"I shall also make it my business to compel my masked mistress to stop
where she is, even though it be M. M. herself."

"Some won't have long to wait, if you will take her to a casino which I
myself possess at Muran, and where I secretly keep a girl of whom I am
amorous. I will take care that she shall not be there on the appointed
day, and I will give you the key of the casino. I shall also see that you
find a delicate cold supper ready."

"That is admirable, but I must be able to point out the place to my
Mercury."

"True! I will give you a supper to-morrow, the greatest secrecy to be
observed between us. We will go to my casino in a gondola, and after
supper we will go out by the street door; thus you will know the way by
land and water. You will only have to tell the procurer the name of the
canal and of the house, and on the day fixed you shall have the key. You
will only find there an old man who lives on the ground floor, and he
will see neither those who go out nor those who come in. My sweetheart
will see nothing and will not be seen; and all, trust me, will turn out
well."

"I begin to think that I have lost my bet," said the Englishman, who was
delighted with the plan; "but it matters not, I can gaily encounter
either loss or gain." We made our appointment for the next day, and
separated.

On the following morning I went to Muran to warn Tonine that I was going
to sup with her, and to bring two of my friends; and as my English friend
paid as great court to Bacchus as to Cupid, I took care to send my little