ell you what I will do," continued Giovanni. "I will go to
Aquila at once, and I daresay my father will accompany me--"

"Of course I will," broke in the old Prince.

"We will go, and in a fortnight's time we will produce the whole history
of this Giovanni Saracinesca, together with his wife and himself in his
own person, if they are both alive; we will bring them here, and they
will assure you that you have been egregiously deceived, played upon and
put in a false position by--by the person who furnished you with these
documents. I wonder that any Roman of common-sense should not have seen
at once the cause of this mistake."

"I cannot believe it," murmured Donna Tullia. Then raising her voice, she
added, "Whatever may be the result of your inquiry, I cannot but feel
that I have done my duty in this affair. I do not believe in your theory,
nor in you, and I shall not, until you produce this other man. I have
done my duty--"

"An exceedingly painful one, no doubt," remarked old Saracinesca. Then he
broke into a loud peal of laughter.

"And if you do not succeed in your search, it will be my duty, in the
interests of society, to put the matter in the hands of the police. Since
you have the effrontery to say that those papers are of no use, I demand
them back."

"Not at all, madam," replied the Prince, whose laughter subsided at the
renewed boldness of her tone. "I will not give them back to you. I intend
to compare them with the originals. If there are no originals, they will
serve very well to commit the notary whose seal is on them, and yourself,
upon a well-founded indictment for forgery, wilful calumniation, and a
whole list of crimes sufficient to send you to the galleys for life. If,
on the other hand, the originals exist, they can be of no possible value
to you, as you can send to Aquila and have fresh copies made whenever you
please, as you yourself informed me."

Things were taking a bad turn for Donna Tullia. She believed the papers
to be genuine, but a fearful doubt crossed her mind that Del Ferice might
possibly have deceived her by having them manufactured. Anybody
could buy Government paper, and it would be but a simple matter to have a
notary's seal engraved. She was terrified at the idea, but there was no
possibility of getting the documents back from the old Prince, who held
them firmly in his broad brown hand. There was nothing to be done but to
face the situation out to the end and go.

"As yo