This etext was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net>
By George Meredith
The smoke of a pistol-shot thinned away while there was yet silence.
"It is a saving of six charges of Austrian ammunition," said Pericles.
Vittoria stared at the scene, losing faith in her eyesight. She could infact see no distinct thing beyond what appeared as an illuminated coppermedallion, held at a great distance from her, with a dead man and atowering female figure stamped on it.
The events following were like a rush of water on her senses. There wasfighting up the street of the village, and a struggle in the space whereRinaldo had fallen; successive yellowish shots under the risingmoonlight, cries from Italian lips, quick words of command from German inItalian, and one sturdy bull's roar of a voice that called across thetumult to the Austro-Italian soldiery, "Venite fratelli!—come, brothers,come under our banner!" She heard "Rinaldo!" called.
This was a second attack of the volunteers for the rescue of theircaptured comrades. They fought more desperately than on the hill outsidethe village: they fought with steel. Shot enfiladed them; yet they boreforward in a scattered body up to that spot where Rinaldo lay, shoutingfor him. There they turned,—they fled.
Then there was a perfect stillness, succeeding the strife as quickly,
Vittoria thought, as a breath yielded succeeds a breath taken.
She accused the heavens of injustice.
Pericles, prostrate on the floor, moaned that he was wounded. She said,
"Bleed to death!"
"It is my soul, it is my soul is wounded for you, Sandra."
"Dreadful craven man!" she muttered.
"When my soul is shaking for your safety, Sandra Belloni!" Periclesturned his ear up. "For myself—not; it is for you, for you."
Assured of the cessation of arms by delicious silence he jumped to hisfeet.
"Ah! brutes to fight. It is 'immonde;' it is unnatural!"
He tapped his finger on the walls for marks of shot, and discovered ashot-hole in the wood-work, that had passed an arm's length above herhead, into which he thrust his finger in an intense speculativemeditation, shifting eyes from it to her, and throwing them aloft.
He was summoned to the presence of Count Karl, with whom he found CaptainWeisspriess, Wilfrid, and officers of jagers and the Italian battalion.Barto Rizzo's wife was in a corner of the room. Weisspriess met him witha very civil greeting, and introduced him to Count Karl, who begged himto thank Vittoria for the aid she had afforded to General Schoneck'semissary in crossing the Piedmontese lines. He spoke in Italian. Heagreed to conduct Pericles to a point on the route of his march, wherePericles and his precious prima donna—"our