Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad
And now, my dears, I
think we have all had enough of Taormina. Where shall we go next?"
CHAPTER XXVII
TATO IS ADOPTED
They canvassed the subject of their future travels with considerable
earnestness. Uncle John was bent upon getting to Rome and Venice, and
from there to Paris, and the nieces were willing to go anywhere he
preferred, as they were sure to enjoy every day of their trip in the old
world. But Mr. Watson urged them strongly to visit Syracuse, since they
were not likely to return to Sicily again and the most famous of all the
ancient historic capitals was only a few hours' journey from Taormina.
So it was finally decided to pass a week in Syracuse before returning to
the continent, and preparations were at once begun for their departure.
Kenneth pleaded for one more day in which to finish his picture of Etna,
and this was allowed him. Uncle John nevertheless confessed to being
uneasy as long as they remained on the scene of his recent exciting
experiences. Mr. Watson advised them all not to stray far from the
hotel, as there was no certainty that Il Duca would not make another
attempt to entrap them, or at least to be revenged for their escape from
his clutches.
On the afternoon of the next day, however, they were startled by a call
from the Duke in person. He was dressed in his usual faded velvet
costume and came to them leading by the hand a beautiful little girl.
The nieces gazed at the child in astonishment.
Tato wore a gray cloth gown, ill-fitting and of coarse material; but no
costume could destroy the fairy-like perfection of her form or the
daintiness of her exquisite features. With downcast eyes and a troubled
expression she stood modestly before them until Patsy caught her
rapturously in her arms and covered her face with kisses.
"You lovely, lovely thing!" she cried. "I'm _so_ glad to see you again,
Tato darling!"
The Duke's stern features softened. He sighed heavily and accepted
Uncle John's polite invitation to be seated.
The little party of Americans was fairly astounded by this unexpected
visit.
- Page:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
- 79
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- 86
- 87
- 88
- 89
- 90
- 91
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- 96
- 97
- 98
- 99
- 100
- 101
- 102
- 103
- 104
- 105
- 106
- 107
- 108
- 109
- 110
- 111
- 112
- 113
- 114
- 115
- 116
- 117
- 118
- 119
- 120
- 121
- 122
- 123
- 124
- 125
- 126
- 127
- 128
- 129
- 130
- 131
- 132
- 133
- 134
- 135
- 136
- 137
- 138
- 139
- 140
- 141
- 142
- 143
- 144
- 145
- 146
- 147
- 148
- 149
- 150
- 151
- 152
- 153
- 154
- 155
- 156
- 157
There was once an honest journeyman tailor, by name Labakan, who learned his trade with an excellent master in Alexandria. It could not be said that Labakan was unhandy with the needle; on the contrary, he could make excellent work: moreover, one would have done him injustice to have called him lazy. Nevertheless, his companions knew not what to make of him, for he would often sew for hours together so rapidly that the needle would glow in his hand, and the thread smoke, and that none could equal him.
© 2013-2019 FairyTales
Almost all texts on this website are from the Public Domain.