Daisy had a little watch studded round with diamonds, and Henrietta had a long gold chain. She hung the gold chain round her neck, and soon started off for the Coliseum in the highest spirits. She had a great bag of sweetmeats, and she meant to imagine herself Nero, or perhaps one of the lions, who was devouring Dominic and stepfather, while Maureen stood gravely by crying and expostulating. She imagined her finger as Nero's, pointing DOWN for the certain destruction of her relatives. She was so ignorant that she did not know that this was the special office of the Vestal Virgins.
Oh, it would be fun! The day was sunny and bright, and it was still fairly early. Henrietta reached the Coliseum. A guide came up and spoke to her. He spoke broken English. She asked him two important questions, one with regard to Nero's throne, the other the exact place where the lions came out.
He explained them to her volubly.
Henrietta said, "You can go now, I don't want anything more."
"Will you not give me a lire, kind signorina?"
"I? Give you all that?" cried Henrietta. "Not I! Get you gone!"
The man frowned. He had a very dark Italian face. He left the Coliseum slowly. There were no visitors to-day, they would come perhaps to-night, for the moon would shine, but meanwhile, with the exception of this one intolerable signorina, he had seen no one. He made a scanty living by showing people round the Coliseum, and they always paid him if not a lire, at least a smaller coin. He had his wife and brown-faced children living in a hut on the hills. Giuseppa, his eldest son, would clamour for bread. Felisé, his wife, would ask him what he meant by coming back penniless. All the children would cry. He could not bear to hear them cry. He had the hot blood of the Italians in his veins. He took a dagger from his breast and looked at it longingly. The red signorina was doubtless rich. She abounded in jewels. He had caught a glimpse of her long thick gold chain. She wasn't a nice signorina, not at all. Still, if he murdered her, he might lose his employment. He had no compunction about taking her life, but the money obtained for the gold chain would be exhausted long before he got another job.
On the whole, he had better let her be.
Meanwhile, Henrietta, in the height of enjoyment, seated herself in the part which was supposed to be Nero's throne, and spread out her sweetmeats before her. She began to "gobble, gobble," as she expressed it. How she wished Daisy was with her! It was really tiresome of Daisy to go with the others. What fun they two would have in the Coliseum now. How they would mimic that horrid Italian.
After a time, having eaten to repletion, she left Nero's throne and went boldly down the steps which led to the underground cavern where the hungry lions were kept in the brave days of old.