Widespread Regional Fear of Cucumetto
Ten other stories of this bandit chief circulated, each more singular than the last. From Fondi to Perusia, everyone trembled at the name of Cucumetto, whose brutal exploits had made him a figure of universal dread throughout the Roman countryside.
Vampa and Teresa’s Marriage Plans
These tales of Cucumetto became frequent topics of conversation between Luigi Vampa and Teresa. Though Teresa trembled at the stories, Vampa reassured her with a smile and a tap on his trustworthy fowling-piece, sometimes demonstrating by shooting a crow from a dead branch. Time passed, and the two young people agreed to be married when Vampa turned twenty and Teresa nineteen. Both were orphans who had already obtained their employers’ consent. As they discussed their future one day, they heard several gunshots and a man emerged from the wood, rushing toward them and crying out.
第三十三章 Roman Bandits
Chapter 33 follows the young shepherd Vampa as he shelters the bandit chief Cucumetto from pursuing carbineers, setting in motion a chain of events that exposes Teresa’s longing for finery, fuels Luigi’s jealousy at the San-Felice Carnival ball, leads to a mysterious rescue of Carmela from a villa fire, and culminates in a fateful encounter with a traveller called Sinbad the Sailor, Teresa’s abduction, and Vampa’s desperate shot.
Vampa Conceals Cucumetto
A breathless fugitive begs Vampa to hide him. Without a word, Vampa rolls aside the stone sealing the grotto entrance, gestures the bandit inside the hidden retreat, replaces the stone, and calmly resumes his seat beside Teresa.
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