"Mercy! mercy! Do not kill me!"
"No, no; I'll not kill you," said Bellacic, kneeling down upon him; then, bending over him and catching hold of his right ear, he, with a quick, firm hand, severed it at a stroke.
Vranic was howling loud enough to be heard miles off.
"Now for the other," said Bellacic. "I'll nail them to a post in my vineyard as a scarecrow for future vermin of your kind."
Vranic, however, wriggled, and, with an effort, managed to rise; then he took to his heels, holding his bleeding head and yelling with pain and fear.
Bellacic made no attempt to stop him, or cut off his other ear, as he had threatened to do; he quietly walked away, perfectly satisfied with the punishment he had inflicted on the scoundrel. Instead of returning home he thought it more prudent to go and spend the night in the neighbouring convent, and thus avoid any conflict with the police.
Bellacic, who had ever been generous to the monks, was now welcomed by the brotherhood; the best wine was brought forth and a lay servant was at once despatched to town to find out what Vranic had done, and, on the morrow, one of the friars themselves went to reconnoitre and to inform Mara that her husband was safe and in perfect health.
Upon that very day the Spera in Dio cast anchor in the harbour of Budua, and Uros reached home just when the police had come to arrest his father for having cut off Vranic's ear; and the confusion that ensued can hardly be described.
For the sake of doing their duty, the guards, who were Buduans, made a pretence of looking for Bellacic; they knew very well that he would not be silly enough to wait till they came to arrest him.
Mara, like all women in such an emergency, was thoroughly upset to see the police in her house. She threw her arms round her son, and begged him to keep quiet, and not to interfere in the matter, lest their new masters' wrath should be visited upon him. Anyhow, as the police tried to make themselves as little obnoxious as they possibly could, and as they went through their duties with as much grace, and as little zeal, as possible, Uros did not interfere to prevent them from discharging their unpleasant task.