y
cheeks are even rounder than his were, and my mouth smaller. Under other
circumstances, who knows but that I might have been the William
Something of Italy? My English friend added that the painted bust of the
dramatist on his tomb was quite the most hideous object he had ever
seen, so I do not tell you the story out of mere vanity, as you might
suppose. My misfortune is that I am generally driven by a sort of
familiar spirit to do the things I imagine, instead of writing them
down.'

'And pray what do you imagine you are going to do next?' inquired
Gambardella.

'It has occurred to me that I might carry off the lady myself,' Trombin
answered in a thoughtful tone.

'And leave me to manage the rest?'

'You will have no trouble. I shall take the road to Venice, of course,
and after a month or two I will hand the lady over to Pignaver, for I
dare say she will soon tire of my company. As for you, you will only
have to follow her husband, for he will go after his wife as fast as he
can, of his own accord, and when you both reach Venice together, I shall
be waiting and we will lead him into a trap and give him up to his
pretty adorer! The rest will be as I said. She will not be able to keep
him a prisoner very long, and when he leaves her house we can settle
the business.'

'And of course you will expect me to help you in carrying the young
woman off?'

'Naturally! Should you feel any scruples about it?'

'No,' Gambardella answered, in an indifferent tone, but he changed the
subject and went back to the question of the rival serenader's identity.
'It might be as well to think of more practical matters,' he said. 'The
excellent Tommaso has not found out anything about the man you wounded
last night, though he has already ascertained exactly where the ex-Queen
of Sweden keeps her jewels!'

'Intelligent creature! He really has a good store of general
information! I dare say he will take them some day and leave us without
giving notice.'

'It must be very convenient to be born so low in the world as to be able
to steal without disgrace,' observed Gambardella thoughtfully. 'I
suppose such fellows have no sense of honour.'

'None whatever,' said Trombin, with equal gravity. 'As you say, it must
make many things easy when one has no money.'

This conversation had taken place under the great colonnade before Saint
Peter's, late in the afternoon, when the air was pleasantly cool.
Bernini's colonnade was new then, and