'If thy r-right hand
offend thee,' etc. I have n-not the honour to be
the right hand of Your Eminence, and I have
offended you; the c-c-conclusion is plain. Couldn't
you tell me that without so much preamble?"
The Gadfly spoke with languid indifference and
contempt, like a man weary of the whole subject.
"Well?" he added after a little pause. "Was
that the decision, Your Eminence?"
"No."
The Gadfly shifted his position, putting both
hands behind his head, and looked at Montanelli
with half-shut eyes. The Cardinal, with his head
sunk down as in deep thought, was softly beating
one hand on the arm of his chair. Ah, that old,
familiar gesture!
"I have decided," he said, raising his head at
last, "to do, I suppose, an utterly unprecedented
thing. When I heard that you had asked to see
me, I resolved to come here and tell you everything,
as I have done, and to place the matter in
your own hands."
"In--my hands?"
"Signor Rivarez, I have not come to you as
cardinal, or as bishop, or as judge; I have come
to you as one man to another.
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