"Never! How have you the impudence to place your feet on these steps!
How did you come here?"
"I was brought. When Teresa declined to admit me, I decided to wait until your return, for I knew you were out in the city. I am here. Now we will go in together. You shall leave me with Teresa while you take away the foreigners and return."
The man spoke as if fully confident that Tortora would comply. The gondolier seemed hesitating, but suddenly he cried:
"As I must die, I"ll not leave you to torture my sister! The Ten will destroy me, but not until I have killed you, Mullura!"
"He has drawn a knife!" exclaimed d.i.c.k, noting as well as possible in the darkness the movements of Reggio.
"It sure is the real thing now!" said Buckhart.
"Terrible!" groaned Professor Gunn. "Where are the authorities? It should be stopped!"
Mullura had watched closely, and now he lost not a second in whipping out his own knife.
"Fool!" he sneered. "You are no match for me! I shall kill you, and save the Ten a task!"
Tortora held his knife at arm"s length toward the sky, as if invoking the a.s.sistance of a higher power. Then he started up the steps.
"Fair play!" cried d.i.c.k Merriwell, springing from the gondola. "If we can"t stop this business, Brad, we can see fair play!"
"You bet your boots!" roared the Texan, following promptly.
The professor called to them in the greatest consternation, but they did not heed his appeals.
Mullura waited for Tortora to come within reach. Being higher up, he had the advantage.
Suddenly the gondolier darted to one side and sprang up the steps until he was on a level with the other man. Mullura tried to prevent this, but he was not quick enough. He leaped forward, striking at the gondolier.
Reggio flung up his hand and warded the blow, the knives clinking as they met and rasping as they parted with a twist.
The gondolier gave the other a swing and then struck under like a flash, but Mullura leaped backward and escaped.
The struggle that followed was of a silent, deadly sort.
d.i.c.k and Brad pressed near to watch, but did not try to interfere between the men.
Suddenly a door was flung open and a fan of light flared out upon the steps. In the open doorway, holding a lighted candle above her head, was a girl.
Both d.i.c.k and Brad gasped as they saw her, for they were struck with the fact that she was wonderfully beautiful. She was not more than seventeen, with eyes and hair as dark as deepest midnight. Her features were finely molded.
The girl"s face was very pale and her lips were parted. She made a wonderful picture as she stood there peering out at the fighting men.
The light of the candle enabled the men to see how to get at each other.
Mullura cried:
"He forced it on me, Teresa! I do not wish to kill him, but now it is his life or mine!"
Saying which he crouched at a little distance. He sprang forward on the steps, made a false thrust with his knife that bore a dark stain, then plunged beneath the arm Reggio flung up.
It seemed that the gondolier would be cut to death in a moment, but he made a lucky clutch with his empty hand, and caught the wrist of his enemy, partly checking and turning the blow. He was wounded slightly.
Baffled in that manner, Mullura had the misfortune to slip on the steps while within the reach of Tortora. Before he could recover and save himself, the latter plunged the knife into his shoulder.
The stricken man broke the hold of the other, but up went one of his arms, and he reeled down the steps, on which his knife clanged, having fallen from his hand.
Reggio followed. His back was toward the light, but his manner was that of one who means to finish a task not yet accomplished.
Mullura tried to rise to his feet. He scrambled up, saw Tortora right upon him, leaped back, again lost his footing, and, a moment later, plunged with a great splash into the water.
The gondolier followed to the edge of the water, where he crouched, b.l.o.o.d.y knife in hand, watching for the man he hated to rise to the surface.
The water was ruffled and broken, but the ripples were caused by the man who had vanished, and they grew less and less. The head of Mullura did not rise into view.
"I opine the gent is done for," muttered Brad Buckhart, finding his voice at last.
"I believe he is," said d.i.c.k, speaking with an effort. "If so, he met his just due."
"Nary dispute to make on that, pard."
There was something of disappointment in Reggio"s manner as he rose to his feet.
"I wished to see him dead," he muttered. "Still, I know he is done, and he will never touch Teresa with his vile hands."
"I reckon he"s gone, all right, Reg," said Brad; "but so is your gondola. It"s disappeared, and Professor Gunn has disappeared with it.
Pard, we"re kind of left here, I judge."
Already d.i.c.k had discovered that the gondola was gone.
With it had vanished the possibility of their immediately leaving the place by water, as they had reached it.
"We"re stranded, Brad," said d.i.c.k.
They called to Professor Gunn, but there was no answer.
"Courageous old boy!" muttered the Texan, with a show of anger.
"I don"t know that we can blame him much," said d.i.c.k, seeking an excuse.
"He"s very nervous, and the spectacle of Reggio and his antagonist fighting like tigers for their lives must have caused him to lose his head."
"Oh, he"s all right," said Brad hastily-"he"s all right when he doesn"t tell people how brave he is."
In the meantime Reggio was rea.s.suring his sister, who had seemed quite horrified by the spectacle of her brother engaged in the deadly struggle with Nicola Mullura. He placed his arm about her supportingly, speaking soft words into her ear. She was white, and the candle in her hand trembled violently.
"What can we do, Reggio?" questioned d.i.c.k, in very poor Italian. "The professor is gone, and the gondola with him."
"Come in da house," invited the gondolier, abandoning his own tongue for the time being. "Spik da English-a to me-a. I understand-a heem vera much-a well."