he would
immediately be cautioned by the police, or sent to China by the Church."

"Well," di Leyni replied, "what if he were cautioned?"

"Cautioned to-day, he would be imprisoned to-morrow." "And what of
that?" the young man repeated. "How about St. Paul, Abbe Marinier?"

"Ah! my friend! St. Paul, St. Paul--"

By this unfinished sentence the Abbe Marinier probably meant to convey
that St. Paul was St. Paul. Di Leyni, on the other hand, reflected that
Marinier was Marinier. Don Clemente remarked that not all saints could
be sent to China. Why should not the saint of the future be a layman?

"I believe he will be," exclaimed Padre Salvati, The enthusiastic
Don Fare, on the contrary, was convinced that he would be a Sovereign
Pontiff. The Abbe laughed. "A simple and excellent idea," said he. "But
I hear the carriage coming that is to take Dane and myself, and any one
else who wishes to join us, to Subiaco, so I will go and take leave of
Signor Selva."

He leaned over the parapet to gather a small branch of the olive,
planted on the terrace of the ground floor.

"I should offer him this," he said, "and to you, gentlemen, as well," he
smilingly added, with a graceful gesture, and then entered the house.

The noise of a two-horse carriage on the road below could in fact be
heard. It rounded the cliff upon which the villa stood, and stopped
at the gate. A few moments later Maria Selva and Dane, in his heavy
overcoat and huge black broad-brimmed hat, came out on the terrace;
Giovanni and the Abbe followed.

"Who is coming with us?" Dane asked. No one answered. Above the deep
rumbling of the Anio, voices and steps could be heard approaching the
villa from the gate. Minucci, who was standing at the eastern end of the
terrace, looked down, and said:

"Ladies. Two ladies."

Maria gasped. "Two ladies?" she exclaimed. Hastening to the parapet she
perceived two white figures ascending slowly; they were at the first
turning of the steep little path. It was impossible to recognise the
figures, they were still too far away, and it was too dark. Giovanni
observed that they were probably people coming to the first floor to see
the proprietors of the house. Professor Dane smiled mysteriously.

"They may be coming to the second floor," said he.

Maria exclaimed:

"You know something about this!" and called down:

"_Noemi, est-ce vous?_"

Noemi's clear voice answered:

"_Oui, c'est nous!_"

Another female voice was h