Part 14 (2/2)

At this the driver drove on

About a half a mile outside the town they overtook an old woman, and the driver stopped, and put to her the usual question As the wonized her at once

She was their old friend, or rather eneo herself, and no other!

At the driver's question she stared at theloolances could have injured them they would have been blasted on the spot

She stood there, and after the driver had asked the question she glared at the fro, bony, skinny hand, and shook it at the, shrill, venomous strain of denunciation, of which the boys could not understand one word; but theof which they could easily conjecture

”What does she say?” asked Uncle Moses of the driver

”O, nothing,” said the driver ”She only does curse; and she say she will haf vengeance” And once o back

But this appearance of the virago and her threats only roused Uncle Moses to fresh determination He was now confident that David had been seized by the Sorrentonians, and that this woed the driver to talk to her; but the driver assured him that it was useless, that she was crazy, and that if they wanted to gain information they must ress, and before long entered the town, and reached the hotel Uncle Moses at once sought the landlord

At the appearance of the carriage and passengers the landlord looked a little uneasy, and at the inquiry of Uncle Moses he looked stillwhatever

”Had he heard of a boy being arrested anywhere?”

”No--nothing at all”

”Had he heard of any one being arrested?”

”No”

”Had he heard any people ainst them?”

”O, certainly!”--for the whole of the next day there was nothing but threats against the sacrilegious foreigners; but the feeling had subsided since Still their appearance in Sorrento would undoubtedly rouse the people again, and the landlord urged them for their own sakes to hurry away as fast as possible back to Castellamare

But Uncle Moses refused to think of this He was here, and here he would remain until he had found David He wanted the landlord to help hio out and mollify the people in any way, and see if he could find anything about the lost boy He promised to pay any sum to the landlord, or anybody else, if they would only effect his rescue

This promise acted powerfully upon the landlord's cupidity, and he thought that at any rate it would be well to try So he told Uncle Moses to wait, and he would see what could be done He thereupon left them, and Uncle Moses and the boys walked up stairs to that same room in which they had dined before, when the uproar of the people reached their ears Here they sat down and waited in silence

They did not have to wait very long It was not more than a quarter of an hour, or twenty minutes, when hurried footsteps were heard, and the landlord rushed in, followed by the driver Both were agitated and disturbed At the saer and excited voices burst upon their ears The landlord clasped his hands, and stood listening The driver rushed to Uncle Moses, and cried,--

”Dey haf come!--de people! You are lost!”

At this Uncle Moses and the boys started to their feet aghast, and Frank rushed to the , and standing so as to be as little observed as possible, he looked out

In the street in front he saw an excited crohich was not so large as it had been on that former memorable occasion, but which promised to be so before another quarter of an hour, for people were running up every rew louder and louder, and though Frank could not understand the words, he perceived plainly enough that they were fierce cries of anger and vengeance And there, conspicuous a this croas that identical old woo, who had caused all the former trouble, and seemed now bent upon the full acco, she stood close by the door of the hotel, which was now shut and barred, and shook her fists at the building, and yelled out curses at those within, and called upon her fellow citizens to break into the hotel, and seize the sacrilegious and barbarous foreigners Frank was a bold boy, but this sight was too much for him His heart sank within hiht

Soon the people outside began to throw at the party within soh the open s, and one of these missiles came very close to the head of Uncle Moses The landlord rushed forward, and closed all the shutters, and barred theh to protect hie assailants without

”What shall we do?” asked Frank of the driver