The mysterious document, which he had treasured with so much care, and concerning which such particular instructions had been left by his departed friend,—a document which seemed so intimately to regard his future welfare,—had been wrested from him!
For a few moments he remained a prey to the deepest dejection; and tears stole into his eyes.
But he was not allowed to remain long in that unpleasant reverie.
The door opened slowly; and a light step approached his couch.
He drew aside the curtain, and beheld a middle-aged lady, elegantly dressed, and with a countenance on which the Almighty had written the word "Benevolence" in characters so legible, that a savage might have read and learnt to revere them.
Advancing close up to the bed, the lady said, in a soft tone, and in the Italian language:—"Be not alarmed, Signor Markham; you are with those who will treat you as your dauntless valour and noble mind deserve."
"Where am I, madam?" asked our hero, reassured by the lady's words and manner.
"In the house of my brother, Signor Viviani, the most eminent banker in Pinalla," answered the lady.
"And how did you discover my name, Signora?" inquired Richard.
"By means of a letter which was secured in a morocco-case about your person, and is now safe in my brother's possession," returned Signora Viviani.