Part 31 (1/2)
”May I see a piece of it?” inquired Giovanni, as if he were asking a great favour.
It was one thing to let him test the gla.s.s himself, it was quite another to show him a piece of it. He would see it sooner or later, and he could guess nothing of its composition.
”The specimen is there, on the table,” Zorzi answered.
Giovanni rose at once and took the piece from the paper on which it lay, and held it up against the light. He was amazed at the richness of the colour, and gave vent to all sorts of exclamations.
”Did you make this?” he asked at last.
”It is the result of the master's experiments.”
”It is marvellous! He has made another fortune.”
Giovanni replaced the specimen where it had lain, and as he did so, his eye fell on the phial Zorzi had made that morning. Zorzi had not put it into the annealing oven because it had been allowed to get quite cold, so that the annealing would have been imperfect. Giovanni took it up, and uttered a low exclamation of surprise at its lightness. He held it up and looked through it, and then he took it by the neck and tapped it sharply with his finger-nail.
”Take care,” said Zorzi; ”it is not annealed. It may fly.”
”Oh!” exclaimed Giovanni. ”Have you just made it?”
”Yes.”
”It is the finest gla.s.s I ever saw. It is much better than what they had in the main furnaces the day you were hurt. Did you not find it so yourself, in working with it?”
Zorzi began to feel anxious as to the result of so much questioning. Whatever happened he must hide from Giovanni the fact that he had discovered a new gla.s.s of his own.
”Yes,” he answered, with affected indifference. ”I thought it was unusually good. I daresay there may be some slight difference in the proportions.”
”Do you mean to say that my father does not follow any exact rule?”
”Oh yes. But he is always making experiments.”
”He mixes all the materials for the main furnaces himself, does he not?” inquired Giovanni.
”Yes. He does it alone, in the room that is kept locked. When he has finished, the men come and carry out the barrows. The materials are stirred and mixed together outside.”
”Yes. I do it in the same way myself. Have you ever helped my father in that work?”
”No, certainly not. If I had helped him once, I should know the secret.” Zorzi smiled.
”But if you do not know the secret,” said Giovanni unexpectedly, ”how did you make this gla.s.s?”
He held up the phial.
”Why do you suppose that I made it?” Zorzi felt himself growing pale. ”The master has supplies of everything here in the laboratory and in the little room where I sleep.”
”Is there white gla.s.s here too?”
”Of course!” answered Zorzi readily. ”There is half a jar of it in my room. We keep it there so that the night boys may not steal it a little at a time.”
”I see,” answered Giovanni. ”That is very sensible.”