and she tied the rope securely around it Garibaldi protested mildly,
but she patted her and left her lying contentedly in the mud.

She took time to look hastily about her before returning to the shed.
The tree to which the goat was tied was on the edge of a steep hill
that fell away abruptly from the little clearing.

Lucia looked down it, and could hardly believe her eyes; for there, far
below, was a silver stream glistening in the sunshine, and she realized
with a sense of thankfulness that it could be no other than the little
river that flowed below the west wall of Cellino, and right under the
windows of the Convent. If she could only get away, it would be an
easier matter to go back that way, than over the dangerous route by
which she had come. But she was not very eager to return at once, for
the idea that had come to her earlier in the day still tempted her to
wait and listen.

When she returned to the shed the Captain was nowhere in sight, and one
of the soldiers pointed to the open door. She nodded and walked in,
the key grated in the lock, and she was once more a prisoner.




CHAPTER VII

THE BEGGAR

As the sun rose higher, a quiet settled over the clearing. The men
talked and smoked, and the Captain read a newspaper at the door of his