"_I_ forget! Before I spoke to you I thought of you without ceasing, and now I can never forget you." "Do your friends know where you are?" she asked, timidly. "Do you think I would tell them?" "Are you going to stay long in Rome?" "I will not go away for a long time." "You are an American." "Yes." "America is very far away." "But it is easy to get there." "How long will you be in Rome?" "I don't know. A very long time." "Not in the summer?" "Yes, in the summer." "But the malaria. Are you not afraid of that? Will your friends stay?" "I do not care whether my friends do or not." "But you will be left alone." "I suppose so." "But what will you do for company? It will be very lonely." "I will think of you all day, and at evening come to the gate." "Oh, Signore! You jest now!" "How can I jest with you?" "You don't mean what you say." "Pepita!" Pepita blushed and looked embarrassed. Dick had called her by her Christian name; but she did not appear to resent it. "You don't know who I am," she said at last. "Why do you pretend to be so friendly?" "I know that you are Pepita, and I don't want to know any thing more, except one thing, which I am afraid to ask." Pepita quickened her pace. "Do not walk so fast, Pepita," said Dick, beseechingly. "Let the walk be as long as you can." "But if I walked so slowly you would never let me get home." "I wish I could make the walk so slow that we could spend a life-time on the road." Pepita laughed. "That would be a long time." It was getting late. The sun was half-way below the horizon. The sky was flaming with golden light, which glanced dreamily through the hazy atmosphere. Every thing was toned down to soft beauty. Of course it was the season for lovers and lovers' vows. Pepita walked a little more slowly to oblige Dick. She uttered an occasional murmur at their slow progress, but still did not seem eager to quicken her pace. Every step was taken unwillingly by Dick, who wanted to prolong the happy time. Pepita's voice was the sweetest in the world, and her soft Italian sounded more musically that that language had ever sounded before. She seemed happy, and by many little signs showed that her companion was not indifferent to her. At length Dick ventured to offer his arm. She rested her hand on it very gently, and Dick tremulously took it in his. The little hand fluttered for a few minutes, and then sank to rest.