ccusation brought against
him, of being concerned in the abduction of the ladies, and protested
furiously when he heard that, until they were found, he was to consider
himself a prisoner. Signor Polani considered that his indignation was
feigned, but he had no doubt as to the reality of his anger at finding
that he was to be confined to his house under a guard.

Immediately after his return, Polani sent his gondola for Francis. He
was pacing up and down the room when the lad arrived.

"Your suspicions have turned out correct, as you see, Francis. Would to
Heaven I had acted upon them at once, and then this would not have
happened. It seemed to me altogether absurd, when you spoke to me, that
the woman I have for years treated as a friend should thus betray me.
And yet your warning made me uneasy, so much so that I set off myself
to fetch them home at five o'clock, only to find that I was too late. I
scarcely know why I have sent for you, Francis, except that as I have
found, to my cost, that you were more clear sighted in this matter than
I, I want to know what you think now, and whether any plan offering
even a chance of success has occurred to you. That they have been
carried off by the friends of Mocenigo I have no doubt whatever."

"I fear, signor," Francis said, "that there is little hope of my
thinking of anything that has not already occurred to you. It seems to
me hardly likely that they can be in the city, although, of course,
they may be confined in the house of Mocenigo's agents. Still, they
would be sure that you would offer large rewards for their discovery,
and would be more likely to take them right away. Besides, I should
think that it was Mocenigo's intention to join them, wherever they may
be, as soon as he learned that they were in the hands of his
accomplices. Your fortunate discovery that they had gone, so soon after
they had been carried off, and your going straight to him armed with
the order of the council, probably upset his calculations, for it is
likely enough that his agents had not arrived at the house, and that he
learned from you, for the first time, that his plans had succeeded. Had
you arrived two or three hours later, you might have found him gone."

"That is what I calculated, Francisco. His agents had but four hours'
start of me. They would, no doubt, carry the girls to the place of
concealment chosen, and would then bear the news to him; whereas I,
going direct in one of the state