striking against the rock. The sailors had seen
that, too, before they slept again.

Artois sat quite up. He wondered a good deal what his friend was
doing. One thing was certain--he was trespassing. The islet belonged to
Hermione, and no one had any right to be upon it without her invitation.
Artois had that right, and was now considering whether or not he
should use it, follow the Marchesino and tell him--what he had not told
him--that the owner of the islet was the English friend of whom he had
spoken.

For Artois the romance of the night in which he had been revelling
was now thoroughly disturbed. He looked again towards the two sailors,
suspecting their sleep. Then he got up quietly, and stepped out of the
boat onto the shore. His doing so gave a slight impetus to the boat,
which floated out a little way into the Pool. But the men in it seemed
to sleep on.

Artois stood still for a moment at the edge of the sea. His great limbs
were cramped, and he stretched them. Then he went slowly towards the
steps. He reached the plateau before the Casa del Mare. The Marchesino
was not there. He looked up at the house. As he did so the front door
opened and Hermione came out, wrapped in a white lace shawl.

"Emile?" she said, stopping with her hand on the door. "Why--how
extraordinary!"

She came to him.

"Have you come to pay us a nocturnal visit, or--there's nothing the
matter?"

"No," he said.

For perhaps the first time in his life he felt embarrassed with
Hermione. He took her hand.

"I don't believe you meant me to know you were here," she said, guided
by the extraordinary intuition of woman.

"To tell the truth," he answered, "I did not expect to see you. I
thought you were all in bed."

"Oh no. I have been on the terrace and in the garden. Vere is out
somewhere. I was just going to look for her."

There was a distinct question in her prominent eyes as she fixed them on
him.

"No, I haven't seen Vere," he said, answering it.

"Are you alone?" she asked, abruptly.

"No. You remember my mentioning my friend, the Marchesino Panacci?
Well, he is with me. We were going to fish. The fishermen suggested our
sleeping in the Saint's Pool for an hour or two first. I found Doro gone
and came to look for him."

There was still a faint embarrassment in his manner.

"I believe you have seen him," he added. "He was bathing the other day
when you were passing in the boat,--I think it was you. Did you see a
youn