as embarrassing, and in his muttered comments
upon it might be read how thoroughly his mind took in every phase of its
difficulty. "How they 'll laugh at me up at the Villa! It will last Sir
William for the winter; he 'll soon hear how I won the trap from his
son, and he 'll be ready with the old saw, 'Ah! ill got, ill gone!'
How young Heathcote will enjoy it; and the widow,--if she be a
widow,--won't she caricature me, as I stand halloaing out after the
runaway rascal? Very hard to get out of all this ridicule without
something serious to cover it. That's the only way to get out of a
laughable adventure; so, Master Layton, it's all the worse for _you_
this morning." In this train of thought was he deeply immersed as a
peasant drove past in his light "calesina." O'Shea quickly hailed the
man, and bargained with him for a seat to Lucca.

Six weary miles of a jolting vehicle did not contribute much to restore
his calm of mind, and it was in a perfect frenzy of anger he walked into
the inn-yard, where he saw his carriage now standing. In the stables his
horses stood, sheeted up, but still dirty and travel-stained. Joe was
absent. "He had been there five minutes ago; he was not an instant
gone; he had never left his horses till now; taken such care
of them,--watered, fed, groomed, and clothed them; he was a
treasure,--there was not his like to be found." These, and suchlike,
were the eulogies universally bestowed by the stable constituency upon
one whom O'Shea was at the same time consigning in every form to the
infernal gods! The grooms and helpers wore a half grin on their faces as
he passed out, and again he muttered, "All the worse for _you_, Layton;
you'll have to pay the reckoning."

He was not long in finding the Barsotti Palace, where Layton lodged; an
old tumble-down place it was, with a grass-grown, mildewed court,
and some fractured statues, green with damp, around it. The porter,
indicating with a gesture of his thumb where the stranger lived, left
O'Shea to plod up the stairs alone.

It was strange enough that it should then have occurred to him, for the
first time, that he had no definite idea about what he was coming for.
Layton and he had, it is true, some words, and Layton had given him
time and place to continue the theme; but in what way? To make Layton
reiterate in cold blood something he might have uttered in anger, and
would probably retract, if called upon courteously,--this would be
very poor poli