That answered one question of mine because I was wondering if he had put a note in Mom’s bed and how he could have been sure she would get it and not Dad. Now I knew why Mom had seemed so nervous all day and especially at supper. She knew! I looked at my watch and I saw it was ten minutes after 12 A.M. So I figured he had said, meet me at midnight someplace and Mom had said let’s meet on the path to Paraggi. And had probably explained to him about how to get there. Then I wondered where he was staying and as if he knew what I was thinking he said, “At least come back to the Pen-sione Biea with me tonight.”

“I can’t, Jonathan. I can’t!” I love you!

“Oh how I wish I could!”

I heard more kissing and some groaning. Then Mom said, “But I really cannot!”

I knew that tone of voice and I could have told Jonathan Edwards it was no use to ask again but he didn’t know Mom as well as I did so he kept on trying anyway. “Please, Elsa, I beg you! Please! I need you! Just this once! You’re driving me crazy!” But Mom just kept saying no between more kisses. Then she shouted, “Jonathan we cannot! In fact I don’t think we should ever meet like this again!”

“Then there’s no point my going on living!” Jonathan said. And before I could even realize what was happening he came flying over the wall as Mom screamed, “No!”

He sort of went by in a blur and as he jumped he yelled, “Forgive me, Lord!” He fell about fifteen feet into all the prickly pear cactus and fig trees that grew on the bank below the wall.

Above me Mom rushed to the edge of the wall and screamed, “Jonathan!” And she looked down and I couldn’t help looking up. She was leaning right over me and her face was almost touching mine. “Hi, Mom,” I said.

Then my mom leaped backward like I was a snake and she screamed something, not anything in particular, just a long wail kind of thing. Since now she knew I was there I climbed off the ledge and back over the wall onto the path and saw she was sitting on the path looking scared with her mouth open.

We stared at each other but before we said anything we heard Jonathan Edwards call out, “Help me!”

So we both went back to the wall and looked over and the moonlight didn’t help any because down in the thicket of figs and cactus it was all dark. Jonathan began to groan and call out, “Oh, please! Please!”

“He’s hurt,” Mom said.

“Probably not very badly,” I said. “It’s not very far down.’

Mom called out, “Jonathan, are you hurt?”