"'Avaricious man!' exclaimed he, 'do you still think of exacting your miserable three pauls after my generosity in making you a sharer of the treasure that belonged properly to me? Have I not already paid you over and over again the paltry debt I owed you? If the Madonna had not brought me miraculously back to life you would have had nothing.' "'Peace, blasphemer!' cried I. 'Do you think to befool me again with your imposture?' "'_Imposture!_' he exclaimed, with an air of injured innocence. 'Why, did you not see me rise from the dead with your own eyes?' "'Come, now,' said I, losing all patience, 'do you think that I was not sharp enough to suspect your plot from the very beginning, knowing what sort of character I had to deal with? Do you imagine I couldn't see through all your shamming--that I didn't see your breast heaving?' "'_My breast heaving! The breast of a corpse heaving!_' he ejaculated. 'Strange hallucination! Trust me, my dear friend, you must have been slightly in liquor, and saw double.' "'And do you think that I did not observe that worn out with feigning death so long, you really fell asleep,' said I, heedless of his insult, 'and that I did not hear you snore like a hog?' "'I snore like a hog!' he exclaimed. 'My dear friend, believe me, you must have been _very strongly_ in liquor.' "'No more in liquor than you,' I cried, with some vehemence. 'That you were sound asleep I can swear, nor would you have awoke till morning, had not one of the brigands hit you on the nose with that ring. Then, naturally forgetting your caution, you jumped up, stretched yourself, which act of yours being sufficient under the circumstances to strike terror among the brigands, who, imagining no doubt, what you would like me also to believe--viz., that a miracle had been wrought to bring you back to life again, took to their heels and left their treasure behind them. "'Now, you can't well expect me to believe in what you affect to consider a miracle, seeing that I have been an eye-witness to your antics from the very beginning, and as for trusting you with the ring until it shall be converted into money, that would be too much for you to expect from me, after the insight you have given me into your character.' "'Come now, old fellow,' said he, gaily, and with most provoking good humour, 'let us have no more words about it. We'll toss up for it. Nothing can be fairer than that.' "'I do not agree either to toss up for it or to draw lots for it, as I am usually unlucky,' I replied, firmly. "'Then we'll settle it between ourselves as the brigands did. If I hit you on the nose with it, it is mine. If you can hit me with it, it shall be yours. Come--here goes.' "'I object to these proceedings,' I replied. "'What will you do, then? Will you cut it in half with a knife?' "'Nor that either,' said I. "'Well, now,' said he, 'you are one of the never-contented. I see you are determined by hook or by crook to keep the ring all to yourself.'