"I have come to take my leave of you, sir," he began, going towards his father at once.
He did not see the broken jar, which was at some distance from the door.
"Before you go," said Beroviero coldly, "pray look at this."
Giovanni saw the box on the table, but did not understand, as he had never seen it before. His father again took the key from his neck and opened the casket.
"This is Paolo Godi's manuscript," he said, without changing his tone. "You see, here is the book. The seal is unbroken. It is exactly as I left it when Zorzi and I buried it together. You suspected him of having opened it, and I confess that you made me suspect him, too. For the sake of justice, convince yourself."
Giovanni's face was drawn with lines of vexation and anxiety.
"It was hidden in the jar of broken glass," Beroviero explained. "You did not think of looking there."
"No—nor you, sir."
"I mean that you did not look there when you searched for it alone, immediately after Zorzi was arrested."
Giovanni was pale now, but he raised both hands and turned up his eyes as if calling upon heaven to witness his innocence.