d me again. His blustering
was gone and his face grown pale, for such blows as mine could not have
been without effect. Not a doubt of it but he was taken with amazement
to find such fighting qualities in a Fool--an amazement that must
have eclipsed even that of finding Boccadoro in the armour of Giovanni
Sforza.

Again he swung his sword in that favourite stroke of his; but this time
I caught the edge upon my mace, and ere he could recover I aimed a blow
straight at his face. He lowered his head, like a bull on the point of
charging, and so my blow descended again upon his morion, but with a
force that rolled him, senseless, from the saddle.

Before I could take a breathing space I was beset by, at least, a dozen
of his followers who had stood at hand during the encounter, never
doubting that victory must be ultimately with their invincible captain.
They drove me back foot by foot, fighting lustily, and performing--it
was said afterwards by the anxious ones that watched us from the Castle,
among whom was Madonna Paola--such deeds of strength and prowess as
never romancer sang of in his wildest flight of fancy.

My men had suffered sorely, but the brave Giacomo still held them
together, fired by the example that I set him, until in the end the day
was ours. Discouraged by the disabling of their captain, so soon as they
had gathered him up our opponents thought of nothing but retreat; and
retreat they did, hotly pursued by us, and never allowed to pause or
slacken rein until we had hurled them out of the town of Pesaro, to
get them back to Cesare Borgia with the tale of their ignominious
discomfiture.

CHAPTER X. THE FALL OF PESARO

As we rode back through the town of Pesaro, some fifty men of the six
score that had sallied from the Castle a half-hour ago, we found the
streets well-nigh deserted, the rebellious citizens having fled back to
the shelter of their homes, like rats to their burrows in time of peril.

As we advanced through the shambles that we had left about the Castle
gates, it occurred to me that within the courtyard a crowd would be
waiting to receive and welcome me, and it became necessary to devise
some means of avoiding this reception. I beckoned Giacomo to my side.

"Let it be given out that I will speak to no man until I have
rendered thanks to Heaven for this signal victory," I muttered to the
unsuspecting Albanian. "Do you clear a way for me so soon a we are
within."

He obeyed me