His master opened the window and watched him until he was out of sight.

Simon Turchi drew a long breath, as though the weight of a mountain had been removed from his heart.  A smile lighted up his face, and he said in an accent of intense joy: 

“He has gone!  Now I have nothing to fear.  The bailiff may find the body; Julio committed the crime; I know nothing of it; I am as innocent as a lamb.  Ah!  I thought I was lost.  Now I must arrange my plans as though I were certain of the discovery of the body.  I feel new strength; hope and certainty animate my heart.  Mary, Mary, your name, your fortune, your love will be mine.  My life will yet be crowned with grandeur, wealth, and happiness.”

And in feverish excitement he closed the window.

CHAPTER IX.

GERONIMO RESURRECTED.

The clock in the steeple of Saint George struck seven, and night was coming on, when Julio opened the garden-gate of his master’s country-seat and walked with a light step towards the house.

He kept one hand wrapped in his cloak, as if to conceal some object; the other was in his pocket, turning over the gold pieces given him by Simon Turchi.  Joy sparkled in his eyes, as he said to himself: 

“God be praised!  I resisted the temptation.  They urged me to drink and play at the ‘Swan,’ but my gold coins reminded me that I had a serious duty to perform.  After work comes the recompense.  What I hold in my hand will indemnify me for the thirst I have suffered and for the time lost.  It is the very best Spanish wine—­as dear as if it were melted silver, and as strong as if it were liquid fire.”

On entering a room in the house, he drew two bottles from his doublet and one from under his cloak, placed them upon the table, and looked at them longingly.

“No, no, not now; presently!  Business first.  Your bewitching smile cannot seduce me.  Patience, my friends; an hour hence we will become acquainted.  To fill up a grave and roll some empty casks into the cellar is a small matter.  But it is getting so dark that I can no longer distinguish the image of the emperor on the gold pieces; I must light the lamp.”

Taking a wooden box from the mantelpiece, he drew out a flint and struck it.  It was some time before the tinder took fire, and Julio laughed at his own failures; but at last he succeeded in his efforts, and a large lamp made the whole room bright with its rays.

Julio approached the table and said: 

“Now at least I can gratify the desire which has irritated my nerves during the last hour.  To possess two hundred crowns, to be as rich as a banker, to feel my pockets weighed down by gold, and still unable to feast my eyes on the treasure!  Now I am alone; there is no one to ask whence it came.  The time has arrived.  I may enjoy my wealth without anxiety!”

He drew an arm-chair to the table, reclined in it comfortably, with extended limbs, and placed the gold coin by handfuls under the light of the lamp.