They waited a long time, and when at length they prepared to leave Pompeii, it was late in the day. All the other visitors had left long before, and they were the last in the city. They walked along looking round them till the last, and at length reached the entrance. Michael Angelo went off to get the carriage. They waited a little while to take a last look, and then passed through the gate. Here they found themselves confronted by three officials, the custodians of the place. One of these addressed them in very fair English. "Messieurs," said he, "before you leave, I haf to inquire--Deed you take anyting out from Pompeii?" "Take anything?" said Uncle Moses, in an indignant voice. "What do you mean?" "A tousand pardons, sare," said the other, politely. "It ees a formaletee. I mean de leetle stones, de pieces of steek, wood, plastair. Ha! De reliques, de souvenirs." He was rather an unpleasant looking man, with a very sallow face, high cheek-bones, and a heavy goatee on the tip of his chin, which wagged up and down as he talked in quite a wonderful way. "Stones, sticks, plaster?" said Uncle Moses. "Course not." The official looked intently at him, and then at the boys. After this he conversed with his companion in Italian. These companions were quite as unprepossessing in their appearance as himself. Then the first speaker turned to the boys. "You, sare," said he to Frank, in rather an unpleasant tone, "haf you de stones or de bones?" "Not a stone, not a bone," said Frank, smilingly. "I did take a few at first, but I pitched them away." "And you, sare?" said he to Bob. "Don't deal in such articles," said Bob, with a grin--"not in my line--not my style." "Pardon," said the official, with a sickly smile, "but I must put de usual interrogatoree. You, sare?" and he addressed himself to David. David turned pale. He hesitated for a moment. "Well," said he, "I believe I _have_ got a few little stones, just two or three, you know; little relics, you know." "Ah! ver good, ver nais," said the official, with the sunshine of perfect content illuminating his sallow features. "And you, sare?" he continued, turning to Clive. "Well, yes," said Clive, "I've got a few, I believe; but they really don't amount to anything in particular." "O, no, not at all," said the Italian; "dey don't amount to notin; but look you, de govairement haf made de law dat no pairson will take no stone, nor steek, nor relique, nor bone, nor souvenir, from Pompeii. You mus geef dem all oop." "Why? They're only two or three," pleaded David, in a heartbroken voice. "So, dat is eet. Look you. Eet ees de law. O, yais. I cannot help. Everybody will take two or tree. Very well. Ten tousand, twenty tousand, hundred tousand come here every year, and all take away hundred tousand pocket full. Ah, ha! See you? What den? Why, den all Pompeii be carried away. Aha! dat great shame. Too bad, hey? ha? You ondstand. So you sall gif dem all oop into my hand."