starting from her head.

The man who held the boy said in his ear, "Where does your father keep
his money?"

The lad replied in a thread of a voice, with chattering teeth,
"Yonder--in the cupboard."

"Come with me," said the man.

And he dragged him into the closet room, holding him securely by the
throat. There was a dark lantern standing on the floor.

"Where is the cupboard?" he demanded.

The suffocating boy pointed to the cupboard.

Then, in order to make sure of the boy, the man flung him on his knees
in front of the cupboard, and, pressing his neck closely between his own
legs, in such a way that he could throttle him if he shouted, and
holding his knife in his teeth and his lantern in one hand, with the
other he pulled from his pocket a pointed iron, drove it into the lock,
fumbled about, broke it, threw the doors wide open, tumbled everything
over in a perfect fury of haste, filled his pockets, shut the cupboard
again, opened it again, made another search; then he seized the boy by
the windpipe again, and pushed him to where the other man was still
grasping the old woman, who was convulsed, with her head thrown back and
her mouth open.

The latter asked in a low voice, "Did you find it?"

His companion replied, "I found it."

And he added, "See to the door."

The one that was holding the old woman ran to the door of the garden to
see if there were any one there, and called in from the little room, in
a voice that resembled a hiss, "Come!"

The one who remained behind, and who was still holding Ferruccio fast,
showed his knife to the boy and the old woman, who had opened her eyes
again, and said, "Not a sound, or I'll come back and cut your throat."

And he glared at the two for a moment.

At this juncture, a song sung by many voices became audible far off on
the highway.

The robber turned his head hastily toward the door, and the violence of
the movement caused the cloth to fall from his face.

The old woman gave vent to a shriek; "Mozzoni!"

"Accursed woman," roared the robber, on finding himself recognized, "you
shall die!"

And he hurled himself, with his knife raised, against the old woman, who
swooned on the spot.

The assassin dealt the blow.

But Ferruccio, with an exceedingly rapid movement, and uttering a cry of
desperation, had rushed to his grandmother, and covered her body with
his own. The assassin fled, stumbling against the table and overturning
the light, which was e