Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad
"
"So it seems," Uncle John rejoined; "yet there is something queer about
the fellow, I agree with Beth; I don't like him."
"Did Mr. Watson say when he would join us here?" enquired Louise, when
they were seated at the little round table.
"No; but here's a letter from him. I'd quite forgotten it."
He tore open the envelope and carefully read the enclosure.
"Too bad," said he. "We might have stayed a few days in Messina. Watson
says he and Kenneth have stopped at Girgenti--wherever that is--to study
the temples. Wonder if they're Solomon's? They won't get to Taormina
before Saturday."
"It won't matter," declared Patsy, "so long as they arrive then. And I'd
a good deal rather be here than in Messina, or any other place. Of
course we'll all be glad to see Kenneth."
"Mr. Watson wants us to be very careful while we are in Sicily,"
continued Uncle John, referring to the letter. "Listen to this: 'Don't
let the girls wear jewelry in public places, or display their watches
openly; and take care, all of you, not to show much money. If you buy
anything, have it sent to your hotel to be paid for by the hall porter.
And it is wise not to let anyone know who you are or how long you intend
to remain in any one place. This may strike you as an absurd precaution;
but you must remember that you are not in America, but in an isolated
Italian province, where government control is inefficient. The truth is
that the terrible Mafia is still all powerful on this island, and
brigandage is by no means confined to the neighborhood of
Castrogiovanni, as the guide books would have you believe. The people
seem simple and harmless enough, but Kenneth and I always keep our
revolvers handy, and believe it is a reasonable precaution. I don't want
to frighten you, John; merely to warn you. Sicily is full of tourists,
and few are ever molested; but if you are aware of the conditions
underlying the public serenity you are not so liable to run yourself and
your nieces into needless dangers.' How's that for a hair-curler,
girls?
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In a village there lived two men who had the self-same name. Both were named Claus. But one of them owned four horses, and the other owned only one horse; so to distinguish between them people called the man who had four horses Big Claus, and the man who had only one horse Little Claus. Now I'll tell you what happened to these two, for this is a true story.
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