"His armies were doomed from the first," the jester said in his hoarse
guttural sing-song. "They were weighted with the souls of the martyred
hostages of Crema. I have lived to see that siege avenged,--and now I must
go on livin--and never see Milan again."

Marveling much at the heights and depths in the soul of a traitor Giovanni
went on his way to England. There he discussed with Tomaso the Paduan
physician, Ranulph the troubadour and Brother Basil of the Irish
Benedictines the astonishing destruction of the Emperor's army. But he
said no word of Stefano.

"It is all in the formula on which his power was based," said the
alchemist thoughtfully. "No man--be he duke, prince or kaiser--can pose as
the master of humanity. Men are not puppets; they are free souls in a free
world. You cannot make even a puppet-player move contrary to its nature."

"That is true," said Giovanni. "And I have never had two that behaved
exactly alike. Fantoccini have their own ways of acting--and when you pull
the strings yourself, you know."



THE ABBOT'S LESSON

There were twelve good monks and an Abbot who came
To found the Abbey and give the name
In the early days when the stones were laid,
And each of them knew a craft or a trade.
Sebastian the shepherd and Peter the smith,