elegant wit, and
Cucurullo laughed a little too, more out of politeness than because he
was amused.

'You may yet die a saint, sir,' he said with a grave smile when the
general mirth had subsided. 'Many of the saints were soldiers, you know.
There was the blessed Saint Eustace, and there was Saint Martin, and
Saint Sebastian, and Saint George----'

'But there never was a Saint Hector, and that is my name, at your
service.'

At this retort the men again showed their delight, laughing in chorus.

'Do you think you have no chance of being the first Saint Hector in the
calendar?' asked Cucurullo pleasantly. 'Why not? You have a good heart,
sir. I see it in your face, if you will pardon me for saying so.
Gentlemen'--he smilingly appealed to the other men--'has not Sergeant
Hector a good heart?'

'A heart of gold!' cried one of the soldiers.

'A heart as big as a pumpkin!' another chimed in.

'A lion's heart!'

'There is not another like him in all the Pope's army!'

'And God bless him!'

The sergeant stood back, pretending to put on a terrible frown, and
cutting the air in carte and tierce with his handsome tasselled stick.

'You ruffians!' he roared. 'You know well enough that I would beat you
all black and blue if you did not praise me seventeen times a day, four
times for each watch and once more for good luck! Eh?' He glared
ferociously about him, and his stick flew round in his hand like
lightning, through a whole series of cuts, feints, and round parries.
'Have I trained my men well or not?' he asked, desisting at last, and
turning to Cucurullo.

'You have trained them to tell the truth about you, sir, I have no
doubt,' answered the hunchback.

'And we will make a bad day of it for any man who says a word against
him,' said the biggest of the halberdiers with a grin.

The rest confirmed his statement with a variety of asseverations,
according to their several tastes, calling to witness indifferently both
heathen deities and Christian saints.

'Very well,' said Cucurullo. 'It is proved that you have a very good
heart, sir, and that is the chief thing needed to make a saint. For to
say that a man is kind-hearted is only another way of saying that he is
charitable, and Charity is the greatest of the three Theological
Virtues, as you must have learned at the seminary.'

'Good friend,' answered the sergeant, 'if you are going to open the
"Process" concerning my Beatification this morning, the Devil's Ad