BARTOLOMEO’S VICTORY.

375

and quite incapable of penetrating the canal, which they hadin vain attempted, and were now apparently waiting inhopes of their victim issuing forth on his way to see his wife,as he often did on a Saturday evening. In a boat alongwith the sbirri, Bartolomeo recognised a kind of factor, orland-bailiff, in the service of the Bishop, which quite satis-fied him of the errand they were come upon; but he couldnot well conceive how they had got their punts to thatplace. They must have carried them some distance overland from the large drains proceeding from Aversa andAcerra many miles around. Now, levelling his gun, hefired into the midst of them; down fell six or seven killedor wounded, of the latter the Bishop’s bailiff. So soon as hehad fired, both he and his son squatted themselves down intheir Londra , so that the fire that was directed to the spot bythe surviving sbirri passed harmlessly over their heads.Without allowing them time to re-load, Bartolomeo seizedthe gun of his son, and giving the sbirri another shot, sentthree or four more to their account. By this time the sonhad reloaded the first gun, which was on the point of beingdischarged again at the sbirri, when they lustily called outfor quarter.

Upon this Bartolomeo and his son pushed on the Londra with both their guns prepared, while the sbirri were soentangled in the trees as to be unable to move the boats oneway or another. The victorious Pantanaro cried out tothem that he would kill the last of them, unless they allthrew their muskets into the water on the instant. Theywere not in a situation to hesitate. Packed up as theywere, one of the punts had been upset by the falling sbirri,and exposed to a dozen balls from the guns now pointedfull in their faces, submission or instant death were thealternatives. They cast their muskets into the water, thenBartolomeo, keeping his gun still ready to fire, ordered his