garibaldi had been remaining quietly at caserta when, on the 24th, he received a message from cialdini inviting him to cross the river and be in readiness to co-operate in a general action, which might possibly be brought on the next day. a bridge had to be thrown over the volturno, but at five the following morning he crossed with five thousand men. he found that a strong neapolitan force had fallen back, in the direction of gaeta, on the previous evening. missori was sent on with the guides to reconnoitre, and at teano found the escort of the neapolitan general, who had gone on to hold a conference with cialdini. at five in the evening garibaldi advanced eight miles farther in that direction, and bivouacked in the open air for the night. scarcely had he resumed his march, at daybreak the next morning, when he met the advance-guard of the piedmontese. the force marched off the road and encamped while garibaldi and his staff rode on to meet the king and his general.
the latter was first encountered, and the heartiest greeting was exchanged between him and garibaldi, for they were old friends. they then rode together to meet victor emmanuel, whose greeting with garibaldi was extremely cordial. they rode together till the afternoon; garibaldi went with his column to calvi, and on the 28th retired to caserta. on the news reaching naples, frank, who by this time had almost recovered, drove to santa lucia. the piedmontese and garibaldians had now taken up their position on the south side of capua, the former occupying their old positions at santa maria and sant’angelo, while the piedmontese occupied the ground between the former town and la forresta; the piedmontese general, delia rocca, being in command of the whole. the troops were at once set to work to construct batteries, and a strong chain of outposts was pushed forward to within five hundred yards of the fortifications, to check the frequent sorties made by the neapolitans. the latter were still resolute, and several fierce fights took place. at four o’clock in the afternoon of november 1st the batteries opened fire, and the guns of the fortress replied vigorously, the bombardment being maintained until dark. preparations were made for an assault on the following morning. in the evening, however, the swiss general, du cornet, sent in to capitulate, and his surrender was accepted on the condition that he and his garrison should be allowed to march out with the honours of war. frank and the professor had driven early that morning from santa lucia, and had taken up their post high up on mount tifata, whence they could obtain a view of the city and surrounding country.
they drove back when the bombardment ceased. early the next morning they set out again, and, meeting an officer, were informed that capua had surrendered. signor forli had two days previously gone down to caserta and seen garibaldi, and had asked him to give frank a letter of introduction to general cialdini, requesting him to allow him to enter with the first party to search the prisons of capua.
“that i will do right willingly,” garibaldi said. “indeed, as i rode with him two days ago, we naturally talked over the past; and i mentioned to him that i in no small degree owed the success of my expedition to the large sum of money sent to me by madame percival, the wife of the gentleman whose murder by brigands had created so much stir two and a half years ago. he remembered the circumstances perfectly; and i told him that her son had accompanied me throughout, and had greatly distinguished himself, even among the gallant men who accompanied me. i mentioned to him that he had still hopes that his father had not been murdered, and might be found in a neapolitan prison, and gave him his reason for hoping that he might yet be found in capua. i need not, therefore, write a long letter.”
the general at once sat down and wrote a note to cialdini, introducing frank to him, and asking that he might be nominated to accompany the officer charged with the duty of examining the prisons of capua. as soon, therefore, as they learned that the garrison had capitulated, signor forli and frank drove to la fortuna, where cialdini’s headquarters were. frank sent in his card and garibaldi’s letter, and after waiting a few minutes was shown into his room.
“i am glad to see you, captain percival,” the governor said warmly. “garibaldi was speaking to me of you in the highest terms, and interested me much in the quest you are making for your father. a party of our troops will enter the town to take possession of the magazines, and see that order is maintained until the evacuation of the town by the garrison, which will indeed commence this afternoon. i shall myself be entering in a couple of hours’ time; and the best way will be for you to ride in with me. i will provide you with a horse; and it will save time and relieve you of your anxiety if i send an officer with you to the prisons, ordering that you shall at once have every facility given you for ascertaining whether your father is among those confined there.”
“i thank you greatly, general,” frank said. “i will not trouble you about the horse, but will, with your permission, drive in in the carriage i have outside. my mother’s father, whom i found in prison at reggio, is with me; and should i be happy enough to find my father, we can then take him away at once.”
“very well, we will arrange it so. colonel pasta, please write out an order to the governor of the state prisons in capua to offer every facility to captain percival to visit the jails and inspect the prisoners, with power to liberate his father at once should he find him there. it will save trouble altogether if, when we enter the town, you at once ride with his carriage to the prisons, and see that this order is complied with. you will also, before you set out, give orders to the officer commanding the escort to allow the carriage to follow him.
“i heartily wish you success in your search,” he said, turning to frank, and again shook him warmly by the hand.
signor forli was much pleased when frank told him the result of his interview. “however, my dear frank,” he said, “i pray you not to allow yourself to be buoyed up with any strong hope: if you do you may only be bitterly disappointed. you must remember, too, that even should we not find him here, we may discover him at gaeta.”
“i will try not to let myself hope too much,” frank replied; “but at the same time i own that the description you obtained of one of the prisoners sent on here from naples has given me a strong hope that it is my father. should it not be so, i will not despair altogether, but will look forward to the search at gaeta. if that does not succeed i fear that it will be no good to hope any longer, for all the prisons south of naples have been opened long before now, and had my father been confined in one of them, i feel sure that, if able, he would at once have made his way to naples to see garibaldi, and obtain from him funds to enable him to return home.”
leaving the carriage, they endeavoured to obtain some food, for they had only taken some coffee and milk and a piece of bread before starting. they found it, however, almost impossible to do so—everything in the place had been eaten up; but after some search they succeeded in getting a bottle of wine and a small piece of bread at one of the cafés. having taken this, they went back to the carriage, and sat there until they saw the general and his staff come out from headquarters and mount. just as they were starting, an officer rode up to the carriage.
“i have orders, sir, to permit you to follow in rear of the escort, and to enter the city with them. will you please drive on at once?”
an hour later they entered capua. shortly before an italian brigade had marched in, placed guards at the gates and all the public buildings, and relieved the neapolitan sentries on the ramparts. cialdini dismounted at the palace of the governor, and ten minutes later colonel pasto rode up to the carriage. he was accompanied by a gentleman on foot, who introduced himself to signor forli as a member of the municipal body, and, taking a seat, directed the driver to the state prison, colonel pasto riding by the side of the carriage. when they arrived at the gate, where two of the bersaglieri were on guard, they alighted, and colonel pasto knocked at the gate, which was at once opened.
“i wish to see the governor of the jail,” he said.
the warder at once led the way to the governor’s residence, followed by the colonel, frank, and signor forli. the governor bowed, with evident trouble in his face, as they entered.
“this officer,” the colonel said, “is the bearer of an order from general cialdini, to search the prison thoroughly for the person of captain percival, a british subject, believed to be confined here, and to free him at once if he is so. i also require a full list of all prisoners confined here, with a statement of the charges on which they have been imprisoned. to-morrow the place will be searched from top to bottom, and all prisoners—i believe that no criminals are confined here—will be released.”
“i have no such person as captain percival here,” the official said humbly.
“not under that name, perhaps,” frank said. “i demand, sir, in the first place, to see the four prisoners who were brought here from naples on the 5th or 6th of september. if captain percival is not one of the four, though i am convinced that he is so, i will postpone a general search until i make it with the royal officials to-morrow.”
the governor looked somewhat surprised at the knowledge possessed by the young officer; however, he only said, “i will take you to them at once, sir; they are together, and, as you will see, comfortably lodged.”
“i can believe that they are so at present,” frank said sternly, “and have been, perhaps, for the past twenty-four hours”; for he felt sure that as soon as it was known that the general was about to capitulate, all the prisoners from the lower dungeons would be hastily removed to better quarters.
“i will accompany you so far, captain percival,” colonel pasto said, “in order that i may inform general cialdini if you have met with success in your search.”
led by the governor, they left the apartment, entered the prison itself, and followed him down several corridors. one of the warders, by his orders, followed him with a bunch of keys. frank was very pale, his face was set, and he was evidently trying to nerve himself to bear disappointment. signor forli walked with his hand on his shoulder, as if to assure him of his sympathy, and to aid him to support joy or disappointment. colonel pasto, deeply interested in the drama, walked a pace or two behind them. at last the turnkey stopped before a door, inserted a key in the lock, and opened it. the governor entered, with the words, “these are the four prisoners, sir.”
frank paused for a moment, took a long breath, and then entered. three men were lying on pallet-beds; the fourth, who had been seated, rose as they entered. it was on him that frank’s eyes first fell, and then paused in doubt: the man’s hair was long and streaked with grey, he wore long whiskers, beard and moustache, his face was very white and his figure somewhat bent. he was very thin, and his eyes seemed unnaturally large in the drawn, haggard face. as his eyes fell upon the uniforms of the piedmontese and garibaldian officers, he held out his arms and cried hoarsely: “i was right, then; we heard the firing yesterday, and knew that the town was attacked, and when we were taken from our foul dungeons and brought up here, i felt sure that deliverance was at hand. ah, forli,” he broke off, as his eyes fell on the professor, “this is all that was wanted to complete my joy. you too are rescued!” and bursting into tears he sank back upon his pallet and covered his face with his thin hands.
“he went up to percival and put his hand on his
shoulder”
“he went up to percival and put his hand on his shoulder”
the professor laid his hand on frank’s shoulder, as the latter was about to dart forward.
“stay a minute or two, lad,” he whispered—“it may be too much for him,” and he went up to percival and put his hand on his shoulder. “it is a joyful occasion indeed, leonard,” he said. “you are free. save for the papal states and venice, all italy is free. i have other good news for you. muriel, your boy and my wife are all well, and will soon be able to rejoin you.”
“a minute, forli—give me a minute,” captain percival said, in a low voice. “i should not have broken down thus. it is almost too much, coming all at once, after so long a time of waiting.”
two of the other prisoners had half risen at signor forli’s words; the other was too weak to do more than turn his face towards them.
“the news is true, gentlemen,” colonel pasto said. “to-morrow, you and all within this prison will be free men. capua has surrendered, and we have but just entered the town. as there are still nine thousand of the neapolitan troops here, there are many arrangements to be made, and we must find some place for you all until you can be sent to your homes. it is impossible to search the jails until to-morrow, but you need not regard yourselves any longer as prisoners. i have orders from general cialdini to the governor here, that you shall in the meantime be well and plentifully fed, so as to prepare you for leaving this place.
“you hear, sir,” he said, turning to the governor. “you will procure, regardless of expense, every luxury possible, with a proper supply of good wine; and see that all have a thoroughly good meal this afternoon, and another this evening. i request that you will, without delay, have every prisoner informed of what has happened, and that he will to-morrow be released.”
“i will see that it is done, colonel,” the governor said. “i will at once give the necessary orders.
“perhaps it will be better, sir,” he went on, speaking to signor forli, “that your friend should take something before he leaves. i have pleasure in placing my private room at your disposal, and will order some refreshment to be served there immediately.”
captain percival now rose to his feet with an effort. “i am afraid i shall have to be carried, forli,” he said, with an attempt at a smile. “i was able to walk across the room this morning, but your news has, for the present, demolished what little strength i had left.”
“you had better sit down, captain percival,” the colonel said. “the governor will doubtless send some men with a stretcher at once, and i need hardly assure you how great a pleasure it has been to me to be employed on so successful a mission. i shall tell general cialdini that you have been found.” and so saying, after shaking hands with captain percival and the other prisoners, he left the room with the governor.
frank also went outside, as, seeing how weak his father was, he quite recognised the wisdom of signor forli’s advice that he should not be told too much at once; and, indeed, he felt that he could no longer suppress his own emotions. leaning against the wall in the passage, he cried like a child.
assisted by signor forli, percival went round and shook hands with the other three prisoners.
“i was right, you see,” he said: “i told you last night, when we were all brought up here, that our deliverance was at hand, but i hardly thought that it could be so near. soon you too will see your friends, from whom you have been kept a much longer time than i have.
“we have only met once before,” he said to the professor, “when nearly two months ago we were all brought out and placed in a vehicle together, and driven here. on the way we told each other what our real names were, and the addresses of our friends, so that if by some miracle one of us should issue alive from our horrible dungeons, we might let the friends of the others know how and where they had died. thank god, we shall now all be bearers of good news.”
“i fear that i shall never be so,” the weakest of them said, feebly.
“do not think that,” signor forli said cheerfully: “good food, fresh air, and, more than all, freedom, will do wonders for you. i, like yourselves, have been a special prisoner in a fortress for upwards of three years, and you see me now as strong and as well as i was when i entered it. make up your mind that you will get well and cheat these tyrants, who had thought to kill you by inches.”
four of the jailors now entered; one of them carried a stretcher, another had a bottle of excellent wine and four large glasses, which he filled and handed to the prisoners.
“this is the first taste of freedom,” one said, as he emptied his glass. “there, friend,” he went on, as one of the jailors partly lifted the sick man and placed the glass to his lips, “that is your first step towards health and strength. i can feel it already tingling in my veins, which years ago a glass of pure spirit would hardly have done. no, we will take no more now,” he said, as one of the men was about to refill his glass. “leave it here; another glass now would intoxicate me, after five years on water alone and starvation diet.”
captain percival was now placed on the stretcher and carried out; frank fell in with signor forli as he followed the party. “unless you are going to tell him soon,” he said, “i must go; i cannot stand it, being so close to him.”
“i will tell him as soon as we are alone,” the professor said: “he has calmed down, and that glass of wine will do him a world of good.”
on arriving at the governor’s room, captain percival was placed in an easy chair, and the jailors left. frank went to the window and looked out.
“i can hardly believe that it is not all a dream, forli. the strangest part is that, while i had hoped to open your prison doors, you have opened mine.”
“you are wrong, leonard: the same person who opened my doors has opened yours; as you set out to find me, so another set out to find us both.”
captain percival looked at him wonderingly.
“of whom are you speaking, forli? my head is not very clear at present. but who could have been looking for us both? you don’t mean garibaldi?”
“no, no, leonard; truly he has opened the doors to all prisoners, but he was not searching for any one in particular. when i tell you that muriel sent out to garibaldi the sum that you had put aside for that purpose, and that she and my wife had never altogether lost hope that you and i were both still alive, whom should she send out with it, and to search for you, but——”
“you don’t mean frank? you cannot mean him: he is only a boy at school.”
“he is nearly seventeen now, and there are hundreds of younger lads who, like him, have done their duty as men. yes, it is frank. i would not tell you at first; one shock was enough at a time. frank, my boy, you have your reward at last.”
frank turned and ran towards his father. the latter rose from his seat.
“my boy, my dear lad!” he cried, as he held out his arms, “this is too much happiness!”
it was some minutes before either father or son could speak coherently; and fortunately, just as frank placed his father in the chair, one of the attendants brought in a basin of clear soup, two cutlets, an omelette, and a bottle of wine, saying that the governor had sent them from his own table, with his compliments.
captain percival smiled faintly when the man left the room.
“it is my last meal in prison, and if it had been sent to me a week ago i should have declined to eat it, for i should have made sure that it was poisoned; however, as it is, i will take it with thankfulness.”
“yes, and you must eat as much as you can,” forli said. “you have got a drive before you: we shall take you straight up to santa lucia, where we have rooms; the mountain air has done wonders for frank, who has had a touch of these marsh fevers. it would be difficult to find a place in capua now, so the sooner you are out of it the better.”
captain percival took a mouthful or two of soup and then stopped.
“that won’t do, leonard—that won’t do; you really must make an effort. do it in italian fashion: pour a glass of wine into it; if you will take that, i will let you off the meat.”
“i could not touch it whether you let me off or not. i have not touched meat for two years and a half, and i shall be some time taking to it again.”
he finished the soup, and then, upon the insistence of signor forli, took some of the omelette.
“now,” the latter said, “we will be off. when we came in here, we told the driver to find some place where he could take the horses out and feed them, and then come here and wait for us. i suppose we must get somebody to let us out of the prison.”
frank rang the bell. when the attendant came in, he said, “please tell the governor that we are now leaving, and that we shall be obliged if he would send down an official to the gate to let us out.”
the governor himself came in two minutes later; the gate was close by the entrance to his house; and signor forli said,—“i will go out first, sir, and fetch our carriage round, if you will be good enough to give orders that the gate is to be kept open until i return, and to order the warder there to allow captain percival to pass out with us.” ten minutes later they were on their way. captain percival would not be laid on a stretcher again, but leaning upon his father-in-law and son, was able to walk to the carriage.
“i have a flask of brandy-and-water in my pocket, leonard, and if you feel faint you must take a little.”
very few words were spoken on the journey. frank sat by the side of his father and held his hand in his own, and it was not long before captain percival fell asleep. the excitement of the past thirty-six hours had for a time given him a fictitious strength; and now the sense of happiness and of freedom, aided, no doubt, by the unaccustomed meal and the wine he had taken, took the natural effect, and after trying in vain to question frank as to what had taken place, he dozed off.
“that is the best thing for him,” signor forli said in low tones, when he saw that captain percival was asleep, “i hope he will not wake up till we arrive at santa lucia. he has borne it better than i expected. it has, of course, pulled him down a great deal more than it did me. a strong and active man must naturally feel solitary confinement much more than one who seldom takes any exercise beyond half an hour’s walk in the streets of london; who is, moreover, something of a philosopher, and who can conjure up at will from his brain many of his intimate friends. i have no doubt he will sleep soundly to-night, and i trust—though of this i do not feel quite sure—that he will be a different man in the morning. of course it may be the other way, and that when the effect of the excitement has passed off he will need a great deal of careful nursing before he begins to gain strength. at any rate, i shall go into naples to-morrow and send a telegram to your mother, and tell her to come over with my wife at once. it would be of no use going down to caserta; the wires will be so fully occupied by the military and royal telegrams that there will be little chance of a private message getting through. they are sure to start directly they get my message, and may be here in three or four days. i shall advise them to come via marseilles; for, as the train service is sure to be upset, they might be a good deal longer coming by land, besides the annoyance of long detentions and crowded trains; for you may be sure that there will be a rush from the north to come down to witness the king’s entrance into naples.”
“i think that will be a very good plan indeed,” frank agreed; “and the knowledge that they are coming will, i should think, do a great deal of good to my father.”
darkness had fallen long before they reached santa lucia. the village was still full of soldiers. as he leapt out from the carriage frank called to four of them standing near to help in carrying his father upstairs; and so soundly was captain percival sleeping, that this was managed and he was laid on the bed without his fairly waking, though he half opened his eyes and murmured something that frank could not catch.
“we will not try to take his things off,” signor forli said, “but just throw a blanket lightly over him now. i will remain here while you go down and get some supper. you had better stay in the room with him all night; there is no getting hold of another bed, but——”
“i shall do just as well without a bed,” frank said; “since i landed at marsala i have hardly slept in one; besides, i don’t fancy that i shall sleep much, anyhow. i have plenty to think about and to thank god for, and if my father moves i shall be at his bedside in a moment. it is likely enough that he will not have the least idea where he is.”
“quite so, frank. when you come up from supper bring an extra candle with you: you had better keep a light burning all night.”
captain percival, however, did not wake up until it was broad daylight. he looked round in a bewildered way until his eyes rested upon frank, who was seated close to his bedside.
“that settles it,” he said with a smile, holding out his hand to him. “i could not make out where i was. i remember leaving capua in a carriage, and nothing more; i must have slept like a log, as you got me out of the carriage and up here without my waking.”
“i think it was the professor’s fault chiefly, father, in making you take that second glass of wine in your soup. you see you were altogether unaccustomed to it, and being so weak, that and all the excitement naturally overpowered you. however, i think it a capital thing that it did. you had twelve hours’ good sleep, and you look all the better for it. i will tell signor forli you are awake. he has peeped in three or four times to see how you are going on.”
he went out for a minute, and a little later the professor came in with a large cup of hot milk.
“you are looking fifty per cent. better, leonard,” he said. “you had better begin by drinking this, and then i should recommend you to get rid of those rags you have on, and to have a good wash. i am going into naples, and will bring you some clothes. you certainly could not get into my coat, but i will lend you a shirt, and that is all that you will want, for you had better lie in bed to-day and listen to frank’s account of his adventures, having a nap occasionally when you feel tired, and taking as much soup as you can get down, with perhaps a slice of chicken.”
“what are you going to naples for?”
“i am going to send the good news to muriel, and to tell her and my wife to come over at once and help you to build up your strength again. i won’t say come over to nurse you, for i think you can do without that,—all you want is building up.”
before he started the professor showed them the telegram he had written out.
“it is rather long,” he said, “but a pound or two one way or the other makes little difference.” it ran: “prepare yourself for good news, and don’t read farther till you have done so. thank god, frank’s search has been successful. i dared not tell you when i last wrote that i had found a clue, lest it should only give rise to false hopes. however, it led us to our goal. leonard is recovered and free. he is weak, but needs nothing but good food and your presence. start with annetta at once; come straight to marseilles and take the first steamer to naples. you will find us at the hotel d’italie, where i shall have rooms ready for you.”
after signor forli left, frank told the story of his adventures bit by bit, insisting upon his father taking rest and food three or four times.
the professor returned late in the evening. “i have got rooms at the hotel,” he said; “and it is lucky that i did not put off going down till to-morrow, for telegrams are coming in from all parts of italy to secure accommodation. however, fortunately there were still some good rooms left when i arrived there, and i need not say that i did not haggle over terms, outrageous as they were on the strength of the coming crowd. your father is going on all right, i hope?”
“very well indeed, i think. i only talked for about half an hour at a time; he has slept a good deal, and he has eaten well, his voice is stronger, and there is a little colour in his cheeks; he was terribly white before.”
“that was from being kept in the dark, frank, as much as from illness.”
they went upstairs together. “i hear a good account of you, leonard,” the professor said, “so i will give you what i have in my pocket, which i should otherwise have kept till to-morrow morning.” he took out a piece of thin paper, handed it to captain percival, and held the candle close, so that he should read the contents. it was but a few words, but it took some time in the reading, for the invalid’s eyes were blinded with tears. when he had read it, he dropped it on the coverlet and put his hands over his face, while the bed shook with his deep sobs. frank took up the paper and ran his eye over it.
“the good god be praised for all his mercies! oh, my husband, i can say no more now. mother and i start to-night for marseilles.—your most happy and loving wife.”
two days later the party left for naples. that morning garibaldi, to whom frank had sent a message on the morning after his return from capua, drove up to santa lucia to see his old friend.
“i am almost as pleased, percival,” he said, after a silent hand-grip had been exchanged, “to have freed you as i am to have freed italy, a matter in which the money your wife sent me in your name had no slight share. you have reason to be proud of your son: he has shown throughout the expedition a courage and coolness equal to that of any of my veterans. he captured the first neapolitan standard that was taken, and has rendered me innumerable services as my aide-de-camp. you are looking better than i expected.”
“i should be an ungrateful brute, if i were not getting better, after all my son has gone through to rescue me, and the feeding up that i have had since i came here.”
“you must have suffered intensely, percival?”
“it has been pretty hard. i have all the time been in solitary confinement in filthy holes, where scarce a ray of daylight penetrated. i have had nothing but either the blackest of bread or roasted maize to eat, but i have been kept up throughout by the conviction that ere very long there must be an upheaval: things could not go on as they were. i knew that my own letters had excited a general feeling of horror at the accounts of the dungeons in which political prisoners were confined, and i determined to make the best of matters. a year ago—at least, i suppose that it is about a year, for i have lost count of time—a fresh hope was given me, when one of my jailors, who was at heart a good fellow, and occasionally ventured to say a few words to me, told me that the sardinians, with the help of france, had recovered lombardy from austria, and that tuscany and other papal states had all revolted and joined sardinia. that gave me fresh hope and courage. i felt that things could not long remain so, and that the south would soon follow the example of the north. i felt sure that you had borne your part in the struggle with the austrians, and that, just as you headed the roman insurrection, you would certainly throw yourself heart and soul into a rising in the south. i hear now, from my son, that in fact the whole has been entirely your work.”
“i have done what i could,” garibaldi said, “and well have i been rewarded by the gratitude of the people. but i see already that the jealousy of the piedmontese is carrying them beyond all bounds, and that i shall soon be back in caprera. but that matters not: i shall be happy in the thought that i have earned the gratitude of all italy, and that the work i have done can never be undone. the king is a brave and gallant gentleman, but he is prejudiced by the lies of the men round him, who cannot forgive me for having done what should have been their work. it is a pity, but it matters but little. i fought for the cause and not for myself, and my only regret is that my brave companions should suffer by the jealousy and ill-humour of a handful of miserables. i shall be in naples in a few days, and hope to find a still further improvement in your condition.”
the long drive to naples had no ill effect whatever, and captain percival was able to walk from the carriage up to his room, leaning upon frank’s arm. they learned that it would be two days before the next steamer from marseilles arrived, and these were passed by captain percival in the carriage, driving slowly backwards and forwards along the promenade by the sea, sometimes halting for an hour or two, while he got out and walked for a time, and then sat down on a seat, enjoying intensely the balmy air and the lovely view. he was now able to dispense altogether with frank’s assistance. his hair had been cut short, and his face clean-shaved with the exception of his moustache, for, as he said, “he hardly knew his own face with all that hair on, and he wanted his wife to see him again as he was when he left her.” his cheeks were still very thin and hollow, but the sun and sea air had removed the deadly pallor, and the five days of good feeding had already softened the sharpness of the outlines of his face.
on the day when the steamer was due he remained down at the sea until she was sighted. then he returned to the hotel with signor forli, leaving frank to meet the ladies when they landed and to bring them up to the hotel. garibaldi had run down to naples on the previous day, and spent some hours in endeavouring to smooth matters between the contending factions, and had given frank an order to the officers of the custom-house to pass the baggage of signora forli and mrs. percival unopened. the greeting between frank and his mother and the signora was a rapturous one. not many words were spoken, for both ladies were so greatly affected that they hurried at once into the carriage. frank saw the small amount of baggage that they had brought handed up, and then jumped in.
“how is he looking?” mrs. percival asked anxiously.
“of course he is looking thin, mother. he was very weak when we found him, five days ago; but he has picked up a good deal since then, and in another fortnight he will be walking about with you just as of old.”
“you are looking thin yourself, frank—very thin. my father mentioned in his letter that you had had a touch of fever.”
“yes, it was rather a sharp touch; but, as you see, i am all right now, though i have not yet returned to duty. i was able to take a part in the battle of volturno, but collapsed after it was over.”
“and your grandfather has not changed much, you said?” the signora asked.
“he has borne it marvellously,” frank said. “as i told you in my letter, he has kept himself up by going through all the authors he knew by heart. you know what a marvellous memory he has, and of course that helped him immensely. of all the prisoners we have released, there was not one who was so well and strong as he was. i really don’t think that you will find any change in him since you saw him last—except that, of course, his hair is rather greyer. father is a good deal greyer, mother. i think that, perhaps, it is the result of there being so little light in the places where he has been kept. here is the hotel. now i will take you up to them, and will leave you there while i come down and see after your traps. i should doubt whether any english ladies ever arrived at naples before with so little luggage.”
he spoke cheerfully, for both his mother and the signora were so much agitated that he was afraid of their breaking down before they got upstairs. on reaching the door he opened it, and, closing it quickly behind him, went away. it was a quarter of an hour before he returned to the room. all had now recovered from the effects of their first meeting.
“we have already settled, frank, that we will start for home at once. your grandfather says that he has ascertained that a steamer will leave to-morrow for england; and we mean to go all the way by sea. it will do your father good, and you too, for your grandfather says the doctor told him that, although you have got rid of the fever altogether, you need change to set you up thoroughly, and that a sea voyage would be the best thing for you. and, as we are all good sailors, it will be the pleasantest way as well as the best. fortunately your work is done here. the fighting is over, and even if it were not, you have done your share. you have not told us much about that in your letters, but garibaldi spoke of you in the highest terms to your father; and your grandfather learned, from some of your comrades, what you really did at calatafimi and palermo.”
“i did just what the others did, mother, and was luckier than most of them, though i was laid up there for a month with the wound i got; but i don’t see how i could start to-morrow without leave, and, at any rate, without thanking garibaldi for his kindness.”
“well, then, you must run over to caserta and see him this evening. the railway is open, is it not? it is only a run of half an hour or so.”
“very well, mother, i will do that; and very likely he will be over in the morning. he comes here nearly every day, and if he had not intended doing so to-morrow, i am sure he would come, if only to see you and the signora, and to say good-bye to father and the professor. about what time does the steamer start?”
“at one o’clock.”
“oh, that will leave plenty of time; the general is always up at three in the morning.”
frank was not mistaken: at eight o’clock garibaldi arrived at the hotel and spent half an hour with them. he delighted mrs. percival by the manner in which he spoke of frank, saying that no one had distinguished himself more during the campaign.
the voyage to england was pleasant and uneventful, and by the time they arrived at home, captain percival was almost himself again, while frank had entirely shaken off the effects of his illness. it had been agreed that he should not return to harrow; six months of campaigning had ill-fitted him for the restrictions of school life, and it was arranged that he should be prepared for cambridge by a private tutor. he finally passed creditably, though not brilliantly, through the university. he and his family had the pleasure of meeting garibaldi when the latter paid a visit to london, four years after the close of the campaign; and the general, in spite of his many engagements, spent one quiet evening with his friends at cadogan place.
four years later frank married, and his father settled upon him his country estate, to which, since his return to england, he had seldom gone down, for, although his general health was good, he never sufficiently recovered from the effects of his imprisonment to be strong enough again to take part in field sports. he lived, however, to a good old age, and it is not very long since he and his wife died within a few days of each other. the professor and signora forli had left them fifteen years before.
