turning he saw the young man's angry face.

"What is the matter, Tista?" asked the priest, stopping on the steps and
laying his hand on the iron railing.

"I am discharged, turned out, insulted by that animal!" answered the
apprentice hotly. "He is like a piece of wood! You might as well talk to
a wall! You had only just closed the door when he pulled out his purse,
counted my wages, and told me to take my things from his house in an
hour. I threw the money in his face--the beast!"

"Hush, Tista," said Don Paolo. "Do not be angry--we will arrange it all
before night. He cannot do without you, and after all it is my fault.
Calm yourself, Tista, my boy--we will soon set that straight."

"Yes--in an hour I will have left the house. Then it will be straight
enough, as you call it. Oh! I would like to strangle him! Dear Don
Paolo, nobody but you can arrange this affair--"

"Hush, hush, Tista. I cannot hear you talk in this way. Come, we will go
back to Marzio. He will listen to reason--"

"Do you know what he said to me not a quarter of an hour before you came
in?" asked Gianbattista quickly, laying his hand on the priest's arm.
"He said I might have Lucia and welcome if I would kill you! Do you
understand? I wish you could have seen the look in his eyes!"

"No, no, my boy--he was angry. He did not mean it."

"Mean it! Bacchus! He would kill you himself if he were not such a