In the Wilderness

In the Wilderness

The Project Gutenberg Etext of In the Wilderness, by Robert Hichens
#5 in our series by Robert Hichens
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Title: In the Wilderness
Author: Robert Hichens
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
Release Date: November, 2003 [Etext #4603] [Yes, we are more than
one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on February 17,
2002]
The Project Gutenberg Etext of In the Wilderness, by Robert Hichens
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IN THE WILDERNESS BY ROBERT HICHENS

BOOK I HERMES AND THE CHILD

CHAPTER I
Amedeo Dorini, the hall porter of the Hotel Cavour in Milan, stood on
the pavement before the hotel one autumn afternoon in the year 1894,
waiting for the omnibus, which had gone to the station, and which was
now due to return, bearing--Amedeo hoped--a load of generously
inclined travelers. During the years of his not unpleasant servitude
Amedeo had become a student of human nature. He had learnt to judge
shrewdly and soundly, to sum up quickly, to deliver verdicts which
were not unjust. And now, as he saw the omnibus, with its two fat

brown horses, coming slowly along by the cab rank, and turning into
the Piazza that is presided over by Cavour's statue, he prepared almost
mechanically to measure and weigh evidence, to criticize and come to a
conclusion.
He glanced first at the roof of the omnibus to take stock of the luggage
pile there. There was plenty of it, and a good deal of it was leather and
reassuring. Amedeo had a horror of tin trunks--they usually gave such
small tips. Having examined the luggage he sent a searching glance to
two rows of heads which were visible inside the vehicle. The brawny
porters hurried out, the luggage chute was placed in position, the
omnibus door was opened, and the first traveler stepped forth.
A German of the most economical type, large, red and wary, with a
mouth like a buttoned-up pocket, was followed by a broad-waisted wife,
with dragged hair and a looped-up gown. Amedeo's smile tightened. A
Frenchman followed them, pale and elaborate, a "one-nighter," as
Amedeo instantly decided in his mind. Such Frenchmen are seldom
extravagant in hotels. This gentleman would want a good room for a
small price, would be extremely critical about the cooking, and have a
wandering eye and a short memory for all servants in the morning.
An elderly Englishwoman was the fourth personage to appear. She was
badly dressed in black, wore a tam-o'-shanter with a huge black-headed
pin thrust through it, clung to a bag, smiled with amiable patronage as
she emerged, and at once, without reason, began to address Amedeo
and the porters in fluent, incorrect, and too carefully pronounced Italian.
Amedeo knew her--the Tabby who haunts Swiss and Italian hotels, the
eternal Tabby drastically complete.
A gay Italian is gaiety in