Theopolda's Quest. Linda Wisely

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СКАЧАТЬ her belt that morning when she dressed as usual. Faster than the greasy haired little man could blink, she had pinned him up against a post with the point of the small sword under his chin. His beady eyes looked like they might pop out of his head.

      "I don't think so," Theo said grimly through clenched teeth.

      At that time the crowd parted. Will and Sagan caught a glimpse of Theo with her sword pinning a shopkeeper against a post.

      "What on earth is she doing?" Will gasped.

      Sagan, quick to assess the scene, yelled to Will, "Muovita (hurry), go around the back of the booths and grab the man from behind. I will stop Theo from getting us thrown into prison!"

      Sagan began to run toward Theo, screaming, "Theo, stop, stop!"

      By this time, a crowd was beginning to form around Theo and the shopkeeper. As Sagan reached Theo's side, Will grabbed the man's arms from behind and held them tightly close to his sides.

      The evil little man sputtered and twisted. "Get this mad woman off me," he spat vehemently.

      "He grabbed me and tried to drag me into his tent!" Theo exclaimed, as she lowered the rapier.

      "I'm pressing charges, and you will all go to the dungeons," the man yelled. "You don't know who you are messing with. I have connections and you will be sorry!"

      "Sir, it seems that we can press countercharges," Sagan said calmly, even though he knew that as visitors to Sicily they were at a disadvantage. "I propose that we all just calm down and go about our business as if this never happened."

      Theo's mouth dropped open. "You want to let this dastardly rogue go?"

      Horses could be heard coming toward them on the cobblestone street. It was the Sicilian Policia.

      Will and Sagan grabbed Theo, one on each side, and yelled,"Run!".

      As they ran, Theo cried in frustration, "I was handling the situation! Why did you interfere?"

      Will and Sagan pulled her between a booth full of hanging chickens, and they escaped down a winding alley. They kept running until they were so out of breath, they couldn't run any longer. Theo bent over holding her side, sharp pain shooting through her stomach and back from running so fast. Angry and terrified, tears began to stream down her cheeks as she fought to catch her breath.

      Looking around, they saw that they had run into the residential section of the town. Homes were stacked on top of each other and crowded very close together. Small narrow streets could be seen winding between the buildings in several directions.

      "Where are we?" Theo said, peering into the dark alleys.

      They could feel eyes on them. Looking up, they saw several people on their balconies quietly staring. Will waved at one lady, and she immediately turned around and went inside of her home.

      "What did I do?" Will asked facetiously.

      "It seems they don't like strangers," Theo said.

      "We need to get back to the wharf. Brother Justus will be looking for us." Sagan began to walk down the dark street.

      Theo pulled out her compass."The wharf is south of us. Go this way," she pointed. "Look for the volcano and the sun. We can use them to keep going in the right direction."

      By now the sun was low in the sky, but they could see the beginning of a pink and orange sunset in the cracks between the buildings. They kept the smoking mountain on their left, and the setting sun in front of them, as they wound their way toward the ship masts that were starting to come into sight over the tops of the lower buildings.

      As they burst out of the last tiny street, Brother Justus could be seen deep in conversation with several people on the wharf. He was gesturing wildly toward the market. They could see by the look on his face that he was very upset.

      When they drew near enough for Brother Justus to see them, he ran toward them and began to say with agitation, "Where have you been? Someone told me they thought you had been arrested!. I have been beside myself. I was trying to enlist help to look for you." He was gasping and breathless with fear for them.

      "Brother Justus, I am so sorry." Theo threw her arms around the portly monk that she loved so much and gave him a hug.

      All three began to tell their tale at the same time. "I can't understand anything you are saying. One at a time, my children, please!" Brother Justus exclaimed.

      They related their adventure to him while he led them toward St. Mary's of the Admiral Monastery.

      "I have only a couple of things to say. You were very lucky this time. From now on, you must stay together and not bring any more attention to yourselves. We are foreigners in this place and will not receive the same treatment we would if we were Sicilian."

      "I think I've learned my lesson. I understand now why you have been saying that there can be danger in the most unexpected places," Theo acknowledged.

      "That's for sure," Will agreed. Pictures kept playing in his mind of Theo in the clutches of that horrible man. If anything were to happen to Theo, I don't know what I would do.

      "Yes, Brother Justus, we will do a better job of protecting Theo from now on," Sagan promised.

      "And yourselves also, I hope," Brother Justus looked at them in consternation.

      Chapter 6

      As they followed Brother Justus through the streets of Palermo toward the monastery, Theo noticed that she saw no families with children.

      "Why are most of these people either our age or old people?" she asked.

      "The Black Plaque wiped out most people of parenting age and small children, leaving only

      teenagers and their grandparents. You will see more of this age discrepancy when we reach the mainland of Italy. As those of working age died, it became impossible for the ones who survived the plague to stay in the villages. Whole villages were left vacant when they had no one to run the mills to grind flour," Sagan volunteered.

      "How do you know this?" Theo asked him.

      "I did some reading about the Black Plague and its effects, when I learned that we would be traveling in Italy."

      "How terrible! I'm so glad we were protected at home on our little island. Do you think we could still be at risk of contracting the Plague?" Theo looked at Brother Jusus anxiously.

      "No, I don't believe there is any danger now. It has been almost five years since the last resurgence of the Plague. I wouldn't have allowed you to come if I felt that you would be in any danger," Brother Justus reassured her.

      "It is believed that the Plague was caused by rats, so I would suggest that if you see one, you give it a wide berth," Will told her in his matter-of-fact tone.

      A shiver ran up Theo's spine. "Oh, just the thought of rats crawling near me is horrifying!"

      "Rats are almost СКАЧАТЬ