“I am happy to leave you with such favourable impressions on your mind,” said Bruno, “you will sleep the more pleasantly; by-the-by, I must give you one caution, do not go down into the court-yard, or my dogs might by chance make a meal of you.”
“Thank you for the caution,” said the brigadier. “Good-night,” exclaimed Bruno, and he went out of the room, leaving the brigadier to continue his supper, or go to sleep till the hour appointed for his departure.
Next morning at five o’clock, according to agreement, Bruno entered his guest’s chamber, whom he found up and ready to start, he conducted him down stairs, and led him to the gate; there was the waggon, together with a magnificent horse, and all the harness that belonged to the animal Ali’s yataghan had rendered unserviceable. Bruno begged of his friend, Tommassi, to accept of this present as a keepsake. The brigadier was too well pleased to allow the offer to be made twice; he therefore mounted his new steed, started the team in the waggon, and left quite delighted with his new acquaintance.
Bruno watched his departure, and when he was about twenty paces off, he cried out, “Above all, do not forget to give the beautiful Countess Gemma the Prince of Carini’s letter.”
Tommassi made a sign with his head and disappeared round the corner of the road.
And now, if our readers wish to know how Pascal Bruno was not killed by the discharge of Tommassi’s carbine, we will give them the answer we received from Signor Caesar Aletto, the notary of Calvaruso: it is, that it is probable that on the road to the fortress, the bandit took the precaution of removing the bullet from the carbine. But Paolo Tommassi always considered that it was a much simpler explanation to attribute it to magic.
We give our readers both these opinions, and they are at perfect liberty to adopt that which suits them best.
CHAPTER VI.—A BANDIT’S GRATITUDE.
It may well be imagined that the report of exploits like these were not confined to the little village of Bauso: it was the general theme of conversation among all classes. Nothing was talked of in all Sicily but the brave brigand who had taken possession of the Castel Nuovo, and who, from thence, like an eagle from his eyry, swooped down upon the plain, sometimes to attack the great, and at others to assist the weak: thus he was always on the popular side. Our readers will, therefore, not be astonished that our hero’s name was heard pronounced at the palace of Prince Butera, who had given a splendid entertainment at his mansion, the Place de la Marine.