"You said that no doubt as the Count was afraid of it being found by his wife he would only mention where the poison was concealed, and keep silent about the antidote."
"Ebbene! The Contessa knew nothing of the existence of the antidote, so when she found the poison she thought she had found all. Is that not so, you stupid Englishman?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
"Good! Well I, knowing of the existence of the antidote not mentioned in the letter, and only finding the poison at the feet, would naturally look for the antidote--where?"
"I daresay at the head," I suggested, after a pause; upon which Beltrami laughed, and walked to the other end of the coffin.
"Of course; it would be the most natural thing to do. Behold, mon ami!"
He touched the top of a similar shield at the head of the coffin; it fell stiffly outward, and lo! in the hollow of the curve, lay a small bottle, which Beltrami took in his hand, and then restored the shield to its former position.
"Luigi, you are a most wonderful man!" I cried, with a burst of genuine admiration at the clever way in which he had guessed this riddle.
"I only use my brains," he replied, with a gratified laugh. "The poison being at the feet, it was not difficult to guess the antidote was at the head; particularly as the decorations on both ends of the coffin are the same precisely. Dame! if the Contessa had only known the antidote was in existence she would have argued in the same way as I have done, and carried it off as she had done the poison."
"Well, we can now restore that unfortunate Pallanza to life."