s in this room, you carried the earth out with
a shovel and scattered it about on a flower-bed. You took out three
shovelfuls of earth in that way. You see, I know everything. What is the
use of trying to hide your secret from me?"

Zorzi was now convinced that Giovanni himself had been lurking in the
garden.

"Sir," he said, with ill-concealed contempt for a man capable of such
spy's work, "if you have more to say of the same nature, pray say it to
your father, when he comes back."

"You misunderstand me," returned Giovanni with sudden mildness. "I had
no intention of offending you. I only meant to warn you that you were
watched on that night. The person who informed me has no doubt told many
others also. It would have been very ill for you, if my father had
returned to find that his secret was public property, and if you had
been unable to explain that you had not betrayed him. I have given you a
weapon of defence. You may call upon me to repeat what I have said, when
you speak with him."

"I am obliged to you, sir," said Zorzi coldly. "I shall not need to
disturb you."

"You are not wise," returned Giovanni gravely. "If I were
curious--fortunately for you I am not!--I would send for a mason and
have some of the stones of the pavement turned over before me. A mason
would soon find the one you moved by trying them all with his hammer."

"Yes," said Zorzi. "If this were a room in your own glass-house, you
could do that. But it is not."

"I am in charge of all that belongs to my father, during his absence,"
answered Giovanni.

"Yes," said Zorzi again. "Including Paolo Godi's manuscript, as you told
me," he added.

"You understand very well why I said that," Giovanni answered, with
visible annoyance.

"I only know that you said it," was the retort. "And as I cannot suppose
that you did not know what you were saying, still less that you
intentionally told an untruth, I really cannot see why you should
suggest bringing a mason here to search for what must be in your own
keeping."

Zorzi spoke with a quiet smile, for he felt that he had the best of it.
Be was surprised when Giovanni broke into a peal of rather affected
laughter.

"You are hard to catch!" he cried, and laughed again. "You did not
really suppose that I was in earnest? Why, every one knows that you have
the manuscript here."

"Then I suppose you spoke ironically," suggested Zorzi.

"Of course, of course! A mere jest! If I had known that you