But again they were doomed to disappointment, for the next day it rained, and Carlotta made them stay hidden in the van as it lumbered slowly through the villages on the road to the sea. Though it was only two days, it seemed at least a week that they lay in the straw, listening to the rumble of the wheels and the patter of the rain on the roof. There could be no fires, so their food was bread and cheese, which Carlotta bought in the towns.
At last, early on the third morning, they heard from their prison a new sound, and, peering cautiously over Luigi’s shoulder, saw that at last they had reached the sea. They could hear the slapping of waves against the piles of a dock, and could catch glimpses of green water. Men with trucks were hurrying by, loading fruit and vegetables upon a large boat which was tied to the pier. There was so much noise about them that the children could talk together in low tones without being overheard.
“I know where we are,” said Beppo. “I tell you, I’m glad I studied geography! The sun is breaking through the clouds over the water, and it’s early morning, so that’s the east, of course. We heard Carlotta say they were going to take us to Venice, so this must be a coast town on the Adriatic. It isn’t Ravenna, because Ravenna is back from the sea a few miles. The only other big port along here is Rimini, and I’ll bet that’s just where we are.”
“Oh, Beppo, what a wonderful boy you are, to think that all out yourself!” said Beppina. “You’re such a wonderful thinker! Why can’t you think of away to escape?”
“I do think, all the time,” answered poor Beppo, “but Carlotta is just like a cat at a mouse-hole. Her eyes never leave us, and if we should try to run, she would pounce—”
“Hush!” whispered Beppina, “there she is.” There, indeed, she was, smiling craftily at them from the end of the van.
“You may come out now, my little ones,” she said in her most syrupy tones. “Here we leave the van with Luigi, while we take a nice boat-ride!” She seized them firmly by the hands, and, followed by Luigi carrying the organ and the monkey, led them over the gang-plank on to the boat. Once aboard, she sought an obscure corner, behind the baskets of fruit and vegetables with which the vessel was loaded, and made the children sit beside her, while Luigi piled around them numerous bundles brought from the van.
At last the rumble of trucks ceased, the sailors loosed the great hawsers which tied the boat to the dock, and in a few moments the children, looking back to the shore, saw a widening strip of green water between them and their native land.