Part 37 (1/2)

”Difendi, O Caterina Da peste, fame e guerra, Il popol di Cartoleto In mare e in terra...”

Above the hymn rose the howls of little St. John the Baptist, who had been, no doubt, suddenly mastered by his too high-spirited lamb and upset on to his face, so that his mother had to rush from out the crowd to comfort him and brush the dust from his curls that had been a-curling in papers these three weeks past.

It was no doubt a beautiful procession, and Peter and Thomas loved processions, but they had seen one that morning at Varenzano, so they were content to see and hear this from a distance.

Why, Peter speculated, do we not elsewhere thus beautify and sanctify our villages and cities and country places? Why do they not, in fis.h.i.+ng hamlets of a colder clime, thus bring luck to their fis.h.i.+ng, thus summon the dear saints to keep and guard their sh.o.r.es? Why, Peter for the hundredth time questioned, do we miss so much gaiety, so much loveliness, so much grace, that other and wiser people have?

Peter shook his head over it.

”A sad business, Thomas. But here we are, you and I, and let us be thankful. Thankful for this lovely country set with pleasant towns and religious manners and nice people, and for the colour and smoothness of the sea we're going paddling in, and for our nice tea. _Are_ you thankful, Thomas? Yes, I'm sure you are.”

Someone, pa.s.sing behind them, said with surprise, ”Is that _you_, Margerison?”

Peter, looking round, his tin mug in one hand and a biscuit in the other, recognised an old schoolfellow. He was standing on the beach staring at the tea-party--the four disreputable vagabonds and their cart.

Peter laughed. It rather amused him to come into sudden contact with the respectable; they were always so much surprised. He had rather liked this man. Some people had good-temperedly despised him for a molly-coddle; he had been a delicate boy, and had cherished himself rather. Peter, delicate himself, incapable of despising anyone, and with a heart that went out to all unfortunates, had been, in a mild and casual way, his friend. Looking into his face now, Peter was struck to sorrow and compa.s.sion, because it was the face of a man who had accepted death, and to whom life gave no more gifts, not even the peace of the lee sh.o.r.e. It was a restless face, with hollow cheeks unnaturally flushed, and bitter, querulous lips. His surprise at seeing Peter and his vagabond equipment made him cough.

When he had done coughing, he said, ”What _are_ you doing, Margerison?”

Peter said he was having tea. ”Have you had yours? I've got another mug somewhere--a china one.”

As he declined with thanks, Peter thought, ”He's dying. Oh, poor chap, how ghastly for him,” and his immense pity made him even gentler than usual. He couldn't say, ”How are you?” because he knew; he couldn't say, ”Isn't this a nice place?” because Ashe must leave it so soon; he couldn't say, ”I am having a good time,” because Ashe would have no more good times, and, Peter suspected, had had few.

What he did say was, ”This is Thomas. And this is San Francesco, and this is Suor Clara. They're all mine. Do you like their faces?”

Ashe looked at Francesco, and said, ”Rather a mongrel, isn't he?” and Peter took the comment as condemning the four of them, and divined in Ashe the respectability of the sheltered life, and was compa.s.sionate again. Ashe cared, during the brief s.p.a.ce of time allotted to him, to be respectably dressed; he cared to lead what he would call a decent life.

Peter, in his disreputability, felt like a man in the open air who looks into the prison of a sick-room.

Ashe said he was staying at Varenzano with his mother, and they were pa.s.sing through Castoleto on the way back from their afternoon's drive.

”It's lungs, you know. They don't give me much chance--the doctors, I mean. It's warm and sheltered on this coast, so I have to be here. I'd rather be here, I suppose, than doing a beef-and-snow cure in one of those ghastly places. But it's a bore hanging round and doing nothing.

I'd as soon it ended straight off.”

Ashamed of having been so communicative (but Peter was used to people being unreserved with him, and never thought it odd), he changed the subject.

”Are you on the tramp, or what? Is it comfortable?”

”Very,” said Peter, ”and interesting.”

”_Is_ it interesting? How long are you going on with it? When are you going home?”

”Oh, this is as much home as anywhere else, you know. I don't see any reason for leaving it yet. We all like it. I've no money, you see, and life is cheap here, and warm and nice.”

”Cheap and warm and nice....” Ashe repeated it, vaguely surprised. He hadn't realised that Peter was one of the permanently dest.i.tute, and tramping not from pleasure but from necessity.

”What do you _do_?” he asked curiously, seeing that Peter was not at all embarra.s.sed.

”Oh, nothing very much. A little needlework, which I sell as I go along.

And various sorts of peddling, sometimes. I'm going up to the hotel this evening, to try and make the people there buy things from me. And we just play about, you know, and enjoy the roads and the towns and the fairs and the seash.o.r.e. It's all fun.”

Ashe laughed and made himself cough.