“‘Thou art tired, Christine—aye, surely thou art tired,’ cried Ugo when he had watched her awhile, helpless to stem the tide of her gloom. ‘The road was long, and there is dust on the hills; diamine, thou mayest well feel thy limbs tremble! And I have brought thee here to fast when there is wine upon the table, and the meat which Orio cooked. Accidente, that thou shouldst shed tears on such a night!’
“He was awake to her condition now, and pouring out a cup of the wine which the shepherd had left, he knelt at her side, compelling her to drink, and stroking her cheeks with his hand as he would have stroked the cheeks of some dumb animal. It was not to be hidden from him any longer that her fatigue was akin to illness; for when he pressed close to her he could feel the tremble of her body, and her hands lay icily cold in his. But she drank of the wine he offered her; and anon, when she had rested her head upon his shoulder a little while, he found that she had sunk into a deep sleep; and with a tenderness beyond his state he laid her gently, as one would lay the most sacred thing in the world, upon the bed, and covered her with the wolf skins which the shepherd had prepared. And until midnight, excellency, he watched at her side, forgetful of his own hunger and fatigue; glad that his should be the eyes to watch her thus, his the arms to make a pillow for her head.
“Until midnight he watched, and sleep was still far from his eyes. Nay, his lips were touching the girl’s forehead and his cheek was warm on hers when the sound of a footstep in the wood without called him from his reverie. No longer fearful that Christine would awaken, startled as a hunted deer, he sat up to listen, and knew that he heard the step of man. A moment later there was a knock upon the door of the cottage.
“‘Ugo, dost thou hear? It is I, Orio. Put out thy lantern and open to me.’
“Excellency, the lad’s heart quaked as he heard the words and hastened to obey them. He knew that Orio would not have returned thus unless danger was abroad in the hills; and that danger should have come at such a moment was a bitter thought. Yet his was not the courage to be blown away by the first whisper of warning; and silently, quickly, he answered the summons.
“‘Is it thou, Orio?’ he cried, as the door was pressed back upon him and the wind swept into the hut; ‘then surely thou hast news for me?’
“‘Aye, news indeed, my son,’ said the shepherd, stepping out of the darkness and holding up his hand that the other might hush his voice. ‘There are soldiers now leaving Duka to search for thee. I have the word that they beat this wood on their road to Jajce. Thou hast not a moment to lose—unless thou wouldst feel the teeth of the Austrian dog. Maria santissima—what a word to bring thee!’
“‘Sayest thou that they will first search thy hut, Orio? Then who has spoken of me?’
“‘That will time tell. Think not of it now, but look to the things while I get thy horse. The morrow must find thee in the woods of the Verbas—nay, thou hast not an hour. They are abroad in the pass like dogs in a thicket. Does thy wife sleep?’
“‘God have mercy, she sleeps heavy with cold and sickness. I have tried to awaken her twice within the hour, and she has not answered me. See for thyself how she is able to cross the mountains. They must take me here, Orio. Madonna mia, that it should have come to-night! I cannot leave her—you see that I cannot leave her.’