pers that burnt upon the table. The
other torches had all been quenched.

At the table sat Messer Ramiro, his head fallen forward and sideways
upon his right arm which was outstretched and limp along the board.
Before him lay a paper which I inferred to be the letter whose
possession might mean so much.

I could hear the old man breathing heavily beside me as I leaned there
in the dark, and sought to devise a means by which that paper might be
obtained. No doubt it would be the easiest thing in the world to snatch
it away without disturbing him. But there was always to be considered
that when he waked and missed the letter we should have to reckon with
his measures to regain possession of it.

It became necessary, therefore, to go about it in a manner that should
leave him unsuspicious of the theft. A little while I pondered this,
deeming the thing desperate at first. Then an idea came to me on a
sudden, and turning to Mariani I asked him could he find me a sheet of
paper of about the size of that letter held by Ramiro. He answered me
that he could, and bade me wait there until he should return.

I waited, watching the sleeper below, my excitement waxing with every
second of the delay. Ramiro was snoring now--a loud, sonorous snore that
rang like a trumpet-blast through that vast empty hall.

At last Mariani returned, bringing the sheet of paper I had asked for,
and he was full of questions of what I intended. But neither the place
nor the time was one in which to stand unfolding plans. Every moment
wasted increased the uncertainty of the success of my design. Someone
might come, or Ramiro might awaken despite the potency of the wine he
had been given--for on so well-seasoned a toper the most potent of wines
could have but a transient effect.

So I left Mariani, and moved swiftly and silently to the head of the
staircase.

I had gone down two steps, when, in the dark, I missed the third, the
bells in my cap jangling at the shock. I brought my teeth together and
stood breathless in apprehension, fearing that the noise might awaken
him, and cursing myself for a careless fool to have forgotten those
infernal bells. Above me I heard a warning hiss from old Mariani,
which, if anything, increased my dread. But Ramiro snored on, and I was
reassured.

A moment I stood debating whether I should go on, or first return to
divest myself of that cap of mine. In the end I decided to pursue the
latter course. The need for sw