搜寻失踪的约翰叔叔的人找了一夜无果而返，三个女孩也焦虑地煎熬了一夜。第二日一早，沃尔森和肯尼思到了，得知消息的沃尔森给当地美国领事发了封电报，然后匆匆赶到警察局，警方的态度不尽人意。沃尔森又召集人大肆搜寻了三天仍没有约翰叔叔的下落……
Uncle John's nieces passed a miserable night.Patsy stole into his room and prayed fervently beside his bed that her dear uncle might be preserved and restored to them in health and safety.Beth，meantime，paced the room she shared with Patsy with knitted brows and flashing eyes，the flush in her cheeks growing deeper as her anger increased.An ungovernable temper was the girl's worst failing；the abductorsa of her uncle were arousing in her the most violent passions of which she was capable，and might lead her to adopt desperate measures.She was only a country girl，and little experienced in life，yetBeth might be expected to undertake extraordinary things if，as she expressed it，if she "got good andb mad！"No sound was heard during the night from the room occupied by Louise，but the morning disclosed a white，drawn face and reddened eyelids as proof that she had rested as little as her cousins.
Yet，singularly enough，Louise was the most composedof the three when they gathered in the little sitting room at daybreak，and tried earnestly to cheer the spirits of her cousins.Louise never conveyed the impression of being especially sincere，but the pleasant words and manners she habitually assumed rendered her an agreeable companion，and this faculty of masking her real feelings now stood her in good stead and served to relieve the weight of anxiety that oppressed them all.
Frascatti came limping back with his tired followers in the early dawn，and reported that no trace of the missing man had been observed.There were no brigands and no Ma？a；on that point all his fellow townsmen agreed with him fully.But it was barely possible some lawless ones who were all unknown to the honest Taorminians had made the rich American a prisoner.
Il Duca ？Oh，no，signorini ！A thousand times，no.IlDuca was queer and unsociable，but not lawless.He was of noble family and a native of the district.It would be very wrong and foolish to question Il Duca's integrity.
With this assertion Frascatti went to bed.He had not shirked the search，because he was paid for it，and he and his men had tramped the mountains faithfully all night，well knowing it would result in nothing but earning their money.
On the morning train from Catania arrived Silas Watson and his young ward Kenneth Forbes，the boy who had so unexpectedly inherited Aunt Jane's ？ne estate of Elmhurst on her death.The discovery of a will which gave to Kenneth all the property their aunt had intended for her nieces had not caused the slightest estrangementa between the young folks，then or afterward.On the contrary，the girls were all glad thatthe gloomy，neglected boy，with his artistic，high—strungtemperament，would be so well provided for.Without the inheritance he would have been an outcast；now he was able to travel with his guardian，the kindly old Elmhurst lawyer，and fit himself for his future important position in the world.More than all this，however，Kenneth had resolved to be a great landscape painter，and Italy and Sicily had done much，in the past year，to prepare him for this career.
The boy greeted his old friends with eager delight，not noticing for the moment their anxious faces and perturbeda demeanor.But the lawyer's sharp eyes saw at once that something was wrong.
"Where is John Merrick？"he asked.
"Oh，I'm so glad you've come！"cried Patsy，clinging to his hand.
"We are in sore straits，indeed，Mr.Watson，"said Louise.
"Uncle John is lost，"explained Beth，"and we're afraid he is in the hands of brigands."Then she related as calmly as she could all that had happened.The relation was clear and concise.She told of their meeting with Valdi on the ship，of Count Ferralti's persistencein attaching himself to their party，and of Uncle John'sdiscovery that the young man was posing under an assumed name.She did not fail to mention Ferralti's timely assistance on the Amalfi drive，or his subsequent devoted attentions to Louise；but the latter Beth considered merely as an excuse for following them around.
"In my opinion，"said she，"we have been watched eversince we left America，by these two spies，who had resolvedto get Uncle John into some unfrequented place and then rob him.If they succeed in their vile plot，Mr.Watson，we shall be humiliated and disgraced forever.""Tut—tut，"said he；"don't think of that.Let us considerJohn Merrick，and nothing else."Louise protested that Beth had not been fair in her conclusions.The Count was an honorable man；she would vouch fora his character herself.
