Mezzoni the Brigand — page 130: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

122 MEZZONI THE BRIGAND. It was plain enough to Walter that he must have come by a very direct route, though he had moved so slowly, for these men were going straight over the ground from whence he had just come, and it was reasonable to suppose that they knew the near- est way to the stronghold. It instantly occurred to him that these men would come upon the wounded robbers, and he might soon find that he had them to deal with also. Then he reasoned that these men would think that he must naturally take the short- est and straightest road down the mountain, and would follow in that direction, so that if he turned aside as he had proposed to do, he should perhaps throw them off the scent, at any rate, for a short time. So Walter and Marion bore along the moun- tain side ina line which did not carry them much nearer to the plain, but on the opposite side, toward the city. Still they did descend gradually as they progressed. When they should approach the plain a little nearer, aS we have said, he expected to have to fight his way; he knew that his greatest risk lay there. He had ten shots left in his revolvers, and made up his mind to slay without mercy, to keep cool, and under pater exigency, to make every shot tell. He even instructed Marion to let no one touch her, but if they attempted to do so, to strike them to the heart with the dirk-knife which he Kad given her. She was a brave-hearted girl, but she could not help asking herself, when he thus charged her, ‘‘Could I strike this weapon into a human being?’ They now took an extra period for rest, ate the re- mainder of their food, and prepared to make the com