ke that long to
buy the weapons. I must work slowly and quietly so the old vulture does
not get wind of what I am doing."

"The Monaldeschi are collaborating with this French pope and his French
cardinals," Daoud said to spur Marco on. "And the French party is about
to invite an army under Charles of Anjou into Italy."

"Damn the French!" said Marco. "And damn that putana and her family for
working with them."

"Also, as everyone knows," Daoud said, "the pope has not long to live.
Strike a blow now for Italy, and you will frighten the cardinals at a
time when they will soon be choosing the next pope. So your attack had
better come no later than spring."

"We Filippeschi are as loyal to the papacy as the Monaldeschi. Perhaps
more."

"My master, whom I prefer not to name," said Daoud, knowing that Marco
would think he meant King Manfred, "does not wish to see the pope in
league with the French."

"This war of Guelfi and Ghibellini leaves us prey to every French and
German ladrone who wants to come down and loot our country," said Marco.
Obviously he had no great love for the Hohenstaufens, either.

"How will you start the fighting?" Daoud asked him.

"Two or three of my cousins will take a walk in the piazza before the
Palazzo Monaldeschi on a Friday evening, when everybody strolls," Marco
said. "If their mere presence in that part of the city does not cause an
incident, they will step on a few toes."

"It will take some courage to go into the lion's den," Daoud remarked.

The young Filippeschi chieftain laughed ruefully. "We possess more of
courage than we do of anything else."

If they did not also possess some prudence and the ability to keep a
secret, Daoud thought, everything was lost.

XLI

The stained glass in the cathedral's deeply recessed rear windows broke
the sunlight of the April morning into blue, yellow, and red beams.
Walking slowly through the nave, Simon wondered why Sordello had
insisted this time on meeting him in person in the cathedral rather than
sending his news through Ana. The departure from their routine gave
Simon an uneasy feeling that some disaster was about to befall him.

The miraculous altar cloth with the dark spots in its center was mounted
in a gilded frame above the altar. On each side of it a tall white
candle burned. At the foot of the altar two priests in black cassocks
and white surplices knelt on benches, their heads resting on their
folded arms so that i