"There was a man in black who tried to kill the Tartars the night of the Filippeschi uprising. What do you know about him?"
"I know little about the uprising, Signore, since I was not here. I was in Perugia."
"Why Perugia?"
"To speak with several silk merchants."
"Are there those in Perugia who will vouch for you?"
"Certainly," said Daoud, feeling uneasily that d'Ucello was not deceived.
"I will write to the podesta of Perugia and ask that your witnesses be examined," said d'Ucello. "Give me their names."
Daoud had a struggle to remember the names of the witnesses. Lorenzo had given them to him months before, members of the Ghibellino network who were willing to perform this service for Manfred. The clerk's pen scratched rapidly as he haltingly brought out the names of five men.
"When did you return from Perugia?"
The clerks, Daoud recalled, had been removed from the town gates at the end of May.