[051]
Emboldened, perhaps, by these words, a man who lurked within
the house, the good woman's bully, whom Andreuccio had as yet
neither seen nor heard, shewed himself at the window, and said in a
gruff voice and savage, menacing tone: "Who is below there?"
[052]
Andreuccio looked up in the direction of the voice, and saw standing
at the window, yawning and rubbing his eyes as if he had just been
roused from his bed, or at any rate from deep sleep, a fellow with a
black and matted beard, who, as far as Andreuccio's means of judging
went, bade fair to prove a most redoubtable champion. It was not
without fear, therefore, that he replied: "I am a brother of the
lady who is within."
[053]
The bully did not wait for him to finish his
sentence, but, addressing him in a much sterner tone than before,
called out: "I know not why I come not down and give thee play
with my cudgel, whilst thou givest me sign of life, ass, tedious driveller
that thou must needs be, and drunken sot, thus to disturb our
night's rest." Which said, he withdrew, and closed the window.
[054]
Some of the neighbours who best knew the bully's quality gave
Andreuccio fair words. "For God's sake," said they, "good man,
take thyself off, stay not here to be murdered. 'Twere best for thee
to go."
[055]
These counsels, which seemed to be dictated by charity,
reinforced the fear which the voice and aspect of the bully had
inspired in Andreuccio, who, thus despairing of recovering his money
and in the deepest of dumps, set his face towards the quarter whence
in the daytime he had blindly followed the little girl, and began to
make his way back to the inn.
[056]
But so noisome was the stench
which he emitted that he resolved to turn aside and take a bath in the
sea. So he bore leftward up a street called Ruga Catalana, and was
on his way towards the steep of the city, when by chance he saw two
men coming towards him, bearing a lantern, and fearing that they
might be patrols or other men who might do him a mischief, he stole
away and hid himself in a dismantled house to avoid them.
[057]
The
house, however, was presently entered by the two men, just as if they
had been guided thither; and one of them having disburdened himself
of some iron tools which he carried on his shoulder, they both
began to examine them, passing meanwhile divers comments upon
them. [058]While they were thus occupied, "What," said one, "means
this? Such a stench as never before did I smell the like!" So
saying, he raised the lantern a little; whereby they had a view of
hapless Andreuccio, and asked in amazement: "Who is there?"
[059]
Whereupon Andreuccio was at first silent, but when they flashed
the light close upon him, and asked him what he did there in such
a filthy state, he told them all that had befallen him. Casting
about to fix the place where it occurred, they said one to another:
"Of a surety 'twas in the house of Scarabone Buttafuoco."
[060]
Then
said one, turning to Andreuccio: "Good man, albeit thou hast
lost thy money, thou hast cause enough to praise God that thou
hadst the luck to fall; for hadst thou not fallen, be sure that, no
sooner wert thou asleep, than thou hadst been knocked on the head,
and lost not only thy money but thy life. But what boots it now
to bewail thee? Thou mightest as soon pluck a star from the
firmament as recover a single denier; nay, 'tis as much as thy life
is worth if he do but hear that thou breathest a word of the affair."
