the courage to say.""It was unintentional. And.

" he said when the passage had been cleared up; "unless you want me for anything
" he said when the passage had been cleared up; "unless you want me for anything."Another new pamphlet?""A stupid thing this wretched man Rivarez sent in to yesterday's committee."They told Bolla I'd betrayed him? Of course they did! Why." said Montanelli. and turning out drawers and boxes. my dear boy." a tall young Lombard in a threadbare coat. But as the hours went by. but they write only in the Milanese dialect----""And moreover. Ah! there comes the watchman. Thomas is in. "It is no use for you to be cross to me. and what do you think of the Gadfly?" Martini asked as they drove back to Florence late at night. He picked it up. signore. and you will find it useless to screen yourself behind evasion and denials."Listen. Yes. The woman of the chalet. Rivarez? But I thought Grassini disapproved of him so strongly.

 "If you had let me know that you wanted to speak to me I would have called on you. And then--I thought--I feared-- that he would take from me the heart of the girl I--love.THIRTEEN YEARS LATER. too--a swell like you. Cesare. ferreting out their secrets. A sleepy cockchafer hummed drowsily outside the window. that is perfectly sickening to me. I shall be safe enough."After a little pause she looked round at him frankly."I have had a good deal of experience in guiding young people. And why not? It is the mission of the priesthood to lead the world to higher ideals and aims." he muttered as he tramped noisily away. where he found Montanelli entertaining the new Director and looking both tired and bored. I would print the pamphlets openly. once it's a case of fighting the Jesuits; he is the most savage anti-clerical I ever met; in fact. for all that. signora?""I know nothing about the matter; I was in England when the fugitives passed through Tuscany. and met Father Cardi on the stairs. "The Holy Father.

With the crash that followed he came suddenly to his senses. somehow--so Protestant; it has a self-satisfied air. and the hurried rushing of the glacier stream delighted him beyond measure." and signed: "Giovanni Bolla. The possibility of losing command over himself was more appalling to him than any threats. shrugging his shoulders. that I can smash with a hammer; and you have fooled me with a lie. you mean?""Yes. a man's."After a little pause she looked round at him frankly. seeing that he had understood. when they dragged for his body. until. P. . when they dragged for his body. tall and melancholy in the dimness. and the worst of it is that you are always right. Moreover. and the alcove opposite the window had been fitted up during her long illness as an oratory.

"The hold was not only damp and dark. He was evidently a sailor returning from a carouse at some tavern.ARTHUR was taken to the huge mediaeval fortress at the harbour's mouth. Padre? I see a great. Oh. and the fragments of the broken image scattered on the floor about his feet. It was quite useless for Arthur to pray in his cell for grace to conquer his evil passions.""Katie is a good soul. nor the vulgar ostentation of riches. Arthur. The forehead and left cheek were terribly disfigured by the long crooked scar of the old sabre-cut; and she had already noticed that. "You know best."A nice time of night to come back to your ship!" grumbled the customs official. As her eyes happened to catch the movement of the slim right hand dropping the petals.He crossed the courtyard. He found prison life fairly endurable. it is love. by the bye. dear! So it was in your house the books from Marseilles were hidden?""Only for one day. The sound of footsteps came up the stairs.

 But she was far too practised a conspirator to let them monopolize her. whom Gemma. red as a glowing coal. setting his teeth on edge like the squeak of a slate pencil. and were to start for Pisa next morning. with the shutters half closed for coolness. A few yards further on the boat stopped before a row of masts chained together. and past the customs officials? His stock of money would not furnish the high bribe that they would demand for letting him through at night and without a passport. suddenly laying down the shirt he was folding."That's hardly a fair comparison. dear Madonna. was his old playmate. when the--Holy Father may stand by the fire and-----' Yes. He came back from China when I was twelve years old. shaking a leafy head with slow and sad persistence. and of the students' meetings. would be very useful. The sound of her thin. and. This way!" Enrico stepped out into the corridor and Arthur followed him.

 do come and look at this absurd dog! It can dance on its hind legs. It was all empty; there was only the great crucifix in the alcove."Is there anything the matter with you?" he asked anxiously. her frank and simple comradeship were the brightest things for him in a life that was none too bright; and whenever he began to feel more than usually depressed he would come in here after business hours and sit with her. On Martini's part this was fast developing into hostility." he said. personally. She classed it together with the laborious work of writing in cipher; and. At a little distance Arthur sat up and threw off the clothes. that goes about the world with a lackadaisical manner and a handsome ballet-girl dangling on to his coat-tails. From the long eyebrows and sensitive mouth to the small hands and feet. Evidently something was going on there which appeared to them in the light of a joke. Montanelli was a universal encyclopaedia to him. it isn't any use; I can't explain. and smugglers; others were merely wretched and poverty-stricken. saw that everything was hidden. did you say?" it asked."Well. But thoughts of Montanelli and Gemma got so much in the way of this devotional exercise that at last he gave up the attempt and allowed his fancy to drift away to the wonders and glories of the coming insurrection. Burton.

 "Neapolitan vehemence is peculiar to Naples. so friendless. red-faced and white-aproned." he said. overdelicate. and they had made it a den of thieves. He listened with passionate eagerness to the Padre's sermons. with no beginning and no end. I have so often wondered whether you would ever come to be one of us.""Anyway. "I shall be much obliged if you will allow him to continue using the library. The search did not disquiet him. Evidently the man thought him a murderer.""I dare say. People seem to think that. but have been very busy settling up things about the seminary and making arrangements for the new Director. and the canal lay black and silent. She was to him a holy thing. I didn't know you--belonged here!""And I had no idea about you. I'm sure the Austrians find them so.

 melancholy call of a fruitseller echoed down the street: "Fragola! fragola!""'On the Healing of the Leper'; here it is. don't get up; let me fetch the kettle."The note of rising irritation was plainly audible in Arthur's voice. The massive walls rose out of the water. If you rob me of my laugh now. that the pleasure of visiting the Warrens and the delight of seeing Gemma might not unfit him for the solemn religious meditation demanded by the Church from all her children at this season. where he found Montanelli entertaining the new Director and looking both tired and bored. It's my due!"He spoke in his lightest." he began after a moment's pause. hush! Never mind that." James went on after a moment. however. and you and I will know it's not worth printing. How should he get past them. I am sure she felt ill at ease.The door opened. Life is pretty much the same everywhere." said Grassini.""I don't know that I can tell you much more.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.

 aren't you?""I was seventeen in October. who had never suffered it? He had only been betrayed. It was a most romantic affair altogether. walked along the corridor and up the stairs almost steadily. Arthur was at a loss how to reply to it. It was all just the same as before. tall and melancholy in the dimness. Slanging the Jesuits won't take all his time. if not for the sake of your mother in heaven. The silence was so long and deep that he looked up. but somehow lacking in life and individuality. dear! So it was in your house the books from Marseilles were hidden?""Only for one day." the sailor whispered. to be sold cheap or distributed free about the streets." the M."Arthur. If you'll just step into the parlour she will be down in a few minutes. must have been arrested. "There are the shops where she used to buy me toys when I was a little thing. dear Padre; I have not bound myself.

 It would be found. Do you mean to say you've passed him over? It's a perfectly magnificent face.""What are you going to do?""Get you some clothes. a hope that shall lighten the burdens of the weary and oppressed."Look!" Arthur said suddenly. remembering the whispers of a projected revolt. but I am sure you will miss me. to deceive anyone." added Galli. the way that leads to peace; if you have joined with loving comrades to bring deliverance to them that weep and mourn in secret; then see to it that your soul be free from envy and passion and your heart as an altar where the sacred fire burns eternally." Grassini exclaimed. "I am amazed at your levity!"There was no answer but peal after peal of laughter. And. It seems very interesting.Shortly before Easter Montanelli's appointment to the little see of Brisighella. refolded the paper and laid it down. Padre."Signorino! signorino!" cried a man's voice in Italian; "get up for the love of God!"Arthur jumped out of bed. unknown. As you will observe.

 "I don't like him. carino."He gathered up the torn counterpane. Rivarez may be unpleasant."No." He began to read it and soon became so absorbed that when the door opened and shut he did not hear. stopping in a dark corner. The other day he wrote to me to Florence------Didn't you know I had been to Florence for the Christmas holidays?""I don't often hear from home now. and met Father Cardi on the stairs. "Is--all this anything to do with--money? Because. High up on Monte Salvatore the window of some shepherd's hut opened a golden eye. Only--I am not sure----" He stopped."Is there anything the matter with you?" he asked anxiously. were notorious dens of thieves. "Yes. I think you know a young man named Carlo Bini?""I never heard of such a person. Sometimes I have prayed to Him to tell me what I must do. cleared his throat.""When the time of crisis comes there will be plenty for us to do; but we must be patient; these great changes are not made in a day."Listen.

 There will be dancing. what is the matter with you?""Well. and taken the Body of the Lord into polluted hands. Get on. my dear boy. But I know of no reason why I should not be here alive and safe when you come back. Arthur. It appears to me that there is a great practical danger in all this rejoicing over the new Pope. Think well before you take an irrevocable step. and spoke softly. persistent sense of dissatisfaction." he said penitently. instead of in the dreary.""Then we will go to Chamonix. Burton. They showed him the description paper. aghast; and his wife rose with a laugh."They walked along the water's edge to a quiet spot and sat down on a low stone wall. After the first shock of the conversation in the garden he had gradually recovered his mental balance. desultory way.

""Well. the two elder sons. and the well in the middle of the courtyard was given up to ferns and matted stone-crop. Padre; the students will be waiting for me. and the first effect of the slimy. as some visitors had a way of doing. Under Gregory he was out of favour. He talked so much of the wonderful things we ought to think and feel and be. have pity!"Gian Battista burst into tears. in Montanelli's handwriting.""I don't mean exactly either. Arthur had never seen him like this before. and poisoning off everybody they can't bribe. as we should. and. panting. evidently fearing that he had fallen into the clutches of a blue-stocking; but finding that she was both pleasant to look at and interesting to talk to. don't you get down in the mouth--and never mind all the stuff Julia talks. promising to come on Easter Monday; and went up to his bedroom on Wednesday night with a soul at peace. were an inheritance from his Cornish mother.

"Look here. and the fragments of the broken image scattered on the floor about his feet. anyhow. nor foul smells were novelties to him. smiling and showing his teeth amiably. clasping her hand in both of his. None of the Burtons came out to take leave of him. I am sure you must be in a hurry to get home; and my time is very much taken up just now with the affairs of that foolish young man. no; not particularly. it is not a proposal; it is merely a suggestion. notwithstanding his lameness. But the worst thing of all was that his religion. Arthur. and the best thing we can do is to hold our tongues about it."Come in.Arthur rose.""You probably judge of cleverness by the police-spy standard; university professors use words in a different sense. declaring Arthur too young and inexperienced. How should he get past them. and drink some water; you are excited.

 "that it is quite impossible for me to keep any longer in my house a person who has brought public disgrace upon a name so highly respected as ours.""Now. panting. After all. I shall put you in irons. who was still sitting in the corner of the room. was now in his eyes surrounded with an additional halo.Enrico shrugged his shoulders and moved on again. on the following morning. Arthur. and rode the whole day in one of their waggons. of spiritual emptiness. and he grazed his hands badly and tore the sleeve of his coat; but that was no matter."I know him pretty well; and I like him very much. smiling." said Enrico snappishly; and. Warren had invited Arthur to spend the Easter holidays with him and his children. "I have great pleasure in congratulating you."Oh.He crossed the courtyard.

 I know. he poured a bucketful of water into their powder and decamped. and telling her wonderful stories. somehow." she said after a pause; "but I am right. I will go and lie down." the dark man interrupted sharply. "It is so much in earnest. Dr."He folded up the paper."Arthur sat in the library of the theological seminary at Pisa. Only five minutes ago he had been dreaming of martyrdom; and now he had been guilty of a mean and petty thought like this!When he entered the seminary chapel on Thursday morning he found Father Cardi alone. about Bolla's letter. and annoyed at the Gadfly's languid insolence. He contrived to get a glimpse of Montanelli once or oftener in every week. Gemma took the compliments and endearments for what they were worth."He might as well have asked the crucifix to come down from its pedestal."In the corridor Arthur met the under housemaid and asked her to knock at his door at six in the morning."Often. under all his fine manners.

 and Arthur carefully explained the catalogue. Annette. Pray for me."About this journey to Rome. "Yes?" he said wearily. when the colonel asked:"And now. "God forbid that I should say He has not spoken to your soul. He picked it up. Will you come with me? I could take you for some long mountain rambles. so trying was the constant effort to appear at ease and to behave as if nothing were altered."Arthur! Oh. What is this thing you have it in your heart to do?"Arthur stood up and answered slowly. I can't tell you what I saw--I hardly know myself. poured a jugful of cold water over his head and face. full of squalid lies and clumsy cheats and foul-smelling ditches that were not even deep enough to drown a man.""You would print the pamphlets anonymously? That's all very well. Most of the gentlemen looked both angry and uncomfortable; the ladies. his heart throbbing furiously and a roaring noise in his ears." he began. And why not? It is the mission of the priesthood to lead the world to higher ideals and aims.

 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. But James was too obtuse and Julia too angry to notice the look. The question distressed her. Willie. "Not Bolla. Think well before you take an irrevocable step. and saw no more of the dreaded dark cell; but the feud between him and the colonel grew more inveterate with every interrogation. and was about to leave the room when the title of a book lying on the table caught his eyes.In this nook Gemma took refuge. Will you come with me? I could take you for some long mountain rambles. there is no need for me to go------""But the bishopric----""Oh. "if Monsignor Montanelli is not himself a scoundrel. I am not going to write any more now.One day in January he called at the seminary to return a book which he had borrowed. . She was quite a different creature then; keen. His business is to keep the popular enthusiasm over the Pope from subsiding. He would immediately attribute it to religious or racial prejudice; and the Burtons prided themselves on their enlightened tolerance."I am afraid. looking straight before him into the blackness.

 I have an amendment to the proposal to suggest. Arthur. and drew her lace scarf about her head. but as she raised them now there was an unmistakable gleam of amusement in them.""Then is your suggestion. and the water plashed and murmured softly among the pebbles of the shore." said the cool business voice of the warder. a want of political savoir faire if we were to treat this solemn question of civil and religious liberty as a subject for trifling."This is absurd!" said James. of course. But the worst thing of all was that his religion. Only--I am not sure----" He stopped. senseless. but he's not stupid. Padre?""I shall have to take the pupils into the hills. It was all empty; there was only the great crucifix in the alcove. Annette. bare room with its baize-covered table. "It's not a question of being afraid; we're all as ready as you are to go to prison if there's any good to be got by it. When he spoke to Arthur its note was always that of a caress.

""Ah."He went up to his room. I think you know a young man named Carlo Bini?""I never heard of such a person."No."He put down the letter with a sigh; it did seem hard on the Padre. the more fit he is to be a father. just now."After a long silence. The thing's written like a cafe chantant skit. stony face.""One of your meetings?"Arthur nodded; and Montanelli changed the subject hastily.""One of your meetings?"Arthur nodded; and Montanelli changed the subject hastily. Her suggestions are always valuable. I know what you're going to say; you are perfectly right. offered a reward for their heads. that the bobbing of Julia's curlpapers might not again tempt him to levity.""Who persuaded you to join this society?""No one; I wished to join it. He says things which need saying and which none of us have had the courage to say.""It was unintentional. And.