The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1899-11-15
CHAPTER XII.
TILE AMnUACADE-


with an enjoyment as keen as his riders
pleasure, to hear the air whistle as one
cuts through il, and TO feel the blood fair
~ dance in the veins. After those weary
weeks Of illness, Of inaction, aud Of men.
tai despair ! had passed through. Il was
a. II new life was poured into me, to know
that | was once more in the saddle, with a
prospect, however faint, Of regaining all
! had lost. As the landscape on each side
Of me melted into a green gray streak, II
seemed TO carry away with It my suffering,
rs the true horse answered willingly TO the
touch Of my spur. forgot the past, and was
once again Ugo III Savelli. with a spirit as
high as the days before the black sorrow
fell upon me. To the lett Of the road was
a broad stretch Of springy turf. crossed by
a fairly wide water channel. ] could not
resist giving the beast a burst over this,
and. followed by Jacopo. gallopcd over It
with free rein. Both the horses took the
Jump like bucks, and, carried away by the
moment, we held on. until We reached the
stony and bowldercovered incline which led
TO the valley Of the Greve. Here the turf
came TO a sudden end, IN a line such as the
edge Of a calm sea makes in a bay. and then
began a steep descent Of gravel and loose
stones, whose many colors Of gray, ochrc
and brown, were splashcd here aud there
by masses OF short, thick shrubs, which
gradually increased IN dcnscness, until they
spread before US. a sea Of sombcr green. that
stretched to the clear blue OF the Grcve.
Here, on the crest OF the slope, ! drew
bride. thinking the horses had enough OF
Il for the present, and that II would he well
to husband their strength. Jacopo pulled
up alongside OF me aud, STOPPING 10 pat the
neck OF his mount. said:
"Excellcncy, the horses are in good con
dition; they viii carry us well TO Les.
horn!" lie spoke the truth, for although
they might have been In better training. as
the few clots Of yellowy white foam on the
part Of the reins which had touched their
uccks showed. still we should have been
content with less from new aud practically
untricd purchases, such as We had made,
and ! congratulated myself mentally on our
luck, for Barabbas himself would have had
much to learn from the horse dealers Of
Tuscany.
"By keeping at this pace, excellency." said
Slropo, as we trotted on. Eve shall reach
the Resa shortly before It gets quite dark.
and ] submit that We stop there to feed the
horses. As your honor commanded, have
brought meal for them. and there was
space enough in the sack for a snack for
me. which would do at a pinch for two.
ii your excellency would but condesoend to
taste Of IT,"
you say well. Jacopo: but l also am an
old soldier. and my saddle-bags are full
fasting body makes bun faint heart,
whether for man or beast--on the other
bank OF the Resa then, we shall call halt
There is a little light still. enough TO in
crease the pace-so onwards!"
We broke into hand galiop, keeping one
behind the other. and following the wind
ings Of a cattle track. Tor | had purposely
avoided the road after receiving the in
formation ! had extracted from the sen
try at the San Frediano gate. II was evi-
dent that the party Of men, followed by
Ceci's nephew, had left Florence TO carry
out some desperate design. | had been
logged all day by this man, and now he
had galloped of in disguise TO join the men
who had left Florence before we had, and
amongst them was his uncle. Ceci's words
at our last interview, and the persistent
manner in which ! was followed, left me
no room to doubt that ! was the object
Of their attention, and that It would be
necessary to keep well on the alert. did
hot apprehend danger at once. but thought
that If an attack were made il would be
in the narrow valley between the low hills
to the north Of Montespertoli, OF at Ponte
a Elsa. each Of which places was particu-
lsrly suited for an ambuscade, although, Of
course. considering their numbers, the at
tempt might be made elsewhere, and open
ly, without very much danger. So with
another hurried word Of warning TO Jacopo,
and holding my sword ready, | galloped
along, increasing the pace as much as pos
sible, whenever we went past a clump Of
trees, and both Of US keeping as sharp a
lookout as the light, or rather darkness,
permitted. We avoided the regular ford
Of the Resa on the Montespertoli road,
higher up in the direction Of Monte.
lupo, aud here got good wetting. for the
water was deeper than we anticipated. Had
Ceci and his friends only lain in wait for
us at this point, we should have had no
chance. As it happened, however, we had !
taken a zig-zag route, which had either |
thrown them of the track entirely, or we
should meet them further on, either at one |
Of the two spots mentioned by me, or IN |
some other equally convenient locality. Al |
my rate, we we're safe for the present, and |
hat was something to be thankful for. even |
L we were IN darkness. So my thoughts |
ran on as we scrambled somehow 20 the |
opposite bank Of the Rosa, and CROPPED our |
way up until we felt soft grass under our |
eet. for we had dismounted on fording the |
stream, and led our horses by their brides
~ the steep left bank Here we called
lalt, determined to await the moon, and j
Iacopo managed somehow to tethcr the |
iorses, fastening the halters to the stump |
II tree he discovered by stumbling against,
md on which he wasted some OF those curses
he was so anxious for me TO reserve Tor my |
enemies. After giving the horses their feed,
which they nosed out readily enough, de.
'pite the darkness, be joined me where sat
1n the grass trying to dry, and wrapping up
he lock Of his arquebus in wooden cap,
which he produced, 10 keep II from damp,
Ie took his seat beside me at my invita-.
ion.
II was fallto now, TO our supper, and
dding my store 10 my faithful followers
upply | sunk distinctions Of rank, and
We enjoyed a meal, with hearty content.
nent that had been a stranger TO me for
many day. When the last drop OF wine
n the bottle was finished, and we had
licked our last bone, Jacopo arose with
Ugh.
Before supper. excelleney, | was ready
o eat and then fight my way through an
rmy; now, beshrew NE, If a sound nap
( an hour or 50 is not much 10 my tastel"
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