y caught midway hung poised
and motionless. The firing deadened. Then Merthyr drawing nearer beneath
the crag, saw one who had life in him slipping down toward the body,
and knew the man for Beppo. Beppo knocked his hands together and groaned
miserably, but flung himself astride the beak of the crag, and took
the body in his arms, sprang down with it, and lay stunned at Merthyr's
feet. Merthyr looked on the face of Carlo Ammiani.

EPILOGUE

No uncontested version of the tragedy of Count Ammiani's death passed
current in Milan during many years. With time it became disconnected
from passion, and took form in a plain narrative. He and Angelo
were captured by Major Nagen, and were, as the soldiers of the force
subsequently let it be known, roughly threatened with what he termed
I 'Brescian short credit.' The appearance of Major Weisspriess and
his claim to the command created a violent discussion between the two
officers. For Nagen, by all military rules, could well contest it. But
Weisspriess had any body of the men of the army under his charm, and
seeing the ascendency he gained with them over an unpopular officer,
he dared the stroke for the charitable object he had in view. Having
established his command, in spite of Nagen's wrathful protests and
menaces, he spoke to the prisoners, telling Carlo that for his wife's
sake he should be spared, and Angelo that he must expect the fate of a
murderer. His address to them was deliberate, and quite courteous: he
expressed himself sorry that a gallant gentleman like Angelo Guidascarpi
should merit a bloody grave, but so it was. At the same time he
entreated Count Ammiani to rely on his determination to save him. Major
Nagen did not stand far removed from them. Carlo turned to him and
repeated the words of Weisspriess; nor could Angelo restrain his
cousin's vehement renunciation of hope and life in doing this. He
accused Weisspriess of a long evasion of a brave man's obligation to
repair an injury, charged him with cowardice, and requested Major Nagen,
as a man of honour, to drag his brother officer to the duel. Nagen then
said that Major Weisspriess was his superior, adding that his gallant
brother officer had only of late objected to vindicate his reputation
with his sword. Stung finally beyond the control of an irritable temper,
Weisspriess walked out of sight of the soldiery with Carlo, to whom, at
a special formal request from Weisspriess, Nagen handed his sword. Agai