the enemymight gain admittance if not perfectly secure. In both summer andwinter his troops were ever manoeuvring in those high misty mountains,skirmishing, throwing bridges over the deep gorges, and executingevolutions always in secret, always fearing that the French might learntheir intentions in case of war.
That enormous army on the Italian frontier which one never sees, thoseregiments upon regiments which dwell far up in the remote heights of theAlps, away from the civilisation of the towns, are kept a mystery by theMinistry of War. They are there, ever ready, one knows, but where allthe hidden fortresses are situated, or where the death-dealing mines arelaid, are secrets which only the War Office and the commander know.
And it is those secrets which French spies are ever endeavouring todiscover. Indeed, one of General Valentini's chief anxieties was theingenuity displayed by the emissaries of France, who crossed thefrontier in all kinds of disguises in the endeavour to learn themilitary secrets. Not a year went past but two or three of these spieswere arrested and condemned--and, be it said, the same state of thingsexisted on French territory, where the secret service of Italy, the menfrom the bureau at headquarters there in Turin, boldly took theirliberty in their hands and went forth to gain the secrets of theirfriends in the opposite valleys.
It required an officer of clear foresight, great tact, and wideexperience to control such a command, and in Arturo Valentini, theshort, stout, red-faced little man, Italy certainly had one in whom shecould repose the most absolute confidence.
In the office of the prison governor the pair stood for a few minutes,until the dark-bearded, spectacled official entered, saluted thecommander, invited both him and his companion to seats, and settledhimself at his table.
"I wish to have an interview with Felice Solaro," the general explained."He is still here, I suppose?"
"Until Thursday next, when he is to be transferred to Gorgona."
"To Gorgona!" exclaimed the general in surprise; for the name of thatlonely penal island in the Mediterranean opposite Leghorn was sufficientto cause him to shudder. "Then it is fortunate we came to-day," headded.
"But," hesitated the grave-faced man, looking inquiringly at hiscompany, "but of course this lady cannot see him. It is against theregulations, you know, general. No prisoner can be seen by anyoneexcept yourself, save by order of the Minister of War."
"I know," was the old officer's reply. "But this lady happens to be thedaughter of the Minister Morini." Whereupon the governor bowed politelyat the figure, whose face he could not well distinguish through herveil.
"You therefore need have no hesitation in allowing the interview," addedthe general. "If you wish, I'll sign an order for it now."
"No, certainly not. If the lady is the Minister's daughter, it is ofcourse different."
"But this fact is confidential, recollect. It must not appear in anyreport that she has visited here."
The governor nodded. It was not the first time that ladies, high bornand well-dressed some of them, had, on presenting orders from CamilloMorini, had interviews with officers and men undergoing imprisonment forvarious offences.
Solaro's crime was, however, the most serious of that of any prisonerwho had been incarcerated there since he had held the post of governor--the unpardonable crime of treason, of selling his country into the handsof its enemy! He only knew that the court-martial had found the chargesproved, and therefore he was guilty. It surprised him that the daughterof the Minister should wish to see the man condemned of such an offence,but he made no comment. He only touched his bell and gave instructionsfor the prisoner Solaro to be brought from his cell to the _parlatorio_,or speaking-room.
"You of course wish, general, to see the prisoner in private," remarkedthe governor, when the chief warder had gone.
"If you please," responded the old officer, in his sharp habit ofspeech.
"Then I will not accompany you. But I may tell you that the prisonerhas become much changed since his sentence. He declares his innocence,and sits pondering all day in idleness."
The general sighed, without replying. They discussed the matter untilthe chief warder returning they rose and followed him out across thecourtyard, through a small iron-bound door before which a sentry stoodat the salute, into the inner courtyard of the prison itself, the small,dismal, bare stone place which formed the exercise-yard, while allaround were the small, barred, high-up windows of the cells.
They passed through a door, and walking along a short corridor entered asmall room divided in half by long iron bars from floor to ceiling, likethe cage of some ferocious animal in captivity. Behind those bars stoodthe bent, pale-faced figure of Felice Solaro, different indeed from thestraight, well-set-up man who had stood before the Minister of War anddefiantly broken his sword across his knee. Dressed in an ill-made suitof coarse canvas, the beard he had grown gave him an unkempt andneglected appearance, the aspect of one in whom all hope was dead.
On recognising his visitors, he sprang forward to the bars.
"Ah! my general?" he cried. "How good of you to come to me!" And heput out his thin white hand through the iron cage to greet the man whohad stood his friend and endeavoured to get his verdict reversed. Then,as the gallant old officer took his hand, he turned inquiringly towardsthe figure in black.
She threw her long veil aside, and when he saw her face revealed hegasped--
"Signorina Mary! You--you have come here--_to see me_!"
Tears rose to her eyes and almost blinded her. Recollections of thepast crowded upon her in that moment, and her heart was overburdened bypity for him.
"The signorina has done her best to induce her father to sign the orderfor your release, captain, but, alas!"--And the general sighed withoutconcluding his sentence.
"The Minister refuses!" said the unfortunate man behind the bars. "Andyet I tell you I am innocent--innocent."
"I believe you are, captain. If I did not, I should not interest myselfon your behalf. But, unfortunately, the powers in Rome are greater thanmine. They are sending you out to Gorgona, it seems."
"To Gorgona!" he gasped hoarsely, all the light dying from his pale,emaciated face. "Ah! then they mean to drive me mad by solitaryconfinement. My enemies have, indeed, triumphed!"
"But have courage, Felice," exclaimed Mary, speaking to him for thefirst time and taking his thin hand. "Surely one day you will havejustice done to you. I cannot understand why my father so steadilyrefuses to release you."
"Because he fears to do so," declared the condemned man. "I am victimof a foul intrigue in which that woman Filomena was one who conspiredagainst me."
"And yet you loved her," remarked the girl reproachfully.
"Ah! I believe I did. I know that to you I ought not to mention her,signorina. But forgive me. Do you recollect that night in Rome--at theball at the Colonna Palace--when I asked you a question?"
"I do," she responded, now very pale. "I was younger, and did not knowmy own mind then. I thought--I thought I loved you. It was ourflirtation that has brought you to this. I am to blame for everything."
"No, no," he declared. "It is I who committed the indiscretion offalling in love with you when I knew that I, a poor captain, could neverhope to marry the daughter of the Minister of War."
She sighed, and tears welled again in her dark brown eyes. The generalat her side was no woman's man, but even he became affected at thismeeting.
"They allege that you sold to France a copy of the mobilisation scheme,"she went on. "They say that I purposely locked you in my father'slibrary at Rome for three hours in order that you might have access tothe secret documents which were in a drawer in his writing-table."
The prisoner, smiling bitterly, answered--
"Let them allege whatever it pleases them; they cannot make my unjustpunishment greater than it is. You yourself know that the charge is anunjust one--and my general knows that I would never betray Italy!"
"But to whom do you attribute this ingenious plot by which you hav
e beenmade the scapegoat of someone else's offence?" asked Mary, lookingstraight into his deep-sunken eyes. "That the plans of the Tresenta aswell as the copy of the mobilisation scheme have reached the FrenchIntelligence Department is proved beyond doubt. Our secret service inParis has ascertained that."
"I have enemies--bitter ones," he answered in a strange tone, his eyesfixed upon her. "They fear me, and have taken this course in order toclose my mouth--in order to prevent me making certain revelations thatwould effect their ruin."
"But who are they?" she demanded. "The general has brought me here onpurpose to put this question to you. If we are aware of all the facts,we may be able, after all, to rescue you from
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