he order of the enterprise and the form in
which the attack upon Arezzo was to be made. These were very plain and
simple instructions, very simple to follow, very simple to understand,
very easy to obey. No man of all the some two hundred men to whom they
were confided by Maleotti, or one of Maleotti's comrades, required to be
told them a second time or felt the need to ask a single explanatory
question.

It was true enough, as Messer Simone had said, that the rogue
Ghibellines of Arezzo had a mind to deal Florence an ugly stroke, if
ever they could, and that the hope of the Aretines was to trap the
Florentines in a snare. As you know, Messer Simone had hatched a
double-edged plot, though we young hot-heads of the Company of Death
knew of but one-half of its purpose. He had caused information to be
sent to Arezzo that there was a traitor within their walls who was
prepared on a certain night to let in a certain number of Florentines,
who thus would seize and hold one of the gates until reinforcements came
from Florence to secure the weakened city. He schemed all this with the
aid of a Guelph that dwelt in Arezzo as a red-hot Ghibelline. Now, it
would have been simple enough for him after this to send the little
handful of Florentines against a warned Arezzo and have them cut to
pieces by an Aretine ambuscade. But his purpose went further than merely
demolishing a number of his enemies. He wanted to win Arezzo, if he
could, as well. So, by his machinations, he arranged that the forces of
Arezzo should be out to meet and overthrow the adventurous Florentines,
whereafter they might march on Florence and take the city unawares. But,
to counteract this, he made his arrangements with Messer Griffo, who
was, in one and the same job, to massacre the Florentines of the Red and
give battle to the Aretines unaware of his presence, and so, at a
stroke, rid Simone of his enemies, and cover him with patriotic glory.

It will be seen by this that Messer Simone, if treacherous to his
enemies within the city, was in nowise treacherous to the city herself.
But we were ignorant of his wiles that night, as we gathered together
outside the gates.

In an amazingly short space of time we were all a-horseback, and riding
quietly through the night on the road toward Arezzo, with Messer
Maleotti, on a high-mettled mount, shepherding us as we rode, as if we
were so many simple sheep and he our pastor. I, that had come late to
the meeting-place