M. Maceroni did not know how to believe his own eyes and ears.

When the king had enjoyed his astonishment, he invited him to go down to the drawing-room.  His staff were there, all in full uniform:  one might have been at Caserte or at Capo di Monte.  At last, after a moment’s hesitation, Maceroni approached Murat.

“Sir,” he said, “what is my answer to be to His Majesty the Emperor of Austria?”

“Sir,” answered Murat, with the lofty dignity which sat so well on his fine face, “tell my brother Francis what you have seen and heard, and add that I am setting out this very night to reconquer my kingdom of Naples.”

III—­PIZZO

The letters which had made Murat resolve to leave Corsica had been brought to him by a Calabrian named Luidgi.  He had presented himself to the king as the envoy of the Arab, Othello, who had been thrown into prison in Naples, as we have related, as well as the seven recipients of the letters.

The answers, written by the head of the Neapolitan police, indicated the port of Salerno as the best place for Joachim to land; for King Ferdinand had assembled three thousand Austrian troops at that point, not daring to trust the Neapolitan soldiers, who cherished a brilliant and enthusiastic memory of Murat.

Accordingly the flotilla was directed for the Gulf of Salerno, but within sight of the island of Capri a violent storm broke over it, and drove it as far as Paola, a little seaport situated ten miles from Cosenza.  Consequently the vessels were anchored for the night of the 5th of October in a little indentation of the coast not worthy of the name of a roadstead.  The king, to remove all suspicion from the coastguards and the Sicilian scorridori, [Small vessels fitted up as ships-of-war.] ordered that all lights should be extinguished and that the vessels should tack about during the night; but towards one o’clock such a violent land-wind sprang up that the expedition was driven out to sea, so that on the 6th at dawn the king’s vessel was alone.

During the morning they overhauled Captain Cicconi’s felucca, and the two ships dropped anchor at four o’clock in sight of Santo-Lucido.  In the evening the king commanded Ottoviani, a staff officer, to go ashore and reconnoitre.  Luidgi offered to accompany him.  Murat accepted his services.  So Ottoviani and his guide went ashore, whilst Cicconi and his felucca put out to sea in search of the rest of the fleet.

Towards eleven o’clock at night the lieutenant of the watch descried a man in the waves swimming to the vessel.  As soon as he was within hearing the lieutenant hailed him.  The swimmer immediately made himself known:  it was Luidgi.  They put out the boat, and he came on board.  Then he told them that Ottoviani had been arrested, and he had only escaped himself by jumping into the sea.  Murat’s first idea was to go to the rescue of Ottoviani; but Luidgi made the king realise the danger and uselessness of such an attempt; nevertheless, Joachim remained agitated and irresolute until two o’clock in the morning.