"Indeed..." began the friar with a faint smile of friendliness. But my
mother interrupted him, betwixt sorrow and anger.

"He lies, Gervasio. He lies shamelessly. 0, into what a morass of sin has
he not fallen, and every moment he goes deeper! Have I not said that he is
possessed? We shall need the exorcist."

"We shall indeed, madam mother, to clear your mind of foolishness," I
answered hotly, for it stung me to the soul to be branded thus a liar, to
have my word discredited by that of a lout such as Rinolfo.

She rose a sombre pillar of indignation. "Agostino, I am your mother," she
reminded me.

"Let us thank God that for that, at least, you cannot blame me," answered
I, utterly reckless now.

The answer crushed her back into her chair. She looked appealingly at Fra
Gervasio, who stood glum and frowning. "Is he...is he perchance
bewitched?" she asked the friar, quite seriously. "Do you think that any
spells might have..."

He interrupted her with a wave of the hand and an impatient snort

"We are at cross purposes here," he said. "Agostino does not lie. For
that I will answer."

"But, Fra Gervasio, I tell you that I saw them--that I saw them with these
two eyes--sitting together on the terrace steps, and he had his arm about