"I know a way out of the difficulty."
"What is it?" asked the corporal, breathlessly.
"Your order is to shoot me, and then to go to the barracks; postpone the execution half an hour—take me with you to the Poliziotti barracks, and I will give you your revenge there," proposed Bartolomeo.
"Certainly," cried the corporal, gleefully.
He strode in advance of Bartolomeo, and ordered his men to take the major along to the barracks.
The soldiers looked at one another in astonishment, but none dared to say a word, and at a quick step they were on their way to the barracks.
"Time won—everything won," muttered the major. "I have not played cards a lifetime for nothing."