It was very hard work at first, and it was not unattended by danger.
Masin declared at the outset that it was impracticable without
blasting. The wall appeared to be built of solid blocks of travertine
stone, rough hewn on the face but neatly fitted together. It would
take two men several days to loosen a single one of these blocks, and
if they finally succeeded in moving it, it must fall to the ground at
once, for their united strength would not have sufficed to lower it
gently.
"The facing is stone," said Malipieri, "but we shall find bricks
behind it. If we do not, we must try to get in by some other way."
In order to get any leverage at all, it was necessary to chisel out a
space between the first block to be moved and those that touched it,
an operation which occupied two whole days. Masin worked doggedly and
systematically, and Malipieri imitated him as well as he could, but
more than once nearly blinded himself with the flying chips of stone,
and though he was strong his hands ached and trembled at the end of
the day, so that he could hardly hold a pen. To Masin it was easy
enough, and was merely a question of time and patience. He begged
Malipieri to let him do it alone, but the architect would not hear of
that, since there was room for two to use their tools at the same
time, at opposite ends of the block.
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