n, there came to him a messenger from certain very
great friends of his at Malfi, charging him fail not for anything to
repair thither incontinent, for that there had been a great fray
there, in which many had been wounded. Master Mazzeo accordingly put
off the tending of the leg until the ensuing morning and going aboard
a boat, went off to Malfi, whereupon his wife, knowing that he would
not return home that night, let fetch Ruggieri, as of her wont, and
bringing him into her chamber, locked him therewithin, against certain
other persons of the house should be gone to sleep. Ruggieri, then,
abiding in the chamber, awaiting his mistress, and being,--whether for
fatigue endured that day or salt meat that he had eaten or maybe for
usance,--sore, athirst, caught sight of the flagon of water, which the
doctor had prepared for the sick man and which stood in the window,
and deeming it drinking water, set it to his mouth and drank it all
off; nor was it long ere a great drowsiness took him and he fell
asleep.

The lady came to the chamber as first she might and finding Ruggieri
asleep, nudged him and bade him in a low voice arise, but to no
effect, for he replied not neither stirred anywhit; whereat she was
somewhat vexed and nudged him more sharply, saying, 'Get up, slugabed!
An thou hadst a mind to sleep, thou shouldst have betaken thee to
thine own house and not come hither.' Ruggieri, being thus pushed,
fell to the ground from a chest whereon he lay and gave no more sign
of life than a dead body; whereupon the lady, now somewhat alarmed,
began to seek to raise him up and to shake him more roughly, tweaking
him by the nose and plucking him by the beard, but all in vain; he had
tied his ass to a fast picket.[257] At this she began to fear lest he
were dead; nevertheless she proceeded to pinch him sharply and burn
his flesh with a lighted taper, but all to no purpose; wherefore,
being no doctress, for all her husband was a physician, she doubted
not but he was dead in very deed. Loving him over all else as she
did, it needeth no asking if she were woebegone for this and daring
not make any outcry, she silently fell a-weeping over him and
bewailing so sore a mishap.

[Footnote 257: A proverbial way of saying that he was fast asleep.]

After awhile, fearing to add shame to her loss, she bethought herself
that it behoved her without delay find a means of carrying the dead
man forth of the house and knowing not how to contri