About this shocking
affair in the Pineta, of course, of course? Pur troppo, we are all
interested, as you say. Will you honour my poor house, Signor
Barone, by tasting what there is in the cellar? I ought to be
ashamed to offer this wine, my ordinary drink at supper, to the
Barone Manutoli"--(the old fellow knew right well that there was not
such another glass of wine in all the city, and that it was rarely
enough that his noble guest drank such)--"but it is drinkable." And
so saying, he called to his old housekeeper to bring another bottle
and a fresh glass before he would allow Manutoli to say a word on
the business that brought him there.
"And now, Signor Barone," said the old lawyer, as soon as the wine
and the praise it merited, had been both duly savoured, "about this
bad business? Do you bring me any information? Information is all we
want. I hope and trust information is all we want," he repeated,
looking hard at the Baron.
"Of course, that is all we want; information which should put us on
some clue to the real perpetrator of this crime."
"That is what we want; that is the one thing needful; and it is
absolutely needful," said the lawyer, again looking meaningly in his
companion's face.
"Of course that is what we want. But even supposing no light upon
the matter can be got at all, it is not to be supposed that--that
any judge would consider there was sufficient ground for assuming
our friend to be guilty?"
"Ah, that's just the point; just the point of the difficulty.
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