street-fighting your buccaneer is as good as, if not better than,
a regular. All the circumstances of the ground favor him. Take him,
however, where he must move and manouvre,--where he will have to form
and re-form, to dress his line under fire, and occasionally change his
flank,--then all the odds will be against him. So far the Scythian
spoke well. His only miscalculation was to suppose that we will fight
anywhere."

"I declare, Maitland, I shall lose temper with you. You can't surely
know what insulting things you say."

"I wish they could provoke any other than yourself, _mio caro_. But come
away from this. Let us walk back again. I want to have one more look at
those windows before I go."

"And are you really in love?" asked the other, with more of astonishment
in his voice than curiosity.

"I wish I knew how to make _her_ believe it, that's all," said he,
sadly; and, drawing his arm within his friend's, moved on with bent-down
head and in silence.

"I think your friends are about the only travellers in Naples at this
moment, and, indeed, none but English would come here at such a season.
The dog-days and the revolution together ought to be too much even for
tourist curiosity."

Caffarelli went on to describe the arrival of the three heavy-laden
carriages with their ponderous baggage and their crowd of servants, and
the astonishment of the landlord at such an apparition; but Maitland
paid him no attention,--perhaps did not even hear him.

Twice or thrice Caffarelli said something to arouse notice Or attract
curiosity, even to pique irritability, as when he said: "I suppose I
must have seen your beauty, for I saw two,--and both good-looking,--but
neither such as would drive a man distracted out of pure admiration. Are
you minding me? Are you listening to me?"

"No, I have not heard one word you were saying."

"Civil, certainly; but, seriously, Maitland, is there not something more
pressing to do at this moment than to loiter along the Chiaja to catch
a glimpse of the closed curtains within which some blond angel may be
taking her tea?"

"Go home, and I will join you later on. I have given orders about the
horses. My man will have all in readiness by daybreak. You seem to me
most terribly eager to have your head smashed. The King ought to reward
your valor. It will be the only 'Cross' he will have to bestow."

Caffarelli turned impatiently from him, and walked away.

Maitland looked after him for a