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Although at the moment he quitted Gorgonzola, the bells struck

the _Ave Maria_, and the increasing darkness diminished his

danger, he unwillingly took the high road, with the intention,

however, of entering the first path which should appear to him to

lead in the right direction. He met some travellers, but, his

imagination filled with apprehensions, he dared not interrogate

them. "The host called it six miles," said he; "if, in travelling

through by-paths, I make it eight or ten, these good limbs will

not fail me, I know. I am certainly not going towards Milan, and

must therefore be approaching the Adda. If I keep on, sooner or

later I must arrive there; the Adda has a voice sufficiently loud

to be heard at some distance, and when I hear it, there will be

no longer any need of direction. If there is a boat there, I

shall cross immediately; if not, I will wait until morning in a

field, upon the ground, like the sparrows, which will be far

better than a prison."