COUNT ANTONIO AND THE HERMIT OF THE VAULT.
Among the stories concerning the Count Antonio which were told to me in
answer to my questioning (whereof I have rejected many as being no
better than idle tales), there was one that met me often and yet seemed
strange and impossible to believe; for it was said that he had during
the time of his outlawry once spent several days in the vault of the
Peschetti, and there suffered things that pass human understanding.
This vault lies near to the church of St. John the Theologian, in the
suburb of Baratesta, on the banks of the river; and the Peschetti had a
palace hard by, and were a family of high nobility, and allied by blood
to the house of Monte Velluto. But I could find no warrant for the
story of Antonio's sojourn in the vault, and although many insisted that
the tale was true, yet they could not tell how nor why the Count came to
be in the vault; until at length I chanced on an aged woman who had
heard the truth of the matter from her grandmother, and she made me
acquainted with the story, pouring on me a flood of garrulous gossip,
from which I have chosen as much as concerns the purpose. And here I set
it down; for I believe it to be true, and I would omit nothing that
touches the Count, so I can be sure that what I write is based on truth.
When Count Antonio had dwelt in the hills for the space of three years
and nine months, it chanced that Cesare, last of the Peschetti, died;
and he made a will on his death-bed whereby he bequeathed to Count
Antonio his lands and also a store of money, and many ornaments of gold,
and jewels; for Antonio's mother had been of the house of the Peschetti,
and Cesare loved Antonio, although he had not dared to give him
countenance for fear of the Duke's anger; yet, knowing himself to be
dying, he bequeathed everything to him, for the Duke's wrath could not
hurt a dead man. And so soon as he was dead, his steward Giuseppe sent
secretly and in haste to Antonio, saying, "My lord, you cannot take the
lands or the house; but, if you will be wise, come quickly and take the
money and the jewels; for I hear that His Highness the Duke, declaring
that an outlaw has no right and can inherit nothing, will send and seize
the treasure." Now Antonio, though grieved at the death of Cesare, was
glad to hear of the treasure; for he was often hard put to it to
maintain his company and those who depended on him for bread. So he
pondered anxiously how he might reach the palace of the Peschetti and
lay hands on the treasure and return safely; for at this time Duke
Valentine had posted above a hundred of his Guard in the plain, and this
troop watched all the approaches to the hills so that the band could not
ride forth in a body unless it were prepared to do battle with the
guards. Nor did Antonio desire to weaken the band, lest the guards,
learning that the bravest were away, should venture an attack.
Therefore he would not take Tommasino or Bena or any of the stoutest
with him; but he took four young men who had come to him from Firmola,
having fallen into the Duke's displeasure through brawling with his
guards. These he mounted on good horses, and, having made a circuit to
avoid the encampment in the plain, he came to Cesare's house on the day
before that appointed for the funeral. Giuseppe came to meet him, and
led him where the dead man lay, and, after the Count had gazed on his
face and kissed his forehead, they two went to the treasury, and
Giuseppe delivered the treasure to Antonio; and Antonio made him a
present of value and confirmed him in his stewardship, although it was
not likely that the Duke would suffer him to exercise any power,
inasmuch as His Highness had declared his intention of forfeiting the
estate into his own hand.
Now it chanced that one of the young men, being regaled with wine, drank
very freely, and began to talk loud and boastfully of his master's
achievements as the servants sat under the trees in front of the house;
and there was with them a certain tailor, a lame man, who had furnished
mourning garments for the funeral. The tailor, learning that Antonio was
come, said nothing, and seemed not to hear nor understand the drunken
youth's talk; but at an early moment he took his departure and
straightway hobbled as fast as his lame leg would let him to the Syndic
of Baratesta, a very busy and ambitious fellow, who longed greatly to
win the Duke's favour. And the tailor set the price of five pieces of
gold and the ordering of a new gown on the news he brought; and the
Syndic having agreed, the tailor cried, "Antonio of Monte Velluto is at
the house of the Peschetti, and his band is not with him. If you hasten,
you may catch him." At this the Syndic exulted very greatly; for the
Duke's Commissaries would not arrive to assume possession of the house
in his name till the morrow, by which time Antonio would be gone; and
the Syndic rubbed his hands, saying, "If I can take him my glory will be
great, and the gratitude of His Highness also." And he gathered together
all his constables, and hard upon twenty discharged soldiers who dwelt
in the town, and the fifteen men of the Duke's who were stationed at
Baratesta to gather His Highness's dues; and thus, with a force of about
fifty men, he set out in great haste for the house of the Peschetti, and
was almost come there, before a little boy ran to Giuseppe crying that
the Syndic and all the constables and many besides were coming to the
house. And Giuseppe, who had but three men-servants of an age to fight,
the other five being old (for Cesare had loved to keep those who served
him well, even when their power grew less than their will), and moreover
perceived that Antonio's four were young and untried, wrung his hands
and hastened to the Count with the news, saying, "Yet weak as we are, we
can die for you, my lord."
"Heaven forbid!" said Antonio, looking out of the window. "Are they all
townsmen that come with this Syndic?"
"Alas, no, my lord. There are certain of the Duke's men, and I see among
the rest men who have spent their days under arms, either in His
Highness's service or in Free Companies."
"Then," said Antonio, smiling, "unless I am to share Cesare's funeral, I
had best be gone. For I have seen too much fighting to be ashamed to run
away from it."
"But, my lord, they are at the gates."
"And is there no other gate?"
"None, my lord, save the little gate in the wall there; and see, the
Syndic has posted ten men there."
"And he will search the house?"
"I fear that he will, my lord. For he must have tidings of your coming."
"Then where is my horse?" said Count Antonio; and Giuseppe showed him
where the horse stood in the shadow of the portico. "Do not let the
Syndic know," added Antonio, "that the young men are of my company, and
send them away in safety."
"But what do you, my lord?" cried Giuseppe.
"What I have done before, Giuseppe. I ride for life," answered the
Count.
Then the Count, delaying no more, ran lightly down the stairs, leapt on
his horse, and, drawing his sword, rode forth from the portico; and he
was among the Syndic's company before they thought to see him; and he
struck right and left with his sword; and they fell back before him in
fear, yet striking at him as they shrank away; and he had come clean
off, but for one grizzly-haired fellow who had served much in Free
Companies and learnt cunning; for he stooped low, avoiding the sweep of
Antonio's sword, and stabbed the horse in its belly, and stood wiping
his knife and saying, "My legs are old. I have done my part. Do yours;
the horse will not go far." In truth the horse was wounded to death, and
its bowels protruded from the wound; and Antonio felt it falter and
stumble. Yet the gallant beast carried him for half a mile, and then he
sprang off, fearing it would fall under him as he sat and he be crushed
by it; and he drew his sword across its throat that it might not linger
in pain, and then ran on foot, hearing the cries of the Syndic's company
as it pressed on behind him. And thus, running, he came to the church of
St. John and to the vault of the Peschetti by it; two men were at work
preparing for Cesare's funeral, and the door of the vault was open.
Antonio hurled one man to the right and the other to the left, and
rushed into the vault; for his breath failed, and there was no chance
for his life were he overtaken in the open; and before the men regained
their feet, he pulled the door of the vault close and sank on his knee
inside, panting, and holding his sword in readiness to slay any who
entered. Then the Syndic and his company came and called on him to
surrender. And Antonio cried, "Come and take me." Then the Syndic bade
the workmen pull open the door; but Antonio held it with one hand
against them both. Yet at last they drew it a little open; and Antonio
lunged with his sword through the aperture and wounded the Syndic in the
leg, so that he stumbled backwards with an oath. And after that none was
willing to enter first, until the grizzly-haired fellow came up; but he,
seeing the aperture, rushed at it sword in hand, fearing no man, not
even Count Antonio. But he could not touch Antonio, and he also fell
back with a sore gash in his cheek; and Antonio laughed, saying, "Shall
I surrender, Syndic?"
Now the Syndic was very urgent in his desire to take Antonio, but his
men shook their heads, and he himself could not stand because of the
sword-thrust in his leg; and, instead of fighting, his company began to
tell of the wonderful deeds Antonio had done, and they grew no bolder by
this; and the grizzly-haired fellow mocked them, saying that he would go
again at the aperture if two more would attempt it with him; but none
offered. And the Syndic raged and rebuked them, but he could not hurt
them, being unable to stand on his feet; so that one said boldly, "Why
should we die? The Duke's Commissaries will be here to-morrow with a
company of the Guard. Let the Count stay in the vault till then. He is
in safe keeping; and when he sees the Guard he will surrender. It is
likely enough that a great lord like the Count would rather die than
give up his sword to the Syndic." Whereat the Syndic was very ill
pleased, but all the rest mighty well pleased; and, having heard this
counsel, they could by no means be persuaded to attack afresh, but they
let Antonio draw the door close again, being in truth glad to see the
last of his sword. Therefore the Syndic, having no choice, set twenty
to guard the entrance of the vault and prepared to depart. But he cried
to Antonio, again bidding him to surrender, for the Guard would come
to-morrow, and then at least he could not hope to resist.
"Aye, but to-morrow is to-morrow, Master Syndic," laughed Antonio. "Go,
get your leg dressed, and leave to-morrow till it dawn."
So the Syndic went home and the rest with him, leaving the twenty on
guard. And to this day, if a man hath more love for fighting than skill
in it, folk call him a Syndic of Baratesta.
Count Antonio, being thus left in the vault, and perceiving that he
would not be further molested that day, looked round; and though no
daylight reached the vault, he could see, for the workmen had set a lamp
there and it still burnt. Around him were the coffins of all the
Peschetti who had died in five hundred years; and the air was heavy and
stifling. Antonio took the lamp and walked round the vault, which was of
circular form; and he perceived one coffin standing upright against the
wall of the vault, as though there had been no room for it on the
shelves. Then he sat down again, and, being weary, leant his head
against the wall and soon slept; for a man whose conscience is easy and
whose head has sense in it may sleep as well in a vault as in a
bedchamber. Yet the air of the vault oppressed him, and he slept but
lightly and uneasily. And, if a proof be needed how legends gather round
the Count's name, I have heard many wonderful stories of what happened
to him in the vault; how he held converse with dead Peschetti, how they
told him things which it is not given to men to know, and how a certain
beautiful lady, who had been dead two hundred years, having been slain
by her lover in a jealous rage, came forth from the coffin, with her
hair all dishevelled and a great wound yet bleeding in her bosom, and
sang a low sweet wild love-song to him as he lay, and would not leave
him though he bade her soul rest in the name of Christ and the Saints.
But that any of these things happened I do not believe.
It was late when the Count awoke, and the lamp had burnt out, so that
the vault was utterly dark. And as the Count roused himself, a sound
strange in the place fell on his ear; for a man talked, and his talk was
not such as one uses who speaks aloud his own musings to himself when he
is alone (a trick men come by who live solitary), but he seemed to
question others and to answer them, saying, "Aye," and "No," and "Alas,
sweet friend!" and so forth, all in a low even voice; and now and again
he would sigh, and once he laughed bitterly. Then the Count raised his
voice, "Who is there?" And the other voice answered, "Which of you
speaks? The tones are not known to me. Yet I know all the Peschetti who
are here." And Antonio answered, "I am not of the Peschetti save by my
mother; my name is Antonio of Monte Velluto." On this a cry came from
the darkness, as of a man greatly troubled and alarmed; and after that
there was silence for a space. And Antonio said, "There is naught to
fear; I seek to save myself, not to hurt another. But how do you, a
living man, come to be in this vault, and with whom do you speak?" Then
came the sound of steel striking on a flint, and presently a spark, and
a torch was lighted; and Antonio beheld before him, in the glow of the
torch, the figure of a man who crouched on the floor of the vault over
against him; his hair was long and tangled, his beard grew to his waist,
and he was naked save for a cloth about his loins; and his eyes gleamed
dark and wild as he gazed on Antonio in seeming fright and bewilderment.
Then the Count, knowing that a man collects his thoughts while another
speaks, told the man who he was and how he came there, and (because the
man's eyes still wondered) how that he was an outlaw these three years
and more because he would not bow to the Duke's will: and when he had
told all, he ceased. Then the man came crawling closer to him, and,
holding the torch to his face, scanned his face, saying, "Surely he is
alive!" And again he was silent, but after a while he spoke.
"For twenty-and-three years," he said, "I have dwelt here among the
dead; and to the dead I talk, and they are my friends and companions.
For I hear their voices, and they come out of their coffins and greet
me; yet now they are silent and still because you are here."
"But how can you live here?" cried Antonio. "For you must starve for
lack of food, and come near to suffocation in the air of this vault."
The man set his hand to his brow and frowned, and said sadly, "Indeed I
have forgotten much, yet I remember a certain night when the Devil came
into me, and in black fury and jealousy I laid wait by the door of the
room where my wife was; and we had been wedded but a few months. There
was a man who was my friend, and he came to my wife secretly, seeking to
warn her that I was suspected of treason to the Prince: yes, in all
things he was my friend; for when I stabbed him as he came to the door,
and, rushing in, stabbed her also, she did not die till she had told me
all; and then she smiled sweetly at me, saying, "Our friend will
forgive, dear husband, for you did not know; and I forgive the blow your
love dealt me: kiss me and let me die here in your arms." And I kissed
her, and she died. Then I laid her on her bed, and I went forth from my
home; and I wandered many days. Then I sought to kill myself, but I
could not, for a voice seemed to say, 'What penitence is there in
death? Lo, it is sweet, Paolo!' So I did not kill myself; but I took an
oath to live apart from men till God should in His mercy send me death.
And coming in my wanderings to the river that runs by Baratesta, I found
a little hollow in the bank of the river, and I lay down there; and none
pursued me, for the Duke of Firmola cared not for a crime done in
Mantivoglia. And for a year I dwelt in my little cave: then it was
noised about that I dwelt there, and fools began to call me, who was the
vilest sinner born, a holy hermit, and they came to me to ask prayers.
So I begged from one a pick, and I worked on the face of the rock, and
made a passage through it. And I swore to look no more on the light of
the sun, but abode in the recesses that I had hollowed out. And I go no
more to the mouth of the cave, save once a day at nightfall, when I
drink of the water of the river and take the broken meats they leave for
me."
"But here--how came you here?" cried Antonio.
"I broke through one day by chance, as I worked on the rock; and, seeing
the vault, I made a passage with much labour; and having done this, I
hid it with a coffin; and now I dwell here with the dead, expecting the
time when in God's mercy I also shall be allowed to die. But to-day I
fled back through the passage, for men came and opened the vault and let
in the sunshine, which I might not see. Pray for me, sir; I have need of
prayers."
"Now God comfort you," said Count Antonio softly. "Of a truth, sir, a
man who knows his sin and grieves for it in his heart hath in God's eyes
no longer any sin. So is it sweetly taught in the most Holy Scriptures.
Therefore take comfort; for your friend will forgive even as the gentle
lady who loved you forgave; and Christ has no less forgiveness than
they."
"I know not," said the hermit, groaning heavily. "I question the dead
who lie here concerning these things, but they may not tell me."
"Indeed, poor man, they can tell nothing," said Antonio gently; for he
perceived that the man was subject to a madness and deluded by fancied
visions and voices.
"Yet I love to talk to them of the time when I also shall be dead."
"God comfort you," said Count Antonio again.
Now while Antonio and the hermit talked, one of those who guarded the
vault chanced to lay his ear against the door, listening whether Antonio
moved, and he heard, to his great dread and consternation, the voice of
another who talked with Antonio: most of what was said he did not hear,
but he heard Antonio say, "God comfort you," and the hermit answer
something and groan heavily. And the legs of the listener shook under
him, and he cried to his comrades that the dead talked with Antonio, he
himself being from fright more dead than alive. Then all came and
listened; and still the voice of another talked with Antonio; so that
the guards were struck with terror and looked in one another's faces,
saying, "The dead speak! The Count speaks with the dead! Christ and the
Blessed Mother of Christ and the Saints protect us!" And they looked
neither to right nor left, but sat quaking on the ground about the door
of the vault; and presently one ran and told the Syndic, and he caused
himself to be carried thither in his chair; and he also heard, and was
very greatly afraid, saying, "This Antonio of Monte Velluto is a fearful
man." And the report spread throughout Baratesta that Count Antonio
talked with the dead in the vault of the Peschetti; whence came, I doubt
not, the foolish tales of which I have made mention. A seed is enough:
men's tongues water it and it grows to a great plant. Nor did any man
think that it was the hermit who talked; for although they knew of his
cave, they did not know nor imagine of the passage he had made, and his
voice was utterly strange, seeing that he had spoken no word to any
living man for twenty years, till he spoke with the Count that night.
Therefore the whole of Baratesta was in great fear; and they came to a
certain learned priest, who was priest of the church of St. John, and
told him. And he arose and came in great haste, and offered prayers
outside the vault, and bade the unquiet spirits rest; but he did not
offer to enter, nor did any one of them; but they all said, "We had
determined even before to await the Duke's Guard, and that is still the
wiser thing."
For a great while the hermit could not understand what Antonio wanted of
him; for his thoughts were on his own state and with the dead; but at
length having understood that Antonio would be guided through the
passage and brought to the mouth of the cave, in the hope of finding
means to escape before the Duke's Commissaries came with the Guard, he
murmured wonderingly, "Do you then desire to live?" and rose, and led
Antonio where the coffin stood upright against the wall as Antonio had
seen it; but it was now moved a little to one side, and there was a
narrow opening, through which the Count had much ado to pass; and in his
struggles he upset the coffin, and it fell with a great crash; whereat
all who were outside the vault fled suddenly to a distance of a hundred
yards or more in panic, expecting now to see the door of the vault open
and the dead walk forth: nor could they be persuaded to come nearer
again. But Antonio, with a great effort, made his way through the
opening, and followed the hermit along a narrow rough-hewn way,
Antonio's shoulders grazing the rock on either side as he went; and
having pursued this way for fifteen or twenty paces, they turned to the
right sharply, and went on another ten paces, and, having passed through
another narrow opening, were in the cave; and the river glistened before
their eyes, for it was now dawn. And the hermit, perceiving that it was
dawn, and fearing to see the sun, turned to flee back to the vault; but
Antonio, being full of pity for him, detained him, and besought him to
abandon his manner of life, assuring him that certainly by now his sin
was purged: and when the hermit would not listen, Antonio followed him
back to the opening that led into the vault, and, forgetting his own
peril, reasoned with him for the space of an hour or more, but could not
prevail. So at last he bade him farewell very sorrowfully, telling him
that God had made him that day the instrument of saving a man's life,
which should be to him a sign of favour and forgiveness; but the hermit
shook his head and passed into the vault, and Antonio heard him again
talking to the dead Peschetti, and answering questions that his own
disordered brain invented.
Thus it was full morning when Antonio came again to the little cave by
the river, and bethought him what he should do for his own safety. And
suddenly, looking across the river, he beheld a gentleman whom he knew,
one Lepardo, a Commissary of the Duke's, and with him thirty of the
Duke's Guard; and they were riding very fast; for, having started at
midnight to avoid the heat of the sun (it being high summer), so soon as
they reached the outskirts of Baratesta, they had heard that Antonio was
in the vault, and were now pressing on to cross the bridge and come upon
him. And Antonio knew that Lepardo was a man of courage and hardihood,
and would be prevented by nothing from entering the vault. But on a
sudden Lepardo checked his horse, uttering a loud cry; for to his great
amazement he had seen Antonio as Antonio looked forth from the cave,
and he could not tell how he came to be there: and Antonio at once
withdrew himself into the shadow of the cave. Now the banks of the
stream on the side on which Lepardo rode were high and precipitous, and,
although it was summer, yet the stream was too deep for him to wade, and
flowed quickly; yet at Lepardo's bidding, six of his stoutest men
prepared to leap down the bank and go in search of Antonio; and Antonio,
discerning that they would do this, and blaming himself for his rashness
in looking out so incautiously, was greatly at a loss what to do; for
now he was hemmed in on either side; and he saw nothing but to sell his
life dearly and do some deed that should ornament his death. So he
retreated again along the passage and passed through the opening into
the vault; and he summoned the hermit to aid him, and between them they
set not one only, but a dozen of the coffins of the Peschetti against
the opening, laying them lengthwise and piling one on the top of the
other hoping that Lepardo's men would not discover the opening, or
would at least be delayed some time before they could thrust away the
coffins and come through. Then Antonio took his place by the gate of the
vault again, sword in hand, saying grimly to the hermit, "If you seek
Death, sir, he will be hereabouts before long."
But the Count Antonio was not a man whom his friends would abandon to
death unaided; and while the Syndic was watching Antonio, the four young
men who were with the Count made their escape from Cesare's house; and,
having separated from one another, rode by four different ways towards
the hills, using much wariness. Yet three of them were caught by the
Duke's company that watched in the plain, and, having been soundly
flogged, were set to work as servants in the camp. But the fourth came
safe to the hills, and found there Tommasino and Bena; and Tommasino,
hearing of Antonio's state, started with Bena and eighteen more to
rescue him or die with him. And they fell in with a scouting party of
the Duke's, and slew every man of them to the number of five, losing two
of their own number; but thus they escaped, there being none left to
carry news to the camp; and they rode furiously, and, by the time they
came near Baratesta, they were not more than a mile behind Lepardo's
company. But Lepardo, when he had detached the six men to watch Antonio,
rode on hastily to find the Syndic, and learn from him the meaning of
what he had seen; and thus Tommasino, coming opposite to the mouth of
the hermit's cave, saw no more than six horses tethered on the river
bank, having the Duke's escutcheon wrought on their saddle-cloths. Then
he leapt down, and, running to the edge of the bank, saw a man
disappearing into the mouth of the cave, dripping wet; and this man was
the last of the six who had swum the river, and were now groping their
way with great caution along the narrow track that the hermit had made.
Now Tommasino understood no more than Lepardo that there was any opening
from the cave to the vault, but he thought that the Duke's men did not
swim the river for their pleasure, and he bade Bena take five and watch
what should happen, while he rode on with the rest.
"If they come out again immediately," he said, "you will have them at a
disadvantage; but if they do not come out, go in after them; for I know
not what they are doing unless they are seeking my cousin or laying some
trap for him."
Then Tommasino rode after Lepardo; and Bena, having given the Duke's men
but the briefest space in which to come out again from the cave,
prepared to go after them. And the Duke's men were now much alarmed; for
the last man told them of the armed men on the bank opposite, and that
they did not wear the Duke's badge; so the six retreated up the passage
very silently, but they could not find any opening, for it grew darker
at every step, and they became much out of heart. Then Bena's men
crossed the river and entered the mouth of the cave after them. Thus
there was fair likelihood of good fighting both in the passage and by
the gate of the vault.
But the Count Antonio, not knowing that any of his band were near, had
ceased to hope for his life, and he sat calm and ready, sword in hand,
while the hermit withdrew to a corner of the vault, and crouched there
muttering his mad answers and questions, and ever and again hailing some
one of the dead Peschetti by name as though he saw him. Then suddenly a
coffin fell with a loud crash from the top of the heap on to the floor;
for the Duke's men had found the opening and were pushing at it with
hand and shoulder. Antonio sprang to his feet and left the gate and went
and stood ready by the pile of coffins. But again on a sudden came a
tumult from beyond the opening; for Bena and his five also were now in
the passage, and the foremost of them--who indeed was Bena himself--had
come upon the hindmost of the Duke's men, and the six, finding an enemy
behind them, pushed yet more fiercely and strenuously against the
coffins. And no man in the passage saw any man, it being utterly dark;
and they could not use their swords for lack of space, but drew their
daggers and thrust fiercely when they felt a man's body near. So in the
dark they pushed and wrestled and struggled and stabbed, and the sound
of their tumult filled all the vault and spread beyond, being heard
outside; and many outside crossed themselves for fear, saying, "Hell is
broke loose! God save us!" But at that moment came Lepardo and his
company; and he, having leapt from his horse and heard from the Syndic
that Antonio was in very truth in the vault, drew his sword and came at
the head of his men to the door; and hearing the tumult from within, he
cried in scorn, "These are no ghosts!" and himself with his boldest
rushed at the door, and they laid hold on the handles of it and wrenched
it open. But Antonio, perceiving that the door was wrenched open, and
not yet understanding that any of his friends were near, suddenly flung
himself prone on the floor by the wall of the vault, behind two of the
coffins which the efforts of the Duke's men had dislodged; and there he
lay hidden; so that Lepardo, when he rushed in, saw no man, for the
corner where the hermit crouched was dark; but the voice of the madman
came, saying, "Welcome! Do you bring me another of the Peschetti? He is
welcome!" Then the Duke's men, having pushed aside all the coffins save
one, came tumbling and scrambling over into the vault, where they found
Lepardo and his followers; and hot on their heels came Bena and his
five, so that the vault was full of men. And now from outside also came
the clatter of hoofs and hoarse cries and the clash of steel; for
Tommasino had come, and had fallen with great fury on those of Lepardo's
men who were outside and on the Syndic's levies that watched from afar
off. And fierce was the battle outside; yet it was fiercer inside, where
men fought in a half-light, scarcely knowing with whom they fought, and
tripping hither and thither over the coffins of the Peschetti that were
strewn about the floor.
Then the Count Antonio arose from where he lay and he cried aloud, "To
me, to me! To me, Antonio of Monte Velluto!" and he rushed to the
entrance of the vault. Bena, hailing the Count's voice, and cutting down
one who barred the way, ran to Antonio in great joy to find him alive
and whole. And Antonio came at Lepardo, who stood his onset bravely,
although greatly bewildered to find a party of Antonio's men where he
had looked for Antonio alone. And he cried to his men to rally round
him, and, keeping his face and his blade towards the Count, began to
fall back towards the mouth of the vault, in order to rejoin his men
outside; for there also he perceived that there was an enemy. Thus
Lepardo fell back, and Antonio pressed on. But, unnoticed by any, the
mad hermit now sprang forth from the corner where he had been; and, as
Antonio was about to thrust at Lepardo, the hermit caught him by the
arm, and with the strength of frenzy drew him back, and thrust himself
forward, running even on the point of Lepardo's sword that was ready for
Count Antonio; and the sword of Lepardo passed through the breast of the
hermit of the vault, and protruded behind his back between his
shoulders; and he fell prone on the floor of the vault, crying
exultantly, "Death! Thanks be to God, death!" And then and there he died
of the thrust that Lepardo gave him. But Antonio with Bena and three
more--for two of Bena's five were slain--drove Lepardo and his men back
before them, and thus won their way to the gate of the vault, where, to
their joy, they found that Tommasino more than held his own; for he had
scattered Lepardo's men, and the Syndic's were in full flight, save
eight or ten of the old soldiers who had served in Free Companies; and
these stood in a group, their swords in their right hands and daggers in
the left, determined to die dearly; and the grizzly-haired fellow who
had killed Antonio's horse had assumed command of them.
"Here are some fellows worth fighting, my lord," said Bena to Tommasino
joyfully. "Let us meet them, my lord, man for man, an equal number of
us." For although Bena had killed one man and maimed another in the
vault, he saw no reason for staying his hand.
"Aye, Bena," laughed Tommasino. "These fellows deserve to die at the
hands of men like us."
But while they prepared to attack, Antonio cried suddenly, "Let them be!
There are enough men dead over this matter of Cesare's treasure." And he
compelled Tommasino and Bena to come with him, although they were very
reluctant; and they seized horses that had belonged to Lepardo's men;
and, one of Tommasino's men also being dead, Bena took his horse. Then
Antonio said to the men of the Free Companies, "What is your quarrel
with me? I do but take what is mine. Go in peace. This Syndic is no
master of yours." But the men shook their heads and stood their ground.
Then Antonio turned and rode to the entrance of the vault where his band
was now besieging Lepardo, and he cried to Lepardo, "Confer with me,
sir. You can come forth safely." And Lepardo came out from the vault,
having lost there no fewer than five men, and having others wounded; and
he was himself wounded in his right arm and could not hold his sword.
Then the Count said to him, "Sir, it is no shame for a man to yield when
fortune is against him. And I trust that I am one to whom a gentleman
may yield without shame. See, the Syndic's men are fled, and yours are
scattered, and these men, who stand bravely together, are not enough to
resist me."
And Lepardo answered sadly--for he was very sorry that he had failed to
take Antonio--"Indeed, my lord, we are worsted. For we are not ten men
against one, as I think they should be who seek to overcome my lord
Antonio."
To this Antonio bowed most courteously, saying, "Nay, it is rather
fortune, sir."
And Lepardo said, "Yet we can die, in case you put unseemly conditions
on us, my lord."
"There is no condition save that you fight no more against me to-day,"
said Antonio.
"So let it be, my lord," said Lepardo; and to this the men of the Free
Companies also agreed, and they mingled with Antonio's band, and two of
them joined themselves to Antonio that day, and were with him
henceforward, one being afterwards slain on Mount Agnino, and the other
preserving his life through all the perils that beset the Count's
company.
Then Antonio went back to the house of Cesare, and brought forth the
body of Cesare, and, having come to the vault, he caused those who had
been slain to be carried out, and set the coffins again in decent order,
and laid Cesare, the last of the house, there. But when the corpse of
the hermit was brought out, all marvelled very greatly, and had much
compassion for him when they heard from the lips of Count Antonio his
pitiful story; and Antonio bestowed out of the moneys that he had from
Cesare a large sum that masses might be said for the soul of the hermit.
"For of a surety," said the Count, "it was Heaven's will that through
his misfortune and the strange madness that came upon him my life should
be saved."
These things done, Antonio gathered his band, and, having taken farewell
of Lepardo and commended him for the valour of his struggle, prepared to
ride back to the hills. And his face was grave, for he was considering
earnestly how he should escape the hundred men who lay watching for him
in the plain. But while he considered, Tommasino came to him and said,
"All Baratesta is ours, cousin. Cannot we get a change of coat, and thus
ride with less notice from the Duke's camp?" And Antonio laughed also,
and they sent and caught twenty men of Baratesta, grave merchants and
petty traders, and among them Bena laid hold of the Syndic, and brought
him in his chair to Antonio; and the Count said to the Syndic, "It is
ill meddling with the affairs of better men, Master Syndic. Off with
that gown of yours!"
And they stripped the Syndic of his gown, and Antonio put on the gown.
Thus the Syndic had need very speedily of the new gown which he had
contracted to purchase of the lame tailor as the price of the tailor's
information. And all Antonio's men clothed themselves like merchants and
traders, Antonio in the Syndic's gown taking his place at their head;
and thus soberly attired, they rode out soberly from Baratesta, neither
Lepardo nor any of his men being able to restrain themselves from
laughter to see them go; and most strange of all was Bena, who wore an
old man's gown of red cloth trimmed with fur.
It was now noon, and the band rode slowly, for the sun was very hot, and
several times they paused to take shelter under clumps of trees, so that
the afternoon waned before they came in sight of the Duke's encampment.
Soon then they were seen in their turn; and a young officer of the
Guard with three men came pricking towards them to learn their business;
and Antonio hunched the Syndic's gown about his neck and pulled his cap
down over his eyes, and thus received the officer. And the officer was
deluded and did not know him, but said, "Is there news, Syndic?"
"Yes, there is news," said Antonio. "The hermit of the vault of the
Peschetti is dead at Baratesta."
"I know naught of him," said the officer.
By this time Antonio's men had all crowded round the officer and his
companions, hemming them in on every side; and those that watched from
the Duke's camp saw the merchants and traders flocking round the
officer, and said to themselves, "They are offering wares to him." But
Antonio said, "How, sir? You have never heard of the hermit of the
vault?"
"I have not, Syndic," said the officer.
"He was a man, sir," said Antonio, "who dwelt with the dead in a vault,
and was so enamoured of death, that he greeted it as a man greets a dear
friend who has tarried overlong in coming."
"In truth, a strange mood!" cried the officer. "I think this hermit was
mad."
"I also think so," said Antonio.
"I cannot doubt of it," cried the officer.
"Then, sir, you are not of his mind?" asked Antonio, smiling. "You would
not sleep this night with the dead, nor hold out your hands to death as
to a dear friend?"
"By St. Prisian, no," said the young officer with a laugh. "For this
world is well enough, Syndic, and I have sundry trifling sins that I
would be quit of, before I face another."
"If that be so, sir," said Antonio, "return to him who sent you, and say
that the Syndic of Baratesta rides here with a company of friends and
that his business is lawful and open to no suspicion." And even as
Antonio spoke, every man drew his dagger, and there were three daggers
at the heart of the officer and three at the heart of each of the men
with him. "For by saying this," continued the Count, fixing his eyes on
the officer, "and by no other means can you escape immediate death."
Then the officer looked to right and left, being very much bewildered;
but Tommasino touched him on the arm and said, "You have fallen, sir,
into the hands of the Count Antonio. Take an oath to do as he bids you,
and save your life." And Antonio took off the Syndic's cap and showed
his face; and Bena rolled up the sleeve of his old man's gown and showed
the muscles of his arm.
"The Count Antonio!" cried the officer and his men in great dismay.
"Yes; and we are four to one," said Tommasino. "You have no choice, sir,
between the oath and immediate death. And it seems to me that you are
indeed not of the mind of the hermit of the vault."
But the officer cried, "My honour will not suffer this oath, my lord."
And, hearing this, Bena advanced his dagger.
But Antonio smiled again and said, "Then I will not force it on you,
sir. But this much I must force on you--to swear to abide here for
half-an-hour, and during that time to send no word and make no sign to
your camp."
To this the officer, having no choice between it and death, agreed; and
Antonio, leaving him, rode forward softly; and, riding softly, he passed
within half-a-mile of the Duke's encampment. But at this moment the
officer, seeing Antonio far away, broke his oath, and shouted loudly,
"It is Antonio of Monte Velluto;" and set spurs to his horse. Then
Antonio's brow grew dark and he said, "Ride on swiftly, all of you, to
the hills, and leave me here."
"My lord!" said Tommasino, beseeching him.
"Ride on!" said Antonio sternly. "Ride at a gallop. You will draw them
off from me."
And they dared not disobey him, but all rode on. And now there was a
stir in the Duke's camp, men running for their arms and their horses.
But Antonio's band set themselves to a gallop, making straight for the
hills; and the commander of the Duke's Guard did not know what to make
of the matter; for he had heard the officer cry "Antonio," but did not
understand what he meant; therefore there was a short delay before the
pursuit after the band was afoot; and the band thus gained an advantage,
and Antonio turned away, saying, "It is enough. They will come safe to
the hills."
But he himself drew his sword and set spurs to his horse, and he rode
towards where the young officer was. And at first the officer came
boldly to meet him; then he wavered, and his cheek went pale; and he
said to the men who rode with him, "We are four to one."
But one of them answered, "Four to two, sir."
"What do you mean?" cried the officer. "I see none coming towards us but
Count Antonio himself."
"Is not God also against oath-breakers?" said the fellow, and he looked
at his comrades. And they nodded their heads to him; for they were
afraid to fight by the side of a man who had broken his oath. Moreover
the figure of the Count was very terrible; and the three turned aside
and left the young officer alone.
Now by this time the whole of the Duke's encampment was astir; but they
followed not after Antonio, but after Tommasino and the rest of the
band; for they did not know Antonio in the Syndic's gown. Thus the
young officer was left alone to meet Antonio; and when he saw this his
heart failed him and his courage sank, and he dared not await Antonio,
but he turned and set spurs to his horse, and fled away from Antonio
across the plain. And Antonio pursued after him, and was now very near
upon him; so that the officer saw that he would soon be overtaken, and
the reins fell from his hand and he sat on his horse like a man smitten
with a palsy, shaking and trembling: and his horse, being unguided,
stumbled as it went, and the officer fell off from it; and he lay very
still on the ground. Then Count Antonio came up where the officer was,
and sat on his horse, holding his drawn sword in his hand; and in an
instant the officer began to raise himself; and, when he stood up, he
saw Antonio with his sword drawn. And Antonio said, "Shall men without
honour live?"
Then the officer gazed into the eyes of the Count Antonio; and the sweat
burst forth on his forehead. A sudden strange choking cry came from him;
he dropped his sword from his hand, and with both hands he suddenly
clasped his heart, uttering now a great cry of pain and having his face
wrung with agony. Thus he stood for an instant, clutching his heart with
both his hands, his mouth twisted fearfully, and then he dropped on to
the ground and lay still. And the Count Antonio sheathed his sword, and
bared his head, saying, "It is not my sword, but God's."
And he turned and put his horse to a gallop and rode away, not seeking
to pass the Duke's encampment, but directing his way towards the village
of Rilano; and there he found shelter in the house of a friend for some
hours, and when night fell, made his way safely back to the hills, and
found that the Duke's men had abandoned the pursuit of his company and
that all of them were alive and safe.
But when they came to take up the young officer who had been false to
his oath, he was dead; whether from fright at the aspect of Count
Antonio and the imminent doom with which he was threatened, or by some
immediate judgment of Heaven, I know not. For very various are the
dealings of God with man. For one crime He will slay and tarry not, and
so, perchance, was it meted out to that officer; but with another man
His way is different, and He suffers him to live long days, mindful of
his sin, in self-hatred and self-scorn, and will not send him the relief
of death, how much soever the wretch may pray for it. Thus it was that
God dealt with the hermit of the vault of the Peschetti, who did not
find death till he had sought it for twenty-and-three years. I doubt not
that in all there is purpose; even as was shown in the manner wherein
the hermit, being himself bound and tied to a miserable life, was an
instrument in saving the life of Count Antonio.