"Ma che!" exclaimed Daphne faintly, falling back, in her
astonishment, upon Assunta's vocabulary.

"I have told no one, not even Giacomo," said Assunta, "but I saw
it all. The noise had wakened me, and I followed, but I stopped
when I saw that the divine one was there. Only I watched from
the clump of cypress trees."

"Where was he?" asked Daphne with unsteady voice.

"Beyond the laurel trees," said Assunta. "Did not the Signorina
see?"

The girl shook her head.

"How did you know that he was one of the divine?" she asked.

"Can I not tell the difference between mortal man and one of
them?" cried the peasant woman scornfully. "It was the shining
of his face, and the light about his hair, Signorina. Every look
and every motion showed that he was not of this world. Besides,
how could I see him in the dark if he were not the blessed Saint
Sebastian? And who sent the dog away if it was not he?" she
added triumphantly.

"But why should he appear to me?" asked Daphne. "I have no claim
upon the help of the saints."

"Perhaps because the Signorina is a heretic," answered Assunta
tenderly. "Our Lady must have special care for her if she sends