re so ready to believe the tales that are told
in the _cafes_ and to come here to abuse helpless women. You are a
coward, signore. Oh, how I hate men ... Judges in Israel ... I would
have them stoned first. _What's that?_"

There was shouting in the street, and then a loud knocking on the
house door. The women looked at each other with frightened eyes.

"What is it?"

Carmela ran to Gemma's door and shook the handle, calling to her to
come out. There was no answer, and perhaps they had a dreadful
premonition of the truth even then; Olive left them huddled together
like frightened sheep. The knocking still continued, and it sounded
very loud when she came out of the flat on to the stairs. She was
beside herself; that is, she was aware of two Olives, one who spoke in
a strange voice and trembled, and was now going down into the
darkness, stumbling at nearly every step and moaning incoherent
prayers to God, and one who watched and listened and was surprised at
what was said and done.

When she opened the great house door a man stood aside to let her come
out. She looked at him and knew him to be one of the neighbours, and
she wondered why he had run out into the street in his shirt-sleeves.
He was pale, too, and looked ill, and he seemed to want to speak to
her, but she could not listen.

A crowd had collected about something that was lying on the pavement
near their house wall; Olive looked up and saw Gemma's window opened
wide, and then she knew what it was. The people made way for her and
let her come to where the dead thing lay on its back with the knees
drawn up. Some woman had already covered the face with a handkerchief,
and dark blood was oozing out from under it. Olive crouched down
beside its pitiful disarray.

"Will someone help me carry her into the house?" she said.

No one answered her, and after a while she spoke again.

"Will someone fetch a doctor quickly?"

"It is useless, _figlia mia_; she is dead."

"At least"--her voice broke, and she had to begin again, making a
painful effort to control the words that she might be quite
intelligible--"at least help me to carry her in from the street. Is
there no Christian here?"

Two _carabinieri_ came running up now, and they made the people stand
back so that a space of pavement was left clear; the younger man spoke
to Olive.

"We cannot move the body until the authorities come, signorina. It
must stay where it is, but we shall guard it and keep the