man was comfortably placed in the limousine with
the surgeon beside him and Giovanni sitting opposite. Ugo introduced his
brother as a relation who had arrived very opportunely that morning.

The motor buzzed away from the door, and reached the Convent of Santa
Giovanna d'Aza in a few minutes. The sky had cleared after the rain and
the April sun was shining gloriously.

CHAPTER XII

Sister Giovanna was the supervising nurse for the week, and in the
natural course of her duty it was she who went to the telephone when
Doctor Pieri called up the hospital at seven o'clock. In a few words
he explained the case as far as was necessary, and begged the Sister
to have a good room ready for the patient; he believed that Number Two
was vacant.

It was, and the wounded man could have it. The Doctor said he would
bring him in a motor towards nine o'clock.

'The patient's name, if you please,' said Sister Giovanna in a
businesslike tone.

'Captain Severi. I do not know his first name. What is the matter,
Sister?'

The nun had uttered a low exclamation of surprise, which Pieri had
heard distinctly.

'Nothing,' she answered, controlling her voice. 'Is he a son of the
late general of that name?'

'I do not know, Sister. He is a friend of the Princess Chiaromonte. Is
it all right? I am busy.'

'Yes,' answered the nun's voice. 'It is all right.'

She hung up the receiver and went to give the necessary orders, rather
whiter about the lips than usual. The fact that the injured officer
was a friend of her aunt's seemed to make it certain that he was one
of the brothers of whom Giovanni had often spoken, and the mere
thought that she was to see him in an hour or two was disturbing. For
a moment she was strongly impelled to beg the Mother Superior that
some one else might take her place during the morning; but in the
first place it seemed cowardly to leave her post; and secondly, in
order to explain her position, she would have been obliged to tell the
Mother Superior her whole story, which she had never done. Monsignor
Saracinesca knew it, and Madame Bernard, but no one else whom she ever
saw nowadays.

Then came the comforting inward suggestion that Giovanni would have
wished her to do all she could for his brother, and this at once made
a great difference. She went to see that the room was in perfect
order, though she was quite sure that it was, and she sent for the
orderlies on duty and told them to be especially c