The weather was somewhat rough for the latter part of March—they had sailed the twenty—seventh—but the "Irene"was so staunchb and rode the waves so gracefully that none of the party except Louise was at all affected by the motion.The eldest cousin，however，claimed to be indisposed for the ?rst few days out，and so Beth and Patsy and Uncle John sat in arow in their steamer chairs，with the rugs tucked up to theirwaists，and kept themselves and everyone around them merry and light hearted.
Next to Patsy reclined a dark complexioned man of about thirty—?ve，with a long，thin face and intensely black，grave eyes.He was carelessly dressed and wore a ?annel shirt，but there was an odd look of mingled refinement and barbarityc about him that arrested the girl's attention.He sat very quietly in his chair，reserved both in speech and in manner；but when she forced him to talk he spoke impetuously and with almost savage emphasis，in a broken dialect that amused herimmensely.
"You can't be American，"she said.
"I am Sicilian，"was the proud answer.
"That's what I thought；Sicilian or Italian or Spanish；but I'm glad it's Sicilian，which is the same as Italian.I can't speak your lingoa myself，"she continued，"although I am studying it hard；but you manage the English pretty well，so we shall get along famously together."He did not answer for a moment，but searched her unconscious face with his keen eyes.Then he demanded，brusquelyb：
"Where do you go？"
"Why，to Europe，"she replied，as if surprised."Europe？Pah！It is no answer at all，"he responded，angrily."Europe is big.To what part do you journey？"Patsy hesitated.The magic word "Europe"had seemed to sum up their destination very effectively，and she had heretofore accepted it as sufficient，for the time being，at least.Uncle John had bought an armful of guide books and Baedekers，but in the hurry of departure she had never glanced inside them.To go to Europe had been enough to satisfy her so far，but perhaps she should have more de?nite knowledge concerning their trip.So she turned to Uncle John and said：
"Uncle，dear，to what part of Europe are we going？""What part？"he answered."Why，it tells on the ticket，Patsy.I can't remember the name just now.It's where the ship stops，of course.""That is Napoli，"said the thin faced man，with a scarcely veiled sneer."And then ？""And then？"repeated Patsy，turning to her Uncle."Then？Oh，some confounded place or other that I can'tthink of.I'm not a time—table，Patsy；but the trip is all arranged，in beautiful style，by a friend of mine who has always wanted to go abroad，and so has the whole programme mapped out in his head.""Is it in his head yet？"enquired Patsy，anxiously."No，dear；it's in the left hand pocket of my blue coat，all written down clearly.So what's the use of bothering ？We aren't there yet.By and bye we'll get to Eu—rope an'do it up browna.Whatever happens，and wherever we go，it's got to be a spree and a jolly good time；so take it easy，Patsy dear，and don't worry.""That's all right，Uncle，"she rejoined，with a laugh.
"I'm not worrying the least mite.But when folks ask us where we're going，what shall we say ？""Eu—rope.""And then？"mischievously.
"And then home again，of course.It's as plain as the nose on your face，Patsy Doyle，and a good bit straighter."That made her laugh again，and the strange Italian，who was listening，growled a word in his native language.He wasn't at all a pleasant companion，but for that very reason Patsy determined to make him talk and "be sociable."By degreesa he seemed to appreciate her attention，and always brightened when she came to sit beside him.
"You'll have to tell me your name，you know，"she said tohim；"because I can't be calling you 'Sir'every minute."He glanced nervously around.Then he answered，slowly：
"I am called Valdi—Victor Valdi."
"Oh，that's a pretty name，Mr.Valdi—or should I say Signorb ？""You should.""Do I pronounce it right ？""No.""Well，never mind if I don't；you'll know what I mean，and that I intend to be proper and polite，"she responded，sweetly.
Beth，while she made fewer acquaintances than Patsy，seemed to have cast off her sullen reserve when she boarded the ship.In truth，the girl was really happy for the ?rst time in her life，and it softened her so wonderfully and made her so attractive that she soon formed a select circle around her.A young lady from Cleveland，who had two big brothers，was impelled to introduce herself to Beth because of the youngmen's intense admiration for the girl's beautiful face.When it was found that they were all from Ohio，they formed a friendly alliance at once.Marion Horton was so frank and agreeable that she managed to draw out all that was best in Beth's nature，and the stalwarta young Hortons were so shylyenthusiastic over this，their ?rst trip abroad，that they inspiredthe girl with a like ardor，which resulted in the most cordial relations between them.
And it so happened that several other young men who chanced to be aboard the "Princess Irene"marked the Hortons'intimacy with Beth and insisted on being introduced by them，so that by the time Louise had conquered her mal—de—mer and appeared on deck，she found an admiring group around her cousin that included most of the desirable young fellows on the ship.Beth sat enthronedb like a queen，listening to her courtiers and smiling encouragement now and then，but taking little part in the conversation herself because of her inexperience.Such adoration was new to the little country girl，and she really enjoyed it.Nor did the young men resenther silence.All that they wanted her to do，as Tom Hortonterselyc expressed it，was to "sit still and look pretty."As for Uncle John，he was so delighted with Beth's social success that he adopted all the boys on the spot，and made them a part of what he called his family circle.