quarter of an hour, during which I ascertained beyond all doubt that the
men whom I was following were really the villains of the Antonio gang,
and that they had a prisoner with them who could be no other than the
Count of Riverola.

"At length the grove terminated, and I was about to abandon further
pursuit as dangerous, when it struck me that I should be acting in a
cowardly and unworthy manner not to endeavor to ascertain the locality
of the cave of which I had heard the miscreants speak, and to which they
were most probably conveying him who was so dear to the beautiful
Signora Flora. Accordingly I managed to track the party across several
fields to a grove of evergreens. But as they advanced without caring how
they broke through the crackling thickets, the noise of their movements
absorbed the far fainter sounds which accompanied my progress. So
successful was my undertaking that I was soon within twenty paces of
them. But it was profoundly dark, and I was unable to observe their
movements. I computed the distance they were from me, and calculated so
as to form an idea of the exact spot where they were standing; for, by
an observation which one of the villains let drop, I learnt that they
had reached the entrance of their cavern. It also struck me that I heard
a bell ring as if in the depths of the earth, and I concluded that this
was a signal to obtain admittance. While I was weighing these matters in
my mind, Lomellino suddenly exclaimed, 'Let the prisoner be taken down
first; and have a care, Venturo, that the bandage is well fastened.'
'All right, captain,' was the reply; and thus I ascertained that
Lomellino was the chief of some band most probably, I thought, of
robbers; for I remembered the allusions which had been made that evening
by Antonio to a certain predatory visit some months previously to the
Riverola mansion. 'God help Francisco,' I said within myself, as I
reflected upon the desperate character of the men who had him in their
power; and then I was consoled by the remembrance that he was merely to
be detained as a prisoner for a period, and not harmed."

"Unfortunately such demons as those Florentine banditti are capable of
every atrocity," observed the grand vizier.

"True, my lord," observed Demetrius; "but let us hope that all those in
whom your highness is interested, will yet be saved. I shall, however,
continue my narrative. Three or four minutes had elapsed since the
robbers had come to a