Fabiola : or, The church of the catacombs - Digital Repository Services

, up.
a rash of blood suflfused the I.,
K.vord i.T till) 1'iediii'iute -I-. h;i,! >;vhead. J
wavered I'.T an instant, but was not slow to re;iiiu>
rive 1
. At
that moment, a loud Oiy suddenly resounded at, IHH
side; then he beard a dual shout, a dreadful shock; u
nute Orazio, as if thunderstruck, fell at his feet, his lie:id fuic-
tnred, mid vomiting torrents of blood. Martin'.", stout li
done its work.
Geunaro looked aside, saw his companion stretched on Uio
ground, uud trembled. Was his hist joy, h's n\<
to escape him, too? He then put forth all his strength, .-ill his
rage, in a supreme effort ; with a bound lie dashes sit Victor,
who had turned aside, occupied and distracled by this HOM>|
incident in the struggle. And the young Zouave, taken un-
awares, has let his nrm drop, and the Carbomiro's poniard is
-plunged in his breast. Victor has uttered a cry ; he puts his
hand to his side, grows pale, totters, falls.
But Martin has heard that cry of anguish, and bounds forward.
"Ah! coward!" he cries, "ah! brigand, ah! assassin!
Now it's thy turn !"
And he falls with all his strength upon the Carbouaro, who
lunges forward to give his victim the hi>t thrust. And, felled
by that powerful hand, (ieuuaro falls backward and rolls upon
the ground, stunned by the shock. .But it was only a slight
blow; he rises at once and springs with rage at his new
adversary.
Joseph, meanwhile, hastened to help Victor, forgetting the
paiu of his wound rather light one, however, for Orazio's
sword had only grazed the ilesh. But the unfortunate Victor
lay unconscious upon the ground, motionless and perhaps life-
1- ss. The blood that spouted from his wound reddened the
ground aronud him and saturated his clothes.
'
Victor, dour Victor !" cried Joseph, weeping. " Oh !
ill.r. ;; U !!,' 37
wake
Must I see you die so painful a death !" And he tried to
bandage, the wound with 1m handkerchief, and stop the blood
which gushed from a krge hole in the broast, near
of the heart.
the region
Martin and Gennaro, foaming and furious, and interlaced
like two serpents, continued to struggle desperately. The
Italian, feeling his strength going, felt for his poniard in hi
breast; at last his trembling fingers met the handle and drew
it out of the scabbard. Already the glittering blade gleamed
ho valiant Z, uave's head. But Martin has disengaged
his right hand; he sees the flashing steel glitter before his eyes,
summons all his strength, raise ; his formidable fist, and Gen-
naro, stricken with a mortal stroke, totters and falls to the
ground in the midst of a stream of blood,
him to rejoin his victim.
The giant has sent
' ' Our poor friend is avenged, " said he then to Joseph, mop-
humbly, with faces turned towards the Holy House of Loreio,
and for some instants remained motionless, with cla ped hands
and an expression of ardent and profound fervor.
But their prayer was short, and when they had ended they
, ,1 to lavish their cares on their unfortunate friend.
Martin ran to the stream that Mowed hard by at the
1 ase
of ;he mountain to draw water to bathe the temples
head of Victor, who gradually
and fore-
revived.
"Where ami?" ho murmured at last, in n broken voice,
nitered
slowly
him. Suddenly he shuddered,
thed upon
- all( t K t'U looking cautiously about,
f >r i
the
the bl-iod- >ss.
o '
" () St.' i
tlii
'
draw him
"Oh! don't h
\ml
I 'IMS, he i tried
Hist me. 1'erhnpti there is yrt
soul !"
'oily. Jn \aiu his companions wanted to
" he repeated, " but rather an-
'