"
"Not another minute," replied the duke. "Heralds, cry the rising."
"Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! His Grace, the Duke of Burgundy, is about to rise.
His Grace has risen," cried the herald.
The duke left the hall by a small door near the dais.
Hymbercourt was standing beside us when the captain of the guard
approached to lead us back to our cells.
"May we not have comfortable quarters, and may we not be placed in one
cell?" I asked, appealing to Hymbercourt. "I have been confined in a
reeking, rayless dungeon unfit for swine, and doubtless Sir Max has been
similarly outraged."
Hymbercourt put his hand into his pouch and drew forth two gold pieces.
These he stealthily placed in the captain's hand, and that worthy
official said:--
"I shall be glad to oblige, my lord."
Hymbercourt left us, and Campo-Basso, beckoning the captain to one side,
spoke to him in low tones. The captain, I was glad to see, was a
Burgundian.
After we left the hall we were taken to our old quarters. The captain
followed me into the cell, leaving his men in the passageway.
"My Lord Count ordered me to bring you here," he said; "but I will, if I
can, soon return with other men who are not Italians and will remove
you to a place of safety."
"Am I not safe here? Is my friend in danger?" I asked.
The man smiled as though amused at my simplicity:--
"If you remain here to-night, there will be no need to hang you in the
morning. Our Italian friends have methods of their own that are simple
and sure.
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