intention to marry him at the end of my service. Everybody
recognized Almo.

"And there I was with the one man on earth in the jaws of
death before my eyes and I with the power to save him if I
chose and a hundred thousand people watching me to see
what I would do. And because I had once before rescued a
man in that same situation everybody expected me to do
something unusual and spectacular to save Almo.

"If it had been any other man it would have been the most
natural thing in the world for me to give the signal for mercy
and nobody would have thought anything of it. But, because
the man before me was the man I had expressed my intention
of marrying at the end of my service, therefore, if I had tried
to save him, that would be taken as a confession of my being
actuated by the sort of interest which no Vestal has a right to
feel for any man.

"A delightful situation to be placed in!

"And he must needs go out of his way to put me in that position!
When all he had to do was to live the normal life of a Roman
gentleman and all things would in time come right for both of
us, he must needs strain the powers of human ingenuity, compel
the forces of time and space, of wind and wave to conspire to
produce that situation and make me suffer those unnecessary agonies!

"Furious!