"'Was it still daylight?'
"'Yes,' said the fool.
"'That means that you saw her body?'
"'Yes, of course.'
"'Then tell us what it looked like.'
"He understood at last the drift of the questions, and opened his mouth like a sparrow choking with a grain of barley. He understood, and muttered angrily under his breath; blood rushed to his large ears till they became quite purple.
"'Well, what can I say? I did not examine her like a doctor!'
"'You eat fruit without enjoying the look of it?' asked Luccia. 'But perhaps you noticed one of Concetta's peculiarities?' She went on questioning him, laughing and winking as she did so.
"'It all happened so quickly,' said Giuseppe, 'that, to tell you the truth, I didn't notice anything.'
"'That means that you never had her,' said Catherine.