When the Austrian, on turning to gather up his possessions, realized what
had occurred, he turned in rage toward the frightened child:
"You, you--" He choked in wrath, raising his arm as if to strike. But at
that moment the mother threw herself against him, screaming:
"You touch my child! You touch--"
The crowd by this time was closing in upon them, so that even the station
guard found it difficult to push his way through in his endeavor to find
out the cause of the disturbance.
Suddenly the cry of "All aboard!" was heard, and instantly the excited
gathering dispersed, the enraged woman grabbing her child and leading the
procession.
Just behind came the Austrian, bearing his suitcase and the empty black
box. Fortunate it was for him that the summons had come when it did, for
otherwise he might soon have found himself taken into custody on the charge
of disturbing the peace, and on the way to a cell in the Venetian prison.
As it was, he sank into his seat in the little train muttering all sorts of
imprecations upon the whole Italian people, and thanking his stars he would
soon be out of the country.
While all this had been going on, great had been the consternation in St.
Mark's Square over Chico's strange disappearance. When the children did
not find him waiting, as usual, for them, they were sure he must have been
shot, and Andrea mourned constantly, "E morte! E morte!" [Footnote: He is
dead.]
But Paolo had his theory, and the more he thought the matter over, the more
he felt convinced that the bird was alive and in the possession of the
Austrian.
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