gold pieces, that made a noise when the wind blew—zin-zin-zin-zin. It was just as if they said, “Here we are! Let who will come and take us.” When Pinocchio was on the point of reaching for them he heard a loud knocking at the door of his room. It was the landlord who came to tell him that the clock had struck midnight.
“And are my companions ready?” asked the marionette.
“Better than that! They left two hours ago.”
“Why were they in such a hurry?”
“Because the Cat received word that his father was very sick with frosted feet and that he was in danger of losing his life.”
“And they paid for the supper?”
“What do you think those people are? They are too highly educated to insult a gentleman as good as you are.”
“Oh, yes! That affront would have displeased me very much,” said Pinocchio, scratching his head. Then he asked, “Did they say where I should meet them?”
“At the Field of Miracles, to-morrow morning at daybreak.”
Pinocchio paid a gold piece for his supper and that of his companions, and then departed. He groped his way along, because outside the Inn it was so dark
