He waved this and just at that moment the tall thin man happened to open his eyes; I heard the little crowd gasp, and then I saw them bow their heads and cross themselves quickly--and the little boys got chestnut paste on their blouses by their doing this--and then there was even higher, shriller, faster chatter, and through this my charge spoke. “What’s--the row?” he asked weakly. “You fainted,” I answered. “Fool thing to do,” he said, and he tried to get up, but the trying made him so dizzy that he had to sink back again, and then he closed his eyes as people do when they are confronted by a whirling world that has black spots before it. “We have lots of time,” I assured him, and just as gently as I could, for I did feel _so_ sorry for him. And then I turned to the Italians, and said “Grazie, _grazie_!” as hard as I could, and bowed as if the affair were quite over, and all of them except the little boys drifted away. After that I reached down and put my fingers on the sick man’s wrist, and when I located his pulse I found that it was pretty slow and that made me ask the elder of the two boys--in two languages, and five waves--if he could get a glass of water. And that made _him_ nod and lay down his slab of chestnut paste by my patient on the step, and that told me a story. And I never in my life have felt so badly, or so sorry for any one, as I did when I began to understand. For the sick man looked at that nibbled little slab, and moistened his lips, and then he looked away. And then he looked at it again, and shifted his position, and once he even reached out toward it, and then he sat back and for a moment covered his eyes. And I knew _right then_ why those cream puffs had beckoned me from the window of the gay pastry shop! I opened the bag. “Sometimes,” I said, “when I’m faint, I eat; it takes the blood away from your stomach or puts it there, or something.” And honestly, Roberta _couldn’t have said it any better_! Well, he took one, and he tried to eat it slowly, but he couldn’t. After he finished it, he said, “Thank you ever so much--I believe I must have missed my lunch--I sometimes get interested in work--” and then he paused and looked down at the bag. “It’ll take more than one to help you,” I said, “you were _awfully_ faint--”