She looked down at the rocks of the tiny island, at the dimness of the spreading sea. Till now she had always gloried in its beauty, but to-night it looked to her mysterious and cruel.
"No, signora."
"Where then?"
"Farther on—a little. I will go."
His voice was full of hesitation. He did not know what to do.
"Please, signora, stay here. Sit on the bank by the line. I will go and be back in a moment. I can run. It is better. If you come we shall take much longer."
"Go, Gaspare!" she said. "But—stop—where do you bathe exactly?"
"Quite near, signora."
"In that little bay underneath the promontory where the Casa delle Sirene is?"
"Sometimes there and sometimes farther on by the caves. A rivederla!"