English that he could
go no farther. The passengers, an old gentleman of distinguished
appearance and a young girl as fresh and lovely as a breath of spring,
clambered out of the rickety vehicle and after examining the wheel
admitted that their driver spoke truly. On one side the road was a
steep descent to the sea; opposite, the hillside was masked by a
trellis thick with grapevines. The road curved around the mountain, so
there was no other vista.

"Here's a nice fix, Gran'pa Jim!" exclaimed the girl, with an amused
laugh. "Where are we and what's going to become of us?"

"That is somewhat of a complicated problem, Mary Louise, and I can't
guess it offhand, without due reflection," replied "Gran'pa Jim," whom
others called Colonel Hathaway. "I imagine, however, that we are about
three miles from Positano and five or six from Sorrento, and it's a
stiff walk, for old legs or young, in either direction. Besides,
there's our luggage, which I am loth to abandon and disinclined to
carry."

The driver interposed.

"Give-a me the moment, Signore--perhaps the hour--an' I return to
Positano for more carriage-wheel--some other. My Cousin L'uigi, he
leeve in Positano, an' L'uigi have a-many carriage-wheel in he's shed.
I sure, Signore, I getta the wheel."

"That is a sensible idea," said the old gentleman. "Make haste, my man,
and we will wait here."

The driver unhitched his horses from the vehicle and after strapping a
blanket on one of them for a saddle mounted it and departed.

"I take-a the two horse," he explained, "for one to ride-a me, an' one
for to ride-a the wheel."

They watched him amble away down the road and Mary Louise shook her
head and remarked:

"He will never make it in an hour, at that rate, Gran'pa Jim, and in
two hours the sun will have set and it will be dinner time. Already I
feel the pangs of hunger."

"Those who travel in Italy," said her grandfather, "should be prepared
to accept any happening in a spirit of resignation. A moment ago we
were jogging merrily along toward a good hotel and a savory dinner, but
now----"

"This entire carriage seems ready to fall apart," declared the girl,
standing in the road and viewing the ancient vehicle critically; "so
it's a wonder something didn't break sooner. Now, if we could get to
the other side of that trellis, Gran'pa Jim, we might find a shady spot
to rest while our charioteer is searching for a new wheel."

"There must be a gate, somewhere ab