re his departure from Rome, very much as they have been
described in a previous chapter. These were made mostly in the
form of reflections, conjectures, hopes, and fears; hurry-scurry
of pursuit had no doubt broken the immediate record of events, and
these had been entered next day in the train.

"March 17 (the day previous). He has not shown up. I thought to
see him at the buffet at Genoa. The conductor took him his coffee
to the car. I hoped to have begun an acquaintance.

"12.30. Breakfasted at Turin. Q. did not come to table. Found him
hanging about outside restaurant. Spoke; got short reply. Wishes
to avoid observation, I suppose.

"But he speaks to others. He has claimed acquaintance with
madame's lady's maid, and he wants to speak to the mistress. 'Tell
her I must speak to her,' I heard him say, as I passed close to
them. Then they separated hurriedly.

"At Modane he came to the Douane, and afterwards into the
restaurant. He bowed across the table to the lady. She hardly
recognized him, which is odd. Of course she must know him; then
why--? There is something between them, and the maid is in it.

"What shall _I_ do? I could spoil any game of theirs if I
stepped in. What are they after? His money, no doubt.

"So am I; I have the best right to it, for I can do most for him.
He is absolutely in my power, and he'll see that--he's no fool--
directly he knows who I am, and why I'm here. It will be worth his
while to buy me off, if I'm ready to sell myself, and my duty, and
the Prefettura--and why shouldn't I? What better can I do? Shall I
ever have such a chance again? Twenty, thirty, forty thousand
lire, more, even, at one stroke; why, it's a fortune! I could go
to the Republic, to America, North or South, send for Mariuccia--
no, _cos petto!_ I will continue free! I will spend the money on
myself, as I alone will have earned it, and at such risk.

"I have worked it out thus:

"I will go to him at the very last, just before we are reaching
Paris. Tell him, threaten him with arrest, then give him his
chance of escape. No fear that he won't accept it; he _must_,
whatever he may have settled with the others. _Altro!_ I snap my
fingers at them. He has most to fear from me."

The next entries were made after some interval, a long interval,
--no doubt, after the terrible deed had been done,--and the words
were traced with trembling fingers, so that the writing was most
irregular and scarcely legible.

"Ugh! I