three, one of whom was the snuffy expert who had come from beyond the
Tiber, and another was Baron Volterra. Toto, the mason, could have
threaded the intricate ways in the dark, but could assuredly have made
nothing of the drawings. On the other hand, the persons who were
acquainted with them did not know what Toto knew, and he was not at
all inclined to impart his knowledge to any one, for reasons best
known to himself.

Furthermore, an architect would have understood at a glance that the
plan was incomplete, and that there was some reason why it could not
be completed. A part of it was quite blank, but in one place the
probable continuation of a main wall not explored, or altogether
inaccessible, was indicated by dotted lines.

Besides this main drawing, Malipieri had several others made on
tracing paper to the same scale, which he laid over the first, and
moved about, trying to make the one fit the other, and in each of
these the part which was blank in the one underneath was filled in
according to different imaginary plans. Lastly, he had a large
transparent sheet on which were accurately laid out the walls and
doors of the ground floor of the palace at the north-west corner, and
in this there was marked a square piece of masonry, shaded as if to
represent a solid pilaster, and which came over the unexplored part of
the cellars. Sometimes Malipieri placed this drawing over the first,
and then one of the others on both, trying to make the three agree. It
was like an odd puzzle, and there was not a word written on any of the
plans to explain what they meant. On most of the thin ones there were
blue lines, indicating water, or at least its possible course.

The imaginary architect, if he could have watched the real one, would