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.
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