before him to be no other than the one whom he had already twice cast into the river, and that he must be some evil spirit who was returning to his own place; so he stole softly behind Ser Zambo and dealt him a grievous blow on the head with an iron winch which he carried in his hand, saying: ‘Ah! you cowardly, villainous loon, do you think that I want to spend the rest of my days in haling you to the river?’ and as he thus railed he mishandled him so violently that poor Zambo, on account of the cudgelling he got, was soon a dead man and went to talk to Pilate.[45] When the corpse-bearer had got upon his shoulders the third corpse, which was still warm, he bore it away and threw it into the Tiber after the two others, and thus Zambo and Bertaz and Santì miserably ended their lives. Madonna Felicetta, when she heard the news of this, was greatly delighted thereat, and felt no small content that she was freed from all her hardships and might again enjoy her former liberty. Molino’s fable here came to an end. It had pleased the ladies so mightily that they could not forbear from laughing thereat and talking it over. And although the Signora more than once bade them be silent, she found it no easy matter to put an end to their merry laughter. At last, in order to bring the company once more into a sedater mood, she commanded Molino to set them to guess an enigma in the same dialect, and he, ever ready to obey her, gave his riddle in the following words: Out of their prison grave so dark Arise the bones of dead men stark, And ’twixt the hours of tierce and sext, By signs will tell to mortals vext What chance’s smiles or frowns of fate May bless or ban till time grows late. Savage and deep the misers curse, Marking the signs of chance averse; But he, untouched by lust of gold, Unmoved will fortune’s freaks behold. Next one with beard of flesh upsprings, And beak of bone, and warning sings To bid the watchers bury deep Their bodies in a downy sleep, And lie, poor fools by care unstirred, On welcome boon of foolish bird.