up-filled terra cotta bowl on our knees.
The meal was eaten in silence; after all, we were wet, and hungry, and
near to the cemetery.... However, once the bowls were empty, we lit our
pipes and started to speak about the _Semillante_.

--Well, how did it happen? I asked the boat's Captain, who was looking
thoughtfully into the flames, head in hands.

--How did it happen? Captain Lionetti repeated by way of a reply. Then
he sighed,--Alas, monsieur, nobody alive can tell you. All we know is
that the _Semillante_, loaded with troops bound for the Crimea, had
left Toulon in bad weather the previous night. Later, things changed
for the worse; wind, rain, and enormous seas the like of which had
never been seen before.... In the morning, the wind moderated, but the
sea was still in a frenzy. On top of that, the devil's own fog
descended--you couldn't see a light at four paces. Those fogs,
monsieur, you can't believe how treacherous they can be.... But it
didn't make any difference, I believe the _Semillante_ must have lost
her rudder that morning, for there is no such thing as a risk-free fog,
and the Captain should never have gone aground there. He was a tough
and experienced seafarer, as we all know. He had commanded the naval
station in Corsica for three years, and knew his coast hereabouts as
well as I; and it's all I do know.

--At what time do you think the _Semillante_ foundered?

--It must have been at midday; yes, monsieur, right in the middle of
the day. But, my word, when it comes to sea fogs, midday is no better
than a pitch-black night.... A local customs' officer told me, that at
about half past eleven that day, as he went outside to close his
shutters, the wind got up again and a gust blew his cap off. At the
risk of being carried away himself, he began to scramble after it along
the shore--on his hands and knees. You must understand that customs'
men are not well off, and a cap is an expensive item. It seems that our
man raised his head for a second and noticed a big ship under bare
poles, running before the wind blowing towards the Lavezzi Islands.
This ship was coming fast, so fast that he hardly had time to get a
good look at her. No doubt it was the _Semillante_ because half an hour
later, the island shepherd heard something on these rocks.... But
here's the very shepherd I'm talking about, monsieur; he will tell you
himself.... Good day, Palombo, don't be frightened, come and warm
yourself.

A hooded