attack by the shark, Boyton
took life easy. He visited Mt. Etna, Catalana, Syracuse and other places
of interest in Sicily. At Syracuse, he spent a lazy week. It is one of
the dirtiest town in the world; but Paul enjoyed everything he saw.
When on the street, he was generally followed by a crowd of boys who
were trying to sell all sorts of little trinkets. One of them
especially, was very persistent in trying to dispose of an ancient
coin of the Ceasars, which he guaranteed to be very valuable and for
which he would take the paltry sum of ten lire. Boyton finally told
him that he knew all about the coin, and would give two lire to find the
man who made it. The young villain mysteriously whispered the
information, which later on was found to be correct. Some of the boys
would get him ten fine oranges for one cent on being given an extra
penny for going on the errand.

It was a favorite amusement for Paul and his agent to go out on the road
in hope of encountering brigands, who were reported numerous and bold.
They would enter some low cabriolet that was suspected of harboring
these knights of the mountains. With carbines concealed under their
coats, they would make an ostentatious display of rolls of Italian paper
money, expecting that some of the robbers would follow them out on the
road and stir up a little excitement. The brigands were either too busy
at something else, or they regarded the American as rather too dangerous
a customer to attack for they never materialized. Before leaving the old
town, the authorities induced him to give an exhibition, which was
witnessed by the entire population, brigands included. Just before the
entertainment, Boyton hung his rubber-suit on a stone wall in the sun,
to dry. When the crowd had gathered, he hurried on with the dress; but
flung it off with much greater rapidity, when he found it was full of
the little green lizards which abound on the island.

When the P. & O. steamer arrived, Paul and his agent embarked for Malta,
where they had their first clash with the authorities. There is a
peculiar law in that sleepy old town which prohibits the posting of any
bills larger than a small sheet, about the size of note paper. The
night after their arrival, they plastered the town with one sheet
posters, which looked to the natives bigger than one hundred sheet
stands would in this country. Next morning the inhabitants stood aghast
at the audacity o