"Patience, my lord--patience for an instant--and you will see that I am no utterer of base falsehoods. The robber-captain examined the diamonds carefully--yes, most carefully--and, while occupied in the scrutiny, he let drop expressions which convinced me that he was hired by the countess. 'The inventory is complete,' he said, 'just as it was described to me by her ladyship. You are a worthy man, Isaachar,' he added; 'you will have restored tranquillity to the mind of this beautiful countess; and she will be enabled to appear at court to-morrow with her husband.' Now does your lordship believe me?" The marquis was staggered; for several minutes he made no answer. Was it possible that the Countess of Arestino could have employed the dreaded chieftain of the Florentine banditti to wrest her diamonds from the possession of Isaachar? or had the Jew invented the tale for an obvious purpose? The latter alternative scarcely seemed feasible. How could Isaachar have learned that the sum raised was for the payment of a gambling debt? Giulia would not have told him so. Again, how had he learned that this debt had been paid within an hour or two after the money was procured? and how had he ascertained that the countess had actually required her diamonds to accompany her husband the count? "Perdition!" ejaculated Orsini, bewildered by conflicting ideas, suspicions, and alarms: and he paced the room with agitated steps. Nearly a quarter of a hour elapsed--the silence being occasionally broken by some question which the marquis put to the Jew, and to which the latter had his reply ready. And each question thus put, and every answer thus given, only served to corroborate Isaachar's tale, and banish hope still further from the breast of the ruined nobleman. At length the latter stopped short--hesitated for a few moments, as if wrestling with some idea or scheme that had taken possession of his mind;--then turning abruptly toward the Jew, he said in a deep, hollow tone--"Isaachar, I need gold!" "Gold--gold, my lord!" ejaculated the Jew, all his fears returning; "surely--surely, my lord, her ladyship will supply you with----" "Fool--dolt!" cried the marquis, terribly excited; "do you not see that she herself is menaced with ruin--that the villain Stephano must have kept the diamonds for himself? that is, granting your tale to be true----" At this moment there was an authoritative knock at the house-door. "This is Stephano Verrina himself!" exclaimed the Jew. "I know his manner of knocking with the rude handle of his sword. What can he want? What will become of me?" "Stephano Verrina, say you?" cried the marquis, hastily. "Then admit him by all means; and the possession of the diamonds of the countess shall be disputed between him and me at the sword's point."