his heart to forgive a man who had caused him so
much pain and nearly killed him. Still, searching his heart, as Sheikh
Saadi would have recommended, he found that he felt no hatred for
d'Ucello. Just the wariness he would have felt toward a very large
crocodile.

"I have stopped torturing you not because the contessa told me to,"
d'Ucello went on. "I probably could have changed her mind. But then she
and I spoke of something else. A Ghibellino army from Siena is about to
assault Orvieto. The contessa insisted that the militia, which I
command, defend Orvieto to the last drop of our blood." He smiled, again
without mirth.

_As I suspected_, Daoud thought triumphantly. _He wants me to intercede
for him with the Ghibellini of Siena._

And another happy thought came to him: _At last Lorenzo returns._

"How many men have the Sienese?" Daoud asked.

"According to reports I have from the peasants who live north of here,
they number over four thousand men. I am amazed that even so prosperous
a city as Siena could hire such a large army."

_You would be even more amazed to know where they got the money_,
thought Daoud.

D'Ucello went on. "So, we are hopelessly outnumbered. Of course, this
rock of Orvieto is the most defensible position in Italy. Even with only
our few hundred we could hold the Sienese off for some weeks, perhaps
even months. But not indefinitely. The Holy Father knew that, which is
why he left. The city will be taken and sacked. The people will suffer
greatly. If I am not killed in the fighting, I will surely be hanged.
And after I and all the defenders are dead, the contessa will consider
the honor of the city satisfied and will make peace with the Sienese."

"Well, you will have done what you thought right," said Daoud, after the
podesta had finished listing all these evil consequences. D'Ucello's
eyebrows twitched and his lips quirked, showing that he caught the
irony.

Daoud would enjoy this conversation more, he thought, if his feet did
not throb, if his legs did not ache, if his torn back did not burn as if
he were lying on hot coals, if his head were not swimming.

"I may hold this post at the contessa's pleasure, but she does not have
the right to tell me to die needlessly. And, as podesta, my first
concern is the welfare of Orvieto. If I can come to terms with the
Ghibellini, the city will be spared destruction."

Daoud held up a hand. The pain of the gesture was excruciating.

"Are you