hat was coming be just what was long past?
Or was there no past, no future, nothing but all time present at once?

He was not moved by Cecilia's presence in the same way that Guido was.
Guido was merely in love with her; very much in love, no doubt, but that
was all. She was to him, first, the being of all others with whom he was
most in sympathy, the only being whom he understood, and who, he was
sure, understood him, the only being without whom life would be
unendurable. And, secondly, she was the one and only creature in the
world created to be his natural mate, and when he was near her he was
aware of nature's mysterious forces, and felt the thrill of them
continually.

Lamberti experienced nothing of that sort at present. He was overwhelmed
and carried away out of the region of normal thought and volition
towards something which he somehow knew was at hand, which he was sure
he had reached before, but which he could not distinctly remember.
Between it and him in the past there was a wall of darkness; between him
and it in the future there was a veil not yet lifted, but on which his
dreams already cast strange and beautiful shadows.

"I used to see things in the water," Cecilia said softly, "things that
were going to happen. That was long, long ago."

"I remember," said Lamberti, quite naturally. "You told me once----"

He stopped. It was gone back behind the wall of darkness. When he had
begun to speak, quite unconsciously, he had known what it was that
Cecilia had told him, but he had forgotten it all now. He passed his
hand over his forehead, and suddenly everything changed, and he came
back out of an immeasurable distance to real life.

"I shall be going away in a few days," he said. "May I see you before I
go?"

"Certainly. Come and see us about three o'clock. We are always at home
then."

"Thank you."

They turned from the fountain while they spoke, and walked slowly
towards the house.

"Does your mother know about your dreaming?" Lamberti asked.

"No. No one knows. And you?"

"I have told that doctor. No one else. I wonder whether it will go on
when I am far away."

"I wonder, too. Where are you going?"

"I do not know yet. Perhaps to China again. I shall get my orders in a
few days."

They reached the threshold of the door. Lamberti had been looking for
Guido's face amongst the people he could see as he came up, but Guido
was gone.

"Good-bye," said Cecilia, softly.

"Good night," Lam