"
Uncle John groaned.
"Volcanoes to right of us, volcanoes to left of us volleyed and
thundered," he muttered dismally, as he fell back in his chair.
The sky brightened, and the breath of the breeze changed and came to him
laden with delicious fragrance.
"See, signore!" called the officer, passing again; "before us is mighty
Etna--you can see it clearly from the bow."
"Volcanoes in front of us, volcanoes behind us!" wailed the little man.
But he walked to the bow and saw the shores of Sicily looming in
advance, with the outline of the stately mountain rising above and
dominating it.
Then the sun burst forth, flooding all with a golden radiance that was
magical in its gorgeous effects. Patsy came on deck and stood beside her
uncle, lost in rapturous admiration. Beth soon followed her.
Before long they entered the Straits of Messina and passed between the
classic rock of Scylla on the Calabrian coast, and the whirlpool of
Charybdis at the point of the promontory of Faro, which forms the end of
the famous "Golden Sickle" enclosing the Bay of Messina.
"If this is really Eu-rope, I'm glad we came," said Uncle John, drawing
a long breath as the ship came to anchor opposite the Palazzo
Municipale. "I don't remember seeing anything prettier since we left New
York."
Presently they had loaded their trunks and hand baggage, and
incidentally themselves, into the boat of the Hotel Trinacria which came
alongside in charge of a sleepy porter.
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