above our own St. Mark's?"

Without allowing Andrea time to comment on the amazing fact, he went on,
still more excitedly;

"It is said that Dandolo, great as he was, would not have been able to
take the city had it not been for a messenger pigeon that brought him most
important information. Nor is that all the part the brave birds played at
this great time, for it was no other than some of our own fine homers that
conveyed the first news of glorious victory to Venice. Hence it was, that
when the Doge returned, in triumph, he issued a proclamation that the
pigeons should evermore be held in reverence."

Paolo paused, well-nigh exhausted by his enthusiasm, and, reaching over,
laid his withered hand on the birds that still cooed contentedly in Maria's
lap.

"It's no wonder they're so tame when every one has been loving them for the
last five or six hundred years!" she murmured.

"Paolo!" Andrea suddenly asked, with sparkling eyes, "do you suppose that
we can teach my pigeon to carry messages?"

"I shouldn't be surprised," replied the old caretaker, entering into the
lad's enthusiasm; "they're as intelligent now as they ever were. All they
need is the training. It's funny how their little heads can hold so much."

Reaching over, he took one of the birds from Maria's lap and pointed to the
bulge just above the tiny ear: