ion to a born coward as a logical reason for
not doing what he is afraid to do.

But Giovanni promised himself that he would make his sister pay dearly
for having defied him, and as he had also made up his mind to have Zorzi
removed to the house, on pretence of curing his hurt, but in reality in
order to search for the precious manuscripts, it would be impossible for
Marietta to commit the same piece of folly a second time. But she should
pay for the affront she had put upon him.

He accordingly came back to the footway and walked along toward his own
glass-house; and the boy, who had finished washing his face, smoothed
his hair with his wet fingers and followed him, having seen and
understood all that had happened.

Marietta sent Pasquale on, to tell Zorzi that she was coming, and when
she reached the laboratory he was sitting in the master's big chair,
with his foot on a stool before him. His face was pale and drawn from
the suffering of the past twenty-four hours, and from time to time he
was still in great pain. As Marietta entered, he looked up with a
grateful smile.

"You seem glad to see us after all," she said. "Yet you protested that I
should not come to-day!"

"I cannot help it," he answered.

"Ah, but if you had been with us just now!" Nella began, still
frightened.

But Marietta would not let her go on.

"Hold your tongue, Nella," she said, with a little laugh. "You should
know better than to trouble a sick man's fancy with such stories."

Nella understood that Zorzi was not to know, and she began examining
the foot, to make sure that the bandages had not been displaced during
the night.

"To-morrow I will change them," she said. "It is not like a scald. The
glass has burned you like red-hot iron, and the wound will heal
quickly."

"If you will tell me which crucible to try," said Marietta, "I will make
the tests for you. Then we can move the table to your side and you can
prepare the new ingredients according to the writing."

Pasquale had left them, seeing that he was not wanted.

"I fear it is of little use," answered Zorzi, despondently. "Of course,
the master is very wise, but it seems to me that he has added so much,
from time to time, to the original mixture, and so much has been taken
away, as to make it all very uncertain."

"I daresay," assented Marietta. "For some time I have thought so. But we
must carry out his wishes to the letter, else he will always believe
that the experim