way back to Verona, where they were received with great honour. On the
other hand, when the Venetians heard of the loss of their men they were
furious, and the Doge Andrea Gritti sharply blamed Manfroni for leaving
them behind.

We may mention here that this Giovanni Paolo Manfroni was a splendid
soldier and one of the finest captains of men-at-arms in Italy at this
period.

Manfroni had a certain spy, who often went backwards and forwards between
Venona and San Bonifacio, and who served both him and the Good Knight; but
those treacherous spies always serve one better than the other, and this
one hoped for the most gain from the Venetian.

So one day Manfroni said to him: "You must go to Verona and let Captain
Bayard know that the Council of Venice wish me to be sent in command of
Lignano, a fortified town on the Adige, as the present governor is ordered
to the Levant with a number of galleys. Tell Bayard that you know for
certain that I start to-morrow at dawn with three hundred light horsemen,
and that I shall have no foot-soldiers with me. I am sure that he will
never let me pass without a skirmish, and if he comes I trust he will be
killed or taken, for I shall have an ambush at Isola della Scale (about
fifteen miles south of Verona) of two hundred men-at-arms and two thousand
foot-soldiers. If you manage for him to meet me there I promise on my faith
to give you two thousand ducats of gold."

This precious scoundrel readily promised that he would not fail to do so.
He went off straight to Verona, and to the lodging of the Good Knight,
where he was admitted at once, for all the people there believed him to be
entirely in the service of their master. They brought him in as soon as