burn out the drops, and leave her hot and angry and scorching.

"She must be terrible," cried Mae, with a sudden shrinking.

"She IS terrible," replied Lisetta, "but then she is very clever. You
will see if she is not clever when you hear the story I shall now tell
you," and Lisetta laughed, and showed her own one double chin, with its
two little round dimples. Then she smoothed down her peasant apron, bade
Giovanni leave off pinching Roberto, and commenced.

"The government hates the banditti," began Lisetta, wisely, "and indeed
it should," and she looked gravely at Giovanni, "for they are very wild
men, who live reckless bad lives, and steal, and are quite dreadful. But
we poor, we do not hate them as the government does, because they are
good to us, and do not war with us, and sometimes those we love join
them--a brother or a cousin, perhaps,"--and Lisetta's black eyes filled,
and her lip quivered. "As for the Madre, she loved them all, and said
they were all relations.

"At this time of which I speak, the soldiers were chasing and hunting
the banditti very hard, and they had been compelled to hide for their
lives up among the mountains. There they would have died, had it not
been for the peasants, who supplied them with food. Small parties of the
bandits would come out for it. There were two very powerful men of the
banditti, who were skirmishing about in this way, not far from the
Madre Ilkana's, when they saw two soldiers, in advance of their company,
approaching them. The banditti were not afraid for themselves, but they
wanted to get back to their friends with the bread and meat, so instead
of fighting, they fled to the Madre. She took them in, and bade them be
sure they were safe with her. But the soldiers had caught sight of them,