"Si, signore."
The boy nodded. His eyes now looked tired.
"And try to keep a lookout, when you can, without drawing the attention of the signora. Salvatore might change his mind and come up. The signora is not to know. She is never to know. Do you think"—he hesitated—"do you think Salvatore has told any one?"
"Non lo so."
The boy was silent. Then he lifted his hands again and said:
"Signorino! Signorino!"
And Maurice seemed to hear at that moment the voice of an accusing angel.
"Gaspare," he said, "I was mad. We men—we are mad sometimes. But now I must be sane. I must do what I can to—I must do what I can—and you must help me."
He held out his hand. Gaspare took it. The grasp of it was strong, that of a man. It seemed to reassure the boy.
"I will always help my padrone," he said.