约翰叔叔在被囚禁的山谷中无意中接近了绑匪们议事的地方，在那里偷听到了一段令人震惊的对话。瓦尔迪的母亲坚持要杀死费雷尔，并且为了不走漏风声，要将约翰叔叔一同杀掉。费雷尔居然和这群绑匪有着血缘关系……
It now seemed to Uncle John that further resistance to the demands of Il Duca was as useless as it was dangerous.He resented the necessity of paying a ransom as much as any man could；but imprisoned as he was in a veritable "robbers'den，"without means of communicating with the authorities or the outside world，and powerless to protect his life fromthe vengeance of the unprincipled scoundrel who held him，the only safe and sane mode of procedure was to give in as gracefully as possible.
He formed this conclusion during a long walk around the valley，during which he once more noted the absolute seclusion of the place and the impossibility of escape by scaling the cliffs.The doctor was ？shing again by the brook，but paid no heed when Uncle John tramped by.The sight of the dappera little man gave Mr.Merrick a thought，and presently he turned back and sat down beside the ？sherman.
"I want to get out of this，"he said，bluntly."It was fun，at ？rst，and rather interesting；but I've had enough of it."The physician kept his eye on the line and made no reply.
"I want you to tell me how to escape，"continued UncleJohn."It's no use saying that it can't be done，for nothing is impossible to a clever man，such as I believe you to be."Still no reply.
"You spoke，the other day，of earning enough money to go home and live in peace for the rest of your days.Here，sir，is your opportunity to improve upon that ambition.The brigand is trying to exact a large ransom from me；I'll give it to you willingly—every penny—if you'll show me how to escape.""Why should you do that ？"enquired the doctor，still intent upon his line."Does it matter to you who gets your money？""Of course，"was the prompt reply."In one case I pay itfor a service rendered，and do it gladly.On the other hand，I am robbed，and that goes against the graina.Il Duca has finally decided to demand fifty thousand dollars.It shall be yours，instead，if you give me your assistance.""Signore，"said the other，calmly，"I would like thismoney，and I regret that it is impossible for me to earn it.But there is no means of escape from this place except by the passage through the rocks，which passage only three people know the secret of opening—Il Duca himself，the child Tato，and the old Duchessa.Perhaps Tommaso also knows；I am not certain；but he will not admit he has such knowledge.You see，signore，I am as much a prisoner as yourself.""There ought to be some way to climb these cliffs；some secret path or underground tunnel，"remarked Uncle John，musingly.
"It is more than a hundred years since this valley was made secure by a brigand ancestor of our Duchessa，"was the reply.
"It may be two or three centuries ago，for all I know.And ever since it has been used for just this purpose：to hold a prisoner until he was ransomed—and no such man has ever left the place alive unless he paid the price.""Then you cannot help me？"asked Uncle John，who was weary of hearing these pessimistic declarations.
"I cannot even help myself；for I may not resign myposition here unless the Duke is willing I should go.""Good morning，doctor."The prisoner returned slowly toward the dwelling，with its group of outhouses.By chance he found a path leading to the rear of these which he had not traverseda before，and followed it until he came to a hedge of thickly set trees of some variety of cactusb，which seemed to have been planted to form an enclosure.Cautiously pushing aside the branches bordering a small gap in this hedge，Uncle John discovered a charming garden lying beyond，so he quickly squeezed himself through the opening and entered.
The garden was rudely but not badly kept.There was even some attempt at ornamentationc，and many of the shrubs and flowers were rare and beautiful.Narrow walks traversed the masses of foliaged，and several leafy bowers invited one to escape the heat of the midday sun in their shelter.It was not alarge place，and struck one as being overcrowded because so many of the plants were taller than a man's head.
Uncle John turned down one path which，after severalcurves and turns，came to an abrupt ending beneath the spreading branches of an acacia tree which had been converted into a bower by a thick，climbing vine，whose matted leaves and purple blossoms effectually screened off a the garden beyond.
While he stood gazing around him to find a way out without retracing his steps，a clear voice within a few feet of him caused him to start.The voice spoke in vehementb Italian，and came from the other side of the screen of vines.It was sharp and garrulousc in tone，and although Uncle John did not understand the words he recognized their dominating accent.
The Duke replied，slowly and sullenly，and whatever hesaid had the effect of rousing the ？rst speaker to ？erce anger.
The American became curious.He found a place where the leaves were thinner than elsewhere，and carefully pressing them apart looked through the opening.Beyond was a clear space，well shaded and furnished with comfortable settles，tables and chairs.It adjoined a wing of the dwelling，which stood but a few paces away and was evidently occupied by the women of the household.The old Duchessa，her face stilllike a death mask but her eyes glittering with the brightness of a serpent's，sat enthroned within a large chair in the center of a family group.It was her sharp voice that had ？rst aroused the American's attention.Opposite her sat the Duke，his thin face wearing an expression of gloom and dissatisfaction.The child Tato occupied a stool at her father's feet，and in the background were three serving women，sewing or embroidering.Near the Duke stood the tall brigand known as Pietro.
Answering the old woman's ？erce tiradea，Tato said：
"It is foolish to quarrel in Italian.The servants are listening.""Let us then speak in English，"returned the Duchessa.
