PIRATES
Next morning Molly and May were awake early, watching the busy boatscome home after a long night of fishing out on the deep sea. They randown the many steps to the shore, where the tired fishermen werehauling in their nets and counting their catch. The big nets were thenspread out to dry. Later in the day they would be carefully mended andmade ready for another night of fishing.
Their father told the children how Amalfi was once one of the mostimportant towns in Europe. It sent its ships far away, and did moretrading with distant parts of the world than was done by any othercity.
But that was eight hundred years ago. Soon Amalfi was overcome by thepeople of Pisa, who were jealous of its power and trade. And twohundred years later a terrible storm and earthquake swept away nearlyall of its fine beach and harbor, leaving only a small group of housesclinging to the steep mountain side.
So Amalfi changed from being one of the most important towns in theworld to one of the least important, except for the beauty of itslocation.
Thousands of people from all parts of the world still go to Amalfievery year, but not to buy and sell. They go to enjoy the wonderfulsunshine and water and mountains which make this part of Italy one ofthe loveliest spots in the world.
The Sunbonnet Babies were sorry when Pippo said they must go on withtheir journey. They wanted to stay and watch the women who werewashing clothes in the river, and they wanted to follow a steep,narrow path which led away up the mountain side. Some women and girlswere coming down this path bringing large baskets of fruit on theirheads.
But Pippo told the Sunbonnet Babies that the best part of thedrive was still ahead of them. And he was right.
The road took them first through a short, dark tunnel, not far belowthe monastery where they had spent the night. It then clung to thesides of the steepest mountains the children had ever seen. Wonderfulstone bridges led across deep gorges, and dark tunnels took theminside the mountains.
On one of the bridges which crossed a great crack in the mountain sidethe Sunbonnet Babies begged to get out of the carriage.
"Very well," said Pippo. "You will see an interesting old fishingvillage in that gorge."
"What! A fishing village in that dark place, Pippo?" exclaimed May.
"Yes," said Pippo, "but only a few fishermen live there now. Theirhouses are really only caves in the mountain wall."
"It looks as if pirates might live there," said Molly.
"Do you suppose they will come out and steal us if we take a pictureof their gorge? I am going to try it anyway."
_"It looks as if pirates might live there," saidMolly_]
"You need not be afraid," said Pippo. "There are no pirates here now;but once upon a time they probably did live here. The gorge was a fineplace to hide in before this road was built."
It was hardly twenty miles from Amalfi to Sorrento, but it took fourhours to drive there. The road finally left the shore and climbed upover the green hills that separate the Gulf of Salerno from the Bay ofNaples. It led through large vineyards and through groves of orangeand lemon and olive trees, until at last it reached the beautifultown of Sorrento. But Pippo did not stop his horses until he had takenhis party to the prettiest and quaintest little whitewashed hotel inthe town.
The nicest thing about the hotel was its garden. It seemed as if allthe fruits and flowers Molly and May had ever heard of were growing inthis garden.
The owner of the hotel peeped under the big sunbonnets and said,"Well! well! I think you belong in my garden. Run out and pick all theoranges and all the roses you want. Find the prettiest spot in thewhole garden, and a little round table shall be set there with a teaparty on it for the two sweetest little girls in Italy."
Such a wonderful time as the Sunbonnet Babies had during the rest ofthat sunny afternoon. They skipped along the shaded walks. They pickedhandfuls of lovely flowers. They filled their skirts with the ripestand biggest oranges, then they sat down on a low marble bench andsucked out the sweet juice.
The place which they chose for the tea party was 'way at the end ofthe garden where they could look out over the lovely Bay ofNaples. As they peeped through the high iron fence they lookedstraight down, at least a hundred and fifty feet, to the blue watersoftly washing the rocky shore below.
_They could look out over the lovely Bay of Naples_]
A delicious supper for two was set on a small, round table. Then Mollyserved May to chicken and rice, and May served Molly to cakes and ice.
When they went to bed that night they both agreed that it had been thehappiest day of the whole journey. But the next day brought newsurprises of which they hadn't yet dreamed.
First they explored the lovely old town of Sorrento, and decided thiswas the place where they wanted to live always. Only the promise of aride on the wonderful blue water of the bay made them willing to leaveSorrento even for a little while.
"How shall we get down to the water's edge?" Molly asked, as theystood by the iron fence looking down at the blue water so far belowthem.
"I will show you the way," said a brown-eyed Italian boy. "Come withme."
He then led them to a hole in the ground and down some steep, windingsteps. When they reached the bottom of the steps they were in a greatcave close by the water's edge. Several rowboats were lying in thecave, and two small, dark-eyed men were standing near by.
Molly was sure this was a real pirates' cave. When one of thedark-eyed men put her mother into his boat and pushed it off into thewater, she burst into tears.
_She ran toward the pirate, stamping her feet_]
"O father!" she cried. "They are carrying mother off in that boat!They must not! They shall not!"
She ran toward the pirate, stamping her feet very hard and commandinghim to take her mother out of his boat. She was not crying now. Shewas very brave. She would save her mother and all the rest of herfamily from the dreadful pirates.
As the small, dark man looked at her, a smile came into his browneyes. Then he threw back his head and laughed a loud, merrylaugh.
"I really am not so bad a pirate as you think I am, little girl," hesaid, after a moment. "I have lived five years in your America, but Iwanted to come back to my sunny Italy. I like the way you take care ofyour mother. I believe you are brave enough to stop a big ship outthere on the bay and climb aboard her, just as a real pirate mightdo."
"Oh, no, I am not!" said Molly. "I am sure I am not!"
"Well, let's try it," said the man. "Your father and mother arewilling. I am sure you will not object, if your little sister doesnot."
Now, May was clinging to her father's hand, looking very frightenedindeed.
"If you are really a _good_ pirate," said Molly at last, "and if youwill not let anything happen to us, we will go with you. But you musttake good care of my mother."
"I promise you I will," said the man. "But remember, you must be asbrave as pirates and do as I tell you. I am the captain, you know."
_The waves were really quite high for so small a boat_]
So they obeyed their captain and got into his boat. The two men thenpushed the boat out of the cave, pulling hard on the long oars.
The waves were really quite high for so small a boat to ride over. ButMolly and May sat very still, wondering if they really could be asbrave as pirates. They were thinking so hard they did not see a smallsteamer coming down the bay, until it was quite close to them. ThenMolly said excitedly, "O Captain! Captain! Is that the ship that Imust stop?"
_Molly stood bravely waving her handkerchief_]
"That's the ship," answered the captain. "You must stand right up herein the bow of our boat and wave your handkerchief hard. When thecaptain of that ship sees you, he will know you are commanding him tostop his boat."
"But will he really stop it?" asked May.
"He wouldn't dare not to stop it," answered the pirate captain. "Heknows me, and when I tell him to stop, he stops."
"How exciting!" cried Molly, as she stood in the bow of the boatwavin
g her handkerchief.
"He is doing it! He is stopping his ship!" cried May.
"Of course he is," said her captain. "Now we must row our boat closeup to the big one, and you must all climb aboard her."
"Oh, we can never climb up over the side of that big ship!" exclaimedMay. "See how our boat is tossing about. We shall be drowned!"
"Tut! tut! You must be as brave as your little sister," said hercaptain.
"I will try to be brave," said May. And, as their small boat tossed upand down on the rough water close beside the taller ship, she was verybrave.
The sailors quickly opened a gate on the deck and pushed out a shortgangplank. Two sailors then ran down to the end of the plank and heldout their arms to catch the little pirates as they climbed aboard theship.
Molly and May never knew just how it was done, but in some way theircaptain swung them from his small boat up onto the gangplank of thebig boat, and the sailors held them fast. Their father and mother cameup safely, too, and even their traveling bags were put onto thesteamer. They were hardly aboard, however, when the ship began tomove. The Sunbonnet Babies looked quickly over the deck rail to seewhy their pirate friends were not with them.
"They have left us!" exclaimed May. "They are rowing back to theircave again!"
Sure enough, the two men were pulling rapidly away from the big boattoward the shore. When they saw the Sunbonnet Babies waving to them,they smilingly took off their caps and called "Addio, little pirates!Be brave and have a happy time."
The Humpbacked Island]