Among the Brigands Page 10

  CHAPTER IX.

  _The Cavalcade in Pursuit.--Hopes and Fears.--Theories about thelost Boy.--A new Turn to Affairs.--Explanations.--On toSalerno.--Inquiries.--Baffled.--Fresh Consternation andDespondency.--The last Hope._

  Meanwhile the party on donkeys trotted along the road after Bob.At the exclamation from the donkey boy they had all experienced ashock; but soon they recovered from it, and the shock only servedas a stimulus to make them push the donkeys onward more rapidly.They rode on for some time without making any remarks, each onelooking eagerly forward to see if Bob might reappear; but he hadvanished behind a turn in the road, and as they advanced, therewere other turns to be encountered, and so they were unable to seehim. This began to create uneasiness. At first they all had hopedthat Bob would be able to stop the ass, or that the animal, afterindulging his paces for a short time, would stop of his own accord;but the farther they went, the more they became convinced that thisaffair had something serious in it.

  At length they reached that long, straight piece of road alreadymentioned. At one end of this was a rising ground; as they ascendedthis and reached its summit, they looked ahead, and there, far awaybefore them, was a single rider. They recognized Bob at once. Hewas more than a mile away; but the sight of him filled them allwith joy, and they at once stimulated their donkeys to greaterexertions. In spite of the distance that intervened, they allshouted as loud as they could; but of course the distance was toogreat, and their cries were lost before they reached nearly as faraway as Bob. In a short time he turned in the road, and passed outof sight.

  They now rode on for a long time, and at length came to the roadthat led to the mountains, up which Bob had gone. This road wasnot even noticed by them. They had passed other roads of the samekind, which, like this one, led to the mountains, and attached nomore importance to this than to those. In the minds of some ofthem, however, these side-roads suggested a fear, that Bob's assmight have turned off into some one of them; but of course, as theywere all alike, they could not conjecture which one would have beentaken by the runaway. As they rode on, they still looked ahead. Atevery turn in the road they still expected to see the fugitive;and it was not until the donkeys themselves gave signs of fatigue,that they were willing to slacken their pace. But the nature ofthese donkeys was, after all, but mortal; like other mortal things,they were subject to weakness and fatigue; and as they were nowexhausted, their riders were compelled to indulge them with abreathing space, and so they slackened their pace to a walk.

  And now they all began to consider the probabilities of Bob'sfortunes.

  "I'm afraid something's happened," said Clive. "Perhaps he's beenthrown."

  "Thrown?" cried Frank, cheerily. "Why, if so, we would have foundhim long ago. But the idea of Bob being thrown from any animal thatever lived is simply absurd. Hell stick to that donkey as long asthe donkey runs."

  "It seems to me," said David,--who was a very thoughtful andobservant boy,--"it seems to me that the donkey may have taken someof those roads that go off to the mountains."

  "Pooh!" said Frank. "Why should the donkey take the trouble to doanything of that sort? A runaway animal don't generally indulge infreaks of that kind. He generally goes it blind, and runs straightahead along the road that happens to be before him."

  "But perhaps he lives among the mountains," said David, "and, inthat case, he would merely be running home."

  "I don't believe that," said Frank. "I hold that it requires somethought for an ordinary donkey to quit the high road, and take oneof those by-roads."

  "Not if a by-road leads to his home."

  "But how could his home be there," objected Frank, "when we foundhim away down there near Paestum?"

  "Easily enough," said David. "I dare say they were going home atthe very time we came up with them."

  "I wish we could ask the boy about it," said Clive. "He could tellas just what we want to know."

  "Yes," said Frank; "but, unfortunately, we couldn't understand allof it."

  David heaved a sigh.

  "How I wish," he exclaimed, "that I had studied Italian before Icame! But from this time forth, I'm determined not to rest tillI've learned the language."

  Uncle Moses was deeply distressed at Bob's disappearance. He hadonly one idea in his mind. He told the other boys what it was. Itwas the idea of brigands. They had met poor Bob; they had seizedhim, and had carried him off to their lurking-places in the mountains.Even now he was in captivity. And the heart of Uncle Moses yearnedover the poor prisoner. He expressed these fears in a few words,for he was too agitated to say much.

  Clive and David both shook their heads over this, and thought therewas something in it. Both of them now thought that Bob might havebeen carried by his donkey to the mountains; and, if so, his captureby brigands would be almost certain. To them, these mountainsseemed to be full of them; the whole population, in their opinion,was a community of brigands.

  Clive had also another idea. It was this. The driver had desertedthem and had gone off vowing vengeance. He had gone to the mountains,and returned with a band of brigands to capture all of them. Theyhad met Bob, seized him, and taken him off.

  At all this Frank laughed.

  "Pooh!" said he. "I don't see why you should go out of your way totorment yourselves about nothing at all. It all seems plain enoughto me. The donkey has run off, and intends to keep running till hedrops. There's a long, straight, smooth road before him, and he'llstick to that without bothering his head about by-roads or mountains.And if he's obstinate enough, I don't see why he shouldn't keep onrunning till he gets to Salerno. And it's my opinion, if we don'tpick him up on the road, well find him at Salerno when we get there."

  "O, that's all very well," said Clive, "but think how certain youwere about the driver--"

  He was interrupted by the sound of galloping horses and rollingwheels. The sound came from behind. At once they all turned theirheads. Emerging from behind a torn in the road, they saw two horsesgalloping at full speed, and drawing a carriage. The driver waswhipping the horses furiously, and calling and shouting. The carriagewas empty. In a moment they recognized the truth. It was theircarriage and their driver.

  They all stood still, and looked in surprise, and the carriagerolled swiftly up. The driver at once stopped the horses, and jumpedto the ground. Then, coming to the boys, he burst forth into astrain of the most profuse and vehement apologies. He imploredthem to forgive him, and began to explain the cause of his absencefrom the place where they had left him.

  It seems that he found this place an inconvenient one, and haddriven across the fields for about half, a mile, to some trees.Here he had taken his horses out, and allowed them to feed. Hehimself lay down in the carriage, and took a _siesta_. Heoverslept himself. On awaking, he was horrified to find how muchtime had passed, and at once proceeded to search for the horses.But during his sleep they had both wandered off, and could notbe found until after a long search. When at length he was ready,and had driven back, he found to his horror that they were notthere. Thinking that they were still among the ruins, he had goneover the whole place, which took up still more time. At last hesaw that they must have left. He at once drove off. Knowing thatthey were on foot, he expected every minute to catch sight ofthem. He drove on for miles without seeing any trace of them,and at length came to the conclusion that they had, perhaps,found the carriage of some other visitors, and had obtained seatsin that. He knew that they must have gone, and could only accountin that way for their rapid progress.

  This explanation of the driver was perfectly satisfactory to themall, and their joy at getting the carriage again was so great thatthey excused his unfortunate slumbers. The driver also, on hispart, had now forgotten all about his sulks, and was the same genialand companionable soul as before. On learning about Bob's mishap,he at once assured them that the donkey must have run along theroad, and that they would undoubtedly soon catch up with him. Sothe whole party got into the carriage, the driver whipped up thehorses, and away they went towar
ds Salerno.

  Mile after mile was traversed.

  Still there were no signs of Bob,

  "Something's happened," said Clive.

  "He's been carried to the mountains," said David.

  "It's the brigands!" groaned Uncle Moses.

  "O, it's all right," said Frank, confidently. "That donkey's aregular race-horse. We'll find him at Salerno."

  At length they reached Salerno. They drove up to the hotel.

  No signs of Bob!

  Hurrying in, they made inquiries, and found that he had not come.This filled them all with the greatest concern; and the driver,and the landlord, and all others who heard of it, asserted thathe must have been carried to the mountains. It was now dark.Nothing more could be done; and so they could only resolve todrive back on the following day, and make a more careful searchafter the lost boy.