does he mean to do? Who is he? Can he be one of those whom I have
offended?" A hasty succession of figures passed before her, but none of
them at all resembled this man. But now the suggestion of revenge had
seized hold upon her frightened imagination. What if this stranger had
been deputed to take vengeance upon her for all her other victims? And
if this was revenge, then worse things yet were in store for her. The
tinkle of the horses' bells cut through the rumbling of the wheels; the
sharp, shrill sound struck upon her like a cry of anguish, and in her
terror she was ready to risk everything in a leap from the carriage.
But no sooner did she relax her hold of her companion, than the latter
rolled over in a senseless heap, and Theresa, in growing alarm and
anxiety, could only lift up the fainting figure and support it across
her lap. Thus she sat for a while, too perturbed for definite thought,
till suddenly, at a turn of the road, she caught sight of the luminous
haze that hung over the city, and for a moment felt that she was saved.
But the sensation of relief passed like a flash, as the meaning of the
whole scheme dawned upon her. This man was an emissary of vengeance
from the Corso! And before the thought had assumed coherent shape in
her mind, she cried out, "Ah! no further! no further!"

The echo of her own beseeching words, the jangle of the horses' bells,
the mad movement of the poplars alongside, were all she had for answer,
as they dashed on. No word came from the silent shape in front. There
coursed through her mind a forecast of her pitiful progress through the
city, driven onward by the lash, her swooning companion dragging on her
arms, the crowd lining the pavements to stare at her, the officers
pressing forward to greet her with mocking applause and laughter; for
that all this was planned by the officers, to wreak their anger upon
her, she now felt certain. She bowed her head as if she were already in
the midst of her tormentors. The next moment she could tell by the
sound that the horses were slackening speed. They must be close to
their destination; but would they stop before they reached it? She
looked up with a sudden rush of awakened hope. She perceived why the
pace had grown slower. Her captor had fallen back behind the horses; he
was now close beside her, and presently she found herself listening to
his hurried, laboured breathing, until she could hear nothing else, and
all her agonising fear fas