"How did you escape?" he asked.
The question brought back a sudden wave of memory, and Lucia jumped up excitedly.
"By the river road—two Austrians and a beggar—they met by the foot-bridge, over there where the noise comes from; I saw them." She recalled the facts jerkily.
"Go on!" the Italian's eyes flashed.
"The beggar gave the Austrians a paper, and they left with it and climbed up into the mountains across the river. I could not follow without being seen, and when I tried to find the beggar he had disappeared. The river runs right under the wall."
"Oh, look!" She stopped abruptly and put her hand over her eyes.
A great cloud of fire followed a terrific report, and from the distance of the hill it looked as if the whole town of Cellino was in flames.
The Italian snatched a field glass that lay on the ground beside the wounded man, and put it to his eyes. Then without a word he dashed off. Lucia followed him. A giant tree grew between two huge rocks a little further up the mountain, and the Italian climbed up it.
Lucia watched him, and for the first time she noticed that several wires were strung along and ended high up in its branches. She heard the Italian calling some directions, and knew that a telephone must be hidden somewhere in the tree. She could make nothing of the orders; they were mostly numbers, and she waited impatiently until he returned to her.
"Stay here," he said quickly, "and lie down flat—don't move. The Austrians are advancing on the other side of the river, and Cellino will fall if the bridge is not blown up."