"We know on good authority that it cannot have been yet."
"I must be certain of it! for I don't choose to exert myself, and then obtain nothing that is of any value."
"What does it matter if your pay is the same?"
"Ah! Brother Angelo," said the Piccinino, rising on his elbow and assuming an air of pride which made his listless eyes gleam for an instant, "for what do you take me? It seems to me that you have forgotten me in some measure. Am I a bravo, to be paid by the job or by the day? I have always flattered myself upon being a loyal friend, a man of honor, a devoted partisan; and lo and behold! apparently ashamed of the pupil you trained, you treat me like a mercenary, ready to do anything for a little gold! Disabuse yourself of that idea, in God's name. I do justice fortuitously, as my father did; and if I sometimes work on different lines from those he followed—if, conforming to the spirit of the age we live in, I use my shrewdness more often than my courage—I am none the less high-spirited and independent. Being more useful and more in request than a notary, lawyer or doctor, if I put a high price on my services, or give them gratis, according to the means of those who seek them, I have no love for my art and no respect for my own intelligence. I shall never waste my time and trouble in earning money without guarding the interests of my clients; and, just as the famous advocate refuses to undertake a cause which he is sure of losing, just as a captain refuses to risk his men in an unnecessary action, just as an honest doctor ceases his visits when it is no longer in his power to relieve his patient, so do I, my father, refuse your offers, for they do not satisfy my conscience."
"There was no need of your saying all that to me," said Fra Angelo, still as calm as ever. "I know what sort of man you are, and I should consider that I degraded myself by seeking the aid of a man whom I did not esteem."
"In that case," replied the Piccinino, with increasing excitement, "why do you lack confidence in me? Why do you tell me only a part of the truth?"
"You want me to tell you where the cardinal's will is concealed? That I do not know, nor have I ever thought of asking."
"That is impossible."
"I swear to you before God, boy, that I have no idea. I know that it is out of Ninfo's reach for the present, and that he cannot obtain possession of it while the cardinal lives except with his assent."
"And how do you know that he has not already given his assent?"