Year: 1861

vetturino.


"But have hired the diligence, ant
am in hurry; SO drive on. If they wish
to ride they must wait until to morrow"


"But the drivers were not to be govern.
cd thus.


cit won't make bit of difference y
they said. "We'll Just 20 as fast; and
besides, they'll pay us something"


"By this time the cause of all the trouble
made its appearance in the shape of two
dark visaged, black. bearded powerful men
who looked ugly enough for the incarna-
tion of murder. recognized one of
them as a fellow whom had seen hanging
about the hotel at Florence, and the other
L was confident had caught glimpse of
just as the diligence left the yard at Pts.
toja.


IL was upon the point of speaking when
the thought occurred to me that 1 had bet
ter keep my kno wledge of the italian Lam
guage to myself. 1 might find out the
character of the fellows thus. I knew
very well that further remonstrance would
be useless, for the drivers were stupidly
hoggish, and the new applicants were
clearly not men to be argued with. The
door was opened, and the fellows entered.
occupied the back seat, and they took
the seat at the other end, fixing themselves
SO as to face me, They looked at me out
of wicked eyes, and as they threw back
their short cloaks l saw they were well
armed


"Hope we don't trouble youl" said one
of them, In course Italian, as the diligence
started on.


1 gazed inquiringly into his face, but
made no reply,


"He repeated the remark.


"No comprehend, Signor," said, sha-
king my head.


"Ah-Englise ~ he suggested, with a
shrug of his shoulders.
"No-lrlsh," L told him.


"Ugh!" he grunted, with another shrug
of the broad, massive shoulders, and an
awful scowl of the face.


owe had now began to ascend the noun
tain in good earnest, and our pace was slow
and numbering The fellow who drove
the oxen made noise enough for an army
while the blows upon both oxen and horses
fell hard and thick, but without accom-
plishing anything. Had L been alone, 1
might have enjoyed the scenery which un-
folded itself below us as we crept up the
Collina; but as it was | could not think
of anything save the two men who had
forced themselves upon me. Pretty soon
one of them spoke, and though 1 appeared
not to notice them, yet I could see that
they were watching ne closely.


"Death and destruction !" he uttered in
his own tongue, eve shall be over the pre-
cipice if that drunken driver is not care.
! full


~ read the fellows purpose in mo-
mcnt and not movement betrayed my
understanding of what he had said. My
eyes were half closed, and to all appear
anee was unconscious of their presence.


"Hc's right. He don't understand US"
said one Of them.


"All safe, returned the other.


CATER this they converscd together quite
freely, and | was not long in having my
worst fears realiz ed. But not change
could they detect in my countenance. l
l kept my knowledge as secret as the very
grave, and all my feeling was within me.
After awhile they became satisfied that
knew nothing Of their language, and they
became more bold in their speech, and
talked their plan all over and from them
I learned the following highly interesting
particulars


"The one whom I had seen in Florence
had by some means learned that was to
carry quite large sum of money with me
across the mountains, and he had come on
10 Pisjota, where his confederate was, to
await my arrival, intending to rob mo there,
if possible. But when they found that I
was to go alone in the diligence, they had
q better plan. They would rob me onthe
mountain. The two drivers were friends
of theirs, and were to be paid liberally for
allowing themselves to be overcome. The
villains talked about cutting my throat,
shooting me through the head, or plung-
ing knife to my heart, and then throw
ing me over the precipice, as coolIy as
though they had been planning the death
of fowl for dinner! The place where
they were to murder me was about mile