The coffin was now lowered into the grave, and the priest urged the men to go away and let him finish the work; but they refused. The fellows seemed to have some affection for their dead comrade, and wished to show it by putting him underground, and doing the last honors. So the efforts of the Irish priest, though very well meant, and very urgent, and very persevering, did not meet with that success which he anticipated. Suddenly he stopped in the midst of the burial service, which he was prolonging to the utmost. "Hark!" he cried, in Italian. "What?" they asked. "It's a gun! It's an alarm!" "There's no gun, and no alarm," said they. All listened, but there was no repetition of the sound, and the priest went on. He had to finish it. He stood trembling and at his wit's end. Already the men began to throw in the earth. But now there came a real alarm. CHAPTER XXXI. DISCOVERED. The report of the pistol had startled Minnie, and for a moment had greatly agitated her. The cry of Mrs. Willoughby elicited a response from her to the effect that all was right, and would, no doubt, have resulted in a conversation, had it not been prevented by Girasole. Minnie then relapsed into silence for a time, and Ethel took a seat by her side on the floor, for Minnie would not go near the straw, and then the two interlocked their arms in an affectionate embrace. "Ethel darling," whispered Minnie, "do you know I'm beginning to get awfully tired of this?" "I should think so, poor darling!" "If I only had some place to sit on," said Minnie, still reverting to her original grievance, "it wouldn't be so very bad, you know. I could put up with not having a bed, or a sofa, or that sort of thing, you know; but really I must say not to have any kind of a seat seems to me to be very, very inconsiderate, to say the least of it." "Poor darling!" said Ethel again. "And now do you know, Ethel dear, I'm beginning to feel as though I should really like to run away from this place, if I thought that horrid man wouldn't see me?" "Minnie darling," said Ethel, "that's the very thing I came for, you know." "Oh yes, I know! And that dear, nice, good, kind, delightful priest! Oh, it was so nice of you to think of a priest, Ethel dear! I'm so grateful! But when is he coming?" "Soon, I hope. But _do_ try not to talk so." "But I'm only whispering." "Yes, but your whispers are too loud, and I'm afraid they'll hear." "Well, I'll try to keep still; but it's so _awfully_ hard, you know, when one has _so_ much to say, Ethel dear." Minnie now remained silent for about five minutes. "How did you say you were going to take me away?" she asked at length. "In disguise," said Ethel. "But _what_ disguise?" "In an old woman's dress--but hu-s-s-s-sh!" "But I don't _want_ to be dressed up in an old woman's clothes; they make me _such_ a figure. Why, I'd be a perfect fright."