his
money he had not carried home daily the remembrance of that tall dark
lady's face and kindly eyes and encouraging voice, and they used to watch
for the coming of the "_gran principessa_" as anxiously as they expected
the coming of the steward with the money-bags on a Saturday evening.
Often, too, the wives and daughters of the rough workers would bring the
men their dinners at noonday, rather than let them carry away their food
with them in the morning, just for the sake of catching a sight of
Corona, and of her broad-shouldered manly husband. And the men worked
with a right good will, for the story had gone abroad that for years to
come there would be no lack of work for willing hands.

So the days sped, and were not interrupted by any incident for several
weeks. One day Gouache, the artist Zouave, called at the castle. He had
been quartered at Subiaco with a part of his company, but had not been
sent on at once to Saracinesca as he had expected. Now, however, he had
arrived with a small detachment of half-a-dozen men, with instructions to
watch the pass. There was nothing extraordinary in his being sent in that
direction, for Saracinesca was very near the frontier, and lay on one of
the direct routes to the Serra di Sant' Antonio, which was the shortest
hill-route into the kingdom of Naples; the country around was thought to
be particularly liable to disturbance, and though no one had seen a
brigand there for some years, the mountain-paths were supposed to be
infested with robbers. As a matter of fact there was a great deal of
smuggling carried on through the pass, and from time to time some
political refugee found his way across the frontier at that point.

Gouache was received very well by Giovanni, and rather coldly by Corona,
who knew him but slightly.

"I congratulate you," said Giovanni, noticing the stripes on the young
man's sleeves; "I see that you have risen in grade."

"Yes. I hold an important command of six men. I spend much time in
studying the strategy of Conde and Napoleon. By the bye, I am here on a
very important mission."

"Indeed!"

"I suppose you give yourselves the luxury of never reading the papers in
this delightful retreat. The day before yesterday the Cardinal attempted
to arrest our friend Del Ferice--have you heard that?"

"No--what--has he escaped?" asked Giovanni and Corona in a breath. But
their tones were different. Giovanni had anticipated the news, and was
disgusted at the