Had not the Lady of
the Giustiniani offered to guarantee the funds necessary for the
assessments of the state, when Piero, doubtful of their resources, would
have declined the position of gastaldo grande, cumbered as it was with
the uncomfortable requirement that the chief should be personally
responsible for all dues and taxes levied upon the traghetti? Piero was
not the first gastaldo who had wished to escape an honor that weighed so
heavily, and a very serious penalty was already decreed for such
contempt of office by that tribunal tireless in vigilance.
So, without compunction, Piero had taken the needful, sure that when he
returned Marina's husband or her father would repay it.
_Could_ he return--after helping a patrician to escape from Venice into
the heart of the country with which the Republic was at war? It looked
doubtful even to Piero, with his indomitable temperament, but he wasted
no sentiment upon this question; for if he might not return there were
other countries in which a man could live.
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