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upon his lips and his eyes lifted to heaven, he cal to insert the key in the lock as if his hand were

unsteady He noticed that there was no finger in his tone of voice; on the

contrary, the cries which escaped him were rather those of alarm and

distress; but before he had time for reflection the door opened

Julio put down the lath had entirely failed hi voice: "O signor, help, help! I a fire consumes me! Take

pity on me! For the love of God, deliver me fro to Julio "What has happened to

you? The ave ht poisoned wine, in order to destroy the

witness who could prove your death by his hand He made me pay Bufferio to

assassinate you He wishes to marry Mary Van de Werve, and he desires to

remove any cause of fear that his happiness may be disturbed Ah! the

poison consumes me!"

"Tell me, Julio, what I can do for your relief"