in the young girl and the bandit. A knife was plunged up to the hilt in Rita’s left breast. Everyone looked at Carlini; the sheath at his belt was empty.
“ ‘Ah, ah,’ said the chief, ‘I now understand why Carlini stayed behind.’
“All savage natures appreciate a desperate deed. No other of the bandits would, perhaps, have done the same; but they all understood what Carlini had done.
“ ‘Now, then,’ cried Carlini, rising in his turn, and approaching the corpse, his hand on the butt of one of his pistols, ‘does anyone dispute the possession of this woman with me?’
“ ‘No,’ returned the chief, ‘she is thine.’
“Carlini raised her in his arms, and carried her out of the circle of firelight. Cucumetto placed his sentinels for the night, and the bandits wrapped themselves in their cloaks, and lay down before the fire. At midnight the sentinel gave the alarm, and in an instant all were on the alert. It was Rita’s father, who brought his daughter’s ransom in person.
“ ‘Here,’ said he, to Cucumetto, ‘here are three hundred piastres; give me back my child.
“But the chief, without taking the money, made a sign to him to follow. The old man obeyed. They both advanced beneath the trees, through whose branches streamed the moonlight. Cucumetto stopped at last, and pointed to two persons grouped at the foot of a tree.
“ ‘There,’ said he, ‘demand thy child of Carlini; he will tell thee what has become of her;’ and he returned to his companions.
“The old man remained motionless; he felt that some great and unforeseen misfortune hung over his head. At length he advanced