a quarter before seven
`` Whips he shall have , '' said I , and went to bed . On the morning appointed I rose at my usual hour and went to the workshop , intending to go on with my duties until the time appointed . I left Virginia in tears , and Teresa , no less wretched , clinging to her in her bed . At a quarter before seven , Gioiachino with me , armed with a stout cart-whip , I left the Porta del Vescovo and walked briskly over one or two water-meadows towards a retired grove of trees not far from the Pisa road . I flattered myself that we were first in the field ; but there I was mistaken . I found a numerous company assembled -- tall persons in cocked hats , coats and badges , a posse of police , and the villainous cavaliere smirking in the midst . So soon as we entered the grove he pointed to me with his cane and said in a loud voice : `` There , Signor Sindaco , there is the fugitive assassin , the betrayer of an innocent girl .