He was directed to one of the brick houses which cluster near the Hospital itself, and closely resemble it in their details; his guide hobbling before him, and now and then throwing at him a suspicious glance. Everything was exquisitely trim and clean; the warm colours, the tender shadows on the old brick, the sunshine, the sober cheerfulness, the lilacs just breaking out in the gardens, the filmy green which daintily touched the trees, were full of delightful charm; and, though the river was not visible, a sort of feeling of its neighbourhood--a freshness in the air, an opening in the distance--added to this charm. They were not long in reaching the Lascelles' house, built, like the others, of substantial, warm red brick, square and solid, with well-grown trees about it, and gay flowering shrubs, in which blackbirds were singing, as if London were miles away. It must be owned that, as Everitt walked up the back staircase--which was, however, of oak--he began to feel unusually embarrassed. The little room into which he was ushered was as different from his own lofty and convenient studio as could be imagined, yet it was all in keeping with the rest. A rough sandy English terrier, with prick ears and bright dark eyes, made an immediate dash at him, and was seized by his mistress. This gave Everitt time to glance round him, and to observe that the room was panelled with old oak, and painted above a dull green; that the light was excellent, and the furniture of a somewhat scanty description; that a good many vigorous studies were stuck about; and that the whole aspect of the place looked like business. Then he surveyed Miss Lascelles, who was pacifying her dog. She was not at all the sort of person he had expected to see, though it must be owned he had built his ideas without a vestige of foundation. She was small and very girlish-looking, with a bright, happy face and pretty, graceful movements. Her dress was of some soft brown material, with velvet of a darker shade about the neck which matched the brown hair lying smoothly on her little head. "Sandy, be quiet!" she said; then looking at Everitt, "You are sent by Mr Everitt?" "Signorina, yes." He felt that on this score, at any rate, there could be no question. "I have been expecting you for some time," she went on; "I should like you to be more punctual another morning. But now I will show you where you are to stand." To stand! Everitt's heart sank; he had hoped he might sit. "I want," said Miss Lascelles, calmly--"I want you to stand with your hand above your eyes, shading them--so. You are to be one of a group of peasants who are coming into Rome with all their goods, escaping from an inundation--you must have seen them, I'm sure? You are leading the string, and looking before you eagerly, perhaps to see whether some one who is missing is in front. You understand?" "Signorina, yes. But--" "What?" "The sun with an inundation?"