told me something,' the Mother Superior said coldly.

'I will tell you the whole story,' he answered.

He narrated the circumstances of Ortensia's flight substantially as they
were known to the Senator, and in as few words as possible, and she
listened without interrupting him.

'I know this Pignaver,' he said in conclusion, 'and I know positively
that he has engaged two Bravi to follow the pair and murder them. At the
best, he might be satisfied if Stradella were murdered and the girl
brought back to him. Those fellows may be even now in Ferrara, waiting
for a chance to do the deed. Our object is to unite the lovers and
protect them on their journey till they are beyond the reach of danger.
Do you see any great harm in that?'

'They are not married,' objected the nun.

'I am sure they mean to be, as soon as possible,' Gambardella answered.
'You know what the girl's life will be if you send her home, as I
suppose you mean to do. You can guess the sort of existence she will
lead when her uncle has her safely imprisoned in his house. I have heard
it said that he intended to marry her, and if that is true he will
deliberately torment her and perhaps starve her till she dies. He is as
vain as he is cruel, and she has not a relation in the world to
interfere with his doings.'

'Poor girl!' The Mother Superior sighed, and looked down at her folded
hands.

'And even if you insist on keeping her here, where I admit that she is
safe,' Gambardella continued, 'Stradella's life will not be safe when he
is out of prison. For I will answer for it that he will not leave
Ferrara without her, and his murder will be the first consequence of
your refusal to let her join him.'

'But they are not married,' the nun said again. 'I cannot let her go to
him. It would be a great sin! It would be on my conscience!'

'You will have his death on your conscience if you are not careful! But
there is a very simple way out of the difficulty, if you will agree to
it.'

'I will agree to nothing that is not right,' said the Mother Superior,
in a tone that excluded any compromise, 'and I tell you frankly that I
do not trust you. It would be strange if I did.'

'I do not ask you to trust me,' Gambardella answered. 'I shall merely
show you your duty, and leave you to do it or not, as you please!'

'My duty?' The nun was both surprised and offended.

'Yes,' replied the other, unmoved. 'Your objection is that they are not
married. Marry them,