The Austrian eyed her suspiciously.

“Why didn’t you go to the soldiers and ask for shelter?” he inquired harshly.

“The soldiers?” Lucia’s brown eyes opened wide in surprise.  “But there are no soldiers near here.  They are miles away with the guns.  How could I reach them?  My home is over there,” she pointed in the opposite direction from the cave, “and I think I will go back to it, now that it is day.”

“Oh, no, you won’t,” the Austrian replied.  “You’ll come with me.”

“But why, what have I done?” Lucia inquired.

“That’s not the point,” the soldier replied.  “You’re an Italian, and if I let you go you’ll run home and tell all the troops in the town that I was here.  Oh, no, my little lady, we can’t allow that—­you’re coming along with me.”

His lordly tone and the sneer on his lips infuriated Lucia.  She thought all danger of his discovering the cave was over, so she replied angrily.  “And suppose I won’t come?  Don’t think you can frighten me, for you can’t.  I tell you, I won’t go a step with you.”

The Austrian was about to reply, when a sound that had been so welcome only a few hours ago struck terror to Lucia’s ears.

“Naa, Naa!”

“What’s that?” the soldier jumped nervously.  He was startled and frightened.  Lucia saw it and her own courage returned.

“My goat,” she said as Garibaldi appeared above the rock.

Lucia ran to him.

“My pet, here you are, I have found you at last.  Where have you been? you are a bad girl.  See how you frightened the brave Austrian soldier.”

The sarcasm and scorn in her voice were unmistakable.  The soldier was indignant.

“Here, that is enough from you.  Come along, I will take you where they will teach you better manners.”

He caught her roughly by the shoulder, and Lucia went with him only too gladly.  If she could get him well away from the cave, it would be time enough to think of herself.  She, had no doubt that she would be able to run away from him later on.

As they walked along the noise underground grew louder.  Every now and then the man would turn and look at her suspiciously.  He did not speak to her, however, and they walked for quite a distance in silence.  When Lucia considered that they had gone far enough she stopped.

“Where are you taking me?” she demanded with spirit.

“Never mind, you come along,” the man replied impatiently.  “Time enough for you to know when we get there.”

“But I won’t go any further.”  Lucia was determined.  “Do you think that I will be taken prisoner by an Austrian?  Never!”

Her eyes blazed indignantly.  She planned so many times just what she would do, if she was ever brought face to face with her hated enemy, that the feeling of helplessness that she felt under the big man’s hand infuriated her.

“Come along, I will not speak again,” the Austrian commanded, and once more Lucia went on, unable to withstand the strength of his arm.