3/21 But the new-comer silenced him and put the matter aside with a gesture. Time imports as you little dream. It may well be, illustrious sirs, that had I not come thus I had not come at all." "How ?" cried one, expressing the wonder that rose in every mind, even as on every countenance some consternation showed. "Are we betrayed ?" "If you are in case to fear betrayal, it may well be, my friends. As I crossed the bridge over the Metauro and took the path that leads hither, my eyes were caught by a crimson light shining from a tangle of bushes by the roadside. |