"Will anybody tell me anything? You seem determined to keep me in the dark, Rusidda." "Oh, I will tell you something when your captain gives you _what_ he gives you. Wait until nightfall and then come on shore. Do you know near the Immacolata a little old church with a green and yellow dome? You will go in there, taking with you what you bring from the ship; there you will have something fresh given you--and with it you will come to the Church of S. Ferdinando, opposite one of the Palace gates. There you will wait until a priest comes out bearing a cross jewelled with purple stones. You will follow him, and do what he tells you. Will you do this for me, W-Will?" she asked, with a soft personal pleading which went straight to his heart; and she liked him none the less for the steady reservation with which he insisted on making the promise. We took our time about making the circuit of the Castel Nuovo, and on to the steps where our boats lay, though this may not have been wise in the rather disturbed state of the city consequent on the rumours about His Sicilian Majesty's army at Castellana and Fermi. But in truth Will was in no hurry to present the paper which he had sworn to put in the hands of the captain. Naval discipline was no light matter in our day. I believe he would sooner have presented it to General Championnet, and much sooner to the devil. But disagreeable things come to what they call in _logick_ a climax, just as good things come to an end; and, finding the captain on deck, and in a good humour over the futile attempts of our Portuguese allies to warp one of the jury-rigged Neapolitan ships of the line out of the Mole, he made bold to salute him and present the paper. "Your men will be ready, Mr. Hardres. And, before you leave, inspect them, and see that there are no pistols in the party. A stray pistol-shot might bring down the Guard," and he added with a laugh--"though Heaven knows why it should, considering what goes on in the city every night." The Captain did not volunteer any explanation, and Will was far too strict a disciplinarian to ask questions. But he did ask, "May Trinder go, sir?" "Mr. Trinder may volunteer."