hat he says. If he tells us that it is the young gentleman
we will also say that it is; but if he says it is not he, we will also
deny it. This is the only way."

Having decided upon this diplomatic course as the one most likely to
prove advantageous to them, they went back to their several occupations
and amusements. But at the very first they said what they really
thought; none of them really believed the sick youth at the hospital to
be Marcello. An illness of nearly seven weeks and a long course of
privation can make a terrible difference in the looks of a very young
person, and when the memory is gone, too, the chances of his being
recognised are slight.

But the Chief of Police was not disturbed in his belief, and after he
had smoked several cigarettes very thoughtfully in his private office,
he wrote a telegram to Corbario, advising him to come back to Rome at
once. He was surprised to receive an answer from Folco late that night,
inquiring why he was wanted. To this he replied in a second telegram of
more length, which explained matters clearly. The next morning Corbario
telegraphed that he was starting.

The visiting physician came early and examined Marcello's head with the
greatest minuteness. After much trouble he found what he was looking
for--a very slight depression in the skull. There was no sign of a wound
that had healed, and it was clear that the injury must have been either
the result of a fall, in which case the scalp had been protected by a
stiff hat, or else of a blow dealt with something like a sandbag, which
had fractured the bone without leaving any mark beyond a bruise, now no
longer visible.

"It is my opinion," said the doctor, "that as soon as the pressure is
removed the man's memory will come back exactly as it was before. We
will operate next week, when he has gained a little more strength. Feed
him and give him plenty of air, for he is very weak."

So he went away for the day. But presently Regina came and demanded
admittance according to the promise she had received, and she was
immediately brought to the Superintendent's office, for he had given
very clear instructions to this effect in case the girl came again. He
had not told the Chief of Police about her, for he thought it would be
amusing to do a little detective work on his own account, and he
anticipated the triumph of finding out Marcello's story alone, and of
then laying the facts before the authorities, just to show what