They walked quickly to avoid the rain, which was falling heavily, and shortly overtook Ugolini, who exchanged a few words with Volpi about the weather, and then turned off along a bye-road.

Thereupon Volpi proposed that they should follow the old man and rob him, adding, "he has got a whole lot of coppers." Starna, according to his own story, refused to have anything to do with the matter; on which Volpi said, in that case he should do it alone, and asked Starna to go and fetch the tool he wanted, and bring it to him where they were standing.

Starna then left Volpi running across the fields to overtake the tinker, and went home to find the tool.

In a very short time afterwards, as he was coming back to the appointed meeting- place, he met Volpi in a great state of agitation, who told him that the job was finished, and Ugolini's throat cut, but that only 20 pauls' worth of copper money, about eight shillings, were found upon him.

Starna admitted that he then took eight pauls as his own share in the booty, and told Volpi to wash off some spots of blood visible on his sleeve.