"
This was no agreeable news to me. I was sick at heart with the dismal
story I had heard. I was harassed and fatigued, and the sight of the
banditti began to grow insupportable to me.
The captain assembled his comrades. We rapidly descended the forest
which we had mounted with so much difficulty in the morning, and soon
arrived in what appeared to be a frequented road. The robbers proceeded
with great caution, carrying their guns cocked, and looking on every
side with wary and suspicious eyes. They were apprehensive of
encountering the civic patrole. We left Rocca Priori behind us. There
was a fountain near by, and as I was excessively thirsty, I begged
permission to stop and drink. The captain himself went, and brought me
water in his hat. We pursued our route, when, at the extremity of an
alley which crossed the road, I perceived a female on horseback,
dressed in white. She was alone. I recollected the fate of the poor
girl in the story, and trembled for her safety.
One of the brigands saw her at the same instant, and plunging into the
bushes, he ran precipitately in the direction towards her. Stopping on
the border of the alley, he put one knee to the ground, presented his
carbine ready for menace, or to shoot her horse if she attempted to
fly, and in this way awaited her approach. I kept my eyes fixed on her
with intense anxiety. I felt tempted to shout, and warn her of her
danger, though my own destruction would have been the consequence.
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