"The leave granted me expires in half an hour," he said. "It may be that I shall have many other favors to ask within a short time, and I must not abuse this one. Yonder is the direct road to the Villa Palmarosa without passing Bel Passo. You do not need me to be introduced to the princess's presence. She has been notified and she expects you. Here is a key to the park, Michel, and one to the little garden outside the Casino. You know the staircase cut in the rock. You must ring twice, thrice and once at the small gilt gate at the top. Until then avoid being seen, and make sure that nobody is following you. When the maid comes to open the gate leading into the private garden, your countersign will be _Blessed Madonna of Bel Passo_. Do not lose these keys, Michel. Within a few days all the locks have been changed secretly, and the new ones are so complicated, that unless he applies to the locksmith who furnished them, and who is incorruptible, it will be impossible henceforth for Ninfo to get into the villa by means of false keys. One word more, my children. If any unforeseen occurrence should make my presence urgently necessary during the night, the Piccinino knows my cell and how to get into the convent." "I should say as much!" said the bandit, when they had left the Capuchin; "I have indulged in enough escapades at night and returned just before dawn often enough, to know how to climb the walls of the convent of Mal Passo. Well, my friend, we no longer have to be careful of good Brother Angelo's legs; we will run a bit on this slope, and you will be kind enough not to lag behind, for I am not inclined to follow beaten paths. It is not my custom, and the way the crow flies is much safer and more expeditious." As he spoke he darted in among the rocks which descended abruptly to the bed of the stream, as if he proposed to jump over. It was a very bright night, as almost all nights are in that beautiful climate. But the moon, which was just rising and casting huge shadows across the ravines, made everything uncertain and deceptive to the eye. If Michel had not kept close to his guide, he would have been completely at a loss what course to take among masses of lava and steep cliffs which it seemed impossible to climb. Although the Piccinino was perfectly familiar with the practicable spots, there were some so dangerous and difficult that Michel would have refused to take the risk, except for the fear of being considered cowardly and awkward. But the rivalry of self-love is a spur which increases a man's faculties tenfold, and, at the risk of killing himself twenty times over, the young artist followed the bandit without stumbling and without uttering a word which betrayed his discomfort and his distrust.