约翰叔叔和三个侄女刚刚经历了惊险的阿马尔菲之旅后回到那不勒斯。一天，他们打算到当地的博物馆参观，结果约翰叔叔又遭遇了被拘事件，曾经走南闯北的约翰叔叔一眼便识破了骗术……
Despite the glories of the Amal？road our tourists decided it was more pleasant to loiter around Sorrento for a time than to undertake further excursions.The mornings and evenings were chill，but during the middle of the day the air was warm and delicious；so the girls carried their books and fancy—work into the beautiful gardens or wandered lazily throughthe high—walled lanes that shut in the villas and orange groves.Sometimes they found a gate open，and were welcomed to the orchards and permitted to pluck freely the fragrant and rich flavored fruit，which is excelled in no other section of the south country.Also Uncle John，with Beth and Patsy，frequented the shops of the wood—workers and watched their delicate and busy ？ngers inlaying the various colored woods；but Louise mostly kept to the garden，where Count Ferralti，being a semi—invalid，was content to sit by her side and amuse her.
In spite of her uncle's discovery of the false position assumed by this young man，Louise seemed to like his attentions and to approve his evident admiration for her.His ways might be affected and effeminatea and his conversational powers indifferent；but his bandaged wrist was a constant reminder to all the nieces that he possessed courage and ready wit，and it was but natural that he became more interesting to them because just now he was to an extent helpless，and his crippled hand had been acquired in their service.
Uncle John watched the young fellow shrewdly，butcould discover little harm in him except his attempt to deceive them in regard to his name and position.Yet in his mature eyes there was not much about Ferralti to arouse admiration，and the little man considered his girls too sensible to be greatly impressed by this youthful Italian's personality.So he allowed him to sit with his nieces in the gardens as much as he pleased，believing it would be ungrateful to deprive the count of that harmless recreation.
"A reg'lar chaperone might think differently，"he re？ected；"but thank goodness there are no dragons swimming in our cup of happiness."One day they devoted to Capri and the Blue Grotto，and afterward they lunched at the Quisisana and passed the afternoon in the town.But the charms of Sorrento were too great for Capri to win their allegiance，and they were glad to get back to their quaint town and delightful gardens again.
The week passed all too swiftly，and then came aletter from Colonel Angeli telling them to return to Naples and witness the results of the eruption.This they decided to do，and bidding good—bye to Signor Floriano and his excellent hotel they steamed across the bay and found the "Vesuve"a vastly different hostelry from the dismal place they had left in their flight from Naples.It was now teeming with life，for，all danger being past，the tourists had flocked to the city in drovesa.The town was still covered with ashes，but underthe brilliant sunshine it did not look as gloomy as one might imagine，and already thousands of carts were busily gathering the dust from the streets and dumping it in the waters of the bay.It would require months of hard work，though，before Naples could regain a semblance of its former beauty.
Their friend the Colonel personally accompanied them to the towns that had suffered the most from the eruption.At Boscatrecasa they walked over the great beds of lava that had demolisheda the town—banks of cinders looking like lumps of pumice stone and massed from twenty to thirty feet in thicknessthroughout the valley.The lava was still so hot that it was liable to blisterb the soles of their feet unless they kept constantly moving.It would be many more days before the interior of the mass became cold.
Through the forlornc，dust—covered vineyards they droveto San Guiseppe，where a church roof had fallen in and killed one hundred and forty people，maimingd many more.The Red—Cross tents were pitched in the streets and the whole town was one vast hospital.Ottajano，a little nearer to the volcano，had been buried in scoria，and nine—tenths of the roofs had fallen in，rendering the dwellings untenablee.
From here a clear view of Mt.Vesuvius could be obtained.The shape of the mountain had greatly altered and the cone hadlost sixty—？ve feet of its altitude.But when one gazed upon the enormous bulk of volcanic deposit that littered the country for miles around，it seemed to equal a dozen mountains the size of Vesuvius.The marvel was that so much ashes and cinders could come from a single crater in so short a period.
Naples was cleaning house，but slowly and listlessly.
