Agnese Fuori le Mura, which is
supposed to cover the tomb of the child-martyr St. Agnes,--then
across the Ponte Nomentano, till, two miles further on, in the white
radiance of the moon, he perceived, driving rapidly ahead of him,
the vehicle of which he was in pursuit. Letting the reins fall
loosely on the neck of his straining steed, he raised himself in his
stirrups, and by his own movements assisted the animal's now
perfectly reckless gallop,--and at last, hearing the flying hoofs
behind, the driver of the fiacre became seized with panic, and
thinking of possible brigands and how to pacify them, he suddenly
pulled up and came to a dead halt. A head was thrust out of the
carriage window,--Miraudin's head,--and Miraudin's voice shouted in
bad Italian,
"What are you stopping for, rascal! On with you! On with you! Five
hundred francs for your best speed!"
Scarcely had he uttered the words when the Marquis gained the side
of the vehicle, and pulling up his horse till it almost fell in
rearing backwards, he cried furiously,
"Lache! Tu vas te crever sur terre avant je te quitte!"
And he struck his riding-whip full in the actor's face.
Springing out of the fiacre Miraudin confronted his antagonist.
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