He turned to go, but stopped suddenly on the threshold and came back.

"There!" he cried triumphantly. "There it is again, but not so hard this
time. Is the lady here, now?" He pushed his chest against the old man's
ear.

"Madonna mia! What a machine!" exclaimed the latter, after listening a
moment. "If I had a heart like that!"

"Now you see for yourself," said Ruggiero. "I want the best medicine."

But again the chemist broke into a laugh.

"Medicine! A medicine for love! Do you not see that it began to beat at
the thought of seeing her? Go and try it, as you proposed. Then you will
understand."

"I understand that you are crazy. But I will try it all the same."

Thereupon Ruggiero strode out of the shop without further words,
considerably disappointed and displeased with the result of the
interview. The chemist apparently took him for a fool. It was absurd to
suppose that the sight of any woman, or the mention of any woman, could
make a man's heart behave in such a way, and yet he was obliged to admit
that the coincidence was undeniable.

He found his brother just coming out of the house in which they lodged,
arrayed at all points exactly like himself. Sebastiano's young beard was
not quite so thick, his eyes were a little softer, his movements a