hat should
come of him, began, as right well he knew how, to make a show of
opening first one finger, then a hand and after putting forth an arm
and so at last coming to stretch himself out altogether. Which when
the people saw, they set up such an outcry in praise of Saint Arrigo
as would have drowned the very thunder.

Now, as chance would have it, there was therenigh a certain
Florentine, who knew Martellino very well, but had not recognized him,
counterfeited as he was, whenas he was brought thither. However, when
he saw him grown straight again, he knew him and straightway fell
a-laughing and saying, 'God confound him! Who that saw him come had
not deemed him palsied in good earnest?' His words were overheard of
sundry Trevisans, who asked him incontinent, 'How! Was he not
palsied?' 'God forbid!' answered the Florentine. 'He hath ever been as
straight as any one of us; but he knoweth better than any man in the
world how to play off tricks of this kind and counterfeit what shape
soever he will.'

When the others heard this, there needed nothing farther; but they
pushed forward by main force and fell a-crying out and saying, 'Seize
yonder traitor and scoffer at God and His saints, who, being whole of
his body, hath come hither, in the guise of a cripple, to make mock of
us and of our saint!' So saying, they laid hold of Martellino and
pulled him down from the place where he lay. Then, taking him by the
hair of his head and tearing all the clothes off his back, they fell
upon him with cuffs and kicks; nor himseemed was there a man in the
place but ran to do likewise. Martellino roared out, 'Mercy, for God's
sake!' and fended himself as best he might, but to no avail; for the
crowd redoubled upon him momently. Stecchi and Marchese, seeing this,
began to say one to the other that things stood ill, but, fearing for
themselves, dared not come to his aid; nay, they cried out with the
rest to put him to death, bethinking them the while how they might
avail to fetch him out of the hands of the people, who would certainly
have slain him, but for a means promptly taken by Marchese; to wit,
all the officers of the Seignory being without the church, he betook
himself as quickliest he might, to him who commanded for the Provost
and said, 'Help, for God's sake! There is a lewd fellow within who
hath cut my purse, with a good hundred gold florins. I pray you take
him, so I may have mine own again.'

Hearing this, a round dozen