Lucien looked at his watch.
"Ah! we are twenty minutes too soon," he exclaimed. "Let us sit down; you are very likely tired."
We sat down; indeed, we extended ourselves at full length upon the grassy sward, in a position facing the great breach in the wall.
"But," said I to my companion, "it seems to me that you have not finished the story you began just now."
"No," replied Lucien. "Every morning and every evening Savilia came down to the dungeon in which Giudice was confined, and then separated from him only by a grating, she would undress herself, and expose herself naked to him, a captive.'
"'Giudice,' she would say, 'how do you expect that such an ugly man as you are can ever hope to possess all this?'
"This trial lasted for three months, and was repeated twice a day. But at the end of that period, thanks to a waiting woman whom he had bribed, Guidice was enabled to escape. He soon returned with all his men, who were much more numerous than those Savilia could assemble, and took the castle by assault, and having first possessed himself of Savilia, he subsequently exposed her naked in an iron cage at the cross roads in the Bocca di Cilaccia, offering, himself, the key to any passer by who might be tempted to enter. After three days of this public prostitution Savilia died."
"Well," I said, "it seems to me that your ancestors had a very pretty idea of revenging themselves, and that in finishing off their enemies with dagger or gunshot their descendants have in a manner degenerated!"
"Without mentioning that the day may come when we shall not kill them at all!" replied Lucien. "But it has not come to that yet. The two sons of Savilia," he continued, "who were at Ajaccio with their uncle, were true Corsicans, and continued to make war against the sons of Guidice. This war lasted for four hundred years, and only finished, as you saw, by the dates upon the carbines of my parents, on the 21st September, 1819, at eleven o'clock A.M."
"Oh, yes, I remember the inscription; but I had not time to inquire its meaning, as just then we were summoned to supper."
"Well, this is the explanation: Of the family of Guidice there remained, in 1819, only two brothers. Of the de Franchi family there remained only my father, who had married his cousin. Three months after that the Guidice determined to exterminate us with one stroke. One of the brothers concealed himself on the road to Olmedo to await my father's coming home to Sartènewhile the other, taking advantage of his absence, determined to attack our house. This plan was carried out, but with a different result to what had been anticipated. My father, being warned of the plot, was on his guard; my mother, who had also got a hint of the affair, assembled the shepherds, etc., so that when the attack was made the intended victims were prepared for itmy father on the mountains, my mother in the mansion. The consequence was that the two Guidici fell, one shot by my father, the other by my mother. On seeing his foe fall, my father drew out his watch and saw it was eleven o'clock. When my mother shot her assailant she turned to the timepiece and noticed that it was also eleven o'clock. The whole thing had taken place exactly at the same moment. There were no more Guidici left, the family was extinct, and our victorious family is now left in peace; and considering we carried on a war for four hundred years, we didn't want to meddle with it any more. My father had the dates engraved upon the carbines, and hung the pieces up on each side of the clock, as you saw. Seven months later my mother gave birth to twins, of whom one is your very humble servant, the Corsican Lucien; the other, the philanthropist, Louis, his brother."
As he ceased speaking, I noticed a shadow of a man accompanied by a dog projected in the doorway.
The shadows were those of the bandit Orlandi and his friend Diamond.
At that moment the village clock of Sullacaro was heard striking nine with measured strokes.
Evidently the Orlandi was of Louis XV.'s opinion, that punctuality is the politeness of kings!
It would have been impossible to have been more exact than was that king of the mountain, with whom Lucien had appointed a meeting at nine o'clock.
We both rose from our reclining posture when we saw the bandit approaching.
Chapter VIII
"YOU are not alone, Monsieur Lucien," said the bandit.
"Do not let that disturb you, Orlandi. This gentleman is a friend of mine, who has heard me speak of you, and wished to pay you a visit. I could not think of refusing him that pleasure."
"Monsieur is welcome to the country," said the bandit, bowing as he advanced towards us.
I returned his salute with the most punctilious politeness.
"You must have been waiting here some time," continued Orlandi.
"Yes, about twenty minutes."
"Quite so. I heard Diamond howling at Mucchio, and he has been with me quite a quarter of an hour since then; he is a good and faithful dog, is he not, Monsieur Lucien?"
"Yes, indeed he is, Orlandi," replied Lucien, as he patted the animal.
"But," said I, "since you knew that Monsieur Lucien was here, why did you not come sooner?"
"Because our appointment was for nine o'clock," said the bandit, "and it is just as unpunctual to be a quarter of an hour too soon as to arrive a quarter of an hour too late."
"That is meant for a hit at me, Orlandi," said Lucien, laughing.
"No, sir; you no doubt have your reasons; besides you have a companion, and it is likely on his account you may have started earlier, for I know your punctual habits, Monsieur Lucien, and I know also that you have been good enough to put yourself to inconvenience on my account frequently."
"Oh, do not say anything about that, Orlandi; this will probably be the last time."
"Have we not some few words to exchange upon that subject, Monsieur Lucien," said the bandit.
"Yes, if you will have the goodness to follow me."
"I am at your orders."
Lucien turned towards me, and said:
"Will you excuse me a moment?"
"Of course;" I replied.
The men then went away together, and ascending the breach through which Orlandi had appeared halted at the top of it, their figures standing out in strong relief in the moonlight.
Then I was able to take more particular note of this Orlandi. He was a tall man, who had fashioned his beard in exactly the same manner as young de Franchi, and was clothed like him; but his dress showed traces of more frequent contact with the bushes through which he was obliged to fly, and of the earth upon which he was obliged to lie, than did those of Lucien.
I could not hear what the men were talking about, and had I heard it I could not have understood it, as they spoke in the Corsican dialect.
But I was enabled to perceive by their gestures that the bandit was refuting with some heat a series of arguments which the young man was setting forth with an impartiality that did him honour.
At length the gestures of the Orlandi became less frequent and more energetic. His voice became subdued, and he at last bowed his head and held out his hand to the young man.
I concluded the conference was now over, and the men descended together towards me.
"My dear, sir," said Lucien, "Orlandi wishes to shake you by the hand, and to thank you."
"And for what?" I said.
"For being so good as to be one of his sponsors. I have answered for you!"
"If you have answered for me I will readily accept, without even asking what is in question."
I extended my hand to the bandit, who did me the honour to touch it with the tips of his fingers.
"You will now be able to tell my brother that all has been arranged according to his wishes," said Lucien, "and that you have signed the contract."
"Is there, then, a marriage about to take place?"
"No, not yet; but perhaps there may be shortly."
A disdainful smile passed over the bandit's face as he replied,
"We have made peace, Monsieur Lucien, because you wished it; but marriage is not included in the compact."
"No," replied Lucien, "it is only written in the future amongst the probabilities; but let us talk of something else. Did you not hear anything while I was talking with Orlandi?" he said, turning to me.
"Of what you were saying, do you mean?"
"Of what you were saying, do you mean?"
"No, but what you might have thought was a pheasant close by?"
"Well, I fancied I did hear a bird crow, but I thought I must have been mistaken!"
"No, you were not mistaken, there is a cock perched in the great chestnut tree you saw about a hundred paces from here. I heard him just now as I was passing."
"Well, then," said Lucien, "we must eat him tomorrow."
"He would have already been laid low," said Orlandi, "if I had not thought that in the village they would believe I was shooting at something besides a pheasant."
"I have provided against that," said Lucien. "Bytheby," he added, turning to me and throwing on his shoulder the gun he had already unslung, "the shot by courtesy belongs to you."
"One moment," I said. "I am not so sure of my aim as you, and I will be quite content to do my part in eating the bird. So do you fire."
"I suppose you are not so used to shooting at night as we are," replied Lucien, "and you would probably fire too low. But if you have nothing particular to do tomorrow you can come and take your revenge."
Chapter IX
WE left the ruins on the side opposite to that on which we had entered, Lucien going first.
As soon as we had got into the brushwood a pheasant once more loudly announced his presence.
He was about eighty paces from us, roosting in the branches of the chestnut tree, the approach to which was prevented on all sides by the undergrowth.
"I do not quite see how you are going to get him," I said to Lucien; "it does not appear a very easy shot."
"No," he replied; "but if I could just see him, I would fire from here."
"You do not mean to say that your gun will kill a pheasant at eighty yards?"
"Not with shot," he replied; "it will with a bullet."
"Ah! that is a different thing altogether. I did not know you were loaded with ball. You were right to undertake the shot."
"Would you like to see the pheasant?" asked Orlandi.