way. There, we are close
to each other."

Rinaldo putting out his hands as
a precaution, touched some iron
bars.

"I am being deceived," cried the
bandit.

"No, you are touching my cage.

OR ROMAN REVENGE 221

Sit down on a broken shaft of por-
phyry that is there."

"How can the Duke of Bracciano
be in a cage?" asked the brigand.

"My friend, I have been here for
thirty months, standing up, unable
to sit down----But you, who are
you?"

"I am Rinaldo, prince of the Cam-
pagna, the chief of four-and-twenty
brave men whom the law describes
as miscreants, whom all the ladies
admire, and whom judges hang in
obedience to an old habit."

"God be praised! I am saved.
An honest man would have been
afraid, whereas I am sure of coming
to an understanding with you,"
cried the Duke. "Oh, my worthy

222 OLYMPIA

deliverer, you must be armed to the
teeth."

"_E verissimo_" (most true).

"Do you happen to have--"

"Yes, files, pincers--_Corpo di
Bacco_! I came to borrow the treas-
ures of the Bracciani on a long
loan."

"You will earn a handsome share
of them very legitimately, my good
Rinaldo, and we may possibly go
man hunting together--"

"You surprise me, Eccellenza!"

"Listen to me, Rinaldo. I will
say nothing of the craving for
vengeance that gnaws at my heart.
I have been here for thirty months
--you too are Italian--you will un-
OR ROMAN REVENGE 223

derstand me! Alas, my friend, my
fatigue and my horrible incarcera-
tion are nothing in comparison
with the rage that devours my soul.
The Duchess of Bracciano is still
one of the most beautiful women in
Rome. I loved her well enough to
be jealous--"

"You, her husband!"

"Yes, I was wrong, no doubt."

"It is not the correct thing, to be
sure," said Rinaldo.

"My jealousy was roused by the
Duchess' conduct," the Duke went
on. "The event proved me right. A
young Frenchman fell in love with
Olympia, and she loved him. I had
proofs of their reciprocal affection

"Pray excuse me, ladies," said Lousteau, "but I find it impossible to go
on without remarking to you how direct this Empire literature is, going
to the point without any details, a characteristic, as it seems to me,
of a primitive time. The literature of that period holds a place between
the summaries of