believe him guilty. But if he was innocent, who was the criminal? It
appeared afterwards that Ripa himself had his own suspicions on that
subject, but as they were founded only on two slight indications, he
felt it was useless to advance them.

In the meantime Gaspar Mendez was slowly recovering the injuries he
had received, and was of course expected to give a more explanatory
account of what had happened to him after he left Forni on his way
to Alessandro Malfi's. That he had been robbed as well as wounded
was already known--his brother and sister having found his pockets
empty and his watch gone. The explanation he could give, however,
proved to be very scanty. Indeed, he seemed to know very little
about the matter, but he still adhered to his first assertion, that
Ripa was the assassin. With regard to the money he had lost, there
was necessarily less mystery, since it consisted of a sum that he
was carrying to his sister, and was indeed her property, being the
half share of some rents which he had received on that morning, the
produce of two houses in the town of Aquila which had been
bequeathed to them conjointly by their mother. The money was in a
canvas bag, and the other half which belonged to himself he had left
locked in his strong box at home, where, on searching for it, it was
found. As Ripa was known to be poor, and very much straitened by his
endeavours to make good the sum he had lost, that he should add
robbery to assassination was not to be wondered at. On the contrary,
it strengthened the conviction of his guilt, by supplying an
additional motive for the crime.

The injuries having been severe, it was some time before Mendez
recovered sufficiently to return home; and when he was well enough
to move, instead of going to Forni, he discharged his servant