attentive ears; he was haunted by her face and voice, and he was,
moreover, a little out of humor with himself for having been such a
blunderer as to give her offense and thus leave an unfavorable
impression on her mind.

"I suppose I _was_ rude," he considered after a while. "She seemed to
think so, at any rate. By Jove! what a crushing look she gave me! A
peasant? Not she! If she had said she was an empress I shouldn't have
been much surprised. But a mere common peasant, with that regal figure
and those white hands! I don't believe it. Perhaps our pilot, Valdemar,
knows who she is; I must ask him."

All at once he bethought himself of the cave whence she had emerged. It
was close at hand--a natural grotto, arched and apparently lofty. He
resolved to explore it. Glancing at his watch he saw it was not yet one
o'clock in the morning, yet the voice of the cuckoo called shrilly from
the neighboring hills, and a circling group of swallows flitted around
him, their lovely wings glistening like jewels in the warm light of the
ever-wakeful sun. Going to the entrance of the cave, he looked in. It
was formed of rough rock, hewn out by the silent work of the water, and
its floor was strewn thick with loose pebbles and polished stones.
Entering it, he was able to walk upright for some few paces, then
suddenly it seemed to shrink in size and to become darker. The light
from the opening gradually narrowed into a slender stream too small for
him to see clearly where he was going, thereupon he struck a fusee. At
first he could observe no sign of human habitation, not even a rope, or
chain, or hook, to intimate that it was a customary shelter for a boat.
The fusee went out quickly, and he lit another. Looking more carefully
and closely about him, he perceived on a projecting shelf of rock, a
small antique lamp, Etruscan in shape, made of iron and wrought with
curious letters. There was oil in it, and a half-burnt wick; it had
evidently been recently used. He availed himself at once of this useful
adjunct to his explorations, and lighting it, was able by the clear and
steady flame it emitted, to see everything very distinctly. Right before
him was an uneven flight of steps leading down to a closed door.

He paused and listened attentively. There was no sound but the slow
lapping of the water near the entrance; within, the thickness of the
cavern walls shut out the gay carolling of the birds, and all the
cheerful noises of awakening n