“What do you think of this way of living?” asked the captain, while Ranni helped him to dress.
“What am I to say?” was the response.
“Why the journey, the new country, all this confusion—do they make no impression upon you?”
He was silent a moment, and then answered ingenuously, “No impression at all.”
“But the encampment—that at least is new to you.”
“Oh no, Signor Commandant.”
“When did you ever see one before?”
“I saw this one last evening.”
The commandant looked at him, repressing his irritation. Then he said, “Well, last evening—what impression did it make then?”
“Well,” answered the sailor with candor, “the same impression, you know, that it made this morning.”