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It was she who had, in some unaccountable way, persuaded him out of his unlawful trade of barcariol toso, and had forced his reluctant acceptance of the overtures that were made to him from the Guild of Santa Maria Zobenigo, where he had risen to be one of the bancali or governors, his qualities of force and daring making him useful in this age when lawlessness was on the increase.
There is no barcariol in all Venice who hath greater opportunities, but thou must use them well. They spoil thee at the traghetto; and if a man hath his will always, it will either spoil him or make him noble." "What wouldst thou have me to do?" he questioned sullenly.
"By the Holy Madonna of San Donato!" said Piero, casting off his restraint with a sudden impulse, "if I come not back, I would have thee know that if ever there came a chance to me to serve Marina the Lady Marina of the Giustiniani I, Piero, barcariol or gastaldo, would serve her as a soldier may serve a saint. For she hath been good to the Zuanino.
Girolamo never seemed to remember that this son-in-law was a great man among the people; to him he was only Piero Salin, barcariol; the single token of the old man's favor was that in his thought he no longer added the despicable word toso; and it was a proof that he was mellowing with the years, for Girolamo never forgot this unwelcome and dishonorable past, and Piero was always ill at ease in his presence.
His own way had always been the right way for him rules of all orders to the contrary whether he had been a wandering gondolier, a despised barcariol toso, lording it so outrageously over the established traghetti that they were glad to forgive him his bandit crimes and swear him into membership, if only to stop his influence against them; or whether it had been the stealing away of a promised bride, as on that memorable day at San Pietro in Castello, when he had married Toinetta it was never safe to bear "vendetta" with one so strong and handsome and unprincipled as Piero.
And a license is not little to buy for a poor barcariol who would be his own man; one pays three hundred lire not less. Does it drop into one's hand with the first fare? One must belong to the Guilds it is less robbery!" "But for your gastaldo, your great man, for him it is much honor " "Eccellenza, believe it not. If the taxes are not there for the provveditori, it is the gastaldo who pays.
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