nger men, as well as the three actresses, were glad to retire to
rest early; but Blazius and the tyrant, with their host, sat up drinking
the latter's capital wine until far into the night. At length they, too,
succumbed to their fatigue; and while they are sleeping we will return
to the abandoned chariot to see what was going on there. In the gray
light of the early morning it could be perceived that the poor old horse
still lay just as he had fallen; several crows were flitting about,
not yet venturing to attack the miserable carcass, peering at it
suspiciously from a respectful distance, as if they feared some hidden
snare. At last one, bolder than its fellows, alighted upon the poor
beast's head, and was just bending over that coveted dainty, the
eye--which was open and staring--when a heavy step, coming over the
snow, startled him. With a croak of disappointment he quitted his
post of vantage, rose heavily in the air, and flapped slowly off to
a neighbouring tree, followed by his companions, cawing and scolding
hoarsely. The figure of a man appeared, coming along the road at a brisk
pace, and carrying a large bundle in his arms, enveloped in his cloak.
This he put down upon the ground when he came up with the chariot,
standing directly in his way, and it proved to be a little girl about
twelve years old; a child with large, dark, liquid eyes that had a
feverish light in them--eyes exactly like Chiquita's. There was a string
of pearl beads round the slender neck, and an extraordinary combination
of rags and tatters, held together in some mysterious way, hung about
the thin, fragile little figure. It was indeed Chiquita herself, and
with her, Agostino--the ingenious rascal, whose laughable exploit
with his scarecrow brigands has been already recorded--who, tired of
following a profession that yielded no profits, had set out on foot for
Paris--where all men of talent could find employment they said--marching
by night, and lying hidden by day, like all other beasts of prey. The
poor child, overcome with fatigue and benumbed by the cold, had given
out entirely that night, in spite of her valiant efforts to keep up with
Agostino, and he had at last picked her up in his arms and carried her
for a while--she was but a light burden--hoping to find some sort of
shelter soon.

"What can be the meaning of this?" he said to Chiquita. "Usually we stop
the vehicles, but here we are stopped by one in our turn; we must look
out les