ica, as Giovanni would certainly not
wish to go to bed as soon as he arrived, so that the little bedstead
need not be set up till he actually came.

At ten o'clock that evening, Ugo rose from his easy-chair, stretched
himself, and whistled for Pica as usual. The orderly brought him his
boots, his cloak, his sabre, and his cap, all of which he put on, as
he always did, before going downstairs, for it was the hour at which
he invariably inspected the neighbourhood. It was his practice to
begin by walking round the outside of the enclosure, his man carrying
a good lantern; he then examined the interior of the space, and
finally visited the guard-room and exchanged a word with the officer
on duty for the night. Of late, he had occasionally gone out again
between twelve and one o'clock, before going to bed; for two or three
suspicious-looking characters had been seen in the neighbourhood of
the magazine, like the man in the battered brown hat who had come upon
Pica one afternoon and had asked his way. There was, in fact, a
disquieting suspicion at headquarters that an attempt might be made to
blow up one of the magazines; the detachments of soldiers on duty had
therefore been strengthened and the officers in charge had been
instructed to exercise the greatest vigilance.

When Captain Ugo went out of his door as usual, with Pica at his
heels, the night was dark and it was just beginning to rain. The two
went directly from the little house to the gate of the enclosure, and
Ugo answered the sentry's challenge mechanically and walked briskly
along the straight wall to the corner. Turning to the right then, he
was following the next stretch at a good pace when he stumbled and
nearly fell over something that lay in his path. As Pica held up the
lantern close behind him, a man sprang up from the ground, where he
must have been lying asleep, probably in liquor. By the uncertain
light and in the rain, Ugo saw only the blurred vision of an
individual in a ragged and dripping overcoat, with an ugly, blotched
face and a ruined hat.

An instant later, and just as Ugo was challenging the man, two shots
were fired. The first smashed and extinguished the lantern in Pica's
hand without hurting him; the second took effect, and the Captain
staggered against the wall, but instead of falling, sat down suddenly
on the wet ground with his back against the masonry. The ruffian was
gone and Pica had dashed after him in a fruitless pursuit, for th