nts. A few of them, I believe, managed to recover.
One day a woman stopped me and took me into her house to look at her
niece. I recognised the girl as soon as I saw her. It was the pretty
adventuress, Camilla, who had decoyed me and helped to rob me of my
thousand ducats. When I took her hand to feel her pulse I perceived that
she was wearing my diamond ring. Happily, she was too ill to know me.
After ordering her to be bled and given a pint of warm water every half
hour, I went out and talked the matter over with Fabrice. We resolved
not to call in the police, as they would certainly keep whatever money
of mine they recovered. The ways of the law in Spain in the seventeenth
century are very strange and intricate.

Nevertheless, I returned late at night to the house accompanied by a
sergeant of the police and five of his men, all well armed. I then awoke
Camilla, and told her to dress herself and attend before the magistrate.

"Oh, Gil Blas," she cried, "have pity on me. Lamela and Raphael have run
off with the money, and left me alone here on a bed of sickness."

I knew this was true, as I had made inquiries; but I also knew that
Camilla had had a share of the spoil, and had bought some valuable
jewelry with it. So I said, "Very well, I won't be hard on you. But you
must give me back the diamond ring which you are wearing, and you must
satisfy these officers of the police."

Poor Camilla understood what I meant. It is a costly matter to satisfy
the Spanish police. She gave me the ring, and then, with a sigh, she
opened a casket and handed the sergeant everything it contained--a
necklace of beautiful pearls, a pair of fine earrings, and some other
jewels.

"Isn't this better than calling in the police?" said the sergeant when
we had left the house. "There are the jewels. Two hundred ducats' worth,
I'll be bound!"

No doubt, dear reader, you have seen through this little plot. The
supposed sergeant was my old friend, Fabrice, and his five men were five
young barbers of his acquaintance. They quickly changed their clothes,
and we all went to an inn and spent a merry evening together.

_II.--In Male Attire_

A few days afterwards I took up the plan which I had formed at Burgos,
and bravely set out for Madrid in the hope of making my fortune there.
But my money did not last long, for on reaching the capital I fell in
with a wild company of fashionable actors and actresses.

As my purse grew lighter my conscie