The paper of the letter was crackling in his hand, and his husky voice

was breaking. Save for these sounds and the tramp--tramp--tramp of the

soldiers drilling outside, there was a dead silence in the court.

"You are not fancying at all, Rocco," said the Public Prosecutor. "We

are all sorry for you, and I am sure the illustrious gentlemen of the

tribunal pity you. Your comrade, your master, the man you have followed

and trusted, is false to you. He is a traitor to his friend, his

country, and his King. The denunciation you made in prison is true in

substance and in fact. I advise you to adhere to it, and to cast

yourself on the clemency of the court."

"Here--you--shut up your head and let a man think," said Bruno.

Roma tried to rise. She could not. Then she tried to cry out something,

but her tongue clave to the roof of her mouth. Would Bruno break down at

the last moment?

Bruno, whose face was convulsed with agony, began to laugh in a

delirious way. "So my friend is false to me, is he? Very well, I'll be

revenged."

He reeled a little and the letter dropped from his hand, floated a

moment in the air, and fell to the ground a pace or two farther on.

"Yes, by God, I'll be revenged," he cried, and he laughed again.

He stopped, lifted one leg, seemed to pull at his boot, and again stood

erect.

"I always knew the hour would come when I should find myself in a tight

place, and I've always kept something about me to help me to get out of

it. Here it is now."

In an instant, before any one could be aware of what he was doing, he

had uncorked a small bottle which he held in his hand and swallowed the

contents.

"Long live David Rossi!" he cried, and he flung the empty bottle over

his head.

Everybody was on his feet in a moment. It was too late. In thirty

seconds the poison had begun its work, and Bruno was reeling in the arms

of the Carabineers. Somebody called for a doctor. Somebody else called

for a priest.

"That's all right," said Bruno. "God is a good old saint. He'll look

after a poor devil like me." Then he began to sing:-"The tombs are uncovered,

The dead arise,

The martyrs are rising

Before our eyes."

"Long live David Rossi!" he cried again, and at the next moment he was

being carried out of court.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024