Encounter with the Bandit Sentry
Encounter with the Bandit Sentry. A man steps from behind a tree and levels a weapon at Vampa, warning him to stop or die. Vampa raises his hand in disdain, remarking that wolves do not rend each other, and identifies himself as Luigi Vampa, shepherd of the San-Felice farm. The sentinel, learning that Vampa wishes to speak with the bandits at Rocca Bianca, offers to lead him there. Vampa smiles disdainfully at the sentry’s caution, takes the lead with Teresa, and after ten minutes stops at another signal, imitating and answering the cry of a crow.
Rocca Bianca
Rocca Bianca. Teresa and Luigi press on through the forest, with Teresa trembling at the sight of weapons and the glint of carbines among the trees. Rocca Bianca is described as a retreat perched on the summit of a small mountain, likely the cone of an extinct volcano predating the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus. When they reach the top, they are suddenly confronted by twenty bandits.
Vampa Demands to Be Captain
Vampa Demands to Be Captain. The sentinel announces the visitor to the lieutenant in command in the chief’s absence, and the bandits from Ferrusino, Pampinara, and Anagni recognize Luigi Vampa and welcome him. Vampa declares that he is tired of a shepherd’s life, but he asks for more than admission into their ranks: he demands to be their captain. When the lieutenant incredulously asks what he has done to merit such honor, Vampa coolly replies that he has killed their chief Cucumetto, whose dress he now wears, and burned the Villa San-Felice to obtain a wedding-dress for his betrothed.
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