Our dinner was nearly over when noise rose outside.
My lieutenant came in.
"The peasants are gathering near the house," he said. "A rumour has gone through the island that the felucca came to arrest you and carry you back to Corfu."
"To defend me?"
"Yes."
I looked at Minolto.
He did not smile.
I turned to the lieutenant.
"Undeceive the good fellows. Tell them there is no danger for the moment, and send them home. But first give them a barrel of wine."
He went out.
A little later the crowd dispersed, satisfied. To prove their devotion, they fired their guns into the air before leaving.
Minolto set down his glass.
"It is all very amusing," he said, "but it will turn out very serious if you let me go away alone, for my duty compels me to give an exact account of all I have witnessed."
"I will follow you, if you will give me your word of honour to land me free in Corfu."
"I have orders to deliver your person to M. Foscari, on board the bastarda."
"Well, you shall not execute your orders this time."
He leaned back, vexed.
"If you do not obey the commands of the general, his honour will compel him to use violence against you, and of course he can do it. But tell me, what would you do if the general should leave you in this island for the sake of the joke? There is no fear of that, however, and, after the report which I must give, the general will certainly make up his mind to stop the affair without shedding blood."
"Without a fight it will be difficult to arrest me, for with five hundred peasants in such a place as this I would not be afraid of three thousand men."
"One man will prove enough," Minolto said, "you will be treated as a leader of rebels. All these peasants may be devoted to you, but they cannot protect you against one man who will shoot you for the sake of earning a few pieces of gold."
I said nothing.
"I can tell you more than that," he continued, "among all these men who surround you, there is not one who would not murder you for twenty sequins."
"That is a poor opinion of my army."
"It is a true one. Believe me, go with me. Come to enjoy the triumph which is awaiting you in Corfu. You will be courted and applauded. You will narrate yourself all your mad frolics, people will laugh, and at the same time will admire you for having listened to reason the moment I came here."
I reflected silently as he continued speaking.
"Everybody feels esteem for you, and M. D---- R---- thinks a great deal of you. He praises very highly the command you have shewn over your passion in refraining from thrusting your sword through that insolent fool, in order not to forget the respect you owed to his house. The general himself must esteem you, for he cannot forget what you told him of that knave."
"What has become of him?"
"Four days ago Major Sardina's frigate arrived with dispatches, in which the general must have found all the proof of the imposture, for he has caused the false duke or prince to disappear very suddenly. Nobody knows where he has been sent to, and nobody ventures to mention the fellow before the general, for he made the most egregious blunder respecting him."
"But was the man received in society after the thrashing I gave him?"
"God forbid! Do you not recollect that he wore a sword? From that moment no one would receive him. His arm was broken and his jaw shattered to pieces.
"But in spite of the state he was in, in spite of what he must have suffered, his excellency had him removed a week after you had treated him so severely. But your flight is what everyone has been wondering over. It was thought for three days that M. D---- R---- had concealed you in his house, and he was openly blamed for doing so. He had to declare loudly at the general's table that he was in the most complete ignorance of your whereabouts.
"His excellency even expressed his anxiety about your escape, and it was only yesterday that your place of refuge was made known by a letter addressed by the priest of this island to the Proto-Papa Bulgari, in which he complained that an Italian officer had invaded the island of Casopo a week before, and had committed unheard-of violence. He accused you of seducing all the girls, and of threatening to shoot him if he dared to pronounce 'cataramonachia' against you. This letter, which was read publicly at the evening reception, made the general laugh, but he ordered me to arrest you all the same."
"Madame Sagredo is the cause of everything." I observed.
"True," said Minolto. "But she is well punished for it. You ought to call on her with me tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" I said. "Are you certain, then, that I shall not be put under arrest?"
"Yes, for I know that the general is a man of honour."
"I am of the same opinion."
I considered for a moment then said.
"Well, let us go on board your felucca. We will embark together after midnight."
"Why not now?"
"Because I will not run the risk of spending the night on board M. Foscari's bastarda. I want to reach Corfu by daylight, so as to make your victory more brilliant."
Minolto laughed.
"And what are we to do for the next eight hours?"
"We will pay a visit to some beauties of a species unknown in Corfu, and have a good supper."
I called my lieutenant and gave my orders.
The men on board the felucca were to receive plenty to eat and drink. Supper was to be prepared for us with all possible splendour. Nothing was to be spared, since I would leave the island at midnight.
I gave my lieutenant all the provisions I did not intend to carry away. The rest I sent on board.
My janissaries, to whom I gave a week's pay, insisted upon escorting me, fully equipped, as far as the boat, which made the adjutant laugh all the way.
We reached Corfu at eight in the morning and came alongside the bastarda.
Minolto delivered me to M. Foscari, the commander, assuring me that he would at once inform M. D. R. of my arrival, send my luggage to his house, and report the success of his expedition to the general.
Foscari received me badly.
If he had been blessed with any delicacy of feeling, he would not have been in such a hurry to have me put in irons. He might have talked to me, and have thus delayed for a quarter of an hour that operation which greatly vexed me.
Without a word, he sent me to the capo di scalo.
The man made me sit and ordered me to put out my foot.
I obeyed.
The iron closed around my right leg.
In that country, irons do not dishonour anyone, not even the galley slaves, for they are better treated than soldiers.
The man had taken my left foot and was about to complete the operation when the general's adjutant arrived in haste.
"Stop," he said. "Set him free and return him his sword."
I rose.
I wished to present my compliments to the noble M. Foscari, but the adjutant, somewhat ashamed, assured me that his excellency did not expect me to do so.
The first thing I did was to present myself to the general.
I paid my respects in silence. He looked at me with a grave face and told me to be more prudent in future, and to remember that a soldier's first duty was obedience.
"Above all," he added, "be modest and discreet."
I understood perfectly the meaning of the two last words, and acted accordingly.
When I appeared at M. D. R.'s house, I saw pleasure on every face.
Those moments have always been so dear to me that I have never forgotten them, they have afforded me consolation in the time of adversity. If you would relish pleasure you must endure pain, and delights are in proportion to the privations we have suffered.
D. R. came towards me and embraced me warmly.
Then he drew a fine ring from his finger and gave it to me.
"You did quite right," he said, "not to let anyone know where you had taken refuge, especially not me."
"You can't think," he added, frankly, "how interested Madame F---- was in your fate. She would be really delighted if you called on her immediately."
How delightful to receive such advice from his own lips!
The word 'immediately', however, troubled me. I had passed the night aboard the felucca. My clothes had suffered, my hair was not in the order I liked, and I feared that the disorder of my toilet might injure me in her eyes.
Still, I could not refuse him, nor could I tell him why I hesitated.
I therefore decided to turn necessity into merit.
So I went at once to her house.
The goddess was not yet visible.
Her attendant received me and told me to come in.
"Madame's bell will soon ring," she said. "She would be very sorry if you did not wait to see her."
I spent half an hour with the maid.
She was young, charming, and indiscreet, three qualities which, when united in a waiting woman, make her conversation extremely useful. From her I learned many things that pleased me, especially all that had been said of my escape.
I found that throughout the affair my conduct had met with general approbation.
At last Madame F. rang.
The maid went in, returned almost immediately, and told me that her mistress wished to see me.
I entered.
The curtains were drawn aside. Madame F. was in bed, and for a moment I thought I saw Aurora herself, half hidden among the roses and pearls of morning.
I bowed.
"Madam, had I not received M. D. R.'s order, I would never have dared present myself before you in my travelling costume."
She looked at me kindly.
"M. D. R. was quite right to tell you to come, knowing all the interest I feel in you."
Those words were worth the whole adventure.
"He has the greatest esteem for you," she added.
"I do not know, madam, how I have deserved such great happiness, for all I dared aim at was toleration."
"We all admired the control you kept over your feelings when you refrained from killing that insolent madman on the spot; he would have been thrown out of the window if he had not beat a hurried retreat."
"I should certainly have killed him, madam, if you had not been present."
"A very pretty compliment," she said, smiling, "but I can hardly believe that you thought of me in such a moment."
I did not answer.
I lowered my eyes and gave a deep sigh.
She observed my new ring, and in order to change the subject of conversation she praised M. D---- R----- very highly, as soon as I had told her how he had offered it to me.
Then she desired me to give her an account of my life on the island.
I did so, but allowed my pretty needlewomen to remain under a veil, for I had already learnt that in this world the truth must often remain untold.
My adventures amused her greatly, and she admired my conduct.
"Would you have the courage," she said, "to repeat all you have just told me, and exactly in the same terms, before the proveditore-generale?"
"Most certainly, madam, provided he asked me himself."
"Well, then, prepare to redeem your promise."
She leaned a little towards me.
"I want our excellent general to love you and to become your warmest protector, so as to shield you against every injustice and to promote your advancement. Leave it all to me."
Her words filled me with happiness.
Only a few weeks earlier, I had been nothing to her but an awkward adjutant without gloves. Now she wished to guide my fortune. The change was so sweet that I almost feared to examine it too closely.
I left her house intoxicated with hope, though I had drunk nothing.
My next visit was to Major Maroli, for after love and glory, one must still know the state of one's purse.
He told me that after my flight he had no longer considered me a partner in the faro bank. I was pleased by this honesty, or at least by this prudence.
I took four hundred sequins from the cashier, reserving the right to become again a partner, should circumstances prove at any time favorable.