There was much muffled talk, and orders from some one in charge to keep silence.  But there was passing of strong drink, and then talk, and from it I gathered that these were all students from Pascale’s, out on one of those student carousals, intent on heaven knows what!  It was none of my business.

We shipped considerable water, and some of the students were down on their knees praying and bailing, bailing and praying.

At last we reached the Murano landing.  All got out, the barcas tied up, and I tied up, too, determined to see what was doing.  The strong drink was passed, and a low, heavy-set fellow who seemed to be captain charged all not to speak, but to follow him and do as he did.

We took a side street where there was little travel and followed through the dark and dripping way, fully a half-mile, down there in that end of the island called the sailors’ broglio, where they say no man’s life is safe if he has a silver coin or two.  There was much music in the wine-shops and shouts of mirth and dancing feet on stone floors, but the rain had driven every one from the streets.

We came to a long, low, stone building that used to be a theater, but was now a dance-hall upstairs and a warehouse below.  There were lights upstairs and sounds of music.  The stairway was dark, but we felt our way up and on tiptoe advanced to the big double door, from under which the light streamed.

We had received our orders, and when we got to the landing we stood there just an instant.  “Now we have him—­Gian the hypocrite!” whispered the stout man in a hoarse breath.  We burst in the doors with a whoop and a bang.  The change from the dark to the light sort of blinded us at first.  We all supposed that there was a dance in progress of course, and the screams from women were just what we expected; but when we saw several overturned easels and an old man, half-nude, and too scared to move, seated on a model throne, we did not advance into the hall as we intended.  That one yell we gave was all the noise we made.  We stood there in a bunch, just inside the door, sort of dazed and uncertain.  We did not know whether to retreat, or charge on through the hall as we had intended.  We just stood there like a lot of driveling fools.

“Keep right at your work, my good people.  Keep right at your work!” called a pleasant voice.  “I see we have some visitors.”

And Gian Bellini came forward.  His robe was still tucked up under the blue sash, but he had laid aside his black cap, and his tumbled gray hair looked like the aureole of a saint.  “Keep right at your work,” he said again, and then came forward and bade us welcome and begged us to have seats.

I dared not run away, so I sat down on one of the long seats that were ranged around the wall.  My companions did the same.  There must have been fifty easels, all ranged in a semicircle around the old man who posed as a model.  Several of the easels had been upset, and there was much confusion when we entered.