"I am convinced," said the stranger. Then, turning to the leader, he said, in a tone of command: "Release these men!"
"But they have slain Ludovico!"
"Release them!" thundered the stranger. "Ludovico should have known better then to have interfered with my friends!"
He was instantly obeyed, and the two young men, greatly astonished, stood relieved of their bonds.
"You are at liberty," continued the stranger, "and can resume your route. Say to the Count of Monte-Cristo that Luigi Vampa remembers his compact and is faithful to it!"
As he spoke the notorious bandit chief gathered his men together, and the whole band vanished among the trees like so many spirits of the night.