a long pause, "you were going to ask
what happened next. I do not know what you thought, nor what stopped
you, for between you and me there is no such thing as indiscretion, and,
besides, you will never know who the lady was."

"I do not wish to guess. Do not say anything that could help me."

"Of course not. Any woman you know might have taken it into her head to
go to the Forum this morning."

"Certainly."

"This is what happened. I stood perfectly still in surprise. She may
have heard my footstep or not; she knew some one was behind her. Then
she slowly turned her head till we could see each other's faces."

He paused again, and passed one hand lightly over his eyes.

"Yes," said Guido, "I suppose I can guess what is coming."

"No!" Lamberti cried, in such a tone that the other started. "You cannot
guess. We looked at each other. It seemed a very long time--two or three
minutes at least--as if we were both paralysed. Though we recognised
each other perfectly well, we could neither of us speak. Then it seemed
to me that something I could not resist was drawing me towards her, but
I am sure I did not really move the hundredth part of a step. I shall
never forget the look in her face."

Another pause, not long, but strangely breathless.

"I have seen men badly frightened in battle," Lamberti went on. "The
cheeks get hollow all at once, the eyes are wide open, with black rings
round them, the face turns a greenish grey, and the sweat runs down the
forehead into the eyebrows. Men totter with fear, too, as if their
joints were unstrung. But I never saw a woman really terrified before.
There was a sort of awful tension of all her features, as though they
were suddenly made brittle, like beautiful glass, and were going to
shiver into fragments. And her eyes had no visible pupils--her lips
turned violet. I remember every detail. Then, without warning, she
shrieked and staggered backwards; and she turned as I moved to catch
her, and she ran like a deer, straight up the court, past those basins
they have excavated, and up two or three steps, to the dark rooms at the
other end."

"And what did you do?" asked Guido, wondering.

"My dear fellow, I turned and went back as fast as I could, without
exactly running, and I found the guide looking for me below the temple,
for he had not seen me go into the Vestals' house. What else was there
to be done?"

"Nothing, I suppose. You could not pursue a lady who shrieked with