Ten years have passed since the ever-memorable day on which the Children of the King hurt their fists so badly in battering Don Pietro Casale's sharp nose.

They are big, bony men, now, with strongly marked features, short yellow hair and fair beards.

So far they are alike, and at first sight might be taken for twin brothers.

But there is a marked difference between them in character, which shows itself in their faces.

Ruggiero's eye is of a colder blue, is less mobile and of harder expression than Sebastiano's.