It was a boy. And James recognised him. It was Mauro’s friend Stefano. The village boy who worked in Ugo’s kitchens. He put a finger to his lips and pulled James further into the shadows of the doorway, a panicked look in his eyes.

Two of Ugo’s guards marched past, their black boots clicking on the cobbled ground.

‘Thank you,’ James whispered when they’d gone past. ‘Grazie.’

‘I see you before. I follow you,’ said Stefano. ‘You come with me now.’

‘OK,’ said James, grateful for the help.

Just when he had been at his most desperate, this unexpected saviour had come to his rescue. He was flooded with relief.

Stefano led him through a gate and down a long, twisting, unlit passageway. At the end of it was a neglected courtyard with a large, half-dead shrub growing in it. Hidden in the darkness behind the shrub was a small hole in the wall.

‘Come,’ said Stefano and he disappeared into the hole. James went through after him and found himself on the roof of a building on the level below.

‘Where are we going?’ James asked, but the Sardinian boy moved off along the roof without saying anything and jumped on to the next building. James had no choice but to follow.

Stefano led James from one roof to another until they were at the edge of the palazzo, directly above the railway track, then he scrambled down a waste pipe and beckoned James to do the same.

Stefano had obviously done this before.

Once they were both safely on the track, Stefano looked both ways to make sure no train was coming and put his ear to the rails to make doubly sure.

‘Is OK,’ he said, and smiled, though there was enough moonlight for James to see that he looked very strained.

Keeping close to the rocks on their left they began to clamber down the railway. It was tough going. The track ran at an angle of almost 45 degrees and was not designed to be walked on.

After several long minutes they came to the tunnel that went through the great jutting outcrop of rock. James was just about to enter it when Stefano took hold of his sleeve.

‘No,’ he said. ‘This way.’

‘You’re the boss,’ said James and watched as Stefano climbed around the rock away from the track and the tunnel.

Once more James followed him, but to his surprise found that Stefano was climbing up rather than down.

‘Wait,’ he called after him as loud as he dare. ‘Where are we going?’

‘I show you,’ said Stefano.

James decided not to look down as he scaled the rock. The climbing was easy and the moon bright enough to show him the handholds and footholds, but he was still very aware that the bottom of the mountain was many hundreds of feet below.