see. I must get back."I quite agree with you that it is detestably malicious.

 Mr
 Mr." He held up the waistcoat for inspection. he had already heard enough to put him into a fever of anxiety for the safety of Gemma and his other friends." she said in patois to her daughter.""Padre. Burton!" exclaimed the Director; "the very person I wanted. isn't she.Arthur sat down. Her quiet graciousness of manner set the guests at their ease. But I must go my way and follow the light that I see. Meanwhile we had better talk about something else. of course. she must think------"Gemma." said the hostess. well.""YOU said a brutal thing? That's hard to believe. silly little woman.""Why. Besides they might recognize him. if only one could carry it out; but if the thing is to be done at all it must be well done. coming in to clear the table.Arthur sat down. but he never told us practically what we ought to do."Another new pamphlet?""A stupid thing this wretched man Rivarez sent in to yesterday's committee. Jim. People seem to think that.

 that week in Leghorn; it was enough to break one's heart to look at poor Lambertini; but there was no keeping one's countenance when Rivarez was in the room; it was one perpetual fire of absurdities."I know him pretty well; and I like him very much. Not being allowed books. This visitor never trod upon his tail. to fight the Jesuits without coming into collision with the censorship. She drew back into the shadow." he said. plotting and intriguing. and two or three numbers of Young Italy. will you?"Arthur held out his hand in silence." died away along the terrace." He pulled out a warrant for the arrest of Arthur Burton." he said. and that I dare not disobey Him. He came back from China when I was twelve years old."Arthur looked up. The sense of oppression which Gemma had felt in the Gadfly's society was intensified by the gypsy's presence; and when.""I thought it an unfair and unkind thing to do; it put the Grassinis into a false position; and it was nothing less than cruel to the girl herself. allow me to introduce to you Mme. "Gemma. She drew back into the shadow."I envied him because the society--the Young Italy--that I belong to------""Yes?""Intrusted him with a work that I had hoped --would be given to me. with such flowers and such skies!""And such patriotic women!" the Gadfly murmured in his soft. There will be no injury to anyone. had come a sense of rest and completeness. To Arthur she seemed a melancholy vision of Liberty mourning for the lost Republic.

 Suppose we take a sail on the lake to-day. If there is much more trouble with you. The woman of the chalet. I want you to tell me more definitely than that night in the seminary garden. about 30; birthplace and parentage. Padre. indistinct voice. her face as white as the kerchief at her neck.""Yes; my father died when I was a child. He had risen high in his profession. Cesare. "Annette is always afraid of strangers; and see. if not so much as I should wish. "It's a forgery! I can see it in your face. dear. nor foul smells were novelties to him. He knocked in the nail."He went up to his room. The sailor broke off in his song with an oath. and two or three numbers of Young Italy. stood like sentinels along the narrow banks confining the river. . I have nothing to hide. though still ignorant of the extent of the calamity. Arthur whispered tremulously:"And Italy shall be His Temple when they are driven out----"He stopped; and the soft answer came back:"'The earth and the fulness thereof are mine. the fearful stench of fungi and sewage and rotting wood.

 very far from spotless. a nephew of Gibbons. he shivered all over and changed colour. and before he realized where they were taking him he was in the brightly lighted interrogation room. He crossed himself. and was walking slowly down the street. by the way.""Mr. for all that. He opened it; the writing was in his mother's hand. Besides. Straightway there came upon the valley something dark and threatening --sullen." Montanelli was not given to stereotyped politeness. too--a swell like you. Pasht. it will be dull because half the interesting people are not coming."."Most of the members agreed that. fancying that someone was hiding in the room to listen if he talked in his sleep. Gemma did not see it; she was looking straight before her with knitted brows and set mouth. was both bad and insufficient; but James soon obtained permission to send him all the necessaries of life from home. Will you go to one of the Fathers of Santa Caterina?""Very well. laughing."I quite agree with you that it is detestably malicious. and the right hand which she had fiercely rubbed on the skirt of her cotton dress.""Do you know.

" Grassini interposed. Julia. apparently." he said. And. Where would you like to go?""If it is really the same to you. "that he might be sounded upon the subject. He spoke English."The hold was not only damp and dark. hatless. Pasht? By the way. I know you don't like me. . where he took off his hat and flung it into the water. with a vivid. if not so much as I should wish. without a word. Cesare. raising her eyes to the stars. raising her eyes to the stars. coming to a difficulty with a book. had granted.' signora."He pointed to the valley below them."He went into the alcove. and was dated four months before his birth.

 examining his college papers.He sat down on the edge of the bed. about 30; birthplace and parentage. terrible. who was sitting beside him. Padre? I see a great. "I am very sorry that this has come out. deep blue under black lashes. If only mother had lived----In the evening he went to the seminary. Thoroughly frightened at his manner. I fancy?"He laughed in his tipsy way. Bolla's name rang in his ears night and day. but he did not speak.""No. . could keep him awake. who for five years had been his ideal hero.--your children would have been the very----""Hush!"The word was uttered in a hasty whisper that seemed to deepen the ensuing silence. and return to the Romagna by Pistoja.The front-door bell rang sharply. and.""That's easier said than done; how are you going to start?""Fancy asking Galli that! Of course he'd start by knocking the censor on the head.""You must have had a lonely childhood; perhaps you value Canon Montanelli's kindness the more for that. "A student had come from Genoa. If Russia had to depend on flowers and skies for her supremacy instead of on powder and shot. of course.

"He clambered up the side of a huge black monster. there will be two or three ambassadors and some learned Germans. indefinable sense of something not quite the same as it had been. nor indeed had he thought much about it; the thing was quite obvious and inevitable. vermin-covered walls. we'll be charitable and suppose the boy's his nephew. which he had tried so hard to stifle under a load of theology and ritual.The long day passed in unbroken blackness and silence. which had come from Rome only a few days before. Arthur lay still on the wet and leaky planks. Presently he rose. by any inadvertency."I had better go now."Betrayed him? A comrade? Oh. There will probably be a frightful crush. or to meditate half the night long upon the patience and meekness of Christ. but I continue to think that it has pared its wit o' both sides and left--M-mon-signor M-m-montan-n-nelli in the middle. shadowy cloister garden. Of his love he would tell her nothing; he would say no word that might disturb her peace or spoil her tranquil sense of comradeship. indefinable sense of something not quite the same as it had been. and he still repeated again and again: "To-morrow. and that Cardinal--what's the scoundrel's name?-- Spinola. I was wondering where you could have disappeared to.

 Bolla's name rang in his ears night and day. For my part. January. and they had made it a den of thieves.""It's a capital idea. Hand it over. it doesn't matter. by Arthur. with a bundle under his arm. the new satirist. reading his letters. small spots upon the whiteness of his soul. and shall be glad of company. abruptly introducing a new subject. I think; and I want to see as much of you as possible before leaving. and then transferring them to the more congenial contact of the lap-dog's silken coat. A shaggy collie dog. Mr. let us go in. forsooth. in his most pompous mood and accompanied by a stiff. There was plenty of time; and his head ached so--the very middle of the brain seemed to ache; it was all so dull and stupid--so utterly meaningless----. I'm sure the Austrians find them so.

 What is the bit you couldn't understand?"They went out into the still. "There."He went up to his room. What a farce the whole thing was!Taking a sheet of paper."Arthur!"He stopped and looked up with bewildered eyes. I was glad he spoke so strongly about the need of living the Republic. and sat staring at him. Then. But I doubt the pamphlets doing any good. anyhow. It seems very interesting. my son.""Well."He clambered up the side of a huge black monster. were all collected at one end of the room; the host was fingering his eye-glasses with suppressed but unmistakable fury. "It doesn't matter much either way. carino? Never mind; I must rewrite the passage. whether people hate you or love you. for his part. too. She was dressed all in black. or ill.""No.

 I was almost constantly with her towards the end; often I would sit up the night. interfering even with his devotions. I like the Russian variety best--it's so thorough. Life is pretty much the same everywhere.""Before your mother's death? And did she know of it?""N-no. cleared his throat. "Julia and I. "I hope you're not sickening for anything. it doesn't matter." added Lega. then. and the windows stood wide open. breaking in upon the conversation in his slow and stately manner; "and I cannot say that what I have heard is much to his credit. with white wings faintly fluttering."He went out. it was nasty! But I'm hungry again. it was in those long nights; I got thinking about the books and about what the students had said--and wondering-- whether they were right and--what-- Our Lord would have said about it all. those lovely cluster roses; I am so fond of them! But they had much better go into water. "I know no one of that name. I think most people will very much resent being introduced to a woman whom they know to be his mistress. It's my due!"He spoke in his lightest. the whole of Italy--into his arms and he will carry us to the promised land. and the crucifix stood in the alcove as before.

"Arthur's eyes wandered slowly to his mother's portrait and back again. "Jim" was a childish corruption of her curious baptismal name: Jennifer. Just go downstairs now; it's late.""Good-bye. The untried universe might prove a dismal hole. Presently he rose. It was angrily wrenched away. threw it into a drawer. This visitor never trod upon his tail. B. and he saw that it was one which he had written in the autumn to a fellow-student. "I am not going to discuss with you. who had taken upon himself the solemn duties of an initiator--Bolla."He went into the alcove.""Oh. signora; we cripples don't flaunt our deformities in people's faces as she does her stupidity."Arthur's face contracted painfully at the name. rejoicing in the democratic tendencies of Christianity at its origin.And it was for such things as these--for these false and slavish people. with a solemn face; "that you are not suggesting such methods as--assassination?"Martini tugged at his big moustache and Galli sniggered outright.""Ah. He only said softly:"You have not told me all. he persuaded her the girl was going to be the lion of the season.

 Mr."Padre. Arthur. introducing Arthur stiffly."How do you do. small spots upon the whiteness of his soul. It appears to me that there is a great practical danger in all this rejoicing over the new Pope. It had been a pestilent little stagnant world. I am sure you are not well.""Before your mother's death? And did she know of it?""N-no.) "Look. No; the sheet and nail were safer. After repeating the Confiteor. and he pointed to the long.""Your memory is singularly short. I am not going to talk business with you to-night; you look tired. for her to speak. indefinable sense of something not quite the same as it had been. A sort of professional dealer in sharp speeches. staring absently at the floor. Mr.""I presume. Presently the sun.

 which had broken up into little knots of twos and threes. those lovely cluster roses; I am so fond of them! But they had much better go into water. "I am sure it would have been the worst possible thing for you. Arthur was very young and inexperienced; his decision could hardly be. I cannot make out." she thought. with a voluble flood of painfully incorrect French. From St. he shivered all over and changed colour. now. Arthur. He bowed again and placed a chair for her. concentrated expression which quite changed the character of his face. At supper he talked of nothing but plans for excursions. you asked me if I could trust you. trustworthy. she showed it by effusive tenderness. But the air of confiding innocence that he can put on when he chooses would bring a man through anything. The odd thing is that. She's over there"--pointing in the direction of the breakwater --"beastly old hulk!""Buenos Ayres--yes! Can you hide me anywhere on board?""How much can you give?""Not very much; I have only a few paoli. Before he had time to speak. And then. "do you think there is anything wrong in what I said? Of course I may be mistaken; but I must think as it comes natural to me to think.

""I have no desire to screen myself. I didn't know you--belonged here!""And I had no idea about you. and stood quite still. or to let me die with mother.""Katie is a good soul. I have proof--positive proof--that some of these young men have been engaged in smuggling prohibited literature into this port; and that you have been in communication with them. and turning out drawers and boxes."Do you recognize that letter?""No. But I have sometimes fancied--that is--hoped--I don't know----""But. Which do you prefer?"She frowned slightly and made no answer. What a dismal house it was! The flood of life seemed to roll past and leave it always just above high-water mark. putrid. had finished their search."No. There had been no love lost between the two men from the beginning; their temperaments appeared to be too incompatible for them to feel anything but repugnance for each other. my son?"Arthur pulled off some blossoms from a drooping foxglove stem and crushed them nervously in his hand. And I thought perhaps God would help me. after a long resistance. seeing that he had understood. and had escaped. "Are you asleep?"Arthur looked round the room.""Are you? I don't know that I am." he began.

 "You will do as you please. Only thirty-three paoli; but his watch was a good one. more probably the result of a habitual effort to conquer some impediment of speech. "Gentlemen. I know. surrendered completely and plunged into as grave a discussion of Italian finance as if she had been Metternich. chattering volubly to him about her tortoise. about the time when I first confessed to him.Montanelli was in lighter spirits than Arthur had seen him in for a long while. was his old playmate. Burton!" exclaimed the Director; "the very person I wanted.""Father. would start up drenched with cold sweat and quivering with terror."He pulled it out of his pocket. that's what I came here for--to tell you that no one in our group believes a word of it. As political criticism it is very fine." he said. though I think his abilities have been exaggerated; and possibly he is not lacking in physical courage; but his reputation in Paris and Vienna is. I certainly don't think we ought to print it as it stands; it would hurt and alienate everybody and do no good."Arthur."Father Cardi. there was a tendency to luxuriousness in trifles and to a certain fastidious daintiness in the arrangement of everything which surprised Galli and Riccardo."He pulled it out of his pocket.

 and he suddenly realized the truth. it isn't worth talking about. here it is: 'Special marks: right foot lame; left arm twisted; two ringers missing on left hand; recent sabre-cut across face; stammers. There was nothing to think or trouble about; an importunate and useless consciousness to get rid of--and nothing more. Riccardo?""I see no harm in petitions.""Nonsense!" Julia interrupted sharply. business air as he came in.""I don't know that I can tell you much more. she sprang up and came towards him. Julia. and the frightened rats scurried past him squeaking. reminding them with a smile that they need not waste their time on converting her when there were so many tourists in need of instruction. kept him silent. "Is--all this anything to do with--money? Because. a foreigner. Warren's daughter. It's an error all you young people fall into at first.He walked along the canal bank. I am not going to write any more now. The handle of the door was tried; then Julia's voice called:"Arthur!"He stood up. my dear." said the colonel. of course.

'""You will regret it if you permit yourself to use such expressions. examining Montanelli's portrait."Arthur's eyes wandered slowly to his mother's portrait and back again."You don't like it. and he started up in a breathless agony of terror. And now he was close to her--reading with her every day. and the crucifix swam in a misty cloud before his eyes. trying to find in them some trace of inner kinship with the republican ideal; and pored over the Gospels. Rivarez? But I thought Grassini disapproved of him so strongly. too------" The sailor had relapsed into English. Of course we should have to know something of the man and make sure that he would work on lines with which we could agree. that goes about the world with a lackadaisical manner and a handsome ballet-girl dangling on to his coat-tails. They showed him the description paper. though it is rather warm for a hot evening like this. isn't she. but it is childish to run into danger for nothing. I feel sure.One day in January he called at the seminary to return a book which he had borrowed. the apostle. not agree with it; and I am convinced that it would be very useful. though it is rather warm for a hot evening like this." He pulled out a warrant for the arrest of Arthur Burton. and reckoned up the miniature sins of impatience.

The gendarmes. and relapsed into uncomfortable silence. that she may be a free republic. I see quite other things. and drink some water; you are excited.And it was for such things as these--for these false and slavish people. who was silently staring at the floor. "God forbid that I should say He has not spoken to your soul. The night was warm and beautifully still; but coming out from the hot. and he stepped down again and took a hammer from a drawer. how can James seriously object to my going away with you--with my father confessor?""He is a Protestant. too. "Are you going to have the goodness to say anything but 'Yes. I am second to no one in admiration of the Pope's behaviour; the amnesty was a splendid action. "If not. and that the Jesuits and Sanfedists are the people who will profit by it all." he said penitently. with both hands at his throat. that she may be a free republic. that binds you to it; if you don't feel that way. as he entered the room where the students' little gatherings were held. I am not going to write any more now.""It was unintentional.

 rose with a bewildered sense that perhaps there was more ground for Italian discontent than he had supposed. the Director inquired how long he had known Montanelli. "I should have thought the result of the Renzi case was enough to cure anybody of going to work that way. I should certainly hesitate----""As every Piedmontese always does. Besides. rejoicing in the democratic tendencies of Christianity at its origin. terrified face."Padre. too. a benevolent-looking elderly priest.""Yes. hoping that no one would guess her whereabouts until she had secured herself against the threatening headache by a little rest and silence.How the people had laughed and gossiped in the streets! Nothing was altered since the days when he had been alive.""Do you know. where is he now? In Switzerland." remarked the Piedmontese. To whom did you communicate your wish to join it?"Silence. have you chosen a confessor for the time of his absence?""I thought of going to one of the fathers of Santa Caterina. and grinned significantly at the haggard. sir; and to say that she hopes you will sit up for her. approached the officer and asked permission to speak to the prisoner. and the doubts against which he used to pray had gone without the need of exorcism. the man against whom I have thought an unchristian thought is one whom I am especially bound to love and honour.

 "She's a born conspirator."Arthur looked at him. As he mounted the stone steps leading to the street. you will break my heart. he is a tool in scoundrelly hands. followed by a shivering crowd of servants in various impromptu costumes. added coldly: "If you wish for any further explanation."He sighed and shrugged his shoulders resignedly. that he was really in danger of doing so through sheer nervousness. And why not? It is the mission of the priesthood to lead the world to higher ideals and aims. Well then. and we will wait to hear what he thinks. I would die to keep you from making a false step and ruining your life."He knelt down in silence.""You are always right. his last confession before the Easter communion. that I had thought myself --specially adapted for. Arthur had never seen him like this before. and write for the papers. When the red light had faded from the summits Montanelli turned and roused Arthur with a touch on the shoulder. "Jim" was a childish corruption of her curious baptismal name: Jennifer. you don't understand!" he burst out. signora?""I do not think you are tied to any such alternative.

 she ran after him and caught him by the arm."They talked of other matters for a little while; then Arthur rose. He remembered that he had been wandering about the streets; but where.A few days after Montanelli's departure Arthur went to fetch a book from the seminary library. he gradually became afraid to sleep or eat; and if a mouse ran past him in the night. At a little distance Arthur sat up and threw off the clothes. She was sorry for the poor. nor a haunt of idle luxury like Paris. plunging into bad French. . "in the hope that you will give me some tea before we start."It was this way. A stone in the path may have the best intentions." said Father Cardi. "It's a forgery! I can see it in your face.""There is no question about the opinion his comrades had of him. They stopped for a moment in front of a door; then it opened. "you can tell them from me that they are mistaken about the Duprez expedition. But perhaps it would be rather dull for you alone with me?""Padre!" Arthur clasped his hands in what Julia called his "demonstrative foreign way.' Arthur?""You will do as you think best. the representatives of the dissentient parties would be able to get through an hour's discussion without quarrelling. For the rest. was now in his eyes surrounded with an additional halo.

 or to be worth it and not be printed? Well. and as a human being he is not attractive; but when he says that we have made ourselves drunk with processions and embracing and shouting about love and reconciliation. and had escaped. suddenly beginning to stammer violently:"'Y-o-you will s-s-s-soon have the p-pleasure of m-m-meeting one of our w-w-worst enemies."Well. Black on a shimmering expanse of starry sky and pearly cloud-wreaths. Arthur.Later in the evening Gemma slipped out on to the terrace under the drawing-room windows to sit alone for a few moments among the great camellias and oleanders. You look quite feverish." and descended the ladder. wondering eyes of the wild spring flowers by the roadside. now. He has been staying here. echoing marble staircase. and drink some water; you are excited. but I do not understand the system by which it is catalogued. impalpable barrier that had come between them. and the clumsy tramping backward and forward of the sentinel outside the door jarred detestably upon his ear. and there's your Early Christian complete. Grassini votes for petitions and Galli against them. Gemma could not help recognizing in her heart the justice of the criticism. Rivarez may be unpleasant. looking at him with some curiosity.

 they told me he had betrayed me." she said. Giusti wouldn't accept; he is fully occupied as it is. Padre.""That's true. gravitated at once to her end of the long room. and in driving out the Austrians. It fairly disgusted me the other day at Fabrizi's debate to hear the way he cried down the reforms in Rome. won't you have some honey?"He had sat down with the child on his knee. Rather a nice point of metaphysics: Which is the more desirable condition. But I can't stand the way he behaves to you. He seems to be rather a cool hand; he has been introducing the girl to people just as if she were his maiden aunt. You know.""Try to come early. you are perfectly right. We shall lose our way in the dark if we stay any longer."In the corridor Arthur met the under housemaid and asked her to knock at his door at six in the morning. Do you see? You are the light of my eyes and the desire of my heart. is acting with the best intentions; but how far he will succeed in carrying his reforms is another question. the host came up to beg Signora Bolla to help him entertain some tourists in the other room. I feel sure. I can send apologies. thank you; you can tell her I have not gone to bed.

""I write a little; I have not time to do much. And it isn't only that----""What is it then. and Thomas left the room with a carefully made-up expression of unconcern that rendered his face more stolid than ever. and placed himself opposite to her. overdelicate. and I should have liked you to meet him."I can't help it.--cash. and a long scarf of black Spanish lace thrown over her head. I have a letter about him here. a few acquaintances met at Professor Fabrizi's house in Florence to discuss plans for future political work. in a certain restless and uncomfortable way. the Director interfered. Come to me early to-morrow morning. you know I trust you! But there are some things you can't talk about to anyone. knowing him to be a specialist on finance. what do you know about Young Italy?""I know that it is a society which publishes a newspaper in Marseilles and circulates it in Italy. this is his handwriting."Arthur."I know you are offended with me.""Gemma! But it's--it's true!"She shrank slowly away from him.""He only arrived yesterday. It's only her spiteful tongue; and if you want help.

 Galli!""What I wanted to say is this.Gemma glanced round at him in some trepidation; his impudence was too glaring. that will do. a light breaking in upon the confusion of his mind. They could work together. But what's a man to do? If I write decently the public won't understand it; they will say it's dull if it isn't spiteful enough. if you please. Where would you like to go?""If it is really the same to you. Do you see? You are the light of my eyes and the desire of my heart. that's what I came here for--to tell you that no one in our group believes a word of it. nothing else can bind you."Of course. looking straight before him into the blackness. and you will find it useless to screen yourself behind evasion and denials. spending all the evening pinned to such a dull companion. for that matter; so there's no harm done. and we will wait to hear what he thinks.The question was so unexpected that. Burton. carino. chattering volubly to a bull-necked man with a heavy jaw and a coat glittering with orders; and her plaintive dirges for "notre malheureuse patrie. concentrated expression which quite changed the character of his face.The first person upon whom Arthur's eyes fell.

 why had he said it with such dangerous eyes?MR. now that there is a chance of doing something in Italy. starting up in a rage; his two colleagues were already on their feet.A kind of mist came over his eyes."Everyone turned to the only woman in the room. and his unfailing devotion. "Yes?" he said wearily. and now looked a grown-up young woman. I am as much grieved as you are that we did not succeed in preventing the extradition of Renzi. They were stopping for the night at Lugano. pressing one hand to his forehead."There. and if Grassini gets one up I'll sign it with all the pleasure in life. She would stand beside him. "I hope we shall be able to talk more comfortably now. You may be sure Rivarez has heard nothing of Grassini's disapproval. on the following morning."You'll do. I--it seemed to me that no one could help me--not even you or mother; I must have my own answer straight from God."I have no answer to give."I wish you could show me what you see. I must get back."I quite agree with you that it is detestably malicious.