, ho--we got the wrong sow by the ear," laughed Franco.

"We put the saddle on the wrong horse--ho, ho," laughed Baldo.

"We 're delighted to make your acquaintance, all the same," said Franco.

"And we hold you to your promise--you 're to come and stay with us--you
and Craford both," said Baldo.

"Yes--there 's no getting out of that. We count upon you," said Franco.

"So far as I 'm concerned, I should be charmed," said Adrian. "But I
can't speak for Craford. He 's a bit run down and out of sorts. I 'm
not sure whether he 'll feel that he 's in a proper state for paying
visits. But here he comes."

He inclined his head towards a window, through which Anthony could be
seen crossing the Piazza.

"By Jove!" exclaimed Franco. "I should have known him for a Valdeschi
anywhere. He 's exactly like a portrait of his grandfather in the
Palazzo Rosso."

"By Jove, so he is," exclaimed Baldo.

And, to Adrian's surprise, when the introductions were accomplished, and
the invitation was repeated to him, Anthony at once accepted.

"I 've given orders for my four-in-hand to come round here and pick us
up," said Franco. "Shall we all go for a spin, and get an appetite for
luncheon?"

"In the afternoon, if there 's a breeze, I propose a sail," said Baldo.
"I 've just got a new boat out from England, schooner-rigged, the
_Spindrift_. I 've not yet really had a fair chance to try her."

"Do you go in for tennis?" asked Franco. "We 've got a court at the
villa."

"I don't know whether you care for swimming," said Baldo. "You get a
fairly decent dive-off from the landing-stage at the end of our garden.
The water here is pooty good. My brother and I generally go for a swim
before dinner."

"Ah, here 's Tom with the four-in-hand," said Franco. And then, with a
readiness for self-effacement that was surely less British than the
language in which it found expression, "Would you care to take the
ribbons, Count?" he asked. And when Anthony had declined, "Would you,
Willes?" he proceeded.

"Not just at the start, thanks," said Adrian. "I should like to watch
'em step a bit first."

The hypocrite. As if he would have known what to do with the ribbons,
had they been given to him.

So Franco took them himself, while Baldo blew the horn.

"Have you visited Castel San Guido yet?" Franco questioned. "Shall we
make that our objective?"

They drove up and up, round and round the winding road that leads to
Castel S