"You must believe me," cried poor Tony. "Run away before it is too late!"
"Stop your silly talk," said one of the beggars. "If you do not let us sleep, we shall have you arrested as a mad sorcerer!"
Tony stole away with Tina under his arm. There was only one thing for him to do. He must wake the town.
Soon dawn would come. Then the mountain would begin to shoot flames and the whole city would rock.
He knocked at doors and tried to arouse the people. But angry, sleepy voices told him to go away. Nobody would believe him.
Tony began to wonder whether anyone would ever believe him again. He had lied so often. And now he was a thief besides!
He thought of little Anna. He had lied to her and he had stolen her pet. He would be punished by the fire-mountain for all his wickedness!
But he and everyone else in Pompeii could still be saved if they would only listen to him.
He began to cry out in the streets and to run back and forth. A young Paul Revere!
"Awake! Awake! Vesuvius will erupt today! Pompeii will be buried! Run and save yourselves!" he cried.
"Go home to bed, stupid boy!" growled the people.
But Tony would not go. He screamed louder and louder.
"To jail with him," said someone. "He must have an evil spirit!"
So poor Tony and his dream were thrown into jail in ancient Pompeii.
Morning came. Over the top of the volcano hung a dark cloud. The leaden sky frowned down. Tony kicked at the bars of the jail. He screamed. He pleaded. He cried.
"Quiet, foolish child," said one of the prison guards. "If you keep your peace, you will be free tomorrow."
"There will be no tomorrow!" wailed poor Tony. "Oh, believe me and let us all run! Run from Pompeii!"
"Ha! Ha!" laughed the guard. "You are only a lying little beggar! Nobody believes lying little beggars!"
"But I am telling the truth!" insisted poor Tony. "I am! I am! You must believe me!"
But it was useless.
As time went on the black cloud grew larger. Suddenly, a great rumbling started. An immense wall of fire-red stones came crashing down the mountain, destroying everything in its path.
The city was plunged into darkness. People began screaming and running from their houses. Everything rocked back and forth.
"Let me out!" cried Tony. "Oh, save me! Madonna mia, never again will I lie or steal! Oh, never! Save me! Save me!"
He held Tina tightly. She wriggled and tried to break away. All at once she beganto squeal. He had never heard a dog squeal like that!
Stones came hurtling against the prison wall. Some entered through the bars and hit Tony in the face. He closed his eyes. He put up his arm to ward them off.
Then the roar of the mountain ceased and the quaking of the earth stopped. But that strange squealing went right on. A few small pebbles still came flying.
He opened his eyes. The sun was shining. The sky was blue overhead. Grey ruins lay all about him. Old, old ruins! Tony was in the modern world. He had awakened from his dream!
But what was that something squirming to break away from him? It was not Tina. It felt fat and slippery and.... He looked.
He was holding, by one leg, a frisky, pink pig! Its piteous shrieks filled the silent, ruined city of Pompeii.
Where was Tina?
Just then, a shower of stones from a near-by wall hit him. He turned. There was Tina, standing upon the wall, digging with her two busy, front paws. She was scattering ruined Pompeii in Tony's eyes as fast as she could scatter!
He freed the pink pig. It hurried off to its neighboring farm, a wiser but sadder pig. It would never again go sight-seeing!
"Here, Tina!" he called.
She stopped her morning's work. She looked at her master.
"Good-morning," wagged her tail.
She jumped down into his arms and started to lick his cheek.
"Oh, Tina, Tina," he sighed, as he hugged her close. "All this time I have been asleep! I have been dreaming about old Pompeii! It was not true. It was a dream. Dio mio, how happy I am!"
CHAPTER XI
Tony sat up and stretched. He felt very weak but the fever had passed. The day was young. Nobody stirred in the streets of Pompeii. It was too early for the gates to open.
Tony arose. "Come," he said to his dog. "Let us go. We can crawl through the fence. We shall have breakfast. Then, I know what I shall do."
It was all so simple. It had come to him quite suddenly. He must be a thief no longer! He must take Tina back to Anna. Tina was Anna's pet.
He bought some food for the dog. But Tony himself could not eat. His heart ached. He was going to lose his dear little friend.
But it was the only thing to do. He saw that now. He shuddered as he recalled his horrible dream. Why, perhaps if he had been a truthful boy the ancient people might have believed him!
If they had believed him, think how many lives could have been saved!
He suddenly laughed aloud.
"It was, after all, only a dream," he reminded himself. "But I shall always remember how terrible it is not to be believed!"
All morning he walked. Several times he would have liked to stop, for his head felt curiously light and his legs trembled. But he was going to bring Tina back to Anna. He could not be happy until he had done that!
He approached Anna's house. It looked so new and shiny. The flowers and trees made a pretty frame for it. How different from the ugly houses in the poor section of Naples where he lived.
It would be pleasant to wake up in the morning and smell the fields and the Bay. Not the horrible odors of narrow streets. Dust and dirt and cooking things!
He must go bravely to the front door and ring the bell. He must confess to Anna's father all that he had done. He was readyto take his punishment like a brave soldier of Italy!
"Good-day."
The front door opened. Anna's mother stood there with Anna close beside her.
When Anna caught sight of her pet, she cried out, "Niki! Oh, I thought you were lost! I thought the naughty boy had stolen you! Come to me, Niki!"
She held out her arms. But Tony drew Tina away from her. Why did his throat feel so full and queer? Why did his nose tickle and his eyes blur with tears?
No! No! He could not give up his Tina! Anna had everything and he had only this little dog! It was not fair.
He planted his poor, wobbly legs as sturdily as he could. His dark eyes flashed at the little girl.
"Do not touch her!" he cried. "She bites!"
Anna shrank back, afraid.
"She is a bad dog!" continued Tony. "It is not safe for you to keep her. She has bitten me."
The mother went forward and gently touched Tony's sleeve.
"Where has the dog bitten you, my poor boy?" she inquired.
"Er—on my back!" lied Tony.
"Turn around and let me see," said the good woman.
But Tony did not turn around. Instead, he fell upon his knees and clutched the skirt of Anna's mother.
"I have lied again! Oh, forgive me!" he sobbed. "What I just said was not true. Tina does not bite. She is the gentlest little dog that ever lived. And I am the greatest liar!"
He was sobbing so that the woman could hardly understand him. He tried hard to explain everything that had happened to him. But he felt weak and could barely talk.
Anna's mother raised him to his feet andled him to a bedroom. Here she undressed him and prepared a bath.
At first this frightened Tony. There were no bathrooms in the house where he had lived! But somehow, he felt that this kind woman would not hurt him. He allowed her to bathe him and put him to bed.
He soon found himself tucked between clean, cool sheets. The woman was offering him something to drink. His eyes were closing. Then he was asleep.
When he awoke it was late afternoon. The window shades were drawn and the room was fairly dark.
Tony lay gazing up at the smooth, white ceiling. He felt well and strong now. He thought that he loved the mother of Anna better than anyone he had ever known. Yes, better even than Tina!
How could he have lied to Anna again? After promising himself that he would change. After that terrible dream! Oh,surely that would be his last lie! Surely!
As he lay with his thoughts, the door slowly opened. Anna peeped in. She held Tina in her arms. When she saw Tony's eyes open, she came into the room.
"I thought you would like to have Niki," she said.
She approached his bed. Tony held out his arms for the dog.
"Her name is not Niki. It is Tina," he said.
The little girl smiled.
"It is Niki," she repeated.
"Tina!" said Tony.
"Niki!" said Anna.
She was laughing now. So was Tony.
"Very well," he said. "Let us call her 'Fido.'"
"Fido" is taken from an Italian word meaning "faithful."
So Anna put "Tina-Niki-Fido" into Tony's arms and sat down beside him.
"Papa says you are to stay here with us," she said.
Tony shot up in bed. A look of fear came over his face.
"But your papa will discipline me!" he exclaimed.
"No! No!" said Anna. "He says that you must not be afraid of him. Discipline does not hurt. It will make you happy to grow up good."
Tony's eyes grew wide. So Anna's father, with the deep voice, wanted to make him happy!
"Papa has just been to see the Marionette Man," went on Anna. "He told him all about you, poor little boy!"
"And will I have to go back to Guido?" asked Tony.
"No, never," replied Anna. "You are to live with us, and Papa says you shall join the Balilla."
Join the Balilla! Live in Anna's pretty house! Never again be parted from his beloved Tina! Oh, it was almost too good to be true!
"But your father will punish me," he said,suddenly. He could not seem to forget the gentleman's severe words.
"No, no," said Anna. "He says he thinks you have been punished enough. He thinks you will obey now and never lie again. Will you promise, Tony?"
Tony hung his head. "I promise," he said.
"Papa always wanted a little boy of his own," continued Anna. "He will be so proud to have you march with the boys of Italy. And I ... I would like a brother."
"Have you never had a brother?" asked Tony.
"No," she answered, solemnly. "But I once had a monkey!"
So Tony remained with Anna. He joined the Balilla and he never lied or stole again.
Well,almostnever. At first Anna's father had to talk with him very seriously to make him understand the beauty of truth.
When Anna grew a little older, she joined the "Piccole Italiane," the girls' legion.
Tina-Niki-Fido did not join anything. At least, I do not think she did. However, if there is a "Bone-and-Biscuit Dog Scouts" in Italy, you may be sure she became one.
She now belonged to both Tony and Anna. Still, it was Tony who cared for her, fed her, and slept with her.
You see, between Tony and Tina it had been love at first sight!
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Transcriber's Note:The list of illustrations with their page numbers have been added after the table of contents. Images have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the closest paragraph break.