"
Still no reply.
"You spoke, the other day, of earning enough money to go home and live
in peace for the rest of your days. Here, sir, is your opportunity to
improve upon that ambition. The brigand is trying to exact a large
ransom from me; I'll give it to you willingly--every penny--if you'll
show me how to escape."
"Why should you do that?" enquired the doctor, still intent upon his
line. "Does it matter to you who gets your money?"
"Of course," was the prompt reply. "In one case I pay it for a service
rendered, and do it gladly. On the other hand, I am robbed, and that
goes against the grain. Il Duca has finally decided to demand fifty
thousand dollars. It shall be yours, instead, if you give me your
assistance."
"Signore," said the other, calmly, "I would like this money, and I
regret that it is impossible for me to earn it. But there is no means of
escape from this place except by the passage through the rocks, which
passage only three people know the secret of opening--Il Duca himself,
the child Tato, and the old Duchessa. Perhaps Tommaso also knows; I am
not certain; but he will not admit he has such knowledge. You see,
signore, I am as much a prisoner as yourself."
"There ought to be some way to climb these cliffs; some secret path or
underground tunnel," remarked Uncle John, musingly.
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