She was of about medium height, and her exquisite figure was already assuming the rounded graces of budding womanhood. Her skin was a clear pale olive with just the faintest and most delicate tinge of colour in the velvety cheek; her face was a perfect oval, and her small exquisitely poised head was covered with a wealth of soft, silky, chestnut hair, so dark as to appear black in the shade, but when a ray of light fell upon it, the rippling ringlets revealed the full beauty of their deep rich colour. The eyebrows and long drooping lashes were of the same colour as her hair, and her eyes—well, they were deep hazel; but it was impossible to ascertain this until after repeated observations—they glowed and sparkled to such a bewildering extent. Add to this a mouth "shaped like Cupid's bow" with full rich scarlet lips, just parted sufficiently to permit a glimpse of the small regular pearly teeth within, a small round deeply-dimpled chin, an ivory-white neck and shoulders, upon which the delicate head was set with fairy-like grace, and you have as accurate a portrait of this dainty beauty as it is within my poor power to paint.

She approached the side of the bed, and, looking inquiringly in my face for a moment, said in excellent English,—

"I congratulate you, sir, on your recovery from that terrible fever. I am glad—oh! so very much, and so will be the count, my father, when he returns. He has been obliged to go away on important business, and will not 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 been able to watch beside you, if we could do nothing more. Now, tell me, are you hungry? You should be, for you have taken nothing except Maria's horrid medicine for two whole days, and how long before that I know not. Now, however, nurse has something more palatable for you; she said you would awake soon and be better, and she has made you some excellent 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 much kindness. The last thing I remember was that I was in camp with—"

"Bell' Demonio," she interrupted. "Yes, she brought you to us two days ago. You were then very ill indeed, and Bell' thought you ought to have better nursing than she could give you. It is all quite right; you are in the Chateau Paoli belonging to my father, Count Lorenzo di Paoli; I am 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 a good boy which I shall bring you."

So saying, she tripped away out of the room, returning again in about ten 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 few questions to me through the medium of her young mistress, and finally pronounced that I was very much better, that the fever had left me, and that all I should be likely henceforth to require would be careful nursing and judicious nourishment. A sample of the latter, she intimated, would be found in the substantial basin of broth which was now placed before me, and which I was to be sure and consume to the last drop.

I had not much difficulty in effecting a satisfactory disposal of the meal, and when I had finished, my wounded arm was carefully dressed afresh, and, to finish off with, I enjoyed as copious an ablution in deliciously cold water as circumstances would permit; after which I was left to myself with imperative orders to go to sleep again as soon as possible. I passed a most comfortable night, sleeping pretty soundly until broad daylight, when I awoke to find myself very much better in every respect, and, not to weary my readers, I may say in a word that from that time my improvement in health was both rapid and regular.

While partaking of a light breakfast on the morning following my return to consciousness, my lovely young hostess informed me joyously that her father had unexpectedly returned very late on the previous night, and that he proposed paying me an early visit, if I felt strong enough to see him.

I gladly assented to this proposal, for it suddenly flashed across my mind that though by a series of accidents I had almost without an effort of my own reached the place of my destination, my mission was still unaccomplished; my bag, containing the all-important despatches, being liable to discovery by the first visitor to the old hut, if indeed it had not already been discovered; and the only chance which now remained of its recovery was to describe as well as I could to the count, the place of its concealment, and request him to despatch a trusty messenger forthwith in quest of it.

Accordingly, as soon as breakfast was over, my wound dressed, and my toilet attended to, the dark-eyed Angela was despatched with a message to the count that I should be happy to see him as early as might be consistent with his own convenience. A few minutes afterwards he presented 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 of a man, dark-complexioned, and with a noble cast of countenance which accorded well with his stately carriage and demeanour.

His features were stamped with an expression of stern gravity and melancholy, which impressed me greatly at this, my first interview with him, and which I could readily account for when I learned, later on, the tragical fate of his lovely young wife many years before.

He greeted me with grave cordiality, expressing his deep regret "that I had received so rough a welcome to the country which my presence had been intended so signally to benefit, and hoping that he and his household would prove able to efface the unfavourable impression which I must have received."

Of course I replied in suitable terms to this polite speech, expressed my gratitude for the extraordinary kindness which I was receiving under his roof, and then begged him to favour me with particulars of the circumstances 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 your visit to this island, which are at present causing you no small share of anxiety. Before I say more, however, let me give you the assurance that, excepting for the unfortunate adventure in which you received your wound, everything has gone right; the despatches and other papers of which you were the bearer have duly reached my hands; I have accomplished the first and most difficult part of my mission, and the papers are now accomplishing theirs. You may rest satisfied therefore that your difficult and dangerous task has been successfully achieved, and you have now nothing whatever to do but recover your health at your leisure. I trust it is not necessary for me to say that the longer you are able to remain with us, the greater will be our gratification."

He then proceeded to narrate the circumstances under which I had been brought to the chateau; the details of which, however, I shall reserve for the next chapter.



CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

AT THE CHATEAU PAOLI.

"To-day is Wednesday," commenced the count. "On Sunday evening last, just as it was growing dusk, I was informed that Bell' Demonio requested an audience on a matter of great import. I accordingly descended to the library, into which this extraordinary woman had been shown, and on inquiring the nature of her business she informed me that on the previous Wednesday—a week ago to-day, in fact—a detachment of her band had attacked and destroyed a party of French troops, who had with them as prisoner a young Englishman—yourself of course. She stated that in the attack you had unfortunately been wounded, and your wound having been left unattended to for some hours, fever had set in. She nursed you as well as she could up to Sunday, when finding that no improvement in your condition took place, she grew alarmed, and having learned from your disjointed ravings that you had some business with me, determined to come on to the chateau and request that I would take you under my care. I of course assented at once, and in a couple of hours more you were brought here, strapped to a stretcher—that being the only way in which you could be kept sufficiently quiescent to prevent irreparable injury to your wounded arm.

"Circumstances did not permit of my sending into Ajaccio for a physician, but most fortunately my daughter's old nurse Maria is well skilled in matters relating to medicine and surgery, and her services were at once called into requisition. She soon discovered that the unskilful treatment of your wound was the chief cause of your illness, and with infinite difficulty, for you were very violent, we succeeded in getting the limb reset, and the wound properly attended to. This done, the fever soon yielded to the influence of the medicines which the good soul administered with rigorous punctuality. In the meantime, however, you spoke several times about certain papers concerning which you seemed to be singularly anxious, and at length by patiently listening to your rambling utterances we were enabled to make a shrewd guess as to their whereabouts. I set out in search of them, and discovered your bag, with the papers intact, safely concealed beneath a pile of brushwood in the corner of the old hut on the moor."

"Then I have been ill a whole week?" I exclaimed in considerable dismay.

"Exactly so," replied the count. "How long did you imagine your illness had lasted?"

"About two days," I replied.

"Well, it is just a week," remarked the count. "I hope you are not in any very serious hurry to leave us. In the first place I doubt whether Maria will consent to your rising from your bed for at least another week, and after that you will be some time regaining a sufficiency of strength to enable you to travel, and in the next place I am anxious to cultivate the acquaintance of one who has done so great a service to us Corsicans."

"You are extremely kind, count," said I, "and under other circumstances there is nothing I should like better than to remain your guest as long as I could find a decent excuse for so doing; but my ship, the 'Juno,' has gone to the north end of the island, where we all expect there will be some very smart work shortly, and I would not miss being with her for anything I could name."

"Ha, ha! not very complimentary to us, eh, Francesca?" laughed my host. "This young fire-eating English sailor-officer would rather be where his brains would be ever in jeopardy than enjoying the dolce far niente up here among the hills. What very pugnacious animals you Englishmen are, to be sure!

"But do not fear, my dear boy, nothing will be done there yet for a little while, and, if you lake great care of yourself, it is quite possible you may yet be able to rejoin the 'Juno' in time to get your full share of the hard knocks to be had there, and which will doubtless be plentiful enough to suit even the most impetuous of your countrymen."

"Which do you think will be my quickest way to rejoin my ship, when I am able to do so—by land, or by water?" I inquired.

"By water, I should say, certainly," replied the count. "The entire island is in a perfect ferment, and you would find travelling by land a slow and wearisome as well as a highly dangerous process. We are perfectly quiet here, it is true, our situation being an isolated one, and in the very heart of the hills; but in and about all the towns the French troops literally swarm, while the woods and more secluded villages are haunted either by bands of Corsican insurgents or banditti, both of which would be likely to regard a stranger with as much suspicion as the French; and although you might be able to travel for a few miles to the northward from here in comparative safety, you would find your difficulties increase with every additional mile of your advance. And it is only fair to mention that I cannot assure you of absolute safety even here. I have reason to believe that I am very strongly suspected by the French of being favourable to the insurrectionary movement now in progress—as indeed I may admit to you that I am, my brother being in command of the insurgents—and I feel sure that, could a particle of direct evidence be secured against me, my arrest would instantly be attempted. This I should stoutly resist in the present condition of affairs, as my life would not be worth a moment's purchase were I to fall into the hands of the enemy; but it is very doubtful whether the chateau could hold out beyond an hour or two against a determined attack, every man I could possibly spare being away with my brother."

"Would not your own countrymen help you in such a case?" I inquired.

"There is no help available, except that of the banditti," replied the count, "and, with the single exception of Bell' Demonio's band, I would almost as soon throw open my gates to the French as to them. If Bell' were at hand at such a time, we should be perfectly safe, but one can never tell where she is to be found; her movements are as uncertain as those of the wind, and it is quite probable that she is now at the north end of the island, co-operating with my brother."

"Who is this Bell' Demonio?" I inquired. "Is it possible she can be the beautiful woman I saw in the camp to which I was taken after being wounded, and where I fell ill?"

"The same," answered the count. "She is the leader of the band into whose hands you fell. Poor soul! her story is a very extraordinary as well as a very terrible one; the mere mention of her name is sufficient to excite a Corsican to frenzy at the remembrance of her wrongs.

"Six months ago Isabel di Solzi was one of the happiest girls in all Corsica. Her father, Count Robert di Solzi, a descendant of the most ancient and most distinguished family of all the Corsican nobility, idolised her, and gratified her every whim, no matter how extravagant it might be, and she ruled the chateau as its absolute queen.

"Her lover, as handsome and gallant a young fellow as maiden could wish, doted upon her, as a matter of course, and she returned his love with all the passion of her fiery and enthusiastic nature, and the prospect before her seemed to be one of almost perfect human happiness.

"Her father, fond as he was of her, and reluctant as he was to part with his only daughter, nevertheless viewed the match with unqualified favour; the proposals had been formally made and accepted; the preliminaries were all arranged, and the marriage was fixed for a certain day.

"Time passed on, slowly enough, we may be sure, to the impassioned lovers, and at length the day arrived on the morrow of which the wedding was to take place. Isabel's lover rode out early to the chateau, ostensibly for the purpose of concluding the last trifling arrangements connected with the ceremony, but doubtless it was in reality to enjoy one more interview with his inamorata before the performance of those holy rites which were to make her his for ever. The Count di Solzi was absent when he arrived, and the young couple, anticipating no evil, wandered away from the chateau, and at length in their preoccupation entered a wood through which runs the road from Ajaccio across to the eastern side of the island. They sauntered along this road for a considerable distance, when they heard the tramp of a party of soldiers behind them, and looking back found themselves in the presence of a detachment of French infantry.

"There was a great deal of ill-feeling existing even then between the Corsicans and the French, though it was not of course anything like what it is at present; hostilities had not as yet broken out; the flame which is so fiercely raging to-day throughout the island being then no more than a smouldering spark.

"Still, the rencontre was disagreeable, and to shorten it as much as possible Isabel and her lover turned back with the intention of passing the French in the opposite direction. But by the time that they had resolved on this, the French were upon them, and instead of courteously permitting them to pass, the officer in command ordered them to halt and give an account of themselves.

"They had of course no option but to obey, which they did. The French officer, however, either doubted, or affected to doubt, their story, and announced his intention of taking them both as prisoners into Ajaccio.

"Isabel's lover remonstrated, entreated, and threatened by turns, in vain; and at length the officers, turning from him, began to assail the trembling Isabel with jests of the coarsest kind. This was more than the hot Corsican blood could endure, and suddenly breaking from his guard, the frantic lover rushed upon the commanding officer, who seemed to be the chief offender, and with a single blow struck him senseless to the ground. The next moment he would have been impaled upon the bayonets of the soldiery, had the other officers not interfered; they knew their chief, and knew too that they would never be forgiven, did they not preserve their victim for a punishment to be inflicted by himself.

"A halt was immediately called, they being at the time in perhaps the most lonely part of the road. A strong guard was placed over the prisoners, the rest of the men piling their arms, and vigorous efforts were at once proceeded with for the restoration of the injured officer.

"The injury being slight, they were soon successful, and a mock drum- head court-martial was then instituted, by which the male prisoner was tried and convicted; sentence was passed, and the ruffianly band at once proceeded jeeringly to carry it into execution. The unhappy lover was stripped and firmly bound to a tree; the shrieking Isabel was then dragged before him, and in her presence he was scourged to death with the soldiers' belts. The miserable girl was then released, the troops shouldered their arms and marched merrily away, safely reaching in due time their barracks in Ajaccio.

"Meanwhile the day passed on; Count Robert returned to the chateau, and as was his custom at once sought his daughter. Failing to find her, he made inquiry among the servants, and then learned that the lovers had left the domain some hours before. This intelligence made the count somewhat uneasy, and remounting his horse, he set out in quest of the truants upon the road which he learned they had taken. He penetrated the forest for some distance, and at length was startled by hearing shrill screams of maniacal laughter.

"Imagine if you can his horror and distress, when, on reaching the spot from which the sounds proceeded, he discovered his daughter seated upon the ground, with her dead lover's head upon her lap, uttering peal after peal of blood-curdling laughter, as she strove to bind up the bruised and lacerated body in strips of linen torn from her own clothing.

"On approaching her, the poor girl appeared to recognise her father in a confused sort of way, and with a little difficulty he at length persuaded her to allow him to lay the murdered man across the horse's back, and to accompany him home.

"It was of course patent to the distracted count that a fiendish atrocity of some sort had been committed, but it was quite impossible to gather any particulars or even the most meagre hint from the poor demented girl by his side; he therefore made the best of his way back to the chateau, whence immediately upon his arrival he despatched a couple of mounted servants—one of whom had charge of a note conveying a hint of the catastrophe to the friends of the murdered man, while the other had instructions to find and bring back with him to the chateau the first medical man in Ajaccio. By nightfall the chateau was full of self-invited guests, attracted thither by the rumours which had reached their ears concerning the events of the day, and all sorts of surmises and suggestions were made as to the probable perpetrators of the outrage. The doctor, too, as well as the friends of the murdered man, was there, and the former had on seeing his patient lost no time in administering a powerful opiate with the object of procuring for the unfortunate Isabel a temporary relief from the unnatural excitement of her overtaxed brain.

"When at length the drug had done its work, and the poor girl lay stretched upon her bed in a state of unconsciousness, a general consultation was held, at which it was resolved to spare no pains to discover and punish the authors of so atrocious a crime, and with this understanding the visitors on the following morning departed on their several ways.

"For days the efforts put forth to discover the offenders resulted in a complete failure, and in the meantime poor Isabel lay tossing restlessly with brain-fever. At length one night an intoxicated French soldier blurted out the secret in the hearing of every one of the occupants of the tavern, and a little judicious questioning, mingled with occasional expressions of incredulity, extracted from the fellow the full details of the crime. These were promptly communicated to Count di Solzi, who immediately called upon the officer who had been named as the chief culprit, and taxed him with it.

"The wretch scornfully admitted his share in the outrage, and scoffed at the agonising grief of the poor old man. A challenge followed, as a matter of course, and a meeting was arranged for the following morning; but when that morning dawned, the French officer was found dead in bed, stabbed to the heart. The count was immediately arrested on suspicion of being the assassin, and though all the neighbouring nobility knew the charge to be as monstrous and ill-founded as ever was brought against mortal man, and did all that lay in our power to have the matter properly investigated—and though soon after his arrest one of his own servants came voluntarily forward and confessed that it was he, and not his master, who had done the deed—poor Isabel's father was summarily tried, sentenced, and hanged over the gate of his own chateau.

"This act of base and cruel injustice, coupled with the previous outrage, caused the smouldering spark of discontent and disaffection to blaze forth at once into a devastating insurrectionary flame.

"The most ruthless reprisals were forthwith resorted to on both sides; assassination, secret and open, became the order of the day; the Corsicans flew to arms, and the struggle commenced which is now being waged, and which can never end until the hated French have been extirpated from off the face of the island."

"And how fared the unhappy Isabel meanwhile?" I inquired.

"She was on her father's arrest brought here at the imminent risk of her life," replied the count, "and while she still lay delirious, her father's execution took place; the chateau was then sacked, and when the soldiers had loaded themselves with every article of value which it was possible for them to take away, they set fire to the place, and, driving back at the point of the bayonet all who approached for the purpose of extinguishing the flames, stood by until it was burned to the ground. It was late at night before all was done, and the officer in charge of the troops who had carried through this shameful deed of murder and spoliation was imprudent enough to camp for the night close to the scene of the outrage. Sentinels were duly posted, and everything was, as this man thought, made perfectly secure; but he was fatally mistaken. The sentinels were surprised in detail, and despatched without having had an opportunity to give the alarm, and then a band of upwards of 100 armed Corsicans stole in upon the defenceless camp and slaughtered every one of the sleeping Frenchmen—not one survived to tell the tale.

"Isabel, contrary to expectation, rapidly recovered both her health and her reason; but it soon became apparent that a terrible change had been wrought in her, though how terrible we did not realise until afterwards.

"Of course it was not to be expected that a girl who had passed through what she had would ever be the same again, but there was a change in her, apart from what might reasonably have been expected under the circumstances. Her reason appeared to be completely restored; she talked calmly and rationally enough upon all subjects, not excepting even her misfortunes; but there was a coldness and reserve about her, even with us, her most intimate friends, which we found it very difficult to understand. At length one day we missed her, and apprehensive of a recurrence of the temporary aberration of intellect from which she had so recently recovered, we searched for her in all directions for three whole days without success, at the end of which time we received a note from her, thanking us for what she was pleased to term our great kindness, and informing us that she had taken steps to carry out the sole purpose of her future life, which was vengeance upon the authors of her wrongs, and the enemies of her country. We knew not what to make of this statement at first, but we soon afterwards learned that it meant she had formed a guerilla band at the head of which she had placed herself—the avowed object of which is war to the knife with the French, as long as any of them remain in Corsica.

"And most terribly has she carried out her purpose so far, for already nearly 300 Frenchmen have perished upon the weapons of her band, and fourteen French officers have met their deaths at her own hands.

"The adoption of so vindictive a purpose has gained for her the title of Bell' Demonio, a title which she has accepted as perfectly appropriate, and as indicative of the relentless vengeance which her enemies may look for from her."

"What a terrible history of wanton wrong and of merciless retribution!" I exclaimed, when the count had finished his narrative. "It is horrible to think that beings claiming to be civilised can be capable of such monstrous deeds, but it is so, as I can testify from the conversation of the Frenchmen who took me prisoner, and by the bye that reminds me that you were the subject of their remarks. Have you any reason to suppose yourself in any sort of danger?"

"Well, no," replied the count; "I should scarcely say that I consider myself in absolute danger; of course it is only reasonable to suppose that, since my brother has placed himself at the head of the insurgents, I should be regarded with a certain amount of suspicion; but that occasions me no anxiety whatever, for I have no one about me but those whom I can implicitly trust, and even to them I confide no more than I can possibly help, so I think I may say I am reasonably safe from betrayal. At the same time I omit no precaution, because I have strong reason to suppose that my actions are being watched, as I believe I have already mentioned. But perhaps you will favour me with a recapitulation of the remarks made by the French concerning me? I have hitherto had no means of ascertaining exactly in what estimation they hold me, and any light on the subject would be especially valuable just now."

In accordance with this request, I related the substance of the conversation which had occurred among the Frenchmen while I was being conveyed toward Ajaccio. The count listened intently, never interrupting me once, but I could see by the expression of his features how powerfully he was moved, especially by the remarks which had reference to his daughter. When I had finished—

"Thank you signor—how shall I call you?" said he.

"My name is Ralph Chester," I replied.

"I thank you sincerely, Signor Ralph, for the very valuable information which you have afforded me. It gives to my position an altogether new and somewhat alarming aspect. It is true that I am safe, so far as the papers which you brought are concerned; they are out of my hands, and, even if discovered, contain nothing which could possibly compromise me; but what you have just told me appears to indicate a decided desire on the part of the French to find some excuse for molesting me. Personally, there is nothing I should like better than an opportunity for holding the chateau against an attack from the French. I hate them with a deadly hatred—heaven knows it is not without ample cause!—but if the day were to go against us, I shudder to think of the inevitable fate of my darling child. But, signor, she should never fall into their hands alive. I would rather blot out her innocent young life with these unarmed hands than leave her alive at the mercy of those fiends. I have already told you somewhat of what they can do, but they are capable of even greater refinement of cruelty than that which poor Bell' Demonio experienced at their hands. I am glad to have heard what you have just told me, but it greatly increases my anxiety; could I only place Francesca in safety it would not greatly matter, but as it is—yes, I must endeavour to find a secure retreat for my child, or I shall have no further peace of mind. The more I think of it the clearer does it become that the chateau is no longer a fit place for her."

We conversed for some time longer, and then Maria made her appearance, and, with the licence of an old servant, unhesitatingly expressed her conviction that I had conversed far more freely than was at all good for me in my feeble condition, and asserted decidedly that unless I were at once left for the rest of the day in perfect quiet, the direst consequences would surely follow. Upon this the count abruptly took his departure, with an elaborate apology for what he chose to term his want of consideration.

For the remainder of the day a strict embargo was laid upon my room by that stern old disciplinarian, Maria, and on the following day the count was only permitted to enter for the purpose of making a few brief but kind inquiries as to my progress.

I spent the time chiefly in meditating upon the charms of the count's lovely daughter, and in hoping for the happiness of a visit from her; but to my intense disappointment she remained invisible. Maria mounted strict guard over me, and when circumstances necessitated her absence, the dark-eyed Angela was called in to relieve the watch.

The latter was evidently willing enough to chat with me, but it soon became apparent that she had received her orders from Maria, and that she entertained too wholesome a dread of that individual lightly to disobey her. Under these circumstances the time dragged on wearily enough, so that when on the fourth day I received permission to rise from my bed and change my room for an hour or two, I regarded the inflexible Maria with feelings of gratitude almost akin to love.

The experience of a sick-bed is unfortunately so little a rarity that most of my readers will be able to realise for themselves the delight with which, after a refreshing toilet, and clad in the easiest as well as the most gorgeous of dressing-gowns, I passed out through the door of the sick-room. The sprightly Angela was my guide, and also to a great extent my support, as we passed down a short corridor and turned into a small but elegantly furnished room single glance round which was sufficient to assure me that I was in the favoured abode of beauty. A table littered with a variety of those flimsy trifles which ladies are wont to dignify with the name of "work" occupied the centre of the room, a harp stood in one corner and a guitar in another, an easel supporting an unfinished sketch in water-colours stood by one of the two windows which lighted the room, and a small bookcase filled with elegantly-bound books occupied a niche in one of the walls. A tiny riding-gauntlet of embroidered leather trimmed with lace, and a gold-mounted riding-switch lay upon a most inviting-looking couch, while an open book, placed face downwards, occupied a low-seated reclining chair, which faced the other window; some small but choice water-colours graced the walls, and against that which faced the windows stood a small chamber organ. In addition to these evidences of taste and luxury there were a few small but exquisite statuettes supported on wall brackets; delicate alabaster vases of choice and sweetly-scented flowers, and a cage of gaily plumaged birds.

"There!" said my guide, as she deposited me in the most comfortable chair in the room, "is that to your liking, signor?"

"Perfectly," I replied. "But see here, Angela, have you not made some mistake? Was it understood that I was to occupy this room? If I may hazard a guess, I should say it is your mistress's own especial apartment, the one to which she retreats when she desires strict privacy."

"You are quite right, signor, it is my lady's boudoir, but the count's instructions were that you were to be taken to the most comfortable room in the chateau; and though there are many larger and more grand, I know of none where you would be quite so comfortable as in this."

"I have no doubt you are perfectly right, little one," said I; "but I greatly fear that in taking possession of this apartment I shall be intruding—"

"It is very unkind of you to think any such thing, signor; no one who has suffered as you have in the cause of my countrymen could ever be deemed an intruder in any of the apartments of the Chateau Paoli," said a clear, silvery voice behind me. I turned and saw that the owner of the apartment had just entered at the open door in time to hear my remark.

The beautiful girl looked more lovely than ever, I thought, as she somewhat shyly congratulated me on the progress I had made toward recovery.

She playfully scolded the unabashed Angela for not putting the room in somewhat better order before introducing me to it, apologised for the state of confusion which it was in, and finally asked me if she could do anything to add to my comfort. With all the boldness of a British midshipman, I at once replied that my comfort and happiness would be complete if she would but condescend to favour me with as much of her society as possible.

The dear girl blushed, laughed, called me a bold boy, and then, at my earnest request, placed herself in a chair near me, and, after a slight pause of embarrassment, commenced a conversation, the theme of which was the struggle upon which the Corsicans had just entered.

This, of course, was all very well and highly interesting; no one could have looked at and listened to so lovely a creature unmoved as she descanted in feeling language upon the wrongs from which the Corsicans had suffered so greatly at the hands of the French; but, to tell the truth, I felt just then too weak to take more than a languid interest in the subject, it was too exciting for me in my invalid condition, besides which, I perceived that the theme was a painful one to my companion; I therefore gradually drew the conversation into a lighter channel, and we were soon deep in the discussion of poetry, music, and painting, subjects in which we both seemed to be equally interested, and our enthusiasm upon which speedily broke down the slight barrier of reserve which had interposed itself between us at the commencement of the interview. The result was that when that objectionable old party, Maria, came to announce the arrival of the moment when a return to my own room was judged advisable, she found us both comfortably established upon the same lounge, sitting very close to each other, and deep in the beauties of a portfolio of choice engravings which rested upon our knees; moreover, we had grown so confidential that by mutual agreement our usual formal style of address had been discarded, my young hostess promising to call me "Ralph," if I would address her as "Francesca."

From this date my progress toward perfect recovery was rapid. A few days more were passed in Francesca's boudoir, in the enjoyment of her delightful society, and then came the happy moment when supported by her arm, I was able to move slowly and for short distances about the superbly laid-out grounds of the chateau. These delightful walks, which became more extended every day, naturally resulted in the establishment of still more intimate relations between us, and in a very short time each knew all about the past history and the future prospects of the other. The latter were eminently satisfactory on both sides, for, with all the assurance of a boy and a midshipman, I speedily announced my intention of winning my post rank in the shortest possible amount of time, chiefly as a desirable preliminary to my return to Corsica for the purpose of claiming the lovely Francesca's hand in marriage.

The sweet girl laughed heartily at me, at first; though younger than myself, she was more of a woman than I was of a man, and she assumed with me a great many of the airs of a senior; but upon my vehement and repeated protestations of the seriousness and permanent nature of my intentions, her laughter ceased, she became embarrassed and agitated, and finally, after much pressing, assured me, her face crimsoned with blushes the while, that if I ever came to claim her, she would be mine.

Now I am quite aware that my conduct in this respect was wrong. I was too young, and my prospects were far too vague at that time, to justify me in speaking of love to any woman, besides which, in so unceremoniously laying siege to the beautiful Francesca's susceptible heart, I might, for all that I could tell, be seriously interfering with the count's plans for his daughter's future. But at the time neither of us thought anything of this, or of any thing or being but ourselves; we were perfectly content with the state of things as they were, happy in the present, and quite agreed as to the future, to which, however, neither of us gave a single serious thought. I do not think Francesca was to blame in the matter, she had never had a mother to teach her prudence, but I certainly acted very wrongly, for, though little more than a boy, I was old enough to know better.

I offer no excuse for my conduct, it was quite inexcusable, but as I am telling the story of my life, I feel that I should not be dealing fairly with my readers did I attempt to pass over my faults and misdeeds in silence.

A day or two more passed swiftly away, I was rapidly regaining strength, my fractured arm-bone had knit itself firmly together again—though of course it was still quite useless, the splints not having been removed, and the use of a sling promising to remain a necessity for some little time longer—and I was revolving seriously in my mind the question of what would be the best course to pursue in order to rejoin my ship, when a little incident occurred which immediately diverted my thoughts in an entirely different direction.

Francesca and I were sauntering slowly down the broad tree-bordered drive which led from the main road to the chateau, when a man passed us. Francesca stopped him, to ask a question or two, and to give him some directions, and I thus got a full view of his features for perhaps quite three minutes. To my intense surprise I recognised in him the individual who had betrayed me to the French troops, and who had without doubt betrayed them in turn to Bell' Demonio's guerilla band; in a word, it was Guiseppe.

When our eyes met for the first time I saw in a moment that he not only recognised me, but also that he was most anxious to know whether I recognised him. I had it on the tip of my tongue to tax him with his perfidy, and to threaten to denounce him; but there was a something in his glance which gave me the idea that he was meditating further treachery, and I instantly decided that the most effective means to defeat his plans, if he entertained any, would be to throw him off his guard, and watch keenly the course of events; I therefore assumed a calmness and indifference of demeanour which I certainly did not feel, and looked at him as though I had never seen him before.

Waiting until the fellow was well out of ear-shot, I asked Francesca whether he was one of the servants at the chateau.

"Well, no," she replied, "he is not exactly that. He is merely a kind of hanger-on; his father died in our service, and this man was, in his younger days, one of our stable-boys, but he left us about a year ago to become a wood-cutter and charcoal-burner, and since then he just comes and goes when he likes, finding board and lodging when he requires it, and giving in return any trifling services that may be required of him."

Nothing more was said about the man at that time, but I resolved to speak to Count Lorenzo about him at the first opportunity.

This presented itself the same evening, on our return to the chateau. I recalled to the count's mind the conversation which had passed respecting him among the French soldiers, and also directed his attention to the fact that the subject of my remarks had been referred to in terms which seemed to leave no room for doubt as to his treachery.

"But the individual of whom you speak was called Guiseppe, was he not?" remarked the count, when I had said my say.

"Certainly," I replied. "What is the name of this man?"

"Matteo, Matteo Bartolozzi is his full name," replied the count. "I thought there must be a mistake somewhere; you have evidently been misled, my friend, by an accidental resemblance. Matteo a traitor! Pardon me, my dear Signor Ralpho, but if you knew the poor fellow as well as I do, you would recognise the absurdity of the supposition. I have known Matteo all his life, and I should have no hesitation in trusting him with anything, ay, even with my daughter's safety."

"Heaven forbid that such a necessity should ever arise," I fervently exclaimed. "It would be better to confide her to the protection of a pack of starving wolves. I am not deceived by any accidental resemblance, I feel as sure of the identity of this man, whom you call Matteo, with the traitor Guiseppe, as I am of my own existence. Believe me, count, I would not speak so positively, did there exist the faintest possibility of doubt."

"But, my good sir," returned the count somewhat tartly, "I assure you that what you say is quite impossible. I repeat, I have known the man all his life, and I have done him nothing but good. I have befriended him in a thousand ways, and I know he would lay down his life rather than bring harm to me and mine."

I saw that my efforts to undeceive the count were worse than useless, and I therefore abandoned the attempt; at the same time his arguments utterly failed to convince me that I had been mistaken, they did not even raise the most transitory doubt in my mind; I therefore determined to simply wait and watch the course of events.



CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

A NIGHT ATTACK UPON THE CHATEAU.

For the next two days, matters went on at the chateau much as usual. Old Maria was as sedulously attentive as ever, her sole occupation being apparently the preparation of tempting and strengthening dishes for my consumption, and the concoction of tonic herbal medicines which she administered with relentless severity.

The weather continued gloriously fine, enabling me to be in the open air the greater portion of each day; and although the count was absent, his beautiful daughter more than supplied his place, as far at least as I was concerned; so that, what with judicious nursing and nourishment, plenty of easy exercise in the delicious bracing mountain air, and the delightful society of Francesca Paoli, I was rapidly gaining both in health and spirits.

On the second evening after my conversation with Count Lorenzo respecting the man whom he called Matteo Bartolozzi, Francesca and I were slowly returning to the house, after a somewhat longer walk than usual, when we were startled by the sound of a horse approaching at a rapid gallop behind us. Turning round, we saw that it was the count.

He reined up when alongside of us, and, gaily saluting us, dismounted, and walked the rest of the distance to the house with us. When we reached the broad terrace in front of the chateau, he handed over his still panting horse to one of the servants, and, placing an arm in mine, dismissed his daughter, saying he had an important communication to make to me.

The moment that Francesca was fairly out of ear-shot he turned to me and said,—

"I received about an hour ago an intimation that a party of French soldiers are on their way here, for the purpose of arresting me, on suspicion of conspiring with the insurgents against the French government, and I was also informed that authority had been given to the officer in command to take me by force, should I refuse to surrender myself and accompany them quietly. I at once set out to return here, galloping all the way, and on reaching the cross roads about six miles from here, I saw approaching along the Ajaccio road a detachment of infantry, which I have not the least doubt is the party referred to. I have quite made up my mind not to surrender; it would be simply throwing away my life to do so with the existing state of feeling of the French towards us Corsicans. I should doubtless be subjected to the ceremony of a trial, but it would be quite a mock affair; my doom is probably already fixed. I shall therefore defend the chateau as long as its walls will hold together, and I do not quite despair of doing so successfully, although my garrison will be but a weak one—I do not suppose I can muster more than twenty people all told, and they by no means reliable if it comes to a downright hand-to-hand tussle. The question is, what are we to do with you? Should we fail, and you again fall into the hands of the French, your fate is sealed, they will assuredly hang you as a spy on the nearest tree."

"May I venture to ask, count, what are your intentions with regard to your daughter?" said I.

He turned deadly pale for an instant, then the blood rushed furiously to his head, his face crimsoned, his eyes sparkled vindictively, and the veins of his forehead stood out like knotted cords as he hoarsely ejaculated,—

"The man who lays a hand upon her must pass over my dead body; and let me tell you, Signor Inglese, I shall not die easily; much French blood will flow before I fall."

"Unless an unlucky bullet happens to strike you fairly in the forehead, early in the fight," I suggested.

"And do you imagine that I shall be imbecile enough to expose myself in so reckless a fashion as to render that probable?" he returned. "No! If I fight, it will be for life, not for glory, therefore I shall take every reasonable precaution to protect my life."

"Still," I persisted, "in the excitement of a fight prudence is sometimes forgotten for a brief space. Would it not be advisable to take any measures that may be possible to secure a retreat, should such unhappily become necessary?"

The count made no reply for a full minute, during which we continued to pace the terrace in the deepening twilight. Then he turned to me and said,—

"I wonder whether you will understand me if I say, that, as far as I am concerned, retreat is quite impossible. If I once come into collision with the French, I must either conquer or die; there is, for me, no middle course."

"Then that settles the question, as far you are concerned," I replied. "Is it imperative that your daughter should also die, in the event of our sustaining a defeat?"

"She must either die or fall into the hands of the French," replied the count sternly; "and with the fate of poor Bell' Demonio fresh in our memories, neither she nor I would for an instant hesitate as to which alternative to accept. I would send her away to seek shelter with some friend, but her presence, if discovered, would only compromise that friend irretrievably, as well as prove fatal to herself. Besides, to speak the truth, there is so much treachery existing among us that I dare not run the risk. If your ship were only within reach, I think I dare trust Francesca on board her; she would at least be safe from the French, and I have no doubt your captain would afford her temporary protection, until other arrangements could be made."

"That he would, I am certain," I replied eagerly, "I can certainly venture to promise so much in his behalf. Unfortunately, however, the 'Juno' is now at the north end of the island, and the only safe means— or rather the least dangerous means of reaching her seems to me to be by water. I have come to the conclusion that that is the way by which I shall have to go, and if you felt you could confide Miss Francesca to my protection, I should be only too happy to have the opportunity to—to—"

"Make love to her on the way, eh?" interrupted the count, with a smile. "Nay, never blush and look confused, my boy. Do you think that, because I have not seen much of you for the last few days, I am altogether blind? I know, just as well as you do, that you two children fancy yourselves in love with each other; and were you a few years older I might have somewhat to say in the matter; as it is, you are both too young for me to take any serious notice of it. However, that is not now the question. Do you really think you could safely convey my daughter to the north end of the island, and place her, not on board your ship, but in the care of her aunt, my brother's wife? You are a seaman, I know, and are doubtless skilled in your profession; but how would you proceed? It would be perfect madness to attempt engaging a vessel to convey you along the coast, the reward for delivering you both over to the French authorities would be an irresistible temptation to the fishermen or coasters."

"I should not dream of running so serious a risk," I replied. "My plan is very simple. I should make for Ajaccio, timing myself to reach the place about two or three o'clock in the morning, seize the most promising-looking boat I could find, and make sail in her. The only difficulty would be with my wounded arm, which is at present quite useless, but I dare say—"

"If that is your only difficulty," again interrupted the count, "it may be easily overcome. I would send one of my people with you, a man whom I can implicitly trust, and who has moreover had some experience on board the small craft which trade along the coast."

"Not Matteo, I hope?" said I.

"No, not Matteo," replied the count. "You are prejudiced against him, and would probably refuse to take him. The man I am thinking of is called Giaccomo—he is one of the under-gardeners."

"I should like to see the man," said I; "but in the meantime had we not better make what preparations we can to defend the chateau, as well as to secure a retreat, should such be necessary?"

"By all means," said the count. "Let us first go to the stables, and arrange the means for your escape, should it be necessary, and then we will go round the chateau together, and see what can be done in the matter of defending it."

We turned away and walked round to the stables, in which stood ten fine horses. These, the count ordered to be removed at once to a place which he called the Elfin Grotto, giving instructions that the three which were considered to be the fleetest were to be saddled and bridled ready for instant use, Francesca's saddle being required for one of them. He also hunted out Giaccomo—who looked a smart honest fellow enough—and ordered him to go with the horses to the grotto, holding himself in readiness for a lengthened journey at a moment's notice, and that he was to understand he was under my immediate orders, to do whatever I might require of him.

We then retired to the interior of the chateau, to examine into its capabilities of defence, and, as much to get her out of the way as for any other reason, Francesca was directed to prepare a small package of clothing, such as would serve her for a week or so, her father informing her that it might be necessary for her to leave the chateau for a short time, and that in such an event I had undertaken to escort her to a place of safety.

This done, we made a careful examination of each floor of the building, beginning with the lowest or ground floor. The chateau was built in the Italian style of architecture, and consisted of two wings and a lofty central tower. The windows of the lower floor reached from near the ceiling right down to the ground, and gave access, by means of a row of three steps, directly to the rooms from the broad terrace along the front. These windows were protected by strong solid shutters of oak which were arranged to be fastened on the inside with three heavy iron bars, one at the top, one half-way down, and one at the bottom. The door was a very solid and substantial affair of oak thickly studded with nails, and was so well provided with massive bolts that I felt confident of its power to resist anything except artillery. This completed the defences of the lower floor, so far as the front was concerned. The back we had very little fear about; a high and solid stone wall surmounted by a formidable chevaux-de-frise extending for about thirty yards from each wing, and then stretching back far enough to enclose the stables and other offices, as well as a spacious kitchen-garden. The windows of the next two floors were quite unprotected; and the count therefore gave immediate orders to have all the available beds, mattresses, cushions, etcetera, piled up along the lower portion of each window, just high enough to protect a person when kneeling on the floor. The grand staircase, which was the only one accessible from the front entrance, was also strongly barricaded in three or four places, a sort of breastwork being constructed on the first landing, behind which the defenders might shelter themselves from the fire of an attacking party below. This done, nothing remained but to collect the arms and ammunition, muster the attendants, and await the development of events.

We had not very long to wait. Evening had closed down upon us and deepened into night during the progress of our preparations, and the count and I were watching from one of the windows the exquisitely beautiful spectacle afforded by a clear moonrise, when we observed some moving objects among the deep shadows cast by the trees of the distant avenue, and, once or twice, the cold gleam of steel where the mellow rays of the moon penetrated through the overarching branches. Presently a small group of figures emerged from the shadows of the trees and approached along the central drive which led up to the broad expanse of flower-beds beyond the terrace. As they came nearer, we perceived that they consisted of an officer in the uniform of one of the French regiments of foot, a couple of files of men, and a bugler.

"Come," said the count to me, as soon as we had clearly made out the character of our visitors, "let us go down and see what this gentleman has to say."

We made our way down the staircase—passing through openings which had been purposely left in the barricades, but which could be effectually closed in less than a minute—and accompanied by half-a-dozen of the most resolute and trusty of the count's people, armed with musket and dagger, emerged through the great door upon the terrace, the steps leading to which the Frenchmen were just ascending. They were allowed to fairly reach the terrace, a distance of some thirty yards or so then intervening between us and them, when the count stepped forward, and, raising his hand, cried in French, in an authoritative voice,—

"Halt! I allow no body of armed men to approach my chateau any nearer than the spot where you now stand, without my first receiving an explanation of the reason for their presence. The officer in command may, however, come forward and state his business; but I warn you that, if the rest attempt to approach, my men will at once fire upon you."

The Frenchmen halted, and the officer, after apparently giving his men some brief instructions in a low tone of voice, advanced towards us, raising his shako as he joined us, and saying,—

"Have I the honour to address Count Lorenzo di Paoli?"

"I am the individual whom you name," replied the count. "To what circumstance am I indebted for the honour of this somewhat extraordinary visit?"

"I am instructed by General Lefevre, the officer in command of the forces now stationed at Ajaccio, to request your immediate attendance before him in reference to a matter closely affecting your own honour," replied the Frenchman.

"As I have not the advantage of General Lefevre's acquaintance, and cannot conceive what interest he can possibly have in any matter relating to my honour, you may go back to him, sir, and tell him I positively decline to accede to his request, which—to say the least of it—is a very singular one to make to a Corsican noble."

"I regret to say that the general, anticipating the possibility of your refusal, has ordered me, in such a case, to arrest you. It is a disagreeable necessity, which I would much rather have avoided; but you leave me no alternative. Count Lorenzo di Paoli, I arrest you in the name of the National Assembly, on a charge of conspiracy," answered the Frenchman, stepping forward and attempting to lay his hand on the count's shoulder.

"Stand back, sir!" cried Count Lorenzo, stepping back a pace and levelling a pistol at the officer's head. "I am fully acquainted with your general's designs against me; and I decline to walk into the trap which he has set for me. I repudiate and defy his authority, which I will resist to the death; and you may go back and tell him so."

"Ha! say you so?" exclaimed the Frenchman. "Rash man, you will soon feel the power of the authority which you have so arrogantly defied, for I may inform you that I have at hand a party strong enough to compel your submission; and my orders are, not to return to Ajaccio without you."

"Then go, sir, and bring up your party," retorted the count scornfully; "and we will endeavour to give you such a reception as shall teach your general to beware how he attempts to molest a Corsican noble for the future."

The French officer bowed, raised his shako, and somewhat hastily retired, withdrawing his men from the terrace directly he joined them; and we stood watching them down the drive, until, having reached a point about midway between the terrace and the avenue, and well out of musket- shot, the little party halted; a bugle-call was sounded; and we saw a large body of men deploy into line beneath the trees and advance along the drive at the double.

We then retreated to the interior of the chateau, carefully locking and barring the great door behind us; and, closing the barriers on the grand staircase as we ascended, made the best of our way to the principal floor, from whence we had decided to conduct the defence in the first instance.

Our dispositions for the defence of the chateau were simple in the extreme. We had only the front of the house to defend, the sides and rear being protected by the high wall before referred to; we therefore divided our little garrison into two parties, one to each wing of the building; the count heading one party, and confiding the direction of the other to me. As our plans were complete, the count and I separated on reaching the gallery at the head of the staircase, he going to that part of the building which he had undertaken to defend; and I making the best of my way to my own command.

On entering the saloon where my party was stationed, I at once went to the nearest window to reconnoitre. The moon was by this time riding high in the unclouded ether, flooding the scene with the soft effulgence of her silvery beams, and rendering every object which was not obscured by the black shadows of the trees as distinct as though it had been daylight. Her brilliant disc was invisible from the front windows of the chateau, she having by this time passed somewhat to the rear of the building; and this of course gave us a very decided advantage, inasmuch as it rendered it difficult for the attacking party to distinguish us at the windows, while they were exposed in the full radiance of the brilliant moonlight.

When I reached the window, the main body of the French had just joined the smaller party, and had been halted. They presented a formidable array, numbering, in my estimation, quite a hundred, all armed with musket and bayonet; and I thought I detected among them a small party of grenadiers. Three or four individuals, apparently officers, were standing a little distance apart from the rest, and appeared to be consulting together. They remained thus for about five minutes, when their bugler sounded a parley; and one of the officers, separating himself from the rest, advanced alone towards the chateau, displaying a white handkerchief attached to his sword-point. On seeing this, Count Lorenzo threw open the window immediately over the door, and stepped out upon the balcony, also exhibiting a white handkerchief. The officer continued to approach until he was within easy speaking distance, when he halted, and exclaimed,—

"Once more, Count Lorenzo di Paoli, I call upon you to surrender yourself. Resistance, as you must see, from the force under my command, will be quite useless, and can only result in a needless effusion of blood, which I assure you will be visited with the severest retribution. Not on you alone, but also on all those who may be taken in arms with you, will this retribution descend; for your own sake, therefore, and for the sake of the misguided men who are being tempted by your rashness to their own destruction, I ask you again, and for the last time, to yield without further resistance."

"I have but one answer to make to your appeal, sir," replied the count, "and it is this. I positively refuse to place myself in the power of those who have again and again proved themselves completely devoid of the principles of honour and justice. And I here and now throw off my allegiance to a country the government of which is in the hands of regicides and wholesale murderers, and declare myself to be in active sympathy with the Corsican patriots."

"Enough, sir, and more than enough," haughtily returned the Frenchman. "On your head must rest the responsibility for whatever bloodshed may now ensue."

And turning on his heel, he disdainfully snatched the handkerchief from his sword-point and strode resentfully away. He had, during this brief colloquy, been covered by the muskets of the entire party under my command; and at its conclusion, though I promptly interfered, I was barely in time to prevent a volley being fired upon him. I learned afterwards that the count, knowing the temper and feeling of his people, had, before going out on the balcony, given the most positive orders to those under his command that, whatever the issue of the interview might be, the officer was to be allowed to retire unmolested.

The attack commenced immediately upon the French officer rejoining his command, the entire force advancing at a rapid double, in order to place themselves as speedily as possible under the cover afforded by the steep slope which divided the flower-garden from the broad terrace in front of the chateau. The rush was made, and the cover gained in less than a couple of minutes; but our coolest and steadiest marksmen had already been stationed at the windows, with orders to select an individual mark and to make every shot tell; the result was that, almost immediately upon the troops getting in motion, an irregular fire broke out upon them from the chateau; and short as was the time occupied in making their rush, they left some ten or eleven of their number prostrate behind them.

The Frenchmen by no means intended letting us have things all our own way, however, for directly they were safe under the shelter of the slope they crept up it, and, shielding themselves as well as they could behind the massive stone balustrades bounding the terrace, opened upon us a galling and continuous fire. This fire grew hotter and hotter, until the rattle of musketry all along the front of the terrace became continuous; the bullets pattering in showers through every window, and, in spite of our hastily arranged bulwarks, wounding more or less severely many of our people; while the terrace itself was obscured by a thick curtain of fleecy smoke.

This had lasted for perhaps five minutes, when from my loophole of observation I descried dimly in the midst of the smoky canopy, some half-a-dozen indistinct forms hurriedly crossing the terrace toward the great entrance door of the chateau. I immediately directed the attention of my party to these men, ordering them to concentrate the whole of their fire upon them, and stop their advance, if possible, at all hazards. We were just in time. An almost simultaneous volley rang out, just as the men were getting so near the walls that they could not be aimed at without complete exposure on the part of the marksmen, and every one of them fell. A few seconds afterwards a series of sharp explosions took place, which told us that these men had been the bearers of grenades or petards with which to blow open the door. But our success had not been obtained without its price; for three of our men were shot dead, and one more so seriously wounded that he had to retire from the combat, in consequence of the way in which our men had been obliged to expose themselves, in order to cover the grenadiers with their muskets.

Meanwhile, the curtain of smoke which veiled the terrace was every moment growing more dense, and in a few minutes from the fall of the grenadiers it had become so thick that it was quite impossible to see what was going on outside at a distance of more than twenty feet from the windows. The fire was maintained as furiously as ever, but the bullets no longer flew so thickly about our ears; a clear indication that our antagonists were as much blinded as we were, and were aiming pretty much at random; as it was of the utmost importance to economise our ammunition as much as possible, I therefore directed my party to cease firing for a time, until the smoke should have cleared away a little, or, at all events, only to fire when they could descry an object at which to aim. I then went across to the other wing, to suggest to the count the adoption of a similar plan, and had just reached his side when a violent explosion occurred below us, accompanied by a sound of splitting and rending of timber, and a heavy crash.

"To the landing! to the landing, every man of you!" shouted the count. "They have blown down the door, and nothing can now prevent their entering the house. But keep cool and steady, my men, and we may yet successfully defend the staircase. Ah! I was just about to seek you!" he exclaimed, as his eye fell upon me. "You must fly at once; do not delay another instant, I beg of you. You will find Francesca in the music saloon, she will be your guide to the grotto; and as soon as you have reached it, mount and ride for your lives. Take care of her, Ralph, as you would that your own sister should be cared for; and may God be your shield and defence in every danger! Now go; there is no time for further parley; but you know all that I would have you do, and you know where to seek for the friends with whom I wish you to place Francesca. God bless you, my dear boy, and farewell until we meet again; I have already said farewell to my daughter."

He wrung my hand convulsively, and releasing it, fairly pushed me away from him along the corridor which led to the music saloon.

As I hurried away a loud shout arose from the hall below, accompanied by a sound as of axes and bars crashing into the barricade at the foot of the staircase; then a rattling volley of musketry rang out from the gallery, followed by loud shrieks and agonised groans, fierce oaths, and yells of defiance; an answering volley from below, followed by more shrieks and one or two heavy falls; and as I rapidly increased my distance from the scene of action the varied sounds merged into a fierce and whirling din, such as might have arisen had Pandemonium opened its adamantine gates, and poured out upon the hapless chateau a legion of destroying fiends. On entering the saloon I found Francesca on her knees, ready equipped for a journey, and with a small gold crucifix in her hands, which she had removed from her neck. As I entered the apartment she rose to her feet, and, hastily replacing the jewel, came up to me, and, placing her hands in mine, exclaimed with quivering lips,—

"Oh! Ralph dearest, what is the meaning of all this dreadful strife, and why have they attacked the chateau?"

"I will tell you as soon as we are out of the reach of immediate danger," I replied; "at present we have no time for anything but action, so, if you are ready, we will proceed at once."

"I am quite ready," she answered; "but I feel very undecided what to do. My father told me to prepare for a journey, and to be ready to leave the chateau with you at any moment, but do you think I should be justified in doing so, now that he is in such dreadful peril?"

"The peril is by no means as great as you appear to think," said I, "and your compliance with your father's instructions will relieve him of a very serious embarrassment; so let us not linger another moment, I entreat you."

The suggestion that her presence might possibly prove embarrassing to her father at once decided her, and, placing her hand in mine, she said simply, "I am ready; let us go," and moved to the door of the apartment.

We passed down the entire length of the corridor, and presently reached the head of a staircase leading to the rear portion of the house, and ordinarily used exclusively by the servants. Descending this, we traversed a short passage at its foot, and finally emerged through a door into the garden at the rear. A path closely bordered with mulberry-trees led down through the centre of this garden, passing down which we eventually reached a rustic, building ordinarily used as a tool-house. Entering this, Francesca turned to me and said,—

"Now, Ralph, there is a secret door in that back wall, but I have never been through it, so I do not know its exact position. But it is opened by pressing a spring, the head of which is formed like an ordinary nail- head, differing from the others only in that it projects a little more from the woodwork than the others. Do you think you can find it?"

I ran my hand over the boarding, and soon encountered what would have seemed to any one unacquainted with the secret merely an ill-driven nail. Pressing firmly upon this, it yielded; a cleverly-concealed door opened and revealed a very narrow passage-like space between the wooden partition and the solid stone boundary-wall of the garden. Entering this and turning my back upon the open door, in accordance with Francesca's directions, and feeling cautiously before me with my feet, I found myself standing at the head of a flight of stone steps. These I cautiously descended, Francesca following closely behind me after closing the secret door in her rear, and in a few seconds we found ourselves at the foot of the steps, and standing in an arched tunnel apparently about six feet high and as many feet wide. We then moved cautiously but rapidly forward, hand-in-hand, meeting with no difficulty or inconvenience during our passage, excepting such as arose from the mephitic atmosphere. This, however, was in itself sufficiently trying, and I was heartily glad when, after the lapse of nearly a quarter of an hour, we suddenly experienced a delicious whiff of cool pure night-air, and immediately afterwards emerged from the confined tunnel-like passage into a moderately spacious cavern, through the foliage at the mouth of which a broad patch of the luminous star-lighted sky was visible.

"Who goes there?" ejaculated a voice from a mass of deep shadow on one side of the cave.

I recognised Giaccomo's voice, and at once replied, adding an inquiry as to whether he had detected any signs of the presence of the enemy in the neighbourhood of the cavern.

"None whatever, signor," he replied. "I have seen nothing all the time I have been here, and have heard nothing except the sound of distant firing in the direction of the chateau."

"Then let us be off at once," said I. "The sooner we get into the main road the less likelihood will there be of our meeting with molestation."

Without more ado Francesca was accordingly assisted by Giaccomo to mount, my wounded arm precluding me from seizing that coveted privilege, after which the Corsican and I sprang into our saddles, and the cavalcade moved forth into the dazzling moonlight, taking our way over the short springy turf in a direction which enabled us to keep the chateau between us and the French, being cautious at the same time to keep as much as possible within the shadow of the trees. After travelling in this way for about a couple of miles, the chateau became entirely concealed from view by the intervening trees (though the sound of brisk firing could still be distinctly heard); I therefore sent Giaccomo to the front as guide, with instructions to shape such a course as would take us out upon the high road to Ajaccio, and ranged my own horse up alongside that of Francesca, who had behaved with admirable coolness and courage throughout the adventure, but seemed keenly distressed at the necessity which forced her from her father's side at a time of such peculiar peril to him. This feeling I at once set myself to combat, making as light as possible of the peril, and stating that the attack upon the chateau was merely a wanton outrage on the part of the French, inflicted by way of retaliation in consequence of the count's refusal to obey a discourteous summons from their general at Ajaccio. I was successful beyond my utmost hopes, my fair companion deriving from my representations a comfort and reassurance which I scarcely intended, but which I certainly had not the heart to take away again, so that by the time we reached Ajaccio—which we did without adventure of any kind—she had grown to regard the whole affair with a very tolerable amount of equanimity.

After striking the high road we performed the remainder of the journey at a foot-pace, our object being to reach the town by about one o'clock in the morning, by which time Giaccomo assured me the entire inhabitants of the place would be in bed and fast asleep.

On reaching that point in the road where I had taken leave of Rawlings, the "Juno's" sailing-master, we dismounted, and turning the horses' heads homeward, after adjusting their bridles so that they would not be likely to trail on the ground or entangle their feet, Giaccomo administered to each of the animals a smart stroke across the flank with his riding whip, which sent them off at a rattling gallop back along the road we had come, the man assuring me that they would be certain to keep on steadily until they again found themselves at their stable door at the chateau. We did this so as to avoid the necessity of attracting attention to ourselves by seeking stabling for them in the town at that late hour. When our steeds were fairly out of sight we resumed our way, and walked leisurely into Ajaccio, which we safely reached just about the time we had previously fixed upon as most desirable for our arrival.



CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

THE "MOUETTE", THE "VIGILANT", AND THE "REQUIN."

On reaching the port my first consideration was to discover a suitable craft in which to make the trip along the coast to the north end of the island. When it actually came to the point I must confess that the idea of seizing and carrying off the property of somebody else was extremely repugnant to me. Still, I could see no other course open without exposing the party to imminent danger of betrayal, and I had resolved in my own mind that, since necessity seemed to point to the deprivation of some unfortunate individual of his property, the deprivation should be only temporary; I would take the most suitable boat I could find, and when done with seek some means of returning her to her owner with a handsome sum of money as hire.

Having made up my mind so far, I took counsel with Giaccomo, who knew the place well, and he immediately ran over a list of craft belonging to the port, any one of which he thought would serve our purpose passably well. In the midst of his statement, however, he suddenly interrupted himself with many objurgations upon his own stupidity, to which he added a statement that he had just that instant thought of a craft which would suit us admirably, one, moreover, which we need not distress ourselves about returning.

"That sounds rather promising," said I. "What is she, Giaccomo?"

"She is a pleasure-boat measuring about fifteen tons," replied the man; "she is a very strange-looking craft, but she sails like the wind. She is the property of one of the French officers, who built her for his own amusement."

"Then," said I, "if she is likely to suit us, we will certainly make a prize of her without compunction. Lead on, my man, and let us see if we can find her."

We went on some distance further until we came to the waterside, not meeting with a single soul on the way, and there we helped ourselves to a rowing-boat and pulled out into the bay, where, according to Giaccomo's account, we should find her if she then happened to be in port.

We pulled through a large fleet of fishing-boats, coasting feluccas, and other craft, mostly of a size ranging from two to fifty tons, and at length, just as I was beginning to think our search would be in vain, Giaccomo exclaimed,—

"There she is!"

I looked in the direction indicated, and saw a long low-hulled craft, cutter-rigged, with what struck me as a set of spars altogether disproportionate to her size.

"Oh!" I exclaimed in a tone of disappointment, "she will never do. Why, she would capsize with half a capful of wind."

"By no means, signor," replied the Corsican. "Though yew would never believe it, to look at her, she carries her canvas better and longer than any boat belonging to Ajaccio, and as for working to windward—she is simply astounding."

"If that be so," said I, "let us paddle up alongside and take a look at her."

We did so, and on a nearer inspection found her to be, according to the then prevalent ideas concerning naval architecture, quite as extraordinary as Giaccomo had described her to be. She was about five times as long as she was wide, with a bow like a fine wedge, a good clean run, and very little freeboard; she was in fact a singular foreshadowing of the modern type of racing cutter, and consequently, at that date, absolutely unique.

I was rather taken with her appearance, and my curiosity, moreover, being strongly excited by the marvellous stories told by Giaccomo respecting her sailing powers,—which, he asserted, he had had frequent opportunities of observing, from having been occasionally engaged to accompany her owner on his cruises,—I decided forthwith to take possession of her as a lawful prize. Mooring the boat alongside we accordingly crept softly on board, and Giaccomo immediately descended into the little forecastle to ascertain whether any one happened to be on board. The forecastle proved to be empty, but on going down into the cabin we saw by the feeble glimmer of the cabin lamp a lad of about eighteen comfortably stretched out on the cushions laid along upon the top of the lockers.

Drawing his long knife from its sheath, Giaccomo unceremoniously broke in upon the slumbers of this youth, and brandishing the gleaming blade before his astonished eyes, while admonishing him in a fierce whisper not to utter a sound above his breath if he placed the slightest value upon his life, he ordered him to enumerate what stores there were on board, and to indicate their locality. This the lad did, leading us first to a small but well-arranged pantry, and then opening the lockers and exhibiting their contents. A brief survey was sufficient to satisfy me that the craft was amply provisioned for our cruise, and this matter being thus satisfactorily settled, we repaired to the deck and proceeded to loose the sails and get the cutter under way; the lad whom we had so roughly aroused being persuaded by occasional suggestive exhibitions of Giaccomo's knife to render his best assistance in the task.

While the two were thus engaged, I conducted Francesca below, and having indicated to her the small but luxuriously-furnished sleeping cabin of the owner, proposed that she should take possession thereof, and endeavour to recruit her somewhat exhausted energies by procuring, if possible, a few hours' sleep. I then returned to the deck, and found my "crew" in the act of getting up the anchor. This was soon done, the head-sails were trimmed, and under a gentle westerly breeze we proceeded to work out of the bay.

As the cutter had a boat of her own towing astern, I cast adrift the one we had "borrowed," and left her to take her chance of drifting ashore and finding her way once more into her proper owner's hands.

Shortly after leaving our anchorage we passed close to leeward of a long rakish-looking lateener, on board which, as ill-luck would have it, an anchor-watch was being kept. I suppose the circumstance of our getting under way at so unusual an hour must have attracted attention on board this craft, at all events the casting adrift of the shore-boat had been observed; and as we approached we were hailed from her deck with an inquiry as to whether we were aware that one of our boats had gone adrift.

"Ay, ay," replied Giaccomo, "we know it; it is all right: we shall pick her up presently, but we do not care to tack just now in this light wind for fear of— Diavolo! hold your tongue, you son of a boiled monkey, or I will let daylight into you on one side and out on the other."

The latter part of this speech had been addressed to our prisoner, who, encouraged by the close proximity of the two vessels, had without a sign of warning lifted up his voice and shouted with all the power of his lungs,—

"Perfidie! nous som—" The remainder of the sentence had been choked back by the iron grasp of Giaccomo's hand upon the lad's throat, the dagger being flashed before his eyes and the threat hissed into his ears at the same moment.

But it was enough, the mischief had been done. As we glided past the craft's stern we saw the man on watch dart to the companion and disappear, returning to the deck in less than a minute, accompanied by another individual, whose fluttering white garment sufficiently indicated that he had come direct from his berth without waiting to observe the decencies of ordinary life. He, too, hailed us, but we wasted no breath in attempting to reply, fully aware that nothing we could say would allay the suspicion which had been aroused. Instead therefore of shouting back, and possibly attracting the attention of other craft, we devoted all our energies to trimming our canvas to the best advantage, and packing upon the cutter every rag we could set.

"Per Baccho!" ejaculated Giaccomo between his set teeth, addressing the author of the mischief, and emphasising his remarks with a smart prod of the knife in the most fleshy part of that misguided individual's person, "I have a great mind to slash your throat open, and then launch you overboard as a breakfast to the sharks. You have drawn upon us the attention of that rascally guarda-costa, the captain of which will not be satisfied until he has received a full explanation of your remark. But, maledetto! remember this, the moment our capture seems certain I will slit you up as I would a sardine,"—appropriate gesture with the knife,—"so if you object to being slit open like a sardine you will give me all the help you can. You comprehend?"

The lad comprehended so well that he was frightened half out of his wits, and went round the deck, taking an extra pull here, easing off half an inch of sheet there, shifting the water-casks, and, in short, doing all he knew to increase the speed of the cutter, glancing anxiously astern at the guarda-costa in the intervals, and from her to his dreaded shipmate.

Of course I am aware that I ought to have interfered and put a stop to this terrorism on the part of the hot-blooded Corsican, and I should have done so, had there appeared any probability of his executing his sanguinary threats; but I had already seen enough of him to believe that his bark was a great deal worse than his bite, and so, as the prisoner had evidently got us into what might prove a very awkward scrape, I was willing that he should not be allowed to go altogether unpunished.

It was even as Giaccomo had foreseen. We were scarcely a mile from the guarda-costa when we saw her canvas drooping in heavy festoons from her long tapering yards, and by the time that we had increased our distance to a couple of miles her anchor was a-trip, and she was sweeping round on her way out after us.

I called my aide aft and asked him whether he knew the craft.

"Too well, signor," he replied. "It has been my lot to be chased by her often, and many an anxious moment has she caused me. She has the name of being the fastest sailer inside the Gut, and she is the terror of every honest smuggler round the coast here."

"Ho, ho!" said I. "So that is how the land lies, is it, master Giaccomo? You have been a bit of a smuggler in your time, eh?"

"Yes," he frankly returned, "and not so very long ago either. And I should have been taken to a certainty, had not a shot from one of your cruisers turned yonder inquisitive gentleman back."

"Let us hope we may meet with a similar slice of luck this time," said I. "Do you think we stand any chance of getting away from her?"

"Everything depends on the weather," was the reply. "In light winds, such as this, I have never seen anything to approach this cutter for speed; but should it come on to blow, the 'Vigilant' will run us under water."

This was a singularly agreeable piece of information to receive just at that moment, for the sky had gradually become flecked with fast-flying patches of scud, and a dark threatening bank of cloud was working up to windward. So far, however, the breeze remained light, and while we were gliding through the water at the rate of something like five knots, with scarcely a ripple under our bows to indicate the fact, the guarda-costa appeared to have little beyond bare steerage-way.

At first I was sanguine enough to hope that, seeing how we slipped away from her, the lateener would 'bout ship, and return to her moorings; but nothing of the kind: she held on like grim death, her skipper, no doubt, being seaman enough to read in the increasingly-threatening aspect of the heavens a promise that his turn should come by-and-by.

In the meantime the wind grew rapidly lighter until it became "breathless" calm; and there we both lay, heaving sluggishly on the long swell, our sails flapping idly from side to side, and our bows boxing the compass.

The cloud-bank meanwhile had been steadily rising, and at length it completely veiled the sky, obscuring first the stars, and finally the moon, and enveloping the whole face of nature in a mantle of inky blackness. So intense was this darkness that we lost sight of the guarda-costa, the land, and in fact everything save the two or three riding-lights which the more prudent of the skippers had chosen to display on board their craft in the roadstead.

A breathless hush prevailed, broken only by the loud creak of our boom and the flap of the sails. Giaccomo and his shipmate, or prisoner— whichever the reader likes—were somewhere forward, probably sitting down; but it was impossible to see them in the impenetrable darkness.

I called Giaccomo aft, and his voice, when he spoke in reply, sounded strange, weird, and unnatural. I considered the aspect of the sky portentous in the extreme, but I wished to have his opinion, as that of a man accustomed to the weather of that region, and I asked him what he thought of it.

"We shall have it down upon us very heavily before long," he replied; "but I do not think it will last above three or four hours."

"Then we had better bear a hand and shorten sail," said I. "You take in the gaff-topsail, and bowse down a double reef in the mainsail, and I will in foresail and shift the jib. I suppose there is a storm-jib somewhere on board?"

"Down in the locker, forward," said he. "Be careful to close the hatch securely when you come up, signor, or we shall be swamped in less than ten minutes; she will bury herself in the breeze that we are going to have."

We all three worked like Trojans, and in a remarkably short space of time had the "Mouette"—as I found the cutter was named—under double- reefed mainsail and storm-jib, the latter well in along the bowsprit, with topmast lowered as far as it would come, the fore-hatch and cabin skylight battened down, and everything made snug and ready for a regular stand-up fight with the elements.

While we were busy with these preparations, I admonished Giaccomo to keep a smart lookout, and I was careful also to do the same myself, in case the guarda-costa should endeavour to cut matters short by sending away a boat after us; but the man assured me that the skipper of the craft knew too well what he was about to risk the loss of a boat's crew by sending them away under such threatening conditions of weather.

Smart as we had been in making our preparations, we were only barely in time. We had just comfortably completed our work, and I had established myself at the tiller, with Giaccomo at the mainsheet, and Francois—as the French lad called himself—at the jib-sheet, when there came a terrific flash of lightning, green and baleful, illumining for a single instant the entire scene, and revealing our pertinacious friend, the "Vigilant," in her old berth astern, with her long tapering yards lowered to the deck, and two stumpy lugs and a pocket-handkerchief of a jib hoisted in their place. Then, as the opaque darkness closed down upon us again, there followed the long deep reverberating roll of the thunder. Another vivid flash quickly succeeded, the thunder this time being much louder and nearer; and then, after a pause of about a minute, there came a perfect blast of lightning, so intensely bright that the whole atmosphere appeared for one brief moment to be literally on fire. Simultaneously with the flash came the awful deafening crackling crash of the thunder, the terrific detonations of which completely stunned and unnerved me while they lasted, so overpowering were they in comparison with anything of the kind which I had before heard. We had scarcely time to recover our hearing before we became conscious of a hissing roaring sound in the atmosphere, momentarily increasing in intensity, and, looking to windward, there appeared in startling relief against the sable background a long line of luminous milky foam rushing down toward us from the horizon. In an incredibly short time the squall was upon us. On it came, like a howling fiend, over the tortured surface of the ocean, causing it to hiss and seethe like the contents of a boiling cauldron, and striking the cutter with such resistless fury that she went over helplessly before it, burying her lee-rail so deeply in the brine that her sails lay prostrate upon the surface of the water.

Each of us instinctively shouted to the others to "hold on," grasping at the same moment whatever came nearest. I managed somehow to clamber up the deck, as the cutter went over, and, passing out over the low bulwarks, established myself on the upturned side of the little craft. Giaccomo had done the same, while Francois was standing on the side of the cabin-companion, and clinging convulsively with both hands to the weather-rail.