"Tell me，if you please，who is Signor Victor Valdi？""Valdi，signore？""Yes；the Duke di Valdi，I suppose you call him.""I have never heard of him，"replied the man."But every one seems to know him in Taormina.""Is it so ？We have but one duke near to us，and he—Butnever mind.I do not know this Valdi.""A thin faced man，with black eyes.We met him on the steamer coming from America."The portiere dropped his eyes and turned toward his desk.
"Luncheon is served，signore，"he remarked."Also，here is a letter for you，which arrived this morning."Uncle John took the letter and walked on to rejoin the girls."It seems hard work to ?nd out anything about this Valdi，"he said."Either the folks here do not know him，or they won't acknowledge his acquaintance.We may as well follow suita，and avoid him.""I don't like his looks a bit，"observed Beth."He seemsafraid and de?ant at the same time，and his temper is dreadful.It was only with great dif?culty he could bring himself to be polite to us.""Oh，I always got along with him all right，"said Patsy.
"I'm sure Signor Valdi isn't as bad as he appears.And he's a duke，too，girls—a real duke！""So it seems，"Uncle John rejoined；"yet there is something queer about the fellow，I agree with Beth；I don't like him.""Did Mr.Watson say when he would join us here？"enquired Louise，when they were seated at the little round table.
"No；but here's a letter from him.I'd quite forgotten it."He tore open the envelope and carefully read the enclosure."Too bad，"said he."We might have stayed a few daysin Messina.Watson says he and Kenneth have stopped at Girgenti—wherever that is—to study the temples.Wonder if they're Solomon's？They won't get to Taormina before Saturday.""It won't matter，"declared Patsy，"so long as they arrive then.And I'd a good deal rather be here than in Messina，or any other places.Of course we'll all be glad to see Kenneth.""Mr.Watson wants us to be very careful while we arein Sicily，"continued Uncle John，referring to the letter.
"Listen to this：'Don't let the girls wear jewelry in public places，or display their watches openly；and take care，all of you，not to show much money.If you buy anything，have it sent to your hotel to be paid for by the hall porter.And it is wise not to let anyone know who you are or how long you intend to remain in any one place.This may strike you as an absurd precaution；but you must remember that you are not in America，but in an isolated Italian province，where government control is inef?cient.The truth is that the terrible Ma?aa is still all powerful on this island，and brigandageb is by no means con?ned to the neighborhood of Castrogiovanni，as the guide books would have you believe.The people seem simple and harmless enough，but Kenneth and I always keep our revolvers handy，and believe it is a reasonable precaution.I don't want to frighten you，John；merely to warn you.Sicily is full of tourists，and few are ever molestedc；but if you are aware of the conditions underlying the public serenity you are not so liable to run yourself and your nieces into needless dangers.'How's that for a hair—curler，girls？""It sounds very romantic，"said Louise，smiling."Mr.Watson is such a cautious man！""But it's all rubbish about there being danger in Taormina，"declared Patsy，indignantly."Mr.Watson has been in the wildsa of the interior，which Baedeker admits is infested with brigands.Here everyone smiles at us in the friendliest way possible.""Except the duke，"added Beth，with a laugh.
"Oh，the duke is sour by nature，"Patsy answered；"but if there really was danger，I'm sure he'd protect us，for he lives here and knows the country.""You are sure of a lot of things，dear，"said her cousin，smiling."But it will do no harm to heed the advice，and be careful."They all agreed to that，and Uncle John was glad toremember he had two brand new revolvers in the bottom of his trunk，which he could use in an emergency if he could manage to ?nd the cartridgesb to load them with.
He got them out next morning，and warned his nieces notto touch the dangerous things when they entered his room.But Patsy laughed at him，saying：
"You are behind the times，Uncle.Beth has carried a revolver ever since we started.""Beth！"he cried，horri?ed.
"Just as a precaution，"said that young lady，demurelya."But you're only a child！""Even so，Uncle，I have been taught to shoot in Cloverton，as a part of my education.Once I won a medal—think of that！So I brought my pet revolver along，although I may never have need to use it."Uncle John looked thoughtful.