lmly. "Between the Englishman's
yacht and the Little Mole you will find a schooner moored--her name. _La
Svezia_; do not forget--_La Svezia_. To-morrow you will go on board of
her, ask for the captain, go down below, and beg him to be so kind as to
give you twelve stripes--"

"Signore--"

"Another word, _mouchard_, and I make it twenty. He will give you a
receipt, which you will sign, and bring to me; otherwise, down goes your
name on the list. Which do you prefer? Oh, we will teach some of you
young weasels a lesson! I have the honor to wish you a good morning."

Calabressa touched his hat politely, and walked on, leaving the young
man petrified with rage and fear.

By-and-by he began to walk more leisurely and with more circumspection,
keeping a sharp lookout, as well as his near-sighted eyes allowed, on
any passer-by or vehicle he happened to meet. At length, and with the
same precautions he had used on a former occasion, he entered the
grounds of the villa he had sought out in the company of Gathorne
Edwards, and made his way up to the fountain on the little plateau. But
now his message had been previously prepared; he dropped it into the
receptacle concealed beneath the lip of the fountain, and then descended
the steep little terraces until he got round to the entrance of the
grotto.

Instead of passing in by this cleft in the rockwork, however, he found
awaiting him there the person who had summoned him--the so-called
General Von Zoesch. Calabressa was somewhat startled, but he said, "Your
humble servant, Excellenza," and removed his cap.

"Keep your hat on your head, friend Calabressa," said the other,
good-naturedly; "you are as old as I am."

He seated himself on a projecting ledge of the rockwork, and motioned to
Calabressa to do likewise on the other side of the entrance. They were
completely screened from observation by a mass of olive and fig trees,
to say nothing of the far-stretching orange shrubbery beyond.

"The Council have paid you a high compliment, my Calabressa," the
general said, plunging at once into the matter. "They have resolved to
intrust you with a very difficult mission."

"It is a great honor."

"You won't have to risk your neck, which will no doubt disappoint you,
but you will have to show us whether there is the stuff of a diplomatist
in you."

"Oh, as for that, Excellenza," Calabressa said confidently, "one can be
a _bavard_ at times, for amusement, for nonsense; and one c