And I'll leave you to imagine, if you can, the joy and delight which
agitated the bosom of our good Baron as he recognized among these
three figures the well-known face and form of his friend Hawbury. With
Hawbury was a lady whom the Baron remembered having seen once in the
upper hall of a certain house in Rome, on a memorable occasion, when
he stood on the stairs calling _Min_. The lady was very austere then,
but she was very gracious now, and very wonderfully sweet in the
expression of her face. And with them was a stranger in the garb of a
priest.
Now as soon as the party met the Baron, who rushed to meet them,
Hawbury wrung his hand, and stared at him in unbounded astonishment.
"You!" he cried; "yourself, old boy! By Jove!"
"Yes," said the Baron. "You see, the moment we got into that ambush I
kept my eye open, and got a chance to spring into the woods. There I
was all right, and ran for it. I got into the road again a couple of
miles back, got a horse, rode to Civita Castellana, and there I was
lucky enough to find a company of Zouaves. Well, Sir, we came here
flying, mind, I tell you, and got hold of a chap that we made guide us
to the lake. Then we opened on them; and here we are, by thunder! But
where's Min?"
"Who?" asked Hawbury.
"Min," said the Baron, in the most natural tone in the world.
"Oh! Why, isn't she here?"
"No. We've hunted every where. No one's here at all." And the Baron
went on to tell about their search and its results. Hawbury was
chiefly struck by the news of Girasole.
"He must have gone mad with terror," said Hawbury, as he told the
Baron about his adventure at the grave. "If that's so," he added, "I
don't see how the ladies could be harmed. I dare say they've run off.
Why, we started to run, and got so far off that we couldn't find our
way back, even after the trumpet began to sound. You must keep blowing
at it, you know. Play all the national tunes you can--no end. They'll
find their way back if you give them time."