“And then caught up again to resume the ‘feast?’”

“Well—­yes.”

“But I don’t see what this has to do with your going to Vesuvius.”

“It has every thing to do.  You see, I started without any fixed purpose, and after I saw this carriage, I kept on insensibly after it.”

“Oh, I see—­yes.  By Jove!”

“And they drove up as far as they could.”

“Yes?”

“And I followed.  You see, I had nothing else to do—­and that little girl!  Besides, it was the most natural thing in the world for me to be going up; and the fact that I was bent on the same errand as themselves was sufficient to account for my being near the carriage, and would prevent them from supposing that I was following them.  So, you see, I followed, and at length they stopped at the Hermitage.  I left my horse there, and strolled forward, without going very far away; my only idea was to keep the girl in sight.  I had no idea that they would go any further.  To ascend the cone seemed quite out of the question.  I thought they would rest at the Hermitage, drink some Lachryma Christi, and go back.  But to my surprise, as I was walking about, I saw the two young ladies come out and go toward the cone.

“I kept out of the way, as you may suppose, and watched them, wondering what idea they had.  As they passed I heard the younger one—­ the child-angel, you know, my girl—­teasing the other to make the ascent of the cone, and the other seemed to be quite ready to agree to the proposal.

“Now, as far as the mere ascent is concerned, of course you know that is not much.  The guides were there with straps and chairs, and that sort of thing, all ready, so that there was no difficulty about that.  The real difficulty was in these girls going off unattended; and I could only account for it by supposing that the chaperon knew nothing whatever about their proposal.  No doubt the old lady was tired, and the young ones went out, as she supposed, for a stroll; and now, as they proposed, this stroll meant nothing less than an ascent of the cone.  After all, there is nothing surprising in the fact that a couple of active and spirited girls should attempt this.  From the Hermitage it does not seem to be at all difficult, and they had no idea of the actual nature of the task.

“What made it worse, however, was the state of the mountain at this particular time.  I don’t know whether you have taken the trouble to raise your eyes so high as the top of Vesuvius—­”

Hawbury languidly shook his head.

“Well, I supposed not; but if you had taken the trouble, you would have noticed an ugly cloud which is generally regarded here as ominous.  This morning, you know, there was an unusually large canopy of very dirty smoke overhead.  I knew by the look of things that it was not a very pleasant place to go to.  But of course they could not be supposed to know any thing of the kind, and their very ignorance made them rash.