it was some woman, but that does not matter; proceed."

"This girl sold flowers in the Piazza del Popolo and on the Corso; there
she attracted the attention of Massetti and your son Esperance."

"Esperance!" exclaimed Monte-Cristo, his hands working nervously. "Oh!
mon Dieu! the light is commencing to break!"

Peppino smiled reassuringly.

"Have no fear, Signor Count," said he; "in all the unhappy occurrences
that brought the poor Viscount under suspicion your son bore a part as
noble as it was honorable; you have abundant reason to be proud of him!"

Monte-Cristo uttered a sigh of relief.

"Can you prove this?"

"I can. Luigi Vampa and his whole band know your son to be entirely
innocent so far as the flower-girl is concerned and will so express
themselves. Even old Solara himself, hardened and despicable wretch as
he is, will not seek to inculpate him. Rest assured that the proof of
your son's innocence is ample."

"Luigi Vampa has already written to me that no guilt attaches to
Esperance, but I must have more reliable vouchers than the letter or
even the oath of a notorious brigand."

"Such vouchers can be procured without much difficulty. The unfortunate
girl herself, who is now in the Refuge at Civita Vecchia, will exculpate
him."

"But the details of the plot, the details of the plot!"

"Well, the Viscount learned from Annunziata that she dwelt in the
country beyond the Trastavere and that evening set out to find her. Your
son, who knew his object, followed him to protect him against the
bandits. Massetti was halted by one of Vampa's men, who wounded him in
the struggle that ensued, your son appearing in time to kill the brigand
and rescue his friend. Shortly afterwards they encountered a large
number of Vampa's band and narrowly escaped being hung to the nearest
trees in revenge for the death of the man slain by your son. They were
set free by Vampa himself as soon as he learned that Esperance was your
son, Massetti having disclosed both his own identity and that of his
comrade. The young men, it seems, had determined to return to Rome
immediately after the Viscount received his wound, but Massetti grew
faint from pain and loss of blood and it was resolved to seek for
shelter. A peasant appeared at this juncture and, after some hesitation,
agreed to conduct them to his father's cabin where they could pass the
night. He was as good as his word. To be brief, the young men, who were
disguised as peasan