"It is impossible," he said; "the cardinal is in the habit of signifying with his eyes that he wants his will to be shown to him, and he thinks of it every day. To be sure," he added, to gain time, resting his hand on the back of a chair as if he were very tired, "to be sure, the cardinal, being deprived of his interpreter, Abbé Ninfo, it would be easy for the doctor to pretend that he did not understand his eminence's eloquent glances.--Especially," continued the brigand, moving his chair a little and resting his elbow on it, "especially as the doctor's usual stupidity would make his failure to understand very probable. But," he added, respectfully offering the chair to the princess so that she might set him the example of sitting down, "the cardinal's meaning may be understood by some other trusty servitor, who would force the excellent doctor to the wall by saying to him: 'You see, his eminence wants to look at his will!'" And the Piccinino made a graceful gesture to indicate that it pained him to see her standing before him. But Agatha did not choose to understand, nor was she willing to keep the will, in order to avoid having to thank the Piccinino at such a moment in terms which should offend him by too great reserve, or encourage him by too great warmth. She was determined to maintain her proud attitude, while overwhelming him with manifestations of a confidence without bounds so far as her material interests were concerned. "No, captain," she said, still standing and in perfect control of herself, "the cardinal will not ask again to see the will, for his condition has grown much worse in twenty-four hours. It seems that that wretched Ninfo kept him in a state of excitement which prolonged his life; for, since he disappeared this morning, my uncle has been in a sort of lethargic state, bordering closely, I doubt not, on the repose of the grave. His eyes are dull; he no longer seems to pay any heed to what is going on about him. He does not notice the absence of his familiar, and the doctor is compelled to resort to all the expedients of his profession to combat a drowsiness from which he fears that there will be no awakening."