And--yes. There was one other little thing.
He hobbled to where the various PIECES JUSTIFICATIVES were lying in
their sealed envelopes. He took up the receptacle containing the gold
talisman which had been sequestrated from the priest's nephew, and
broke it open. It could always be sealed up again. The coin, attached
to its string, fell out; it was an old-fashioned medal--Spanish,
apparently. He fingered it awhile. Then, opening the packet which held
Muhlen's gold, he carefully examined the contents. Five or six of these
coins were of the same kind. French Napoleons. That was lucky. Any
stick was good enough to beat a dog with. This was a particularly good
stick. He bored a hole through one of the Napoleons and placed it on
the culprit's string, after removing the original talisman, which he
bestowed in his own pocket. That done, he sealed up the two parcels
again, conscientiously.
"There!" he said. "He laughs best who laughs last. Don Giustino is a
clever man. But the devil himself could not prove the prisoner
innocent, in the face of evidence like this.
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