"I am," said the girl.
"And I," cried the elderly man, "am General Fabio Conti, Chamberlain to H.S.H. the Prince of Parma; I consider it most irregular that a man in my position should be hunted down like a thief."
"The day before yesterday, when you embarked at the harbour of Como, did you not tell the police inspector who asked for your passport to go away? Very well, his orders to-day are that you are not to go away."
"I had already pushed off my boat, I was in a hurry, there was a storm threatening, a man not in uniform shouted to me from the quay to put back into harbour, I told him my name and went on."
"And this morning you escaped from Como."
"A man like myself does not take a passport when he goes from Milan to visit the lake. This morning, at Como, I was told that I should be arrested at the gate. I left the town on foot with my daughter; I hoped to find on the road some carriage that would take me to Milan, where the first thing I shall do will certainly be to call on the General Commanding the Province and lodge a complaint."
A heavy weight seemed to have been lifted from the serjeant's mind.
"Very well, General, you are under arrest and I shall take you to Milan. And you, who are you?" he said to Fabrizio.
"My son," replied the Contessa; "Ascanio, son of the Divisional General Pietranera."
"Without a passport, Signora Contessa?" said the serjeant, in a much gentler tone.