officer, accompanied by a guide, who was walking towards my dwelling.
As he was alone, I had nothing to fear. I return to my room, giving
orders to my lieutenant to receive him with all military honours and to
introduce him. Then, girding my sword, I wait for my visitor.

In a few minutes, Adjutant Minolto, the same who had brought me the order
to put myself under arrest, makes his appearance.

"You are alone," I say to him, "and therefore you come as a friend. Let
us embrace."

"I must come as a friend, for, as an enemy, I should not have enough men.
But what I see seems a dream."

"Take a seat, and dine with me. I will treat you splendidly."

"Most willingly, and after dinner we will leave the island together."

"You may go alone, if you like; but I will not leave this place until I
have the certainty, not only that I shall not be sent to the 'bastarda',
but also that I shall have every satisfaction from the knave whom the
general ought to send to the galleys."

"Be reasonable, and come with me of your own accord. My orders are to
take you by force, but as I have not enough men to do so, I shall make my
report, and the general will, of course, send a force sufficient to
arrest you."

"Never; I will not be taken alive."

"You must be mad; believe me, you are in the wrong. You have disobeyed
the order I brought you to go to the 'bastarda; in that you have acted
wrongly, and in that alone, for in every other respect you were perfectly
right, the general himself says so."

"Then I ought to have put myself under arrest?"

"Certainly; obedience is necessary in our profession."

"Would you have obeyed, if you had been in my place?"

"I cannot and will not tell you what I would have done, but I know that
if I had disobeyed orders I should have been guilty of a crime:"

"But if I surrendered now I should be treated like a criminal, and much
more severely than if I had obeyed that unjust order."

"I think not. Come with me, and you will know everything."

"What! Go without knowing what fate may be in store for me? Do not expect
it. Let us have dinner. If I am guilty of such a dreadful crime that
violence must be used against me, I will surrender only to irresistible
force. I cannot be worse off, but there may be blood spilled."

"You are mistaken, such conduct would only make you more guilty. But I
say like you, let us have dinner. A good meal will very likely render you
more disposed to listen to reason."