close by the none too clean citizens of Valedolmo--the door was opened a
very small crack by a frowsy jailoress. Her eye fell first upon the
crowd, and she was disposed to close it again; but in the act she caught
sight of the Signorina Americana dressed in white, smiling above a
bouquet of oleanders. Her eyes widened with astonishment. It was long
since such an apparition had presented itself at that door. She dropped a
courtesy and the crack widened.

"Your commands, signorina?"

"We wish to come in."

[Illustration: "The two mounted the steps of the jail and jerked the
bell"]

"But it is against the orders. Friday is visiting-day at thirteen
o'clock. If the signorina had a _permesso_ from the _sindaco_, why
then--"

The signorina shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. She had no
_permesso_ and it was too much trouble to get one. Besides, the
_sindaco's_ office didn't open till ten o'clock. She glanced down; there
was a shining two-franc piece in her hand. Perhaps the jailoress would
allow them to step inside away from the crowd and she would explain?

This sounded reasonable; the door opened farther and they squeezed
through. It banged in the faces of the disappointed spectators, who
lingered hopefully a few moments longer, and then returned to their
bargaining. Inside the big damp stone-walled corridor Constance drew a
deep breath and smiled upon the jailoress; the jailoress smiled back.
Then as a preliminary skirmish, Constance presented the two-franc piece;
and the jailoress dropped a courtesy.

"We have heard that Antonio, our donkey-driver, has been arrested for
deserting from the army and we have come to find out about it. My father,
the signore here--" she waved her hand toward Mr. Wilder--"likes Antonio
very much and is quite sure that it is a mistake."

The woman's mouth hardened; she nodded with emphasis.

"_Gia_. We have him, the man Antonio, if that is his name. He may not be
the deserter they search--I do not know--but if he is not the deserter he
is something else. You should have heard him last night, signorina, when
they brought him in. The things he said! They were in a foreign tongue; I
did not understand, but I _felt_. Also he kicked my husband--kicked him
quite hard so that he limps today. And the way he orders us about! You
would think he were a prince in his own palace and we were his servants.
Nothing is good enough for him. He objected to the room we gave him first
because it