noon
Zorzi went with him to the door . He had asked the Dalmatian to tell old Beroviero of his visit . Pasquale , who had never done such a thing in his life , actually went out upon the footway to the steps and steadied the gondola by the gunwale while Venier got in . Giovanni Beroviero saw Venier come out , for it was near noon , and he had just come back from his own glass-house and was standing in the shadow of his father 's doorway , slowly fanning himself with his large cap before he went upstairs , for it had been very hot in the sun . He did not know Zuan Venier by sight , but there was no mistaking the Venetian 's high station , and he was surprised to see that the nobleman was evidently on good terns with Zorzi . Zorzi had not left the glass-house since he had been hurt , but he foresaw that he might be obliged to leave the laboratory for an hour or more , now that he was better . He could walk , with one crutch and a stick , resting a little on the injured foot , and he felt sure that in a few days he should be able to walk with the stick alone .