The Baron would never have been so anxious to get rid of
Malipieri unless he had been sure that the difficult part of the work
was finished and that the things discovered were of such dimensions as
to make it impossible to remove them secretly. Malipieri knew the man
and guessed that if he could not pocket the value of everything found
in the excavations by disposing of the discoveries secretly, he would
take the government into his confidence at once, as the surest means
of preventing any one else from getting a share.
What was hard to understand was that Volterra should know how far the
work had gone before Malipieri had told him anything about it. That he
did know, could hardly be doubted. He had practically betrayed the
fact by the mistake he had made in assuring himself that Malipieri was
willing to leave the house, before even questioning him as to the
progress made since they had last met. He had been a little too eager
to get rid of the helper he no longer needed. It did not even occur to
Malipieri that Masin could have betrayed him, yet so far as it was
possible to judge, Masin was the only living man who had looked into
the underground chamber. As he walked home, he recalled the
conversation from beginning to end, and his conviction was confirmed.
Volterra had been in a bad temper, nervous, a little afraid of the
result and therefore inclined to talk in a rough and bullying tone.
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