They thundered on the planks of the drawbridge and clattered on the stones of the courtyard.

The thought of Cesare Borgia rose to my mind.

But never did drowning man clutch at a more illusory straw.

Cold reason quenched my hope at once.

If the greatest imaginable success attended Mariani's journey, the Duke could not reach Cesena before midnight, and to that it wanted some ten hours at least.