rt of the hut; so that we did
not know that there was more than one room, and I should never have
thought of breaking into that door, had it not been for Francisco. And
now come along, my dears. Let us wait here no longer."

The sailors and servitors broke into a cheer as the girls came out of
the hut.

"Shall we put a torch to this place?" Francis asked Polani.

"No, Francisco. It must be searched thoroughly first.

"Captain Lontano, do you order four of your men to remain here, until
some of the officials of the state arrive. If anyone comes before that,
they must seize them and detain them as prisoners. The state will
investigate the matter to the bottom."

Now that they were in the open air, the merchant could see that the
close confinement and anxiety had told greatly upon his daughters. Both
were pale and hollow eyed, and looked as if they had suffered a long
illness. Seeing how shaken they were, he ordered one of the retainers
to go to the gondola, and tell the men to row it round to the nearest
point to the hut. The party then walked along down to the shore.

In a few minutes the gondola arrived. Polani, his two daughters, and
Francis took their places in it. The four men, bound hand and foot,
were laid in the bottom of the ship's boat; the gouvernante was made to
take her place there also, and the sailors were told to follow closely
behind the gondola, which was rowed at a very slow pace.

On the way, Polani told his daughters of the manner in which Francis
had discovered the place of concealment.

"Had it not been for him, my dears, we should certainly not have found
you, and that villain would have carried out his plans, sooner or
later. He would either have given his guards the slip, or, when no
evidence was forthcoming against him, they would have been removed. He
would then have gone outside the jurisdiction of the republic, obtained
a ship with a crew of desperadoes, sailed round to the seaward side of
San Nicolo, and carried you off. Nothing could have saved you, and your
resistance would, as that woman told you, have been futile."

"We shall be grateful to you all our lives, Francisco," Maria said. "We
shall pray for you always, night and morning.

"Shall we not, Giulia?"

"Yes, indeed," the young girl said simply. "We shall love him all our
lives."

"Answer for yourself, Giulia," Maria said with a laugh, her spirits
returning in the bright sunshine and fresh air. "When Francisco asks
for