Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad
One
morning he drove with the girls to the museum and paid the cabman a
lira, but before he could ascend the steps the man was after him and
holding out a leaden coin, claiming that his fare had given him bad
money and must exchange it for good. This is so common a method of
swindling that Uncle John paid no heed to the demands of the cabman
until one of the Guard Municipale, in his uniform of dark blue with
yellow buttons and cap, placed a restraining hand upon the American's
shoulder.
Uncle John angrily shook him off, but the man persisted, and an
interpreter employed by the museum stepped forward and explained that
unless the cabman was given a good coin in exchange for the bad one the
guarde would be obliged to take him before a commissionaire, or
magistrate.
"But I gave him a good coin--a lira direct from the bank," declared
Uncle John.
"He exhibits a bad one," returned the interpreter, calmly.
"He's a swindler!"
"He is a citizen of Naples, and entitled to a just payment," said the
other, shrugging his shoulders.
"You are all leagued together," said Uncle John, indignantly. "But you
will get no more money out of me, I promise you."
The result was that the stubborn American was placed under arrest.
Leaving the girls at the museum in charge of Ferralti, who had made no
attempt to interfere in the dispute but implored Uncle John to pay and
avoid trouble, the angry prisoner was placed in the same cab he had
arrived in and, with the officer seated beside him, was publicly driven
to the office of the magistrate.
This official understood no English, but he glowered and frowned
fiercely when the American was brought before him. The guarde and the
cabman stood with bared bowed heads and in low tones preferred the
charge against the prisoner; but Uncle John swaggered up to the desk and
pounded his clinched fist upon it while he roared a defiance of Italian
injustice and threatened to "bring over a few war-ships and blow Naples
into kingdom come!"
The magistrate was startled, and ordered the prisoner searched for
concealed weapons.
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There was once a king who was very powerful. He had great influence over the wild beasts and animals. Now the tortoise was looked upon as the wisest of all beasts and men. This king had a son named Ekpenyon, to whom he gave fifty young girls as wives, but the prince did not like any of them. The king was very angry at this, and made a law that if any man had a daughter who was finer than the prince's wives, and who found favour in his son's eyes, the girl herself and her father and mother should be killed.
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