It is said that Banshees were abroad the night before the strange disappearance of the two young sons of Mario Pansini,
a prominent architect of Bari, Italy.
But even the presence of Banshees scarcely explains this event.
For Banshees foretell the coming of death, and there was no question of death involved,
only a question of incredible speed through time and space.
On a certain January morning in the year 1901, the streets of Bari were flooded with water.
And so it was natural that Giuseppe and Niccolo, the two young sons of Signor Pansini,
should have been eager to sail their toy boats in the gutter in front of their house.
We could play for a little while.
Well, suppose you play for half an hour. How would that be?
We'll come back in at nine thirty sharp, Father.
But when nine thirty arrived, the boys failed to appear.
Somewhat annoyed over their lack of responsibility, Signor Pansini went out to find them.
By the time he had searched the whole block, he was thoroughly angry.
As he approached his home again, he heard the telephone ringing.
Hello?
Signor Pansini?
Yes?
Signor, my name is Father Veneti.
I am calling you from the Capuchin monastery here in Malphati.
I wanted to tell you not to be worried about your sons.
They are here at the monastery with us.
Oh, but you must be mistaken, Father. My boys were here in Malphati half hour ago.
They could scarcely have run thirty miles in thirty minutes.
And so, Signor Pansini rode the thirty miles to Malphati.
And there, standing frightened and bewildered in the reception hall of the monastery,
his two sons awaited him.
How would that even be a name? You get it.
We don't know, Father.
We remember stepping out of the house with our boats
and then we don't remember anything else after that.
All the way back to Bari, Signor Pansini remained strangely silent.
And on his face were written both wonder and fear.
When he arrived home, he asked the boys to stay in the house for the rest of the day.
Reluctantly, they went into their room and closed the door behind them.
A few minutes later, their father stood outside that same door calling them.
Giuseppe? Nicola?
Boys, when I call you, why don't you...
Good Lord! They're gone!
At that very same moment, the Signor's brother, Gregorio Pansini,
was sitting in the living room of his home in Trani,
a town some fifty miles from Bari, when he heard...
Well, this is a pleasant surprise.
My two nephews come all the way from Bari to call on me.
Boys, what's the matter with you?
Where are we? How did we get here?
Who are you?
Once again Giuseppe and Nicola Pansini were in a state of profound hypnosis.
Once again they had moved through space at an unbelievable speed,
a speed which no vehicle was capable of attaining in the year 1901.
And no key has ever been provided to this strange riddle.
It belongs in a long list of mysteries, incredible but true.