Instead the fly suddenly stopped.
Peering out they could see they were still in the village street,
with small dark houses each side; and Beppo, throwing the reins over
the horse's back as if completely confident this time that he would not
go any farther, got down off his box. At the same moment, springing as
it seemed out of nothing, a man and several half-grown boys appeared on
each side of the fly and began dragging out the suit-cases.
"No, no--San Salvatore, San Salvatore"--exclaimed Mrs. Wilkins,
trying to hold on to what suit-cases she could.
"Si, si--San Salvatore," they all shouted, pulling.
"This can't be San Salvatore," said Mrs. Wilkins, turning to Mrs.
Arbuthnot, who sat quite still watching her suit-cases being taken from
her with the same patience she applied to lesser evils. She knew she
could do nothing if these men were wicked men determined to have her
suit-cases.
"I don't think it can be," she admitted, and could not refrain
from a moment's wonder at the ways of God. Had she really been brought
here, she and poor Mrs. Wilkins, after so much trouble in arranging it,
so much difficulty and worry, along such devious paths of prevarication
and deceit, only to be--
She checked her thoughts, and gently said to Mrs. Wilkins, while
the ragged youths disappeared with the suit-cases into the night and
the man with the lantern helped Beppo pull the rug off her, that they
were both in God's hands; and for the first time on hearing this, Mrs.
Pages:
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74