But I said that I knew this Roman shore from a boy, and that sometimes there was no bar at the mouth of the Incastro, so that a vessel might just slip into the pool where the reeds grow.

You certainly know the place." "I know it well," said Ercole.
"Yes.

So I pointed out the spot to our captain, standing beside him, and he took his glasses and looked to see whether the sea was breaking on the bar." "The bar has not been open since I came here," said Padre Francesco, returning with water.

"And that is ten years." The men drank eagerly, one after the other, and there was silence.

The one who had been speaking wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and drew a long breath of satisfaction.
"No, I daresay not," he said at last.