Julio drank the wine, but no sooner had he swallowed it than he exclaimed:
"What was in my glass? It had a strange, bitter taste. Did you put poison in it?"
"What a silly idea!" said Turchi, turning pale.
"You are capable of such a deed, signor."
"The lees gave the bad taste, Julio. Take another glass, and it will pass away."
Emptying his glass again, Julio said:
"You are right; it is gone. I never tasted anything in my life more disagreeable."
Turchi watched his servant narrowly. With assumed carelessness he said:
"Take care, Julio, to be up by daybreak. Go on foot to the village of Lierre; buy a good horse there, and make all possible haste to reach Diest; that is the shortest route, and you will be more likely to escape notice than on the highway. Once in Cologne, you are out of danger; but be careful not to remain there. Merchants from Antwerp frequently visit that city; you might possibly be recognized and arrested. You must leave the territories of the emperor. When the affair is forgotten, and when by my marriage with Miss Van de Werve I will have acquired a considerable fortune, I will send for you, and you will live with me as a friend rather than a servant. You shall spend your days in pleasure, and you will never have cause to regret what you have done for me. But, Julio, you do not answer? Is not such a fate desirable?"
"I am overpowered by sleep," stammered Julio, almost unintelligibly.