augh outright, but she managed to keep her
face set in grave lines.

At last the soldier gave up the chase and retired among the jeers of
his comrades to the side lines. The Captain saw an opportunity to
amuse his men, and perhaps end their grumbling for the time being. He
offered a reward to the man that could catch the goat.

First one soldier and then another attempted it, but none of them
succeeded. After a while the fun of the chase wore off for Garibaldi,
and she became angry. She had a little trick of butting that had won
her Beppi's dislike, and she used it to the discomfiture of the
Austrian army.

Lucia saw them one after another rub their shins and their knees, for
although Garibaldi did not have horns, her head was very, very hard
indeed, and she was afraid that some one of them might grow angry and
hurt her pet. She looked at the officer and pointed to the goat.

"I can catch her," she said simply.

"Well, do it then," the Captain replied.

Lucia called softly and made a queer clicking noise. Garibaldi stopped
butting, and walked soberly over to her. She smiled good-naturedly at
the men, and tied the rope that one of them handed to her around the
goat's neck. One of the soldiers pointed to a tree behind the shed,
and she tied the rope securely around it Garibaldi protested mildly,
but she patted her and left her lying contentedly in the mud.

She took time to look hastily about her before returning to the shed.
The tree to which the goat was tied was on the edge of a steep hill
that fell away abruptly from the little clearing.

Lucia looked down it, and could hardly believe her eyes; for there, far
below, was a silver stream glistening in the sunshine, and she realized
with a sense of thankfulness that it could be no other than the little
river that flowed below the west wall of Cellino, and right under the
windows of the Convent. If she could only get away, it would be an
easier matter to go back that way, than over the dangerous route by
which she had come. But she was not very eager to return at once, for
the idea that had come to her earlier in the day still tempted her to
wait and listen.

When she returned to the shed the Captain was nowhere in sight, and one
of the soldiers pointed to the open door. She nodded and walked in,
the key grated in the lock, and she was once more a prisoner.

CHAPTER VII

THE BEGGAR

As the sun rose higher, a quiet settled over the clearing.