"Ay, ay," said several bystanders at once, "we all thought so, too, Signor Arciprete. Still, what we all saw with our own eyes, only yesterday morning, made us change our opinion."
The arch-priest looked thoughtful, and then enquired of Luigi if he knew anything of Peppe, the man who had been raised from the dead.
"Peppe!" exclaimed the vetturino, laughing, "ay, do I, and a greater rascal never walked God's earth. That is why I was so cautious in believing a story in which Peppe the goatherd was mixed up. I never yet heard any tale in which he figured but had some devilry at the bottom of it."
"You do not believe, then, in the miracle?"
"Not upon such testimony," replied Luigi. "I should believe you, Signor Arciprete, if you had seen it with your own eyes," he added, respectfully.
"All I can declare is," replied the priest, "that I saw the man Peppe, apparently dead, and decked out as a corpse, placed within the church upon his bier, and the morning after, as I entered the church to say mass, I saw him as alive as ever again, still in his shroud, and appearing to dispute the treasure with Antonio. As for the rest, it was communicated to me by Ricardo, my sacristan. Do you know Ricardo?"
"I do," replied Luigi, in a tone of deep meaning.
"Well," said the arch-priest, "what do you think of him?"
"Well, Signor Arciprete," said the vetturino, hesitatingly, "as he is your sacristan, perhaps you would not like to hear what I think of him."
"Speak out, man," said the arch-priest. "If I find him unworthy of his post, I shall discharge him. Come, now, what do you know about him?"