IL DUCA Beth's prediction, however, did not come true.

The morning discovered nothing commonplace about Taormina.

Their hotel was outside the walls, but a brief walk took them to the Messina Gate, a quaint archway through which they passed into the narrow streets of one of the oldest towns in Sicily.

Doorways and windows of Saracen or Norman construction faced them on every side, and every inch of the ancient buildings was picturesque and charming.
Some of the houses had been turned into shops, mostly for the sale of curios.

Uncle John and his nieces had scarcely passed a hundred yards into the town when one of these shops arrested their attention.