This was too much.
Losing his dignity completely, Mr. Mole jumped up and burst through the group of spectators, dashing out of the place in a perfect fury, young Jack"s voice ringing in his ears as he shouted--
"A wig a wig! My kingdom for a wig!"
CHAPTER XIII.
THE BRIGANDS" CAMP--A MOUNTAIN BIVOUAC--AN ALARM--THE SOLDIERS --A CHALLENGE--THE BRIGANDS" WIDOW--FATAL NEWS.
We change the scene.
And now we find ourselves in a mountain pa.s.s, where a number of rough- looking men are grouped about a camp fire.
A short distance from this group stands a tall man, leaning moodily upon the muzzle of his musket, while he watches the zig-zag paths up the mountain side.
Upon this man one can see the whole safety of the party depends.
He is on sentry.
A prolonged silence was suddenly broken by the sentinel looking up and grasping his musket nervously, while he turned a warning gesture to the camp.
"What is it?" exclaimed one of the party, jumping up.
"Hush!"
The sentry turned with his finger on his lips, and motioned him to silence.
At a sign from one of the men--evidently a superior--the whole party sprang to their feet.
A hurried examination of their musket-locks and arms generally showed that they expected danger, and only waited a word from the sentinel to be "up and doing."
The leader stepped up to the sentry, drawn sword in hand.
"What is it?"
"The patrol."
"Soldiers?"
The sentry nodded.
"The Carbonari?"
"Yes."
The leader grasped his sword nervously, and made a step forward as though he would have dashed through the ravine and charge the military alone and unaided.
But if such were his intentions, he speedily altered his mind. "Perish them!" he muttered; "and curse their spying!"
"We could pick them all off from here," said one of the men--a huge, burly fellow, who had climbed up to a projecting rock commanding an extensive view. "All down to the last man."
And as he spoke, he brought his gun up to his shoulder with an ominous gesture.
"Hold, Toro!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed an English voice. "Your hasty imprudence will spoil us."
"Bah!" said Toro, replying in the same tongue. "You are over prudent, Hunston. Why should we not destroy them while they are in our power?"
"What if one escapes?"
"One should not," retorted the Italian savagely; "no, nor half a one."
"And where is the good if we succeeded, as you say?"
"Good!" reiterated Toro, pa.s.sionately. "Are they not our sworn foes?
Are they not here in pursuit of us? Good!--why, will it not lessen the number of our enemies by their number at least?"
"Yes, perhaps," replied Hunston. "And if successful, it would so thoroughly alarm the country, that it would cause a whole army to be sent after us, and make the end a mere question of time. Let one escape to tell the tale and it would bring them down to this spot, our safest place in the mountains, and hitherto undiscovered by our enemies."
Toro grumbled.
Yet there was so much truth in what Hunston said that he could urge nothing further in favour of violent measures.
The sentry, who was still on the watch at the fissure in the rocks, here turned round and motioned them to silence.
"Not so loud," he exclaimed, in a whisper; "they can hear something; they are looking our way."
"Hah!"
In fact, the military were so near, that they could be heard plainly enough giving their words of command.
"Halt! Ground arms!"
The rattle of their rifles was heard distinctly.
The officer then could be seen taking observations through a short telescope which he carried suspended by a strap to his side.
He glanced all about the place and fixed for some little time upon the fissures and rocky pa.s.ses, resting longer below the very one at which the sentry was posted than elsewhere.
But although it would seem to have aroused his suspicions, it was evident that he could see nothing, for, after a few minutes, he lowered his gla.s.s and shut it up.
The reason of this was, that where the sentry stood was completely shadowed by the overhanging rocks, so that he was invisible to them, although they could be distinctly seen by the sentry.
The scrutiny appeared to satisfy the officer.