placidity of life having received this rude shock, he thought that now anything might happen. But also a notion came into his head that this young man was perhaps merely an infuriated lunatic. </p> <p> This was for me the first hint of his attitude towards this adventure. In his exaggerated delicacy of sentiment he felt that nobody&rsquo;s self-esteem need be affected by what a madman may choose to do to one. It became apparent, however, that the Count was to be denied that consolation. He enlarged upon the abominably savage way in which that young man rolled his glistening eyes and gnashed his white teeth. The band was going now through a slow movement of solemn braying by all the trombones, with deliberately repeated bangs of the big drum. </p> <p> &ldquo;But what did you do?&rdquo; I asked, greatly excited. </p> <p> &ldquo;Nothing,&rdquo; answered the Count. &ldquo;I let my hands hang down very still. I told him quietly I did not intend making a noise. He snarled like a dog, then said in an ordinary voice: </p> <p> &ldquo;&lsquo;Vostro portofolio.&rsquo;&rdquo; </p> <p> &ldquo;So I naturally,&rdquo; continued the Count&mdash;and from this point acted the whole thing in pantomime. Holding me with his eyes, he went through all the motions of reaching into his inside breast pocket, taking out a pocket-book, and handing it over. But that young man, still bearing steadily on the knife, refused to touch it. </p> <p> He directed the Count to take the money out himself, received it into his left hand, motioned the pocketbook to be returned to the pocket, all this being done to the sweet thrilling of flutes and clarionets sustained by the emotional drone of the hautboys. And the &ldquo;young man,&rdquo; as the Count called him, said: &ldquo;This seems very little.&rdquo; </p> <p> &ldquo;It was, indeed, only 340 or 360 lire,&rdquo; the Count pursued. &ldquo;I had left my money in the hotel, as you know. I told him this was all I had on me. He shook his head impatiently and said: </p> <p> &ldquo;&lsquo;Vostro orologio.&rsquo;&rdquo; </p> <p> The Count gave me the dumb show of pulling out his watch, detaching it. But, as it happened, the valuable gold half-chronometer he possessed had been left at a watch-maker&rsquo;s for cleaning. He wore that evening (on a leather guard) the Waterbury fifty-franc thing he used to take with him on his fishing expeditions. Perceiving the nature of this booty, the well-dressed robber made a contemptuous clicking sound with his tongue like this, &ldquo;Tse-Ah!&rdquo; and waved it away hastily. Then, as the Count was returning the disdained object to his pocket, he demanded with a