"Leoni, thanks to his wit and his talents, was welcomed with much warmth, and his company was soon sought with enthusiasm. He acquired in certain circles in Paris the same authority which you have seen him exercise over a whole provincial city. He bore himself magnificently, rarely gambled, and when he did so, always lost immense sums, which the Marquis de ---- generally won. This marquis was introduced by Zanini shortly after Leoni's appearance. Although a compatriot of the latter, he pretended not to know him or rather to be prepossessed against him. He whispered in everybody's ear that they had been rivals in love at Venice, and that, although they were both cured of their passion, they were not cured of their hostility. Thanks to this knavery, no one suspected them of conducting their industry in concert. They carried it on during the whole winter without arousing the least suspicion. Sometimes they both lost heavily, but more frequently they won, and they lived like princes, each in his own way. One day, a friend of mine, who had lost a large amount to Leoni, detected an almost imperceptible signal between him and the marquis. He said nothing, but watched them both closely for several days. One evening, when we had both bet on the same side, and lost as usual, he came to me and said: "'Look at those two Italians; I strongly suspect and am almost certain that they cheat in concert. I have to leave Paris on very urgent business; I leave to you the task of following up my discovery and warning your friends, if there is occasion to do so. You are a discreet and prudent man; you will not act, I hope, without being quite sure what you are doing. In any event, if you have trouble with the fellows, do not fail to give them my name as the one who first accused them, and write to me; I will undertake to settle the dispute with one of them.' "He gave me his address and left Paris. I watched the two knights of industry and acquired absolute certainty that my friend had made no mistake. I discovered the whole secret of their knavery one evening at a party given by the Princesse de X----. I at once took Zanini by the arm and led him aside. "'Are you very well acquainted,' I asked him, 'with the two Venetians whom you introduced here?' "'Very well,' he answered with much assurance; 'I was the tutor of one of them and the friend of the other.' "'I congratulate you,' said I, 'they are a pair of blacklegs.'