condottiero

"You need a condottiero, my lord; and you may come to need one even more than you do now."

The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912

But at sight of this condottiero, whose true aims he was far from suspecting, and whose services he was eager to enlist, the Duke heaved himself up from his seat and went down the staircase shouting greetings to the soldier, and playfully calling him Galeotto in its double sense, and craving to know where he had been hiding himself this while.

The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912

The condottiero swung down from his saddle unaided -- a thing which he could do even when full-armed -- and stood before Farnese, a grim, dust-stained figure, with a curious smile twisting his scarred face.

The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912

When they had reached the chamber that was Galeotto's, and the doors were closed and Falcone was unbuckling his master's spurs -- "Now for my news," said the condottiero.

The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912

The condottiero took it and placed his finger upon the four letters P L A C-- the abbreviation of "Placentia" in the inscription.

The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912

He went out, leaving Galeotto and Falcone alone, and the condottiero flung himself into a chair and sat there moodily, deep in thought, still in his dusty garments and with no thought for changing them.

The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912

In addition to the condottiero, a couple of gentlemen on horseback attended the Duke, and half a score of his Swiss lanzknechte in gleaming corselets and steel morions, shouldering their formidable pikes, went afoot to hedge his excellency.

The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912

"I am not a trader out of the Giudecca to haggle over my wares," replied the burly condottiero.

The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912

"What price?" quoth the condottiero, pondering the other with an eye that held no faintest gleam of hope.

The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912

Instantly the condottiero rose, his great scarred face very solemn, his eyes brooding.

The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza Rafael Sabatini 1912