“I wish to see Signor Polani at once,” Francis said.

“The signor retired to rest an hour ago,” the man said.

“Never mind that,” Francis replied.  “I am Francis Hammond, and I have important news to give him.”

As soon as the servitor recognized Francis’ voice, he unbarred the door.

“Have you news of the ladies?” he asked eagerly.

“I have news which will, I hope, lead to something,” Francis replied.

A moment later the voice of Polani himself, who, although he had retired to his room, had not yet gone to sleep, was heard at the top of the grand stairs, inquiring who it was who had come so late; for although men had been arriving all day, with reports from the various islands and villages, he thought that no one would come at this hour unless his news were important.

Francis at once answered: 

“It is I, Signor Polani, Francis Hammond.  I have news which I think may be of importance, although I may be mistaken.  Still, it is certainly news that may lead to something.”

The merchant hurried down.

“What is it, Francisco?  What have you learned?”

“I have seen the woman Castaldi, and have followed her.  I do not know for certain where she was going, for we have been chased by a large gondola, and have narrowly escaped with our lives.  Still, I have a clue to their whereabouts.”

Francis then related the events of the evening.

“But why did you not run into the boat and give the alarm at once, Francisco?  Any gondolas passing would have given their assistance, when you declared who she was, for the affair is the talk of the city.  If that woman were in our power we should soon find means to make her speak.”

“Yes, signor; but the moment she was known to be in your power, you may be sure that they would remove your daughters from the place where they have been hiding them.  I thought, therefore, the best plan would be to track them.  No doubt we should have succeeded in doing so, had it not been for the attack upon us by another gondola.”

“You are right, no doubt, Francisco.  Still, it is unfortunate, for I do not see that we are now any nearer than we were before, except that we know that this woman is in the habit of coming into the city.”

“I think we are nearer, sir, for I had an adventure some time ago that may afford a clue to their hiding place.”

He then told the merchant how he had, one evening, taken a man out to San Nicolo, and had discovered that a hut in that island was used as a meeting place by various persons, among whom was Ruggiero Mocenigo.

“I might have thought of the place before, signor; but, in fact, it never entered my mind.  From the first, we considered it so certain that the men who carried off your daughters would take them to some hiding place where Mocenigo could speedily join them, that San Nicolo never entered my mind.  I own that it was very stupid, for it seems now to me that the natural thing for them to do, would be to take them in the very opposite direction to that in which the search for them would be made.”