The spy took them, counted the gold pieces, examining them attentively, and then put them into his pocket.
"It is very singular, sir," he said, just as the two gentlemen thought they were about to be relieved of his presence.
"What is it, sir?" asked Don Gregorio; "do you not find the amount right?"
"Oh, pardon me, perfectly right; but," he added, with a slight hesitation, "I thought you had been a merchant?"
"And what leads you to think otherwise?"
"Because I see no desks."
"They are in another part of the house," Don Gregorio replied; "I am a private trader."
"Oh, very well, sir."
"And, if I had not thought you had pressing need of the money—"
"Very pressing!" the other interrupted.