CHAPTER IV.
A SUDDEN SUMMONS.
One Saturday early in March, 1860, Frank, now sixteen years of age, onstarting for the football ground, was told that the house-master wishedto see him, and he at once went into his study.
"Percival, I have received a note from your mother, asking me to let youout till Monday morning. She says that she particularly wants to seeyou, and will be glad if you will start at once. Of course I will do so;you had better catch the next train, if you can."
"What in the world can the mater want to see me in such a hurry for?"Frank said to himself in a rather discontented tone as he left themaster's study. "It is a frightful nuisance missing the match thisafternoon! I don't know what Hawtrey will say when I tell him that Icannot play. Ah! here he is."
"What is up, Percival?"
"I am awfully sorry to say that I have just received a message from mymater calling me up to town at once. I have no idea what it is about;but it must be something particular, for I told her when I wrote to herlast that this was going to be the toughest match of the season; still,of course I must go."
"I see that, Percival. It is a terrible nuisance; you are certainly thethird best in the house, and now I shall have to put Fincham in, Isuppose, and I am afraid that will mean the loss of the match."
"He is as strong as I am, Hawtrey."
"Yes; he is strong enough and heavy enough, but he is desperately slow.However, I must make the best of him."
Frank hurried upstairs, and in ten minutes came down again, dressed. Heran the greater part of the way to the station, and just caught the uptrain. The disappointment over the football match was forgotten now.Thinking it over, he had come to the conclusion that either his motheror grandmother must have been taken seriously ill. It could hardly behis mother, for it was she who had written; still, she might havemanaged to do that, even if she had met with some sort of accident, ifit was not too serious. If not she, it must be the signora, as hegenerally called her, and as he was very fond of her, he felt that herloss would be a heavy one indeed. His anxiety increased as he nearedLondon; and as soon as the train stopped at Euston he jumped out, seizedthe first hansom, and told the cabman to drive fast to Cadogan Place. Heleaped out, handed his fare to the cabman, ran up the steps, and knockedat the door.
"Is every one well, Beppo?" he asked breathlessly, as the servant openedit.
"Yes, sir," the footman replied, in his usual calm and even voice.
"Thank God for that!" he exclaimed. "Where is my mother?"
"In the dining-room, sir, with the signora."
Frank ran upstairs. "Mother, you have given me quite a fright," he said."From your message I thought that some one must have been suddenly takenill, or you would never have sent for me when you knew that we playedin the final ties for the house championship to-day. I have beenworrying horribly all the way up to town."
"I forgot all about your match, Frank," his mother said. "I have had aletter that put it out of my head entirely."
"A letter, mother?"
"Yes, Frank; from your hero, Garibaldi."
"What is it about, mother?" Frank exclaimed excitedly, for he had heardso much of the Italian patriot from his father, and of their doingstogether in South America and the siege of Rome, that his admiration forhim was unbounded.
"Sit down, Frank, and I will tell you all about it. The letter wasaddressed to your dear father. Garibaldi, being in Caprera, probably hasbut little news of what is passing at Naples. He had heard of myfather's disappearance, but was apparently in ignorance of what hashappened since."
She took out the letter and read:
"'MY DEAR COMRADE AND FRIEND,--
"'When I last wrote to you it was to condole with you on the disappearance of that true patriot and my good friend, Professor Forli. I hope that long ere this he has been restored to you; but if, as I fear, he has fallen into the clutches of the rascally government of Naples, I am afraid that you will never hear of him again. Several times, when you have written to me, you have told me that you were prepared to join me when I again raised the flag of Italian independence, though you held aloof when France joined us against Austria. You did rightly, for we were betrayed by the French as we were at Rome, and my birthplace, Nice, has been handed over to them. You also said that you would help us with money; and, as you know, money is one of our chief requisites. The time has come. I am convinced that the population of the Neapolitan territories are now reduced to such a state of despair by the tyranny of their government that they will be ready to hail us as deliverers.
"'My plan is this: I am sure a thousand or so of the men who fought with me in the Alps will flock to my standard, and with these I intend to effect a landing in Sicily. If I capture Palermo and Messina I think I can rely upon being joined by no small number of men there, and by volunteers from all parts of Italy; five thousand men in all will be sufficient, I think--at any rate, that number collected, I shall cross to the mainland and march upon Naples. You may think that the adventure is a desperate one, but that is by no means my opinion; you know how easily we defeated the Neapolitan troops in 1848. I believe that we shall do so still more easily now, for certainly very many of them must share in the general hatred of the tyrant. Come, dear friend, and join us; the meeting-place is called the Villa Spinola, which is a few miles from Genoa.
"'I do not anticipate any great interference from Cavour; he will run with the hare and hunt with the hounds, as your proverb has it. He dare not stop us; for I am convinced that such is the state of public opinion in Italy, that it might cost his master his crown were he to do so. On the other hand, he would be obliged to assume an attitude of hostility, or he would incur the anger of Austria, of the Papacy, and possibly of France; therefore I think that he will remain neutral, although professing to do all in his power to prevent our moving. I am promised some assistance in money, but I am sure that this will fall short of the needs. We must buy arms not only for ourselves, but to arm those who join us; we must charter or buy steamers to carry us to Sicily. Once there, I regard the rest as certain. Come to me with empty hands, and you will receive the heartiest welcome as my dear friend and comrade; but if you can aid us also with money, not only I, but all Italy, will be grateful to you. I know that you need no inducement, for your heart is wholly with us, and all the more so from this disappearance of madame's father, doubtless the work of the tyrants. Need I say that our first step in every town and fortress we capture will be to release all political prisoners confined there?--and it may be that among these we will find Professor Forli. Turr will be with me, Baron Stocco of Calabria, Bixio, and Tuckory; and Madame Carroli has written to tell me that she places her three sons at my disposal in the place of their brave brother, and will, moreover, supply me with money to the utmost of her power. Come, then, dear friend, aid me with your arm and counsel, and let us again fight side by side in the cause of liberty.'"
Frank leapt to his feet. "You will let me go in my father's place,mother, will you not? Many of those who will follow Garibaldi will be noolder than myself, and probably not half so strong; none can hate thetyranny of Naples more than I do. It is the cause for which my fatherand grandfather fought; and we now have greater wrongs than they had toavenge."
"That is what I thought you would say, Frank," his mother said sadly."'Tis hard indeed to part with a son after having lost father andhusband; but my father was an Italian patriot, my husband fought forItaly; in giving you up I give up my all; yet I will not say you nay. Sofierce is the indignation in England at the horrors of the tyrants'prisons that I doubt not many English will, when they hear ofGaribaldi's landing in Sicily, go out to join him; and if they are readyin the cause only of humanity to risk their lives, surely we cannotgrudge you in the cause not only of humanity, but of the lan
d of ourbirth."
"I feel sure that father would have taken me, had he been here," Franksaid earnestly.
"I believe he would, Frank. I know that he shared to the full myfather's hatred of the despots who grind Italy under their heel; andbesides the feeling that animated him, one cannot but cherish the hopethat my father may still be found alive in one of those ghastly prisons.Of course my mother and I have talked the matter over. We both lamentthat your studies should be interrupted; but it can be for a few monthsonly, and probably you will be able to return to Harrow when the schoolmeets again after the long holiday--so that, in fact, you will only losethree months or so."
"That makes no odds one way or another, mother. In any case, I am notlikely to be a shining light in the way of learning."
"No--I suppose not, Frank; and with a fine estate awaiting you, there isno occasion that you should be, though of course you will go throughOxford or Cambridge. However, we need not think of that now."
"And will you be sending him any money, mother?"
"Certainly. Your father put by a certain sum every year in order that hemight assist Garibaldi when the latter again raised the flag of freedomin Italy--a cause which was sacred in his eyes. At the time he leftEngland, this fund amounted to L10,000; and as he never knew when thesummons from Garibaldi might arrive, he transferred it to my name, sothat he need not come back to England, should a rising occur before hisreturn. So you will not go empty-handed."
"That will be a splendid gift, mother. I suppose I shall not go back toschool before I start?"
"No, Frank. Since you are to go on this expedition, the sooner you startthe better. I shall write to your headmaster, and tell him that I ammost reluctantly obliged to take you away from school for a few months;but that it is a matter of the greatest importance, and that I hope hewill retain your name on the books and permit you to return when youcome back to England."
"If he won't, mother, it will not matter very much. Of course I shouldlike to go back again; but if they won't let me, I shall only have to goto a coach for a year or two."
"That is of little consequence," his mother agreed; "and perhaps, aftergoing through such an exciting time, you will not yourself care aboutreturning to school again. You must not look upon this matter as a mereadventure, Frank; it is a very, very perilous enterprise, in which yourlife will be risked daily. Were we differently situated, I should nothave dreamt of allowing you to go out; but we have identified ourselveswith the cause of freedom in Italy. Your grandfather losteverything--his home, his country, and maybe his life; and your father,living as he did in Rome, and married to the daughter of an Italian,felt as burning a hatred for the oppression he saw everywhere round himas did the Italians themselves; perhaps more so, for being accustomed tothe freedom Englishmen enjoy, these things appeared to him a good dealmore monstrous than they did to those who had been used to them alltheir lives. He risked death a score of times in the defence of Rome;and he finally lost his life while endeavouring to discover whether myfather was a prisoner in one of the tyrants' dungeons. Thus, although inall other respects an English boy--or Italian only through yourgrandfather--you have been constantly hearing of Italy and its wrongs,and on that point feel as keenly and strongly as the son of an Italianpatriot would do. I consider that it is a holy war in which you areabout to take part--a war that, if successful, will open the doors ofdungeons in which thousands, among whom may be my father, are lingeringout their lives for no other cause than that they dared to think, andwill free a noble people who have for centuries been under the yoke offoreigners. Therefore, as, if this country were in danger, I should notbaulk your desire to enter the army, so now I say to you, joinGaribaldi; and even should you be taken from me, I shall at least havethe consolation of feeling that it was in a noble cause you fell, andthat I sent you, knowing that my happiness as well as your life hungupon the issue. I want you to view the matter then, my boy, not in thelight of an exciting adventure, but in the spirit in which the Crusaderswent out to free the Holy Sepulchre, in which the Huguenots of Francefought and died for their religion."
"I will try to do so, mother," Frank said gravely; "at any rate, if thecause was good enough for my father and grandfather to risk their livesfor, it is good enough for me. But you know, mother," he went on, in achanged voice, "you can't put an old head on to young shoulders; andthough I shall try to regard it as you say, I am afraid that I shan't beable to help enjoying it as a splendid adventure."
His mother smiled faintly. "I suppose that is boy nature. At any rate,I am sure that you will do your duty, and there is certainly no occasionfor your doing it with a sad face; and bear in mind always, Frank, thatyou are going out not so much to fight, as to search every prison andfortress that may be captured, to question every prisoner whether he hasheard or known any one answering the description of your grandfather,or--or----" and her lip quivered, and her voice broke.
"Or, mother?"--and he stood surprised as Mrs. Percival burst suddenlyinto tears, and the signora, rising from her seat, went hastily to her,and put her arm round her neck. It was a minute or two before Mrs.Percival took her hands from her face, and went on,--
"I was going to say, Frank, or of your father."
Frank started, as if he had been suddenly struck. "My father," herepeated, in a low tone. "Do you think, mother--do you think itpossible? I thought there was no doubt as to how he was killed."
"I have never let myself doubt," Mrs. Percival went on. "Whenever thethought has come into my mind during the past two years I haveresolutely put it aside. It would have been an agony more than I couldbear to think it possible that he could be alive and lingering in adungeon beyond human aid. Never have I spoken on the subject, except tomy mother, when she first suggested the possibility; but now that thereis a chance of the prison doors being opened, I may let myself nothope--it can hardly be that--but pray that in God's mercy I may yet seehim again." And as she again broke down altogether, Frank, with a suddencry, threw himself on his knees beside her, and buried his face in hisarms on her lap, his whole figure shaken by deep sobs.
Mrs. Percival was the first to recover her composure, and gentlystroked his hair, saying: "You must not permit yourself to hope, my boy;you must shut that out from your mind as I have done, thinking of itonly as a vague, a very vague and distant possibility."
"But how, mother, could it be?" he asked presently, raising his head."Did we not hear all about his being killed, how Beppo saw him shot, andhow one of the band testified that he was dead and buried?"
"So it seemed to me, Frank, when my mother first pointed out to me thatall this might be false, and that just as the government of Naplesdeclared they were absolutely ignorant as to your grandfather'sdisappearance when it appeared to us a certainty that it was due totheir own act, so they would not hesitate a moment to get rid of yourfather, whose letters as to the state of their prisons were exciting anintense feeling against them in every free country. She said it would beeasy for them to bribe or threaten his servant into telling any talethey thought fit; he or some other agent might have informed thebanditti that a rich Englishman would be passing along the road at acertain time, and that the government would be ready to pay for hiscapture and delivery to them. The prisoner taken may have been promiseda large sum to repeat the story of the Englishman having died and beenburied. It was all possible, and though I was determined not to think ofhim as a prisoner, my mother, who knew more of these things than I did,and how matters like this were managed in Italy, thought that it was so.Still to my mind there were, and still are, reasons against hope, forsurely the Neapolitan government would have preferred that the brigandsshould kill him, rather than that they themselves should have thetrouble of keeping him in prison."
"Possibly they would have preferred that," Signora Forli said, speakingfor the first time. "They knew that he was an Englishman, and doubtlesslearned that he carried loaded pistols, and may have reckonedconfidently upon his resisting and being killed, and may have beendisappointed because
the brigands, hoping for a large ransom, carriedhim off wounded."
"But even then," Mrs. Percival said, "they could have sent up theiragents to the brigands and paid them to finish their work."
"Yes, possibly that is what they did do; but though I have never spokento you on the subject since you told me not to, I have thought it overmany and many times, and it seems to me that they would scarcely do so,for they might thus put themselves into the power of these bandits. Anyone of the band might make his way to Naples, go to the Britishlegation, and under the promise of a large sum of money and protectiondenounce the whole plot. It seems to me more likely that they would sendan agent to the chief brigand, and pay him a sum of money to deliver thecaptive up to men who would meet him at a certain place. It is probablethat the chief would, on some excuse or other, get rid of all his bandbut two or three, hand over the prisoner, and share the money only withthose with him, and when the others returned, tell them that theprisoner had died and that they had buried him. Then the carabinieriwould use every effort to kill those who were in the secret, and beingin earnest for once, they probably did kill the chief and those withhim.
"Probably the man who gave his evidence was not one of the party at all,but some prisoner charged with a minor offence, who was promised hisliberty as the price of telling the story that he was taught. IfLeonard had been killed and buried, as they stated, his grave mustsurely have been found--the earth must still have been fresh; and,indeed, nothing is more unlikely than that the brigands should havetaken any extraordinary trouble to hide the body, as they could not haveanticipated that any vigorous search would be made for it. For thesereasons I have all along believed that Leonard did not come to his endas was supposed. He may have been killed afterwards by those into whosehands he was delivered; but even this does not seem likely, for one ofthem might betray the secret for a large reward. He may have died in adungeon, as so many thousands have done; but I believe firmly that hedid not, as reported, die in the brigands' hut. I have never sincespoken on the subject to your mother, Frank, for I agreed with what shesaid, that it would be better to think of him as dead than in a dungeon,from which, as was shown in the case of your grandfather, there was nochance of releasing him. Now, however, if Garibaldi is successful, asevery prison will be searched, and every political prisoner freed, thereis a prospect that, if he is still alive, he may be restored to us."
Frank, with the natural hope of youth, at once adopted the signora'sview; but his mother, although she admitted that it might possibly betrue, still insisted that she would not permit herself to hope.
"It may be that God in His mercy will send him back to me; but, though Ishall pray night and day that He will do so, it will be almost withouthope that my prayer will be granted,--were I to hope, it would be likelosing him again if he were not found. Now let us talk of other matters.The sooner you start the better, Frank; you will not have manypreparations to make. The Garibaldian outfit is a simple one--a redshirt, trousers of any colour, but generally blue, a pair of gaiters andone of thick, serviceable boots, a wide-awake, or, in fact, any sort ofcap with perhaps a red feather, a well-made blanket wound up andstrapped over one shoulder like a scarf, a red sash for the waist, acloak or great-coat strapped up and worn like a knapsack, and a spareshirt and a pair of trousers are all the outfit that you require. Youhad better take a good rifle with you, and of course a pair of pistols.All the clothes you can buy out there, and also a sword, for no doubtGaribaldi will put you on his staff."
"In that case I shall not want the rifle, mother."
"No; and if you do you can buy one there. In a town like Genoa there aresure to be shops where English rifles can be bought, and you might havedifficulty in passing one through the customs--luggage is rigorouslyexamined on the frontier and at the ports. A brace of pistols, however,would be natural enough, as any English traveller might take them forprotection against brigands if he intended to go at all out of beatentracks. As to the money, I shall go to the bank on Monday, and requestthem to give me bills on some firm in Genoa or Turin. Garibaldi willfind no difficulty in getting them cashed. I should say that your bestcourse will be to go through Paris and as far as the railway is made,then on by diligence over Mont Cenis to Turin, and after that by railwayto Genoa. In that way you will get there in three or four days, whereasit would take you a fortnight by sea."
"Then it seems to me, mother, that there is nothing at all for me to getbefore I start, except a brace of pistols; but of course I must have myclothes up from Harrow."
"I will write for them at once, Frank. It would be better that youshould not go down--you would find it difficult to answer questions putto you as to why you are leaving; and of course this enterprise ofGaribaldi must be kept a profound secret. One cannot be too prudent in acase like this, for if a whisper got abroad the Italian government wouldbe compelled to stop him."
"You will not see Beppo here when you come back," Mrs. Percival said toFrank on Monday evening. "I gave him notice this afternoon."
"What for, mother? Anyhow, I am not sorry, for I have never liked him."
"I know that you have not, Frank, and I begin to think that you wereright. My maid said to me this morning that, though she did not like tospeak against a fellow-servant, she thought it right to tell me thatwhen I am out of the house and before I get up of a morning he is oftenin the drawing-room and dining-room, in neither of which he has anybusiness; and that when she went up yesterday evening--you know that sheis a very quiet walker--she came upon him standing outside thedrawing-room door when we were chatting together, and she thought,though of this she was not quite sure, that he had his ear at thekeyhole. He knocked and came in the instant he saw her, as if he hadonly that moment arrived there; but she had caught sight of him beforehe saw her, and was certain that he was listening.
"Of course, she might have been mistaken; but thinking it over, it seemsto me that she was probably right, for once or twice since he has beenhere, it has struck me that the papers in my cabinet were not inprecisely the same order as I had left them. You know that I am verymethodical about such matters; still, I might each time, when I tookthem out, have omitted to return them in exactly the same order asbefore, though I do not think it likely that I could have done so.However, I thought nothing of it at the time; but now that I hear thathe has been spying about the rooms and listening at the door, I cannotbut connect the two things together, and it may be that the man has beenacting as an agent for the Neapolitan government. You know, when we weretalking the matter over on Saturday, my mother suggested that it waspossible that the courier had been in league with the brigands. Possiblyhe may also be an agent of the government; and there was so great a stirmade at that time that I cannot regard it as impossible, knowing how sheand I are heart and soul with the Italian patriots, that he was sentover to watch us."
"I think it not only possible but probable," Signora Forli put in. "Iknow that in Italy the police have spies in every household where theysuspect the owner of holding liberal opinions; and knowing that ourhouse was frequented by so many exiles, they may have very well placedthis man here. I regret now that at the time this man came over at yourmother's request, we listened to his plausible tale and took him intoour service, but I had not at that time any strong suspicions that theattack on your father was a preconcerted one, and I should hardly havementioned the idea to your mother had it occurred to me. However, it isof no use thinking over that now; the great point is to consider how itwill affect your plan."
"In what way, signora?" Frank asked in surprise; and Mrs. Percivaladded, "I don't see what you mean, mother."
"I mean this, dear: if this man is a spy, you may be quite sure that hehas had false keys made, by which he can open your cabinet, yourdrawers, and your writing-desk. It is quite probable that he knowsGaribaldi's handwriting, for, knowing that the general was a greatfriend of your father, he would almost certainly be furnished with aspecimen of it; and, if that was the case, we may take it for grantedthat wherever you put any let
ter from Garibaldi, he would get at it andread it. That in itself can do comparatively little harm, for rumours ofthe general's proposed expedition are already current. But he will knowthat, immediately on receipt of that letter, you sent for Frank.Doubtless there are other Neapolitan spies over here, and every movementyou have made since will, in that case, have been watched, and you willhave been seen to go to the bank to-day. It is not likely that theywould know how much we have drawn out, for your conversation was withthe manager in his private room; but knowing your devotion toGaribaldi's cause, they might well suppose that the amount would be aconsiderable one. We have made no secret of the fact that Frank willstart the day after to-morrow to travel in Italy for a time; and he willguess that Frank is the bearer of this money to Garibaldi--possibly, asit seems that he listened at the doors, he may even have heard you tellFrank how much you were going to send. Yesterday evening we were talkingover how the bills had best be concealed, and he may have heard thatalso; if he did, you may be pretty sure that they will never reachGaribaldi, unless our plans for their concealment are changed."
"You frighten me, mother."
"I don't know that there is anything to be frightened about," thesignora said. "I do not for a moment suppose that he contemplates anyactual attack upon Frank; though he will, I am convinced, try to get themoney--partly, no doubt, for its own sake, partly because its loss wouldbe a serious blow to Garibaldi. After the disappearance of hisgrandfather, and the commotion there was over the death or disappearanceof his father, an attack upon Frank would appear to be a sequel of theseaffairs, and would cause such general indignation that the ministrywould take the matter up in earnest, and the result would be far moredisastrous for the government of Naples than could be caused by anyamount of money reaching Garibaldi, whom they must regard as anadventurer who could give them some trouble, but who could not hope forsuccess. Therefore, I do not think that there is any danger whatever ofpersonal injury to Frank; but I do think there is grave fear that themoney will be stolen on the way. If our suspicions are well founded asto Beppo, no doubt two or three of these agents will travel with him. Ifhe stops to sleep at an hotel, his room would be entered and his coatcarried off; he may be chloroformed when in a train and searched fromhead to foot; his baggage may be stolen on the way, but that would onlybe the case if they do not find the bills on his person or where weagreed last night to hide them."
"I dare not let him go," Mrs. Percival said, in a trembling voice.
"Why, mother," Frank said almost indignantly, "you don't suppose, nowthat I am warned, I shall be fool enough to let these fellows get thebest of me? I will carry a loaded pistol in each pocket; I will notsleep in an hotel from the time I start till I have handed the bills toGaribaldi, and will take care always to get into a carriage with severalother passengers. If I hadn't had fair warning, I dare say I should havebeen robbed; but I have no fear whatever on the subject now that we havea suspicion of what may occur. But if you think it would be safer, I donot see why you could not send the bills by post to an hotel at Genoa."
Signora Forli shook her head. "That would not do," she said. "You do notknow what these Neapolitan spies are capable of. If they find that youhave not the money with you, they would follow you to your hotel atGenoa, bribe the concierge there to hand over any letter that cameaddressed to you, or steal it from the rack where it would be placed,while his attention was turned elsewhere. However, I have an old friendat Genoa, the Countess of Mongolfiere; we exchange letters two or threetimes a year. She is, of course, a patriot. I will, if your motheragrees with me, enclose the bills in an envelope addressed to you, putthat in another with a letter saying that you will call at her housewhen you arrive at Genoa, and request her to hand the letter to you. Iwill say that it vitally concerns the cause, and beg her to place itunder lock and key in some safe receptacle until you arrive."
"That is an excellent idea, mother," Mrs. Percival said, "and would seemto meet the difficulty."
Frank rose from his seat quietly, stepped noiselessly to the door, andsuddenly threw it open. To his surprise his mother's maid was sitting ina chair against it, knitting.
"It is all right, Hannah," he said, as she started to her feet. "I didnot know you were there. I thought that fellow might be listeningagain," and he closed the door.
"I asked her to sit there this evening, Frank," Mrs. Percival said. "Iknew that we should be talking this matter over, and thought it betterto take the precaution to ensure our not being overheard."
"Quite right, mother; I am glad you did so. Then you think that thatplan will answer?"
"Yes, I think so; but you must be sure and take care of yourself, justas if you had the money about you."
"That I will, mother; you can rely upon that."
"And above all," Signora Forli said, "you must beware, when you go tothe Countess for the money, that you take every possible precaution.Call in the daytime, go in a carriage and drive straight from her placeto the Villa Spinola; better still, go first to Garibaldi, tell himwhere the money is, and ask him to send three of his officers to yourhotel on the following morning. Then take a carriage, drive to theCountess's, and take it to the general with four of you in the carriage.They would not dare to attack you in broad daylight."
"That is an excellent plan," Mrs. Percival said, in a tone of greatrelief. "Certainly, if they do manage to search him on the way, and findthat he has not got the bills upon him, they will watch him closely atGenoa, where, no doubt, they will get the assistance of some ofFrancisco's agents. There are sure to be plenty of them in Genoa atpresent; but however many of them there may be, they would not ventureto attack in daylight four men driving along what is no doubt afrequented road, more especially as they would know that three of themwere Garibaldi's men, which is as much as to say desperate fellows, andwho would, no doubt, like yourself, be armed with pistols."
"We had better take one more precaution," Signora Forli said. "It isbelieved that you are going to start on Thursday morning. Your packingcan be done in five minutes; and I think that it would be a good planfor you to have everything ready to-night, and send Mary out for ahansom to-morrow morning, so that you could, when it comes up to thedoor, go straight down, get into it, and drive to the station. I don'tsay that they might not be prepared for any sudden change of our plans;but at least it would give you a chance of getting a start of them thatthey can never recover--at any rate, not until you get to Paris."
"How could they catch me there?" Frank said.
"Francisco's agents here might telegraph to his agents in Paris, andthey might be on the look-out for you when you arrived, and take thematter up. You were going _via_ Calais. Let me look at the Bradshaw."
"Yes," she said, after examining its pages; "the train for the tidalboat leaves at the same time as the Dover train. If, when you get intothe cab, you say out loud, 'Victoria,' so that Beppo may hear it, youcan then, when once on your way, tell the cabman to take you to CharingCross. In that way, if there is any one on the look-out when the Calaistrain comes in, they will be thrown altogether off the scent."
"It seems ridiculous, all these precautions," Frank said, with a laugh.
"My dear, no precautions are ridiculous when you have Francisco's agentsto deal with. Now, I will write my letter to the Countess at once, sothat she may get it before your arrival there. You will, of course, goout and post it yourself."