Then they led him, shivering to
the great bed. The other end of the cord was passed over one of the
bared arms of the canopy-frame. This end was grasped by the two men-at-
arms. Martin stood beside the prisoner. The Duke flung himself into a
great carved chair, an air of relish now investing his round, pale face.
"You know what is about to befall you," he said, in tones of chilling
indifference. "Will you speak before we begin?"
"My lord," said the fool, in a voice that terror was throttling, "you are
a good Christian, a loyal son of Mother Church, and a believer in the
eternal fires of hell?"
A frown settled on Gian Maria's brow. Was the fool about to intimidate
him with talk of supernatural vengeance?
"Thus," Peppe continued, "you will perhaps be merciful when I confess my
position. I made most solemn oath to the man I met at Acquasparta on
that luckless day, that I would never reveal his identity. What am I to
do? If I keep my oath, you will torture me to death perhaps. If I break
it, I shall be damned eternally. Have mercy, noble lord, since now you
know how I am placed."
The smile broadened on Gian Maria's face, and the cruelty of his mouth
and eyes seemed intensified by it. The fool had told him that which he
would have given much to learn. He had told him that this man whose name
he sought, had so feared that his presence that day at Acquasparta should
become known, that he had bound the fool by oath not to divulge the
secret of it.
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