nspection of the scene, he began to move forward cautiously, so
as to make a more thorough survey of the open ground on the other
side of the grove.

Stealing forward as noiselessly and as warily as possible, and
keeping himself carefully under the shelter of the heavier foliage
and denser underbrush, David worked his way on, and at length found
himself on the other side of the grove, where he could peer forth
through the leaves of a laurel bush upon the scene.

He saw here a green meadow, which ran up a moderate declivity till
it reached a house. The house was a small cottage, of simple and
neat appearance, and it stood not more than a hundred yards from
the edge of the grove. Cattle were feeding in the meadow. To the
right was a vineyard, and on the left an olive grove. On one side
of the olive grove there ran a row of cactuses, up from the bank
towards the house.

All this David took, in at a glance; but he also saw something
which made his heart, beat quick with excitement and anxiety.

He saw a man!

The man was standing in front of the house. He was a big, burly,
broad-shouldered, bearded ruffian, with a red shirt, and a slouching
felt hat. A short pipe was in his mouth, stuck into the mass of
hair which covered the lower part of his face. His hair was long,
and dark, and glossy, and curling; falling in rich clusters below
his broad felt hat. He had gaiters and stout shoes, and was engaged
upon a rifle, which he seemed to be cleaning.

At the sight of this great, big, bearded, Burly, broad-shouldered
ruffian, David's' heart gave a great leap, and suddenly seemed to
stop beating. He sat as though petrified, crouching low, as though
to avoid observation.

This, then, he thought, was what he had feared, and while trying
to avoid the brigands, he had stumbled upon the chief of them all.
In that formidable figure he recognized the true brigand style,
and in that bearded face, with its bushy eyebrows and slouching
hat, he saw what seemed to him, from that distance, like the ferocity
of the implacable Fra Diavolo himself.

So overwhelmed was he, that for some time he could not move. At
last he felt a wild impulse to fly. He started back, determining
to seek his boat once more. So hurried was he that he was less
cautious than before, and catching his foot in a long tendril of
some creeper, he fell. In falling, he struck his hand against some
cactus or other thorny plant, and the spine pierced his flesh,
causin