Surprised, Danglars opened the door. A strong hand shoved him back inside, and the carriage rolled on.
Now the baron was fully awake.
"Eh? Mio caro?" he called to the postilion, another Italian phrase he'd learned from his daughter's singing lessons.
No answer.
Danglars opened the window and thrust his hand through.
"My friend, where are we going?"
"Dentro la testa!" came a solemn, threatening voice with a menacing gesture.
Danglars thought dentro la testa meant "put your head in." He was making rapid progress in Italian! He obeyed, though with growing uneasiness that filled his previously empty mind with very alarming ideas, the kind that keep travelers awake, especially ones in his situation.
His vision sharpened the way it does in that first moment of fear, before becoming too strained to see clearly. Before we're truly frightened, we see correctly. When we're frightened, we see double. After being frightened, we see nothing but trouble.
