"Help me down the bank! Come on!"
He began to run, pulling Gaspare with him. When they got to the bottom, he said:
"It's all right, Gaspare. I'm not going to be such a fool as to buy a cart. Now, then, which way are we going?"
"Signore, do you want to buy a very good donkey, a very strong donkey, strong enough to carry three Germans to the top of Etna? Come and see my donkey. He is very cheap. I make a special price because the signore is simpatico. All the English are simpatici. Come this way, signore! Gaspare knows me. Gaspare knows that I am not birbante."
"Signorino! Signorino! Look at this clock! It plays the 'Tre Colori.' It is worth twenty-five lire, but I will make a special price for you because you love Sicily and are like a Siciliano. Gaspare will tell you——"
But Gaspare elbowed away his acquaintances roughly.
"Let my padrone alone. He is not here to buy. He is only here to see the fair. Come on, signorino! Do not answer them. Do not take any notice. You must not buy anything or you will be cheated. Let me make the prices."
"Yes, you make the prices. Per Bacco, how hot it is!"
Maurice pulled his hat down over his eyes.
"Maddalena, you'll get a sunstroke!" he said.