"Cosa?"
He laughed.
"I was thinking out loud. I meant how can they bargain and bother hour after hour in all that sun!"
"But, signorino, you would not have them pay too much!" she said, very seriously. "It is dreadful to waste soldi."
"I suppose—yes, of course it is. Oh, but there are so many things worth more than soldi. Dio mio! Let's forget all that!"
He waved his hand towards the crowd, but he saw that Maddalena was preoccupied. She glanced towards the watercourse rather wistfully.
"What is it, Maddalena? Ah, I know! The blue dress and the ear-rings! Per Bacco!"
"No, signore—no, signore!"
She disclaimed quickly, reddening.
"Yes, it is. I had forgotten. But we can't go now. Maddalena, we will buy them this evening. Directly it gets cool we'll go, directly we've rested a little. But don't think of them now. I've promised, and I always keep a promise. Now, don't think of that any more!"