Girasole came up, and now the priest saw that the female was no other than Ethel.
"Where is this priest?" asked Girasole, angrily, speaking, of course, in Italian.
The priest advanced.
"I am here," said he, with quiet dignity.
At this change in the state of affairs the priest regained his presence of mind. The cessation in the work gave him relief, and enabled him to recall his scattered and confused thoughts. The men stood looking at the speakers, and listening, leaning on their shovels.
"You were sent for?"
"Yes."
"And a maid?"
"Yes."
"You brought this lady?"
"Yes."
"You put her in disguise; you pa.s.sed her off as an Italian?"
"Yes."
The priest made no attempt at denial or equivocation. He knew that this would be useless. He waited for an opportunity to excuse himself, and to explain rather than to deny. But every answer of his only served to increase the fury of Girasole, who seemed determined to visit upon the head of the priest and Ethel the rage that he felt at his last interview with Minnie.
"Then why," cried Girasole, "did you try to trick us? Don"t you know the punishment we give to spies and traitors?"
"I have nothing to do with spies and traitors."
"You are one yourself."
"I am not."
"You lie!"
"I do not," said the priest, mildly. "Hear me, and let me tell my story, and you will see that I am not a traitor; or, if you don"t wish to listen, then question me."
"There is but one question. What made you bring this lady?"
"That is simply answered," said the priest, with unfaltering calmness.
"This lady and her friends arrived at my village and claimed hospitality. They were in distress. Some of their friends had been taken from them. A message came from you requesting my presence, and also a lady"s-maid. There was no stipulation about the kind of one.
This lady was the intimate friend of the captive, and entreated me to take her, so that she should see her friend, and comfort her, and share her captivity. I saw no harm in the wish. She proposed to become a lady"s-maid. I saw no harm in that."
"Why did she disguise herself?"
"So as to pa.s.s without trouble. She didn"t want to be delayed. She wanted to see her friends as soon as possible. If you had questioned her, you would no doubt have let her pa.s.s."
"I would, no doubt, have done nothing of the kind."
"I don"t see any objection," said the priest.
"Objection? She is a spy!"
"A spy? Of what, pray?"
"She came to help her friend to escape."
"To escape? How could she possibly help her to escape? Do you think it so easy to escape from this place?"
Girasole was silent.
"Do you think a young lady, who has never been out of the care of her friends before, could do much to a.s.sist a friend like herself in an escape?"
"She might."
"But how? This is not the street of a city. That house is watched, I think. There seem to be a few men in these woods, if I am not mistaken. Could this young lady help her friend to elude all these guards? Why, you know very well that she could not."
"Yes; but then there is--"
"Who?"
"Yourself."
"Myself?"
"Yes."
"What of me?"
"What do I know about your designs?"
"What designs could _I_ have? Do you think _I_ could plan an escape?"
"Why not?"
"Why not? What! living here close beside you? _I_ be a traitor? _I_, with my life at your mercy at all times--with my throat within such easy reach of any a.s.sa.s.sin who might choose to revenge my treachery?"
"We are not a.s.sa.s.sins," said Girasole, angrily.
"And I am not a traitor," rejoined the priest, mildly.
[Ill.u.s.tration: UNDER GUARD.]
Girasole was silent, and stood in thought. The men at the grave had heard every word of this conversation. Once they laughed in scorn when the priest alluded to the absurdity of a young girl escaping. It was too ridiculous. Their sympathies were evidently with the priest. The charge against him could not be maintained.
"Well," said Girasole at length, "I don"t trust you. You may be traitors, after all. I will have you guarded, and if I find out any thing that looks like treason, by Heaven I will have your life, old man, even if you should be the Holy Father himself; and as to the lady--well, I will find plenty of ways," he added, with a sneer, "of inflicting on her a punishment commensurable with her crime. Here, you men, come along with me," he added, looking at the men by the grave.