and borrowing from his rage a strength far greater than
his usual he burst away the fastenings of that crazy door.

Into the room hurtled the doctor, to check and stand there blinking at
me, too much surprised for a moment to grasp the situation.

When, at last, he understood, the returning flow of rage was
overwhelming.

"You!" he gasped, and then his voice mounting--"You dog!" he screamed.
"So it was you! You!"

He crouched and his little eyes, all blood-injected, peered at me with
horrid malice. He grew cold again as he mastered his surprise. "You!" he
repeated. "Blind fool that I have been! You! The walker in the ways
of St. Augustine--in his early ways, I think. You saint in embryo, you
postulant for holy orders! You shall be ordained this night--with this!"
And he raised his sword so that little yellow runnels of light sped down
the livid blade.

"I will ordain you into Hell, you hound!" And thereupon he leapt at me.

I sprang away from the window, urged by fear of him into a very sudden
activity. As I crossed the room I had a glimpse of the white figure of
Giuliana in the gloom of the passage, watching.

He came after me, snarling. I seized a stool and hurled it at him. He
avoided it nimbly, and it went crashing through the half of the casement
that was still closed.

And as he avoided it, grown suddenly cunning, he turned back towards the
door to bar my exit should I attempt to lead him round the table.

We stood at gaze, the length of the little low-ceilinged chamber between
us, both of us breathing hard.

Then I looked round for something with which to defend myself; for
it was plain that he meant to have my life. By a great ill-chance it
happened that the sword which I had worn upon that day when I went as
Giuliana's escort into Piacenza was still standing in the very corner
where I had set it down. Instinctively I sprang for it, and Fifanti,
never suspecting my quest until he saw me with a naked iron in my hand,
did nothing to prevent my reaching it.

Seeing me armed, he laughed. "Ho, ho! The saint-at-arms!" he mocked.
"You'll be as skilled with weapons as with holiness!" And he advanced
upon me in long stealthy strides. The width of the table was between us,
and he smote at me across it. I parried, and cut back at him, for being
armed now, I no more feared him than I should have feared a child.
Little he knew of the swordcraft I had learnt from old Falcone, a thing
which once learnt is never fo