“Loose your hold for a bit, master.  My hands have been accustomed to rough work, and many a load of faggots have I drawn in my time.”

“I will hold on, Paolo.  It is not more than a quarter of a mile farther.  My hands have done plenty of work, too, but it has been done with smooth handled weapons.  It is well that they should become accustomed to harder work.”

They passed without a question through the gate, and following the example of other vendors of wood, of whom they saw several, Paolo began to shout, “Large faggots for sale!”

It was not long before a door opened and a woman beckoned him.

“How much do you want for the whole?”

“A crown and a half,” Paolo said.

“I have been offered as many for a crown,” the woman replied.

“Then, signora, you did wrong to refuse.  It took two days’ work to cut them, and we have dragged them here for miles.  Two crowns would not pay for the labour.  Not one scudo would I take under the price that I have named.  Why, if the town is besieged these faggots would be worth twenty crowns before the winter is over.”

“Well, I will give you the money,” the woman said.  “It is extortionate.  Generally I can buy them at half that price.”

“I do not say no to that,” Paolo laughed, “but with two armies wanting firewood and cutting down the copses without even taking trouble to ask leave of their owners, I think that you will see firewood very scarce in the city before long.”

“Well, carry it in and pile it in the yard.”

This was soon done, the poles were thrown on to the top of the heap, and the boys went off along the street again.

“We have made half a crown for ourselves,” Paolo laughed; “now we must decide how we shall spend it.”

“It would be a good plan to spend some money anyhow,” Hector said.  “What kind of things would you be likely to buy for your family in the country?”

“Well, I should say a cooking pan to begin with, and a few yards of warm stuff for making my mother a skirt.”

“Well, buy the cooking pan first and sling it across your shoulder, and then as we wander about we can look in the shops and it will seem as if we were on the search for articles that we had been told to purchase; it would be better than sauntering about without any apparent object.  But first let us walk briskly towards the side of the town facing the citadel.  The Strada Vecchia is the one that I want to examine first.”

The knowledge that he had gained from the plan of the city enabled Hector to find the street without their having to ask any questions.

“Now, buy your cooking pan at the next smith’s shop you come to, and then we can go slowly along making our observations.”