"Ruffo?"

"Yes."

"I do not dislike him, Signorina. He has never done me any harm."

"Of course not. Why should he?"

"I say--he has not."

"I like Ruffo."

"Lo so."

Again he looked at her with that curious expression in his eyes. Then
he said:

"Come, Signorina! It is getting late. We must go to the island."

And they pulled out round the point to the open sea.

During the hot weather the dwellers in the Casa del Mare made the
siesta after the mid-day meal. The awnings and blinds were drawn.
Silence reigned, and the house was still as the Palace of the Sleeping
Beauty. At the foot of the cliffs the sea slept in the sunshine, and
it was almost an empty sea, for few boats passed by in those hot,
still hours.

To-day the servants were quiet in their quarters. Only Gaspare was