e weather, at no very great distance
away from her.

In her relief Lucia laughed excitedly.

"Beppi, Beppi, where are you?" she shouted, and waited eagerly for a
reply, but none came. She looked puzzled and then Garibaldi answered
her:

"Naa! Naa!"

The sound came from directly over her head, and she climbed up the
steep rock as fast as she could. Garibaldi was standing at the opening
of a cave. Lucia ran to her.

"Oh, my pet, I have found you at last. Where is Beppi?" she cried.
Garibaldi did not exactly reply, but she stepped a little to one side,
and Lucia saw Beppino curled up on a bed of dry leaves sheltered and
snug from the storm, and sleeping quite as contentedly as he did on the
mattress in the attic at home.

Lucia ran to him and shook him. He opened his eyes, and a dazed look
came into them, then he said:

"Oh, yes, I remember, it began to rain and we were lost, your old
crosspatch Garibaldi and I, so I found this nice little place, and I
was going to pretend that I was a gypsy brigand, but I fell asleep."

Lucia was far too happy to attempt the scolding that she knew Beppi
deserved. She picked him up in her arms, and hugged and kissed him,
then she encircled Garibaldi's neck and kissed her too.

"My darlings, I thought you were both lost. What a terrible fright you
have given me! But we are safe now, and we will wait until sunrise
to-morrow, and then we will go home," she said happily.

"I saw the soldiers go away," Beppi said, pushing her face from him as
she tried to kiss him again, "and they looked so fine with their shiny
hats. It was while I looked at them that old crosspatch ran away. I
did have a chase, I can tell you, she had such a big start."

"Are you very hungry, little one?" Lucia asked gently. "I should have
brought bread with me, but I did not think."

Beppi giggled, and from the pocket of his little tunic he produced the
pink paper bag.

"Two left," he announced as he opened it, "and both long ones. Here's
yours and here's mine. Garibaldi's been eating grass all day, so she's
not hungry."

Lucia accepted the candy, and they both had a drink of milk. Then
Beppi snuggled down in his sister's arms and his eyelids grew heavy.

"Go on with that story," he said, "the one about the soldier at the
gate."

Lucia smiled in the dark and hugged him tight. The guns were silent,
and only occasional peals of thunder broke the stillness.

"Well, one day," she began, "a