"I don't remember very well," Lega interjected, "but I seem to remember seeing him once when they passed by here and fled." Pen~Fun~Pavilion www.biquge.info Is he hunchbacked, or has a bent waist or something?"

The professor had opened the drawer of his desk and was rummaging through a pile of materials. "I see I have a police notice here that wants him," he said. "You must remember that after they fled to the mountains and hid, their portraits were posted everywhere, and that cardinal—what's the name of that bastard?—Spinola, and he offered a bounty for their heads.

"By the way, there's another magical story about Rivarez and that notice. He wanders around in his old military uniform, disguised as a cavalryman wounded in the line of duty, trying to find his companions. He actually asked Spinolar's search party to allow him to hitchhike and sit in a carriage for a day. He told them many thrilling stories about how he was captured by the rebels, how he was dragged into the mountain bandits' lair, and how he was tortured. They showed him the wanted notice, and he made up a nonsense about the devil they called the 'gadfly'. In the evening, when they had all fallen asleep, he poured a bucket of water on their gunpowder, and then he slipped away, his pocket full of provisions and ammunition—"

"Oh, this is it," Fabrizi interjected, "'Felice Rivarez, aka gadfly. Age: Approximately thirty years old. Origin and origin: unknown, probably South American. Profession: Journalist. Short stature. Brunette. Black beard. Dark skin. Eyes: Blue. Forehead: both broad and rounded. Nose, mouth, chin - 'yes, here:' features: lameness on the right foot, crooked left arm, missing two fingers on the left hand, scar on the face from a recent saber cut, stuttering. There is also a postscript below: 'Be proficient in marksmanship, and pay attention when you catch it.' ’”

"It's amazing how the search party can fool them with such detailed characteristics. ”

Of course, it was with fearless courage that he saved the day. If they have the slightest suspicion of him, then he will die. But whenever he pretends to be innocent and doesn't say anything, he can overcome any difficulties. Well, gentlemen, what do you think of this proposal? It seems that several of you here know Rivarez. Did we tell him that we were glad to ask him to come here to help?"

"It seems to me," Fabrizi said, "that we might as well bring it up to him and see if he is willing to consider our plan." ”

"Oh, rest assured, if it is a fight with the Jesuit clergyman, he will be willing to participate. Of all the people I know, he is the most anti-clergy. In fact, he was very resolute on this point. ”

"Riccardo, shall we write then?"

"That's natural. Let me think about where he is now? I think it's in Switzerland. He is a man who can't stay anywhere, always running around. But at least the problem with the pamphlet-"

A long and lively discussion ensued. When the attendees finally dispersed, Maldini walked up to the taciturn young woman.

"I'll take you home, Joma. ”

"Thanks, I want to talk to you about something. ”

"Is the address wrong?" he asked softly.

"It's not that serious, but I think something should be corrected. Two letters were held at the post office this week. Faith doesn't matter much, maybe it was an accident. But we can't take any chances. If the police start to suspect any of our addresses, they will have to change them immediately. ”

"We'll talk about that tomorrow. I don't want to talk to you tonight, you look a little tired. ”

"I'm not tired. ”

"Then you're in a bad mood again. ”

"Oh, no. Nothing special. ”

"Katie, is the hostess at home?"

"Yes, sir. She's dressing. Please go to the living room and wait, she will go downstairs in a moment. ”

Katie welcomed the guests in with the cheerful and friendly attitude of a Devonshire girl. She especially liked Maldini. He speaks English, of course, like a foreigner, but is still very decent. When the hostess was tired, he would never sit there and talk about politics in his voice, and he could toss until one o'clock in the morning. Some guests don't. In addition, he had been to Devon and helped the hostess with her problems. Her child died and her husband was dying there. From that moment on, Katie had regarded the tall, clumsy, taciturn man almost as a member of the family, like the lazy black cat now crouching on his lap. Pahit, on the other hand, saw Maldini as a useful piece of furniture. The guest never stepped on its tail, nor blew smoke into its eyes, nor did he get along with it. He behaves like a gentleman: let him lie on his comfortable lap and snore, and when he is served to eat, he never forgets that when humans eat fish, cats will find it boring to watch. Their friendship has a long history. When Pahit was a kitten, there was a time when the hostess was so sick that she didn't have the heart to think about it. It was Maldini who took care of it, stuffed it in a basket and brought it from England. Since then, the long experience has convinced it that this bear-clumsy man is not a friend who can only share ups and downs.

"You two seem to be quite pleasant," said Jomma as she entered the room, "and they will think that you have settled down to kill the night." ”

Maldini carefully picked the cat off his lap. "I'm a little early," he said, "and I hope you'll let me have some tea before we leave." There could be so many people over there that Gracini wouldn't have prepared us a decent dinner—people in a luxurious mansion never did. ”

"Come," she said with a smile, "you speak as mean as Gali! Poor Gracini, even if his wife is not a good householder, he is also guilty." Tea will be fine for a while. Katie also made some Devon cookies for you. ”

"Katie is a good man, Pahit, isn't she? Oh, you're still wearing this beautiful dress. I'm afraid you'll forget. ”

"I promised to wear it, even though it was so hot tonight that it wasn't very comfortable to wear. ”

"When you get to Fiesol, it's going to get cooler. There's nothing quite like a cashmere sweater for you. I brought you some flowers that you can wear. ”

"Oh, what a lovely rose. I love it so much! It's better to put them in the water. I hate wearing flowers. ”

"It's your superstition, your imagination. ”