The students had probably jested broadly concerning the devotion of the women to the Saint, and this had enraged them.

The women of Jenne came rushing out of the bakehouse, while the plumes of a couple of _carabinieri_ appeared in the opposite direction.
Noemi and Maria mingled with the women, trying to pacify them.

Giovanni harangued the students, who swaggered and laughed, and might possibly do worse.

Chanting was heard in the church, muffled at first and then loud, as the door was thrown open: "_Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis_." The two sufferers appeared.

The girl, supported on either side, was walking; the man, as limp as a corpse, was being borne along, some women carrying his shoulders, others his feet; and the bearers were also chanting, with solemn faces: "_Sancta Virgo virginum, ora pro nobis_." The women in the square all fell on their knees, the astonished _carabinieri_ standing in their midst.