the folds of her stays, of her petticoat; then I looked in her shoes, and
even at her garters which were fastened below the knees. Not finding
anything, I kept on my search, and as the ring was about her, I was of
course bound to discover it. My reader has most likely guessed that I had
some suspicion of the charming hiding-place in which the young beauty had
concealed the ring, but before coming to it I wanted to enjoy myself. The
ring was at last found between the two most beautiful keepers that nature
had ever rounded, but I felt such emotion as I drew it out that my hand
was trembling.

"What are you trembling for?" she asked.

"Only for joy at having found the ring; you had concealed it so well! But
you owe me a revenge, and this time you shall not beat me."

"We shall see."

We began a new race, and seeing that she was not running very fast, I
thought I could easily distance her whenever I liked. I was mistaken. She
had husbanded her strength, and when we had run about two-thirds of the
race she suddenly sprang forward at full speed, left me behind, and I saw
that I had lost. I then thought of a trick, the effect of which never
fails; I feigned a heavy fall, and I uttered a shriek of pain. The poor
child stopped at once, ran back to me in great fright, and, pitying me,
she assisted me to raise myself from the ground. The moment I was on my
feet again, I laughed heartily and, taking a spring forward, I had
reached the goal long before her.

The charming runner, thoroughly amazed, said to me,

"Then you did not hurt yourself?"

"No, for I fell purposely."

"Purposely? Oh, to deceive me! I would never have believed you capable of
that. It is not fair to win by fraud; therefore I have not lost the
race."

"Oh! yes, you have, for I reached the goal before you."

"Trick for trick; confess that you tried to deceive me at the start."

"But that is fair, and your trick is a very different thing."

"Yet it has given me the victory, and

"Vincasi per fortund o per ingano,
Il vincer sempre fu laudabil cosa"...

"I have often heard those words from my brother, but never from my
father. Well, never mind, I have lost. Give your judgment now, I will
obey."

"Wait a little. Let me see. Ah! my sentence is that you shall exchange
your garters for mine."

"Exchange our garters! But you have seen mine, they are ugly and worth
nothing."

"Never mind. Twice every day I shall think of the person I love,