For two beautiful bright days they remained on the boat, as it made its
way up the eastern coast of Italy, and on the morning of the third,
there, rising before them out of the mists, like a dream city afloat
upon the waters, was Venice! It was so lovely, with its domes, towers,
and palaces mirrored in the still waters, and its hundreds of sails
making spots of bright colour against the blue, that for a short time
the children almost forgot their grief. As the boat entered a great
lagoon, and slowly made its way through the Canal della Giudecca to the
landing-place, Carlotta grew more than ever vigilant. The children had
hoped against hope that some way of escape might appear when they
reached the dock, but Carlotta remained at their elbows every moment,
and under her watchful eyes they could not even speak to each other,
much less to any one else.
It was evident that she meant to make them understand how impossible it
would be for them to get away from Venice, for as the boat rounded the
western side of the island upon which the city is built, she pointed out
to them the mainland, lying two miles away across the water, and the
long black railroad bridge which is the only connection between the two.
"You see how it is, my little ones," she said. "One cannot leave Venice
without a boat, a ticket on the railway, or wings! And truly, how could
any one wish to leave it? Luigi has been wretched all the time he has
been away, and never wishes to desert his beloved city again. You too
will feel the same."
The children made no reply. They were as helpless as caged birds, and
could only follow her silently, as she loaded them with bundles, and,
herself carrying the organ and the monkey, led the way across the
gang-plank to the dock. Staggering under their burdens, they entered
the city of Venice. Oh, if they could only have entered it with their
dear Babbo, or Mammina, how happy they would have been, for there, right
before their eyes as they walked, were all the wonderful things which
Beppo had learned about in his geography!
There were the canals with the gondolas flitting about on them like
black beetles on a pool. There were the great beautiful buildings with
their facades rising out of the water, and their back doors opening upon
narrow streets or tiny open squares. There were the glimpses of
blossoming tree-tops hanging over high walls, and of balconies gay with
potted geraniums and carnations in bloom. There were the beautiful
stone door-ways with gayly painted posts beside them, to which empty
gondolas were tied.
The air was misty and fragrant with sea smells, and in every direction
they looked their eyes were greeted with the lovely colours of the old
buildings, reflected in the water so clearly that it seemed as if there
were two cities, one hanging suspended upside down below the other. It
was so different from Florence, from Rome, from anything they had ever
seen before, that the children forgot even that they were hungry, and
went up the streets wide-eyed with wonder, absorbed in all these
marvels.
"Get on, get on!" said Carlotta crossly, behind them. "Your eyes will
pop out of your heads, and drop in the street if you stare so. Carina
is hungry, and so am I, and we must earn our dinner before we eat it."
Through one narrow street after another they made their way, until at
last they reached an open square fronting on the water.
"Here is the market," said Carlotta, depositing the organ in the middle
of the open space, and the children, sighing with relief, also dropped
their bundles and gazed about them. Drawn up to the water's edge were
many boats loaded with great baskets of fruit and vegetables. Merchants
swarmed about these boats like flies, and the produce was immediately
purchased and placed in stalls or booths around the edge of the square,
where people with market-baskets on their arms were buying their
provisions for the day.
It was a busy and crowded place, but Carlotta gave the children little
time to look. "Dance," she commanded, as she began to grind out a tune
upon the organ. Carina sprang to the top of the box, and began to hop
up and down in time to the music as the children went through the wild
contortions of the trescone. A crowd immediately gathered about them,
and the coins began to rain into Carina's tambourine.
When the dance was finished, Carlotta led the way to a booth in the
square, where hot macaroni was for sale, and here their hungry mouths
were filled with the first warm food they had tasted for several days.
They ate and were comforted. Then, leaving the market-place, they
passed through narrow streets and over little bridges spanning the
canals, until they reached another small open square in a crowded
portion of the city. Carlotta walked faster and faster as they
approached it, and the Twins had almost to run to keep up with her.
As they entered the square, a small dirty boy about Beppo's size
suddenly gave a shout. "It is Carina!" he cried, and, not noticing
Carlotta or the Twins, he seized the monkey in his arms and kissed its
little black face. Carlotta gave him a playful slap.
"Ecco!" she cried to the Twins. "Here we have the brave Giovanni! And
he cares nothing for his godmother! He loves only the little black
monkey! See, Giovanni! I have brought two playmates for you. They
were lost, and I have protected them out of charity. They will live
with us."
Giovanni stared at the Twins for a moment, then he ran out his tongue at
Beppo. "I can lick you!" he cried. Beppo stiffened with fury. All the
pent-up rage of the past weeks rose up within him, and here was some one
on whom he could legitimately wreak it! He dropped his bundles, rolled
up his sleeves, and roared, "Come on!"
Giovanni threw the monkey at Carlotta and instantly came on! A crowd of
ragged boys and girls gathered about them, and the fight began. It did
not last long, for Beppo had taken boxing-lessons along with his other
studies, and he met Giovanni's advance with a swift blow which sent him
spinning to the ground. Then he sat upon him until he begged for mercy,
while the crowd squealed with delight. Carlotta turned the organ and
the monkey over to Beppina, picked Beppo off the prostrate Giovanni, and
then, seizing the two boys by their collars, thumped their heads smartly
together.
"Ecco!" she said. "Now you have had your fight, you can be friends."
Loading them both with bundles, she marched them across the square to
the back door of a dilapidated house, with the crowd surging about them.
Here she drew them into a narrow entrance and, leading them up two
flights of dirty stairs, knocked at a door. It was opened by a
slatternly woman, who gave a shrill cry of astonishment when she saw the
group on her threshold.
The monkey evidently knew her, for he leaped from Giovanni's arms to her
shoulder and began to pull her hair.
"Santa Maria! Santa Maria!" screamed the woman. "If it is not that
devil of a Carina come back again! Let go of my hair, you demon, or
I'll wring your black neck!"
Carlotta laughed, and picked the monkey off of Giovanni's mother just as
she had picked Beppo off of her son a few moments before.
The children, left to themselves, stared about at their new quarters,
while Giovanni stared at them. The room was large, bare, dilapidated,
and dirty. On the floor were some old mattresses filled with
corn-husks, which were evidently used as beds. There was a wooden table
with some soiled dishes standing on it, and, beyond this and a few
chairs, there was no furniture except two pots of geraniums on the
window-sill. A door opened into a smaller room beyond, and through it
they could see a stove, with a kettle standing on the floor beside it.
Giovanni had evidently made up his mind that any one who could "lick"
him must indeed be a hero, for, having finished his critical survey of
the Twins, he said affably, "My father is a gondolier. What's yours?"
"A Marchese," said Beppo.
"Holy Madonna!" gasped the boy. "Doesn't he do any work?"
"No," said Beppo. "He just goes to Rome to help the King."
Carlotta overheard them. "Don't you ever say that again, you wicked
little liar!" she cried fiercely. "If you do, I'll cut off your
tongue." She turned again to the other woman.
"Do they look like the children of a Marchese? I ask you," she said.
"They were lost, and I have taken care of them out of charity! They
sing and dance to pay for their keep, but it's little enough they bring
in at best! Old Ugolone is dead, and Luigi has stayed behind to dispose
of the van and the donkeys. With the money he gets for them he'll buy a
boat and pick up a living on the canals. We shall go no more on tours
about the country. It does not pay. There are as many soldi to be
found in Venice as anywhere, and with the organ and Carina we shall get
along, even with two extra mouths to feed!"
Giovanni's mother winked her eye and nodded a great many times.
"Si, si," she said. "There will be many tourists in Venice this summer,
and it is not to believe the way Americans throw money about. Mario
says their pockets are lined with gold!"
Sick with terror, the children turned away from Carlotta and looked out
of the windows.
"See me," said Giovanni. He wanted to do something to make himself
admired after his recent humiliation, so he doubled himself across the
sill of the open window and leaned far out over the canal which flowed
directly beneath. "Look!" he cried, waving his legs at the peril of
taking a header into the water.
His mother seized him. "Madonna mia," she screamed, "that boy would
rather drown than not," and, giving him a smart spank, she jerked him
back into the room by a leg. Giovanni rubbed the spot and grinned
sheepishly, as his mother followed up the punishment by a flow of speech
which sounded to the Twins much like the chattering of the monkey. "Get
along with you!" she said finally, giving him a shove.
"Come," said Carlotta to the Twins when this little scene was over.
"Soldi grow only in the street," and, picking up the organ, she led the
way down the stairs.
The children were glad to follow, for they preferred the streets to such
a dwelling, and Giovanni, thinking it advisable to remain out of his
mother's sight for a while, followed them, carrying the monkey in his
arms.