any and all those places are visible from the dome on which the cross
stands."

"Oh, then, Father, let me climb up. It is not dangerous. The ladders
are fastened tightly to the scaffolding, and the scaffolding is so
strong that it will hold big men. Yesterday at recess Joseph almost
climbed up; he would have gone to the very top, if the Prefect had not
seen him and called him down. O Father, don't frown so at me, but let
me go. I want so much to see whether my father's ship has come. He
wrote that he would be here before the New Year, and I would know his
ship at a glance from the golden picture of holy Saint George that's on
the bow. Please, Father, please."

Father Somazzo shook his head and said: "The ship is too far away for
you to see what is painted on the bow, and besides it is too dangerous
for you to climb up there. You might get dizzy and fall, and what
would your father say if he were to come here and find you a corpse, or
with your legs and arms broken?"

"Oh, but Father, I do not get dizzy. I have often been up on the
rigging of the 'Saint George', in the crow's nest, and even on the very
highest yard. I know every bit of the rigging of the ship. O Father,
let me climb up right now."

The teacher looked at Willy earnestly and raised his finger chidingly.
"Willy," he said, "you've got that stubborn little head of yours set
again. How often have I told you that it is not becoming for you to
insist on having your own way. No, you cannot climb up to the dome
under any circumstances. I forbid it."