ms vanquished. Nothing changes in
the Piazza San Marco, nothing save the tourists and the contents of the
bewildering shops; all else remains the same, a little more tarnished by
the sea-winds and the march of the decades, perhaps, but still the same.
Read your poets and study your romances, but delve into no
disillusioning guide-books. Let us put our faith in the gondolier; for
his lies are far more picturesque than a world of facts.

There were several thousand people in the square to-night, mostly
travelers. The band was playing selections from Audran's whimsical _La
Mascotte_. The tables of the many cafes were filled, and hundreds walked
to and fro under the bright arcades, or stopped to gaze into the
shop-windows. Here the merchant seldom closes his shop till the band
goes home. Music arouses the romantic, and the romantic temperament is
always easy to swindle, and the merchant of Venice will swindle you if
he can.

The two women saw no vacant tables at Florian's, but presently they
espied the other derelicts--O'Mally, Smith, and Worth--who managed to
find two extra chairs. They learned that O'Mally had had two beers, a
vast piece of recklessness. He was ripe for anything, and gaily welcomed
his fellow unfortunates. He laughed, told funny stories, and made
himself generally amusing. Smith made weak attempts to assist him. On
the other hand, Worth seldom smiled and rarely spoke.

Through her veil their former prima donna studied them carefully, with a
purpose in mind. The only one she doubted was Worth. Somehow he annoyed
her; she could not explain, yet still the sense of annoyance was always
there. It might have been that she had seen that look in other eyes, and
that it usually led to the same end. She could not criticize his
actions; he was always the perfection of courtesy to her, never
overstepped, never intruded.

"Gentlemen," she said during a lull, "I have a plan to propose to you
all."

"If it will get us back to old Broadway before we are locked up for
debt, let us have it at once, by all means," said O'Mally.

"Well, then, I propose to wait no longer for letters from home. The last
boat brought nothing; it will be fourteen days before the next arrives,
since you all tell me that you wrote to have your mail sent by the
Mediterranean. My plan is simple. They say that a gambler always wins
the first time he plays. Taking this as the golden text, I propose that
each of you will spare me what money you