I passed a great part of the following night with Franzia and Capitani in order to see with my own eyes the wonderful things which the worthy peasant had mentioned to me.  Standing in the yard, I heard distinctly heavy blows struck under the ground at intervals of three or four minutes.  It was like the noise which would be made by a heavy pestle falling in a large copper mortar.  I took my pistols and placed myself near the self-moving door of the cellar, holding a dark lantern in my hand.  I saw the door open slowly, and in about thirty seconds closing with violence.  I opened and closed it myself several times, and, unable to discover any hidden physical cause for the phenomenon, I felt satisfied that there was some unknown roguery at work, but I did not care much to find it out.

We went upstairs again, and, placing myself on the balcony, I saw in the yard several shadows moving about.  They were evidently caused by the heavy and damp atmosphere, and as to the pyramidal flames which I could see hovering over the fields, it was a phenomenon well known to me.  But I allowed my two companions to remain persuaded that they were the spirits keeping watch over the treasure.

That phenomenon is very common throughout southern Italy where the country is often at night illuminated by those meteors which the people believe to be devils, and ignorance has called night spirits, or will-o’-the-wisps.

Dear reader, the next chapter will tell you how my magic undertaking ended, and perhaps you will enjoy a good laugh at my expense, but you need not be afraid of hurting my feelings.

CHAPTER XXII

The Incantation—­A Terrible Storm—­My Fright—­Javotte’s Virginity Is
Saved—­I Give Up the Undertaking, and Sell the Sheath to Capitani—­I Meet
Juliette and Count Alfani, Alias Count Celi—­I Make Up My Mind to Go to
Naples—­Why I Take a Different Road

My great operation had to be performed on the following day; otherwise, according to all established rules, I would have had to wait until the next full moon.  I had to make the gnomes raise the treasure to the surface of the earth at the very spot on which my incantations would be performed.  Of course, I knew well enough that I should not succeed, but I knew likewise that I could easily reconcile Franzia and Capitani to a failure, by inventing some excellent reasons for our want of success.  In the mean time I had to play my part of a magician, in which I took a real delight.  I kept Javotte at work all day, sewing together, in the shape of a ring, some thirty sheets of paper on which I painted the most wonderful designs.  That ring, which I called maximus, had a diameter of three geometric paces.  I had manufactured a sort of sceptre or magic wand with the branch of olive brought by Franzia from Cesena.  Thus prepared, I told Javotte that, at twelve o’clock at night, when I came out of the magic ring, she was to be ready for everything.  The order did not seem repugnant to her; she longed to give me that proof of her obedience, and, on my side, considering myself as her debtor, I was in a hurry to pay my debt and to give her every satisfaction.