“And who is Carlo?”
“He is the guide who owns them.”
Beppo looked momentarily guilty; the answer had slipped out before he thought.
“Oh, indeed! But if Tony is a guide why doesn’t he have donkeys of his own?”
“He used to, but one unfortunately fell into the lake and got drowned and the other died of a sickness.”
He put forth this preposterous statement with a glance as grave and innocent as that of a little cherub.
“Is Tony a good guide?”
“But yes, of the best!”
There was growing anxiety in Beppo’s tone. He divined suspicion behind these persistent inquiries, and he knew that in case Tony were dismissed, his own munificent pay would stop.
“Do you understand any English?” she suddenly asked.