s. My apartments
consisted of three fine rooms, but they were at the back of the house,
and all the noise I could have made would not have been heard. The bell
was on the other side of the room; Le Duc would be gone fully ten
minutes, and I was in imminent danger of being assassinated without the
possibility of self-defence.

The above thoughts flashed through my head with lightning speed, and all
that I could do was to keep calm and say,

"Well, gentlemen, what can I do for you?" Wiedan took upon himself to
answer me.

"Count Piccolomini has found himself forced to declare that he received
the forged bill from us, in order that he may escape from the difficult
position in which your denunciation placed him. He has warned us that he
is going to do so, and we must escape forthwith if we want to avoid
prosecution. We have not a penny; we are desperate men."

"Well, gentlemen, what have I to do with that?"

"Give us four hundred florins immediately; we do not want more, but we
must have that much, and now. If you refuse we will take to flight with
everything of yours that we can lay our hands on; and our arguments are
these."

With this, each man drew a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at my
head.

"You need not have recourse to violence," said I, "it can only be fatal
to you. Stay, here are a hundred ducats more than you asked. Begone, and
I wish you a pleasant journey, but I would not be here when my servant
comes back if I were you."

Wiedan took the roll of money with a trembling hand and put it in his
pocket without examining it; but Perine came up, and praising my noble
generosity, would have put his arms around my neck and kissed me. I
repulsed him, but without rudeness, and they went their ways, leaving me
very glad to have rid myself of them at so cheap a rate.

As soon as I was out of this snare I rang my bell, not to have them
followed but that I might get dressed as quickly as possible. I did not
say a word to Le Duc about what had happened, I was silent even to my
landlord; and, after I had sent my Spaniard to M. d'O to excuse my dining
there that day, I went to the chief of police, but had to wait two hours
before I could see him. As soon as the worthy man had heard my account of
my misfortune he said he would do his best to catch the two rascals, but
he did not conceal from me his fears that it was already too late.

I took the opportunity of telling him of Piccolomini's visit to me, his
clai