He looked at the little bottle with fascinated eyes, and slowly, as he looked, the colour returned to his face.

"I--was ill," he repeated, with a sigh that seemed to relieve his breast.

"I had a fright!" "You thought it was broken ?" Blandano said, wondering much, and looking in his turn at the phial.
"Yes, I thought that it was broken.

I am much obliged to you.

Much, very much obliged to you," the Syndic repeated, with a deep sigh, his hands still moving nervously about his dress.