“Mine, too, came to an end,” said Castelli. “I felt the walls all round. Not even a rat-hole.”
Then the voices ceased and Hugh heard the men scrambling out of the cave.
5.
Darkness had fallen and still Rocco did not return. The cave-mouth was a ring of velvety blue patterned with stars. The air was exquisitely cold and pure. As Hugh cowered in the darkness he wrapped himself in a blanket. The silence was breathless, acute. Staring up at the blue circle of sky, he listened to the beating of his heart. Then suddenly, noiselessly, a dark form loomed up between him and the stars. It was Rocco.
The bandit walked like one very weary. He threw himself down and lit a cigarette. After he had drunk the soup Hugh heated for him, he drew a deep sigh.
“You have been long,” commented Hugh.
“Yes,” said Rocco; “I have done much, seen much, learned much. Incidentally I have killed a man.”
Hugh gazed at Rocco in silence. After a deliberate pause the bandit went on:
“Yes, I killed him, or was the means of his meeting his death. I will tell you.”
Through the mouth of the cave came the pure air perfumed with pines. Hugh wrapped his blanket around him and settled down to listen. In the darkness he could see the glowing tip of a cigarette, and from behind it hear the roll of a rich voice.