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“Speak, boy!” Renzo bellowed.
“Speak, boy!” one of the lunatics shouted. “Speak! Speak!”
“I have no brother!” Dante blurted out in bewilderment.
Vergenti turned to Renzo, puzzled. “They told you he had a brother, didn’t they?”
“Yes, Isawhis younger brother in the carriage. The boy lies!”
Vergenti patted his gray hair into place. “His young mind must be terribly disordered. How unfortunate.”
Renzo stepped closer to the boy. “Stop lying! Tell the truth!”
“Boy!” the lunatics shouted. “Tell the truth!”
“Oh, that din!” Vergenti covered his ears.
One lunatic hollered, “He speaks the truth! I saw no carriage!”
Renzo bellowed, “Shut up, Big Nose!”
The lunatics fell quiet, except for one weeping.
Vergenti considered the situation. “It’s hard to understand, Renzo. This boy seems well cared for, even loved. He shows no signs of beating, neglect, malnourishment, as we usually see.”
One of the lunatics hollered, “I tell you, I saw no carriage! Carriagesnevercome here!”
Renzo hollered back, “Big Nose, I’ll beat you!”
Vergenti regarded the child. “He’s frightened, so we’ll show him he doesn’t have to be. Renzo, untie him.”
Renzo gasped. “Dottore, he bites, too! Did I tell you?”
“Renzo, please.”
Renzo began to untie the boy. “Boy, don’t youdarebite me!”
Suddenly the boy grabbed Renzo’s hand and bit down.
“Brat!” Renzo yanked his hand away. “See what I mean, Dottore? I told you!”
Vergenti felt his face aflame. “My apologies,” he said, edging to the door.
“The boy must be admitted!”
“I still need a diagnosis.” Vergenti fled the cell.
“Make one up!”
After the men left, Dantesat curled into a ball, covering his ears. He didn’t understand why he was here. Men in the other rooms shouted, yelled, and argued. One of them screamed day and night. Another cried, like Dante. He didn’t want to be in this terrible place. He felt frightened all the time, especially of Renzo.
The night Dante came, he was afraid Renzo would run him through and through with the knife, like inThe Song of Roland. It was about Christians and Saracens fighting at the battle of Roncevaux Pass. Count Roland had the best sword, named Durendal, given to him by Charlemagne himself.
Dante liked Count Roland, his best friend, Oliver, and all the othersinThe Song of Roland, which was his favorite book. Mamma would read it to him at bedtime, and he knew it by heart. He closed his eyes, pretending that Mamma was reading to him now and he was sitting on her lap.
“Mamma, read that part again, please. It’s one of the best bits.”
Mamma cleared her throat. “ ‘High are the hills, the valleys dark and deep, grisly the rocks, and wondrous grim the steeps.’ ”
