"Nothing, nothing. I am in time—Visconti—his men guard the other entrance—with difficulty I escaped to warn thee," gasped Tomaso.
"Who betrayed us?" demanded his father, his face dark with passion.
"The girl," said Tomaso, bitterly; "the girl who loved Visconti."
"And Heaven favors her love and not mine!" The cry was wrung from Mastino. "We are betrayed for a girl's love of Visconti. And my wife waits for me!" He laughed wildly, and drew a faded rose from the folds of his sash, flinging it on to the ground.
"Look, Ligozzi, a sign from Heaven—a sign I thought had been fulfilled. But a girl prayed for Visconti, doubtless, and her prayers are heard. Isotta must perish, but Visconti is saved! To mock, Heaven sends me a sign."
He ground the rose to powder beneath his heel, and Ligozzi quailed at the wild anguish of his face.
"I should have known," he cried. "I should have known. I called on God and this is His answer. I will fight Visconti alone!"
He turned from the cavern to the open, and stepped out among the waiting officers.
"Back to camp!" he cried wildly. "We are betrayed again, by a woman who loves Visconti! The Duke of Milan is fortunate; who would do the like for me?" And he flung himself down upon the bank, and sank to the ground.
"Leave us," whispered Ligozzi. "Leave us, all is over for to-night, the Prince and I will follow."