Part 18 (1/2)

Thus far the disguise had possessed nothing but a serious character in the uise they had hoped to escape, and the costunified in their eyes But nohen the danger was over, and safety assured, there was nothing to hide from their eyes the unutterable absurdity, the inconceivable ludicrousness of their appearance As David's laugh burst forth, each turned his eyes upon the other, and saas

Then they all burst forth! It was a cataclyshter The boys swayed backward and forward, and danced up and down, and shouted, and yelled with laughter Uncle Moses stood with his eyes shut and his figure bent double Frank stared at each one in succession, and then at hihed till he sank down; and Bob, flinging hiround in a perfect paroxysm, rolled over and over, and kicked, and yelled, and fairly howled in one prolonged and uproarious cachinnation

The uproar aroused the house

The driver hurried out of the barn and joined in the roar

The hostler followed him

The servants came from the hotel, and lent their voices

The landlord came out, and was at once seized with a convulsion

After the landlord caether understand it; but he saw David, and he saw the four figures; and fro hiht overwhelmed him He opened his mouth He burst forth It was trehter of Homer's immortals

It was a thunder-peal It was too much He could not keep his feet, but sank down on the stone steps, and burying his face in his hands, gave way utterly

Thus it Was, then, that David, the most solemn of boys, returned to his distracted and anxious friends

At length the laughter ceased, and the costu-roo explanations

David had to tell the story of his adventures The boys had to tell about their search after hi with David at Capri Thesein the to detract fro the friends so happily reunited, pressed the as they felt inclined to David's eyes sparkled at this, and the other boys, who had fallen in love with Ludlow at first sight, were o than they could tell But Uncle Moses deht they had better get back to Naples Ludloever, pooh-poohed his scruples, answered every objection, and would not take any refusal whatever; so that the result was, the final departure of the party for Capri

But before they went, several things had to be attended to First of all, they had to dismiss the driver With the exception of his sulk at Paestum, he had behaved admirably, and had been of immense service to them in more than one hour of need The consequence was, that Uncle Moses gave him a reward so liberal that it elicited an outburst of benedictions, thanks, and prayers for the future welfare of the whole party

The other business was to see about the return of the boat which David had taken This, however, was arranged without difficulty

Ludlo an honest fisher the boat, andexplanations to the owner

By this man they sent a sufficient sued another boat to take the water, and they soon stood before the artist's picturesque abode Mrs Ludlow received thehtest san to feel towards the artist and his wife as though they were near and dear relations They found the artist's cottage a perfect storehouse of curiosities, and a e dimensions, and contained sufficient accommodations for the party; and thus they were able to feel that they were not a burden in any way on their warm-hearted friends

Ludlow took them all over the island, and showed them all that was to be seen He was not only an enthusiastic artist, but also an antiquarian of no mean attainments; and while he could point out to them the most beautiful spots on that lovely isle, he could also talk learnedly about the ancient Capraea, and raise out of ancient ruins theories about the pleasure-grounds of Tiberius

But the rotto, so familiar to all from the accounts of tourists, and from the well-known description in Hans Andersen's I, poetic, and enthusiastic narrative, no other need be atteth they bade adieu to the artist and his wife, it ith rets on both sides, and ain

After which they all went back to Naples

CHAPTER XVII

_Vesuvius--Ponies and Sticks--Sand and Lava--The rocky Steps--The rolling, wrathful Smoke-clouds--The Volcano warns them off--The lost Boy--A fearful Search--A desperate Effort--The sulphurous Vapors--Over the sliding Sands_

The sight of Vesuvius from a distance had filled David with an ardent desire to visit it, and all the rest shared this feeling

Vesuvius was before the over it like a pall, was greater, and denser, and blacker than usual The crater was disturbed There were ru noises in its wondrous interior; and all around and all beneath the volcano gave signs of an approaching eruption Sometimes the smoke, as it ascended from the crater, would tower up in the air for thousands of feet, far into the sky, a black pillar, which at the su to the spectator the vision of a colossal paln which is the inevitable forerunner of an approaching eruption At other ti low over the crest of the mountain, and roll far down its sides, and envelop it in its dense, black, voluminous folds