CHAPTER XXXI.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XX, Issue 1181, 3 April 1872, Page 4

CHAPTER XXXI.

A MOUNTAIN FASTNESS. The brigands, following their chief, the Red Carvelli, and keeping a tight hold upon the horses of their prisoners, continued to ride along the narrow path at right angles with the road on which Olla and her friends had been travelling, and following the conrse of the rugged and tortuous ravine. They thus traversed several miles, winding about the mountain side, as it seemed, and gradually ascending the acclivity. At length, as by a common instinct, the brigands halted in a little dell, through which a mountain torrent flowed noisily, and where the walis of the ravine arose steeply on either side, bristling- with stunted trees and shrubbery. It was past noon, and the sun's rays were withdrawn from the depths of the gulch which they had temporarily lighted. There was a damp in the air, and a sort of twilight reigned.- The spot seemed a sepulchre. Olla, who had carefully marked the route by which she had been brought, examined the little dell cnriously. The voice of the brigand chief interrupted her scrutiny. " Genarro, let the two servants be blindfolded," commanded the Red Carvelli. One of the brigands, produced from his capacious pockets a supply of red woollen cloth. He rode up to Popley, who, bound and helpless, could of course offer no resistance, and proceeded to bind a heavy band of the, cloth . over Popley's eyes. This operation was^peTformed so skilfully that iiz victim could not distinguish even a ray of light when it was concluded. Mrs. Popley was then blinded in a similar manner. Genarro then rode toward Olla, who backed her horse, her great midnight eyes flashing defiance at him. " Don't you dare to touch me !" she cried haughtily. " Yonr hands off, if you please." "Back Genarro !" shouted the brigand chief. "Do not lay hands on the lady." -Genarro, a low-browed ruffian, retreated slowly ia some confusion, and then moved toward Tressiliau. " You need not bind his eyes either," said the bi'igand chief. "Hel9 a helpless imbecile. And, besides it is doubtful if he ever leaves the retreat." Genarro inclined his head, and retreated to'his place at the rear of the little cavalcade. r r - The Red Carvelli giving the signal to resume the march, rode on through the little dell and entered the narrow throat or gorge beyond. Continuing their course through the gorge for the distance of half a mile, the brigands came to a halt and prepared to dismount. Evidently they had arrived at their jom*ney's end. A silver whistle was suspended by a cord around the neck of the brigand chief. He raised the whistle to his lips and blew upon it a shrill call, clear, strong and piercing. A similar call came in response, seeming to find vent from the solid wall at their right. "All is well," said tho Red Carvelli, leaping from his saddle. "We will go on." His followers all dismounted, and assisted ' the captives to the ground. Genarro led away the horses farther op tho gorge, soon disappearing from Olla's view behind a projecting,,rock. "Come," said Carvelli, taking* Olla's hand in his strong grasp. " This way." He led her toward the steep, straight wall, and Olla now perceived that its surface was irregular, and that secure footholds were afforded in its face, althongh they were not apparent to an ordinary observer. ■The brigand chief climbed the rock with the agility of a chamois. Shaking off his grasp, Olla followed him, not once losing her footing, and behind her carae poor Guy Tressilian, the remaining brigands, and the Popleys. At a distance of some twenty feet from the bottom of the gorge, a rock projected from the solid wall, completely screening an aperture behind it. This aperture it appeared, was the entrance to a cavern extending into the bowels of the mountain. A more cleverly concealed retreat could not have been imagined, for it was not until they were within five feet of it that keen-eyed Olla even detected the existence of the opening. And a more secure retreat also could not have been devised, for one man, sheltered by the door-like projection covering tho aperture completely, could have held a besieging army at bay. Carvelli mounted to the aperture, disappeared behind the rock projecting, and baited until Olla had gained his side. " Now give me yonr hand," he said. "Thank you, no," said Olla independently. " You may lead and I will follow, but I won'jfc touch your hand, if you please." '.'Ton .regnlar little vixen," obBerved the brigand chief admiringly. " A little shrew —a perfect young termagant. Bnt you suit tne. I never did like yonr milk-and-water women, one of the clinging vine sort, that wheedle and cloy you with their sickish sweetness. Give me an independent, spirited creature, who dares to say, ' I will,' and ' I won't,' and who won't stand nonsense from anybody —like you, in short, Signorina." " Thanks./or your good opinion," said Olla coolly. "And now, if you'll lead on, we'wiir penetrate into your robber den. Give me your hand, Jasper," she -added, addressing Tressilian, who had come up. Carvelli entered the aperture, which was high enough to permit bis ingress in a nearly upright position. Olla crept in

after him, holding Tressilinn's hand. The brigands, with the remaining prisoners, bringing up the rear. The passage was bnt a few feet in length, and gave admittance into a dim, rocky vestibule, where a lamp, secured to the side wall, was burning, and where a man, in the picturesque costume of the brigands, was waiting, evidently on duty as sentinel. It was he who had responded to his leader's shrill call. "Had you good luck, Captain ?" asked the guard, regarding the prisoners narrowly. " Very good. Did yon ever know me to fail ?" demanded the chief goodhumouredly. The guard replied heartily in the negative, and the chief traversed the vestibule, opened a door hung in the rocky wall, and passed into an inner chamber. This was the principal cavern of the robbers' retreat. It was a long, high apartment, irregular in shape, with irregular walls and irregular ceiling. It was lighted by a dozen lanterns which* depended by rude chains from the rocks overhead ; and also by a great fire which blazed and burned at tho side of the chamber, dispensing a great heat, which dissipated the chill peculiar to a subterranean room. The cavern was occupied by some fifteen men, all dressed in the manner we have described as characterising Olla's captors. A stranger crew than 4 fliis it wonld have beoa hard to find. On every swai-fchy'Tarow of the assembly was the brand of the outlaw. Every pair of eyes, had in them the reckless, hunted, daredevil look that proclaimed their social position. They looked like so many Cains and Ishmaels — their bands against every man, and every man's hand against them. Desperate, hardened, and lawless, they were social pariahs, and they delighted in being so. They were loungiug about engaged in various occupations, but all paused and looked up, as the Captain entered followed by his prisoners and followers. In an instant a busy hum of voices, in questioning and response filled the great cavern. " Who is she ? who is she ?" was the cry that rang louder than tho rest, as the outlaws marked the slight figure of the chief captive. " A princess ? A great lady ?" Ol la withdrew herself from the bustle and clamor, clinging tightly to Tressilian's hand, and surveyed the groups with a cool and dauntless gaze. It may be that her heart sank within her ; it is certain that she comprehended all her peril ; but there was no betrayal of fear in her attitude or expression. Her small head, with its jetty tresses, was haughtily poised on the slender neck and a smile of bitterness and scorn curved her lips. The brigand chief did not appear to relish tho sensation caused among- this rude gang by her glorious beauty ; nor did he appear pleased with the admiring exclamations that resounded on every BJde. The girl he meant as his own prize, and already he was jealous of every admiring- glance bestowed upon her. "' Let the girl alone !" he growled. " She is tired, and — and scared " A derisive laugh rang through the cavern, and this deepened into a positive shout as Olla's lip curled in indignant defiance. " She scared !" cried the brigand who was second in command to Carvelli. " She is abont as scared as a young lioness when she first sees her puny enemies. Scared ? Not much !" It was evident that Olla's courage had excited as great an admiration as her beauty. The face of the brigand chief flushed with annoyance. " Give me a lantern," he' said. " I will show the prisoners to their (tells." A lantern was brought to him, and bidding Olla follow him, he stalked down the length of the great cavern, and led the way into a passage beyond. The captive followed, still clinging to Tressilian's arm. Tho two Popleys, whose bonds had been removed, and whose eyes had been unbandaged, on entering the underground apartment, also followed in silence, and with faces darkened by a terrible gloom. The inner passage was short, and gave admittance into a nearly circular chambei*, where were stored boxes, barrels, and bales, all filled with the acquisitions of Carvelli's long years of plunder. Off this circular room severalmassivewooden doors opened. These were all provided with stout chains and padlocks. The brigand chief opened one of these doors and motioned Olla to enter. The I young girl peeped in warily. It was a bare and gloomy little cell, without outlet other than the door at whose threshold they stood. "No," said Olla gravely, "that one won't do. Show us the others." Carvolli stared at her in amazement. "It won't do ?" he ejaculated. " Not by any means," said Olla, shaking : her head. " I think too much of myself to go into a den like this. But of course yon don't know how to treat a lady. One I can't expect to make a silk pnrse out of the ear of a porcine quadruped !" Carvelli looked bewildered. "The — tho room don't suit you then ?" he ejaculated. "Of course it don't." " Perhaps the Signorina takes this to be the Hotel delle Crocelli," suggested the brigand chief, with a mocking sarcasm. "Oh no, I am not so 'scared' as that," said Olla quietly. " I take it to be a refuge of outlaws, but you certainly must have stolen enough to be able to fit ont a room decently. And besides," she added, coming to the point, " I won't be sepa1 rated from my friends !"

" You won't, eh-?" " No, I won't," • declared Olla,- coolly, sitting down upon a bale of woollen blankets that was conveniently at hand. " You must give us rooms adjoining, with the door unlocked between " " She does take this to be the Hotel delle Crocelli," cried Carvelli, turning up his eyes. " Signorina, I regret that I cannot accommodate yon in the manner you desire " " Then we'll stay here !" interrupted the little lady, who saw but one way to effectually manage her savage captor, andi,that way was to treat him with bold deSanse. " I dare say that we can get along' in this apartment for the short period of our stay." Carvelli griuned. ".Well," he said, "As you are so determined, I- must give in. But you are the first person I ever yielded to, Miladi." •He glanced around the room. There were th-ree or four of the brigands — of the number of those who had assisted in Olla's capture — standing about near the month of the passage. They were all wilnessipg with delight the subjagation of their ' dreaded master- by the wilful little foreigner. " Doctor," called the chjef. One of the men, a wiry littlo ruffian, sprang forward. "Carvelli tossed him a bunch of keys. " Open the doors of the two rooms that adjoin each other," commanded the chief. ".And you may spread a carpet in one of • the rooms. And you may put a pile of spft blankets in one room " "In both rooms, Doctor," interposed Olla, with the air of mistress. The Doctor, as he was styled, he being the physician of the company and possessed of a certain rude skill in surgery, looked inquiringly at his master. The latter bit his lips, as he said : r" In both rooms, then. And you may cover the walls with carpet or blankets to make the place warmer. Boys turn iv and help. Be lively now." The three or four brigands under the Doctor's leadership, procured lanterns from the main cavern and set to work to prepare the chambers indicated for tho proposed occupancy. Carvelli sat down near Olla and Tressilian, wiping- his brows. A few minutes sufficed to furnish the two cells, and tho Doctor, announcing the completion of his task, the chief led his prisoners to their rooms. They were small and of similar size, some eighteen feet square, as nearly as might be measured. The walls of one of the rooms were draped with woollen blankets. A carpet loosely laid down, covered the floor. A great pile of white and fleecy blankets were heaped up in one corner, and a table and several chairs comprised the furniture. An open door led from this room into that adjoining. This latter apartment, designed for the use of Tressiiian and Popley, contained only a great pile of blankets and a couple of chairs. Each room was provided with a lantern, which gave a sickly glare. "This is the best we can do, Signorina," said Carvelli, ushering the prisoners into their cells. " You can visit each other as much as you choose. I don't inteud to be very hard on you unless you compel me to be. Make yourselves at home. I will come in to see you afrer dinner." He bowed and withdrew, locking the doors of both the cells. Tressilian sat down on the nearest chair, looking at Olla with a vague bewilderment. Popley and Mrs. Popley regarded their young mistress in dismay, the latter giving way to a nervous fit of weeping. " We are worse off than we were in Sicily," she cried. " What can this villain mean to do with us ? Oh, Miss Olla, he has fallen in love with you, and he is a million times worse than Mr. Gower." " I don't know," said Olla meditatively. "He is bolder to be sure. Well, perhaps he is worse." " Thank Heaven you are so brave, Miss Olla," said Jim Popley, whose usually ruddy face was quite pale. "Almost any one else would have cried and screamed " "And what good would that have done ?" demanded Olla. " When one is in danger one needs all one's wits. If I had wept and pleaded, this Red Carvelli, a 8 he calls himself, would have oppressed us all, robbed us, perhaps killed us. It is not my way nor my nature to sit down and cry when I want all my courage and coolness, and as to allowing that head demon to see that I am afraid of him, I have too much self-respect and spirit to do it." " What will be your fate, Miss Olla ?" sobbed the poor old nurse. " God above knows that," responded Olla, with a reverent look upwards. But, as the matter is bad enough in itself don't let us make it worse, dear Mrs. Popley, by crying ourselves sick. And don't let us gratify that old wretch by seeming frightened. If we cai'ry a high hand we shall fare better than otherwise. The prospect of escape, I admit, looks a little dubious, but let ns hope for the best. God has not forsaken ns." She kissed the tear-stained face of her old nurse, and the latter, under the influence of Olla's bright hopefulness, began to appear more cheerful. Jim Popley also, in spite of the depressing situation, began to throw aside, or possibly conceal, his despondency. " How pale and tired poor Jasper looks," said Olla, marking the appearance of poor Guy Tressilian. '* Hiß bandage is displaced over his wound. And where is his hat ?" " It was lost when we were captured," said Popley.

" He was behind me, and I did not notice that his hat was gone. " Can the sun have affected his head ?" " I think not," answered Popley. " I will dress his wound, and put on the bandages, in better shape." He would have removed Tressilian into tho inner room, but Olla requested him to remain. Popley took off the bandages carefully and laid bare the gaping, unhealed wound in the midst of the tawny locks of hair. He was about to apply some healing salve, when the door was unlocked and opened, and the " Doctor" came in, bearing a big wooden tray of food. "What have you thei'e ?" he asked, depositing the tray on the table. Popley's command of the Italian language not being adequate to the occasion, Olla answered : " The gentleman received a severe wound on the head some weeks since. He was hurled by the waves, in a shipwreck, against a sharp rock. His brain is paralysed !" " Ah !" said the doctor, his professional interest excited. "I suppose I've treated more wounds in tho head than any other man in Italy. I studied to be a doctor once. It was at Milan. I had a regular genius for surgery, but I liked a wild life and joined the band of the Red Carvelli. And here I have more broken heads to mend than I could have in any city. Odd how everybody, in a fight, aims at the head ; isn't ifc ? I dare say now I could cure this friend of yours." "I thiuk not," said Olla. "Dr. Spezzo of Palermo, the great Sicilian doctor, could do nothing for him." " Dr. Spezzo has not had my experience in mending broken heads," said the brigand doctor loftily. " Let me look at the gentleman's head." Popley stepped aside to give him place. " Just hold the lantern this way," said the doctor. Popley took down the lantern and held it so that the rays fell full upon the gaping wound. " A bad wound !" ejaculated the doctor. " Very bad. No wonder Dr. Spezzo gave him up. Did the doctor say what was the matter in this case ?" "He said that the brain was paralysed, or some such thing," said Olla. " Nonsense. These big doctors like to treat you to big words. I can see all the trouble, Signorina. A piece of the skull is driven in on the brain. I mig-ht be able to help him ; I don't know. But you could find some great English or French doctor that could restore him, no doubt." A glow of hope lit up in Olla's face. * s You think he is not hopelessly imbecile ?" she cried. " I don't think he is. Of course there are chances against his complete recovery ; a good many chances ; but I think he stands a fair chance of getting well. If the Signoriua would allow me to probe the wound, or to make a fair examination of ifc, I might help him." Olla hesitated. She studied the man's face, but she saw in ifc only a professional zeal. Her anxiety forced her to consent to the examination, especially as she believed the doctor to be honest, and not actuated by a desire to harm her charge. "You may examine ifc," she said slowly. " But don't hurt him." The doctor drew from his pocket a case of surgical instruments, and selected one resembling a probe/ He entered upon his task of examining Tressilian's wouud with a keen eye and a steady hand. " A bad case," he muttered. " I see the cause of the trouble, but I don't think I can reach it. Steady your hand there, you Inglese !" He continued his examination, Guy submitting to the pain with the patience that had distinguished him since bis affliction had overtaken him. Olla watched the scene, pale as death, her hands clasped, her lips parted, her eyes having a wild and frightened gazo. Mrs. Popley covered her face with her hands. A few moments dragged on, seeming like an eternity to Olla. Then came a cry of joy from tho doctor, followed by a shrill cry of agony from Guy Tressilian. At the same moment Tressilian sprangfrom his chair, bounded forward, and fell in a dead swoon upon the floor. The doctor wiped his blood-stained instrument upon his jacket, and restored ifc to his case. " I haven't cured him !" he exclaimed. " I raised the depressed piece of skull a little, Signoriua, but ifc needs skill greater than mine to carry the operation through successfully. If you ever get out of here, and he lives, take him to some great surgeon. As for him now," he added seriously, '' I have either helped him or killed him, I don't know which." Olla gave a great cry of terror. Popley set down his lantern and lifted poor Guy, carrying him to the pile of blankets, on which he laid him, the doctor approached the couch and looked down upon the insensible man. Then, muttering that he could do nothing more, and that he would not have the Captain know what he had already done, he stole out of the cell softly and with a terrible face, and locked the door behind him. " He is dying !" moaned Olla, in all the anguish and horror of a great grief. "And I have killed him ! Why did I lefe the charlatan touch him? Ob, Jasper! Jasper!" She knelfc down beside him and laid her hand upon the still breast. He looked as if he were dead, lying white and cold and rigid. The Popleys gathered close to their young mistress struck dumb by the chill horror of tho sceue ; and the three j waited for some change in the appearance of the Baronet's son. Would the coming change be. the last great change — that of death ? . [to be continued.]