tigued, he ordered two goblets of
wine to be brought in, which good health and fortune were pledged.
Then an officer was ordered to bring the cross, which the King himself
pinned on Paul's blue shirt, knighting him with the Cross of the Order
of the Crown of Italy saying:

"You are a brave man and deserve this token of our appreciation."

CHAPTER XIII.

In several engagements about Naples, enormous sums of money were taken.
Then Boyton proceeded to Messina. Before leaving Naples, he had made up
his mind to attempt the dreaded straits of that name, and dare the
dangers of the noted whirlpools of Scylla and Charybdis. Every
one cheerfully assured him that the attempt would result in death, for
beside the dangers of the whirlpools, the straits were infested with
sharks.

Arriving at Messina, he determined to test the report of sharks. At
early morning he went to the market place and procured a large piece
of meat which he took out near the fort, where the sharks were said to
be numerous. He threw a piece of the meat into the water and it
slowly sank. Paul, as he saw it going down, believed that the stories of
the sharks were exaggerated; but suddenly it was drawn out of sight.
Another piece was thrown in and had scarcely touched the surface when
there was a rush and a swirl and the meat was snapped up in a twinkling.
An old hat was thrown in next and it was torn to shreds in a second.
This undeniable proof that sharks were plentiful in the straits, made
Paul feel very blue, as he did not fancy giving up an undertaking after
once setting his mind to it.

It was noised about that Boyton would attempt to swim the straits. The
people of the city and surrounding country grew excited, and all manner
of bets were made on the result. One night as Boyton sat gloomily at a
small table in the corner of a cafe, he overheard a man wager his oxen
that the American would not attempt the passage and that he could not
cross if he did. Though much disheartened, when Paul heard this, as well
as many more doubts expressed as to his ability to accomplish the feat,
he determined to attempt it at all hazards. An old legend is extant
among the fishermen and peasants of the locality that the only human
being who ever crossed the straits without the aid of a boat, was
St. Francisco, who, being pursued by his enemies, spread his cloak on
the water and stepping on it was wafted across without harm and escape