"
Pasquale grinned as he stood in the doorway.
"He has given strict orders that no one is to be admitted this morning,
as he is very busy."
"But this is a very important matter," argued the gondolier, who wished
to have the pleasure of telling the tale.
"I cannot help it," answered Pasquale. "Those are his orders, and I must
obey them. You know what his temper is, when he is not pleased."
Just then a skiff came up the canal at a great rate, so that the quick
strokes of the oar attracted the men's attention. They saw that the boat
was one of those that could be hired everywhere in Venice. The oarsman
backed water with a strong stroke and brought to at the steps before the
glass-house.
"Are you not Messer Angelo Beroviero's gondolier?" he inquired civilly.
"Yes," answered the man addressed, "I am the head gondolier, at your
service."
"Thank you," replied the boatman. "I am to tell you that Messer Angelo
has just arrived in Venice by sea, from Rimini, on board the _Santa
Lucia_, a Neapolitan galliot now at anchor in the Giudecca. He desires
you to bring his gondola at once to fetch him, and I am to bring over
his baggage in my skiff."
The gondolier uttered an exclamation of surprise, and then turned to
Pasquale.
"I go," he said.
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