Upon one of these occasions he found that the person leaning next to him against the bulwark, and gazing towards the mouth of the harbour, was Giuseppi.
"Have you been here long, Giuseppi?"
"Since you were out last, Messer Francisco. I thought I would wait a bit, and listen."
"And have you heard anything?"
"I have heard sounds several times."
"What sort of sounds, Giuseppi?"
"Such a sound as is made when the sails and yards are lowered. I have heard it over and over again when out at night on the lagoons near the port. There is no mistake in the creaking of the blocks as the halyards run through them. I am sure, that since I have been here several vessels have brought up inside the mouth of the harbour. Some of the sailors have heard the same noises, so there cannot be any mistake about it. If the captain likes, I will take a small boat and row out, and find out all about them."
"I will ask the captain, Giuseppi."
The captain, however, said that there would be no use in this being done.
"Whether there are few or whether there are many of them, we must wait till morning before we go out. There will be no working out that channel in the dark, even if we were unopposed."