Part 14 (1/2)

By which David understood,--

”This boat is mine, and I will keep it as my lawful prize”

Then he waved his hand to the house, and then pointed to Naples

After which he brought forth a purse fronificantly, pointed to David, and then to Naples

By which David understood,--

”I will keep you as a prisoner up there in my house till I communicate with your friends about your ransoet for you”

After this the brigand pulled the boat farther up on the beach, and then, beckoning to David to follow, he strode off towards the house

Slowly and sadly poor David followed; and hope, which had for a an to die out within hi his own description of his woes and wandering, and had mistaken for compassion as only ordinary attention The ed hope to fear, and fear to despair The merciless allusion to David's captive state; the rude appropriation of hirasp of his head; the ferocious threat with the gun; and, finally, the display of the purse, and the coarse reference to money and ransom, all convinced David that he had to do with one as a stranger to compassion--a ferocious and ruthless nature, without pity, and without remorse And now, as his captor led the way to the house, he felt that he was being conveyed to a prison, froh he knew that Uncle Moses would pay any ransoand would ever be able to communicate with him or not On the whole, it was the darkest hour of his life; and the stride of the ruffian in front of him seemed like the march of inevitable Fate!

They cli into the field, they walked on towards the house As they drew nearer, David saw signs that were not altogether in keeping with the tough exterior of his enee there were flowers in bloom, which appeared to be cultivated by soht showed David that this ht be the work of the robber's wife The prospect ofwith a woht be, the wife entle, and pitiful, and womanly; and David drew hope from the flowers; for the one that would have tastes like these iants and ogres of the fairy books had wives who generally illing to help the victire, David hoped to find one who th they reached the house, and the brigand, after waiting for a moment for his prisoner to come up, entered the door David followed, and found himself inside

The door opened ie and low The floor was paved with red tiles, and the walls were of wood, varnished

Around the walls hung numerous pictures without fra and drapery The clothing was rich, though fantastic In one corner was a frame with armor suspended; while over this, on the wall, he saw arers, and blunderbusses

The fashi+on of all these was somewhat antique, and there was a richness in their ornaments which even David noticed, in spite of his trouble and anxiety The furniture about the rooany, carved most elaborately, and was of so ether at random A Glasobry chair stood beside an Elizabethan sofa; a modern Davenport, a Louis Quatorze side-board, and a classic tripod, stood in a row Some Chinese tables were in one corner In the centre of the room was a table of s, that seees; while beside it was an Auitar

The whole scene struck David as being perfectly in keeping with his captor; for this interior looked like some pictures which he had seen of robber holds, where the accuether, and reminded him vividly of the descriptions which he had read of the abodes of pirates or brigands, in the novels of Cooper, in Francisco, the Pirate of the Pacific, Lafitte, the Pirate of the Gulf, and Rinaldo Rinaldini

CHAPTER XIV

_On the Way to Sorrento again--ASearch--A fearful Discovery--The old Virago again--In a Trap--Sorrento aroused--Besieged--All lost--A raging Crowd--The howling Hag--Hurried Consultation--The last forlorn Hope--Disguise, Flight, and Conceale rolled out frohted with its anxious load All were silent Uncle Moses eighed down by an anxiety that was too deep for words, and sat bent forith his head buried in his hands The boys respected his feelings too , and consequently they, too, sat in silence They were far fro like despair, however, on David's account Before they started, Bob had assured theht,”

and would turn up before long somewhere--an assurance which Frank and Clive accepted as a perfectly sound and reliable statement; and so, if they were silent, it was not so much the silence of care or sadness, as of sy they es, soons, and some on horseback In accordance with the earnest request of Uncle Moses, the driver questioned all these without exception, and asked the sa of a boy about fifteen years old--pale, with dark hair, sallow face, and gray dress?”

And to this question there was one uniform answer from every one,

”No”

And at each fresh answer Uncle Moses would feel more and more disheartened, and sink into a new abyss of despondency and anxiety

Far different was this journey to Sorrento from that former one which they had ether, and every one was filled with joy and enthusiasm Then no one in that little party was penetrated with a more profound and heartfelt joy than David, who, in addition to a boy's delight at novelty, brought forth all that classical glow and fervor which were peculiarly his own And nohere was he? The nearer they drew to Sorrento, thedid this question become; and as each one asked it of himself, there was no answer Gradually the spectacle of the woe of Uncle Moses began to affect the boys, and in spite of Bob's confidence they began to feel an unpleasant fear stealing over them

A little way out of Sorrento the driver halted and spoke to Uncle Moses

He felt a little troubled, he said, about taking the carriage into the town He reminded them of the recent uproar of the people, and their narrow escape, and warned theain be assailed

But this warning fell on heedless ears Uncle Moses was decided to go on If David was anywhere, he ht be in that very town, a prisoner in the hands of those foolish people who took offence at nothing If they wished to save hiave hieance