is an end of the affair. Hisdeath will give a step to some one, and they will owe you no ill will.If, however, the other man was the chief of the party, he woulddoubtless owe you a grudge. He is sure to be blamed for having been thusbaffled by a lad; whereas had he succeeded, he would have received theapproval of his superiors. I think, therefore, if I were you, I shouldabstain from going out after nightfall, unless with a companion, or ifyou do so, keep in the great thoroughfares and avoid quiet streets. Thathabit of carrying a loaded pistol in your pocket has proved a valuableone, and I should advise you to continue it so long as you are here. Ifyou see Rubini, tell him that I thank him for the aid he and his friendsrendered you. He and the others have all been instructed not to comehere until they receive a communication that the time for action hasarrived. My followers send me their addresses as soon as they reachGenoa, so that I can summon them when they are needed. It would never dofor numbers of men to present themselves here. The authorities knowperfectly well that I am intending to make an expedition to Sicily; butas long as they see no signs of activity, and their spies tell them thatonly some half-dozen of my friends frequent this villa, they may becontent to abstain from interference with me; indeed, I do not thinkthat in any case they would venture to prevent my sailing, unless theyreceive urgent remonstrances from Austria or France. Were suchremonstrances made, they would now be able to reply that, so far as theycan learn, I am remaining here quietly, and am only visited by a fewprivate friends."