Read Ebook: Among the Brigands by De Mille James

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Ebook has 1505 lines and 73762 words, and 31 pages

Stranger in a strange Land.--A Citadel of Trunks.--Besieged.--Retreat in good Order.--A most tremendous Uproar.--Kicks! Thumps!--Smash of Chairs!--Crash of Tables!--A general Row!--The Cry for Help!--The Voice of David!--The Revelation of the Darkness!--The fiery Eyes!--The Unseen!--The Revelation of the Mystery.--A general Flight.

How in the World did it get there?--A joyous Ride.--Hark! Hark! The Dogs-do bark! Beggars come to Town; some in Rags, some in Tags, and some in a tattered Gown!--A pleasant Meditation on a classic Past very rudely, unexpectedly, tad even savagely interrupted, and likely to terminate in a Tragedy!--Perilous Position of David and Clive.

Out into the Country.--The Drive.--The glorious Land.--Sorrento and eternal Summer.--The Cave of Polyphemus.--The Cathedral--The mysterious Image.--What is it?--David Relic-hunting.--A Catastrophe.--Chased by a Virago.--The Town roused.--Besieged.--A desperate Onset--Flight--Last of the Virago.

Salerno and the sulky Driver.--Paestum and its Temples.--A great Sensation.--An unpleasant Predicament--Is the Driver a Traitor?--Is he in League--with Bandits?--Arguments about the Situation, and what each thought about it.

They discuss the Situation.--They prepare to foot it--A toilsome Walk, and a happy Discovery.--The Language of Signs once more.--The Mountain Cavalcade.--Bob's Ambition.--Its results.--Bob vanishes.--Consternation of the Donkey Boy.--Consternation of the Cavalcade.--"E Perduto!".

Flight of Both--Difference between a tame Donkey and a wild Ass.--Carried off to the Mountains.--The headlong Course.--The Mountain Pass.--The Journey's End.--Ill-omened Place.--Confounded by a new Terror.--The Brigands.

The Lurking-place of the Brigands.--The captive Boy.--The hideous Household.--The horrible old Hag.--The slattern Woman.--The dirty Children.--The old Crone and the evil Eye.--Despondency of Bob. --Is Escape possible?--Night.--Imprisoned.--The Bed of Straw. --Outlook into the Night from the Prison Windows.

The worn-out Captive.--Light Slumbers.--Fearful Wakening.--The stealthy Step.--The overmastering Horror.--The lone Boy confronted by his Enemy.--The hungry Eyes.--Is it real, or a Nightmare?--The supreme Moment.

The Cavalcade in Pursuit--Hopes and Fears.--Theories about the lost Boy.--A new Turn to Affairs.--Explanations.--On to Salerno.--Inquiries.--Baffled.--Fresh Consternation and Despondency.--The last Hope.

The captive Boy and his grisly Visitant--The Hand on his Head.-Denouement.--The Brigand Family.--The old Crone.--The Robber Wife.--The Brigand Children.--A Revolution of Feeling.--The main Road.--The Carriage.--In Search of Bob.

The Return.--The tender Adieus.--Back to Salerno.--On to Castellamare.--A pleasant Scene.--An unpleasant Discovery.--David among the Missing.--Woes of Uncle Moses.--Deliberations over the Situation.--Various Theories.--The Vengeance of the Enemy.--Back to Sorrento in Search of the lost One.

The Waking of David.--A glorious Scene.--A Temptation.--David embarks upon the wide, wide Sea.--Youth at the Prow and Pleasure at the Helm.--A daring Navigator.--A baffled and confounded Navigator.--Lost! Lost! Lost!--Despair of David.--At the Mercy of Wind and Sea.--The Isle of the Brigands.--The Brigand Chief.

David captured.--The big, bluff, burly, brusque, bearded, broad-shouldered, beetle-browed Bully of a Brigand.--A terrific Inquisition.--David's Plea for Mercy.--The hard-hearted Captor and the trembling Captive.--A direful Threat--David carried off helpless and despairing.--The Robber's Hold.

On the Way to Sorrento again.--A mournful Ride.--A despairing Search.--A fearful Discovery.--The old Virago again.--In a Trap.--Sorrento aroused.--Besieged.--All lost--A raging Crowd.--The howling Hag.--Harried Consultation.--The last forlorn Hope.--Disguise, Flight, and Concealment.

In the Robber's Hold.--The Brigand's Bride.--Sudden, amazing, overwhelming, bewildering, tremendous, astounding, overpowering, and crashing Discovery.--The Situation.--Everybody confounded.--The Crowd at Sorrento.--The Landlord's Prayers.--The Virago calls for Vengeance.

More Troubles for poor David.--Onset of four Women.--Seized by an old Crone and three Peasant Girls.--Fresh Horror of David.--A new Uproar in the Yard of the Inn.--Uncle Moses bent double.

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 die sliding Sands.

Pompeii, the City of the Dead.--The Monuments of the Past.--Temples, Towers, and Palaces.--Tombs and Monuments.--Theatres and Amphitheatres.--Streets and Squares.

Lofty classical Enthusiasm of David, and painful Lack of Feeling on the Part of Frank.--David, red-hot with the Flow of the Past, is suddenly confronted with the Present.--The Present dashes cold Water upon his glowing Enthusiasm.--The Gates.--Minos, Aeacus, and Rhadamanthus.--The Culprits.

The Glories of Naples.--The Museum.--The Curiosities.--How they unroll the charred Manuscripts exhumed from Herculaneum and Pompeii.--On to Rome.--Capua.--The Tomb of Cicero.--Terracina. --The Pontine Marshes.--The Appii Forum.

The Pontine Marshes.--A Change comes over the Party.--The foul Exhalations.--The Sleep of Death.--Dreadful Accident.--Despair of Frank.--A Breakdown.--Ingenuity of the Driver.--Resumption of the Journey.

The March ended.--A lonely Inn.--Evil Faces.--Beetling Brows.--Sinister Glances.--Suspicions of the Party.--They put their Heads together.--Conferences of the Party.--A threatening Prospect--Barricades.--In Time of Peace prepare for War.--The Garrison arm themselves.

The sleepless Watch.--The mysterious Steps.--The low Whispers.--They come! They come!--The Garrison roused.--To Arms! To Arms!--The beleaguered Party.--At Bay.--The decisive Moment--The Scaling Ladders.--Onset of the Brigands.--End of Troubles.

A beautiful Country.--Magnificent Scenery.--The Approach to Albano.--Enthusiasm of the Boys.--Archaeology versus Appetite.--The Separation of the Boys.--The Story of the Alban Lake and the ancient subterranean.

The lonely Path.--The sequestered Vale.--The old House.--A feudal Castle.--A baronial Windmill.--A mysterious Sound.--A terrible Discovery.--At Bay.--The wild Beast's Lair!--What is it?--A great Bore.

Despair of Uncle Moses.--Frank and Bob endeavor to offer Consolation.--The Search.--The Discovery at the Convent--The Guide.--The old House.--The Captives.--The Alarm given.--Flight of Uncle Moses and his Party.--Albans! to the Rescue!--The delivering Host!

Arma Virumque cano!--The Chase of the wild Boar!--The Prisoners at the Window.--The Alban Army.--Wild Uproar.--Three hundred and sixty-five Pocket Handkerchiefs.--Flame.--Smoking out the Monster.--A Salamander.

The Salamander inaccessible to Fire.--The last Appeal--Frank takes Action.--He fires.--Casualty to Frank and Bob.--Onset of the Monster.--Flight.--Tremendous Sensation.--The Guide's Story.--Another Legend of Albano.--On to Rome.

THE YOUNG DODGE CLUB.

AMONG THE BRIGANDS.

These troubles began at once; for scarcely had they landed when they found themselves surrounded by the lazzaroni, and the air was filled with a babel of exclamations.

All this, and ever so much more, together with scraps of French, German, Bohemian, Hungarian, Russian, and several other languages which the lazzaroni had picked up for the purpose of making themselves agreeable to foreigners. They surrounded Uncle Moses and his four boys in a dense crowd--grinning, chattering, gesticulating, dancing, pushing, jumping, and grimacing, as only Neapolitan lazzaroni can; and they tried to get hold of the luggage that lay upon the wharf.

Bagged, hatless, shirtless, blessed with but one pair of trousers per man; bearded, dirty, noisy; yet fat and good-natured withal; the lazzaroni produced a startling effect upon the newly arrived travellers.

Uncle Moses soon grew utterly bewildered by the noise and disorder. One idea, however, was prominent in his mind, and that was his luggage. He had heard of Italian brigands. At the sight of this crowd, all that he had beard on that subject came back before him. "Rinaldo Rinaldini," a charming brigand book, which had been the delight of his childhood, now stood out clear in his recollection. The lazzaroni seemed to be a crowd of bandits, filled with but one purpose, and that was to seize the luggage. The efforts of the lazzaroni to get the trunks roused him to action. Springing forward, he struck their hands away with a formidable cotton umbrella, and drew the trunks together in a pile. Three lay in a row, and one was on the top of these. The pile was a small pyramid.

"Here, boys," he cried; "you keep by me, Don't let these varmints get the trunks. Sit down on 'em, and keep 'em off."

Saying this, Uncle Moses put the two Clark boys on a trunk on one side, and the two Wilmot boys on a trunk on the other; and mounting himself upon the middle trunk, he sat down and glared defiantly at the enemy.

This action was greeted by the lazzaroni with a burst of laughter and a shout of,--

"Br-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-ra-vo!"

To which Uncle Moses and the boys made no reply. In fact, it would have been a little difficult for them to do so, as not one of them understood a word of any language spoken among men except their own. So they said nothing; but constituting themselves into a beleaguered garrison, they intrenched themselves within their citadel, and bade defiance to the foe.

The foe, on the other hand, pressed round them, bombarding the garrison with broken English, broken French, and broken German, and sometimes made an assault upon the trunks.

Time passed on, and the garrison sat there, holding their own. At length they all became aware of the fact that they were excessively hungry. It was very evident that this kind of thing could not last much longer.

Meanwhile Uncle Moses had recovered his presence of mind. He was naturally cool and self-possessed, and after mounting the trunks, and gathering the boys about him, he quickly rallied from his confusion, and looked eagerly around to find some way by which he might be extricated from his difficulty.

At last a way appeared.

Around him, in his immediate neighborhood, stood the lazzaroni, as urgent, as patient, and as aggressive as ever, with their offers of assistance. Beyond these were people passing up and down the wharf, all of whom were foreigners, and therefore inaccessible. Beyond these again was a wide space, and in the distance a busy street, with carriages driving to and fro.

Uncle Moses looked for a long time, hoping to see something like a cab. In vain. They all seemed to him to be "one-hoss shays," and what was worse, all seemed to be filled.

"Boys," said he at last, "I'm goin' to make a move. You jest sit here, and hold on to the trunks. I'll go an hunt up one of them one-hoss shays. There ain't nothin' else that I can do. Hold on now, hard and fast, till I come back."

With these words off went Uncle Moses, and the boys remained behind, waiting.

A very fine-looking set of boys they were too.

There was Frank Wilmot, about fifteen years of age, tall, stout, with fine, frank face, and crisp, curly hair.

There was Clive Wilmot, about fourteen, tall and slight, with large eyes and dark hair.

There was David Clark, about Frank's age, rather pale, with serious face, and quiet, thoughtful manner.

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