lid. No, it is not in the coffin, but it's somewhere about the

coffin."

"What makes you think so, Luigi?"

"All this elaborate silver work! There's too much of it to be there without some reason. Caro, Hugo, just hold the torch and I will make an examination."

I took the torch in silence and watched his actions with great curiosity. The coffin, as he said, was most elaborately adorned with silver work representing the arms of the Morone family, interspersed with wreaths of flowers and tangled seaweed. On the lid was a broad silver plate similarly adorned, setting forth the name, titles, and date of death of the deceased, and round the oblong sides of this shell ran another broad wreath of flowers, shells, crests, and seaweeds, designed in the same style as the decorations on the lid. Beltrami, who was a clever prestidigitateur and could perform the most marvellous tricks with cards, had a wonderfully delicate sense of touch, and trusting to this more than to his eyes he ran his slender fingers rapidly over the raised silver ornaments on the lid of the coffin.

I saw at once that he suspected this useless silver ornamentation concealed some secret hiding-place in which the bottles of the poison and its antidote were hidden, and I could not help admiring the wonderful cleverness of the man in thinking of such an extraordinary idea, particularly as I saw at once that if the poison were anywhere it would be in some such ingenious hiding-place.

After running his hands twice or thrice over the lid, he shook his head with an angry ejaculation, and desisted from his apparently useless task.

"Dame! it's not on the top, that's certain," he said, stamping his foot with vexation. "My fingers never, deceive me, and I'm sure I haven't missed anything. From what I've told you I don't think it can be within the coffin. Ecco! let us try the sides."

He carefully wiped the tips of his fingers with his handkerchief, and beginning at the side nearest the head ran his fingers delicately along the cold silver work. Nothing was discoverable at the side, but when he came to the end of the coffin at the feet of the corpse he gave a cry of triumph which brought me at once to his side.

"Bravo, Hugo! what did I tell you! The poison-bottle was in the silver work. Behold, infidel, how truly I speak. Ecco!"

The decoration at this narrow end was a heart-shape shield, bearing the arms of the Morone family and wreathed with flowers, but this shield, which curved outward had a spring at the top. In touching this, the whole shield fell downward, working on a single hinge, and there was a cavity in which a small bottle might easily be concealed.

"I see the hiding-place, Beltrami; but where is the poison!"

"Eh! have you forgotten the visit of the Contessa, mon ami?"

"No, no! of course not! She, no doubt, took the poison away, and, I daresay, the antidote with it."

"Mon cher, I will never make anything of you," cried the Marchese in despair; "what did I tell you about that letter?"

"You said that no doubt as the Count was afraid of it being found by his wife he would only mention where the poison was concealed, and keep silent about the antidote."

"Ebbene! The Contessa knew nothing of the existence of the antidote, so when she found the poison she thought she had found all. Is that not so, you stupid Englishman?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Good! Well I, knowing of the existence of the antidote not mentioned in the letter, and only finding the poison at the feet, would naturally look for the antidote--where?"

"I daresay at the head," I suggested, after a pause; upon which Beltrami laughed, and walked to the other end of the coffin.

"Of course; it would be the most natural thing to do. Behold, mon ami!"

He touched the top of a similar shield at the head of the coffin; it fell stiffly outward, and lo! in the hollow of the curve, lay a small bottle, which Beltrami took in his hand, and then restored the shield to its former position.

"Luigi, you are a most wonderful man!" I cried, with a burst of genuine admiration at the clever way in which he had guessed this riddle.

"I only use my brains," he replied, with a gratified laugh. "The poison being at the feet, it was not difficult to guess the antidote was at the head; particularly as the decorations on both ends of the coffin are the same precisely. Dame! if the Contessa had only known the antidote was in existence she would have argued in the same way as I have done, and carried it off as she had done the poison."

"Well, we can now restore that unfortunate Pallanza to life."

"Yes, I suppose so," said the Marchese, slipping the bottle containing the antidote into his pocket; "though he certainly does not deserve to have another chance of existence. But as it is inconvenient keeping him in my house, I suppose I must send him away on his legs. Ecco! But come along, Hugo. We have what we desire, and I care not for this abode of death."

We went up the stairs and out of the iron door, where we found Matteo still keeping guard. It was quite a relief to get out of the fetid atmosphere of the tomb into the cool, fresh air again, and I felt like a released prisoner who was free for the first time after many years. The Marchese, however, man of iron as he was, did not seem to be affected in any way, but wrapping his cloak round him, prepared to go.

"Can you close that door again, Matteo?"

"Eccellenza! it is done!"

"Bene! Let us go!"

In fact the moment we emerged, Matteo, knowing our task was concluded, had reclosed the door by some trick known to himself; so we all three climbed over the broken wall, and took our way to the Ponte Aleardi.

"And when are you going to give Pallanza the antidote?" I asked, as we walked along arm-in-arm.

"Eh! Signor Hugo, to-morrow!"

"Why not to-night?"

"Ma foi! I am tired. A few hours will not make much difference; besides, I want a doctor to be present. The antidote will revive the poor devil, but he will be so weak after going without food all these days that the doctor will have to take charge of him."

"Well, then, I will see you to-morrow, Marchese. At what hour?"

"Two and a half in the afternoon. I attend to my military duties in the morning. Buona sera, Hugo!"

"Good-night, Beltrami."

We parted with a hearty shake of the hand, and I suppose after all I had gone through, nature was thoroughly tired out; for I went straight to bed and slept soundly without dreams, visions, or phantoms of any kind coming to disturb my rest.