CHAPTER XXV
TURNING THE TABLES
No sooner had the notes ceased than Kenneth sprang from behind a rock
that had concealed him and grasped the child in his strong arms, trying
to cover her mouth at the same time to prevent her from crying out.
Tato developed surprising strength. The adventure of yesterday had so
thoroughly frightened her that when she found herself again seized she
struggled madly. The boy found that he could scarcely hold her, so he
enfolded her in both his arms and, letting her scream as she might,
picked up her tiny form and mounted the slope of the hill, leaping from
rock to rock until he came to a broad boulder twenty feet or more above
the path. Here he paused, panting, and awaited results.
The rock doors had opened promptly. Even while Kenneth struggled with
the brigand's daughter Patsy could see straight through the tunnel and
into the valley beyond. The child had dropped her bundle in the effort
to escape, and while Kenneth was leaping with her up the crags Patsy ran
forward and secured the money, returning quickly to her position facing
the tunnel.
And now they heard shouts and the sound of hastening feet as Il Duca ran
from the tunnel, followed closely by two of his brigands. They paused a
moment at the entrance, as if bewildered, but when the father saw his
child in the grasp of a stranger and heard her screams he answered with
a roar of fury and prepared to scramble up the rock to rescue her.
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