gs seemed
to be barns of some sort, or sheep-folds. The grassy declivity
spread away till it reached a steeper ascent, and here there began
a forest which covered the mountain-sides.

Towards this old mill Bob was led by his captors. As he drew near
he saw some dirty children at play, in front of the door-way. Soon
an old woman came out, followed by another, who was younger. The
old woman was a hideous old crone. Her hair was a matted gray mass,
her teeth were gone, and her face was pinched, and so seamed with
wrinkles, that she looked as though she might be over a hundred
years old. The other woman was very dirty and slatternly. She had
a dirty baby in her arms; her hair was in disorder, her face was
greasy and smouched, and a filthy cloth, which might once have been
white, was on her head. The women and children were all barefoot.
As Bob approached, they all stared at him with the most intense
curiosity; the two women stood still and stared; the children
stopped their play and stared; and there was something in the glow
and glitter of all these fiery, black, Italian eyes which seemed
horrible to poor Bob, and made his flesh fairly creep.

The men then began to talk to the women, evidently explaining
about Bob and the ass; and as they talked the eyes of all of them
were most of the time fixed upon these two. As for the children,
they glared for a time with very evil looking faces at Bob; but
at length the ass seemed to offer superior attractions to them,
for they made a rush at it, climbed on its back, pulled at its
ears and tail, and tormented it in various ways. Strange to say,
this animal, that had punished poor Bob's little trick so fearfully,
showed no resentment whatever at his present treatment, but stood
there, no longer the fiery wild ass, but the very living image
of a patient donkey.

Bob stood there looking upon the scene with his heart sinking within
him, yet by no means despairing. He had too high a spirit and too
stout a heart to give up so soon; and as he stood there, in the
power of this evil company, he turned over in his mind a hundred
different modes of escape. If he could once effect his escape from
these people, he might easily go back by the mountain path. But
how could he escape? That was the difficulty. Thus far, to his
amazement, they had not inflicted any cruelty upon him, nor had
they tied his hands; but that was, no doubt, owing to their contempt
for him, and their conviction that he w