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 find 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 suit, and avoid him.”

“I don’t like his looks a bit,” observed Beth.  “He seems afraid and defiant at the same time, and his temper is dreadful.  It was only with great difficulty 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 days in 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 place.  Of course we’ll all be glad to see Kenneth.”

“Mr. Watson wants us to be very careful while we are in 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 inefficient.  The truth is that the terrible Mafia is still all powerful on this island, and brigandage is by no means confined 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 molested; 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!”