He Did Not Need
To Grab, Haphazard, And Run - There Was No Hurry.
He Could Make Deliberate And Well-Considered Selections;
He Could Consult His Esthetic Tastes.
One comprehends
how undisturbed he was, and how safe from any danger
of interruption, when it is stated that
He even carried off
a unicorn's horn - a mere curiosity - which would not pass
through the egress entire, but had to be sawn in two
- a bit of work which cost him hours of tedious labor.
He continued to store up his treasures at home until his
occupation lost the charm of novelty and became monotonous;
then he ceased from it, contented. Well he might be;
for his collection, raised to modern values, represented nearly
fifty million dollars!
He could have gone home much the richest citizen of his country,
and it might have been years before the plunder was missed;
but he was human - he could not enjoy his delight alone,
he must have somebody to talk about it with. So he
exacted a solemn oath from a Candian noble named Crioni,
then led him to his lodgings and nearly took his breath
away with a sight of his glittering hoard. He detected
a look in his friend's face which excited his suspicion,
and was about to slip a stiletto into him when Crioni
saved himself by explaining that that look was only
an expression of supreme and happy astonishment.
Stammato made Crioni a present of one of the state's
principal jewels - a huge carbuncle, which afterward
figured in the Ducal cap of state - and the pair parted.
Crioni went at once to the palace, denounced the criminal,
and handed over the carbuncle as evidence.
Stammato was arrested, tried, and condemned, with the
old-time Venetian promptness.
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