'Help us, Ercole! I have killed one. Checco is stabbed.'
'Ah!' a cry from Ercole, and with his men he rushed into the fray.
A few more cries, still the flash of swords, the fall of heavy bodies on
the stones.
'They are done for!' said Matteo.
The shouts, the clang of metal woke up the neighbours; lights were seen
at the windows, and night-capped women appeared shrieking; doors were
thrown open, and men came out in their shirts, sword in hand.
'What is it? What is it?'
'Checco, are you hurt?' asked Matteo.
'No; my coat of mail!'
'Thank God you had it on! I saw you stagger.'
'It was the blow. At first I did not know whether I was hurt or not.'
'What is it? What is it?'
The neighbours surrounded us.
'They have tried to murder Checco! Checco d'Orsi!'
'My God! Is he safe?'
'Who has done it?'
All eyes were turned to the four men, each one lying heaped up on the
ground, with the blood streaming from his wounds.
'They are dead!'
'Footpads!' said Ercole; 'they wanted to rob you, and did not know you
were accompanied.'
'Footpads! Why should footpads rob me this night?' said Checco. 'I wish
they were not dead.'
'Look, look!' said a bystander, 'there is one moving.'
The words were hardly out of the man's mouth before one of Ercole's
soldiers snatched up his dagger and plunged it in the man's neck,
shouting,--
'Bestia!'
A tremor went through the prostrate body, and then it was quite still.
'You fool!' said Matteo, angrily. 'Why did you do that?'
'He is a murderer,' said the soldier.
'You fool, we wanted him alive, not dead. We could have found out who
hired him.'
'What do you mean?' said Ercole. 'They are common robbers.'
'Here is the guard,' cried someone.
The guard came, and immediately there was a babel of explanation. The
captain stepped forward, and examined the men lying on the ground.
'They are all dead,' he said.
'Take them away,' said Ercole. 'Let them be put in a church till
morning.'
'Stop!' cried Checco. 'Bring a light, and let us see if we can recognise
them.'
'Not now, it is late. To-morrow you can do what you like.'
'To-morrow it will be later, Ercole,' answered Checco. 'Bring a light.'
Torches were brought, and thrust into the face of each dead man.
Everyone eagerly scrutinised the features, drawn up in their last agony.
'I don't know him.'
Then to another.
'No.'
And the other two also were unknown. Checco examined the face of the
last, and shook his head. But a man broke out excitedly,--
'Ah! I know him.'
A cry from us all.
'Who is it?'
'I know him. It is a soldier, one of the Count's guard.'
'Ah!' said Matteo and Checco, looking at one another. 'One of the
Count's guard!'
'That is a lie,' said Ercole. 'I know them all, and I have never seen
that face before. It is a footpad, I tell you.'
'It is not. I know him well. He is a member of the guard.'
'It is a lie, I tell you.'
'Ercole is doubtless right,' said Checco. 'They are common thieves. Let
them be taken away. They have paid a heavy price for their attempt.
Good-night, my friends. Good-night, Ercole, and thanks.'
The guard took hold of the dead men by the head and by the feet, and one
after another, in single file, they bore them off down the dark street.
We three moved on, the crowd gradually melted away, and everything again
became dark and silent.
We walked home side by side without speaking. We came to the Palazzo
Orsi, entered, walked upstairs, one after the other, into Checco's
study, lights were brought, the door closed carefully, and Checco turned
round to us.
'Well?'
Neither I nor Matteo spoke. Checco clenched his fist, and his eyes
flashed as he hissed out,--
'The cur!'
We all knew the attempt was the Count's....
'By God! I am glad you are safe,' said Matteo.
'What a fool I was to be taken in by his protestations! I ought to have
known that he would never forget the injury I had done him.'
'He planned it well,' said Matteo.
'Except for the soldier,' I remarked. 'He should not have chosen anyone
who could be recognised.'
'Probably he was the leader. But how well he managed everything,
keeping us after the others, and nearly persuading Filippo and me to go
home before you. Caterina was in the plot.'
'I wonder he did not defer the attempt when he found you would not be
alone,' I said to Checco.
'He knows I am never alone, and such an opportunity would not easily
occur again. Perhaps he thought they could avoid you two, or even murder
you as well.'
'But Ercole and his men?' I said.
'Yes, I have been thinking about them. The only explanation I have is
that he placed them there to cover their flight if they succeeded, and
if they failed or could not escape, to kill them.'
'As, in fact, they did. I thought I saw Ercole make a sign to the
soldier who stabbed the only living one.'
'Possibly. The idea was evidently to destroy all witnesses and all
opportunity for inquiry.'
'Well,' said Matteo, 'it will show others that it is dangerous to do
dirty work for the Riario.'
'It will indeed!'
'And now, what is to happen?' said Matteo.
Checco looked at him, but did not reply.
'Do you still refuse to do to Girolamo as he has tried to do to you?'