enture, but took his seat
at the table.

Before long, the party became conscious of a great tumult and uproar
in the street in front of the house. Frank and Bob went to the
windows, and looked out. A sudden exclamation of surprise brought
Clive and Uncle Moses to their side. David followed slowly, with
a strange feeling of apprehension, and with the recollection of
his late flight still strong in his mind.

He looked out.

A great crowd presented itself to his horrified eyes--a crowd
representing all Sorrento; old, the middle-aged, the young; the
rich, poor; male and female; old men, old women, boys, and
children. At the head of this, and immediately in front of the
door, was the very old woman who bad discovered his sacrilege,
and had chased him through the cathedral. Now he had hoped that
the old woman had forgotten him; but her appearance now was
tenfold more terrible than ever. Here she was--a virago--with a
great following, whom she was exciting by violent harangues, and
urging by wild gesticulations, to do something or other which
David could not understand, but which he could well imagine to
be something that had reference to his own humble, unworthy, and
very much terrified self.

Before they had fairly grasped the whole of the scene that was thus
so suddenly presented, they were accosted by the landlord and the
driver, who entered the room hurriedly, and in some excitement, in
search of them.

"One grand meesfortune haf arrive," said the landlord. "De people
declare you haf insult de Bambino. Dey cry for vengeance. How is dis?"

"What?" asked Frank; "insult what?"

"De Bambino."

"Bambino?"

"Yes. It is de consecrate image--de Bambino--does miracles, makes
cures; wonderful image, de pride of Sorrento; an dis is de day
sacred to him. What is dis meesfortune dat I hear of? It is one
grand calamity--for you--eef you do not take care."

"Bambino? insult?" said Frank. "We haven't insulted anything
whatever. They're crazy."

Here David, finding concealment useless, confessed all. The boys
listened in astonishment The landlord shook his head with an
expression of concern and perplexity.

Then he had a long conversation with the driver.

Then they both left the room. The landlord went outside, and tried
to appease the crowd. He might possibly, have succeeded, had it
not been for David's old woman, who shook her fists in his face,
stamped, appealed to Heaven, raved, and howled, all the time he
was s